Sermon 102: 1 Samuel 29:1-11

1. Therefore all the troops of the Philistines were gathered together at Aphek; and Israel also encamped above the spring which was in Jezreel. 2. And the satraps of the Philistines marched in centuries and in thousands; but David and his men were in the rearmost troop with Achish. 3. And the princes of the Philistines said: What do these Hebrews here mean? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines: Do you not know David, who was the servant of Saul king of Israel, and has been with me many days, or rather years, and I have not found in him anything from the day on which he deserted to me until this day? 4. But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him, and said to him: Let the man return, and sit in his place where you have set him; and let him not go down with us into battle, lest he become an adversary to us when we begin to fight. For how else could he placate his lord, except with our heads? 5. Is not this the David of whom they sang in dances, saying: Saul has slain in his thousands, and David in his ten thousands? 6. Then Achish called David and said to him: As the Lord lives, you are upright and good in my sight, and your going out and your coming in with me in the camp is good, and I have found nothing evil in you from the day you came to me until this day; but you do not please the satraps. 7. Therefore return, and go in peace, and do not offend the eyes of the satraps of the Philistines.

8. And David said to Achish: For what have I done, and what have you found in me your servant from the day I came into your sight until this day, that I should not come and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? 9. And Achish, answering, spoke to David: I know that you are good in my eyes, like an angel of God; but the princes of the Philistines have said: He shall not go up with us to battle. 10. Therefore arise in the morning, you and the servants of your lord who came with you; and when you have risen by night and it begins to dawn, go your way. 11. So David rose by night, he and his men, that they might depart in the morning, and they returned to the land of the Philistines; but the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

This narrative contains the wonderful manner by which God rescued David from those difficulties into which he had incautiously fallen. Where we see fulfilled what David proclaims in the psalms, that God brought him help in the highest distresses and difficulties. Which doctrine is very useful and necessary, namely that help is then to be expected from God when all things seem desperate, and there remains no further remedy against the impending evils. Then therefore is the opportune time for experiencing God's help, when human counsels fail and no way out of difficulties appears, until God himself reveals it. David indeed it would have been better to die a thousand times than once to come to battle against the Israelites; but yet who could have escaped, if the king had compelled him to fight? Truly I confess that this was not his intention; but he was nevertheless a man and therefore frail. And accordingly it was necessary that he be led out from those difficulties by some wonderful manner of divine providence. Behold therefore the leaders and chiefs of the Philistines, who, laboring with envy, take it ill that David is in such great authority with the king. For although they themselves did not sufficiently trust him, yet they especially envied him the favor by which he prevailed so much with the king, so that he was the guard of his very body. For he was a foreigner, and indeed the most hostile enemy of the Philistines; and therefore for him to become guard of the king, and for the king's life to be in his power, seemed to the princes and chiefs intolerable. The camps of the Philistines therefore are said to have been gathered together at Aphek; in which there appears more the wonderful goodness of God toward David, and his fatherly solicitude. For if at the very beginning David had been dismissed by the king, God's benevolence toward him would not be so notable nor so conspicuous. But, having advanced with the king and accompanied him as far as Aphek, he seemed about to have no impediment to being the king's perpetual attendant. But when it came nearer to the matter, then God, when no further hope shone forth, revealed himself as David's protector. Meanwhile, however, his faith was tested; and there is no doubt that he was placed in the greatest distresses, when the danger threatened him of fighting in battle against the Israelite people. But it is certain that he had truly placed his trust in God, even though for a time he labored, and God did not aid him with his help as quickly as he would have wished. These things are worthy of careful observation: since we never sufficiently consider how great is our weakness and how needy we are of divine help, unless we are reduced to the highest distresses and difficulties, from which no opportunity of escaping appears to us. And therefore God often casts us into these difficulties, that by our own peril we may be wise, and learn to rise up to him. Therefore we ought to recall this doctrine, and be persuaded that God, even if he has cast us down into the deepest abyss of evils, from which by human means no power of escaping is given to us, will nevertheless at length give a manner by which we may emerge. But how? By a truly wonderful and incomprehensible manner: since he wishes thus to be glorified, when, beyond opinion and the apprehension of our senses, he brings help to deplored matters. By the example of David this will become conspicuous, if we weigh the individual circumstances which are noted here: namely, the camps of the Philistines joined to the camps of the Israelites, and that both battle lines had now made themselves ready for battle, when David by the counsel of the Philistine leaders is dismissed.

But let us weigh the words of those very leaders complaining before the king that he had appointed David in charge of his bodyguard. What do these Hebrews mean? they say. Which formula of speaking is wont to be used when something is reproached to another with envy and indignation, as natives are wont to hold foreigners in contempt. For it is just as if they were saying: Shall a foreigner thus take precedence in authority and dignity which are owed to natives and natural-born citizens? For then the order of nature seems to be perverted. Here let us first observe that God never distributes his gifts to his own without their becoming subject to the envy of many, and, what is the greatest evil, of leading men. For why has not the whole multitude complained? For it concerned them too, and the individual soldiers could reproach the king with this very thing which the leaders and princes did: Are we not natural subjects? Do we not expose our life for the safety of the king, and at every moment endanger ourselves for his defense? Why then are we despised? Why is a foreigner preferred to us? Why does the king commit to him the rearguard and his own bodyguard? With words of this sort, surely similar, individual soldiers could complain; but here mention is made only of the leaders and princes, for in them especially does ambition rule. For those who have been raised to great honors ought to be content with that grade of dignity, but the sparks of ambition are kindled the more, and the greater the honors are, the more they are sought after. He who is of slender fortune lives content with his lot, and spends his life in leisure and tranquillity. For he applies himself to daily labor, and thinks only of earning bread, little solicitous about the dignity of honors, although mention may be made of them in his presence. On the contrary, those who have been baited with them burn with ambition and are restless, because they cannot reach the summit of their desires; and the more they are adorned with greater honors, the more they boil. The same must be said of avarice. Those who live for the day are content with little, and do not greatly labor over heaping up greater wealth. But he who has acquired many riches considers them small, and is always in need, and always fears for himself. In short, that vice of abusing God's gifts has thrust deep roots within us. Therefore from this let us learn, when we have received gifts from God, not to be lifted up; and if we have come to some grade of dignity, yet to contain ourselves within the limits of modesty; and abounding in wealth, not to burn with desire for them, in such a way that we set no measure to acquiring. We indeed are not in such a condition that we should aspire to those highest dignities which are in the courts of kings and princes; but let us know it is for our highest good that God wishes us to be in a moderate, or rather slender, condition. For if we were in some greater place, we would suddenly be corrupted by the desire for honors; for although slender, we yet carry royal spirits.

There follows next that king Achish pleaded David's cause before his leaders and demonstrated his fidelity, when he says: He has been with me now for some days, indeed for some years now, and I have not detected anything in him? By which words he says he has experienced David's fidelity for many years, so that he does not rashly trust him: indeed David was not many years with him, but he judges it long enough a time, by which he could test his fidelity. But the Philistine leaders object: how else can he placate his lord except with our heads? Is not this the David of whom they sang in dances, saying: Saul has slain in his thousands, and David in his ten thousands? Hence we perceive that God's gifts in his servants are not only despised by wicked men, but that even their memory is hateful to them. For these things which they bring up are old; since David, when very young, had killed Goliath, whose slaying the rout of the Philistine army had followed. How then do they rub afresh the memory of that defeat? Namely, as I said before, the wicked, our enemies, are irritated by the gifts of God's Spirit; and by this means God wishes to temper our gifts, lest we be lifted up by the excellence of our gifts. For we scarcely restrain ourselves from being proud over God's gifts, unless God tempers them by some correction. Thus therefore God removes from his own every occasion of self-exaltation, and teaches modesty, when he allows those whom he has raised to some grade of dignity to be hated by others, to have their deeds inquired into, and occasions sought for gnawing at them. By this kind of bridle they are restrained, lest in prosperous things they grow stronger. Let us therefore learn to refer the hatreds and envy of wicked men against us to our own use, by which God exercises us, lest we seek glory and favor among men, but contain ourselves within the bounds of modesty.

At length Achish, overcome by the reasonings of his satraps, whose service he needed and whom he did not wish to provoke lest they stir up sedition against himself, dismisses David from him. From this it appears that men of the highest dignity often yield to inferiors subject to themselves; for worldly dominions are entangled in many servitudes. No king is of such notable authority but that he submits himself with a certain secret subjection to courtiers who salute him. Indeed I confess that he requires obedience from them and wishes to be obeyed in the slightest command; but yet, if the matter be more closely inspected, it will be sufficiently evident that the kings themselves are in various ways subjected to those who nevertheless seem most ready for every act of obedience and ready to bend their very necks. Such is the human condition, that the proverb is most true: All that glitters is not gold. Therefore, although the felicity of kings, princes, and chief men appears to be such that they are no longer to be regarded as among men, let us nevertheless know that many distinctions and many difficulties lie hidden beneath, even from their own subjects. Yet we know it to be the greatest virtue so to yield to necessity that nothing be done against right and equity. But here we see that Achish sinned, having done injury to David. For specious indeed was the accusation of those commanders, since David had purchased a wife with the foreskins of the Philistines, and could by the same reckoning render the king hostile to him, namely by the slaughter of the Philistines. Yet, since he had experienced David's faith toward him to be so great that he was persuaded he would attempt nothing of the kind, there is no doubt that in dismissing him he treated him with injury. From which it appears that kings, wishing to retain their authority and to avoid the hatred or envy of this or that party, are often compelled to do injury to the innocent and to oppress them. This is conspicuous in the example of Darius against Daniel: whom, though he held him as a divine man and as it were an angel of God, he was compelled by the importunity of his nobles to expose to the peril of death. And indeed he mourned for him and groaned over him exposed, and wished to redeem his life with his own; but in order to retain his authority and to keep his subjects in their duty, lest by sedition they should defect from him, he is compelled to pollute himself with human blood and the blood of a friend. And if this happens to kings and princes, much more can it happen to those whose authority is less, as experience itself makes conspicuous in the conspiracies which today are stirred up by wicked men against Christians. For if anyone suffers loss by injury, or persecution, who resists the violence of such wicked men? Indeed you would at once hear: 'This man is opposed by him who is safe in many friends; if I resist him, I shall expose myself to their hatreds and pay the penalty for another.' Hence it comes about that all learn to dissemble, and meanwhile the wretched suffer and finally perish, by the laziness or fear of those who fear these or those whom they ought not to fear. But let us learn not to trust men who, although they wish us well and would willingly bring help, are nevertheless held back by fear of danger and, terrified by the threats of these or those, retreat from their duty and yield to the winds. Therefore, when we see such laziness in the defense of a just cause, we must take the utmost care not to place our trust in them, but to rise to God, that he himself may be our defense and bulwark. Let this Achish, king of the Philistines, be an example, on whose part it would not have stood that David should not have been killed at the first blow, had not the commanders of the Philistines feared his troops on their own account. But if they had made an attack on David intending to kill him, it is certain that Achish would have yielded to them, no less than when at their request he sent him home.

Let us proceed to what follows, in which we hear that David, summoned by Achish and being dismissed, replied: For what have I done? and what have you found in me, etc. Why does he thus excuse himself when not accused? Doubtless it is likely that he was placed in the greatest straits, because, since he was occupied in the midst of enemies, if they had won a victory over the Israelites, he seemed to be exposed to their fury, whose ill will toward himself he had experienced. For what else could he hope, than that those commanders, elated by victory, would make an attack upon him and his men, and remembering David's victories and nourishing hatred in their souls, would, when occasion was offered, vent their cruelty upon him and his? Therefore those whom David perceived to be hostile to himself, whose cruelty he knew, he not undeservedly feared, lest, insolent through victory and finding him shut up in some city of the Philistines, they should cruelly slay him. Therefore it is likely that David so anxiously excused himself before the king in order that he might take precaution for himself in the future, and be safe from the fury of the Philistines, and might escape the hatreds of those commanders and satraps. That this was David's plan is sufficiently apparent; but meanwhile he uses a certain dissimulation, when he says: What have you found in your servant, that I should not come and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? For he did not have it in mind to fight against the people of God, of which he had constantly shown himself in the very battle, at the peril of his life, to be one member; so far is it from being true that he allowed himself to be brought to shed their blood. For though he had fled to Achish, yet we have heard with what groans and tears he lamented his lot, that he was compelled to be exiled from his fatherland, and could not enjoy the sanctuary of God, nor proclaim God's praises with the people of God in the assembly of the faithful, as when he says in Psalm 42: Remembering these things I pour out my soul within me: that I was wont to go over into the throng, to walk with them to the house of God with the voice of song and praise: so it is certain that David, being thus affected toward the sanctuary of God and the assembly of the faithful, would never have fought against the Israelites. From which it sufficiently appears that his speech was feigned when he says, that I should not come and fight against the enemies of my lord the king. For who was that king? Was he not an enemy of the people of God? Are we to suppose that David wished to prefer Achish to God? And to join himself to the impious and profane in persecuting the Church, of which he was a member, indeed even the head, representing the person of our Lord Jesus Christ until he should appear and be given to us by God the Father? In short, it is certain that David's mind was sincere, even though he errs somewhat. From which we must learn what we said before, that even the most holy men, although they aim at the right goal and are ready to follow God wherever he calls, yet do not always advance with unstumbling foot, but betray much weakness. The examples of these ought not to make a way for vices in us, but rather to stir up in us greater care and solicitude, lest we fall: looking upon David as one who indeed had a right mind toward God, and burned with immense ardor for his worship, but yet feigned something. For if it befell him to lie and dissemble, what do we think will happen to us, far weaker than him? Indeed, if we do not notice our vices, God nevertheless perceives them, whose eyes penetrate more deeply than ours; for his justice is far superior to our affections. Therefore, when God wishes us to depend upon his will, let us yet know that there still remains for us a struggle against natural infirmity, that many hiding-places remain in our heart which resist right efforts; and finally that there is much impurity in our very good works, so much so that God can deservedly reject whatever appears pure in them; and therefore that we ought to solicit God with continual prayers, that he may bear with our infirmity according to his clemency, and bestow upon us bountifully whatever he knows to be expedient for us.

Moreover, from this history let us learn that God turns the wicked plans of those who plot against us all dire things to our advantage, and that the more they will try to depress us, the more God will lift us up; since God uses our adversaries themselves, even unwilling, to extol us. From where on the one hand the admirable providence of God appears, working through ways unknown to us and, as it seems to us, oblique; on the other hand we ought more and more to be confirmed and to rest in God's providence, and to lean on firm faith, when, beyond everyone's opinion, he turns to our advantage and salvation what was contrary to us. By what means (I beseech you) was David delivered from imminent danger? By the work of the Philistines, whom he had as his bitterest enemies. And in what manner finally? Namely by their malice and the envy with which they grieved that David was held in esteem and honor with King Achish. Indeed these things seem very paradoxical and to be in conflict with one another; but thus God turns the evil will of men to his own use, yet so that he does not communicate with the iniquity of men, nor can he be accused by them as the author of sin: for, by way of example, that hatred and envy of the Philistines with which they persecuted David is to be condemned, but yet God uses it so that David is delivered by their hands. For this reason God's justice always stands firm, so much so that all wicked men ought to shut their mouths, who otherwise are accustomed, like rabid dogs, to detract from God's works, when they see God glorified in the mercy by which he rescues David from danger, although he used the ministry of the Philistines. Therefore the divine providence is to be adored by us all, using means contrary to our senses and opinion; and ample matter of confidence is offered us when we see God bringing light out of darkness, as Paul speaks, so much so that, although the wicked plot dire things against us and we already seem to be in their very jaws, as if nearest to death, God nevertheless turns their counsels to our benefit and advantage, just as it is said elsewhere that all things work together for good and salvation to those who fear God. Therefore, although enemies plot our destruction and weave snares in which to trap us, and though means for carrying their wicked plans to their end do not fail them, let us nevertheless patiently wait until God himself stretches forth his hand: and let us not doubt that he will turn all their efforts and counsels to our salvation and the preservation of our life, and will rescue us in wondrous ways, unknown to us, from the jaws of death. And this doctrine is necessary especially in these times, in which we see God's enemies breathing slaughter of the faithful, and thirsting for the blood of God's church; and accordingly that, by human judgment and sense, the extreme crisis is at hand and salvation is despaired of: yet that we should not despair in mind, but firmly determine that God indeed will permit the enemies to rise up against the church and make great preparations, and that they may already seem imminent over the throats of the wretched, but that he will at length make all their counsels and machinations vain and disturb them; and not only that, but the more the unbelievers shall have been elated and have threatened all dire things, God will at length turn all to our salvation and advantage.

Let so much then have been said about divine providence, by which it came to pass that the Philistines themselves cast David out of their camp, and by this reason David was delivered from the highest danger, either of polluting his hands with innocent blood, or of coming into suspicion with King Achish, or even of falling by the very hands of his enemies, on account of the hatred with which they pursued him, ...because he was in favor with King Achish and was held by him as a son. Indeed Achish was deceived, for if he had known David as he was, he would have found him to be far other than he supposed. But God willed his servant to be hidden by this as by a shadow. For this reason therefore it is not undeservedly said that the mercy of God by which he protects us is far better than many lives. Indeed God's singular benevolence toward us is conspicuous in this, that he covers our vices and infirmities. But here he covered David's virtues, which the more praiseworthy they were, the greater danger they created for David and stirred up mortal hatred against him; so that he could not only have been rejected by his enemies but even killed. God therefore covered him in this way, that he might preserve him. Let us therefore learn, when our most savage enemies plot snares for us and thirst for our blood, to place our trust in God and rest in him alone, being firmly persuaded that we, covered by his shadow, although we are guilty of many sins, shall at length be rescued from all dangers. We ought also to be confirmed by examples of the faithful who, placed in the jaws of wolves, although they could not freely profess their faith, never allowed themselves to be polluted by any popish superstitions and idolomania, nor consented to the blasphemies of the enemies, whom God nevertheless wonderfully snatched as sheep from the mouth of wolves. But how indeed? Indeed I confess they were reduced to great straits, but I say that God so held the eyes and minds of wicked men that they tolerated those whom in a moment they seemed about to tear like wretched sheep. Therefore David did not in vain pray that God would place him in the corner of his tabernacle, alluding to the visible and material sanctuary of that time, but fleeing to the providence of God, that by it he might be safe and not become the prey of his enemies. For David had experienced God's favor and benevolence toward his own. Let us therefore turn these things to our use, and let us not doubt that, when our enemies seek causes of hatred against us, God will bring help, and will even blind them, so that those whom they hate worse than dog and snake, they may not even perceive with their eyes.

Let us pass on to those words of King Achish in which, addressing David, he says he found him as an angel of God. From these words it appears that those pagans had certain common notions and principles in common with the faithful; and that those Philistines, although idolaters and having no taste of pure doctrine, and knowing neither the law nor the prophets, yet knew that there is one God and that this same God has his angels. This opinion was sufficiently common among them, as appears from the books of those unbelievers themselves; which knowledge, although it profited them nothing for salvation, yet rendered them inexcusable before God. For if all sparks of divine light had been extinct in them, and they had had no drop of truth, they would have set their ignorance as a shield against the judgments of God, and by that reasoning would have excused themselves before him: therefore it was necessary that they still have some spark of religion, that they may be inexcusable. So in this place King Achish, although he did not plainly understand that God has his angels, that they may minister to him and execute his commands, yet knew that there are angels of God. Which knowledge, as we have said, took away from them every excuse. But let us diligently take care not to have an uncertain and confused notion such as theirs, but let us so know God's angels, that they yet remain within their proper rank, and not be transformed by us into idols; but let us know that they are ministers of our salvation, since God wills to use their work for that work. Let us beware lest we glory in God's name with words alone, lest that profession profit us nothing. Let us not imitate the unbelievers who are so plunged in darkness that they strive to corrupt God's truth with lies and their own imaginations: let us flee with all our might such corruptions and superstitions, and follow the knowledge of God as a burning torch shining before us, and place our trust in him alone, and submit ourselves to him, and through the whole course of life glorify him.

There follow Achish's words by which he dismissed David from himself, when he says: Rise early, you and the servants of your lord, that is, of Saul, as if to say: You are servants and subjects of Saul: do not therefore go out to battle against him, but remain quietly in the place given you by me. When Achish bids David rise early and depart with his men, it appears that such a tumult had been stirred up in his camp that, if he had delayed the matter longer, there would have been danger that David could no longer escape their hands. For he did not seem about to dismiss David except by compulsion. He bids David therefore depart in the morning, lest anything be done against him by sedition. From which it appears that David had a sword as it were at his throat, and that his escape from danger is to be ascribed to God's providence, by which he was defended, and as it were covered by the divine hand as by an interposed shield, and not to the will of his enemies, who certainly intended to tear him in pieces and to take him from among the living. Hence let us observe that God very often rescues us from dangers which we ourselves had not perceived, and from the very jaws of death into which we had incautiously fallen, and that therefore we ought to be more and more stirred up to call upon him, that he may, according to his mercy, rescue us from the dangers into which we often incautiously fall, and watch for us while we sleep. Moreover, here also is to be observed God's singular goodness toward David, which in this manner not only delivered him from the present danger and from the highest straits in which he was placed, but also caused him to return to the place from which he had departed, that he might recover his wives and the goods which had come into the power of the enemies. This was an almost singular testimony of God's benevolence toward David, struggling with so many difficulties, that, when he was destitute of counsel, with enemies rising up against him on every side, he should... ...nevertheless help him with his aid, so that, contrary to the expectation of the enemies, things turned out well for him: for the enemies wished to depress David and to cast him down from his rank of dignity, but God by this very reason exalted him the more. Let us therefore, taught by these examples, place our trust in God, and not measure his power by our own sense; but when, beset by dangers, we have grown blind, let it suffice that he watches for us, and undertakes our cares in matters as it were despaired of; and let us pray him that, when many temptations and straits press upon us on all sides, he may never permit us to deviate from the right way to this side or to that, but may himself help us with his aid and raise the fallen, that in all our afflictions we may always have occasion of celebrating him with due praises.

Now then come, etc.

## HOMILIA CIII.

Ch. XXX.

1. The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, while Israel was camped by the spring that is in Jezreel. 2. The commanders of the Philistines were marching with their units of hundreds and thousands, and David and his men were marching in the rear with Achish. 3. Then the commanders of the Philistines asked: What are these Hebrews doing here? Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines: Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me now for days, or rather years? I have found nothing wrong in him from the day he came over to me until now. 4. But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with Achish and said to him: Send this man back, so that he may return to his place which you have assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle, or he may become an adversary in battle. For how would this man reconcile himself with his lord? Would it not be with the heads of men here? 5. Is this not the David of whom they sing to one another in dances, saying: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 6. So Achish called David and said to him: As the Lord lives, you have been trustworthy, and it is right in my sight for you to march out and march in with me in the campaign, for I have found no evil in you from the day of your coming to me until this day. Nevertheless you are not pleasing to the lords. 7. So return and go in peace, so that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.

8. David said to Achish: But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I came before you until this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? 9. Achish replied to David: I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said: He shall not go up with us to the battle. 10. Now then, rise early in the morning, you and the servants of your lord who came with you, and go to the place that I appointed for you. As for the evil suspicion, do not take it to heart. Rise early and depart as soon as it is light. 11. So David rose early, he and his men, to depart in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

This account shows the remarkable way in which God rescued David from the difficulties he had carelessly stumbled into. Here we see fulfilled what David proclaims in the psalms — that God brought him help in the most extreme distresses. This is a most useful and necessary truth: help is to be expected from God precisely when everything seems desperate, when no remedy against the coming evils appears to remain. That is the moment when God's help arrives — when human planning has failed and no way out of the difficulty can be seen, until God Himself reveals it. For David it would certainly have been better to die a thousand times than to go into battle against the Israelites even once. But who could escape if the king himself compelled him to fight? I grant that fighting the Israelites was not his intention. But he was human, and therefore fragile. It was therefore necessary that he be brought out of this difficulty by some remarkable act of divine providence. Notice then the Philistine commanders and leaders — driven by jealousy, they resented how much authority David had with the king. Though they did not trust David themselves, they especially envied him the favor he enjoyed with the king — being entrusted with the king's very bodyguard. He was a foreigner and the Philistines' most hated enemy, yet he had been made the king's personal guard, with the king's life in his hands. The commanders and chiefs found this intolerable. The Philistine camps are said to have gathered at Aphek — and in this detail God's wonderful goodness toward David, and His fatherly care, is all the more visible. For if David had been dismissed by the king right at the beginning, God's kindness toward him would not have been nearly as evident. But David had gone along with the king and accompanied him as far as Aphek — there was no sign he would face any obstacle to remaining the king's permanent attendant. Only when the matter came to a head — when no further hope appeared — did God reveal Himself as David's protector. Meanwhile, David's faith was being tested. There is no doubt he was in the greatest distress as the threat of having to fight against the Israelite people loomed over him. But it is certain that he had genuinely placed his trust in God, even though for a time he struggled and God did not come to his aid as quickly as he would have wished. These things deserve careful attention. We never sufficiently realize how great our weakness is and how much we need God's help until we are brought to the most extreme straits — with no apparent escape. Therefore God often puts us in these situations so that we may be made wise through the experience of danger and learn to lift our eyes to Him. Let us hold to this teaching and be persuaded that God, even when He has cast us into the deepest pit of troubles from which no human escape is visible, will nevertheless in time open a way out. But how? By a truly wonderful and incomprehensible way — for He wills to be glorified in this: that beyond all expectation and beyond what our senses could grasp, He brings help to situations that seemed beyond all hope. David's example makes this clear if we consider the specific details recorded here: the Philistine and Israelite camps joined and both sides ready for battle — and at that very moment David is dismissed by the counsel of the Philistine commanders.

Let us weigh the words of those commanders who complained before the king that he had put David in charge of his bodyguard. 'What are these Hebrews doing here?' they say. This is the kind of language people use when they reproach something with envy and indignation — the way natives commonly look down on foreigners. It is as if they were saying: Shall a foreigner take precedence in authority and honor over those who were born here and belong here? For to them this appears to be a perversion of the natural order. Here let us first observe that God never distributes His gifts to His own people without those gifts becoming the target of envy — and what is worst of all, the envy of prominent people. Why is it only the leaders who complain here, and not the whole army? Every individual soldier could have raised the same complaint: 'Are we not the king's own people? Do we not risk our lives for his safety and put ourselves in danger for his defense at every turn? Why are we overlooked? Why is a foreigner preferred over us? Why has the king given him command of the rearguard and his own bodyguard?' Individual soldiers could have said something very like this — but only the leaders and commanders are mentioned here, because ambition is most powerful precisely in them. Those who have been raised to great honor ought to be content with where they stand. Instead, the sparks of ambition burn hotter the higher a person rises — the greater the honors, the more they are craved. A man of modest means lives contentedly within his lot and passes his days in peace and quiet. He applies himself to daily work, thinking only of earning his bread — not very concerned about rank or honor, even when it is mentioned around him. But those who have been given a taste of ambition burn with it and are never at rest — unable to reach the peak of what they desire, and the more honored they become, the more they seethe. The same must be said of greed. Those who live day to day are content with little and do not labor hard to accumulate more. But the man who has acquired great wealth always sees it as insufficient, is always in need, and is always afraid of losing what he has. In short, this vice of abusing God's gifts has driven deep roots in us. Therefore let us learn, when we have received gifts from God, not to be inflated by them. If we have risen to some rank or position, let us contain ourselves within the bounds of humility. If we have wealth, let us not burn for more without limit. We are not in a position to aspire to the highest offices at the courts of kings and princes — and let us recognize that God does us a great favor by placing us in a moderate, even modest, condition. For if we were in a position of greater power, we would quickly be corrupted by the desire for honors — modest as we are, we already carry royal ambitions in our hearts.

Next we see King Achish defending David before his commanders, vouching for his faithfulness: 'He has been with me for some days — indeed, for quite some years — and I have not found anything wrong in him.' By this he says he has had enough experience of David's faithfulness over the years that he does not trust him carelessly. David had not actually been there for many years, but Achish considered the time sufficient to have tested his loyalty. But the Philistine commanders object: how else would David reconcile himself with his lord, if not with their heads? And is this not the very David they sang about in the dances — 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands'? From this we see that the gifts of God in His servants are not only despised by the wicked, but even the memory of those gifts is hateful to them. What they are bringing up is old news — David had killed Goliath when he was very young, and the entire Philistine army had fled in the rout that followed. So why are they rubbing fresh salt in that old wound? Because, as I said before, the wicked and our enemies are stirred to anger by the gifts of God's Spirit in others. And through this, God tempers our gifts so that we are not lifted up by them. We can barely restrain ourselves from growing proud over God's gifts unless He tempers them through some corrective. This is how God removes every occasion for self-glorification from His own people, and teaches humility — by allowing those He has raised to some position of honor to be hated by others, to have their actions scrutinized, and to have people looking for something to criticize them with. This kind of bridle restrains them, so that they do not grow arrogant in times of prosperity. Let us therefore learn to turn the hatred and envy of wicked people toward our own benefit — as a means by which God exercises us to keep us from seeking glory and approval from others, and to keep us within the bounds of humility.

In the end, Achish, worn down by his commanders' arguments — whose cooperation he needed and whom he dared not antagonize lest they stir up rebellion against him — dismisses David. This shows that even those at the highest levels of power often yield to those beneath them, for worldly authority is entangled in many hidden dependencies. No king is of such towering authority that he does not, in some secret way, submit himself to the courtiers who bow to him. I grant that a king demands obedience from them and wants his smallest command carried out. But if you look more closely, it will become clear enough that kings themselves are in various ways subject to those who appear most ready to obey them and most willing to bow their necks. Such is the human condition — the proverb is entirely true: all that glitters is not gold. Therefore, however splendid the happiness of kings, princes, and great men may appear — as if they were no longer ordinary people — let us recognize that many hidden difficulties and constraints lie beneath the surface, even from their own subjects. Yet it is the highest virtue to yield to necessity in such a way that nothing against right and justice is done. Here, however, we see that Achish sinned — he did David an injustice. The commanders' accusation had a plausible appearance: David had once paid for a wife with Philistine foreskins, and by the same logic he could make himself an enemy of the king through the slaughter of Philistines. Yet since Achish had experienced David's loyalty as so thorough that he was fully persuaded David would attempt nothing of the kind, there is no doubt that in dismissing him he treated him unjustly. This shows that kings, in their desire to hold on to authority and avoid the hatred or envy of one faction or another, are often compelled to do injury to the innocent and oppress them. This is plain in the example of Darius toward Daniel: though Darius regarded Daniel as a man of God, virtually an angel of God, he was forced by the relentless pressure of his nobles to expose him to the risk of death. He grieved and agonized over Daniel's exposure, and would gladly have bought his life at the cost of his own — but to maintain his authority and keep his subjects loyal, fearing they might rebel against him, he was compelled to stain himself with human blood, the blood of a friend. And if this can happen to kings and princes, how much more can it happen to those with less authority — as we see plainly today in the conspiracies that wicked men stir up against Christians. If someone suffers harm through injustice or persecution, who stands up against such wickedness? You immediately hear: 'This man has many friends protecting him; if I resist, I'll expose myself to their hatred and end up paying the price for someone else's sake.' And so everyone learns to look away, while the innocent suffer and ultimately perish — through the cowardice or fear of people who are afraid of those they should not fear at all. Let us therefore learn not to trust people who, though they wish us well and would help us if they could, are held back by fear of danger and, terrified by the threats of one side or another, abandon their duty and yield to the winds. When we see such cowardice in the defense of a just cause, we must take the greatest care not to place our trust in such people, but to rise to God — that He Himself may be our defense and stronghold. Let this Achish, king of the Philistines, be the example: it was not his intention that David should not have been killed at the first opportunity, had the Philistine commanders not feared his troops on their own account. But if they had pressed Achish with a plan to kill David, he would certainly have yielded to them — just as readily as he sent David away at their request.

Let us move on to what follows. Summoned by Achish and being dismissed, David replies: 'What have I done? What have you found in me,' and so on. Why does he defend himself when no one has accused him? Almost certainly because he was in a very difficult position. Surrounded by enemies, if the Philistines won a victory over the Israelites, he would be exposed to the fury of men who had already shown him their hostility. What else could he expect, but that those commanders, flushed with victory, would turn on him and his men — nursing old hatred in their hearts and seizing the opportunity to vent their cruelty on David and his soldiers? He had good reason, therefore, to fear those commanders who were hostile to him: once victorious and arrogant, and finding him shut up in some Philistine city, they would have had every opportunity to destroy him cruelly. It is very likely that David pressed his case before the king precisely to secure his own safety for the future — to protect himself from the Philistines' fury and escape the hatred of those commanders. That this was David's plan is apparent enough. But at the same time, he is being somewhat evasive when he says: 'What have you found in your servant, that I should not come and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?' He had no intention of fighting against the people of God — he had consistently shown himself to be a member of that people, even at the risk of his life in battle. The very idea that he would have shed their blood is far from the truth. For even though he had fled to Achish, we have heard with what groaning and grief he mourned his lot — forced into exile from his homeland, unable to enjoy God's sanctuary or join the assembly of God's people in praising Him. As he says in Psalm 42: 'These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving.' It is certain, then, that David — feeling this way about God's sanctuary and the assembly of the faithful — would never have fought against the Israelites. From this it is clear enough that his words were a pretense when he said he wanted to 'fight against the enemies of my lord the king.' Who was this king, after all? Was he not an enemy of the people of God? Are we to think David wanted to prefer Achish over God? To join the ungodly in persecuting the very church of which he was a member — indeed, its appointed head, representing our Lord Jesus Christ until Christ Himself would be given to us by God the Father? In short, it is certain that David's heart was sincere — even if he erred in this. From this we must draw the lesson we stated before: even the most holy people, though they aim at the right goal and are ready to follow God wherever He calls, do not always walk without stumbling — they betray much weakness. Their examples must not become a license for vice in us, but rather a spur to greater care and vigilance, so that we do not fall. We look at David as a man who had a sincere heart toward God and burned with immense love for His worship — and yet he feigned something. If even he fell into lying and pretense, what do we think will happen to us, who are far weaker than he was? Even if we fail to notice our own faults, God sees them — His eyes penetrate more deeply than ours, and His justice far exceeds our own sense of what is right. Therefore, when God calls us to depend on His will, let us still recognize that we have a continuing struggle against our own weakness — that there are many hidden corners in our hearts that resist good intentions, and that even our best works are tainted with so much impurity that God could rightly reject whatever appears pure in them. Let us therefore seek God with constant prayer — that He would bear patiently with our weakness in His mercy, and generously give us everything He knows is good for us.

From this history let us also learn that God turns the evil plans of those who plot harm against us to our advantage — and that the harder they work to bring us down, the more God will lift us up, using our adversaries themselves, even against their will, to advance us. From this we see, on one hand, the remarkable providence of God working through ways hidden from us and seemingly indirect. On the other hand, we ought to be strengthened more and more, to rest in God's providence, and to lean on firm faith — especially when He turns what seemed to be against us into our benefit and salvation, beyond anyone's expectation. By what means was David delivered from imminent danger? By the actions of the Philistines — his most bitter enemies. And how exactly? By their jealousy and envy — their resentment that David was held in honor by King Achish. These things appear paradoxical and contradictory — but this is how God bends the evil will of people to His own purposes, without thereby sharing in the wickedness of those people or being responsible for their sin. The hatred and envy of the Philistines toward David deserves to be condemned — yet God used it to deliver David. For this reason God's justice always stands firm. Every wicked person ought to shut their mouth — those who, like rabid dogs, tend to attack God's ways — when they see God glorified in the mercy by which He rescued David, even through the agency of the Philistines. Therefore we must adore God's providence, which operates through means that are contrary to our senses and expectations. Rich cause for confidence is given us when we see God bringing light out of darkness, as Paul says — so that even when the wicked plot disasters against us and we are already seemingly in their very jaws, on the edge of death, God turns their plans to our benefit. As Scripture says elsewhere, all things work together for good and salvation for those who fear God. Therefore, even when enemies plot our destruction and lay traps to ensnare us, even when they have all the means to carry out their wicked plans — let us patiently wait until God Himself stretches out His hand. Let us not doubt that He will turn all their efforts and schemes to our salvation and the preservation of our lives, rescuing us by wonderful and unexpected means from the jaws of death. This teaching is especially necessary in our own times, when God's enemies are breathing out slaughter against the faithful and thirsting for the blood of God's church. By human judgment, the situation looks extreme and salvation seems beyond hope. Yet we must not despair in our hearts, but firmly resolve that God will indeed permit the enemies to rise up against the church and make great preparations — they may even seem about to seize the throats of the helpless. But He will ultimately make all their plans and schemes worthless and scatter them. More than that: the more the unbelievers boast and threaten total destruction, the more God will turn everything to our salvation and benefit.

Let that be enough on God's providence — by which it came about that the Philistines themselves expelled David from their camp, thereby delivering him from the gravest danger: either of staining his hands with innocent blood, or of falling under suspicion with King Achish, or even of being killed by his enemies' own hands out of the hatred with which they pursued him — since he was in favor with Achish and treated like a son by him. Achish was deceived, of course. Had he known David for who he truly was, he would have found him to be very different from what he supposed. But God willed His servant to be hidden under this cover, as under a shadow. For this reason it is not without point to say that the mercy of God by which He protects us is worth far more than many lives. God's remarkable goodness toward us is visible in this: He covers our faults and weaknesses. But here He covered David's virtues — which, the more praiseworthy they were, the more danger they created for David and the more deadly hatred they stirred up against him. He could have been not only rejected but killed. God therefore covered him in this way in order to preserve him. Let us therefore learn, when our most savage enemies lay traps for us and thirst for our blood, to place our trust in God and rest in Him alone — firmly persuaded that, covered by His shadow, we will ultimately be rescued from all dangers, even though we are guilty of many sins. We should also draw strength from examples of faithful believers who, placed in the very jaws of wolves, were unable to freely profess their faith yet never allowed themselves to be defiled by popish superstitions and idolatry, nor consented to the blasphemies of their enemies — and whom God nevertheless snatched as sheep from the mouths of wolves in a remarkable way. But how? I grant they were brought to great extremity — but I say that God so held the eyes and minds of the wicked that they tolerated those whom in a moment they seemed ready to tear apart like helpless sheep. Therefore David did not pray in vain that God would hide him in the shelter of His tabernacle — alluding to the visible, material sanctuary of that time, but really fleeing to God's providence, trusting that through it he would be safe and not become his enemies' prey. For David had experienced God's favor and kindness toward His own. Let us therefore apply these things to ourselves, and let us not doubt that when our enemies seek grounds for hatred against us, God will bring help — and will even blind them, so that those they hate more than any enemy, they cannot even perceive with their own eyes.

Let us turn to King Achish's words where, addressing David, he says he found him to be like an angel of God. From this it appears that those pagans shared certain common notions with the faithful. These Philistines, though idolaters who had no taste of pure doctrine and knew neither the law nor the prophets, still knew that there is one God — and that this God has His angels. This was a fairly common view among them, as their own literature shows. While this knowledge did them no good for salvation, it left them without excuse before God. For if all sparks of divine light had been entirely extinguished in them and they had possessed not one drop of truth, they could have held up their ignorance as a shield against God's judgment and excused themselves by it. Therefore it was necessary that they retain some spark of religion, so that they would be inexcusable. So here King Achish, though he did not fully understand that God has angels who serve Him and carry out His commands, still knew that angels of God exist. As we said, this knowledge stripped them of every excuse. But let us take care not to have the same vague and confused idea about angels that they had. Let us know God's angels rightly — keeping them in their proper place, not transforming them into idols — and understand that they are servants of our salvation, since God chooses to use their work for that purpose. Let us beware of boasting of God's name in words only, while that profession does us no good. Let us not imitate the unbelievers who are so plunged in darkness that they try to corrupt God's truth with their lies and imaginings. Let us flee all such corruptions and superstitions with all our strength, follow the knowledge of God as a blazing torch shining before us, place our trust in Him alone, submit ourselves to Him, and glorify Him throughout the whole course of life.

There follow Achish's words dismissing David: 'Rise early, you and the servants of your lord' — meaning Saul, as if to say: You are Saul's servants and subjects. Therefore do not go to battle against him, but remain quietly in the place I have assigned you. When Achish told David to rise early and leave with his men, it suggests that such serious unrest had stirred up in the camp that if David had delayed any longer, there would have been real danger of his not escaping at all. Achish was clearly not dismissing David of his own free choice. He urged David to depart first thing in the morning, before any seditious act could be carried out against him. This shows that David had a sword at his throat, so to speak — and his escape must be credited entirely to God's providence. God defended him, covering him as if with a shield interposed by the divine hand. His enemies certainly intended to tear him apart and kill him — it was not their will that spared him. From this let us observe that God very often rescues us from dangers we ourselves had not even noticed — and from the very jaws of death into which we had carelessly walked. We should therefore be all the more moved to call upon Him, asking that He, in His mercy, rescue us from the dangers we carelessly fall into and watch over us even while we sleep. We should also notice God's remarkable goodness toward David in this: not only did He deliver him from present danger and the most extreme straits, He also caused him to return to the very place from which he had left, so that he could recover his wives and the goods that had fallen into enemy hands. This was an almost unequaled testimony of God's kindness toward David in the midst of so many difficulties — that when he was without counsel, with enemies rising against him from every direction, God... ...nevertheless helped him, so that things turned out well for him against all the enemies' expectations. The enemies wanted to bring David down and strip him of his dignity — and by that very plan, God exalted him all the more. Let us therefore, taught by these examples, place our trust in God and not measure His power by our own understanding. When we are surrounded by dangers and have gone blind, let it be enough that He watches over us and takes charge of our situation when things seem hopeless. Let us ask Him that, when many temptations and pressures press in on us from all sides, He would never permit us to stray from the right path in one direction or another — but would Himself help us, raise the fallen, and give us in all our afflictions constant occasion to praise Him as He deserves.

Now then come, etc.

## HOMILIA CIII.

Ch. XXX.