Sermon 62: 1 Samuel 17:28-37

28. When Eliab his eldest brother heard him speaking with the others, he was angry against David, and said: Why did you come, and why did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the wickedness of your heart, for you came down to see the battle. 29. And David said: What have I done? Is it not just a word? 30. And he turned a little from him to another: and spoke the same words, and the people answered him the same word as before. 31. Now the words which David spoke were heard, and reported in the presence of Saul. 32. When he had been brought to him, he spoke to him: Let no man's heart fail because of him; I your servant will go and fight against the Philistine. 33. And Saul said to David: You are not able to resist this Philistine, nor to fight against him: for you are a boy, but he has been a warrior from his youth. 34. And David said to Saul: Your servant was pasturing his father's flock, and a lion or a bear would come and take a ram from the midst of the flock. 35. And I would pursue them, and strike them, and rescue it from their mouth; and they would rise up against me, and I would seize them by the jaw, and For I would strangle and kill them. 36. Both the lion and the bear I your servant killed: therefore this uncircumcised Philistine will be to him as one of them: because he has dared to curse the army of the living God. 37. And David said: The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David: Go, and the Lord be with you.

That David's anointing was not unknown to the family of Jesse we easily understand, even from the fact that we saw his seven elder brothers presented to Samuel, so that he might choose from among them the one who would be acceptable to God as the future king of Israel: therefore his brothers well knew that David, though the youngest of all, had been preferred to them. Although by nature men are eager for dominion, yet David's brothers ought to have been moved by God's judgment, so that they in turn would acknowledge the one whom God honored with so great a distinction: since great honor was also acquired for the whole family, when someone from it was chosen to be the future king of Israel, and indeed a figure of the redeemer of the whole world. For the kingdom given to David was not an ordinary one, but holy and dedicated to God, with which the figure of hope was joined: and this king had been designated for the perpetual salvation of the people. Therefore a great occasion of joy had been offered to the whole family of Jesse, and great reason for giving thanks to God, that he had deemed so lowly and humble a family worthy of such great honor. On the contrary, however, here we hear that Eliab the firstborn was vehemently angry with David. And the arrogance with which he attacks his brother, and the venom which he pours out with such great and unbridled agitation sufficiently shows that he had previously harbored some hatred against him in his heart. Indeed, this was a remarkable malice: for, as I said before, he not only does David the greatest injury, but sins against God himself with intolerable ingratitude. But what occasion had David given him for accusing him of pride and wickedness? For he had not sought that dignity, nor had he pursued it by any devices, being forestalled by God's free will alone. Therefore Eliab here betrays the utmost agitation and alienation of mind, when he is so bitterly angry with his brother without cause. That he therefore long harbored hatred against his brother in his heart, and that he is now angry with him without cause, sufficiently testifies that he cannot bear with equanimity that David should be raised to that dignity which was owed to him. From this let us learn how lethal a plague ambition and desire for honors is: which can scarcely befall anyone without also being accompanied by envy. When such a pestilent plague has seized the mind, it produces insults and curses now against this person, now against that, and strives with all its might to interrupt the course of God's grace: and so it happens that while we think we are resisting mortals, we rise up against God himself and wage war against him. Therefore if we desire to worship and venerate God purely and sincerely, and not to hinder the course of his graces, as he wishes to distribute them to various persons, first that wicked desire of dominating and rising above others must be avoided: then care must be taken that wherever the gifts of God's Spirit appear, we value them without envy and malice as much as is fitting, and strive with all our might to make them known to all, which will be done to our great advantage. For, I ask, what will those accomplish who wish to exalt themselves above others, if they gnash their teeth and are vehemently indignant that God has chosen others rather than themselves? For if someone excels in many gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is certain that whatever gifts and endowments are in him will redound to the salvation of all the faithful and contribute to the benefit of all. Therefore do we not expose our madness when we bear it ill that God works in this or that person, and that whatever gifts he has conferred upon them redound to our advantage and benefit? This example of Eliab, David's brother, should therefore be carefully noted by us. For from it we learn that arrogance and pride erase all humanity from men's memory, and bring about forgetfulness of kinship, so that no regard is had either for relatives or brothers, just as we see brothers from every age have not spared one another when dominion was at stake: but have pursued one another with mutual hatreds and enmities, and pierced each other with wounds: often children snatched from mothers' arms, often also children not sparing their fathers and mothers themselves, so great is the force of that diabolical ambition, by which men are so bewitched that it takes from them all memory of God, and even brings about forgetfulness of parents.

And enough about Eliab's anger against David, to which were added also insulting words. For, he says, I know your pride, and the wickedness of your heart. Why did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? We hear that David is here falsely accused by his brother of pride and malice. For what had his brother detected in him that he should so arrogantly rebuke him, as if he had discovered some audacity in him, or some devices by which he could be charged with seeking dominion over others? For David had not gone ahead of Samuel to be anointed by him, nor had he been found to have sought the kingdom by indirect means, for he had never thought about the kingdom to which he was called entirely without his own thought. That pride of David, then, that malice, consisted in his diligently pasturing sheep, led by no desire for vanity, but content with his own lot, though humble and lowly. But it pleased God to raise him from there to the royal throne. From this it appears that the wicked are always inclined to slanders and curses, and are inventors of calumnies, even when no occasion is offered them. Therefore let us patiently bear the hatreds of the wicked, which rise up more grievously against us because they envy us the gifts, which God in his excellent goodwill toward us has bestowed, and from that they seek occasion for quarrels. Indeed, if anyone had given David the option, I believe he would have been content with his own condition and would gladly have yielded to another the dignity of governing the people. For what he himself professes about himself after he had been elected king, and God had guided and governed him in his administration, which supreme benefit was not shared with other kings among the thorns, namely that he had been like a child recently weaned from its mother, that he had not had great ambitions, nor had he directed his mind toward dignities and preeminence: and indeed he affirms with an oath that he never undertook great or arduous things beyond what was fitting for him, but always walked in humility, never puffed up by his dignity. Since therefore David restrained himself and conducted himself so modestly even though he had attained royal power, it is likely that when he was pasturing sheep and leading a private life he was content with his lot, and would not have aspired to higher things if God permitted. Therefore when he is now so harshly rebuked by his brother, and indeed so insultingly, it is no wonder that it was a grievous injury to him. But God is accustomed to exercise his own people in patience in this way. Hence let us learn, as I have already touched upon, that when God uses our labor for promoting the glory of his name, and adorns us with excellent gifts of his Holy Spirit, if unbelievers and wicked men pursue us with unjust hatreds, and strive to disturb and as it were tear us apart, we should bear all these things patiently, since God tests and exercises our patience by these means: and furthermore let us recognize that this vice has occupied men's minds not only now but for many centuries past. But come, let us consider with what great blindness those are struck whom this plague of envy and malice has once seized and so bewitched that they do not see with whom they are dealing, and rush recklessly against anyone they meet. For, I ask, what do those words of Eliab mean: Why did you come, and why did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? You would say Eliab is here addressing some rustic beggar, when yet it was the father's house that was being discussed, reproaching David for those few sheep which he even pastured in the wilderness. He would gladly have heaped disgrace upon David, which however redounded upon himself and the whole family of his father. For at that time the wealth and nobility of families consisted in flocks of cattle. From this it appears that those vehement passions, by which men allow themselves to be carried away as if with loosened reins, so that they rush without judgment and reason against whatever comes before them, turn to their own disgrace and shame, so that they are forced to be inferior to those over whom they wished to be superior. Therefore all the more ardently we ought to pray God that he restrain our affections, and not allow us to be overcome by vanity and desire for honors, or to suffer from envy of another's happiness, when we see them adorned with excellent gifts, into which vice we see Eliab here has fallen.

But what does David reply to these things? What indeed, he says, have I done? Is it not just a word? The Hebrew word means "word." Therefore some interpret David's response as if he were saying: What do you mean? You are pouring out empty words: why are you so angry if I have spoken one word? Others, however, as if he were saying that the matter he was speaking about would shortly be accomplished: and so he draws a comparison between the present and the future: You are vehemently angry because in your judgment I have spoken foolishly and rashly: but when I have accomplished the thing, then you will have occasion to marvel. But this exposition is forced. Therefore David's words can be taken simply, as is the common interpretation, namely that he does not charge his brother with lying, but is content to repel his accusation. Therefore he says: What you say are words, when he could have said it was a lie. You say I came to see the battle, and that my pride and the malice of my heart are well known to you: indeed you are pouring out empty words and resting on no foundation. But sometimes that word is taken for order or custom, as when it is said that our Lord Jesus Christ is a king established according to the order of Melchizedek; for there that word is used. If we follow this meaning, it will also fit very well, so that David thus repels his brother's calumny: You charge me with pride and arrogance, you accuse me of curiosity, but is this really the first time I have come to the camp? For we saw before that David used to go and come to Saul, and then return to pasture the sheep: and it is likely that he was not sent by his father to his brothers on this one occasion only, since David, being concerned about them before, had also come to visit them. This meaning will therefore fit well, that he says it should not be attributed to pride, not to arrogance, not to curiosity, that he came sent by his father, and indeed not on this one occasion and day only, but according to the order and custom usually observed by his father. And thus it befits us to shut the mouths of detractors and slanderers, who are certain to walk about and take care to give no offense. For we cannot prevent unbelievers from speaking ill of us, since they always have their throats open for curses, even without occasion. But what can you do? Namely what the apostle counsels, that we walk in praise, whenever it has so seemed good to God. And yet let us always be prepared to convict detractors and slanderers when they have risen up against us with malice and unbridled arrogance: so that when the wicked attempt to bespatter and overwhelm us with disgrace, we may rely on a good conscience, and be shielded by truth as by a shield, and repel whatever calumnies and curses.

And thus far concerning David's response. Moreover, although it is not expressly stated that David offered himself for single combat with Goliath, it is easily gathered from the sequence of the narrative itself. For next it follows that the words which David spoke were heard and reported in the presence of Saul. To whom he was also brought, and spoke in these words: Let no man's heart fail because of him; I your servant will go and fight against the Philistine. Surely David did not utter those words rashly, as young men often rashly undertake many things, thinking nothing so arduous that they would not easily overcome it, and as the proverb says, they seem about to seize the moon with their teeth. Namely, they do not know themselves, and have no experience to recognize the difficulty of what they undertake. Hence it happens that young men are often more daring than is proper, and rush headlong into dangers from which they do not emerge. Surely that rashness arises partly from the fact that they do not know themselves, being preoccupied with a vain opinion of themselves, and partly because they are inexperienced in affairs. David suffered nothing of the kind, as we shall see next. For he promised himself nothing from his own strength, prepared to engage in single combat against the giant Goliath: whom he well knew to be like a lion or bear by whom he could be torn apart in a moment: but he placed all his hope in God, and awaited help from heaven, hoping nothing from himself. Indeed, it should be noted that David spoke thus by the impulse of the Holy Spirit. For he who thought so modestly of himself, and never wanted to undertake great things, how would he now have taken on so arduous a task, unless the divine power was working within him? Therefore we must confess that it was a singular movement of the Holy Spirit, rousing David to that combat. Surely God often works thus in an extraordinary way in those who undertake some notable and memorable deed. Therefore the ordinary virtues of God's faithful servants must be carefully distinguished from the singular and special and extraordinary gifts. For if we speak of the obedience owed to God, of patience, humility, and other such virtues, these pertain to all the faithful. For thus each of us is confirmed in the doctrine contained in God's word; and if we compare the holiness of life and virtue of some faithful person with the prescribed doctrine, we ought to be all the more stirred and confirmed in virtue. But there are certain virtues, as I said before, proper to certain individuals which ought not to be drawn into an example and established as a general rule: such as the fervor and virtue of David presented here, which was a special privilege for a time: and David by his deed made it manifest that he had been chosen by God to attain royal dignity. Surely I confess that in this contest there are conspicuous virtues that pertain to us also, and which ought to be extended to each member of the church. Such is David's confidence in the power of God: such is the remembrance of the benefits he had received from God, from whom he had his strength and excellence of mind: which never deserted him in difficult and almost desperate circumstances, but always sustained and confirmed him. Beholding David's great constancy, we ought to take it as an example and imitate it. But we should not expect that God will always help us in overcoming some giant, as he helped David. Therefore, although David voluntarily offered himself for single combat, it befits us to carefully examine ourselves when about to undertake something arduous and difficult, whether we have sufficient strength, or whether we feel within us that force of divine impulse which promises us a happy outcome. Nevertheless, even if we feel the weakness of our strength, the labor should not be avoided in those things that belong to our calling. For those whom God has called to some office, and to whom he has assigned a certain province which requires this or that, even though the sense of our weakness makes us slower, we must nevertheless proceed in our calling, and all difficulty must be overcome by endurance: and God must be invoked to remedy our faults and supply our deficiency. But if it is a matter that does not press us with necessity, and to which the condition to which we have been called by God does not oblige us, let us pray God to inspire and govern us by his Spirit, and to reveal in what matter he requires our labor: and not to allow us to move even a finger without his direction and will: and therefore let him himself go before us, whom we may follow as disciples follow a master, and be safe under his guidance.

Next it follows that Saul wanted to deter David from this contest, with these words: You are not able to resist this Philistine, nor to fight against him, for you are a boy, but he has been a warrior from his youth. It is certain that men of mature age are not equal in strength to young men, nor to be compared with them, because their age is worn out: therefore Goliath here is understood as a veteran soldier not of worn out but of moderate age. David, however, although he had reached manhood, is nevertheless called a boy, because he did not yet have full strength, since men's strength increases until the fortieth year. Although the human race is now greatly weakened, and individual men represent in themselves the old age of the world, already worn out when they ought to be still in full strength: yet at that time a man of forty or even fifty could be stronger and more robust than a young man, which age David had reached. For this reason Saul rejects him as not fit for battle: fearing that he himself would incur the greatest disgrace and shame if that young man were easily defeated by the giant Goliath. For the terms of the challenge required that if the proposed adversary were defeated by Goliath in single combat, the Israelites would confess themselves defeated in battle, and therefore submit to the Philistines and become their tributaries. Therefore it is not without reason that Saul delays and holds David back from advancing against the Philistine: even though he afterward consents, as we shall see. But what, I ask, was the cause of that consent, if not the internal movement of God which directed the unwitting Saul? For otherwise he would have lost his kingdom a thousand times rather than procure so notable a victory for David. God therefore blinded him, so that he allowed David to undertake that contest. For he also had good reasons by human judgment for preventing this unequal encounter. For who would allow a young man, inexperienced, to engage with a giant trained in arms? Who would allow an unarmed man against a fully armored soldier, and one not of equal stature with others, but who was like a tower, as we saw: whose spear was of such weight and length that it could be carried by no one else? In short, who had a shield, helmet, breastplate, and greaves of immense weight, and who alone was like a fortress? Therefore it might have seemed contrary to all reason for David to be thrown into such danger by Saul. And moreover there is no doubt that Saul would have prevented that contest either out of malice or out of fear of the danger the whole army would incur, unless he had been blinded by God. And we see this often happens in practice, that if God wishes to promote certain people to some high honors, although many wicked people seem likely to resist, they are nevertheless forced to yield, and to approve by their own judgment what they would otherwise not want: and to admit without contradiction the one whom God wishes to be honored. So today many Christians come into danger almost at every moment, and seem about to be torn and mangled by their enemies, who conspire against them and plot terrible things: and yet they no less faithfully serve God, but press on eagerly in God's worship, and even against the will of their enemies those plans and schemes turn to their good. What is the cause of these things, I ask? Namely, God opens the way for his servants, and as it were restrains the wicked with certain barriers, so that they may not hinder his work, and so that they may not carry their wicked plans and efforts to completion, he makes the sharpness of their eyes grow dull, and deprives them of prudence and understanding, so that they do not understand what they themselves are doing: and it is certain that if they could carry their plans to completion and fulfill their wicked will, they would hinder the divine work. And our age has sufficiently frequent examples of all these things. For who, even by thought alone, could have imagined that the work God was undertaking could ever achieve the outcome we see today? What prevented those cunning and crafty men, who have always protected their interests by wicked arts, from taking timely precautions lest the doctrine of the gospel be propagated with such success? Indeed, if they had considered it, they would have tried with all their might to prevent that work; nor would the devil have contributed a slack effort.

Nevertheless we see them stupefied, and made by God like drunkards, so that seeing they did not see: and the Lord so broke their spirits that they were dull: and pride so occupied their minds that they despised the grace of God which shines in his church, and buried it like chaff in the ground. And indeed they, congratulating themselves and proclaiming their triumphs, mocked the miserable ones: what, they said, would these little men accomplish, what would these stupid and dense people undertake, what great thing would these lowly and worthless men achieve, would this tiny band of men resist us even for a moment? Surely they seemed, relying on their splendor and munificence, about to devour with three pennies as many faithful people as the world has. And while they hoped for this and promised it as already done, they became more negligent, and meanwhile God's work did not notice the ruin hanging over them. But now, cast down by God's hand and deceived in their expectation, they gnash and bare their teeth: and do not perceive God's power, and rise up against him and wage war. And although they seem to be led by repentance and to change their mind, yet it is certain that they are burning inside and perpetually tormented by their own executioner, because they have lost those honors in which they most delighted and were intoxicated. In short, by David's example let us learn that with God protecting us and receiving us under his patronage, not even the most rabid beasts will harm us: and although surrounded by immense whirlpools from which there is no exit, and impeded by the highest mountains or great rivers, so that we seem unable to move even a foot to flee the danger, God will nevertheless stretch out his arm to open a way and make it easy and passable. And therefore even if the world conspires against us, he will cast down its arrogance or send stupor upon it, whenever he wishes to protect and promote his own.

And enough of these things: let us pass to David's response, and consider what confidence he relies upon, namely not his own skill nor his strength, but the remembrance of divine help, which he had experienced in the greatest difficulty. For he says: Your servant was pasturing his father's flock, and a lion or bear would come and take a ram from the midst of the flock: and I would pursue them and strike them and rescue it from their mouth: and they would rise up against me, and I would seize them by the jaw, and strangle and kill them. By which words he sufficiently shows that he does not trust in his own strength, and promises himself nothing from them, but expects help from the Lord alone, which becomes even more conspicuous from his conclusion, when he says: The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. Here it should be noted that David, although he had previously been a herdsman, had nevertheless already been prepared from the beginning by the Lord for greater things, which would scarcely ever have come into men's thoughts. For it is more than miraculous that a young man would attack a bear or lion, at the very sight of which beasts even the bravest man shudders and prefers to seek safety in flight rather than to engage in an open and exposed place. When therefore David says that he seized a bear or lion by the jaw and strangled it, it plainly appears that he was then endowed with more than human strength, and that so great a deed was accomplished by divine and incomprehensible power. Therefore we must conclude from this that David, when he was leading a rustic and pastoral life, the most despised of all in his father's house, and yet was endowed with such great strength, those were not natural, but God was working in him by a certain hidden power, so that he would make it known by deed that he had been chosen by him for great things. Therefore, although David was despised as the least and most abject of his brothers, he was nevertheless no less ennobled by God through certain signs and designated for great things by God's eternal and hidden counsel. Moreover, although God does not grant to all the faithful to crush the throats of lions and bears and tear them apart, we must nonetheless hold that God will protect and defend us against the attack of lions and other such beasts: as daily experience teaches how many and how varied are the dangers from which God rescues us, and fights for us against such beasts thirsting for human blood, and in general defends us from all the beasts that are in the world. For it is certain that there would be as many messengers of death for us as beasts we see, if God did not avert it. For to omit those that are tamed and domesticated among us — horses, dogs, bulls, and the like — what restrains those wild beasts from attacking us in open places, or making an assault on the very cities and houses? Indeed they are restrained as if by chains by a certain divine power. For since we have been alienated from God by sin, our rebellion surely deserves that every kind of beast be armed against us. For we know that Adam, that first parent of ours, lost that dignity and authority which he had received from the Lord over all living creatures, which can only be recovered in our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore when we see beasts lurking in their dens, let us recognize that they are restrained by the divine hand, whose singular benevolence toward us appears in this, that he keeps them shut in their dens, so that we may dwell quietly and peacefully either in the fields or in our homes. And I do not say shut as if restrained by walls, but held back by the Lord in fields and forests so that they may not harm us. And sometimes it happens that the Lord shows by certain examples that men would be torn apart by beasts if God did not restrain them with his power, when he sometimes permits them to tear men apart, so that even if robbers were to roam freely, they could not inflict so great a plague on men. This rarely happens, but for what reason? Namely, God wishes to preserve and protect the human race from their savagery: and at the same time to reveal that unless those raging and savage beasts were restrained by certain hidden reins and bound as with chains, they would rage everywhere against men and bring them ultimate destruction. Therefore let us observe that God, just as he gave David wondrous help against the bear and lion, also defends and protects us, though in various ways different from his, from the slaughter of those beasts: namely by restraining them so that they do not rush upon us, and so that we need not seize them by the jaw to repel violence: because he is well aware of the weakness of our strength, and does not wish to give us that fortitude he gave David, but wishes to fight for us himself, and although those beasts seethe with a certain rage, he nevertheless keeps them in their dens and lairs, and strikes fear into them, and prevents them from tearing men apart: who otherwise would certainly perish a hundred thousand times: since the number is great and the kinds of beasts are diverse, which thirst for nothing but our blood, so that God must restrain their attacks by his power, and indeed by a miraculous one. Therefore if God does not rescue us from such dangers in the same way as David, let us not complain as if we have been abandoned without help: but let us be content with what is confirmed by daily experience, unless we deliberately wish to gouge out our own eyes, so as not to perceive that we are protected against all brute and wild beasts by God's providence alone. And for this reason the prophet in Psalm 91 proclaims God's grace toward those who are under the Lord's protection, that they will walk upon the fierce lion and the asp, and trample the young lion and the dragon. Which is attributed to all the faithful, although it is properly our Lord Jesus Christ's head, but is shared with all his members. Therefore, calling upon God as that Psalm commands, it is certain that we will be protected from these beasts, even if dragons and asps breathe their poison, and lions with open jaws gape to tear us, and that we will walk over these beasts, provided we place all our trust in him. But on the contrary, if we despise God and transfer our hope elsewhere, we must not doubt that he will stir up any beasts against us, just as he threatened through his prophet: that the one fleeing from the face of a lion will meet a bear, or entering his house and leaning against the wall will be bitten by a serpent. And indeed by these words the prophet threatens that God will stir up enemies on all sides against those who despise him, so that they will be surrounded on every side by a thousand dangers of death. From this therefore we see threats against those who despise the divine majesty: and on the other hand, promises proper to all those who rest in his power and providence and might, and who flee to his aid, that they will walk upon dragons and the most rabid of beasts, and trample them underfoot. Moreover, it should be noted that dangers threaten us not only from those savage and monstrous beasts, but from men themselves, who often degenerate into the nature of beasts, so that man becomes a wolf to man, from whom a greater danger threatens from men than from the beasts themselves. And indeed wicked men far surpass lions and bears themselves in savagery and cruelty: and therefore unless God prevented and restrained their fury, they would seem to have sufficient strength to tear us apart and to sate themselves with our blood. What then prevents us from suffering more harm and injury from wicked and cruel men? Indeed, it is certain that God himself fights for us: which although we do not perceive with bodily eyes, yet from the effects we ought to judge of his goodness toward us, which unless it protected us daily, at every moment we would fall into a thousand dangers of death. And thus far concerning that notable deed of David, who not only snatched the prey from the jaws of the lion and the claws of the bear, but seized and killed the beasts, by a strength that was surely entirely divine, not human. Let us pass to another doctrine, and here attend to the similarity between David and our Lord Jesus Christ. Surely we are taught that the Son of God calls himself our shepherd, and therefore exhorts us that since he takes care of our salvation we should be freed from all fear. Why so? Namely because the Father has committed us to his protection, whose strength is far greater than the forces of all created things. On this foundation therefore our confidence rests, that since we have been delivered into the care and protection of our Lord Jesus Christ by the Father, he will perform the office of shepherd, and having received us into his flock will protect us from all evil. Furthermore, there is no doubt that he will rout all our enemies, since he has received from the Father that power and strength which does not allow us to doubt the victory, and removes all fear of harm from any enemies, since it has pleased God to receive us under his patronage. This was prefigured in David, when he guarded his flocks and defended them from the jaws of lions and bears, so that although a young man and a herdsman, he was nevertheless endowed by the Lord with wondrous strength. What then are we to hope for, when we have come to the Son of the living God, our Lord himself? For he is not merely similar to David, who was his figure and image: but he has in himself all the power and glory of the Father, which he possessed even before the foundations of the world were laid. Since therefore he calls himself our shepherd, and receives us into his care and protection, let us not fear that his strength and power is far superior to the very forces of the devils, when they rise up against us and devise various schemes: and that he will protect us against all enemies, when they pour out their rage and venom, and threaten us with all manner of terrible and horrible things: since we are gifted with this privilege, that we are in the protection of the only Son of God, and he has promised to preserve us to the end and, having snatched us from all dangers, to lead us safely through the seas and waves of this world to port, until we arrive at the longed-for harbor of eternal rest and happiness.

Now then, let us proceed, etc.

28. When his oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, Eliab's anger burned against David and he said: Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the evil of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle. 29. But David said: What have I done now? Was it not just a question? 30. Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing; and the people gave him the same answer as before. 31. When the words which David spoke were heard, they told Saul about them, and he sent for him. 32. David said to Saul: Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33. Then Saul said to David: You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth. 34. But David said to Saul: Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35. I went out after it and attacked it, and rescued the lamb from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it. 36. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God. 37. And David said: The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David: Go, and may the Lord be with you.

That David's anointing was not unknown to Jesse's household we can easily gather from the fact that all seven of his older brothers were presented to Samuel, so that Samuel might choose from among them the one acceptable to God as the future king of Israel. His brothers knew well that David, the youngest of all, had been preferred over them. Although men naturally desire power, David's brothers ought to have been moved by God's judgment to acknowledge the one God had honored with so great a distinction. The whole family had in fact received great honor through this — one of their own had been chosen as the future king of Israel, and moreover a figure of the Redeemer of the whole world. For the kingdom given to David was no ordinary kingdom — it was holy and dedicated to God, carrying with it the sign of future hope. This king had been designated for the perpetual salvation of the people. So the whole family of Jesse had been given great reason for joy, and great cause to thank God that He had deemed so humble and lowly a family worthy of so great an honor. Instead, we hear that Eliab the firstborn was furiously angry with David. The arrogance with which he attacks his brother, and the venom he pours out in such unbridled agitation, makes plain that he had been harboring hatred against him for some time. This was a remarkable wickedness. As I said, he not only does David the greatest wrong — he sins against God Himself with intolerable ingratitude. But what had David done to give him cause to accuse him of pride and wickedness? David had not sought that dignity or pursued it by any scheme — it had come to him solely through God's own free choice. Eliab therefore reveals the full depth of his bitterness and resentment when he is so fiercely angry with his brother without cause. That he had long harbored hatred against his brother in his heart, and that he now attacks him without any just provocation, shows clearly that he cannot bear that David should be raised to the dignity that Eliab felt should have been his. From this let us learn how deadly a plague ambition and the desire for status is — for it can barely exist in anyone without envy accompanying it. When that pestilent disease has seized the mind, it produces insults and accusations against one person and then another, and strains with all its might to block the course of God's grace. And so it happens that while we think we are resisting mortals, we are actually rising up against God Himself and making war against Him. So if we desire to worship and honor God sincerely, and not to obstruct the flow of His grace as He distributes it to different people, we must first of all avoid that wicked desire to dominate and rise above others. Then we must take care that wherever the gifts of God's Spirit appear, we value them without envy and malice as much as they deserve, and strive with all our effort to make them known — which will be greatly to our own advantage. For what will those who gnash their teeth and rage because God has chosen others rather than themselves actually accomplish? If someone excels in many gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is certain that whatever gifts and abilities are in him will contribute to the salvation of all the faithful and benefit everyone. Are we not then exposing our own madness when we resent God working in this person or that, and refuse to acknowledge that whatever He has given them redounds to our own advantage and benefit? This example of Eliab, David's brother, must therefore be carefully noted. From it we learn that arrogance and pride destroy all natural human feeling — they erase the memory of family bonds so that no regard remains for relatives or brothers. As we see from every age, when power is at stake, brothers have not spared one another — but have pursued each other with mutual hatred, driven by wounds inflicted in anger. Children have been torn from mothers' arms; children have not even spared their own fathers and mothers. Such is the force of that diabolical ambition — it so bewitches men that it strips them of every thought of God and every memory of their own parents.

Enough about Eliab's anger against David — to which insulting words were added. 'I know your pride,' he says, 'and the wickedness of your heart. Why did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness?' We hear David falsely accused by his own brother of pride and malice. But what had Eliab actually observed in David to justify such an arrogant rebuke — as if he had discovered some boldness or ambition in him? David had not gotten ahead of Samuel to seek his own anointing. He had never sought the kingdom by indirect means. He had never thought about the kingdom at all — he was called to it entirely without his own initiative. That supposed pride and malice of David consisted in — faithfully tending sheep, driven by no vanity, content with his humble and lowly lot. And God was pleased to raise him from there to the royal throne. From this it appears that the wicked are always inclined to slander and insult, and invent accusations even when no occasion is offered them. So let us patiently bear the hatred of the wicked, which rises against us all the more fiercely because they envy us the gifts God in His excellent goodness has bestowed upon us — and from that envy they find cause for quarrels. Indeed, if David had been given the choice, I believe he would have been content with his condition and would gladly have yielded the dignity of governing the people to someone else. For what he himself wrote about himself after he had been made king — and after God had guided and governed him in his reign, a supreme blessing not shared with other kings — was that he had been like a child just weaned from its mother. He had not set his heart on great things, nor aimed his mind at positions of dignity and prominence. And he affirms with an oath that he never undertook great or arduous things beyond what was fitting for him, but always walked in humility, never puffed up by his authority. Since David restrained himself so modestly even after he had attained royal power, it is very likely that when he was still tending sheep and living a private life he was content with his lot and would not have aspired to higher things had God permitted. So when he is now so harshly rebuked by his brother — and in so insulting a manner — it is no wonder that it was a painful injury. But God is accustomed to exercise His people in patience in this way. From this let us learn — as I have already touched on — that when God uses our labor for the promotion of His glory and adorns us with excellent gifts of His Spirit, if unbelievers and wicked people pursue us with unjust hatred and try to tear us apart, we must bear all these things patiently. God is testing and training our patience through these very means. Furthermore, let us recognize that this vice has occupied men's minds not only in our day but through many centuries past. But consider with what great blindness those are struck whom the plague of envy and malice has once seized and so bewitched that they no longer see clearly with whom they are dealing, and rush carelessly against anyone they meet. For what do Eliab's words mean: 'Why did you come, and why did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness?' You would think Eliab was addressing some poor beggar — and yet it was his own father's household he was discussing, reproaching David for those few sheep he grazed in the wilderness. He gladly would have heaped disgrace on David — which however fell back upon himself and his whole family. For at that time a family's wealth and standing lay precisely in its flocks and herds. This shows that those violent passions — when men allow themselves to be swept away as with loosened reins, rushing without judgment against whatever stands before them — end up bringing disgrace and shame upon themselves. They are forced to become inferior to the very person they wished to stand above. All the more urgently, then, we ought to pray that God would restrain our desires, and not allow us to be overcome by vanity and the craving for status, or to fall into envy of another's happiness when we see them adorned with excellent gifts — the very vice into which we see Eliab has fallen here.

But what does David reply to all this? 'What have I done?' he says. 'Is it not just a word?' The Hebrew word here means 'word' or 'matter.' Some interpret David's response as if he were saying: What do you mean? You are throwing out empty words — why are you so angry that I asked one question? Others take it as though he were saying the matter he was discussing would shortly be accomplished — drawing a contrast between the present moment and what was coming: You are furious because in your judgment I spoke foolishly and rashly; but once I have done the thing, you will have cause to marvel. But that reading is forced. David's words are best taken simply, as the common interpretation has it — he does not accuse his brother of lying, but is content to repel the accusation. He says, in effect: What you are saying are words — empty words — when he could have said outright that it was a lie. You say I came to see the battle, that you know my pride and the malice of my heart — but you are pouring out words that rest on nothing. But sometimes that word is also used to mean 'custom' or 'practice' — as when it is said that our Lord Jesus Christ is a king after the order of Melchizedek, where the same word is used. If we follow that meaning, it fits David's reply very well: You accuse me of pride and arrogance and nosiness — but is this really the first time I have come to the camp? We saw earlier that David used to go and return to Saul and then go back to tend the sheep. It is likely his father had sent him to visit his brothers more than once, since David had shown concern for them previously. This interpretation fits well: David is saying that his coming should not be attributed to pride, or arrogance, or idle curiosity — he came sent by his father, and not only on this one occasion but in keeping with the regular custom his father had established. And this is how we ought to answer detractors and slanderers — taking care to walk blamelessly, giving them no real ground for their accusations. We cannot prevent unbelievers from speaking ill of us. They always have their throats open for curses, even without cause. But what is the right response? Simply what the apostle counsels: walk in such a way that our conduct can be praised wherever God so allows. And let us always be ready to refute detractors and slanderers when they rise up against us with malice and unbridled arrogance — so that when the wicked try to cover us with disgrace, we may rest in a good conscience, use the truth as a shield, and repel every false accusation and curse.

So much for David's response. Although it is not stated explicitly that David offered himself for single combat against Goliath, it can be easily gathered from the flow of the narrative itself. For what follows next is that the words David spoke were heard and reported to Saul. David was brought before Saul and spoke these words: 'Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.' David did not utter those words rashly, as young men so often do — rushing headlong into great things, thinking nothing so difficult that they cannot easily overcome it. As the proverb goes, they think they can bite the moon from the sky. The problem is they do not know themselves, and have no experience by which to gauge the difficulty of what they are taking on. Hence young men are often bolder than they ought to be, rushing into dangers they do not survive. That rashness comes partly from not knowing themselves — being filled with an inflated opinion of their own abilities — and partly from inexperience. David suffered from none of this, as we will see in what follows. He placed no confidence in his own strength when he prepared to enter single combat against Goliath — a man he well knew was like a lion or bear who could tear him apart in a moment. Instead he placed all his hope in God, expecting help from heaven, hoping nothing from himself. It must be noted that David spoke as he did by the impulse of the Holy Spirit. For he who thought so humbly of himself, and had never wanted to undertake great things — how would he now take on so difficult a challenge unless God's power was at work within him? We must therefore acknowledge that it was a singular movement of the Holy Spirit that roused David to that combat. God often works in this extraordinary way in those who undertake some notable and memorable deed. Therefore we must carefully distinguish the ordinary virtues of God's faithful servants from the singular, special, and extraordinary gifts. When we speak of obedience to God, patience, humility, and similar virtues — these belong to all the faithful. Each of us is formed in the doctrine contained in God's Word. If we compare the holiness of life and virtue of some faithful person with the prescribed doctrine, we ought to be all the more stirred and confirmed in virtue ourselves. But as I said, there are certain qualities proper to certain individuals that should not be turned into a general rule or example for everyone — such as the fervor and courage David shows here. This was a special privilege for a time, and through his deed David made it evident that he had been chosen by God for royal dignity. I acknowledge that there are qualities visible in this contest that do apply to us as well and ought to extend to every member of the church. Such as David's confidence in God's power. And his remembrance of the benefits he had received from God — from whom came his strength and resolution — a confidence that never deserted him in difficult and near-desperate circumstances, but always sustained and upheld him. Looking at David's remarkable steadiness, we ought to take it as an example and imitate it. But we should not assume that God will always help us overcome some giant in the same way He helped David. So although David offered himself voluntarily for single combat, it is fitting that when we are about to undertake something difficult, we carefully examine ourselves — whether we have sufficient strength, or whether we sense within us that force of divine impulse that promises a good outcome. Even so, even if we sense the weakness of our own strength, the work should not be avoided in those things that belong to our calling. Those whom God has called to some office and assigned a specific responsibility — even when the sense of our weakness makes us slow — must still go forward in their calling, overcome every difficulty through endurance, and call on God to remedy our weakness and supply what we lack. But if it is a matter that does not press us by necessity, to which the calling God has assigned us does not oblige us, then let us pray that God would direct us by His Spirit and reveal what He requires of us. Let us not move even a finger without His direction and will — but let Him go before us, that we may follow as students follow a teacher, and be safe under His guidance.

What follows next: Saul tries to dissuade David from the contest with these words: 'You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.' Men of mature age are generally not equal in strength to those in their prime, and cannot be compared with them. Goliath here is understood to be a veteran soldier of moderate but not yet worn-out age. David, although he had reached manhood, is still called a youth here because he had not yet reached his full strength — for men's strength continues to develop until around the fortieth year. Though the human race is now much weaker than it once was, and individual men already show the signs of age while still supposedly in their prime — at that time a man of forty or even fifty could be stronger and more robust than a young man, which is the age David had not yet reached. For this reason Saul dismisses him as unfit for battle, fearing that if the young man were easily defeated by Goliath, Saul himself would suffer the greatest disgrace and shame. For the terms of the challenge stipulated that if the designated opponent were defeated by Goliath in single combat, the Israelites would acknowledge defeat and submit to the Philistines as tributaries. So it is not without reason that Saul hesitates and holds David back from advancing against the Philistine — even though he eventually consents, as we will see. But what, I ask, was the cause of that consent, if not the inward movement of God directing Saul without Saul's knowledge? For otherwise Saul would have lost his kingdom a thousand times rather than secure so remarkable a victory for David. God therefore blinded him so that he allowed David to enter that contest. For by human judgment alone Saul had every good reason to prevent this unequal encounter. Who would allow an inexperienced young man to fight a giant trained in warfare? Who would send an unarmed man against a fully armed soldier — one not merely bigger than other men, but like a tower, as we saw, whose spear was so heavy that no one else could have carried it? In short, there stood a man with shield, helmet, breastplate, and greaves of enormous weight — a one-man fortress. It would seem contrary to every rational consideration to throw David into such danger. There is no doubt that Saul would have stopped the contest — either from malice or from fear of the danger the whole army would face — had God not blinded him. And we often see this happen in practice: when God wishes to advance certain people to great honors, although many wicked people seem poised to resist, they are nonetheless compelled to yield, and forced to approve by their own judgment what they would never otherwise have wanted — and to accept without objection the very person God wishes to honor. So today many Christians come into danger at nearly every moment, and seem about to be torn apart by enemies who conspire against them and plot terrible things. And yet they continue faithfully to serve God and press forward eagerly in His worship — and even against the will of their enemies, those schemes turn to their benefit. What accounts for this? God opens a way for His servants, and as it were holds back the wicked with certain barriers so that they cannot hinder His work. He dulls their sharpness and takes away their prudence and understanding so that they do not even understand what they themselves are doing. It is certain that if they could carry out their plans and fulfill their wicked will, they would obstruct the work of God. Our own age has supplied us with frequent examples of all this. Who, even in imagination, could have thought that God's work would achieve the outcome we see today? What prevented those clever and crafty men — who have always protected their interests by wicked arts — from taking timely precautions against the gospel spreading with such success? If they had thought it through, they would have tried with all their might to prevent that work. And the devil would not have been slow in contributing his efforts.

And yet we see them stupefied — made by God like drunkards, seeing but not seeing. The Lord broke their spirit and left them dull. Pride so occupied their minds that they despised the grace of God shining in His church and buried it as they would bury chaff. Congratulating themselves and celebrating their triumphs, they mocked the faithful: What, they said, will these small men accomplish? What will these dim-witted people undertake? What will these lowly and worthless men achieve? Will this tiny band resist us even for a moment? Relying on their wealth and splendor, they seemed ready to devour all the faithful in the world for three pennies. And while they hoped for this and counted it as already done, they grew more complacent — and meanwhile God's work went forward, unaware of the ruin hanging over them. But now, cast down by God's hand and disappointed in their expectations, they gnash their teeth. They still cannot perceive God's power and continue to rise up against Him and make war. Though they may seem to be moved to reconsider and change their ways, it is certain they burn inwardly and are perpetually tormented by their own executioner — because they have lost the honors in which they took such delight and by which they were so intoxicated. In short, from David's example let us learn that with God protecting us and taking us under His care, not even the most rabid beasts will harm us. Though we are surrounded by great dangers with no apparent escape, hemmed in by mountains or rivers so that we seem unable to move a single foot to flee — God will nonetheless stretch out His arm, open a way, and make it passable. Therefore even if the whole world conspires against us, God will cast down its arrogance or send stupor upon it, whenever He chooses to protect and advance His own.

Enough of that — let us move to David's response and consider what confidence he rests on. Not his own skill or strength, but the remembrance of divine help he had experienced in the greatest danger. He says: 'Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after it and struck it and rescued the lamb from its mouth. When it rose up against me, I seized it by the jaw and struck it and killed it.' By these words he makes clear that he does not trust in his own strength and promises himself nothing from it — he expects help from the Lord alone. This becomes even plainer in his conclusion: 'The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.' It should be noted here that David, though he had been a shepherd, had already been prepared from the beginning by the Lord for greater things — things that would scarcely have entered any human mind. For it is more than remarkable that a young man would attack a bear or lion — the very sight of which causes even the bravest man to shudder and prefer to flee rather than stand and fight in the open. When David says he seized a bear or lion by the jaw and strangled it, it is plain that he had been given more than human strength at that moment, and that so great a deed was accomplished by divine and incomprehensible power. We must therefore conclude that even when David was living a rural and lowly life — the most despised in his father's house — the extraordinary strength he possessed was not natural. God was at work within him by a hidden power, making it evident through his deeds that He had chosen him for great things. So although David was despised as the least and most insignificant of his brothers, he was nonetheless marked by God through certain signs and designated by God's eternal and hidden counsel for great things. Furthermore, although God does not grant all the faithful the ability to seize lions and bears by the throat and kill them, we must nonetheless hold that God protects and defends us against the attack of lions and other such beasts. Daily experience shows how many and various are the dangers from which God rescues us, how He fights against beasts that thirst for human blood, and how He defends us in general from all the dangerous animals in the world. It is certain that every beast we see would be a messenger of death for us, if God did not prevent it. To leave aside the domesticated and tamed animals among us — horses, dogs, bulls, and the like — what restrains the wild beasts from attacking us in open places, or making assaults on our cities and homes? They are held back as if by chains through a certain divine power. Since we have been estranged from God by sin, our rebellion surely deserves that every kind of beast be armed against us. We know that Adam, our first parent, lost the dignity and authority he had received from the Lord over all living creatures — authority that can only be recovered in our Lord Jesus Christ. So when we see beasts lurking in their dens, let us recognize that they are held back by God's hand. His singular goodness toward us appears in this — that He keeps them shut in, so that we may live quietly and peacefully in the fields and in our homes. And I do not mean shut in as if by walls, but held back by the Lord in fields and forests so that they do not harm us. And sometimes God makes it plain by particular examples that men would be torn apart by beasts if He did not restrain them — permitting them occasionally to harm someone, to show that even robbers could not inflict so great a plague if the beasts were loose. This rarely happens — but why is it so rare? Because God wishes to preserve and protect the human race from their savagery. At the same time He reveals that unless those raging wild beasts were held in check by certain hidden reins and bound as with chains, they would rage everywhere against men and bring them final destruction. So let us observe that God, just as He gave David wondrous help against the bear and lion, also defends and protects us — though in ways different from David's — from being slaughtered by those beasts. He does it by restraining them so that they do not rush upon us and we do not need to seize them by the jaw to fend them off. He is well aware of our weakness and does not intend to give us the kind of strength He gave David. Instead He fights for us Himself — and though those beasts seethe with rage, He keeps them in their dens and lairs, puts fear into them, and prevents them from tearing men apart. Without this, men would certainly perish countless times over, given the great number and variety of beasts that thirst for nothing but our blood. God must restrain their attacks by His power — and it truly is a miraculous restraint. So if God does not deliver us from such dangers in the same way He delivered David, let us not complain as if we have been left without help. Let us be content with what daily experience confirms — unless we choose to gouge out our own eyes so as not to see that we are protected from all wild beasts by God's providence alone. For this reason the psalmist in Psalm 91 proclaims God's grace toward those who live under the Lord's protection: that they will tread on the lion and the cobra, and trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot. This is said of all the faithful — though it properly belongs first to our Lord Jesus Christ as Head, and is then shared with all His members. So calling upon God as that psalm commands, it is certain we will be protected from these beasts, even if dragons and cobras breathe their poison and lions open their jaws to tear us apart. We will walk over these beasts, provided we place all our trust in Him. But on the contrary, if we despise God and transfer our hope elsewhere, let us not doubt that He will stir up whatever beasts He pleases against us — just as He threatened through His prophet: the one fleeing from a lion will meet a bear, or entering his house and leaning against the wall will be bitten by a serpent. By these words the prophet threatens that God will raise up enemies from every side against those who despise Him, so that they will be hemmed in by a thousand dangers of death. From this we see both the threat against those who despise the divine majesty and the promise for all those who rest in His power, providence, and might — who flee to His aid — that they will walk upon dragons and the fiercest of beasts and trample them underfoot. It must also be noted that dangers threaten us not only from savage wild beasts, but from men themselves — who often degenerate into the nature of beasts, so that man becomes a wolf to man. Often the greater danger comes from men than from the animals themselves. Wicked people far surpass even lions and bears in savagery and cruelty. Unless God checked and restrained their fury, they would seem to have more than enough strength to tear us apart and satisfy themselves with our blood. What then prevents us from suffering greater harm and injury from wicked and cruel men? It is God Himself who fights for us. Though we do not perceive this with our eyes, from the effects we ought to recognize His goodness toward us — a goodness that, if it did not protect us every day and every moment, would see us fall into a thousand mortal dangers. So much for that notable deed of David, who not only snatched prey from the jaws of the lion and the claws of the bear, but seized and killed the beasts — by a strength that was entirely divine, not human. Now let us move to a further lesson and attend to the likeness between David and our Lord Jesus Christ. We are taught that the Son of God calls Himself our shepherd, and therefore urges us that — since He cares for our salvation — we should be freed from all fear. Why? Because the Father has committed us to His protection, whose strength far surpasses the forces of all created things. On this foundation our confidence rests: since we have been entrusted to the care and protection of our Lord Jesus Christ by the Father, He will perform the office of shepherd — having received us into His flock, He will guard us from all evil. There is also no doubt that He will rout all our enemies, since He has received from the Father that power and strength which removes all doubt of victory and all fear of harm from any enemies — for God has been pleased to receive us under His patronage. This was foreshadowed in David, who guarded his flocks and defended them from the jaws of lions and bears — so that though a young man and a herdsman, he was nonetheless endowed by the Lord with wondrous strength. What then may we hope for, now that we have come to the Son of the living God, our Lord Himself? For He is not merely similar to David, who was His figure and image. He possesses in Himself all the power and glory of the Father — glory He possessed even before the foundations of the world were laid. Since therefore He calls Himself our shepherd and receives us into His care and protection, let us not fear. His strength and power is far superior to the very forces of the devils when they rise up against us and devise their schemes. He will protect us against all enemies when they pour out their rage and venom and threaten us with terrible things — for we are given this privilege: we are under the protection of the only Son of God, who has promised to preserve us to the end, to snatch us from all dangers, and to lead us safely through the seas and waves of this world to port, until we arrive at the longed-for harbor of eternal rest and happiness.

Now then, let us proceed, etc.