Sermon 76: 1 Samuel 20:24-42

24. David therefore hid himself in the field, and the new moon came, and the king sat down to eat bread. 25. And when the king had sat upon his seat according to his custom, which was beside the wall, Jonathan rose up, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place appeared empty. 26. And Saul said nothing that day, for he thought that perhaps it had happened to him that he was not clean, nor purified. 27. And when the second day after the new moon had dawned, David's place again appeared empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son: Why has the son of Jesse not come either yesterday or today to eat? 28-29. And Jonathan answered Saul: He earnestly asked me to let him go to Bethlehem. And he said: Let me go, because there is a solemn sacrifice in the city; one of my brothers has summoned me. Now therefore if I have found favor in your eyes, I will go quickly and see my brothers. For this reason he did not come to the king's table. 30. Then Saul, angry against Jonathan, said to him: Son of a perverse woman who seizes men, do I not know that you love the son of Jesse to your own confusion and to the confusion of your shameful mother? 31. For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, you will not be established, nor your kingdom. Therefore send now and bring him to me, for he is a son of death. 32. And Jonathan answered Saul his father and said: Why should he die? What has he done? 33. And Saul seized a spear to strike him. And Jonathan understood that it was determined by his father to kill David. 34. Jonathan therefore rose from the table in fierce anger, and did not eat bread on the second day of the new moon. For he was grieved for David because his father had put him to shame. 35. And when morning had come, Jonathan went into the field near David's appointed place, and a small boy with him. 36. And he said to his boy: Go and bring me the arrows that I shoot. And when the boy had run, he shot another arrow beyond the boy. 37. The boy therefore came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, and Jonathan cried out after the boy's back and said: Behold, the arrow is still farther beyond you. 38. And Jonathan cried out again after the boy's back, saying: Hurry quickly, do not stand still. And Jonathan's boy gathered the arrows and brought them to his master. 39. And the boy was utterly ignorant of what was happening, for only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40. Jonathan therefore gave his weapons to the boy and said to him: Go and carry them into the city. 41. And when the boy had gone, David rose from the place that looked toward the south, and falling prostrate on the ground, he worshiped three times; and kissing each other, they wept together, but David more so. 42. Jonathan therefore said to David: Go in peace; whatever we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and you, and between your seed and my seed, forever. And David arose and departed; but Jonathan entered the city.

Jonathan's singular faithfulness toward David is first of all to be considered here, and the great danger that he faced for his sake; and in turn David's grave temptation against which he had to struggle for a long time, since no other remedy for his salvation remained except to flee outside Judea. But here first of all let us consider what is said about Saul, namely that when he had sat down on the first day of the feast and David's place was empty, he made no mention of him, because he thought that David was absent from the feast for some legitimate reason, such as not being clean or purified, which would have been a legitimate excuse. Some interpret this differently, as if Saul thought that some accident had befallen David. I prefer to understand the accident simply as that legal uncleanness, that he had not had time to purify himself. Moreover, that there were many species of pollution in the old law is known to everyone. For although someone polluted by some uncleanness could eat and drink at home, he was not permitted to approach a solemn banquet to which a sacrifice was attached, lest he profane a thing holy to the Lord. These ceremonies were prescribed by God to show that he requires purity in all who invoke him. For, as Paul says: Let everyone who names the name of God abstain from all iniquity; and in another place: Let us abstain from pollutions, and let each one possess his vessel in all purity, as one dedicated and consecrated to God. We indeed are now exempt from all these ceremonies through the benefit of Christ, but their substance and truth must still be retained. And therefore if under the law, one who had even been present at a person's death or had touched a corpse was polluted, now let us recognize that we will be unclean before God and guilty of malice and iniquity unless, dedicated and consecrated to him in mind and body, we persevere in obedience to him and abstain from all depraved and impure desires. And this was the end and purpose of all the legal ceremonies.

Above all it must be observed that it was not lawful for a person so polluted to approach the sacrifices, from which he was barred, so that God by that sign would declare — which Paul also teaches us excellently in another place — that there is no communion of light with darkness, no concord of Christ with Belial, that is, no conjunction of Christ the fountain of all purity with the pollutions and sins by which we are defiled and contaminated. For example, those who are to approach the holy supper today must take careful heed not to bring their filth, by which so holy a thing would be profaned — namely the sacred testimony and pledge of our communion with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Saul therefore, thinking that David was absent because of some such legal impurity, made no mention of him, lest by summoning him while polluted he should seem to wish to inflict dishonor. But he postponed it to the next day, when he knew there was no longer room for this excuse. For one who was thus polluted was polluted only for a period of twenty-four hours, and was then purified by an external washing with water — not indeed that a light sprinkling of water would cleanse a polluted and impure soul, but so that sinners would recognize that they needed the purgation prescribed by God.

But in this time, when those legal shadows and ceremonies have been abolished, we are no longer bound by their observance. Therefore the intolerable nature of the papists' hostile veneration of holy water is clear, which redounds to the insult of God himself, and is an adulteration of all religion, since to introduce such ablutions into Christianity smacks of Judaism. For we should know that we cannot be purified unless God washes us inwardly, of which washing we have the external testimony in baptism; and we know that all our purity is placed in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the practice of former times was different, when the people of Israel were bound by certain ceremonies and washings.

Therefore Saul on the day after the new moon inquires about David, whom Jonathan, as he had promised, excused, saying he had gone to Bethlehem, his birthplace, for the annual domestic sacrifice. Then Saul rose up against Jonathan and first severely rebuked him, calling him the son of a wicked woman, as if someone ordering another to go away were to say: Get out of here, son of a harlot. See the infamy of the man who, not content with insulting his son, is also injurious to his mother, who had perhaps already passed from life, or was still living. But however it was, why does his anger fall upon her? We would rightly call the man fanatical and insane, who here accuses his wife of rebellion. But in what respect had she sinned against her husband? Had he caught her conspiring with their son against him? For granted that Jonathan is guilty of some deed, what has that to do with his innocent mother? Why therefore does Saul rage against her? Hence let us recognize how violent our emotions are when we give them too loose a rein. Anger, as the saying goes, is a brief madness. For just as an insane man has no sense of reason or equity, but now strikes this one, now bites that one, now does violence to himself, so one seized by anger differs nothing from a madman and a frenetic, except that the violent passion passes quickly, whereas a madman and frenetic scarcely returns to his senses. But it is certain that anger and every similar passion strips all sense of reason from those who are possessed by it, so that they taste nothing moderate. To each his own punishment suffices; if Jonathan therefore sinned, why does Saul afflict his mother with dishonor and disgrace? But Saul, turned to anger and fury, has been utterly blinded. And we have already heard above that he had been cast by God into a reprobate mind and tormented by an evil spirit of the Lord, which is now demonstrated in fact in this passage. But from where did it come about that Saul lost all sense of reason, if not because he was driven by diabolical malice against David, and raged against him? Therefore the more wantonly he is carried against David, the more severely he is inflamed, to the point that he strips off all humanity and does not spare his own flesh and blood. For did not the dishonor of his wife — whom in his anger he calls rebellious and perverse, though she had not sinned against him — fall back upon himself? Let us then be wise by Saul's example, who in the assembly of his nobles groundlessly accuses his wife and his own blood, and covers them with disgrace and ignominy. From which it appears how greatly he was blinded by his own malice. But from this, in turn, Jonathan's faithfulness in David's friendship shines all the more brightly, and in carrying out what he had promised. For although he felt his father's anger and cruelty, he nevertheless dares to set himself against him, and although he sees the most imminent danger, as we shall shortly see, he cannot bear David's innocence to be so oppressed. Therefore he objects: What has that man done? What has he committed worthy of death, that you condemn him to death? What is his sin?

By which words of Jonathan, the father, even more enraged, rose up against his son and tried to kill him. From this example therefore it appears what the duty of all good people is, namely to defend truth and equity as much as they can, and especially of those who sit at the helm of affairs, who are often likely to abuse their authority for tyranny. For if someone judges from the outward appearance of things, it will seem that Jonathan sinned not lightly, since the king himself had pronounced a sentence of death against David, which it was unlawful to contradict. This is indeed so; but Jonathan knew that the name of justice was merely an empty mask, which those who are carried away by their own desires commonly use. For even if someone is condemned to death a hundred times by a judge's sentence, he is not therefore rightly said to be dragged to death as an innocent man, if a diligent inquiry has not been made into whether he is guilty. Jonathan saw this, and therefore does not fear to oppose himself to his father the king, and to plead and defend the cause of afflicted David. Jonathan therefore inquires in what matter David had sinned. And this is worthy of observation, namely that the duty of all the faithful is to be God's agents and defenders whenever they see truth and justice oppressed by wicked judgments and the innocent unjustly afflicted; and they ought to be so far from consenting to that judgment that they should rather make themselves allies and plead the cause of the innocent on their behalf. For even if they are in no way conscious of the iniquities of the wicked, yet if by their silence they permit what is impious to be done, it is certain that they are guilty before God of having deserted the good cause and abandoned the duty to which they were called by God.

And so much for Jonathan. Now let us consider the remaining insulting words of Saul against Jonathan: Do I not know that you love the son of Jesse to your own confusion and to the confusion of your shameful mother? As long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, you will not be established, nor your kingdom. When Saul says that Jonathan conspired to the confusion of his shameful mother, this is not to be understood, as many think, as if he were a bastard and his mother an adulteress, because he did not seem to reverence Saul as king and father; but rather it should be considered as said according to common usage, as appears from many other similar passages — that a wise son brings honor and glory to his father, but a foolish, worthless, and dissolute son brings dishonor and ignominy to his mother. Why so? Because mothers with a certain particular affection are more indulgent toward their sons and blinded by excessive love; they often defraud their husbands and extract money from them to give to their sons for extravagance and wickedness; and they cover all their vices. In short, they pursue them with such foolish love that they indulge them in any wickedness, and it is not on the mothers' account that their sons are often dragged to the gallows. Therefore Scripture says that a son who is dissolute, worthless, and luxurious will be a disgrace to his mother, in order to show that the foolish mother should be afflicted with disgrace and ignominy when she has indulged her son's vices too much, and her son corrupted by this indulgence has rushed into every vice. In this sense, then, Jonathan is here said by Saul to have conspired to his mother's confusion, whose ignominy he says will overflow into all the rest of the household and family. But by what right, I ask, does Saul reproach his son with these things? Because David is to be king. But who, I ask, designated David as king? He certainly did not seek this dignity by ambition, did not solicit it, did not win it by evil arts; only God's will, only his decree intervened, made known by Samuel. Therefore Saul persecutes David only — as appears from what was said above — to abolish, if he can, God's decree concerning him. But his business was not with a mortal, but with the living God, whom Saul seemed to wish to drag down from his throne; yet such was the mind of that madman. Of his madness even this is sufficient testimony, that addressing his son he says: As long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, you will not be able, etc. For even if he were dead, could not God raise him up and constitute him king, since he had made an irrevocable decree concerning his elevation to royal dignity? Let us apply this divine power to our consolation. For he who created the world from nothing can certainly restore life to us when dead, and make us blessed forever, and find a place for his promises. The Apostle proposes Abraham to us as an example of this faith for contemplation, whose remarkable faith he commends because, when he was commanded by God to sacrifice his only son, he could have been greatly moved and indignant, since he had received promises about the price of salvation to be accomplished in him who would be born from Isaac's seed; and that temptation was most grievous: that his hope should be frustrated, with God taking away from him what he had previously given, and demonstrating in fact the abolition of his promises. How serious do we think that temptation was, by which Abraham seemed to come to the supreme confusion through the abolition of the divine promises? But that man, full of faith, directed the keenness of his eyes far afield, placing all confidence in God's strength, power, and goodness, and persuaded that God, even if Isaac should die and be offered to God as a holocaust, could nevertheless raise up a son for him from his ashes. Therefore Saul ought to have brought this also into his mind: that God would give the kingdom promised to David despite all obstacles, and that even if David were killed by him, God would nevertheless open a way for his decrees and demonstrate his power. But it is conspicuous in Saul with what fury and madness unbelievers rise up against God himself, so that they seem entirely devoid of reason. Indeed, if anyone should ask them whether they hope to bring the matter to its conclusion against God, it is certain that, having weighed the matter more carefully within themselves, they would be terrified and appalled, if the majesty and power of God should come into their thought. But nevertheless they do what they shudder at, namely because they are fanatical men and do not consider against whom they are rising up, nor does the consideration of God's power come into their mind. Hence that fury, by which they do not fear to be carried against God himself. So Saul, raging, thinks only of David's death, and promises himself all good things if only he accomplishes the matter. And yet other things ought to have come into Saul's mind too, namely that the life of men is placed in God's hand. For although robbers often take life from many, our life is not placed in their judgment and will, but they only effect what God permits. He therefore who has placed us in this world reserved to himself the power of recalling us from it whenever it pleases him. Since therefore our life is in God's protection and patronage, how could Saul pursue David to death, who was not ignorant that God would not leave that rashness and arrogance unavenged? But such was the man's madness. Finally, it appears that men blinded by their passions do not consider that they have God as their adversary, and do not remember his power, but consider it as something playful and empty, and they resist God himself as if they had heaven and earth in their power.

But another teaching is also to be observed here: how great a plague envy is, and especially that which is directed against those whom God has willed to set over us and elevated to the highest dignity. The source of this evil is ambition, from which envy is born; and recommending mutual concord and brotherhood among us in dignities and authorities, Paul begins from this as the root of all evils: Let nothing, he says, be done among you out of vain and empty glory. For it is certain that those infected by this vice will labor with envy and jealousy, and wherever God's gifts are conspicuous, they will be all the more torn apart by them and burned by God's gifts, with which they have seen their neighbors adorned. From this, Paul adds, contentions arise, and men are carried beyond the bounds of reason, indeed strip off all humanity. Let us therefore learn each to walk in his own calling, fostering concord and friendship. Let us cast far away from ourselves harmful ambition and all desire to dominate, content with what God bestows on us, and let us so abase ourselves before him that with all fear and humility we may serve him purely and sincerely, and pursue the interests of our neighbors. If this is done by us, then we shall so admire God's gifts and graces conferred on our neighbors that we rejoice in them, and esteem them in whomever they are found, as much as is fitting. Then by this reasoning we will be restrained as if by a bridle, lest we become angry with one another; and rather we will devote all our zeal and mutual efforts to helping each other; whereas on the contrary we are by nature so loving of our own interests that we do not fear even to resist God himself and to fight against his will. Both of these are made conspicuous to us in this passage. For on Saul's part he so rages against David that you would call him a wild beast rather than a man. But who drives him to such fury? Namely, he desires to reign against God's will, instead of submitting himself to him and humbling himself more and more, and willingly yielding to David the royal diadem he had received, since he had conducted himself badly in this office and rebelled against God. Therefore it would have been fitting for him to abdicate the authority of king, and to render that obedience to God by preferring a private life to a royal one. Yet he hopes to defend and preserve himself and his dignity even against God's will. Hence we see it came about that, having pursued David with hatred, his diabolical fury foamed forth. But whom, I ask, was he persecuting? Indeed not David, but God himself, whose will he refuses to obey. Envy was kindling this fire of fury within him, and provided he might obtain victory over his enemy, he was not afraid to mix heaven with earth — surely a remarkable mirror in which those who are full of arrogance, insolence, and stubbornness, and accustomed to despising their neighbors, ought to behold themselves.

Now on the other side let us look at Jonathan, who knew David was to be raised to the place owed him by succession. He was the king's son: therefore the royal dignity belonged to him, and was conveyed by inheritance. Yet he willingly yields, having ascertained God's decree about David's elevation to the royal throne. Without doubt Jonathan had not stripped off human feeling, but had so advanced in the fear of God that he preferred to his own affections what he recognized by God's judgment as good and just. Thus he held his senses captive, and did violence to himself and obeyed God. For he stripped off those great spirits which by nature are usually implanted in the minds of all men. To this obedience he was also moved very much by the gifts of God conspicuous in David, which he honored in him. By those gifts he could have been more provoked by human malice, but he was all the more led to adore God, whose glory and power he beheld in David. Behold how Jonathan recognized God's gifts as praiseworthy in David, and so far from grieving out of ambition and envy that they had been bestowed on David, that on the contrary, in defense of David, he was prepared not only to abandon the royal crown but also to pour out his life. Therefore those words of Saul: As long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, you will not be established, nor your kingdom — not only did not shake his mind, but confirmed him more and more in his purpose. For he says: Why should he die? — as if to say: How can I, when it has pleased God to constitute David king? What if to my father's transgression I should also add murder? What would become of me, wretched? Hence it appears that arrogance, joined with envy, drives men to madness, so much so that we see Saul saying that Jonathan would never come to royal dignity unless David were killed. Hence we are admonished to subject ourselves voluntarily without contradiction to God's will when revealed to us. For indeed, through whatever byways we have wandered, it is certain that we shall be brought back by him to the fulfillment of his will, and even if a hundred times we hope to escape his hand, we shall still be restrained. So we see wicked and stubborn men seeking various escapes to withdraw themselves from God's power, and directing all their counsels and endeavors to this — but, blinded by fury, they do not see their own shamefulness, and rashly undertake whatever their will dictates, and promise themselves prosperous success. God indeed allows them to triumph for a time, but in such a way that they are caught up the more in the snares of perdition, and are overwhelmed with utter confusion. Therefore the more prone we are to fall into this vice, the more diligently this teaching must be meditated upon by us and brought into use; and we must know for certain that we must spontaneously obey God's decrees, of which we are convinced, since we shall accomplish nothing by resisting, and all the escapes will be vain, and the highest confusion threatens those who have undertaken anything against the irrevocable decree of the Lord.

Moreover, this also must be carefully avoided, that God's will should not be accomplished while we are indignant; but care must be taken that we voluntarily subject ourselves to God, and that we always confess his judgments to be right and just, even if he has afflicted us with some ignominy and disgrace. Let us not on that account, I say, cease to confess God's goodness and justice, if we have been chastised by him, but rather let us conform ourselves entirely to his will. Moreover, when God demands such obedience from us, let us know that it is done for our good and benefit. For even if he exercises us, it is certain that he will turn whatever seemed contrary into our salvation. Since therefore those various chastisements and afflictions are brought upon us for our profit and benefit by God's plan, it is fitting that we should be all the more inclined to subjection and obedience to God. And this teaching must be drawn from those words by which Jonathan is said to have recognized that David, even if killed a hundred times, would nevertheless, since he had been designated king by God, attain that supreme dignity; and moreover, since his life was in the Lord's protection and was covered as with the shadow of his wings, the efforts of all men rising up against him would be in vain.

Next follows that Jonathan came into mortal danger, because Saul seized a spear to strike him. Although Jonathan seems to have foreseen this danger, yet that temptation was harsh, when he saw his father come to such anger and fury that he directed a spear at his son to slay him with his own hand, unless God had turned aside the blow, since Saul had it in mind to slay his son. Hence let us learn that if by doing well we have come into the contempt and hatred of men, we ought not on that account to be led by repentance for our good deeds. For Jonathan is an example to us, who, it is certain, could have been deeply moved when he saw his father carried with such fury against him, and accordingly might have somewhat deviated from his duty. Just as we often see that those who have done some magnificent deed, if they are terrified by threats or see some imminent sedition or violence, waver and, as the saying goes, give their sails to the winds, and although their will is not changed, nevertheless seek ways to placate the anger and fury of wicked men, and rest for a time and conceal their zeal. This, I say, frequently happens, and indeed among those who are in the highest honor, we see; but Jonathan is here proposed to us as an example of greater constancy and magnanimity to be imitated. For although his father raged against him in words and deeds like some monstrous beast, nevertheless he bravely remained in fidelity to David, and defended his innocence as much as he could. Therefore he is said to have risen from the table in fierce anger, and not eaten bread on the second day of the new moon, and to have been deeply grieved over David, because his father had put him to shame in the assembly of men. He did not therefore lose courage, did not on that account withdraw from David's friendship, did not cover himself with some pretense of having discharged his duty, although shaken by terrible difficulties, but he kept the faith he had given to David, with God's name invoked, having performed the duty of a good friend.

Therefore it follows that when morning had dawned, Jonathan came into the field that had been designated and indicated to David, and shot arrows, and ordered the boy to gather the arrows and hurry quickly without delay. And these were the two signs established between both, Jonathan and David, when he said to the boy: Hurry quickly, the arrow is far beyond you, do not stand still — as if he were addressing David thus: You must take to flight, for I have been driven away with insults. Hence again let us learn that when God afflicts and exercises us, we should not on that account lose courage and recoil from duty, but persevere constantly through any dangers until we have gained complete victory. I confess indeed that God can exercise us with all troubles and difficulties when we are called to his worship; and since he holds the hearts of created things in his hand, he could conciliate favor for us with everyone — but yet on the contrary, lest we expect our reward in this world, lest we be intoxicated with vain glory, lest we be so flattered by men's praises that we forget God, he permits men to labor in malice and iniquity, and those whom we have not ceased to heap with kindnesses to come to such ingratitude that they would, so to speak, gouge out our eyes. This, I say, God has thus decreed. But why? Indeed, as I warned, lest we be enticed by the delights of this world, but serve God spontaneously, and never lose courage in adversity, but bravely persevere in his worship even against all men. Moreover, God thus shows that he will severely chastise us if there is anything dissimulated in us, and if on the contrary we have proceeded with great zeal in his worship, he will grant us a happy outcome whatever injuries we have suffered, and will never allow our contempt to go unpunished, since he has undertaken the defense of our cause. Therefore if God permits his servants to be exercised by men's hatreds, they ought to rest in the love of God, since he alone can defend them against any dangers and rescue them from the same. And he indeed sometimes grants us a relaxation from evils, so that his servants are in honor among men; but that condition is not lasting, lest we seek occasion to depart from him, since we are so inconstant that we are deterred from duty by even the slightest occasion. He therefore who consecrates his life to God from the heart, and proceeds in his calling in prosperity as in adversity, has, I say, sure testimony that he is purely serving God. And therefore the sons of God must be exercised by various calamities and temptations, so that they may be stirred up to more ardent prayers. Therefore let us learn, as I said, when God tries us in various ways and permits us to be afflicted by men whose interests we have nevertheless served, not to depart from duty, but to commit ourselves and our cause to God and to pray to him that he, in his goodness, would so bear with us that we might be a match in resisting any obstacles and difficulties, by which otherwise, terrified, we would withdraw from God. Let us therefore learn these things from Jonathan, unless we prefer to experience him on the last day as our judge.

Finally it follows that David came out and wept bitterly with Jonathan — David more so — and was sent away in peace by Jonathan. Furthermore, just as Jonathan's constancy was unconquered, and his faith given to David was supported by those foundations which we heard at the beginning, namely the love of virtue and the excellent gifts with which David was adorned, so on the other hand it is by no means doubtful that David was exercised by a great temptation, when he saw himself nowhere safe and forced to flee from the land of Israel by Saul's ferocity. For there was at that time no other land in the whole world except in Israel in which the worship of God was pure and intact; he could not therefore dwell anywhere except among idolaters and the most deadly enemies of the church. Which things truly accorded with the divine promises, by which God had promised David that he would constitute him head of his people, and indeed make him a figure and image of his only Son, until he should appear on earth — since he is forced to be exiled from all of Judea, so that no corner remains for him in it where he was, but he is forced to flee to the very unbelievers, as we shall see at greater length later? By what straits do we think he was tossed? With what difficulties did he wrestle? Has God then forgotten me, and is unmindful of his promises? Or has God deceived me with empty promises? How much better was my condition when I lived in my father's land, and how much safer for me! Indeed, I was living content with my own, I did not apply my mind to riches and wealth, nor was I led by greed for honors or for other things of that kind. But God called me when I was not thinking of these things, and willed me to be inaugurated as king through the prophet Samuel by sacred anointing, and designated me as leader and ruler of his people. But I beseech you, where is the hope of those divine promises? I have already come a hundred times to the very jaws of the grave; I am tormented without end. Where shall I turn now? It is likely that David made these or similar complaints, and considered it far better to die than to live a life harassed by so many evils. But he could neither live nor die, and yet he was forced to be exiled from the holy land that God had chosen for himself to be worshiped in, and his sanctuary erected, and his most holy name adored. Surely if we carefully weigh David's exercises and temptations, it is certain that we will not be so soft and effeminate in bearing adversity as we usually are. And when God exercises us with various calamities and harsh afflictions, not only will we not lose courage, but we will flee to him with all the more fervent prayers, that he may supply us with unbroken constancy such as he gave to David, the more we are conscious of our own fragility, by which it happens that the spirits of even the bravest are shaken at the slightest dangers, and the first effort immediately vanishes, unless we are sustained and supported by the power of God's Spirit. Therefore great care must be taken not to imitate those who indulge themselves most easily in everything, and protect themselves with empty excuses. For they think that they have satisfied God, if they put forward even the lightest excuses. Such are the kinds many are accustomed to bring forward: It was not in my power to discharge my duty, but who could resist nature? Did not so many threats from every side terrify me? Did not so many difficulties throw obstacles in my way? You would say that they were not only restrained by certain bars, but that arduous mountains had to be scaled or broken through with great force; and they think themselves secure in these excuses, however slight. Therefore when we are pressed by so many obstacles from every side and deterred from duty by so many delights, we ought to look at David and recognize that we are far from being treated by God as harshly as he was once treated. For if we compare our condition with his, we shall find in fact that we are dealt with very lightly, and that the difficulties we struggle with do not amount to a thousandth part of those with which David was once exercised. For even if God should snatch us from this circle of lands by some violent calamity, it will not approach those distresses of mind by which David was in some way broken, when he was forced to be exiled from the holy land of Israel. And although today we may be tossed into various parts of the world, the calamity is not to be made so great, since today the whole earth is consecrated to God, of which he had once dedicated a corner — the land of Judea — to the worship of his name. Although therefore today we may wander in certain regions, we would not be tormented by such great afflictions or temptations as David once was, who seemed to have been cut off like some rotten member from the rest of the body. Yet he commended himself to God alone, and placed his confidence in him, not without tears indeed and groans, but by which the faithful must be confirmed more and more in trust in the divine goodness. Since from these things we learn that, although infirm and afflicted by harsh calamities by which our very heart is pierced as if by a spear, and though we may seem already to be overwhelmed by an abundance of miseries, we ought not on that account to lose heart, but to hope in God and pour out our spirits — since it is certain that God, when it pleases him, will so work that, after we have struggled in our infirmity, we shall at last extricate ourselves and our faith shall obtain victory, and we shall in fact experience what the prophet teaches in that Psalm we have begun to sing: that we who were previously fed with tears shall nevertheless at last receive joy in God's goodness and mercy, who ought to be our only refuge and asylum, who, though we often slip and waver, will nevertheless never let us slip altogether, and if perchance we should slip, will nevertheless lift us up and sustain us with his hand, so that we may easily run the course of our calling, until we arrive at the eternal harbor of happiness.

Now then, come, etc.

24. David hid in the field, and the new moon came, and the king sat down to eat. 25. When the king sat in his usual place by the wall, Jonathan rose, and Abner sat at Saul's side, and David's place was empty. 26. Saul said nothing that day, because he thought, 'Perhaps something has happened to him and he is unclean — ceremonially unclean.' 27. But on the second day after the new moon, David's place was again empty. Saul said to his son Jonathan, 'Why hasn't the son of Jesse come to eat, either yesterday or today?' 28–29. Jonathan answered Saul, 'David asked my permission to go to Bethlehem. He said, Please let me go, because there is a family sacrifice in the city and my brother has summoned me. So if I have found favor in your eyes, let me slip away to see my brothers. That is why he has not come to the king's table.' 30. Saul's anger blazed against Jonathan, and he said to him, 'You son of a perverse, rebellious woman — don't I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother? 31. For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, because he is a dead man.' 32. Jonathan answered Saul his father, 'Why should he die? What has he done?' 33. Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan to strike him. Jonathan knew then that his father had made up his mind to kill David. 34. Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate nothing on that second day of the new moon, for he was grieved for David because his father had humiliated him. 35. In the morning Jonathan went out to the field near David's hiding place, and a small boy went with him. 36. He said to the boy, 'Run and find the arrows I shoot.' As the boy ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. 37. When the boy reached the place where Jonathan's arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, 'The arrow is beyond you — farther still!' 38. And Jonathan called out again after the boy, 'Hurry! Don't stop!' Jonathan's boy gathered the arrows and came back to his master. 39. The boy knew nothing of any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what it meant. 40. Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, 'Go and carry them back to the city.' 41. When the boy was gone, David rose from the south side and fell facedown to the ground, bowing three times. They kissed each other and wept together, David most of all. 42. Jonathan said to David, 'Go in peace. We have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.' Then David rose and left, and Jonathan went back into the city.

Jonathan's remarkable faithfulness toward David should be considered first here — and the great danger he faced for David's sake. Then David's severe trial, against which he had to struggle for a long time, since no remedy remained for his safety except to flee outside Judea. But first let us consider what is said about Saul: on the first day of the feast, when David's place was empty, Saul made no mention of him — because he assumed David was absent for some legitimate reason, such as being ceremonially unclean or not yet purified, which would have been an acceptable excuse. Some interpret this differently, as if Saul thought some accident had befallen David. I prefer to take the explanation simply as legal uncleanness — that David had not had time to purify himself. There were many categories of ritual uncleanness in the old law, as everyone knows. Although someone who had become unclean through one of these could still eat and drink at home, he was not permitted to attend a solemn banquet connected to a sacrifice, lest he profane something holy to the Lord. These ceremonies were prescribed by God to demonstrate that He requires purity in all who come before Him. As Paul says: 'Let everyone who names the name of God abstain from all iniquity.' And elsewhere: 'Let us abstain from all pollution, and let each one possess his own body in all purity, as someone dedicated and consecrated to God.' We are now freed from all these ceremonies through the work of Christ, but their substance and truth must still be maintained. Therefore, just as under the law a person who had merely been present at a death or touched a corpse became unclean — so now let us recognize that we will be unclean before God and guilty of wickedness and sin unless we are dedicated and consecrated to Him in mind and body, persevering in obedience to Him and abstaining from all corrupt and impure desires. This was the entire purpose and goal of those legal ceremonies.

Above all, it must be noted that a person in such a state of uncleanness was not permitted to come near the sacrifices — he was excluded. God was declaring by that sign what Paul also teaches clearly: there is no fellowship between light and darkness, no agreement between Christ and the devil — that is, no union between Christ, the fountain of all purity, and the pollutions and sins by which we are defiled and contaminated. For example, those who come to the Lord's Supper today must take great care not to bring their filth — which would profane something so holy: the sacred witness and pledge of our communion with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Saul therefore, assuming David was absent because of some such legal impurity, made no mention of him — he did not want to seem to be summoning a polluted man and dishonoring him. He put off asking about David until the next day, when he knew no such excuse would remain. For a person who had become unclean was unclean for only twenty-four hours, and was then purified by an external washing with water — not that a light sprinkling of water could actually cleanse a polluted and impure soul, but to make sinners recognize that they needed the purification God had prescribed.

But now that those legal shadows and ceremonies have been abolished, we are no longer bound to observe them. The intolerable nature of the papists' use of holy water is therefore plain — it is an insult to God Himself and a corruption of all true religion, since introducing such ritual washings into Christianity smacks of Judaism. We must understand that we cannot be purified unless God washes us inwardly — the outward testimony of that inward washing is baptism. We know that all our purity rests in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The practice of former times was different — Israel was bound by certain ceremonies and ritual washings appropriate to that era.

So on the day after the new moon, Saul asked about David. Jonathan, as he had promised, offered his excuse: David had gone to Bethlehem, his hometown, for the annual family sacrifice. Then Saul turned on Jonathan with a furious rebuke, calling him the son of a wicked woman — like someone throwing someone out of the room with: 'Get out of here, you son of a prostitute.' Consider the disgrace of this man: not content with insulting his son, he also attacks his own wife — who had perhaps already died, or may still have been living. Either way, why does his anger fall on her? We would rightly call a man fanatical and out of his mind who blames his wife in this situation, accusing her of rebellion. But in what way had she sinned against her husband? Had he caught her conspiring with their son against him? Even granting that Jonathan has done something wrong — what does that have to do with his innocent mother? Why then does Saul rage against her? From this let us recognize how destructive our emotions become when we give them too free a rein. As the saying goes, anger is a brief madness. Just as a madman has no sense of reason or fairness — striking one person, biting another, doing violence to himself — so a person seized by anger differs from a madman only in that the violent passion passes quickly, while a true madman rarely regains his senses. Anger and every similar passion strips away all reason from those who are held by it, so that they are incapable of any moderation. Each person deserves punishment for his own deeds. If Jonathan sinned, why does Saul heap shame and disgrace on his innocent mother? Saul has turned entirely to anger and fury — he is utterly blinded. We have already heard that God had cast him into a reprobate mind and that he was being tormented by an evil spirit from the Lord. This present episode proves it. And how did Saul lose all sense of reason? Because he was being driven by demonic malice against David, raging against him without restraint. The more wildly he raged against David, the more intensely inflamed he became — until he stripped off all humanity and would not even spare his own flesh and blood. Did not the shame he heaped on his wife — calling her rebellious and perverse when she had done nothing against him — fall back on himself? Let Saul's example make us wise. Before the eyes of his nobles he falsely accused his own wife and his own kin, burying them in disgrace and humiliation. This shows how completely his own malice had blinded him. But by contrast, Jonathan's faithfulness in David's friendship shines all the more brilliantly here — faithful to what he had promised. Even feeling his father's anger and cruelty, he dared to stand against him. Seeing the most immediate danger — as we will shortly see — he still could not endure David's innocence being so crushed. He challenged his father: What has that man done? What has he done worthy of death, that you have condemned him to it? What is his sin?

These words of Jonathan drove his father into even greater fury — Saul rose up and tried to kill his own son. This shows what the duty of all good people is: to defend truth and justice as much as they can — especially those who sit in positions of authority, who are likely to abuse their power for tyranny. If someone looks only at the surface of things, it might seem that Jonathan sinned seriously — the king himself had pronounced a sentence of death against David, and contradicting it seemed unlawful. But Jonathan knew that what was called justice here was nothing but an empty mask, which people driven by their own desires commonly use. Even if a person is condemned to death a hundred times by a judge's sentence, it does not follow that he is being rightly put to death as a guilty man — not unless a careful investigation has been made into whether he is actually guilty. Jonathan saw this, and therefore did not hesitate to place himself against his father the king and to plead and defend the cause of afflicted David. Jonathan demanded to know what David had actually done wrong. This deserves careful attention: it is the duty of all the faithful to be God's agents and defenders whenever they see truth and justice oppressed by unjust judgments and the innocent wrongly afflicted. They must be so far from consenting to such a judgment that they should instead become allies of the innocent and plead their cause. Even when they are not personally guilty of any wrongdoing — if by their silence they permit something wicked to be done, they are certainly guilty before God of abandoning the good cause and failing the duty to which God had called them.

Enough about Jonathan. Let us consider the remaining insults Saul hurled at him: 'Don't I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your rebellious mother? As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established.' When Saul said that Jonathan conspired to the confusion of his shameful mother, this should not be taken — as many assume — to imply that Jonathan was illegitimate or that his mother was an adulteress because Jonathan did not show proper reverence to Saul as king and father. Rather, this follows a common way of speaking found in many other passages: a wise son brings honor and glory to his father, but a foolish, worthless, and dissolute son brings shame and disgrace to his mother. Why to his mother specifically? Because mothers, with a certain particular affection, tend to be more indulgent toward their sons and are blinded by excessive love. They often go behind their husbands' backs to extract money and give it to their sons for wasteful and wicked purposes, covering all their vices. In short, they pursue them with such foolish love that they indulge them in any wickedness — and it is often not the mothers' fault that their sons end up on the gallows. Scripture therefore says that a dissolute, worthless, and self-indulgent son will be a disgrace to his mother — showing that the foolish mother will be covered in shame and humiliation when she has been too indulgent with her son, and her son, corrupted by that indulgence, has rushed into every vice. In this sense, then, Saul says Jonathan has brought shame on his mother — whose dishonor, Saul implies, will spread to the whole household and family. But by what right does Saul reproach his son with these things? Because David is to be king. But who designated David as king? David certainly did not seek this dignity through ambition, did not pursue it, did not obtain it through any scheming. Only God's will, only His decree — made known through Samuel — was involved. What Saul is doing, as we saw above, is persecuting David in order to annul God's decree about him — if he can. But his quarrel is not with a mortal man — it is with the living God, whom Saul seems to want to drag from His throne. Such was the mind of that madman. His madness is sufficiently proven by this very statement to his son: 'As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, you will not be established.' Even if David were dead — could not God raise him up and make him king, since He had made an irrevocable decree about his elevation to royal dignity? Let us apply this truth about God's power to our own comfort. He who created the world out of nothing can certainly restore life to us when we are dead, make us blessed forever, and find a way to keep His promises. The apostle holds up Abraham as an example of this faith. He commends Abraham's remarkable faith because, when God commanded him to sacrifice his only son, Abraham could have been deeply shaken and full of indignation. He had received promises about the redemption to be accomplished through one born from Isaac's line — and the trial was extreme: his hope seemed to be crushed, with God taking away what He had previously given and in practice nullifying His own promises. How severe was that temptation — in which Abraham seemed to face the complete collapse of the divine promises? Yet that man, full of faith, fixed his eyes far ahead, placing all confidence in God's strength, power, and goodness. He was persuaded that God — even if Isaac were killed and offered as a burnt offering — could still raise up a son for him from his ashes. Saul should have brought this truth to mind as well: that God would give the kingdom He had promised to David regardless of all obstacles — and that even if he killed David, God would still find a way to fulfill His decrees and demonstrate His power. But what is most conspicuous in Saul is with what fury and madness unbelievers rise up against God Himself, as if completely devoid of reason. If anyone pressed them and asked whether they really hoped to prevail against God, they would certainly — on sober reflection — be terrified, if the majesty and power of God came into their thinking. But they do what they themselves would shudder at — because they are driven by a kind of frenzy and do not consider whom they are rising against. God's power never enters their minds. Hence that fury, which does not shrink from moving against God Himself. So Saul, in his rage, thinks only of David's death and promises himself everything if only he can accomplish it. Yet other things should have come into Saul's mind — that human life is in God's hand. Even when robbers take someone's life, they do not truly determine our fate. They only accomplish what God permits. The One who placed us in this world reserved to Himself the power to call us from it whenever He pleases. Since our lives are under God's protection and care, how could Saul pursue David to death — when he was not ignorant that God would not leave such rashness and arrogance unpunished? Such was the man's madness. In the end, people blinded by their passions do not consider that they have God as their adversary. They disregard His power, treating it as something trivial and empty — and resist God Himself as if they held heaven and earth in their own hands.

There is another lesson to be observed here: what a devastating plague envy is — especially envy directed against those whom God has chosen to place over us and raise to high dignity. The root of this evil is ambition, from which envy is born. When urging mutual harmony and brotherhood in matters of rank and authority, Paul begins at this very root of all evils: 'Let nothing be done among you out of empty or vain glory.' For it is certain that those infected by this vice will suffer from envy and jealousy. Wherever God's gifts are plainly visible in others, those infected with envy will be all the more torn apart by them — burned by seeing their neighbors adorned with gifts they covet. From this, Paul adds, conflicts arise. People are carried beyond the bounds of reason and even strip off all humanity. Let us therefore each learn to walk faithfully in our own calling, fostering harmony and friendship. Let us drive far from ourselves harmful ambition and every desire to dominate. Let us be content with what God gives us and humble ourselves before Him — serving Him purely and sincerely with all fear and humility, and pursuing the good of our neighbors. If we do this, we will so admire God's gifts and graces given to our neighbors that we will rejoice in them and value them in whoever possesses them, as is fitting. This way of thinking will hold us back as if with a bridle from anger toward one another, and instead we will devote all our energy and mutual effort to helping each other. By contrast, when we are driven by love of self, we do not even fear to resist God Himself and fight against His will. Both sides of this are on display in this passage. On Saul's side, he rages against David so violently you would call him a wild beast rather than a man. But what drives him to such fury? He wants to continue reigning against God's will — instead of submitting to God, humbling himself, and willingly surrendering the royal crown he had received, since he had governed badly and rebelled against God. It would have been right for him to step down from royal authority and render that obedience to God by choosing a private life over a royal one. Instead, he hoped to defend and preserve himself and his dignity even against God's will. This is what unleashed his demonic fury in the pursuit of David. But whom was he actually persecuting? Not David — but God Himself, whose will he refused to obey. Envy was stoking this fire of rage within him. As long as he could defeat his enemy, he was not afraid to mix heaven with earth — a remarkable mirror in which all who are full of arrogance, insolence, and stubbornness, accustomed to despising their neighbors, ought to behold themselves.

Now look at Jonathan on the other side. He knew that David was to be raised to the very place that by inheritance belonged to him. He was the king's son: the royal dignity was his by right of succession. Yet he willingly yielded, having understood God's decree about David's elevation to the royal throne. Without doubt Jonathan had not become incapable of human feeling. But he had grown so far in the fear of God that he put what he recognized as God's just judgment above his own desires. He held his emotions in check, did violence to himself, and obeyed God. He set aside the proud instincts that by nature are typically rooted in the hearts of all people. He was also drawn to this obedience by the gifts of God he could plainly see in David — gifts he honored in him. Those gifts could have stirred more human envy in him, but instead they led him all the more to worship God, whose glory and power he saw reflected in David. Consider how Jonathan recognized God's gifts in David as worthy of honor and admiration — so far from envying them or grieving that they had been given to David, that on the contrary, in David's defense, he was prepared not only to give up the royal crown but to pour out his very life. So Saul's words — 'As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established' — did not shake Jonathan's resolve. They only confirmed him more in it. He replied: 'Why should he die?' — as if to say: How could I stand for that, when it has pleased God to make David king? If I added murder to my father's rebellion, what would become of me, wretched man that I would be? This shows that arrogance joined with envy drives people to madness — as we see in Saul, who claimed Jonathan could never come to royal power unless David were killed. From this we are warned to subject ourselves willingly to God's will when He has revealed it to us without contradicting it. For however many detours we take, He will certainly bring us back to the fulfillment of His will. Even if we hope a hundred times to escape His hand, we will be restrained. We see wicked and stubborn people searching for every escape route to get out from under God's power, directing all their plans and efforts toward that end. But blinded by their fury, they cannot see their own disgrace. They rashly undertake whatever their desires dictate and promise themselves success. God allows them to triumph for a time — but in such a way that they are drawn all the deeper into the snares of destruction and overwhelmed in complete ruin. Therefore, the more prone we are to fall into this vice, the more diligently we must meditate on this teaching and put it into practice. We must know for certain that we are to obey God's decrees willingly, once we are convinced of them — for nothing is gained by resistance, every escape route is vain, and complete ruin awaits all who move against the irrevocable decree of the Lord.

We must also be careful of this: we should not simply submit to God's will grudgingly, as if forced into it. We must take care to subject ourselves to God willingly, and always confess that His judgments are right and just — even when He has afflicted us with some shame or disgrace. Let us not, I say, stop confessing God's goodness and justice when He has disciplined us, but let us conform ourselves entirely to His will. And when God asks this obedience of us, let us know that it is for our own good and benefit. Even when He puts us through trials, He will certainly turn whatever seemed contrary into our salvation. Since those various chastisements and afflictions are brought upon us by God's design for our profit and benefit, it is fitting that we be all the more inclined toward submission and obedience to Him. This is the lesson to draw from the words about Jonathan — who recognized that David, even if killed a hundred times, would still attain his royal dignity, since God had designated him king. Moreover, since David's life was in the Lord's protection, covered as by the shadow of His wings, all the efforts of men rising against him would ultimately come to nothing.

Next we come to Jonathan's mortal danger: Saul seized a spear and threw it at his own son. Jonathan had foreseen this danger — yet the trial was still harsh. He saw his father reach such a pitch of anger and fury that he hurled a spear at his own son to kill him with his own hand. Only God's turning aside the blow prevented it, since Saul fully intended to kill Jonathan. From this let us learn that if doing good has brought us into the contempt and hatred of other people, we should not regret our good deeds because of it. Jonathan is an example here. He could have been deeply shaken when he saw his father come at him with such fury, and might have pulled back somewhat from his duty as a result. We often see this happen: people who have done something courageous and admirable, when threatened or when they see imminent hostility and violence, begin to waver. As the saying goes, they let the wind fill their sails — their will has not entirely changed, but they start looking for ways to calm the anger and fury of their opponents, and quietly pull back and hide their zeal for a time. I say, this happens frequently — even among those held in the highest honor. But Jonathan is placed before us here as an example of greater constancy and courage to be imitated. Even though his father raged against him in words and actions like some monstrous beast, Jonathan bravely remained faithful to David and defended his innocence as much as he could. He rose from the table in fierce anger and did not eat on the second day of the new moon. He was deeply grieved for David, because his father had humiliated him in front of the assembled court. He did not lose courage. He did not withdraw from David's friendship. He did not cover himself with some excuse of having done enough, even though he had been shaken by terrible trials. He kept the faith he had pledged to David with God's name invoked, and performed the duty of a good friend.

So when morning came, Jonathan went out to the field that had been designated as the meeting point for David. He shot his arrows and sent the boy to collect them, calling out quickly: 'The arrow is far beyond you — hurry, don't stop.' These were the agreed signals. When he called to the boy: 'Hurry quickly, the arrow is far beyond you, don't stand still' — it was as if he were speaking directly to David: You must flee, for I have been driven away with insults. From this, again, let us learn that when God afflicts and tests us, we should not lose courage or pull back from duty, but persevere steadfastly through any dangers until we have won a complete victory. I grant that God can test us with all kinds of trouble and difficulty when He calls us to His service. Since He holds the hearts of all created things in His hand, He could win the favor of everyone for us — but instead, lest we look for our reward in this world, lest we be dazzled by vain glory, lest we be so flattered by human praise that we forget God, He permits people to continue in malice and wickedness, and those on whom we have heaped kindness to become so ungrateful that they would, so to speak, gouge out our very eyes. This, I say, is what God has decreed. But why? As I have warned: so that we are not seduced by the pleasures of this world, but serve God freely and spontaneously, and never lose courage in adversity, but persevere bravely in His service even against all opposition. God thereby also shows that He will discipline us sharply if there is any insincerity in us — and that if we have proceeded with genuine zeal in His service, He will give us a happy outcome no matter what injuries we have suffered, and will never allow the contempt shown toward us to go unpunished, since He has taken up our cause. Therefore when God allows His servants to be put through the hatred of other people, those servants should rest in the love of God — for He alone can defend them against any danger and deliver them from it. He does sometimes grant His servants relief from troubles and a season of honor among people — but that is not meant to be permanent, lest it give us occasion to drift from Him, since we are so changeable that even the slightest pleasant circumstances can distract us from duty. Therefore the person who consecrates his life to God from the heart, and presses on in his calling in both prosperity and adversity, has sure testimony that he is serving God with a pure heart. God's children must therefore be tested by various trials and calamities, so that they may be stirred to more fervent prayer. So let us learn — as I have said — that when God tests us in various ways and allows us to be afflicted by people whose interests we have faithfully served, we must not abandon our duty. Let us commit ourselves and our cause to God and pray that in His goodness He would sustain us so that we can stand against any obstacle and difficulty — dangers that would otherwise cause us to retreat from God in fear. Let us learn these things from Jonathan — or we may find him as our judge on the last day.

Finally, David came out and wept bitterly with Jonathan — David most of all — and Jonathan sent him away in peace. Just as Jonathan's constancy was unbroken and his faithfulness to David was grounded in what we heard at the beginning — love of virtue and the outstanding gifts with which David was adorned — so on the other hand there is no doubt that David was put through a severe trial when he saw himself safe nowhere, forced to flee from the land of Israel by Saul's brutality. At that time, the entire world outside Israel had no place where God's worship was pure and intact. David therefore could not dwell anywhere except among idol worshippers and the deadliest enemies of the church. How did this match the divine promises — by which God had promised David that He would make him head of His people, and indeed make him a figure and image of His only Son, until He appeared on earth — when David was forced into exile from all of Judea, with no corner left for him in it, compelled to flee to the very unbelievers, as we will see in more detail later? By what anguish was he tossed about? With what difficulties did he wrestle? Has God forgotten me and no longer remembers His promises? Has God deceived me with empty words? How much better was my life when I lived in my father's land — how much safer I was! I was living contentedly with what I had, not driven by desire for wealth or honor or any such thing. But God called me when I was not seeking any of this, and willed me to be inaugurated as king through the prophet Samuel with sacred anointing, designating me as leader and ruler of His people. But I ask — where is the hope of those divine promises? I have already come a hundred times to the very jaws of the grave. I am tormented without end. Where shall I turn now? David likely made these or similar complaints, and may have considered it better to die than to live such a life, battered by so many evils. But he could neither live freely nor simply die in peace — instead he was forced into exile from the holy land God had chosen for Himself, the land where He was to be worshipped and His most holy name adored. If we carefully consider David's trials and temptations, we will certainly not be as soft and delicate in bearing adversity as we usually are. When God puts us through various calamities and harsh afflictions, we should not only not lose courage — we should flee to Him with all the more fervent prayers, asking Him to supply us with unbroken steadiness like He gave to David. The more we are aware of our own fragility — which causes even the bravest spirits to be shaken by the slightest danger and collapses the first effort immediately — the more urgently we need to be sustained and upheld by the power of God's Spirit. Therefore great care must be taken not to imitate those who easily excuse themselves from everything and hide behind empty pretexts. They think they have satisfied God if they can offer even the thinnest excuse. These are the kinds of things such people say: It was not in my power to do my duty — but who could resist nature? Did not so many threats from every side terrify me? Did not so many obstacles block my way? You would think they were held back not just by some restraints but as if they had to climb or break through towering mountains by sheer force — and yet they consider themselves safe behind these flimsy excuses. Therefore when we are pressed by obstacles from every side and deterred from duty by so many comforts and pleasures, let us look at David and recognize that we are being treated far less harshly by God than he once was. If we honestly compare our situation with his, we will find we are being treated very lightly, and the difficulties we face do not amount to a thousandth part of what David endured. Even if God were to tear us from our comfortable surroundings by some violent calamity, it would still not come near the distress of mind David suffered when he was forced into exile from the holy land of Israel. And though today we may be scattered to various parts of the world, the calamity is less severe — because today the whole earth is consecrated to God, whereas in that era He had dedicated only one small corner of it, the land of Judea, to the worship of His name. Though we may wander in various regions today, we would not be tormented by such overwhelming afflictions or temptations as David once was — he who seemed to have been cut off like a rotten limb from the body. Yet he committed himself to God alone, placed his confidence in Him — not without tears and groans, to be sure — but by those very tears and groans, the faithful are confirmed more and more in trust in God's goodness. From all of this we learn that even when we are weak and struck by harsh calamities that pierce our very hearts as with a spear, and though we seem already overwhelmed by an abundance of miseries, we must not lose heart. We must hope in God and pour out our spirits to Him — knowing that God, when it pleases Him, will so work that after we have struggled in our weakness, we will at last break free, our faith will win the victory, and we will experience in fact what the prophet teaches in the psalm we have begun to sing: that we who were previously fed with tears will at last receive joy through God's goodness and mercy. He is our only refuge and shelter. Though we often slip and waver, He will never let us fall completely — and if we should stumble, He will lift us up and sustain us with His hand, so that we can easily run the course of our calling until we arrive at the eternal harbor of happiness.

Now then, come, etc.