Sermon 86: 1 Samuel 24:8-12

8. But Saul, rising from the cave, went on the journey he had begun. 9. And David rose up after him, and going out of the cave, cried out behind Saul, saying: My lord the king. And Saul looked back, and David, bowing down with his face to the ground, did him reverence. 10. And he said to Saul: Why do you listen to the words of men who say, David seeks evil against you? 11. Behold this day your eyes have seen that the Lord has delivered you into my hand in the cave, and someone said that I should kill you, but my eye spared you. ['And] I said: I will not extend my hand against my lord, because he is the Lord's anointed. 12. Moreover, my father, see and know the corner of your robe in my hand:

for when I cut off the corner of your robe, I would not stretch out my hand against you. Notice and see that there is no evil in my hand, nor iniquity, nor have I sinned against you; but you lie in wait for my soul to take it away. 13. May the Lord judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me of you; but my hand shall not be against you.

In yesterday's sermon we learned that it is not enough to abstain from evil, but that all effort and diligence must be applied to lift up the falling and, as much as possible, to hinder those plotting wicked counsels, and especially that we not allow ourselves to be led astray by the flatteries of any reasoning of words, or to be drawn to evil. We were taught that this lesson must be learned from David's example, who not only kept his hands off Saul, his most hostile enemy, but is said to have broken the spirit even of his own comrades-in-arms, who nevertheless seemed to rely on specious reasons and were greatly urging David. For they said that Saul had fallen into David's hands by divine providence, that the time had come when they would once and for all be freed from so many miseries and calamities, and that finally God was setting before them an end of evils with Saul slain. But by these things he could not only not be moved to lay hands on him, but on the contrary strongly resisted, and broke their counsels and spirits with sound admonitions and exhortations. From this it appears that the duty of God's faithful servants is not only to keep their hands clean from crime, but also to resist evil with all their strength. Moreover, if we weigh the circumstances of this deed, his virtue will appear all the more admirable. For, as we said before, David could fear that his own companions would rise up in tumult against him, wearied by the long duration of so many evils, of which they saw no end, and they were daily in the very jaws of death. And they would remove David, the author or occasion of so many evils, from their midst. He himself was sufficiently aware of these things, but he could not therefore be turned from his duty in obeying God's commandment. Let us therefore, even if we fear some tumult or sedition while persisting in duty, not on that account cease to resist evil and to bridle ourselves; even if those by whom we are solicited foam in their fury; let us, with all our strength, oppose ourselves to the evil; and let us conduct ourselves modestly toward those who are carried by furious impulse; and let us call back to the right way and to equity those whom the heat of wrath snatches headlong from the limits of reason.

And let enough have been said about David. Let us next also consider how we should conduct ourselves toward our enemies. For when we hear that gospel saying that evil is not to be repaid for evil, nor vengeance to be sought, but rather peace to be sought in every way, and our souls to be possessed in quiet and silence, even though we judge it just to submit to this teaching, and are forced to confess that God has commanded nothing but what is just, yet we will think that this is too foreign to our nature, and accordingly that nature cannot be brought to this order. And accordingly, although we may abstain from all injury, yet we will think that the condition imposed by God on men, to repay evil with good, is too hard, indeed altogether intolerable. And by these specious reasons we will think ourselves absolved, or that our patience cannot be tamed by us to that extent, that we should be able to love those who hate us, or to overcome with kindness those persecuting us, or to pray for those who curse us and harm our reputation. But by David's example that doctrine is confirmed, who certainly we know was not iron or stone, but a man subject to the same affections and passions as we are; but he conducted himself toward his hostile enemy in such a way that he repaid evil with good. Therefore let such excuses cease at once, which God condemns as frivolous and empty; and recognizing rather a vice innate in our nature, let us seek a remedy against it; and since we are by nature full of arrogance, pride, haughtiness and bile, let us pray God to govern us by his Holy Spirit, and to impart to us such fortitude and magnanimity of spirit, by which we may bear bravely all adverse events, and patiently undergo whatever he wishes to impose on us; and let us cast our cause into his hands, as Peter teaches us, and David instructs us by his example, that we may be able to bridle the excessive violence and impetuosity of our affections.

Now let us weigh Saul's cruelty and savagery, with which he persecuted David. For as we are by nature articulate and eloquent in exaggerating and amplifying the malice of our enemies in setting forth the injuries by which we have been afflicted by them, and we very easily make an elephant out of a fly, which proceeds from a nature too self-loving and delicate. Yet it is certain that scarcely anyone today can be found more wicked, more savage and cruel, more ungrateful and more implacable, than Saul once was with regard to David. For what kind and how great were his benefits to the whole people and region which David had saved at the peril of his own life, so that Saul himself owed him scepter and crown. Furthermore, what benefits had been privately conferred on Saul, when David soothed and calmed him with the playing of the harp when he was raging and tormented by an evil spirit from the Lord, and rendered him faithful service. By all these titles he was bound to David, and owed himself wholly, so that even if he had exposed his life for him a hundred times, yet it would not have seemed to him that he could have satisfied him. But moreover, when he plotted snares against David and tried to take his life unawares, David did not cease to follow him with all obedience and services; and when Saul maliciously mocking and insulting him gave another the daughter who had been betrothed to him, yet these dishonors and injuries could not turn David from duty. Now when Saul pursued him to the death, and persecuted the wretched, innocent man, expelled from his country and a wanderer, with potsherd and clay [i.e., to the death], and gathered an army against him and sought his death, and would rather have heaven mixed with earth than fail to execute his counsels against David -- surely there seemed to be sufficient just occasion (if any can be just in human malice) for David to judge that he had suffered enough, indeed had used too much patience toward Saul. Yet by all those reasons David could not be moved from his duty. Therefore if we have been wronged by anyone with the most grievous injuries, let us think of David being wronged with greater injuries by Saul; by which yet David could not be drawn to depart even a fingerbreadth from the divine command. And accordingly we will be judged before God by David's example, whose mind in his time was not illumined by such clear teachings as ours is today, who have the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, to which we must be conformed. I confess that David, anointed by the ministry of Samuel, was a figure of our Lord, as has often been said before; yet David in his time could not so contemplate Jesus Christ our Lord as he is shown to us today, namely the Lamb who did not open his mouth when he was led to the slaughter and was overwhelmed with every kind of insult. We therefore are taught today to be conformed to our head, Jesus Christ, who is set before us as an example to imitate. Therefore every excuse is taken from us, unless we so check all the violence and shamefulness of our passions that we calmly submit ourselves to God, and not only abstain from all force and violence, but also repay evil with good. And this, I confess, cannot be accomplished by us without great struggle.

For David himself, when he was urged by his soldiers to kill Saul, could be moved in some way and suffer something human, which some understand when he says, 'Someone said to me' -- as if David's own mind had urged him to kill Saul, although this exposition seems foreign, since we know he was solicited from elsewhere, and that he, from wherever he was solicited, laid aside all anger and desire of vengeance, by which he could have been incited to avenge Saul's cruelty. But yet when we feel in ourselves some such struggle and contrary affections, by which we are hindered from at the first stroke composing ourselves to God's will revealed in his word, we must fight bravely against ourselves, and force must be applied to ourselves until we have tamed all our senses and affections and led them captive. This will happen if we rise to God himself and consider his will. For as long as we look at our enemies, we think we are allowed everything, and comparing our integrity with the malice of him who persecutes us, we think we are wronged unless we are given the power to repel force with force and avenge our enemy. For we see even the pagans themselves attributed it to virtue if anyone provoked by injury should repel it and repel force with force, calling such a man strong and magnanimous, who would not allow himself out of cowardice to be wronged. Therefore as long as we have our eyes fixed on men, we will think we are allowed to defend a good cause by any means, and to take vengeance on the enemies inflicting injury. But when we have risen to God and looked at the duty prescribed in his word, all such opinion must necessarily be removed from our minds. Therefore we must know that, even if the world applauds us, we have made no progress if we are condemned by him who alone is our judge. For what, I ask, will it profit us to have the applause, so to speak, of six hundred worlds, if we are judged by the sentence of God the highest judge? But all from greatest to least must stand before his judgment. Therefore for restraining the force and violence of our passions we must rise to God, to whom all are bound. For if we say, 'What do I owe, or in what am I bound to him who is ungrateful, who unjustly persecutes me, whom I have never wronged with any injury, whom rather I have heaped with whatever benefits I could, who repays a reward for such great benefits,' and many other such things by which men cover their affections -- let us know that these are vain and empty before God. For although we are not bound to the enemy or adversary, yet we owe this to God, whom it suffices that he commands us this. Let such exceptions therefore against God's word cease, by which we are accustomed to plead our cause as before a mortal. But rather let us fix in our minds that our business is with God, who wishes his majesty to be of so great worth with us that out of love for him we should pardon injuries received from others. For when he commands us to forgive injuries to enemies, he does so not because they are wicked and cruel, but because they are his creatures, whose malice he himself can change, and make room for his mercy. It is not for us to seek their destruction, whose salvation we ought to procure. Thus therefore the consideration of God must be had, and we must rise to him, that we may know that this office is pleasing to him, and is acceptable to him as a sacrifice of sweet odor, when we love our enemies and do not seek to avenge ourselves on them, but rather strive to repay evil with good. But truly this would be very difficult for human nature, unless God added something further for soothing our pains, namely that vengeance is his and that he will repay. In these words a double reasoning is contained, namely that vengeance and retribution belong to the Lord. God therefore shows that great injury is done him by men, and his right is snatched from him, when they wish to avenge themselves. For he therefore says, 'Vengeance is mine,' as if to say that, since he is the judge of the whole world, he has retained for himself the power of avenging all insults and injuries. This vengeance must not be thought to be deferred only to the last day, but is also administered through magistrates in this earth; for which reason the apostle Paul teaches that magistrates do not bear the sword in vain, but are God's ministers, avengers to wrath against him who has done what is evil. Therefore it appears that private men deprive God of his right when they wish to avenge themselves and prosecute private injuries; and that it is a horrible sacrilege thus to abolish his power and authority. For if, for example, before an earthly judge sitting on the tribunal a quarrel should arise between two litigants, and one should attack the other with his fist or pursue him with his sword to avenge an injury done him in the presence of the judge, do we think he will go unpunished? Surely the judge would justly complain that an injury was done him, and his authority violated, because vengeance was not sought from him who presides, when the private person himself was not allowed to do so. If earthly judges can rightly do this, because they are God's legates and ministers, how great do we think is the authority and power of the supreme judge of all things? And before whom we know that the angels tremble, and every knee must bow? Therefore that voice of the Lord, 'Vengeance is mine,' must be greatly esteemed, as Paul teaches us to do. Moreover the other part must be added, since God not only promises that he will avenge those who have afflicted others with injuries, but also after the manner not of earthly judges, who often yield to evils, and corrupted by favor or gifts allow criminals to slip away, or also leave crimes unpunished by negligence and cowardice. Not so, however, does God exercise judgment, for as he will avenge all who act unjustly, so he will also repay each according to merit. From this therefore let us learn to fix the exhortation of the holy Peter more deeply in our minds, namely to cast our cause into God's hands, who, we know, judges justly and does not allow misdeeds to remain unpunished, and the wretched and afflicted who flee to him not to feel his help and aid; but the wretched and needy and those who have suffered injury from others are always heard. Since therefore it is certain that God hears the groans of the humble and abject men, and prosecutes injuries done to his own, and consoles them in all afflictions, let us cast our cause into his hands and not doubt that he will always bring us help at the opportune time. And by meditation on these reasons our passions must necessarily be broken, when we are tempted to rage against enemies and repel force with force.

Now then since we have said that David's example is set before us here for imitation, let us examine in detail what is set before us here by the Holy Spirit. And first this occurs: 'And going out of the cave he cried out behind Saul saying: My lord the king.' These words were certainly not feigned or painted lies, when he calls Saul his lord and king; for he knew that he was subject to him by the Lord, until the time should come when he would be put in possession of the kingdom. For although Saul, as we said before, had been deposed by the Lord, David had not yet been put in possession of the kingdom, but the time prescribed by God had to be awaited. Therefore David well notes that he had not yet been declared king, and that Saul had not yet been driven from the kingdom, and accordingly that as long as he held power, he was bound to render him due obedience and service, although he was unworthy because of that cruelty and savagery with which he raged against the innocent. By which example we are taught that we must obey magistrates and men of high dignity sitting at the helms of affairs, even though they do not do their duty but abuse their authority and power; and accordingly that they are not to be rejected at the first opportunity, and their yoke shaken off; but that we must patiently bear their insults and injuries, having regard to the dignity to which they have been raised by God. For example, if some king or prince unjustly presses subjects with tributes and taxes, and grievously injures them with other graver errors, yet that dignity and power must always be honored. Therefore we must learn to look to God when there is so much violence reigning everywhere among men, and they pursue us with such great hatred that our patience, being wounded, urges us to disturb the order prescribed by God. And let this be said about all other dignities; and accordingly if a son experiences in his father a difficult and morose character, let him not therefore think it lawful for him to shake off the yoke of him to whom he is subject, but rather let him know that he must patiently bear it. Excepting the legitimate reasons that God himself has established, by which the excesses of superiors abusing their authority and power may be checked. But here we are dealing with private vengeance, which is granted to no private person, since it does not belong to private persons to remedy public evils and oppose themselves to them.

Next follows that David asks Saul not to listen to the voices of those who daily slander him before the king. From which it appears that evil is neither fostered nor nourished by patience, as we see many cover their affections and the desire to avenge themselves with this paint and pigment, that the audacity of him who acts as a sheep is encouraged, and license to attack is given as if with loose reins, indeed sharpened to harm more and more. By such painted reasons, I say, many cover a vengeance-eager spirit and the zeal to repay evil with evil. But there is a kind of middle way between these, which David himself by his own example here teaches us: for first he repaid the evil he received from Saul, and yet he did not therefore spare him, and flatter him, and cover his vice, as many are accustomed to flatter kings and to put on outward blandishments, while inwardly they swell with arrogance and are full of bile, and dissembling for a time, seek an opportunity to avenge themselves. But David, as he was patient in bearing the injuries inflicted on him by Saul, and was unwilling to exercise private vengeance, yet on the other hand could not soothe Saul with courtly flatteries, saying: 'Lord king, I confess that I owe you much and have no occasion to complain of you; I acknowledge I have sinned against your dignity, but have mercy on me and forgive whatever has been done amiss.' For such words would have displeased God, and would have changed virtue into vice. More sincerely, therefore, David exhorts Saul away from cruelty, and warns him not to lend easy ears further to courtly flatterers and slanderers. But while he warns him of his duty he also accuses him, and reproaches him for past injuries; for those incendiary courtiers had alienated Saul from David, who were always whispering new accusations against David into his ears. First therefore David accuses Saul of cruelty, who lent his ears to flatterers; then he defends his innocence, and accordingly by these reasons David tries to check Saul's wrath and restrain his venom as much as possible.

And therefore he calls upon God himself the highest judge, when he says: 'May the Lord judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me of you.' As if to say: 'I take refuge in God my patron and defender; I testify to my innocence; I have served your interests and benefit; you yourself well know; your eyes are witnesses; but you cruelly persecute me, an innocent man. But not me only, but you ask God himself, the future judge and avenger one day, to your greatest confusion, because you have no regard for my integrity, my candor, and faithfulness. You therefore, if you are wise and unless you wish to bring the greatest confusion upon your own head, abstain from these injuries and depart from these flatterers.' Hence therefore we learn that we may defend our integrity and innocence, and defend ourselves before our enemies, demonstrating their sins and accusing them. For when Scripture commands us to bear injuries patiently, it does not however will that we flatter enemies and wicked men, or give them occasion to rage. But yet to bear injuries patiently, and indeed in such a way that, as our Lord Jesus Christ admonishes, if anyone strikes us on the right cheek we should turn to him also the other; or if anyone has taken our tunic, let us also leave him our cloak. Yet these words are not to be taken so nakedly and simply as they sound, but in such a way that from them we learn to restrain our affections as if with reins, and not to wish to avenge ourselves when anyone has done us injury or disappointed our hope. Since these things are so, we must devote all effort to bearing injuries and insults inflicted on us patiently, but in such a way that with living admonitions we strive to overcome our adversaries -- not by appetite of vengeance -- and that they may be forced to admire our patience in such a way that from it they take occasion to turn to God. For I ask, what should be the goal and end of our patience other than that we win miserable and lost souls and recall to the way of salvation those who were wandering far away? But if we flatter wicked men and conceal their evils, it is certain that we are their betrayers and are immersed by ourselves more and more in the abyss of hell. Therefore let us know that we cannot better repay evil with good than by reproaching enemies for the injuries with which they have afflicted us, provided however we aim at this goal, that recognizing their vices, displeasing themselves and God in them, they may turn to him by true repentance. Furthermore, when accused falsely before kings or princes or any others, let us strive to make our innocence manifest in reality. For the fact that most labor much in carefully excusing themselves with many words, generally happens because they can scarcely make their innocence and integrity known and defend it by experience itself. We are therefore generally articulate and eloquent in amplifying the injuries we have received, and through the seductiveness of many words we want to be just; but we do not notice that such excuses, so anxious and so solicitous, more and more uncover our shame. Let us therefore imitate David's example and defend our innocence by word, and make truth the judge concerning the injuries inflicted on us, and give our life as a pledge of our integrity and faithfulness.

And of these matters enough. Now then let us examine that solemn appeal of David calling Saul before the divine judgment. Indeed this is the chief and supreme consolation of the faithful, when they can persuade themselves that they have a patron in heaven when they have been unjustly afflicted by men on earth. For what is the cause of that impatience of spirit which inflames men to vengeance, so that they cannot bear any injuries, except that opinion which occupies their minds, that the time of vengeance will never come? This thought alone moves men so greatly and excites their affections to such great violence that men forget themselves and cast off all modesty and reason. But if we have known how to rise to God, and to persuade ourselves with certainty that he will be the avenger of injuries and will take up the defense of our cause, and will not imitate earthly judges, who indeed pretend to wish to administer justice to the complaining party, but meanwhile they connive and grant the other space to flee. But not so does God, who finds out the wicked even if they flee, and lays his hand upon them, and although furious and savage like wild beasts and raging, he knows how to tame them, and has prescribed an opportune time for his judgment. When therefore we have made our innocence manifest, and uncovered the vices of those persecuting us, let us nevertheless strive to recall them to a better way and to gentleness, and lead them to repentance for their vices as much as we can. But if having been warned they have not come to their senses, and have not been recalled by our exhortations and example to better fruit, but have stubbornly persevered in their malice, then we will be forced to appeal to God himself and to summon them on a day before God's tribunal at the last judgment, and to show that they are unworthy to enjoy these benefits, of which they will at last give an account before God's tribunal, and then will recognize, even if they grumble and gnash their teeth, that there are no hiding places by which their shame can be covered. Therefore this is our duty toward enemies: that having complained to them of all the injuries inflicted on us and convicted them of their iniquities, we frighten them with the threats of God's judgment and call them on a day before God. Moreover, let us take the greatest care not to use God's name rashly, and let us remember that horrible threat: that God will not allow those who take his name rashly and in vain to go unpunished. And this teaching must be observed all the more diligently, the more prone we see men are to use God's name rashly. For how often do many call God to witness, and bring him as a witness and judge to themselves, but emptily and fraudulently? Indeed scarcely one or another in the world will be found like David, while many imitate his speech. But, I ask, with what candor, with what integrity, when some are perjurers, others profane the most holy name of God, and like apes only imitate those words of God's faithful servants, 'God is my witness.' Therefore when we appeal to God and summon the adverse party on a day before his tribunal, let us examine the whole matter attentively, and know that we must plead our cause before him without an advocate, as David says in Psalm 7. In which place he testifies that he did not speak imprudently of Saul, for he appeals to God. And this teaching is set before us to be diligently meditated until we have learned it well. How God therefore is to be called as witness, can be learned from David's example. Namely, if at any time we are unjustly accused, let us flee to prayers and be inwardly affected by reverence for God, having no regard for human affairs. If our conscience is a witness of innocence without ostentation, if we can justly call to witness and complain, and may with open and broad heart say, 'You are a just judge, Lord, pronounce judgment then on our cause,' then it is certain that we will not falsely call God as judge with tongue or words, as David prayed God to judge between himself and Saul. Furthermore, when David in that seventh psalm calls upon God himself, and prays him to judge his cause, testifying that he had always had a right mind toward Saul and rendered him faithful service, and had made his innocence attested to all, he could derive great consolation from this, and with this confidence summon Saul as he did before God's tribunal. Therefore from this let us learn, when assailed by various injuries and insults, to maintain modesty, so that before God we may be able to bring forth our innocence sincerely and without paint, and retain the same opinion of ourselves among men. For if only men think well of us, and our own conscience refutes us, and within harbors infinite vices, with what face will we bring forth our innocence and bring God as judge to the adversary party? Therefore it is not enough to appeal to God, unless this be done without paint and with sound conscience. For many hypocrites are accustomed too impudently to appeal to God, and consider themselves free from all blame if they retain a good name and esteem among men. But we must approach God with that candor and sincerity with which we see David did, just as also in another place praying to God he asks that he search his reins and thoughts, that he may appear pure before him, and that he may be cast into the furnace, that he may be purified like gold and silver. We therefore, if we can without paint testify before God that we are no longer held by self-love, nor swell with arrogance innate in us, then truly before God and before men we will be able to defend our innocence, and we will not fear to call God as judge of our cause, and as witness of our integrity.

And of these matters enough. Let us pass to another question that arises here: was it lawful for David to ask vengeance from the Lord upon Saul? For we are not only forbidden to refrain from vengeance, but we are also commanded to pray to God for those from whom we suffer injury, and to bear injuries patiently, and finally not to be desirous of vengeance at all. And yet David seems to come to that point and on the one hand to observe God's commandment about not avenging himself with his own hands, and about repaying evil with good, and about admonishing Saul of his treachery and cruelty, and dehorting him from persevering in the same; but on the other hand to forget his duty when he adds: 'And may the Lord avenge me of you.' These words seem to indicate some hidden fire of anger and vengeance. Where it must be observed that we can indeed call God as judge and yet without anger and without zeal for the destruction of those by whom we are oppressed. Thus in this passage David, praying God to avenge him, does not seek Saul's destruction or confusion, who would rather have wished from his heart that Saul would come to a better mind and turn to God in serious repentance. When therefore he asks God to avenge him, he teaches that it is God's office to inquire into things unjustly done, and to repay each according to merit, as if to say: 'O Lord God, before you I testify that I do not pursue Saul out of any hatred or malevolence; he was made my enemy gratis and pursues me with potsherd and clay [i.e., to the death]. You therefore, O God, I pray, do not allow him to execute what malice dictates to him, but oppose yourself to him, and unfold your power to assist me your servant with your help.' David therefore, relying on the testimony of his conscience and the justice and equity of his own cause, asks God not indeed to destroy Saul, but to deliver him out of his hands. Let us imitate this example and cast back into God's hands the injuries done to us. Not indeed seeking that God would drive our enemies down to hell with his lightning bolt, which yet most do, considering themselves to have beautifully discharged their duty when they have said that they are unwilling to repay evil for evil or to harm one doing injury, but yet they curse him with imprecations, and pray God to confound him, curse him, cast him into hell, strike him with his thunderbolt, and finally take vengeance so severely that they may derive great joy from that vengeance. Such blasphemous voices, when they have spewed them out, they nevertheless persuade themselves that they have not offended God. But, I ask, which is better: that we ourselves take vengeance, or make God a minister of our spirit eager for vengeance, and command him as if he were the executor of our wicked will, and as if he ought to transform himself into our malice? But God claims this for himself as proper to him, to convert those who seemed incorrigible, and to call out from hell those who had immersed themselves in it. We therefore, when we desire vengeance and wish him in whose hands lies the power of heaven and earth to conform to our appetites, to strike with thunderbolt those by whom we have been wounded, indeed to extirpate them utterly, does it not sufficiently appear that we wish to command God, and what is far greater, wish that he should renounce himself and fulfill the wishes which we have conceived in our soul from the impulse of our cursed and depraved nature -- is this not a horrible sacrilege, by which we seem to want to usurp the honor due to him and pull him down from his throne, and subject him to ourselves, when our audacity proceeds so far that today we ask that our enemies perish and be destroyed? Therefore we must take great care not to impose law on God and want him to be the minister of our malice with importunate prayers. But on the contrary our cause must be entrusted to him, in such a way that we do not look for the destruction of those by whom we have been wounded, but it is enough for us that he is a just judge and almighty. A just judge, I say, for punishing iniquities, but almighty for converting wretched sinners and the wayward to himself, and communicating to them the fruit of his mercy, that he may shine for them as the dawn dispelling the darkness. And so God is accustomed to console his faithful, exercised by various calamities and straits as by dense darkness, and for a time despised, trampled under foot by the wicked who triumph over them and mock their hope which they place in God, and to protect them against the assault of enemies, and to extend his hand in afflictions, and to cherish those brought as it were from darkness into light. Therefore let us leave them to his judgment and abstain from every spirit of vengeance, and patiently await the time which God has prescribed for the revelation of his will, and rather desire the conversion and repentance of our enemies. But if it should happen that our enemies leave no place for admonitions, and we lose oil and labor because they perversely persevere in their malice and stubbornness, let us not doubt that God will at last show himself a just judge and avenger. This therefore is the manner of invocation of God set before us, that with the greatest zeal we promote the salvation of our neighbors, even if they have conspired for our destruction, leaving to God the judgment and vengeance of those who, like dogs, desire to tear and rend us, and as if to resist God himself, whose punishment we know will be so horrible that we cannot now sufficiently grasp it in our minds. And of these things let enough have been said.

Let us pass on to the following words of David in which he defends himself and his integrity, and shows by a common proverb that it had not come into his mind to kill Saul. For he says: 'As is also said in the ancient proverb, from the wicked shall come forth wickedness.' Therefore even though Saul was sufficiently aware that there was no malice in David, because he had had no occasion of pursuing him as an enemy, and David had always rendered him faithful service, and had cherished him as king with due reverence; indeed had even spared him, whom he could have removed when he had fallen into his hands -- yet David also defends his innocence by the argument from contraries, which has great force. For one thing opposed to another shines forth more clearly, just as white opposed to black. So therefore David argues against Saul. 'If I had been wicked, as your courtiers slander me, you would have felt the effect of my wickedness today, since the opportunity seemed offered when you fell unwary into my hands. Yet I refrained my hands from you and afflicted you with no injury or insult. For I looked to God, whose part it is to be the avenger of crimes.' But since the shortness of time prevents pursuing these things at greater length, let us learn to defend our innocence by words in such a way that deeds correspond, lest we imitate forensic pettifoggers who with many words and painted phrases palliate a bad cause and want it to be considered good. But let us approach God in simplicity, and let us hope that our cause is judged not by words alone, but also by deeds, so that we may be acquitted of false accusations both before God and before men.

Now then come, etc.

8. Saul got up from the cave and continued on his way. 9. Then David got up and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying: My lord the king! Saul looked back, and David bowed with his face to the ground and paid him homage. 10. And David said to Saul: Why do you listen to the people who say, David is seeking your harm? 11. See, this very day your own eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you into my hand in the cave, and someone told me to kill you — but I spared you. I said: I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, because he is the Lord's anointed. 12. See, my father — look at the corner of your robe in my hand:

For when I cut off the corner of your robe, I would not stretch out my hand against you. See and understand that there is no evil in my hand, no wrong, and I have not sinned against you — yet you are hunting my life to take it. 13. May the Lord judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand will not be against you.

In yesterday's sermon we learned that it is not enough simply to abstain from evil — we must apply every effort to lift up those who are falling and, as much as possible, prevent those who are planning wicked schemes, and never allow ourselves to be led astray by flattering arguments. We learned this from David's example: he not only kept his hands off Saul, his bitterest enemy, but he also held back his own fighting men, who were urging him with arguments that sounded reasonable. They argued that Saul had fallen into David's hands by divine providence, that the time had finally come to be free from all their miseries, and that God was now offering them an end to their troubles with Saul's death. Yet none of this moved David to lay a hand on him. Instead he firmly resisted, and broke their plans and determination with sound warnings and exhortations. This shows that God's faithful servants must not only keep their hands clean from wrongdoing — they must also actively resist evil with all their strength. And when we weigh the full circumstances of this, David's virtue appears all the more admirable. As we said before, David had reason to fear that his companions might rise up against him — worn down by the endless suffering with no end in sight, living daily at the edge of death. They could easily have removed David as the cause of all their troubles. He knew this well enough, but it could not move him from his duty to obey God's command. Therefore let us, even when we fear an uproar from others while we persist in doing right, not for that reason stop resisting evil and restraining ourselves. Even if those who pressure us are raging in fury, let us oppose evil with all our strength, behave calmly toward those driven by fierce impulse, and call back those whom the heat of anger sweeps beyond the limits of reason to the path of right and fairness.

Enough has been said about David. Now let us consider how we should conduct ourselves toward our enemies. When we hear the Gospel command that evil must not be repaid with evil, that we must not seek revenge but pursue peace in every way, possessing our souls in quietness and stillness — even if we recognize this teaching as just and are forced to admit that God has commanded nothing but what is right — we will still think it utterly foreign to our nature and impossible to live by. Even if we manage to hold back from all injury, we will think the standard God has placed on us — to repay evil with good — is too harsh, even unbearable. We will shelter behind these-sounding excuses, telling ourselves that our patience cannot be stretched that far — that we cannot love those who hate us, overcome with kindness those who persecute us, or pray for those who curse us and damage our reputation. But David's example puts all such excuses to rest. We know David was not made of iron or stone — he was a man subject to the same emotions and passions as we are. And yet he conducted himself toward his bitterest enemy in such a way that he repaid evil with good. Let all such excuses be silenced, then, for God declares them empty and worthless. Let us instead recognize the vice that is rooted in our nature and seek a remedy for it. Since we are by nature full of arrogance, pride, and bitterness, let us pray God to govern us by His Holy Spirit and to give us such courage and strength of spirit that we can bear all adversity bravely, patiently endure whatever He chooses to lay on us, and commit our cause to His hands — as Peter teaches and David demonstrates by example — so that we can rein in the violent impulses and passions within us.

Now let us look carefully at Saul's cruelty and savagery toward David. By nature we are all too ready to exaggerate and magnify the wrongs our enemies have done to us — we easily make a mountain out of a molehill, driven by self-love and a thin skin. Yet it is certain that scarcely anyone today could be found more wicked, more savage and cruel, more ungrateful and more relentless, than Saul was toward David. Think of the great benefits David had given to the whole people and region — he had saved them at the risk of his own life, so that Saul himself owed him his scepter and crown. And consider the personal service David had privately rendered to Saul: soothing and calming him with the playing of the harp when Saul was raging and tormented by an evil spirit from the Lord, and serving him faithfully in every way. By all these things Saul was bound to David and owed him everything — so much so that even if he had risked his own life for David a hundred times over, he still could never have felt he had repaid the debt. And yet, even after Saul set traps for David and tried to kill him without warning, David never stopped following him with complete obedience and service. Even when Saul with contempt and cruelty gave to another the daughter who had been promised to David, these insults and injuries could not turn David from his duty. Then when Saul hunted David relentlessly — persecuting an innocent, wretched exile with murderous intent, gathering an army against him, seeking his death, willing to turn heaven and earth upside down rather than fail to carry out his designs — it would have seemed that David had borne more than enough. If any cause for human revenge can ever be called just, David had surely suffered more than sufficient. And yet none of this could move David one step from his duty. So when we have been wronged by someone with the most serious injuries, let us remember that David was wronged by Saul with even greater ones — and yet not even those could draw David a single step away from God's command. By David's example we will be judged before God. And his understanding was far less illumined by clear teaching than ours is today, since we have the example of our Lord Jesus Christ to be conformed to. I acknowledge that David, anointed through Samuel's ministry, was a figure of our Lord, as has often been said. But David in his time could not contemplate Jesus Christ our Lord as He is displayed to us today — the Lamb who opened not His mouth when He was led to the slaughter and overwhelmed with every kind of insult. We today are taught to be conformed to our Head, Jesus Christ, who is set before us as our example to follow. Every excuse is therefore taken from us, unless we so restrain all the violence and ugliness of our passions that we submit ourselves calmly to God — not only holding back from all force and violence, but actually repaying evil with good. I confess that this cannot be accomplished without great struggle.

Even David, when his soldiers urged him to kill Saul, could be moved and felt something human. Some understand this in his words 'someone said to me' — as if David's own mind had suggested killing Saul. That interpretation seems strained, since we know he was urged by others; and regardless of where the temptation came from, he set aside all anger and desire for revenge that could have driven him to avenge Saul's cruelty. And yet, when we feel within ourselves a similar struggle — conflicting impulses that pull us away from submitting at once to God's will as revealed in His Word — we must fight hard against ourselves and apply force to our own hearts until we have brought all our feelings and desires into captivity. This happens when we look up to God Himself and fix our eyes on His will. As long as we focus on our enemies, we think everything is permitted — comparing our own integrity with the wickedness of the one persecuting us, we feel wronged if we are not allowed to fight back and take revenge. Even the pagans counted it a virtue to repel an injury when provoked, calling such a man strong and courageous — someone who would not stoop so low as to be wronged without response. So as long as our eyes are fixed on people, we will believe we are justified in defending a good cause by any means and taking revenge on those who harm us. But when we look up to God and consider the duty His Word prescribes, all such thinking must be swept from our minds. We must understand that even if the whole world applauds us, we have made no progress if we are condemned by the only Judge who truly matters. What does it profit us to have the applause of a thousand worlds if we stand condemned by the sentence of God the supreme Judge? From the greatest to the least, all must stand before His judgment. So to restrain the force and violence of our passions, we must rise to God, to whom all are answerable. When we say, 'What do I owe to someone who is ungrateful, who unjustly persecutes me when I never wronged him — someone I have only helped and benefited, who repays kindness with cruelty?' — and many other such things people use to cover their passions — we must know that all of this is empty and worthless before God. For although we owe nothing to the enemy or adversary, we owe it to God — and it is enough that He commands it. Let such objections against God's Word stop — we are not presenting our case before a human court. Let us instead fix in our minds that our business is with God, who requires His majesty to hold such weight with us that out of love for Him we forgive the injuries others do to us. When He commands us to forgive our enemies, He does so not because they are good people — they are wicked and cruel — but because they are His creatures, whose malice He Himself can change, making room for His mercy. It is not for us to seek their destruction, when we should rather be seeking their salvation. We must therefore keep God in view and look up to Him, knowing that this is pleasing to Him — that to love our enemies and not seek revenge on them, but strive to repay evil with good, is acceptable to Him as a sweet-smelling sacrifice. But this would be very hard for human nature without something further to ease the pain — namely, God's promise that vengeance is His and He will repay. These words contain two truths: vengeance and repayment belong to God. God shows that a great wrong is done to Him when people take revenge into their own hands — they are seizing what belongs to Him. When He says 'Vengeance is mine,' it is as though He is saying: since He is the Judge of all the world, He has kept for Himself the right to avenge all insults and injuries. This vengeance should not be thought of as deferred only to the last day — it is also administered through magistrates in this present life. For this reason Paul teaches that magistrates do not carry the sword without purpose, but are God's servants, agents of His wrath against those who do evil. It is clear that private individuals rob God of His right when they take personal revenge — it is a kind of sacrilege to override His power and authority. Imagine an earthly judge sitting on the bench, and in his presence a dispute breaks out between two litigants — one attacks the other with his fist or draws a sword to avenge an injury done right in front of the judge. Do we think he would escape punishment? The judge would rightly complain that his authority had been violated, since the private person took vengeance into his own hands instead of seeking it from the one who presides. If earthly judges can rightly make this claim — since they act as God's representatives and ministers — how much greater is the authority and power of the supreme Judge of all things, before whom we know the angels tremble and before whom every knee must bow? So we must hold in high esteem the Lord's declaration, 'Vengeance is mine,' as Paul teaches us. And we must add the second part: God does not merely promise to avenge those who inflict injuries on others — He does so not in the manner of earthly judges, who are often overcome by wrongdoing, corrupted by favors or bribes, or who let criminals escape through negligence and cowardice. God exercises judgment differently: He will avenge all who act unjustly, and He will repay each one exactly according to what they deserve. So let us take Peter's exhortation to heart more deeply — to cast our cause into God's hands, knowing that He judges justly, does not leave wrongdoing unpunished, and does not fail to bring help and relief to the wretched and afflicted who flee to Him. The humble and abject, those who have suffered injury from others, are always heard. Since God hears the groans of the lowly and pursues the wrongs done to His own, comforting them in all afflictions, let us commit our cause into His hands and not doubt that He will bring us help at exactly the right time. Meditating on these truths will necessarily break the power of our passions when we are tempted to rage against our enemies and fight back with force.

Since David's example is set before us here for imitation, let us examine carefully what the Holy Spirit is showing us. First, this: 'Going out of the cave, he called after Saul, saying: My lord the king.' These words were not false flattery. When David called Saul his lord and king, he meant it — he knew that he was subject to Saul by God's appointment until the time came for him to take possession of the kingdom. Although Saul had been rejected by the Lord, as we said before, David had not yet been installed as king — he had to wait for the time God had set. David understood well that he had not yet been declared king and that Saul had not yet been removed from the throne. Therefore, as long as Saul held power, David was bound to render him proper obedience and respect — even though Saul was unworthy because of the cruelty and savagery with which he raged against an innocent man. From this we learn that we must obey authorities and those in positions of power even when they fail in their duty and abuse their authority — we are not to reject them at the first opportunity and throw off their yoke, but must patiently endure their insults and injuries while showing respect for the dignity God placed them in. For example, if a king or prince unjustly burdens subjects with heavy taxes and causes them serious harm by other abuses, the dignity and authority of the office must still be honored. We must therefore learn to look to God when so much violence surrounds us, and when people pursue us with such hatred that our patience, wounded and raw, urges us to disrupt the order God has established. This principle applies to all other forms of authority as well — so if a son has a harsh and difficult father, he should not think it right to throw off the obligation he owes, but must know he is called to bear it patiently. This is not to deny the legitimate means God Himself has established by which the excesses of superiors who abuse their power may be checked. But what we are dealing with here is private revenge — and private revenge is not given to any private person, since it is not the place of private individuals to remedy public wrongs or take matters into their own hands.

Next, David asks Saul not to listen to those who daily slander him before the king. This shows that patience does not encourage or feed evil — as many try to justify their desire for revenge by claiming that bearing insults only emboldens the aggressor and gives him free rein to do more harm. By such-sounding reasoning, many cover a heart hungry for revenge and eager to repay evil with evil. But David shows us a middle way between these extremes, teaching it by his own example: he did not simply absorb the wrong Saul did him while staying silent or flattering him or covering up his fault — as many people flatter kings with outward pleasantries while inwardly swelling with bitterness, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge. David, while he was patient in bearing the injuries Saul inflicted and unwilling to take personal revenge, still could not bring himself to soothe Saul with courtly flattery — words like: 'My lord king, I confess I owe you much and have no complaint against you; I acknowledge I have offended your dignity, but have mercy on me and forgive whatever I have done wrong.' Such words would have displeased God and turned virtue into vice. So David addressed Saul more honestly: he urged him to turn from his cruelty and warned him not to continue giving easy audience to court flatterers and accusers. While warning Saul of his duty, he also challenged him directly and confronted him with the wrongs of the past — for it was the firebrand courtiers who were constantly whispering new accusations about David into Saul's ears, poisoning his mind. David first charged Saul with cruelty for lending his ear to flatterers. Then he defended his own innocence. By these means David did his best to restrain Saul's anger and cut off the supply of venom as much as possible.

David therefore appeals to God Himself as the supreme Judge, saying: 'May the Lord judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me against you.' In effect he is saying: 'I take refuge in God as my defender. I testify to my innocence. I have served your interests and your benefit — you know this well, and your own eyes are witnesses. Yet you cruelly persecute an innocent man.' 'And not only me — you are provoking God Himself, the Judge and Avenger, to your own greatest shame, because you have no regard for my integrity, my honesty, and my faithfulness.' 'Therefore, if you are wise and do not want to bring disaster on your own head, stop these attacks and walk away from these flatterers.' From this we learn that we may defend our integrity and innocence before our enemies, pointing out their sins and holding them accountable. When Scripture commands us to bear injuries patiently, it does not call us to flatter wicked people or give them further opportunity to rage. Bearing injuries patiently means what our Lord Jesus Christ describes: if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well; if someone takes your coat, let him have your cloak also. But these words must not be taken in a flat, wooden sense. Their point is to teach us to hold back our emotions as if with a bridle, and not to seek revenge when someone wrongs us or disappoints us. Given all this, we must make every effort to bear injuries and insults patiently — but in such a way that we strive to overcome our adversaries with clear, honest warnings rather than with a desire for revenge, so that they may be moved to admire our patience and take it as an occasion to turn to God. For what should be the goal of our patience but to win back miserable and lost souls and call back to the way of salvation those who have wandered far from it? If we flatter wicked people and hide their sins, we are in fact betraying them and helping drag them deeper into destruction. So let us recognize that we cannot better repay evil with good than by confronting our enemies about the wrongs they have done us — provided our aim is that, seeing their own faults, displeasing both themselves and God, they may turn to Him in true repentance. Furthermore, when falsely accused before kings, princes, or anyone else, we should strive to let our innocence speak for itself through how we live. Most people who work very hard at defending themselves with many words generally do so because they cannot let their integrity speak through their actual conduct. We tend to be very eloquent in describing the wrongs done to us, and through a flood of words we try to make ourselves look right — not noticing that such anxious and frantic self-defense only uncovers our shame further. Let us imitate David's example instead: defend our innocence through plain words, let truth be the judge in the matter of the injuries done to us, and give our lives as the living proof of our integrity and faithfulness.

Enough on those matters. Now let us examine David's solemn appeal, calling Saul before God's judgment. This is the chief and supreme consolation of believers: to be persuaded that they have an advocate in heaven when they have been unjustly treated by people on earth. What is the root cause of the impatience that drives people to revenge, making them unable to bear any injury? It is the deep conviction that the day of reckoning will never come. That one thought inflames people so powerfully and stirs their passions to such violence that they lose all self-control and throw aside all decency and reason. But if we know how to look up to God and persuade ourselves with certainty that He will be the avenger of wrongs and will take up our defense — and that He does not behave like earthly judges, who pretend to want to give justice to the plaintiff while privately giving the other party room to escape — then everything changes. God is not like that. He tracks down the wicked even when they flee, lays His hand on them, and though they rage like wild beasts, He knows how to tame them. He has appointed His own time for judgment. After we have demonstrated our innocence and exposed the sins of those persecuting us, we should still strive to recall them to a better way — to lead them to repentance as much as we can. But if, after being warned, they do not come to their senses — if our exhortations and example have not moved them to better behavior and they stubbornly persist in their wickedness — then we will be forced to appeal to God Himself, to summon them to stand one day before God's tribunal at the last judgment, and to show that they are unworthy to enjoy the blessings they take for granted — blessings they will one day have to account for before God, when they will be forced to acknowledge, even if they gnash their teeth, that there is no place to hide their shame. This is our duty toward enemies: after bringing our grievances to them and confronting them with their wrongs, we warn them of God's judgment and call them to account before Him. Let us also take the greatest care not to invoke God's name recklessly, remembering that terrible warning: God will not leave those who take His name in vain without punishment. This teaching must be held all the more carefully given how prone people are to misuse God's name. How often do people call God as their witness, bringing Him in as judge on their side — but emptily and dishonestly? Scarcely one person in a thousand is like David in this, though many imitate his words. But with what sincerity, with what integrity? — when some are oath-breakers, others profane the most holy name of God, and merely parrot the words of God's faithful servants like apes: 'God is my witness.' When we appeal to God and summon the opposing party to stand before His tribunal, we must examine the whole matter carefully and know that we must plead our cause before Him without a lawyer to cover for us, as David says in Psalm 7. There David testifies that he did not speak rashly about Saul, for he was appealing to God. This is a lesson to be meditated on carefully until it is thoroughly learned. How God is to be called as witness can be learned from David's example: when we are unjustly accused, flee to prayer and be inwardly moved by reverence for God, with no concern for human opinion. If our conscience testifies to our innocence without pretense — if we can honestly bring our complaint and say with an open heart, 'You are a just Judge, Lord; pronounce sentence on our case' — then we will not be falsely invoking God as judge merely with our lips, as David prayed that God would judge between him and Saul. And when David in Psalm 7 calls on God and asks Him to judge his cause, testifying that he had always maintained a right attitude toward Saul, served him faithfully, and made his innocence plain to all — he could draw great consolation from this, and with this confidence summon Saul to stand before God's tribunal. So let us learn from this: when assailed by various wrongs and insults, to maintain integrity — so that before God we can bring forward our innocence honestly and without pretense, and hold the same opinion of ourselves before other people as well. If only people think well of us, but our own conscience contradicts us and secretly harbors countless vices — with what face could we claim our innocence and bring God in as judge against our accusers? It is not enough to appeal to God unless it is done without pretense and with a clean conscience. Many hypocrites appeal to God too shamelessly, and think themselves free from all blame as long as they have a good name among people. But we must approach God with the sincerity and honesty David showed — just as in another passage he prays that God search his inmost thoughts, that he may stand pure before Him, and be placed in the furnace to be refined like gold and silver. If we can honestly testify before God that we are no longer held captive by self-love and no longer swollen with our natural pride — then truly before God and before people we will be able to defend our innocence, and we will not fear to call God as the Judge of our cause and the witness of our integrity.

Enough on those matters. Let us move to another question that arises here: was it lawful for David to ask God to avenge him against Saul? We are not only forbidden to take revenge ourselves — we are commanded to pray for those who harm us, to bear injuries patiently, and to have no desire for revenge at all. And yet David seems at this point to have obeyed God's command on the one hand — not taking revenge himself, repaying evil with good, warning Saul of his treachery and cruelty, and urging him to stop — while on the other hand appearing to forget his duty when he adds: 'May the Lord avenge me against you.' Those words seem to betray a hidden fire of anger and a desire for revenge. But we must observe this: we can call God as judge without anger and without desiring the destruction of those who have wronged us. So here, when David prays God to avenge him, he is not seeking Saul's destruction or ruin — he would have far preferred from the bottom of his heart that Saul would come to a better mind and turn to God in genuine repentance. When he asks God to avenge him, he is acknowledging that it is God's role to examine what has been done unjustly and to repay each person according to what they deserve — as if to say: 'O Lord God, before You I testify that I am not pursuing Saul out of hatred or malice. He became my enemy without cause and hunts me relentlessly to the death. Therefore, O God, I pray: do not allow him to carry out what his malice demands. Stand against him, and stretch out Your power to help me, Your servant.' David, trusting the testimony of his own conscience and the justice of his cause, asks God not to destroy Saul, but to deliver him out of Saul's hands. Let us imitate this example and cast the wrongs done to us back into God's hands. Not the way most people do — who think they have discharged their duty beautifully by saying they will not repay evil for evil, yet in the same breath curse their enemy, beg God to confound him, curse him, cast him into hell, strike him with lightning, and finally take so severe a revenge that they could derive great joy from it. Having poured out such blasphemous words, they still persuade themselves they have not offended God. But consider: which is worse — to take revenge ourselves, or to make God the instrument of our revenge-hungry spirit, issuing commands to Him as though He were the executor of our wicked will, as though He ought to transform Himself into our malice? God claims for Himself the power to convert those who seemed beyond hope, and to call up from the pit those who had plunged themselves into it. So when we desire revenge and wish Him who holds the power of heaven and earth to conform to our appetites — to strike with lightning those who have wounded us, indeed to destroy them utterly — is it not plain that we are trying to command God? And worse still: we are wishing that He would renounce Himself and fulfill the desires we have conceived from the impulse of our corrupt nature. Is this not a horrible sacrilege — wanting to seize the honor due to Him, pull Him down from His throne, and make Him subject to us — when our audacity goes so far as to demand today that our enemies perish and be destroyed? We must take the greatest care not to impose our will on God or try to make Him the servant of our malice through relentless prayers. Rather, we must commit our cause to Him in such a way that we do not seek the destruction of those who have wronged us — it is enough for us that He is a just and almighty judge. Just, I say, in punishing wickedness — and almighty in converting wretched sinners and the wayward back to Himself, giving them the fruit of His mercy, so that He shines for them like the dawn breaking through darkness. This is how God comforts His people, who are tested through various troubles and distress as through deep darkness — despised for a time, trampled by the wicked who triumph over them and mock the hope they place in God. He protects them against the assault of enemies, stretches out His hand in affliction, and tenderly cares for those brought as it were from darkness into light. So let us leave our enemies to His judgment, put away every impulse toward revenge, and patiently wait for the time God has appointed to reveal His will — and let us desire the conversion and repentance of our enemies above all. But if it turns out that our enemies leave no room for warning — if we lose all effort because they stubbornly persist in their wickedness — let us not doubt that God will in the end show Himself a just judge and avenger. This, then, is the right way to call on God: with the greatest earnestness we seek the salvation of our neighbors, even of those who have conspired against us — and we leave to God the judgment and vengeance of those who, like dogs, want to tear us apart and who resist God Himself. We know His punishment of such people will be so terrible that we cannot yet fully grasp it in our minds. Let that be enough on these matters.

Let us move on to the words that follow, in which David defends himself and his integrity — and uses a common proverb to show that it never entered his mind to kill Saul. He says: 'As the ancient proverb says, out of the wicked comes wickedness.' Saul knew well enough that there was no malice in David — David had never given him cause to be treated as an enemy, had always served him faithfully, and had honored him as king with proper respect. In fact David had spared him when he had Saul completely in his power and could have removed him. Still, David also defends his innocence through an argument from contrast, which carries great force — just as white stands out all the more clearly when placed beside black. David's argument to Saul is this: 'If I were the wicked man your courtiers claim, you would have felt the effect of my wickedness today — the opportunity was right there when you fell into my hands without knowing it. Yet I held back my hand and did nothing to harm or insult you. I looked to God, whose role it is to be the avenger of crimes.' Since time does not permit pursuing these things further, let us simply learn this: defend our innocence with words in such a way that our actions confirm them — not imitating courtroom lawyers who use many words and clever phrases to dress up a bad cause and pass it off as good. Instead, let us approach God in simplicity, and trust that our cause will be judged not by words alone but also by deeds, so that we may be cleared of false accusations both before God and before people.

Now then come, etc.