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and atonement for, his wilful or involuntary sin. He whose lips had given utterance to the self-renouncing prayer, Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins," could not turn a deaf ear when a cry of like import was uttered by an offending brother, more especially when the fourfold restitution gave evidence of the sincerity of that brother's repentance. Already must the softened heart of David have relented, ere the skilful advocate of the guilty Nabal referred personally to him. In endeavouring to exculpate, as far as possible, the misconduct of her husband, she adroitly throws back some share of blame upon David himself. Why had he sought "to gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?" How could he expect a different mode of proceeding from one who was notorious for his "evil doings," and whose very name should have served to caution David against any unreasonable expectations of gratitude or liberality on his part? Why should my lord regard this man of Belial, even Nabal, for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my Lord, be as Nabal: "-let the folly of all thy persecutors be as manifest as his is :-let thy enemies be all equally impotent to injure thee.

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In how different a light must the whole transaction now have appeared to David from that in which he had beheld it in the morning, when viewed through the magnifying medium of his own anger. The skilful pleader seized this favourable moment, when. the wisdom of her strong arguments must have prodaced a perceptible impression upon her listening auditor, to call forth his well-known devotional feelings towards that God whose providence alone had

kept him back from the exhibition of an act of folly, as much greater than that of Nabal as the crime which David would have perpetrated exceeded his in dye, Abigail takes it for granted, that David has already abandoned in his heart all thoughts of his meditated revenge; and passing over, with a delicacy and humility truly admirable, all mention of herself, even as the means under God of saving David from the commission of evil, she boldly and beautifully directs his thoughts at once to the clear azure, the unveiled throne of the Great Controller of the deeds of men, and exclaims, “As the Lord liveth, the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand."

Having now, as it seemed, secured to her offending husband forgiveness at the hands of David; and having ascribed his deliverance from danger, and David's preservation from sin, solely to Him to whose preventing grace alone the glory of that deliverance and preservation was due, she next invited attention to the richly laden beasts bearing the freewill offering of her bounty, and which, as it was intended to be, both of a propitiatory nature, and also expressive of gratitude for favours received, was aptly designated by her, " this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought:" and here again is exhibited another trait of that refined and high-wrought courtesy, which gives the finish as it were to the graces and virtues of Abigail. The present which she had to bestow, sumptuous and liberal as it was,

No cloud is seen in Palestine during the months of May, June, July, and August. The period of this interview is denoted by Nabal's occupation.

is not referred to with the ostentation of munificence, but laid lowly at the feet of David, with a graceful insinuation on the part of the donor, that in her estimation it was not worthy of his acceptance, since not to himself but to his servants it is presented: "And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought, let it be even given to the young men that walk at the feet of my Lord."

Having thus meekly presented the fourfold restitution of her husband's trespass, she concludes with a few words of encouragement, calculated to strengthen David's trust in God, and such "sweet counsel" as must have distilled like dew upon the fainting head of him who, though ofttimes delivered from impending danger, could not altogether shake off the infirmities of human faith, and to whose harassed soul the unbelieving thought would sometimes present itself, "I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul." Not such is the view which Abigail had taken of David's desperate circumstances; she staggered not at the divine declarations concerning him; no, not though all apparent probabilities were against their fulfilment: not though the reins of Judah's dominion were then firmly grasped by Saul the Benjamite, encircled by a powerful and numerous clan of dependants and relatives, and supported by the state's best prop, the brave and pious Jonathan, the idol of the people, and the presumed successor to the throne. But, "Hath He said and shall He not do it, hath He spoken and shall He not bring it to pass?" So reasoned Abigail; and therefore she could say with confidence, "The Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy

days." The reason assigned by Abigail as the motive of her confident belief in the ultimate supremacy of David, opens to us another proof of her deep acquaintance with, as well as faith in, the divine oracles. He who now occupied the throne, had not fought the battles of the Lord. When the tribes of Israel dwelt in Rephidim, Amalek, the persecuting child of a persecuting sire, met them by the way, and smote the hindmost among them, the feeble, faint, and weary; "therefore the hand upon the throne of the Lord had sworn that the Lord would have war with Amalek from generation to generation, until the remembrance of Amalek was blotted out from under heaven." Saul, who should have been the willing instrument in the hand of God for the entire fulfilment of this decree, turned aside from the commandment delivered unto him, because his mind had not taken firm hold of the divine testimonies, and because" he loved the praise of men better than the praise of God." David, on the contrary, had been ever found ready to dare both danger and death for the honour of God and the safety of Israel, and thus the forfeiture of the one and the ascendancy of the other was sealed, according to the truth of the divine declarations.

In alluding to the persecution under which David was suffering, what admirable tact as well as piety does Abigail display in speaking of his persecutor. Not one railing word is uttered against him, his very name passed over, and the whole series of his aggravated offences against David summed up in this short and simple declaration-"Yet a man is risen to pursue thee and to seek thy soul." And why this tenderness towards a false and treacherous tyrant? Because Abigail knew that "it was written, thou

shall not speak evil of the ruler of thy people," and Saul, however stained with offences, was the anointed of the God of Judah, the king to whom David equally with herself owed allegiance, and the bands of whose divinely-constituted authority, no human power could unbind. A vulgar or irreligious mind would have sought to propitiate David, by heaping reproach upon the author of his calamities, but he to whom Abigail spake, was one who could well appreciate the delicacy and piety of this forbearance; and surely David must have felt his inmost soul braced to forbearance and long-suffering, while the beautiful image which Abigail made use of to express his continual safety, under the divine protection, took possession of his mind :-'but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God.' When is the precious gem in safety? When it is locked up in the casket. When are the words of inspiration in no danger of being lost or forgotten? When they are enfolded in the wellengraven scroll. But the casket may be broken, the scroll may be defaced: not so that precious jewel for which an hiding-place has been opened in the very centre of the Life of life.

Who does not perceive, in the beautiful figure which Abigail employs to express her confidence in the personal safety and ultimate deliverance of David an apt illustration of the spiritual security and final preservation of those whom the Lord of glory is pleased to designate his "jewels?" What warrant has the Christian to deem himself in safety, when he knows that he has an enemy, ever seeking to destroy him, when snares without and tumults within threaten him with destruction every hour? It is not

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