Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-12-13
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL,.
LESSON H. FOURTH QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL CERiE5, DEC. IS.

Text of the Lesson, Sam. xx, 32-i2.
Memory Verses. Al, 42-Goiden Text,
Prov. xviii, Commentary by the Rev.
ID. NJ. Stearns
80 "And Jonathan answered Saul, his
father and said unto him, Wherefore shall
he be slain? What hath he doneY" After
David had slain Goliath and had finished
speaking with Saul, it is written that
Jonathan, son of saul, loved David rs his
own soul and gave him his robe and gar
mcnts and sword and bow and girdlc
(chapter xviii, 1-5) and that Saul also
set him over his men of war and would let
him go no more home. But when the
women sang "Saul has slain his thousands
and David his ten thousands (Xvlil, y,
then Saul became jealous and sought to
take David's life Having rejected tho
Lord by his disobedencc, he became the
prey of an evil spirit, but the Lord was
with David and prospcrcd him xviii,
10-l6). As Saul's prosecutions of David in
creased, David said one day to Jonathan,
GAS the Lord liVcth, and as thy soul liNeth,
there is but a step between me and death
Xxx, 81 but Jonathan could not believe
that his father meant death to David and
50 agreed to sound his father Xxx, l2) in
lJaN III : dlSclt'. anu illtu ltt iJttN ia hii'N
Saul's answer was that David must die
(vcrsc 80, hence Jonathan reply as in this
first verse of our lesson
33 And Saul cast u iavclin at him to
smitc him. whereby Jonathan knew that
it was determined of his father to slay Ia
Vid " If there was anger enough in Saul
to kill his own sou, then it was certainly Il
poor prospect, humanity speaking, for Da-
vid. We see in Saul what may become of
IA man when he rejects God. Saul might
have been the Lords own representative,
honorcd by God and man, for everything
was put within his reach for his good.
"a "IIe was gricvcd for David, because
his father had done him shame There
fore he arose from the table and went away
without eating. 1t is easy to fast when
the heart is grieved, and if our love to
Jesus Christ was more like the love of
.Jonatha To David we would be more sen
sitive concerning the Sights put upon our
Saviour and not find pleasure and degree
of satisfaction in persons and places and
things which dishonor Him. oh, for II
whole heart for Christ
3D. And it came to pass in the morning
! that jonathan went out into the field at
/ the time appointed with David, and II lit
tie lad with him." See the story of this
appointment in verses Is to % and note
Jonathan's fathfulncss i'm keeping it.
Our comfort is not in our faithiulncss in
keeping our word, but in the faithiulncss
of our covenant keeping God and saviour
See David's comfort when he came to his
dying hour OI sam. xiii, 81. See also
Cor j, 9; X, Is; | Thcss. V, "a; ii ThcSs
iii, 3.
SO "And he said unto his lad, Run
find out now the arrows which | shoot
And as the lad ran he shot an arrow be
yond him. | suppose any lad woult
chccriully go anywhere with the king
son for ANY manner of service Il Chron
xviii, 2D. Think how chccrfully Samuc
ran at the supposed call of Eli three timc'
in succession in one night. Let the qucs
ton search us Am l a ready and cheer
full messenger for the King and His Son Il
all timcsf' Oh sam. XIV, 15)
81 "Jonathnn cried after the lad ant
said. Is NOT the arrow beyond thea Sc,
the significance of this in verse % How
ii must have gone to David's heart, for i
was even aS he feared He must separat,
himself even from Jonathan. lac must be
come "A stranger and flee for his life be
cause an enemy is on the throne whicl
rightfuily belongs to him. But it is all
part of the forcordaincd plan for him, ant
Gods way for him to reach the throne il
due time. Soc Eph. ii, 10; Math. xvi ~
Is. " And Jonathan cried after the lad
Make speed haste. stay not An addi
tional gricVous word for David from Tn
heart that loved him as its own life, but j
was for DaVids sake and Just bccauS
Jonathan loved him 50, for it hurt iona
than aS much. if not more, than David
All that God SAWS or does to us is ininit