The farmer and mechanic., 1915-04-27

stead Of resisting the temptation to
jealousy, and instead of combating
it by sharing sincerely in praise Of
David, he nursed the foul passions un-
til it had grown to overmastering
size. Thrice the kings fury SO far
oyercame him that in fit of passion
he hurled his spear at David: for the
spirit of jealousy, unchecked, easily
becomes the spirit Of murder.
The Goodness That Breeds Badness.
In the old-fashioned Sunday School
books (whoever sees them now
adays?) simple minded goodness,
even to the point Of priggishness, al
ways won the favor Of evil. Every
body learned to love the pious little
here before he died. That was the
way it happened in the stories, but
that is not the way it happens in
life. Often-indeed, usualfy-vigor-
Gus goodness is hated by badness,
even as the Bible declares. Many a
Christian suffers simply from being a
| Christian. The very fact that David
! was noble won him the enmity OF
! the ignoble kind. David was not
sanctimonious, Haunting his goodness
in the face of the jealous monarch;
the record runs that he behaved him
self discreetly. He was not forward,
| but modest. So far as possible, he
kept himself in the background. But
when there was any fighting to be
done for the nation, then he was
foremost in meeting the enemy.
Even when the king tempted him
by offering his daughter as a bride,
David held back. He shrank from
the presumption of being a sOn-in-
law of the king. He knew the perils
that high places brings. Already his
success had made him enemies, as
success usually does: therefore, he
sought the background, and a post
fitting his family station.
Nevertheless, when the marriage
became clearly the right course for
him to adopt, our hero did not
shring, even though his royal father
; demanded that he slay a hundred
} Philistines as wedding dowry Da-
t vid saw through this subterfuge te
send him into danger; the ruse is as
S old as Jealousy and as new as the
latest lie from the European battle.
| field; but the valiant bridegroom
J slew two hundred, showing his dis
Y dain for danger and for SauFs strate
gems.
4 The very meaness Of the king
course only brought into brighter re
lief the lofty and COURAGEOUS conduc
Of David. The history has it tha
David behaved himself more wisel,
q than all the servants of Saul; so tha
: ms name was much set by"
I Plots and Perils.
s Every knave is half fool, run
|. the proverb which explains the tao
5. tics OF police the world around
y Wlckedness betrays itself. Sau
S recklessly began to make plots TO
Z, the destruction of David. His ma
# all masks. He even broached t
e Jonathan the subject of killing tn
. hero minstrel. That wise and chiya]
,e rous young man restored his fathe
to reason for a time, and effected
reconciliation between Seu1 and Da
vid But another great victory owe
the Philistines by David infuriate
the jealous king afresh, and again b
tried to pin David to the wall wit
his spear.
as Desperate, Saul then plotted
ry slay his son-in-law while he slep
to but David's wife had wind of tl
III plot, and let her husband dow
n through the window, even as Raha
saved the spies and the Christian
saved Paul at Damascus
10 give her husband time to G
cape, Michal put the household ina.
for blink it as we may, it neve
n theless seems to be true that son
re. form of idolatry still persisted in !
Ii racl, and even in David's household
I'D into David's bed. and covered it
at represent him. This foiled the hu
TO- for little while, and David ma,
Ice ms escape; but Saul was doubtly a
it gered over the deception. So t
90 kings son and the kings daught
etc both in turn delivered the man who
ifa they loved above their own father.
go The Hero In Flight.
n14 David fed to Samuel, at Rama
nc showing wisdom in his choice Of
,nS refuge and counsellor. Doubtless a
Re yersity turned him to religion, ev
-; as the present war is creating sp
-. itua mood in all then ations e
~ gagged. At this distance we can
clearly what was hard for David
understand; that God was maxi
q great man OF him; and for gre:
Is ness there is no school like adv,
oT sity. Hardy plants grow in hard 81
10 In the abstract, we all know IL
III God means well for us: blessed is
who can say, in the midst of q
ner couragement and difficulty. Il kn
roo | am in the hand of God He is
he ing something with my life l CO