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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>F I R S T S A M U E L</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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David has now quite taken leave both of Saul's court and of his camp,
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has bidden farewell to his alter idem--his other self, the beloved
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Jonathan; and henceforward to the end of this book he is looked upon
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and treated as an outlaw and proclaimed a traitor. We still find him
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shifting from place to place for his own safety, and Saul pursuing him.
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His troubles are very particularly related in this and the following
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chapters, not only to be a key to the Psalms, but that he might be, as
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other prophets, an example to the saints in all ages, "of suffering
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affliction, and of patience," and especially that he might be a type of
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Christ, who, being anointed to the kingdom, humbled himself, and was
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therefore highly exalted. But the example of the suffering Jesus was a
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copy without a blot, that of David was not so; witness the records of
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this chapter, where we find David in his flight,
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I. Imposing upon Abimelech the priest, to get from him both victuals
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and arms,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:1-9">ver. 1-9</A>.
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II. Imposing upon Achish, king of Gath, by feigning himself mad,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:10-15">ver. 10-15</A>.
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Justly are troubles called temptations, for many are by them drawn into
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sin.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David Obtains the Show-Bread; David Gets the Sword of Goliath.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1057.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech
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was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why <I>art</I>
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thou alone, and no man with thee?
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2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath
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commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know
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any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have
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commanded thee: and I have appointed <I>my</I> servants to such and
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such a place.
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3 Now therefore what is under thine hand? give <I>me</I> five
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<I>loaves of</I> bread in mine hand, or what there is present.
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4 And the priest answered David, and said, <I>There is</I> no common
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bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young
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men have kept themselves at least from women.
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5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth
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women <I>have been</I> kept from us about these three days, since I
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came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and <I>the
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bread is</I> in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this
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day in the vessel.
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6 So the priest gave him hallowed <I>bread:</I> for there was no
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bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
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7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul <I>was</I> there that
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day, detained before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; and his name <I>was</I> Doeg, an
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Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that <I>belonged</I> to Saul.
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8 And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under
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thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword
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nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required
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haste.
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9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine,
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whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it <I>is here</I>
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wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take
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<I>it:</I> for <I>there is</I> no other save that here. And David said,
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<I>There is</I> none like that; give it me.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. David, in distress, flies in the tabernacle of God, now pitched at
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Nob, supposed to be a city in the tribe of Benjamin. Since Shiloh was
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forsaken, the tabernacle was often removed, though the ark still
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remained at Kirjath-jearim. Hither David came in his flight from Saul's
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fury
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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and applied to Ahimelech the priest. Samuel the prophet could not
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protect him, Jonathan the prince could not. He therefore has recourse
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next to Ahimelech the priest. He foresees he must now be an exile, and
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therefore comes to the tabernacle,
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1. To take an affecting leave of it, for he knows not when he shall see
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it again, and nothing will be more afflictive to him in his banishment
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than his distance from the house of God, and his restraint from public
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ordinances, as appears by many of his psalms. He had given an
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affectionate farewell to his friend Jonathan, and cannot go till he has
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given the like to the tabernacle.
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2. To enquire of the Lord there, and to beg direction from him in the
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way both of duty and safety, his case being difficult and dangerous.
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That this was his business appears
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:10"><I>ch.</I> xxii. 10</A>,
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where it is said that <I>Ahimelech enquired of the Lord for him,</I> as
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he had done formerly,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
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It is a great comfort to us in a day of trouble that we have a God to
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go to, to whom we may open our case, and from whom we may ask and
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expect direction.</P>
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<P>
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II. Ahimelech the priest is surprised to see him in so poor an
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equipage; having heard that he had fallen into disgrace at court, he
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looked shy upon him, as most are apt to do upon their friends when the
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world frowns upon them. He was afraid of incurring Saul's displeasure
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by entertaining him, and took notice how mean a figure he now made to
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what he used to make: <I>Why art thou alone?</I> He had some with him
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(as appears
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+2:26">Mark ii. 26</A>),
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but they were only his own servants; he had none of the courtiers, no
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persons of quality with him, as he used to have at other times, when he
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came to enquire of the Lord. He says
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+42:4">Ps. xlii. 4</A>)
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he was wont to <I>go with a multitude to the house of God;</I> and,
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having now but two or three with him, Ahimelech might well ask, <I>Why
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art thou alone?</I> He that was suddenly advanced from the solitude of
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a shepherd's life to the crowd and hurries of the camp is now as soon
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reduced to the desolate condition of an exile and is <I>alone like a
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sparrow on the housetop,</I> such charges are there in this world and
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so uncertain are its smiles! Those that are courted to-day may be
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deserted to-morrow.</P>
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<P>
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III. David, under pretence of being sent by Saul upon public services,
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solicits Ahimelech to supply his present wants,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.</P>
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<P>
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1. Here David did not behave like himself. He told Ahimelech a gross
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untruth, that Saul had ordered him business to despatch, that his
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attendants were dismissed to such a place, and that he was charged to
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observe secresy and therefore durst not communicate it, no, not to the
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priest himself. This was all false. What shall we say to this? The
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scripture does not conceal it, and we dare not justify it. It was ill
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done, and proved of bad consequence; for it <I>occasioned the death of
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the priests of the Lord,</I> as David reflected upon it afterwards with
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regret,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:22"><I>ch.</I> xxii. 22</A>.
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It was needless for him thus to dissemble with the priest, for we may
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suppose that, if he had told him the truth, he would have sheltered and
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relieved him as readily as Samuel did, and would have known the better
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how to advise him and enquire of God for him. People should be free
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with their faithful ministers. David was a man of great faith and
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courage, and yet now both failed him, and he fell thus foully through
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fear and cowardice, and both owing to the weakness of his faith. Had he
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trusted God aright, he would not have used such a sorry sinful shift as
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this for his own preservation. It is written, not for our imitation,
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no, not in the greatest straits, but for our admonition. <I>Let him
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that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall;</I> and let us all pray
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daily, <I>Lord, lead us not into temptation.</I> Let us all take
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occasion from this to lament,
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(1.) The weakness and infirmity of good men; the best are not perfect
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on this side heaven. There may be true grace where yet there are many
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failings.
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(2.) The wickedness of bad times, which forces good men into such
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straits as prove temptations too strong for them. Oppression makes a
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wise man do foolishly.</P>
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<P>
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2. Two things David begged of Ahimelech, <I>bread</I> and a
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<I>sword.</I></P>
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<P>
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(1.) He wanted bread: <I>five loaves,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Travelling was then troublesome, when men generally carried their
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provisions with them in kind, having little money and no public houses,
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else David would not now have had to seek for bread. It seems David had
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known the <I>seed of the righteous begging bread</I> occasionally, but
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not constantly,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:25">Ps. xxxvii. 25</A>.
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Now,
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[1.] The priest objected that he had none but hallowed bread,
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<I>show-bread,</I> which had stood a week on the golden table in the
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sanctuary, and was taken thence for the use of the priests and their
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families,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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It seems the priest kept no good house, but wanted either a heart to be
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hospitable or provisions wherewithal to be so. Ahimelech thinks that
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the young men that attended David might not eat of this bread unless
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they had for some time abstained from women, even from their own wives;
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this was required at the <I>giving of the law</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+19:15">Exod. xix. 15</A>),
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but otherwise we never find this made the matter of any ceremonial
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purity on the one side or pollution on the other, and therefore the
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priest here seems to be over-nice, not to say superstitious.
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[2.] David pleads that he and those that were with him, in this case of
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necessity, might lawfully eat of the hallowed bread, for they were not
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only able to answer his terms of keeping from women for three days
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past, but <I>the vessels</I> (that is, the bodies) <I>of the young men
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were holy,</I> being <I>possessed in sanctification and honour at all
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times</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+4:4,5">1 Thess. iv. 4, 5</A>),
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and therefore God would take particular care of them, that they wanted
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not necessary supports, and would have his priest to do so. Being thus
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holy, holy things were not forbidden them. Poor and pious Israelites
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were in effect priests to God, and, rather than be starved, might feed
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on the bread which was appropriated to the priests. Believers are
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spiritual priests, and the offerings of the Lord shall be their
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inheritance; they eat the bread of their God. He pleads that the bread
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is in a manner common, now that what was primarily the religious use of
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it is over; especially (as our margin reads it) <I>where there is other
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bread</I> (<I>hot,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
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<I>sanctified that day in the vessel,</I> and put in the room of it
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upon the table. This was David's plea, and the Son of David approves
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it, and shows from it that mercy is to be preferred to sacrifice, that
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ritual observance must give way to moral duties, and that may be done
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in a case of an urgent providential necessity which may not otherwise
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be done. He brings it to justify his disciples in plucking the ears of
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corn on the sabbath day, for which the Pharisees censured them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+12:3,4">Matt. xii. 3, 4</A>.
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[3.] Ahimelech hereupon supplies him: <I>He gave him hallowed bread</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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and some think it was about this that <I>he enquired of the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:10"><I>ch.</I> xxii. 10</A>.
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As a faithful servant he would not dispose of his master's provisions
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without his master's leave. This bread, we may suppose, was the more
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agreeable to David for its being hallowed, so precious were all sacred
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things to him. The show-bread was but twelve loaves in all, yet out of
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these he gave David five
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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though they had no more in the house; but he trusted Providence.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) He wanted a sword. Persons of quality, though officers of the
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army, did not then wear their swords so constantly as now they do, else
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surely David would not have been without one. It was a wonder that
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Jonathan did not furnish him with his, as he had before done,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+18:4"><I>ch.</I> xviii. 4</A>.
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However, it happened that he had now no weapons with him, the reason of
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which he pretends to be because he came away in haste,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Those that are furnished with the sword of the Spirit and the shield of
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faith cannot be disarmed of them, nor need they, at any time, to be at
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a loss. But the priests, it seems, had no swords: the weapons of their
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warfare were not carnal. There was not a sword to be found about the
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tabernacle but the sword of Goliath, which was laid up behind the
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ephod, as a monument of the glorious victory David obtained over him.
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Probably David had an eye to that when he asked the priest to help him
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with a sword; for, that being mentioned, O! says he, <I>there is none
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like that, give it to me,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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He could not use Saul's armour, for he had not proved it; but this
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sword of Goliath he had made trial of and done execution with. By this
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it appears that he was now well grown in strength and stature, that he
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could wear and wield such a sword as that. God had <I>taught his hands
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to war,</I> so that he could do wonders,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:34">Ps. xviii. 34</A>.
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Two things we may observe concerning this sword:--
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[1.] That God had graciously given it to him, as a pledge of his
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singular favour; so that whenever he drew it, nay, whenever he looked
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upon it, it would be a great support to his faith, by bringing to mind
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that great instance of the particular care and countenance of the
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divine providence respecting him.
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[2.] That he had gratefully given it back to God, dedicating it to him
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and to his honour as a token of his thankfulness; and now in his
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distress it stood him greatly in stead. Note, What we devote to God's
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praise, and serve him with, is most likely to redound, one way or
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other, to our own comfort and benefit. What we gave we have.</P>
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<P>
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Thus was David well furnished with arms and victuals; but it fell out
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very unhappily that there was one of Saul's servants then attending
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before the Lord, <I>Doeg</I> by name, that proved a base traitor both
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to David and Ahimelech. He was by birth an Edomite
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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and though proselyted to the Jewish religion, to get the preferment he
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now had under Saul, yet he retained the ancient and hereditary enmity
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of Edom to Israel. He was master of the herds, which perhaps was then a
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place of as much honour as master of the horse is now. Some occasion or
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other he had at this time to wait on the priest, either to be purified
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from some pollution or to pay some vow; but, whatever his business was,
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it is said, he was <I>detained before the Lord.</I> He must attend and
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could not help it, but he was sick of the service, <I>snuffed at it,
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and said, What a weariness is it!</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+1:13">Mal. i. 13</A>.
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He would rather have been any where else than before the Lord, and
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therefore, instead of minding the business he came about, was plotting
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to do David a mischief and to be revenged on Ahimelech for detaining
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him. God's sanctuary could never secure such wolves in sheep's
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clothing. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+2:4">Gal. ii. 4</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa21_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David Driven from Achish.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1057.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>10 And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and
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went to Achish the king of Gath.
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11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, <I>Is</I> not this
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David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of
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him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David
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his ten thousands?
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12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore
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afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
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13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned
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himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the
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gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
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14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is
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mad: wherefore <I>then</I> have ye brought him to me?
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15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this <I>fellow</I>
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to play the mad man in my presence? shall this <I>fellow</I> come into
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my house?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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David, though king elect, is here an exile--designed to be master of
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vast treasures, yet just now begging his bread--anointed to the crown,
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and yet here forced to flee from his country. Thus do God's providences
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sometimes seem to run counter to his promises, for the trial of his
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people's faith, and the glorifying of his name, in the accomplishment
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of his counsels, notwithstanding the difficulties that lay in the way.
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Here is,
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1. David's flight into the land of the Philistines, where he hoped to
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be hid, and to remain undiscovered in the court or camp of Achish king
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of Gath,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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Israel's darling is necessitated to quit the land of Israel, and he
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that was the Philistine's great enemy (upon I know not what
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inducements) goes to seek for shelter among them. It should seem that
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as, though the Israelites loved him, yet the king of Israel had a
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personal enmity to him, which obliged him to leave his own country, so,
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though the Philistines hated him, yet the king of Gath had a personal
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kindness for him, valuing his merit, and perhaps the more for his
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killing Goliath of Gath, who, it may be, had been no friend to Achish.
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To him David now went directly, as to one he could confide in, as
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afterwards
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+27:2,3"><I>ch.</I> xxvii. 2, 3</A>),
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and Achish would not have protected him but that he was afraid of
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disobliging his own people. God's persecuted people have often found
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better usage from Philistines than from Israelites, in the Gentile
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theatres than in the Jewish synagogues. The king of Judah imprisoned
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Jeremiah, and the king of Babylon set him at liberty.
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2. The disgust which the servants of Achish took at his being there,
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and their complaint of it to Achish
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
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"<I>Is not this David?</I> Is not this he that has triumphed over the
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Philistines? witness that burden of the song which was so much talked
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of, <I>Saul has slain his thousands,</I> but <I>David,</I> this very
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man, <I>his ten thousands.</I> Nay, Is not this he that (if our
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intelligence from the land of Israel be true) is, or is to be, <I>king
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of the land?</I>" As such, "he must be an enemy to our country; and is
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it safe or honourable for us to protect or entertain such a man?"
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Achish perhaps had intimated to them that it would be policy to
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entertain David, because he was now an enemy to Saul, and he might be
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hereafter a friend to them. It is common for the outlaws of a nation to
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be sheltered by the enemies of that nation. But the servants of Achish
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objected to his politics, and thought it not at all fit that he should
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stay among them.
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3. The fright which this put David into. Though he had some reason to
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put confidence in Achish, yet, when he perceived the servants of Achish
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jealous of him, he began to be afraid that Achish would be obliged to
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deliver him up to them, and he was <I>sorely afraid</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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and perhaps he was the more apprehensive of his own danger, when he was
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thus discovered, because he wore Goliath's sword, which, we may
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suppose, was well known in Gath, and with which he had reason to expect
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they would cut off his head, as he had cut off Goliath's with it.
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David now learned by experience what he has taught us
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+118:9">Ps. cxviii. 9</A>),
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<I>that it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in
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princes.</I> Men of high degree are a lie, and, if we make them our
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hope, they may prove our fear. It was at this time that David penned
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:1-23">Psalm lv.</A>
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(<I>Michtam, a golden psalm), when the Philistines took him in
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Gath,</I> where having shown before God his distresses, he resolves
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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"<I>What time I am afraid I will trust in thee;</I> and therefore
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>)
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<I>will not be afraid what man can do unto me,</I> no, not the sons of
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giants."
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4. The course he took to get out of their hands: <I>He feigned himself
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mad,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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He used the gestures and fashions of a natural fool, or one that had
|
|
gone out of his wits, supposing they would be ready enough to believe
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|
that the disgrace he had fallen into, and the troubles he was now in,
|
|
had driven him distracted. This dissimulation of his cannot be
|
|
justified (it was a mean thing thus to disparage himself, and
|
|
inconsistent with truth thus to misrepresent himself, and therefore not
|
|
becoming the honour and sincerity of such a man as David); yet it may
|
|
in some degree be excused, for it was not a downright lie and it was
|
|
like a stratagem in war, by which he imposed upon his enemies for the
|
|
preservation of his own life. What David did here in pretence and for
|
|
his own safety, which made it partly excusable, drunkards do really,
|
|
and only to gratify a base lust: they made fools of themselves and
|
|
change their behaviour; their words and actions commonly are either as
|
|
silly and ridiculous as an idiot's or as furious and outrageous as a
|
|
madman's, which has often made me wonder that ever men of sense and
|
|
honour should allow themselves in it.
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|
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5. His escape by this means,
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:14,15"><I>v.</I> 14, 15</A>.
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I am apt to think Achish was aware that the delirium was but
|
|
counterfeit, but, being desirous to protect David (as we find
|
|
afterwards he was very kind to him, even when the lord of the
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|
Philistines favoured him not,
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+28:1,2,29:6"><I>ch.</I> xxviii. 1, 2; xxix. 6</A>),
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|
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|
he pretended to his servants that he really thought he was mad, and
|
|
therefore had reason to question whether it was David or no; or, if it
|
|
were, they need not fear him, what harm could he do them now that his
|
|
reason had departed from him? They suspected that Achish was inclined
|
|
to entertain him: "Not I," says he. "He is a madman. I'll have nothing
|
|
to do with him. You need not fear that I should employ him, or give him
|
|
any countenance." He humours the thing well enough when he asks,
|
|
"<I>Have I need of madmen?</I> <I>Shall this fool come into my
|
|
house?</I> I will show him no kindness, but then you shall do him no
|
|
hurt, for, if he be a madmen, he is to be pitied." He therefore
|
|
<I>drove him away,</I> as it is in the title of
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+34:1">Ps. xxxiv.</A>,
|
|
|
|
which David penned upon this occasion, and an excellent psalm it is,
|
|
and shows that he did not change his spirit when he changed his
|
|
behaviour, but even in the greatest difficulties and hurries his
|
|
<I>heart was fixed,</I> trusting in the Lord; and he concludes that
|
|
psalm with this assurance, that <I>none of those that trust in God
|
|
shall be desolate,</I> though they may be, as he now was, solitary and
|
|
distressed, <I>persecuted, but not forsaken.</I></P>
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