,,david3  ,,five ,,sermons              
,,note3--,the first four of these       
,sermons were preached before the       
,university of ,cambridge4    ,,sermon  
,i4  ,,david',s ,,weakness    ,psalm    
lxxviii4 #ga1 #gb1 #gc4  ,he chose      
,david his servant1 and took him away   
from the sheep-folds4  ,as he was       
following the ewes great with young     
ones1 he took him2 that he might feed   
,jacob his people1 and ,israel his      
inheritance4  ,so he fed them with a    
faithful and true heart1 and ruled them 
prudently with all his power4  ,i am    
about to preach to you four sermons on  
the character of ,david4 ,his history1  
,i take for granted1 you all know4  ,i  
look on ,david as an all but ideal king1
 educated for his office by an all but  
ideal training4  ,a shepherd first2 a   
life--be it remembered--full of danger  
in those times and lands2 then captain  
of a band of outlaws2 and lastly a king1
 gradually and with difficulty fighting 
his way to a secure throne4  ,this was  

his course4  ,but the most important    
stage of it was probably the first4     
,among the dumb animals he learnt       
experience which he afterwards put into 
practice among human beings4  ,the      
shepherd of the sheep became the        
shepherd of men4  ,he who had slain the 
lion and the bear became the champion of
 his native land4  ,he who followed the 
ewes great with young1 fed ,god's       
oppressed and weary people with a       
faithful and true heart1 till he raised 
them into a great and strong nation4    
,so both sides of the true kingly       
character1 the masculine and the        
feminine1 are brought out in ,david4    
,for the greedy and tyrannous1 he has   
indignant defiance3  for the weak and   
helpless1 patient tenderness4  ,my      
motives for choosing this subject ,i    
will explain in a very few words4  ,we  
have heard much of late about ',muscular
 ,christianity4'  ,a clever expression1 
spoken in jest by ,i know not whom1 has 
been bandied about the world1 and       

supposed by many to represent some new  
ideal of the ,christian character4  ,for
 myself1 ,i do not understand what it   
means4  ,it may mean one of two things4 
,if it mean the first1 it is a term     
somewhat unnecessary1 if not somewhat   
irreverent4  ,if it mean the second1 it 
means something untrue and immoral4     
,its first and better meaning may be    
simply a healthy and manful             
,christianity1 one which does not exalt 
the feminine virtues to the exclusion of
 the masculine4  ,that certain forms of 
,christianity have committed this last  
fault cannot be doubted4  ,the tendency 
of ,christianity1 during the patristic  
and the ,middle ,ages1 was certainly in 
that direction4 ,christians were        
persecuted and defenceless1 and they    
betook themselves to the only virtues   
which they had the opportunity of       
practising--gentleness1 patience1       
resignation1 self-sacrifice1 and        
self-devotion--all that is loveliest in 
the ideal female character4 ,and ,god   

forbid that that side of the ,christian 
life should ever be undervalued4  ,it   
has its own beauty1 its own strength too
 made perfect in weakness2 in prison1 in
 torture1 at the fiery stake1 on the    
lonely sick-bed1 in long years of       
self-devotion and resignation1 and in a 
thousand womanly sacrifices unknown to  
man1 but written for ever in ,god's book
 of life4  ,but as time went on1 and the
 monastic life1 which1 whether practised
 by man or by woman1 is essentially a   
feminine life1 became more and more     
exclusively the religious ideal1 grave  
defects began to appear in what was     
really too narrow a conception of the   
human character4  ,the monks of the     
,middle ,ages1 in aiming exclusively at 
the virtues of women1 generally copied  
little but their vices4  ,their         
unnatural attempt to be wiser than ,god1
 and to unsex themselves1 had done      
little but disease their mind and heart4
  ,they resorted more and more to those 
arts which are the weapons of crafty1   

ambitious1 and unprincipled women4      
,they were too apt to be cunning1 false1
 intriguing4  ,they were personally     
cowardly1 as their own chronicles       
declare2 querulous1 passionate1 prone to
 unmanly tears2 prone1 as their writings
 abundantly testify1 to scold1 to use   
the most virulent language against all  
who differed from them2 they were1 at   
times1 fearfully cruel1 as evil women   
will be2 cruel with that worst cruelty  
which springs from cowardice4  ,if ,i   
seem to have drawn a harsh picture of   
them1 ,i can only answer that their own 
documents justify abundantly all that ,i
 have said4  ,gradually1 to supply their
 defects1 another ideal arose4  ,the    
warriors of the ,middle ,ages hoped that
 they might be able to serve ,god in the
 world1 even in the battle-field4  ,at  
least1 the world and the battle-field   
they would not relinquish1 but make the 
best of them4  ,and among them arose a  
new and a very fair ideal of manhood3   
that of the 'gentle1 very perfect       

knight1' loyal to his king and to his   
,god1 bound to defend the weak1 succour 
the oppressed1 and put down the         
wrong-doer2 with his lady1 or           
bread-giver1 dealing forth bounteously  
the goods of this life to all who       
needed2 occupied in the seven works of  
mercy1 yet living in the world1 and in  
the perfect enjoyment of wedded and     
family life4  ,this was the ideal4 ,of  
course sinful human nature fell short of
 it1 and defaced it by absurdities2 but 
,i do not hesitate to say that it was a 
higher ideal of ,christian excellence   
than had appeared since the time of the 
,apostles1 putting aside the quite      
exceptional ideal of the blessed        
martyrs4  ,a higher ideal1 ,i say1 was  
chivalry1 with all its shortcomings4    
,and for this reason3  that it asserted 
the possibility of consecrating the     
whole manhood1 and not merely a few     
faculties thereof1 to ,god2 and it thus 
contained the first germ of that        
,protestantism which conquered at the   

,reformation4  ,then was asserted1 once 
for all1 on the grounds of nature and   
reason1 as well as of ,holy ,scripture1 
the absolute sanctity of family and     
national life1 and the correlative idea1
 namely1 the consecration of the whole  
of human nature to the service of ,god1 
in that station to which ,god had called
 each man4  ,then the ,old ,testament1  
with the honour which it puts upon      
family and national life1 became        
precious to man1 as it had never been   
before2 and such a history as ,david's  
became1 not as it was with the mediaeval
 monks1 a mere repertory of fanciful    
metaphors and allegories1 but the solemn
 example1 for good and for evil1 of a   
man of like passions and like duties    
with the men of the modern world4       
,these great truths1 once asserted1     
could not but conquer2 and they will    
conquer to the end4  ,all attempts to   
restore the monastic and feminine ideal1
 like that of good ,nicholas ,ferrar at 
,little ,gidding1 failed4  ,they        

withered like hot-house exotics in the  
free1 keen1 bracing ,english air2 and in
 our civil wars1 ,cavalier and ,puritan1
 in whatever they differed1 never       
differed in their sound and healthy     
conviction that true religion did not   
crush1 but strengthened and consecrated 
a valiant and noble manhood4  ,now if   
all that ',muscular ,christianity' means
 is that1 then the expression is        
altogether unnecessary2 for we have had 
the thing for three centuries--and      
defective likewise1 for it is not a     
merely muscular1 but a human            
,christianity which the ,bible taught   
our forefathers1 and which our          
forefathers have handed down to us4     
,but there is another meaning sometimes 
attached to this flippant expression1   
',muscular ,christianity1' which is     
utterly immoral and intolerable4  ,there
 are those who say1 and there have been 
of late those who have written books to 
shew1 that provided a young man is      
sufficiently brave1 frank1 and gallant1 

he is more or less absolved from the    
common duties of morality and           
self-restraint4  ,that physical prowess 
is a substitute for virtue is certainly 
no new doctrine4  ,it is the doctrine of
 every red man on the ,american         
prairies1 of every ,african chief who   
ornaments his hut with human skulls4    
,it was the doctrine of our heathen     
forefathers1 when they came hither      
slaying1 plundering1 burning1 tossing   
babes on their spear-points4  ,but ,i am
 sorry that it should be the doctrine of
 any one calling himself a gentleman1   
much more a ,christian4  ,it is         
certainly not the doctrine of the       
,catechism1 which bids us renounce the  
flesh1 and live by the help of ,god's   
,spirit a new life of duty to ,god and  
to our neighbour4  ,it is certainly not 
the doctrine of the ,new ,testament4    
,whatsoever ,st4 ,paul meant by bidding 
his disciples crucify the flesh1 with   
its affections and lusts1 he did not    
mean thereby that they were to deify the

 flesh1 as the heathen round them did in
 their profligate mysteries and in their
 gladiatorial exhibitions4  ,neither1   
though the ,old ,testament may seem to  
put more value on physical prowess than 
does the ,new ,testament1 is it the     
doctrine of the ,old ,testament1 as ,i  
purpose to show you from the life and   
history of ,david4  ,nothing1 nothing1  
can be a substitute for purity and      
virtue4  ,man will always try to find   
substitutes for it4  ,he will try to    
find a substitute in superstition1 in   
forms and ceremonies1 in voluntary      
humility and worship of angels1 in using
 vain repetitions1 and fancying that he 
will be heard for his much speaking2 he 
will try to find a substitute in        
intellect1 and the worship of intellect1
 and art1 and poetry2 or he will try to 
find it1 as in the present case1 in the 
worship of his own animal powers1 which 
,god meant to be his servants and not   
his masters4  ,but let no man lay that  
flattering unction to his soul4  ,the   

first and the last business of every    
human being1 whatever his station1      
party1 creed1 capacities1 tastes1       
duties1 is morality3  ,virtue1 ,virtue1 
always ,virtue4  ,nothing that man will 
ever invent will absolve him from the   
universal necessity of being good as    
,god is good1 righteous as ,god is      
righteous1 and holy as ,god is holy4    
,believe it1 young men1 believe it4     
,better would it be for any one of you  
to be the stupidest and the ugliest of  
mortals1 to be the most diseased and    
abject of cripples1 the most silly1     
nervous incapable personage who ever was
 a laughingstock for the boys upon the  
streets1 if only you lived1 according to
 your powers1 the life of the ,spirit of
 ,god2 than to be as perfectly gifted1  
as exquisitely organised in body and    
mind as ,david himself1 and not to live 
the life of the ,spirit of ,god1 the    
life of goodness1 which is the only life
 fit for a human being wearing the human
 flesh and soul which ,christ took upon 

him on earth1 and wears for ever in     
heaven1 a ,man indeed in the midst of   
the throne of ,god4  ,and therefore it  
is1 as you will yourselves have         
perceived already1 that ,i have chosen  
to speak to you of ,david1 his          
character1 his history4  ,it is the     
character of a man perfectly gifted1    
exquisitely organised4  ,he has personal
 beauty1 daring1 prowess1 and skill in  
war2 he has generosity1 nobleness1      
faithfulness1 chivalry as of a mediaeval
 and ,christian knight2 he is a         
musician1 poet1 seemingly an architect  
likewise2 he is1 moreover1 a born king2 
he has a marvellous and most successful 
power of attracting1 disciplining1      
ruling his fellow-men4  ,so thoroughly  
human a personage is he1 that ,god      
speaks of him as the man after his own  
heart2 that our blessed ,lord           
condescends to call himself especially  
the ,son of ,david4  ,for there is in   
this man 7as there is said to be in all 
great geniuses7 a feminine1 as well as a

 masculine vein2 a passionate           
tenderness2 a keen sensibility2 a vast  
capacity of sympathy1 sadness1 and      
suffering1 which makes him truly the    
type of ,christ1 the ,man of sorrows2   
which makes his ,psalms to this day the 
text-book of the afflicted1 of tens of  
thousands who have not a particle of his
 beauty1 courage1 genius2 but yet can   
feel1 in mean hovels and workhouse      
sick-beds1 that the warrior-poet speaks 
to their human hearts1 and for their    
human hearts1 as none other can speak1  
save ,christ himself1 the ,son of ,david
 and the ,son of man4  ,a man1 ,i say1  
of intense sensibilities2 and therefore 
capable1 as is but too notorious1 of    
great crimes1 as well as of great       
virtues4  ,and when ,i mention this last
 fact1 ,i must ask you to pause1 and    
consider with me very solemnly what it  
means4  ,we may pervert1 or rather      
misstate the fact in more than one way1 
to our own hurt4  ,we may say cynically1
 ,david had his good points and his bad 

ones1 as all your great saints have4    
,look at them closely1 and in spite of  
all their pretensions you will find them
 no better than their neighbours4  ,and 
so we may comfort ourselves1 in our own 
mediocrity and laziness1 by denying the 
existence of all greatness and goodness4
  ,nathan the prophet said that ,david's
 conduct would be open to this very     
interpretation1 and would give great    
occasion to the enemies of the ,lord to 
blaspheme4  ,but ,i trust that none of  
you wish to be numbered among the       
enemies of the ,lord4  ,again1 we may   
say1 sentimentally1 that these great    
weaknesses are on the whole the         
necessary concomitants of great         
strength2 that such highly organised and
 complex characters must not be judged  
by the rule of common respectability2   
and that it is a more or less fine thing
 to be capable at once of great virtues 
and great vices4  ,books which hint1 and
 more than hint this1 will suggest      
themselves to you at once4  ,i only     

advise you not to listen to their       
teaching1 as you will find it lead to   
very serious consequences1 both in this 
life and in the life to come4  ,but if  
we do say this1 or anything like this1  
we say it on our own responsibility4    
,david's biographers say nothing of the 
kind4  ,david himself says nothing of   
the kind4  ,he never represents himself 
as a compound of strength and weakness4 
,he represents himself as weakness      
itself--as incapacity utter and         
complete4  ,to overlook that startling  
fact is to overlook the very element    
which has made ,david's ,psalms the     
text-book for all human weaknesses1     
penitences1 sorrows1 struggles1         
aspirations1 for nigh three thousand    
years4  ,but this subject is too large  
for me to speak of to-day2 and too deep 
for me to attempt an explanation till ,i
 have turned your thoughts toward       
another object1 which will explain to   
you ,david1 and yourselves1 and1 it     
seems to me at times1 every problem of  

humanity4 ,look not at ,david1 but at   
,david's greater ,son2 and consider     
,christ upon his ,cross4  ,consider him 
of whom it is written1 ',thou art fairer
 than the children of men3  full of     
grace are thy lips1 because ,god hath   
blessed thee for ever4  ,gird thee with 
thy sword upon thy thigh1 ,o thou most  
,mighty1 according to thy worship and   
renown4  ,good luck have thou with thine
 honour2 ride on1 because of the word of
 truth1 of meekness1 and righteousness2 
and thy right hand shall teach thee     
terrible things4  ,thy arrows are very  
sharp1 and the people shall be subdued  
unto thee1 even in the midst among the  
,king's enemies4'  ,consider him who    
alone fulfilled these words1 who fulfils
 them even now eternally in heaven1     
,king over all1 ,god blessed for ever4  
,and then sit down at the foot of his   
,cross3 however young1 strong1 proud1   
gallant1 gifted1 ambitious you may be-  
-sit down at the foot of ,christ's      
,cross1 and look thereon1 till you see  

what it means1 and must mean for ever4  
,see how he nailed to that ,cross1 not  
in empty metaphor but in literal fact1  
in agonising soul and body1 all of human
 nature which the world admires--youth1 
grace1 valour1 power1 eloquence1        
intellect3  not because they were evil1 
for he possessed them doubtless himself 
as did none other of the sons of        
men--not1 ,i say1 because they were     
evil1 but because they were worthless   
and as nothing beside that divine       
charity which would endure and conquer  
for ever1 when all the noblest accidents
 of the body and the mind had perished1 
or seemed to perish4  ,in the utmost    
weakness and shame of human flesh he    
would shew forth the strength and glory 
of the ,divine ,spirit2 the strength and
 the glory of duty and obedience2 of    
patience and forgiveness2 of benevolence
 and self-sacrifice2 the strength and   
glory of that burning love for human    
beings which could stoop from heaven to 
earth that it might seek and save that  

which was lost4  ,yes4  ,look at ,christ
 upon his ,cross2 the sight which melted
 the hearts of our fierce forefathers1  
and turned them from the worship of     
,thor and ,odin to the worship of ',the 
white ,christ2' and from the hope of a  
,valhalla of brute prowess1 to the hope 
of a heaven of righteousness and love4  
,look at ,christ upon his ,cross1 and   
see there1 as they saw1 the true        
prowess1 the true valour1 the true      
chivalry1 the true glory1 the true      
manhood1 most human when most divine1   
which is self-sacrifice and love--as    
possible to the weakest1 meanest1       
simplest1 as to the strongest1 most     
gallant1 and most wise4  ,look upon him1
 and learn from him1 and take his yoke  
upon you1 for he is meek and lowly of   
heart1 and you shall find rest unto your
 souls2 and in you shall be fulfilled   
the prophecy of ,jeremiah1 which he     
spake1 saying1 ',let not the wise man   
glory in his wisdom1 neither the mighty 
man glory in his might1 neither let the 

rich man glory in his wealth3  but let  
him that glorieth glory in this1 that he
 understandeth and knoweth me1 that ,i  
am the ,lord1 who exercises             
loving-kindness1 judgment1 and          
righteousness in the earth3  for in     
these things ,i delight1 saith the      
,lord4'    ,,sermon ,,ii4  ,,david',s   
,,strength    ,psalm xxvii4  #a4  ,the  
,lord is my light1 and my salvation2    
whom then shall ,i fear8  ,the ,lord is 
the strength of my life2 of whom then   
shall ,i be afraid8  ,i said1 last      
,sunday1 that the key-note of ,david's  
character was not the assertion of his  
own strength1 but the confession of his 
own weakness4  ,and ,i say it again4    
,but it is plain that ,david had        
strength1 and of no common order2 that  
he was an eminently powerful1 able1 and 
successful man4  ,from whence then came 
that strength8  ,he says1 from ,god4    
,he says1 throughout his life1 as       
emphatically as did ,st4 ,paul after    
him1 that ,god's strength was made      

perfect in his weakness4  ,god is his   
deliverer1 his guide1 his teacher1 his  
inspirer4  ,the ,lord is his strength1  
who teaches his hands to war1 and his   
fingers to fight2 his hope and his      
fortress1 his castle and deliverer1 his 
defence1 in whom he trusts2 who subdueth
 the people that is under him4  ,to ,god
 he ascribes1 not only his success in   
life1 but his physical prowess4  ,by    
,god's help he slays the lion and the   
bear4  ,by ,god's help he has nerve to  
kill the ,philistine giant4  ,by ,god's 
help he is so strong that his arms can  
break even a bow of steel4  ,it is ,god 
who makes his feet like hart's feet1 and
 enables him to leap over the walls of  
the mountain fortresses4  ,and we must  
pause ere we call such utterances mere  
,eastern metaphor4 ,it is far more      
probable that they were meant as and    
were literal truths4  ,david was not    
likely to have been a man of brute      
gigantic strength4  ,so delicate a brain
 was probably coupled to a delicate     

body4  ,such a nature1 at the same time1
 would be the very one most capable1    
under the influence--call it boldly1    
inspiration--of a great and patriotic   
cause1 of great dangers and great       
purposes2 capable1 ,i say1 at moments1  
of accesses of almost superhuman energy1
 which he ascribed1 and most rightly1 to
 the inspiration of ,god4  ,but it is   
not merely as his physical inspirer or  
protector that he has faith in ,god4    
,he has a deeper1 a far deeper instinct 
than even that2 the instinct of a       
communion1 personal1 practical1 living1 
between ,god1 the fount of light and    
goodness1 and his own soul1 with its    
capacity of darkness as well as light1  
of evil as well as good4  ,in one word1 
,david is a man of faith and a man of   
prayer--as ,god grant all you may be4   
,it is this one fixed idea1 that ,god   
could hear him1 and that ,god would help
 him1 which gives unity and coherence to
 the wonderful variety of ,david's      
,psalms4  ,it is this faith which gives 

calm confidence to his views of nature  
and of man2 and enables him to say1 as  
he looks upon his sheep feeding round   
him1 ',the ,lord is my ,shepherd1       
therefore ,i shall not want4'  ,faith it
 is which enables him to foresee that   
though the heathen rage1 and the kings  
of the earth stand up1 and the rulers   
take counsel together against the ,lord 
and his ,anointed1 yet the righteous    
cause will surely prevail1 for ,god is  
king himself4  ,faith it is which       
enables him to bear up against the      
general immorality1 and while he cries1 
',help me1 ,lord1 for there is not one  
godly man left1 for the faithful fail   
from among the children of men'--to make
 answer to himself in words of noble    
hope and consolation1 ',now for the     
comfortless troubles' sake of the needy1
 and because of the deep sighing of the 
poor1 ,i will up1 saith the ,lord1 and  
will help every one from him that       
swelleth against him1 and will set him  
at rest4'  ,faith it is which gives a   

character1 which no other like          
utterances have1 to those cries of      
agony--cries as of a lost child--which  
he utters at times with such noble and  
truthful simplicity4  ,they issue1      
almost every one of them1 in a sudden   
counter-cry of joy as pathetic as the   
sorrow which has gone before4  ',o      
,lord1 rebuke me not in thine           
indignation3  neither chasten me in thy 
displeasure4 ,have mercy upon me1 ,o    
,lord1 for ,i am weak3  ,o ,lord1 heal  
me1 for my bones are vexed4  ,my soul   
also is sore troubled3  but1 ,lord1 how 
long wilt thou punish me8  ,turn thee1  
,o ,lord1 and deliver my soul3 ,o save  
me for thy mercy's sake4  ,for in death 
no man remembereth thee3  and who will  
give thee thanks in the pit8  ,i am     
weary of my groaning2 every night wash  
,i my bed3  and water my couch with my  
tears4  ,my beauty is gone for very     
trouble3  and worn away because of all  
mine enemies4  ,away from me1 all ye    
that work vanity1 for the ,lord hath    

heard the voice of my weeping4  ,the    
,lord hath heard my petition3  the ,lord
 will receive my prayer4'  ,faith it is1
 in like wise1 which gives its peculiar 
grandeur to that wonderful #ahth ,psalm1
 ,david's song of triumph2 his          
masterpiece1 and it may be the          
masterpiece of human poetry1 inspired or
 uninspired1 only approached by the     
companion-,psalm1 the #addth4  ,from    
whence comes that cumulative energy1 by 
which it rushes on1 even in our         
translation1 with a force and swiftness 
which are indeed divine2 thought        
following thought1 image image1 verse   
verse1 before the breath of the ,spirit 
of ,god1 as wave leaps after wave before
 the gale8  ,what is the element in that
 ode1 which even now makes it stir the  
heart like a trumpet8  ,surely that     
which it itself declares in the very    
first verse3  ',i will love thee1 ,o    
,lord1 my strength2 the ,lord is my     
stony rock1 and my defence3  my         
,saviour1 my ,god1 and my might1 in whom

 ,i will trust1 my buckler1 the horn    
also of my salvation1 and my refuge4'   
,what is it which gives life and reality
 to the magnificent imagery of the      
seventh and following verses8  ',the    
earth trembled and quaked3  the very    
foundations also of the hills shook1 and
 were removed1 because he was wroth4    
,there went a smoke out in his presence3
  and a consuming fire out of his mouth1
 so that coals were kindled at it4  ,he 
bowed the heavens also1 and came down3  
and it was dark under his feet4  ,he    
rode upon the cherubims1 and did fly3 he
 came flying upon the wings of the wind4
  ,he made darkness his secret place3   
his pavilion round about him with dark  
water1 and thick clouds to cover him4   
,at the brightness of his presence his  
clouds removed3  hailstones1 and coals  
of fire4  ,the ,lord also thundered out 
of heaven1 and the ,highest gave his    
thunder3 hailstones1 and coals of fire4 
,he sent out his arrows1 and scattered  
them3  he cast forth lightnings1 and    

destroyed them4  ,the springs of waters 
were seen1 and the foundations of the   
round world were discovered1 at thy     
chiding1 ,o ,lord3  at the blasting of  
the breath of thy displeasure4  ,he     
shall send down from on high to fetch   
me3  and shall take me out of many      
waters4'  ,what protects such words from
 the imputation of mere ,eastern        
exaggeration8  ,the firm conviction that
 ,god is the deliverer1 not only of     
,david1 but of all who trust in ,god2   
that the whole majesty of ,god1 and all 
the powers of nature1 are arrayed on the
 side of the good and of the oppressed4 
',the ,lord shall reward me after my    
righteous dealing3  according to the    
cleanness of my hands shall he          
recompense me4  ,because ,i have kept   
the ways of the ,lord3  and have not    
forsaken my ,god1 as the wicked doth4   
,for ,i have an eye unto all his laws3  
and will not cast out his commandments  
from me4  ,i was also uncorrupt before  
him3 and eschewed mine own wickedness4  

,therefore shall the ,lord reward me    
after my righteous dealing3  and        
according unto the cleanness of my hands
 in his eyesight4  ,with the holy thou  
shalt be holy3  and with a perfect man  
thou shalt be perfect4'  ,faith1 again1 
it is1 to turn from ,david's highest to 
his lowest phase--faith in ,god it is   
which has made that #east ,psalm the    
model of all true penitence for         
evermore4  ,faith in ,god1 in the spite 
of his full consciousness that ,god is  
about to punish him bitterly for the    
rest of his life4  ,faith it is which   
gives to that ,psalm its peculiarly     
simple1 deliberate1 manly tone2 free    
from all exaggerated self-accusations1  
all cowardly cries of terror4  ,he is   
crushed down1 it is true4  ,the tone of 
his words shews us that throughout4     
,but crushed by what8  ,by the discovery
 that he has offended ,god8  ,not in the
 least4  ,for the sake of your own      
souls1 as well as for that of honest    
critical understanding of the           

,scriptures1 do not foist that meaning  
into ,david's words4  ,he never says    
that he had offended ,god4 ,had he been 
a mediaeval monk1 had he been an average
 superstitious man of any creed or time1
 he would have said so1 and cried1 ,i   
have offended ,god2 he is offended and  
angry with me1 how shall ,i avert his   
wrath8  ,not so4  ,david has discovered 
not an angry1 but a forgiving ,god2 a   
,god of love and goodness1 who desires  
to make his creatures good4 ,penitential
 prayers in all ages have too often     
wanted faith in ,god1 and therefore have
 been too often prayers to avert        
punishment4 ,this1 this--the model of   
all truly penitent prayers--is that of a
 man who is to be punished1 and is      
content to take his punishment1 knowing 
that he deserves it1 and far more       
beside4  ,and why8 ,because1 as always1 
,david has faith in ,god4  ,god is a    
good and just being1 and he trusts him  
accordingly2 and that very discovery of 
the goodness1 not the sternness of ,god1

 is the bitterest pang1 the deepest     
shame to ,david's spirit4  ,therefore he
 can face without despair the discovery 
of a more deep1 radical inbred evil in  
himself than he ever expected before4   
',behold1 ,i was shapen in wickedness3  
and in sin hath my mother conceived me2'
 because he could say also1 ',thou      
requirest truth in the inward parts2 and
 shalt make me to understand wisdom     
secretly4'  ,he can cry to ,god1 out of 
the depths of his foulness1 ',make me a 
clean heart1 ,o ,god3  and renew a right
 spirit within me4  ,cast me not away   
from thy presence3  and take not thy    
holy ,spirit from me4  ,o give me the   
comfort of thy help again3 and stablish 
me with thy free ,spirit4  ,then shall  
,i teach thy ways unto the wicked3  and 
sinners shall be converted unto thee4'  
,he can cry thus1 because he has        
discovered that the will of ,god is not 
to hate1 not to torture1 not to cast    
away from his presence1 but to restore  
his creatures to goodness1 that he may  

thereby restore them to usefulness4     
,david has discovered that ,god demands 
no sacrifice1 much less self-torturing  
penance4  ,what he demands is the heart4
 ,the sacrifice of ,god is a troubled   
spirit4  ,a broken and a contrite heart 
he will not despise4  ,it is such       
utterances as these which have given1   
for now many hundred years1 their       
priceless value to the little book of   
,psalms ascribed to the shepherd outlaw 
of the ,judaean hills4  ,it is such     
utterances as these which have sent the 
sound of his name into all lands1 and   
his words throughout all the world4     
,every form of human sorrow1 doubt1     
struggle1 error1 sin2 the nun agonising 
in the cloister2 the settler struggling 
for his life in ,transatlantic forests2 
the pauper shivering over the embers in 
his hovel1 and waiting for kind death2  
the man of business striving to keep his
 honour pure amid the temptations of    
commerce2 the prodigal son starving in  
the far country1 and recollecting the   

words which he learnt long ago at his   
mother's knee2 the peasant boy trudging 
a- field in the chill dawn1 and         
remembering that the ,lord is his       
shepherd1 therefore he will not         
want--all shapes of humanity have found1
 and will find to the end of time1 a    
word said to their inmost hearts1 and   
more1 a word said for those hearts to   
the living ,god of heaven1 by the vast  
humanity of ,david1 the man after ,god's
 own heart2 the most thoroughly human   
figure1 as it seems to me1 which had    
appeared upon the earth before the      
coming of that perfect ,son of man1 who 
is over all1 ,god blessed for ever4     
,amen4  ,it may be said1 ,david's belief
 is no more than the common belief of   
fanatics4  ,they have in all ages       
fancied themselves under the special    
protection of ,deity1 the object of     
special communications from above4      
,doubtless they have2 and evil          
conclusions have they drawn therefrom1  
in every age4  ,but the existence of a  

counterfeit is no argument against the  
existence of the reality2 rather it is  
an argument for the existence of the    
reality4  ,in this case it is impossible
 to conceive how the idea of communion  
with an unseen being ever entered the   
human mind at all1 unless it had been   
put there originally by fact and        
experience4  ,man would never have even 
dreamed of a living ,god1 had not that  
living ,god been a reality1 who did not 
leave the creature to find his ,creator1
 but stooped from heaven1 at the very   
beginning of our race1 to find his      
creature4  ,and a reality you will      
surely find it--that living and         
practical communication between your    
souls1 and that ,father in heaven who   
created them4  ,it will not be real1 but
 morbid1 even imaginary1 just in        
proportion as your souls are tainted    
with self-conceit1 ambition1 self-will1 
malice1 passion1 or any wilful vice2    
especially with the vice of bigotry1    
which settles beforehand for ,god what  

he shall teach the soul1 and in what    
manner he shall teach it1 and turns a   
deaf ear to his plainest lessons if they
 cannot be made to fit into some        
favourite formula or theory4  ,but it   
will be real1 practical1 healthy1       
soul-saving1 in the very deepest sense  
of that word1 just in proportion as your
 eye is single and your heart pure2 just
 in proportion as you hunger and thirst 
after righteousness1 and wish and try   
simply and humbly to do your duty in    
that station to which ,god has called   
you1 and to learn joyfully and          
trustingly anything and everything which
 ,god may see fit to teach you4  ,then  
as your day your strength shall be4     
,then will the ,lord teach you1 and     
inform you with his eye1 and guide you  
in the way wherein you should go4 ,then 
will you obey that appeal of the        
,psalmist1 ',be ye not like to horse and
 mule1 which have no understanding1     
whose mouths must be held in with bit   
and bridle1 lest they fall upon thee4   

,great plagues remain for the ungodly4  
,but whoso putteth his trust in the     
,lord1 mercy embraceth him on every     
side4'  ,for understand this well1 young
 men1 and settle it in your hearts as   
the first condition of human life1 yea1 
of the life of every rational created   
being1 that a man is justified only by  
faith2 and not only a man1 but angels1  
archangels1 and all possible created    
spirits1 past1 present1 and to come4    
,all stand1 all are in their right      
state1 only as long as they are         
consciously dependent on ,god the       
,father of spirits and his ,son ,jesus  
,christ the ,lord1 in whom they live and
 move and have their being4  ,the moment
 they attempt to assert themselves1     
whether their own power1 their own      
genius1 their own wisdom1 or even their 
own virtue1 they ipso facto sin1 and are
 justified and just no longer2 because  
they are trying to take themselves out  
of their just and right state of        
dependence1 and to put themselves into  

an unjust and wrong state of            
independence4  ,to assert that anything 
is their own1 to assert that their      
virtue is their own1 just as much as to 
assert that their wisdom1 or any other  
part of their being1 is their own1 is to
 deny the primary fact of their         
existence--that in ,god they live and   
move and have that being4 ,and therefore
 ,milton's ,satan1 though1 over and     
above all his other grandeurs1 he had   
been adorned with every virtue1 would   
have been ,satan still by the one sin of
 ingratitude1 just because and just as  
long as he set up himself1 apart from   
that ,god from whom alone comes every   
good and perfect gift4  ,settle it in   
your hearts1 young men1 settle it in    
your hearts--or rather pray to ,god to  
settle it therein2 and if you would love
 life and see good days1 recollect daily
 and hourly that the only sane and safe 
human life is dependence on ,god        
himself1 and that--      ,unless above  
himself he can ,exalt himself1 how poor 

a thing is man4    ,,sermon ,,iii4      
,,david',s ,,anger    ,psalm cxliii4    
#aa1 #ab4  ,quicken me1 ,o ,lord1 for   
thy name's sake3  for thy righteousness'
 sake bring my soul out of trouble4     
,and of thy mercy cut off mine enemies1 
and destroy all them that afflict my    
soul3  for ,i am thy servant4  ,there   
are those who would say that ,i dealt   
unfairly last ,sunday by the ,psalms of 
,david2 that in order to prove them     
inspired1 ,i ignored an element in them 
which is plainly uninspired1 wrong1 and 
offensive2 namely1 the curses which he  
invokes upon his enemies4  ,i ignored   
it1 they would say1 because it was fatal
 to my theory6 because it proved ,david 
to have the vindictive passions of other
 ,easterns2 to be speaking1 not by the  
inspiration of ,god1 but of his own     
private likes and dislikes2 to be at    
least a fanatic who thinks that his     
cause must needs be ,god's cause1 and   
who invokes the lightnings of heaven on 
all who dare to differ from him4        

,others would say that such words were  
excusable in ,david1 living under the   
,old ,law2 for it was said by them of   
old time1 ',thou shalt love thy         
neighbour and hate thine enemy3' but    
that our ,lord has formally abrogated   
that permission2 ',but ,i say unto you1 
,love your enemies1 bless them that     
curse you1 and do good to those who     
despitefully use you and persecute you4'
  ,how unnecessary1 and how wrong then1 
they would say1 it is of the ,church of 
,england to retain these cursing ,psalms
 in her public worship1 and put them    
into the mouths of her congregations4   
,either they are merely painful1 as well
 as unnecessary to ,christians2 or if   
they mean anything1 they excuse and     
foster the habit too common among       
religious controversialists of invoking 
the wrath of heaven on their opponents4 
,i argue with neither of the objectors4 
,but the question is a curious and an   
important one2 and ,i am bound1 ,i      
think1 to examine it in a sermon which1 

like the present1 treats of ,david's    
chivalry4  ,what ,david meant by these  
curses can be best known from his own   
actions4  ,what certain persons have    
meant by them since is patent enough    
from their actions4  ,mediaeval monks   
considered but too often the enemies of 
their creed1 of their ecclesiastical    
organisation1 even of their particular  
monastery1 to be ipso facto enemies of  
,god2 and applied to them the seeming   
curses of ,david's ,psalms1 with fearful
 additions1 of which ,david1 to his     
honour1 never dreamed4 ',may they feel  
with ,dathan and ,abiram the damnation  
of ,gehenna1' #bhe is a fair sample of  
the formulae which are found in the     
writings of men who1 while they called  
themselves the servants of ,jesus       
,christ our ,lord1 derived their notions
 of the next world principally from the 
sixth book of ,virgil's ,a,eneid4  ,and 
what they meant by their words their    
acts shewed4  ,whenever they had the    
power1 they were but too apt to treat   

their supposed enemies in this life1 as 
they expected ,god to treat them in the 
next4  ,the history of the ,inquisition 
on the continent1 in ,america1 and in   
the ,portuguese ,indies--of the ,marian 
persecutions in ,england--of the        
,piedmontese massacres in the #agth     
century--are facts never to be          
forgotten4  ,their horrors have been    
described in too authentic documents2   
they remain for ever the most hideous   
pages in the history of sinful human    
nature4  ,do we find a hint of any      
similar conduct on the part of ,david8  
,if not1 it is surely probable that he  
did not mean by his imprecations what   
the mediaeval clergy meant4  ,certainly1
 whatsoever likeness there may have been
 in language1 the contrast in conduct is
 most striking4  ,it is a special mark  
of ,david's character1 as special as his
 faith in ,god1 that he never avenges   
himself with his own hand4  ,twice he   
has ,saul in his power3 once in the cave
 at ,engedi1 once at the camp at        

,hachilah1 and both times he refuses    
nobly to use his opportunity4  ,he is   
his master1 the ,lord's ,anointed2 and  
his person is sacred in the eyes of     
,david his servant--his knight1 as he   
would have been called in the ,middle   
,age4  ,the second time ,david's        
temptation is a terrible one4  ,he has  
softened ,saul's wild heart by his      
courtesy and pathos when he pleaded with
 him1 after letting him escape from the 
cave2 and he has sworn to ,saul that    
when he becomes king he will never cut  
off his children1 or destroy his name   
out of his father's home4  ,yet we find 
,saul1 immediately after1 attacking him 
again out of mere caprice2 and once more
 falling into his hands4  ,abishai      
says--and who can wonder8--',let me     
smite him with the spear to the earth   
this once1 and ,i will not smite a      
second time4'  ,what wonder8  ,the man  
is not to be trusted--truce with him is 
impossible2 but ,david still keeps his  
chivalry1 in the true meaning of that   

word3  ',destroy him not1 for who can   
stretch forth his hand against the      
,lord's ,anointed1 and be guiltless8    
,as the ,lord liveth1 the ,lord shall   
smite him1 or his day shall come to die2
 or he shall go down into battle1 and   
perish4 ,but the ,lord forbid that ,i   
should stretch forth my hand against the
 ,lord's ,anointed4'  ,and if it be     
argued1 that ,david regarded the person 
of a king as legally sacred1 there is a 
case more clear still1 in which he      
abjures the right of revenge upon a     
private person4  ,nabal1 in addition to 
his ingratitude1 has insulted him with  
the bitterest insult which could be     
offered to a free man in a slave-       
holding country4  ,he has hinted that   
,david is neither more nor less than a  
runaway slave4  ,and ,david's heart is  
stirred by a terrible and evil spirit4  
,he dare not trust his men1 even        
himself1 with his black thoughts4       
',gird on your swords1' is all that he  
can say aloud4  ,but he had said in his 

heart1 ',god do so and more to the      
enemies of ,david1 if ,i leave a man    
alive by the morning light of all that  
pertain to him4'  ,and yet at the first 
words of reason and of wisdom1 urged    
doubtless by the eloquence of a         
beautiful and noble woman1 but no less  
by the ,spirit of ,god speaking through 
her1 as all who call themselves         
gentlemen should know already1 his right
 spirit returns to him4  ,the chivalrous
 instinct of forgiveness and duty is    
roused once more2 and he cries1         
',blessed be the ,lord ,god of ,israel1 
which sent thee this day to meet me2 and
 blessed be thou1 which hast kept me    
this day from shedding blood1 and from  
avenging myself with mine own hand4'    
,it is plain then1 that ,david's notion 
of his duty to his enemies was very     
different from that of the monks4  ,but 
still they are undeniably imprecations1 
the imprecations of a man smarting under
 cruel injustice2 who cannot1 and in    
some cases must not avenge himself1 and 

who therefore calls on the just ,god to 
avenge him4  ,are we therefore to say   
that these utterances of ,david are     
uninspired8 ,not in the least3  we are  
boldly to say that they are inspired1   
and by the very ,spirit of ,god1 who is 
the ,spirit of justice and of judgment4 
,doubtless there were1 in after ages1   
far higher inspirations4  ,the ,spirit  
of ,god was1 and is gradually educating 
mankind1 and individuals among mankind1 
like ,david1 upward from lower truths to
 higher ones4  ,that is the express     
assertion of our ,lord and of his       
,apostles4  ,but the higher and later   
inspiration does not make the lower and 
earlier false4  ,it does not even always
 supersede it altogether4  ,each is     
true2 and1 for the most part1 each must 
remain1 and be respected1 that they may 
complement each other4  ,let us look at 
this question rationally and reverently1
 free from all sentimental and immoral  
indulgence for sin and wrong4  ,the     
first instinct of man is the ,lex       

,talionis4  ,as you do to me-- says the 
savage--so ,i have a right to do to you4
  ,if you try to kill me or mine1 ,i    
have a right to kill you in return4  ,is
 this notion uninspired8  ,i should be  
sorry to say so4  ,it is surely the     
first form and the only possible first  
form of the sense of justice and        
retribution4  ,as a man sows so shall he
 reap4  ,if a man does wrong he deserves
 to be punished4  ,no arguments will    
drive that great divine law out of the  
human mind2 for ,god has put it there4  
,after that inspiration comes a higher  
one4  ,the man is taught to say1 ,i must
 not punish my enemy if ,i can avoid it4
  ,god must punish him1 either by the   
law of the land or by his providential  
judgments4 ,to this height ,david rises4
  ,in a seemingly lawless age and       
country1 under the most extreme         
temptation1 he learns to say1 ',blessed 
be ,god who hath kept me from avenging  
myself with my own hand4'  ,but still1  
it may be said1 ,david calls down ,god's

 vengeance on his enemies4  ,he has not 
learnt to hate the sin and yet love the 
sinner4 ,doubtless he has not3  and it  
may have been right for his education1  
and for the education of the human race 
through him1 that he did not4  ,it may  
have been a good thing for him1 as a    
future king2 it may be a good thing for 
many a man now1 to learn the sinfulness 
of sin1 by feeling its effects in his   
own person2 by writhing under those     
miseries of body and soul1 which wicked 
men can1 and do inflict on their        
fellow-creatures4  ,there are sins which
 a good man will not pity1 but wage     
internecine war against them2 sins for  
which he is justified1 if ,god have     
called him thereto1 to destroy the      
sinner in his sins4  ,the traitor1 the  
tyrant1 the ravisher1 the robber1 the   
extortioner1 are not objects of pity1   
but of punishment2 and it may have been 
very good for ,david to be taught by    
sharp personal experience1 that those   
who robbed the widow and put the        

fatherless to death1 like the lawless   
lords of his time2 those like ,saul1 who
 smote the city of the priests for      
having given ,david food--men and women1
 children and sucklings1 oxen and asses 
and sheep1 with the edge of the sword2  
those who1 like the nameless traitor who
 so often rouses his indignation--his   
own familiar friend who lifted up his   
heel against him--sought men's lives    
under the guise of friendship3  that    
such1 ,i say1 were persons not to be    
tolerated upon the face of ,god's earth4
  ,we do not tolerate them now4  ,we    
punish them by law4  ,we even destroy   
them wholesale in war1 without inquiring
 into their individual guilt or         
innocence4  ,david was taught1 not by   
abstract meditation in his study1 but by
 bitter need and agony1 not to tolerate 
them then4  ,if he could have destroyed 
them as we do now1 it is not for us to  
say that he would have been wrong4  ,and
 what if he were indignant1 and what if 
he expressed that indignation8  ,i have 

yet to discover that indignation against
 wrong is aught but righteous1 noble1   
and divine4 ,the flush of rage and scorn
 which rises1 and ought to rise in every
 honest heart1 when we see a woman or a 
child ill-used1 a poor man wronged or   
crushed--,what is that1 but the         
inspiration of ,almighty ,god8  ,what is
 that but the likeness of ,christ8  ,woe
 to the man who has lost that feeling6  
,woe to the man who can stand coolly by1
 and see wrong done without a shock or a
 murmur1 or even more1 to the very      
limits of the just laws of this land4   
,he may think it a fine thing so to do2 
a proof that he is an easy1 prudent man 
of the world1 and not a meddlesome      
enthusiast4  ,but all that it does prove
 is3  ,that the ,spirit of ,god1 who is 
the ,spirit of justice and judgment1 has
 departed from him4  ,i say the ,spirit 
of ,god and the likeness of ,christ4    
,instead of believing ,david's own      
statement of the wrong doings of these  
men about him1 we may say cynically1 and

 as it seems to me most unfairly1 ',of  
course there were two sides to ,david's 
quarrels1 as there are to all such2 and 
of course he took his own side2 and     
considered himself always in the right1 
and every one who differed from him in  
the wrong2' and such a speech will sound
 sufficiently worldly-wise to pass for  
philosophy with some critics2 but1      
unfortunately1 he who says that of      
,david1 will be bound in all fairness to
 say it of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4    
,for you must remember that there was a 
class of sinners in ,judaea1 to whom our
 ,lord speaks no word of pity or        
forgiveness3  namely1 the very men who  
were his own personal enemies1 who were 
persecuting him1 and going about to kill
 him2 and that therefore1 by any hard   
words toward them1 he must have laid    
himself open1 just as much as ,david    
laid himself open1 to the imputation of 
personal spite4  ,and yet1 what did he  
say to the scribes and ,pharisees3  ',ye
 go about to kill me1 and therefore ,i  

am bound to say nothing harsh concerning
 you'8  ,what he did say was this3  ',ye
 serpents1 ye generation of vipers1 how 
can ye escape the damnation of hell8'   
,yes2 in the ,son of ,david1 as in      
,david's self1 there was1 and is1 and   
will be for ever and ever1 no weak1 and 
really cruel indulgence2 but a burning  
fire of indignation against all         
hypocrisy1 tyranny1 lust1 cruelty1 and  
every other sin by which men oppress1   
torment1 deceive1 degrade their         
fellow-men2 and still more1 still more1 
remember that1 all young men1 their     
fellow-women4  ,that fire burns for     
ever--the ,divine fire of ,god2 the fire
 not of hatred1 but of love to mankind1 
which will therefore punish1 and if need
 be1 exterminate all who shall dare to  
make mankind the worse1 whether in body 
or soul or mind4  ,but ,david prays ,god
 to kill his enemies4  ,no doubt he     
does4 ,probably they deserved to be     
killed4  ,he does not ask1 you will     
always remember1 if you be worthy of the

 name of critical students of the       
,bible--he does not ask1 as did the     
mediaeval monks1 that his enemies should
 go to endless torments after they died4
  ,true or false1 that is a more modern 
notion--and if it be applied to the     
,psalms1 an interpolation--of which     
,david knew nothing4  ,he asks simply   
that the men may die4  ,probably he knew
 his own business best1 and the men     
deserved to die2 to be killed either by 
,god or by man1 as do too many in all   
ages4  ,if we take the ,bible as it     
stands 7and we have no right to do      
otherwise71 these men were trying to    
kill ,david4  ,he could not1 and upon a 
point of honour1 would not kill them    
himself4  ,but he believed1 and rightly1
 that ,god can punish the offender whom 
man cannot touch1 and that ,he will1 and
 does punish them4  ,and if he calls on 
,god to execute justice and judgment    
upon these men1 he only calls on ,god to
 do what ,god is doing continually on   
the face of the whole earth4  ,in fact1 

,god does punish here1 in this life4    
,he does not1 as false preachers say1   
give over this life to impunity1 and    
this world to the devil1 and only resume
 the reins of moral government and the  
right of retribution when men die and go
 into the next world4  ,here1 in this   
life1 he punishes sin2 slowly1 but      
surely1 ,god punishes4  ,and if any of  
you doubt my words1 you have only to    
commit sin1 and then see whether your   
sin will find you out4  ,the whole      
question turns on this1 ,are we to      
believe in a living ,god1 or are we not8
  ,if we are not1 then ,david's words   
are of course worse than nothing4  ,if  
we are1 ,i do not see why ,david was    
wrong in calling on ,god to exercise    
that moral and providential government  
of the world1 which is the very note and
 definition of a living ,god4  ,but what
 right have we to use these words8  ,my 
friends1 if the ,church bids us use     
these words1 she certainly does not bid 
us act upon them4  ,she keeps them1 ,i  

believe most rightly1 as a record of a  
human experience1 which happily seems to
 us special and extreme1 of which we1 in
 a well-governed ,christian land1 know  
nothing1 and shall never know4  ,special
 and extreme8  ,alas1 alas6  ,in too    
many countries1 in too many ages1 it has
 been the common1 the almost universal  
experience of the many weak1 enslaved1  
tortured1 butchered at the wicked will  
of the few strong4  ,there have been    
those in tens of thousands1 there may be
 those again who will have a right to   
cry to ,god1 ',of thy goodness slay mine
 enemies1 lest they slay1 or worse than 
slay1 both me and mine4' ,there were    
thousands of ,english after the ,norman 
,conquest2 there were thousands of      
,hindoos in ,oude before its annexation2
 there are thousands of negroes at this 
moment in their native land of ,africa1 
crushed and outraged by hereditary      
tyrants1 who had and have a right to    
appeal to ,god1 as ,david appealed to   
him against the robber lords of         

,palestine2 a right to cry1 ',rid us1 ,o
 ,god2 if thou be a living ,god1 a ,god 
of justice and mercy1 rid us not only of
 these men1 but of their children after 
them4  ,this tyrant1 stained with lust  
and wine and blood2 this robber         
chieftain who privily in his lurking    
dens murders the innocent1 and ravishes 
the poor when he getteth him into his   
net2 this slave-hunting king who kills  
the captives whom he cannot sell2 and   
whose children after him will inevitably
 imitate his cruelties and his rapine   
and treacheries--deal with him and his  
as they deserve4  ,set an ungodly man to
 be ruler over him2 that he may find out
 what we have been enduring from his    
ungodly rule4  ,let his days be few1 and
 another take his office4  ,let his     
children be fatherless1 and his wife a  
widow4  ,let his children beg their     
bread out of desolate places4  ,let     
there be no man to pity him or take     
compassion on his fatherless            
children--to take his part1 and breed up

 a fresh race of tyrants to our misery4 
,let the extortioner consume all he     
hath1 and the stranger spoil his        
labour--for what he has is itself taken 
by extortion1 and he has spoiled the    
labour of thousands4  ,let his posterity
 be destroyed1 and in the next          
generation his name be clean put out4   
,let the wickedness of his father and   
the sin of his mother be had in         
remembrance in the sight of the ,lord2  
that he may root out the memorial of    
them from the earth1 and enable law and 
justice1 peace and freedom to take the  
place of anarchy and tyranny and blood4'
  ,that prayer was answered--if we are  
to believe the records of ,norman1 not  
,english1 monks in ,england after the   
,conquest1 by the speedy extinction of  
the most guilty families among the      
,norman conquerors4  ,it is being       
answered1 thank ,god1 in ,hindostan at  
this moment4  ,it will surely be        
answered in ,africa in ,god's good time2
 for the ,lord reigneth1 be the nations 

never so unquiet4  ,and we1 if we will  
read such words rationally and humanly1 
remembering the state of society in     
which they were written--a state of     
society1 alas6 which has endured1 and   
still endures over a vast portion of the
 habitable globe2 where might is right1 
and there is little or no principle1    
save those of lust and greed and        
revenge--then instead of wishing such   
words out of the ,bible1 we shall be    
glad to keep them there1 as testimonies 
to the moral government of the world by 
a ,god and a ,christ who will surely    
avenge the innocent blood2 and as a     
,gospel of comfort to suffering         
millions1 when the news reaches them at 
last1 that they may call on ,god to     
deliver them from their tormentors1 and 
that he will hear their cry1 and will   
help them4    ,,sermon ,,iv4  ,,david',s
 ,,deserts    #b ,samuel i4 #bf4  ,i am 
distressed for thee1 my brother         
,jonathan3 very pleasant hast thou been 
unto me3  thy love to me was wonderful1 

passing the love of women4  ,passing the
 love of woman8  ,how can that be1 we of
 these days shall say4  ,what love can  
pass that1 saving the boundless love of 
him who stooped from heaven to earth1   
that he might die on the ,cross for us8 
,no4  ,david1 when he sang those words1 
knew not the depth of woman's love4     
,and we shall have a right so to speak4 
,the indefeasible and ,divine right     
which is bestowed by fact4  ,as a fact1 
we do not find among the ancient ,jews  
that exalting and purifying ideal of the
 relations between man and woman1 which 
is to be found1 thank ,god1 in these    
days1 in almost every ,british work of  
fiction or fancy4  ,it is enunciated1   
remember always1 in the oldest ,hebrew  
document4 ,on the very threshold of the 
,bible1 in the very first chapters of   
,genesis1 it is enunciated in its most  
ideal purity and perfection4 ,but in    
practice it was never fulfilled4  ,no   
man seems to have attempted to fulfil   
it4  ,man becomes a polygamist1 lower   

than the very birds of the air4         
,abraham1 the father of the faithful1   
has his ,sarah1 his princess-wife3  but 
he has others beside1 as many as he     
will4  ,and so has ,david in like wise1 
to the grief and harm of both him and   
,abraham4  ,so1 it would seem1 had the  
majority of the ,jews till after the    
,captivity2 and even then the law of    
divorce seems to have been as indulgent 
toward the man as it was unjust and     
cruel toward the woman4  ,then our      
blessed ,lord reasserted the ideal and  
primaeval law4  ,he testified in behalf 
of woman1 the puppet of a tyrant who    
repudiated her upon the most frivolous  
pretext1 and declared that in the       
beginning ,god made them male and       
female2 the one husband for the one     
wife4  ,but his words fell on unwilling 
ears4  ,his disciples answered1 that if 
the case of a man with his wife be such1
 it is not good for a man to marry4     
,and such1 as a fact1 was the general   
opinion of ,christendom for many        

centuries4  ,but of that1 as of other   
sayings of our ,lord's1 were his own    
words fulfilled1 that the kingdom of    
,god is as if a man should put seed into
 the ground1 and sleep and wake1 and the
 seed should spring up1 and bear fruit1 
he knew not how4  ,in due course of     
time1 when the ,teutonic nations were   
,christianised1 there sprang up among   
them an idea of married love1 which     
showed that our ,lord's words had at    
last fallen on good ground1 and were    
destined to bear fruit an hundredfold4  
,gradually1 with many confusions1 and   
sometimes sinful mistakes1 there arose1 
not in the cloister1 not in the         
study--not even1 alas6 in the churches  
of ,god1 as they were then2 but in the  
flowery meads of ,may2 under the forest 
boughs1 where birds sang to their mates2
 by the side of the winter hearth2 from 
the lips of wandering minstrels2 in the 
hearts of young creatures1 whom neither 
the profligacy of worldlings1 nor the   
prudery of monks1 had yet defiled3  from

 them arose a voice1 most human and yet 
most divine1 reasserting once more the  
lost law of ,eden1 and finding in its   
fulfilment1 strength and purity1        
self-sacrifice and self-restraint4      
,that voice grew clearer and more strong
 as time went on4  ,it was purged from  
youthful mistakes and youthful          
grossnesses2 till1 at the ,reformation1 
it could speak clearly1 fully1 once and 
for all--no longer on the ground of mere
 nature and private fancy1 but on the   
ground of ,scripture1 and reason1 and   
the eternal laws of ,god2 and the       
highest ideal of family life became     
possible to the family and to the       
nation1 in proportion as they accepted  
the teaching of the ,reformation3  and  
impossible1 alas6 in proportion as they 
still allowed themselves to be ruled by 
a priesthood who asserted the truly     
monstrous dogma1 that the sexes reach   
each their highest excellence only when 
parted from each other4  ,but these     
things were hidden from ,david4  ,one   

can well conceive that he1 so gifted    
outwardly and inwardly1 must have       
experienced all that was then possible  
of woman's love4  ,in one case1 indeed1 
he was notably brought under that moral 
influence of woman1 which we now regard1
 and rightly1 as one of the holiest     
influences of this life4 ,the scene is  
unique in ,scripture4  ,it reads like a 
scene out of the ,middle ,age4          
,abigail's meeting with ,david under the
 covert of the hill2 her turning him    
from his purpose of wild revenge by     
graceful compliments1 by the frank1 and 
yet most modest expression of her       
sympathy and admiration2 and ,david's   
chivalrous answer to her chivalrous     
appeal--all that scene1 which painters  
have so often delighted to draw1 is a   
fore-feeling1 a prophecy1 as it were1 of
 the ,christian chivalry of after ages4 
,the scene is most human and most       
divine3  and we are not shocked to hear 
that after ,nabal's death the fair and  
rich lady joins her fortune to that of  

the wild outlaw1 and becomes his wife to
 wander by wood and wold4  ,but amid all
 the simple and sacred beauty of that   
scene1 we cannot forget1 we must not    
forget that ,abigail is but one wife of 
many2 that there is an element of pure1 
single1 all-absorbing love absent at    
least in ,david's heart1 which was      
present in the hearts of our forefathers
 in many a like case1 and which they    
have handed down to us as an heirloom1  
as precious as that of our laws and     
liberties4  ,and all this was sin unto  
,david2 and like all sin1 brought with  
it its own punishment4  ,i do not mean  
to judge him3  to assign his exact      
amount of moral responsibility4  ,our   
,lord forbids us positively to do that  
to any man2 and least of all1 to a man  
who only acted according to his right1  
and the fashion of his race and his age4
  ,but we must fix it very clearly in   
our minds1 that sins may be punished in 
this life1 even though he who commits   
them is not aware that they are sins4   

,if you are ignorant that fire burns1   
your ignorance will not prevent your    
hand from suffering if you put it into  
the fire4  ,if you are of opinion that  
two and two make five1 and therefore    
spend five pounds while you only possess
 four1 your mistake will not prevent    
your being in debt4  ,and so with all   
mortal affairs4  ,sin1 ,greek1 means    
first1 it seems to me1 a missing the    
mark1 end1 or aim of our existence2 a   
falling short of the law1 the ideal1 the
 good works which ,god has prepared     
beforehand for us to walk in2 and every 
such sin1 conscious or unconscious1 must
 avenge itself by the ,divine laws of   
the universe1 whether physical or       
spiritual4  ,no miracle is needed2 no   
intervention of ,god with his own laws4 
,his laws are far too well made for him 
to need to break them a second time1    
because a sinner has broken them        
already4  ,they avenge themselves4  ,and
 so does polygamy4  ,so it did in the   
case of ,david4 ,it is a breach of the  

ideal law of human nature2 and he who   
breaks that law must suffer1 as ,david  
suffered4  ,look at the latter history  
of ,david1 and at what it might have    
been4 ,one can conceive so noble a      
personage under such woman's influence  
as1 thank ,god1 is common now1 going    
down into an honoured old age1 and      
living together with a helpmate worthy  
of him in godly love and honesty to his 
life's end2 seeing his children         
,christianly and virtuously brought up1 
to the praise and honour of ,god4  ,and 
what was the fact8  ,the indulgence of  
his passions--seemingly harmless to him 
at first-- becomes most harmful ere he  
dies4  ,he commits a crime1 or rather a 
complication of crimes1 which stains his
 name for ever among men4  ,i do not    
think that we shall understand that     
great crime of ,david's1 if we suppose  
it1 with some theologians1 to have been 
merely a sudden and solitary fall1 from 
which he recovered by repentance1 and   
became for the time to come as good a   

man as he had ever been4  ,such a       
theory1 however well it may fit certain 
theological systems1 does not fit the   
facts of human life1 or1 as ,i hold1 the
 teaching of ,scripture4  ,such terrible
 crimes are not committed by men in a   
right state of mind4  ,nemo repente fuit
 turpissimus4  ,he who commits adultery1
 treachery1 and murder1 must have been  
long tampering1 at least in heart1 with 
all these4  ,had not ,david been playing
 upon the edge of sin1 into sin he would
 not have fallen4  ,he may have been    
quite unconscious of bad habits of mind2
 but they must have been there1 growing 
in secret4  ,the tyrannous self-will1   
which is too often developed by long    
success and command3  the unscrupulous  
craft1 which is too often developed by  
long adversity1 and the necessity of    
sustaining oneself in a difficult       
position-- these must have been there4  
,but even they would not have led ,david
 to do the deed which he did1 had there 
not been in him likewise that fearful   

moral weakness which comes from long    
indulgence of the passions--a weakness  
which is reckless alike of conscience1  
of public opinion1 and of danger either 
to earthly welfare or everlasting       
salvation4  ,it has been said1 ',but    
such a sin is so unlike ,david's        
character4' ,doubtless it was1 on the   
theory that ,david was a character      
mingled of good and evil4  ,but on      
,david's own theory1 that he was an     
utterly weak person without the help of 
,god1 the act is perfectly like ,david4 
,it is ,david's self4  ,it is what      
,david would naturally do when he had   
left hold of ,god4  ,had he left hold of
 ,god in the wilderness he would have   
become a mere robber-chieftain4  ,he    
does leave hold of ,god in his palace on
 ,zion1 and he becomes a mere ,eastern  
despot4  ,and what of his sons8  ,the   
fearful curse of ,nathan1 that the sword
 shall never depart from his house1     
needs1 as usual1 no miracle to fulfil   
it4  ,it fulfils itself4  ,the tragedies

 of his sons1 of ,amnon1 of ,absalom1   
are altogether natural--to have been    
foreseen1 but not to have been avoided4 
,the young men have seen their father   
put no restraint upon his passions4     
,why should they put restraint on       
theirs8  ,how can he command them when  
he has not commanded himself8  ,and yet 
self- restraint is what they1 above all 
men1 need4  ,upstart princes--the sons  
of a shepherd boy--intoxicated with     
honours to which they were not born2    
they need the severest discipline2 they 
break out into the most frantic licence4
  ,what is there that they may not do1  
and dare not do8  ,nothing is sacred in 
their eyes4  ,luxury1 ambition1 revenge1
 vanity1 recklessness of decency1 open  
rebellion1 disgrace them in the sight of
 all men4  ,and all these vices1        
remember1 are heightened by the fact    
that they are not brothers1 but rivals2 
sons of different mothers1 hating each  
other1 plotting against each other2     
each1 probably1 urged on by his own     

mother1 who wishes1 poor fool1 to set up
 her son as a competitor for the throne 
against all the rest4  ,and so are      
enacted in ,david's house those         
tragedies which have disgraced1 in every
 age1 the harems of ,eastern despots4   
,but most significant is the fact1 that 
those tragedies complete themselves by  
the sin and shame of ,david's one       
virtuous and famous son4  ,significant  
truly1 that in his old age ,solomon the 
wise should love strange women1 and     
deserting for their sakes the ,god of   
his fathers1 end as an idolater and a   
dotard1 worshipping the abominations of 
the heathen1 his once world-famous      
wisdom sunk into utter folly4  ,but1 it 
may be said1 the punishment of ,david's 
sin fell on his sons1 and not upon      
himself4  ,how so8  ,can there be a more
 heavy punishment1 a more bitter pain1  
than to be punished in and by his       
children2 to see his own evil example   
working out their shame and ruin8  ,but 
do not fancy that ,david's own character

 did not suffer for his sin4  ,the      
theory that he became1 instantly on his 
repentance1 as good and great a man as  
he was before his fall1 was convenient  
enough to certain theologians of past   
days2 but it is neither warranted by the
 facts of ,scripture1 nor by the noble  
agonies1 however noble1 of the #east    
,psalm4  ,it is a prayer for            
restoration1 and that of the only right 
and true kind3  ',take not thy ,holy    
,spirit from me2' and1 as such1 it was  
doubtless heard3  but it need not have  
been fulfilled instantly and at once4   
,it need not have been fulfilled1 it may
 be1 till that life to come1 of which   
,david knew so little4  ,it is a fact1  
it was not fulfilled in this life4  ,we 
read henceforth of no noble and heroical
 acts of ,david4  ,from that time       
forth--,i speak with all diffidence1 and
 merely as it seems to me--he is a      
broken man4  ,his attitude in ,absalom's
 rebellion is all but imbecile4  ,no act
 is recorded of him to the day of his   

death but what is questionable1 if not  
mean and crafty4  ,the one sudden flash 
of the old nobleness which he has shewn 
in pardoning ,shimei1 he himself        
stultifies with his dying lips by a mean
 command to ,solomon to entrap and slay 
the man whom he has too rashly forgiven4
  ,the whole matter of the sacrifice of 
,saul's sons is so very strange1 so     
puzzling1 even shocking to our ideas of 
right and wrong1 that ,i cannot wonder  
at1 though ,i dare not endorse1         
,coleridge's bold assertion1 that they  
were sacrificed to a plot of ,state     
policy1 and the suspicion of some       
critics1 that the whole scene was       
arranged between ,david and a too       
complaisant priesthood1 and ,god's name 
blasphemously taken in vain to find a   
pretext for a political murder4  ,and so
 ,david shivers pitiably to his grave1  
after a fashion which has furnished a   
jest for cynics and infidels1 but which 
contains1 to the eyes of a wise man1 the
 elements of the deepest tragedy2 one   

more awful lesson that human beauty1    
valour1 wit1 genius1 success1 glory1 are
 vanity of vanities3  that man is       
nothing1 and ,god is all in all4  ,but  
some may ask1 ,what has all this to do  
with us8  ,to do with us8 ,do you think 
that the ,scripture says in vain1 ',all 
these things are written for our        
example'8  ,as long as human nature is  
what it is now1 and was three thousand  
years ago1 so long shall we be tempted  
to commit the same sins as ,david3      
different in outward form1 according to 
the conditions of society2 but the same 
in spirit1 the same in sinfulness1 and  
the same in the sure punishment which   
they bring4  ,and above all1 will men to
 the end be tempted to the sin of       
self-indulgence1 want of self-control4  
,in many ways1 but surely in some way or
 other1 will every man's temptation be1 
to lose self- control4  ,therefore      
settle it in your minds1 young men1 that
 the first and the last of all virtues  
and graces of which ,god can give is    

self- control2 as necessary for the     
saint and the sage1 lest they become    
fanatics or pedants1 as for the young   
man in the hey-day of youth and health2 
but as necessary for the young man as   
for the saint and the sage1 lest1 while 
they become only fanatics and pedants1  
he become a profligate1 and a cumberer  
of the ground4  ,remember this--remember
 it now in the glorious days of youth   
which never will return1 but in which   
you are sowing seed of which you will   
reap the fruit until your dying day4    
,know that as you sow1 so will you reap4
  ,if you sow to the flesh1 you will of 
the flesh reap corruption2              
corruption--deterioration1 whether of   
health1 of intellect1 of character in   
some shape or other4  ,you know not1 and
 no man knows1 what the curse will be   
like2 but the curse will surely come4   
,the thing which is done cannot be      
undone2 and you will find that out      
before1 and not merely after your dying 
day4  ,therefore rejoice in your youth1 

for ,god has given it to you2 but       
remember1 that for it1 as for each and  
all of his gifts1 ,god will bring you   
into judgment4  ,and when the hour of   
temptation comes1 go back--go back1 if  
you would escape--to what you all were  
taught at your mother's knee concerning 
the grace of ,god2 for that alone will  
keep you safe1 or angel1 or archangel1  
or any created being safe1 in this life 
and in all lives to come4    ,,sermon   
,v4  ,,friendship2 ,,or1 ,,david ,,and  
,,jonathan    #b ,samuel i4  #bf4  ,i am
 distressed for thee1 my brother        
,jonathan3 very pleasant hast thou been 
unto me3  thy love to me was wonderful1 
passing the love of women4  ,passing the
 love of woman6  ,that is a hard saying4
  ,what love can pass that8  ,yet ,david
 doubtless spoke truth4  ,he was a man  
who must have had reason enough to know 
what woman's love was like2 and when he 
said that the love of ,jonathan for him 
passed even that1 he bestowed on his    
friend praise which will be immortal4   

,the name of ,jonathan will remain for  
ever as the perfect pattern of          
friendship4  ,let us think a little     
to-day over his noble character and his 
tragical history4  ,it will surely do us
 good4  ,if it does nothing but make us 
somewhat ashamed of ourselves1 that is  
almost the best thing which can happen  
to us or to any man4  ,we first hear of 
,jonathan as doing a very gallant deed4 
,we might expect as much4  ,it is only  
great-hearted men who can be true       
friends2 mean and cowardly men can never
 know what friendship means4  ,the      
,israelites were hidden in thickets1 and
 caves1 and pits1 for fear of the       
,philistines1 when ,jonathan was        
suddenly inspired to attack a           
,philistine garrison1 under             
circumstances seemingly desperate4      
',and that first slaughter1 which       
,jonathan and his armour-bearer made1   
was about twenty men1 within1 as it     
were1 an half-acre of land1 which a yoke
 of oxen might plough4'  ,that is one of

 those little hints which shews that the
 story is true1 written by a man who    
knew the place--who had probably been in
 the great battle of ,beth-aven1 which  
followed1 and had perhaps ascended the  
rock where ,jonathan had done his       
valiant deed1 and had seen the dead     
bodies lying as they had fallen before  
him and his armour-bearer4  ,then       
follows the story of ,david's killing   
,goliath1 and coming back to ,saul with 
the giant's head in his hand1 and       
answering modestly to him1 ',i am the   
son of thy servant ,jesse the           
,bethlehemite4'  ',and it came to pass1 
when he had made an end of speaking unto
 ,saul1 that the soul of ,jonathan was  
knit with the soul of ,david1 and       
,jonathan loved him as his own soul4    
',then ,jonathan and ,david made a      
covenant1 because he loved him as his   
own soul4  ',and ,jonathan stripped     
himself of the robe that was upon him1  
and gave it to ,david1 and his garments1
 even to his sword1 and to his bow1 and 

to his girdle4'  ,he loved him as his   
own soul4  ,and why8  ,because his soul 
was like the soul of ,david2 because he 
was modest1 he loved ,david's modesty2  
because he was brave1 he loved ,david's 
courage2 because he was virtuous1 he    
loved ,david's virtue4  ,he saw that    
,david was all that he was himself1 and 
more2 and therefore he loved him as his 
own soul4  ,and therefore ,i said1 that 
it is only noble and great hearts who   
can have great friendships2 who admire  
and delight in other men's goodness2    
who1 when they see a great and godlike  
man1 conceive1 like ,jonathan1 such an  
affection for him that they forget      
themselves1 and think only of him1 till 
they will do anything for him1 sacrifice
 anything for him1 as ,jonathan did for 
,david4  ,for remember1 that ,jonathan  
had cause to hate and envy ,david rather
 than love him2 and that he would have  
hated him if there had been any touch of
 meanness or selfishness in his heart4  
,gradually he learnt1 as all ,israel    

learnt1 that ,samuel had anointed ,david
 to be king1 and that he1 ,jonathan1 was
 in danger of not succeeding after      
,saul's death4  ,david stood between him
 and the kingdom4  ,and yet he did not  
envy ,david--did not join his father for
 a moment in plotting his ruin4  ,he    
would oppose his father1 secretly       
indeed1 and respectfully2 but still1 he 
would be true to ,david1 though he had  
to bear insults and threats of death4   
,and mark here one element in           
,jonathan's great friendship4  ,jonathan
 is a pious man1 as well as a righteous 
one4  ,he believes the ,lord's messages 
that he has chosen ,david to be king1   
and he submits2 seeing that it is just  
and right1 and that ,david is worthy of 
the honour1 though it be to the hurt of 
himself and of his children after him4  
,it is the ,lord's will2 and he1 instead
 of repining against it1 must carry it  
out as far as he is concerned4  ,yes2   
those who are most true to their        
fellow-men are always those who are true

 to ,god2 for the same spirit of ,god   
which makes them fear ,god makes them   
also love their neighbour4  ,when ,david
 escapes from ,saul to ,samuel1 it is   
,jonathan who does all he can to save   
him4  ,the two friends meet secretly in 
the field4  ',and ,jonathan said unto   
,david1 ,o ,lord ,god of ,israel1 when  
,i have sounded my father about         
to-morrow any time1 or the third day1   
and1 behold1 if there be good toward    
,david1 and ,i then send not unto thee1 
and shew it thee2 the ,lord do so and   
much more to ,jonathan4'  ,then ,david  
and ,jonathan agree upon a sign between 
them1 by which ,david may know ,saul's  
humour without his bow-bearer finding   
out ,david4  ,he will shoot three arrows
 toward the place where ,david is in    
hiding2 and if he says to his           
bow-bearer1 ,the arrows are on this side
 of thee1 ,david is to come2 for he is  
safe4  ,but if he says1 ,the arrows are 
beyond thee1 ,david must flee for his   
life1 for the ,lord has sent him away4  

,then ,jonathan goes in to meat with his
 father ,saul1 and excuses ,david for   
being absent4  ',then ,saul's anger was 
kindled against ,jonathan1 and he said  
unto him1 ,thou son of the perverse1    
rebellious woman1 do not ,i know that   
thou hast chosen the son of ,jesse to   
thine own confusion1 and unto the       
confusion of thy mother8  ,for as long  
as the son of ,jesse liveth upon the    
ground1 thou shalt not be established1  
nor thy kingdom4 ,wherefore now send and
 fetch him unto me1 for he shall surely 
die4 ,and ,jonathan answered ,saul his  
father1 and said unto him1 ,wherefore   
shall he be slain8 what hath he done8   
,and ,saul cast a javelin at him to     
smite him2 whereby ,jonathan knew that  
it was determined of his father to slay 
,david4'  ,he goes to the field and     
shoots the arrows1 and gives the sign   
agreed on4  ,he sends his bow-bearer    
back to the city1 and ,david comes out  
of his hiding-place in the rock ,ezel4  
',and as soon as the lad was gone1      

,david arose out of a place toward the  
south1 and fell on his face to the      
ground1 and bowed himself three times2  
and they kissed one another1 and wept   
one with another1 until ,david exceeded4
  ,and ,jonathan said to ,david1 ,go in 
peace1 forasmuch as we have sworn both  
of us in the name of the ,lord1 saying1 
,the ,lord be between me and thee1 and  
between my seed and thy seed for ever4  
,and he arose and departed3  and        
,jonathan went into the city4'  ,and so 
the two friends parted1 and saw one     
another1 it seems1 but once again1 when 
,jonathan went to ,david in the forest  
of ,ziph1 and 'strengthened his hand in 
,god1' with noble words4  ,after that1  
,jonathan vanishes from the story of    
,david4  ,we hear only of him that he   
died fighting by his father's side1 upon
 the downs of ,gilboa4  ,the green plot 
at their top1 where the ,israelites'    
last struggle was probably made1 can be 
seen to this day2 and there most likely 
,jonathan fell1 and over him ,david     

raised his famous lamentation3  ',o     
,jonathan1 thou wast slain in thine high
 places4  ,i am distressed for thee1 my 
brother ,jonathan3  very pleasant hast  
thou been unto me3  thy love to me was  
wonderful1 passing the love of women4   
,how are the mighty fallen1 and the     
weapons of war perished6'  ,so ends the 
beautiful and tragical story of a truly 
gallant man4 ,seldom1 indeed1 will there
 be seen in the world such perfect      
friendship between man and man1 as that 
between ,jonathan and ,david4 ,seldom1  
indeed1 shall we see anyone loving and  
adoring the very man whom his selfish   
interest would teach him to hate and to 
supplant4 ,but still every man may have1
 and ought to have a friend4  ,wretched 
indeed1 and probably deservedly         
wretched1 is the man who has none4 ,and 
every man may learn from this story of  
,jonathan how to choose his friends4  ,i
 say1 to choose4  ,no one is bound to be
 at the mercy of anybody and everybody  
with whom he may come in contact4  ,no  

one is bound to say1 ,that man lives    
next door to me1 therefore he must be my
 friend4  ,we are bound not to avoid our
 neighbours4  ,they are put near us by  
,god in his providence4  ,god intends   
every one of them1 good or bad1 to help 
in educating us1 in giving us experience
 of life and manners4 ,we are to learn  
from them1 live with them in peace and  
charity1 and only avoid them when we    
find that their company is really doing 
us harm1 and leading us into sin and    
folly4  ,but a friend--which is a much  
deeper and more sacred word than        
neighbour--a friend we have the right   
and the power to choose2 and our wisest 
plan will be to copy ,jonathan1 and     
choose our friends1 not for their       
usefulness1 but for their goodness2 not 
for their worth to us1 but for their    
worth in themselves2 and to choose1 if  
possible1 people superior to ourselves4 
,if we meet a man better than ourselves1
 more wise than ourselves1 more learned1
 more experienced1 more delicate-minded1

 more high-minded1 let us take pains to 
win his esteem1 to gain his confidence1 
and to win him as a friend1 for the sake
 of his worth4  ,then in our friendship1
 as in everything else in the world1 we 
shall find the great law come true1 that
 he that loseth his life shall save it4 
,he who does not think of himself and   
his own interest will be the very man   
who will really help himself1 and       
further his own interest the most4  ,for
 the friend whom we have chosen for his 
own worth1 will be the one who will be  
worth most to us4  ,the friend whom we  
have loved and admired for his own sake1
 will be the one who will do most to    
raise our character1 to teach us1 to    
refine us1 to help us in time of doubt  
and trouble4  ,the higher-minded man our
 friend is1 the higher-minded will he   
make us4  ,for it is written1 ',as iron 
sharpeneth iron1 so a man sharpeneth the
 face of his friend4'  ,nothing can be  
more foolish1 or more lowering to our   
own character1 than to choose our       

friends among those who can only flatter
 us1 and run after us1 who look up to us
 as oracles1 and fetch and carry at our 
bidding1 while they do our souls and    
characters no good1 but merely feed our 
self-conceit1 and lower us down to their
 own level4 ,but it is wise1 and        
ennobling to our own character1 to      
choose our friends among those who are  
nearer to ,god than we are1 more        
experienced in life1 and more strong and
 settled in character4  ,wise it is to  
have a friend of whom we are at first   
somewhat afraid2 before whom we dare not
 say or do a foolish thing1 whose just  
anger or contempt would be to us a thing
 terrible4  ,better it is that          
friendship should begin with a little   
wholesome fear1 till time and mutual    
experience of each other's characters   
shall have brought about the perfect    
love which casts out fear4  ,better to  
say with ,david1 ',he that telleth lies 
shall not stay in my sight2 ,i will not 
know a wicked person4  ,yea1 let the    

righteous rather smite me friendly and  
reprove me4  ,all my delight is in the  
saints that are in the earth1 and in    
such as excel in virtue4'  ,and let no  
man fancy that by so doing he lowers    
himself1 and puts himself in a mean     
place4  ,there is no man so             
strong-minded but what he may find a    
stronger-minded man than himself to give
 him counsel2 no man is so noble-hearted
 but what he may find a nobler-hearted  
man than himself to keep him up to what 
is true and just and honourable1 when he
 is tempted to play the coward1 and be  
false to ,god's ,spirit within him4  ,no
 man is so pure-minded but what he may  
find a purer- minded person than himself
 to help him in the battle against the  
world1 the flesh1 and the devil4  ,my   
friends1 do not think it a mean thing to
 look up to those who are superior to   
yourselves4  ,on the contrary1 you will 
find in practice that it is only the    
meanest hearts1 the shallowest and the  
basest1 who feel no admiration1 but only

 envy for those who are better than     
themselves2 who delight in finding fault
 with them1 and blackening their        
character1 and showing that they are    
not1 after all1 so much superior to     
other people2 while it is the           
noblest-hearted1 the very men who are   
most worthy to be admired themselves1   
who1 like ,jonathan1 feel most the      
pleasure1 the joy1 and the strength of  
reverence2 of having some one whom they 
can look up to and admire2 some one in  
whose company they can forget           
themselves1 their own interest1 their   
own pleasure1 their own honour and      
glory1 and cry1 ,him ,i must hear2 him  
,i must follow2 to him ,i must cling1   
whatever may betide4  ,blessed and      
ennobling is the feeling which gathers  
round a wise teacher or a great         
statesman all the most earnest1         
high-minded1 and pious youths of his    
generation2 the feeling which makes     
soldiers follow the general whom they   
trust1 they know not why or whither1    

through danger1 and hunger1 and fatigue1
 and death itself2 the feeling which1 in
 its highest perfection1 made the       
,apostles forsake all and follow        
,christ1 saying1 ',lord1 to whom shall  
we go8  ,thou hast the words of eternal 
life'--which made them ready to work and
 to die for him whom the world called   
the son of the carpenter1 but whom they1
 through the ,spirit of ,god bearing    
witness with their own pure and noble   
spirits1 knew to be the ,son of the     
,living ,god4  ,ay1 a blessed thing it  
is for any man or woman to have a       
friend2 one human soul whom we can trust
 utterly2 who knows the best and the    
worst of us1 and who loves us1 in spite 
of all our faults2 who will speak the   
honest truth to us1 while the world     
flatters us to our face1 and laughs at  
us behind our back2 who will give us    
counsel and reproof in the day of       
prosperity and self-conceit2 but who1   
again1 will comfort and encourage us in 
the day of difficulty and sorrow1 when  

the world leaves us alone to fight our  
own battle as we can4  ,if we have had  
the good fortune to win such a friend1  
let us do anything rather than lose him4
  ,we must give and forgive2 live and   
let live4  ,if our friend have faults1  
we must bear with them4  ,we must hope  
all things1 believe all things1 endure  
all things1 rather than lose that most  
precious of all earthly possessions--a  
trusty friend4  ,and a friend1 once won1
 need never be lost1 if we will only be 
trusty and true ourselves4  ,friends may
 part--not merely in body1 but in       
spirit1 for a while4  ,in the bustle of 
business and the accidents of life they 
may lose sight of each other for years2 
and more--they may begin to differ in   
their success in life1 in their         
opinions1 in their habits1 and there may
 be1 for a time1 coldness and           
estrangement between them2 but not for  
ever1 if each will be but trusty and    
true4  ,for then1 according to the      
beautiful figure of the poet1 they will 

be like two ships who set sail at       
morning from the same port1 and ere     
nightfall lose sight of each other1 and 
go each on its own course1 and at its   
own pace1 for many days1 through many   
storms and seas2 and yet meet again1 and
 find themselves lying side by side in  
the same haven1 when their long voyage  
is past4  ,and if not1 my friends2 if   
they never meet2 if one shall founder   
and sink upon the seas1 or even change  
his course1 and fly shamefully home     
again3  still1 is there not a ,friend of
 friends who cannot change1 but is the  
same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever8   
,what says the noble hymn3--   ',when   
gathering clouds around ,i view1 ,and   
days are dark and friends are few1 ,on  
him ,i lean1 who1 not in vain1          
,experienced every human pain3 ,he sees 
my griefs1 allays my fears1 ,and counts 
and treasures up my tears4'   ,passing  
the love of woman was his love1 indeed2 
and of him ,jonathan was but such a     
type1 as the light in the dewdrop is the

 type of the sun in heaven4  ,he himself
 said--and what he said1 that he        
fulfilled--',greater love hath no man   
than this--that a man lay down his life 
for his friends4'  ,in treachery and    
desertion2 in widowhood and             
childlessness2 in the hour of death1 and
 in the day of judgment1 when each soul 
must stand alone before its ,god1 one   
,friend remains1 and that the best of   
all4  #bhe  ,from a charter quoted by   
,ingulf--and very probably a spurious   
one4