world of a peft, fubfift himself, ferve his country, and not injure his benefactor.

THESE Confiderations quickly determined him and therefore, as long as he continued in that country, he employed himself in continual ravages upon thofe mifcreants; and took his measures fo well, that whatever quarter he invaded, he utterly deftroyed (as Livy fays of Martius): Ne nuntios quidem cladis reliquit: He left nobody behind him to complain of the calamity.

MR. BAYLE cenfures this condu&t;' and says, it was unjustifiable in David, being a private man, to act thus, without a warrant from Achish, or from GOD: he had no warrant from Achish; for he acted contrary to his intentions: nor from any prophet; nor from infpiration; because the Scriptures are filent upon this head.

THE reader will pleafe to obferve, that all Mr. Bayle's reafonings against David are grounded upon one fundamental error; and that is, that he acted, in all his exile, merely as a private man. He forgets, that he was elected and anointed to the kingdom; and that the fame Spirit of GOD, which once infpired Saul with all regalvirtues, was now gone over to David, and refted with him. And it were very ftrange, if David, as a king-elect of Ifrael, could have any guilt in doing that, which Saul, as a king in poffeffion, was depofed for not doing. the point;

BUT the Scriptures are filent upon and therefore he was guilty

THIS, fure, is easily retorted: The Scriptures are filent as to any guilt of his upon this head; and therefore he was not guilty.

I MIGHT add, That the Scriptures acquit him of all deliberate, known, executed guilt, except in the matter of Uriah.

AND, as to a commiffion from Achish, Mr. Bayle forgets, that David waited upon Achish after his return from his incurfions, to give him an account of them, and present him with the fpoil. Does not this plainly imply his permiffion and authority to make incurfions? The fpoil he brought to Gath; but the people he did not; because, if he had, it would foon have been known, that they were not Jews (1 Sam. xxvii. 11.): And David faved neither man nor woman alive, to bring to Gath, faying, Left they should tell on us, &c. a text which hath been strangely misunderstood, by the interpofition of the word tidings, which intirely perverts the fenfe of it. For, if he had spared them, it was not easy for them to carry any intelligence of what was done to Gath; fince the whole tribe of Judah lay between the Philistines and those regions which he wafted.

THE fpoil of oxen, affes, and camels, David (as I now obferved) conftantly brought to Achish; and, it is to be prefumed, fubmitted them to his difpofal, and therefore, fuppofing the people fo deftroyed in no alliance with

In the English tranflation it is, to bring tidings to Gath: whereas in the original it is, he saved neither man nor woman alive to bring to Gath.

Achish,

1

B. 1. Achifh, David was thus far rather beneficent, than injurious to his protector. And it is certain, that there is no fort of reafon to believe them in alliance with him, but quite the contrary.

BUT it is urged and aggravated, that David deceived his benefactor, and made him believe, that the perfons fo ravaged and destroyed were Ifraelites.

I own he did but let the reasons why he did fo be calmly and candidly confidered.

ACHISH Wanted to be affured of David's inviolable attachment to him; and nothing could give him fo effectual an affurance of that, as the enmity of his own countrymen.

Now David, who knew his own integrity, and knew himself to be faithful to his benefactor, knew that this proof of it was not neceffary, nor would any way advance the king's intereft; and therefore thought he might make ufe of an innocent deception, to infpire Achish

with all the affurance and confidence in him that he defired, and David deserved.

I WILL not ftand up in a ftrict defence of this' conduct. It was indeed a deception: but, if it injured nobody, (as I apprehend it did not) I must own I am utterly at a lofs what degree of guilt to charge upon it.

THIS must be allowed, that all habits of deception have a natural tendency to bias the mind, and warp it from truth; and therefore ought carefully to be avoided, even where the deception is innocent.

AND

AND there is this further prefumption against

them, that we often find them attended with evil confequences as in the present cafe; for we find, that this deception inspired Achish with fuch a confidence of David's inviolable attachment to him, as determined him to make him captain of his life-guard.

CHA P. XXII.

The Philiftines engage in a new War against Saul. David invited to it. Saul's Adventure with the Pythonefs at Endor.

THE Philistines, recruited, about this time, as Sir Ifaac Newton judges, by vast numbers of men driven out of Egypt by Amofis, refolve upon a new war with Ifrael. Nor were Samuel's death, and David's difgrace, (as we may well judge) inconfiderable motives to it.

ACHISH knew David's merit, and had a thorough confidence in his fidelity; and therefore refolved to take him with him to the war. Accordingly he moved the matter to David; and David, as commentators think, made him a doubtful answer. The most probable opinion is, that he would not refolve upon fo extraordinary a ftep without confulting GOD, either by his prieft, or his prophet. And there

fore,

fore, when Achish told him, He must go with him to battle; he only answered, Surely thou fhalt know what thy fervant can do. Upon which Achifh replied, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever; that is, in the prefent military ftyle, he promised to make him captain of his life-guard: and we find, by the fequel, that he did accordingly.

SINCE then we find David proceed so far, as to attend Achish to Aphek, the place appointed for the assembling of the Philiftine forces; I think there is no reafon to doubt, that he went thither with honeft intentions towards his protcctor; and that he did this by the divine permiflion.

Now, forafmuch as the event of this war turned upon a remarkable piece of misconduct in Saul, as a captain; and a grievous and deliberate violation of his known duty to Go D, as his Creator, and his King; the facred hiftorian here interrupts the courfe of his relation, to acquaint us with that event; and, in order to it, acquaints us with the fituation of both armies. At that time Saul encamped upon mount Gil boa; and the Philistines, in full profpect under him, upon the plains of Sunem.

WHEN Saul faw their numbers, their orders, and their appointments, he judged himfelf greatly overpowered, and fell into great terror upon the profpect. What should he do! Samuel was dead, and Abiathar with David. He had, for fome years paft, fhewn no regard, or, to speak more juftly, fhewn all imaginable

difregard,