David and Goliath
583
the anxious spectators was that David had decided not to risk his life
in meeting an antagonist in so unequal an encounter. But this was far
from the thought of the brave young man. When he returned to Saul he
begged permission to lay aside the heavy armor, saying, “I cannot go
with these; for I have not proved them.” He laid off the king’s armor,
and in its stead took only his staff in his hand, with his shepherd’s
scrip and a simple sling. Choosing five smooth stones out of the brook,
he put them in his bag, and, with his sling in his hand, drew near to
the Philistine. The giant strode boldly forward, expecting to meet the
mightiest of the warriors of Israel. His armor-bearer walked before
him, and he looked as if nothing could withstand him. As he came
nearer to David he saw but a stripling, called a boy because of his
youth. David’s countenance was ruddy with health, and his well-knit
form, unprotected by armor, was displayed to advantage; yet between
its youthful outline and the massive proportions of the Philistine, there
was a marked contrast.
Goliath was filled with amazement and anger. “Am I a dog,” he
exclaimed, “that thou comest to me with staves?” Then he poured
upon David the most terrible curses by all the gods of his knowledge.
He cried in derision, “Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the
fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.”
David did not weaken before the champion of the Philistines. Step-
ping forward, he said to his antagonist: “Thou comest to me with a
sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the
name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou
hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and
I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the
carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the
air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that
there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord
saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and He
will give you into our hands.”
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There was a ring of fearlessness in his tone, a look of triumph and
rejoicing upon his fair countenance. This speech, given in a clear,
musical voice, rang out on the air, and was distinctly heard by the
listening thousands marshaled for war. The anger of Goliath was
roused to the very highest heat. In his rage he pushed up the helmet
that protected his forehead and rushed forward to wreak vengeance