David a Fugitive
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fainthearted, strengthening the feeble, and imparting courage and help
to the tried servants of the Lord! Oh, what a God is ours, who deals
gently with the erring and manifests His patience and tenderness in
adversity, and when we are overwhelmed with some great sorrow!
Every failure on the part of the children of God is due to their lack
of faith. When shadows encompass the soul, when we want light and
guidance, we must look up; there is light beyond the darkness. David
ought not to have distrusted God for one moment. He had cause for
trusting in Him: he was the Lord’s anointed, and in the midst of danger
he had been protected by the angels of God; he had been armed with
courage to do wonderful things; and if he had but removed his mind
from the distressing situation in which he was placed, and had thought
of God’s power and majesty, he would have been at peace even in the
midst of the shadows of death; he could with confidence have repeated
the promise of the Lord, “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be
removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the
covenant of My peace be removed.”
Isaiah 54:10
.
Among the mountains of Judah, David sought refuge from the
pursuit of Saul. He made good his escape to the cave of Adullam, a
place that, with a small force, could be held against a large army. “And
when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down
thither to him.” The family of David could not feel secure, knowing
that at any time the unreasonable suspicions of Saul might be directed
against them on account of their relation to David. They had now
learned—what was coming to be generally known in Israel—that God
had chosen David as the future ruler of His people; and they believed
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that they would be safer with him, even though he was a fugitive in a
lonely cave, than they could be while exposed to the insane madness
of a jealous king.
In the cave of Adullam the family were united in sympathy and
affection. The son of Jesse could make melody with voice and harp
as he sang, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to
dwell together in unity!”
Psalm 133:1
. He had tasted the bitterness
of distrust on the part of his own brothers; and the harmony that had
taken the place of discord brought joy to the exile’s heart. It was here
that David composed the fifty-seventh psalm.
It was not long before David’s company was joined by others who
desired to escape the exactions of the king. There were many who