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appear to have been decisive; for soon afterward there was another great battle on the same ground, when a brother of Goliath of Gath was the hero of the Philistines. He, however, shared the fate of the others of his race; for he was slain by Elhanan of Bethlehem. This conflict seems to have been very disastrous to the Philistines; for the next battle we hear of was fought under the walls of their capital at Gath.* Here, again, a man of gigantic stature appeared in the Philistine army, and, like Goliath, boldly defied the armies of Israel; but his profane defiance was of short duration. Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shimeah, probably stimulated by the memory of his uncle's heroism, encountered the giant and slew him. The defeat which the Philistines received on this occasion terminated the war; the city was taken, and this bold and daring people completely subdued; for we hear no more of their troubling the Hebrews during the reigns of David and Solomon. (1 Kings iv. 2; 2 Chron. ix. 26.)

These campaigns terminated the wars of David. He was now approaching old age, but had the pleasure of recovering the martial ascendancy of his country, and retiring from these scenes of conflict in possession of all that extensive dominion which God had promised to the fathers of the Hebrew race. Before leaving this subject, it should be observed that there is an omission in the recital of the events of this war which will strike every attentive student of Hebrew history. The name of Joab, the captain-general of the Hebrew army, is never once mentioned. David, who appears to have thought it unsafe formally to depose him from his command, took the direction of the army

* Some critics have supposed that all the contests of this war took place near Gath. Some of the copies of the Septuagint, in the version of 2 Sam. xxi. 15-22, read гée, instead of róß.

on himself, and thus prevented the daring son of Zeruiah from sharing in the dangers and honours of these campaigns. From what is known of the character of this warrior, it cannot be doubted that this was a great disappointment to him personally, and must have greatly humbled him in public estimation.

As might have been expected, David celebrated the close of his martial career in one of his most sublime sacred odes. But only a part of this refers to the last wars in which he was engaged, and this portion it is not easy to determine. The song itself is found in the second Book of Samuel, (chap. xxii.,) and, as revised for the service of the tabernacle, in the eighteenth Psalm. In the history, the Psalm is introduced thus: "And David spoke unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul." And the inscription to the Psalm is the same in substance. So that, as Hengstenberg observes, it "divides all the distresses of David into two great halves, the Sauline ones and the others."* Acting on this evident principle, we have already given † the first thirty verses of this ode in connexion with the account of David's deliverance from a situation of extreme peril, into which he was thrown by the malignant machinations of Saul. And the remainder is given here, not because there is any positive proof that these stanzas relate to those last wars of David which have been narrated above, but from the internal evidence that some of them clearly refer to those wars; and, being the last, and some of the most dangerous to himself that he ever conducted, it seems certain that

* Hengstenberg on the Psalms, vol. i., p. 294. + Supra, p. 53.

DAVID'S SONG OF PRAISE.

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they would fill a large portion of the royal poet's mind, when celebrating his final triumph over all his enemies.

PSALM XVIII. 31-50.

"For who is God save the Lord ?

Or who is a rock save our God?

It is God that girdeth me with strength,
And maketh my way perfect.

He maketh my feet like hinds' feet,

And setteth me upon my high places.

He teacheth my hands to war,

So that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salva

tion :

And Thy right hand hath holden me up,

And Thy gentleness hath made me great.
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me,
That my feet did not slip.

I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them:
Neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
I have wounded them that they were not able to
rise :

They are fallen under my feet.

For Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle:

Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies;

That I might destroy them that hate me.

They cried, but there was none to save them :

Even unto the Lord, but He answered them not.

F F

Then did I beat them small as the dust before the

wind:

I did cast them out as the dust in the streets.

Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people;

And Thou hast made me the head of the heathen : A people whom I have not known shall serve me. As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me; The strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away,

And be afraid out of their close places.

The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock:

And let the God of my salvation be exalted.
It is God that avengeth me,

And subdueth the people under me.

He delivereth me from mine enemies:

Yea, Thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me:

Thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Therefore will I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the heathen,

And sing praises unto Thy Name.

Great deliverance giveth He to His king;

And showeth mercy to His anointed,

To David, and to his seed for evermore."

Thus did this aged monarch offer his thanksgiving to Jehovah for all the success which had crowned his arms, and for all the deliverances and prosperity with which he had been favoured. In the entire Psalm he reviews his whole public life, from the days of his youth, when he was persecuted by Saul, to the time of his old age, when, having crushed the power of all his enemies, and surveying his course throughout, he

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glories, not in his own wisdom or power, but in his God. If he can break a bow of steel, it is God that teaches his hands to fight. God is his Rock; God subdued the people under him: He is the God of his salvation. The records of history may be very extensively searched before we shall find a hero equal to David, who in his hoary age renounces his own merit, and ascribes all he is and all he has to the mercy of his God.