"_So David prevailed over the Philistine_!"--1 SAMUEL xvii. 50.
Yes, he did, but he would not have done so if he had remained as quiet as
the other Israelites. David was one of those who could not be easy so
long as the enemies of his country were in the ascendant. To see a
Philistine strutting about, defying the armies of the living God, was
more than he could bear. Is not this the spirit which should animate
Christians to-day? It is not one GOLIATH merely, there are many.
DRUNKENNESS, PROFANITY, SUPERSTITION, INFIDELITY, and a host of others
are not only defying us, but destroying us. Is it not true that the
armies of the alien are robbing our families and churches, plundering us
of the results of years of toil? Think, in one department alone, how we
are spoiled. We refer to the Sabbath school. What a small percentage of
those who pass through our schools become stable members of the church!
What crowds of our children become the slaves of sin! How long do we
mean to bear it? When shall we, like David, say, "THY SERVANT WILL GO
AND FIGHT WITH THIS PHILISTINE?"
We read that "David hasted, and ran towards the army to meet the
Philistine." He was aggressive. There is a great deal to be said in
favour of what is called "working on the old lines," but