I was reminded of the poor Egyptian whom David found half dead, and brought to life again by giving him 'a piece of cake of figs and two clusters of raisins' to eat, and water to drink, by an incident which occurred to me when crossing the plain of Askelon. Far from any village, a sick Egyptian was lying by the road side in the burning sun, and apparently almost dead with a terrible fever. He wanted nothing but 'water! water!' which we were fortunately able to give him from our traveling bottle; but we were obliged to pass on and leave him to his fate, whatever that might be (Thomson, 'The Land and the Book'). How the "young man of Egypt" became "slave to an Amalekite" is not stated, but it is probable that he fell into his hands in some marauding expedition, like the Hebrew women and children in the raid on Ziklag. His condition was an involuntary, hard, and degrading one. He was -

I. ABANDONED BY HIS MASTER with -

1. Indifference and contempt. His worth as a man created in the image of God was disregarded (as is generally the case in the odious institution of slavery). He was treated as the absolute property of his master, "an animated tool" (Aristotle), and when deemed no longer useful, thrown away.

2. Injustice. Every claim in return for his services was ignored. He was entirely at the mercy of his master, and unprotected by any law (such as existed among the Hebrews).

3. Inhumanity. "My master left me three days agone because I fell sick" (ver. 13). He might have been easily carried forward on one of the camels (ver. 17), but the Amalekites were hard and cruel, and he was left to perish with hunger or to be devoured by wild beasts. "He that is higher than the highest regardeth" (Ecclesiastes 5:8), and the meanest slave cannot be despised and neglected with impunity.

II. BEFRIENDED BY STRANGERS (vers. 11, 12).

1. Out of compassion and desire to save his life by every means in their power.

2. In fulfilment of the law of God, which required that kindness should be shown to the poor, the stranger, and the slave. "Love ye therefore the stranger, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 10:19; Deuteronomy 23:7, 15, 16).

3. With appreciation of the service he might render (ver. 15). The more helpless any one is, the more urgent his claim to assistance; yet no one is so helpless but that he may be capable of requiting the kindness shown to him. Slavery among the Hebrews differed widely from slavery among other ancient and modern peoples (1 Samuel 25:10; Ewald, Ginsburg, 'Ecclesiastes,' p. 283; 'Ecce Homo'). "By Christianising the master the gospel enfranchised the slave. It did not legislate about mere names and forms, but it went to the root of the evil, it spoke to the heart of man. When the heart of the master was filled with Divine grace and was warmed with the love of Christ the rest would soon follow. The lips would speak kind words, the hands would do liberal things" (Wordsworth, 'Com. on Philemon').

III. SERVICEABLE TO HIS BENEFACTORS.

1. From gratitude for the benefit received. No human heart is wholly insensible to the power of kindness.

2. Under a solemn assurance of protection. After his abandonment by his master he could have no scruple concerning his right to his continued service, if any such right ever existed; but experience had made him fearful and suspicious of men, and therefore he said, "Swear unto me by God," etc. (ver. 15). He had a sense of religion, and believed that Divine justice would avenge the violation of an oath, though it should be taken to a slave.

3. With efficient and faithful performance of his engagements. He not only gave David the information he sought, but guided him to the camp of the enemy, and contributed to a result which repaid him a hundredfold (ver. 18).

IV. PRESERVED AND EMPLOYED BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE, which -

1. Cares for the lowliest. "Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any" (Job 36:5). "Neither doth God respect any person" (2 Samuel 14:14).

2. Often makes use of the feeblest instrumentality for the chastisement of the "wicked in great power."

3. And for the promotion of the welfare of the people of God, and the establishment of his kingdom. What a rich harvest may spring from a single act of kindness toward even the most despised!

"He prayeth well who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best who loveth best
All things both great and small:
For the dear God who loveth us
He made and loveth all"

(Coleridge) = -D.

David may be regarded as a very special type of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I. WE BEGIN WITH THE FIRST OBSERVATION THAT, PRACTICALLY, ALL THE SPOIL OF THAT DAY WAS DAVID'S SPOIL, AND IN TRUTH, ALL THE GOOD THAT WE ENJOY COMES TO US THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS.

1. David's men defeated the Amalekites, and took their spoil, but it was for David's sake that God gave success go the band.

2. Moreover, David's men gained the victory over Amalek because of David's leadership. If he had not been there to lead them to the fight, in the moment of their despair they would have lost all heart, and would have remained amidst the burning walls of Ziklag a discomfited company. The Lord Jesus Christ has been here among us and has fought our battle for us, and recovered all that we had lost by Adam's fall and by our own sin. They said of Waterloo that it was a soldier's battle, and the victory was due to the men; but ours is our Commander's battle, and every victory won by us is due to the great Captain of our salvation. And our Lord Jesus has recovered for us the lucre as well as the past. Our outlook was grim and dark indeed till Jesus came; but oh, how bright it is now that he has completed his glorious work! Death is no more the dreaded grave of all our hopes. Hell exists no longer for believers. Heaven, whose gates were dosed, is now set wide open to every soul that believeth. We have recovered life and immortal bliss.

II. THOSE GOOD THINGS WHICH WE NOW POSSESS, OVER AND ABOVE WHAT WE LOST BY SIN, COME TO US BY THE LORD JESUS. And first, think: In Christ Jesus human nature is lifted up where it never ought have been before. Man was made in his innocence to occupy a very lofty place. "Thou madest him to have dominion over all the works of Thy hands; Thee hast put all things under his feet." The nearest being to God is a man. The noblest existence — how shall I word it? — the noblest of all beings is God, and the God-man Christ Jesse, in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, is with Him upon the throne. It is a wondrous honour this, that manhood should be taken into intimate connection, yea, absolute union with God!

2. Another blessing which was not ears before the fall, and therefore never was lost, but comes to as a surplusage, is the fact that we are redeemed.

3. We shall be creatures who have known sin and have been recovered from its pollution. We shall forever remember the price at which we were redeemed; and we shall have ties upon us that will bind us to an undeviating loyalty to him who exalted us to so glorious a condition.

4. We receive blessings unknown to beings who have never fallen.

5. Again, to my mind it is a very blessed fact that you and I will partake of a privilege which would have been certainly unnecessary to Adam, and could not by Adam have been known, and that is, the privilege of resurrection. Our singular relation to God, and yet to materialism, is another rare gift of Jesus. God intended, by the salvation of man, and the lifting up of man into union with himself, to link together in one the lowest and the highest — his creation and himself. Materialism is somewhat exalted in being connected with spirit at all. When spirit becomes connected with God, and refined materialism becomes connected with a purified spirit, by the resurrection from the dead, then shall be brought to pass the uplifting of clay and its junction with the celestial.

7. Our manifestation of the full glory of God is another of the choice gifts which the pierced hands of Jesus alone bestow. Principalities and powers shall see in the mystical body of Christ more of God than in all the universe besides. They will study in the saints the eternal purposes of God, and see therein His love, His wisdom, His power, His justice, His mercy blended in an amazing way.

III. THAT WHICH WE WILLINGLY GIVE TO JESUS MAY BE CALLED HIS SPOIL. There is a spoil for Christ which every true-hearted followed of His votes to Him enthusiastically.

1. First, our hearts are His alone forever. Of every believing heart it may be said, "This is David's spoil."

2. Now there is another property I should like King Jesus to have, and that in our special gifts. I know one who, before his conversion, was wont to sing, and be often charmed the ears of men with the sweet music which he poured forth; but when he was converted he said, "Henceforth my tongue shall sing nothing but blue praises of God." He devoted himself to proclaiming the gospel by his song, for he said, "This is David's spoil." Have you not some gift or other, dear friend, of which you could say, "Henceforth this shall be sacred to my bleeding Lord"?

3. Moreover, while our whole selves must be yielded to the Lord Jesus, there is one thing that must always be Christ's, and that, is our religious homage as a church.

4. Lastly, have you not something of your own proper substance that shall be David's spoil just now? There was a man who, in the providence of God, had been enabled to lay by many thousands. He was a very rich and respected man. I have heard it said that he owned at least half a million; and at one collection, when he felt specially grateful and generous, he found a well-worn sixpence for the place, for that was David's spoil! That was David's spoil. Out of all that he possessed, that sixpence was David's spoil! This was the measure of his gratitude! Judge by this how much he owed, or at least how much he desired to pay. Are there not many persons who, on that despicable scale, reward the Saviour for the travail of His soul?

(C. H Spurgeon.)