When a shepherd-youth, David doubtless often sat beside "the well by the gate," and refreshed himself with its cold, clear, sparkling water. But those days have long since departed; and he is now a king, with many cares. Bethlehem is occupied by a part of the Philistine host, and he is once more in "the hold" (2 Samuel 5:17; 1 Samuel 21:1), accompanied by his heroic band of men, to whom his every wish is equivalent to a command. "What a circle of names are associated with his name. some of them names and scarce anything beside - men who would have been unheard of but for the occasions which brought them into temporary connection with so famous a man, and of whose lives, apart from that connection, we know nothing; yet all of whom had a life, had a character, were as precious as individuals in the eye of God as the great soul to whom they owe what little interest they have in the eyes of men!" The names of these three "knights" are not recorded; but their chivalrous achievement is immortalized. "God knows them, as he knows the noble acts of all his saints and martyrs, and will reward them at the great day" (Wordsworth). In the threefold scene here described we have -

I. THE NATURAL WISH expressed by the king. "Oh that one would give me drink!" etc. (ver. 15). It is:

1. Involuntarily excited. "In the harvest time," oppressed with heat, and exhausted by conflict and toil, David is parched with thirst, and overcome with a great longing for a refreshing draught from the well of Bethlehem, whose familiar walls he, perchance, sees from a distance. So men sometimes desire, not merely the satisfaction of bodily appetites, but also the gratification of deeper yearnings, for youth and home, and happier conditions and experiences. "Oh that I had wings like the dove!" etc. (Psalm 55:6).

2. In itself innocent. Many a wish, even for objects at present out of reach and beset by difficulty and peril, is as blameless as the thirst of a traveller "in a dry and weary land where no water is." Although it may be "according to nature" (in the best sense), it nevertheless requires to be controlled, regulated, and subordinated to a higher law than that of pleasing ourselves; and it is, too frequently:

3. Inordinately indulged; so that it becomes a dominant selfish impulse. "The habit of wishing and hankering for those things which Providence denies, though natural to us and often given way to, even by godly men, in an unguarded hour, is a degree of rebellion against the Lord; and it shows the remaining sensuality and selfishness of the heart, and leads to many snares and evils" (Scott).

4. Inconsiderately uttered. David may not intend his men to hear what he says (still less to challenge their devotion); he may hardly be aware of their presence. But, knowing their character and his relation to them, he is none the less responsible for the effect of his words upon them; and should have put a bridle on his tongue (Psalm 39:1; Psalm 106:33; Psalm 141:3). Unregulated impulses and imprudent speech - what mischief have they wrought in the world! "Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation."

II. THE HEROIC DEED performed by his followers. "And the three mighty men broke through the host," etc. (ver. 16). "It was a foolhardy thing to do," some one says; "they might easily have seen that a draught of water was not worth the conflict and hazard necessary to obtain it." Happily they did not see it; else we had never heard of their heroic enterprise. Without calculating consequences, they act from a sense of duty, an impulse of unselfish devotion, a spirit of chivalry, "which shrinks from no sacrifice in order to do the smallest service for the object of its devotion;" therein exhibiting:

1. An intense attachment to their leader, love to his person, sympathy with his need, loyalty to his office, desire to please him and to do his will (as they interpreted it). It could have been inspired in them only by a man of great ability, generosity, and enthusiasm. They learnt it of him (1 Samuel 17:50). His self-indulgent and momentary wish was no true index of his prevailing disposition.

2. A spontaneous, prompt, and cheerful purpose and endeavour. They say nothing and do not hesitate, but go together "into the jaws of death."

3. Invincible courage; a principle which is as needful in moral and spiritual conflict as in physical warfare (2 Samuel 10:12). "Most probably it made such an impression as rendered the host of the Philistines an easy prey to the Israelites" (Blaikie).

4. Entire self-denial and self-sacrifice; disregarding alike their own pleasure and peril, and laying down their lives for his sake. "Greater love hath no man," etc. (John 15:13). "Pure love has its measure in itself, and disregards in its outward expression every critic (Matthew 26:7-13). This exploit of the three heroes was a sacrifice offered, not so much to the man David, as rather in him to the 'Anointed of the Lord,' and therefore to the Lord himself" (Krummacher). How does it rebuke our lack of devotion so our Divine King] Were we as ardent, loyal, courageous, and self-sacrificing as they, what victories should we gain over his adversaries and ours!

III. THE SACRED OFFERING presented before the Lord. "And he would not drink thereof," etc. For the first time, probably, he becomes acquainted with their desperate exploit, when they come into his presence, stained with blood, and place the vessel, containing the water for which he longed, in his hands. To him it is as if it were their blood, and he cannot drink it (Leviticus 17:11, 12). To do so would be to justify his former wish, and gratify himself at the hazard of their lives. Their devotion evokes within him a nobler feeling and impulse than he before displayed; so that he practically confesses his fault, personally shares their suffering and self-denial, and publicly testifies his thankfulness for their preservation and his devotion to their welfare. And this he does in the highest and most effectual manner - by making of their gift a libation (1 Samuel 7:6), or drink offering, and thereby giving honour to God. "It was too sacred for him to drink, but it was on that very account deemed by him as worthy to be consecrated in sacrifice to God as any of the prescribed offerings of the Levitical ritual. Pure chivalry and pure religion there found an absolute union" (Stanley). Alexander denied himself of a draught of water because he could not bear to drink it alone, and the cup was too small to be divided among all his soldiers; Sir Philip Sidney, that he might give it to a wounded soldier, whose necessity appeared to him greater than his own ('Percy Anecdotes'); David, that he might present it unto God. "He never was more magnanimous than at this moment. This deed was a psalm, sublime in its significance, and forever sweet to all loving hearts in its pure simplicity." In his offering there is:

1. An exalted estimate of the value of human life.

2. A humble renunciation of the power even of a king to make use of it according to his own pleasure or for a selfish end.

3. A solemn recognition of the sovereignty of God over "life and breath and all things."

4. An unreserved submission, surrender, and sacrifice of every gift to him who alone is worthy. David's offering must have deepened the attachment of his three heroes, and exerted no small moral and spiritual influence on all his followers. How much greater is the "offering" of the Son of David (Ephesians 5:2; Hebrews 9:14), and his claim on our affection, gratitude, and self-consecration! Constrained by his love, we should live in the spirit of his life (Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Philippians 2:17, "poured out as a libation;" 2 Timothy 4:6).

REFLECTIONS.

1. An impulse of a lower kind is most effectually overcome by one of a higher order.

2. A wish in itself blameless may, in certain circumstances, be sinful and injurious.

3. An action which is mistaken and imprudent sometimes affords occasion for the display of the noblest principles.

4. The self-denial of some silently reproves the self-indulgence of others, and incites in them a similar spirit.

5. The highest return that can be made of gifts received from men is to consecrate them to God.

6. A gift made to God is not "wasted," but is a means of conferring manifold benefits on men.

7. The sacrifice of self enriches the soul by enabling it to partake more fully of the life and love of him for whose sake it is made. - D.

This incident, although it rests upon a basis of conspicuous bravery, evidently owes its cardinal importance to far deeper considerations. Some might be tempted to think that David's conduct in pouring out the water was fantastic and wasteful — an ill-timed intrusion of a poetic sentiment on the stern realities of life. On the contrary his conduct is penetrated with the sense of the value of life, with deep appreciation of heroism and with a high-minded shrinking from any mean appropriation of the unselfish devotion of his fellow-men. Some lives there are that whatever is done for them are never thrilled by any self-abasing surprise; no sacrifice is above their merit — their bottomless egotism could swallow worlds.

I. THE BASE ACCEPTANCE OF THE INCALCULABLE RISKS AND TOILS AND SORROWS OF OTHER MEN is to be noted in —

1. Those in whom is developed the undue love of command and the imperious appetite for personal distinction. The monarchs of the older world who remorselessly sacrificed blood and treasure to build themselves impregnable cities, or to erect stately sepulchres. The Eastern chieftain who bade his warrior take the needless death-leap. Napoleon Bonaparte.

2. In those simply selfish ones who have not yet risen high enough to afford themselves the luxury of tyranny. Their maxim is "Everybody for himself." I have heard of a farmer, whose parcel of ground one might ride round in a couple of hours, express an eager desire for a war between two great powers, since it would probably enrich him. Merchants and millowners have not been free from such wishes. All this is to batten on flesh and blood.

3. In the indifferent many of us are like the receivers of stolen property, only too satisfied to receive and to ask no questions. We expect all the machinery of our life to work with regularity, but are coldly indifferent to the means. Let us learn from David a view of life diviner and therefore more humane.

II. THINK OF THE HEROIC WATER-FETCHING THAT LIES BEHIND OUR OWN LIFE.

1. Historically. Whole civilisations lie behind us; the Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Greek, and Roman — each has contributed its quota and we inherit the best of each. Do we reflect, with sufficient gratitude to God and man, on that costly part of which we are — the result?

2. The present day. Our life is enriched by the multitudinous toil of those who remain unknown, and often scantily rewarded. David's words are not without meaning to us under existing social conditions.

3. Let us step on to more personal ground.(1) Some of us are where we are through the wonderful devotion of our parents.(2) Some of us, later on in life, have been saved by the generous resolve and clinging faithfulness of those whom it cost a great effort to befriend us.

III. WHAT DOES DAVID'S VIEW LEAD US TO?

1. Solemn thoughtfulness. What are we that all this should have been done for us? We ought to learn reverence for that majesty of history which the children of the market-place deride. We ought to view our privileges with a more anxious sense of responsibility.

2. The acceptance of such services as have been referred to is inevitable, for we cannot unmake history or sever ourselves from the complex influences of the present order of society. But what does rest in every man's power is to form his own estimate of the value of such services and to decide what use their sacred splendour or gentle unselfishness urge him to put them to.

3. The impulse to self-abnegation which we see in David. This is the practical tendency of all such lives and deeds. The legend of Curtius, self-devoted that he might save the State, may have been simply a concrete personification of the general patriotism of early Rome; but it gave memorable impulses to later generations. It was not absent from the mind of Regulus; it helped to cheer the Roman legions in Parthia and Persia and amid the German swamps and forests. God has set our lives in a framework of noble and unceasing sacrifice. In this old Jewish story we have a significant though undesigned illustration of the transcendent sacrifice of Christ. He has brought us the true "living water."

(T. Rhys Evans.)