Explain the anxiety of the situation in which David was placed, and show what he might have done. From the point of view of the skilful general, he might have counted his forces, estimated their strength, set them on vantage-ground, drawn out a plan of battle, and, swayed by his own energy, he might have led them on to victory. But then he would only have acted as Saul had acted. He would have taken up the position of the independent sovereign, rather than that of the prince and vicegerent of Jehovah. It was important that, at the very outset of his kingly career, he should make it publicly and distinctly known that he was king only as Jehovah's servant. He could not make this known better than by "inquiring of the Lord" on the first occasion of national anxiety. It is always of great importance that we start right. But it might be said that this was only a business matter, and so quite within the power of David to arrange, and he need not "inquire of God" at all about it. That sentiment is a common, but a sadly mistaken one. It divides our life into two parts, the one of which we can manage ourselves, but for the other we need the help of God. There can really be no distinction of the "sacred" and the "secular." There can properly be no circle drawn round within which alone prayer can be acceptable. Nothing interests us that does not interest our God. "In everything, by prayer and supplication,... we may make known our requests unto him." This may be further enforced.

I. WHAT IS THE GOD-SPHERE? The difficulties into which men get, and the subtle self-seeking they manifest, when they try to make the God-sphere limited and narrow. The awakened and sincere heart is prepared to say before God -

"Take my body, spirit, soul;
Only thou possess the whole? The God-sphere is a man's whole life, his whole thought, his every interest. Nothing is too great for God to compass; nothing too small for him to use and glorify. The things we count most common - air and sunshine and rain - are his. And the things in our lives that seem most trivial fit into his great plan and should be referred to him. Illustrate from the teachings of the Apostle James, that our very "journeyings," our very "buyings and sellings," must be made dependent on the Lord's will (James 4:13-15). Modern sentiment tends to limit the sphere within which prayer is appropriate; it is assumed that it should not deal with the material world, which is under fixed law. But law is not something out beyond the control of God - or we misname him; for there is something greater than he. All laws are within the God-sphere, so we may "inquire of God" about them.

II. WHAT IS GOD'S CLAIM WITHIN HIS SPHERE? That everything shall be referred to him, and in everything his counsel and direction shall be taken. Illustrate from David's feeling of the claims of the theocracy. The entire life of the Israelitish nation being the God-sphere, absolutely everything had to be referred to him, and he recognized and punished all failures to meet his claim. By the mouth of his prophet the claim is distinctly expressed: "For all these things will I be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them." This claim may be shown in detailed application to the circumstances of our lives. The kind of reference to God takes different forms for different kinds of things.

III. THE OBEDIENCE OF MEN IS BETTER TESTED BY THE LITTLE THAN BY THE GREAT. Practical observation of life proves that it is harder to do little things in a right spirit than to do great ones. Many a man stands well before mighty swords and spears, and falls before a pebble slung by a youth. Few of us can stand the serious testing of the commoner scenes and relations of our lives. Yet the Divine testings come most frequently in connection with them; and sometimes God even makes us do nothing - wait; and he watches to see whether, even concerning this, we will "inquire of him." - R.T.

The Israelites usually asked counsel of God by the ephod, the Grecians by their oracles, the Persians by their magi, the Egyptians by their hierophantae, the Indians by their gymnosophistae, the ancient Gauls and Britons by their Druids, the Romans by their augures or soothsayers. It was not lawful to propose any matter of moment in the senate, priusquam de coelo observatum erat, before their wizards had made observations from the heaven or sky. That which they did impiously and superstitiously, we may, nay we ought to do in another sense, piously, religiously, conscionably, i.e., not to embark ourselves into any action of great importance and consequence, priusquam de Coelo observatum est, before we have observed from Heaven, not the flight of birds, not the houses of planets, or their aspects or conjunctions, but the countenance of God, whether it shineth upon our enterprises or not, whether He approve of our projects and designs or not.

(J. Spencer.)