(8) And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king? (9) And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. (10) Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart. (11) So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
Beside the motives here assigned for removing David from the army of the Philistines, it appears by the following chapter, that the Lord had services for him at that time elsewhere. Thus the Lord ordereth all our ways, and the whole disposing of his people is of the Lord. Though David seemed hurt at the not being permitted to go up to the battle, yet no doubt, as he had no direction for this purpose from the Lord, he could not be very forward to it. Indeed David was conscious that he was out of the path of duty. And perhaps this had made a shyness in his visits to a throne of grace. Reader! what is related in this chapter, and indeed the whole of David's conduct, from the moment he took up the unbecoming thought, that he should one day perish by the hand of Saul, is not to David's credit. We see in him what we feel in ourselves, and what the best of men do but too fully manifest, that there is a great deal of the old stock of nature, as well as the new springs of grace in God's faithful servants. Much corruption mingled with much faith. Oh! how needful then is it, that the great author of faith should keep up his precious communications, to keep alive his grace in the soul! Sweetly David sung to this point, when he said: Hold thou me up and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. Psalms 119:117.