ving;
And the righteous shall see and fear,
And over him shall they laugh."

In confident security he opposes his own happy fellowship with God to
this dark tragedy of retribution:

"But I--(I am) like a green olive tree in the house of God."

[G] The full force of the word is, "will pluck out as a glowing ember
from a hearth" (Delitzsch).

The enemy was to be "rooted out;" the psalmist is to flourish by
derivation of life and vigour from God. If Robinson's conjecture that
Nob was on the Mount of Olives were correct (which is very doubtful),
the allusion here would gain appropriateness. As the olives grew all
round the humble forest sanctuary, and were in some sort hallowed by the
shrine which they encompassed, so the soul grows and is safe in loving
fellowship with God. Be that as it may, the words express the outlaw's
serene confidence that he is safe beneath the sheltering mercy of God,
and re-echo the hopes of his earlier psalm, "I will dwell in the house
of the Lord for ever." The stormy indignation of the earlier verses
passes away into calm peace and patient waiting in praise and trust:

"I will praise Thee for ever, for Thou hast done (it),
And wait on Thy name in the presence of Thy beloved, for it is good."

Hunted from Nob, David with a small company struck across the country in
a southwesterly direction, keeping to the safety of the tangled
mountains, till, from the western side of the hills of Judah, he looked
down upon the broad green plain of Philistia. Behind him was a mad
tyrant, in front the uncircumcised enemies of his country and his God.
His condition was desperate, and he had recourse to desperate measures.
That nearest Philistine city, some ten miles off, on which he looked
down from his height, was Gath; the glen where he had killed its
champion was close beside him,--every foot of ground was familiar by
many a foray and many a fight. It was a dangerous resource to trust
himself in Gath, with Goliath's sword dangling in his belt. But he may
have hoped that he was not known by person, or may have thought that
Saul's famous commander would be a welcome guest, as a banished man, at
the Philistine court. So he made the plunge, and took refuge in
Goliath's city. Discovery soon came, and in the most ominous form. It
was an ugly sign that the servants of Achish should be quoting the words
of the chant of victory which extolled him as the slayer of their
countryman. Vengeance for his