and upon the
recommendation of another friend, David, the son of Jesse, of whom Saul
knew nothing before, was sent for to play upon the harp. The young
minstrel won the respect and affection of the royal household, and his
harpings were the principal solace of the infatuated and gloomy king,
who at length made David his armor-bearer.

You know the warriors of ancient time wore armor made of metal to
protect the body from the spear and sword, the common weapons of the
battle-field; and men were appointed by monarchs to have the care of it.

Since their last great discomfiture, the Philistines had recruited their
strength, and in the thirtieth year of Saul's reign, and the twentieth
of David's life, they again took the field against the Israelites. It
curiously illustrates the nature of warfare in those times, to find that
the presence, in the army of the Philistines, of one enormous giant,
about nine or ten feet high, filled them with confidence, and struck the
Israelites with dread. Attended by his armor-bearer, and clad in
complete mail, with weapons to match his huge bulk, the giant, whose
name was Goliah, presented himself daily between the two armies, and,
with insulting language, defied the Israelites to produce a champion
who, by single combat, might decide the quarrel between the nations.
This was repeated many days; but no Israelite was found bold enough to
accept the challenge. At length David, who had come to the battle-field
with food for his brethren, no longer able to endure the taunts and
blasphemies of Goliah, offered himself for the combat. The king,
contrasting the size and known prowess of the giant with the youth and
inexperience of Jesse's son, dissuaded him from the enterprise. But as
David expressed his strong confidence that the God of Israel, who had
delivered him from the lion and the bear, when he tended his father's
flock, would also deliver him from the proud Philistine, Saul at length
allowed him to go forth against Goliah. Refusing all armor of proof, and
weapons of common warfare, David advanced to the combat, armed only with
his shepherd's sling, and a few smooth pebbles picked up from the brook
which flowed through the valley. The astonished giant felt insulted at
such an opponent, and poured forth such horrid threats as might have
appalled anyone less strong in faith than the son of Jesse. But as he
strode forward to meet David, the latter slung one of his smooth stones
with so sure an