Forsaken and Found

"And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water."(1 Samuel 30:11-20) WELL! we have a pretty long text, but one in which very many great and glorious Gospel truths appear: one in which is revealed the marvellous grace of JEHOVAH-JESUS: one in which is set forth the kindness and compassion, the bounty and beneficence, of Him with whom we have to do. There is not a portion of God's most Holy Word, whether descriptive, narrative, doctrine, prophecy, proverb, or parable, but which points, either directly or indirectly, to the Lord Jesus Christ, and when you and I are blest with the presence and power of the promised Comforter, He who shall guide the people of the living God into all truth, then we glory in the sight, and our adoring hearts cry out, "This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend." Every child of God, whatever the qualities or capabilities of such may be, shall be led into all truth. Not that all shall come to the same standard of knowledge or experience, but each child of God shall be led into all truth needful for its spiritual education, necessary for the peculiar spots into which it may and must be brought. Sometimes led by the Holy Ghost, sometimes driven by Satan, sometimes allured by the charms of this wretched world, and sometimes bowed down beneath the load of sin and death, yet it matters not what I may be, or where I may be, the glorious covenant provisions of JEHOVAH, made mine in the Son of His love, shall be more than a match for all my ignorance and woe. In my ignorance the Holy Ghost will teach me that Christ, God's Wisdom and mine, is sufficient; and in my short-sightedness He will make that truth experimentally true to me, "A wise man's eyes are in his head." Oh, how blessed it is for me to know that "the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him." (2 Chron. 16:9) A perfect heart! Not the old heart, but the new heart, which knows no perfection out of Him who gave it. Blessed be God, this is a perfection of knowledge which my soul loves. "In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Col. 2:3) But mark! "In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing, and how to perform that which is good I find not," (Rom. 7:18) yet in Him dwelleth no bad thing, and how to perform that which is good He knows full well, and will make a way for His love, kindness, and compassion to the bruised, broken, and bleeding hearts of His beloved people; and this is the way in which He will make to Himself a glorious name to all eternity. It is a high privilege to have our eyes directed to Him when we find disappointment and death stamped upon everything around us. Do cross-providences, as men call them, tease, harass, and annoy? In the midst of them all there will come, by the witness and sealing of the blessed Spirit, a "bubbling up" of that precious truth: "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose." (Rom. 8:28) Blessed and unspeakable mercy to be found in the hand of a loving JEHOVAH, guided by His eye, guarded by His arm, and nestled in His bosom. We now come to notice the narrative of circumstances surrounding our text. David, hunted by Saul, like a partridge on the mountains, finds refuge with Achish, king of Gath, who gave him Ziklag, where he dwelt with his wives and household. War having broken out between the Israelites and the Philistines, David became the object of envy and jealousy on the part of the lords of the Philistines, and is generously dismissed by Achish from marching with them to battle. He returns to Ziklag and finds it burned with fire by the Amalekites, and his wives and children carried away captive. David was sorely distressed, for in their perplexity his men spake of stoning him, "but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God." Who was Amalek? He was grandson of Esau, and with his posterity the sworn enemy of JEHOVAH and His people. Pharaoh is a type of the devil; Amalek of the flesh; Babylon of the world. We see Israel redeemed by God from Pharaoh's grasp, and sustained in the wilderness, yet at Rephidim, for want of water, they manifest a spirit of discontent, and murmur against Moses. God appears for their relief; but it is also written, "Then came Amalek and fought with Israel in Rephidim." (Exo. 17:8) Though Amalek is strong, yet Amalek cannot conquer. "Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it JEHOVAH-NISSI; for he said, Because the hand of Amalek is against the throne of the LORD, therefore the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation." Is not this a fact in our experience? We have found deliverance from the galling yoke of Satan, but "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, so that we cannot do the things that we would." (Gal. 5:17) David finds refuge in Ziklag; but Amalek questions and contests his right to the possession thereof. So when a redeemed soul finds refuge, righteousness, and rest in Christ and Christ alone, the flesh will oppose, kick, and rebel, and spoil the fair beauty of God's new creation, so far as our conception if it is concerned. We sometimes look and are not able to find a single trace of Divine life or power, and we come to the conclusion that there is not a good thing in us. Yes, Amalek has invaded the South, "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit:" Ziklag is smitten, the women and children taken captive, but "they slew not any." Do you notice that? "They slew not any." Ah! let the devil worry, let the flesh rebel, let them appear to triumph as they may and must, they shall slay not any. Oh, no! For "greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world?" and while such is the case, we must know something of the experience stated in the words of Paul: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." (Gal. 2:20) Now, mark! the apostle speaks of a present, a continuous crucifixion "I am," not I was, "crucified." Antinomians may content themselves with notions and talk about what has been done, and be regardless of the struggle which every God-begotten one feels and knows within; but such is not the teaching of God the Holy Ghost. Says Paul, and he says what he feels, "I am crucified with Christ." A living death is experienced by every one of the elect, redeemed, and regenerate children of God. With crucifixion there is mortification, ay, and something to crucify and mortify. It is a crucifixion of the old man with his affections and lusts. I do not take that unclean and filthy view of the word "lust" which is generally attached to it. The word means desire, and desire for lawful objects; but if my desire runs counter to the Word and will of God, this is proof positive that sin and the flesh reign for the time being. "Ziklag is destroyed." The presence, power, and preciousness of Jesus are not experienced in the heart while the world, the flesh, and the devil appear to have all things their own way. We see this in the experience recorded in the seventy-seventh Psalm, a Psalm, by the way, very little understood. In this we see Ziklag smitten and burned with fire. What fire? The fire of our own lust. Tempted with unlawful desires after lawful objects, and when crossed and thwarted we wonder if we have any part or lot in the matter. "And David's two wives were taken captives, "an illustration of the Jewish and Gentile Churches which are both one in the person of a precious Christ. See this further wrought out in Isaiah 54. David is distressed, but he encourages himself in the Lord his God, and inquires of Him. It is a blessed thing to be led to inquire of the Lord. "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple." (Ps. 27:4) Ah, my dear friends, we not only need to gaze, but we need guidance. Who can guide and direct like Him? We may seek counsel one of another, but not meet with two who are agreed in their opinion. David inquires of his God: "Shall I pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and, without fail, recover all." David with four hundred men pursues, while two hundred are left behind, sick and faint, who could not go over the brook Besor. In the never-failing purpose of JEHOVAH these sick and fainting ones have a blessed and glorious work to fulfill. What do they? Listen! "And they found an Egyptian in the field." The two hundred who were sick and faint have their own peculiar privileges, they find the lost, the sick, the ready to perish, the forsaken Egyptian in the field. So it is now in the economy of grace: the Lord has those of His own who go forth strong in Him and in the power of His might to fight His battles courageously and do exploits; but there are others left behind, faint and fearing, worn and weary, tried and tempted, who are blest to the souls of lost ones like themselves. If I am made useful to the tried and tempted in God's family, and the instrument in His hands for the conveyance of solace and sympathy to them, I must first be brought into a like position, which a once-tempted Jesus alone can fully understand. Well might Paul write to the Ephesians: "Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory." The sorrows of the pastor are ofttimes the solace of the Church. "They found." Who found? The followers of David who had come to a sense of their own weakness and weariness. Ah! these represent the true followers of the spiritual David; those who have heard His own sweet voice of love calling them from the world, and sin, and Satan, to Himself, and to the bounties, blessings, and benefits of His Father's house; those who have followed Him through many a dark and dreary night; through trials and temptations; who feel day by day their perfect helplessness; who have neither will, wit, nor wisdom of their own; who are brought to a state of pure dependence upon sovereign mercy and bounty, and the application thereof to the heart by the blessed Spirit. These are sometimes honoured of God and richly favoured to pick up some of the ready-to-perish ones. Yes! that is gloriously true: "And it shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem." (Isa. 27:13) The sick and forlorn Egyptian was found in the field, so in the field of this world are the lost elect ones found. "A Syrian ready to perish was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few." Now if we look at the book of Revelation we find that Sodom and Egypt are mentioned as types of this world. So here we have an Egyptian found in the field by the faint, the weak, and weary followers of David. Do notice how they deal with him. There is not a sentence of invitation, entreaty, or exhortation. None of the enticing words of man's wisdom; but something like the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, something like obedience to the command, "Compel them to come in." Compulsion! Yes, for none would ever come without; there must be a compulsion of love and affection, by the power of the Holy Ghost, who makes the glorious Gospel of the blessed God both spirit and life to lost yet favoured souls. Now, mark! that man who dares to declare the rich, absolute, invincible sovereignty of JEHOVAH in the regeneration of elect sinners is falsely called an Antinomian, one who does not encourage faith, but preaches fatalism. But, blessed be God, the true ministers of the Word are they who sound out the honours of their God in the salvation of lost and helpless sinners. "What comfort can a Saviour bring To those who never felt their woe? A sinner is a sacred thing, The Holy Ghost has made him so. New life from Him we must receive, Before for sin we rightly grieve." It has been said of me again and again: "That man does not preach to sinners." The true meaning of which is, "Thomas Bradbury does not parley with hypocrites." Only this very last week one of the most covetous wretches in God's creation said of me, "I am not going to hear a man who would hinder sinners from entering the kingdom of heaven." My Bible, ay, and my God, says that no covetous person shall enter the kingdom. Take heed then that covetousness is not stamped upon your gold, your notes, your checks. Sensible sinners shall enter, but the covetous shall not; and believers shall not. What! believers shall not enter? No! "Many believed on Him, but He would not commit Himself unto them." "Devils believe and tremble too, But devils cannot love." Sinners are loved of the Father, loved of the Son, and loved of the blessed Spirit too. Sinners, mark you, who know it, and who bow lowly before God in the spirit of the words of England's Liturgy, words which few understand and feel; but, thank God, some of us know them in the depths and solemnities of our souls: "We have erred and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep; we have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and there is no health in us." When is that our confession? Last Sunday morning and evening? Nay, Lord, it is the confession of our hearts before Thee every day of our lives. Show me one with a heart-experience such as that, and I will tell you, There is a sinner whom God loves. There is a sacred thing. There is the work of the Holy Ghost. These are carried in the arms of a precious Christ to glory, while the full-blown pietist and professor shall sink to the abode of never-ending despair. When they found the Egyptian in the field, they parleyed not with him. What did they? Drag him? Drive him? Draw him? No, they brought him to David. Oh, what a glorious employment! Now what is the business of the true ministers of the Gospel, the men who are dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, who have no faith in their own power, in their own words, in their own doings, but have all faith in Him? These men endeavour, and it is an endeavouring too, as Paul describes it, "I also labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily." (Col. 1:29) They labour in the Word and doctrine, ay, and agonize, that God may make His own Word life and power, and many poor and needy, tried and tempted sinners may be brought to enjoy the love and affection of the Lord Jesus. They bring such in their prayers, in the preaching of His own Word; which Word of the truth of the Gospel is His chariot of love in which He brings every one of His children safely home to Himself. "They brought him to David." And the best place too. "The gave him bread and he did eat." And when the true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ are dealing with hungry, empty sinners, they give them the Bread of Life sent down from heaven; bread formed, not of husks, but of the finest of the wheat, "the good old corn of the land." Upon this hungry souls do feed and they inwardly digest it, which reminds us of that wonderful declaration of union or oneness by Paul: "And we, being many, are one bread and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread." (1 Cor. 10:17) "They made him drink water." What a sweet mercy to have a little sip of the water of life and salvation which flows in rills of Gospel grace in desert regions here below! Blessed be God, whosoever drinks of water from salvation's wells shall live for ever. "Beneath the sacred throne of God I saw a river rise; The streams were peace and pardoning blood, Descending from the skies. "Angelic minds cannot explore This deep, unfathom'd sea; 'Tis void of bottom, brim, or shore. And lost in Deity." Now see! The lost, the sick one gains a little strength: "They gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins." This brings before our minds the bounties and dainties of the Father's house. But I must hasten on: "And when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him." David's followers knew what was good to give to him; for, you must notice, "he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights." None can tell the felt necessities of lost, sin-sick souls but those who have experienced them. "And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou?" Listen! No evasion, no duplicity, no shuffling, no hesitancy. Here we have that blessed mark and evidence of Psalm 32:2, "In whose Spirit there is no guile." Why, that leads us to think that we are not among such favoured company, for there is so much guile in these naughty hearts of ours. For our comfort and encouragement be it known that the words "no guile" may be rendered "no reserve," and indicate the possession of that honest and good heart which loves to confess all sin, acknowledge all fault, and unbosom all transgression to the One whom we have offended and rebelled against, even to a greater than David, the Father's Beloved and ours. Confession to Him is no task, but a gracious privilege. David confessed sins, of which both his friends and foes were ignorant. Look at that marvellous confession and plea: "For Thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great." (Ps. 25:11) Is this the way of man? "For it is great." Nature will palliate, and Arminian professors will extenuate and say: "Not so bad, not so filthy, not so abominable as those Calvinists describe." But all taught of the Lord must know the bitters of the seventh, the sweets of the eighth, as well as the glorious sovereignty of the ninth of Romans, and the daily confession will be: "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." David said, "Who art thou?" And he said, "I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick." Here we have a pretty confession! "A young man of Egypt;" led captive by the devil, "servant to an Amalekite;" serving divers lusts and pleasures. "My master left me!" When did his master leave him? Not when he gave notice to do so? Oh, no! "Three days agone I fell sick, and he left me." There is a sorrowful, pitiful confession for you! When he was of no further use to his master he was deserted. Now let God smite any of you with sin-sickness; let the burden of sin become intolerable to you; let the plague of the heart be mourned over; let the sentence of death be written upon all earth's joys and pleasures; let the spirituality of the law be felt and confessed, and what will be the consequence? Friends will have nothing more to do with you. The time has come when they will separate you from their company. "Lord, pity outcasts, vile and base, The poor dependents on Thy grace, Whom men disturbers call; By sinners and by saints withstood, For these too bad, for those too good, Condemn'd or shunn'd by all." Let a sinner own and acknowledge his sinfullness; let him continue smiting on his breast and crying, "God be merciful to me the sinning one," and you will soon discover that the proud and flourishing Pharisee is pleased to be rid of his company. "My master left me." It matters not what use you may have been to the world, pious or profane, the very moment you open your mouth with the confession of sin-sickness, off they go. He continues His confession: "We made an invasion upon the South of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the South of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire." What a marvellously honest confession! Not only, "I fell sick," but, "I am an enemy." Is not this true in the experience of every living elect vessel of mercy? "Against the God, who rules the sky, I fought, with hand uplifted high, Despised the mention of His grace, Too proud to seek a hiding-place." Yes! The seventh of Romans reveals the inability, while the eighth opens the enmity of the carnal mind: "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." (Rom. 8:7) Look at Paul's description of the Father's great love in Christ Jesus to enemies and foes: "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." (Rom. 5:10) Writing to the Colossian saints, he confesses and openly declares the same: "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled." (Col. 1:21) In his Epistle to Titus he describes the natural state of himself and Titus thus: "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another." (Titus 3:3) This is the testimony of God from the heart's experience of those who see and know themselves in the light of His infinite perfections. And here we behold one of the greatest wonders of His grace. Such wretched rebels He employs in the publication and proclamation of His grace, and the achievement of His victories. Saul, the mad persecutor of the saints, is called to be the mightiest prosecutor in the Gospel of God. See! "David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company?" Do any of you know aught of this business? There is wondrous sweetness in that expression: "Canst thou bring me down?" Ah! It is blessed to be the means in His hands to bring Him down to the release of His own lawful captives, to the comfort of His mourners, and to the confusion of all their foes. Moses prays, the sea divides, Israel is free, and Israel's foes are destroyed. (Exod. 14:15-18) He prays again, and Amalek is defeated. (Exod. 17:11-13) David prays, Ahithophel hangs himself. (2 Sam. 11:31; 17:23) "Peter was kept in prison, but instant and earnest prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him." The angel of the Lord was thus brought down, Peter was delivered, and his enemy Herod was eaten of worms. (Acts 12) Yes, I know it is a blessed privilege to be employed by a greater than David to bring Him down by fervent prayer and faithful testimony to the relief, consolation, and confirmation of His captive, sorrowing, and fearing people. To you who are sometimes blessed with nearness to the throne, I would say "Tell Him when you see His face, I long to see Him too." Here we see a sinner lost, a sinner sick, a sinner saved, an enemy overcome with love. He is blest and refreshed with bread and water, raisins and figs, converses with David and gains nearness to his person; but he still wants more. What more can he want? Mark! "And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company." Swear! Who can ask the Lord to come down so low? Ah, the children of the living God, who walk in the steps of that faith of their father Abraham, will be satisfied with nothing short of Abraham's satisfaction. JEHOVAH gave His word: "I am thy Shield, and thy exceeding great Reward." (Gen. 15:1) Is not this enough? No. He wants still more: "What wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless?" JEHOVAH gives His promise. Is not this enough? No. "Lord God, whereby shall I know?" The smoking furnace and the lamp of fire passing through the pieces of the carcases of the slain beasts, proclaim JEHOVAH'S oath to His servant. O what wonders love has done! Here is the eternal God brought down to an oath: "Because He could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself." With such a marvel of grace in view, well may we sing: "The Gospel bears our spirits up; A faithful and unchanging God Lays the foundation of our hope In oaths, and promises, and blood." "Swear unto me!" What wondrous familiarity! The living children rest not satisfied with small things. Covenant salvation! covenant communion! covenant security are the desire and delight of their heart. "Lord, save me: Lord, help me: Lord, forsake me not. Lord, deliver me not over to the will of mine enemies: Lord, give me not over to myself. Lord, hold Thou me up and I shall be safe. Lord, seal home to my heart the precious assurance that when Thou shalt appear, I shall also appear with Thee in glory. O Lord, deliver me not into the hands of my cruel master, the flesh. I have found Thy comforts so rich and so rare, that I would not have Thee leave me for the world to ensnare me, to the power of the flesh to annoy me, to the power of the devil to buffet me. Lord, be with me, and I will bring thee down to this company." And is it not so ofttimes? When hypocrites are rejoicing over the spoil they have taken, and the havoc they have wrought; when worldlings are glorying in the shame and fall of true Zionites, saying, "So would we have it," even then King Jesus is brought down to the rescue of His own. Worldlings, hypocrites, and mere professors know nothing of the luxury of sharing in David's toils and David's spoils. They experience not the sufferings of Christ abounding in them, nor the consolation which aboundeth by Christ. No, nor the blessedness of bringing a weakling to Him who alone can heal and bless. "How long, O Lord?" is the cry of the tempted and tried. How long shall the wicked triumph? How long shall we groan, being burdened by the flesh? "And shall not God avenge His own elect which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily." (Luke 18:7,8) "And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking and dancing." Is not this a graphic description of the state of the earth when our most glorious Christ shall come to take vengeance on them that know not God, and whose constant theme has been, "We will not have this Man to reign over us?" "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." See! "David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken away." Ah, is it not that we are ofttimes carried away by the workings of the flesh, the cares of this world, and the temptations of the devil? Yet, if God be for us, who can be against us? "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." "He sitteth upon the waterflood, yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever:" and as assuredly as He has found thee, fed thee, and given to thee the assurance of His love, though many things, yea, everything may appear lost to thee, He will recover all. Yes, blessed be God, our David shall recover all. He has declared, and it must be true, "All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37) Jesus will have His own: not a lamb shall be wanting in the flock, not a child missing from the family, not a member from the body, not a hoof shall be left behind. Ay, our David shall recover all. When the grand and glorious finale is brought about, when the separation is complete between elect sheep and reprobate goats, then the King shall say unto His own on His right hand: "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me." (Matt. 25:34-36) Do any of you know a captive Zionite? Do not try to bind his chains faster to him, goad him not with vain reproaches, but speak to him of the great and glorious Deliverer who proclaims liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. But, listen! God's own elect and redeemed ones shall answer, "Lord, when saw we Thee and hungred." Then shall the heart of the King be fully opened to the adoring gaze of His glorified people, His smile of love shall brighten the heart of all that glorious throng, as He pronounces these sweet words of loving sympathy: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." JEHOVAH-JESUS will recover all. All? Ay, all His people, and all the glory; nought shall be lacking. He will acknowledge every gracious intention, longing, look, or cry, and the cup of cold water from salvation's wells, which can only be drawn from the depths by God-wrought faith and presented to thirsting souls by love unfeigned, shall not be forgotten in the day of the Lord. "And David took all the flocks and the herds, and said, This is David's spoil." O how glorious to see our David a glorious Conqueror, and all His people more than conquerors through Him who loved them! Though some may demur at the glorious truth, yet it is gloriously true: "As his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff; they shall part alike." See how blessedly this is set before us in that resurrection and ascension Psalm the sixty-eighth: "The Lord gave the word; great was the army of those that published it. Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil." The weak and weary followers who are left behind for a little while are privileged to pick up the sick, the afflicted, and ready-to-perish ones, and when the King returns they shall be one with Him in His glory. May it prove to be God's purpose and pleasure this morning to find, feed, and favour many of His lost, hungering, and fearing children, and bless them with a sweet foretaste of their share in the victories, triumphs, and glories of Zion's blessed and only Potentate, Christ Jesus, the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.