David, King of Israel - Forgotten Books

DAV I D ,

K I N G O F I SRAEL

HI S LIFE AND I TS LESSON S .

BY THE

REV. WILLIAM M . TAYLOR, D .D . ,

M INISTER OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE, NE“ ! YORK CITY.

N E W YOR K

H A R P E R B R O T H E R S, P U B L I S H E R S,F R A N K L I N S ! U A R E.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1 874, byH A R P E R B R O T H E R S

,

I n the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

P R E F A C E .

HE Psalms Of Dav id are the throbb ing heart Of HolyScripture . But they can not be ful ly understood unless

we read them in the l ight Of the experiences out Of whichthey Sprung. Hence the l ife Of the son Of Jesse must be everin terest ing to the devout student Of the Word of God ; andmany have undertaken to set i t forth in disti nctness beforethe modern reader.I n adding another to the works al ready exist ing on th is

portion Of sacred h istory, I have no other apology to offerthan that which arises out Of the i n terest, amounting almostto a fasc inat ion , which i t has long had for myself. I have eudeavored to give vividness and real i ty to the far-Off past, andto draw from it lesson s Of “ doctrin e

, Of warn ing, Of reproof,Of correction , Of in struction i n righteousness” for the presen t.In attempting to do thi s I have availed myselfOf al l the l ightwhich I could obtain from every quarter. I have not consc ious ly evaded any difficul ty, or s tra in ed any statement ;and while I have careful ly noted my obl igation s to others, Ican no t forbear expressing in th is plac e my indebtedness toDean Stanley’s “ Lectures on the Jewish Church,” and the Bible d ict ion aries Of Kitto

,Smith

,and Fairbairn .

Such as i t is , I des ire to lay my work at the fee t ofHimwhose I am and whom I serve 5

” and if i t shal l i n any measure i ncrease my reader’s in teres t i n the O ld Testament Scriptures

,or add to h is enj oymen t Of th e sacred Psal ter

,or m in

ister to h is sp iri tual profit, I shal l be abundantly rewarded .

BROADWAY TABERNACLE, September 30, 1 874.

2227042

DAVID , K ING OF ISRAEL.

THE AN OZNTZN G AT BE THLEHEM

r SAMUEL xvi. , 1-13 .

N entering upon the con s ideration of the l ife-story Of David

,King Of Israel

,i t i s n eedful that we have a cl ear

conception of the state of affairs in the l and at the t imewhen he firs t appears upon the scene .Samuel, to whose h istory th e interest Of every reader i s

drawn with a pecul iar fasc ination,was now an Old man and

had,i n a great measure, ret ired from publ ic l ife to h is home

at Ramah , where, however, he sti l l presided over one of thoseeducat ional in st itut ions which in the O l d Testament arecal led “ schools Of the prophets .” He had j udged Israel fortwenty years with prudence, impartial ity, and success, andwas in every way as worthy as ever of the veneration and confidence Of the c ommun ity. But moved,

" partly by the fac t thath is son s d id not walk in h is footsteps

,and partly al so by

that ostentatious rival ry Of thei r n eighbors,which i s the bane

of states as wel l as Of fam il ies,th e tribes desired a king. This

request at firs t greatly d istressed the aged prophet, but afte rconsul ting God upon the subj ec t he was l ed to acquiesce i nthe proposal

,and at a solemn gathering Of the people he ad~

dressed them in a strai n of mingled tenderness and reproof,

took them to witness that he had managed their affairs withmoderat ion and in tegrity, and then summoned them to ap

poin t their king, not however by popul ar el ection , but by lo t,I!x=

ro DAV ID,K ING OF ISRAEL .

thereby rem ind ing them that he who should be set over themwould be

,after all

,only the vicar and representative Of their

true King,Jehovah . The whole n arrative impresses us with

a sense Of the dign ity and self-control of Samuel ; and wesee that he was a truly patriot ic and self-sacrific ing man,will ing to be any th ing

,or to do any thing, for th e sake Of his

people and his God .

The man on whom the lot at this t ime fel l was Saul, th eson Of Kish

,Of the tribe Of Benj amin . He had an imposing

appearance,great martial

'

prowess, and considerabl e intell ectual abil ity

,and if he had been wil l ing to s ink h is person

al amb ition in the service of the Lord, he might have become truly great

,but ever and anon he rebel led again st and

overpassed what may be called the constitut ion al restrain tsof the theocrat ic m onarchy ; and so he l os t the great Opportunity of h is l ife, and left beh ind h im a name aroundwh ich the saddes t associ at ion s hover, and to wh ich no realn obil i ty belongs .A t firs t h is appo intment to the regal Office was the occa

s ion Of disconten t, and almost mutiny, among the peopl e ;but the promptitude and valor which he evinced in the rescue of the c iti zen s Of Jabesh-gil ead secured to h im the wil li ng homage Of his subj ects . His reverence for God

,howev

er,was not equal to his daring on the field of battl e, and he

fretted and chafed under what he regarded as the interference Of J ehovah with h is managemen t Of publ ic affairs .On at l east two memorable and testing occasion s he show

ed his determ ination to take h is own way,i n defiance Of the

commands Of the A lm ighty.

The firs t Of these was in connect ion with an effort to ridthe people of the vexat ious bondage under which they wereheld by the Ph il ist ines

,who stil l main tained several garri

sons i n the m ids t Of the Prom ised Land,from which they

came forth ever and anon to plunder and murder the inhab

THE ANO INTING AT BETHLEHEM . I I

itants . Jonath an, Sau l

’s noble son,had taken the strong

hold Of Geba and the king, des irous Of fol lowing up th issuccess by a general assaul t upon the enemy

,summoned

the people to Gilgal . I t would appear, however, that Samuel had

,i n the n ame of Jehovah , forb idden h im to do any

th ing un ti l he had arrived and Offered sacrifice,and that he

had appoin ted the seventh day for that purpose . In th emean t ime

,the Phil istines

,hearing Of the movements of the

Israel ites,had assembled in great force, and came up to Of

fer battl e . Their appearance occasioned a pan ic among theIsrael i tes

,and Saul ’s soldiers were desert ing on every hand

,

so that,i n h is v iew, i t became n ecessary to ac t at once .

Hence, on the seventh day, though Samuel had not yet come,

Saul, thinking to s tay the pan ic that had set in, and perhapsalso imagin ing that he would raise h imself i n the estimationOf the army

,assumed the Office Of pries t, and offered sacri

fice with his own hands .He had sc arcely fin ished when Samuel arrived and hav

ing heard what the king had done, the prophet sorrowfully, yet sternly, said,

“ Thou hast done fool ishly : thou has tnot kept the commandmen t Of the Lord thy God

,which he

commanded thee : for now would the Lord have establ ishedthy kingdom upon Israe l forever. But now thy kingdomshall not continue : the Lord hath sought h im a man afterh is own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to becaptain over h is people

,because thou has t not kept that

which the Lord commandedThe second similar occasion was in connec t ion with a

commission which Saul rece ived to destroy the Amaleki tes,

who were anc ien t foes Of Israel , and whose exterm inationwas needful to the establ ishmen t Of the great theocracy.

The order was very severe . NO one was to be spared,and

I Sam . xiii. , I 3 , I 4.

1 2 DAV ID,K ING OF ISRAEL .

al l the cattl e were to be destroyed . But Saul fal tered incarrying i t out . From a Spiri t of self-glory he spared Agag

,

the chief,that he m igh t grac e h is triumphan t return to Gib

eah. In the same arrogan t d isposition,he se t up a memo

rial Of h is v ictory near Carmel and preferring h is own wayto God ’s

,he spared the flocks and herds under pretense of

making a great Offering to J ehovah . Again,however, he

was confronted by Samuel , who upbraided him with hi s sel fwil l

,and gave utterance to that great principle which had i n

i t the forecast Of the Gospel, TO obey i s better than sacrifice , and to hearken than the fat Of rams . Thereafter theprophet repeated h is sol emn announcement, “ Because thouhast rej ec ted the word Of the Lord

,he hath also rej ec ted

thee from being king. This decl aration deeply affectedSaul, and he sought by every mean s to draw from Samuelsome revocat ion . In the earnestness Of hi s appeal he evenl aid hold upon the prophet’s mantl e

,but

,from the rend ing

of the garmen t i n the royal hand, Samuel only took occa

s ion to repeat the pred iction in another form,saying

,

“ TheLord hath rent the kingdom Of Israel from thee this day

,

and hath given i t to a n eighbor Of thine,that i s better than

Sti ll , commiserating the humil iated monarch, theprophet yielded to his entreaty so far as to continue to honor him that day before the peopl e

,but after he had with h is

own hands pu t to death the ch ief Of the Amaleki tes,Samuel

wi thdrew to his ret iremen t i n Ramah and so far as the record bears he saw Saul again no more, save for a brief spaceat Naioth

,unt il that n ight Of terror and d ismay at Endor,

when he came forth from his grave to say to h im,

“ TO-morrow shal t thou and thy son s be with me .

”

A l as ! for Saul . With many elements Of greatn ess abou th im

,and having withal such a d ispos ition that those who

i t I Sam . xv . , 2 2 , 2 3 , 2 8.

THE ANOINTING AT BETHLEHEM . I 3

were most i nt imately connected with h im could not help l iking him

,he was yet the creature Of impul se

,swaying ever

more between his better and h is worse n ature . Now he wasamong the son s of the prophets en tering enthusiast ically i ntothei r occupations

,and catching the spiri t Of their serv ice ;

and anon he was carried away by some capr ice Of sel f-conc e it, or some freak Of personal i ncl inat ion , to do what wasu tterly inconsisten t wi th the position which he occupied

,as

the servan t Of the Lord upon the throne Of Israel . Had heyielded to the prompt ings Of h is n obler sel f

,and the draw

ings Of God ’s Spiri t, he might have been one Of the grandestcharacters in sacred h istory but he allowed h is lower n atureto predominate, and though to the last we have occasiona l outflashings Of h is Old generosi ty and rel igiousness, thesewere but l ike the gl immerings of an expiring lamp, whichwen t out i n a darkness so profound as to sadden the heartOf every beholder. As Dean Stanley has truly remarked

,

His rel igion was never blended wi th h is moral n ature— hisrel igious zeal was always breaking out i n wrong channel s oni rregul ar Occas ions in his own way 5

” and again i t broke outi n wild

,ungovernable acts Of zeal and superst i tion

,and then

l eft h im a prey more than ever to h is own savage d isposition .

”at

With splend id Opportun i ties and great ab il i t ies,he yet failed

to profit by e ither, because he knew not “ the day Of h i svi s itat ion , and because he repudiated the cond itions withinwhich alone he could have r isen to greatness . Yet there wasa strange charm about h im too . Even as i n our own day wemay know some reckless youth

,with frank

,impetuous d ispo

s ition, and occasional impul ses to right th ings, who is makingsh ipwreck Of h imself

,and whom

,i n spi te Of hi s folly

,we can

not help l iking,SO we are drawn toward Saul notwithstand

ing his wickedness, and we can wel l understand how Samuel

a The Jewish Church,” V01. l l . , pp. 2 1 , 24.

I 4 DAV ID,K ING OF ISRAEL .

fel t when he “ mourned over him . He had hoped so muchfrom him ; he had seen SO much that was lovable abouth im 5 and yet h e had been so sadly d isappointed in him,

thatwe do not wonder at his sorrow. Haply, too, he was cherishing the expectation that he m ight yet come to h imself, andredeem the promise Of h is earl ie r t ime . But i t was not so tobe, for now the command comes to the prophet, How longwil t thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rej ec ted h im fromreign ing over Israel ? fi l l th in e horn wi th Oil

,and go

,I wil l

send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite : for I have provided mea king among his sons .”

The town to which Samuel was now sen t was bu t a l ittl eone among the thousands Of Judah, and up to th is t ime hadnot come i nto any great prom inence i n the history of thetribe. I t i s about five m iles south Of Jerusalem

,a l i ttl e to

the east Of the road that leads to Hebron . I t s tands uponthe summit and Slopes Of a narrow ridge

,which proj ects east

ward from the central chain of the Judean moun tain s . Thes ides Of the h il l below the v il lage are careful ly te rraced, andeven in modern t imes they are occupied with ferti l e v ineyards whil e in th e val leys beneath

,and on a l ittl e plain that

l ies to th e eastward,there are some corn-fields whose produce,

perhaps,gave the n ame Bethlehem

,or house of bread

,to the

town with which they were connected . Beyond these fieldsi s the wildern ess Of Judea

,the ch ief features Of wh ich are

white l imestone hi l ls,thrown confusedly together

,with deep

ravines winding in and out among them .

The place never was Of any great pol i tical importance i nthe land

,but around i t cluster assoc iation s which, throughou t

e tern ity,wil l make i ts n ame il lustriou s . In the immediate

neighborhood,memori al Of the tenderest sorrow Of Jacob’s

l ife, was the tomb Of Rachel . In yonder corn-fie lds Ruthgleaned after the reapers of Boaz

, on those never-to~be-forgotten harvest-days which so material ly changed the circum

THE ANOINTING AT BETHLEHEM . 1 5

s tances Of the al ien woman,and made her the ancestress Of

a royal l in e,whose represen tative s i ts n ow at God ’s right

hand . On the l pes Of these h il l s David was watching h isfather’s flocks on the occasion before us 5 and here, too, wasannounced to shepherds, as they tended their charge byn ight

,the glad tid ings Of the b irth of him who “ has brought

l ife and immortal i ty to l ight.”

I t was an appropriate trai n i ng-pl ac e for the future kingand bard Of Israel

,and no occupation could have been more

conducive to the development i n him Of those qual i t ies Ofprudence, promptitude, and prowess wh ich h is after-l ife re

quired,than that of a shepherd . I ts sol i tude would cast him

upon the compan ionship OfGod ; and when the n ight unveiledthe glory of the stars, he would become famil i ar wi th the grandeur Of the heaven s, thus storing h is m ind with lofty thoughtsand holy musings

,which, e i ther then or at a l ater day, came

forth glorified and made immortal by the mus ic Of his verse .

Nor was th is al l h i s unceas ing labors and occasion al confl ictswi th wild an imal s from the neighboring wilderness would givehim physical strength 5 while, again, his proxim ity to the tribeofBenj am in would cal l forth in him a desire to outrival, in the irfriendly matches, the Skil l of those eminen t marksmen “ whocould sl ing at a hai r-breadth and not m iss

,

” and SO, al l unconsciously to himsel f

,prepare h im for the work wh ich lay

before h im .

But we must not antic ipate . When Samuel received h iscommission he was fi l l ed with d ismay

,and said, How can I

go ? if Saul hear i t, he wil l kil l m e .

” This fear on the partof One who was usual ly so brave may indicate

,e ither that

the mental malady with which Saul was l atterly afil icted hadal ready begun to Show itself in fierce outbreaks Of passionatec ruel ty

, or that he had somehow man ifested that unscrupulous d isregard Of human l ife which he evinced at a l ater dateon more than one occasion , and more particularly when he

1 6 DAV ID,K ING OF ISRAEL.

caused the seventy priests of Nob to be put to death. Butthe Lord ’s wil l mus t b e done . SO he is commanded to a l

l ay susp ic ion by summon ing the inhabi tants Of Bethl ehemto a sacrifice. Here, however, was no subterfuge . Therewould have been disingenuousn ess if he had professed to Of

fer sacrifice,while he really mean t to do nothing Of the kind 5

but he did carry out h is design in that matter,though for pru

dent ial considerat ions he made no publ ic al lus ion to the othe r commission with which he was in trusted . I f any surprisebe fel t at the Offering Of sacrifice, i n a pl ace other than thatappointed in the Mosaic l aw

,the expl anat ion i s to be found

i n the fact that the ark of the covenan t Of the Lord was nota t th is time in the Tabernacl e

,but i n the c ity Of Kirj ath

j earim,and SO the Tabernacl e had ceased for the presen t to

be the only pl ac e Of the nation ’s worshipfi‘=

The appearance Of the prophet approaching the c i ty,and

driving a heifer before him, created qu i te a sensation amongthe peopl e . They feared that i n some way they had Offended God , and that he had sen t h is servan t to denounce themand to bring some pun ishmen t upon their heads . Thus natural is i t for men whose con sc ience s tel l Of gu il t, to fear whenany thing rem inds them Of Jehovah . Hundreds of years after th is

,when the heavenly l ight was seen in the same pl ace

by the shepherds, they too were sore afraid 5” but there was

as l i ttl e ground for fear in the one case as i n the other 5 forin both there was a provided sacrifice, and i n both the m iss ion was one Of peace 5 yea, as Samuel came to anoin t Davidto be a king

,so the angel-heralded Jesus appeared “ to make

us kings and priests un to our Lord and his Father.Having exhorted them to make su itable preparation s for

the sacred service,and having gone through the necessary

ri tual Observances,the prophet invi ted Jesse and his sons to

See Keil on I Samuel , p. 168 .


take the ir places at the feast with which the sacrific e con

cluded 5 bu t j ust as they were about to s i t down , he lookedin tently at the young men to see which Of them was theLord ’s anoin ted . The eldest attracted h is attention by h iscountenance and hi s s tature

,and he said with in himsel f

,

“ This must be he 5 but God, rem ind ing h im ,perhaps

, Of thesame features abou t Saul, declared that he had refused h im ,

because he read in h is heart unfitness for the royal Office .Similarly the res t were passed, unt il, i n great perplexity,Samuel said to Jesse, “ Are here al l thy children ?” Theanswer reveal ed to h im that the youngest was in the fieldfollowing the sheep, whereupon he affirmed that they couldnot proceed un ti l he appeared, and d irected that he shou ldbe sent for immediately.

While , ,therefore, they awai t the return of the messenger

,

we may briefly give you all that we can gather from the pageOf Scripture Of the genealogy and posit ion of Jesse and h isfamily. From the tabl e a t the end Of the book Of Ruth

,

taken i n connect ion with that prefixed to'

the gospel of Matthew

,we learn that J esse was the n in th, i n direct descen t,

from Judah,th e son of Jacob 5 and as in

"

the firs t chapter ofthe book Of Numbers we

‘

have the n ame ofNahshon , the fifthin that l ineage, with the titl e “ prince Of the house Of Judahattached to i t

,we may fairly -presume that the fam ily was Of

great importance in the tribe . We know, too, that Boaz, thegrandfather

.

Of Jesse,was a weal thy magnate in Bethlehem 5

and SO we may conclude that Jesse was, i f no t the ch ief mani n th e place

,at l eas t one of i ts most

'

influential inh abitan ts .In the tables to which I have referred the n ames of twoGenti l e women occur— Rahab of Jericho, and Ruth Of Moab— and i t is by no means improbable that the connection of

his ancestors with Gentil e n at ion s may have had,when he

came to know i t, a considerabl e influence on th e m ind of

David,while

,perhaps

,i t contributed in after -days to hi s

1 8 DAV ID,KING OF ISRAEL.

choice of Moab as an asylum for h is paren ts when i t was nolonger safe for them to remain i n Bethlehem .

The family Of Jesse con sis ted of e ight sons and threedaughters. David was the youngest child ; and so great ad ifferenc e was there between his age and those Of som e Ofthe elder ones

,that the sons Of h is s is ter Zeru iah seem to

have been brough t up as boys along with h im,and were

through l ife assoc iated with h im— not always to h is advan

tage . Of h is mother we know almost nothing ; her n amehas nowhere been preserved for us in sacred h istory. Somehave supposed that she was Jesse’s second wife, and othershave not scrupled to place her i n a l ess honorable relationship 5 with no good ground, however, so far as I can see .David in h is Psalms styles h imself, on more than on e occas ion

,

“ the son of God’s handmaid 5” and th is l eads u s to be

l ieve that she had a holy influence upon him , and that i t wasmost l ikely from her l ips that he firs t heard the wondrousstory of God ’s former deal ings with his people

,as wel l as

th e simple, pathetic pastoral Of Ruth . His father i s not t eferred to by him i n any such way as to evince that he owed

,

e ither in tel lec tually or sp iritual ly,very much to h im . I h

deed,as one has said, Jesse “ seems to have been a sort

Of dul l country squire,with not many thoughts beyond his

Sheep,and not many asp irations beyond the advancement

Of himsel f and fam ily. He man ifestly thought very l i ttl e Ofhis youngest son 5 perhaps because he was a qu iet, thoughtful, pious l ad, who l iked better to make hymns and singthem

,than to pursue those arts by which h is Older brothers

were seeking to push the ir way in the But he hada firm hold on h is mother’s heart 5 and we can imagin e how,

when he came home at n igh t fatigued by the day’s toi ls, she

a“ Dr.W. L. A lexander, of Edinburgh : Christian Thought andWork,PP 2 5 6, 2 5 7.

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2 0 DAV ID,KING OF ISRAEL .

cover for what purpose the prophet had emptied his horn OfOil upon his head .

I t was a cris i s i n h is h istory. He entered from that moment upon a h igher stage Of l ife than that on which heretofore he had s tood . The l ight-hearted boy became a thoughtful youth, forecast ing the duties and respon sibil i t ies Of h isfuture career 5 but, far from considering the tending of hissheep a work too men ial for one on whom the consecratingO il had been shed, he wen t back to i t, see ing in i t a new sign ificance as a preparative for the nobler l abors that lay before him . He sought to fi t h imself for the loftier sphere bycontinu ing faithfully to d ischarge the duties Of the humbler ;and while he was far from putt ing away from him the exaltation which was in store for him,

he was con ten t to wait umt i l i t was God ’s t ime for h im to rise to i t. The revelationOf the future ne ither soured h is heart a t the presen t, norturned him away from the work he was requ ired to do .

The day that was passing over h im only acqu ired new importance in h is eyes because Of the revelation of the futurewhich had been given him 5 and he was not the less watchfulas a shepherd

,but rather the more, because he knew that

there was a throne before h im .

How much i s there i n al l th is to instruct us who bel ievei n Jesus Christ ! By the holy ano in ting Of the Sp iri t wetoo have been designated for a throne, bu t le t us n ot beh igh-minded because of that. Let us rather continue hereat the daily work which he has se t us, grappl ing manfullywith the Sp iri tual en emies by whom we are beset, even asDavid slew the l ion and the bear that came to h is flock,and soothing our sp irits the wh ile with the mus ic Of a psalm ,

even as David sang whil e following his Sheep . Then , wheni t i s God ’s t ime for us to ri se

,we shal l hear h is voice saying

to us,Come up h ither

,

” and shal l discover that,by the daily

d isc ipl ine of duty done i n the n ame of the Lord Jesus, we


have been making ourselves ready for th e throne on whichwe Shal l be pl aced .

The narrative over which we have thus come,introducto

ry though i t be, i s r ich i n pract ical sugges t iven ess 5 but wecan stay now to give poin t to only two or three reflection s .We may see in the h istory of Saul , which we have briefly

summarized,how importan t i t i s that we should make the

most Of the Opportun i t ies wh ich God puts before us . Therecame to the son Of Kish a t idal t im e Of favor

,which, if he

had only recogn ized and improved i t,might have carried

h im,not only to greatness

,but to goodness . But he proved

faithless to the trust wh ich was committed to h im ,and be

came i n the end a worse man than he would have been,if

n o such priv il eges had been conferred upon him . We cannot read hi s h istory wi thou t Obse rv ing how, as h is l i fe woreon

,th e good features i n h is character d isappeared

,and he

who once prom ised to bear much goodly fru i t had i n theend noth ing but leaves

,

” and was bl ighted by the curse ofbarrenness . His career i s a melancholy i l lustration Of thetruth of the Saviour’s words, From him that hath not

,shal l

be taken away even that he hath .

” Let the young take noteOf the l esson and the warn ing. Whether you know i t ornot

, God has given you spec i al Opportun ities, and accordingas you deal with these he wil l deal with you . There havebeen t imes, mayhap, when you too were among the prOphe ts

,

” and fel t wi thin you the stirrings and strivings Of theHoly Spiri t ; but what has been the resul t ? Were youchanged thereby merely i n to other ” men 5 or did you become “ new creatures ” i n Chri s t Jesus ? Depend upon i t

,

after al l such experiences you can not cont inue qu ite as youwere before . I f you have not 'been the better for them

,you

must be the worse, and if they come again, beware how youdeal with them ! Once, long after, Saul came again underinfluences and impressions s imil ar to those which he fel t a t


the beginn ing Of hi s career ; but he l et that day Of gracealso pass

,and i n the end he fel t that God had departed

from him . Let i t not be so with you .

“

! uench not theSp iri t by your fol l ies and your s ins, but yield yourselves upto God through Jesus Chris t, and l ive always and only forhim 5 so shal l the Opportun ities which he has given you become the steps on that great l ife-l adder up which you cl imbto heaven . See that you know the day Of you r vis itation 5and that you may make no m istake

,where m istake is so fa

tal, l e t every day be to you a day of grace . Determ ine bythe help Of God’s Spiri t to make the best Of i t for the develOpment within you Of a holy character

,and for the promo

t ion around you Of the good Of soul s . God has ano intedyou to rul e over your own sp iri ts, and to bring them “ in tocapt ivi ty to the Obed ienc e of Chri st 5

” but i f you desp iseth is glorious royal ty, and give yourse lves over to in iqu ity, hewil l desp ise you

,and give you over to destruction .

We may see,again

,i n Jehovah’s expostul at ion with Sam~

uel concern ing El iab,the solemn truth that i n th e eye of th e

A l l -seeing the heart i s the man .

“ God looketh on th eheart.” I t m akes l i ttl e m atter, therefore, what the outwardappearance i s

,while

,if the heart b e wrong

,nothing can be

right. There i s much, no doubt, i n the bod ily developmen tto attrac t the eye, and I would not underval ue attention tothe symmetr ical d isc ipl ine Of the phys ical frame. Yet muscularity i s n ot Christian ity, and bodily beau ty i s not hol iness .The charac ter, therefore, ought to be the principal Obj ec t Ofyour attent ion . Not how you look, bu t what you are, oughtto be the firs t c are Of your l ives 5 for ifyou have a selfish d ispos it ion, a sordid soul , or a s inful l ife, your ou tward beautywil l be l ike “ a j ewel in a swine’s snout

,

” and your bodilyvigor wil l on ly be l ike the strength Of a safe in which nothing worth preserving i s l ocked up . Let your aim be to beholy ; and if you wil l only turn i n faith to Jesus, and fol low


i n the footsteps of his example, your soul wil l become beaut iful i n J ehovah ’s eyes

,and your l ife wil l become, even i n the

View of your fellow-men,bright with a glory which i s n ot Of

earth .

We may see once more,from the anoint ing Of David, that

we need a spec ial preparat ion for the serv ice OfGod . I n theOld economy

,the prophet

,the pries t

,and the king were se t

apart to the i r Offices by the pouring Of Oi l upon the ir heads 5and th i s was

,as the h istory before us m akes apparen t, the

symbol Of the conferring upon them of th e Holy Ghost.Under the New Testament d ispensation there are n o suchoffices

,or, rather, every bel iever i s h imself, i n a subordinate

sen se,a king

,priest

,and prophe t

,al l i n one . Now, for the

services which we are as such to render to God and to our

fel low-men we n eed a spec ial unction Of the Holy Ghost.Be i t ours

,therefore, to make earnest appl ication for th is su

preme anointing. We have each his own work to do, butwe shal l fa il to do i t rightly, unless the Spiri t Of glory and OfGod do rest upon u s . TO-n ight, l ike another Samuel, I amsen t to tel l you that God i s wi l l ing to consecrate you as hi s“ kings and priests 5

” that you may serve h im i n the GospelOf h is Son, al ike i n your daily l abor and your sacred exer

c ises . Despise not,I pray you, th i s baptism Of the Holy

Ghost. Uncover your heads for th is heavenly Oil 5 Open yourhearts for the admission Of thi s cel est ial i nfluence 5 and hearthese words from the mouth Of Himwho solemnly ordain syou to th is m in istry Of l ife : “ Know ye not that your bodyis the temple of the Holy Ghost which i s i n you, which yehave of God, and ye are not your own ? For ye are boughtwith a price therefore glori fy God in your body, and i n yourSpiri t

,which are God ’s .”

I I .

MED I CINAL M USI C.

I SAMUEL xvi. , 14-2 3 .

FTER Samuel ’s rebuke at Gilgal, Saul appears to have

become more abandoned than ever. He broodedover his rej ection as if i t h ad been a wrong don e to h im 5and though i n his inmost heart he fel t that he had smned,

he would nei ther make acknowledgment Of his tran sgress ion,nor return to a proper m ind . He became moody

,irri tabl e

,

vindictive, and gloomy, a source Of misery to h imself, and acause Of anxiety and terror to al l who were around h im .

The moral balance Of his n ature,weak and unsteady as i t

had always been , seem s now to have been almost destroyed,and even h is in tel lec t became beclouded

,for he exh ibited

symptoms c losely akin to those Of mental aberration .

The cause and nature Of the mal ady with which he wasaffl icted are described i n the n arrative by these two phrases“ The Spiri t Of the Lord departed from Sau l ,” and “ An evilsp iri t from the Lord troubled h im .

” There is thus both aprivat ive and a posit ive p ropos it ion

,and i t i s extremely d if

ficul t to determine what prec isely is i nd ic ated by their comb in at ion . In regard to the n egative or privative decl arationto the effec t that “ the Spiri t of the Lord had departed fromSaul,” we may take i t to mean that God withdrew from himal l those spec ial aids which

,i n connection with hi s anointing

to the royal Office, had been conferred upon h im . Perhaps,also

,we may include i n i t the taking away from him of those

grac ious influences Of the Holy Spiri t withou t which a manbecomes

,in the saddest and solemnest Of al l senses, “ aban

MEDICINAL MUS I C . 2 5

doned . This is what Paul has described as a “ being givenover to a reprobate m ind

,to do those things which are not.

conven ient 5 and what, i n the s imple Saxon Of our commonspeech

,we cal l “ a being l eft to one ’s self.” The Saviour

has said,

“ From him that hath not shall be taken away eventhat he hath .

” Now,i n Saul , as we have already hinted, we

have a deeply suggest ive instance Of the execution of thissentence . He had rece ived not one tal en t only, but many 5yet he fail ed to improve them , and SO they were taken fromh im

,and he was left

,i n a large degree, the men tal and moral

wreck Of h i s former self. He was deprived Of al l the spec ialgifts which had been conferred upon him , and set free fromal l those restrain ing influences which had been exerted uponhim

,and which had kept h im from those aggravated in iqu i

t ies in to which he afterward fell .This was sad enough , for, as Delany says, “ N0 man needsa heavier chastisement from A lm ighty God than the l ettingloose of h is own passions upon Sti l l the posit ive expression

,

“ An evil sp iri t from the Lord troubled h im,

” wouldappear to indicate that there was something more

,and more

dreadful even than this, though what th at someth ing was, i t i snot easy now to determ ine . On such a subj ec t i t would bethe height Of fol ly for any man to dogmatize ; but j ust as i nthe case Of Job, the Lord perm itted Satan to vis i t h im withcalam ity and evil

,with the View of bringing out thereby more

v ividly before men ’s eyes th e sain tl iness Of the patriarch ’scharacter 5 and as i n that Of Paul , a messenger Of Satan , i nthe shape of a thorn in the flesh

,was permitted to buffet him

l est he should be exal ted above measure 5 so here, i t seemsto me

,that God made use Of an evi l sp iri t i n order to infl ic t

j udic ial pun ishment upon Saul 5 and , for my own part,I do

it H istorical Account of the Life and Reign OfDavid, King Of I srael ,vol . i. , p. 2 6.


not see any th ing more mysterious i n such an employmen tOf evil Sp iri ts in the presen t state, than there i s i n the ideathat these sp irits shall i n some terrible way intensify the misery Of the lost in the world to come . We have here, then, aswe think

,someth ing l ike a case Of demon iacal poSsess ion,

having i ts root and origin i n the moral pervers ion Of the sou li tself. I t would be wrong, i ndeed, to assert that i n al l casesof that sort described in Scripture, the malady was the consequence of spec ial sin i n the individual affl icted by i t 5 n eve rtheless

,as Trench has remarked, “ I t Should not be los t

s ight Of, that l avish s in, superinducing, as i t Often would, aweakness Of the nervous system ,

where in i s the spec ial bondbetween the body and the soul, may have laid open those unhappy ones to the fearful incurs ion s Of the powers Of dark

And,from the pecul iar l anguage here employed

,

there i s hardly room for doubt that,by the mysterious j ud ic ial

perm iss ion of God, and as a pun ishment for hi s stubbornrebell ion

,such a spiri t n ow l aid hold on Saul, widen ing and

deepen ing the gulf of separation wh ich already exi sted between him and Jehovah . He that wil l do evi l Of his ownchoice is ul timately given over to evi l as h i s master. This isthe dreadful law

,and in the presen t in stanc e that mastery

was maintained by the personal agency Of one of those sp ir~itual beings which are subordinate to the princ e Of darkness .Farther than this on such a subj ect we dare not venture

,only

we may take to ourselves the lesson of warn ing with which i ti s fraught

,and learn to be on our guard

,l est

,refus ing the

guiding influence Of God ’s Holy Spiri t, we too should begiven over to the domin ion Of Satan 5 for though demon iacal possession i n its anc ien t form has d isappeared fromamong us, i t is yet too sadly poss ible for the prin ce Of darkness to hold us capt ives a t h is will

,and to rul e i n those

“ Notes on the M iracles , p. 16 1 .


the unresist ing prey Of dej ection beyond rel ief. The vocali st was desired by the physicians to s ing in an outer room ,

which for a day or two he did, without any effect upon the roya l patien t. But at l ength i t was noticed that the king seemedpartially roused from h is stupor

,and became an evident l is t

ener ; next day tears were seen start ing from h is eyes ; theday after he ordered the door Of his chamber to be left Open 5and at l ast ‘ the pertu rbed Sp iri t en t irely left h im

,and the

medic in al voice Of Farinel l i effected what no other medic in ecould .

’S imilarly, we find that i n l iterature and the dram a

kindred effects are ascribed to music .

” Readers Of Scott wil lremember how a frenz ied Highlander is soothed in to selfrestraint by the m instrel sy of Annot Lyle . Goethe makesthe first bar of an air by Gretchen suffice to lul l the sorrowsOf young Werther, who protests that “ i nstan tly the gloomand madness which hung over h im were d ispersed

,and he

breathed freely again .

” And Robert Brown ing has thesebeautiful l ines

,as the utterance Of one who is l isten ing to

sweet soundsMy heart they loose my heart, those s imple words 5I ts darkness passes, which naught e lse could touch,Like s ome dank snake that force may not expel ,Which gl ideth out to music sweet and low.

“

But i t i s more pert inen t to our presen t purpose to remind

you that, when El isha’s sp irit had been fretted and chafed

by the presence Of the wicked Jehoram , he cal led for a mins tre l, and under the soothing strain s Of h is music he so regained his wonted composure that the Sp iri t Of the Lordcame upon him . Now th is l ast in stance may fitly i l lustrateal l that music could do for Saul . I t could not effec t a permanen t cure. I t S imply created a temporary alleviation .

“5 For these and many sim ilar a l lus ions , see “ Scripture Texts I llustrated,” by Francis Jacox. Firs t series , pp. 5 5

—60.

MEDICINAL MUS IC . 2 9

The words Of Delaney here seem to me most j ud ic ious .We have reason

,

” says he,

“ to bel ieve, nor wil l the bestphilosophy forbid us

,that quieting the perturbation s Of the

m ind is absolutely n ecessary toward rece iving the sacred influences Of the Spiri t Of God ; and if so, then we m ay fairlyconclude that the same state of mind which fi ts u s for theinfluence Of good Spirits as natural ly unfits us for the influence Of such as are evi l ; and therefore the same power ofmusic which qu ieted El isha’s rage (and indignation agains tthe idolatrous Jehoram), and fi tted him for the agency Ofthe Holy Spiri t Of God, might for the same reason , by qu ie ting Saul ’s unruly passion s, unfit h im for the agency Of theevi l sp ir i t which troubled him

,and of con sequence work his

cure for that Hence,though i t d id not go to the root

Of the evil,the suggestion of Saul ’s servants was valuable

so far as point ing to a temporary m itigation Of the cal am ity.

Thei r advice seems to have been given in one Of the monarch’s luc id interval s 5 and i t so me t his approval that he atonce gave the command , “ P rovide me now a man that canplay wel l

,and bring h im to m e .

” O n making inqu iry, i t wasfound that one Of the servants Of h is house had met David,and had e ither heard h im play, or had heard Of his greatmusic al abil ity

,and on his report a messenger was at once

d ispatched to Jesse desiring the immediate attendance t is

youngest son at Gibeah . Notice the description that i s heregiven Of the youthful Shepherd : Cunn ing in playing, and am ighty

,val ian t man

,and pruden t i n matters (or, as the mar

gin has i t, in speech), and a comely person , and the Lord i swith h im .

” We are not surprised to find here ment ion madeOf h is skil l i n music and his comel in ess i n person

,bu t i t

i s not SO easy to accoun t for the fac t that h e i s styl ed “ a

“ H istorica l Account of the Life of David, King of I srael,” vol i .,

p . 2 8.

30 DAV ID,KING OF ISRAEL .

mighty val ian t man,and a man of war ; and from the d iffi

culty which these words presen t, i t has been supposed thatby some acciden t there has been a tran sposi tion of two sect ions Of the n arrat ive at th is particul ar portion Of the bookof Samuel . TO put the case c learly before you, we must ant icipa te one or two of the inc idents i n the succeeding chapter. Observe

,then

,that i t i s said that after David ’s perform

ances on the harp, Saul made him his armor—bearer 5 andagain

,that after the confl ic t between him and Gol iath

,Saul

asked,

“ Whose son i s this youth ?” as if he had been , up t il lthat momen t

,ignoran t Of every thing about h im . I t i s he nce

inferred by some that the n arrat ive on which we are nowengaged has fallen out Of its proper place, and that i t shouldbe taken in after the n ext chapter, o r rather between then inth and tenth verses Of the eighteenth chapter. But thi sseems to me to be a v iolen t cutt ing of the knot, while, i n re

al i ty,i t does not free us from the d iffi culty 5 for i f the descrip

t ion Of David by Saul ’s servan t i n the sect ion before us weregiven after th e duel with the gian t, i t i s i nconce ivable thatn o mention should have been made Of that great victory 5while again , after the even ts of that memorable day, i t i s improbabl e that Saul Should not have known and recogn izedwho David was from his servan t’s description of him 5 andas after that deed Of prowess David was the spec ial Obj ec tOf Saul ’s j ealousy, his presence would have tended ratherto aggravate, than to m itigate, the malady from which he suffered . On the whol e

,therefore

,though the n arrative i s by

no means free from d iffi cul ties, I prefer to take i t i n the order here given, the rather as there i s nothing in any of theHebrew manuscripts, or i n any of the anc ien t vers ions

,to

indicate that a tran sposit ion has occurred .

But what, then , i s the mean ing Of the words “ a mightyman of valor, and “ a man Of war

,

” as appl ied to a youthl ike David ? I answer that the reference may be to his suc

MEDIC INAL MUS IC. 3 1

c essful encounters with wild beasts in the keeping Of h isflocks

,or to his val ian t res i stance Of the wandering Arabs,

who then,l ike the modern Bedou ins, roamed through the

l and,making prey Of every thing on which they could l ay

the i r hands . Storie s Of David ’s youthful prowess, as wel la s of his skil l in music and his pre-em inen t p iety, must havebeen common in the neighborhood, SO that al ready he had areputation for bravery before he faced Gol iath ; and probably i t is to h is local renown for such encounters that E l iabrefers when

, on David’s appearance i n the Vall ey Of Elah

,

he taun ts him with having left h i s sheep, and upbraids himwith having come for no other purpose than to see the battl e . The phrase “ pruden t i n matters, mean s also, “ skil lful in words 5

” and so i t may refer e ither to his s ignal sagaci ty

,or to h is abil i ty i n the composit ion of extempore verses,

with which,l ike the I tal i an improvisator, and the m instrel s

Of the Scotti sh border of a later day, he accompan ied themusic Of h is harp .

I n any case, the descript ion so pleased Saul that he sen t amessenger to Je sse forthwi th, saying, Send me David thyson , which i s wi th the sheep .

” We can not tel l with whatfeel ings Jesse rece ived this command . What could Saulwan t wi th h is son ? Could there be any evi l h anging overh is house ? or was i t, that the vis i t Of Samuel to h im was nowabout to bear vis ibl e frui ts ? Between these two an ticipat ion sOf fear and hope his m ind would Vibrate ; and as h e l adedthe ass with the s impl e presen t that David was to bear toSaul , we can imagin e with what unwonted fervor he wouldcommend his youngest—born to the keeping Of hi s God . Butwho may describe the feel ings that swelled up i n the heartOf the young shepherd himself? When

,as he followed his

Sheep,he thril led the strings of his much-loved lyre, he had

l i ttl e idea that i t was by his harp he was first to be broughti nto prom inence in the land 5 and now as he sets out for Gib

3 2 DAV ID,KI NG OF ISRAEL .

eah, and thinks of the anomting that he had rece ived fromSamuel ’s hands, and of the future that lay al l untrodden beforeh im

,I can almost imagin e h im antic ipating some Of his l ater

s trains,and saying, Hold up my goings in thy paths, that

my footsteps sl ip not. Lead me i n thy truth,and teach me

for thou art th e God Of my salvat ion 5 on thee do I wai t al lthe Truly, as Kitto says, “ i t i s a pl easant p ictureto conce ive the future king of Israel stepping l ightly alongbehind the ass, with h is shepherd staff and scrip, and eu

tertained as he wen t by the gambol s Of the kid . His l ightharp was no doubt slung to h is back ; and i t i s l ikely thathe now and then rested under a tree and sol aced his sou lw ith i ts music . His fearl ess temper would not allow him tolook forward to the resul t of his j ourney with m isgivings 5or if a doubt crossed h is m ind, he found suffic ien t rest i nconfidence in God.

”

TThe dis tance from Bethlehem to Gibeah was a l ittl e short

of twelve m iles, and the road lay down the valley of Rephaim

,near to the stronghold of Zion

,which was stil l held by

the Jebusi tes. AS he passed Moriah ’s rocky ridge, did therecome into his young heart any premon ition Of the day whenh is own pal ace should crown the h il l Of Zion, and the threshing-floor Of Araunah should be con secrated for Jehovah ’stemple ? We can not tel l 5 but Often , I doubt not, i n aftert imes

,as he looked abroad from the heights of Jerusal em , or

from the roof Of h is palace,there would rise up before h im

the remembrance of th is early j ourney, when , with h is lowlypresen t and his humble harp he went to begin the world atthe court Of Saul 5 and, as then , he thought Of God

’s favor tohim through all the i n terven ing years

,I can almost hear

him saying,

“ 0 how great i s thy goodness , which thou hastl aid up for them that fear thee 5 which thou hast wrought for

9" Psa. XVII., 5 5 xxv. , 5 . T Dai ly Bible I llustrations , vol: iii. , p. 2 2 9.

MEDIC INAL MUS I C. 3 3'

them that trust i n thee before the sons of men ! Thou shal th ide them in the secre t of thy presence from the pride ofman : thou shal t keep them secre tly i n a pavil ion from thestrife Of tongues . Blessed be the Lord for he hath showedme his m arvelous kindness in a strongArrived at Gibeah, David was at once presented to Saul,

upon whom he made such a favorable impression that hewas taken forthwith into h is regard, and appoin ted as oneOf hi s armor-bearers 5 nay more, the king des ired his constan t presence at the court, and sen t to J esse, saying, “ LetDavid

,I pray thee

,s tand before me 5 for he hath found fa

vor i n my sight .” And ever as some n ew attack of his malady se ized h im , David was there with ' his harp and holyhymns ‘to soothe his soul,and Saul was refreshed

,and was

well,and the evil sp iri t departed from h im .

” TO borrowthe l ines of James Mon tgomery,Ti n h is

“ World before theFlood,” and subst itut ing in them the name Of David for thatof Jubal

,we may thus descr ibe the scen e

David with eager hope behe ld the chaseOf s trange emot ions hurrying o’er hi s face,And waked his nobles t numbers to controlThe t ide and tempest of the maniac

’s s oul .

Through many a maze of me lody he flew ;They rose l ike incense , they dis ti l led l ike dew,

Passed through the suflerer’s breast de licious ba lm,

And soothed remembrance til l remorse grew calm.

”

But i t was only a temporary rel ief after al l . A more wond rous triumph Was yet destin ed to be wrought by that sameharp when , tuned to words by God ’s own i nspiration given ,i t Should not only soothe the soul of the s inger h imself, butalso give forth notes that would reach through al l t ime

,and

Psa. xxxi. , 19—2 1 .1 For this applica tion ofMontgomery’s lines , I am indebted to Blaikie’sDavid, King of I srae l ,” p. 3 7 .

34 DAV ID,K ING OF I SRAEL.

l ift the devou t spiri t above al l evil i nfluences . How oftenhave these holy lyrics done for men a grander work thanthat wrought by this music on the m ind of Saul ! Lutherfel t the ir influence when , i nsp irited by the ir strains, he wen tforth to his great reform ing work 5 and the soul s Of manyanxious ones have been qu ieted by their t rustful utteranceswhen their hearts

,l ike El i ’s, “ trembled for the ark Of God .

”

The lone widow has dried her tears as she has l is ten ed tothe music of the words, “ God l ives ! blessed be my rock,and let the God of my salvat ion be exalted .

” The helplessorphan has been d irected to a friend above, as this soft strainhas fal len on his ear, “ When my father and my mother forsake me

,then the Lord wil l take me up .

” The despondingsain t has seen the heavens grow bright above him whil e heheard these trustful notes : “ Why art thou cas t down

, 0 mysoul ? and why art thou d isqu ieted with in me ? hOpe thouin God :' for I Shal l yet praise h im, who i s the heal th Of mycountenance

,and my God .

” The dying one has fel t as i f theglory-gate was already Open ing to h im whil e the melody of

these words has d istill ed l ike the dew over his sp iri t : “ A sfor me

,I wil l behold thy face i n righteousness : I shall be

satisfied,when I awake

,with thy likeness . ” Yea

,mighties t

achievement Of al l,i t was a strain from David ’s harp which

Upheld the Redeemer’s soul when from the depths Of h is infin ite agony he cried

,My God, my God, why hast thou for

saken me ?” Truly, as wel l as eloquently, has one said, “ Thetemporary calm which the soft notes Of David ’s harp Spreadover the stormy soul of Saul was bu t a superfic ial emotioncompared with the holy rest on the bosom of thei r God towhich the Psalms have gu ided many an anxious and wearys inner. The one was l ike the passing emotion of an oratorio

, the other is the deep peace of the

Blaikie’

s David, King of I srae l ,” p . 38.


him at all . Oh,matchless

'

mystery, whereby these two ap

paren t opposites are held i n harmony ! Oh, most consol ingtru th

,whereby in all c ircumstances we are reminded that

“ al l th ings work together for good to them that love God,to them who are the cal led according to h is purpose .”

But pass ing from this mysterious theme, l e t m e hold upbefore the young people of my audience the example of David here

,that they may be stimul ated to improve their le isure

time in acqu iring some useful in format ion, or in l earn ing som euseful art. Whil e Dav id fol lowed the Sheep, he had ampl et ime at his disposal

,but instead of l ett ing i t go by in idle

n ess,or fri ttering i t away i n spasmodic study, now of th i s

thing and now Of that,he spec ially concen trated his atten

t ion on the art of music, unti l he acqu ired rare skil l and exce llence i n playing upon the harp ; and i t was through thisself-taught attainmen t that he was first c al led forth in to publ ic l ife . Now i t i s Of immense consequence, that the youngpeopl e of these days should clearly see the necessi ty underwhich they are l aid

,of acting in a s im ilar manner. I speak

,

Observe, of l e isure t ime, and any th ing which I may say i s

not to be misconstrued in to an admon i tion to neglec t busin ess for other pursu its . By no means . David d id not neglec t h is sheep for his harp . He was as ready to encoun terthe l ion and the bear as he was to pl ay upon his lyre ; butwith h is work he combined the cul t ivation of music i n hisspare moments. And I earnestly exhort you, my youthfulhearers

,to have some one s tudy or pursuit on hand to which

you devote your le isure hours .I advocate this on the ground Of economy. As things are

with most of you, your spare moments go you can not tel lhow. Tod ay they are given to one thing

,to morrow to an

other 5 SO that with th is cont inual social and mental d issipat ion , i t would be d ifficul t for most to tel l, e i ther what theyhave done or what they have l earned

, out of bus iness hours

MEDIC INAL MUSIC. 3 7

l as t week. And yet they have been occup ied al l the wh ile .A s they were busy here and there

,

” at one thing or another

,the week “ was gone

,

” and they have nothing to Show fori t 5 whereas, i f they had sys tematical ly devoted thei r hoursOf le isu re to the prosecution of some plan i n som e departmen t Of self-cul ture

,they would have acqu i red someth ing

which would remain with them,and be of s ignal service to

them in after-l ife . Bind together your spare hours,therefore,

by the cord of some defin ite purpose,and you know not how

much you may accompl ish . Gather up the fragments ofyour t im e

,that noth ing may be lost.

I advocate th is on the ground Of recreation . Some, indeed,may be apt to say that they have n o strength for the prosecution, after the l abors Of the day, of such a work as thatto which I would inci te them . But not to say that there i snothing more wearisome than idlen ess

,unless it

.be the d is

s ipat ion of pleasure , I would rem ind you that the trues t rel axation i s a

l

change of employment.

A want of occupation is not rest,A mind quite vacant is a mind distressed.

No doubt there must be some phys ical recreation,but for

rest to the m ind we need someth ing el se than exercise forthe body 5 we need occupat ion for the m ind itsel f i n someother sphere of thought

,and thi s can be best obtained by the

systematic prosecution Of some favorite pursu it. Try i t,young men , and you wil l acqu ire from i t buoyan t elast ic i tyOf mind, whil e at the same time you wil l obtain substant ialinformation , or profic iency in some elegan t art .I advocate th is on the ground of self-protec tion . Idlen ess

i s the mother of vice, and i t i s a sadly suggestive fact that aman i s commonly e ither made or marred for l ife by the usewhich he makes of h is l e isure t ime. I t i s not a t business

,or

at work,that temptat ion firs t assails a youth 5 i t i s when he


i s at le isure 5 and commonly when he fal l s into in iqu ity inbusiness i t i s i n order that he may procure the mean s Ofindulging in the vicious habits which he has l earned during his le i sure . I f

,therefore, you would keep temptation

at a d istance from you, and deprive the haunts of i n iqu ityof the power to a ttrac t you, seek to give yourself to somefavori te study in your spare hours, with al l the ardor andenergy of your nature ; and when one comes to entice youinto Sin , you will be abl e to say, I am doing someth ing better

,and I can not go with you .

”

I advocate thi s use of your spare t ime, l astly, as a preparative for future em inence . I t i s in terest ing to observehow many have passed through this very gate to usefuln essand hono r. Hugh Miller raised h imself from the pos itionOf a working mason by his devotion , firs t to geology, and afterward to l i terature, i n h is l e i sure moments 5 and MichaelFaraday

,whil e a book -b inder’s apprent ice

,was reading

chem ical books,and making electrical mach ines i n h is

even ing hours— thereby laying the foundat ion s of that greatwork which as a man Of sc ience he was afterward to aecom

pl ish. You can not al l become Millers or Faradays indeed,but

,by fol lowing the i r example

, you wil l attain to someth ingnobler than you otherwise could reach, and make the bestof yourselves for God and for the world .

I t may Seem to many as i f i n speaking thus I were drawing a merely secul ar lesson from a sacred theme 5 but to theChrist ian there i s nothing secular. He wants to make themost of himsel f and of his Opportun itie s for Chris t

,and he

must l earn this lesson,else when occasions come he wil l not

be abl e to avail h imself of them . The men who have beenunsuccessful on the earth have failed

,not for wan t Of op

portun it ie s Of succeeding, but because they were n ever readyto avail themselves of the Opportun ities which did come tothem ; and this unreadiness may be traced to the frittering

MED ICINAL MUS IC . 39

away by them of the ir l e i sure hours i n strenuous idleness, or

i n frivolous amusement,or i n vic ious indulgence .

Again,as we see David setting out from Bethlehem

,we

are rem inded of the feel ings,the difficulties

,and the dangers

which are usually attendan t upon the firs t leaving of the father

’

s house . I have not attempted to describe to you whatDavid’s emotions were as he parted from father and mother

,

and looked forward to the del icate posi tion which he wasto occupy ; but I can not help employing this incident toremind the young peopl e who may have come to this greatcommerc ial cen tre from a d istant home, that there are parentslooking after them with longing sol ic itude, arid earnestly beseeching God to bless them . I t may be, i ndeed, that i n someinstances the parents from whom they have parted are nowin glory 5 yet I am sure that they al l look back to the ir earlyabode with the tenderest feel ings

,and regard i t as surround

ed with the hol iest assoc iation s. Are you l iving now,my

young friends, as those parents would have you ? Wouldyou feare to have your mother perfectly acquainted with al lyou did last week ? How does your present l i fe look whenyou think Of your father now in heaven ?

I t may be, too, that there are some here preparing to leavethe ir father’s house

,and go l ike Abraham

,hardly knowing

whither,save on ly that duty cal ls them . Let me en treat them

to go i n Abraham’s faith,and above al l to secure that

,as i n

the case of David here, the Spiri t of the Lord shal l rest uponthem

,making them pruden t i n matters . With this posses

s ion,no matter where we go

,al l wil l be well . Without i t

,no

matter what worldly prosperity may attend us, we shal l bepoor indeed . They are n ever far from home who take Godwith them

,for he is himself the ir dwel l ing-place.

F i nal ly,we may learn , from Saul ’s experience

,how tran

s ien t i s the rel ief which mere earthly influences can give inthe case of a moral and spiri tual d isease. David ’s music

40 DAV ID,K ING OF I SRAEL .

went so far,'

but i t d id not touch the root Of the evi l . Onlywhen Saul returned to God would God return to him . Heneeded a new heart ; and no earthly music, even from Dav id’s harp

,could give h im that. So l e t us be admonished by

his folly. Vain are al l merely worldly prescriptions for thes in—burdened and depraved soul . Wel l-meaning friends maysay to the anxious s inn er, “ Go to the Opera, come to thetheatre

,vis it this and the other place of amusement 5

” but i ti s al l to no purpose . These may give temporary rel ief

,but

in the s ilence Of the sol itary chamber the agony of heartcomes back more Violen tly than before . Theré

r

is but onewho can hush its troubled perturbations in to peace

,and that

i s He “ who stil led the rol l ing l ake Of Gal ilee ” To Him,

therefore, O anxious one , betake thyself, and He wil l givethee a n ew heart, which wil l be itself l ike a wel l-tuned harp ,whose strings wil l v ibrate evermore with holy harmony i nthy secret ear ! He wil l make thee independen t of al l outward influences, by giving thee quietude and hol iness with in .

TO Him , then , make thy way 5 for has He not said, “ Comeunto m e, all ye that l abor and are heavy l aden , and I wil lgive you rest ?”

I I I .

THE CONFLI CT WI I I I GOLIA I I I .

1 SAMUEL xvii.

FTER David ’s mus ic had produced such a beneficialeffect upon Saul , the young shepherd seems to have

returned to h is former charge upon the slopes of Bethlehem .

This may appear strange, espec ial ly after the statemen t that“ the king lovedhim greatly,

” and made him h is armor-bearer.But if we take a correct V iew of the character of Saul

,and

consider how at a later date h e v ibrated between the twoextremes of inordinate adm iration and spiteful

'

persecution

of David,our surprise wil l cease

,and we Shal l have in Da

v id ’s departure from Gibeah at th is t ime only another i l lustration of that ficklene ss and instabil ity for which Saul wasso remarkabl e. With his restoration to heal th

,his love for

David cooled 5 or, perhaps, he d id not care to be constantlyreminded Of his malady by th e con tinuous presence of theyoung m instrel

,and SO he sent h im tohis home again .

How long David remained at Bethlehem before the occurrence of the even ts narrated in th is seven teen th chapter, weare not informed

,and i t i s va in to make any attempt at con

j ec ture . Al l we know is that he was brought again in toprominence in connection with the renewal Of host il i t ies between Saul and the Phil ist ines : and as this i s the firs t occas ion on which we come in to contact with that anc ien t andwarl ike people, we may pause a few moments to gather in toone brief paragraph the main features of their h istory andcharacter.


Corn ing,as the ablest critics have general ly agreed , from

Egyptfl‘ they occupied the strip Of country lying along the

south-east coast of Palestine, and compris ing a confederacyOf five un i ted yet independen t towns — Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon

,Gath

,and Ekron . When the Children Of Israel took

possession of the l and, this territory was given, by lot, to thetribe of Judah 5 but i t was not until the days Of David thatthey could be said actual ly to possess i t 5 and, i ndeed , al lthrough the h istory of the Jews, there was danger Of coll is ionbetween them and this fierc e nation . They had early attai ned to great skil l i n the arts al ike of war and peace 5 theyprobably possessed a navy

,for they-had harbors at Gath and

Ashkelon 5 they were eminen t as smiths and armorers ; andtheir images of golden mice and emerods, referred to in one

of the early chapters of the firs t book of Samuel, imply an ac

quaintance with the work Of the founder and the goldsmith .

We are told,in the firs t chapter of the book Of Judges, that

Judah took Gaza,Ashkelon

,and Ekron , with their coasts 5

but the resources of the Phil ist in es were such that theySpeedily regained their territory and asserted the ir supremacy. In the days Of Shamgar, Jephthah, and Samson , theyheld the Jews in hard and crue l bondage 5 and i t was onlyunder Samuel that the chosen peopl e had been abl e inany serious degree to break the ir power. Even after that,however, they re -asserted their dom in ion

,and were able

successfully to d ispute with Saul th e ownership of the soil,and so to crippl e the tribes

,that there was no proper imple

men t Ofwar to be found among them,save only in the hands

of Saul and Jonathan . The mode of warfare pursued bythem was of the guerrill a description . They m ade a seriesof sudden raids on unprotected places for purposes Of plun

See the artic le PH ILISTINES,in Smith

’s“ D ictionary Of the Bible ;

and a lso that on the same subject in Fairbairn’s Imperia l B ible D ict ionary.

”

44 DAV ID,K ING OF ISRAEL .

r idge,the Phil isti nes encamped ; and oppos ite them , on the

right bank,were the Israel ites . The dis tance between the

arm ies was abou t a m il e 5 and the vale beneath is flat andrich . Through the centre winds a torrent-bed, the

'

banks

fringed with shrubbery Of acac ia, and the bottom coveredwi th ‘ smooth s tones . ’ The ridges on each s ide rise to theheight of about five hundred feet, and have a un iform slope,so that the armies ranged along them could see the combati n the val ley The place was about twelve m iles southwest of Jerusalem , and therefore probably not more thanseven or eigh t m iles from Bethlehem .

In the army with Saul were the three eldes t son s of JesseE liab, Am inadab, and Shammah . I t was the l aw of I srael ,that i n t imes of war each able-bodied man between certai nages was to carry arms ; and so, whenever a summons wasgiven , suspense would re ign in every home . On the presen toccasion , however, as the war was defens ive, and as the l ivesand property Of the people depended on the character of theresistance that was Offered to thei r enem ies, there wouldprobably be no great d iffi cul ty i n securing a l arge army 5 yetthe parents of such as wen t to the front would n aturally feelmuch sol ic itude concern ing the ir safety. We do not wonder

,

therefore, that J esse was anxious to know how things wen twith his sons . Indeed

,considering h is comparative proxim

i ty to the two encampments,i t was the most n atural th ing in

the world that he and his wife Should des ire to send somehome comforts to the ir sons . Accordingly he took Davidfrom his sheep

,and dispatched h im to Elah,with an ephah

Of parched corn , and ten loaves for his brothers, and tencheeses for the officer of the ir company. He instructed himalso “ to take the ir pledge

,

” that i s,as I suppose, to bring

with him in his hand some token or pledge of the ir safety i n

K itto’s Cyclopaedia ,” by A lexander, article ELAH.

THE CONFLICT WITH GOLIATH . 45

the c amp . SO, l eaving his sheep with a keeper, David hastened to Elah

,and arrived j ust as the battle-cry was being

raised in both arm ies,and the ranks of each stood i n formal

array against the other. Seeing thi s state of matters, theeager youth left h is baggage at the wagon-l ine by wh ich thecamp was surrounded

,and ran to look for his brothers .

Scarcely had he found them ,and asked them of their wel

fare,when there stalked forth from the front Of the Phil ist ian

l ine the tall champion of Gath named Gol iath . This man ,probably a descendan t of the Anakim , i s described as s ix cubits and a span in heigh t. The cubi t was originally the l engthfrom the elbow to the po in t of the m iddle finger, and i s commouly taken as about eighteen or n ineteen inches . Acceptingthe smal ler Of these as correc t

,the stature of Gol iath would

be about n in e feet n ine inches . Josephus and the Septuagin t,however

,read four cubits and a span

,and this would reduce

his height to s ix feet n in e inche sfi“ This enormous heightapparently did not in terfere with the development of h isstrength

,for the weigh t of his armor was such as could

have been borne Only by one of Herculean migh t. Takingthe Shekel at hal f an ounce avoirdupo is

,his coat of mai l

must have been one hundred and fifty-six pounds in weight,and the head of his spear must have been eighteen poundstwelve ounces .I t i s not surpris ing

,therefore

,that when he came forth into

the space between the arm ies and defied Israel,consternation

and dism ay took hold upon the sold iers of Saul . Nor wasthis the first occas ion

,on which he had made his appearance

thus . For forty days he had come repeating h is boastful and

Keil on 1 Samue l , p. 1 73 , s ays : “ His he ight was s ix cubits and

a span , i . e. , according to a calculat ion m ade by Thenius , about nine fee ttwo inches Paris ian measure— a great he ight, no doubt, though not a ltogether unparal le led, and hardly greater than that of the great-uncle of

I ren, who came to Berl in in the year

46 DAV ID,K ING OF ISRAEL.

i nsul ting words Why are ye come out to set your battl e i narray ? Am not I a Phil ist in e, and ye servan ts to Saul ? chooseyou a man for you

,and let h im come down to me . If he be

able to fight with me, and to kil l me, then wil l we be your servants bu t if I prevail against h im, and kil l him , then shal l yebe our servants, and serve us . I defy the arm ies of Israel th isday ; give me a man, that we may fight together. To thischallenge there was not spirit enough among the Israel i tes tomake response . Saul was probably restrain ed from personally accepting it by motives of dign ity 5 but we can not readthe record without contrasting his si l ence

,and the utter hope

lessness of his army, on th is occasion , with the enthusiasmwhich he d ispl ayed

,and the bravery which they manifested

that day at Jabesh-gilead,when they drove the ir enemies be

fore them l ike chaff before the wind . We read,i ndeed

,of

the royal promise to enrich the man who should slay h is euemy

,and to give him his daughter i n marriage, and to make

h is father’s house free i n Israel 5 but there is no word of anycal l ing upon God

, or any appl ication to the high—priest, thatwi th his Urim and Thummim he might give d irection fromon high . Suggestive sil ence this ! Saul was st il l self-rel ian tand defiant 5 and so thi s was to be the occasion of bringinghis successor forth before the peopl e ’s eyes .David

,young as he was

,was aston ished at what he saw

and heard . Apparen tly he had n o fear Of the giant,but he

d id wonder at the craven-heartedness Of hi s fel low-countrymen . He asked again and again into the part iculars

,and

was so Spec ial ly m inute in h is inquiries abou t what Saul hadpromised to the Victor

,that hi s eldest brother began to sur

m ise that he was h imself purpos ing to accept the challenge,and said to him

,i n a sneering

,cyn ical

,elder-brotherly fash

ion ,“ Why camest thou down hither ? and with whom hast

thou left those few sheep -in the wilderness ? I know thypride, and the naughtiness Of th ine heart 5 for thou art com e


down that thou mightest see the battle . But David d id no t

al low himself to be provoked 5 he ru led hi s spiri t for thet ime— a harder task and a yet nobler achievemen t even thanthe conques t of the gian t, and he simply said, “ What have Inow done ? I s there n ot a cause ?” A t l ength

,however

,as

he ta lked with on e and another, the report spread out thatthere was one who would fight the gian t, and finally i t wastold to Saul, who sen t for h im ,

and sought to d issuade h imfrom h is purpose, saying, “ Thou art not abl e to go again stth is Phil ist in e to fight with h im ; for thou art but a youth,and he a man of war from his youth .

” But the young shepherd was not to be daun ted thu s . Rehearsing h is deeds ofvalor i n the defense of his flock, and tracing h is successes onthese occasion s to the help of God, he said, “ The Lord thatdel ivered me out of the paw of the l ion

,and out Of the paw

Of the bear, he wil l del iver me out of the hand Of this Phil i st ine .” This was prec isely the Spiri t that was needed for thestern encoun ter 5 and Saul , recogn iz ing in i t that i n which h ewas himself SO deficien t, at once made an swer, Go, and theLord be -with thee !” A t firs t the king proposed that h eshould array himsel f in the royal armor 5 but David was notat home i n that

,and, with a true stroke of mil i tary gen ius, he

determ ined to go forth with the weapons with which he wasmost fam il iar. He took hi s shepherd ’s s taff i n h is left hand,and his sl ing in his right, and having h is sachel suspendedfrom his neck

,he wen t out i n fron t of the l ines . As he cross

ed the d ry bed Of the brook, he selected some Smooth stones,one of which he fixed in hi s sl ing

,and the others he dropped

in to h is bag . I t has been commonly supposed that,i n l ay

ing as ide Saul ’s armor and preferring his own sl ing, Davidwas giving up every advantage, and that the chances of hissuccess were material ly lessened by the fact that he was thu s

,

comparat ively speaking, defensel ess . But that is a m istake .

The gen ius of David was made man ifest i n the choice of his


weapons,and so soon as he had determ ined to use the sl ing

the issue was not doubtful . The giant was open to'

attack

only on the forehead 5 but then he was cased in such heavyarmor that he could not move with swiftness, and so he couldprove a formidable foe only when he was fighting at c losequarters . David

,on the other hand

,was free, and could run

with swiftness and agil ity 5 while using the sl ing he could begin the attack from a distance

,and out of the range of his ad

versary’s weapons . SO far, therefore, as weapons were con

cerned,the advan tage was c l early on David ’s s ide, provided

only he could preserve his prec is ion of aim and steadinessof hand . He was l ike one armed with a rifle, while his en emy had only a spear and a sword 5 and if only he could takesure aim

,the resul t was absolutely certain . Goliath, howev

er,despised h is s imple weapons, and in spi teful indignation

cursed h im by his gods,saying al so

,Come to me

,and I wil l

give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air,and to the beasts of

the field .

” Noth ing daunted, David made reply : “ Thoucomest to m e with a sword

,and with a spear

,and with a

sh ield : but I come to thee in the n ame of the Lord of

hos ts,the God of the arm ies of Israel , whom thou hast de

fied . This day wil l the Lord del iver thee into m ine hand ;and I wil l smite thee, and take th in e head from thee 5 and Iwil l give the c arcasses of the host of the Phil ist ines th is dayunto the fowls of the ai r

,and to the wild beasts of the earth 5

that al l the earth may know that there i s a God i n Israel .And al l th is assembly shal l know that the Lord saveth notwi th sword and spear : for the battl e is the Lord ’s, and hewil l give you i nto our hands . ” As modern warfare i s conducted , such a col loquy as this between two combatantsseems to be r idiculous 5 but every on e who is famil iar withHomer’s “ I l iad

,

” e i ther i n the original, or in on e of i ts Spir

ited translations,wil l see a wonderful S im ilari ty between the

speeches of Gol iath and David,and those which the father


of poetry puts in to the mouths of his heroes in s im il ar c ircumstances .

*

But now the time for parley i s a t an end,Goliath is ad

vanc ing to m eet his antagon is t, and David, seeing that hisonly opportun ity is to strike h im whil e ye t he i s at a d istance

,makes haste and runs . . As he run s

,he re-adjusts the

ston e i n h is sl ing ; and taking unerring aim , he sends i twhizzing to i ts mark in the forehead of the gian t

,who forth

with fel l with h is face to the ground . Then rushing forward ,he took the sword of his adversary

v

and cu t off hi s head ,which he carri ed with h im as a trophy of Victory . Whenthe Ph il ist ines saw that the ir champion was dead, they turned and fled ; but the Israel i tes pursued them hotly even tothe gates of Ekron

,and the victory was complete .

Two things mentioned as con sequen t upon this encounte rare apt to perplex the general reader. The firs t i s

,that

David took the Phil ist ine’s head to Jeru sal em,and put h is

armor in h is ten t. Now i t i s said by some that Jerusalemwas not yet i n the hands of the Israel i tes, but only camein to the ir possess ion years afterwar‘d

,when David conquered

the Jebus ites . But,as obviating this d ifficul ty

,we may re

mind you that it was not J erusal em that David took fromthe Jebusites, bu t rather the stronghold of Zion , which wasonly a part of Jerusalem 5 and i t i s qu ite l ikely that beforei t was taken by David the other portions of the c ity wereoccupied by the Jews . O r perhaps the reference may simply be to Nob, the s i te of the Tabernac l e

,which

,though i n

the territo ry of the tribe of Benj am in, was yet so near to Jerusalem as to be with in Sight of i t. Then

,as to the putting

of the armor i n h is ten t by David, we are not to supposethat this was mean t by h im as its ul timate destinat ion

,but

See , in part icular, the speeches of G laucus and D iomede,in the s ixth

book o f the “ I l iad Come hither,”says G laucus, “ that you may

quickly reach the goal of death.


we may wel l enough understand that i t was put there forsafety unt il he should have an Opportun ity of l aying i t upbefore the Lord in the Tabernacl e ; while, if any should besurprised that he should have a ten t i n the camp

,considering

that he had only come casual ly from Bethlehem,we may re

move the ir aston ishment by suggesting that,after so sign al

a victory as that which he had been honored to achieve, ev

ery thing would be don e to Show him gratitude,and we may

be sure that a ten t would be pu t at h is d isposal . The second and more formidable diffi cul ty i s i n connection withSaul ’s inqu i ry after David . We read that he said to Abner

,

Whose son i s th is youth ? And Abner said, A s thy sou ll iveth

, 0 king, I can not tel l . And the king said,Inqu ire

thou whose son the stripl ing is . And as David returnedfrom the s laughter of the Phil istin e, Abner took him ,

andbrought him

.

before Saul with the head of the Phil i stin ei n h is hand . And Saul said to him ,

Whose son art thou,

thou young man ? And David answered, I am the son of

thy servan t Jesse the Bethlehem ite .” Now how shal l weaccount for Sau l ’s non-recogn it ion of David after having hadhim formerly at his court

,and numbered among his armor

bearers ? Some would get rid of the d iffi cul ty by al legingthat there has been a transposit ion of the narrat ive here, andthat the accoun t of David’s m in strel v isi t to Gibeah shouldcome in after the record of the inc idents which have beenbefore u s now ; but for the reason s wh ich I formerly ad

vanced, I can not accept this theory. O thers th ink that i nthe state of mind in which Sau l was when David played before h im on the harp

,he would not be able to take any par

t icular not ice of him,and therefore when he saw him again

m ight not recognize him . While others st il l suppose thatthe purpose of Saul ’s question was not to know who Davidwas, but to inquire in to the character and condit ion of hi sfamily, that he might make good the promise wh ich he had


ter to which he refers,and may therefore be the better pre~

pared to accept h is explanat ion as the correc t one .I n the Greek vers ion of the O l d Testamen t made by the

Seventy, there is an apocryphal Psalm , numbered the 1 5 1 5 t,

which purports to have been written by David on the occas ion of thi s v ictory ; but i t has nothing in i t e ither Of thebeauty or the grandeur of David ’s Odes, and is probably amyth ical production made by some ord inary person on reading the h istory

,and attempted by him to be palmed off as

the work of the young hero .

* Yet,though there was no spe

c ial ode composed by David on th is occasion, we can see inmany of his lyrics traces of the influence which this, his firs tgreat v ic tory

,produced upon him . Thus I can not doubt

that he remembered the whole incidents of th is eventful day,when he sang these words : “ I wil l not trust i n my bow,

ne ither Shal l my sword save me . In God we boas t a l l theday long

,and praise thy name forever.

”

T And again,There

i s no king saved by the mul t i tude Of a host a m ighty mani s not del ivered by much strength . Our sou l waiteth forthe Lord he is our help and our shie ld .

”I Nor can I help

remarking that in thi s recogn i tion of God , and confidence inh im

,with which David en tered upon publ ic l i fe

,we have the

roo t of the d ifference between him and Saul . You neverhear Saul expressing his trust i n God, as David d id when hewen t forth to meet Gol iath 5 whereas, as we proceed in thehistory, we shal l find that with David i t was habitual . Thetendency of Saul ’s l i fe was toward h imself : any thing incons isten t with that in him

,or about him

,was but fitful and Spas

modic . But i t was j ust the reverse with David . The leaning of his soul was toward God

,and though at t imes sel f and

s in sadly and terr ibly asserted the ir power,yet these t imes

3“ See , for a translat ion of this Ps alm , S tanley’s Jewish Church,” vo l .

I L, 5 6.

I Psalm xl iv. , 6 , 8 . 1 Psalm xxxiii. , I 6, 2 0.

THE CONFLICT WITH GOLIATH . 5 3

were only occasional,and out of keeping with the usual

course and curren t of h is character. His s in s, l ike Saul’s

impulses toward good th ings,were but occasional erupt ion s

of that which i t was the habi t of his soul to repress 5 his piety, like

'

Saul’

s impiety, was the princ ipl e of h is l ife . Andherein we accoun t for the acceptance of the one

,and the re

j ec tion of the other,as the occupan t of the throne of I srael .

But i t i s t im e now that we should seek for some practicalgu idance from th i s subj ec t for our daily l ives, and for thebetter understand ing of the Gospel of Christ. Every readerof the narrat ive wil l see many poin ts in which i t both touchesand il lustrates N ewTestamen t themes . Thus, withou t goingthe l ength of adopting the View that David was in al l thi s atype of Ch ris t

,we can not see him confronting the gian t with

his sl ing and ston e,and consummating h is destruc tion with

h is own sword, without be ing rem inded of a greater than Hewho foiled the prince of darkness with a tripl e thrust of thesword of the Spiri t wh ich is the Word Of God, and who“ through death destroyed h im that h ad the power of death ,and del ivered them who through fear of death were al l theirl ifet ime subj ect to bondage .”

Again when we think of the tribal i nheri tance of Judah,

s till'

in a l arge degree retained by the Phil istines, who everand anon arose to recl aim i t al l , and sometimes n early succeeded , we have a striking analogy to the heart of th e bel i ever

,where in , though he has given h imself to J esus, and has

been renewed by the Holy Spiri t, d ivers s in s and lusts dosti l l con tend for th e mastery ; and sometimes one of them

,

attain ing Gol iath-l ike proportions,threaten s to en sl ave h im

al together. Who has not fel t himself thus menaced by somefierce pass ion ? Each of us has h i s own gian t to fight

,and

here,too

,i t must be s ingl e combat, with no one to help u s

but Him who wen t forth with the stripl ing David . Withsome of us i t i s temper ; with some avarice ; with some ap


peti te 5 with some ambition 5 but whatever i t be, l et us learnto res is t i t courageously, relying on the m ight of the LordJesus Christ

,and the v ictory wil l be ours .

O r,yet again

,i n contending with external evils

,we may

sometimes feel that they have assumed such magnitude asto appal l us . Thus, which of us is not brought almost to as tand-stil l

,when he surveys the ignorance, i nfidel ity, intem

perance , and l icen tiousness by which we are surrounded ?I t seems to u s sometimes, i n moments of depression , as i fthese evils

,and perhaps the last of them the wors t

,were

s talking forth defiantly before the arm ies of the l iving God,and l aughing them

,Gol iath-l ike, to scorn ; and our courage

i s apt to cool as we contemplate thi s Show of force . Butwe must not allow these feel ings to prevail . The God of

David l iveth,and he wil l st il l give us success . The great

danger that besets the Christ ian at such times i s that of attempting to fight with the world’s weapons . The worldl ingwil l always overcome

'

him when he does so,because the

Christ i an in such armor i s not at home. He can not use i tunscrupulously as the worldl ing does ; and the moment heundertakes to employ i t

,he seal s h is own defeat. Let him

go forth with the cross of Chris t in h is hand,and by that he

wil l conquer 5 but i f he seek a lower weapon , and try to fightwith force Of l aw, or with earthly ph ilosophy, or with mere soc ial expedients, he wil l in evitably fail . What David

’s sl ingand s tone were in the Valley of Elah

,that i s the c ross of

Chris t i n the theological controversies,and soc ial wrangl ings,

and moral antagonisms of our age 5 and so long as we preachChrist cruc ified

,i t matters not though men rid icule i t as fool

ishness , i t Shal l prove to be “ the power of God and thewisdom of God .

“ The weapons of our warfare are notcarnal, but ” (though they are not carn al— nay, jus t becausethey are not carnal)

“ mighty,through God

,to the pull ing

down of strongholds .” Arrayed in the armor of the world,

THE CONFLICT WITHGOLIATH . 5 5

the Christ ian wil l be weaker than the weakest of his adversaries 5 but le t him be but panopl ied from the spiritual armoryof God, and he wil l be m ightier than the mightiest of his foes .But leaving these general appl ications of this many-s ided

story, we may learn from the bearing of David al l through,two or three valuable lesson s

,with the enumeration of which

I shal l for the presen t conclude . There i s, firs t,an exam

pl e of meekness . When the haughty and scorn ful El iabassailed h im with taun t ing words

,the young shepherd kept

h i s temper, and we feel how difli cult that must have been forh im , when , as we read the story, our own hearts rise i n burning indignation at the sp irit wh ich the elder brother evinced .

Probably thi s was not the firs t t ime that El iab attempted tolord i t over him

,for unhappily i t i s only too common for the

sen iors i n a family to tyrann ize over and tormen t the j uniors 5 but David kept h imself calm ,

and l ike Another,i n a

ye t more trying hour,

“ when he was revil ed,he reviled not

again .

” He that ruleth h i s spiri t i s greater than he thattaketh a c ity 5

” and to my th inking th is calmness of soul under Eliab’s taun t was a greater th ing in David than h is boldness before the gian t. I do not, of course, i n thus emphasizi ng David’s meekness

,extenuate the rudeness of El iab . On

the con trary,it was worthy of al l reprobation , but David fel t

that he was cal led not to fight with El iab in th is matter, butwi th himsel f

,and so he hel d h is peace . Let u s try to im i

ta te h is example,and when we are assailed in our home, or

beyond i t,with scorn and deris ion

,l e t u s remember that our

real confl ic t i n such a case is not with the scorner, but withourselves. Let our effort be pu t forth not to s ilence h im, butto con trol ourselves

,and then we shal l succeed in ob tain ing

a victory over both .

But we have here again an exampl e of fai th . David bel ievedGod, and his n ame might fitly have been included by Paul inthat il lustrious catalogue which he has given us i n the el ev


enth chapter of the Hebrews . He was not afraid Of Gol iath,

because he saw God beside himself. And one great reasonwhy his fa ith was now s o strong was that he rememberedGod ’s former kindness to h im . He thought of the day whenhe prevailed over the l ion and the bear, and he reasoned thatthe God who had heard h is prayer and helped him then,would

ass is t h im now. Sim ilarly, i n al l d iffi cul t enterprises, l e t u sChri st ian s real iz e that God is wi th us ; and to this end let usrecal l those former occasion s when he has strengthened anddel ivered us . We have al l had former del iverances of somekind, and particul arly we have al l been redeemed by thegreat price of the blood of Chris t. Let us th ink of that whenwe have dangerous work to do

,and we Shal l be n erved to do

i t bravely. He that spared not h is own Son , bu t del ivered him up for us all, how shal l he not with h im also freelygive us al l th ings ?” “ This i s the Victory that overcomeththe world

,even our faith .

”

F inally,we have here an exampl e Of humil ity. David’s

purpose,i n al l he d id (and this shows how thoroughly El iab

had misunderstood him), was not to d ispl ay himself, but tohonor God . Mark these words : “ That al l the earth mayknow that there i s a God i n Israel . And al l th is assemblyShal l know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear :for the battl e i s the Lord ’s .” Here was the secre t ofDavid ’sVictory. He went to do God ’s wil l . He sought not to glorify himself, but to serve Jehovah 5 and by th is trai t i n h ischaracter he takes h is pl ace i n the noblest b rotherhood of

herOes of whom sacred h istory makes ment ion . A s we readthese words we think of El ij ah , on the brow of Carmel, confronting the hosts of Baal , and saying, i n h is ferven t prayer,“ Let i t be known this day that thou art God in I srael— hearme that this people may know that thou art the Lord God .

”

We think of John the Baptist turn ing away from the temptat ion that was set before him to proclaim h imself Messiah,

THE CONFLICT WITH GOLIATH . 5 7

saying,He must increase, but I must dec rease . We think

Of Peter cal l ing to the wondering crowd that thronged aroundthe l ame man who had been cured

,

“ Why marvel ye at this,or Why look ye so earnestly at us, as though by our own power or hol iness we had made th is man to walk ?” We thinkof Paul writ ing from Rome, with h is Chained hand, to thePhil ippian s

,and saying, “ Accord ing to my earnest expecta

t ion,and my hope that i n nothing I Shal l be ashamed

, but

that with al l boldness as always so now al so Chris t shal lbe magn ified in my body

,whether i t be by l ife or by death .

David,Elij ah

,John

,Peter

,Paul— where are the men who

have done more val ian tly in the world than they ? and yetthey did i t by pu tting God uppermost, and seek ing h is gloryfirs t. That was the secret of thei r success

,and that we are

not l ike them i n that i s the explanat ion of our failure. \Ve

succeed in l i ttle,because we are aim ing afte r our own honor,

and not after the honor of the Lord . This keeps us from eu

tering at al l on many fields of usefulness,and prevents u s

from working with a right loyal,hearty

,and self-sacrific ing

Spiri t,even i n the best d irection s . And yet how l ittl e we se

cure honor to ourselves after al l The men who are alwaysgrasp ing after greatness and d ist inction n ever get themthey only degrade and bel i ttl e themselves by thei r efforts ;whil e they who put the Lord Jesus firs t

,and seek h is glory

,

become at l ength sharers in hi s d ivine renown .

“ Them thathonor me

,I wil l honor. ” This i s the great l aw. Let us

,

therefore, merge self i n h im ; l e t us, whether i n pulpi t, or

pew,or home , or coun ting-house, or senate-chamber, or hal l

of j udgment, hide ourselves behind the Lord Jesus ; andthen

,working from love to him

,we too shal l do val iantly :

and though our weapons be n o more than a sl ing and as tone

,the spi ri tual adversaries with whom we may con ten d ,

gigantic though they be,shal l fal l before us

,for “ we shall be

more than conquerors through Him that loved us .”

3=ll=

IV.

DA VID AND yONATHAN .

1 SAMUEL xviii. , I —3o.

AVID’

S in terv iew with Saul after th e slaughter of thegian t must have l asted a considerable t ime

,and must

have embraced other subj ects than his parentage 5 for i ts resul t was that Jonathan , the king’s son , was so favorably impressed by him

,that he took him to h is spec ial regard

,and

formed with him a league of friendship,which for sincerity

,

constancy,and romantic pathos i s unrival ed in the annals

of history, whether sacred or profane . As we have al readyseen

,there were in David both physical and moral qual i ti es

,

which tended to win for him the affection of those withwhom he came into contact. His ruddy complexion

,beau

tiful countenance,and wel l -kn i t frame would immediately

evoke a warrior’s admiration , while, i n h is encounter with thegian t

,he had exh ibited such a mingl ing of courage

,prudence

,

and hum il i ty as must h ave captivated the chival rous heartof Jonathan . Perhaps, also, in the conversation, som e flashe s Of his poetic genius m ight gleam forth, or some evidenceof his p iety m ight appear, to increase the attraction ; but i nany case

,

“ the soul of Jonathan was kn it with the soul ofDavid

,and Jonathan l oved h im as h is own sou l .” As a sub

s tan tial token of this affection , he gave to David “ his robeand his garments

,even to his sword

,and his bow and his

girdle .” I t i s not said that David gave h im any thing inreturn , but i t i s l ikely that there was some exchange madebetween them , and that the presen t of David to Jonathanwas of so l ittl e valu e

,comparat ively speaking

,that no men

60 DAVI D,K ING OF ISRAEL.

thi s e arly stage to inc idents which wil l come up for reviewat a later port ion of the history .

I n the outset,then

,we can not fai l to be impressed with

the dis in terested n ature of th is friendship,as far as Jonathan

was concerned . The king’s son had, humanly speaking, atthis date nothing to gain from the shepherd of Bethlehem .

Jonathan m ight be of great serv ice to David,but i t was

scarcely l ikely that David could do very much for h im .

His taking of David to h is heart, therefore, was a purely umselfish th ing. I t was the outgoing of his affection s towardan obj ec t to which they were attracted

,and al l h is j oy was

i n yield ing to the charm by wh ich he was influenced . TOO

frequen tly the favorites of kings,and perhaps more fre

quently of king’s sons, have been those who have risen totheir pos ition by pandering to the prej udices

,or toadying to

the weaknesses, or, worse than e ither, by min istering to thev ices

, Of those by whom they were valued . But Jonathan hadno such reasons for bind ing David to him . He saw in theyoung hero a congen ial sou l and a t rue man . He was a t

tracted by his pie ty,h is patriotism , and his prowess, and he

yielded up his heart to him in the unselfish impul se of d is interested affection .

Again : th is friendsh ip was not tainted on Jonathan ’s s ideby the sl ightest trace of envy or j ealousy. There are

,I fear,

few such friendships between those who are nearly equal si n eminence in the same profess ion . The proverb says that“ two of a trade can never agree

,

” and it takes high ~tonedprinc ipl e to rej oice i n the r ise

,to an equal position with our

selves, of one who i s i n the same call ing with us. Providedthere bexa sufficien t distance between us

,either in excellence,

or in success, the difficul ty is not greatly fel t on e ither s ide .The young statesman

,jus t entering on publ ic l ife, has neither

j ealousy nor envy of the veteran l eader,who has by gen ius

and perseverance made h is way to the fron t rank of pol iti

DAV ID AND JONATHAN. 6 1

e iaus,and the leader

,i n h is turn

,feels i t easy to be cordial

and encouraging to the youthful asp iran t. But l et the one

see th e other as n early as possibl e on a l eve l with himself,

even i n his own chosen departmen t of excel lence,and feel

that probably he must soon consen t to be second to him,

and the case is al tered . Then,almost in sp ite of themselves

,

j ealous ies and envyings wil l Spring up between them 5 theywil l look askance at each other, and though they may notbreak out in to open foes, there wil l be, what I may call, a sortof armed watchfulness between them,

and a very l ittl e matterwil l se t them in d irec t antagon ism . The nearer individual scome in to competi tion with each other

,the greater i s thei r

tendency to be sp iteful toward each other. I t is easy to bea patron

,and

,stooping down from a lofty height

,to take by

the hand some struggl ing beginner 5 i t i s easy, too, to be anadmiring pupil of one who i s acknowledged to be a greatway above u s 5 but i t i s a much harder, and therefore amuch nobler, th ing to be the warmappreciat ive friend Of onewho i s i n the same cal l ing with ourselves

,and who i s bid

d ing fair to outshin e and surpass us . But i t was j us t th ishard and noble th ing that Jonathan did

, ,when he took to

h is heart the you thful David . He did not seem to care thatthe duel with the gian t would

,i n the after -history of the

n ation,be seen to rival hi s own briHiant achievemen t at

Geba . He did not th ink of himsel f a t al l ; but havingfound a man whom he could love and trus t

,he “ grappled

h im to h is soul with hooks of steel .” Nay,even when he

came to discover that David was the predestined occupan tof his father’s throne

,the heart of Jonathan was never al ien

ated from him . He accepted the lo t which was before h im,

and rej oiced in i t for David ’s sake,saying only “ Thou shal t

be king i n Israel , and I shal l be next unto I have

1 Sam. xx iii. , 1 7 .


a high idea Of David’s magnan im ity, but I doubt whether i tcould have equaled this of Jonathan ; and so, i n the matterof th is friendship, I am d isposed to give the palm to the sonof Saul . And I greatly m istake if, as you read the record,you Shal l not grow in to the bel ief which I have long en terta ined, that there are few characters i n O ld Testament history which

,for genu ineness, chival ry, sel f-sacrifice, and con

s tancy at once to h is father and his friend, can be put in tocomparison with Jonathan .

This leads me to say, further, that we are deeply impressed with the fidel ity with which

,on Jonathan ’s part, th is

friendsh ip was maintained even i n the face Of personal dangers . When Saul ’s heart was stirred against David, andwas fi l led with murderous i nten t regarding h im , Jonathanwas placed in a very d ifficul t and perplexing position . He :

was called to dec ide between his father and David, yet h ewas true to h is friend

,without being unfil ial to Saul . I n

David’s absence he stood forth in his defense before theking

,and once so provoked the royal indignat ion , that h is

own l ife was endangered . Stil l he adhered to David afteral l th is 5 and there are few more touch ing incidents recorded i n h istory than that of the i r parting by the s tone Ezel,when “ they kissed on e another

,and wept one with another

unti l David exceeded or that of the i r l as t interview, i n theforest of Ziph

,when

,though the son of Jesse was flee ing

from his father, “ Jonathan strengthened h is hand in God.

”

TThat is the stoutest cabl e which can s tand

,

th e strai n of thefiercest storm

,and truly heroic must that friendship have

been wh ich lasted through such dangers and heart perplexit ies as d id this of Jonathan for David . Nor, to be j ust to David

,ought I to forget to add that i t was on his part intensely

appreciated . I t was his solace as a fugitive and exil e 5 i t

1 Sam . xx. , 4 1 . T1 Sam. xxiii. , 16.

DAV ID AND JONATHAN. 63

kept him repeatedly from laying violen t hands on Saul ; i td isposed h im long afterward to Show k indness to the children and children ’s ch ildren of his early friend 5 and on thatd ark day when

,i n fi l ial devotion to h is father, the warrior

fel l on Moun t Gilboa,

“ sl ain on his own high places,” i t inspired him to s ing h is l amen t

,i n that plaintive ode , which,

by i ts pass ionate outburst of grief,has given even to th is

presen t age i ts grandes t funeral music .

Having dwel t so long on this beautiful un ion between twocongen ial sp iri ts

,you wil l forgive me if

,before proceeding to

less agreeable themes,I say a few words on the principl es

which ought to regulate our choice of friends . I t i s for themost part in early l ife that l asting compan ionships are formed

,and their i nfluence on the course and complexion of the

after career can scarcely be overest imated . He that walketh with wise men Shal l be wise 5 but the compan ion of fool sShal l be destroyed .

” There are few ways of pitch ing one’sten t “ toward Sodom so common

,or so insid ious as the se

l ection of improper friends. Let me earnestly counsel youal l, therefore, and espec ial ly the young, to secure first, and before al l others

,the friendsh ip of the Lord Jesus . Give your

hearts i n confidence and love to him . Trust h im as yourSaviour. Fol low him as your example . Imbibe h is princ iples . Obey h is precepts. Seek to possess h is spiri t, and tosecure hi s regard . Remember the words which he spake toh is first followers Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever Icommand you. Henceforth I cal l you not servants, for theservant knoweth no t what hi s lord doeth

,but I have called

you friends 5 for al l th ings that I have heard of my Father, Ihave made known unto you . A im firs t at securing this confidential i ntercourse with the Lord Jesus Chris t, through thestudy of his Word

,and earnes t prayer to the Father i n hi s

n ame. Then make this,your fellowsh ip with Jesus

,the test

by which you determ in e whether or not you wil l accept the

64 DAV ID,KING OF ISRAEL.

earthly friendships which are offered to you . You can notwithdraw from al l deal ings of every sort wi th the ungodly,for then must you go out of the world al together ; but i n tothe inner c ircl e of your friends let none be admitted who donot love supremely the Lord who has redeemed you, andwho can not “ strengthen your hand in God .

” Make th isthe indispensable prerequis ite to your intimate compan ionship . I f he who seeks to become your friend would endeavor to undermine your rel igious principles

,or to loosen the

bonds that un ite you to the members of your Father’s house,or to l ead you in to pl aces and practices i n which you wouldlose the fellowsh ip of Chris t, then turn away from him ,

andsay, “ My soul

,come not thou in to thei r secret 5 i n to thei r

assembly mine honor be not thou un ited .

”

But even among'

Christian s , seek for your friends those whohave the greatest affin i ty with you, and in whom you can findyour own weaknesses of character most material ly strengthened . There must be some poin ts ofcontac t and resemblancebetween you and your friend

,otherwise there can be no real

compan ionship 5 but there must al so be certain elemen ts ofd ivers i ty, otherwise the on e can be no help to the other. I fthe one be merely the echo of the other

,the friendship wil l

be tame and profitless to both 5 but i f i n the ind iv idual ity ofeach there be qual it ies wh ich the other l acks

,and if these

are allowed by both to have free pl ay i n their mutual fel lowship

,great good to both wil l be the resul t. This was the

nature of that compan ionship, the record and memorial ofwhich has been given to the world by Tennyson , i n his “ InMemoriam 5” and the idea of friendship is sketched by himi n these l ines

He was rich where I was poor 5And he suppl ied my want the more ,A s his un l ikeness fitted m ine .

”

I t may seem , however, that i n giving the advice which I am

DAV ID AND JONATHAN . 6 5

now enforc ing I were making fri endship imposs ibl e, i nasmuch as

,if we are to look for those who are thus richer than

ourselves,the benefi t must be entirely one-s ided . But i t i s

not so 5 forwe may be as greatly superior to our friend insome th ings as he i s to us i n others

,and he may rece ive

as much from us'

i n some departments as we may obtain i nothers from him . Thus the relationship wil l become mutu

al ly helpful . HOW many instances of such rec iproc ity haveoccurred i n h istory ! John and Peter

,Barnabas and Paul ,

Luther and Melanc thon,have proved at once the possibil ity

and the advantage of such a friendship as I have suggested 5and as we see each pair shin ing l ike b inary stars i n the firma

ment of history— two,and yet in a great sense one— we have

before us at once a model and a motive . On this subj ect Iknow few things i n our l i terature finer

,or more in struc tive,

than the l ines which Cowper has devoted to its eluc idat ion .

I commend them al l to your careful study, and sel ect onlythe fol lowing stanzas

,by way of whetting your appeti te for

the res t :NO friendship wil l abide the tes tThat stands on sordid interes t,

And mean se lf-love erectedN or such as may a while subs is t’Twixt sensualist and sensual is t ,

For v icious ends connected.

Who hopes a friend, should have a heart

H imse lf, we l l furn ished for t he part ,A nd ready on occa s ion

To show the virtue that he seeks 5For

’tis a un ion tha t be speaksA jus t reciprocation.

Pursue the theme , and you shal l findA discipl ined and furnished mind

To be a t least expedient 5And aft er summing al l the res t,

Rel igion ruling in the breast,A principa l ingredient.”

66 DAV ID,KING OF ISRA EL .

But we must turn now, with whatever reluctance, to con

template Saul ’s treatmen t of David . Immediately after theconquest of Gol iath, the king seemed to be friendly enoughto the young v ictor. He was in no haste, indeed, to performthe prom ises which he had made previous to the encoun ter,but he took him with h im to Gibeah, and would le t him re

turn no more to hi s father’s house. He made h im also on eof his chief captains 5 and such was the am iabil ity of David,that h is exal tat ion

,far from exciting the enm ity of the mon

arch’s former servants, was approved of and rej oiced in bythem . Thi s very popularity, however, was destined, i n ashort t ime

,to turn the heart of Saul again st h im, and a very

s imple occas ioh was sufficient to rouse his anger and re

venge . After the ir successful c ampaign again s t the Phil ist ines

,the Israel i tish troops returned in formal triumph

through many of the c i ties. They were met generally at thegates by compan ies of women , who, play ing on the tabre tand danc ing to the ir own music, chanted also i n respons ivechorus rhythmic l ines apprOpriate to the occasion . A t theend of every strophe there came thi s refrain, sung by an

swering compan ies :“ Sau l hath Sl ain his thousands,and

David h is ten thousands .” Very l ikely there was noth ingmore mean t by this than an expression of j oy at the n ation ’sdel iverance

,with such exaggerat ion as strong emotion i s al

ways prone to indulge in 5 bu t the sensit ive soul of Saul,now al l the more incl in ed to be suspicious, s ince Samuel hadforetold the taking of the kingdom from him, took offenseat the impl ied preference of David to himself, and seeing,perhaps for th e first t ime

,in the youthful Bethlehem ite that

n eighbor better than h imself ” to whom h is kingdom wasto be given

,he murmured thus moodily to h imself : “ They

have ascribed unto David ten thousand,and to me they

have ascribed bu t thousands 5“ and what can he have more

but the kingdom .

” The thought was gal l and wormwood to

68 DAVID,K ING OF ISRAEL .

This violence of his frenzy soon spent i tself, but i t settl eddown into a del iberate purpose to compass David’s destruct ion

,not at firs t d irectly, but by roundabou t contrivances .

F i rst,he put him into a posi t ion in which he expected that

by h is inexperience he would provoke such Opposit ion asm ight end in his death . But David behaved himself wisely

,

and nothing came out of that pl an . Then,after promising

to give him Merab, his elder daughter, to wife, he in sultedh im by bestowing her upon Adriel , the Meholathi te, expecting

,probably, that David would thereby be roused to do or

say someth ing that m igh t be construed into treason,and so

furn ish a legal pretext for h is be ing put to death . But ne ither d id he succeed in this . Thereafte r he discovered thatMichal

,his second daughter, had fal len i n love wi th David,

and,i n a most d iabol ical sp iri t, he resolved to sacrifice her

most tender feel ings to h is own v indic tive mal ice,by attempt

ing to make her a sn are to h im . He caused some of hi sServan ts privately to sound David, who in the most pruden tfashion in timated that he was by no means eager to be theking’s son-in-l aw, s ince he was a poor man , and could not

give any thing l ike a dowry su itable for a king’s daughter.In the East i t was usual

,and

,I bel ieve

,i s so still

, for th ebridegroom to give a large presen t to his father-in—l aw

,i n ac

knowledgment of the blessing which he expects to rece ive i nh is wife 5 and i t i s to this, probably, that David alludes whenhe says

,Seemeth i t to you a l ight th ing to be a king’s son

in-law,see ing that I am a poor man and l ightly esteemed ?”

On hearing a report of th is conversat ion, Saul saw in the

ve ry poverty of David a means Of revenging h imself ; andhe cunn ingly and cruel ly in timates to h im that he would ac

c ept,as a dowry for Michal

,the proof

,

“ furn ished after th ebarbarous fashion of the times

,

” that he had Slain ahundredof the enemies of Israel . His intention i n al l this was tosecure, as far as human calculation s co

.

uld secure,David ’s

DAV ID AND JONATHAN . 69

death, whil e ye t not Saul , but the Phil isti nes, would be theostens ible authors of the m ischief. But he was again disappoin ted

,for He who went forth with O thn ie l when he won

the daughter of Caleb Wen t forth again with David ; so thatbefore the appointed tim e he retu rned with evidence thattwo hundred of the Phil istines had fal len before h is company. Afte r this there could be no poss ible pretext for delaying the marriage : so Michal became the wife of David 5 andthough the connect ion was not such as permanen tly contributed e ither to David ’s happiness or hol iness, we can notdeny to her the praise of stand ing faithful to h im for a t im e,even at the expen se Of her father’s i ndign ation . She wouldnot al low herself to become the in strumen t of Saul ’s t e

venge,and in the perplexing position in which she was

placed,she took for the t ime

,without any hes itat ion , the part

of her husband . This on ly exasperated her father more 5and as i n al l the matters to which he put h i s hand David’swisdom and !bravery were conspicuous

,and h is n ame be

came renowned, Sau l’s hatred increased yet more and more

,

unti l at l ength an open rupture became unavoidabl e .Here

,however, i t wil l be conven ien t to pause, that we may

gather up some lessons for our modern l ife from this anc ien tchapter of sacred history.

I n the firs t place we may see the ev il of centring our

thoughts and pl an s en tirely on ourselves . This was the rootof Saul ’s m isery. He was one of the most arden t selfiststhat ever l ived . He had made sel f his god . He lookedonly and always at his own in terests . How wil l th is affec tme ?” was h is constan t question as each n ew even t transpired 5 and whensoever he imagined that he was to be inj ured by any other man ’s e levation or advancemen t

,he was

st irred up to seek hi s ru in . Thus he was ever moody andunhappy. He hugged himsel f to his heart

,and as a pun ish

men t God left h im to himself,and no compan ionsh ip could


have been more miserable . But this was not the worst.His self-devotion generated envy, hatred , mal ice, and evenmurder i n h is heart. Because, i n a woman

’s song,David

had apparen tly been se t above h im, he is fil led with rage, andschemes for the destruction of one who had in former daysbeen a bless ing to him 5 who had rid him of one of the fiercestof his foes ; and who in h is inmost heart was loyal to himas the Lord ’s ano inted . Behold how foul a progeny mayspring from one paren t evi l passion ! Men are apt to re

gard self-worship as a l ittl e th ing,and in its lower form of

self-concei t they think that i t i s worthy only to be l aughedat 5 but when i t i s permitted to get the mastery, i t may workincalcul able m ischief. Who can tel l how many al ienations

,

heart-burn ings,j ealousies

,plott ings against others’ welfare

,

and even murders,grow out o f this root ? The. man who is

determ ined to be firs t can brook no compet itor, and is ledto wish al l rival s out of his way. Let us be on our guard inthi s respect

,and cult ivate rather the noble magnan im ity of

Jonathan,than the narrow and m iserable selfishness of Saul .

How differen t (I can not but indulge the fancy) Saul’s after

l ife might have been bad he only fostered David,and taken

him lovingly to his heart ! Instead of the ceaseless huntingof hi s son-in-l aw, which from this poin t darkens h is name, wemight then have read of thei r happy fellowship and mutualhelp . He might not have been able to retain the crown inh is fam ily

,but he might have enj oyed peace in his own days

,

and in the common devotion of Jonathan and David to hisinterests he might have been rel ieved from the cares andanxiet ies of his Office . Thus in quiet enj oymen t the yearsmight have rol led over him at Gibeah, and then at l as t, instead of setting i n blood behind the mountain s of Gilboa

,h is

sun might have gone down in peace, and Jonathan and David might have l ived to fil l i n the beaut iful outl in e of mutualservice to each other

,and common devotion to their coun try

DAV ID AND JONATHAN. 7 1

and the ir God, which the one had sketched when he saidunto the other, “ Thou shal t be king i n Israel , and I shal lbe next unto thee But the real i ty was j ust the reverse ofal l th is . The absorbing selfishness of Saul embroiled thel and i n c ivi l d iscord, l eaving i t Open as a prey to its everwatchful enemies . I t imbittered his own heart 5 i t madeh is home a scene of strife and debate 5 i t chased away fromhim one of his most faithful servants and most daring captain s 5 and, i n the end, i t sen t h im forth in isolation , Goddeserted , to mee t his doom on the field of battl e by h is ownhand . Behold the retribution ! The man who schemed andplanned so con stantly for the pre-em inence and profi t ofhimself perishes at las t by his own sword . But is i t not always so

,in a very real and solemn sense ? The selfish man

i s ever a moral su ic ide. He poison s his own happiness 5 hekill s h is own j oy ; he destroys h is own soul . “ Whosoeverwil l s ave h is l ife shal l lose i t 5 and whosoever wil l lose h isl ife for my sake shal l find i t.” Behold here the far-reachingcharacter of the Saviour’s words . He that is determ ined atal l haz ards ‘

to seek only and always hi s own i nterests, Shal llose that to which he i s so devoted 5 but he that, for the Saviour

’s sake

,i s wil l ing to lose eve ry thing, or to be any thing,

shal l have the highest degree of honor, and hi s salvation too .

He who is always thinking of his own happiness and pl ann ing for i t

,i s thereby doing h is best to drive al l happiness

from him . But he who, out of regard to God in Chris t,

holds h imself subord inate to the Master, and rej oices i n theprosperity of al l around him

,th inking noth ing of h imself,

shal l have the h ighest happiness and the purest j oy.

When,i n the m idn ight hour

,you l ie awake and wish for

sleep,the more you try exped ients to bring it to your pi l low,

the more i t seems to flee from your pursui t. But when youturn your m ind away from it altogether, and th ink on something qui te apart from yourself, then with mufl‘led footstep the


angel of the n ight steal s in to your chamber, and “ steeps yoursen ses in forgetfulness .” And so, l ike sleep, happiness andpre-eminence

,the more you seek them , and the more anx

i ous you are to obtain them , fly the farther away from you 5but when

,caring nothing for them , you seek the good of o th

ers and the glory of God, they wil l come in unobserved andwreathe you with their l aurels . How deeply philosophical,therefore

,as a recipe for happiness, not to put i t in a stronger

form, i s the apostol ic inj unction , “ Look not every man uponhis own th ings, but eve ry m an also upon the th ings of others .”

But the Christi an has a higher reason for obeying that command than any to which I have yet adverted . I n Christ h ehas himself an in terest

,and property in every other Christian .

Hence he may reason ably rej oice in the eminence of everyother bel iever

,inasmuch as the greatn ess of one is the great

n ess of all . “ Al l things are his,whether Paul, or Apollos, or

Cephas — and so he can rej o ice in the d ist inctive excell ences of each . The man whose heart holds only h imself i snot a Christian, and must be made m iserable and wicked byh is devotion to himself ; but he who has the Christi an publ icspiri t to see and own that Chris t and h is cause are infin itelygreater than himself, wil l rej o ice i n the appearance of everyyoung David who comes forward to grappl e with the gigan ticevils of h is time, and will gladly bid him welcome to h is heartand home.We may see here

,i n the second place

,that the servan t of

God may expect to encounter advers i ty i n an early stage ofh is career . David was not to be cradled for h is future workin the lap of luxury. He was “ to learn in suffering what hetaught in song.

” He was not to be l ike a b ird on a bough,singing forth free and Off-hand

,n ever knowing the troubles

of other men 5” but

,led through trial s of his own, he was

stimu l ated and inspired to sing of them in s trains which , because they came “ from the heart of man , speak to al l men

’s

DAV ID AND JONATHAN . 7 3

hearts . Early, therefore, was he brought into trial 5 andthere are not a few of his Psalms wh ich seem to take the i rtone from these first experiences of difficul ty. Take

,for ex

ample, the fol lowing : In the t ime of trouble he shall h ideme i n h is pavi l ion : i n the secre t of h is tabernacl e shal l heh ide me 5 he shal l set me up upon a rock . Pul l m e outof the net that they have l aid privily for me for thou art mystrength .

” “ For I have heard the Slander ofmany fear wason every s ide while they took coun sel together again st me

,

they devised to take away my l ife . But I trusted i n thee,O

Lord I said, Thou art my God . My times are in th in e hand :del iver me from the hand ofm ine enem ies, and from them thatpersecute From all this le t u s learn to prepare for trial .I t may come in unexpec ted forms, and from unexpected quarters

,but l e t u s be always ready to meet i t ; for he who i s the

friend of God must lay hi s accoun t with being treated as anenemy by the ungodly.

Lastly,we may learn here that the wises t course i n time

of danger i s to do faithful ly our daily duty, and leave our casewith God . David wen t about h is work

,behaved himself

wisely,and le t God take care of him . On other occasions,

as we shal l see,he had somet imes recourse to questionable

exped ients,and s inful practices

,for self-protection but i n the

present in stance he walked steadily on i n the right path , andwe may rely that he verified the tru th of the words which heafte rward wrote Trust in the Lord

,and do good 5 so shal t

thou dwel l i n the land,and veri ly thou shal t be fed . Delight

thyself also in the Lord 5 and he shal l give thee the desiresof thine heart . Commit thy way un to the Lord 5 trust al soin h im ; and he shal l bring i t to pass . And he shall bringforth thy righteousness as the l ight

,and thy j udgmen t as the

noonday .

’

T Let us follow this example when we are in trou

5 5 xxxi. , 4, 13— 1 5 . TPsa. xxxvii. , 3—5 .

4


ble, and either God wil l protec t us from our enem ies,or he

will enable u s so to meet the ir enm ity as to glorify him . Onn o accoun t le t u s compromise ourselves and dishonor him bydesert ing our pos t, or employing questionable or s inful mean sfor preserving ourselves . Faith i s not real within u s unlessi t develop courage ; and he who s in s to save h imself fromharm is l acking in boldness, because he is defic ien t in faith .

No matter what may come upon you,therefore

,do what you

cl early see to be your duty, and take with you this song of

Norman M ‘Leod’

s to cheer you as you do i t :

Courage , brother do not s tumble ,Though thy path is dark as n ight 5

There ’s a s tar to guide the humbleTrust in God, and do the right I

Let the road be long and dreary,And its ending out of s ight,Foot it brave ly, never wearyTrust in God, and do the right

Perish policy and cunn ing ;Perish al l that fears the l ight,Whether los ing, whe ther winn ing,Trust in God, and do the right

Some wil l hate thee , some wil l love thee,Some wil l flatter, some wil l s l ight 5

Ceas e from man and look above theeTrust in God, and do the right

Simple rule and safest guiding,I nward peace and inward l ight

Star upon our path abidingTrust in God, and do the right

i f “ A Life-Story, with Characters and Comments 5 3. Lecture given bythe late D r. N orman M ‘Leod, in Exeter Hal l , London.


spot,and warmly expostulated with him on David ’s behalf.

He dwel t on h is u tter i nnocence of any disaffection towardthe king

,al luded to the fact that, at the risk of his l ife, he

had rid the country of one of its most formidable enemies,and referred in the most del icate manner to the j oy whichhad thri lled Saul ’s own heart on the memorable day in theValley of Elah . Nor was this al l 5 the p iety of the chivalrous prince comes out in h is ascription to God of the gloryof David ’s exploit

,and in h is plai n and thorough condemna

t ion Of the s in which h is father would comm it,if he Were to

shed the innocen t blood of the young hero, to whom he andthe peopl e owed so much .

This appeal so moved the heart of Saul that he swore,apparently too with al l s inceri ty

,that . David should not be

sl ain 5 and so, for the t ime, David, to whom Jonathan atonce reported the substance of hi s conversation with theking

,was re-assured

,and returned to h is place at court. I

do not know many instances i n which we have such~

a manifestation of prudence and princ ipl e combined,

’

as we havein the case of th is expostul at ion of Jonathan with his father.Prudence d id not go so far as to make him silen t about theS in which Saul was purposing to commit 5 principle was notso asserted as to arouse h is father ’s indignation. Neitherwas weakened by the other 5 but both were So admirablyin terblended as to produce the resul t on which his heartwas se t.Saul ’s good-will to David, however, was not of long con

tinuance . His envy was soon renewed, and that i n' a way

which recal ls the occasion of his’

first estrangemen t fromthe shepherd hero. The Phil ist ines had resumed hostil it iesagains t the Israel ites ; and in the battles which ensued,David again so dis tingu ished himsel f as to awaken the en thus iastio admiration of the people. This

,com ing to the ears of

Saul, st irred up the old j ealousy of his d isposition , and that,

THE ESCAPE FROM G IBEAH To RAMAH . 7 7

i n i ts turn,brought on a n ew attack of his mysterious mal

ady. Again “ the evi l spiri t from the Lord troubl ed him .

S i tt ing in h is pal ac e with h is spear i n his hand, he was asource of terror to al l around him ; but David, unh inderedby any recol lect ion of former danger, and desirous on ly of

soothing th'

e monarch’s heart, went in as aforetime and played the harp before h im . This tim e, however, music was ofno avail . Nay, i t seemed only to rouse him to more vehemen t feroc ity, for he attempted to sm ite David Wi th h is j avel in 5 but, dexterously evading the blow, he Sl ipped out of theroyal presence

,l eaving the spear qu ivering in the wall

,to tel l

of the danger from which he had escapedThis inc iden t Opened David ’s eyes to the imminen t peri l

i n which he stood,and he fled to h is own house . But not

even there was he safe from the fury of his infatuated persecutor,

‘ for . saul s ent men to surround h is dwel l ing and bringh im to h im for destruc tion . This design, however, was defeated by Michal

,who l earn ing, probably from some inmate

of her father’s house, what was in progress, or, perhaps,knowing her father so wel l as to be sure of what he woulddo next

,i ns isted on send ing David off at once . She le t h im

down from the window before Saul ’s messengers had arrived,

and then,that she m ight gain time for him before they started after h im

,she took an image and placed i t i n bed, cover

ing its head with a goats ’-hair veil , and lyingly told her fathe r

’

s emissaries that David was S ick . They returned withthi s report to the king, who insisted that David should bebrought to

'

h im even on his bed . This, of course, l ed to thed iscove ry of the trick that Michal had played Off Upon themall 5 and Saul , turn ing upon her with the d isappoin ted furyof a wild beas t which has been cheated of i ts prey,said toher

,

“ Why hast thou deceived me so, and sen t away m in eenemy

,that he is escaped ?” But her only reply was the ut

terance of a l ie , which came new -minted from her fert il e


brain : “ He said unto m e, Let m e go 5 why should I kil lthee ?”

Now out of th is narrat ive a curious question arises, notonly affecting the character Of Michal, but also Open ing upa subj ec t which is closely connected with the domestic rel igion Of the Jews . What was this image that Michal empl oyedto personate David‘

? and how are we to accoun t for the presence of such a thing i n David ’s house ? The word renderedimage is i n the margin given in its Hebrew form ,

“ teraph im 5and perhaps the bes t way to bring the whole subj ect beforeyou wil l be to put together the most important of those passages in which i t occurs .The first mention of i t i s i n connect ion with the record of

Jacob ’s fl ight from the house of Laban,on wh ich occas ion

we are told that Rachel had stolen her father’s images (orteraph im), and concealed them in her ten t 5* and i t i s probable that Jacob referred to these and simil ar obj ects of su

perstitious veneration , when he ordered al l i n h is encampmen t to put away the s trange gods that were among them .

The next t ime the word occurs is i n the very s ingul ar h istory contained in the seventeenth and eighteenth chaptersof the book Of Judges, which tel ls how Michah, an Ephraimite

,set up in h is house a kind of domestic chapel

,i n which

were an ephod and teraphim 5 how he got a Levite to be hispries t 5 and how the Dan i tes came and took away both h ispries t and h is images to Dan

,where they set them up for

themselves,and where

,i n after-ages

,th is smal l seed of su

perstitious error developed into the worsh ip of the goldenc alf set up by Jeroboam

,the son of Nebat.

The next passage in which the word occurs,and which

cl early shows that the u se of such an image was s inful, i s i n1 Sam . xv .

,2 3 , where Samuel , i n h i s denunciation of Saul,

r Gen . XXI , 2 5-3 5 .

THE ESCAPE FROM G IBEAH TO RAMAH . 79

says : “ Rebel l ion i s as the s in of witchcraft, and s tubbornn ess is as in iqu ity and idolatry (or, as the term is, teraphim) .The next

,after the narrative that has been before u s,i s i n

2 Kings xxi i i . , 2 4, where we are told that “ the workers withfamil iar spir its

,and the wizards

,and the images (or tera

phim ), and the idols, and al l the abom inat ion s that were sp iedi n the l and of Judah and in Jerusal em ,

did Josiah put away.

The next is i n the prophec ies of Hosea i i i . , 4, where i t iss aid

,The ch i ldren of Israel shal l abide many days withou t

a king, and withou t a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image

,and withou t an ephod

,and withou t teraph im .

”

Some have supposed that here we have a kind of tac i t approval of teraphim ; but when we read the following verse,we discover that th is i s not the c ase, for i t i s there said, “ Afterward shal l the ch ild ren of Israel re turn

,

” i n timating thatal l the things enumerated belonged to a supersti t ious andunspiri tual worship . The l ast referenc e to teraphim whichI shal l specify i s i n the tenth chapter of Zechariah, secondverse

,For the idols [teraphim] have Spoken van i ty, and the

diviners have seen a l i e, and have told false dreams,” etc .

From al l these passages , then , i t appears that the teraphimwere images having some sort of resembl ance to the humanform 5 that they are found as far back as the t ime of Jacob 5that they were consul ted oracularly 5 that their u se cont inued down to the days of Zechariah at least 5 and that, thoughthe more lax of the priests and rul ers m igh t tol erate the irexisten ce, and even themselves employ them ,

the prophetsfrom Samuel downward denounced the employment of themas incons isten t with a righ t idea of the spiri tual i ty of God .

Observe, however, wherein the spec ial s in of the use of theseteraph im consisted . I t was not polytheism

,the worship of

gods many and lords many ; ne ither was i t the worship Ofa god other than the true God 5 but i t was the worship of thetrue God , under and through the v is ibl e represen tation of an


image . I n other words, i t was not a v iolation of the firstcommandment

,which says, “ Thou shal t have no other gods

before me 5” but i t was a violation of the second

,which for

bids the u se Of any image, even in the worship of the trueGod. The dist inction may seem a subtl e on e

,but al l the

more on that account i t needs to be accurately made, espec ial ly as i t i s one of the main poin ts of difference betweenthe Protestan t and the Romanis t. Both of these al ike profess to worship the one God— Father

, Son, and Holy Ghost 5but the Protestan t wil l have no vis ibl e teraph im

,whil e the

Roman is t employs them without scruple . N ow,as the u se

of su 'ch th ings was forb idden , even under the extremely ri tual istic system

,Of Moses , i t must be stil l more inconsis ten t

wi th the s impl ic ity a nd spiri tual ity of Gospel worship . Theemployment of such images not only tends to idolatry

,but

,

i ndeed,partakes of i t, and i s al together contrary to the d ic

tum Of our Divin e Master : “ God is a spiri t,and they that

worship him must worship him in sp iri t and in truth .

”

But if this be so , if even i n the O ld Testamen t t imes theemploymen t of such facti tious a ids to devotion was forbidden

,how comes i t that we have here teraphim in David ’s

house ? . Perhaps the history of Rachel and Jacob may furn ish the explanation . Jacob was entirely ignoran t that h iswife had carried away Laban ’s teraph im ; and David heremay have been equal ly innocen t of al l compl ic ity i n th i sk ind of worship . I n our domestic arrangemen ts i t wouldnot '

be poss ibl e, perhaps, for a wife to i ndulge in such amode of rel igious service without the cogn i zance of her husband

,but i t m ight be qui te easi ly managed in an Eastern

dwel l ing. Now,if thi s expl anation be accepted

,i t wil l help

to account for the weakness which Michal here and at othert imes i n her history d ispl ayed . She was not l ike David i nthe highest and most momentous things . She loved h im ,

indeed, and, as we see, was eager to save h is l i fe 5 but her

THE ESCAPE FROM G IBEAH TO RAMAH . 8 1

love for h im was earthly and selfish . She was capt ivatedby the brave and beau t iful young warrior, but she had norigh t apprec iat ion of th e bes t parts of David ’s character.She had no oneness with h im in his truest and noblest self.Hence the dece i tfulness which she man ifested i n the planshe took to aid h is escape and to expedite h is fl ight 5 hencealso

,at a l ater day

,her easy acquiescence in her father’s ar

rangement, which , in v iolat ion of the sanctity of marriage,took her

'

from David and gave her to another. No doubtshe loved David 5 i ndeed , as one has said, her affection forh im had “ started forth with what we m ight almost deeman unmaidenly promptness . But her affec tion could notstand . the _ s tra in of trial . I t was not l ike that of Jonathan ,because i t had not

,l ike Jonathan ’s

,i ts root i n devotion to

the Lord . She could not and did not follow her husbandthrough persecution and exile and danger, because She wasno t one wi th him i n God . She could tel l l ies for David,but She had . not the courage and the fai th to go with h imin to suffering, Or to tel l the t ruth for him . So long as fortune favored h im , she was found beside h im ,

helping him,

too, i n her own way ; but when he wen t forth a fugit ive, tobe hunted l ike a partridge upon the mountain s

,she d id not

say to h im ,

“ Whithe r thou goes t I wil l go,and where thou

lodgest I wi l l lodge,” for she could not say, Thy God shal lbe my God . Want of sympathy i n Spiri tual matters between husband and wife i s always a painful thing, and frequently a peri lous . The nobles t marriage i s not that whichsecures a great al l iance

,or a fashionable equ ipage

,or an am

pl e fortune, but that which i s m ade “ i n the Lord .

”

But we must resume the n arrat ive . To this episode i nDavid ’s l i fe the 5 9th Psalm ,

as we l earn from its t i tl e,refers 5

and i t i s interesting to note,not only the strength of faith

which i t evinces, but also the plea by which, in i t, he en

forces h is peti tion for del iverance . Again and again he4se


calls God his “ defense and “ shield, and asks that themachinations of his enem ies may be confounded, so that“ men may know that God ruleth in Jacob

,unto the ends

of the earth .

”Very graphically, also, does he describe the

movements of Saul ’s messengers, comparing them as, underthe cloud of darkness, they wen t round and round his dwel ling

,to the dogs

,which, every O rien tal traveler tel l s u s, are

sti l l the nu isance and the danger of al l Eastern c ities aftern ight-fall . And then

,at the C lose of the ode

,already ant ic i

pating h is escape, he gives expression to j oyful assurance i nthese beautiful words I wil l s ing of thy power 5 yea, I wil ls ing aloud of thy mercy i n the morn ing : for thou has t beenmy defense and refuge in the day ofmy trouble . Un to thee

,

O my strength,wi l l I s ing ; for God is my defense, and the

God Of my mercy.

”

Leaving Gibeah,David made his way to Ramah

,that he

m ight refresh h is soul by converse with Samuel 5 bu t theprophet

,th inking, perhaps, that his house would be no safe

retreat for one who was flee ing from Saul,took him wi th him

to Naioth in the immediate ne ighborhood, where there wasa school of the prophets, and where Saul would probably berestrain ed from laying hands upon

“the fugit ive . This schoolhad

,i n al l l ikel ihood

,been inst ituted by Samuel himself

,for

the pu rpose of tra i n i ng young men for becoming the instruc tors of the n ation , and perhaps, also, under the idea that outof the bands thus educated there m ight, from time to tim e,arise some whom God might commission as h is special lyinspired messengers to his people . S imil ar establ ishmentswe find at a later date i n sacred history, at Bethel and Gilgal ; and i t i s supposed that i n connection with the existenceof such sem inarie s there was main tained

,from the days of

Samuel t i l l the close of the O l d Testamen t canon , a continuous success ion of prophets i n the land . Not, i ndeed , thatGod confined himsel f to those who were trained i n these


terms on which the sceptre was given to him— an explanat ion made al l the more sadly clear by allusion to the m istakes which Sau l had comm itted

,and the terribl e con se~

quence s to which these had led . I n connection with thismatter

,too

,we may wel l suppose that Samuel would speak

of his own wide experien ce as a magistrate, giving h im maxims and advice which would n ever be forgotten 5 while, cont inual ly, the good old man would commend him to the keeping of that God who, through his own long and active l ife,had sustain ed and protected him .

Besides this in tercourse with Samuel,the pursu its o f the

son s of the prophets, al ike in the ir pract ice of music and poe try, and in the study of the Word of God, were j ust such asDavid would most thoroughly enj oy

,and as would most ma

terial ly tend to soothe hi s sp iri t after the trial s throughwhich he had j ust passed

,and brace i t for the d ifficul ties

which . l ay before him . I do not presume to fix e ither thedate or the authorship of a l l the product ions

,which have

been brought together into the one book of the Psalms, bu tif the 1 1 9th Psalm came from the pen of David, as mul titudes bel ieve, then I do not wonder that many have connec ted i ts composit ion , with h is residence in the school ofthe prophets at Naioth . The calm in wh ich he then foundhimself

,and the stud ies which he then prosecuted

,might

wel l have l ed h is musings in the d irec tion of that alphabeticode , whil e there are in i t n ot a few express ion s which, tosay the least, may have particular reference to the dangersout of which he had so recen tly escaped, and by which hewas st il l threatened . Such, for exampl e, are the following :“ Princes al so d id si t and speak against me : but thy servan tdid meditate in thy statutes . ” The proud have had me i nderis ion yet have I not decl ined from thy law.

” “ Troubl eand angu i sh have taken hold on me : yet thy commandmentsare my del ights . ” Then

,i n regard to his presen t enj oyment

,~

THE ESCAPE FROM G IBEAH TO RAMAH. 8 5

we may quote these l ines : 0 how love I thy law ! i t i s mymedi tation al l the day.

” The l aw of thy mouth i s bette runto me than thousands of gold or s il ver 5

” and in referenc e to God ’s deal ings with him

,he says

,

“ I know, 0 Lord,

that thy j udgments are righ t,and that thou in faithfulness

has t afll ic ted me .” “ I t i s good for m e that I have been af

fl ic ted ; that I m ight l earn thy statutes . But why need Ienlarge here ? I migh t wel l quote the enti re Psalm

,per

vaded as i t i s with love of the Word of God, and confidencei n God himself. Let me commend i t to your prayerful s tudy,as a perfect s tore-house of suggestive thoughts and devou taspiration s . I n al lus ion to its pecul iari ty of structure, i naccordance with which i t i s d ivided in to as many parts asthere are le tters i n the Hebrew alphabet

,and each verse of

every part begin s , in the Hebrew, with the l etter which marksthe part to which i t belongs, Bishop Cowper has called i t“ a holy alphabet

,so plain that children may understand i t

,

and so rich and instructive that the wisest and most experienced may learn something from This w i tness i st rue

,and if only each day of ou r l ives we were to fix i n our

memories one verse of th is adm irable production , and makei t the subj ect of our med itat ion in our i n te rval s of rest, weshould grow in every th ing that adorns the Christ ian character

,and become both more devou t i n the closet, and more

holy in the transact ion of our daily business .But not even the sanct i ty that surrounded the residence

of the sons of the prophets could shield David from the ven

geance of Saul , for so soon as he d iscovered where h is sonin-law had found an asylum ,

the king se n t messengers to apprehend him . By the mysterious power of God ’s Holy Spi ri t,however, when these men came to Naioth, and saw the

sons of the prophets at the ir daily service, they came under

! uoted by P lumer, in “ Studies in the Book of Psalms , p. 10 18.


a pecul iar i nfluence,which impelled them to do as the stu

den ts d id . This was told to the king,who sen t others i n

the ir stead,and to them i t happened in l ike manner. The

same thing occurred with a thi rd company of messengers ;and at l ength

,in stead of l earn ing from al l this that God had

David under h is Spec ial protection,and giving up his mad

in tent,Saul became so exasperated that he set out h imself

for Naioth,determined to be the executioner of his own

commands . But 10 ! as he drew near the v ill age,even be

fore he came in to the company of the prophets, he was h imself l aid hold Of by the Spiri t of God

,and as in the early

days of his reign he prophes ied— yea,he was fil led with the

Spiri t so that he stripped off his outer garments,and lay

on the ground,as i n a trance

,un ti l the following morn ing.

Thus,again

,the proverb which had obtained currency at the

beginn ing of his reign was revived, and men said once more,I s Saul also among the prophets Thus, also, by the restrain ing might of God ’s Spiri t, he was again kep t from laying Violen t hands upon David .

I n reviewing the narrat ive over which we have come,we ‘

are impressed with the proof, which is here furn ished, of thed iversified resources

,which Jehovah has at command for the

protection of his peopl e. Again and again Saul attemptsto take David ’s l ife

,bu t always withou t success ; and each

t ime the means by which David was del ivered are d ifferen t .

A t firs t h e i s defended by God ’s bless ing on h is own valoragain st the Phil ist ines ; then he i s indebted for his safety tothe mediation of Jonathan 5 then to the agency of Michal 5and final ly to the m iraculous work of God ’s own Holy Spiri t . I n the subsequent portion of the history, we shal l findthat the same principl e holds

,and that i n each n ew peri l

he i s preserved by some n ew instrumental i ty. When Godpurposes to protec t a man

,he is at no loss for the means of

carrying out his design . He may find them in what seems

THE ESCAPE FROM G IBEAH TO RAMAH . 8 7

to u s mortal s the most unexpected pl aces, and they maywork in what appears to u s to be a very strange— it may be

,

also, a very sinful m anner 5 yet the purpose i s accompl ished,whil e yet the l iberty of the d ifferen t agen ts i s not infringed .

David was at th is t ime,in a very peculiar sense

,the ward of

God ’s providence, and he was kept i n safety. By the ex

periences through which he had passed, he was able afterward to S ing

,The angel of the Lord encampeth round abou t

them that fear him,and del ivereth them 5” and from the oc

curren ces which we have been considering, we may learnthat God will keep us al ive

,so long as we are needed in h is

service .

“ A man is immortal t i l l h is work be don e .” If i nthe purpose of God there i s sti l l someth ing to be accom

pl ished by any one , he bears a charmed l ife unt i l that be fulfi l led . This, of course, must not be understood as implyingthat we should use no means to in sure our own safety, farless that we should recklessly and wanton ly rush in to danger ;but i t does imply, that when we have taken al l proper precaution s

,we are to trust i n God, and wai t the issue . Ei ther

they wil l be fru i tless, and then there wil l be the consciousness that the end i s come

,and that our reward i s near ; or

they wi l l be successful , and anew the glorious tru th shal lbe demon strated to every beholder

,that man ’s extrem ity i s

God ’s opportun ity. The good man should n ever despair, fore ither God wil l glorify h imself in his protec tion

, or he wil lglorify God in suffering for h is n ame ’s sake ; and in ei thercase the issue shal l be ’ well . “ God ’s providence i s h is inheri tance .

”

But our review leads u s to rem ark further, on the fool ishand unbel ieving dece i t wh ich Michal practiced for David ’sdel iverance . I t was unbel iev ing, for i t was equ ivalen t to anassert ion on her part that God could not save her husbandexcept by her sin 5 i t was fool ish, for, after all , i t d id not accompl ish very much for David, and only exasperated Saul .

8 8 DAV ID,K I NG OF ISRAEL.

Having told one l ie,she needed to give that probabil i ty

,by

a clumsy piece of acting 5 and then she had to sustai n thewhol e by another fal sehood

,which contained in i t such a re

flec tion on her husband ’s charac te r, as no true-hearted wifewould have al lowed hersel f to make

,even in j est. I can not

but th ink that Michal ’s deception here, taken in connectionwi th her possess ion of the image, as I suppose, i n a claudestine way

,i s an indication of a low moral tone 5 and whil e she

i s certain ly to be commended for the promptitude with whichshe urged David to flee

,we must condemn her for the false

hood which she told,and the dece it which she practiced i n

connection with h is fl ight. Some , indeed, may say that Shed id no more than Rahab did for the sp ies at J ericho 5 andthat s ince Rahab ’s fai th is v

pra ised, we are surely too severei n condemning Michal . But then we must bear i n m ind thatRahab was a heathen , and that her mode of l ife was such aswas fi tted only to harden her i n heathen ism and sin 5 whil eMichal was brought up under al l the privileges of the MO

saic law. What Rahab did in sending forth the spies i npeace, betokened that she had faith 5 what she d id i n tel ling a l ie for the ir sakes

,showed how weak her faith was

,

after al l 5 but that She had any faithWhatever was a marvelous thing

,cons idering her position . With Michal

, on theother hand

,i t was d ifferen t

,and she must be j udged by a

different s tandard . To borrow an i l lustrat ion from the history, on a part of which we are engaged— when the Phil ist ines handled the sacred ark of the covenant, no death cameto them

,for they knew no better 5 but when the men of Beth

shem ish looked into i t,they were smitten down by the out

flashing of the sword of Jehovah— even as Uzzah was ata later date 5 for they ought to have known

“

i ts sanc tityfi“

And so there might be,comparat ively speaking

,l i ttl e mor

1 Sam . vi. , I o—2 1 .

THE ESCAPE FROM G IBEAH To RAMAH . 8 9

a l gui l t i n the doing by a heathen of a th ing which,when

done by a Jewess,was worthy of severe condemnation . I

know, i ndeed , that we must not j udge Michal by the Gospels tandard . Stil l, even i n the l ight of the l aw of Moses, shewas to blame for her decei t

,and to us who have the cross of

Christ before us, and the Sermon on the Moun t sounding inour ears, nothing can be more eviden t than that i t i s nevern ecessary to commit s in . I t i s always wrong to do wrong:No c ircumstances or motives

,no extenuations or pal l i at ions,

can ever change wrong into right. There i s n o Darwin ianism in morals . There is h ere no transmutation poss ibl e .Wrong is wrong, and right i s right, for evermore. And if

,

i n cri ticis ing a character in real h istory i t i s warran table torefer to the creations of the novel ist, I would place side bys ide with Michal here

,the Jean ie Dean s of Walter Scott, that

you may see the con trast between cunn ing unsc rupulousn essand inflexibl e integrity. I reckon that del ineat ion , foundedas i t is i n i ts main outl ines on fact, as one of the noblest thatever came from the m ind Of i t s author ; and in the honorwhich we are constrained to pay to her, who would not tel l afalsehood to save her s ister’s l ife

,though she walked hundreds

of miles afterward to del iver her from_th e gallows, you may

see, also, how much we bl ame Michal for her unbel ieving dece it.* Be it ours, my brethren , to stand unflinchingly by theright

,for the sake of Him who is h imself the right. Every

dece it i s a d ishonor to h im,as wel l as to ourselves, and death

i s preferable to such d ishonor.

The paral le l here is scarce ly perfect, s ince the heroine of the ta le wasput uponher oath in a court of jus t ice , while Micha l was question ed onlyin the ordinary manner. The casuis try of this and s im ilar cases is canvas sed in a note to Fronde ’s H istory of England,” vol . ii. , p . 65 . Thatauthor admits that he does not see his way to a conclus ion as to the de

gree of guilt attaching to such a kind of unveracity as this ; but he fa ils toShow,

if falsehood be ever ven ial , within what l imits it is to be res trained.


Again : in reviewing this chapter, we are impressed withthe grac ious long-suffering of God -with S inners . When Saulwas laid hold of by God ’s Spiri t, the desire of the Lord wasnot merely to restrai n h im from inj uring David

,but also to

v isi t h im again w ith that particular bless ing which he hadreceived at the beginn ing of his reign . I t was a gracious

,as

wel l as a m iraculous, v is itation to him . Anew the Holy Ghostwa s striving with in h im . Once again he had the Opportu

n ity of turn ing to God . His heart was moved . He was almost persuaded ; the t ide was at the flood again with him

,

and if he had taken i t,he m ight have fin ished his l ife in an

other manner ; but no : he allowed i t to ebb,and i t n ever

flowed again ! Yet see the goodness of God to him in giving him this “ new opportun ity, while, at the same t ime, youObserve the danger i n which those are pl aced who let suchOpportun ities go un improved .

There may be some with in the sound of my voice to-n igh twhose experience is akin to Saul ’s . They, too, can look backupon a former t ime— some era of great revival , perhapswhen they were drawn to the truth

,and took a prominen t

plac e i n the Church and i ts services ; but a sad declen sioncame

,and for many years they had no care for any thing

Spiri tu al or eternal . They were devoted to ease and sel f-indulgence , making enj oymen t the i r constan t idol . But now

,

again,i n the ir riper years

,with mayhap the hoary locks of

age beginn ing to appear upon them,their old feel ings are

com ing back upon them . They are attrac ted as of yore toGod ’s house 5 they enjoy

'

his ordinances 5 they are movedm any times to tears by the preach ing of his Word ; they ared isposed to serious devoutness i n God ’s worship

,and to ear

nest hol iness,in the fam ily, and in the world . But as yet they

have gone no farther. Oh,le t m e beseech them to fol low

al l th is up by taking the on e decis ive s tep of giving themselves unreservedly and at once to the Lord

,l est

,when the

DAVID,K ING OF ISRAEL .

and desire to serve him , then do not seek to enter theChurch .

” But i t speaks al so to those who are with in,and

says to them,

“ I f i n your hearts you are conscious that youare non e of Chris t’s, and if i n your conduct you are d ishonoring h is n ame

,then go out from the Church . I t is not for

such as you 5 and you r cont inuance in i t wil l only make mensay

,

‘ Is Sau l al so among the prophets ?’ They who haven amed the name of Christ should depart from in iquity.

”

The reputation of Chris t, i n the world of to-day, i s v’

ery’

much

i n the hands of those who profess to be h is followers . Letus see to i t, that, so far from al lowing i t to suffer from our

conduct, we add new adornment to h is Gospel by the sain tl iness of our l ives

,and compel men to take knowl edge of us

that we have been with Jesus.

VI .

THE VALLE Y OF D E CE I T

I SAMUEL xx.—xxn .

AKING advantage of the m iraculous restraint whichwas put upon Saul at Naioth, David left the school of

the prophets,and hasted back to Gibeah .

Here, on the return of the monarch,i t would seem that,

under the influence of his recen t experiences, hi s heart wassomewhat softened toward his Son—in—l aw 5 for Jonathan , i nthe in teresting interview which i s described so ful ly i n thetwentie th chapter of 1 Samuel , speaks at firs t with the greatest cOnfidence of David ’s safety 5 and David h imself, even inhis distress

,takes i t for gran ted that his presence would be

expected at the customary banquet on n ew-moon . But hehad seen so many vac ill at ions i n Saul , that he was no t d isposed to bu ild much upon h is presen t grac ious mood . Nay,rather

,from brood ing morbidly over Sau l ’s treatment of him ,

to the entire exclusion from h is mind of God ’s constan t careover him

,he fel l in to despair

,and ran into a course of reck

less dece it which brought the most fearful consequences i nits train .

I t may appear strange,that al l th is Should have happened

immediately afte r hi s pleasan t and profitable soj ourn withSamue l

,

'

a t the school of the prophets . But perhaps the verycontrast between h is happiness at Naioth, and his continua lsuspense at Gibeah

,where he fel t h imself to be l ike one

s tand ing on the very edge of an active volcano,may help to

accoun t for h is depression . I n any case,i t is by no mean s

.

an uncommon experience,that times of great sp iritual ele


vat ion are fol lowed by periods of deep dej ection . Everyheigh t has i ts hol low ; and as Peter wen t from the firs tLord ’s Supper to his den ial of the Master, David wen t fromNaioth to Nob, and from Nob to Gath . I t is a suggestiveinciden t

,bidding us be always on our guard against tempta

t ion,and then , mos t of all, when we have been enjoying the

most exal ted privil eges .I n his d istress David sought for Jonathan, and poured h is

complain t into the ear of his friend, tell ing him that Saulwas seeking h is l ife

,with such sl eepl ess ass iduity, “ that there

was but a step between him and death .

” The king’s sonwas taken by surprise

,and expressed h is bel ief that David

was al lowing h is fear to overmaster,not h is faith only

,but

h is j udgmen t also. Stil l, see ing how seriously h is compauion was taking matters

,he offered to do any thing which he

could suggest,i n the way e ither of discovering Sau l ’s inten

t ions toward h im , or of del ivering h im from any dangerwhich m ight be hanging over him .

‘

SO an agreemen t wasmade to the fol lowing effec t : The next day was new-moon ,on which i t was the regul ar custom for Saul to entertain thec aptain s of his host. On such an occasion i t was David ’sduty to be present 5 but this time he would take the op

portun ity of going to Bethlehem ,to the yearly feas t of his

father’s household 5 and Jonathan'

would see,by Saul ’s re

marks upon h is absence,how he fel t toward him .

'

Then, on

the th ird day,David would return to a h iding-place, known

to both of them,by the stone Ezel i n the field

,where Jona

than,under color of practic ing his favorite sport of archery,

would let h im know how matters were . If he said to theboy who went with h im to

‘

fe tch his arrows, See they arebeyond thee

,

” David would know that m isch ief was determ ined against h im by the king 5 if he said, “ They are onth is s ide of thee

,

” he would understand that al l was well,and that he was perfectly safe .

THE VALLEY OF DECEIT. 95

In the format ion of th is agreemen t,the hearts of the two

friends were greatly moved 5 and the faith which Jonathanman ifested i n David ’s future, contrasts very strongly withthe despondency which was shown by David himself. How

deeply touch ing,for example

,are these words of Jonathan :

Thou shal t not,on ly whil e ye t I l ive Show me the kindness

Of the Lord, that I die not : but also thou shal t not cut offthy kindness from my house forever : no

,not when the Lord

hath cut off the enem ies of David every on e from the faceof the earth. And Jonathan causedDavid to swear again, bec ause he loved h im : for he loved him as he loved hi s ownsoul .”

O n the feast day,as Dav id had an tic ipated

, Saul observedhis ,

absence 5 but, imagin ing that i t was caused by one or

other of those ceremon ial defilements, which might make himunclean until the even ing, he made n o remark . On the morrow,

however,the absence being repeated

,the king asked

,in

a tone of displeasure, “ Wherefore cometh not the son of

Jesse to meat, ne ither yesterday g

nor to-day In reply,Jon

athan stated that,with h is perm iss ion

,David had gone to

Bethlehem,to the an nual home-feast of his family 5 where

upon Saul wen t into ._a paroxysm of pass ion , saying, in themost insul ting and blood—thirsty manner

,to Jonathan, “ Thou

son of the perverse rebel l ious woman,do not I know that

thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thin e own confusion,

and unto the confus ion of thy mother’s n akedness ? for aslong as the son of Jesse l iveth upon the ground, thou shal tnot be establ ished

,nor thy kingdom . Wherefore now send

and fetch him unto me,for he shal l surely d ie .” But though

Jonathan knew, as wel l as Saul , that David was dest ined toSit upon the throne, he was not thereby e ither estranged fromh im , or des irous of hi s death . So he stood up bravely in h isfriend’s defense

,assert ing h is in nocence

,and asking why he

Should be slain . This, however, only added fuel to the flame


of Saul ’s evi l passion,for he made answer by hurl ing a j ave

l in at the head of his son . That was enough . Loving anddutiful as Jonathan was, he could stand i t no longer, but rosei n great indignation from the table

,and at th e appointed

time went,i n b itter humil iation , to the trysting-stone, where

David lay concealed, to tel l h im what had occurred . By thepreconcerted signal , he let h im know that al l hope of reconci l iat ion with h is father was at an end . But he could not

l e ave h is friend without a parting embrace . So , giving h isbow and qu ive r to h is attendan t, with in struc tion s to carrythem into the c ity

,he remained behind

,and David came forth

from his h id ing-place, “ and fel l on hi s face to the ground,and bowed himself three t imes and they kissed one another

,and wept one with another, unti l David exceeded . And

Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we havesworn both of us i n the name of the Lord

,saying

,The Lord

be between me and thee,and be tween my seed and thy seed

forever. And he arose and departed : and Jon athan Wentin to the c ity .

” We attempt n o remark on thi s touchingscene

,but conten t ourselves with setting i t in Vivid distinct

n ess before your View as one of the most thril l ing il lustration s of devoted fri endship that the world has ever wrtnessed .

The parting which we have j ust described occurred , mostprobably

,on the afternoon Of the s ixth day of the week, and

David,eager to en ter at once into a secure asylum , employed

the brief season before the sun set should usher i n the Sabbath

,i n hasten ing forward to Nob, where the Tabern acl e at

that t ime was p itched . This'

place has not been Certainlyidentified by modern travelers . I t i s supposed by some tohave been on one Of the Shoulders of the Mount of O l ives,and

,from other references to i t i n the O ld Testamen t, i t

seems at l east certai n that i t was i n the immediate neighborhood Of Jerusalem

,and with in sight of Moun t Zionfi“ This

See, for example , I saiah x . , 32 .

THE VALLEY OF DECEIT. 97

being the case,i t could not wel l have been more than five or

s ix m iles from Gibeah 5 David, therefore, could reach i t withease before the commencemen t of the Sabbath, and, oncethere

,he would be qu ite secure

,as “ no one could travel

th ither after him on the Sabbath, nei ther could any one whomight be at Nob when he came go to Gibeah (on that day),to give intell igence

.

of h is The pl ace was inhabited by a colony of priests numbering more than fourscore,at the head of whom was Ah imelech the high-priest, the sonof Ahitub . When David presen ted h imself at the Tabernacl e

,hav ing first left h is compan ion s i n some pl ace of re treat

,Tthe prelate was aston ished that he

,the king’s son-in-l aw

,and

a dist ingu ished warrior,should be travel ing unattended, and

he said to him,Why art thou alone, and no man with thee ?”

I n reply,David told a cunn ing falsehood, represent ing that

Saul had sen t h im on a secre t m iss ion,and begged to be fur

h i shed with'

such provis ions as m ight be at hand . The priest,

ignoran t, to al l appearance, of the n ew feud between Sauland David , and see ing no improbab il i ty in the story whichwas told h im

,made answer that h e had nothing bu t th e

shew-bread wh ich had that day been removed to make wayfor a new supply, and which i t was lawful for the priestsalone to eat. Nevertheless

,i n a case of extrem ity l ike that

of David, he decl ared his read iness to give h im that, provided that he and hi s men had no t been defiled . Havingbeen satisfied on that poin t, he gave David the hallowedbread, and then , i n response to another request, he put in toh is hand Gol iath’s sword . This ac t of Ahimelech

,i n giving

the sacred bread to David,has been referred to with com

9" Kitto’s

“ Daily B ible I l lustrations , vol . iii. , p. 2 8 1 .

i I t has been supposed by some , tha t the refe rence made by David tohis attendants was a fa lsehood as great as that which he told about the

object of his journey ; but the words of the Lord Jesus , when he al ludesto this incident, re lieve him from that accusation.


menda tion by the Lord Jesus,* and was u sed by h im as av ind ication of his working m iracles on the Sabbath . Hisallus ion to the whol e c ircumstances impl ies that

,where two

obligations come apparently in to col l is ion,the lower must

give place to the higher, and that there i s n oth ing in theSight of God more sacred than the saving of l ife

, or thehelp ing of suffering human ity, or the salvation of a soul .But h is words, while sustain ing the action of the high

priest, do not i n the lea s t degree extenuate the s i n of David . Some indeed, l ike Delaney, do not hesitate to vindicatehim even for the deception which he practiced here 5 butDavid h imself, at a l ater period , deeply bewailed his falsehood

,and, even at the t ime at which he told i t, a ci rcum

stance occurred which made his heart beat loud with theupbraid ings of conscience, and darkened his soul with theforebodings of disaster. For in the Tabernacl e with h im

,

detained from travel ing by the recurrence of the Sabbath,

was Doeg,an Edomite

,the chief shepherd of King Saul 5

and David had a too sure presentimen t that the monarchwould by him be speedily informed of the whole affair

,and

would take ruthl ess revenge on al l concerned . But therewas another there whom David had forgotten

,el se he had

never told the l ie which wrought such havoc i n the holy sett lement. God was there ! Had the hun ted fugitive butreal ized Ma t, i t would have kept h im from dece i t, and theface of the Edomite would not h ave troubled him . He whofeareth God needs be afraid of no one else

,bu t when one i s

committing in iqu ity he starts at h is own Shadow.

“ Theth ief doth fear e ach bush an officer.” A t another t ime David would have met Doeg unabashed, but now his heart m isgives him at his presence, and he wishes to escape h is oh

servat ion .

Matthew x11. , 3 5 Mark 5 Luke vi . , 3 , 4.


i n after-years . Besides, he might have known that he couldexpect the Phil is tines to defend him

,only on the under

stand ing that h e should make common cause with them,

and take up arms again st h is own countrymen .

Hence,even as a pol icy, th is fl ight to Gath was a blun

der,and David was only saved from i ts dangers and en tan

glemen ts by the opposition to h im of the lords of the Phil ist ines

,whose national inst inc t told them that he could not but

be their constan t enemy. They had heard of his popularity among his own people, after the slaying of thei r gigant icChieftain 5 they had been informed of Saul

’s j ealousy of him 5they knew

,too

,i n some way or other, that he had been a l

ready designated as Saul ’s successor, and therefore they re

garded him with undisgu ised host il ity,and loudly expressed

their dissatisfaction with Achish for perm itting him to re

main in the ir l and . These feel ings were very probably intensified when they saw the sword of Gol iath in David ’shand

,and very soon the indications which met him on ev

e ry hand, that he was most unwelcome, fil led h is heart withd ismay. His great obj ect then became to get away in safety. He feared that they might forc ibly detain him

,and con

s ign him to imprisonmen t i n some one of thei r fortresses .Indeed

,from the heading of the s6 th Psalm ,

as well as f romthe words ofAchish i n the n arrative

,i t would seem that they

d id apprehend him ; so he had recourse to a questionable expedien t to make himself appear contemptible

,and a l

together unworthy of the cons ideration Of his enemies . Hefeigned madness

,going about scribbl ing on the doors of the

gate, and letting his sp ittl e fall upon his beard 5 and so wel ld id he coun terfe i t

,that Ach ish held h im up to the scorn of

hi s courtiers,who were al l ‘ at length glad to be rid of his

presence . Thus was David taught that “ i t i s an evi l thingand a b itter to forsake the Lord of Hosts .” He had losth is faith in Jehovah

,and put his confidence in Ach ish, and

THE VALLEY OF DECEIT. 1 0 1

nothing more'

salutary could have happened to him thansuch a reception as that which was given to him at Gath .

When a youth is going on a wrong course, the best thingthat can befal l him i s failure and disgrace, and the worstthing that can come to him is what the world call s success .I f he succeed

,the probab il i ty is that he wil l go farther as tray

than ever 5 but if he fail, there is hOpe that he will return tothe right path

,and seek all iance with Jehovah. This last

was the case w ith David in the ins tance before us, if at leastwe may judge Of the effec t which h is experience producedupon him

,from the songs which he wrote with spec ial refer

ence to the inc iden ts at which we have been looking. Thet itles Of the 34th and s6 th Psalms connect these odes withDavid ’s residence in Gath 5 and though there are few ao

knowledgmen ts of s in in them,yet they indicate that

,as the

resul t and outcome of his trial s, he was l ed to look awayfrom al l earthly hel pers to the Lord alon e . This poorman cried

,and the Lord heard h im and saved him out of

al l h is t roubles . Perhaps,too

,there may be an impl ied

condemnation of the course wh ich he had been pursuing,

and a virtual resolution to absta in from i t in the future,when

he says,

“ What man is he that des ireth l ife,and loveth many

days,that he may see good ? Keep thy tongue from evil,

and thy l ips from speaking gu il e . Depart from evi l,and do

good 5 seek peace, and pursue i t.” And i t is scarcely possibl e

to doubt that,fromhis own pen itence for the sin s of which

he had j ust been guil ty,'

and his own experience of God’s favor

‘ when he returned to him, he was l ed to sing, “ The Lordi s n igh un to them that are of a broken heart 5 and savethsuch as be of a contri te spiri t. Many are the affl ic tions ofthe righteous : but the Lord del ivereth him out of them al l .How interes t ing, too, i t i s to picture him to ourselves as, j ourneying from Gath, and, taking the way that led to the cave inwhich he was to find for a time a home

,he s ings

,Thou tel l


est my wanderings : put thou my tears i n to thy bottle : arethey not in thy book ? When I cry un to thee

,then shal l m in e

enemies turn back this I know 5 for God is for me. In Godwill I praise his word : i n the Lord wil l I praise his word

.

In God have I pu t my trust : I wil l not be afraid what mancan do unto me. Thy vows are upon me , O God : I wil lrender praises unto thee . For thou hast del ivered my soulfrom death : wilt not thou del iver my feet from fal l ing

,that

I m ay walk before God i n the l ight of the l iving ?” Said Inot t ruly that David ’s repulse from Gath was the best th ingthat cou ld have happened h im ? I t sen t him back into thearms of God, and in these notes of trust there i s again theSp iri t of him who l aid Gol iath low.

Leaving Achish , David wen t back to his n at ive land, andfound an asylum in the cave of Adul lam . This is now general ly iden tified with a cave i n the s ide of a deep ravin e

,

some five or s ix miles south-west of Bethlehem ,and called

the Wady Khure itun . Dr. Thomson, i n “ The Land and thespeaks thus of i t : “ Leaving our horses in the charge

of wild Arabs, and, taking one for a guide, we started for thecave

,having a fearful gorge below, gigan tic cl iffs above, and

the path wind ing along a shel f of rock n arrow enough tomake the nervous among us shudder. A t length, from agreat rock hanging on the edge of this shelf, we sprang, bya long leap

,in to a low window which Opened in to the per

pendicular face of th e cl iff. We were then within the holdof David

,and creeping

,half doubled, through a narrow crev

i ce for a few rods,we stood beneath the dark vaul t of the

first chamber of th is mysterious and oppress ive cavern . Ourwhol e col lect ion of l ights did l ittl e more than make the darkness vis ible

.After groping about as long as we had t ime to

spare,we returned to the l ight of day, ful ly convinced that

English Edition , pp. 606, 607 .


Saul had enacted there, and claim ing the protection of theson of Jesse.The story which he told

,supplemented by such detail s as

th e record itself furn ishes, was briefly th is : Hearing of David ’s escape to Gath

,and of his re -appearance i n Judah,

Saul made complain t of the lukewarmness of his servants incarrying out his commands agains t h is rival, and affirmedthat they were al l i n leagu e with Jonathan in the in terestsof David . Upon th is

,Doeg the Edomite came forward and

told how,on a certain Sabbath when he was at Nob, Ahim

elech,the high-priest

,had given David food, and had pre

sen ted h im with Gol iath ’s sword . He also al leged that hehad

,by means of the Urim and Thummim,

“ inquired of theLord ” for h im

.

O f this l ast there i s n o record in the narrative, and i t was probably added with malign ant intent byDoeg

,for con sul tation of the sacred oracl e was reserved for

great occasion s,and was generally regarded as the exclusive

privilege of the head of the n ation . Hence “ the inquiring ofthe Lord ” for David would be construed by Saul, especial lyi n the temper i n wh ich he then was, as a transference of hisal legiance by the h igh-priest from Saul to David . The moment the king heard of i t

,therefore, he sen t for the priests,

and asked i f the assertion of Doeg was correc t. Ahimelechrepl ied in a stra in of aston ishment, l ike one who knew nothing of the decei t wh ich had been practiced upon h im , andindignantly den ied that he had consul ted the oracl e forDavid . What he had done he had done as a mere act ofhuman ity

,and under the impression t hat he was assist ing

one who was travel ing with haste, on the urgen t businessof the king h imself. But his defense was made in vain , forSaul gave instant orders that the whol e colony of the priestsat Nob should be put to death . No Israel ite, however,would execute a command which doomed the anoin ted Of

the Lord to destruct ion,and so to Doeg

,the foreigner, who

THE VALLEY OF DECEIT. 1 05

had pl ayed the mean part of informer, the horrible commission was given . I t was a work al l too wel l sui ted to h i sd ispos ition , and he executed i t with such sangu inary feroc itythat only one out of the whole number escaped . This wasAbiathar, who managed also to carry with him the ephod,with the Urim and Thummim

,with which he came to David

in the cave . When David heard the tal e of blood whichhe had to tel l

,he was fil led with the deepest sorrow

,and

cried out, i n the b itterness of his remorse, “ I kn ew i t that

day when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tel l Saul . I have occas ioned the death of al l the person s of thy father’s house .

'

Abide thou with m e ; fear not :

for he that seeketh my l ife,seeketh thy l ife : but with me

thou shal t be in safeguard .

” Thus was Saul fi ll ing up thecup of h is in iqui ties 5 thus , too, unconsciously on the part ofal l concerned, God was fulfil l ing that terribl e doom which hepronounced i n the ear of the young Samuel , when firs t hewas cal led to the prophetic office

,and which decl ared that

al l the house of El i should be cut off.The cave of Adul lam

,though a pl ace of perfect security,

was yet very far from be ing an abode of comfort 5 and thoughDavid could not but be cheered by the presence and fellowship of his parents with h im there, yet he loved them too wel lto think of allowing them

,i n the ir old age, to share his peril s

and privation s . Hence, with beautiful and del icate cons id

erat ion for their comfort and security, he sought from theKing ofMoab an asylum for them with h im, unti l h is own ca

lamities were overpast. I n making this sel ection for them ,

he was probably influenced by his remembrance of the factthat Naom i and her family had found in that l and a place ofsoj ourn

,and that Ruth

,h is ancestress, around whose name

such tender assoc iation s clustered,was herself a Moabi tess.

But whatever his motives were in the choice of the place t owhich he sen t them

,we can not but admire his fil ial thought

53?

1 06 DAV ID,K I NG OF ISRAEL .

ful ness and devotion ; and we rej o ice to see that under theshield of the warrior, there sti l l beat the loving heart of ason .

Here,however

,we must break off the interest ing story, and

pause a l i ttl e to gather up the l essons which we may learnfrom this, the firs t chapter in David’s l ife that i s darkened bythe shadow of his own ev il-doing.

Behold,then

,i n the firs t place, how far on e wil l go on i n

Sin who has lost h is faith i n God . This, as it seems to me, i sthe root from which al l the in iquity which we have beento-night describ ing sprung. Even when David was with Jonathan

,immediately after his return from Naioth he had said,

“ There i s but a step between me and death 5 and afterparting with h is friend

,he appears to have given up al l hope

of ever s i tting upon the thron e of Israel, and to have actedas if he regarded i t as imposs ibl e even for God to fulfil l toh im al l that he had promised . His unbel ief made h im reckless ; and having lost h is hold on God, his feet sl ipped, andhe fell in to grievou s sin . Both in the Tabernacle at Nob

,

and in the c i ty ofGath,at the court ofAch ish

,he was in th is

desponding and s in ful sp iri t 5 and this accoun ts for the deceit, both i n words and conduct, of which he was gui l ty.

There i s nothing wil l keep a man from sin more surely thanconfidence in God 5 but despair i s the most dangerous cond it ion in to which one can fall . While fai th and hope last

,there

wil l be energy,and watchful ness

,and puri ty 5 but with de

spair come recklessness and fol ly. WE ARE SAVED BY HOPE 5but when we despair of God ’s help, we run into extremes ofwickedness . When a merchant i s i n difficul ties

,there is n o

great danger so long as he bel ieves that he can retrieve himself, and hopes that he wil l come out al l right. But when hefal ls in to despair

,he becomes regardless al ike ofGod or man,

and runs headlong into practices ofwhich in other c ircumstances he would never have thought

,thereby destroying al ike hi s


longer under his control,but would go on produc ing i ts d ia

bol ical fru its . And SO i t i s ye t. We can not arrest the consequences of the evi l which we do . Whether we wil l or not,i t wil l continue to work on . We may, indeed, repen t of ours in 5 we may even, through the grace of God for Chris t’ssake

,have the assurance that we are forgiven for i t 5 but the

s in i tself wil l go on working i ts deadly resul ts . You may assoon think of s taying an avalanche m idway in i ts descen tfrom the Alp in e ridge, and so saving the v illage i n the vall ey from destruction , or of s topping the bul let m idway in i tsfl ight

,from the musket to the heart of h im who wi l l be de

stroyed by i t,as think of arresting the consequences of the

evi l which you once have done . A man,l e t us suppose

,has

written an infidel book, or a book whose sol e design Wasto destroy the purity and corrupt the modesty of youth . I ncourse of t ime, however, he becomes h imself a convert to theChrist ian fa ith

,and has the assurance that all h is s ins

,th e

writing of the book among the res t, are forgiven . But hecan not recal l the past. He can no t take back that book .

I t has c ircul ated,i t may be, by thousands . I ts poison has

gone in to many hearts . I t has made many skeptics,who

are l iving and propagat ing i ts abominable errors .‘ Or i t has

tainted many soul s,who are doing thei r very utmost to carry

out i ts principl es, and destroy the sanctity of our home l ife,and the solemn ity of the marriage-vow. Yet i ts author cannot put a stop to al l this . The thing has gone from him,

and is now no more under h is control . O r, again , one gathers around him a knot of compan ions who are largely moulded by his influence . He teaches them intemperance. Heintroduces them into haunts of sensual ity and impurity. HeShakes their faith i n the Word of God, and l eads them on toglory in their shame . But after a while he is taken , i n God

’sprovidence

,to some other c ity

,where Jesus lays hold of h im

by his grace,and brings h im to h is feet. He is converted,

THE VALLEY OF DECEIT. 1 09

he i s forgiven , he i s h imself renewed and sanc tified 5 buthe can not undo the m ischief of his former evil influence .That i s working st il l ay, and i t wil l continue to work throughone and another, long after h is body i s beneath the sod, andh is soul i s w ith his Saviour. Ah ! what a thought have wehere ! and how earnest i t ought to make the unconverted togive themselves to Chris t at once

,l est

,by thei r continuance

in the ir present course,they should be storing up

,

for themselves sorrows i n the days that are to come . The cal f thatJeroboam set up gave an idolatrous cast to al l the after-his

‘ tory of Israel , and wrought the n at ion’s undoing at the last 5

and could he,perchance

,have foreseen the misery of the

captives long years after,when

,i n consequence of his sin ,

they were led away to privation and exi l e,we may wel l be

l i eve that he would sooner have suffered martyrdom himsel fthan have caused such dis tress to others . Those who heardthe lectures of the

'

greatest l iving Engl ish h istorian,during

h is recen t visi t to these Shores, wil l not soon forget how solemn ly he said ,

“ that often , i n the prov idence of God, the ful lconsequences of an evil course fal l not upon the head of himwho was gu il ty of i t, bu t on

'

thOSe who in after-days are h isrepresentatives

,

” and added,am idst a st il ln ess which showed

how ful ly h is audienc e understood his reference,

“ I f Sir JohnHawkins

,i n the day when he wen t negro -hunting on the

coast of Africa,could have foreseen Gettysburg, he would

sooner that h is ship and al l on board had gon e to the bottom

,than that he should have done any thing to produce

such a terribl e resul t.” But thi s holds spiri tually as well .The one s in of a Christ ian

,i n a momen t of unbel ief and

temptation , may be the ru in of many souls . And when i t i sonce committed , i ts con sequences can not be arrested . I n.

View of th is awful con sideration , and reflecting on the issuesthat may already have come from some action of our own ,

or that may hang on some individual transgression in the

1 1 0 DAV ID,K ING OF ISRAEL.

future,which of us i s not constrained to offer these peti tion s

Del iver me from blood—guil t iness, O God, thou God of mysalvation .

” Hold up my goings i n thy paths, that my footsteps sl ip not.Final ly

,behold in David ’s tender provis ion for h is parents

an exampl e of the c are which we ought to have for fatherand mother. There are few th ings more del ightful than to seea son or a daughter lovingly supporting an aged paren t 5

‘and,

on the other hand, there is noth ing more worthy of our scornand reprobation than the conduc t of t hose who leave theirparents to the cold charity of an unfeel ing world . He thatprov ideth not for his own , and espec ial ly for those of his ownhouse

,hath den ied the faith

,and is worse than an infidel .”

I f you have a father or mother i n c ircumstances that requireyour assistance

,coun t i t a h igh honor and glorious privilege

to render i t. Never th ink that they are a burden, or al lowyourself to grudge what you are doing for them . Cons iderhow much you have owed in earl ier days to them

,and do not

be ashamed of them . They may not be quite so pol ished i ntheir manners as those are among whom now you move 5they may not be so correct in thei r speech as those are withwhom you are meeting every day 5 but i f you are a son

worthy Of the n ame, you wil l give them the post of honorwhen they come to your home

,and you wil l count i t the hap

piest th ing in your lot that you are able to l ighten for themthe load of years . I t i s a poor, pal try, pityful puppyismthat i s ashamed of a paren t— a feel ing unworthy of a man

,

not to say of a Christian .

Nor i s i t only in the matter of support that we ShouldShow our regard to our parents . We should reverence themwhen we are beside them , and when we go to a distance fromthem we should be regular and ful l i n our correspondencewith them, l etting them know al l about us, and making themfeel that we apprec iate the ir in terest i n us . I s there a son

VI I .

SON GS I N THE N I GHT

I SAMUEL xxii. , 5— xxiii. , 1-2 8.

URING the days of his outl awry at the hands of Saul,David was special ly guarded and guided by Jehovah .

Indeed,i n so far as the d irection of h is movements was con

cerned,he enj oyed at th is t ime very pecul iar privileges. A s

we have al ready seen, Gad the seer was among h is adher

ents 5 and when Abiathar, the high -priest, j oined his standard

,he brought with him the Urim and Thummim, those

mystic treasures of the ephod which were the means bywhich the answers of the sacred oracl e were given . Davidhad thus two dist inct channels of direct communication withJehovah ; and whenever the m ind of God was made knownto h im

,e ither through the one or the other

,he se t h imself to

obey i t. Sometimes, i ndeed, as we shal l see with regre t, heal lowed himself to be carried away by his own evil incl in at ions, but these were exceptions to the general tenor of h i sl ife— l ike the backward eddies of the Niagara whirlpool in ariver whose course, as a whole, i s st i l l toward the sea— for hi shabit was to fol low where Jehovah l ed .

I t is to be noted here as an in terest ing fact,that in the

hold of Adullam and i n the wilderness of Judah, we have,s ide by s ide, representat ives of the oracular and the pro

phetical methods of the commun ication of the wil l Of God tomen ; and that, i n the l ife of David, as a whole, we have theera of the transit ion from the one to the other. Up t il l thist ime the priest had been the most important personage inthe nation , and the only recogn ized channel through which

SONGS I N THE N IGHT. 1 1 3

God ind icated h is wil l to the people . True, there had beengreat outstanding prophets

,like

'

Moses and Samuel ; bu t theformer was an exception to al l rules as being the l eader ofthe Exodus 5 and the l atter, fromhis tra in ing under El i, wasas much a pries t as he was a prophet. True, again , i n th etime of the Judges there was Deborah

,the prophetess ; bu t

She was raised up,in connection with a particular Cris i s i n

the h istory of her people . The general system ,however

,

was,that when the head of the n ation, whether j udge or

king, Wished, at any spec ial emergency, to ask counsel of

the Lord,the inqu iry was made through the priest, and the

an swer was given by the Urim and Thummim . But nowthe prophet

,as a standing official personage, comes in to

prominence,and the m ind of God begin s to be made known

through his human ind ividual ity,and not through any such

visible media as those which were connected with the pri estly breastpl ate .In the hold and in the wilderness

,David rece ived d ivin e

d irec tions through both channels, but gradual ly, even in hi s

l i fe,the breas tplate oracl e disappears or fal ls i n to desuetude 5

and from the re ign of Solomon downward we have no mention made of i ts employment i n the Jewish annal s. In thesam e gradual manner the prophet waxes i nto pre-eminence,Gad and Nathan preparing the way for El ij ah and El isha,and these

,i n their turn

,giving pl ace to Isaiah and Jeremiah ,

who were succeeded,i n the days of the exi le

,by Ezek ie l and

Dan iel 5 and in the era of the Restorat ion by Haggai, Zechariah

,and Malach i .

Now,i f we think out th is subj ec t a l ittl e more ful ly

,we

shal l see that in the l ife of David a d ist inct forward step wastaken in the educat ion of the people of God, from the firs trudiments of external symbol ism , on toward that system of

sp iritual s impl ic i ty under which we now l ive in the Gospeldispensation . In that course of education

,the Urim and


Thummim were themselves an advance on what had gonebefore . I t i s not easy, indeed, to say defin itely what theUrim and Thummim were . The words denote Ligh t andPerfection

,

” and they were the n ames given to some thingsconnected with the dress of the Jewish high-pries t. Overthe white tun ic which he wore when he came n igh to theshekinah

,he had the blue robe of the ephod 5 then , over

that he wore the ephod itself, made of white twined l inen, inwrought with blue, and purple, and scarle t, and gold 5 then ,over the ephod he pl aced the breastplate

,on wh ich were

twelve precious stones,corresponding to the tribes of Israel ;

then,i n the breastplate, apparently as someth ing differen t

from i t,were put the Urim and Thummim . But what these

were — whether other prec ious stones, or, as some sup

pose,symbol ic figures of tru th and righteousness

,l ike those

which were worn by the Egyptian j udges— we are nowhereinformed . St il l, whatever they were, through them ,

i n somevis ibl e mann er, God gave his answer to

'

the head of the n at ion

,when he was special ly appl ied to i n any time of per

plexity. In almost al l the recorded cases of the use of theUrim and Thummim

,the quest ions which were put were

m il itary or strategical ; one question only was answered ata time

,and the response

,i n every in stance

,was very brief

,

amounting frequently to l ittl e more than “ Yes ” or NThere was in al l th is

, of course, much of the vis ibl e andmaterial . Yet there was in i t, al so, a d istinct advance, i n sofar as the demand for faith was concerned

,over that which

was made by the p il lar and the cloud in the Arabian desert.These l atter symbols were always before the eyes of all thepeople . While following them

,therefore

,they were walking

not so much by faith as by sight 5 but when these were withdrawn, and the glory of the shekinah h id from v iew, th emedia of commun ication were concealed beneath the h ighpriest’s breastplate, and there was more occas ion for faith .

1 1 6 DAV ID,K ING OF ISRAEL .

at i t from the other side,we feel that we Were benefited by

the experience,and that we are to-day stronger i n al l the e l

ements of Christ ian manhood , than we should have been if,without any mental or sp iritual activi ty of our own , God hadtold us

,i n so many words, what we were to do. When Jesus

said to h is fol lowers, I t i s exped ient for you that I go away,”

he meant that they would become in every respect noblermen

,i f they wen t forward bel ieving i n the unseen Chris t

whose Spiri t was i n the ir hearts,than they would have been

if he had remained bes ide them saying to each one , DO th is .”

In the one case they would have been merely his servan ts,

doing his commands in so many individual d irec tions . I nthe other case he would be, if I may so say, repeating or in

carnating himself anew in every one of them ; and theywould become

,each one in h is own measure

,another repre

sen tative of Chris t, working as hewould have wrought, speaking as he would have spoken , and acting as he would haveacted . Now s im ilarly here, we have lost the extern al Urimand Thummim 5 but we have in i ts stead the in ternal andindwel l ing Holy Ghost, by whose agency with in us, supplemented and in terpreted by God ’s’Word, and providence without us, our prayers are

.

answered as really as David ’s wereby the mystic oracle .

I have dwel t thus long on th is subject, both because of i tsconnection with the h istory that i s before us

,and because of

i ts importance from i ts bearing on the gradual preparationwhich, al l th rough the Jewish h istory, God was making forthe introduction of the Gospel of Christ— but I hasten now

to the inciden ts recorded in the chapter of David’

s

‘

l ife towhich we have this even ing come .When he was i n the hold of Adul lam

,as we learn from

the fifth verse of the twenty—second chapter, David was recommended by Gad to betake h imself to the terri tory of Ju

dah, and he wen t immediately to the forest of Hareth ; but


as every trace of this forest has d isappeared,we have now no

means of identifying i ts local ity. More in teresting to us byfar than any mere question of topography, however, i s the factthat i n connect ion with h is wanderings at th is t ime Davidcomposed that exquis i tely beautiful Psalm,

which has been asong to the people of God in the house of the ir p ilgrimageever since

,and which i s numbered as the 63d i n th e sacred

Psalter. Read i t in the l ight of th e c ircumstances ou t ofwhich i t sprung, and you wil l see in i t new lovel iness, andfeel a n ew power com ing from i t. Mark the in ten se longingfor a closer fel lowship with God with which i t begins : “ 0

God, thou art my God ; early wil l I seek thee my soul th irste th for thee

,my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty

l and,where no water i s 5 to see thy power and thy glory, so

as I have seen . thee i n the sanctuary .

” Behold how eveni n his desolat ion— perhaps j ust because of his desolationhe feel s the value of Sp iri tual bless ings

,and praises God for

them :“ Because thy loving-kindness is bette r than l ife

,my

l ips Shal l praise thee . Thus wil l I bless thee Whil e I l ive : Iwil l l ift up my hands i n thy name . Then

,i n the Sleepless

n ess of the n ight,as the wind sighs through the forest trees,

and the dreari ness of h is pos ition is apt to sink h im in to despondency, observe the antidote wh ich he employs to counterac t those influences : My soul shal l be sat isfied as withmarrow and fatness ; and my mouth shal l praise thee withj oyful l ips : when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee i n the n ightwa tches .

” And in the final s train ,see how

,reason ing from the past

,al ready rich to h im, young

though he sti l l was,i n memories of del iverance, he looks for

ward with confidence to the future,when he should be se t

free from al l h is enemies, and, as the k ing upon the throne,Should rej o ice i n God

,

“ Because thou hast been my help,therefore i n the Shadow of thy wings wil l I rej oice . Mysoul followeth hard after thee : thy righ t hand upholde th


me . But those that seek my soul to destroy i t, shal l go intothe lower parts of the earth . They shal l fal l by the sword 5they shal l be a portion for foxes . But the king shal l rej oicei n God 5 every one that sweareth by him shal l glory : butthe mouth of them that speak l ies shal l be stopped .

” Hap

py they, who in the ir tri al s find such consolat ion s as Davidthen experienced 5 for, even in the midst of their troubles, theyare more to be envied than the men of the world when their“ corn and the ir wine do most abound .

While the outl awed leader and his band were at Hareth ,some messengers came to tel l that the Phil ist ines had re

sumed the ir marauding practices at Keilah, where they werecarrying away the grain, n ight after n ight, from the threshingfloors . This gives us a gl impse in to the s tate of the country at the t ime, and shows us also the n ature of the posi tionwhich David and his men occupied in the estimation of thei rfellow-countrymen . The Phil ist in es

,as we have repeatedly

seen,were by no means subdued by the Israel ites . They

were stil l abl e to harass and annoy them 5 and watch ingthe ir Opportun ity, they came down i n the harvest-t ime uponthe thresh ing -floors, kil l ing the sentinel s , and carrying Off

the spoil . Now that the peopl e appl ied to David in such anemergency was a token of the ir confidence in h im . I t hasbeen affirmed by many, indeed, that he was at this t ime a freebooter, l iving by his sword, and help ing h imselfwi thout scruple to the property of hi s n eighbors ; that, in fac t, he was aJewish Robin Hood, or an Israel i t ish Rob Roy 5 and that, asWordsworth s ings concern ing the Scott i sh Macgregor,

The good old ruleSufficed him ; the s imple plan ,That they should take who have the power,And they should keep who can .

”

But there is n o evidence in support of th is, so far, at least,as h is position at th i s t ime in Judah is concerned . Rather,


path of duty, and because he was desirous of securing theconfidence of his men . The reply of the Urim and Thummim was favorable to h is undertaking the expedition

,but

st il l the hearts of his fol lowers failed , for they said, Behold,we be afraid here i n Judah how much more then if we cometo Keilah again st the arm ies of the Phil ist ines .” Judah heremeans the mountain dis tric t of that tribal terri tory

,s ince

Keilah was a c ity i n the plain . The confidence of David ’smen was i n the h il ls, but he himself l ooked higher, even toHim “ who made the heavens and the earth . So

,to re-as

sure them, he inqu i red again at the oracl e, and hav ing re

ceived the same an swer,only with added emphasis i n regard

to success,he went down to save the city, and recover the

property of i ts inhabi tan ts .The exped ition was c rowned wi th dec isive success

,and

,

relying on the grati tude of those whom he had se rved,he

wen t with h is men in to the c i ty. I t was a fortified placewi th wal l s and gates

,and when Saul heard that he had

taken up his abode i n i t,he immediately conce ived the plan

of l aying siege to i t,and batching David in i t as i n a trap .

He said,

“ God hath del ivered him i n to m in e hand ”

(so p iously sometimes can peopl e speak, even when they are plott ing blackest crimes),

“ for he i s shut in, by entering in to atown that hath gates and bars .” But not thus was David tobe destroyed 5 _for by some means h e had rece ived information as to Saul ’s intentions, ,

and he had recourse at once tothe oracl e on the breastplate of Abiathar. He put twoquestions

,from the answers to which he l earned that Sau l

would besiege the c i ty,and that the men of Keilah would

del iver h im up into the hands of h is persecutor. Therefore,

l eaving Keil ah, he and his company wen t forth “ whithersoever they could go .

” One is disposed to be very bitter andindignan t at the ingrati tude of those whom David had so Signal ly befriended 5 yet we must not forge t that Saul was st il l


the king,that h'e had many resources at his command

,and

that, with the massacre of Nob before the ir m inds , the peopl e of Keilah had nothing but destruction to expect

,i f they

showed any kindness whatever to the son o f Jesse . Evenwith al l these risks

,however

,a ch ival rous and grateful people

would have suffered any th ing rather than give thei r del ive re r up . But the men of Keilah were neithe r ch ival rousn or grateful . They regarded the ir own in terests as supreme .

Like many i n our own day, they might profess to aim afterthe greatest happ iness of the greatest number, but when youcame to analyze their views , you would find that with them ,

to use the words of Joseph Hume, “ the greatest number wasnumber one !” I t was not for the ir advan tage to serve David

,and they d id not serve h im ; and I am free to say, that

al l my observation and experience convince m e that a largeproportion of the presen t generation would have don e asthey were wil l ing to do . Of course that does n ot excusethem

,but i t should make us cautious as to what we say i n

the ir condemnation,l es t, haply, we may some day be j udged

out of our own mouths . Grati tude,ch ival ry

,enthusiasm

for the cause of the wronged— what are these words i n themouths of many to -day but word s ? they sound well

,and

they are very fine so long as they cost n othing ; but l e t adhe rence to them pu t property or l ife in peril , and too manywould cl ing to the property and the l ife

,and let the others

go. Ye who condemn the inhabitants of Keilah becausethey were wil l ing to betray David

,how long would you Show

grati tude at the risk of the loss of al l th ings ? I t was a disgrace to them that they would not stand by him who haddel ivered them ; but i s i t any th ing less to us , when we al lowour worldly interests to bl ind u s to the obl igat ion s underwh ich we l ie to those who befriended us i n our time of need ?I s i t any thing less to u s when

,for the sake of fash ion

, of

fortune, or fame, we turn our backs upon the Chris t, who6


has borne the agony of Gethsemane and Calvary on our be

half ? Idolatry Of se lf is as h ideous now as i t was in David ’st ime . Let those who are gu i l ty of i t, therefore, look here,and

,i n the pitiful pol troonery of the men of Keilah , they wil l

see how mean and contemptibl e they look .

But the ingrati tude of men only threw David back uponthe faithful ness of God . I t i s gen erally supposed that the

3 I s t Psalm was composed by him,i n connection with the

events which we have j us t rehearsed,and, though there is

nothing in the ti tl e of that Ode to give certainty to such anopin ion

,yet the in ternal evidence in the song itself i s very

strong in its behal f. Thus , when you remember that Keilahwas a wal led c ity, and that Saul

’s purpose was to shut him upi n i t

,you may see a reference to these things i n the fol low

ing words : “ Thou hast known my soul i n adversit ie s ; andhast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy : thou has tset my fee t in a large room .

”So

,again

,withou t any strain

ing of the mean ing, there may be an al lusion to Keilah i nth is verse

,

“ Blessed be the Lord : for he hath showed me hismarvelous kindness i n a strong c ity .

” Now,i f on these and

s imilar grounds,we connec t thi s Psalm with the even ts of

the n arrat ive before us,there is much in i t to reveal David ’s

sp iri tual exercise at th is t ime . With what absolu te trust heputs h imself i nto Jehovah’s hands

,saying,

“ In to th ine handI commi t my Spiri t : thou hast redeemed me

, O Lord Godo f truth ; and again

,

“ I trusted i n thee,O Lord : I said

,

Thou art my‘

GOd . My times are i n thy hand . Howearnestly he pleads for del iverance

,pouring out his soul in

sorrowful rehearsal of all h is troubles ! And then,i n the last

sec tion of the Psalm,added

,if we may indulge the conj ecture

,

after h is escape, how joyful ly he praises God for h is goodness and ch ides himself for his despondency ! “ For I saidin my haste, I am cut off from before thin e eyes : neverthel ess thou heardest the vo ice of my suppl ication when I cried

1 2 4 DAV ID,KING OF ISRAEL.

one hundred feet high , wh ich is s i tuated about three m il essouth Of Hebron . About half a m il e to the eas t of this h il lare some ru in s, which Dr. Robinson pronounced to be those :

of Ziph, but i t i s more probable that the h i l l i tsel f was thes ite of the c ity.

In the adj o in ing wood David had a covert from Obse rva~t ion

,so that he eluded the v igil ance of Saul . But what the

enmity of Saul could not do, the love of Jonathan accom

plished, for by some means he got to know where David was ,and in th is wood

,swee t because stolen

,and memorable be

cause the l ast that was ever held between the two friends onearth

,a most affecting i n terviewwas held . A s we read these

words : “ Jonathan strengthened David ’s hands i n God,and

he said unto him,Fear not : for the hand of Saul my father

shal l not find thee 5 and thou shal t be king over Israel, and Ishal l be next unto thee

,

”our hearts thril l w ith admiration of

the son of Saul . What magnan im ity ! what piety ! what affec tion what humil i ty ! have we in these words 5 and who i snot d isposed to say

,am ids t the trial s and sufferings of earth ,

Oh for such a friend Yet there is a better fri end even thanhe ; and if we wil l but make a covenant with Jesus, he wil lstrengthen our hand in God, and be to u s a richer comforterthan Jonathan was to David .

But while Saul ’s son was proving h is s teadfastn ess to David

, the men of Ziph were plotting h is destruct ion . Theysen t and told Saul Of his h iding-place

,and he

,i n a strain of

grosses t adulat ion,thanked them for the ir informat ion

,and

asked them to give him particular d irect ions as to his movements, that he m ight come and take him . Very soon theyfound out, and told Saul that he was in the wilderness ofMaon— a name which

,almost unchanged

,i s given now to a

con ical hi l l about seven m iles south ofHebron,so that proba

bly that i s the very pl ace here called the Hil l ofMaon . WhenSaul heard this, he fol lowed David , and, from the description


g iven , we gather that th e posi tion of th ings was somethingl ike the fol lowing : David was on on e Side of the h il l ; Sau la nd h is men were on the other ; but, with the View ofmaking

sure of his adversaries’ destruction , Saul caused his army tosurround the en ti re base of the mountain, and determ ined toremain there un ti l

,by sheer n ecessi ty

,David would be com

pe l led to surrender himself in to h is hands .But David had a protecto r of whom Saul took no thought,

and to him he made appeal,for, as we learn from i ts t itl e, i t

was while he was thus surrounded by Saul ’s forces that hewrote and sang the s4th Psalm . I can not refrain from quoti ng i t ent ire . Save me , O God, by thy name, and judge meby thy strength . Hear my prayer, O God 5 give ear to thewords of

“ my mouth . For strangers are risen up againstme

,and Oppressors seek afte r my sou l : they have not se t

God before them . Behold,God is m ine helper : the Lord i s

wi th them tha t uphold my soul . He shal l reward evi l untom ine enem ies cut them off i n thy truth . I wil l freely sacrifice unto thee : I wi l l praise thy name

, 0 Lord 5 for i t i s good .

For he hath del ivered me out of al l troubl e : and m ine eyehath seen h is des ire upon mine enem ies .” That is the prayer ;now read the history, and you have the answer to i t : “ Butthere came a messenger unto Saul

,saying

,Haste thee

,and

come ; for the Phil ist ines have invaded the l and . WhereforeSaul return ed from pursuing after David

,and wen t agains t

the Phil i st ines : therefore they call ed that place Sel a-hamm ahlekoth

” — the Rock of D ivi sions , as i t i s given i n themargin , or, as some prefer to render i t, the Rock of E scape.

Thus as, at a l ater date, Rabshakeh was drawn off from hisattack on Hezekiah by hearing a rumor of an assaul t on h isown l and, and the prayer of the good Jewish king for dcl ive rance was answered 5 so here, David was se t free, becauseSaul and h is men were needed elsewhere

,to repel an invas ion

of the Ph il ist ines . Many would cal l th is a mere coinc idence ;

1 2 6 DAV ID,K I NG OF ISRAEL .

but the unprej ud iced reader can not fail to see i n i t an an

swer to David ’s suppl ication, and i t was doubtless i n the spiri t of heartfel t gratitude to God that he cal led the mountainby this sign ifican t n ame .Now

,in rev iewing the history over which we have come

,

we have cl early brought before u s the good man’S resort

in perpl exity. Even the most carel ess must be struck withthe frequen t recurrence in th is chapter of the phrase

,

“ David i nqu ired of the Lord ; and al though we have now noUrim and Thummim , yet we have the Throne of Grace, towhich we can ever repair

,with the assured confidence that

God wil l hear our c ry, and send us an answer which shal lmeet our need .

Many obj ections, indeed , have been brough t, i n these days,against the possibil i ty of God ’s answering prayer except bym iracl e 5 and learned treatises have been

'

written on boths ides of th is importan t question . To me

,however

,i t seems

as if there were no room for much argumen t upon the sub:

j ect, for if a man does not bel ieve that there is a person alGod

,standing in the rel ation of a father to his people on the

earth,there i s n o use to reason with him about prayer. You

have to begin with h im farther back,and convince him firs t

of the fol ly of his athei sm . I f,

~

again, a man'

-'

cloes really andtruly bel ieve that God i s

,and i s the fa ther

’

of his peopl e,you

wil l not n eed to argue with him,for as the son goes to hi s fa

ther,he wil l repai r to God

,and expect that God ’s fatherhood

is a real i ty,and not a mere n ame . He will say

,and no phi

losophy i n the world wil l preven t h im ,i f God is my father

,

then,s ince my earthly father hears my cry and gives me an

answer,much more wil l my heavenly . The whole debate

about prayer, therefore, i s but a Skirm ish on one of the faroutposts of the field whereon the war between bel i ef and unbel ief i s waging. The real question i s abou t God ’s exi stenceand fatherhood . Unti l men can say

,bel ievingly

,

“ Our Fa


hour after that I was in Fourth Street ; and this i s what happened : As I was walking along I heard a big noise, andsaw a horse runn ing away wi th a carriage, with two ch ildreni n i t. I grabbed up a piece of box-cover from the s idewalk,and ran in the m iddle of the street, and, when the horsecame up

,I smashed him over the head as hard as I could

drive. The board Spl i t to p ieces,and the horse checked up

a l ittl e,and I grabbed the re in s

,and pulled h is head down

unti l he stopped . He then tel ls how the gentleman towhom the children belonged rewarded him very handsomely

,

and,after hearing h is story, befriended him ,

and helped himin to a respectable s ituation where he could earn an hones tl iv ing ; so that he i s now not only a good citizen

,but an

humble Christianfi“

From Springfield I wen t on to Boston , and there a wel lknown member of the American Board showed me the autobiography of the Japanese youth Joseph, who has been inth is country for som e y ears, and was l ately the secretary of

Mr. Tenako, the member of the Japanese Embassy who wasespecial ly charged with the subj ect of education . In h is owncountry

,Joseph’s father was secretary to one of the n at ive

princes,and he himself was an officer of two swords

,and had

a good educat ion , be ing acquain ted with two or three languages . A friend len t h im an American Common SchoolGeography in the Chinese l anguage and a Chinese Bible

,and

these two books opened up a n ew world to h im . He describedwhat he fel t on read ing the firs t verse of Genesis

,which un

folded to him an enti rely new View of things, and then he wen ton to tel l how the desire to know Western c ivil izat ion andChris t ian ity took possession of his soul . His firs t prayer

Since the above was written, the whole le tter here referred to has

been printed in the I llus tra ted C/zr istia n I/Veeé ly newspaper for one of theweeks in Augus t, 1 873 .


was,O God

,i f thou have eyes

,look for me . O God, i f thou

have ears,hear me . I wan t to know Bible . I want to be

c ivi l ized with Bible . He left hi s home,and wen t to Haka

dadi,wi th the View of getting somehow to America, to l earn

this knowledge . He wen t thence to China,and in the

port to which he wen t,he was led by God ’s providence to

a ship which was bound for Boston , and wh ich was'

owned

by a good man whose heart was interested i n the cause ofChris t. That gentl eman

,on the arrival of h is ship, hearing

the captain ’s accoun t of Joseph , was in terested in h im 5 andhis wife undertook to have h im educated at her own expen se .He wen t firs t to Andover

,and then to Amherst ; became a

member of th e Christ ian Church, and an excel l en t scholar ;and when the Japanese Embassy came to this country

,he

who, l ike Joseph, had been sen t on before them ,was prepared

to be thei r in terpreter 5 and who Shal l say what he i s ye tdestined to do for h is benighted n at ion Thus, windinground the roots of that great revolution in Japan which hasso aston ished and gl addened the hearts of us al l, we find theprayers of th is earnest youth who was th irst ing for the knowledge of God . I m ight say much on many subj ects whichthis l it tl e h istory suggests

,but I bring i t up now as a fact,

i ndicating how real ly,and without a m iracl e, through God

’sordinary providence

,prayer i s answered . Truly, “ more

things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”

Let no man,therefore

,rid icul e and reason you out of prayer.

Here is the charter : “ If any of you l ack wisdom , l e t himask of God , that giveth to al l men l iberal ly, and upbraidethnot 5 and i t shal l be given h im . But l et h im ask in faith,

‘

nothing wavering : for he that wavereth is l ike a wave of thesea driven with the wind and tossed . For l et not that man

This youth, now the ReviJoseph N ee Sima, is about to sail as a mis

s ionary to hi s native land, under the direction of the American Board.

6=Xfi


th ink that he shal l receive any th ing of the Lord 1” Ask,

and i t Shal l be given you 5 seek , and ye shal l find ; knock,and i t Shall be Opened unto you .

”

But we have,i n th is chapter of David ’s hi story

,also a

beautiful i l lustration of th e frui tfulness of trial when i t i srightly borne . I t prun es the v ine of the sp iri tual l ife, sothat the clusters that grow on i t attain to larger developmen t. This is t rue of al l the graces . But to-n ight I wishespec ially to show you how David ’s t imes of tri al were emphatically and pecul iarly t im es of song. We have foundi n the n arrat ive over which we have come

,covering only a

Short space of his l ife, the origin of n o fewer than three of

h is Psalms . That which i s most valuable i n the writings ofany poet i s the fruit of some troublous discipl in e . I t i squest ion able if the world would have ever seen “ Parad iseLost

,

” but for th e bl indness of i ts author ; and it i s at l eastcertain

,that one of i ts most touching passages could not

have been writ ten but for that terribl e privat ion . Luther’sversion of the 46 th Psalm ,

which one has c al l ed “ The Marse illaise Of the Reformation

,

” was born out of the stormyl ife of the great Reformer ; and Archb ishop Trench , writingof the Thirty Years ’ War in Germany

,has said : “ There is

one fact most noteworthy,as a Sign of the temper i n which

this great tribul ation was met by those who had to drinkof i ts cup of pain deeper

,perhaps

,than any other

,that very

many of the most glorious composi tion s i n the hymn -bookof Protestan t Germany date from the period of the ThirtyYears’ War ; and, most not iceabl e of al l , these con tributionsare rich, not so much, as one might have expected, i n threnesand lamentat ions, Misereres and crie s De Profundis, as in TeDeums and Magn ificats , hymns of high hope and holy joyf"

5“ “ Thirty Years’ War in Germ any,

” by Archbishop Trench, quotedin Saunders

’s Evenings with the Sacred Poets,” pp . 140, 141 .


them forth before us,that they might be our helpers . Nay

,

more : thus are we rem inded that the very clasping of Jehovah

’

s hand by the weary and the wayworn bel iever is i tself,

i n th e estimation of God, a holy hymn , a song ris ing up toh im out of the n ight, and making a deeper impression i nh is heart

,because of the s il ence and the darkness out of

which i t emerges. The poetry i s not i n the verbal express ion of the song so much as i n the experience i t s ings ; andit sometimes there is a powerful prayer i n the fall ing of atear, be sure there is as Often a sacred song in the l ight thatflashes from the grateful eye

, or the smile that radiates thehappy countenance of h im who is looking unto Jesus. Letu s bear tri al s as David did

,trust ing in the Lord . Let us go

through the world,cl inging to Jesus in al l our varying expe

rience s ; and though we may not be abl e to wri te psalms,our l ives Shal l be each a book of hymns, ri s ing gradually upto that n ew “ song of pure conten t

,aye sung before the

sapphire throne with saintly Sholi t and solemn j ubilee,

”

“ Worthy i s the Lamb that was sl ain to rece ive power,and

riches, and wisdom , and strength, and honor, and glory, andbless ing.

”

VI I I .

C A VE S ON G S .

I SAMUEL xxiv. 5 xxvi.

FTER their escape from Saul i n the wilderness of Maon,

David and hi s men betook themselves to “ the strongholds Of Eu-gedi .” Thi s pl ace

,now identified with “ A i n

Jidy,” was situated on the western shore of the Dead Sea

,

about midway between i ts northern and southern extrem it ies .The name l i terally sign ifies “ the foun tain of the goat

,

” anddoubtless had its origin in the fac t that the neighborhoodabounded i n goats

,attracted by the verdure which here l ines

the banks of a stream that i ssues from the l imeston e rockabout four hundred fee t above the level of the l ake, at a tem

perature of and “ rushes down the steep descen t,fretted

by many a rugged crag,and rain ing its spray over verdan t

borders of acac ia,m imosa, and The cl iffs i n the neigh

borhood are ful l of natural caverns,i n one or more Of which

the company of David found a lurking-place . These caves,says Dr. Thomson ,T“ are dark as m idnight

,and the keen es t

eye can not see five paces inward ; but one who has beenlong with in , and is looking outward toward the en tranc e, canObserve with perfect d ist in ctness al l that takes place i n thatd irect ion .

”

We can thus easily imagine the gloomy in terior. Alongthe s ides of the cavern

,enj oying themselves i n one or other

of the many ways which sold iers have of amusing themselves,

Smith’s Dictionary,” sub Voce .

T The Land and the Book,” p . 603 , English edition.

I 34 DAV ID,K ING OF ISRAEL.

the motley mul titude of David’s men are scattered 5 whil e faraway in the innermost recesses of the cave, David is to befound alone, or with Gad and Abiathar as his compan ions,soothing h is heart with the s train s of h is harp

,and accom

panying the musio with the words of the 1 42 d Psalm , whichwas first sung either here or i n Adul l am . Let us read i t, andsee how

,as in the p ictures of Rembrandt

,the very darkness

gives to i t a character that i s al l i ts own . I cried unto theLord with my voice 5 with my voice unto the Lord d id I makemy suppl icat ion . I poured out my complaint before him 5 Ishowed before him my trouble . When my sp iri t was overwhelmed with in me

,then thou kn ewest my path . In the way

wherei n I walked have they privily l aid a snare for me. Il ooked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no manthat would know me : refuge fail ed me 5 no man cared for mysoul . I cried unto thee

,O Lord : I said, Thou art my refuge

and my portion in the land of the l iving . A ttend unto mycry 5 for I am brought very low : del iver me from my persecutors 5 for they are stronger than I . Bring my soul out ofprison

,that I may praise thy n ame : the righteous shal l com

pass me about 5 for thou shal t deal bountiful ly with me .”

There is in al l this much of that rapid stroke as of al tern ate wings,” that “ heaving and s inking as of the troubledheart,” which Ewald’l ‘ has so aptly described as the essence ofthe parallel ism ofHebrew poetry 5 whil e i n the closing strophethe faith wh ich underl ies the whole prayer comes forth, l ike adaisy emerging from the grass

,and open ing its petal s to the

morn ing sun . The nigh t had made i t bend its head,and

covered i t wi th dew-drops 5 and now,as i t l ifts i tself up to

greet the dawn , the tears of the darkness have become thed iamonds that encirc le i ts crimson-poin ted coronet.To the same chapter of David ’s l ife belongs the 5 7 th

it ! uoted by Stan ley, Jewish Church,” vol . IL, 148 .

1 3 6 DAV ID,KING OF ISRAEL .

Ou whose l ips hosannas langu ish, and in whose hearts devo tion al l but d ies . Nor for h imself alone was David ledthrough such experiences . God had se t him forth

,that i n

him,a needy and forlorn on e in the very extremest degree,

he m ight Show his loving-kindness, “ for a pattern to themwhich should hereafter bel ieve on h im .

” Accordingly, thesecave Psalms have awakened responsive echoes i n the heartsof mul ti t udes in every age. When those of whom the worldwas not worthy “ wandered

'

in deserts and in mountains, andin dens and caves of the e arth ,

” no words could so bear upthe burden of the ir hearts to God as those wh ich I have jus tread . They were chan ted

,i t may be, by Paul and S i l as i n

the prison of Phil ippi, and by the early Christ ians in the Roman catacombs. They were sung

,in the i r own rugged ye t

express ive vers ion,by the Scott ish Covenanters, on the bleak

h ill-s ide,or in the wild moor-l and

,or i n the dark and lonely

cave . When Sir Patrick Hume lay h id in the family sepulchral vaul t

,or in the hole dug for him by his own daughter

beneath h is house,he tel ls us that when he had no light

,he

begui led the hours by repeating to himself Buchanan ’s vers ion of the Psalms, which in former days of prosperi ty he hadcommitted to memory 5 and Christ ian sufferers everywhere,in t imes of revolu tion or danger, when flee ing before theirenemies

,have turned in st inctively to these odes, and to oth

ers of s imil ar character in the sacred Psal ter. There i s nota day,

” says Edwards,i n h is “ Personal Narrative of the I n

dian “ i n which we do not find someth ing in thePsalms that appears wri tten spec ial ly for our unhappyc ircumstances

,to meet the wants and feel ings of the day.

Thus,as face answereth to face in a gl ass

,so doth the heart

of bel iever to bel iever i n rel igious experience 5 and thesecave Psalms which David has left

,are but l ike speak ing-tubes

“ Jewish Church ,

” quoted by S tan ley, vol . 1L , pf) . 145 , 165

CAVE SONGS . 1 3 7

i n the chamber of affl ic t ion , through which we , as wel l as others

,may send up our cry to h im who is our Helper.When Saul had returned from his campaign agains t the

Phil is t ines,and was informed that David had gon e to Eu

ged i,he immediately set out with three thousand men

,deter

m ined to effec t his destruction . But,so far from accompl ish

ing h is purpose,he was in a s ingular way put entirely into

David ’s powe r. Seeking rel ief from the midday heat, anddes iring to refresh h imself with slumber

,he wen t

,al l unwit

t ingly,in to the very cavern in which David and his men

were conceal ed . Going from the l ight and looking inward,

i t was impossibl e that he should see them,but accustomed as

they had become to the darkness,and looking, as they were

from the back part of the cave out toward the d im l igh t at i tsmon th, they could see him perfectly. David ’s compan ion sregarded i t as a spec ial Opportun ity of ridd ing themselvesof the ir adversary, and sought: to persuade the ir leader to kil lh im .

“ Behold,

” said they, “ the day of which the Lord saidunto thee : Behold I wil l del iver th in e enemy in to th in eh and that thou mayest do to him as i t shal l seem good untothee . But David could n ot bring h imsel f so to regard i t.There was st il l to him a “ d ivin ity hedging ” the king

,as

the anoin ted of the Lord , and he would not suffer h imsel fto v iol ate the sanctity of Saul ’s person . His att i tude wasentirely defens ive

,and to slay Saul i n cold blood, however

much there m ight have been in Oriental usages to sanct ioni t,would have been i n h is V iew not merely murder but sac

rilege . No doubt i t m ight be said that God had rej ectedSaul

,and had caused David to be anoin ted in h is room 5

but that h ad not given to David the right to deal summarily with Saul : i t h ad only indicated that when , i n the courseof providence, Sau l should be removed, David would be se tupon hi s throne . For th i s, therefore, David would wai t.He would not take providence in to h is own hands. He


would bide God ’s t ime, and i t should not be said of himthat he had come into the kingdom by the assassination of

his predecessor. SO he stood firm against the entreaties ofhis men

,and would not Sl ay the king. He con ten ted h im

self wi th cutting off a portion of Saul ’s robe,a th ing which in

the circumstances he could easi ly do withou t d isturb ing hi srepose. But even th is caused h im some m isgivings of heart

,

the rather,as perhaps, after he had done i t, hi s men, embold

ened by his example, might have fel t themselves at l iberty togo farther

,and lay hands on the king himself. I f any such

d isposition was man ifested by them,i t was immediately re

pressed by the ir l eader,and so

,al together unconscious of

the danger to which he had been exposed, Saul slept on, un

ti l,thoroughly refreshed, he rose and passed out of the cave

to j oin h is troops . He was fol lowed by David,with the skirt

of hi s robe in h is hand, who cried after him ,

“ My lord,the

king !” and bowed before him with h is face to the earth .

I t was a bold thing to do 5 and on e hardly knows which toadmire the more, the magnan imity that spared Saul i n thecave

,or the valor that braved h im and h is troops outs ide of

i t. But often the bolder course i s the w iser,and the cour

age of a man i n plac ing h imself i n the very m idst of his enemies

,so surprises them that they never th ink of doing him

harm . Thus i t seems to have been i n the presen t in stance ;for

,as David stands before Saul, and proceeds to plead his

cause with h im,no on e of the royal t roops in terferes, and the

king himsel f is deeply moved— but i t i s w ith sorrow ratherthan revenge . And i t was n o marvel that such an effectwas produced Upon h im,

for seldom has a more tender, earnest

,manly

,and candid appeal been made by one man to

another,than that which David here addressed to Saul . He

complained that the king had l i stened to unscrupulous men,who had laid to hi s charge things which h is soul abhorred .

He den ied that he had ever i n any way sought the king's


ty-s ixth chapter of 1 Samuel ; but i t may be conven ien t totake i t now

,l eaving the in terven ing narrative to be cons id

ered afterward .

In the course of his wanderings David came once againto Hachilah

,in the neighborhood of Ziph ; and the inbah

i tan ts of that c i ty, disappo in ted, perhaps , at the fai lure of the i rformer attempt

,sen t again to ’

Saul to tel l him where he was .The resul t was that Sau l came forth with his troops

,expec t

ing to take him , as he doubtl ess would have done on the firs toccasion

,i f he had no t been called away to attack the Phil i s

t ines . But, wiser from his former experience, David , thi s t ime,d id not go to the hill

,but abode in the wilderness

,keeping

ever a vigil an t eye upon the movements of his adversary.

A t l ength, one n ight, accompan ied by his n ephew, Abishai,

David went in to the very m ids t of Saul ’s encampmen t whilehe and his troops were asleep . Abishai counseled that SaulShould be slain

,and offered to do the treacherous deed him

self ; but David, true to his reverence for the Lord’s anoin t

ed, and earnest i n h is desire not to stain his hands with theblood of h is father-in-l aw, would not con sen t. He was conten t to leave the whole con troversy between himself andSau l to God

,and he would not rashly prec ipitate i ts settle

ment by any crime of his own .

“ A s the Lord l iveth,

” saidhe, “ the Lord shal l smite h im ; or h is day shal l come to die ;or he shal l descend in to battl e

,and perish . The Lord for

bid that I should s tre tch forth m ine hand agains t the Lord’sanointed . So he restrained Abishai ; and counsel ing h imto take only the spear which marked the p il low of the chief,and the cruse of water that was by h is s ide

,they stole away

from the camp , and returned to thei r own stronghold . Inthe morn ing

,David cl imbed to the l edge of the cl iff which

overhung the cave in which h is men were concealed, andoverlooked the valley in which Saul was encamped, andShou ting to Abner

,the Captain of the king’s host, he banter

CAVE SONGS. 1 4 1

ed h im on the careful watch wh ich he had kept over h ismaster

,showing at the same ‘ time the spear and the p itcher

,

as proof that he had himself been at the ve ry s ide of Saul .When the king heard h is vo ice he was moved as deeply ashe had been at Eu-gedi

,and said

,

“ I have s inned : re turn,my

son David 5 for I wil l no more do thee harm,because my sou l

was prec ious i n th in e eyes thi s day : behold,I have pl ayed

the fool,and have erred exceed ingly.

David ’s response was a ren ewal of his appeal to God ;and Sau l parts from him with a benedict ion : “ Blessed bethou

,my son David : thou shal t both do great th ings, and

al so shal t st il l prevail . Truly,

“ When a man ’s way pleasethe Lord , he maketh even his enem ies to be at peace withhim. We hear a great deal

'

of David ’s mal ign ity and re

vengeful spiri t, and I can not, i n the l ight of the New Testamen t

,defend al l that he d id or said ; yet we must not fai l to

note how here he acted from the noblest magnan imity, andhow

,long before the words of Paul . were wri tten

,he verified

the tru th wh ich they express : “ Dearly beloved, avenge notyourselves

,bu t rather give plac e un to wrath : for i t i s writ

ten ,Vengeance i s m in e 5 I wil l repay, saith the Lord . Therefore

,if th in e enemy hunger

,feed h im ; if he thirs t, give him

drink : for i n so doing thou shal t heap coal s of fire on

hi s head . Be not overcome Of evi l , bu t overcome evi l withgood .

”So far as we know,

th is was the las t meeting between Saul and David 5 and i t i s pl easing to think that afteral l that had occurred

, Sau l’s l atest utterance to h im was one

of benedic tion ; a t once a vind icat ion of David ’s conduct inthe past

,and a forecast of his glory i n the future . Verily

,

the Psalmist was speaking from his own experience when hesaid

,

“ Commit thy way -unto the Lord ; trust al so in him ;and he shal l bring i t to pass . And he shal l bring forth thyrighteousness as the l ight

,and thy judgmen t as the DOOH'

.

day.

” But before we pass away from Saul ’s persecu tion of

1 4 2 DAV ID,KING OF ISRA EL .

David,an in teresting inqu i ry presents i tself

,which may be

answered by the help of one of the Psalms. How came i t,

one i s tempted to ask, that Saul was thus at one t ime sofriendly to David

,and at another fi l led with such bi tte r eu

mity against h im ? Much of th is was owing, doubtless, tothe impuls ive

,wayward, and capricious dispos it ion which, as

we have seen,grew upon him after hi s rej ec tion by Samuel .

But th is wil l n o t expl ain i t al l . An impulse wil l go on i na man unti l i t exhausts i tself ; but i t wi l l then l eave him,

atleast

,indifferen t

,and something else wil l be requ ired to ao

count for the rap id reversal of his feel ings, when we see h imchange i n a short t im e from grateful apprec i at ion to fierc ean tagon ism . Where

,then

,shal l we find that someth ing in

the case of Saul ? The answer seems to m e to be furn ishedby the inscription to the 7 th P salm,

which, from its simil ari tyto David ’s utterances to Saul on the occas ions which havebeen to-n igh t before us

,has been by most expositors con

nec ted with these events . I t is ent i tl ed “ Shiggaion of David, which he sang un to the Lord , concern ing the words ofCush the Benj am ite .” That is a dithyrambic ode of Davidconcern ing the words of Cush . Now if we adopt the conj ec ture that Cush was one of Saul ’s confiden tial adherents,and that he had se t h imsel f del iberately and mal ignan tly topoison his master’s m ind i n reference to David

,by inven ting

al l manner of false assert ion s,and indulging in every variety

of s ign ifican t innuendoes concern ing him,we have an expla

nation a t once, of many statements i n the n arrative , of thevacil lat ions i n th e disposi tion of Saul , and of the character ofthe Psalm to which the titl e belongs . Thus

,at Eu-gedi,David

said to Saul,i n apparen t al lus ion to some private sl anderers,

“ Wherefore hearest thou men ’s words,saying, Behold, David

seeketh thy hurt And again,at Hachilah, he exclaims,

3“ 1 Sam . xxiv. , 9.


mine enemy)— [a paren theti c allus ion to hi s al lowing Saulto escape

,even though he had h im in h is power] ; le t the

enemy persecute my soul , and take i t ; yea, l e t him treaddown my l ife upon the earth, and lay m ine honor in the dust.Arise

,O Lord

,i n th ine anger, l ift up thyself because of

the rage of mine enemies : and awake for me to the j udgmen t that thou hast commanded . SO shal l the congregat ionof the peopl e compass thee about : for thei r sakes

,therefore

,

re turn thou on high. The Lord shal l j udge the peoplej udge me, O Lord , according to my righteousness, and according to m ine integri ty that i s in me . Oh le t the wickednessof the Wicked come to an end ; but establ ish the j ust : for therighteous God trieth the hearts and re in s . My defense isOf God, which saveth the upright in heart . God judgeth therighteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. I f

he turn n ot,he wil l whet h is sword ; he hath ben t h is bow,

and made i t ready. He hath also prepared for him the ins trumen ts of death 5 he ordaineth his arrows against thepersecutors . Behold

,he travaileth wi th iniquity

,and hath

conce ived misch ief,and brought forth falsehood . He made

a pi t,and digged i t

,and is fal len i n to the d itch which he

made . His misch ief Shal l re turn upon his own head, andhis v iol en t deal ing shal l come down upon h is own pate .I wi l l praise the Lord accord ing to h is righteousness : andwil l s ing praise to the n ame of the Lord most high .

”

The s im ilarity of many of the expression s used in this Odeto those employed by David i n h i s two appeals to Saul i svery great

,and ful ly warran ts the bel ief that the Psalm was

composed at the date of the occurrences which have beennow before us . In th is .view i t i s most in teresting, as showing the habi tual tendency of David ’s soul i n tri al to repairto God . Andrew Ful l e r has somewhere said that “ a manhas only as much rel igion as he can command i n the timeof trouble 5

” and by the bearing of David through these c a

CAVE SONGS . 1 45

lamities we may see how genu in e h is devot ion to Jehovahwas .Travel ing on ce upon a railway car

,I had among my fe l

low-passengers a l i ttl e l augh ing child , who romped aboutand was at home with every body. Had any one come inand looked at her whil e she was frol icking thus

,.he would

not have been abl e to tel l to whom she belonged, she seemed to be so much the property of every one ; but e re longthe engine gave a loud

,long shriek

,as we

,

went rattl ing in toa dark tunnel

,and in a moment the child flew, l ike a b ird,

to nestl e herself i n a l ady’s l ap . I knew then who was hermother ! So

,i n the day of prosperity, the good man may go

h ither and thither,to th is s ide or to that, and there may not

be ve ry much about him to tel l whose he is 5 but let h im besen t through some dark

,damp tunnel of severe affl iction, and

you_will see at once to whom he belongs 5 for then , David

l ike,he commits h is cause to God and hides the issu e.

The Sp iri t of God has written the name of Jesus wi th inv is ible ink on the bel iever’s heart

,but th e fire of tribulation

brings out the characters before men ’s eyes . St il l, remember that trial does not make goodness 5 i t only reveals it.We must have i t before we can manifest i t. Hence

,if we

would prepare for such an ordeal as that through whichDavid passed, we mus t i n our daily l ives cul t ivate such fellowship with Jehovah, as that which the son of Jesse mainfained when he was fol lowing hi s father’s sheep .

But going back over the narrative,le t us

,ere we close

,

glean for ourselves a few practical lesson s from i t for our

daily guidance . And here an obvious appl ication of theprincipl e on wh ich David acted when Saul was in hi s power

,

i s that we should never seek success by unwarrantable mean s .Though David was promised the kingdom

,nay

,j ust because

he had faith in Him who made the promise he would no tmake the body of Saul a s tep up to' the throne . “ He that


bel ieveth wil l not make haste . Contrast this conduc t of h iswith that of Rebekah, when , th inking she could manage matters better than God, she stirred up Jacob

’

to seek the birthright by deception

,and you wil l see precisely what I meari

when I hold up the procedure of David for approbation andimitat ion . Rebekah thought she was taking the shortest wayto get at that which God had promised

,but i n real ity she sen t

her son a long way round,entailed upon h im much shame

and m isery, and deprived herself of his presence and fel lowship for al l her afte r-l ife . David

,in the view of his fol lowers,

m ight have stepped to the throne of Israel at once by murdering Saul

,but he knew better than take such a course as

that. The right way may seem the longer,but i t i s always

the safer 5 and when you get to your destin ation , you havethe satisfaction of an approving consc ience

,and a favoring

God. Now this is a truth which young people, i n these davsparticularly

,would do wel l to remember.

’

There is n o temporal obj ect of ambition , indeed,

'

which God has prom ised tobestow on any one now, as certainly as he covenanted togive to David the throne of Israel . Yet every youth hassome kingdom before him which he des ires to win 5 and therestless hurry of our age is such that he becomes infectedwith the common madness

,and is i n haste to gain h is end ;

Now,i n these c ircumstances

,there are never want ing Abishais

who wil l come and show him a short road to the atta inmen tof h is pu rpose ; but i t wil l be over the commiss ion of somes in as real

,though perhaps not quite so revol ting, as would

have been the murder of Saul by David in the cave of Engedi . “

See ,”one says, “ here is a glorious Opportun ity to

make your fortune in a day. Never m ind,though it does in

volve the ru i n of a rival 5 you don’t owe him any considera

t ion . He would have no regard for you , i f your c ircumstanceswere reversed ; and so the temptation is to go and do as i ti s suggested . O r, again , you may have, to use the world

’

s

DAV ID,KING OF ISRAEL .

opportun ity e ither of making an expl an ation or of demanding an investigation 5 bu t, l ike a cowardly assassin, he stabbed him from behind, and whispered his falsehoods i n tothe ear of Saul, with every added embel l ishmen t of externalmannerism to give them effect. N ow, have we nothing l ikethis

,even in our own day and in our own c ircl es ? Who

knows not among his acquaintances some scandal -mongerwho is forever whispering away some on e ’s reputation witha “ They say

,

” or “ I ’m sure I hOpe i t i s not true ; but yet,you know

,the best of men are bu t men at the best, and i t

does look very susp ic ious,to say the least of i t ?” Give me

rather a hundred Open,honorabl e en em ies than one such

serpen t-tongued and behind -back antagon is t as that. Letme see my accusers : l e t me be brought face to face withany open

,above-board statemen t

,at any righteous tribunal 5

but l et me not be se t to figh t wi th one who wil l not comeforth from his dark ambush

,unless i t be to aim another

blow when he can do so unseen . I t may seem a smal l matter to the Slanderer h imself ; he may look upon i t even asa good j oke 5 but it i s a serious busin ess with him whomhe assails, for the l ie wil l pass round and round, gatheringas i t goes, and may, perhaps, en tail upon its victim the severest agony.

A whisper broke the a ir

A soft, l ight tone , and low,

Ye t barb’d with Shame and woe

N ow might it perish only there ,N or farther go

Ah me a quick and eager earCaught up the little meaning sound 1

Another voice has breathed it clear,And so it wandered round

From ear to l ip, from l ip to e ar,

Until it reached a gen tle heart ,And Ma t it broke l”

CAVE SONGS. 1 49

Think of that when the sl anderous story ri ses to your l ips,and be Sil en t !But though

,perhaps

,the l arge part Of the blame belonged

to Cush,we can not hold Saul gu il tl ess . He ought to have

been above rece iving private accusations against any man ,most of al l agains t one who had done so much for the defen se of his country as David had ; but, alas ! the wish wasfather to the scandal here . Saul des ired some ground on

which he m ight rid himsel f of David,and so he was ready

to bel ieve any evi l that m ight be laid to hi s charge . If theking had no t been wil l ing to hear

,Cush would have had no

Opportun ity to speak . I n al l slander,therefore

,the bearer

i s as bad as the speaker 5 and if we were only to ac t as weought to do when a tale-bearer begins to speak, we shouldinstantly take measures e ither to s il ence him or to leave h ispresence . I t is a poor compl iment one pays to u s when hebegins to retail scandal i n our ear

,because i t proves that he

bel ieves us to be capable of enj oying i t 5 and certainly noenj oyment could be more d iabol ical . Hence

,i f we were to

fee l rightly i n th is regard,we would view i t as the greatest

in sul t that could be offered to us,when one comes to us with

a whispered h istory that i s intended to destroy our confi

dence in the absen t. “ Where no wood is,there the fi re go

e th out 5” so

,where there i s no l is tener, the scandal-monger’s

“ occupat ion ’s gone . But ere I qu i t this subj ec t, l e t m e d irect a momen t’s attention to the bearing of David under thisaffl iction . He embraces the firs t opportun i ty of confrontingi t,and then he makes h is appeal to God

,and waits h is V ind i

c ation a t the hands of Providence while,at the same t ime

,

he gives express ion to the conv ict ion that,sooner or l ater

,

the false accuser would be Vis i ted for hi s in iqui ty,and fal l

i nto the pit which he had d igged for another. As,i n a l ater

history,when Paul was about to be made a Victim by an un

princ ipled governor, who sought only to make the most of

5 0 DAV ID,KI NG OF ISRAEL .

his position for his own aggrandizemen t, he appealed untoCae sar

,thereby removing himsel f to a higher tribunal i n an

other land, so here, amidst the accusations that were heaped

upon h im by Cush, David appealed to heaven, saying, virtually, There is one that j udgeth me, even God .

” Thus le ti t be with u s i n times when we are assailed by slander. Wemay not expec t to ge t through the world withou t some of

i t. Better men than any of us have had much of it to bear ;and the better a man is, the greater i s the danger of such assaul ts 5 for i t i s only the finest fru i t that th e birds wil l peckat

, or the wasps destroy ! Let us prepare for i t, therefore 5and when we are cal led to bear i t

,l e t u s take i t as David

took i t 5 nay, higher st i ll , l e t u s take i t as i t was taken byDavid ’s Lord

,

“ who,when he was reviled , reviled not again 5when he suffered, he threatened not 5 but committed himselfto

'

him that j udgeth righteously.

”

I add only one other thought : Observe,from the case of

Saul , that true repentance is a deeper thing than feel ing, andis distinguished by permanence as wel l as s incerity . Saulsays

,

“ I have sinned 5” but we must not imagine

,because he

uses these words, that he has truly repented of his transgress ions . Indeed, i f you are fam il iar with the Word of God,you wil l at onc e recal l a number of instances recorded ' i n i t

,

in which this very express ion was employed,bu t with a d if

feren t resul t in almost every case. Thus we hearPharaohsaying

,when the plague of hail had desolated Egyp t

,I‘ have

s inned 5” but the end with h im was the harden ing of his

heart,and his utter destruc tion . When the lo t d iscovered

Achan,and brought out to l ight the wedge of gold and the

Babylon ish garmen t which he had hidden in h i s ten t,he too

said,I have s inned 5

” but there was nothing in h is heart ofthat spontaneousness which is the essence of al l true confe ss ion . When Judas came with the p ieces of si lver, and castthem at the fee t of th e Pharisees, he too said , I have sin


Repentance i s the tear that gathers and gl istens in thatas i t sees the soul ’s own s in s i n th e burden which thedeemer bore . Let us l earn to say, I have s inned ” thuthe foot of the cross, and no doubt abou t the genuinenesour peni tence need ever trouble us .

IX .

N A B A L

I SAMUEL xxv.

N the interval be tween the two meetings of David withSaul , which we considered in our l ast d iscourse, the Land

of Israel sustain ed a sore bereavement i n the death of thevenerable Samuel .Brought up at the fee t of El i i n the Tabernacl e at Shiloh,

and cal led while yet a boy to the prophetical office, Samuelh ad l ived almost cont inuously i n the service of the nation

,

and had gathered to h imself th e affection and the confidenceof th e whol e commun ity. Seeking not his own glory, butdevotedly attached to the people

,and eagerly sol ic itous for

the honor of Jehovah, he had been both a c ivi l benefac torand a rel igious reformer. He rectified the abuses whichhad sprung up under the wicked sanct ion of the sons of El i,and set h imsel f to the admin istration of even-handed j usticeamong the tribes . He establ ished the practice of holdingc ircui t courts

,which has been so l argely fol lowed in modern

times 5 and by the decis ion s wh ich he gave, he redeemedthe seat of j udgment from the contempt into which i t hadfallen .

He reorgan ized the Tabernacle services,and by the in

fluence at once of hi s teach ings and his l ife,he l ifted the

priestly office from the depth of i nfamy to which Hophn iand Phineas had sunk i t

,so that i t was no longer tru e that

the most corrupt and degrade d looked to i t as the last refuge of their destitution , saying, Put us into the pr iest’s office

,that we may eat a p iece of bread .

” He establ ished theTM:


school s of the prophets, at wh ich young men were educatedfor the higher service of the nation 5 and by h is attention tothe art of music, he prepared the way for those admirablearrangemen ts for “ the service of song i n the house of th eLord

,

” which,at a later day, made the n ame of David illus

trions . But perhaps the greates t benefit which he conferredon his fellow-coun trymen was in the influence which he exe rted over them by h is godly example . He l ived the truthwhich he taugh t, and drew to h im increasingly, as the yearsrevolved

,the affection of the people . Yea, though in the

pride of the ir heart they had desired a king to rul e overthem

,he had never lost the i r confidence

,but was among

them to the last an uncrowned king,to whom

,i n al l season s

of perplexity, they inst inctively turned for counsel and ass is tance . I n h is later days, i ndeed, he had ret ired, i n a greatmeasure

,in to private l ife

,and more espec ial ly after the form

a l rej ect ion of Saul and the anointing of David,he had sel

dom appeared in publ ic . Sti ll, his very presence amongthem was a consol ation and a defense

,and

,i n the unsettl ed

state of national affairs, the pious members of the commun ity would feel new confidence when they thought of him .

But the time had come when he must d ie . Humanlyspeak ing, he could i l l be spared from a land which wasbl ighted by the sway of a self-willed and unscrupulous monarch

,and torn by the d istraction of c ivi l s trife ; but the dis

cord of earth would make the peace of heaven only the morewelcome to him , while i t in ten sified the grief of al l good menat h is loss. To h is own ch ildren

,who walked not i n his

way, his death would be, perhaps, the breaking of the last res train t that held them from runn ing headlong in to utterm ostin iqui ty 5 to the young men of th e school of the prophets ,i t would be the taking from them of thei r best and wisestearthly friend 5 and they would each cry out, l ike El isha af

ter the ascending El ij ah,

“ My father ! my father ! the chari


Spring and autumn,many herds might feed . In this n eigh

borhood was the town of Maon , which was e ight m iles southby

- eas t of Hebron 5 and about one m ile to the north of

Maon was the Vil l age of Carmel, to be carefully distinguished from the promontory and moun tain of that name on theShore of the Medi terranean .

In the former of these towns,but with possess ions wh ich

connected him also with the l atter,there dwel t a weal thy

m an , named, or, perhaps rather n ickn amed, Nabal , or thefool

,who was d is t inguished by his n iggardly disposition

,self

i sh character,and sottish habi ts . He might almost have

sa t for the portrai t which our Lord has drawn in the parabl eof “ the r ich fool

,

” only i n h is c ase the degrad ing Vice of intemperance was added to the grasping passion of avarice .

He was a descendan t of the noble Caleb, bu t he had .noneof Caleb ’s n ature i n him . He l ived only to increase hi sgoods and to pamper h is appeti te . Proud of hi s “ threethousand Sheep ” and h is one thousand goats,” he fanciedthat they gave h im a right to snub and despise those whowere less fortunate in the world . His weal th had not endowed him wi th common sen se ; but, l ike many in our own

day, he imagined that, because he was in affiuent circums tances

,he might with impun i ty indulge in rude

,i l l-manner

ed sneers at al l who were around him .

“ What did he carefor the courtes ie s or the kindnesses of l ife ? Was not hethe great man of the place ? Could not he do j ust as hepleased ? And as for wha t other people thought of him,

what did that matter to h im ? Was not be i ndependen t ofthem al l ?” Thus

,from the murmurs of those around h im,

he took refuge i n the sel f-complacen t sol iloquy : Soul, thouhast much goods laid up for many years eat, drink, and bemerry.

” The race was not extinct in our Saviour’s day. I t

i s not extinct i n our own . Let no one suppose, therefore,that when we come upon th is Nabal

,we are l ike the geolo

NABAL . 1 5 7

gis t when in the crust of the earth he l ights upon some hugeo ld megalosaurus, and that we have here the petrified fossi lof a kind of animal which was common in the ool i te period

,

but has now entirely disappeared . Not at al l ! You veryl ikely met h im yesterday. You may meet him,

perhaps,to

morrow. The man with heavy purse and l igh t head,with

ful l pockets and empty cran ium ,i s eve rywhere a Nabal ;

and i f,haply

,he combines with these the gluttony of the

gourmand or the thirst of the drunkard, he wil l only makethe ident i ty more complete .This purse-proud boor

,had con trived (and here, again , the

resemblance to the modern specimen of the same spec iesoften holds good) to marry a woman

“ of good understanding

,and of a beautiful counten ance .

” I know not how i twas brought about. We wil l be charitabl e

,however

,and

hope that i t was,l ike other Eastern marriag es, a matter of

paren tal arrangemen t,and that her lofty apprec iation of h is

weal th had nothing at al l to do with i t. If th is were so,then

she at least was not so mercenary as some in our en l ightenedage

,who if they can only marry a carriage and pair, do not

seem to care whether or not they have a husband of mentalab il ity and moral worth fi t to be the compan ion of their daily l ives .A t the time of David ’s soj ourn in th is distric t, Nabal held

his annual sheep—shearing. This was equ ival en t to the harvest of the flock-masters, and was commonly fin ished with aj oyous feast which corresponded to the harvest-home . Gene ral ly, therefore , i t was a season of l iberal ity and good-wil l .I t was the yearly stock-taking t ime

,and if things had turn

ed out wel l, if the flocks had increased i n number, and thefleeces were up to the average standard of weight and value

,

the heart of thei r owner was opened,and he was commonly

d isposed_to show more than usual kindness to al l who were

in need . In the present in stance,David knew that Nabal


had pecu l iar reasons for being satisfied with the returns fromhis Shepherds

,for during the soj ourn of his troop in the lo

c ality, he had const ituted himself the guardian of Nabal’s

property,and

, on the test imony of th e shepherds,had not

only not inj ured them h imsel f, but had been a wal l aroundthem by night and day, so that n e ither were they inj ured byany one , nor had they m issed any thing al l the t ime thatthey had been beside them .

Conscious, therefore, of the services which he and hi s followers had rendered thi s sheep-farmer

,and expecting that i n

the day of his gladness his heart would be Opened to give asubstant ial reward to his benefactors, David sen t ten of hisyoung men to him with a kindly greeting

,and a pol ite request

that he would give them some suppl ies . To the ir Surprise,however

,they were met not only wi th a gruff refusal

,but with

insult ing sneers,which cast the blackest aspersions on the char

acter of their l eader. Who is David ?” quoth Nabal,

“ andwho is the son of Jesse ? there be many servan ts nowadaysthat break away every man from his master. Shal l I thentake my bread

,and my water

,and my flesh that I have kil led

for my shearers, and give it '

un to men , whom I know notwhence they be ?”

Stung to the qu ick by these aggravating words, the youngmen went to David

,and told h im how they had been re

pulsed . Very l ikely thei r story lost nothing in the tel l ing.

Most probably,indeed

,they would infuse something of their

own wounded pride in to their account ; but i n any case,when David heard what they said, he became fiercely ind ignant

,and ordering four hundred of his men to arm them

selves and fol low him,he went forth

,vowing the deepes t ven

geance , and determined not to le ave a s ingle survivor of al lthose who belonged to the ungrateful cyn ic who had. so insul ted him .

But th is was all wrong 5 for though David had a clear


which would be sure to come upon them al l . His appealwas not made i n vain , for She made haste, and laded asseswith ampl e stores of provis ions 5 and, sending these on before

,she determ ined to go herself and make an ample expla

nation and apology to David .

She had not come a moment too soon, for, as she was descending in to a covert of the hil l on the one s ide, David andh is men were coming down on the other

,nursing the ir

wrath ” the while . A s soon as she saw them , she l ightedfrom her ass

,and

,fal l ing at David’s fee t

,i n O riental fash

ion,she made su it to him in such a manner as to show a rare

amount of womanly tact and intel l ectual ab il ity. Taking al lthe blame upon herself

,she referred to her husband with that

un ion of playfulness and seriousness which, above al l th ings,turns away “ As his name is

,so is he 5 fool (Nabal)

i s h is name,and folly is wi th h im .

” Then she proceeded,on the suppos ition that her request had been already gran ted

,to congratul ate David that the Lord had withholden him

from shedding blood,and she begged h is acceptance

,for his

young men,of the suppl ies which she had brought. Thereaf

ter, ris ing from presen t c ircumstances, she wen t on to refer tothe futu re i n such a way as to Show that she had impl ic it faithi n the prophecies that had gone before concern ing David 5and i n a manner the most del icately adroit she concluded bysaying that, when God had given h im the kingdom ,

i t shouldbe no grief to h im that he had shed blood causel ess

, or_that

he had avenged himself. Al l th is was most pertinently pu t 5and when she spake of God’s making David a sure house 5”

of his soul as “ bound i n the bundle of l i fe with the Lordh is God

,

” and of his enem ies as dest ined to be “ slung out,as

out of the m iddle of a sl ing,” we do not wonder that she gained her obj ec t. She was a woman 5 and though we give her

Stanley’s “ Jewish Church,”vol . IL, p . 79.

NABAL . 6 1

ful l credit for s inceri ty i n all that she sa id, we can not but admire the dexterous female generalship with which she carriedher poin t in such a way as to leave David with the impressionthat be 'was laid by her under a deep obl igation . Neithercan we overlook the fact

,so cred i table to her p iety, that by

the ski llful al lus ion which she made to hi s revengeful purpose

,she deeply touched the consc ience of David, and turn

ed his grat i tude to her into thanksgiv ing to God . Only awoman could have managed such a negotiat ion as th i s sosmoothly and successfully ; bu t only a God-fearing womanwould have managed i t so as to bring David to a sense of thesinfuln ess of the act which he had been about to commit.Nabal , however, was not so much pleased with the resul t.

When Abigai l went home,she found him so in toxicated that

she said nothing on the subj ect to him unti l the morn ing 5but then

,when he heard her report, he was so enraged at the

loss of hi s property, or at the thought that hi s wife had don ewhat he had h imself refused to do

,that he wen t in to a fi t

of apoplexy— a disease to which h is dissipated habi ts and thedebauch of the p revious n ight had predisposed h im

,and

,

after l ingering for ten days, he died .

When David heard of h is fate, he was anew impelled toexpress h is grati tude to God for having withheld h im fromthe murder which i t had been in h i s heart to commit. Thiswas wel l bu t we are not sure that he was equal ly to be commended when

,with the d isposit ion to connect special calam

i ty with spec ial s in, for which the Jews, as a whole, were dist inguished, and again st which the Saviour has warned us all,be affected to see i n the m anner of Nabal ’s death a righteous retribution for h is treatmen t of himsel f

,and a pleading

of the cause of his reproach . For that we do not v ind icatehim

,any more than we do for the means which be employed

to consol e Abigai l for her husband ’s l oss,when “ he com

muned with her to take her to h im to wife !” A l ready he


was the husband of Michal, and though she had been takenfrom him by her father Saul, and given to another, that wasno excuse for his marrying Abigail now

,espec ial ly as even

before his encounter with Nabal he had taked Ahin'

oam of

Jezreel in to a s im il ar rel at ionship . Probablyhed id this, asEastern ch iefs do to th is day, for the pu rpose of adding toh is importance i n the estimation of the peopl e ; but thoughpolygamywas rather regulated than forbidden by the l aw of

Moses, i t i s clearly con trary to the primal l aw of nature,and in David ’s case, as i n the cases of many others, i t wasfollowed by d isastrous consequences . We shal l return tothis subj ec t, ere we conclude meanwhil e l et us take out ofthe h istory which we have to-n ight reviewed

,one or two prac

t ical thoughts which may be useful to us i n the ordering ofour daily l ives .Let us note, then , firs t, the suggest ive contrast which is here

presen ted in the deaths of Samuel and Nabal . On the on ehand, we have a good man , taken to his reward after a longl ife spen t i n the service of his God, and a whole n ation gathers to weep around his tomb . On the other, we have a surly, selfish, sott ish man called to h is accoun t, and no tear i sshed over his grave 5 but i nstead, a feel ing of rel ief i s experienced by al l who were connected with h im ,

for they are al lconsc ious that they wil l be the happ i er for h is absence . I nthe on e case

,the l ife on earth was but the prelude to a high

er,hol ier

,and more useful existenc e i n the heavenly world ;

i n the other,the earthly character was but the germ out of

which would spring,in the state beyond

,a deeper, darker,

and more repul sive wickedness even than that which he hadmanifested here . I do no t th ink that David wrote the 3 7 thPsalm at th is particular date

,s ince

,from one expression

which i t contains,he seems to have penned that ode i n h is

old age 5 but, whensoever i t was written , i t i s hard for me tobel ieve that he had not before h is m ind at the time the con


l eave behind h im those who s incerely mourn h is loss,and.

may himself enter i nto the enj oymen t of heaven's own blessedness .

What a blank is created when the good man dies ! Menmiss his kindly presence

,his wise counsel

,his loving words

,

his l iberal d eeds,his holy exampl e

,and h is earnes t prayers .

I t is long before they can become accustomed to h is ab

sence 5 and when some deep grief fal ls upon them,or some

great agony i s to be passed through by them,they feel as if

they wished him back again to sustain them through the ordeal . But al l of him does not depart. He leaves beh indh im an influence

,which

,long after he has gone

,i s active and

Operative for good .

“ Do you see that strip of green yonder ?” said one to h iscompan ion

,as they stood together on a heigh t, su rveying

the landscape 5 I wonder what has caused i t I know,

was the an swer 5 there was a brook there once,and i ts old‘

course i s l ined with a richer verdure than the surround ingd istric t.” Just so

,the place where a good man has l ived

and died is green er from the influence he has exerted overi t 5 and even after h is name may have been forgotten by theinhabitan ts

,they may be found in some way moulded by his

character. Let it be our aim,brethren

,so to walk with Jesus

i n our daily conduct,that we may have such a hal lowed in

fluence on al l with whom we come into contact. Let us beearnest in the service of our generation by the wil l of God .

Let us rouse ourselves to zealous activity for the honor ofChri st and

.

the benefit of our fel low-men .

“ I t were infamyto d ie and not be m issed .

” I t were foul dishonor to beburied in a grave over which no on e cares to shed a tear.But if we would have the death of Samuel , we must l ive hisl ife ; and if we would l ive h is l ife, we must bear con tinuallyi n m ind the words which Jehovah spoke to El i by the manof God when Samuel was a ch ild : “ Them that honor m e

NABAL. 1 6 5

I wil l honor,and they that despi se me shal l be l ightly e s

teemed .

”

Note,In the second place

,from this history, that l i ttl e

th ings are more dangerous to the bel iever’s l ife than great.

David could control h imself when in the presence of San],

and again and again res isted the entreat ie s of his adherentsto put hi s adversary to death 5 but when this churl ish andaltogether contemptibl e Nabal speaks a few insul t ing words

,

he is completely thrown off his guard,and gives way to the

most unhal lowed anger and blood - th irs ty revenge . And iti s so with the people of God st ill . For great th ings a Christ ian braces h imsel f up prayerfully

,and so he meets them

calmly and patien tly ; but a l i ttl e th ing frets h im ,and pro

vokes h im to testiness and rage,because he deems i t too

trivial to go to God with , and seeks to encounter i t only inhis own strength . How common is th is experi ence amongus ! The loss of a large sum seriously affecting our comfortwil l be borne with equan im ity

,for we are driven to meet that

upon our knees ; bu t if one should cheat us out of a paltryamoun t

,i t wil l annoy us

,and sti r u s up to envy and revenge

,

and we wil l ven t our spleen in al l manner of attempts tobear down wi th the ful l forc e of law upon our adversary.

The death of a ch ild wil l fi l l u s with sadness, but wil l beborne by u s with be l i evmg resign at ion , because we see God

’sprov idence i n that 5 but the acc iden tal upsetting of a teaurn

,or the thoughtless stupidi ty of a servan t, wil l produce in

u s an explosion of temper suffic ien t to shake the whole e stabl ishmen t to i ts foundation . I s not this too largely thecase with u s al l ? and when i t i s so

,how often are we be

holden to the Abigai l beside u s for soothing u s down toreason and propriety ? Surely we ought to be on our guardagain s t such irri tab il ity. And that we may be so effi c iently,l et u s see God’s hand i n al l th ings ; l et u s tu rn to God ineve ry thing ; and, far from despis ing smal l th ings, le t u s


watch them the more closely the smaller they are,since

their ve ry m inuteness makes them only the more dangerous .Above all

,l et us th ink how unl ike th is temper i s to the

meekness of Him by whose name we have cal led ourselves !Where i s th e image of Chris t i n such a disposit ion ? I t i sonly on the surfac e of the placid lake that you can see, unbroken

,the m irrored l ikeness of the sun 5 but l e t i t be -ruf

fled by the wind,and forthwith the ful l rounded image is

destroyed,and nowhere can you catch a gl impse of i t com

ple te . Not otherwise i s i t here . The l ikeness of Christc an be seen only while the Christ ian preserves h is equan imity. I n the outburst of temper, the Chris t-image is defaced ,and the wholesome influence of the character I s neutral ized .

Besides,how fool i sh i t i s to act under the influence of an

ger ! What a dreadful s in David would have comm i ttedhere

,ifhe had no t been providen tial ly restrained I t would

be wel l for us, therefore, to resolve n ever to act in any matter while the heat of temper i s upon us .

“ That i s a wise precept which the Chinese have crystal l i zed into a proverb

,

“ Do nothing in a passion ; why wouldst thou put to sea i nthe Violence of a storm ?” But that is a st il l wiser of Paul

,

“ Be ye angry, and s in not : l et not the sun go down uponyour wrath.

F inal ly, i t i s imposs ibl e to read th is chapter withou t having our m inds d irected to th e whole quest ion of marri age .I n the case of Nabal and Abigail we have an il lustration ofthe evil s of i l l-assorted wedlock 5 while in the after-rel ationship wh ich she bore to David

,taken in connection with the

manifold evil s wh ich we shal l see resul ted from his concnbinage , we have a forc ibl e exempl ification of the m ischiefsand m iseries wh ich are always and everywhere the conse

quence s of polygamy. In the Divin e in tention at the first,the wife was designed to be the helpmeet of the husband,and th is was the l aw, “ Therefore shal l a man leave h is fa


upon a high social posit ion , i s regarded as of far more importance than the select ion of one who shal l be a su itablecompan ion

,or a daily helper i n the Christian l ife . Even as

I speak,

’

I am aware that many may resen t my words,as if

they were going beyond the province with in which mul t itudes would restric t the proprieties of the pulp it 5 but hav=ing regard to the loose notions which are coming in uponus on this subj ec t, and knowing wel l how closely i t concern sthe puri ty of the Church and the welfare of the nation thatthe tru th concern ing i t should be preached

,I dare not hold

my peace . The l aw of the New Testamen t i s clear,and as

one has wel l said, “ the man who wishes to belong to theflock of Chris t own s ne i ther Moses n or yet the c ivi l magistrate for his master i n th is respect.” The man and the .wifeare un ited until God shal l separate them by death . Oneman to one wife. Howi mportant, therefore, that the choiceon e ither s ide shal l be wisely made ! I t i s right to look formutual adaptation in station

,i n temper

,i n educat ion

,and in

abil ity. These have al l the ir own importance , but there aretwo principl es which should n ever be lost s igh t of. F i rst

,

le t no one enter into th is relationship where there is no truelove for him or her with whom i t i s to be formed . That i sthe l aw of n ature . Second, l e t no one who is a Christi an beun ited to another who i s not also one with Christ. That i sthe law of grace . “ Be ye not unequally yoked together withunbel ievers for what fellowship hath righteousness with un

righteousness ? and what communion hath l igh t with darkness ? And what concord hath Christ wi th Bel ial ? or whatpart hath he that bel ieveth with an infidel ?” In a un ion soclose and intimate

,i t can not bu t be that an assimil at ing

process wil l cont inually go on 5 and if e ither party be godlessand given to debas ing pursu i ts

,then we may say to the other,

Thou shal t lower to his leve l day by day,What is fine within thee growing coarse to sympathize with clay.

NABAL . 1 69

And who shal l tel l how many l ives that m ight otherwis ehave been beautiful , exal ted, and ben ign , have been marred,and blurred

,and mutil ated

,and degraded

,by an improper

marriage ! This un ion may be e ither the brightest bl ess ingor the darkest m ise ry to those who en ter in to i t. What need,then

,of care and prayer i n the choice ofua sui tabl e compan

ion for one ’s earthly lot ! The old Roman pun ishment whichbound to a l iving man a festering and corrupting corpse, andcompel led him to carry it with him wherever he wen t, wasnothing to the self-inflicted misery of those who bind themselves to husbands or to wives who are , l ike Nabal here,surly, boorish, beastly, and degraded ! “ Ah

,me !” says the

venerable Tholuck , “ if our youth would but more deeplyponder what i t is to choose a partner

,to be of one

'

spirit

and one flesh with them for the whol e of the ir pilgrimage onearth, their choice would not be made in the false gl are of

the-

theatre or the bal l-room . Tz'

ll dea f/z divide you, wouldring perpetual ly i n the ir souls . I n the l ight of day theywould choose, and by the l ight of God ’s Word they wouldtry the ir

.

partner, seek the advice of Christ ian fri ends,and

not j o in hands un ti l they were sure of the d ivine amen .

“

God give you grace, my young fri ends, to ponder wel l thesewe ighty ’

words

if Hours of Chris tian Devo tion ; trans lated from the German of A .

Tholuck , D .D .,by Robert Menzie s , p. 47 I .

8

X .

ZIKLAG ,END OR ,

AND GI LB 0A .

1 SAMUEL xxvu .-xxxi . 5 2 SAMUEL i.

FTER his interview with Sau l at Hachil ah, David continued for a time h is wandering l ife in the wilderness

of Judah,with his band of followers, which had gradually in

creased to s ix hundred men,As origin al ly composed, his

company consisted of “ those who were i n distress, and thosewho were in debt

,and those who were discon tented . Yet

even among this motl ey troop, there were warriors of theutmost bravery, who were destin ed afterward to be leadersi n h is army. Such were those three who, on the memorableoccasion al luded to in chapter xi . of 1 Chron icl es

,verses 1 5

1 9, while the Phil ist ine garrison was at Bethl ehem ,when Da

vid thi rsted for a draught from the wel l at the gate of thatc ity

,from which

,i n his happy shepherd days

,he had often

drank,dashed through the host of the enemy

,and drew wa

ter from the Spring, and took i t and brought i t to their capta in .

But he would not drink of i t, after all 5 for, with a Sp iri t whichcombined the purest p ie ty and the lofties t ch ival ry

,he pour

ed i t out before the Lord, saying, “ My God forbid i t me,

that I should do th is th ing : shal l I drink the blood of thesemen

,that have put their l ives in j eopardy ? for with the j eop

ardy of their l ives they brought i t.” We can not wonderthat men loved such a leader

,nor is i t strange that those

who did this daring deed were ever afterward referred to asthe three m ightiest i n his hos t.While they were i n the hold

,others came to h im from

among the ch ildren of Gad 5 of whom eleven princ ipal lead


to despondency,and almost to despai r, for he said, “ I shal l

now perish one day by the hand of Saul 5 there is nothingbetter for me than that I should speedily escape into theland of the Phil i st in es 5 and Saul Shal l despair ofme to seekme any more in the coast of Israel, so shal l I escape out ofhis hand .

” I t i s difficul t to accoun t for th is transition in himfrom confidence to fear. Someth ing of i t m ight be due tothose al ternat ion s of emotion wh ich seem to be inciden tal toour human constitut ion . We have ebbings and flowingswithin us l ike those of the t ides 5 and just as i n nature thelowest ebb is after the h ighest spring t ide, so you frequentlysee

,even in the bes t of men , after some lofty experience of

spiri tual elevation and noble self-command, an ebbing downto the lowest depth of fear and fl igh t. I t was after h is hap

py soj ourn i n the school of the prophets at Ramah that David wen t

,on the former occas ion

,to the land of the Ph il is

t ines 5 and now i t was after he had risen above the cowardlysuggest ion of his followers to murder Saul i n cold blood , andhad indeed changed the curse of Sau l ’s enmi ty into a bene~

d ic tion,that he s inks again i n to despair.

Something of th is change,too

,m ight b e owing to the re

ports brought to him by his recen t recrui ts of the persisten tefforts made to poison the m ind of Saul against h im by theslanderer Cush, to whom we have al ready referred . But

,

however i t may be accounted for,th is despai r of David ’s was

deeply d ishonoring to God, and ful l of danger to himself. I twas d ishonoring to God 5 for had he not then, j ust as real ly ashe ever had, those prom ises which had so steadily sustainedh im in former emergencies , and which had been so sign al lyfulfil l ed by former del iverances ? Had he forgotten the anoin ting which he rece ived from the hands of Samuel ? Was hisv ic tory over the gian t now entirely ignored by him ? Surelyhe was the very l ast man who ought to have all owed h imselfto despair of the love and faithfulness of Jehovah ! Yet here

Z I KLAG,ENDOR

,AND G I LBOA . 1 73

he i s i n the blankest darkness,brooding over h is d ifficul t ies,

and seeking help from the heathen,as if there were no God

to cal l upon, no kingdom to win , no right to be adhered to,and no wrong to be avoided . St il l, le t us not be too severeon him ,

l est we thereby condemn ourselves 5 for, bad as despair was i n David

,with al l his experiences of the goodness

of God,i t i s st il l worse i n us

,who have seen the marvelous

man ifestat ions of his mercy in the cross of Jesus Christ. I fi n our t imes of despondency we can not take hold of th isthought

,He that spared not his own Son , but del ivered h im

up for us all,how shal l he not with him also freely giy e u s al l

th ings ?” i t i l l becomes u s to indulge in wholesale denunc ia tion of David here . He that i s withou t Sin among us, i nthis respect

,l e t h im cast the firs t stone at h im . For my

part,I have been myself so often i n the same condemnation ,

that I am disposed to place myself in the p il lory by his s ideBut this despai r was also dangerous to h imself ; for, aris ing

as it d id from his forgetfulness of God, i t kept h im from con

sul ting God about h is plans . On other importan t occasions,

espec ially s ince Abiathar had j o ined his band,he was careful

to inquire at the mys tic Urim and Thummim for d irec tion .

But here we have no ment ion made of the sacred oracle, andno record of a single prayer. Hence no good could be ex

pec ted from an enterpri se which was thus in augurated . Thatwhich is begu n in prayerlessness must end in m isery and hum il iation .

Nor was this al l . His despair,making him reckless

,

bl inded him to the dangers wh ich he would incur by goingto the land of the Phil ist ines . Had he not been pan ic-s tricken

,he would surely have remembered h is former experiences

at the court ofAch ish, and would have reasoned that if, whenhe was alone, he was i n such peril, he would be much morel ikely to be seriously endangered when he was

‘

accompanied

by s ix hundred men , with the ir wives and ch ildren . But the


truth was, there was only one al l-absorbing feel ing in h is soulat this t ime

,n amely

,the fearof Saul

,and he took what seem

ed to him the readiest way to rel ieve himself of that danger,

without staying for a momen t to consider al l that h is procedure might involve . “ He that bel ieveth shal l not m akehaste but fear is always in a hurry. Running i n wild pan icfrom a dog, one may find h imself i n the more serious dangerof being overturned and trampled upon by the pranc ing horseas he holds on h is course along the stree t. So he who haslost h is confidence in God, and is fi l led with fear of some calam ity, rushes bl indly forward seeking presen t rel ief, only tofal l in to a more appal l ing danger than that from which heflees . Thus i t was with David here . As he had calcul ated

,

he rid h imself of Saul , for we read that he sought no morefor David 5 but by the false step of going over to the Phil istines he involved h imself i n a long course of cruel ty and dec e it

, out of which he came with a tarn ished reputation , and aheart grown but too famil iar wi th the c rooked pol icy of expediency and s in .

Achish received h im kindly 5 but whil e we give h im credi t for his hosp ital i ty, we can not look Upon i t as al togetherdis interested . He knew that David was at enm ity with San],and see ing so many men accompanying him , he c alculatedon receiving substantial assi stance from him i n any mil itaryservice i n which he might engage . Hence, when David re

quested that he m ight have a place in some town in thecountry

,that h e m ight dwel l there, he gave h im Ziklag, a

town which had been allotted to the tribe of Judah i n thedays of Joshua

,and wh ich was probably at thi s t ime un in

habited, because i t had been taken by the Ph il istines, and i ts

population dispersed .

Here David and his men,with the i r wives and children ,

l ived for sixteen months,and hither came to h im (as we

l earn from 1 Chron icl es xi i . , 1 — 7 ) some of those who were


innocen t—l ooking l ittl e seed , loss of confidence in God ! I sthis thy voice

, 0 David, speaking so falsely i n the ear ofAch ish ? I s th is the rfian according to God ’s own heart ?

A las ! i t i s even so . But he is not acting now as God ap

proves . He has forsaken God , and God, for the t ime being,has left h im to himself

,to le t h im see how far ~without hi s

grace he would run in to in iqu ity, and to l et us learn from hisexampl e what an evil th ing and a bi tter i t i s to forsake theLord our God .

V ery soon a cri t ic al t ime came to David . The Phil ist ineswere preparing for that assaul t on Israel wh ich culm in atedat Gilboa

,and Achish

,to Show hi s confidence in David, in

t imated that he wished him to go with him as his aid-de-c ampto battle . Sorely must David have winced under this command ; but d isguis ing h is d ismay, under an evasive answerto this effect

,

“ Thou shal t know what thy servan t can do,”

he made ready his band,and wen t to Aphek, a place near

the pl ain of Esdraelon ,where the Phil istines were en camped .

But the lords of the Phil istin es would have non e of h ispresence, and in sisted that he and his fol lowers should besen t back to Ziklag. Achish was greatly distressed at th is

,

and made an apology for their ruden ess and apparen t d istrust, to David, who retraced h is steps, secretly gl ad , we maybe sure

,that he had been so thoroughly del ivered from an

embarrass ing and equ ivocal posit ion .

As he was l eaving Aphek, however, there came to him , aswe read again

,i n the firs t book of Chron icles (xi i . , 1 9

from the tribe ofManasseh a goodly number of adherents, of

whom no fewer than seven were afterward ranked as captain s of thousands in the army of Israel . And indeed i t verysoon appeared that he had need of al l the help which hecould obtain . For when they were nearing Ziklag, insteadof seeing a happy vill age

,whose streets were ful l of boys

and girl s pl aying in youthful frol ic, and whose homes were

Z IKLAG,ENDOR

,AND G ILBOA. 1 7 7

ful l of gl ee,they beheld only a heap of smoking ru ins . I n

the absence of i ts defenders,the Amalekites had smitten the

town and set i t on fire,and though they spared the l ives

of the women and children,they carried them al l away cap

t ive, i n the hope of ransom . Such was the sorrow amongDavid ’s company

,when they looked upon the desolation

which the Amalekites had made,that they l ifted up the ir

voices and wept 5 but by-and-by the ir sadness gave place toanger, as they upbraided the ir leader for taking them to thePhil i stin e army

,and leaving the i r home unprotected . They

even spake of s ton ing him . This greatly d i stressed him 5but i t brought h im to his knees and to h is faith again . A ssomet imes the partially in toxicated man wil l be sobered ina momen t by the occurrence of some terr ibl e calam ity

,so

David, who had been l iving al l these months under the narcotic influence of s in , was, by the v iolence of the Amaleki tes,and the threatened mutiny of h is own men, roused to h is nobler self

,and “ he encouraged himsel f i n the Lord h is God .

”

With return ing faith came the recogn ition of the necessi tyfor Jehovah’s guidance, and he said to Abiathar, “ Bring hither the ephod .

” From the an swer which he rece ived he wasencouraged to set Ont i n pursu i t of the spoilers, with the assurance that he should without fail recover al l . Very sug

gestive i s th is con trast. David said,I shal l one day perish

by the hand of Saul ; there i s n othing bette r for me thanthat I should speedily escape to the l and of the Phil ist ines.”“ David encouraged himself i n the Lord h is God, and saidunto Abiathar

,Bring hither the ephod .

” On the one hand,despai r, l ead ing to prayerl essness and sel f-will 5 on the other,fa ith leading to prayer and eager will inghood to subm it tothe guidance of Jehovah . Be i t ours to shun the former,and to cul tivate th e latter.After a hot pursui t, during which two hundred of his men

were obl iged to hal t and fal l out of the ranks,worn out

get


by their long and rapid march,David, d irected by a poor

Egyptian slave,came up wi th the Amalekites, and fal l ing

upon them when they were feasting and making merry,be

SO thoroughly destroyed them ,that on ly four hundred young

men who rode upon camels escaped out of his hand . Bestof all

,he recovered all the women and chi ldren who had

been taken captive,and returned wi th such loads of spoil

that,afte r satisfying the claims of al l h is sold iers , he sen t

p resents of i t to m any of the c it ies of Judah.

But whil e he was thus engaged the battl e had been ragingfiercely between the Phil is t ines and Saul on Mount Gilboa ;and though the ful l cons iderat ion of that confl ict and i ts i ssues belongs rather to the h istory o f Saul than to the l ife ofDavid

,we must ask your indulgence whil e we seek to set i t

somewhat viv idly before you .

The val e of Esdraelon,whereon so many decis ive battles

i n the world ’s h istory have been fought,stretches eastward

across central Palestine . I t i s of a triangular shape,having

i ts apex westward in a n arrow pass, through which the river Kishon run s in to the Medite rranean Sea . Its northerns ide i s formed by the hill s of Gal ilee ; i ts southern by theh ill s of Samari a and from its base on the east

,three branch

plain s,separated from each other by mountain ridges

,run

sti l l farther eastward on to the Jordan . The northern branchl ies between Moun t Tabor and Little Hermon 5 the centralbranch has Littl e Hermon on the north and Gi lboa on thesouth 5 and the southern branch is between Moun t Gilboaand Jen im . Now the Phil istines

,on the presen t occasion,

were in the cen tral one of these three branch plains, andwere encamped at the base of Li ttl e Hermon, here calledMoreh, hard by the wel l of Harod . Their pos ition 'was ad

m irably chosen , s ince, with a gen tle slope beh ind them , theyhad in front a l evel place of some two or three m iles broad,well fitted for those mil itary chariots on which they so muchrel ied for success .


mancy. So he said to h is servants, Seek me a woman thathath a famil iar sp iri t, that I may go to her, and inquire of

her 5 and they repl ied , Behold, there i s a woman that batha famil i ar spiri t at Endor.” On rece iving this information

,

he disguised himself, and took his way across the valley pas tthe carefully guarded host of the Phil istines

,and up over the

r idge behind them , unt il on the other s ide of that hil l he cameto the fountain of Dor, in one of the cavern s

,by the S ide of

which dwel t the woman of whom he was in search . I t wasa perilous j ourney, though undertaken under the cover ofn ight 5 and nothing could have induced Saul to make i t, butthe agony of the feel ing that h is l ast Opportun ity had come

,

and that h is al l was hanging on the venture of the morrow.

When he came to the woman,she was reluctan t to have any

th ing to do wi th him,fearing lest he was laying a trap for her

destruction 5 but on receiving assurances to the contrary, sheasked whom she should bring up to h im . He repl ied

,

“ Bringme up Samuel 5

” and scarcely had h is words been uttered,

when the apparit ion of the prophe t so startled her that shecried with a loud voice ; and, com ing to the convict ion thati t was Saul himsel f who was bes ide her, she said, “ Whyhast thou dece ived me ? for thou art Saul . Thereafter hebade her fear nothing

,and asked what prec isely she had

seen,for as yet i t would appear that nothing had been v is i

bl e to h im . She told him that she saw “ gods,”or great Ones

after the manner of gods, ascending out of the earth 5 and inresponse to another quest ion , she informed him that Samuelhad assumed the appearan ce of an old man covered with amantle . As he looked steadfastly at th e place indicated bythe woman

,the apparit ion shaped i tself to his eye 5 and see

ing i t was Samuel indeed, he bowed himsel f to the ground .

“ Why hast thou d isqu i e ted me,to bring me up ?” said the

mysterious v isi tan t. I am sore d is tressed ,

”was the answer 5

“ for the Phil istines make war against me,and God is depart

ZIKLAG,ENDOR

,AND G ILBOA . 8 1

ed from me,and answereth me n o more

,ne ither by prophets

nor by dreams : therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I Shal l do . Oh

,the wild wail

of th is dark m isery ! There i s a deep pathos and a weirdawesomeness i n th is despairing cry ; but there is n o confes

s ion of s in , no beseech ing for merc y ; noth ing bu t the great,overmastering ambition to preserve h imsel f. The prophet answe red him as one who was cognizant of al l this : “ Whereforethen dost thou ask ofme, see ing the Lord is departed from thee,and i s become th in e enemy ? And the Lord hath done toh im

,as he spake by me for the Lord hath ren t the kingdom

out of th ine hand, and given i t to thy neighbor, even to David : because thou obeyedst n ot the voice of the Lord, norexecutedst h is fierc e wrath upon Amalek

,therefore hath the

Lord done this th ing unto thee th is day. Moreover,the

Lord wil l al so del iver Israel wi th thee in to the hand of thePhil ist ines : and to-morrow shal t thou and thy sons be withme : the Lord also shal l del ive r the host of Israel in to thehand of the Phil i stines . ” When he heard th is dreadful forecast of com ing calam ity, Sau l los t that stern self-possessionwhich he had preserved til l then

,and fel l trembl ing on the

ground 5 but with many entreat ies, hi s servan ts and the woman prevailed upon h im to arise and partake of a meal whichhad been hastily extemporized for his n ecessi ty

,and at length

,

somewhat.

refreshed in body, but crushed in sp iri t, he hastened back to h is camp, which he reached before the morn ipgbroke .Concern ing th is s ingular chapter i n sacred story

,two ques

t ion s have been raised these,namely— Was there a real ap

pearance of Samuel here ? and what precisely was the agency of the woman in the matter ? Some have supposed thatthe whol e scene, including the solemn words put in to themouth of Samue l,was the effec t of secret m anagemen t by thewoman , aided , perhaps, by ven tri loquism ,

and by one or more


confederates . O thers,again , have traced the whol e thing to

the agency of Satan . But to both of these Views there are,

i n my op in ion,insuperable obj ect ions. There i s the fair an d

obvious purport of the n arrat ive itself, which gives no h in tof any unreal ity i n the case . There is

,also

,the ful l and

particular predic tion of the even ts of the coming day,which

we can not conce ive that the woman could have given,and

which we dare not trace to the agency of Satan . Then,he

s ides these cons iderations, we must take the weigh t due tothe fac t that i n the original there i s n o word correspondingto the Engl ish “ when ” ( in verse 1 2 of chapter xxvi i i . ) 5 andagain

,that i n verse 1 4, i n the cl ause, “ And Saul perce ived

that i t was Samuel,” the Hebrew reads, “ And saul perceivedthat i t was Samuel himself. ” Now th is

,being an assertion

of the n arrator, seems to me to settl e the matter, and to determine that Samuel was actual ly there . But if th is were so

,

what had the woman to do with bringing h im up ? To th isI an swer : Literally nothing. Observe, as soon as Saul said,Bring m e up Samuel,” she saw him ,

and was dreadfullyalarmed by the spectacl e . But why should she have beenthus terrified

,if the whole thing had been only of her own

upraising ? The truth is, that before she had begun her enchantmen ts, Samuel appeared and startl ed her out of hercool and cunn ing self-possession . How, then , do we ac

count for hi s appearance ? I reply, without any hesi tat ion ,that he was brough t th i ther by the m iraculous agency of

God himself. But to this i t may be obj ected that i t seemss trange that Jehovah should refuse to answer Saul throughthe recogn ized channels

,and then take this pecul iar m anner

of responding to h is appeal . And there i s some force insuch a St atemen t ; bu t i t i s to be observed that Saul askedfor direction as to what he Should do

,and that Samuel gives

no reply to that entreaty,but only utters words of condem

nation . For the rest, the appearance of Samuel, as the re


With the return ing day,the battl e opened between Israel

and the Phil ist ines . Saul was but i l l fi tted, by the fatigueand exc i temen t of the n ight

,for the fierce affray

,and h i s

troops were sorely worsted by the ir enemies . Thei r posit ion was badly chosen for the purposes of retreat 5 and asthey ascended the slopes of Gilboa they becam e con spicu

ous marks for the dexterous archers among their pursuers .Hence a vas t mul t itude were slain, and among these werethe three eldest son s of Saul . The king h imself, as the dayadvanced

,was sorely

,probably mortally, wounded 5 and fear

ing lest,i n h is weak cond it ion

,he should be abused and tor

tured by the Phil istines, he besought h is armor-bearer to d ispatch him at once . But wi th n atural affection for hi s master

,he refused to obey such a command , and Sau l fel l upon

h is own sword 5 whereupon his servan t followed his example ,and comm itted su icide . A wandering Amalekite, who hadperhaps been seeking spoil on the battl e-fie ld, found the deadbody of the monarch, and taking from i t the crown and thebracele t by which i t was d istinguished

,hasten ed with them

to Ziklag,and gave

'

them to David . He alleged, besides,that he had himself sl ain Saul , th inking thereby to

‘ win thefavor of David for doing h im such a service . But be l i ttl eknew with whom he had to do ; for David

’s reverence for theLord ’s anoin ted could not brook the thought that he shouldbe slain by a wicked Amaleki te ; so, holding h im guil ty on

‘ his own showing, he put him to death .

Then,as the n ews of the fate of Saul , and espec ial ly of

Jonathan,fi l l ed his heart

,he cal led hi s men around him, and,

taking h is harp,he sang that nobl e elegy, which, known to

h is own countrymen as the Song of the Bow,

” has been extracted from the book of Jasher by the sacred historian, andembalmed for us i n the annals of the chosen people . I t i sintroduced by these words : “ Al so he bade them teach thechildren of Judah the use of the bow ; behold i t i s written i n

Z IKLAG,ENDOR, AND G I LBOA. 1 8 5

the book of Jasher. The words “ the use of are i n i tal ics,

as not in the original . So we may read, “ He bade themteach the ch ildren of Judah the bow 5

” that i s,the song cal l

ed “ The Bow.

”Now the appropriaten ess of this t itl e to

the song wil l appear when you mark how prominently thebow is ment ioned in one of i ts strains, and remember that i twas specially designed as a memorial of Jonathan

,who was

famous for his excel lence i n the use of that weapon . Not

only d id he belong to th e tribe of Benj amin,whose son s

were noted archers,but it was wi th h is bow and sl ing that

he won his firs t Victory at Michmash ; with hi s bow he sen tthe arrows by the stone Ezel

,when David parted from him

after the ir mutual covenan t 5 and among the most cherishedpossessions of the son of Jesse was that bow which, after'

the slaughter of Goliath, Jonathan had given to h im as atoken of affection . Hence

,from its referenc e to Jonathan ,

as well,perhaps

,as from the fac t that i t was designed to be

sung by the men of‘ Judah when they were pract icing the

bow,this l amen t was cal led by that name .

The book of Jasher seems to have been a collect ion of

ancien t Jewish songs, or ballads, correspond ing, in some de

gree,to the m instrel sy of the Scott ish Border, the only other

quotation from i t in Scripture being the'

poe tical commemo

rat ion of the Victory of Joshua in the Valley of Aj alon .

I t is n ot needful,surely, that I should en ter in to a minute

an alysis of th is beautiful ode . I t c an scarcely be cal led e i

ther a psalm or a hymn . We can hardly even regard i t as aspec imen of rel igious poetry; I t i s rather what Dean Stanl ey has cal led “ an exampl e of pure poetic in sp iration

,and

as poetry its l anguage is to be in terpreted ; that i s to say,something of poet ic l icense and exaggeration has to be discounted from i t when we translate i t into prose . I t was atestimony of David ’s l ife-long attachment to Jonathan

,while

at the same time h is references to Saul indicate that,i n the


holy presence of death , David had learned to forget and forgive the wrongs which he had rece ived, and des ired to dwel lonly on the good and great qual i ties of his former an tagon ist. Al l after—generat ions have recogn ized the lyric grandeur of th is noble poem . Over the grave of the Cid

,n ear

Burgos,in Spain ,* i ts l ast stan za i s engraved, as the most

fi tting memento of a m ighty man ; and to th is day, when agreat man is carried to h is sepulchre

,the most appropriate

music for the occas ion is found in that exquis i te compositionwhich seeks to express i n sound th is threnody of David, andwhich i s known among us as The Dead March in Saul .”

The wild-roe of I s rael , Slain upon thy high placesHow are the m ighty fal len

Tel l it not in Gath, publ ish it not in the streets of Askelon ;Le st the daughters of the Philistines rejoice ,Le s t the daughters of the uncircumcis ed triumph.

Ye mountains of Gilboa, nor dew,nor rain be upon you,

N or fie lds of offeringsFor there the shield of the m ighty was vilely cast away,The shie ld of Saul , not anoin ted with oil .

From the blood Of the s lain, from the fat of the mighty,The bow of Jonathan turn ed not back,And the sword of Saul returned not empty.Saul and Jonathan ! love ly and pleas antI n the ir lives and in the ir death they were undividedThan eagles they were swifter ! than lions they were s tronger !Ye daughte rs of I srae l , weep over Saul,Who c lothed you in scarlet , with other de lights 5\Vho put ornaments of gold upon your apparel .How are the mighty fal len in the m ids t of the battle

0 Jonathan , thou was t s lain in thine high placesI am dis tress ed for thee , my brother JonathanVery pleasant hast thou been unto me

Thy love to me was wonderful, pas s ing that of women.

How are the mighty fal len, and perished the weapons of war

Stanley’s “ Jewish Church,” II. , 3 7 .


David knew that he had s inned, and turned from his in iqu ityi n pen ite n t confession un to God . Now we look in vain forany th ing l ike th is i n Saul . I f on any occasion he seems touse the words of regret, they are merely superfic ial, and comen ot from the depths of his soul . He cared more for beinghonored before the people, than for be ing accepted by theLord ; and even in this l ast cl imax of his m isery

,his con

cern is not that God may forgive h im,but merely that he

may vanqu ish h is enemies in battle . In View of al l this,we

are almost tempted to excl aim, with the em inent prelate fromwhom I have al ready quoted

,

“ How much better i t wouldhave been to have s inned l ike D airid

,if on ly he had repented

l ike David 5 if a temper resembl ing at al l the temper whichd ic tated the 5 rs t Psalm had found place in h im . But al lth is was far from him . Darkness i s clos ing round him ; anguish has taken hold of him 5 but the broken and the contri te heart, there is no remotest Sign of th is 5 no reaching outafter the blood of sprinkl ing. We l isten

,but no voice is

heard l ike his who exclaimed,Purge me with hyssop

,and I

shal l be cl ean 5 wash me, and I shal l be wh iter than snow 5’

but dark,defian t

,and unbel ieving

,he who had insp ired such

high hopes goes forward to meet his Surely,from

such a h istory as that we may wel l rise with the prayer uponour l ips : “ Oh for the broken and the contri te heart

,which

God wil l no t despise . David ’s s ins sen t h im weeping tothe mercy-seat . Saul ’s s in s sen t him defian t and unbendingto the cave of Endor : there is the root of the d ifference between the two.

Again : in the h istory of Saul we see how, with such ad ispos ition

,a man ’s character wil l go on deteriorat ing

,un ti l

there i s l ittl e or no good left i n i t. There was much of nobleness about h im when we met h im firs t ; but now, alas ! as

Shipwrecks of Fai th,” pp. 48, 49.

Z IKLAG,ENDOR, AND G ILBOA . 1 89

we see h im at Endor,he is the moral wreck of h is former self.

The enamel of his conscience having once been broken , th atnoble facul ty crumbled gradual ly away

,unt i l at length he com

m itted a s in at thought of which at first he would have shuddered, and wh ich at one t ime he punished in others with je alous severi ty. You can see a con trary process to al l this i n sucha man as Jacob

,who

,though repuls ive to every reader i n hi s

early h istory,grows upon us latterly

,until we come to rank him

among Fa ith’s noblest worth ies . N ow how shal l we explai nthe differenc e between the two ? We explai n i t by the difference in the relat ion of each to God . The one gave backto God al l that he had rece ived from him

,and

,as the resul t

,

got i t back again h imself,exalted and ennobled by the con

sec ration 5 but the other carri ed every th ing away from God,and endeavored to

'

asser t h is independence of the Almighty.

“ They that wai t upon the Lord renew their youth 5 but theythat depart from him become “ weary in the greatn ess of

their way,

” and lose al l the elements of noblest manhood .

Young men,if you would conserve your purity

,your intel lec t

ual Vigor,and you r moral excel lence, consecrate them al l to

God,and keep them al l for h im . Thus shal l you escape the

deter ioration which else must overtake you , and your pathshal l be l ike that of the jus t

,which sh ineth more and more,

unto the perfect day.

F inal ly : l et u s l earn from the h istory of Saul that this l ifei s a probation . God put th i s man in to a kingdom , withsplend id opportun ities and ample resources 5 but he d id notrise to hi s responsib il i ty

,and these were taken from h im .

But have we rece ived noth ing from the hand of God ? Towhom do we owe our l ives, our Gospel privil eges, and our

means of serving our generation Have we improved these ?

Are we improving them ? I f not,then l e t u s learn the lesson

of th is sad l ife, lest at l ength the Lord should say over us, ashe d id over Jerusal em “ I f thou hadst known , even thou , at

1 9o DAV ID,K ING OF ISRAEL.

l east i n this thy day, the th ings which belong un to thy peace !but now they are bid from thin e eyes 5” “ behold now thin ehouse is left unto thee desolate .

” Again and again the t ideof opportun i ty may rise, and one may float upon i t almosti n to safety

,even as Saul was repeatedly found “ among the

prophets 5” but if such t imes of Visi tat ion are continual ly

sl ighted by us,we may not coun t upon the ir recurrence

,for

there shal l come a day when they shal l end forever. Listen,

I beseech you,to th is word of warn ing, which comes to u s

from the mountain s of Gilboa, He that being often reprovedharden eth h i s neck

,shal l suddenly be cut off

,and that with

out remedy.

”


m itted to the Phil ist ines . But i t was Abner’s aim to drivethe invaders utterly ou t of th e l and , and to bu ild up againfrom its ru ins the kingdom of Saul . This

,however

,could

not be done at once . The Phil ist ines could only gradual lybe d islodged, and the enumeration of districts which we havein the n in th verse ( 2 Sam. i i . ) seems to tal ly with the natural order of the conquests by which Abner’s a im was aecom

pl ished . F irs t, he drove the Phil ist ines out of the coasts ofAsshur 5 secondly, out of the V al ley of Jezreel 5 then fromthe mounta in s of Ephraim 5 l astly, from the h il l fortresses ofBenj am in . And having now touched the front iers of Judah

,

he caused Ishbosheth to be procl aimed anew over the whol eof recovered Israel 5 for so early do we find al l that was notJudah dist inguished by this n ame . A l l owing

,then

,five and

a half years for Abner’s reconquest of the l and , we have twoyears left for the long war between the house of Saul andthe house of David

,which ended in the domin ion of the

l atter.The city in wh ich

,by divine d irection

,David establ ished

h imself,was not only one of the most ancien t i n existence,

but also one which was enc ircl ed with associat ions which toan Israel i te must have been pecul iarly sacred . There Abraham

,the father of the faithful , soj ourned for a cons iderable

portion of his l i fe in Canaan ; i n the immed iate ne ighborhood was the oak of Mamre, beneath which the patri archhad so often offered sacrifice to Jehovah 5 and hard by wasthe cave of Machpelah, i n which he buried the remains of

Sarah , and in which h is own ashes, and those of Isaac andJacob

,were afterward d eposited . Hence, of al l the c i ties of

Palestin e at that date,i t must have had the riches t attrae~

t ion s to the chosen peopl e ; and even yet, i n i ts modernn ame

,El-Khul il— t/i e Fr iend— we can see a reference to him

who was styl ed,by way of em inence, t/ze Fr iend qf God . I n

the days of Joshua the surrounding territory was given to

HEBRON AND JERUSALEM . 1 93

Caleb,and i t was made a city of refuge

,and a c ity Of t he

Levites . I t was,bes ides

, one of the pl aces to which Davidsen t a portion of the spoil s which he had taken from theAmalekites . Hence

,both from its holy associat ions, i t s

central s ituat ion,and the probable favor of i ts i nhab itants

toward him,i t was a most appropriate pl ace for David ’s

cap ital .Here over the l i ttl e kingdom of Judah he served, so to say,

an appren ticesh ip to monarchy 5 and from this, i n due season

,he graduated with honor

,as one fitted and ent i tl ed to

s i t upon the throne of Israel i n Jerusal em .

I t was most probably in connection with h is anointing atHebron that David composed what I may cal l the I naugurat ion Psalm

,known among us as the I o rst . I t says

Dean Stanley, “ ful l of a stern exclus iven ess, of a noble intolerance 5 but not against theological e rror, not against uncourtly manners

,not against pol i tical i nsubord ination

,but

against the proud heart, the h igh look, the secret sl andere r,the dece i tful worker

, the te l ler of l ie s . These are the out

l aws from King David’s court 5 th ese alone are the rebelsand here tics that he would not suffer to dwel l i n h is house ortarry in his s ight .The great national ce lebrat ion wh ich has j ust been held atWashington

’

rgives th is Psalm a pecul iar presen t in terest forus ; whil e, alas ! the disclosures of the past months make manifes t that the resolution s which i t expresses are as much re

quired to day in the case of the ch ief magistrate of this greatrepubl ic, as they were in the t imes at which they were firs tformed by David . Let us read i t with our own l egislators

,

governors,and pres iden t i n m ind 5 and let us, while we read

i t,l ift up our hearts in prayer for them, that they may al l be

d isposed and strengthened to act accord ing to i ts principles .

Jewish Church,” vol . II. , p . 89.

t The inauguration of General Grant to his second term of office, 1 873 .

!


I wil l s ing of mercy and j udgment unto thee, O Lord, wil lI s ing. I wil l behave myself wisely in a perfec t way. 0

when wil t thou come un to me ? I wil l walk with in my housewith a perfec t heart. I wil l se t no wicked thing before m ineeyes : I hate the work of them that turn as ide ; i t shal l notcleave to me. A froward heart shal l depart from me I wi l ln ot know a wicked person . Whoso privily sl andereth hi sn eighbor

,him wil l I cut off : him that bath a high look and

a proud heart wil l not I suffer. Mine eyes shal l be uponthe faithful of the l and, that they may dwel l with me : hethat walketh in a perfect way

,he shall serve me. He that

worketh dece i t shal l not dwel l with in my house he that tel leth l ies shal l not tarry in my sight. I wil l early destroy al lthe wicked of the land 5 that I may cut off al l wicked doersfrom the c ity of the Lord .

David’s firs t publ ic ac t after his anoin ting was one in

which we see both chivalry and pol icy un ited . He sen t amessage of thanks to the men of Jabesh-gil ead for the ir 110ble conduct i n rescuing the bodies of Saul and his son s fromd ishonor 5 and wh il e i nvoking the bless ing of God uponthem

,he del icately i ntimated to them that his brethren of

Judah had made h im their king. No doubt his regard forthe memory of Jonathan had something to do with the sending of th is message ; yet I suppose that th is noble motivewas sl ightly alloyed by the antic ipation that those who re

ce ived i t would be forward to tender to him thei r all egiance .But if that hope en tered at al l in to his calcul ations, i t wasdoomed to d isappointmen t, for the men of Jabesh made n oresponse . Perhaps they remembered to David ’s disadvantage h is recen t soj ourn among the Phil ist ines, and were sus

pic ious of one who had, i n the i r V iew, so compromised h imsel f with the i r e nem ies ; or perhaps the influence of I shbo

sheth and Abner,who were in the ir immediate neighbor

hood, added to the ir own feel ing of attachment to the house


appears i n the h is tory, and who was supported by his brothers Abishai and Asahel . The last-ment ioned of these warl ike brothers was d istingu ished by h is fleetness of foot, andi n the pursu i t of the retreat ing enemy he pressed sore uponAbner

,evidently ben t on securing his destruction . But con

scious of his own strength, and perhaps also knowing something of the implacable d ispos it ion of Joab, Abner des ired toSpare his pursuer

,and urged him to return . When

,however,

this advice was disregarded, he pu t Asahel to death 5 andthe s ight of h is body

,as he lay covered with blood

,robbed

victory of i ts glory i n the eyes of David ’s sold iers,and fil led

the heart of Joab with a terribl e purpose of revenge, whichhe carried out i n the most deceitful manner at a l ater day.

The war thus begu n between the house of David and thehouse of Saul lasted a long time 5 bu t when i t was seen thatthe former was continual ly gain ing the advan tage

,the peopl e

of the land, weary of the strife, and longing for the bless ingsof peace, began to incl ine to the s ide of the stronger, andspoke of putting David on the thron e . See ing th is,Abner,with the inst inct of a cunn ing, selfish, and unprincipled man ,prepared to save h imself by going over to the ranks of David, and taking the kingdom of I shbosheth with him . Apretext was soon found for carrying out h is design 5 for whenIshbosheth faulted him for cl aim ing one of his father’s concubines, which i n Eastern et iquette was the next th ing toclaim ing the throne i tsel f

,he became indignan t, and swore

this angry oath : So do God to Abner, and more also, except

,as the Lord hath sworn to David, even so I do to h im 5

to transl ate the kingdom from the house of Saul , and tose t up the thron e of David over Israel and over Judah, fromDan even to Beersheba.” What a depth of wickedness doesthis reveal ! He knew al l the while that he was fighting notagains t David only

,but agains t God . Why, then, did he

fight against h im so long ? Because he j udged i t best for his


own i n terests so to do. And why does he propose to j o inDavid now ? Because h is pride has been wounded, and hethinks he can make good terms with David for his futureeminence . Thus he had no regard to God al l through . Hethought only for himself

,and his in troduction of Jehovah ’s

n ame in to his asseveration is the most s icken ing profan i ty.

When he opened up negotiat ion s with David for the tran sfer of the kingdom ,

the son of Jesse d id not show himselfovereager to respond . He

,too, had his digni ty to consul t,

and he decl ared that he could not enter i nto a league withhim until he had sen t un to him M ichal, the daughter of Saul ,whom he had fi rs t wedded . A man who had already s ixwives had no great n eed for a seven th

,and we do not sup

pose that there was much affect ion for Michal remain ing inDavid ’s heart . Sti l l, she had been wrongfully taken fromhim

,and the giving of her to another was a grievous and de

l iberate i nsul t offered to him by Saul , for wh ich i t was n atural that he should now des ire some sort of apology. Moreover

,the making of such a request to Abner would be an ad

mirabl e test of his s incerity 5 and so, when i t was at oncecompl ied with

,he decl ared h is readiness to enter in to n ego

tiat ions with him . Thereupon,after communicat ing with the

elders of Israel and with h is kinsmen of the tribe of Benj am in

,Abner wen t to Hebron

,accompan ied by twen ty men 5

and in the absence of Joab and Abishai, he was hosp i tablyen tertained by David

,and dismissed with many tokens of

good-wil l .When Joab re turned, and d iscovered how Abner had been

treated, he became furious 5 and after b i tterly inveigh ingagains t the s impl ic i ty of David for al lowing himself to beduped by so cunn ing a d iplomatist as Abner

,he sen t after

h im, decoyed him back by a fal se message, and deceitfullysl ew him , under the pretense of des iring to have a privateconference with him .


This cold-blooded deed must be branded w ith the deepest condemnation 5 Joab violated what was equ ivalen t to aflag of truce ; and though some

\may rem ind us of the old

l aw of blood-revenge, and affirm that, Under the Mosaic ins titute

,Joab, as the next of kin to Asahel, had a perfec t right

to do as he did, there are two th ings which go to bar thisplea 5 for Asahel was sl ain i n battl e, and Hebron was a ci tyof refuge, in which Abner’s l ife ought to have been respected,un til at least he had been tried by the elders . Hence th isact of Joab was not only cruel ly treacherous

,but also a fla

gran t Violation of the law of God . David was greatly af

fl ic ted by i t, and took every m ean s, short of putting Joab todeath, to show that he had no hand whatever i n i ts in st i

gation . He procl aimed a publ i c mourn ing for Abner,and

went h imself to the funeral,making lamen tation over him

wi th a song, which has been here preserved, and mourn ingyet more deeply for what he cal l s h is own helpl essn ess

,for

thus he speaks : I am this day weak, though anoin ted king ;and these men the sons of Zeru iah be too hard for me : theLord shal l reward the doer of evil according to h is wickedn ess .”

But David was weak,not so much because Joab was strong,

as because he h imself shrank from doing what he knew to beright in the case . Had he put Joab to death, publ ic op in ionwould have sustain ed h im in the execution of j ust ice 5 andeven if i t had not

,he would have had the inward witness

that he was doing h is duty to the state . For a magistrateto be weak

,i s to be wicked . He is set to admin ister and

execu te the law without fear or favor 5 and whensoever h eswerves from j ustice from ei ther cause

,he is a traitor at once

to God and to the commonwealth .

“ Weak !” th is i s not tospeak l ike a man

,not to say a king. Oh, what suffering

m ay I not even say what s i n -David might have saved himself from

,i f he had only thus e arly rid h imself of the tyran

z oo DAV ID,KING OF ISRAEL.

wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel .” Theyhad not forgotten the day when he overthrew the gian t i nthe Valley of Elah 5 nor had they lost s ight of the fact thatthe only real ly bril l ian t port ion of Saul ’s reign was that inwhich David was by his s ide . They added

,

“ and the Lordsaid to thee

,

‘ thou shal t feed my people Israel,and thou shal t

be captain over I srael . But why should they thus refer toGod ’s choice of David ? I answer, for two reasons . F i rs t :because

,although they had known al l along that David had

been fore-appointed to the thron e, they had yet been s truggl ing again st that a rrangement ; and so, i t was fitting nowthat they should express their repentance, and decl are the irread iness to rece ive him i n God ’s name

,and as fromGod ’s

hand . Second : because they wished to remind h im and themselves that the real king of the ir nat ion was Jehovah, andthat he and they al ike were under allegiance to him . Thisreference to the wil l of the Lord, too, wil l enable us to un

derstand what i s mean t when i t i s said that King Davidmade a league with them in Hebron , before the Lord . Hepledged h imself

,both to the peopl e and to God

,to rul e i n

accordance with the principles which had al ready been l aiddown by Jehovah for the administration of the nat ional affairs .I t i s a m istake, therefore, to suppose that the Jewish mon

archy was an absolute and unconsti tutional one . O n thecontrary

,the re were in i t the highest securi ties— on the one

hand,for the l ibert ie s of the people 5 and on the other, for th e

prerogative of the king. They chose h im,i t i s tru e

,but they

al so pledged themselves to obey him so long as he rul ed inaccordance with the divine law. He was thei r ruler, but hisauthori ty was recogn ized only in so far as i t was confirmedand regulated by the d ivine statute-book. Thus both he

“

andthey recogn ized God as the real sovereign of the nation 5 andso long, at l east, as David sat on the throne, the theocracywas a real i ty, and not a mere name . In this, indeed, as we

HEBRON AND JERUSALEM . 2 0 1

have more than once observed,we have one great funda

mental d ifferenc e between the admin istrat ion of Saul andthat of David . Saul accepted the monarchy, design ing tomake it as absolu te and autocrat ic as that of other kings 5but Dav id coun ted h imself only anunder—shepherd

,and de

s ired to regu late his conduct as a ruler by the commands ofGod . The perception of this feature i n h is character gavethe peopl e great confidence i n h im , and formed, we may besure, one reason for the ir j oy on th is memorabl e occasion 5for, as soon as the anoin ting was over, they began a feastwhich lasted for three days

,and which i s thus described by

the sacred h istor ian : “ There they were with David threedays

,eating and drinking : for their brethren had prepared

for them . Moreover, they that were n igh them, even un toIssachar and Zebulon and Naphtal i, brough t bread on asses,and on camels, and on mules

,and on oxen , and meat, meal,

cakes of figs,and bunches of rais in s

,and wine

,and oil, and

oxen,and sheep abundantly : for there was j oy i n

Nor are we to suppose that th is j oy was only a soc ialth ing. I t had a rel igious elemen t in i t al so ; and i t wasprobably on th is occas ion, when Levites and priests, togetherwith the princes of the tribes, and the m en of war from everyquarter were assembled once moi'e under one rul er in whomthey al l had confidence, that the P salm is t composed andsang that song of degrees which is so famil i ar to us al l : “ Be

hold, how good and how pleasan t i t i s for brethren to dwel ltogether in un ity ! I t i s l ike the prec ious o in tment upon thehead, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron

’s beardthat wen t down to the skirts of his garments 5 as the dew of

Hermon,and as the dew that descended upon the mountain s

of Zion : for there the Lord commanded the bless ing,even

l ife for evermore .

”

T

1 Chron. x n., 39, 40. t Psa. cxxxiii.


Thus,i n the thirty-e ighth year of his age, while he was yet

i n the prime and V igor of his manhood, and with al l the ex

pe rience which the trials of his early years had given him,

David was seated upon the throne of the un ited kingdom of

Israel,am idst the rej o ic ings of the people, and with every

token of the favor of h is God .

His first care as a monarch was to obtain a su itable cap ital 5 and whether he was d irected by the spec ial gu idanceof the Holy Spiri t, or whether he was l eft solely to his ownj udgment regarding it

,we can not but admire the wisdom of

the arrangemen t which he made, espec ial ly when we contrasti t with the short-sighted pol icy of Saul i n reference to the samematter. The son of Kish set up his court in h is n ative townof Gibeah

,a pl ace of no in trins ic importance, and bearing re

proach among the people as having been the scene of on e ofthe foulest outrages ever committed in the land . Moreover,i t was within the territory of his own tribe of Benj amin , andh is preference for i t was apt to provoke the j ealousy of theothers . David

,however

,proceeded upon other and more

statesman-l ike principl es . He would not continue in He

bron . No doubt that c i ty was equally sacred to all the people, from its connection with their common father Abraham ,

but i t had been recogn ized as the spec ial cap ital of Judah ;and if David had remai ned in i t

,some overzealous part i

san of Judah might have said that the othe r tribes had beenmerely annexed to or absorbed i n the l ittl e kingdom whichfor seven years and a half had i ts seat of government there .Hence, jus t as i n our own t imes, V ictor Emanuel , when hewas called to the throne of a un i ted I taly

,removed his cap i

tal firs t from Turin to Florenc e,and afterward from Florence

to Rome, feel ing that i t was due to the other portions of h ispeople that he should be no longer a mere Sard in ian or Tu

'

s

can prince, so David wisely considered that a regard to thefeel ings of the other tribes demanded that some other c i tythan Hebron should be chosen as the metropol is .


ferent expl anations have been given of these words . Kittoand some others understand “ the bl ind and the lame ” tomean idol s of brass which the Jebus ites brought forth and

put upon the walls, and explain the taking away of the bl indand lame

,hated of David ’s soul, as the destruction of these

idols.This

,however, seems to me to be a cumbrou s and

improbable interpretation,and I much prefer that which i s

given by Keil,who translates the words thus : “ Thou wil t

not come in,but the bl ind and the lame wil l drive thee

away.

” The Jebusites so thoroughly relied on the strengthof their c i tadel , surrounded as i t was on three sides by deepravines

,that they mockingly said the bl ind and the l ame

would be a sufficien t garrison to repel David’s assaul ts .But

,roused by the ir scorn

,he gave forth h is order i n

words wh ich,though susceptibl e of differen t tra

'

nslat ions, .

may be rendered thus : “ Every one who sm ites the Jehus ites

,l e t h im hurl over the precip ice both the lame and the

bl ind,who are hateful to Dav id ’s sou l 5 that i s to say, l e t

there be no quarter. Furthermore,i n order to st imulate h i s

men to the uttermost,he offered the post of commander-in

chief to the c aptain who should first l ead h is troops in to thec itadel . The prize was won by Joab , somewhat, we may suppose, to David

’s mortifieation ; for i t i s not unl ikely that hehad hoped

,by the mean s which he had taken

,to promote

some less unscrupulous man to that honorable position,with

out seeming to insul t h is n ephew.

Out of th is s iege there arose this proverb,The bl ind and

the l ame shal l not come into the house ” This express ioni s generally taken to mean that these classes were excludedfrom the Templ e, but for that assertion we have no proof,and i t is hard to see what this proverb could have to dowith the Templ e, which was not at that t ime in existence .The true explanation seems to be

,

“ The bl ind and the lameare there— l et h im enter the place if he can a proverb


which came to be curren t in regard to any fortress that wasreputed to be impregnable .

.Thus David took the s tronghold of Zion,and began forth

with to lay the foundation s of that c i ty,whose h istory ever

s ince, so thril l ing i n i ts inc idents, and so checkered in i ts vic iss itudes

,i s ful l of deepest interest to every thoughtful and

intel l igen t soul . Beautiful for s i tuat ion,i t was to become

the j oy of the whole l and as the S ite of the Temple which“ Jehovah had chosen to place hi s name there.” Surrounded by bulwarks

,crowned with towers

,i t m ight have seemed

secure from al l attack ; ye t Babylon ians, Asmon ean s, Romans

, Saracens, Crusaders, Turks, al l have in turn bes iegedi t. St il l, these dreadful s ieges give i t not i ts chief renown .

As we pronounce its name, we a lmos t f orge t al l other th ingsconnected wi th i t, whil e we remember that He walked i tss treets who came to earth for us men and for our salvat ion 5that i n the immediate neighborhood of i ts wal l s he enduredthe terrible agony ofGethsemane 5 and that with in sigh t of i tsgates h e poured out h is soul un to death

,when he made h is

soul an offering for sin . T0 th is c i ty the heart of the Jewin every l and yet fondly turns : and i ts n am e

,recal l ing to

the Christ ian the memory of h is Lord,i s at the same time

assoc iated with his hope of heaven— that grand mother-c ityof the ch ildren of God— the New Jerusalem .

But I must not dwel l on such al luring themes . Only aswe stand here and see how firs t th e fortress of Zion wastaken by the prowess of David ’s troops

,we may have som e

idea of the statesmanship of the man who out of al l others ites chose th is, so formidabl e i n i ts st rength, so stately ini ts s i tuation, and so beaut iful i n i ts surroundings, for the capi tal of h is realm . The instinct of the warrior

,the sagac i ty

of th e rul er, and the gen ius of the poe t, are al l apparen t inh is selection of th is compact yet strong and queen ly si te forthe metropol i s of the land .


And now,gathering up the l essons of th is even ing’s lecture,

l e t u s note how,when God has some great work for a man

to do,he prepares him for i t, by the d iscipl in e of hi s provi

dence . Not al l at once did David pass from the shepherdl ife of Bethlehem to the throne of Jerusal em . There was along

,and weary

,and trying road to be traversed by him af

ter his anoin ting by Samuel , before he reached the lofty el evation for which he was designated and consecrated by theprophet’s o il . He was not c radled in luxury, nor dandledin affl uence

,but his character was hardened by trial

,and his

j udgment was matured by frequen tly recurring emergency.

From the very first,indeed

,he was pruden t in matters

,

”

but such a h istory as his could not bu t s t imulate and sharpen his natural abil it ies . His m il itary gen ius, which was dest ined yet to show itself on many a glorious field as he extended hi s domin ion “ from sea to sea

,and from the river to

the ends of the land,” had been qu ickened and developed byhis experiences in the long war with the house of Saul 5 andhis knowledge of human n ature, an acqu iremen t so n eedfulfor one who was to be a ruler of men, had been increased byhis deal ing with his followers in the hold

,and with h is ene

m ies in d iplomacy ; while, best of al l , his confidence in Godhad been strengthened by his man ifold trials

,i n and through

which he had been sustained by the d iv ine grace,and out of

which he had been del ivered by the d ivine hand .

Al l these th ings,though perhaps he knew not of i t at the

time, were d iscipl in ing h im for the work which he was afterward to accompl ish

,whil e his l esser reign at Hebron gave

h im an opportun ity for forming with in him those lofty purposes which he sought i n l ater days to carry out. His earlydiffi cul t ies st imul ated h is invent iveness and strengthenedhis resolutions . .And his after-reign was on ly the more glorions because of the hardness which

,i n h is younger days

,he

had to endure .

08 DAV ID,KING OF I SRAEL.

also in our earthly l ife as connected with a heavenly. I f webe Christ’s

,i t i s .no doubt true that he is preparing a place

for each of us 5 but i t i s j us t as true that, through the d isc ipl ine of our daily difficul ties, he is preparing each of us forhis own particular place, and the characters wh ich we areforming here wil l find their appropriate employment and developm ent i n the work which in heaven wil l be assigned tous . This at once explain s our frequen t tri al s, and gives u sstrength to undergo them 5 and j ust as through his wanderings and warfares

,his Adul lam experiences and h is Hebron

monarchy,David was fitted for his Jerusalem reign 5 so, by our

cares and losses,our disappoin tments and our sorrows, our

hopes deferred and our labors abundant, we shal l each befi tted for his own pecul iar pos t i n the New Jerusal em above .Thus

,by the l everage of th is princ iple we l ift our earthly

l ives up to the very level of heave n itself ; and every expe

r ience through which we are pass ing now, becomes a preparat ion for our eternal royalty at Christ’s right hand .

But let us note,finally

,the s imilari ty, and yet the dis s im

ilarity, Of the kingdom of David to that of Christ. I t was inconnection with David’s position that the Messiah was firstSpoken of i n prophecy as a king. David ’s power

,smal l i n

i ts beginn ings,waxed greater and greater

,unti l i t became

supreme,and un i ted al l the tribes under i ts ben ignan t pro

tection . So i t has been with that of Christ. The outl aw i nthe cave of Adul l am was not so contemptible in the eyesof his fel low—countryman as He was who was “ desp ised andrej ec ted of men 5

” and the followers of David,consist ing as

they d id of those who were i n debt,and those who were d is

contented, and those who were in d istress , were not so nul ikely to overcome their enemies

,and lead the ir master to

h is throne, as the fishermen of Gal il ee were to gain theworld’s ear, and advance the cause of the ir ascended Lord .

Yet, as the house of David waxed stronger and stronger,

HEBRON AND JERUSALEM . 09

whil e the house of Sau l waxed weaker and weaker,so the

kingdom of Chris t has st i l l gone on advancing, i n the faceof every resis tance, whil e that of Satan has con tinual ly re

ceded before i t. We may not think so as we compare thecondition of both from day to day. Yet if we wil l bu t widenour i nvestigation , and compare century with century, we shal lsee al l along these n ineteen cycles a cl ear and steady progress

,indicating final triumph .

I n one th ing, however, the paral le l fail s . David’s advance

was made with the sword,that of the kingdom of Chris t i s

made with the power of love and truth . He is the Princeof Peace

,and hi s Victories are gain ed over th e errors

,the

prej udices,the selfishness

,and the s in s of men . Bloodless

in the ir character,they are beneficen t i n the ir resul ts ; and

as he advances to his final conquest,h is course wil l be mark

ed with bless ings,and hi s progress wil l be attended with re

joic ing. Not yet, i ndeed, do we behold the n ations of theworld un ited in the acknowledgmen t of his allegianc e, andready for h is coronation . But the day i s com ing when h eshal l re ign in every heart

,and over every land— a day that

shal l bring greater j oy to the world than Hebron saw when ,the m iserie s of in test in e war hav ing been removed, Davidwas anoin ted over Israel . Thy kingdom come,” 0 Christ !Come forth out of thy royal chamber, thou prince of all thekings of the earth .

” Draw the hearts of men everywhere tothyself by the attraction of thy love . Come, and bring withthee the Sabbath of the world . Come

,and let thy coron a

t ion-day be ushered in wi th the song of myriad vo ices

“ B ring forth the royal diademAnd crown him Lord of all.

”

X I I .

THE B R I N G I N G UP OF THE ARK .

2 SAMUEL v. , 1 1—vi.

,2 3 5 1 CHRON ICLES xi ii. , 1-xvi. , 2 3 .

FTER David had establ ished h imself in Jerusalem ,two

things were needed to make i t the cap ital of the n at ion . These were, that i t Should possess a pal ace for h imsel f ; and that i t Should be the abode of the ark of the covenan t

,over which hovered con tinually the v is ibl e symbol of

Jehovah’s presence . As I have repeatedly remarked,the

distinguishing pecul iarity ofDavid as a king was that he recogn iz ed in the most loyal manner the higher royal ty of God ,and regarded h imsel f as a mere human vice—regen t. Hadhe been content to bu ild only an offic ial res idence for himself

,Jerusalem would have been no more than the c ity of

David 5 but in a theocracy i t was necessary also that themetropol is should be the c ity of God ; and so, i n that sp iri tof patriotic p iety for which he was so remarkabl e, David seth imself at once as earnestly to prepare a plac e for th e re

ception of the ark, as to erect a hab itation for himself. Eu

tering into a league with Hiram,king of Tyre, he caused to

be bu il t for himsel f a splendid c edar pal ace,with the ques

t ionable addition of a harem . Yet am idst al l th is magn ifi

cence he did not forget to acknowledge the goodness ofHimfrom whom al l h is greatness came

,for i t was most probably

in connection with h is taking possession of his palace thathe wrote and sang the 3 oth Psalm,

which bears the following titl e : “ A Psalm and Song at the ded ication Of the houseof David .

”I f in m inor things a man ’s true sel f comes most

clearly out, then in this domestic ode we may see someth ing


l earn how our j oy and prosperi ty may be consecrated andturned in to a means of h‘onoring Jehovah . Elegan t mans ions

,costly furn iture, art treasures, and extens ive posses

s ion s wil l do no harm to those who, as they survey them all ,can turn to God

,and say

,

“ Thou hast girded us with gl adn ess

,to the end that our glory m ay s ing praise to thee and

not be s il en t O Lord our God, we wil l give thanks un tothee forever. But if these earthly glories turn our heads,and puff us up with stupid self-concei t, or l ead u s to boast ofourselves and to desp ise others

,then we have buil t our house

upon the edge of a volcano, whose firs t eruption may send usto a degradat ion deeper than that of him who wandered forthamong the oxen

,and ate the grass of the fields .

Before David could turn h is atten tion to the removal ofthe ark

,however

,he had to encoun ter and overcome the

Phil istin es . That warl ike peopl e could n ot regard h is e s

tabl ishmen t on the thron e of Israel and his occupation of

Jerusalem with indifference . So l ong as he held his courtat Hebron , he was too insign ifican t to be attacked by them 5but now that he had humil iated the Jebusites

,and settl ed

h imself i n the ir reputedly impregnabl e fortress,they fel t i t

n eedful,for the maintenance Of their nation al supremacy

,to

take the field again st h im,with al l the forces at the ir com

mand . Their chosen battle-fie ld o n this occasion was theValley of Rephaim

,or “ the gian ts ,

”a broad and ferti l e pl ain

about a m ile i n length,which was the southern entrance into

Jerusalem, and which extended northward, term inating in an arrow ridge of rocks, which breaks abruptly in to the ravin eof Hinnom . After inquiring at the sacred oracl e what h eShould do, David l ed his troops into “ the hold 5

” that i s,e i

ther i nto the region of his soj ourn ing during h is war withSaul , or i n to some other place of great n atural strength, fromwhich he coul d repel the invaders . Here he had a s ignalvictory over the enemy

,whom he drove before h im as with

THE BR INGING UP OF THE ARK . 2 1 3

the i rresist ibl e might of an overfl owing flood . But he tookno credit to himself for his success, for, i n a spiri t of grat itude and hum il ity, he commemorated the victory by cal l ingthe name of the place Baal-peraz im 5 saying also , God hathbroken in upon m ine enemies by mine hand l ike the breaking forth of waters .” I n thi s engagement

,probably with

th e View of st imulat ing the courage and insp iring the confidence of the i r troops, the Phil istin e leaders had brought theiridol s into the field 5 but David, having taken them with theother booty, caused them to be burned— a proof

,on th e on e

hand,of his p ious determ inat ion to acknowledge Jehovah

alone as divin e, and a man ifestation, on the other, of thehelplessness of the heathen d ivin ities

,who could not del iver

themselves, much less those who trusted in them ,from the

conqueror’s hands .I n sp ite, however, of th is defeat, both of the ir gods and of

themselves, the Phil ist ines, som e months after ward, renewedthe contest. Again they encamped i n Rephaim 5 again David inquired of the Lord

,and was d irec ted to take such meas

u res as resul ted i n their compl ete d isorgan ization . He wascommanded to come upon them from the rear by making ac ircu itous march

,and was c autioned to take hi s s tand at a

c ertain Spot unt il,by “ the sound Of going in the tops of

th e mulberry-trees,the signal should be given to advance.

Al l th is be ing careful ly observed by him, his sudden appearance created such a pan ic i n the Phil istian host that theyarose and fled, and were sm itten by their pursuers al l theway from Seba unt i l the entrance in to their own ci ty of

Gaza .

We can not but be struck,i n th is n arrat ive

,with the hum

ble p iety of David in asking guidance from the Lord,and

with h is will ingness impl ic i tly to obey the commands wh ichhe rece ived . Nor can we fai l to observe the c lear and ex

pl icit nature of the answers which he received from the Urim


and Thummim . The anc ien t heathens had thei r oracl es i nconnection with the temples i n which they worshiped the ird ivin i ties 5 but the responses given at these places to thosewho consul ted them were general ly expressed so ambiguously that no great guidance was given by them, and they couldnot be fals ified by any event. Thus i t i s on record thatwhen C rce sus inqu ired of Apol lo what would be the resul t ofhis attacking the Persians

,the an swer was that, by doing so,

he should overthrow a great army — a reply which wouldhave been appropriate e ither to the destruction of the Pers ian army

,or

,as i n the event i t happened to be, to that of his

own . When again Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, asked whatwas to be the i ssue of hi s war with the Romans, the responsewas given in words which might mean e i ther, “ I say thatthou

,the son of Eacus

,art able to conquer the Romans,

” orI say that the Romans are able to conquer thee, the son ofEacus . But here

,i n the repl ies given by the sacred breast

plate,there is no obscurity. Every thing i s defin i te and clear

,

and David could have no hesi tat ion as to his duty in eachcase . Of course, there is not now any such means of obtaining the unerring gu idance of God as David then enj oyed

,i n

so far as the contingencies of our daily l ives are concerned 5but still

,i n answer to prayer, God wil l l ead us i n the right

way,provided only we unfeignedly commit ourselves to him

,

and will ingly accept his d irect ion step “by step . Here i s thewarran t on which every one of us is ent itl ed to proceed : “ Ifany of you lack wisdom , l e t him ask of God, that giveth to al lmen l iberally, and upbraideth not, and i t shal l be given h im .

Let us, therefore, use the Bibl e and the throne of grace asDav id employed the Urim and Thummim

,and we may de

pend upon i t that, even as “ the sound of a going in the topsof the mulberry-trees indicated to him when he was to ad

vance, there wil l be someth ing, e ither within ourselves, or inthe arrangement of God’s providence external to us

,which


therefore,al l these years during the min is try of Samuel

,and

the re igns of Saul and Ishbosheth, the ark had remained ;while the Tabernacl e con tinued at Shiloh, or perhaps, for aportion of the time

,at Nob . But this was not all 5 for whil e

the Tabernacl e was i n one c ity, and the ark i n another, therewere also two high-priests— Zadok at Shiloh, who was of theelder l ine of the sons ofAaron, which had hitherto adhered tothe house of Saul ; and Abiathar, -the sol e survivor of the Nobmassacre

,who had fled to David with the Urim and Thum~

mim when he was i n the cave . Now,i n seeking to bring or

der out of al l this confusion,David

,act ing perhaps under the

d ivine direction,l eft the Tabern acle un touched

,but wished to

bring the ark to Jerusalem,where he had prepared a tem

porary ten t (probably after the pattern of the original one ),i n which i t might remain unt il the cherished purpose of hisheart should be accompl ished

,and a perman en t temple erect

ed for its abode . Furthermore,be retained the two high

priests as of co-ord inate dign ity, thereby bind ing both of

them to himself without exci ting the j ealousy of ei ther.When he had determ ined to bring up the ark, he gathered

together th irty thousand chosen men , and wen t i n state tothe anc ien t c ity in wh ich i t had so long been kept 5 but asad and awful occurrence s truck terror in to al l their hearts

,

and led to the postponement of the formal entrance of thesacred symbol in to Jerusalem . Ignoring the command thatthe sacred ches t should be borne on ly on the Shoulders ofthe priests

,the two sons of Abinadab put i t on a new cart,

and when they came to a place which was known as thethresh ing-floor of Nachon , as the cart shook violently, Uzzah,one of the sons of Abinadab, pu t forth h is hand upon theark to steady i t, and was at once struck dead . Whether th iswas caused by the immediate outflashing of the d ivine power, or, as some bel ieve, by a bol t of l ightn ing in the m idst ofa thunder-storm which they suppose was raging at the t ime,


the even t was by them al l connected with the touch ing of

the ark by Uzzah, and they were fi l l ed with d ismay. Harps,

cornets, cymbals, psal teries, and timbrel s were s ilenced , andDavid

,i n sore d istress at what had taken pl ace

,caused them

to carry the sacred th ing into the house of Obed-edom theGitt i te

,which happen ed to be at hand 5 while, i n memory of

the stroke with which they had been Vis i ted,he named the

place Perez-uzzah,

“ the Breach of Uzzah .

”

Leaving for the presen t out of View the purpose that wasto be subserved by this j udgment

,we may note the d ifferen t

degrees of pun ishmen t by which in differen t c ases the profan ation of the ark was Vis i ted . The Phil istines

,whose s in

was ignorance, were sm itten only with d isease 5 the men of

Beth-shemesh who looked into the ark,Levites though they

were,were smitten with death

,because they ought to have

known the l aw of God upon the matter ; and now againUzzah is stricken down

,because

.

ignorance,where knowledge

ought to have been possessed,i s n o extenuation of guil t.

But though thus sadly inte rrupted in the c arrying out of

his purpose,David would not give it up 5 for l earn ing, three

months afte rward , that God had greatly blessed, i n some visible manner

,the household of Obed-edom

,i n whose dwell ing

the ark was placed,he se t out agai n to bring i t to Jerusalem .

But this t ime,the book of the l aw having doubtl ess been

most careful ly searched for d irect ions,every th ing was don e

decently and i n order. I t was a great and memorable dayin Israel ; and as David had composed many special odesfor the occasion , we may perhaps give you the most v ivididea of the whol e proceedings

,by making our narrat ive l i t

t l e more than a statement of the part icul ar order i n whichwe suppose that these hymns were sung.

Let i t be prem ised,however

,that on this day

,as on al l the

high festival occasions afterward,both i n the Tabernacl e and

the Temple,the serv ic e of song was conducted solely by the

1 0


Levites . They were the holy tribe 5 and j ust as the highpriest offered in the room of the people the sacrifices ofburnt-offering and atonement, so the Levites offered i n thestead of the tribes the sacrifice of praise . We do not, indeed

,hear any thing of music as a portion of the worship of

J ehovah unti l the t imes of David ; but “ i t i s not improbabl e that the Levites al l along had pract iced music

,and that

some musical service was part of the worship of the Tabernacle 5 for, unless thi s suppos ition be made, i t i s inconce ivabl ethat a body of trained singers and mus ic ians should be foundready for an occasion l ike that on which they made the ir firs t

No doubt,at the school of the prophets a t

Ramah,music formed part of the regular exercises of the

students ; and David’s own skil l and taste in this exqu is ite

art must have enabled him to make perfec t arrangementsfor this great fest ival

,even as they enabled him afterward to

make permanent regul at ions for the conduct of “ the serviceof song in the house of the Lord .

From the n arrat ive i n the fifteen th chapter of the Fi rstBook of Chron icl es, we learn that, i n add ition to the e ldersof Israel (each of whom

,as on the day of the coron ation

,

would be accompan ied by a delegation from his tribe), andthe capta ins over thousands

,there were presen t n ine hun

dred and s ixty -two priests and Levites . From these lastwould be taken a suffic ient number to rel ieve each othe r i ncarrying, by turn s, the ark of the covenant

,and then the res t

would be told off for the musical service . The s inging wasaccompan ied by the sound of instruments

,the performers

on which were placed under the d irec t ion of skil led leaders .Thus Heman , Asaph, and Ethan were appoin ted to conductthe cymbal s of brass 5 Zechariah , and Az iel , and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unn i, and El iab, and Maase iah, and

Smith’

s Dictionary, article MUS IC.


wood,

z'

. e. ,at Kirj ath-j earim . Then , as the priests appoin t

ed for the purpose went into the house for the ark, they sangby themselves these words : “ We wi l l go in to h is tabern acles : we wil l worship at h is footstool . As they emerged,bearing the sacred burden on thei r shoulders , and while theytook the first six paces in their m arch, their brethren resumedthe strain

,and sang

,

“ Arise,O Lord, in to thy re st ; thou,

and the ark of thy strength . Let thy'

pries ts be clothed withrighteousness 5 and le t thy saints Shou t for j oy. For thyservan t David ’s sake turn not away the face of thin e anoin ted . The Lord hath sworn in tru th unto David 5 he wil l notturn from i t ; of the frui t of thy body wil l I set upon thythrone . I f thy children wil l keep my covenan t and my test imony that I Shal l teach them,

the ir children shall al so si tupon thy thron e for evermore . For the Lord hath ChosenZion 5 he hath des ired

l

it for his habitat ion . This i s my restforever : here will

'

I dwel l ; for I have des ired i t. I wil labundan tly bless her prov ision : I wil l satisfy her poor withbread . I wil l al so clothe her priests with salvation : andher saints shal l shout aloud for j oy. There wil l I make thehorn of David to bud : I have ordain ed a lamp for min eano in ted . His enem ies wil l I cl othe with shame : but uponhimsel f shal l hi s crown flourish .

” A t thi s poin t th e process ion hal ted, whil e a doubl e sacrifice was offered unto theLord ; and such was the el ation of feel ing among them al l ,that the king, clothed for the t ime in a l inen ephod l ike thepriests, i s said to have danced before the Lord .

But now again the march i s renewed . A t the sound ofthe trumpet they that bare the ark advanced

,and the s ing

ers, accompan ied by the instruments of music, raised the oldwilderness watch-word, “ Let God arise

,l e t h is enem ies be

scattered,” and cont inued at i nterval s to sing appropriatestrophes of that grand processional hymn

,the 68 th Psalm .

I t i s too long to be quoted entire ; but if you wi l l c areful ly


s tudy i t for yourselves, you wi l l easily be abl e to divide i tinto i ts separate portions

,and wil l d iscover how appropriate

i t was to the occasion which cal led i t forth . What could befiner than the following strain , which we give i n the spiri tedmetrical vers ion of an in timate friend and brother i n them in istry

O God, when thou didst march of old before thy people ’s face ,And led the ir way, by c loud and flame , through the great wilderness ,Earth shook 5 the heavens before thee dropped, on Sinai tremors fe l l,Before the presence of the Lord, the God of I srae l.Lord, thou thy weary heritage dids t Cheer with plenteous rainThy congregation dwe lt there in 5 the ir poor thou dids t sustain.

God ga ve the word anon the land rings with the joyful sound 5Great was the hos t of hera ld tongues that published it around.

Kings fled, with al l the ir bannered state , they bore themse lves afar,And she that dwe lt a t home did Share the trophie s of the warN ow may ye rise and clothe yourse lves in Splendor man ifold,Like doves whose wings are silver-bright, whose plumes are burnished

gold.

The land, when God had crushed the kings , with scattered bones waswhite 5

I t gl istened like the crown of snow on Salmon’s crested he ightGod’s hil l is high as Bashan

’

s hil l 5 why leap ye , hil ls of pride ?This Zion is the hil l where God forever wi l l abide .

God’s cherub chariots , myriad-fo ld 5 come flam ing from afar 5

And, as on Sinai, God is there , as in a Victor’s car.

Thou hast ascended , armed with gifts , and captor captive led,A nd thou with men , rebe l lious m en, dost de ign thy tent to spread.

B less’d be the Lord, sa lvation’s Lord, who lifts our load of woe 5

Whose da ily bounties , rich and free , in volumed ful lness flow ;For God, he is sa lva t ion ’

s God, and each success ive breathWe owe to him whose hand do th cas t the die of l ife and death.

Pra is e God, ye kingdoms of the earth, high be his name extolled,Who rides upon the heaven of heavens ,whose sple ndors were of old.

Forth comes his voice , a mighty voice 5 what s trength his frown en

shroudsHis m ajesty o’

er I srae l Shine s , his strength is in the c louds .

O God from out thy holy place , how dread thy terrors gleam,

Where thou art in thy glory throned, between the cherubim .


Thou to thy people givest s trength, and mak’

s t them safe ly dwell 5Then be thy name forever bless ’d, thou God of I srae l .*

When they drew near to Jerusalem they sung the 2 4th

Psalm,which i s

,perhaps

,the most artist ic i n i ts s tructure of

al l those to which we have referred . I t i s antiphonal in i tsnature

,and -was evidently designed to be sung by chorus

answering to Chorus . Perhaps no more striking idea of themethod of i ts execution on th is occas ion can be given thanthat which i s presented in the fol lowing description , by Dr.Kitto : “ The chief music ian

,who seems to have been the

king h imself,appears to have

.begun the sacred lay with asol emn and sonorous rec ital of these sen tences, ‘ The earthi s the Lord ’s

,and the ful lness thereof ; th e world , and they

that dwel l th ere in . For he hath founded i t upon the seas,

and establ ished i t upon the floods . ’ The chorus of vocalmusic appears then to have taken up the song, and sung thesame words i n a more tuneful and elaborate manner ; and thein struments fel l i n with them , rais ing the m ighty decl arationto heaven . We may presume that the chorus then d ivided

,

each s inging in the ir turns,and both j o ining at the Close

,

‘ For h e hath founded i t upon the seas,and establ ished i t

upon the floods . ’ This part of the music may be supposedto have lasted unti l the process ion reached the foot of Zion ,or came in sigh t of i t, which , from the n ature of the incloseds i te

,can not be t i l l one comes qu ite n ear to i t. Then the

king must be supposed to have stepped forth and begunagain , i n a solemn and earnest tone, ‘ Who shal l ascend in tothe h il l of the Lord ? or who shal l stand in h is holy place ?’

to which the firs t chorus responds,

‘ He that hath cleanhands , and a pure heart ; who hath not l ifted up his soulunto van i ty, nor sworn deceitfully .

’ And then the second

Sacred Lyrics ,” by John Guthr ie , M .A .

, G lasgow, Po

2 2 4 DAV ID,K ING OF I SRAEL.

But am idst al l these appl ications of the words of David,we must not forget another, and perhaps the most importan tof al l . The ark symbol ized Christ i n h is peace-giving presence

,and the Tabernacl e i s an emblem of the human heart,

i n which he desires to dwell . Even now he may be standing and knocking at the door of some heart here . He whoi s the King of glory, and mighty in battle, i s asking an eu

trance,where he wel l m igh t force his way. But he conde

scends to plead for adm ission . Oh, let h im not plead in vain !Open unto him

,that you may know what that bl essed prom

ise means “ If any man hear my voice and Open the doo r,I

wil l come in to him,and wil l sup with him

,and he with me .

A t the close of the s inging of the 2 4th Psalm , the curtain sof the ten t were folded back, and, amidst the reveren t s ilenceof the assembled thousands, th e ark was put i n i ts appoin tedplace . Thereafter

,as the j oyful conclus ion of the glad and

sacred se rvices,David gave to Asaph and his brethren , that

they migh t s ing i t wi th every proper accompan imen t, thatsong which we have preserved i n the S ixteenth chapter ofthe F i rst Book of Chron icles

,and which seems to be a com

bination of portion s taken from the 1 05 th, 96 th, and 1 06 th

Psalms . Then he offered more burn t-offerings and peaceofferings before th e Lord ; and having concluded the ceremony by bless ing the peopl e i n th e name of the Lord

,he

most generously dis tributed refreshmen ts among them al l .So ended this ausp icious day

.

“ A l l the people departed,

every one to his own home 5 and David returned to blesshis house . Only one th ing occurred to mar h is happiness .After he entered h is pal ace

,Michal

,the daughter of Saul ,

who had never much sympathy with the devot ional s ide ofDavid’s nature, taun ted h im with scorn for his danc ing before the ark, and sneered at h im as if he had been one of

the vain fel lows that were al together regardless of propriety.

But the only resul t was to widen the breach wh ich al ready


exis ted between them,and to consign her to the perpetual

isolat ion of widowhood,whil e she was sti l l i n n ame a wife .

Two pract ical l esson s are all that space wil l now perm i tme to enforce .Observe, then , i n the firs t place

,as here i l lustrated

,the

maj esty of the d ivin e hol iness . When Uzzah touched theark, he was sm itte n with death . Many have wondered atthe apparent severity of the pun ishmen t ; but when you exam ine in to the matter m inutely

,you wil l see that the d ivin e

procedure here harmon izes with the general principl e of

God ’s Operat ions as observed in s im ilar in stances . The lawcommanded that the ark Should be carri ed on the Shouldersof the priests, and Uzzah and al l the peopl e ought to haveknown that. Hence th is j udgmen t — for j udgmen t it undoubtedly was— was a mark of God ’s d ispl easure for irreverence, and was designed to put them al l on the ir guard .

The whole Tabern acl e service appears to have been arranged with th e v iew of i ntensifying the idea of God ’s hol in ess i n the m inds of the peopl e

,and l ead ing them up to the

truth that they could,as s inners

,approach him only through

sacrifice . T0 keep these two th ings con stantly before thepeople

,they were not al lowed to come near the sacred place

where the symbol of Jehovah ’s presence dwel t 5 and thosewhose business took them into the sanctuary had to be spec ia lly set apart for the purpose ; whil e the h igh-priest wasperm itted to go in to the Holy of Hol ies only once a year, andthen only when he carried with h im the blood of sacrifice .

Hence, any in terference with the arrangements wh ich converged toward the teach ings of these importan t tru ths wassolemnly guarded against ; and at the outse t of every n ew

period of the h istory of Israel , some warn ing was given tokeep them from irreverence : Nadab and Abihu perished i nthe wildern ess 5 Uzzah here was struck down at the in augurat ion of a new era i n the Jewish worship ; and Anan ias and

1 0"


Sapphira were pun ished in the same way in the early lufancy of the Chris tian Church .

Now the connection of th is l atter case with that of Uzzahhere wil l show you how we in these days can be gu ilty of

U z z ah’s s in . The Corinth ian s wereguil ty of i t when , forget

t ing the sacred character of th e Lord ’s Supper, they becameintoxicated at the table of the Lord 5 and we shal l be guiltyof i t if, with hearts estranged from God, and l ives which areinconsisten t with his Word

,we presume to connect ourselves

with hi s Church,and take part i n the managemen t of i ts af

fairs . D avid, therefore , rightly read the mean ing of the breach

of Uzzah when , i n addit ion to rectifying hi s error by pu tt ingthe ark on the shoulders of the priests , he sang these words :“ Who shal l ascend in to the h il l of the Lord ? or who shal lstand in h is holy pl ac e ? He that hath cl ean hands and apure heart 5

” and unless we who are members of the Churchhave this character

,we shal l be guil ty of U z z ah

’

s s in .

'Buthow shal l we get such a character ? Only by l iving un ionto the Lord Jesus Chris t, who offered h imsel f in sacrifice toGod for us. In and through h im we may approach God withacceptance

,and

,sprinkled with h is blood

,we may have no

fear of any catastrophe . Beautiful here,i n connection with

the maj esty of God ’s hol iness,and the n ecessi ty of aton e

men t, if s inners would safely approach him ,i s the lesson of

the cherubim in the Word of God . We firs t meet thesesymbol s (for whether we see them in the form of l ivingcreatures, or in that of artific ial figures , they are st il l symbols), guard ing the tree of l ife

,and keeping back our s inful

parents from approaching i t ; we next meet them over themercy -seat, where they are look ing down with satisfact ionon the blood of the V ict im 5 we behold them next i n Isa iah ’sv is ion , Crying, Holy, holy, holy, i s the Lord of hosts 5

” andwe observe one of them taking a l ive coal from the al tarmark the al tar, which tel l s of sacrifice— and purifying there


us,therefore

,come “ by that new and l iving way which J esus

hath consecrated for us,that i s to say, hi s flesh 5 and having

a high-priest over the house of God, l e t u s draw near with atru e heart

,i n ful l assurance of faith, having our hearts sprin

kled from an evi l conscience, and our bodies washed withpure water.”

F i nally l et u s l earn from the conduct ofDavid in retiringto bless h is house, that publ ic rel igious services should not beal lowed by us to interfere with the d ischarge of the duties offamily rel igion . After such a day as that wh ich we have a ttempted to describe, David might have imagined that he hada good excuse for omitt ing al l domestic worship ; but i t ratherseemed that the devotion s of the day gave him new zest for theexercises of the fam ily al tar. And th is i s what always oughtto be . I t is to be feared

,however, that many among us con

tent themselves with a mere go-to-meeting piety, and seemto bel ieve that rel igion consists i n a round of publ ic rel igiousservices . They attend al l manner of holy convocations.

You see them at every important devotional meeting youtake part in . But they rarely enter the closet 5 they neverbless their houses 5 and the ir l ives are j ust as selfish andunsp iritual as are those of mul titudes who make no profess ion of attachment to Jesus whatever. I do not make l igh tof the ord inances of God ’s worship 5 on the contrary, I bel ieve them to be most serviceabl e in feeding the fire of p ietywith in the heart. But what I mean to say is, that p iety doesnot consis t i n attend ing on these mean s of grace, and thatour engagemen t in publ ic services must n ever be made anexcuse by us for the n eglect of household duties . “ Why did

you not come to church l as t n ight,” said on e work ing-man to

another, on a Monday morn ing ; “ our minister was preach

ing a third sermon on the duty of family rel igion ; why didyou not come ?” “ Because

,

” was the reply,

“ I was at homedoing it . ” I would l ike to see not less earn estness in a t

THE BR I NGING UP OF THE ARK . 2 9

tendance upon the regular ord in ances of the sanc tuary,but

more of this at home doing i t. ” Have you family worshipin your dwell ing ? Oh, if you have not, you know not what aprivi lege you are depriving yourself of I t i s a great mean sof promoting fam ily peace and domestic prosperity. Try it

,

and you wil l find that God wil l deal wel l with you throughi t,as of old he deal t with Obed-edom when the ark was in

his house . Try i t at once . Begin to—n ight. Never mind,

though you may falter in your firs t u tterances . There i smuch power in broken prayers . Go, therefore, from thi shouse of privi lege to the fam ily al tar, and lay thereon a grateful offering. I t wil l b ind the members of your household together by a cord of spiri tual and indissolubl e u n ion . I t wil le l evate your home-l ife into a m in iature of that of heaven .

I t wil l give you a foretaste of the blessedness of those whoform the family above.

X I I I .

NATHAN ’

S ME SSAGE .

2 SAMUEL VI I . 5 ix.

ITH great pomp and gl adness,the ark of the cove

n an t had been brough t to Jerusal em , but David wasnot yet satisfied 5 for i t had been placed i n a mere temporary ten t, and his great desire was to erec t a spl endid templ efor i ts permanen t abode. Hence

,before he was wel l e s

tablished i n h is own cedar pal ace, he sent for Nathan theprophet

,who now for the firs t t ime appears i n the har m

t ive,and in timated to h im his purpose i n these words : “ See

now,I dwel l i n a house of cedar,but the ark of God dwel leth

with in curtain s .” The sent imen t underlying these word swas in the highest degree honorable to David . They indicate that he fel t i t to be a moral anomaly

,i f not a Spec ies

of d ishones ty,that he should look so wel l after h is own per

sonal comfort and regal dign ity,whil e ye t the house of God

was bu t a ten t. I t were wel l,i n these days

,that we al l

shared these convict ion s,for we are too ap t to lavish our

wealth exclusively upon our own enj oyment and indulgence,forgetful of the higher cl aims which God and his cause haveupon us . I say not

,i ndeed

,that i t i s wrong for a man to

take such a posi tion in soc iety as h is riches warran t him toassume, or that there is s i n i n spend ing money on our res idences , or i n surrounding ourselves with the treasures of human wisdom in books

, or the triumphs of human art i n pictures or statuary 5 but I do say that our gifts to the causeof God ough t to be at least abreast of our expenditure forthese other th ings 5 and that if we so cripple ourselves by


be,

“ Make your generosity a matter of j ust ice . Be j us t toGod

,as good s tewards of his m an ifold bount ies 5 and when

ever you increase your doings for yourselves, be sure thatyou proportionately increase your doings for him . There i sno harm in your cedar palace, provided only the erection ofthat st imul ate you to do more than ever for Chri s t. I amthe more particular to pu t the matter thus

,because

,from a

m istaken zeal for the Lord, many have taken up a pos itionregarding i t which is flagran tly unj ust. They do not hes itate to blame Christ ian men for dwel l ing in fine houses

,and

surround ing themselves with beautiful obj ects,whil e so many

poor people are starving for wan t of food,and so many igno

ran t ones are perish ing for l ack Of knowledge,and this al to

gether irrespective of the fact that some who do l ive i n ce

dar houses are among the most benevolen t in the land . But

where i s th is to end ? Are we al l to' go back to the Cheerl ess

,carpetless, comfortless houses of hundreds of years ago ?

or are we to be conten t with the blanket and the Wigwamof the Ind ian , and give al l el se to benevolence ? Nay. TheLord does not blame David here for bu ilding h is cedarpalace . O n the contrary, I bel ieve he was as glad to seeDavid i n i t, as a modern father is to vis i t h is son in the comfortable home which h is industry and integrity have securedfor him . God does not wan t us to go in threadbare atti re

,

and l ive in cold and ugly apartments . He loves to see hisstewards comfortable . But wh ile he rej oices i n our comfort

,

he desires that we should share i t with others . If I were togo to a weal thy man ’s house

,and

,after surveying h is pain t

ings and his pl ate, his c arriage and hi s horses, and al l theother accessories of refinemen t around h im

,I should say

,

T0 what purpose is thi s waste ? Ought not al l these thingsto be sold and given to the poor ?” I should feel as if somehow the meanness of Judas had got i n to my heart

,and I

should not hope to do him any good ; but if, conceding to

NATHAN ’S MESSAGE . 2 33

him that God del ights i n h is comfort and rej oices in his hap

piness, I should unfold to him thi s pr incipl e, that the enj oymen t of so many good th ings carries with i t the obligation todo j ust so much the more for Chris t, I should expect to makesome impression upon him . There may be those here ton igh t who have done much more for themselves than otherscould honestly attempt. Let me ask them to consider thatthe ir l arger measure of enj oymen t involves i n i t the duty of

doing j ust so much the more,for th e furtherance of the G05

pel and the welfare of the ir fellow-men . Let me beg themto press th is question to the ir consc iences “ Am I doing asmuch more than others for Christ as I am doing for myself ?”

And if they can n ot consc ient iously say Yes,” then le t m ebeseech them to do less for themselves

,that they may do

more for h im .

When Nathan heard David ’s proposal,which would be

,of

course, much more ful ly explai ned to him than i t i s i n the s imple summary of the conversation given in the h istory

,he an

swered,

“ Go,do al l that i s i n th in e heart 5 for the Lord i s with

thee .” This,however

,was only his own i nd ividual op in ion

,

i n which he gave expression,as a good man would natural ly

do,to the feel ings of gratificat ion with which he had heard

of the royal i ntent ion . But during the subsequen t n ight,God

,

gave him a Special message to the king,which

,whil e

preven ting h im from undertaking the build ing of the Temple

,yet con tained i n i t predictions of greatest in terest

,not

only to h im self, bu t to al l n at ions . I n eed no t go over i ti n detail . Let i t suffice that I i nd icate what I regard to beits m ean ing, prem is ing that for the View which I presen t Iam in debted to the suggestive comments of Kei l upon thepassage .The first part of the announcemen t virtual ly amounts to

th is : “ Thou shal t not bu i ld an house for me,but I

,who se

lected thee when thou wast fol lowing the sheep,will build

2 34 DAV ID,KING OF I SRAEL .

thee an house,and then thy son shall rear an house for my

n ame .

” Nor i s this a mere play upon words, as at firs t sighti t m ight appear to be . I t refers to the fact that

,up to th is

t ime,David ’s kingdom was not thoroughly establ ished

,and

draws from that the in ference that God ’s ark was not yet toexchange the Tabernacl e, which was the symbol of unsettledabode

,for the Temple, which was the embl em of permanen t

res idence . “ As long as the qu ie t and ful l possession'

of theland of Canaan was d isputed by their enemies round abou t

,

even the dwel l ing-place of the ir God could not assume anyother form than that of a wanderer’s ten t. The kingdomof God in Israel firs t acqu ired its rest and consol idationthrough the efforts of David

,when God had made all h i s

foes subj ect to h im,and had establ ished hi s throne

‘

firmly,

that i s,had assured to h is descendants the possess ion of the

kingdom for al l future time . And i t was th is wh ich usheredin the t ime for the bu i ld ing of a station ary house as a dwell~ing for the name of the Lord . The conquest of the c i tadelof Zion

,and the elevation of that fortress in to the palace

of the king,was the commencement of the establ ishment of

the but only the commencement,for many foes

had yet to be encoun tered and overcome . Til l they weresubdued

,then

,the Temple should not be buil t ; for the ten t,

or symbol of pilgrimage, would not be laid as ide by God forh is ark unti l i t h ad been first made clearly evident that thepeopl e among whom that ark was to res ide were themselvesperman ently establ ished in the land which had been giventhem . This permanent establ ishmen t David, aided by Jehovah

,was to make good

,and then h is son would rear th e

Templ e,i n token of the perpetu i ty of the kingdom and dy

nasty which he was to found . In the version given in the

Ke il and De litzsch, “ Bibl ica l Commentary on the Books of Samuel ,P 344


the throne of David ’s kingdom should be establ ished forever 5 and we may not seek to reduce these words to the popular notion of a long, indefin ite period . We must take themin an absolute sense

,as they are understood in the 89th

Psalm,where there i s a cl ear reference to this prophecy, and

where the expression i s thus paraphrased .

“ His seed alsowill I make to endure forever, and hi s thron e as the days ofheaven .

” Now,as Kei l remarks, “ The posterity of David

could only last forever by run ning out i n a person who’

l ives

forever,that i s

,by culminating in the Messiah , who l ives for

ever,and of whose kingdom there is no

Thus we reach a new l andmark i n the developmen t ofMess IanIc prophecy in the O ld Testamen t. The promiseddel iverer i s spoken of firs t as “ the seed of the woman 5

” thenas the seed of Abraham ; then as the child of Isaac 5 thenas the son of Jacob 5 and then as the Shiloh of the tribe ofJudah . Now,

out of that tribe the family of David is des ign ated as that i n wh ich he was to appear 5 while with thi sdescription of his l ineage there i s conj o ined the informationthat he was to found a kingdom which would be un iversal i ni ts extent

,and eternal i n i ts duration . Thus, i n the course

of the ages,that first Eden ic prediction , so nebulous and in

d istinct,acqu ired defin iteness and prec is ion , until at length ,

when the ful ln ess of the t ime was come,there converged to

ward Jesus of Nazareth so many l ines of prOphetic proof,that he could be at once identified as the prom ised Redeemer .But the connection of a pred ict ion of the Mess iah with a

message to David,regard ing the bu ild ing of the Temple, il

lustrates another pecul iari ty by which many O ld Testamen tprophec ies are dist inguished . While some of these ancien t

Keil and De litzs ch, “ Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel ,P 347

NATHAN ’S MESSAGE . 3 7

oracles stand out cl early from the c ircumstances and thet imes in which they were given

,and refer s imply and alone

to Chris t,there are others which

,whil e poin ting u ltimately to

him,yet do so through and i n connection with the pos i tion

and history of those to whom they were originally addressed .

Now of this l atter class the prediction on which I have beenremarking i s an exampl e . David was h imself

,i n h i s offi

c ia l pos ition and dign ity as k ing,a prophecy of the Messiah .

Hence pred ict ions which had a primary reference to h imas a king, and to h is house as a dynasty, had through himan al lusion to the Messiah

,and were thoroughly fulfil led

only in Chris t. When,however

,we i nterpret al l such ora

cles, both of the type and of the antetype, we are not puttingupon them a double sen se . The truth rather i s, that he towhom they were firs t given sustain ed a double character

,and

we find that the one mean ing of the pred ictions holds true ofhim in both characters . I t is, therefore, utterly impossibl e toexhaust th e mean ing of such a prophecy as this before us, orsuch a Psalm as the second, without going through David toDavid ’s son

,who was also David’s Lord . Indeed, from some

of David’s own express ions here, and espec ial ly from someof h is words i n the 2 d

,89th, and 1 1 0th Psalms, which al l re

dupl icate on th is message of Nathan ’s, i t would almost seemthat he h imsel f had some idea of i ts u l timate referenc e .

Perhaps we may apply to h im the words of Peter to theprophets generally

,and say

,

“ that he searched what, or whatmanner of time, the Sp iri t of Chris t d id sign ify when i t test ified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory thatShould fol low.

” But,however that may be

,and whether or

not he had i n connection with this prom ise any previs ion ofthe Redeemer

,we can not but feel that there are expression s

here wh ich,true i n a subsidiary sen se of David

,can only be

said to be ful ly verified in Jesus Christ.But now,

l eav ing the significance of the prophecy itsel f,


we must attend to the manner in which i t was rece ived byDavid

.A t the firs t

,perhaps, there m ight be a pang of d is

appoin tmen t in his heart, when he was told so dec is ivelythat he was not to be the builder of the Temple, for th is hadbeen the one great desi re of hi s soul ; and i t is not easyfor one in a moment to reconci l e himse lf to another arrangement of his l ife than that which he had pl anned for himself.We think of the au thor who, having been kept by one in terrupt ion after another from the great work to which he mean tto give his l ife

,i s at last fairly i n sight of its be ing under

taken by h im,and then

,overtaken by weakness, i s compelled

to leave i t unattempted . We think of the statesman whohas fought his way through the j ealousies, and envyings, anddepreciat ions of r ival s in to the fron t, and who seems j ustabou t to l ay h is hand upon the helm of the commonweal th ,when God i n h is providence breaks him down with d isease,and bids him step aside that another may go before h im .

We think of the President who had safely piloted hi s count ry through the rap ids of a terribl e c ivi l war

,and was just

about to reconstruct on a broader and more stable foundat ion a reun ited nat ion

,when he was stricken down

,and the

l ife that was shaping itself in to a fin ished pillar became,to

human View,only a broken shaft. And as these and sim il ar

d isarrangements of earthly pl ans come up before '

us, bringing with them the i r appropriate feel ings

,we may be apt to

imagine that when David saw the hope of h is l ife cut offi n a moment

,he would be plunged into the deepest dejec

tion . But if,even for an in stan t

,such an emotion exist ed

i n h is breast, i t was speed ily subdued, and he was not onlyresigned to the determ ination of God, bu t al so j ub il ant andgrateful for the d ivine goodness . Nor is i t d ifli cult to ac

count for this 5 for he sought to build the Templ e, not forhis own glory, bu t for that of Jehovah . I n desiring to reara maj estic house for God ’s dwel l ing-plac e and worship, he


nay,rather

,j ust because of your prom ise, he asks al l the

more . And if i t be thus with our faith in a human father,

we may not wonder that i t i s so al so with our confidence inthe promises made to u s by our Father who i s i n heaven .

When Mary of Nazareth was told that to her was reservedthe h ighest honor of womanhood, i t was thus she made replyto Gabriel Behold the handmaid of the Lord 5 be i t untome according to thy word

,

” thereby un iting the sublimestfaith and prayer i n one . And we then only truly bel ieveGod ’s prom ise when we take i t and turn i t in to a petit ion .

Let us profit,then

,from such examples 5 and when we come

upon some gracious word, l e t u s pause over i t, and tran smute i t i nto suppl ication . I s i t written “ I

,even I

,am he

that blotte th out thy transgress ion s for m in e own sake,and

wil l n ot remember thy s ins,” l e t u s wh il e we read make th i sresponse : “ For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon m ine iniquity, for i t i s great .

” I s i t written , “ A new heart al so willI give you

,and a new spiri t wil l I pu t with in you

,

” le t u swhile we read make th is request : “ Create i n me a cleanheart

, 0 God ; and renew a right Spir it with i n me .” I s i t

wri tten,

“ I will put my Spiri t within you,” let u s whil e weread raise th is suppl ication Be it unto m e according to thyword .

” But why need I enl arge ? You can scarcely read apage of the Scriptures without coming upon some exceed in

g

great and prec ious promise ; be i t yours, therefore, to pauseover each

,and le t your faith in it blossom in to a prayer for

i t . This wil l be the tr ue respon s ive reading of the sacredScriptures

,where in there shal l be not merely the answering

of voice to voice among men , but the responding of yourheart to God . Happy they in whose souls there is thus acontinually recurring amen to the benedict ion s of the Lord !I n the chapter which fol lows God’s message to David

through Nathan,and the accoun t of David ’s reception of i t,

we have a general summary of the wars of David, not pre

sented in the order i n wh ich they occurred,but gathered up

i n to one aggregate account 5 and at the Close we have anenumeration of the members ofwhat in modern phrase wouldbe cal led h is cabine t. Both of these

,however

,we Shal l

meanwh ile om i t, reserving them for our next d iscourse, whichshal l be devoted to an accoun t of the national admin istrat ionof David . And we conclude now with a brief reference toh is treatmen t of Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan .

Cons idering the devoted friendship between David and Jonathan

,and the solemn league in to which they en tered with

each other,we are apt to th ink that David was very tardy

in seeking to carry out the weighty obligation s under whichhe lay. And if he had been really aware that a son of Jon athan was in existence

,we should have been d isposed to blame

him very much for neglecting the child of h is noble and di sin terested friend 5 but, from what appears in the n arrat ive here,taken i n connection with the inc iden ts of Mephibosheth

’

s

early l ife, we are l ed to conclude that he was ignorant ofhis exis tence up t il l the t ime when he made the inqu iry ofwhich an accoun t i s here given . Referring to the fourthchapte r of 2 d Samuel, fourth verse, we l earn that when Jonathan was sl ai n Mephibosheth was only five years old . Now,

for six years before that date David had not been at thecourt of Saul . Probably, therefore, he had n ever heard of

the b irth of Jonathan ’s son, and the even ts which occurredafter the battl e of Gilboa were of such a nature as to renderi t al l but imposs ibl e for him to hear much concern ing Me

phibosheth. He was l iving at Gibeah with h is nurse whennews of the death of his father arrived . When she heardwhat had happened, she hastened to take h im to a pl ac e ofsafety ; but, i n her trepidation , she e ither le t h im fall, or stumbled and fel l with h im

,and in consequence of the inj urie s

which he thus rece ived he was a cripple for l ife . After h isescape from Gibeah he was taken to the other s ide of the

1 1


Jordan,and brought up in the house o fMach ir, at Lo-debar,

i n Gilead,where he was discovered by Ziba, a servan t of the

house of Saul , whom David employed for the purpose of

bringing him to court. When Meph ibosheth came to Jerusalem

,David caused h im to be re in stated in the fam ily in

heritance of Saul, and, committing its m anagemen t to Ziba assteward

,with instruct ions to bring the returns at stated times

to his master,he re tained Mephibosheth h imsel f a t Jerusa

l em,and reserved for him a place of honor at h is own ta

ble. Not every king would thus have honored the heir of

the dynasty which he had dispossessed 5 but David remembered Jonathan and bel ieved God . The memory of hi s former friend bound him to Mephibosheth 5 and his bel ief i nthe promise of God through Nathan kept h im from al l fearof being d ispossessed of his throne .

I n bringing our review of th is importan t portion of the s acred narrative to a close, I restric t myself to one particul arl ine of remark . l ’Ve have seen that David was h imself aprophecy of Chris t. I t follows from that

,therefore

,that the

Templ e which he so des ired to bu ild i s a prophecy of theChurch . With al l i ts grandeur under Solomon , that statelybuild ing was

,after al l, only a type of that more glorious spi r

i tual fabric which is “ buil t upon the foundation of the apos‘ tl es and prOphe ts ,Jesus Chris t h imself be ing the ch ief corners tone

,in whom al l the build ing

,fitly framed together, grow

eth into an holy temple in the Lord . Now,i n the erection

of this l iving temple we m ay al l take part. W'hen by faithin Jesus Chris t we become un ited to h im

,and rece ive the

Holy Spiri t into"

our hearts,we

,as i t were

,buil d ourselves

,

or,in another aspect of i t

,are bu il t by God

,as l iving stones

in to that glorious ed ifice which Jehovah through the ages isrearing for his own e ternal abode . When

,again

,by our in

s trumen tal ity, e ither ditec tly i n the efforts which we put forthat home, or i nd irectly through the l abors of those whom we


God in vain,he should be i nstantly d ismissed 5 because he

considered i t an impious thing that any such practices shouldbe indulged in by those who were building a house of God .

But if so much care was taken by that great man, that thosewho were working on a material structure should hallowGod ’s name on the ir l ip s, should not we who seek to buildup the Church of Christ i tself endeavor always to honor Godin our hearts ? They who are engaged i n church work

,or

missionary effort, should be men of peace, of hol iness, of lovethemselves 5 for if they are not distinguished by these characteristics, they wil l do more harm than good to others, andthey wil l draw down pun ishment upon themselves 5 for “ i f anyman defil e the temple ofGod, h im shal l God destroy.

” Here,

then,i s the order of our exhortations : firs t build your own

selves in to this templ e by faith in Jesus Christ 5 thereafte rseek to build others into i t al so by your efforts, your contributions

,and your prayers 5 and al l the whil e that you are

working thus,see that ye keep yourselves unspotted from

the world, “ for the templ e of God is holy,which temple are

ye. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of

Christ ? Shal l ye,then

,take the members of Chris t and

make them instruments of uncleanness ? God forbid ! Knowye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost whichi s in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own ?for ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify God in yourbody, and i n your Sp iri t, which are God

’s.”

X IV .

DA VI D as ADM I NJSTRATJON .

2 SAMUEL viii , 1 5 .

N the m inds of most readers of the Bible, the name ofDavid

,king of I srael , i s assoc iated mainly with m il i tary

prowess,poetic gen ius

,and personal p iety 5 and only on the

rarest occasion s do we hear any reference made to hi s admin istrative abil ity . Yet in this l ast qual i ty he was, at l east,as remarkable as in any one of the others which we haven amed ; and great inj ust ice i s done to h im if we leave outof View the em inen t services which he rendered to h is country by the exerc ise of his governmental and organ iz ing facult ies . I t has happened thus with the son of Jesse, as withmany others, that the showier and more dashing talents whichhe possessed have ecl ipsed, or cas t i n to the Shade, h is otherless ostentatious

,but

,i n their own pl aces, equal ly valuable

characterist ic s . I t may help us,therefore

,to a correc t est i

mate of hi s publ ic and official career, as wel l as prove in itself a most in terest ing s tudy, if we devote a short whil e toan inqu i ry in to the manner i n which he arranged and administered the affairs of the n ation . In prosecuting our i nvest i

gations , we shal l avail ourselves of the detail s which are veryful ly given in variou s portion s of the books of Samuel, theKings

,and the Chron icles

,acknowledging our obl igation s

throughout to the l abors of Dean Stanl ey, Dr. Blaik ie , Dr.Kitto

,and others, i n th is departmen t ; and we shal l fai l to

produce in your m inds the conviction at which we have ourselves arrived

,if we do not lead you to conclude that more

than Charlemagne d id for Europe, or A lfred for England,David accompl ished for the tribes of Israel .


We shal l commence our review by setting before you them il i tary organ ization of the coun try. This may be d iv idedin to three branches : first, the regular standing army 5 second, the king

’s own body-guard 5 and, th ird, the order of military knighthood, i f so we may cal l i t, which he establ ishedat his court. As regards the regular army

,we find that there

were i n the l and two hundred and eighty -eight thousandmen enrolled as sold iers . These un itedly composed whatwas called the host. Now there were two evils tobe guardedagainst in reference to this l arge body of troops. On theone hand, the maintenance of an army of such magn itude, ifi t had been kept constan tly underarms, would have seriously drained the resources of the country, bOth by the pos itiveexpense which would have been i ncurred in supporting i t

,

and by the withdrawal of so many able bodied men fromthose agricul tural pursu its

, on the fru i ts ofwh ich the peopl emainly depended . On the Other hand, i f al l these sold iershad been Cal led ou t at one time, and brought to one centralplace for dril l

,the outlying boundaries of the

’

land wouldhave been left

,for the me an while, undefended . But both

of these dangers were obviated by the pl an which Davidadopted

,and of which“ a minute accoun t i s given in 1 Chron

ic les xxvii . , where we have a register of “ the children of Israel after the ir number— to wi t

,the chief fathers and Captain s

of thousands and hundreds,and their Officers that served

the king I n any matter of the courses, which came in andwent out month by month throughout al l the mOnths of the

year, of every course were twen ty—and-four thousand .

” “Fromthis account i t appears that the army was d ivided in to

‘

twelve

portions, each of which had its own month of serv ice . OVer

each of those division s,as we may cal l them

,there was one

general offi cer, under whom were captain s of thousands,whose bands, again,were subdivided in to hundred s, each of

which was l ed by an officer, Corresponding somewhat to the


ty smal l bands of twen ty each . The smal l bands were commanded by thirty officers, one for each band , and these officers formed the thirty worth ies, or mighty men ; and thethree large bands were commanded by three officers, whotogether formed the three 5 whil e the whol e were under onechief

,the captain of the m ighty men . This reckon ing

,how

ever,gives only thirty-four as the total of the worthies

,where

as i n 2 Samuel xx i i i . the aggregate number i s thirty-seven .

Moreover,there seems to be a distinct ion in the same chap

ter between the firs t three and another three,who

,whil e

very honorable, had not attai ned to the valor of the first ;and for this dist in ction the subdivis ion of Stan l ey fail s tofind a pl ace. Perhaps

,therefore

,assuming the basis of s ix

hundred to be correc t, we may modify Ewald’s arrangemen t

thus,so as to bring i t in to harmony with the number thirty

seven . The s ix hundred, we may suppose, were d ivided in tos ix bands of one hundred, as wel l as in to twen ty of th irtyeach . Over the sen ior portion of the band

,amoun ting to

three compan ies of one hundred each,there were the firs t

three 5 over the j unior portion of the band, composed of oth

er three companies of one hundred each, were the secondthree 5 and then , over al l , there was the captain of the m ight:

i es, who was J ashobeam ,the Hachmon ite . The captain of

each band formed one of the band,and must be reckoned

with i t i n making up the numbers .The deeds of the worthies, specified in the chapters to

which I have been referring,are mostly such as i n a rude

and barbarou s age are rewarded by badges of distinct ion 5and those who sneer at the record of them here must beari n mind that even i n th is boasted age

,and in countries which

claim to be enl ightened,-the honors of knighthood and the

peerage are frequently bestowed upon no h igher grounds .The day has not yet ful ly arrived for the recognition of th enobil ity of hol iness and love . True

,in these l atter years we

DAV ID ’S ADMINI STRATION. 2 49

may have m ade some advancemen t toward i t, but i t i s as yeti n Messiah ’s kingdom alon e that dist inction i s conferred forworks of faith, and hol iness, and love . This is the grandfoundation-difference between the typical kingdom of Davidand that of Christ, which is i ts antetype 5 and we must n everallow ourselves to lose sight of i t wh il e we are consideringe ither the one or the other. David ’s k ingdom was foundedand maintained bymil i tarypower, andM itg was fitggg themfore ,t at I ts honors s huuldfi

be bestowed_ou_ martLaLheroe s for

daring deedsJW ~of battl e . _Chri st’

3 kingdom Is

M d on r ighteousness and love, and to those who cry toh im for honor he makes this reply, poin ting to Gethseman eand Calvary the while : “ Are ye abl e to drink of the cupthat I shal l drink of

,and to be baptized with the baptism

that I am baptized with But of th is more anon .

We pass now to the c ivi l adm inisg glim a fi the c s on of

Jesse ; and here i te arnes

e commercial pros

perity of the country. He gave n ew vi tal i ty to the old tribalarrangements 5 for (as we learn from 1 Chronicleshe set th irteen princes over as m any differen t districts.What the jud ici al func tion s of these princes exactly weredoes not appear, bu t probably they corresponded very n early to those of the lord l ieutenan ts of counties in Great Bri tain

,with th is difference

,that they belonged, ex qfiez

’

o, to th egeneral counci l or senate of the nation

,which was summon

ed ou al l occasion s of emergency or importance . Thus,

when David formally handed over the crown to Solomon,

we read ( 1 Chron icl es xxvi i i . , 1 ) that he assembled al l theprinces of Israel . Over and above these pri nce s

,he dis trib

uted ( 1 Chron icl es xx ii i. , 4) s ix thousand Levites over theland as ofli cers and j udges . Of these nearly one-half weresettled among the tribes east of the Jordan , perhaps because,

1 1*

2 5 0 DAVID,K ING OF ISRAEL .

from their d istance from the seat of government, these tribeswere more in n eed of superin tendence than the rest. Theywere sen t out, as we read,

“ for every matter pertain ing toGod and the king 5

” but i t would be a m istake to supposethat they had to do merely with j ud ic ial trial s. The Levi tes generally were the heal th officers of the n ation . Theywould

,therefore

,look after al l san i tary arrangemen ts

,and

take order that the minute inj unction s of the Mosaic l aw i nthis department were fully obeyed . They had to do

,also

,

with the heal ing art,and formed

,in fact

,a medical board

over the land 5 while again, if we bear i n m ind that the people were by them to be made acquain ted wi th the law of

the ir God,and that

‘

their sacred books were wel l-n igh theonly books at that t ime in existence among them

,we may

not be far wrong in regarding these Levites, or a portion ofthem

,as set over the education of the commun ity

,and re

sponsibl e for the departmen t of publ ic in struc tion . In any‘ case

,I th ink there is good warran t for the assertion of Dr.

Blaikie,when he says that “ i nfin itely more was done for the

[education and enl ightenment of the peopl e than was everI attempted or dreamed of i n any Eastern count ry. I t is nowhere said whether Samuel ’s school s rece ived a spec ial shareof atten tion 5 but the deep in terest David must have takenin Samuel ’s plans, and his early acquain tance with the irblessed effects

,l eave l ittl e room . to doubt that these institu

t ions were carefully fostered, and owed to David a Share ofthat Vital i ty which they continued to exhib it in the days ofElij ah and Elisha.“ In addition to what th is writer has advan ced, I would remark that the pre-eminence attained bySolomon in al l the branches of education i s

,to my mind

,an

evidence of the advanced cond ition of the n ation general ly

Bla ikie’

s“ David, King of I srae l : the D ivine Plan, and Lessons of

his Life ,” p . 2 01 .


fort of the peopl e . I t was said of Augustus that he foundRome brick

,and that he left i t marble ; and a s im il ar test i

mony as to Pari s was born e to the l ate Emperor of theFrench

,by al l who knew that capital as i t was before he so

transformed and beautified i t. Something of the same kindhas to be said also of David . Up til l his t ime

,the inhabi t

ants of Canaan dwel t in places which might perhaps be better called huts than houses . But when he took possessionOf Jerusalem , he not only strengthened i ts fortifications, buthe al so bu il t the c i ty of David

,and

,conspicuous there in

,a

stately palace for h imself ; nay, he introduced from Tyre artificers i n wood, and brass, and stone, and so adorned his capital that men could s ing concern ing i t

,

“ Beautiful for si tuation , the j oy of the whol e earth, i s moun t Zion , on the sidesof the north, the c ity of the great King.

” “ Walk abou t Zion,

and go round about her : tel l the towers thereof. Mark yewell her bulwarks

,consider her palaces 5 that ye may tel l i t

to the generation following.

But besides the influence of al l th is on domestic architecture, n o t i n Jerusal em alone, but over the whol e country, theprosecution of such labors tended largely to develop commerce . The l and over which he rul ed was prin cipal ly pastoral and agricul tu ral . I t produced more food than the population n eeded . But by the in troduction of builders fromTyre

,and the importation of t imber from Lebanon , there was

furn ished an outle t for their superfluous provis ions, whil e th egeneral comfort of the peopl e was advanced . This kind oftrade prepared the way for the farther developmen t of commerce under Solomon , whose sh ips wen t to India, and, asthere is reason to bel ieve

,al so to China ; while i t kn i t the

Hirams and the i r successors in close al l i ance to David andhis sons, and inaugurated an in terchange of commerc ial commodities between Jerusalem and Tyre

,which we find in ex

is tence even in the days of the Christian apostl es .* ThenSee A cts x1 1. , 20.

DAV ID ’S ADMINISTRATION . 2 5 3

again,on the pri nc ipl e of l etting nothing be lost, David

seems to have put the waste l ands under extens ive cul t ivation . He had

,as we learn from 1 Chron icles xxvi i . , 2 5 ,

“ s torehouses i n the fields,i n the c it ies

,and in the vi l lages

,

and i n the castles ; he had a regular staff of men whodid “ the work of the field for the t i l lage of the ground .

”

He had superintenden ts over the vineyards and winecellars

,and over the ol ive and sycamore trees, together

with the oil which they produced . There were men overthe herds i n Sharon and in the val leys of Shaphat, as wel las over the . came ls and asses . Thus, as Blaikie has re

marked,

“ Many a h il l, under h i s abl e management, wouldbecome enc ircled with vine -cl ad terraces, and many aplain formerly abandoned to steril i ty would rej oice andblossom as the rose . The king’s exampl e, too, spreadingto smal ler proprie tors

,now blessed with peace and freedom ,

would effec t a revolu tion in the agr icul ture of theHence the m il itary glory of David ’s l ife was not i ts highestdist inction

,and we may warran tably enough regard h im as

the inaugurator of an intern al c ivi l admin istration which,for thoroughness and effi c iency, surpassed every thing whichup to his day any coun try on the face of the earth , with thes ingle exception of Egypt

,had enj oyed .

I t i s t ime,however, that we looked to the arrangements

which David made i n eccl es iastical matters 5 but before weenumerate them

,we must have a clear idea of the posit ion in

wh ich he stood . He was not merely the king. He was, atthe same t ime

,a prophet as real ly as ei ther Gad or Nathan 5

and as we saw,at the great fest ival of the bringing up of the

ark,he arrayed himself i n the l in en ephod of the priests

,and

took part i n the offering of sacrifice . Hence,whil e the ul t i

mate reference of the 1 1 0th Psalm is unden iably to the Mes

Blaikie’s David, King of I srae l : the Divine P lan, and Lessons of

his Life , p . 202 .


S iah,i ts primary appl ication may wel l enough have been to

David,who was in some sense a second Melch izedek — a

priest among kings,and a king among priests. I t was

,there

fore,by virtue of the un ion of these three offices in h imself

,

that he was ent itl ed to take upon him the regula tion‘

of theTabernacl e service

,and the sett ing in order of those things

which in the days of Saul had been too generally neglec ted ,and allowed to fal l into the greatest confusion . A s we sawbefore

,the seat of the Tabernacl e was at Nob

, or perhaps (asan inc idental al lus ion in 1 Chronicles xvi.

, 39, would seem toimply) at Gibeon 5 but the ark, which was the glory of theTabernacl e

,was not there . That had been for a long time

at Kirj ath-j earim 5 bu t David brought i t to Jerusal em , thereby making that c i ty the eccles iastical as wel l as j udic ial centre of the l and . He did not

,however

,suppress the services

at the Tabernacl e,but left Zadok to superintend them

,con

tinn ing h im as c o-ordinate priest by the s ide of Abiathar,and allowing the seat of the ancien t Tabernacl e to s ink bydegrees i nto the obscuri ty which ul timately enveloped i t.While, however, he d id not posit ively demol ish the formerTabernacl e, he devoted Spec ial atten tion to the arrangemen tof the services i n the new sacred tent at Je'rusalem . These

,

of course, had to be performed by the pries ts and Levites .The spec ial function s of the former were to offer sacrifices,to burn incense

,and to change the shew-bread 5 the pecul iar

duties of the latter were to perform the lower office of attending to the outward fabric

,and

,i n general

,to do al l that was

required to make the publ ic worship ofGod excellen t i n character, decorous in arrangemen t, and reveren t in spiri t. Butthe Levites had now so increased in numbers

,and there were

so many belonging to the priestly family ofAaron,that i t was

needful to make some orderly d ivis ion of the work amongthem .

In seeking to meet this necessi ty,David adopted a plan


manner of measure and size 5 and to stand every'

morn ing tothank and praise the Lord , and l ikewise at even 5 and tooffer al l burnt-sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths, i nthe new moons

,and on the set feasts, by number, according

to the order commanded unto them,cont inually before the

Lord : and that they should keep the charge of the tabern ac le of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place

,

and the charge of the sons of Aaron the ir brethren,in the

service of the house of the Lord .

The arrangements for the musical part of th e serv icewere particularly el aborate

,and the twen ty-fifth chapter of

1 Chron ic les i s devoted to their enumeration . The primeleaders— the first three— were Asaph

,Heman , and Jeduthun 5

and under these— each superin tended by a son of one or o ther of them

,as the lot appoin ted— were twenty-four bands of

twelve each , who are described as “ in structed i n the songsof the Lord

,and cunn ing i n them .

” Nay,more

,there were

,

besides these, three daughters of Heman,who

,l ike their

brothers, were skil led in the psal tery, the cymbal , and theharp . Under these twen ty-four bands of twelve each

,were

arranged twen ty-four courses,taken by lot from the four

thousand . Thus, as a regul ar thing, only a twenty -fourthpart of these musician s would be about the Tabernacle service at one t ime ; but as they al l came in al ternate courses,the effic iency of each course would be maintain ed 5 so that ongreat occasions— as, for example, at the annual national fest iva ls— when they were al l engaged

,the effect produced mus t

have been at once most art istic and overpowering.

Two things,however

,have to be borne i n m ind about

these musical services . The first is that they were performed in th e Open air. The court of the Tabernacle

,as after

ward of the Temple,had no covering overhead . Hence the

high service of a Jewish festival-day would resemble nothingso much as an oratorio i n the open air

,when the mingled

DAV ID ’S ADMINI STRATION . 2 5 7

harmony of human voices and instrumen ts of music musthave fi l led the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and floated, i n subdued and solemn tones, over the slopes of O l ive t. The second thing about these serv ices i s, that only the Levi tes wereauthorized to take part i n them . Praise

,as I have formerly

remarked,was regarded as a sacrifice to God

,j ust as really

as the meat-offering and drink-o ffering, and only those whobelonged to the holy tribe of Levi were competen t to offeri t. They presented i t i n the stead of the people, and as

their consecrated representatives. Now this vicarious character of the Tabernacl e praise i s that which has been doneaway i n the Gospel Church 5 for, through faith i n JesusChrist, we are al l priests and Levi tes, con secrated, by theanointing of the Holy Ghost, for the offering of sp iri tu al sacrifices . Hence

,says Peter

,

“ Ye are a royal priesthood, aholy n ation

,a pecul iar people

,that ye should show forth the

praises of Him ,who hath cal led you out of darkness in to h is

marvelous l ight 5” and to the same effec t the author of the

Epistl e to the Hebrews has said,

“ By him,therefore

,l e t u s

offer the sacrifice of praise to God con t inual ly,that i s

,the fru i t

of our l ips,giving thanks to his name .” The l ittl e child may

j oin i n the hymn now,as wel l as the trained s inger

,provided

only he have a loving and bel iev ing heart,and there i s n o

restric t ion of any part of worsh ip i n the Church of Chris t toany order or cl ass of men in i t. But if while praise was thusv ic arious, i t was deemed of so much importance

,and so much

attention was devoted to the atta inment of excel len ce in i t,

ought we to al low i t to sink in to a subord inate posit ion,now

that i t is the common privilege of al l bel ievers ? Why shouldno t al l our Chris ti an congregation s become as skil l ful in therendering of “ the songs of the Lord ” as these four thousand Levites were ? Nay, may not every congregation beinstructed by the method of organ ization which David hereinaugurated ? What is to hinder us

,for exampl e

,from d i


L

Viding ourselves as a church into twelve, or, say, t wenty-fontmusical courses

,under appropriate l eaders, each course in

rotation be ing respons ibl e for the leading of psalmody for acertain t ime

,and all main tain ing aconstan t aggregate week

ly practice, so that on the Lord’s Day, as we gather together

here,we Shal l be j us t one wel l trained and thoroughly organ

iz ed choir, rais ing such a chorus of j ubilan t praise as shal lb e

,i n some degree, worthy of the priceless bless ings for

which we give God thanks ? What is to h inder this ? agai nI ask. We want

,i n the firs t pl ace, some organ iz ing David,

who shal l consecrate himself,

to th is work as thoroughly asthe King of I srael d id of old.

’ But we want even.

more thanthat, the sp iri t of Levi tical consecration i n the heart ofeveryworshiper. Ah ! if we bu t remembered that, as Chris tians,We are anointed by God ’s Sp iri t for h is pecul iar: serv ice

,and

if we d id only faintly real ize that the praise of the sanctuarywas a port ion of that service to which we have been thus setapart

,we should be more wil l ing to give the time and atten

t ion wh ich are needful to qual ify ourselves for i t. We havefal len i nto the grievous m istake of supposing that the musicof the sanctuary is for human ears, more than for the ear ofGod 5 and in seeking to please men by i t, we have al loweddevotion almost to d isappear fromi t. Nay

,we have thereby

come even to d ispl ease m en by i t 5 for i t i s here, as i n somany other th ings

,they who seek hum

-

an appreciat ion andapplause as the main end invariably

,i n the long run

,lose

that which they so des ired 5 while they,who th ink mainlyand especial ly of doing honor to God, do at the last rece ivealso the respec t of men . When

,i n our praise, we can m erge

all thought of self i n the eager,earnest effort to please God 5

when,feel ing that we are s inging to God

,we try to give h im

of our best 5 then , also, the ears of men wil l be turned toward us, and the hymns of the service wi l l , because they arethe sincere expression of our hearts, produce the most salu


was probably written during the war wi th Edom,when some

reverse had been sustained 5 and perhaps we do not e rr if wedate the 2 0th Psalm at this warl ike era of David ’s l ife . Bythese Victories he greatly extended the boundaries of thel and

,while in Jerusalem he strengthened himsel f by gather

ing around him,as the members of his cabinet, the wi ses t and

most em i nen t men of the n ation .

I close with two pract ical cons ideration s suggested by th iswhol e subj ect.Let u s see here the intimate connection between rel igion

,

and the intel lectual enl ightenment and social prosperity of an ation . David was a man of God, eagerly anxious i n al lthings to know the Divine wil l and do i t. He regarded h isposition on the throne as a trust which had been given to h im ,

for the welfare of his people and for the glory of Jehovah ;and the resul t of his consc ientiou s endeavors to act up tohis responsib il it ies was that educational

,social, and rel igious

regeneration wh ich to-n igh t we have been considering. But

th is i s no sol itary instance . S im ilar resul ts followed the rel igious earnestn ess of Hezekiah and Jos iah, in O ld Testament ages 5 and in modern t imes, the n ations wh ich havebeen blessed with Christ ian rulers have _ever l ed the van i n al lthe nobler characteris t ics of c ivil izat ion and prosperity. Whenan African prince sen t a courteous message to the ! ueen ofEngland

,asking

,

“ What i s th e secret of England ’s greatn ess she sent him a copy of the sacred Scriptures, with thereply

,

“ This i s the secret of England’s greatness .” And ifone should put a s im ilar question in regard to this great republ ic

,he might be correctly an swered in a s im ilar manner ;

for the charac ter '

of the Pilgrim Fathers,which was made by

their fai th in the Bible,and the ir devotion to the Lord Jesus

Chris t,has stamped i tself i ndel ibly on th is Western land 5 yea,

as it seems to me,i n Sp ite of certain recen t occurrences, i t i s

to-day more conspicuous in the regulat ion of national affairs

DAV ID ’S ADMINISTRATION . 2 6 1

than ever. But much yet remains to be accompl ished 5 andif we would have a prosperi ty worthy of the n am e, i t must, asi n the case of Israel under David, be rooted in rel igion . I tmay seem strange

,indeed, that in a republ ic I should seek

to enforce this lesson from the character of a king in a monarchy 5 but when you regard i t rightly, the practical point ofmy remarks wil l only become the . more sharp and inc is ive

,

for here the sovereign i s the peopl e 5 and so the ir character i s even more intimately related to the country ’s prosperitythan is th at of a king in a monarchy. They give the tone tothe ir represen tatives 5 and as water can not rise above it sl evel , so the moral ity and patriotism of the members of ourLegisl atures and Congress wil l not be above that of the peopl e who elec t them . I f we wish to purge away al l remain ingcorrupt ions, and to take a pl ace among the n ations whichshal l be at once pure and permanen t, we must seek to bringthe sovereign people under the influence of the rel igion of

Jesus . This i s the sal t which wil l at once purify and preserve the State . Hence

,while utterly repudiat ing al l sympa

thy with what is called a nat ional establ ishmen t of rel igion,

we ought as patriots, no l ess than as Christi ans, to seek tohave the people thoroughly Christi an ized . The Gospel i sthe grand reformer. The home m iss ionary on our front ier

,

the c ity m issionary i n our streets and l anes, the humbleChrist ianworker i n al l departments of benevolent act ivi ty

,

wil l do more,i n the long run

,to puri fy Our l egisl atures than

any number of po l it ical agitators ; for whil e the l atter areseeking merely to destroy evi ls

,the former are laboring to

form character, as that alone can be formed to hol iness andi ntegri ty, by trust i n God and obedience to Jesus Christ. Nonation

,monarchical or republ ican

,has ever stood

,unless i t

has been founded on the moral excellence of the people .The Roman republ ic became an easy prey to the ambitiousgrasp of Cae sar, when the vi rtues of i ts ancien t worthies gave


place to luxury,l asc iviousness, and d ishonesty ; and the re

peated failures of France in modern t im es to rise to the respons ibil i ty of self-government have been due to the absenceamong the people of those sol id qual i ties which rel igion

‘

fos

ters,and the presence in the m idst of them of every Vi lest sort

of abomination . Let u s be instructed by such mel ancholyinstances

,and improve the opportun i ty which God '

has givenus

,by seeking to form the character of the . people on the

basis of the Word of God . No law upon the statute-book;no formal insert ion of the n ame of Deity in the Constitution ,wil l make a nation Chri st ian ; noth ing can do that but t heChristian ity of the people the

’

mse lv’

es 5 and every man who i sl aboring to make the masses Christ ian is i n the h ighest andthe purest sense a patrio t. Let each c itiz eneking be an I

mated with the publ ic-spiri tedness and deep rel igious fervorwhich the Gospel produces 5 and then all n ations shal l

"

cal lu s blessed

,for we shal l be a del ightsome land .

”

F i nal ly : l et us take note of the principl e on which thehonors of th e kingdom of Christ are d istributed, as d ist in

guished from that on which David proceeded, i n the founding ofms order of meri t. The men whom he exal ted werewarriors

,who had done daring deeds upon the field of bat

tl e. Of one i t i s told that “ he slew eight hundred at onet ime 5 of another i t i s said that “ he smote the Ph il is t inesunti l h is hand was weary

,and cl ave un to h is sword 5

”of an

other,that he l ifted up hi s spear against three hundred, and

slew them . Nor wou l d I seek to d isparage such deeds 5for when war becomes a necessi ty, as i t sometimes does,every man ’s heart glows with admirat ion of such dauntlesscourage . But there i s a nobler heroism even than that- theheroism of love 5 and this i t i s that Jesus evermore del ightsto honor To “ drink of his cup

,

” and to be “ baptized with hisbaptism

,i s the road to this renown, and i t i s to be won, not

by destroying men ’s l ives,but by saving them, i f need be,

XV.

THE GREAT TRAN SGRE SSJON .

2 SAMUEL xi. , 2 7 .

OT withou t the deepest reluc tance do I compel myself to—n ight to make publ ic al lusion to the great blem

ish of David ’s career. Will ingly would I have passed i t overi n sil ence, or attempted, l ike Noah

’s son s,to go backward

and drop over i t the mantl e of concealmen t. But to havedone that would only have been to l eave out of the Psalmist

’

s history its most solemn lesson,while i t would have ren

dered al l bu t un in tel l igible to you the appal l ing calamitiesthat came upon him in his l ater days . Hence

,I can see n o

way of evading the cons ideration of th is painful subj ec t,and

my earnest prayer i s that the God of puri ty may so guidem e that I shal l speak only words of wisdom .

The detail s of the matter are SO fully given in the n arrat ive

,that I n eed not enter upon them . I shall

,therefore

,

keep ing our own sp iri tual profi t i n View, endeavor to se t before you the precursors of David ’s fall, the aggravat ion s ofh is s in

,the pen i tence he manifested, the forgiveness he re

c eived,and the con sequences which flowed from his in iqu ity.

Let us look,firs t

,at the precursors of David ’s fall . You

n ever find in a man ’s h istory such a s in as this was, withou td iscovering that certain th ings have gon e before wh ich helpto expl ain i ts commission . You wil l general ly d iscover thata variety of c ircumstances combined to put h im in to a stateof heart which was

,if I may so express i t, j us t ready for re

c eiving and yield ing to the temptat ion by which he was assailed . A t another time the evi l suggest ion would have

THE GREAT TRANSGRESS ION . 2 65

been at once repel led ; but then , i n consequence of certai nforegoing th ings

,he had so weakened h imself

,that he yield

ed almost without a s truggle . This,at l east

,appears to have

been the case wi th David, and i t may greatly help to stir usup to watchful ne ss, if we can find out how such a man as heundoubtedly was

,came to fall so easy a prey to the great

Tempter .Now

,i n searching for an answer to this inqu iry

,l e t us note

,

i n the firs t pl ace,that for a long course of years he had eu

j oyed,v irtual ly

,unbroken prosperity. Ever s ince he had

come to the throne of un i ted Israel , th ings seem to havegone wel l with h im . He had hardly known what i t was

,as

a warrior,to suffer a defeat 5 or, as a monarch, to endure nu

popu l arity and the antagon ism of his peopl e . But all th iswas highly dangerous to him 5 for the influence of such anexperience

,even on the bes t of men , i s to weaken their spir

itual character, and make them more tol eran t of evi l both i nthemselves and others . Like Moab

,David during these

years had not been “ emptied from vesse l to vessel,and

so he had “ se ttled upon his lees . ” “ Because he had nochanges

,

” his wil l became more feeble,his consc ience weak

er,and his whole n ature less sensit ive to sin .

Again,l et i t be observed that th is sad episode occurred

during a period of idleness . The army,with which he should

have been,was at Rabbah, seeking to consummate the de

struct ion of Ammon , which i n a former campaign had beenbegun 5 “ but David tarri ed st il l at Jerusalem .

” This washardly l ike the warrior-king. I t seemed almost as if effem in acy was beginn ing in him , and he was preferring, for nogood reason wh ich one can see

,the luxury of the palace to

the hardsh ip and peri l of the camp . Besides this,in the ab

sence of hi s mighty men , he would be deprived '

of hi s u sualcompan ions

,and left very much to h imself. Hence i t i s

n atural to suppose that he was l iving, j ust then , an aimless,1 2

2 66 DAV ID, K ING OF ISRAEL.

id le, and luxurious l ife, and was consequently pecul iarly opento the suggest ion s of the adversary. Satan tempts othermen ; but the idl e man tempts Satan, and very soon the evi lone finds him someth ing to do .

Once more let i t be noted , that when at such a t ime Satancomes to a man , he makes h is appeal to that particular partof his n ature where passion is s trongest and principl e i sweakest. Now in David what that was might be very easilyd iscovered . From an early period of h is career

,he had been

espec ial ly suscept ibl e i n the very matter i n which now -

he

fel l . This is eviden t from his marriage of Abigail,and also

from the great l ati tude in wh ich he allowed h imself,after his

settlemen t in J erusal em,i n respect to h is harem . Polyga

my, though no t forb idden by the Mosaic l aw, was regulatedand discouraged 5

' but David proceeded as if i t had been aperfectly warrantabl e and legitimate thing

,and this conduc t

on his part undoubtedly tended to weaken his impress ion ofthe sancti ty of marriage. That sense of del icacy and chasti ty

,which has such a purifying and preserving influence on

the l ife,could not flourish side by s ide with the polygamy in

which he permitted h imself 5 and so,though he thought not

of i t at the t ime, his taking of many wives to h imself prepared the way for the revol t ing in iqu i ty which he committed .

*

Here,then

,i n the moral weakness which con stan t prosper

ity had created,i n the Opportun i ty which idleness afforded

to temptation,and i n the blun ted sen sibil ity which polygamy

had superinduced,we see howDavid was so eas ily overcome.

it I t is a s trong verification of this View of the case that, as indeedBlaikie has remarked ( “ David, King of I srae l : the D ivine Plan , andLe ssons of his Life ,

” p . while , in the confession of the srst Psalm,

he specifies the s in of blood-guil tiness , and seems to have been overwhe lmed wi th a s ense of his meannes s , injustice , and se lfishness , there isno specia l a l lus ion to the s in of adultery, and no specia l indication of

that s in press ing he avy on his conscience .

”


was committed in the moment of pass ion prepares the wayfor the premedi tated vil l ainy of murder ; for murder theslaughter of Uriah was, j ust as really as if David himselfhad stabbed h im under the fifth rib . Lord

,what is man ?”

I f this be true, who among us i s safe if he should remit h iswatchfulness for but a s ingle hour ?But i t may be asked, How can you accoun t for such enor

mous in iqu ity i n such a man as we have seen that Davidwas ? To this I answer, that we may explain i t by the ab

sence for the t ime being of that restrain ing influence whichhis better n ature was won t to exerc ise over h is l ife . Passionhad dethroned consc ience 5 and then , owing to the intensityof h is character, and the general greatness of the man

,h is

s in s became as much blacker than those of others as hi sgood qual i ties were greater than theirs . In every good man

there are st il l two natures striving for the mastery. Theflesh lusteth against the sp iri t

,and the sp iri t against the

flesh .

” The n ew nature i s generally i n the ascendan t,but

sometimes the old evi l n ature wil l re-assert i ts supremacy,and the effec t of th is temporary revolution wil l be determ ined by the temperament and characteri stic s of the ind iv idual . Now there are some men i n whom every thing i son a large scal e . When the ir good nature i s uppermost

,

they overtop al l others i n hol in ess 5 but if, unhappily, theyshould be thrown off the ir guard, and the old man shouldgain the mastery

,some dreadful wickedness may be expect

ed . This is al l the more l ikely to be the case if the qual i tyof i n tensi ty be added to their greatn ess 5 for a man withsuch a temperamen t is n ever any thing by half. But i t wasj ust thus with David . He was a man of great intensity andpre-em inent energy. He was in every respect above ordin ary men 5 and so when , for the t ime, the fleshly nature wasthe stronger within h im

,the s in s which he committed were

as much greater than those of common men, as in other c ir

THE GREAT TRANSGRESS ION. 2 69

cumstances hi s excel lenc ies were nobler than the irs . Weoften make great m istakes i n j udging of the characters ofothers

,because we ignore al l these consideration s 5 and

many wel l-conducted person s among us get great cfedit forthei r good moral charac ter

,while the truth i s that they are

blameless not so much because they have higher-toned princ iple than others, as because they have feebl e, t imid n atures ,that are too caut ious or too weak to le t them go very fare ither in to hol iness or i n to s in . But David was not one

of these . Every thing abou t him was in tense 5 and hence,when he sinned

,he d id i t i n such a way as to make wel l

n igh the most hardened shudder. In al l this, observe, I amnot extenuat ing David ’s gu il t . I t i s one th ing to explain

,i t

i s another th ing to excuse . A man of David ’s n ature oughtto be more pecul iarly on h is guard than other men . Theexpress train

,dashing along at furious speed

,wil l do more

m ischief i f i t run s off the l in e than the Slow-going horse-cari n our c ity streets . Every one understands that ; bu t everyone demands

,i n con sequence, that the driver of the one

shal l be proportionately more watchful than that of the other. Now with such a n ature as David had , and knew thathe had

,he ought to have been supremely on his guard

,whil e

again the privileges which he had rece ived from God rendered it both easy and practicable for him to be vigilan t. Tosum up all , then , taking David

’s n ature as i t i s h ere set before u s

,I can perfec tly wel l understand how, when he s in

n ed,he s inned so terribly 5 whil e having regard to h is privi~

l eges and position,h is si n appears to be u tterly inexcusabl e .

Noth ing can be sa id e ither i n i ts v indication or extenuation .

From firs t to l ast,i t i l lus trates the cl imax of the apostl e 5 and

as we trac e i ts course we cal l i t earthly, sensual , devil ish .

May the an alysis of i t at thi s t ime lead us to keep a goodoutlook

,so that we may not go down upon the rocks on

which he struck .


But now let us look briefly at h is pen itence . This was along time in m aking its appearance. For at least a ‘

year, ifnot more, David carried on h is consc ience, unconfessed andunforgiven , the burden of these he inous in iqu it ies: Duringthat t ime Uriah had been slain ; he had added Bath-Shebato the number of his wives 5 the ch ild of guil t and shamehad been born 5 and yet there was n o token of sorrow or re

gret about the king ; n ay, perhaps, during that t ime he hadeven con t inued the formal observance of God ’s worship, bothi n the sacred ten t and in h is household ; but there was no

acknowledgment of h is transgress ion . I t must not be supposed

,however

,that he was qui te happy . On the con trary

,

he must have been i l l at ease, and there are not want ing indications that he was really m iserable ; for the campaignagainst Rabbah, of which we have the record in the twelfthchapter of 2 Samuel , must be held as having occurred beforeNathan ’s vis i t to h im 5 and in h is conduct i n conn ection withthat s iege there are evidences that there was some irri tat ingthing with in him which d isturbed his usual magnan imity of

d i sposition . Thus,i n ord in ary circumstances

,when he re

ce ived the message of Joab, asking him to come and takethe c i ty i n person

,the ch ival rous sp iri t

’

of .the king wouldhave prompted him to say that he whO '

had so efficientlyconducted the expedition thus far should not be robbed byh im of the honor of bringing i t to a successful issu e 5 but asi t was

,the en terprise prom ised him an opportun ity for a t ime

of escaping from himsel f, and he probably wen t th ither i nthe maddest of al l at tempts, that, namely, of outrunn ing agu il ty consc ience . Then

,i n h is treatment of th e fallen foe ,

we trace the haughty and vindict ive Spirit ofone who wassuffering from some h idden remorse .‘ Nothing wil l makethe temper so sour

,or the heart so cruel

,as a consc ience i l l

at ease ; hence, when we read that he put the people un

der saws and under harrows of i ron,and made them to pass


truth of each,until, humbled to the very dust, he cries, i n se

verest agony, “ I have s inned again st the Lord .

”

I t may seem to some, that a pen i tence thus suddenly produced could be neither very deep nor very thorough . Butto those who think thus, three things must be said .

F irs t : an impress ion may be produced in a moment wh ichwil l remain indel ibl e . We have heard

,for examplej of one

who,as he was travel ing in an Alpin e region at m idn ight

,

saw for an instan t, by the bril l i ancy of a flash of l ightn ing,

that he was i n such a posi t ion that another step would havebeen over a fearful prec ip ice

,and the effec t upon him was

th at he started back and waited for the morn ing dawn .

Now such a flash of l ightn ing in to the darkness of David’ssoul

,thi s “ Thou art the man , of Nathan ’s, was to him . I t

revealed to h im , by i ts momentary bri l l iance, th e ful l aggravation of h is in iqu ity. He d id not need or desire a secondsight of i t. That was enough to stir h im up to hatred of hiss in

,and of himself.But

,second : we must

,i n connection with th is n arrat ive

,

read the Psalms to which David’s pen i tence gave birth,name

ly, the s 1 5 t and the 3 2 d ; and if these are not the genuineu tterances of a passionate s in ceri ty, where shal l we find thatqual ity i n any l iterature ? Admirably has Chandler said of

the s 1 5 t Psalm “ The heart appears in every l ine ; and theb itter angu ish of a wounded conscience d iscovers i tsel f bythe most n atural and convincing symbol s . Let bu t thePsalm be read without prej udice

,and with a V iew only to col~

l ect th e real sen timen ts expressed in it, and the d isposi tionof heart that appears throughout the whole of i t, and noman of candor, I am confident, wil l ever suspect that i t wasthe d ic tate of hypocrisy, or could be penned from any othermot ive but a strong convic tion of the he inousness of his offense , and the earnest des ire of God

’s forgiveness, and beingrestrained from the commission of the l ike transgress ions for

THE GREAT TRANSGRESS ION . 2 7 3

the But l es t the testimony of this author shouldbe accoun ted as partial , l et m e put before you another of ad ifferen t sort. Voltai re once attempted to burlesque th isPsalm , and what was the resul t ? While carefully perus ingi t, that he m ight famil iari ze himself with the tra in of sen t iment which he designed to caricature

,he became so 0p

pressed and overawed by i ts sol emn devotional tone,that he

threw down the pen and fel l back half sen seless on hi scouch, i n an agony of remorse . This i s told as an un

doubted fact by Dr . Leander Van Ess . Hence we can no tbut adm it the depth and fervor of the pen i tence ou t of whichsuch a prayer arose 5 and though the 3 2 d Psalm is more jubilan t i n i ts tone

,as referring to forgiveness i n ac tual posses

s ion , the ve ry gl adness which i t expresses is a witness to thesadness for s in which had gone before .

Furthermore, as another evidence of the genu in eness ofDavid ’s repen tance, we poin t to the words of Nathan , “ TheLord al so hath put away thy s in , and ask if th e prophet, asJehovah’s represe ntative, would have said any thing l ike that,i f the pen i tence of David had been insincere . On the whole

,

therefore, whil e we mourn over the grievous in iqui ty of whichDavid was guil ty

,l e t us be thankful that we have

,along with

the record of his s in , the accoun t of hi s repen tance— a re

pen tan ce, l et us say, as much more in tense than that of ord inary men as h i s s in was more heinous . There was no a t

tempt a t self-vindication ; there was no plea in pal l iation ;there was nothing but the frank confession

,I acknowledge

my transgression 5” I have s inn ed 5” “ My sin i s ever before

me .” Nor was i t the shame of h is in iqui ty before men,or

the fear of the pun ishmen t which he had incurred,that d is

tressed him . His deepest anguish was that he had displ easedthe Lord “ Against thee, thee on ly, have I s in ned, and don e

Chandler’s Life of David,” p . 42 7 .

I 2*


th is evi l in thy sight . This was the burden of his confes

s ion,and the earnest longing of his soul was expressed i n

these words : “ Restore unto me the j oy of thy salvat ion .

”

I t were wel l that these con s iderations were more frequentlyremembered . Many make a mock at David’s s in

,who say

nothing of his repen tance . I t is enough for them to read i none place that he was the man accord ing to God ’s own heart

,

and in another that he committed these great s ins,and forth

with they turn the battery of their scorn on the rel igion of

the Bible . But al l such procedure i s unreasonable . Davidd id not s i n because he was the man according to God ’s ownheart

,but i n sp ite of his be ing so 5 whil e if he had not been

in the main a godly man he would have remained in his s in,

and would have taken no step of any sort to acknowl edgeh is gu il t

,or to raise h imself from the degradation in to which

he had fal len . What, really, i s the dist inction between thepeopl e of God and the wicked on the earth ? I s i t that theone class commit no S in s, whil e the other fal l i nto in iqu ity ?No ; the godly man does s in . No one wil l be more readyto acknowledge that than h imsel f. The difference

,therefore

,

i s not there . I t l ies in th is that when the chi ld ofGod fall sinto s in

,he rises out of i t and leaves i t, and cries to God for

pardon,purity

,and help 5 but when the ungodly man fal l s

into s in , he continues i n i t, and del ights i n i t, as does the sowin her wal lowing in the m ire . I t i s a poor, shal low philosophy

,therefore

,that sneers at such a h istory as this of David 5

nay,i t i s worse even than that : i t i s the very Spiri t of Sa

tan,rej oic ing, as i t does, i n the iniqu ity of others . On this

poin t,however

,I gladly avail mysel f of the l anguage of a

l iving writer,not usually considered to have any Very strong

bias i n favor of the Scriptural vi ews of men and things— I

mean Thomas Carlyle . Faults !” says th is author, i n hisLecture on the Hero as Prophet 5

” “ the greatest of faul ts, Ishould say, i s to be consc ious of none . Readers of the Bi


the consequences of the deeds which we have committed .

I t does not preven t the Operation of the n atural law whereby sin works ever toward m isery and retribution . I t res tric ts the pun ishmen t of in iquity

,in the case of the forgiven

one , to the presen t l ife ; bu t with in that l im i t the couse

quence s of s in , even to a child of God, as David was, are often very dreadful . What a series of traged ies i s comprisedin the h istory of David, from this point on t il l h is death ! al lof them , too, more or l ess immediately connected wi th thiss in . F i rst, there i s the death of Bath z sheba

’s child 5 thenthere comes back upon him

,i n an in tenser form

,his own

wickedness, as we see h is guil t repeated in the s in of Am

non,and his murder by the hand of Absalom 5 then there i s

the rebel l ion of Absalom,which n ever could have gained

any headway in the land wi thout the adherence to i t ofAhi thophel 5 and he, as I shal l hope to Show you afterward,was the grandfather of Bath-Sheba 5 so that the very strengthof the revol t, which so nearly hurl ed David from his throne,came as a d irec t resul t of the wickedness which to-nigh t wehave been considering 5 then there was the death of Absalom

,infl ic ted by Joab, who, from th is poin t on , becomes more

arrogan t and overbearing than ever,because he i s consc ious

that,i n the possess ion of the secret of the manner of Uriah

’

s

death,he has h i s sovereign thoroughly i n h is power 5 then ,

l ast of al l, there came another revol t to d isturb the peacefuln ess of David ’s death-bed , and to give a sad sign ificance tohis l atest words

,

“ Though my house be not so wi th God .

”

Most awful ly were Nathan ’s words fulfil led : “ Now, therefore

,the sword shal l not depart from thin e house .

” Theseare the sheaves of that harvest of sorrow which David reaped from the field whereon he sowed “ to the flesh . But

sadder even than these desolating th ings i s the changewhich

,from this po in t

,we observe in David h imself. Hence

forth he is no longer the man he was . He goes abou t


crushed in Spiri t,humil iated before his peopl e, and degraded

even in h is own estimation . The nobler features of his character seem to have become ecl ipsed ; and infirmitie s of temper

,weakness of will

,and even d imness of judgmen t, begin

to appear. The spring of his l ife seems to have gon e. Theelast ic i ty and bound of h is character are seen no more . Hetrusts

,i ndeed

,i n God to the l ast

,but i t i s not with the j oyful

confidence of on e who is rich in the consc iousness of hi s fathe r

’

s complacency, but rather with the dul l and heavy graspof one who knows that he has deeply wounded his father’sheart. “ Al as ! for him ,

says Kitto,

“ the b ird which oncerose to heights unattained be fore by mortal wing, fi l l ing theair with i ts j oyful songs

,now l ies

,with maimed wing, upon

the ground,pouring forth i ts doleful cri es to

We can not read such a history as that which we havebeen cons idering to-n ight

,withou t remarking on -the honesty

of the biographies which the Word of God contains . Thesacred wri ters draw no veil ove r the errors and imperfect ionsof those whom they describe . They tel l of the falsehood of

Abraham 5 the cunn ing selfishness of Jacob 5 the petul an thast iness of Moses 5 the weakness of Aaron 5 the vac il lat ionof Peter ; and the sharp content ion between Paul and Barnabas

,with the sam e unvarn ished truthful n ess as they de

scr ibe the excellences for which these great men were remarkable ; and the same h istorian who records that Davidwas cal led the “ man accord ing to God’s own heart

,

” relatesal so thi s terr ibl e story of wickedness 5 whil e, at the same time,there is no attempt at extenuat ion or excuse . Have we noti n al l th is a corroboration of the in spiration of the sacredpenman ? And when , as i n the in stance of our Lord Jesu sChris t

,they set before us a pure and perfect l ife

,with as l it

tl e attempt at elaboration , and as l i ttl e effort at exaggeration

at Daily B ible I l lustrations , vol . iii. , P 43 1


as there i s of apology in the case before us,may we not con

c lude that i n both they are pain ting s imply and only fromreal ity ? There was only one man who could be describedas “ holy, harm l ess, undefiled, and separate from sinners,and He was more than man .

“ Cease ye from man,whose

breath i s in h is nostril s 5 for where in i s h e to be accountedof ?

” This is the exclamat ion which rises from our l ips,as

we ponder over th is b iography.

“ The best of men are butmen at the best,

” and n eed equal ly with others to be washed in the foun tai n which has been Opened for si n and foruncl eanness.But we must not overlook the practical pu rpose which

the record of the s in s of good men was designed to serve .“ Whatsoever was written aforetime was written for our

l earn ing 5” and even the dul l est schol ar can be at no loss to

di scover the moral of such a h is tory as that of David ’s fal l .I t b ids us be continual ly on our guard, l es t we enter in totemptat ion 5 for if even a David fel l s o fearful ly, who amongus can be secure ? Here was a man of pre-eminen t abili ty

,

of great p iety, and of extens ive usefulness,and yet he was

gu il ty of most revol ting s in . Surely the practical inferencei s, “ Let h im that th inketh he standeth take heed lest hefal l . N0 s tation in society

,no eminence in the church

,no

excellence i n character,no m ere insp iration of gen ius, can

keep a man from s in 5 nay, not even the gift of div ine inspiration can preser ve i ts possessor from a fal l . Nothing cando that but the grace of God ivorking i n h im through prayer,and persevering watchfulness . I say persevering watchfuln ess, for our vigilanc e must be cont inued so long as l ife onearth shal l l as t.We often speak of youth as the most dangerous t ime of

l ife ; and indeed, when one has regard to the new naturewhich begin s to assert i tself in the open ing years of manhood 5 to the inexperien ce with which those who are at that


iquity, and real iz ing at al l t imes the peril i n which you stand,clothe yourselves in the panoply ofGod . But watch ing alonewil l not suffi ce . “ Watch and pray

,

” the Saviour said 5 notwatch

,and then pray 5 not pray, and then watch 5 but watch

and pray a t-once . While the eye is eagerly searching out thedanger

,l e t th e heart a t the same t ime be send ing up the

earnes t suppl ication,Hold thou up my goings in thy path,

that my footsteps sl ip not. Thus shal l we be kept i n safety, unt i l at length we enter in to that l and where our puri tyand our reward shal l be al ike indestruc tibl e .But whil e David’s s in forbid s any sain t to presume on h is

infall ibi l ity,his recept ion by God

,when he returned to h im

i n pen itence,equally forbids any backsl ider to despai r. I f

after such in iquity he was so graciously rece ived,and had

from Nathan the assurance that “ the Lord had put away hiss in ,” surely any on e may retu rn , and find forgiveness fromthe Lord . I S there any one here to-n igh t who is carrying onhis conscience the load of unforgiven s in ? He may be looking back to the time when

,in his father’s home

,he ben t h is

knees in prayer to God 5 or to the days when , in the Sundayschool, he loved to l abor among the ch ildren for Christ 5 orto the years where in he used to enjoy sweet seasons of communion at the tabl e of the Lord 5 and as i n thought be contras ts these with the depths to which he has fal len

,he may

be tempted to say,

“ There is no hope for me 5 I have beentoo ungrateful and abandoned to be forgiven .

” Let such anone hear the voice that comes to-n ight from David’s h istory

,

saying to h im,

“ Return Let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man hi s thoughts : and le t h im returnun to the Lord

,and he wil l have mercy upon him 5 and to our

God, for he wil l abundan tly pardon .

” Let h im ponder wel lthe 5 r st Psalm ,

pouring h is own soul into i ts confess ion s andpetit ions

,and soon l ight wil l break in upon h is soul

,l ike the

sunbeam from behind a cloud,and he will be made to s ing


the j oyfu l strain wi th which the 3 2 d Psalm opens . Blessedis he whose transgression i s forgiven, whose s in is covered .

Blessed i s the man un to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose Sp iri t there is n o guile .

” Thus, thoughthe fal l of David has unden iably caused many to blaspheme,i t may prove a warn ing to many, so that they shal l stand upright

,and m ay save from the depths of utter despair those

who remember that,aggravated as h is gu il t was

,he was re

ce ived back in to the favor of God when he cried to him inpen iten tial s inceri ty for forgiving mercy.

F inal ly : we can not but note “ what an evi l th ing and ab itte r i t i s to forsake the Lord . Recal l for a moment toyour recol lect ion the consequences of David ’s s ins . Beholdhow

,by reproduc ing themselves i n darker and inten ser forms

,

these in iquit ies of his retu rned upon h is head . He causedthe death of Uriah, and the sword departed not from hishouse al l h is after-days ; he was gu il ty of impurity, and h isson Amnon bettered the example which his father set : hecommitted murder 5 Absalom committed fratric ide : he rebelled against the Lord 5 Absalom rebel led against h imself ; andal l th is

,though the s in s themselves were forgiven . But if

th is were the case with pardoned in iqu i ties,what must i t be

with those which are unforgiven ? I f th is were the re tribu

t ion of the presen t l ife, what must be that of th e l ife thati s to come

,to those who have fel t no pen i tence, and asked

no mercy ? Oh,my friends

,will you con tinue to l ive i n such

a way as to draw down etern al m isery upon your heads ?Do not

,I beseech you , that abominable thing which God

hates . Come now,if you have never come before

,and seek

for pardon a nd regenerat ion through Jesus Chris t our Lord .

Let the t ime past of your l ives be suffic ient to have wroughtthe wil l of the flesh .

” Begin now to l ive for God .

“ Be i tknown unto you

,men and brethren , that through Jesus Chris t

i s preached unto you the forgiveness of s ins 5 but beware,


l es t that come upon you wh ich is spoken of in theprophetsBehold

,ye despisers

,and wonder, and perish 5 for I work a

work i n your days, a work which ye shal l i n no wise bel ieve,though a man declare i t unto you .

’ “ Knowing the terrorof the Lord,” we would persuade you now to embrace thesalvation which he has provided . Why wil l ye rush upondestruction

,with this great del iverance I n your offer ?


n ing with a cry for mercy, he makes the most unqual ifiedacknowledgment of h is s i n ; and real iz ing more than hehad ever done before the deep depravity of heart which hi stran sgression revealed, he makes this earnes t request, Create i n me a clean heart, O God , and renew a right sp iri twithin me .” He longs for a restoration of the j oy of salvat ion

,and at l ast

,as if his prayer had been already answer

ed,he concludes with a strain of chastened j oy

,which seems

to me l ike' the sunshin e streaming through the departingshower

,and forming to the eye the many-colored how of an

c ien t prom ise .I n th is sp iri t, probably, David came forth from his closet

with deep humil ity indeed,yet with the fond antic ipation of

coming brightness . But not long was he permitted to be atres t. Nathan’s l ast words to him had a forecas t of evil

,as

wel l as an assurance of pardon . Here they are : “ The Lordalso hath put away thy s in 5 thou shal t not die . Howbeit

,

because by this deed thou has t given great occas ion to theenemies of the Lord to bl aspheme, the chi ld also that is bornun to thee shal l surely d ie .

”Speed ily was this prediction ful

fi l led . The Lord ‘ struck the child .

”Not that there was any

m iracle here 5 but with startl ing suddenness some one of

those a ilmen ts to which l i ttl e ones are so l iabl e came uponh im

,and he was very sick. Tender-hearted to a faul t

,and

dotingly fond at al l t imes of hi s children, David was greatlyd istressed by this even t. The l ight which had begun to playupon h is counten ance d isappeared, and he was fil led with thedeepest grief. Nor is i t difli cult to accoun t for th is . Thesufferings of an infan t are always most sadden ing to witness .The helpl ess look of the l i ttl e patien t 5 the p itiful wai l 5 thel abored breathing ; the constan t restl essness 5 al l combineto make the spectacle of i ts anguish most affecting to ‘

any

beholder : how much more to those who cal l h im their own ?

Nor i s thi s al l . In the case of l ittl e ch ildren, we are wel l

THE BEREAVEMENT. 2 8 5

n igh powerless to rel ieve them . They can not tel l u s howthey feel . We are largely in the dark as to the mean ing ofthe symptoms that appear 5 and medical science, always amatter of considerable uncertainty, i s pecul iarly experimen ta l i n infantil e d iseases . Hence the agony of a parent besidea dying infan t’s cot . Each pleading look of the upturnedeye goes l ike a dart to the mother’s heart, whil e the convuls ive start or tremor sends a thri l l of anguish through thefather’s frame . But over and above these n atural and or

dinary causes of sorrow for an infant’s sufferings, there were

in’

D aVid’

s case certa in pecul iar ingredients of b itterness .Nathan had spec i ally connec ted al l the pangs of h is childwith h is own s in . I t i s a mystery that any infant

,i nnocen t

as i t i s of actual transgression , should suffer at al l 5 and sometimes the dark shadow which that mystery projects may increase the sadness of th e affl ic ted paren t . But in David ’scase

,whatever mystery there m ight be abou t the question

why the ch ild was m ade to suffer for his gu il t,there was

none about the fac t . Nathan had made that perfectly plai nto him . Hence every qu iver of pain the infan t gave wouldbe a new needl e-poin t thrust into h i s own conscience, stinging h im with sharpest remorse . For seven days th is i l lnessl asted

,and David betook himself to h is old solace : he pray

ed to God 5 yea, he “ fasted,and went in, and l ay all n ight

upon the earth .

” We like to read these words, for they tel lu s that Dav id

,though an e rring son of God, was ye t a son .

A godless m an would have been driven farther from Jehovahby these troubles, and might have been led to make proc lamation of his utter atheism 5 bu t David wen t to God . Themore heavily he fel t the rod, the nearer he crept to him whoused i t. He fled from God to God . He hid himself from Godin God . This shows that h is s in was out of the usual courseof hi s nature . I t was l ike the deflec tion of the needle, due tocertain causes, which at the t ime he perm itted to have influ


ence over h im ; but, these causes removed, hi s old polari tyof soul re turned , and in his t ime of trouble he called on Je

hovah . This was h is habi t. Repeatedly in his Psalms hashe employed l anguage which c learly indicates that God wasregarded by him as a strong rock, whereunto, i n t ime of trial,he con tinually resorted . Thus we have h im saying, on one

occas ion, of his enem ies : “ For my love t hey are my adver

s aries : but I give myself unto prayer 5 and again, “ Fromthe end of the earth wil l I cry un to thee, when my heart i soverwhelmed lead me to the rock that i s h igher than I .

”

I t does not seem that any one of h is Psalms was composed on th is occas ion, yet there are i n some of them strain swhich m ight wel l enough have arisen from the recol lec tionof his experiences i n connec t ion with th is infan t’s death .

Such, for example, are these : O Lord, rebuke me not i n th ineanger, n either chasten me in thy hot d ispleasure ! Havemercy upon me, O Lord ; for I

‘ am weak . 0 Lord, healm e ; for my bones are vexed . My soul i s al so sore vexedbu t thou

,O Lord

,how long ? Return

,0 Lord

,del iver my

sou l oh ! save me for thy merc ies’ But not for himself alone d id he thus make suppl ication . He besought Godfor the child . Here is a great boldness of faith and of

request, which startles us almost by i ts importun i ty. Hadnot Nathan said the chi ld should surely d ie ? yet here Davidpleads for his l ife

,saying

,Who can tel l whether God wil l be

grac ious to me, that the child may l ive ?” Why is th is ? Wasi t because David d id not bel ieve Nathan ’s words ? N0

,but

because he had unbounded faith i n the efficacy of prayer 5and though in the present in stance the spec ific Obj ect whichhe asked was den ied him

,we must not suppose that i t was so

because h is prayer was d ispleas ing to God 5 for j ust a sim il ar prayer offered by Hezekiah

,after h is death was solemnly

Psa . vi .,1—1 .


God wil l be gracious to me, that the child may l ive ? Butnow he is dead

,wherefore should I fast ? can I bring h im

back again ? I shal l go to h im, but he shal l not return tome . Here was true resignat ion . Here was strong faith .

Here was a holy and a g lorious hope— al ike for the l ivingand . the dead— and i n the assurance of futu re and eternalreun ion before the throne he was comforted .

For when the royal mourner says,

“ I shal l go to h im,

we must not so empty h is words of al l mean ing as to suppose that he refers simply to the grave . What comfort wasthere i n the mere idea of having his body laid beside thedust of his infant ? That was not a “ going to him ” i n anysense that could give the l eas t satisfaction to hi s affl ictedheart. Hence h is l anguage impl ies far more than that, andi ntimates that he had a firm convict ion of his child ’s continned exis tence and '

presen t happin ess ; while at the sam etime he cherished for h imself the hOpe of entering i n dueseason in to the enj oyment of s imil ar fel ic i ty. David ’s res ign ation

,therefore

,was not a mere stoical submission to the

inevi table,st il l l ess was i t a stol id insens ib il ity 5 but i t was

the resul t of his persuasion of the happin ess of his departed ch ild

,and of his humbl e hOpe of j oin ing him therein .

Like Paul Gerhard t,the prin ce of German hymnologists, he

might have sung

Oh that I could but watch afar,And heaiken but a while

To that swee t song that hath no j ar,And s ee his heavenly smile ,

A S he doth praise the holy GodWho made him pure for that abode 5I n tears of joy ful l we l l I knowThis burdened hea t would overflow !

And I should say, Stay there , my son,My wild laments are o’

er 5

THE BEREAVEMENT. 2 89

Oh wel l for thee that thou hast wonI ca l l the e back no more

But come, thou fiery chariot , come ,

And bear m e swiftly to that homeWhere he with m any a loved one dwe lls ,And evermore of gladness tel ls .

Then be it as my Father wi l ls ,I wil l not weep for thee :

Thou lives t , joy thy spirit fil ls,Pure sunshine thou dost s ee

The sunshine of e terna l res tAbide, my son , where thou art blestI with our friends wil l onward fare ,And,when God wil ls , shal l find thee there .

I c an not pass from this subj ect without endeavoring, whileour i n terest i s s til l fresh in i t, to embody i ts practical teaching in a few particulars . Notice

,then, i n the first place, that

the i llness and death of l i ttl e ch ildren may be in timatelyconnected with the conduct and sp iri tual h istory of the paren ts . No doubt they belong to a tain ted race

,and come

i nto the world with the sen tence hanging over them,

“ Dustthou art

,and unto dus t shal t thou return .

” But,over and

above the evidence which the ir death furn ishes of their conn ec tion wi th Adam , we se e from the case before u s, that i tmay also be in some way or other caused or connected withthe character of the ir immediate parents . Far be i t fromme to say

,that whenever infan ts d ie, there must have been

some foregoing in iqui ty i n father or mother to cause i t, l ikeas i t was i n the h istory before us . I t i s not for man to assume the prerogative of God

,and posi t ively assert in any

case what Nathan , as God’s prophet, asserted here . But

st ill,God ’s providence is conducted on moral principl es

,and

the death of i nfants i s one way in which he may e ither Visi tparen ts with the pen al consequences of their s in

, or l eadthem to thoughtfulness, and quicken thei r sp iri tual l ife . And

2 90 DAV ID,KING OF I SRAEL.

when such even ts occur in our own family h istory,i t becomes

us to look wel l into our own hearts and see if we can d i scover what God ’s design in the dispensation is . I t may bethat we have been al lowing the things of this world to usurptoo large a portion of our attention, or to in trude into the sa'

cred domain of the heart, where God alone should reign 5 andhe takes th is pl an to arrest us

,and compel us to fac e eter

n ity, with i ts infin itely momentous th ings . Perhaps we mayhave been permitting ourselves to become enslaved by somedegrading habi t

,flattering ourselves al l the while that there

is no guil t i n i t,and that when we please we c an break away

from i t ; and he sends the‘

death-angel for our l ittl e one , ashe sen t Nathan to David, to sti r our consciences into ac tivity, to

' show ourselves to u s, to awaken us to pen itence, andto bring us back to the paths of puri ty and of l iberty. O r,yet again

,we may be ourselves u nconverted

,and

,as th e

surest means of engaging our hearts to heaven ly things,God

takes the l i ttl e one who is the l ight of our eyes to heaven .

Very touch ingly i s th is View presented in the l ife of SandyRobertson

,by Dr. Guthrie

,i n “ Lost and Found .

” This poorboy

,who had been reclaimed by means of the ragged school

,

was ly ing dying, and was greatly concerned about his godless mother. He often implored her to seek the kingdomof heaven 5 and one day tel l ing Dr. Guthrie of a Visi t paid toh im by the Rev . James Robertson, of Newington , whose conversat ion and prayers he much enj oyed

,he said

,Oh

,how

n ice he Spoke to my mother ! On going away,he said to her

,

Now,before I go

,I wil l te l l you a story. There was a man

that had a flock of sheep , which he wished to remove fromone field to another

,and better pasture. There was one

sheep refused to go,and ran h ither and thither. The man

d id not s top to fol low that sheep,to drive and force i t through

the gate . No,but he took herl amb and laid i t i n his bosom ,

and carried i t i n his arms,and the sheep followed her bleat


Lord ? Blessed solace of prayer ! the tumul t of the sp iri t i shushed by thy soothing influence ; and if we could be cas twhere prayer is st ifled, and suppl icat ion impossibl e, thatwere to our m iserable soul s the very cen tre of hel l . In al ltrial s

,therefore

,and espec ial ly in the dark hour of family be

reavement, l e t us repair to “ the mercy-seat .”

F inal ly,we may learn from David ’s words here

,that we

may cherish the most unwavering assurance of the salvat ionof those who die in i nfancy. Even in the comparative darkn ess of the J ewish d ispensation , the Psalmist had the ful l es tpersuasion of the eternal welfare of his baby-boy ; and, under the Gospel economy, there are many things revealedwh ich tend to make the doctrine of i nfan t salvation perfectly i ndub itable . Not to refer to the fact that, as theyhave committed no actual transgress ions, l i ttl e ch ildren donot personal ly deserve condemnation

,and may

,therefore

,

presumably be regarded as included in the provisions of

the covenan t of grace, there are certain th ings which to mym ind place the doctrin e to which I refer beyond al l quest ion .

I n the firs t p lace, there seems to me a moral impossibil ityi nvolved in the very thought of infants be ing consigned toperd ition . For what are the el emen ts i n the pun ishment ofthe lost ? So far as we know

,they are these two

,memory

and con sc ience . But in an infan t consc ience i s v irtuallynon-exis tent. Moral agency and responsibil ity have not ye tbeen developed, and so there can be no such th ing to i t asremorse .Again : memory has nothing of gu il t i n an infan t’s l ife

to recall , and so i t seems to me to be u tterly impossibl e toconnec t retribution of any sort in the Other world withthose who have been taken from the present i n the stageof i nfancy.

But, i n the second place, there are pos it ive indicat ion s

THE BEREAVEMENT.

r

2 93

that infants are included in the work of Christ. I gran t atonce that there is n o one passage which i n so many wordsmakes the assert ion that al l who die in infancy are eternal lysaved 5 but then we may not .wonder at the absence of sucha declaration

,S ince i t would have been liabl e to great abuse 5

and we do not need to regre t that we have i t not, becausethere are many passages which ve ry clearly imply i t. ThusJesus said of in fan ts, “ Of such i s the kingdom of heaven .

”

This does not mean only,as some would have us to bel ieve

,

that the kingdom of heaven cons ists of person s resembl ingl ittle children . The word translated of such has evidently a definite reference to ch ildren themselves, and has elsewhere been employed in that way by the Saviour himself.Thus

,when he says

,

“ The hour cometh,and now is

,when

the true worshipers shal l worship the Father i n Sp iri t andin tru th : for the Father seeketh such to worship him

,

” hecl early means

,the Father seeketh these to worship h im . I

m ight quote others to the l ike effec t,but that wil l SUflICC to

show that the phrase “ Of such i s the kingdom of heaven,

”

i s equ ival en t to Of these i s the kingdom of heaven .

” ThisV iew of the matter is confirmed by the fact that the Saviourgives these words as a reason for his taking up l i ttl e child ren in to his arms 5 for if the ground of his procedure weres imply that the adul t subj ec ts of the kingdom of heaven arech ild-l ike

,the same sort of reason m ight have l ed h im to

take up lambs i n h is arms and to bless them 5 inasmuch asthe adul t members of his kingdom should resembl e l ambsi n some respects j ust as real ly as they should resembl e chi ld ren in others . Some, however, woul d interpre t the wordson which I am now commenting by these others

,uttered by

Jesus on another occasion : “ Verily I say un to you,whoso

ever shal l not rece ive the kingdom ofGod as a l ittl e ch ild,he

shal l not enter there in 5” as if that express ion impl ied “ with

a ch ild-l ike d isposit ion 5 but that i s not the construction of

2 94 DAV ID,KING OF I SRAEL.

the words . Let the el l ipsis be suppl ied,and then i t wil l be

seen that even this expression bears ou t our View, for i t

reads thus : “ Whosoever shal l not receive the kingdom of

heaven as a l i ttl e ch ild receives i t 5” and this confirms our

i n te rpretation of the other passage . But some may all egethat the phrase “ the kingdom of heaven ” does not refer tofuture glory

,but to Christ’s kingdom upon earth 5 and to

these we reply : True,i t does refer to Christ’s kingdom upon

earth, bu t i t does so only because that i s a province of theone great kingdom which

,having Him as its head

,s tretches

in to etern ity. That i t refers to the kingdom on earth , i s ourwarrant for rece iving l ittl e ch ildren into the Church below 5and that i t refers to the kingdom in heaven— for the kingdoms are but one— i s the ground of our hOpe i n the salvation of l ittl e chi ldren eternal ly .

Then , passing from the domain of argument, we may af

firm that the whole tone and sp iri t of the Gospel favors theidea of infan t salvation . The Saviour was pecul iarly tenderto the l i ttl e ones . I t was foretold regarding h im that heshould carry the lambs i n his bosom 5 and the infin ite sufhc iency of his grand atonement would seem to me shorn of

half of its glory,i f i t were not avail abl e for l i ttl e ch ildren .

Let us,therefore

,take to ourselves, without l e t or abate

men t of any sort, the rich consol at ion which this doc trin eaffords . Let the bereaved parents among us dry our tears .As the good Archbishop Leighton has i t, Our chi ldren havebut gone an hour or two sooner to bed, as chi ldren usedto do

,and we are undressing to follow, and the more we

put off the love of th is presen t world, and al l th ings superfluous beforehand, we shal l have the l ess to do when we l iedown .

”

Let us cons ider to whom they have gone . They havebeen taken to the arms of Jesus

,and to the brigh t gl ory of

the heavenly state . Nothing now can mar their fel icity, or


sadness of David ’s soul over th is l ittl e one was as noth ing,

i n compari son with the agony th at ren t h is heart when Absalom chased him from his palace, and wen t down in to ahopeless tomb .

Let us cons ider, again, for what our l it tl e ones have beentaken . Perhaps we have been wandering away from Chris t

,

and he has taken this way to bring us back . Perhaps wehave n ever known him

,and he has taken this way of i ntro

ducing himself to us, com ing to us as he did to his followersof old

,over the very waves of our trouble

,and saying to u s

,

“ I t i s I,be not afraid .

” Perhaps some other member ofour fam ily was to be led through this affl ict ion to th e Lord,and thus one l i ttl e one was taken from us for a season, thatboth might ab ide with us forever i n the heavenly land . Andif th is should be so

,c an we

,dare we rep in e ?

Let us consider,fin ally

,how th is bereavem en t over which

we mourn wil l appear to us when we come to d ie ourselves .I have seen mothers and fathers not a few at that solemnhour

,but never one have I heard expressing anxiety for the

l ittl e ch ildren who had gone before them . The great concern

,then

,was for those they were l eaving beh ind . The

Lord thu s is afl‘l icting us now, that our sorrow may be mit igated at the last. Let us think of these things, and then thebereavemen t of our l ittl e ones wil l seem to be

,as i t i n real i

ty i s, a token of l ove, and not of anger.

Oh, not in cruelty, not in wrath,The reaper came that day 5

’Twas an ange l Vis ited the green earthAnd took the flowers away.”

But the appropriat ion to ourselves of al l these consolationsimpl ie s that we are ourselv es j ourneying heavenward . David says

,

“ I shal l go to h im !” Bereaved paren ts,are you

advancing toward heaven ? I f you are not, then none of

THE BEREAVEMENT. 2 97

these comforts are yours . Your l i ttl e ones shal l i ndeed besaved, but you yourselves shal l n ever be reun ited to them .

A great gulf shall b e etern al ly fixed between you and thehome which they have en tered . Must th is be so ? You re

member how you fel t when you laid them in the tomb,and

how,for the time

,you were stirred up to th ink of God and

Chri st 5 but these emotions are gone now,and you are worse

than ever,yea

,l iving in fol ly and s in . Let the memory o f

your departed l i ttl e ones th is n ight st ir you in to rel igiousearnestn ess .Years ago, when I was leaving my Liverpool home to ful

fi l l an engagemen t i n the c i ty of Glasgow,the last sight on

which my eye rested was that of my l ittl e daughter at thewindow in her grandmother’s arms . As th e carriage drovem e away, she waved her hand in fond and l aughing glee, andmany a t ime during my railway ride the pleasan t v is ion cameup before my memory, and fil led my heart with j oy. I never saw her again ! The next morn ing a telegram stunnedme with the t id ings of her death ; and now that e arthlygl impse of her has been ideal ized and glorified

,and i t seems

to me as if God had set.

her in the window of heaven tobeckon me upward to my eternal home . I would n ot givethat memory for al l th e gold Of earth . I woul d not partwith the inspiration that i t s t irs wi thin me for al l that theworld could bestow. But

,my bereaved friends, i s i t n o t

true of you al so, that God has made heaven more attractive to you by reason of the presence of your l i ttl e onesi n i t ? Wil l you not yield yourse lves to the influence of

th i s cel estial magnetism ? See how the ir angel hands arebeckon ing you upward 5 hark how the very song they usedto s ing with infan t vo ice comes float ing down in to yourears

Come to this happy land ,Come , come away

=II=


Oh,do not res ist the appeal , but give yourselves henceforth

unreservedly to Je sus, and make thi s your prayer

Lord God the Spirit purifyMy thoughts , bind fas t my l ife to thee 5

So shal l I meet my babes on high,Though they may not return to

I can not forbear referring here to a work on this subject, which isa perfect treasure-hous e of consolation to those who have suffered from

this domest ic sorrow. I t is out of s ight the bes t book of the kind whichI have ever s een. The title is Words of Comfort for Parents bereavedof Little Children. Edited by Wi lliam Logan : N ew York, CarterBrothers.


accompl ish ed his purpose, aided by the d iabol ical ass istanceof an unprincipl ed man, who seems to have been perman en tly connected with the court, turned her away dishonored fromh is door. Jus t then , with ashes on her head, and her garments ren t, and crying bi tterly, she was met by her brotherAbsalom

,who, d iscovering the reason of her sorrow, coun sel

ed her to s ilence, and took her to his own home, where sheremained desol ate . Of course a scandal of th is sort was sureto be talked abou t, and t id ings of i t c ame at length to DaVid’s ear. He was very wroth 5 but that was not al l . Hisheart must have been deeply d is tressed by the knowledge Ofh is son ’s great wickedness

,whil e yet the consc iousness of h is

own s im il ar in iqui ty kep t him from publ icly punish ing himfor his crime . The penal ty of th is transgress ion , accordingto the Mosaic l aw

,was death 5 yet, if that were by him to be

insisted on i n the case of h i s son , where would he be himself ? So, weak from the consciousness of his own trespass,he was constrained to take no notic e of th is revol ting crime

,

though we may be sure that he must have keenly fel t the anguish of sou l which every right—hearted paren t experiencesi n see ing the wrong-doing of his children .

The in action of David, however, only st i rred up Absalomthe more resolutely to seek revenge ; for, s ince her fathertook no notice of such a deed

,i t devol ved on h im

,as the ful l

brother of Tamar,to espouse her cause . Nor need we won

der that he should have been indign an t at the treatmen t towhich she had been subj ected. We should have thought lessof him if he had con tinued to be as friendly with Amnon asbefore . But though O rien tal custom may be pleaded in extenuation of his after-conduct, to which we have a paral leli n that of S imeon and Levi , i n c ircumstances very s imilarto those before us, yet he had no right, under the Mosaic inst itute

,to take the law in to his own hands

,stil l less to exe

cute it in so cunn ing and revengeful a sp iri t as that which he

THE REVOLT OF ABSALOM . 30 1

evinced . I t seems that he had a sheep-farm at Baal-hazor,and at the end of two years h e invi ted al l the king’s son s tothe great fest ival of the sheep—shearing. He wished Davidalso to be presen t

,but the monarch decl in ed . And when he

desired that Amnon should be permitted to go,the king at

first demurred,fearing the con sequences 5 but at length, won

by the en treat ies of his favori te son, and under the influenceof that fatal irresolution which marked his treatmen t of hisch ildren in later years

,he gave a reluctan t consen t. The re

sul t m ight ha ve been foreseen . Amidst the dissipation of thefeas t, the servants of Absalom ,

in stigated by thei r master,

slew Amnon,and the fratric ide fled for refuge to the court of

his grandfather at Geshur,while messengers hurried to Je

rusa lem with the tid ings of hi s treacherous deed .

“ And itc ame to pass that behold the king’s sons came

,and l ifted up

their voice and wept : and the king al so and al l h is servantswept very sore .

” Yes

Sorrow tracketh wrong,As e cho fol lows song.

On ! on ! on ! on !

Veri ly there i s a God that j udgeth in the earth .

” Andi n the ordering of his providence

,not less than in the state

ments of h is Word, we see that s i n can not go unpun ished .

Here i s another sheaf of that bitter harvest of corruptionthat David was made to reap from the field wherein he sowed to the flesh . His lovely and beloved daughter madedesolate 5 his eldest son murdered amids t the revel ry of adrunken banquet 5 and Absalom ,

the pride of his pal ace andthe darl ing of h is heart

,the murderer

,self-exiled from hi s

father’s house and from his n at ive land . How true i t i s that“ the way of transgressors is hard .

For three long years Absalom remain ed at Geshur. During th is in terval David’s grief for Amnon abated, but hi s


heart wen t out i n l onging after Absalom . He did not recal lhim to h is court i ndeed , for that would have been equ ivalen tto saying that the deed of which he had been gu il ty was of atrifl ing character 5 but, as the after events indicate, he wouldhave been glad of any pretext which

,without seeming to

outrage justice,would have enabled h im to bring h im back .

This state of feel ing he could no t hide from his in timate assoc iates, and Joab, seeking at once to serve David and Absalom , concocted a plan by which the latter was recalled . Hesen t a wise woman from Tekoah in before the king

,with a

feigned case of d ifli culty, which in some of i ts l ead ing features bore a striking resemblance to hi s own position in re

gard to Absalom ; and, in the course of the prosecution of hersui t, David

’s susp ic ions were so aroused that he said,

“ I S notthe hand ofJoab with thee in al l th is ?

” Her answer revealed the whol e scheme

,and the issu e was that Joab was sen t

to Geshur to bring Absal om back to Jerusalem . Not yet,however

,was David ful ly reconciled to his son 5 for when the

youth came to the holy ci ty,David said

,

“ Let him turn to h isown house, and let h im not see my face .This state of matters l asted for two years more, when , Ah

salom’

s pat ience being exhausted, he sen t for Joab . Thecaptain of the host thought proper twice to disregard h isurgen t entreaty ; and this proceeding so exasperated Absalom that he ordered h is servants to set one of Joab

’

s barleyfields on fire . This ac t of destruction, as he had foreseen ,brought Joab forthwith 5 and in reply to h is indign an t question

,

“ Wherefore have thy servants Set my field on fire ?”

Absalom answered,

“ Behold,I sen t unto thee, saying, Come

hither,that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore

am I come from Geshur ? i t had been good for me to havebeen there sti l l : now, therefore, l e t me see the king

’s face ;and if there be any in iqu ity i n me

,l e t him kil l me .

”

I t i s d iffi cul t,at first s ight

,to accoun t for the conduc t of


tempt our destruction— th is i s m isery indeed 5 and in seeking to real ize the angu ish of David at th is t ime

,we th ink of

the saying which the great dramat ist has put in to the mouthof the old Bri tish king : How sharper than a serpen t’s toothi t i s to have a thankless ch ild 5 or of those l in es of anotherpoet

,which he penned in quite another connection

,but are

equally appropriate here

So the s truck e agle s tre tch’d upon the pla in ,

N O more through ro l ling c louds to soar again,View

’d his own feather on the fata l dart

,

And wing’

d the shaft tha t quiver’d in his heart 5Keen were hi s pangs

,but keener far to fee l

He nursed the pinion which impe l led the stee l 5\Vhile the same plumage that had warm’

d his nest,Drank the last life-drop of his bleed ing breas t.”

In entering upon the particul ars of th is sad episode i nDavid ’s l ife

,there are two questions which sugges t them

selves to the thoughtfu l reader of the n arrative, and as thesettlemen t of these wil l greatly help us to understand thewhole matter

,we may very appropriately now con s ider them .

They are these— firs t : How came Absalom to think of re

bel l ing again st h is father at al l ? and,second How came his

revol t to gather strength so rap idly as to cause David tol eave Jerusalem

,and to prove so n early successful ? In re

gard to the firs t of these questions, i t i s easy to see that therewas much i n David’s treatmen t Of Absalom ,

looked at fromhis son ’s poin t of V i ew,

to cause al ienation and to provokean tagon ism . We are al lowed i n the narrative to see howal l along the king’s heart had gon e out after Absalom ; butthe youth himself knew nothing of that. He might haveheard that Joab had to resort to schemes of a roundabou tdescription i n order to procure h is recal l, and he certainlymust have fel t that there was n o cord ial reception givenh im .

THE REVOLT or ABSALOM . 305

Now while,i n one sense

,this conduct on David ’s part was

a sort of homage to publ ic j ust ice,yet i n another i t was ne i

ther righ t nor pol i t ic . I t was not right ; for, on the one hand,i f Absalom had committed a crime

,he ought to have been

punished for i t 3 and on the other, if there was ground for hisrecal l from ban ishment, there was also ground for receivinghim at court. I t was no t pol i tic for i t could not bu t pu tAbsalom into a pos it ion of an tagon ism to his father

,and the

fretting impat ience of these two years was but the bi tter budout of which at length ripened the rebell ion of which we areto speak .

Again, Absalom would regard h imself as the rightful hei rto h is father’s throne . Amnon

,the eldest son, to whom,

in

conform ity with al l Eastern not ions,i t should have descend

ed,was dead . Chileab, the second, seems to have been dead

also 3 at least, h is name drops completely out of the h istory.

Absalom came next,and perhaps in ord inary c ircumstances

he might have been con ten t to wai t for hi s father’s death before urging h is claim ; but certain things at court would inc i te him to take immediate steps to further h is own in terests .He saw that the influence of Bath -Sheba was paramoun t.He knew that Solomon was the favorite son and the declaration of Nathan that he, the peaceable, was to succeed h isfather could not be unknown to h im . Hence he would conc lude that, if he was ever to be king, i t could only be by somesuch sudden and immediate foup d

’

éta t as that which he ac tual ly attempted . Putting these things together

,then

,and

remembering, besides, that there was no spark of rel igiousprinc ipl e i n the breast of Absalom

,we may have some um

derstanding of the feel ings by which he was sti rred,and the

mot ives by wh ich he was actuated in rais ing the standardof revol t against h is father.I t i s equally easy to accoun t for the rap id ity with which

the disaffection spread, and the strength which the rebel l ion

3 06 DAV ID,

.K I NG OF ISRAEL .

gained . Absalom had great person al attractions. This mayseem a matter of smal l moment, bu t, i n real ity, i t had an immense effec t . Even such a one as Samuel was not proofagain st the influence of a man ’s outward appearance

,and we

n eed not marvel, therefore, that the common people of thel and should be spec ial ly drawn to one whose beauty wasproverbial . I n modern t imes we know that the personal a ttrac t ion s of the Young Pretender

,i n 1 745 , drew perhaps as

many to h is army as did the cause wh ich he represen tedand young and handsome as Absalom was

,he was quite

l ikely to be,s imply on that accoun t

,the idol of the army,

and the darl ing of the popul ace . Add to this,that he was

the only one of David ’s son s who, on the mother’s s ide

,was

of royal l i neage and to a people who are so moved by cons ideration s l ike these as the O rientals

,th is must have given

add i t ional weight to h is claims . Nor, on the other s ide,

must we forget that David was no longer the man he was,

when the peopl e ral l ied with en thusiasm around him . Agehad begun to tel l upon him and sadder far than that, fromthe era of his great trespass, he had been broken-heartedand mel ancholy. To his peopl e general ly he would appearas a reti red

,moody old man . The spring of his l ife was

gone . He took l ittl e in terest in publ ic affairs, and, i n part icular, he n eglec ted that most importan t of al l the duties ofan Eastern rul er

,the s i tting in the gate to hear those ap

peals which his subj ects m ade to his person al decis ion .

I t has been supposed,i ndeed , that during the four years

of Absalom ’s preparation s David was suffering from diseaseto such an exten t that he was prevented from taking hisplac e as aforetime in the admin istration of j ust ice and certain ly there are some expressions i n the 4 I s t Psalm, belonging to this era of his l ife, which can be most naturally i nter

pre ted on th is hypothesis . But however we may account fori t,the fac t i s c lear that David had l argely d isappeared from

308 DAV ID,K ING or ISRAEL.

have n o court, for any thing we see of him . Again,over

again st Dav id ’s n eglect of the admin istrat ion of j ustice,they

would put Absalom’s ass iduous attent ion to the matters

brought before h im,and his affable

,frank

,and concil i atory

manner to al l strangers while h is in s idious ej acul at ion, 0

that I were made j udge in the l and, that every man whichhath any su i t or cause m ight come to m e and I would doh im j ust ice

,

” could not but produce the effects which i t wasin tended to accompl ish . Hence we can understand howAbsalom stol e the hearts of the men of Israel . But i t wassteal ing for al l that ; and though, i n the hands of God

,he

was the instrument through whom chastisemen t was infl ictedupon David

,we shal l yet see that a terribl e retribution fel l

upon h imself.The method which he took for in augurating h is revol t was

characteri zed by the cunn ing that seems to have been inheren t i n h is n ature . He sen t sp ies through al l the tribes,i n structing them , at a given sign al, to proclaim him king.

Then,feign ing that he had a rel igious vow which took him

to Hebron,he wen t th ither wi th two hundred men

,and

set up h is s tandard in the c ity of Abraham , where first h isfather had received the crown of Judah . From Hebron hesen t to Giloh for Ahithophel , one of his father’s counselors,who seems to have known of the plot

,and to have gon e

from Jerusalem to his own city of Giloh, i n order to be withi n Absalom ’s cal l . This man

,though hi s n am e sign ifies

“ the brother of fool ishness,” was in great repute for wisdom,

and men went to consul t h im almost as they wen t to theoracle of God . By comparing 2 Samuel xi . , 3 , where i t i ssaid that Bath-Sheba was the daughter of Eliam,

with 2 Sam

uel xxi i i . , 34, where i t i s recorded that Eliam was the sonof Ahi thophel the Gilon ite, and connecting these with thefact that Uriah and Eliam were comrades

,both belonging to

the order of th e worth ies,we get the in terest ing result that

THE REVOLT or ABSALOM . 309

Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bath-Sheba . And fromthis the inference seems inevitabl e, that hi s defec tion toAbsalom was caused by the displeasure which he fel t a t thewrong done ten ‘years before to the wife of Uriahfi“

Thus the strength of Absalom ’s consp iracy i s seen to bea d irec t re sult

'

of David ’s great tran sgress ion . Ahithophel’

s

n ame was in i tself almos t a guarantee of Absalom ’s success . And we may j udge of the importance which was a ttached to h im ,

not only from the prayer offered by Davidwhen he heard of his treachery, and the commission whichhe gave to Hushai to coun teract his advice

,but also from

the pl ai ntive wail which he makes over h im in the 4 I stPsalm :

“ Yea,min e own famil iar friend, i n whom I trusted,

which did eat of my bread,hath l ifted up his heel against

m e .” And again,more s trikingly

,i n the 5 sth Psalm : For

i t was not an enemy that reproached me ; then I coul d haveborne i t : neither was i t h e that hated me that did magn ifyhimself agains t me 3 then I would have hid myself fromhim but i t was thou

,a man m ine equal

,my guide

,and m in e

acquaintance . We took sweet coun sel together, and walkedunto the house of God i n company.

”

Evil t idings fly swiftly. So a messenger soon brough tnews to David of Absalom ’s procedure

,and the king at once

resolved to l eave Jerusalem . This de term ination was probably taken by him because there were not sufficient troopsto garrison the c i ty, or because he had no confidence in theinhab itants that they would be faithful to h im and the story of h is departure from h is pal ace is here told with a beauty and a pathos wh ich are perfec tly unapproachable . Heleft ten of his concubines behind to look after the house

,

and went on , as i t is said, to a place that i s far off ; or rath

Se e , on this poin t , B lunt’s Scriptura l Coincidences , p. 136 ; a lso,Biblical Studies ,” by E . H. Plumtre , p. 97 .

3 1 0‘ DAVID

,K ING or ISRAEL.

er,as i t m ight be rendered, to “ th e house far off

” -the lasthouse

,probably

,i n the c ity. Here the sorrowful procession

was marshaled . His faithful body-guard wen t first 3 then theremnan t of h is band of Six hundred ; then hi s servan ts .Among those beside h im he saw Ittai the Gitt ite 3 andstruck, perhaps, with the fac t that an al ien Should be faithful to him when hi s own son was fal se

,he besought h im to

return 3 but the sold ier nobly repl ied, i n words which he asnobly redeemed, “ As the Lord l iveth

,and as my l ord th e

king l iveth,surely i n what place my lord the king shal l be

,

wheth er i n death or l ife,even there also wil l thy servan t be .

”

And so they went on— out down i nto the vall ey and acrossthe Kidron— whil e a loud

,long wail ascended from the weep

ing mul ti tude . A t th is poin t they were met by Zadok theh igh-priest

,and by the Levi tes who

,coming from the sacred

ten t, had brought with them the ark of the coven an t of theLord, while Abiathar stood waiting t il l the people had gon eout of the c ity. But David ’s p iety was not of that supers tit ious sort which clung to the ark as if i t had been a tal isman . To him i t was but the symbol of God ’s covenant love,which was equal ly sure to h im wherever he m ight be 3 so hesaid

,i n words which the most cal lous can not read withou t

emotion , Carry back the ark of God in to the c i ty : if I shal lfind favor i n the eyes of the Lord

,he wi l l bring me again

,

and Show me both i t and his habitat ion : bu t if he thus say,

I have n o del ight in thee ; behold, here am I , le t h im do tome as seemeth good unto h im .

” But the fai th of David wasequaled only by his prudence 3 for he counseled the prieststo return to the c ity

,and to send him tidings of what should

be decided by Absalom,by the hands of their son s

,Jona

than and Ahimaaz . So, having dism issed them ,they went

on up the Moun t of O l ives,the king with h is fee t bare

,and

hi s head covered,weep ing as he wen t

,and the whole com

pany fol lowing his example .

3 1 2 DAV ID,K ING or ISRAEL.

hypocrisy because i t d id not bear at once the frui t of thespotless honor and unswerving truth which mark the highes tforms of Christ ian goodness . The Christian Church hersel fhas to notice many l ike i ncons istenc ies among her crowned

Second le t us not forget what those means are by which,

even in these modern days,with al l our Christ ian loft in ess of

character, we Seek to coun termine and check pol it ical rebel lion . Some years ago, whil e I was a residen t in Liverpool ,there was great talk of Fen ian ism . We heard of plots forthe taking of the ancien t c i ty of Chester

,and the burn ing

of ships i n our own docks . How did we hear of them ? BySpies, who feigned themselves Fen ian s for the time ! and theman whose astuteness made these discoveries through meansof Hushai-l ike instruments was rewarded by being made acompan ion of the Most Honorable O rder of the Bath ! Ob

serve , I do not v ind icate ei ther David or these modern oflflcers .

I s imply st ate the facts, and beg to say, that if men , with theNew Testamen t i n the i r hands

,can do such th ings

,we ought

to be tender i n our treatmen t of David here . When theyreached the top of the h ill , and had commenced the descen ton the Oppos ite s ide, Ziba, the servan t of Mephibosheth, metthem

,bringing suppl ies

,and making, at the same time, a

false accusat ion of treason again st h is master. David, notsee ing the trap which had .been so cunn ingly laid for h im ,

unsuspiciously fel l i n to i t,and gave to Ziba as a gift al l

the land wh ich he had been farm ing for Mephibosheth . Wemay have more to say of th is when Mephibosheth comes tospeak for himself. Meanwh il e

,l e t us move forward with

the sorrowful company.

The path-

was along a ridge which had a deep ravine ben eath i t

,and another ridge of a similar sort ris ing on the 0p

i t “ Bibl ical Studies ,” p. 102 .

THE REVOLT or ABSALOM . 3 1 3

pos ite s ide 3 and as they wen t forward on their s ide, a wickedman of the house of Saul made his appearance on the other,and

,keep ing abreast of them the whil e, heaped curses, such as

on ly an Orien tal c an utter, on the head of David . He cried,

“ Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of

Bel ial : the Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of

the house of Saul , i n whose stead thou hast reigned 3 and theLord hath del ivered the kingdom in to the hand of Absalomthy son and

,behold

,thou art taken i n thy mischief, because

thou‘

art a bloody man .

” Nor was he conten t with utteri ng maled ic tions ; he cast stones at David and his servan tsacross the gorge, and made every man ifestation of implaca

ble enmity and mal igni ty. Abishai,the brother of Joab, was

greatly provoked by his procedure,and sought permission

to Slay him but David,with an expression of querulousness

which shows how keenly he fel t the ascendency which Joaband h is brother. had obtained over him

,said

,

“ So l et himcurse

,becau se the Lord hath said unto him

,Curse Dav id .

Who shall then say,Wherefore hast thou done so ?” Then,

i n l anguage which lets u s see how bitterly he fel t Absalom ’streason, and how al l other troubles were swal lowed up in thatone great sorrow, he added, “ Behold, my son, which cameforth of my bowels, seeketh my l ife : how much more now

may th is Benj ami te do it ? l et h im alone,and let him curse 3

for the Lord hath b idden h im . I t may be that the Lord wil llook upon m ine affl iction

,and that the Lord wil l requ ite me

good for his cursing th is day. So they set forward, andcame at length to the Valley of th e Jordan

,where they tar~

r ied to refresh themselves. In al l probabil i ty i t was morning when they left the palac e

,and the shades of even ing had

c losed over them before they had safely settled their en

campmen t 3 but through the darkness with which they wereenveloped the book of Psalms perm its us to see, and from i twe l earn somewhat of the monarch ’s feel ings after that try

1 4


ing and fatigu ing day 3 for even the most rat ion al i st ic in ter

pre ters connect with the events which we are revi ewing thosecalm and trustful hymns

,the one for the evening and the

other for the morn ing, which stand fourth and th ird in thePsalter. Let us

,then

,l i sten a whil e at the door of the royal

ten t,that we may hear with what p ious thoughts and earnest

prayers he shutteth i n that doleful day : “ Hear me when Icall

, 0 God of my righteousness : thou hast en larged mewhen I was in d istress ; have mercy upon me, and hear myprayer. O ye son s of men , how long wil l ye turn my gloryinto Shame ? how long wil l ye love van ity, and seek afterl easing ? But know that the Lord hath se t apart him thati s godly for h imself : the Lord will hear when I cal l untohim . Stand in awe, and Sin not : commune with your ownheart upon your bed

,and be stil l . Offer th e sacrifices of

righteousness,and put your trust i n the Lord . There be

many that say,Who wil l Show us any good ? Lord

,l ift thou

up the l ight of thy coun tenance upon us . Thou hast putgladness in my heart, more than i n the time that their cornand the ir wine increased . I wil l both lay me down in peace

,

and sleep : for thou, Lord, only makest me dwel l in safety.

”

Then,as the l ight of the morn ing breaks

,the harp is again

tuned, and heart and voic e accompany i t, as thus he sings :Lord

,how are they increased that t roubl e me Many are

they that rise up against me . Many there be which say ofmysoul , There is no help for him in God . But thou

,O Lord

,art

a shield for me ; my glory, and the l ifter up of mine head .

I cri ed unto the Lord with my voice,and he heard me out

of his holy hil l . I laid me down and Sl ept ; I awaked 3 forthe Lord sustained me. I wil l not be afraid of ten thousandsof peopl e, that have se t themselves against me round about.Ar ise

,O Lord 3 save me, O my God : for thou hast smitten

al l m ine enem ies upon the cheek-bone 3 thou hast broken theteeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lordthy blessing is upon thy people .

”


Absalom ’s fratric ide, and al l the evil s which i t drew in i tstrai n might have been avoided . And even after the guil t ofhis eldes t born

,if he had firmly adhered to h is firs t refusal to

al low Amnon to go to the Sheep-shearing at h is brother’sfarm, the evi l m ight st il l h ave been eluded . But with thatfatal easiness of temper which characteri zed his treatment ofhis children , he yielded to Absalom ’s en treat ies

,and the re

sul t was the tragedy which i s here described . I t m ay besaid

,i ndeed

,that his discipl ine of Absalom was fi rm 3 but

th is was hardly the case,for he never really brought matters

to a poin t even with him 3 and his recal l ing h im from exil e,while yet he d id not see h im

,though i t may seem to have

been an indicat ion of strength of princ ipl e, was i n truth atoken of weakness . He feared to push things to an issue .He had not the courage to deal with a j udicial hand withAbsalom

,and so

,whil e his treatmen t of him did not sat

isfy the c laim s of j ust ice, i t only the more thoroughly al

ienated the son from the father.The whole h istory i s thus fraught with richest lessons to

paren ts . I t i s a warn ing again s t over-indulgence,and neg

lect of discipl ine . No : doubt there are evil s i n the other extreme

,and we must be cautious les t we provoke our

“ chi ldren to wrath ” by over-sternness 3 yet i n the family theremust be government

,and the paren t who does not secure

the al legianc e and obed ience of h is child, i s as really vio

l at ing the fifth commandmen t as i s the ch ild who disobeysand d ishonors h im . There i s a happy rul e of love, and awill ing subj ection of respect

,which i t ought to be every par

en t’s ambit ion to exerc ise and rece ive,and miserabl e i s the

household from which these are absen t I n saying al l th is,I do not i n the least degree excuse David’s children for theirconduct . On the contrary

,i t was godless and heartless i n

the extremest degree . Let no son , therefore, shelter h imself under my words for dishonoring h is father, or disobeying

THE REVOLT or ABSALOM . 3 1 7

his mother ; s ince, no matter what a parent’s faul ts may be

,

a paren t i s a paren t sti l l, and ought to have a pl ace in theholy of hol ies i n the heart of eve ry chi ld .

In the second place,we may learn from this whole sub

j ec t that, i f parents would have thorough discipl ine i n thei rhomes

,they must be pure and holy themselves . David ’s

weakness i n the matters which have been before us sprungout of hi s wickedness . His consc ience made h im a coward .

He was afraid to bring the law in to force against h is child ren

,l es t i ts sword should descend also on his own head .

Al as ! i n howmany homes in these days i s the d isobedienceof the ch ildren due to the consc ious s infulness of the paren ts . How can a drunken and profan e father

,or an extrav

agant, proud, and worldly mother, hope to rece ive the re

spec t of children ? or how can they enforce, in the case ofthe ir famil ies

,l aws which they are themselves cont inual ly

violating ? Example i s better than precept ; and whereconsc iously a bad example i s se t

,e ither the precept wil l not

be enforced,or its enforcemen t wil l provoke the child in to

more bitter antagon ism and rebel l ion .

I n the thi rd place,we may learn from this s tory to pu t

a righ t est imate on personal beauty. I t does not ind icateSpiritual lovel iness

,for Absalom was far from be ing as a t

tractive in character as he was in appearance . I t i s a giftfrom God

,hence we are not to despise i t. We may honor

it for his sake . If we have i t not ourselves,we are not to

envy those who possess i t 3 while, i f we do possess i t, thecase of Tamar bids u s be on our guard lest i t should provee ither a temptation to others or a sn are to ourselves . Al as !how many have been brought by i t

,through their own folly,

i n to a deeper than Tamar’s d isgrace,because with them it

has been a volun tary thing.

F inal ly : we may contrast David ’s conduc t toward Ahsalom here with that of God toward the s inner. The wise

3 1 8 DAV ID,K ING OF I SRAEL.

woman of Tekoah had referred to God in these beau tifulwords : “ For we must needs d ie, and are as water spill edon the ground, which can not be gathered up again n eitherdoth God respect any person ; ye t doth he devise mean sthat his ban ished be not expel led from him . But in thecase of God and the s inner there are several th ings presen twhich we look i n vain for i n that of David with Absalom .

F i rst of al l,i n recal l ing the s inner

,God has devised mean s

by which h is law is fully satisfied for human guil t bu t Davidhad no proper sati sfaction to the law for Absalom ’s gu il t.The mean s which God has employed for honoring h is just icewhile bringing back the ban ished s inner are wel l known to

you all . They are the m iss ion,and work

,and -s acrifice of

Jesus,who for the s inner has “ magnified God’s law, and

made i t honorable .” Hence,i n connect ion with that atone

ment, God is seen to be a j ust God, and a Saviour ; yea, hedecl ares h is righteousness even in the very ac t of rem ittingthe bel i ever’s s in .

In the second pl ace , whil e David refused to see the faceof the returned Absalom , God welcomes every pen i ten t tohi s heart

,and accepts h im as righteous i n h is sight for the

sake of Jesus,i n whom he bel ieves . What a welcome the

father gave, i n the parable, to th e return ing prodigal ! butthat i s nothing to the welcome given by God to the repen ting s inner. Do not fear

,then oh Sinner

,to repair to him .

He wil l rece ive you for Chris t s sake. He wil l retain youi n h is favor

,and he wi l l n ever le t you perish . I s i t not wri t

ten,Him that cometh unto m e I wil l in no wise cast out ?”

I n the th ird place,as the resul t of al l th is on the part of

God,the S inner’s nature is changed

,so that instead of being,

as formerly,al ienated in heart from God

,he loves h im , and

desires to please h im . Absalom,as we saw

,was fretted and

exasperated by hi s father’s treatmen t ofhim 3 and very probably the rebell ion which he attempted was plotted during

XVI I I]

.

AB SALOM ’S D E FEAT AND DEATH.

2 SAMUEL xvi. , 1 5 3 xix.

EAVING David and his weary fol lowers to rest themselves in the V al l ey of the Jordan

,l e t u s return to Je

rusalem ,and mark th e progress of the rebel l ion there . On

the arrival ofAbsalom at the Holy C ity,whither he had come

from Hebron with Ahithophel and the whol e band of hisadheren ts

,he was met by Hushai

,who saluted h im as king,

and offered h im his al legiance . Evidently this was morethan Absalom had expected . The character of the Archites tood so high for i n tegri ty and fidel ity

,that the rebel had not

dared to hope for his ass istance 3 so, scarcely knowing whatto make

.of hi s protestation s and homage, he said to him ,

partly in ban ter ing welcome,and partly also i n susp ic ion ,

Is th is thy kindness to thy friend ? why wen test thou not

with thy friend ?” But if he had en tertained any m isgivingsupon the subj ec t

,the reply of Hushai se t them al l at res t 3

so he j oyful ly rece ived him into the ranks of h is followers,

and instal led h im among his privy councilors .His firs t ac t in Jerusalem was to take publ ic possession

of his father’s harem . By th is most abom inable procedurehe not only unconsc iously fulfil l ed the prediction of Nathan ,*

but also committed h imself,i n the most offens ive and insul t~

i ng manner,to irreconci l abl e hosti l ity agains t h is father.

The offense was one which no monarch could forgive ; andthe readiness with which he committed i t was

,therefore, a

if 2 Samuel xu . , I I .

ABSALOM ’S DEFEAT AND DEATH . 2 13

proclamat ion of war to “ the bitter end . I t was l ike throwing away the scabbard after having drawn the sword

, or l ikeburn ing the boats after having crossed the river. I t effec tual ly cut off al l possib il i ty of retreating from the course onwhich he had en tered

,and showed that he was determ ined

to come to no terms with David . Nor can we fail to see themotive by which Ahi thophel was actuated in advis ing Absal om to comm it this i n iqu ity. For one th ing

,i t would stima

l ate al l who flocked round the rebel standard to fie rcer en

e rgy in the effort to make the ir cause successful, in asmuchas they would fight with the feel ing that they had nothing tohOpe for from the ir adversary but destruc tion . For another

,

i t was the course which was most l ikely to secure Ahithophe l

’

s own safety. Knowing wel l David ’s fool ish fondnessfor h is ch ildren

,he was thoroughly persuaded that

,i n the

even t of the rebel l ion being crushed,he would be sure to

become reconc i led to his son . I n such a case,Ahi thophel

al so knew that he woul d be th e vict im on whose head th eroyal vengeance would firs t and most espec ially fal l . Hencehe took care to provide against such an issue

,by setting Ah

salom on a course which,i n al l Eastern coun tries

,makes rec

onc iliat ion impossibl e .

Meanwhil e the peopl e of the c ity took note of al l th is,

and,seeing men of such acknowledged abil i ty as Ahithophe l

and Hushai among the principal supporters of Absalom,

they easily transferred the ir al legiance to the newly-recogn iz ed king, the rather, perhaps, that the fl igh t of David hadseemed to them a virtual abdicat ion of the throne

, or, at a lleven ts

,an ind ication that he had no confidence i n the loyal

ty of the i nhabitants of his capital . In any case,they were

qu i te ready, if not eager, to welcome Absalom as thei r king.

The fick leness of popular favor has passed into a proverb ;and the scenes which were witnessed in Great Britain at theeras of the Commonweal th, th e Restoration , and the Revo

3 2 2 DAV ID,K ING or ISRAEL .

lution, may help us to understand what took place at Jerusal em in the case before us . Besides, as one has suggestivelyasked

,

“ Were not these Jews the ancestors of those who,

centuries l ate r,cried

,at one t ime

,

‘ Hosanna and at another

,

‘ Crucify him i n reference to a nobler prince than theson of JesseSoon after com ing to Jerusal em ,

Absalom seems to havecal led together what we might term a counc il

,to determ ine

the course which the campaign was to take . A t th is meeting

,Ahithophel

,as be ing by common consen t the ablest man

,

was firs t asked to declare his op in ion . In reply,he offered

to set out i n immediate pursu i t of D avid’

with twelve thousand men

,calculat ing that h e would come upon the king and

his band,

“ weary and weak-handed 3” and that

,overawed by

superior numbers,his followers would take to fl igh t

,and leave

the aged monarch to his fate . This,he bel ieved

,would end the

war,s ince after the death of David, and find ing they had noth

ing left to fight for, his adherents would return to Jerusalem ,

and give i n the ir al legiance to Absalom as h is rightful he ir.This pl an was worthy of Ah ithOphel

’

s reputat ion . I f i thad been energetical ly fol lowed, i t would have been com

plete ly successful, and would have changed the en tire colorand complexion of Jewish history. But there was one atthat council -board whom Absalom had not summoned

,for

“ God had appoin ted to defeat the wise counsel of Ah ithophel 3 and therefore, though i t was wel l received at firs t, i twas afterward rej ected, yet so as to make man ifest the unfettered moral freedom of al l concerned . Absalom

,wishing to

v iew the matter from every s ide,cal l ed on Hushai to give h is

advice 3 and such was the impression produced by him ,that

his propos it ion was unan imously adopted . The Arch ite hada difficul t game to play 3 and we may well bel ieve that,whenAhithophel

’

s scheme was propounded to h im,his heart m is

gave h im for his aged king. But he proved equal to the


which we can eas ily an alyze, were very Simil ar to thosewhich have impel led many in our own times to commit thesame awful in iquity. Chief among them was wounded pride .He who had been so long to h is fellow-men l ike the oracl eof God, could not surv ive the humil iat ion of having Hushai’s

advice preferred to his own . Then , besides th is, there wasthe conviction that Absalom ’s cause was now hopelesslyru ined . He foresaw that the fol lowing of Husha i

’

s counselwould give David time to col lect h is forces

,as indeed the

Arch ite mean t i t should . But he knew also that th is wasal l that David needed for the recovery . of his throne ; andas, i n such an even t, he would be the firs t v ictim of the monarch ’s indignation

,he determ ined to deprive David of the

satisfaction of putt ing him to death by himself antic ipatinghis doom . Perhaps

,also

,there was a m ingl ing of remorse

with those other emotion s of pride . He had left a masterwho loved and valued him

,who

,i ndeed

,regarded him as his

equal and gu ide,and he had transferred his services to one

who,as he now discovered

,had not the wisdom to appreciate

his worth,but preferred the gaudy gl i tter of empty rhetoric

to the substan tial wisdom of unadorned speech . This contrast

,thus forced upon him

,migh t awaken his consc ience to

the value of the friendship which he had forfeited when heturned against David

, un ti l at length remorse and Shame sooverwhelmed him

,that

,l ike a deeper tra itor, of whom he was

only the feeble prototype,he could not endure l ife, and hur

ried h imself i nto e tern ity. I t never occurred to h im to ask,“ I f I can not fac e David

,how shal l I look upon Jehovah ?

If I can not endure the accusations of conscience, how Shal lI s tand before the j udgment-seat of GodJust about the t ime that Ahi thophel was l eaving Jerusa

l em , with the dark resolve of self-destruction maturing in hisheart, a femal e servan t was sen t by Zadok and Abiathar tothe well Of Eu -rogel

,near which their two sons

,Jonathan

ABSALOM ’S DEFEAT AND DEATH . 3 2 5

and Ahimaaz,were concealed . Hushai had told the high

priests the issue of the counci l, and they had commissionedthis young woman to convey h is message to thei r sons, thatthey might carry i t to David . The founta in of En-rogel wason ly a l i ttl e way out of the c ity. I ts name sign ifies the wellof treaa

’zhg, and ind icates that i t was frequented by those

who were engaged i n the washing of clothes— a work whichthen

,as occas ional ly yet in the Highlands of Scotland , was

performed by tread ing with the fee t rather than by rubbingwith the hands . I t was also restric ted to women . Hence,as the presence of a femal e servan t i n that n eighborhoodwould excite no suspic ion

,we can understand how such a

messenger was sen t on such an importan t commiss ion .

Having rece ived the message,the two young men set out

at once for the Valley Of the Jordan 3 but, i n spi te of al l theprecautions which had been taken to insure secrecy

,they

were seen by a lad,who

,guessing the ir errand

,wen t and

told Absalom . The rebel prince immediately sen t h is servants in pur

'

suit'

of them 3 but discovering that they werechased

,the youths held forward flee tly as far as Bahurim ,

where they found a s ingular h id ing-pl ace in the court of ahouse . F ixing themselves on th e s ide of an Open well , thewoman of the house put over its mouth a covering

, on whichshe Spread ground corn , so that there was nothing to ind ic ate the i r presence 3 and when Absalom

’s servants cameasking

'

afte r them , she turned away susp ic ion by an equivo

cal answer, which evinced the read iness of her wit n o lessthan the kindness of her heart : “ They be gon e over thebrook of water.”

After escap ing from this danger the couriers pushed on

unti l they came to David ’s encampmen t,where they del iver

ed their message . Ari se,and pass qu ickly over the waterfor thus hath Ahi thophel coun seled against you . I t mayappear strange that n o ment ion was made by these young


men of Hushai’

s own counsel, and of the fact that i t hadbeen preferred to that of Ahithophel . But we must bear i nm ind that we have here only the merest outl in e of what wasactual ly said 3 and even if no reference was m ade by themessengers to the actual decis ion of the council

,i t i s con

ce ivable that th is s il ence may have been suggested by Hu

shai h imself,who may have been afra id that

,even after al l

that had occurred to the contrary, Ahithophe l

’

s coun se lm ight yet be followed . In any case

,he seems to have wish

ed that David should a t once make for a place of safety 3 so,on the n ight following h is receipt of the message

,the mon

arch and al l h is company passed over Jordan,and halted

not un t il they entered Mahanaim .

The town cal led by th is n ame was bu il t upon a spot hallowed by its connection wi th Jacob ’s history. There theangel s of God met th e patriarch ; and perhaps, as the Oldstory rose to David ’s recol lect ion

,the strain s of his own

Psalm would come to his l ips to strengthen h is faith andrevive h is cou rage “ The angel of the Lord encampethround about them that fear h im and del ivereth them .

” Mahana im l ay with in the territory of Gad, and n ear the l in e bywhich i t was separated from that of Manasseh . I t was ac ity of cons iderabl e importance

, for Ishbosheth had made i th is cap ital during his seven and a half years’ reign over Israel . I t was evidently a fortified place

,and that

,together

with the fact that i t was a c ity of the Levi tes,who were al

ways faithful to him , may have induced David to make i this head-quarters . But

,whatever considerations may have

moved him to choose i t,he had no reason to repent of hi s

sel ection, for he was soon surrounded by kind and generousfriends . In part icular

,three princ ipal men in that region

are named as having brought to h im and his men seasona

ble and abundan t suppl ies . These were Shobi, the son of

Nabash, of Rabbah, of the children of Ammon 3 Machir, the


any rel ationship such as that which he has sought to establ i sh between Machir and Bath-Sheba, s ince i t is d ifficul t to explain how Ahithophel should be of Giloh, and his grandsonofGilead . As for good old Barz il lai , the heart i s drawn out toward him with pecul iar tenderness . He was a beautiful spec imen of a ven erabl e chief, whose kindness of heart was equaled only by his con ten tedness Of spiri t ; and he stands outbefore us with vivid

,l ife-l ike distinctness

,as one of the most

interesting characters in th is thrill ing his tory. He appearsonly on another occas ion 3 yet we feel as ifwe knew him thoroughly

,and loved h im dearly. His old age was beautiful ex

ceedingly, and i t i s del ightful to see how at a time of l ifewhen

,usually

,men take a closer grip of worldly things, and

become more selfish and i l l iberal , he was’

ready to give of

his best to David in the hour of his extrem ity.

We know not how long Absalom took to coll ec t h is forces,but at the earl i est moment after the muster h e wen t forthwith them across the Jordan . He missed Joab

, on whom ,

perhaps,he had been count ing

,but who had preferred to fol

low his father. This, howeve r, d id not disconcert h im ,for he

found a su itabl e subst i tute for the crafty son of Zeru iah inAmasa

,the son of Abigail , whose fi tness for the post is seen

in the fact that, after the restorat ion, David made h im hisown captain in stead of Joab . Absalom ’s forces were eu

camped in the land of Gilead, and David, around whom, bythis t ime

,a l arge army had col lected, hastened to give him

battl e . With the old martial fire st irring within h im,he d i

vided his troops into three d ivis ions , under Joab, Abishai ,and I tta I , and declared hi s in tention of l ead ing them i n person . This

,however

,his loving followers would not al low

,for

on his l ife the ir cause depended,and they would not hear of

hi s runn ing the risk of the battle-fie ld . Reluctantly he yielded to the ir importun ity

,and

,rel ieved of the responsibil i ty

of l eadership,h is m ind seems to ‘ have occupied i tself with


Absalom,over whom he yearned with wounded but yet ten

der affection . When h is troops l eft Mahanaim ,he took h is

s tat ion at the s ide of the gate ; and as rank afte r rank deployed before h im

,he gave, with qu ivering voice and tear

ful eye,h is orders thus Deal gen tly, for my sake, with the

young man,even with Absalom .

The scene of the battl e was in what is cal led, for what reason does not appear

,

“ the wood of Ephraim,

” and Vic torycrowned the loyal army of the brave old king. Better disc ipl ined and better led than the hastily mustered forces ofAbsalom

,the sold iers of David broke the ranks of thei r ene

m ies,and sen t them to seek for shel ter in the forests which

are abundan t on the eastern borders of Jordan . Here theywere so en tangled that they were easily overcome . Nor d idAbsalom escape 3 for, as he rode through the th icke t, hi shead (not his hair, as i s general ly supposed) was caught i nthe thick boughs of a tree 3 and his mul e runn ing from beneath h im

,he was l eft hanging “ between the heaven and

the earth .

” In th is posit ion he was seen by a young man ofDavid ’s army

,who told Joab of th e c ircumstance ; and the

general,blaming the youth for not having slai n h im

,hasten

ed forward with ten of his troopers,who surrounded the tree

,

whil e with h is own hand he pierced the heart of Absalomwith three darts . Then , deem ing the campaign ended, heblew the trumpet as the S ignal for recal l ; and taking thebody of Absalom ,

he cast i t in to a p i t, and raised over i t aheap of stones l ike to those which used to be formed overthe graves of grievous malefactors .What a d ifferen t tomb was th is from that stately mauso

leum which,i n h is pride of heart

,and with the desire of per

pe tuat ing h is n ame, he had reared for himself i n the king’s

dale ! And as we stand to throw one stone upon his c airn,

we can not help exclaiming,How differen t his death had beenif his l i fe had been but worthier ! Had he chosen the path .


of fi l ial love and reverence,and sought to walk i n moral i ty

and devout submiss ion to the wil l of God,he m ight have

blessed his own age,and left an exampl e that m ight have

won the admiration and im itation Of succeed ing generation s 3but as i t i s, he is held up here to the execrat ion Of human ityas the incarn at ion of fil ial ingrat itude

,and the imperson ation

of revenge i n i ts foulest and most u nn atural shape. Combin

ing i n his career the gui l t Of Reuben with the Sin of Cain,he

added to i t a parric idal treachery al l his own 3 and havingbroken every law

,both of the family and the State, he so pu t

h imself beyond the pal e of human mercy, that we can not failto see a fi tness i n the fate that overtook him . We undertakenot to j ust ify Joab for his d isregard Of David’s tender injunct ion

,ye t none the l ess must we recogniz e the righteous retribut ion of which

,i n thi s instance

,he was the executioner. The

d i sobedient Son , under the Mosaic l aw, was to be stoned todeath 3 and in the heap that was added to the original cairnby the successive gen erations of his countrymen as theypronounced curses on his memory, we see a monumen talbeacon that m arks forever the dangerous reef whereon hemade shipwreck of his soul .But how was the news to be broken to hi s father ? Ah i

m aaz Offered to be the bearer of the t id ings . But Joabwould not in trust h im with the commiss ion , and preferredto send one Cushi

,most probably an Eth iop ian servan t, with

the message . This,however

,d id not satisfy the high-priest’s

son 3 so, extorting a permiss ion from the captai n of the host,the fleet courier ran

,and arrived firs t at the gate Of Maha

naim,where a scene oc’ curred which lets us see far in to the

unfathomed depths of a true paren t’s heart. Fastened andalmost fasc inated to the Spot

,the king is sti l l i n the same

pl ace in which he had parted from his troops in the early,

morn ing. Al l d ay long he has been wait ing for in tel l igence 3and as he has sat watching there

,his throne, his crown , his


mystery of the mode does not al ter the certain ty of thefact that i t i s thus God carries on his moral government ofthe world . We see numerous i l lustrations of i t everywhere .

Even in the n arrative over which we have now come i t hasanother exempl ification i n that, while Absalom was the inst rumen t i n fulfil l ing Nathan ’s prophecies about h is father

,

he was yet, as a free agen t, held respons ibl e for the s in'

whichhe committed in so doing

,and was pun ished with righteous

retribution . So i t i s always . God is working now i n theaffairs of ind ividual men

, just as real ly and truly as he wasworking here i n those of David . The only d ifference i s

,

that i n th is in sp i red history h is hand is everywhere acknowledged, while we too frequently ignore h is agency. Let u sseek to have a firmer fai th i n the doctrin e of a particularprovidence, and i n the fact that al l th ings are con trolled andoverrul ed by God for the carrying forward of his great appoin tmen ts, whil e ye t we recogn ize as fully our own l ibertyand respons ib il i ty.

“ There are many devices in a man ’sheart ; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord , that shal l stand .

”

The Lord bringeth the coun sel of the heathen to n aught,

he maketh the devices of the peopl e of non e effect .” “ Thecounsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of h isheart to al l generations .”

I n the record of AhithOphel’

s su ic ide we see how fool isheven the wises t of men may be i n spiri tual matters . Thisastute counselor

,who was reputedly as the oracl e of God

,

has forethought enough to set his household i n order beforehe d ies 3 ye t he has no t sufli c ien t

'

prudence to forecast whatShal l be after death, and arrange for that. Had be consid

ered “ that und iscovered coun try from whose bourne no travel er re turns

,

” he had n ever been gu i l ty Of th is great in iqu ity ! Had he thought on how he was to meet his God, hewould not have rushed unsen t for i n to the Etern al Presence,red-handed with h is own murder. We wonder at his infatu

ABSALOM ’S DEFEAT AND DEATH . 333

ation . We marvel at h is inconsistency. Yet are there notmany among ourselves gu il ty Of a l ike folly ? We may notmeditate su icide indeed — God forbid that we ever Should 3but we have se t our households i n order 3 we have arrangedour bus iness and our property, so that if we were taken fromthe earth those dependen t on us would be spared al l unnecessary troubl e and expense 3 we have made our will s

,and

don e every thing that we th ink needful i n that regard,and

we have done wel l there in 3 so well, that if any have notm ade these arrangements, they ought to make them forthwith . Yet have we done no more ? What abou t our soul s ?We are abou t to enter upon the unseen 3 we are soon tostand “ naked and Open before the eyes of Him with whom wehave to do ; we have the awful etern ity before us, with thecertainty that we must spend its cycl es e ither in unmitigatedm isery or i n purest enj oymen t 3 and what provis ion have wemade for that ? Oh ! i f

,having arranged our temporal mat

ters, we leave uncared for the higher concerns of our spirits,are we not gu ilty of the folly of Ahi thophel here ? and mayi t not be said to us at l ast

,

“ This ought ye to have done,and

not to have l eft the other undone .” Say not to me there i st ime enough to arrange al l that 3 you know not what an hourmay bring forth . Make haste

,therefore, and delay not to

commit your soul to h im who alone i s abl e to keep i t againstthat day.

”

From the grief of David here, the parents among us maysee how needful i t i s that they Should not, by the influencee ither of thei r t rain ing or example, inj ure the character oftheir ch ildren . Many things indeed entered into t hat bitte rcup which David was made to d rink in the chamber overMahana im

’

s gate . There was the natural sorrow of a paren t i n the loss Of a child whom he had once loved mostpass ionately

,and whom he sti l l yearned after

,though he had

ceased to be worthy of his affec t ion . There was also the


hopelessness Of th is dreadful separation between h im andhis boy. When the infan t of Bath-Sheba d ied

,he could say,

I shal l go to him 3” bu t on th is occas ion there i s n o such

comforting assurance . Absalom ’s sun had gone down i nthickest darkness 3 no one ray of hOpe remain ed to rel ievethe gloom of his father’s heart 3 and none but those whohave been call ed to mourn i n Sim ilar c i rcumstances cantel l how bitte r i s a grief l ike that.But worse than e ither of these ingredients in th is cup of

angu ish would be,as I th ink

,the consc iousness i n David’s

heart,that if he had himself been al l he ought to have

been,his son m ight not thus have perished . Was there

no connection between his own great trespass and Absalom ’s in iqu ity ? I f he had been less fool ishly indulgen t,Absalom might never have rebel led . Nay

,if he had been

wiser,even after Absalom ’s fratric idal gu il t

,probably he

had not stung him into revol t. Such thoughts and quest ionings as these, would, I doubt not, i n tensify the sadnessof the Psalm ist i n th is trying hour 3 and i t becomes everyparen t among us to see that i n h is train ing of his chi ldren ,and in his l ife before them

,there is nothing that may tend

to ruin them . David now professes,and I bel ieve with

truth,to des ire that he had died for Absalom 3 but that was

a vain wish . He ought to have l ived more for Absalom .

He ought,by his own character, to have taugh t him to love

hol iness,or

,at al l even ts

,he ought to have seen that there

was nothing in h is own conduc t to encourage his son inwickedness or to provoke h im to wrath 3 and then, thoughAbsalom had made shipwreck

,he m ight have had the con

solation that he had don e his u tmost to preven t such a ca

tastrophe .

In this connect ion I can not help recall ing an inc ident i nthe l ife of James Stirl ing

,wel l known as the firs t temperance

miss ionary i n Scotland . James was a drunkard up to his


F inal ly : the fate of Absalom may be a warn ing to thecareless you th among us . Divine l aws wil l n ot be ignoredwith impun ity. You may not thrus t your hand in to theflames

,and imagine that God wil l work a m iracl e to save i t

from be ing burned ; you may not l eap over a precipice, andexpec t that God will so coun terac t the law of gravi tation asto preserve you from fall ing. But j ust as preposterous i s i tto expec t that

,i f you l ive i n daily con tempt of God ’s moral

commands,you wil l escape his pun ishmen t. The retribution

may seem long i n coming ; but i t wil l come, and the del aywil l only make i t heavier when i t fal ls . Be on your guard

,

then , dear young friends ,'

agains t th is defiance of the A lmighty

,and Seek you r true safety in obeying God ’s precepts .

A great ph i losopher was in the habi t of saying that “ to command Nature we must obey her 3

” and every mechan ic andman of science knows that th is i s true . By obeying n aturall aws

,we may command the power of nature

,wh ich i s only

the physical power of God, and use i t i n our service . Weyoke steam to our chariots by obeying God ’s l aws in regardto steam ; we send the l ightn ing on our messages by obeying God ’s l aws i n reference to el ectric ity. But this i s truealso sp iri tually. We can only have God ’s blessing, and command God ’s grace

,by obeying h is moral l aws . I f we d is

obey them,we shal l be destroyed 3 if we Obey them ,

he wil lbe our helper and our s trength . Your great security, then,i s in obed ience to God ; and th is i s h is prime command, that“ you should bel ieve on h is Son whom he hath sen t .” Seekyour happiness i n the serv ice of the Lord, so that when parents

,kinsmen

, or friends may ask, I s the young man safe ?”

the an swer may be,The etern al God is h is refuge, and un

dernea th are the everlast ing arms.Let m e beseech you

,by every considerat ion , to take this

wise and pruden t course . For your own sakes, I wouldurge you to l isten to my en treating voice, that so you may


secure true success in l ife,peace a t death

,and happiness

throughout etern ity. For your paren ts’ sake,I implore you

to fol low the course which I have now indicated 3 for th esake of the meek, loving mother, who n ightly watched youlong ago

,and who stil l prays for you in the far-away home 3

for your father’s sake, that venerable man who,i n your

boyhood ’s' days, so reveren tly took down the “ big ha’ Bible

,and read to you from its sacred page around the

even ing al tar 3 yea, higher st i ll, for your Saviour’s sake

,who

weeps over the s infu l c ity where in you dwell , as he wep tover doomed Jerusalem by al l that i s dear and sacred 3 byal l that is noble

,and great, and glorious, and d iv ine 3 by the

measureless duration of etern ity, and the transcenden t hap

pines s of yonder heaven , I beseech you to seek your safetymidst the battl e of l ife in the protection of your Saviour.And if these consideration s have no weight with you, lookonce more at that royal mourner pac ing h is room in agony 3hear h is deep groans ; mark his heavy sobs, such as cancome only from the big, bursting heart of a weeping man ;behold how

,drop by drop, the tears course adown his cheeks ,

and fal l heavily upon the floor. Tel l me : would you l ikeyour father

,your mother

,your Sister

,your brother,

'

to bewai lyou thus ? Oh , i f you would spare those n ear and dear to

you th i s terrible, th is l ife-l ong sorrow ; if, i n the transi t ofyour Spiri t to i ts o wn place, you would not hear borne uponthe breeze the echo of this hopeless cry, “ Would God I hadd ied for thee !” then turn from this t ime forth to Jesus, andgive yourself to h is holy keeping, through faith i n him andobedience to his l aws .

X IX .

THE RE STOEATJON OF DA VI D TO HI S

2 SAMUEL xix. 3 xx.

HE pass ion ate grief of David over Absalom changedthe glory of victory in to gloom,

'

and so affected h istroops as they retu rned to Mahanaim, that “ they gat themby steal th unto the ci ty, as people be ing ashamed steal awaywhen they flee in battl e .” This was on ly n atural

,and what

,

i n the c ircumstances, might have been expected 3 for whil e,so far as Absalom was concerned, we can wel l accoun t forand sympathiz e with the bittern ess of his father’s sorrow

,

yet looked at from the army’s poin t of view, i t could not butseem as if the monarch had fail ed to appreciate the magn itude of the risk h is sold iers had run , or to estimate the value of the serv ices which they had rendered . They

‘

had peri l ed the i r l ives i n thei r devotion to h i s c ause ; they had, bythe ir promptitude and prowess, ended th e rebel l ion in thevery firs t battle 3 and when they might have hoped to be metwith congratulation s and loaded with honors

,the king is in

v isibl e,and nothing is heard from h im but the echo of his

unceasing cry,

“ O my son Absalom ! O Absalom , my son ,my son !” We can not wonder

,therefore, that they were

d isappoin ted and dissatisfied,and that their feel ings should

have found ven t i n the stinging reproach of Joab : “ Thouhast shamed th is d ay the faces of al l thy servants, which thisday have saved thy l ife

,and the l ives of thy sons and of thy

daughters,and the l ives of thy wives, and the l ives of thy con

cubines 3 i n that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy


they heard that the king was again s i tting in the gate,they

speedily returned 3 and as they looked upon his pal e,hag

gard,grief-worn countenance, the ir hearts, true to

'

the deepes ti nstinc ts of our nature, would be drawn to h im even more thanif he had met them with every token of unmingled gl adness .But though he had thus regained the attachment of his

troops,and quenched the fire of rebell ion which at one tim e

looked so threaten ing, David sti l l remained at Mahanaim ,

and took no s teps to return to Jerusalem . He had beencal led to the throne at firs t by the choice of the people, aswel l as by the des ignation of Jehovah, and he would not

move in the d irection of resum ing his regal d ign i ty until, i nsome form or other, th e des ire of the tr ibes had been ind ic ated to him . Hence i t was with sat isfaction that he heardhow

,almost everywhere throughout the land, the inhabitan ts

were saying one to another, “ Why speak ye not a word of

bringing the king back ?”

But there was one unaccountablei

exception to this general express ion of return ing al legiance. The peopl e of Judahwere s ilen t. Probably they fel t that they had been moredeeply committed to the revol t of Absalom than others

,inas

much as he had first unfurled his banner at Hebron 3 perhaps

,al so, they were ashamed of the part which the inhabi t

ants of Jerusalem had played i n the rebel l ion,and poss ibly

they might be afraid that David might vis i t the ir perfidy withs evere pun ishment. But, i n any case, their s il ence was verypainful to the king 3 and not wil l ing that h is own tribe, whohad firs t cal led h im to the honor of royalty

,should be back

ward now,he sen t a message to Zadok and Abiathar

,begging

them to say to the elders of Judah,

“ Why are ye the last tobring the king back to his house ? seeing the speech of al lIsrael i s come to the king, even to his house. Ye are mybrethren . Ye are my bones and my flesh : wherefore then areye the l ast to bring back the king ?” And les t there should be

THE RESTORATION OF DAVID TO H IS THRONE. 34 1

any fear of vengeance on his part,he sign ifies his in tent ion

to elevate Amasa, who had been the captain of Absalom ’sarmy

,to the pos t of commander-in -chief

,instead of Joab.

This message had the des ired effect I t bowed the heart ofal l the men of Judah

,even as the heart of one man 3 so that

they not only invi ted the king back,but also came to Gilgal

,

that they m ight meet him and bring him again to h is palace .In al l this procedure

,however, David was not actuated by

his usual sagac ity and the resul t of h is apparent preferenceof Judah over the other tribes not only provoked another rebel l ion after his return to Jerusal em

,but also prepared the

way for the d ivis ion of the kingdom ,which took place i n the

days of his grandson , Rehoboam . I t was qu ite right intheking to tarry at Mahanaim until he was asked to return instate to Jerusalem 3 i t was natural, al so, that when his owntribe was backward, he should stimulate i t to activity 3 buth e ought to have sent a S im ilar message to the elders of al lth e tr ibes, acknowledging the ir forwardness to move in h isin terests ; and when the men of Judah came to Gilgal

,to

m ake a publ ic “ progress with him from that c ity to Jerusal em, he should have ins isted upon wait ing un ti l the othe rtribes were represen ted, as they had been on the day whenfirs t he assumed the thron e over und ivided Israel . A s i twas, however, we can not but see how he wounded the selfrespect of the other tribes

,by making i t appear that the In

v ita tion of the men of Judah was of more consequence tohim than that of al l the others pu t together ; and so he madea wedge, which, though i t proved ineffectual in the hands ofSheba, the son of Bichri, needed onl y the hammer-s troke ofthe stern er and more subtl e Jeroboam to d ivide Israel fromJudah in perpetual separation . But while we mark the lackof forethought ind icated by David here

,we must not v iol ate

the order of the n arrative by in troduc ing out of i ts place therebel l ion of Sheba .


Along with the men of Judah, and accompan ied by a thousand men of Benj am in, came Shimei of Bahurim ,

and Ziba,

the steward of Mephibosheth, to whom David had SO hastilytransferred al l his master’s property. The latter was in greats tate

,surrounded by his fifteen sons, and attended by twen ty

slaves . As soon as David l anded from the ferry-boat whichbore him over the r iver, Shime i c ame near to make a humble confess ion of his guil t in cursing the k ing

,and to reques t

forgiveness . Abishai was again forward wi th his Offer to pu tthe mean—Sp iri ted and unfeel ing man to death . In the eyeof the brother of Joab

,al l th is confession of i n iqu ity, and ex

press ion of zeal in being the firs t of al l the house Of Josephto go down to meet the king

,

” was but a p iece of s icken inghypocrisy 3 and perhaps he was right, for in general the menwho are loudest in curses are themselves cringing wretches,who will swal low al l the ir formerly professed principles

,and

eat in al l thei r s trongest u tterances,if only they may save

their l ives and property . But the day of David ’s res torationwas not to be stained by any deed of blood, however righteously i t m ight have been Shed . Amnesty was to be everywhere procl aimed . So, with his u sual querulous expressionof impat ience at Abisha i’s i n terferenc e, David said, “ Whathave I to do with you

,ye sons of Zeruiah

,that ye Should th is

day be adversaries unto me ? Shal l there any man be putto death thi s day in Israel ? for do not I know that I am thisday king over Israel ?” So Shime i was reprieved 3 and theking sware that he

,at least

,would not pu t him to death— a

piece of weakness of which at a later day he saw reason torepen t.After he had safely passed the Jordan

,the venerable Bar

z il la i approached to bid him farewell . -With touching earne stness

,which Shows how deeply he .had been moved by his

great kindness, the king besought him . to‘ accompany him to

Jerusalem,and take his pl ace as one whom he would del ight

344 DAV ID, KING OF ISRAEL .

When David saw h im , he asked , in an upbraiding tone,’

“ Wherefore wentest not thou with me,Mephibosheth and

he answered, “ My lord, 0 king, my servan t dece ived me :for thy servan t said, I wi l l saddle me an ass, that I may ridethereon , and go to the king ; because thy servan t i s l am e .

And he hath slandered thy servan t un to my lord the king 3but my lord the king i s as an angel of God : do therefore

,

what is good in th in e eyes . For al l of my father’s housewere but dead men before my lord the king : yet didst thouset thy servant among them that d id eat at th in e own table.

What right therefore have I yet to cry any more un to theking ?”

This is, i ndeed, a very differen t story from that which Zibatold on the memorable day of David ’s fl ight

,and some have

supposed that i t was untrue, grounding their op in ion on thefac t

3

tha t David d id not restore al l h is l ands to Mephibo

sheth, but said, “ Thou and Ziba d ivide the l and .

” To maintain this v iew, however, seems to me to be a vind ication of

David at the expen se of truth and justice, s ince the words ofMephibosheth bear upon them the s tamp of the most thorough ingenuousness and besides

,i t i s not Meph ibosheth

,

but the sacred chron icl er himself,who tell s u s of the honest

mourn ing of the poor cripple over h is patron ’s calam ity .

Ziba had tried to make i t appear that Mephibosheth was ex

pecting to gain for h imself the kingdom ,i n the confusion

c aused by Absalom . But, as Mr. Groves has said : “ Whenthe c ircumstances on both s ides are weighed, there seems tobe no escape from . the conclusion that Mephibosheth hadbeen faithful al l through . He could have had nothing tohope for from the revolut ion , for Absalom had made no suchvow to Jonathan as that into which David had en tered 3 sofrom the success of Absalom , he could expect n o benefi t.Neither could he

,a poor

,nervous

,t im id cripple

,seriously en

tertain the idea that the people would prefer h im as the i r

THE RESTORATION OF DAV ID To HIS THRON E . 45

rul er to Absalom,who was the handsomest

,th e read ies t

,and

the most popular man in the country .

‘Moreover,h i s s tory

is con sisten t throughout. Decrep it as he was,he could not

but be dependen t upon h is servant 3 and i t i s quite’

conce iv

abl e that Ziba, who had noth ing to lose, but every thing togain

,by h is perfidy, Should , when ordered to make ready the

ass for Mephibosheth, s tart away afte r David h imself, andl eave h is master in helpl essness and m isery beh ind . Be

s ides, presum ing that he had been thus outwitted, he had nosubsequent Opportun ity of going out toWe have al ready seen how diffi cul t i t was

,even for such

fleet couriers as Jonathan and Ah imaaz,to make their way

in safety to the king 3 how hopeless, therefore, must i t haveseemed to a lam e man l ike Mephibosheth ! Thus

,having

lost the firs t Opportun ity of j oin ing David by the treacheryof Ziba

,he had been compel led to remain in the c ity 3 but

he d id al l that,i n the c ircumstances

,he could have don e .

He wen t in to deep mourn ing for h is patron ; and so soon asi t was safe for him to make h is appearance, he came ou t tomeet the king— not

,observe

,making an humbl e confession

and earnest prayer for forgiveness,l ike the c ringing Shimei ,

but in the consc iou s i ntegri ty of one who fel t that he hadbeen cruelly mal igned . But

,more than th is

,David himself

appears to have been convinced of hi s innocence, for he revokes half of the gran t that he had made to Ziba ; and h edoes i t with such symptoms of impat ienc e as betoken thathe was il l at ease i n regard to the whol e business

,and d id

not care to have any further reference made to i t.Every one knows that when he has been entrapped in to

the doing of an ungenerous or unj ust th ing, there springs upin him an irri tat ion at himself

,which i s apt to betray itself

in hastiness of speech and manner qu ite s imil ar to that man

Smith’s Dictionary , art . MEPH IBOSHETH.

I 5*


ifested by David here when he says, “ Why speakest thouany more of thy matters ? I have said

,Thou and Ziba d i

v ide the land . But both the temper and the dec ision wereunworthy of David . Why should he ven t on Mephibosheththe indignation wh ich ought to have been d irected againstZiba for deceiving h im

,and against himsel f for fall ing so

easily into Ziba’s s nare ? Moreover,why should he pro

nounce a judgment which on the very face of i t was unj ust ?

Some, i ndeed, i n the ir zeal for David ’s repu tat ion here,wil l have i t that he was simply restoring the origin al gran t

,

which they afli rm was bestowed on the cond it ion that Zibawas to t i l l the land

,and give half the proceeds to Mephibo

sheth 3 bu t th is defense of the king i s evidently untenable,s ince

,from the reply of Mephibosheth

,i t i s clear that some

thing was taken by Ziba which he had not enj oyed before .Why should the crippl e have said

,Yea

,l e t h im take al l

,

”

if someth ing had no t been taken from h im wh ich Ziba hadnot h itherto possessed ? Hence, however reluctantly, we arecompel led to come to the conclus ion that David here behaved himself most unroyally

,and gave a dec ision which

was a manifes t compromise,and that

, too, i n a matter Of j ust ice

,where no such comprom ise ought to have been adm issi

ble. I f Mephibosheth spake the truth the whole of his est ate should have been restored 3 i f Ziba 5 s tatemen t had beencorrec t

,no part of i t should have been retu rned ; but as i t

was,the king, in h is weak desire to please al l parties, did a

grievous inj ust ice to one who was perhaps more S incerely attached to him than any inmate of his palace, and who oughtto have been specially beloved by him for his father’s sake .Oh,

'

this tr imming and time-serv ing, th is desire of peace atany price

,th is pol it ical expediency a nd wise d iplomacy,

which seeks above and beyond al l th ings to keep al l sweet,how much i t has darkened the reputat ion even of good men,and re tarded the onward march of moral ity and rel igion


of the controversy, a Benj am ite, Sheba by n ame, blew oncemore the trumpet of revol t, rais ing the shout, “ To yourtents

,O Israel . ” This act of h is was the Spark which

, fal ling on the already exc ited mul ti tude, kindled them in to re

bel l ion ; so the Israel i tes gathered around Sheba, whil e themen of Judah, cleaving to the king, carried h im i n safety toJerusalem , where; having first marked h is d ispleasure at th egu il t of h is concubines with Absalom by consign ing them toa l iving widowhood, he immediately took steps for the crushing of the n ew insurrection . Pass ing over Joab

,who had

hitherto been commander of the forces,he commissioned

Amasa to l ead h is troops agains t the enemy . But whetherthat officer

,so recen tly i n rebell ion against David

,had not

yet gained the confidence of the king’s forces,so that they

were slow in gathering round him , or whether he was secre tly i n sympathy wi th Sheba

’s revol t,and

,real ly wish ing i t

success, put Off t im e to give i t s trength

,does not appear.

I n any case,he tarried longer than the t ime appo in ted ; and

David,fearing that the rebell ion m ight become even more

form idable than Absalom ’s, comm iss ioned Abishai to headhi s troops

,and pursue Sheba before he could intrench him

sel f within a walled ci ty .

I t i s observable that al l through thi s affair there is a studied sl igh t of Joab 3 yet that unscrupulous leader s aw hisOpportun i ty ; for, taking rank under h is brother, he wen tout along with the king’s body -guard and al l the m ightymen ; and meeting Amasa at the great stone in Gibeon , heslew him in the same cold-blooded and treacherous fash ionas he had formerly d ispatched Abner. On that occasion

,

however,he had the pretext of avenging the death of his

brother 3 th is t ime the deed was one of envy and j ealousy.

He could not endure that any one should supersede h im i nthe post which he had so long fi l led, and, with the kiss of

pretended friendship on h is l ip, he smote h is adversary with

THE RESTORATION OF DAV ID To H IS THRONE . 349

such vehemence that the blood stained “ his own girdl e thatwas upon h is loins

,and his shoes that were upon his feet .”

This horrible murder brought the men of David ’s army to astand . Not until the body of Amasa was removed fromthe ir path and covered with a cloth

,would they consen t to

move forward . Thereafter Joab assumed the command,and

fol lowed Sheba to Abel of Beth-maachah, a town of someimportance i n the north of Palest ine, in the terr itory of thetribe of Naphtal i . Here he prevailed on a wise woman

,

whose influence was great over the inhabi tants, to p rocurethe death of Sheba ; and having rece ived evidence that thetraitor had been executed

,he blew the trumpet, recall ing his

men,and returned to Jerusalem to tel l David that the t e

bell ion was at an end . The n ews,we may be sure, was

more welcome than the messenger who carried i t 3 for thusagain

,in spi te of hi s determination to the con trary, he had

been laid under deep obl igation to Joab,whose ascendency

over h im had so chafed h is sp iri t during h is ent ire re ign .

There was nothing said by the king abou t the murder ofAmasa, but David

’s s il ence would be to Joab more expressive even than speech 3 and we know how keen ly he fel t h i sn ephew’s cruel ty by the allusions which he made to i t on hisdeath-bed, and the commands which he gave to Solomonconcern ing h im .

But now, l eaving this record of blood, l et u s turn and lookat the Psalms which have been general ly regarded as belonging to the era ofAbsalom ’s rebell ion . Al ready we havereferred to the beautiful morn ing and even ing hymns, so expressive of calm confidence in God

,which David composed

,

as is commonly bel ieved,i n connection with his fl ight from

Jeru salem,and which are numbered 4th and 3d i n our Psal

ter ; but there are others wh ich must i n no wise be overlooked . Indeed , as we have before seen, a t ime of affl ictioni s ever

,i n David ’s case

,a most prol ific t ime in sp iri tual


song. I t i s the stroke that brings sound from the lyre 3 andwhen the soul-harp is rightly strung, the touch ofGod ’s chasten ing hand wil l ever draw from i t the sweetest music .

We are not surprised, therefore, to find that many Psalmsare traced to the c ircumstances and experiences of Davidduring his son ’s revol t 3 and a brief allus ion to them ,

whil e

ye t the inc iden ts of the n arrative are fresh i n our recol lec

t ion,may help u s to understand the ir charac ter bette r than

we have dOne before . The sth Psalm,which i s much akin

i n tone and sentimen t to that which precedes,may wel l

enough have been written on the same occas ion 3 and i t i sin teresting to note how, amidst the exc itemen t of his fl ight

,

and the plott ings and counterplottings of the t ime; he preserves the calm composure of confidence i n God .

“ But asfor me

,I wil l come in to thy house i n the mul ti tude of thy

mercy : and in thy fear wil l I worsh ip toward thy holy temple . Lead me,O Lord , i n thy righteousness because ofmin eenem ies 3 make thy way straight before my and again :“ Let al l those that put the ir trust i n thee rej oice : l et themever Shou t for j oy, because thou defendest them .

“ Forthou , Lord , wil t bless the righteous 3 with favor wil t thoucompass him as with a shield .

” To the same trying hourbelongs the 1 43d Psalm,

which,read in the l ight of the h is

tory,becomes ful l of touch ing beauty and devout pathos.

Remembering the conn ect ion between h is s in and his ca

lami ties, he begs God not to en ter in to j udgmen t with h im,

because i n hi s Sight no flesh l iving could be j ustified 3 then,plain t ively describing the evi l done to him by his enem ies

,

he fal l s back on the memory of former t imes,and encour

aged by the token s of God’s mercy which he had then re

c e ived,“ he says

,

“ I stretch forth my hands unto thee : mysoul th irsteth after thee

,as a th irs ty land .

” Thereafter,i n a

strai n of earnest suppl icat ion,he calls for help

,saying

,

“ Hearme speed ily

,O Lord 3 my spiri t fail eth :

‘hide ' not thy face

3 5 2 DAV ID,KI NG OF ISRAEL .

vindicate the honor of his moral government by Showing hisj ustice in their chastisemen t. But Paul prayed after thatfash ion

,as well as David, and no one wil l accuse h im of act

ing unworthily of the Gospel . Has he not wri tten thus “ Al

exander the Coppersmith d id me much evi l . The Lord re

ward him accord ing to his works ?” and do we not find thatthe sternest denunc iat ion s of j udgmen t against God ’s enem ies cam e from the l ip s of the meek and holy Jesus h imself ? Hence we have no d ifficulty about these Psalms

,more

than about any other passages of Scripture which declarethat God is set for the destruction of the wicked , and for themain tenance of truth and righteousness 3 for, as Dr. Al exander has said, “ Whatever i t i s right for God to do in j udgment may be properly enough asked from God i n prayer byhis people

,provided only they ask i t from a regard to God ’s

honor and glory,and not ou t of personal resentmen t .”

Another feature of these Ahi thophel Psalm s must be Spec ially alluded to . They are al l Messian ic

,and are quoted

or referred to by the writers of the N ew Testament as pred ictions which had the ir complete fulfil lmen t i n the betrayaland crucifixion of the Lord . Nor need we marvel at th isfor David was a typical person ; and in s inging of hi s owncalam ities, the Holy Ghost so gu ided h is Spiri t that he employed language which

,though i n a lower sense appropriate

to himself,does ye t find its highes t s ign ificance in Jesu s .

Whensoever, therefore, we sing them now, we can not butfeel that a greater than David i s here .During h is soj ourn at Mahanaim

,ere ye t he had been In

vited back to Jerusalem,i t i s not unl ikely that he composed

and sang the 4 2 d and 43d Psalms, and perhaps also the 84th,al l of which refer to the privation which he experienced inbe ing cut off from God ’s sanctuary. We saw that when h is

Commentary on the Ps alms , by J . A . A lexander, D .D .

THE RESTORATION OF DAV ID To H IS THRONE. 3 5 3

infan t was taken from h im,

’ he wen t firs t to the house of

God to worsh ip ; and in the sad days which succeeded thedeath of Absalom he must ofte n have lamen ted that he wasunable to approach the place where God pecul iarly 'dwe l t,and he might have said, “ As the hart panteth after thewater—brooks

,so panteth my soul after thee

,O God . My

soul th irsteth for God,for the l iving God : when shal l I

come and appear before God ?” If we are right i n assigning this date to that beau tiful ode

,what new significance i s

thereby given to the words,

“ Deep cal leth unto deep at thenoise of thy water-spouts : al l thy waves and thy bil lows aregone over me .

” Could we have a be tter description thanthat of the agony in the chamber Over Mahanaim

’

s gate ? orcould we have a finer calm after that s tormful experiencethan that presen ted by the very n ext words “ Yet th e Lordwil l command his loving-kindness in the day-t ime

,and in the

n igh t hi s song shal l be with me,and my prayer unto the God

ofmy l ife ?” while th e recurring refrai n comes with i ts soothing cadence, and hushes the soul to peace : “ Why art thoucast down, 0 my soul ? and why art t hou disqu ieted withinme ? hope thou i n God : for I Shal l yet praise h im

,who i s

the health of my coun ten ance,and my God .

” The 84th i ss im il ar ; and as the lack of a bless ing makes us value i t themore, we can wel l understand how the good man s ings, “ Aday in thy courts is better than a thousand . I had ratherbe a door-keeper i n the house of my Go d, than to dwel l i nthe ten ts of wickedness .” The 1 44th Psalm,

also,i s held by

many to belong to this era, and was most probably wri ttenafte r the entire suppression of Absalom ’s rebel l ion

,and of the

revol t of Sheba, which fol lowed so close upon i t. He makespubl ic thanksgiving to God for his del iverance 3 and afterdwel l ing m inutely on the variou s e lemen ts of national pros

pe rity, which he earnestly suppl icates for h is country, heconcludes in a fin e sp iri t of patriot ism

,ripen ing into p iety

,


Happy i s that people, that i s in such a case yea, happy i sthat people

,whose God is the Lord .

”

Will ingly woul d I have l ingered longer over these sacredlyrics

,which acqu ire for us such new pathos when we

pl ace them in the sett ing of the h istory out of which theysprung

,but I must forbear. Let m e conclude

,as usual

,by

glean ing a few prac tical lesson s from the in c iden ts whichhave th is even ing been before our attention .

Let us l earn , i n the firs t place,from Barz illai

’

s answer tothe king, to test the al lurements of the world by the quest ion , How long have I to l ive The venerable ch ief fel tthat the l ife of the court was not for one l ike h im , who hadalready one foot i n the grave ; and with a combination of

wisdom and courtesy which i s far from common , he determ ined to remain i n h i s o ld home

,and

,after a brief season

,

to be buried in the sepulchre of his fathers . Now, thoughwe may not have reached the age of fourscore years

,there

i s much in his question which can not fai l to be suggestiveto every one of us . The longest l ife is bu t brief, after all .Can we afford

,then

,to fri tter away our hours in idlen ess

,

or to waste them in rio t and d issipation ? Even if we weresure that we Should l ive to be of the age of Methusaleh

,i t

would st il l be criminal i n us to al low our t ime to pass unimproved ; but how much more i s th is the case, when the utmostl im i t of our days i s fourscore years, and the average durationof l ife much shorter ? I s i t not t rue that, for any thing weknow

,many among us may be to-n igh t much n earer death

than was Barz i l la i when he spake thus pensively to David ?and yet what are we doing with our days and n ights ? Whathave we to Show for the years of the past 3 and what preparation have we made for e tern ity ? I f we were to be hereforever 3 if we were not moral and accountable be ings 3 orif the presen t s tate of existence were not given to us to Se tt le our eternal destiny

,we m ight have some excu se for de


e ry day,to the grand ambition of “ attain ing the measure of

the statu re of the perfec t man i n Christ Jesus .” And whenany one seeks to tempt u s from this holy quest, l et u s re

ply,

“ Life i s too short for the work I have on hand . Iam doing a great work, and I can not come down. WhyShould the work cease whil e I leave i t and come down toyou ?”

But we may learn also, from the bearing Of Mephibo

sheth, how to be meek under a fal se accusation . We havethe deepest sympathy for the son of Jonathan in the c ircumstances in which here he was placed

,and we can not help

feel ing that David was not acting l ike hi s usual self when hepronounced h is hasty dec is ion regarding him . He had forgotten at the momen t al l that he had owed to hi s early friend .

He had lost Sight, for the t ime, of his lov ing covenan t by the

ston e Ezel,when the two heroes wept so long upon each o th

er’s n ecks . Even if Mephibosheth had been guil ty of all thatZiba had laid to his charge, the memory of Jonathan mighthave pleaded for forgiveness 3 but when , as I think I havesatisfac torily shown , the crippled prince was real ly innocen t,David ’s treatmen t of him was in a marked degree ungenerous . Yet how nobly Mephibosheth behaves ! He does notcare for h is own in te rests . He seeks no revenge on Ziba .

I t i s enough for h im that the king has come to h is own

again . He is even content to be under suspic ion,if but Da

vid may be prosperous . How beautiful i s al l th is ! I t t eminds us of his father’s nobleness i n giving up al l cl aim tothe throne

,and being wi l l ing to be David’s subord inate 3 and

in s imi lar c ircumstances we may im itate his demeanor withadvantage .

We need not expect to pass through the world without being sometimes fal sely accused , and wrongfully treated . Hewho can not err has said to h is followers

,

“ Woe unto youwhen al l men speak wel l of you 3

’ and we have reason to

THE RESTORATION OF DAV ID To HI S THRON E . 3 5 7

fear that there i s something defective i n us,or am iss with us

,

if every body is on our s ide . Only l et us see that,when we

are accused, we are accused falsely ; and that, when we dosuffer, we suffer wrongful ly, for Christ’s sake and then wemay take i t not only pat iently, but j oyful ly. I t wil l be righ tand proper for u s, l ike Mephibosheth here, to give the truevers ion of affairs ; but if after that inj ustice should comeupon us

,l e t u s bear i t meekly, remembering Him who when

he was revi led, reviled not again , and who when he suffered ,threatened not, but committed h imself to h im that j udgethrighteously.

” He who i s always s tand ing on h is own v ind ic at ion, and insist ing on h aving h imself pu t right, wil l do h imsel f and the cause more harm than good . Let h im be sti l l

,

and God wil l v ind ic ate h im . I f men wil l not take h is word,

l et h im wai t unt i l God proves h is truthful n ess. The Christ ian has always his court of appeal in heaven

,and God wil l

v ind icate h im at l ength . Let him even consen t to be defrauded

,therefore , rather than insis t on what -would be only

j ustice . God wil l take c are of him 3 “ for curses,l ike chick

ens,go home to roost,” and false accusations, l ike the boom

erang,go.back to the hand by wh ich they have been flung.

From the Psalm s which were written by David in th iscrisi s of his h istory, we may learn how prec ious a solacecommun ion with God is to the bel iever in the t ime of trial .We have repeatedly seen how

,in days of calami ty and dark

ness,i t was the habi t of David’s soul to fal l back in to the

arms of Jehovah . A t other t imes he m ight forget the Lord,

but i n h is hours of trouble, he was driven for shel ter beneaththe shadow of the almighty wings 3 ay, even when , on an occasion l ike this, he could not but feel that hi s m iseries werethe consequences of h is own s ins

,he came

,i n humble pen i

tenc e and confidence,to Jehovah

,and was “ i n no wise cas t

ou t .”

I do not know i f there be, even in the Word of God i tself,


a more prec ious man ifestat ion of the magnan imous mercy ofJehovah to the pen i ten t bel iever than that which i s furn ishedby his treatment of David at this t ime . Consider what thisman has done 3 th ink that al l th e evils which he i s now en

during are the resul ts of his own “aggravated transgress ion ;yet behold how God Soothes, sustain s, and restores him 3 sothat he can Sing

,

“ Why art thou cas t down , 0 my soul ? andwhy art thou d isqu ieted with in me ? hOpe thou in God : for IShal l yet praise h im

,who i s the heal th of my coun tenance,

and my God .

” Who dares to say after_th is that the Lord

is a hard maste r, or an austere one ? O r who needs despair,

after such an exhib it ion of h is grace as this ? I S there abacksl ider here to-n igh t

,who

,i n the thicken ing of calam ities

around him,i s m ade to remember his in iquit ies

,and to groan

under the burden of his gu i l t,l e t h im re turn un to the Lord

l ike David, and he wil l be rece ived as David was . I t i s astrue now as i t was of Old

,that “ he giveth songs in the n ight,”

and,amidst the man ifold mus ic of this harmonious un iverse,

there i s non e so sweet in the ear of Jehovah as the n igh tingale song that comes tri l l ing from a pen iten t heart -in them idnight of i ts tribulat ion . I t i s bu t natural for the prosperous soul to S ing when , l ike the l ark, i t i s soaring up to thevery gate of heaven 3 but when the spiri t i s i n darkness, andfinds peace i n pen i tence and trust

,the gush of music that

comes wel ling up from its depths i s more than n atural— it i sa triumph of grace 3 and as such i s ever swee ter -in the earsof God .

“ The broken Sp iri t i s to h im a pleasing sacrifice .

”

Will no repentan t one offe r such a sacrifice to h im to-n ight ?

And thou,tempest-tossed and distracted brother, whose trial s

have wel l -n igh overwhelmed thee, though thou canst nott rac e them to any part icul ar c ause, take heart from David

’sexperience . He who sustained the Psalmis t wi l l n ever fai lthee

,nor forsake thee . The sure anchorage on which David

rode out even this terrific storm wil l hold thee safe . Cheer

XX .

EAM I N E AND PE STI LEN CE

2 SAMUEL xxii. 3 xxiv.

FTER David ’s restoration to the throne, Palest ine wasdesolated by a fam ine which lasted for three years .

From the pecul iar character of our cl imate, we can scarcelyreal ize the magn i tude of such a calam ity, which was probably caused by drought 3 but th e description given of a s im il ar vis i tat ion in the days of El ij ah, as wel l as the accountswhich have been given with in the l ast ten years, of the terr ible sufferings which were endured from the same cause bythe inhab itants of Oris sa and Rajpootana, may help us somewhat to unders tand what an Eastern famine is . During theseweary years no rain had fal len to refresh the thirsty land 3 nofields had waved with rich luxuriance 3 no barn-yards hadbeen fi l led with stores of grain . The shouting of the v in tage

,the song of the reaper, and the mirth of harvest-home

had not been heard in the land , and want had s tamped eachhuman countenance with its sharp

,deep die . Many of the

inhab itants had perished,and everywhere were weeping wid

ows wringing the ir hands in despai r, and orphaned childrenmourn ing for paren ts whom they would see no more .I n the m idst of this wide-spread desolat ion , the people

thought Of God 3 and David was only represen ting thei r deepyearn ing of heart when he wen t to inquire of the Lord whatwas the cause of the terribl e c alam i ty which had come uponthem . A proud ph ilosophy, i n these modern days, wouldsay that al l th is was the meres t supersti tion 3 in asmuch asal l such th ings as famine and pest il ence make the i r appear

FAMINE AND PESTILENCE . 3 6 1

ance in accordance with n atural l aws, and have no connect ion with the moral characte r of a community 3 whil e prayerfor the ir removal, being a virtual request that God should interfere with the Operat ion of these l aws and work a miracl e i nthe ir suspens ion

,must ever be i n vain . But there are th ings

deeper and truer than any such philosophy, and among theseI pl ace the Sp iritual inst inc ts of the human heart. Why is i t

,

we are disposed to ask,that i n almost al l l anguages pestil ence

has been called by a name which— l ike our own word plague,

which means a stroke— directly points to God ’s agency i ni ts appearance ? and whence comes i t that, when a people areenduring such a calamity

,there is a general thought of God

among them,and their resolution becomes that of Jeremiah :

“ Let us search,and try our ways, and turn again un to the

Lord ?” Do not these th ings, and others l ike them ,poin t to

the fact that,by the mystic intu iti on s of the soul, God is rec

ogn iz ed i n al l such v is i tat ions ? and while we take in to ac

coun t the l aws of external nature,shal l we refuse to pay re

gard to the n ature that i s with in us ? Besides,th is assertion

of the supremacy of l aw,which is so characteri st ic of some

schools of philosophy,i s, afte r all, a v irtual atheism . For if

we admit that there is a person al God,and that he is i n any

real sense the moral governor of mankind,the conclus ion i s

i rres ist ibl e, that he regulates the occurrences of th e physicalun iverse with a View to the moral train ing of his human creatures . How he does so , whil e yet the order of the phys icalun iverse is main tained

,we can not explain ; that he does so,

must be adm itted by us frankly,unless we make hi s provi

dence a nonent ity,and his personal existence a delusion . A s

Isaac Taylor has remarked,This i s

,i n fact, the great m ira

cle of providence,that no m iracles are n eeded to accompl ish

i ts pu rposes .” I t i s al l very wel l to say that there can be notrue nexus between a moral evi l and a physical calam ity

,and

I gran t at once that there is no such immed iate sequence in1 6


such a case, as there i s between a phys ical cause and a physi cal effect ; but there is a very real connection for al l that.The disobedience of your ch ild does not cause the infl ict ionof pun ishmen t on h im by you in the same way that the fal ling of a Spark on gunpowder causes an explosion . But thereis a very in timate relation ship between the two

,notwithstand

ing 3 and i t i s a rel at ionsh ip establ ished by the moral character of the paren tal governmen t. Now

,the connection be

tween men ’s disobed ienc e and God ’s infl ict ion of chastisemen t upon them through his physical l aws i s of a s im ilarsort. Nor let any one say that moral evi l should be vis itedonly with a pun ishment that Shall tel l only on the moral partof man ’s nature . We reach the moral through the physical .The pun ishment

,to tel l upon the ind ividual

,must be inflict

ed where it wil l be most fel t 3 and j ust as the paren t seeks tobenefit h is ch ild morally

,by infl ict ing on h im some physical

suffering,so God

,i n h is government of the world

,checks the

s in s ofmen by sending upon communit ies the phys ic al c alami tie s of pest il ence, fam ine, and the l ike . I do no t deny

,of

course,that these calam ities come through the ordinary op

e ration of l aw 3 what I affi rm is, that More laws leave been so

adj us ted by t/ze .Dz'

vz'

ne Governor of tlze wor la'

,tlza t t/zrouglz

i lzem,ana

’zoz

'

lfiont an3) miraculous in terference wil l; t/zenz, fie

vz'

s z'

ls mora l evz’

l wit/i p /iy s z’

ea l efiastz'

seznen t ; and so i t i s notsuperstit ion

,but rather the truest p ie ty and the h ighest ph i

losophy, which leads a people, under such a vis i tat ion as thatof fam ine, to turn to Jehovah, saying, Show us whereforethou contendest with u s .These general principl es wil l hold in any country and i n

any age,but they had Spec ial force among the Jews

,from the

fac t that the sanct ions of the covenan t,~in terms of which

they held the l and of promise, were mainly temporal andphys ical . The bless ings promised as the reward of the irobedience were princ ipally such as could be enj oyed on


rece ived from the sacred oracle, and the action wh ich hetook thereon , in troduce n ew question s whose solution i s attended with much greater difficul ty . The Lord an swered

,

“ I t i s for Saul and for his bloody house,because he slew

the Gibeon i tes . The name of this peopl e brings up theold story of the decept ion which the ir fathers played on

Joshua and the tribes when they were taking possession ofthe land of Canaan . Disgu is ing themselves with old garmen ts and clouty shoes

,and taking old sacks upon their

asses,and wine -bottles

,Old and ren t and b ound up

,they

came to Joshua at Gilgal ; and making i t appear that theyhad traveled a long distance

,they desired to form a leag I

'

I e

with h im . The unsuspic ious leader fe l l i n to the trap wh ichthey had l aid for him ; and though the d iscovery of the ircraft iness natural ly provoked the peopl e

,the princes coun

seled that they should be faithful to the ir oath,saying

,

“ We

have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel : now

therefore we m ay not touch them . This we wil l do to them 3we wil l even l et them l ive, l es t wrath be on us , because of

the oath which we sware unto them . And the princes saidun to them

,Let them l ive 3 but l et them be hewers of wood

and drawers of water unto‘

al l the congregation .

” Thisproposal was agreed to ; and thus i t happened that, thoughthey belonged to the gui l ty race of the Amori tes

,these Gib

eon ites l ived for four hundred years among the tr ibes of Israel

,i n peaceful servi tude and uncomplain ing submission .

But Saul , for some reason or other, conce ived an aversion tothem

,and set h imself to accompl ish the ir exterm ination .

Perhaps i n on e of those spasmod ic fits of rel igiou s enthus iasm to which we saw he was so l iabl e , he may have imagined that zeal for the honor of God requ ired h im to root outthe Gibeon ites from the land

, or more probably he des iredto get possess ion of the ir l ands for h imself and hi s favorites ;but in any case

,i n deal ing thus with the men of Gibeon , he

FAMINE AND PESTILENCE . 3 65

d i s tinc tly violated— withou t any justifiable reason— the covenan t made with them by Joshua . We have no ment ion

,i n

the h istory of Saul,of thi s raid made by h im upon the Gib

eonites,and we hear of i t now for the firs t time after he had

been dead and buried for th irty years . But l et no one th inki t strange that the pen alty Should come thu s, in famine, uponan en tire n ation

,after a new generat ion had sprung up .

FOr a nat ion ’s history is a uni t ; and as there c an be n osuch thing as retribution of a n ation i n the future state

,i t

fol lows that if pun ishment for n ational s ins i s to be infl i ctedat all

,i t must fal l i n the subsequen t earthly history of the

n at ion that committed them .

‘

The g eneration which wasal ive in France at the eras of the massacre

'

of St . Bartholomew and the revocation of the Edic t of Nantes

,was a dif

feren t one from that which l ived at the t ime of the fi rs t Revo lution 3 yet in the even ts of the l atter, with i ts Reign of

Terror and rivers of blood,we have the undoubted conse

quences of th e former. Many generations have come andgone in Spain s ince the days of Phil ip and the great Armada, yet we can not doubt that the m iserable cond ition of

that l and for more than a cen tury— a condition out of whichi ts inhabitants find i t hard even n ow to emerge— was due tothe s ins of those who knew not the day of thei r v is itat ion

,

and suppressed the Protestan tism which,but for the Inqu i

s i t iou,would have arisen among them

,and enabled them to

l ead the van of European progress . The Engl ish occupantsof Ind ia i n 1 8 5 7 were no t the same as those who

,under

Cl ive,and Hast ings, and others , so unrighteously obtained

possess ion of l arge portion s of that empire 3 n ay, they werei n many instances men of another order and a nobler n ature ; yet upon these, ay, even upon the heads of saintedmissionaries who repudiated and condemned the cruel ty andc raft of the firs t i nvaders, the terribl e Nemesis of the mutinyd id fall . Hence there i s noth ing out of keeping with God ’s


usual procedure,in the fact that forty years after a national

s in had been committed by Israel under Saul,the pun ish

men t came,and fel l upon a generation differen t from that

which had been gu il ty Of the wrong. Though the generation was differen t, th e n ation was the same . God i s indeed“ a j ealous God

,v isi ting the in iquitie s of the fathers upon

the ch ildren unto the th ird and fourth generation .

I t may be asked, however, why should such chastisemen tcom e upon the tribes of Israel for Saul ’s massacre of theGibeonites, rather than for h is murder of the priests ofNob ?and perhaps a satisfactory an swer may be found in the following considerat ions : F i rs t

,the peopl e d id not sympathize

with Saul i n h is attack upon the priests,but were so dread

ful ly shocked by his impiety that none save Doeg,the al ien

Edomite, could be found to carry h is murderous order on

that occas ion in to execution . I n regard to the Gibeon ites,

however, as Saul i s here said to have sl ai n them “ i n h i s zealto the ch ildren of I srael and Judah,

” i t seems l ikely that thepeople general ly were on his s ide, and aiders and abettorsi n h is crime

,if no t

,indeed, the first suggesters of i t. Sec

ond, i t i s probable that even at the moment of the famine,the peopl e

,or at least some portion of them , were actually

enj oying the fruits of the destruc tion of the Gibeon ites .This

,at l eas t

,i s the Opin ion of Dr. Kitto,* i ndorsed and

adopted by Dr. Bla ikie 3 and i t i s presumably correc t. You

remember that when Saul saw David’s party growing strongi n the l and

,he said to his courtiers

,

“ Hear now, ye Benj am ites

,will th e son of Jesse give every one of you fields and

vineyards,and make you captain s of hundreds and captain s

of thousands ?” Now this impl ies that he had made suchgifts to some

,if not to al l of them . But where d id he get

these fields and vineyards ? They could not be part of his

ale “ Da ily B ible R eadings , vol . i ii. , P-479


the obligation held for many generations,and was never re

laxed until the offender h imself, or, if he was dead , h is represen ta tive, had paid the fatal ransom . By the Mosaic lawth is custom was regul ated

,and some of i ts

'

most obj ectionable features removed through the provis ion of the c it ies ofrefuge 3 but among the Gibeon i tes, who did not hold themselves bound by Jewish law

,the ancien t practic e appears to

have been main tained in al l i ts original stringen cy. Hence,

knowing that n o real removal of the ir grievance was poss ibl e withou t appeal ing to them

,David inquired what they de

manded as a satisfac tion,and the ir answer

,whil e ind icating

that they were wil l ing to restric t themselves with in narrowl imits, also decl ared that wi th in these l im its they were perfec tly in exorabl e, and would accept of no pecun iary ran som .

They had a cl aim on the whol e n at ion , but they would confine themselves to the fam ily of Sau l 3 and so they repl ied,The man that consumed us

,and that devised against us

,

that we should be destroyed from remain ing in any of thecoasts of Israel , l e t seven men of hi s sons be del ivered untous

,and we wil l hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of

Saul , whom the Lord d id choose .” With a sad heart we may

be sure Dav id said, “ I wil l give them .

” Then came thepainful work of selecting the v ict ims . Of course Mephibo

sheth and his household were saved,for David remembered hi s

covenan t wi th Jonathan 3 but he took two of the son s of Ri zpah , that one of Saul ’s concub ines concern ing whom the dispute arose between Ishbosheth and Abner

,and also five sons

of Merab, the eldest daughter of Saul , who had been weddedto Adriel

,the son of Barzil lai, the Mehol ath ite, one whom

we must carefully dis tinguish from the venerable ch ief ofRogel im

,whose kindness David had so warmly apprec ia ted .

Bitte r must have been the anguish of the homes on whichth is d ire calamity al ighted 3 nor may we a ttempt

'

to depic tthe agony of the paren ts

,as their loved ones were torn from

FAMINE AND PESTILENCE . 3 69

their embrace and given up to death . Suffice i t to say thatthe Gibeon i tes pu t them to death

,and hung thei r bod ies on

gibbets on the h il l oc ibeah,that pl ace having been select

ed because it was the head-quarters of the house of Saul .But not unattended were these seven d ismal scaffolds ; for

day and n ight, through long weeks, a femal e form fl itted toand fro among them

,l avish ing spec ial care upon the bod ies

of the two son s of Saul 3 and as we See the haggard Rizpah,with her lean and bony hands, scaring away the raven s byday and the wild beasts by n igh t

,our hearts are fi ll ed with

p ity for her son less desolation . What a deep foun tain i s amother’s heart ! With a l ove s tronger than death

,she cared

for no privat ions 3 she feared no dangers 3 she heeded nohardships

,i f only she might save the bod ies of her son s from

desecration ! Such passionate devotion must have movedevery heart ; and when David heard of i t, he took steps tosecure decen t burial for the bodie s of those whom the Gibeon ites had slai n ; and whil e engaged in th is Office of kindness

,he bethought h imsel f of the bones of Saul and Jona

than,which he caused to be exhumed from the ir resting

place at Jabesh,and to be in terred in the family sepulchre

of Kish , Then,th is atonement having been made, the rain

descended,i n token that God was entreated for the ,

land .

I have refrained from any remark on the character of thi swhol e tran saction

,because, from our ignorance of Eastern

customs general ly,and espec ial ly of that rude form Of j us

t ice prevalen t among the O rien tal s cal led blood-revenge, weare

,to a great exten t

,i ncapac i tated from pronouncing j udg

men t upon i t. Evidently,however

,the whol e th ing was re

garded by David,by the Gibeon ites

,and by the members of

Saul ’s fam ily themselves, as a j udic ial affai r. We read of nov indict ive violence on the part of the Gibeon i tes in the manner i n wh ich the vict ims were put to death ; we hear of noresistance to their demands on the side of the fam ily of Saul 3

1 6*


and we see i n Dav id ’s demeanor al l through a kind of constra in t

,which indicates that he wen t through with i t only

with the deepest reluctance, and under a sense of the strongest obl igation . Indeed, the enti re n egotiation bears a resemblance to the extrad ition of crim inal s by one coun try to an

o ther,that they may be deal t with accord ing to the l aws Of

the realm i n which their crime was committed,the only d if

ference be ing that here the descendants of the criminal s wereheld to be their representat ives, and deal t with as if they hadthemselves committed the evi l deed 3 whereas in our mode rn t imes

,the criminal h imself can alone be made amena

ble to the l aw. Th is d ifference, however, arises from the pecul iar custom to which I have adverted

,and the fact that

,af

te r the execution of Saul ’s descendan ts,God was entreated

for the land,appears conclus ive that thei r death was regard

ed by him as a publ ic vind icat ion of that j ustic e which Sau lhad outraged by his attack upon the Gibeon i tes .After thi s sore fam ine

,the land of Israel was again ex

posed to the evil s of war. David ’s old enemies, the Phil ist ines

,took the field again s t h im once more

,having in their

ranks some men of gigantic stature and great strength, he

l onging to the family of Gol iath . One of these, by n ameI shbi—benob, pressed so sore against the king in a hand—tohand encounter

,that

,but for the interference of Abishai, Da

vid would t have been sl ain . The old courage was i n himsti l l

,but the old s trength was gone 3 so h is army besought

h im not to run such risk again,and prevai led on him not to

take the field i n person any more 3 but they d id not fight thel ess bravely because their chief was not with them ,

for i n oneor two decis ive encounters the Phil i stines seem to have beenenti rely subdued . Yet David ’s troubles d id not end withthe defeat of his enemies

,for a sore pesti lenc e came upon

the l and,which cut off seven ty thousand of the inhab itants .

The accoun t of th is v is i tat ion , i ndeed, i s not given unt i l the


glory which God designed to pun ish arfd repress . I n thi smatter Joab

,s trangely enough, Seems to have been wiser than

David,for he not only protested again s t the taking of the

census,but

,after he was commanded to carry i t out

,he un o

dertook i t with und isguised reluctance, and (as we learn from1 Chron . xxi . , 6 ) left i t unfinished , by decl in ing to take thenumbers of the tribes of Lev i and Benj am in . Indeed

,i t i s

affirmed that “ the king’s word was abominabl e unto h im .

”

N ay, more, David himself appears to have shrunk from adding up the total

,for i t i s recorded ( 1 Chron . xxvi i . , 2 3 ) that

he d id not take the number of them from twenty years ~old

and under : because the Lord had said he would increase Israel l ike to the stars of the heavens .” Thus th is census wasnever fin ished 3 and i t is solemnly said, “ Neither was thenumber pu t in the account of the Chron icles Of king David .

”

F i rs t among the th ings that h indered i t there came a deepfeel ing Of compunction into David ’s own heart . This wasfol lowed by a frank acknowledgment of his gu il t to God, andan earnes t . appeal for mercy. Then the prophet Gad ap

peared, offering h im,i n God ’s n ame

,a cho ice of three calam

ities— fam ine,pesti len ce

,or war, and saying to h im ,

“ Advisenow

,and see what answer I shal l re turn to h im that sen t me .

”

With devou t wisdom and simple trust,David put himselfand

his people in to Jehovah ’s hand,us ing these memorable words

,

Let us fal l now in to the hand of the Lord 3 for his merc iesare great : and let me not fal l i nto the hand of man .

”

So the pesti lence came— a plague,a black death

,a chol

era,Or other form of dreadful epidem ic . In the m idst of

i ts ravages David set out, as i t would seem , to inqu ire of

the Lord at the Old Tabernacl e at Gibeon 3* but when he gotas far as the summ it. of Moriah, then occupied as a threshing-floor by Araunah, or O rnan , a chief among the Jebu

I Chron . xx i. , 2 8—30.

FAMINE AND PESTILENCE . 3 7 3

s i tes,he was me t by a Solemn Vis ion . He beheld the an

gel of the Lord stand ing between heaven and earth, havinga drawn sword in his hand

,which was stretched over Jeru

sal em . This at once arrested his progress,and he

,and they

who were with h im,fel l upon the ir faces

,while he cried out,

i n lowly lamen tation I S i t not I that commanded the people to be numbered ? even I i t i s that have s inned and doneevi l i ndeed ; bu t as for these sheep, what have they done ?l e t th ine h and

,I pray thee

,O Lord my God

,be on me

,and

on my father’s house ; but not on thy people, that theyshould be plagued .

” I n answer to this ferven t appeal , Gadwas commiss ioned to say to David

,

“ GO up, rear an al tarunto the Lord in the thresh ing-floor of Araunah the Jehusite .” In obed ience to th is inj unction

,the king wen t for

ward to negotiate with the Jebus ite for the purchase of th eplace ; and though the generous ch ief offered to m ake i t agift

,together wi th oxen for the sacrifice

,and hi s thresh ing

implements for the fire,David would not accept them,

saying, “ Nay ; but I wil l surely buy i t of thee at a price : ne ither wi l l I offer burn t-offerings unto the Lord my God Ofthat

'

which doth cos t me nothing.

”SO giving him ,

according to the one accoun t, fifty Shekel s of S il ver, and accordingto the other, s ix hundred Shekel s of gold

,by weight

,he of

fered burn t-offerings and peace-Offerings, and the plague wasstayed

,while the si te was marked

‘

off as the spot whereon atl ength Solomon his son was to erec t that stately Temple, thematerials for the bui lding of which he had been h imself solong col lect ing . Very in terest ing was this col loquy betweenthe two princes . I t was

,

” as Stan ley beautifully says,

“ themeeting of two ages . Araunah

,as he yields that spot

,i s the

last of the Canaan ites, the last of that stern old race that wediscern in any i nd ividual form and character. David

,as he

raises that al tar, i s the close harbinger of the reign of Solomon— the founder of a new inst itut ion which another was to

3 74 DAVID, KING OF I SRAEL .

complete and through al l the ages of the world ’s h istorythe place itself was to be enshrined as the most sacred andin terest ing spot on the surface of the earth . In reviewingthe portion of history now before our notic e

,there are two

or three points of pract ical and presen t importance whichdemand attention .

In the fi rs t place,here let u s be on Our guard against n a

t ional perfidy. Saul and hi s people attempted the des truct ion or expatriat ion of the Gibeon ites, a poor tribe, who werewi l l ing to purchase a peaceful existence by the d ischarge ofthe most men ial duties 3 and as the resul t, forty years afterthe land was desol ated by fam ine, and five of Saul ’s descendants were demanded for the vindication of publ ic ju stice .AS I have been repeat ing this his tory

,I doubt not that

your m inds have been engaged in drawing the parallel between the rel ation of Saul to the Gibeon ites and that of ourown n at ion to those two races whose condition and destinyseem to be so bound up with our own . I enter not nowin to any m inute an alys is of our deal ings with the Africanrac e on the one hand, and the Indian on the other ; n ei therdo I presume to say on wh ich side the blame has to be l aid ;but I do affirm that this Old record has— espec ial ly for usnow— a l esson Of most sol emn warn ing. Let us be carefulto main tain inviolate a ll treaty obl igations . Let us deal withthese tribes in a sp iri t of honesty and kindness, not forbeari ng to pun ish acts of del iberate treachery

,yet eagerly ab

stain ing from al l wanton c ruel ty. O therwise,we may be

sure that we shal l entai l upon ourselves most serious evil s .The God of the Gibeon i tes i s the God of the Ind ian s andAfrican s as well . Ah

,how many R iz pahs did the war con

sign to sonless sorrow,as they mourn ed over those who were

the v ic t ims of wrongs which they had no hand i n commit

ate “ Jewish Church,” vol . I I . , P 1 35 :


which the very greatness Of our privil eges has laid upon us .What have we that we have not rece ived ? Who hath madeus to differ from others ? Instead

,therefore

,of sounding a

trumpe t before us to proclaim our greatness,l et us seek to

turn that greatness to accoun t i n the service of God,and the

promotion of the welfare of the human race . Let ourwatchword be

,

“ Not un to us,O Lord

,not unto us, but unto

thy name give glory,for thy mercy and thy truth ’s Sake 3

”

and never le t us forget the prophet’s words,

“ The lofty looksof man shal l be humbled

,and the haughtiness of men Shal l

be bowed down ; and the Lord alone shal l be exal ted in thatday.

”

We have here,i n the th ird pl ace

,an i l lustration of the n e

cess ity of an exp iat ion f or s in . The plague was s tayed inconnection with the offering of sacrifice 3 and as

'

we read therecord, we can no t forget how the Son of David made himself a sacrifice i n the immediate n eighborhood Of th is samespot

,i n order that the plague of s in might be removed '

from

human hearts,and his bel ieving people restored to the

heal th of hol iness . The voice of the enti re O ld Testamen ton this subj ec t i s

,

“ Wi thout shedding of blood there can beno remission 3

” and al l i ts al tars are but l ike so many fingerposts poin ting down through the ages to Messiah

,and hav

ing on them this in script ion,Behold the Lamb OfGod which

taketh away the s in of the world !” I t wa s not possible forthe blood of bul l s and of goats to take away s in

,but these

Offerings foreshadowed a sacrifice of richer blood and nobler n ame than themselves

,and now in Christ we have the

real i ty which they prefigured . They were Offered, year byyear

,cont inually th is needed to be offered only Once : they

were an imal s i nferior to m an ; he was the eternal , only-begotten Son of God in human nature ; and so when he rosefrom the tomb of Joseph, i t was demonstrated to all that hehad fin ished transgress ion and made an end of s in . Till he

FAMINE AND PESTI LENCE . 3 7 7

appeared,the avenging angel stood between earth and beav

en,having h is sword stretched out over the human race ;

but when he d ied,that sword was sheathed forever i n h is

own breast . And as the l ightn ing conductor saves the building by sati sfying the el ectric l aw, and drawing the heavenlyfire down upon i tself, he saved S in ners by attrac ting i n uponhimself

,and away from them , the penalty of their tran sgres

s ions . Here,then , i n Chris t crucified i s the S inner

’s hope .“ Look un to h im and be saved 3

”for he is able to save unto

the u ttermost all that come unto God by him .

Let us learn,finally

,that a sincere sacrifice is always one

that costs us something. David would nOt offer burnt-offerings of that wh ich cost h im noth ing

,and i t would be wel l i f

every professed fol lower of Jesu s ac ted on the same princ iple . Whatever we lay upon God ’s al tar should cost us something. Are we laboring i n the m in istry of the Gospel ? thenthe offering which we make to God in the pulp i t should bepurchased by study

,and ought not to be the rash and hasty

utterance of unpremeditated speech . Are we teachers i nthe Sunday -school ? then the l esson which we give our

scholars Should be given at the cost of prayerful preparation

,and ought not to be the empty talk of those who have

never looked at the subj ec t unti l they have met the ir pupil sin the cl ass . A re we asked to contribute to a good cause ?then the gift wh ich we put in to the offering-box should besomething that has cost us some effort or self-den ial to ob

tain,and not s imply the overflow of a ful l cup which we can

give without feel ing that we are giving at al l . Are we askedto labor i n some enterprise of ben evolence ? then we are notto plead that we can not do so wi thout breaking i n upon ourease and enj oymen t

,but we are to take a part of these and

use them in the service of the Lord . Yea,what need I moreIs n ot the Christian ’s whol e l i fe, in i ts loft ies t Vi ew, a sacrifice to Chris t ? Let u s see, then , that we make i t a costly

3 78 DAV ID,KING OF ISRA EL .

sacrifice . Let u s grudge no l abor 3 l e t us spare no pain s 3l et us spare no self-den ial, if only we may keep ourselves unspotted from the world

,and make our l ives a fitting acknowl

edgment of the obl igation under which we l ie to h im whogave himself for us !” What puri ty

,what love

,what self-de

n ial,what ac t iv i ty our l ives would man ifest

,if,looking upon

them as sacrifices to God,we should apply to them the

words of David, “ I wil l n ot Offer burn t-Offerings unto theLord my God of that which doth cost me nothing.

” Therewill not be wan ting those

,i ndeed

,to say

,as we break ou r

precious vase, and pour our costly ointmen t on the Saviour’s

head,

“ To what purpose i s th is waste ?” But only love canfully in terpre t love ; and he who made h is greatest sacrificefor us wil l r ightly understand and thoroughly appreciate ourOffering. There is nothing wasted that i s expended uponhim . Let u s seek

,therefore, to cultivate th is grac e of self

sacrifice,not only that we may honor h im

,but that we our

selves may en ter in to the ful l mean ing of the precious words,“ I t i s more blessed to give than to rece ive .

” Every man ,according as he purposeth in h is heart

,so l e t h im give 3 not

grudgingly,nor of necessi ty 3 for God loveth a cheerful giver.

And God is abl e to make al l grace abound toward you, thatye always having al l sufficiency in al l th ings, may abound toevery good work.

”

Love stil l de l ights to bring her bes t,And where love is , that offering evermore is blest.

3 80 DAV ID, K ING OF ISRAEL .

en now i n to the sere and yellow leaf. The snows of seve nty win ters had fall en on h is head, but his heart was asfresh

,his imaginat ion as bril l i an t, and h is piety as ferven t

as ever 3 so , as he looked back on the way by which theLord had led h im , and recoun ted al l the del iverances whichGod had wrought for him

,he took his harp once more

,and

sang to its l oved music th is Psalm,which for faith , for fervor,

for subl im ity, and for devout thankfulness, i s second to non eof hi s p roductions .We have n ot h i therto gone very m inutely in to any of his

Psalms,and have con ten ted ourselves with ind icat ing i n a

general way the h istorical occasion s on which some of themwere composed

,and po in t ing out the new sign ificance which

they acqu ire when read i n the l ight of the c ircumstances ou tof which they Sprung 3 but as the in sp ired chron icl er has incorporated th is one i n the n arrat ive , and means us to regardi t as David ’s even song

,

” chan ted by him on the retrospectof his l ife ’s changeful day, we may profi tably spend a shortt ime in a su rvey Of i ts contents .With a considerable number of minor variat ions

,the Ode

before us is reproduced as the eighteenth in th e book ofPsalms

,and i t has been said by some that the one is an in

correc t copy of the other. But to me i t rather seems that i nthe book of Samuel we have i t i n the form in which at firstthe monarch sung i t in hi s closet

,as a personal outburst Of

grat itude to God 3 while i n the Psal ter we have i t rev isedand adapted to publ ic worsh ip, for the general use of thetribes

,and SO, appropriately addressed to the ch ief musician .

This view is rendered more probable by the fact that wehave other cases of a s imil ar sort i n the book of Psalms, as,for example, the 1 4th, the 5 3d, and the c losing strain of th e4oth, which i s n early ident ical with the 7 oth . We bel ieve,therefore

,that for reason s which have not been explained ,

David prepared a twofold form of this magn ificen t produc~

EVEN-SONG . 3 8 1

t ion ; and so, treating the two as separate and independen t,we conten t ourselves with not ing the fact that there are varia tions between them , without attempting ei ther to po in t out,or to accoun t for, each particular discrepancy.

The ment ion of Saul i n th e t i tl e does not ind icate thatthe Psalm was composed in David ’s early l ife

,but rather

that, even though thirty years had gone s inc e h is persecut ion by the son of Kish

,the del iverances which he then ex

perienced had not faded from h is memory, but sti l l stoodou t before h im as the greatest merc ies which he had everrece ived . We are prone to forget past favors . The benefactors Of our youth are not always remembered in our afteryears ; and in the crowd and confl ic t of even ts in our l aterh istory, we have too Often l i ttl e thought to spare, and fewthanks to express, for our early merc ies . We do not enoughcons ider that

,i n moun ting the ladder of l ife, i t i s often more

d iffi cul t to se t our foot on the first round than to take anys ingle step thereafte r ; and, therefore, that those who aidedus i n the beginn ing have given u s by far the most effectualass is tance . But i t was not so with David , for as he s its herelooking back on hi s career, h is first confl ic ts seem stil l h isgreatest ; and much as he blessed God for after-kindness,he places high above al l th e other favors which he had re

c e ived h i s del iverance out of the hand of Saul . Nor maywe neglec t to note that i n al l th is David i s bu t the repre

sentative of the bel iever i n Jesus ; for, no matter how manyor how great the merc ies which he experien ces, the firs tgrand “ c rowning mercy Of salvation from the guil t and pollution of in iquity ever comes uppermost ; and to every songof praise wh ich he s ings he adds some such doxology as thatofJohn : “ Un to him that loved us

,and washed u s from our

s ins i n h i s own blood,and hath made us kings and priests

un to God and his Father,to h im be glory and domin ion for

ever and ever. Amen .

”


The Psalm may be d ivided into five dist inct though unequal parts . There is, first, an introduct ion extending to theend of the fourth verse, and giving a general indicat ion of

the character of the ode 3 there i s, second, a highly figurat ive and subl ime description of the dangers i n which he hadbeen involved

,and the del iverance wh ich God had wrought

for him : this comprises verses 5 — 2 0 3 there is, th ird, an exposit ion of that princ ipl e Of the d ivin e admin istration i n accordance with which he had been del ivered this i s contained in verses 2 1 — 2 9 3 there is, fourth, a recapitulat ion in mores imple terms of God ’s doings on his behalf : this includesverses 3 0—49 3 there is, final ly, the closing stanza, i n whichhe gathers up the expression of hi s grat itude into one ful lchorus of praise

,and looks down the l ong vi sta of ages to

the far-Off days of the Mess iah .

In the in troductory port ion of the Ode David sets forthwhat God had been to him

,and there are two things wh ich

spec ial ly c laim atten tion in his words . The firs t i s the number and variety Of the terms wh ich he employs to describethe protect ion which God afforded h im 3 and the second i sthe emphatic personal manner i n wh ich he speaks .He seems to have a d ifficul ty in finding any one word

which would adequately express al l that Jehovah had beento him

,so he heaps

'

one term upon another,call ing him “ a

rock, a fortress, a del iverer, a shield, a high tower, a horn , arefuge, and a Saviour. ” This i s no vai n repeti tion

,neither i s

i t a s train ing after effec t,l ike that of the young orator who

p iles ep ithet upon epithet,weaken ing only where he mean t

to strengthen ; but i t i s an attempt to describe, from manysides

,that which he fel t cou ld not be ful ly Shown from any

s ingle stand-poin t. He means to say, that for every sort ofperi l i n which he had been placed

,God had been a protection

appropriate thereto . As if he had said,

“ those whom Godintends to succor and defend are not only safe against one


ty of earnestness more frequen tly appear than in the Psalmsof David 3 and in the firm appropriation wh ich he here makesof God to himself we see how necessary to Sp iritual hap

piness i t i s that we should be able to cal l God our own .A

fortress i s threaten ing and terribl e to al l who are outs ide of i t 3but i t is, j ust because of that, only the more safe to those whoare with in i t 3 and only when we bel ievingly appropriate Godas our own do we en ter in to the d ivin e fortress and enj oy h i sprotection . SO long as we are unreconc iled to him

,his glo

r ions attributes, hi s infin i te resources, hi s boundless m ightappear afrayed agains t u s 3 but when , through faith i n JesusChrist, we enter in to covenant wi th him ,

al l these are on our

side, and we are enabled to Sing, “ Behold God is my salvat ion .

” Mark, is our salvat ion ; that i s a higher thing thanto say God works ou t our salvation . He stands between usand every evil ; and because we are Chri st

’s,and Chris t i s

h is, we can say with truth that al l th ings, however frowningthey may look

,are ours . My hearer

,have you said unto the

Lord,thou art my God ? I S he thy salvation ? Remember

that he i s not and can not be the salvation of any on e unti lthe soul of the ind ividual bel ievingly appropriates h im . Takehim thus to thy heart 3 give h im thus thy hand, and thou artsafe forever.In the second portion of the Psalm , extending from the

fifth to the twen t ieth verse,the insp ired poet describes his

peri ls and h is del iverances,depicting “ by the subl imest ex

pression s and loftiest terms the maj esty o f God, and theawful manner in which he came to h is assi stance, saved h imfrom his enem ies

,and extric ated him from al l h is d ifficulties

,

namely,by arm ing

,as i t were

,the el ements of heaven again st

them,and sending a dreadful s torm of thunder, l ightn ing,

hail,rain

,and tempestuous wind to d iscomfit and destroy

them . I n th is description there is every c ircumstance Ofhorror that c an be ment ioned 3 the sen timents and images

EVEN-SONG. 3 8 5

are grand beyond description, the words lofty and expressive

,and God i s in troduced in a manner worthy of h is maj

e sty,encompassed with al l the powers of n ature as hi s a t

tendan ts , and as the instruments of his vengeance to executehis purposes i n the salvation of David and the destructionof his He speaks of his sufferings i n th is wise“ The waves of death compassed m e

,the floods of ungodly

men made me afraid . The sorrows of Hades compassed meabout

,the snares of death were laid for me in an tic ipation .

”

And when we remember h is hair-breadth escape from thej avel in of Saul

,and the many occas ions i n which he was im

peril ed by the machinations of his enemies,we may not say

that he exaggerates 3 but through them al l h is sol ace was inprayer. “ I n my distress I called upon the Lord

,and cried

un to my God he heard my voice out of his temple,and my

cry came before him,even i n to h is ears . The good man ’s

refuge I S ever at the mercy-seat. Though every way seemShu t against h im , the way to God is always Open , and whenhe can get n ear to Jehovah he i s safe ; for then he l inks h ims elf to omnipotence, and God

’s faithfuln ess i s pl edged to givehim succor. V ery deeply was th is fel t by David in al l h is c alam ities

,and he d id not cry to God i n vain ; for he sen t him

del iverance in such signal ways that i t was made perfectlyeviden t that h is salvat ion was Of the Lord . The del ineationof h is del iverance here is i n a strain of the most h ighlywrought imagery, borrowed from the description of Jehovah ’sdescen t on Sin ai ; and such is the inheren t subl im i ty of hiswords, that even the most meagre translat ion s of them catchsomewhat of the ir grandeu r. The Old version of Sternhold

and Hopkin s ceases to be doggerel,and becomes classi c

here 3 and as we read the l ines,

“ A Critica l History of the Life of David,” by S. Chandler, D .D . ,


On cherub and on cherubim

Ful l roya l ly he rode ,

And on the wings of m ighty windsCame flying a l l abroad,

we have before us a conception the most subl im e that everentered into human imaginationfi

“ We must remember,

however,that al l thi s i s poetic

,and not hi storic . David

does not mean to say that these portents actually accom

pan ied God’s descent to his ass istance. The Simple truth

is,that no m iracles were wrought on David ’s account, but

st il l his del iverance was as much God ’s doing as if he hadcome down with al l the glory of S in a i i n his defense 3 andthe discomfiture of h is enemies was as complete as if Jehovah of hosts had marshaled the arm ies which marched forthto meet them ; so that, as the resul t of al l, he makes thisacknowledgment

,

“ He brought m e forth in to a l arge place 3he del ivered me

,because he del ighted in me .

”

This last phrase, “ He del ighted in me,

”fitly in troduces

the next divis ion of the Psalm,which sets forth the harmo

my of David ’s del iverance with the general princ ipl e of thed ivine admin istration . There i s a retribut ive elemen t i nGod ’s moral government. The Saviour h imself has said,“ With what measure ye mete i t shal l be measured to youagain 3 and David here asserts that God deals wi th men according to the pri nc ipl es on which men themselves act toward each other. To the merc iful , God is merciful 3 to theupright

,he is upright 3 to the pure, he i s pure 3 and to the

froward,he is froward . This last term

,indeed, must not be

held'

as denoting that God is ever i n himself froward, butthat i n hi s provident ial governmen t of men

,the individual

who is froward i s m et with the frowardness of another 3 or

See an interes t ing paper on this verse, and the imi tations of it by

modern poe ts , in Henry Kirke White ’s Remains,p. 2 94.

388 DAVID,K ING OF ISRAEL.

d ivin e grace who is not, at the bar of human equity, abl e topl ead innocence . There i s n o self-righteousness in an honest man knowing that he i s honest

,nor even in his bel ieving

that God rewarded h im in Providence because of his honesty, for such i s often a most eviden t matter of fact. I t i s notat al l an opposition to the doctrin e of salvation by grace

,and

no sort of evidence of a Pharisaic spiri t, when a grac ious man,

having been slandered,s toutly maintain s h is own integr i ty

and vigorously defends h is character. A godly man has aclear conscien ce

,and knows himself to be upright. Is he

to deny his own consc iousness, and to despise the work of

the Holy Ghost by hypocri tical ly making himsel f worse thanhe i s ? A godly man prizes h is i n tegri ty very highly

, or elsehe could not be a godly man at al l 3 and i s he to be calledproud because he wil l not read ily lose the j ewel of a reputable character ? A godly man can see that i n d ivine Providence uprightness and truth are

,i n the long run

,sure to

bring their own reward 3 may he not, when he sees that reward bestowed in his own case

,praise the Lord for i t ? Yea,

rather,must he not Show forth the faithful ness and goodness

Of his God ? This cluster of expressions, therefore , must beread as the song of a good consc ienc e after having safelyoutridden a storm Of obloquy, persecution, and abuse 3 andthen there wil l be no fear of our upbraiding the wri ter as on ewho sets too high a price upon his own moralThe princ ipl e underlying this sec tion of the Psalm i s thesame as that which has been expanded in to the 3 7 th and

73d odes in our Psal ter,and must never be lost s ight of by

any of us I t i s unto the upright ” that “ l ight ariseth in tod arkness

,and i t i s he whose heart i s establ ished

,and who

shal l not be afraid un til he shal l see his des ire upon h isenem ies . O r

,more s imply stil l, even i n the presen t l ife

Spurgeon ’

s“ Treasury of David, vol. i ., pp. 2 72 , 2 73 .

EVEN-SONG. 3 89

there i s a retributive el emen t.

in God ’s moral government,

and men shal l be done by as they do .

From the thirt ieth verse on t il l the close of the forty-n inthwe have a virtual recapitulation

,only i n S impler phrase and

i n more detail,of the del iverances which David had experi

enced ; and i t i s in teresting to note al l through thi s sec tionof the ode— indeed, I may say, throughout the en tire Psalmthe writer’s recogni tion of God ’s hand i n every th ing.

There had been many human agen ts employed in working forhim, but here he makes ment ion of God alone . In the succ eeding chapter the histori an gives us a l is t of David

’s th irtyseven mighty men

,and recounts some of the ir most val ian t

deeds 3 and, as the honors which the ir monarch conferredupon them conclusively show

,he was not ungrateful to them

for the ir fidel ity,but h is highes t praise

,and his devoutest

thanks wen t to the God who wrought i n and through themfor h is ano inted ’

s sake . Herein the Psalmist has l eft us anexampl e worthy of our im itat ion . We see the v is ible instrument, but we forget al l too Often the invis ibl e Author of al lour mercie s ; and i n these days espec ial ly, when men makeso much of physical l aws , we are apt to hide God behind theoperation s which he is himself carrying on ; and while ad

miring the harmony and order of the universe,we have n o

song of praise to Him who upholds i t all . Let us be on ourguard against al l th is . I t might perhaps be too much to say,with Wordsworth

,that one would f‘ rather be a pagan , suckled

in a creed outworn ,” than one of those who bel ieve that theworld i s governed by l aws withou t a l awgiver. But to methere is no atheism more revol t ing than that of the man

,be

he philosopher or not, who takes al l h is merc ies as things ofcourse

,ground out to h im daily by the m il l of ceaseless l aw

,

and who has no song of gratitude to sing to Him of whom,

and to whom,and through whom are al l th ings .”

But while in these verses we have this recogn it ion of God

390 DAV ID,K I NG OF ISRAEL.

i n al l things everywhere apparen t,there are spec ial ly three

attr ibutes of God himself which are prominen tly mentionedi n them . The firs t i s his faithfulness

,as set forth in the ex

pression,The word of the Lord i s tri ed .

” The term “ tried ”

denotes general ly “ put to the test 3” but here i t has involved

i n i t the add itional idea that the trial has been satisfactorilypassed . Before they are considered fi t for actual serv ice onshipboard, anchors, chain s, and cables are subj ec ted to sucha strain as shal l give those who employ them confidence touse them in any emergency ; and when some great engineering work is fin ished, a railway v iaduc t, for example, i t i s tes ted by some rigid trial before i t i s Opened for publ ic traffic .Now

, David’s l i fe had been

,i n some sense

,such a trial of the

Word of God . By his struggles,h is Sorrows, his emergencies,

yea, even by h is S ins, he had been, as i t were, put forth toshow how great a stra in the promises of God could bear 3and so at the close of h is career he says : “ The Word of theLord i s tried . I t has stood firm with me in al l my confl ic tsand cal am ities

,and desp ite all my s in s ; therefore l et no one

despair. That wh ich has been so sol id beneath the weighteven of my sinful tread, wil l support any one who trustful lyven tures on i t for h imself.” Thus in terpreted, these wordsof David are an exact paral le l to the tes timony of Paul , whenhe says f" “ This i s a faithful saying

,and worthy of al l ac

ceptation , that Chris t Jesus’

t ame i n to the world to save s inners ; ofwhom I am chief

”

(orfirst) . Howbei t for th is causeI obtained mercy

,that in me’

firs t”

(that i s, first not i n the order of time, but firs t in the degree of gu il t— a s inner of thefirst rank— an A I s inner)

“ Jesus Chris t might Show forth al ll ong-suffering

,for a pattern '

to them , which should hereafterbel ieve on h im to l ife everlasting

”? What an enco uragemen t,

therefore,i s there here to every one

'

to'

rest i n faith upon the

1 Timothy i. ,


come back again and again to th is del ightful phrase . I tfal ls upon the ear as i f with the soft breathings of an aeol ianharp

,and amids t the j ewels which Shine ou t of th is Book of

Truth, there is not one that sparkles with a radiance so d iv ine as this

,

“ Thy gentlen ess hath made me great !” I t i sindeed the very heart and centre of the cross of Chris t . David fel t that God ’s kindness to h im

,i n h is weakness

,h is way

wardness , his very wantonness Of s in,had l ifted h im up to

the external greatness of his throne,and had buil t up in him

the in ternal greatness of his character.But what did he know of th is qual ity of Jehovah’s heart,

compared with that of i t wh ich has been revealed to us i nthe work of Christ

,and in our call ing in to and train ing i n

the Chris ti an l ife ? While we l ay helplessly condemned beneath the sen tence Of h is l aw

,God came to u s

,not with

Sinai’s terror,but wi th tender love .

“ He that m ight thevantage best have took

,found out the remedy .

” And whilehis s ternness m ight have driven us from him

,or moved us

to strive agains t him,we have will ingly yielded to the a ttrac

t ion of his gentleness . Go read the record of the Saviour’sdeal ings with the woman at the well

,with the woman that

was a sinner,with the self-satisfied Nicodemus , and with the

publ ican Zaccheus, and see how much his gen tleness d id inmaking them truly great. Nay

,l ook back on your own ex

perience , and bear witn ess to those around you, how his lovedrew you

,and you fol lowed on

,

” will ingly surrenderingyourselves to i ts d ivin e attraction . Nor is th is al l . Evenwhen we have been suffering under h is hand, or have beenwandering from his way

,howmuch of gentl eness has he man

ifes ted i n our very chastisemen t. He has stayed h is roughwind

,in the day of his eas t wind 3

” and if,l ike the eagle with

her young,he has “ sti rred our nest ” and pushed us out of

i t, we have scarcely remembered the roughness of that d isc ipl in e, when we have found ourselves upborne on the ampl e

EVEN-SONG . 393

wings of his grace, to loftier attainments i n hol in ess than o the rwise we could have reached . A l l along the pathways bywhich he has led us

,we have met man ifestat ion s of h is gen

tleness i t has been the background Of our very trials,and

as the mother soothes her broken -hearted and d ispi ri tedchild by the loving m in istration s Of her tender hand

,un ti l he

has forgotten his sorrow i n the sunshin e Of he r affection,

so God has been with us, “ gentl e as a nurse cherish ing herchildren .

” He has born e with u s as none other could havedone 3 and by that method of i nd irectness which the mother knows so wel l how to practic e with her wayward boy, hehas led us by a way which we knew not, and kept us attachednot by any outward bond but by the inner tie of endear

ing affection— to h imself. I have heard one tel l,with ring

ing laughter,how once in a storm at sea, when danger was

an tic ipated,a great overgrown man

,not used to prayer, and

remembering on ly the hymn of h is chi ldhood, flung himselfupon hi s knees

,and cried,

Gen tle Je sus , m eek and m ild,Look upon a l it t le child

But,after all

,are we not al l, even the oldest among us,

ch ildren stil l,and is no t this st il l the most endearing epithe t

of Jesus to every one of us gentl e Jesus .” I beseech you,

therefore,brethren

,by the gentl eness of Christ, that ye pre

sen t yourselves n ow unto h im,and so rece ive from him the

greatn ess of presen t hol iness and future immortal ity. Everyday we l ive we are receiving n ew proofs of his tender loveto u s 3 but when we have passed through the veil, and standin heaven ’s own l ight, looking back upon al l the ways i nwhich our God has deal t with us, we shal l understand thisphrase more fully than we ever can on earth ; and as wecast our crowns before the throne, our adoring homage toh im who sits thereon wil l find i ts appropriate expression

1 7*


in these blessed words Thy gen tleness hath made megreat !”

The th ird divin e attribute to which prominence i s heregiven i s the e tern ity of God . I t comes out i n these wordsThe Lord l iveth

,and blessed be my rock 3 and le t the God

o f my salvation be exal ted .

” A certain sense of sol itarinessgrows‘ upon a man as he becomes Older. Those who werevenerabl e i n h is youthful days, and to whom he looked forcounsel

,are on e by one carried to the tomb . The compan

ion s of his early m anhood fal l at h is s ide . He comes atl ength to a t im e when he does not care to make many newfriends ; and when he reaches the l im i t of three-score yearsa nd ten

,he begins to feel himself almost a stranger, even i n

the place where he has spen t his l ife . Perhaps a king, morethan most other men

,wil l real ize th is experience . The poet

has spoken of “ the lonely glory of a throne The monarchhas no equals, and, from the n ature of the case, can have fewconfidants and counselors, except such as are venerabl e forage . But as h is reign wears on , one after another of theseearly friends are taken away 3 and as each is removed , he isapt to th ink that a part of himself has been withdrawn fromhim . Thus lonel in ess s teal s over him ,

and he comes at lengthto be, l ike Moses among the tribes, the sol i tary survivor ofa buried gen eration . Something l ike this

,I doubt not

,was

fel t by David as he advanced in to old age . Samuel wasgone 3 Jonathan was no more 3 Ahithophel had proved atra i tor 3 Joab had become a thorn in his Side 3 but there wasO ne always true, and i t was with no ordinary emotion , wemay be sure, that out of his earthly sol itude he sang of h isfidel ity and deathl essn ess : “ The Lord l iveth

,and blessed

be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation . Letthe aged among us fal l back on th is assurance

,and find

the ir sol ace i n the compan ionsh ip of the Most High . Hehath said , I will never leave thee nor forsake thee .


free mercy,which

,i n an swer to our prayers

,he has so fre

quently shown us ? In the time of pestilence the churcheswi l l be crowded with eager suppl iants that the plague may beremoved 3 but when the disease has gone, you wil l have onlythe merest handful to hold a day of thanksgiving. I t is notalways thus

,indeed 3

’and when true gratitude i s m an ifestedi t moves us in tensely, even from its very rarity. On e caseof this description, at the close of the cotton fam ine in Lanc ashire

, England, st irred the whole British n ation to i tsdepths . I t was in the town of Staleybridge, which for manymonths had been suffering the deepest d istress . A l l thoseweary weeks i ts factories had been Silen t

,and its tal l ch im

neys smokeless 3 and its Operatives, al l the ir savings gone,were reduced to a wan t which they bore with the most heroicendurance . A t l ength the war was ended, and a consignment of cotton came to the town . Hasten ing to the railwaydepOt, the men unyoked the horses from the firs t wagon

,

and drew it themselves in to the court-yard of one of the factories . Soon an immense crowd surrounded i t, and the tearsfi l led the eyes of the mul titude as they gazed upon i t

,for i t

mean t employmen t,and employment mean t bre ad . Just

then,while al l were deeply moved, one sol itary voice began

to S ing the grand old doxology,“ Praise God, from whomal l

bless ings flow,

” and in a momen t every one i n the vast assemblage j o ined in , while on the gaun t and famine-strickencheeks of faces upturned to heaven the big tears kept coursing down . Often has that s impl e strain been sung in mostinsp iring c ircumstances

,but n ever with more depth of feel

ing or more fervor of grati tude than on that occasion . Butwhy should our grat itude be confined to rare Seasons ? Thetrue thanksgiving i s thanksl iving. The noblest doxology isa holy l ife . Let us a im

,my brethren

,to translate in to con

duct the words of th is subl ime Psalm 3 le t us make each hisown l ife a hymn of praise, accord ing to the poet

’s advice

EVEN-SONG. 3 9 7

Be good, my child, and le t who wil l be cleverD o noble deeds , not dream them a ll day long 3And so make l ife , death, and that vas t forever

One grand de ep

F inal ly, l e t u s l earn from the experience of God ’s goodnessi n the pas t, and trust to h im for the presen t and the future .“ The Lord ’s aye to the fore

,

” said a good Scotchwoman inher day of trial 3 and by this faith she was Upheld .

“ The bestof al l i s, God is with us,” said John Wesley, as he was dyi ng 3 and by this trust he was supported as he passed with inthe veil . David had many experiences ofGod’s faithful ness

,

and so he could go calmly forward,saying

,God l ives

,bless

ed be my rock 3 and let the God ofmy salvation be exal ted .

”

Let us follow h is example,and “ remember the days of Old .

The Lord is now j ust what he was when he del ivered us i nthe past . He loves us as tenderly as he d id then . He is asnear us as he was then . And he wil l del iver u s once more .O l iver Heywood, one of the Engl ish Puri tan m in is ters whowas ej ected i n 1 66 2 by the odious Act of Un iform ity

,has

related a touching anecdote which may impress the lessonon which I now insi s t more forc ibly than any words of m ine.He tell s of a mother who, when one ch ild was taken fromher

,calmly bowed to the trial

,and said

,God l ives

,blessed

be my rock ; and let the God Of my salvation be exalted .

Another child was removed by death,and s til l she sang as

before, God l ives .” But at length her beloved husband wasstricken down

,and she seemed to s ink in to the very depths

of despair. As she sat wringing her hands in anguish,a l i t

tl e ch ild,whom God had spared to her

,came to her knee

and said,

“ Mother,i s God dead ?” “ God dead

,my child !

What do you mean ?” “ When brother and Sister were taken

away, you said, God l ives 3

’ but now that father is no more,

Charles Kings ley.


you Sit and weep, and n ever say a word abou t God ,

thought he must be dead too . No,my child

,God is

dead ; and he has sen t you to rebuke the unbel ief ofheart. He l iveth 3 yes, he l iveth ! and I wil l st il l cl inh im . Blessed be his name

,and let the God ofmy salva

be exal ted .

’ God l iveth ! Let that be the sheet-anchoyour heart, and i t wil l hold you in the fiercest hurricane.


may pamper our ch ildren into wrath, as wel l as provokethem to i t ; and he is no true lover either of himself or ofh is son who does not seek to govern him by affect ionate res traint. There must be d iscipl in e i n the home

,else the is

su e wil l be sorrow. The rule must not be that of the despot

,indeed , else the end wil l al so be d isastrous 3 but there

must be rul e- only l e t the hand of firmness wear ever theglove of love .

After the exampl e of Absalom,Adon ij ah set up a great

establ ishment, and rode about In a chariot drawn by horsesmagn ificently caparisoned

,and preceded by fifty heralds .

Among his adherents were Joab,the captai n of the host

,and

Abiathar the pries t. We do not wonder at the defection ofthe crafty son of Zeru iah

,for David had made h im feel in

many ways that he was weary of his arrogan t and overbearing deme’anor ; and he knew that he had l i ttl e or noth ing tohope for from Solomon if he should come to the throne .But i t i s not so easy to accoun t for Abiathar’s desert ion .

He had been with David in the cave of Adul l am,had been

the compan ion of his v ic iss i tudes for more than th irty years,

and had don e noble servic e during Absalom ’s revol t ; and i ti s with the deepest sorrow that we see h im now among thosewho are taking advan tage of the mon arch ’s weakness to puta creature of the ir own upon the throne . Mr. Blunt’l‘ supposes

,and with some Show of probab il i ty

,that i n the later

years of h is reign David had in some way Shown his preference for Zadok over Abiathar, and that i n j ealousy of his r iva l, whom David had favored, we have the key of his conn ec tion with Adon ij ah ’s rebel l ion . But whatever might beh is secret reason for h is treason able conduct

,he would be at

n o loss for pretexts by which to vindicate i t both to himselfand others . He might al lege that Adon ij ah was the eldest

B lunt’s Scr iptura l Coinc idences , pp. 1 5 3— 1 5 7 .

THE CORONAT I ON OF SOLOMON . 40 1

surviving son of David 3 and that, as he was in the m id-timeof his days, and not

, l ike Solomon, a mere you th , many dangers to the State might be escaped by seat ing h im upon thethrone . But God had al ready ind icated, inthe most solemnmanner, that Solomon was to be h is father

’s successor 3 andany attempt to give the kingdom to another was not onlyrebel l ion against Dav id

,but treason again st Jehovah .

On thi s ground,therefore

,as wel l as on that of person al

devotion to the aged king,the revol t of Adonij ah was Op

posed by Nathan,by Zadok

,by Benaiah

,the son of Jehoiada

,

and by the great maj ority Of the m ighty men whom Davidhad honored for the ir valor i n his service . Against suchweighty adversari es one would have supposed that Adon ij ah m igh t have despaired of success ; but perhaps he imagined that Joab and his army would prove more than amatch for any force that could be arrayed again st h im . I nany case

,he acted with the greatest prompti tude, and wen t

out wi th his fol lowers to the wel l Eu-rogel,near to which

Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been concealed on the day ofthe king’s fl ight from Jerusalem . Here he made a greatfeast

,and was already rej oic ing in the success which he im

agined he had achieved , when he found himself unexpectedly checkmated and defeated ; for Nathan , having heard ofhis doings

,had gone immediately to Bath-Sheba, and sen t

her in to the royal closet to inform the k ing of what was going on . While she was yet speaking to him , Nathan himself

,accord ing to previous agreemen t with her

,came in and

confirmed her words 3 whereupon , after assuring Bath-Shebawith an oath that the thron e should be given to Solomon

,

David gave such orders to Nathan , Zadok, and Jehoiada, asshowed that even in the smouldering ashes of the old mansomething of the ancien t fire st il l l ived . He bade them setSolomon upon the white mul e of state, and lead h im throughthe c ity to Gihon

,where Zadok should anoin t him king i n

402 DAV ID,K I NG OF I SRAEL .

Jehovah ’s name . This don e,he commanded that the trump

e t should be blown before h im , and the shou t raised, “ Godsave King Solomon .

” Thereafter they were to bring himback to the pal ace and seat him on the throne

,that al l migh t

know that he had appoin ted him to be ruler over Israel .These inj unct ion s were obeyed to the l etter

,and the re

sul t was that the popular en thus iasm was evoked to theu tmost 3 for the peopl e “ piped with pipes

,and rej o iced with

great j oy, and the earth ren t wi th the sound Of them .

” Theecho of the ir shouting broke in upon the m irth of Adonij ah’sfeast a t

_En-rogel

,and provoked from Joab the question ,

“ Wherefore is this noise of the c i ty being in an uproar ?”

which Jonathan,the son of Ab iathar, came j us t in t ime to

answer. He told al l that we have recoun ted,adding

,as a

new inc ident, that the se rvants of the king had gone to congratulate h im upon Solomon ’s appointmen t

,saying to him

,

God make the n ame of Solomon better than thy n ame,and

make h is throne greater than thy throne 3 and receiving foranswer, “ Blessed be the Lord God of I srael

,which hath

given one to s i t on my thron e this day, mine eyes even seeing i t .” These t id ings at once d isconcerted the fol lowersof Adon ij ah, so that they fled eve ry man to h is home

,whil e

the princ e h imself sought refuge in the Tabernacl e,and

laying hold upon the horns of the al tar,said, “ Let King

Solomon swear unto me to day that he wil l not sl ay h is servan t with the sword .

” Wisely,however

, Solomon decl inedto fetter h imself with any oath, but s imply .

said,

“ I f he wil lShow himself a worthy man

,there shal l not a hair of him

fal l to th e earth : but if wickedness shal l be found in h im ,

he Shal l d ie .

”

So ended this day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy ;but

,satisfactory as the conclusion was, so far as Solomon

was concerned,something more was n eeded before he could

be regard ed unchal lengeably as his father’s successor. As


renown . With tender affect ion , David addressed them ash is brethren and his people ( 1 Chron . xxvi i i .

,and unfold

ed to them the cherished purpose of his heart to bui ld atemple to Jehovah

,together with the message which he had

rece ived from Nathan in regard to i t. Then,turn ing to the

blushing youth beside him ,he said

,

“ And thou,Solomon my

son,know thou the God of thy father

,and serve h im with a

perfect heart and with a will ing m ind : for the Lord searche th al l hearts

,and unders tande th al l the imaginations of the

thoughts : if thou seek him,he wil l be found of thee 3 but if

thou forsake h im,he wil l cast thee off forever. Take heed

now 3 for the Lord hath chosen thee to build a house for thesanctuary : be strong, and do i t .”

After th is he gave him the pl ans which he had alreadyprepared

,by d ivin e d irection, of “ the porch

,and of the

houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof,and of the up

per chambers thereof, and of the i nner parlors thereof,and

of the pl ace of the mercy—seat, and the pattern of al l that hehad by the Spiri t, Of the courts of the house of the Lord, andof al l the chambers round about, and a l is t of the thingswhich h e had al ready consecrated for the purpose . Thenhe brought forth the gold which he had accumulated forthe various articl es which the Temple requ ired 3 and whenthe spectators had recovered from the amazement which thes ight of such treasures must have produced , he renewed hischarge to h is son

,saving, “ Be strong and of good courage

,

and do i t : fear not, nor be d i smayed, for the Lord God, evenmy God, wil l be with thee ; he wil l not fai l thee, nor forsakethee

,unti l thou hast fin ished al l the work for the serv i ce of

the house of the Lord .

” But Solomon was not the only party concerned ; so, turn ing to the congregation , David commended his son to their confidence and care, detail ing stil lmore of the preparat ions which he had made for the greatwork wh ich he wished to be performed, and beseeching them

THE CORONATION OF SOLOMON . 405

to do the ir best, s ince “ the palace was not for man,but for

God .

” Nay, as he was thei r God, as wel l as the God of theirking, i t was mee t that they also should be sharers with himi n the honor and the privil ege of carrying forward this holyundertaking 3 so he made an appeal to them in this heartsearching question : “ Who then i s wil l ing to consecrate h isservice thi s day unto the Lord The response was l iberaland enthusiast ic 3 for the people, catch ing the holy infect ionof the royal self-sacrifice , l aid upon the al tar “ of gold fivethousand talents and ten thousand drams

,and of Si lver te n

thousand talen ts, and of brass eighteen thousand talen ts, andon e hundred thousand tal ents of i ron

,

” while those who hadprecious stones generously devoted them to the Sacred eu

terprise . I t was a gladsome day ; a t ime of holy privil egehighly prized 3 a season of precious Opportun ity thoroughlyimproved ; an era of revived Spiri tual l ife, l ead ing to unre

served con secrat ion of soul and substance to the Lord . Thehearts al ike of king and peopl e were Opened to rece ive God ’sbless ing

,and i n the rece iving they gave out the ir own incense

of grati tude, even as the flower, when i t unfolds its petal s tothe morn ing sunbeam

,does, by the very unfolding, give forth

its fragrance to the air around . But i t i s ever thus . Hewho knows and feel s that he i s rece iving is then and therebyled to give out of h is heart’s grati tude to God 3 and , lookingat once to the origin and the issu e of this great n ational revival of re ligion , we regard i t as the grandest scene in DaV id’s whole c areer.A s sometimes the sett ing sun gilds the western sky

,and

makes of the very clouds which had obscured the afternoona bank of burn ished gold, giving thereby a glory to the beava

e ns which in the absence of the cl ouds could never be produced

,so th is l as t publ ic appearance of the aged monarch

fringes with a golden border even the dark passages of hisl ife

,and borrows

,too

,from them a frame-work of blackness

406 DAVID,K ING OF ISRAEL.

which,by i ts very con trast, brings out more vividly the bright

ness of the departing lum inary . The clouds had been veryd ark, but the sun had been beh ind them al l the whil e 3 andnow,

ere he goes down beneath the west, he has brokenthrough them and partial ly dispersed them

,and men recog

n iz e once more his greatness . We see now the “ one inc reasing purpose which ran through al l h i s l ife . We unders tand now why he was so eager i n amassing treasure, andso active i n add ing spo il to spoi l ; for as the studen t, on hi sreturn from col lege

,l ays reveren tly in h is mother’s l ap the

prizes which he has to il ed n ight and day to win,so David

here places devoutly on Jehovah ’s al tar al l that he had gained throughout h is earthly career

,saying

,virtual ly

,For thee

I won them,and to thee I give them .

” Even as he l ai dthem there

,indeed

,they were wet with h is pen iten t ial tears

over the great t ransgression of his l i fe . St i l l he laid themthere ; and he who forgave the in iqu i ty of his s i n acceptedthe gift he brough t.Such an assembly, crowned with such an offering to God,

could not separate withou t an act of spec ial worship, andwho so fi t to lead the devot ions i n speech as he who had ledthem in the worship of l iberal offerings ? SO, taking h is placebefore the people, David blessed the Lord in language as affe cting as i t i s subl ime, as tender as i t is tru e . I can not res is t the impulse to repeat i t here : “ Blessed be thou

,Lord

God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine,O Lord

,

i s the greatn ess,and the power

,and the glory

,and the victo

ry, and the maj esty : for al l that i s in the heaven and in theearth is th ine ; th in e i s the kingdom,

O Lord,and thou art

exal ted as head above al l . Both riches and honor come ofthee

,and thou reignest over al l 3 and in thine hand i s power

and might ; and i n th ine hand i t i s to make great, and togive strength unto al l . Now therefore

, our God, we thankthee, and praise thy glorious name . But who am I, and what


vah’

s j udgments, should “ j udge hi s peopl e with righteousnessand h is poor with j udgment, he passes to the benign ity ofh is sway.

“ He shal l come down l ike rain upon the mowngrass : as showers that water the earth .

” Then he assertsthe un iversal i ty of his domin ion : “ His dominion shall b efrom sea to sea, and from the river un to the ends of theearth 3

” and the perpetu ity of his reign : “ His name shal lendure forever : his n ame shal l be cont inued as long as thesun and men shal l be blessed in h im : al l n ations shal l cal lh im blessed .

” The conclusion i s a grand ou tburst of praise,

which seems almost to an ti c ipate the halleluj ahs of the skies .“ Blessed be the Lord God

,the God of I srael

,who only

doeth wondrous things . And blessed be h is glorious nameforever : and le t the whol e earth be fi l led with h is glory.

Amen and Amen . Littl e wonder that as men read this glowing ode, they say, “ A greater than Solomon i s here .” Thisi s emphatically the missionary Psalm

,and i t were wel l if

,

every t ime we sang i t, our hearts would expand in to the nobl e l iberal ity man ifested by the king and the peopl e of Israe l on the day by which i t was probably occasioned 3 for whatis the cause of missions but the bu i ld ing of a nobler templ ethan that wh ich Solomon reared— a templ e, the stones ofwhich are l iving soul s ; the in cense of which is the love ofholy hearts

,and the praises Of which are the songs of the re

deemed ?Let me make this thought the centre of the pract ical re

marks with which my exposi t ion must conclude . Observe,then

,i n the first place

,the work to which God has called

us i n the world . I t i s that of bui ld ing a temple for hisabode . The edifice for which David made such magn ifi

‘

cent preparations,and which Solomon reared in splendor,

was,afte r al l

,only a typical s tructure . That which was out

ward came firs t,and afterward that which is sp iri tual . In

the New Testament,i ndeed

,the figure of the temple i s em

THE CORONATION OF SOLOMON . 409

ployed with a threefold reference . Sometimes i t i s u sed tos ign ify the body of the Saviour h imself, as when he said tothe Jews

,Destroy th is temple, and in three days I wil l raise

i t up again . Sometimes i t i s appl ied to the body of the bel iever

,as when Pau l says, “ Know ye not that your body is

the temple of the Holy Ghost which i s in you, which ye haveOf God ?” But more usual ly it i s employed to describe thesp iri tual church which our Lord Jesus Christ has founded i nthe world . The Lord himself is the foundation of th is holyedifice

,accord ing as Pau l has said

,O ther foundation can

no man lay than that is laid , which is Jesus Christ .” Be

l ievers are the stones of which i t is composed, as Peter haswritten : “ Ye also as l iving stones are bu il t up a Sp iritualhouse ; and Paul again has affi rmed, “ In whom ye also arebuilded together for a habitation of God through the Spiri t .” Apostles

,evangel is ts

,min is ters

,m iss ionaries

,and active

Chris tian workers are the bu ilders engaged in i ts erection,

for Paul has called himself a wise master-builder,

” and urgeso thers to en thusiasm i n the great undertaking 3 while at thesame t ime he bids eve ry man “ take heed how he bu ildeththereupon .

This, then , i s the work which i s committed to our care asChrist ian s— the bu ild ing in of bel iev ing souls to this greatl iving edifice ; which we cal l the Christ ian Church , or, ins impler and less figurative phraseology

,the co nversion of

human soul s, and the formation in them of a holy character 3and i t wil l be completed only when the prophecy shall befulfil led , that “ the earth Shal l be fil l ed with the knowledgeof the Lord as the waters cover the sea .

” I have said thisi s our work , and yet i n another sense, and from another s ide,i t is the work of God h imself ; but i t i s h is work, carried on ,

i n,and through our con secrat ion of ourselves to its perform

ance,

“ for we are laborers together with God . And what awork i t i s ! There is an in terest deep and pecul iar i n taking

1 8

4 1 0 DAV ID,KING OF ISRA EL.

the stones from the quarry, and hewing them in to shape, andpol ishing them into shin ing smoothness

,and plac ing them in

their courses one above another,un til at l ength the house i s

fin ished for a royal palace,or a temple of worship . But what

is that,after all

,to the del ight which is fel t

,or the enthus i

asm which i s awaken ed,as we dig up human souls from the

quarry of s in , or ignorance, or degradation, and, through theprocesses of a lov ing and holy education prepare them forthe ir places in th is l iving temple ! What marble so prec iousas a human soul ! what gran ite SO indestructibl e as -an immortal sp iri t ! what beauty so rare as that of a characterwhich is moulded and fash ioned after the pattern of the Redeemer h imself ! And i t i s given to u s to work with suchvaluable and imperishable material s for the adornmen t ofthat stately structure which i s bu ilt upon the foundation -of

the apostles and prophets, Jesu s Christ himself be ing thechief corner-stone . What an exal ted honor

,but what a sol

emu respons ibil ity ! Let us not loi ter at ourholy en terprise,but day by day let u s labor on with un tiring earnestness

,un

t il,when even ing comes

,we shal l be gree ted with the “ wel l

done ” of h im who i s the archi tec t and i s to be the inhabitan t of the temple i tself. My hearer, hast thou builded inyet even one l iving ston e into this holy fane ?

Observe,i n the second place, that i t i s n ot given to any

one man , or to any single‘ generat ion , to fin ish th is glorious

struc ture . David gathered the material s, and Solomon buil tthe house . So, many of those who were present on the j oyfuloccasion which we have described might al so be spectatorson the gl adsome day of the consecration , when the myst iccloud descended and fi l led the newly-fin ished.Temple . Butwith the Church of Chris t i t i s differen t . That has been inprocess of erect ion for centuries, and i t i s not completed yet.In this respect i t resembles not so much the sacred bu ild ingthat crowned the height of Moriah as one of these med imval

4 1 2 DAV ID,KI NG OF ISRAEL.

us Specially to bui ld this Spiri tual house for h is own abode ?Shal l we not, then, gratefully, lovingly, and l iberally obey h iscommand ? Moreover, th is house will be h is eternal habitat ion . The Temple of Solomon i s n o more, and the statel ies tc athedral must one day crumble in to dust ; but th is Spiri tual ed ifice ab ides, and shal l be the temple of the skies . I nthread ing ou r way through the streets of some anc ien t c i tysuch

,for example

,as the Cowgate and C anongate of Edin

burgh— we mark the strange devices graven above the portal sof the houses, which ind ic ate that in former days they werethe hab itat ions of nobil i ty ; and here and there we come Uponsome quain t mottoes, such as this, My trust i s in the Lord 3

”

or this,

“ Be merc iful to me, O God, which render i t probable that the dwell ings on which they are engraved were firs terected by those who feared the Lord and thought upon hi sname . But now they are for th e most part the homes of

the gu il ty and the v il e, and wickedness is hold ing riot in' the

chambers which arch itec ture original ly reared for the habitat ion s of rank or the homes of piety . One can not v isi t theseplaces as they are to day without thinking of the transi toriness Of al l earthly things, and wondering whether, if the firstbu ilder had foreseen the base uses to which his house wouldbe u l timately turned, he would have bestowed so much pain sin i t s erection , or adorned i t wi th such exquis i te productsof the sculptor’s skil l . But there i s no danger of such a deterioration i n the house -composed of human soul s— whichChrist ian men are rearing for a hab i tation of God throughthe Spiri t. The Lord shall be the eternal inhab itant

,and the

beauty and the grandeur of his palace Shal l be as immortalas he is h imsel f. I t was the boas t of the Grecian artis t thathe pain ted for e tern ity

,and yet h is works have al l bu t disap

peared already 3 but they who engage in the service of Chris tand succeed in bringing soul s to h im

,are bu ild ing l i teral ly

for e tern ity. Their work shal l abide . Time that changes

THE CORONATION OF SOLOMON . 4 1 3

al l th ings else wil l not eat i nto these Sp i ri tual wall s,and

etern i ty i tself shal l see no decay in th is fabric of the ages .I t wil l n eed al l t ime for i ts completion

,indeed

,bu t then

i t wil l l as t through etern i ty ; and so, if we wish to put forthour efforts where they wil l be most permanently effective

,

we wil l devote ’ them to l abor on this palac e for the Kingof kings.Once more, let us reflect that the progress of th is sp iri tual

edifice, thus honoring to God, i s al so in separably associatedwith the happin ess of men . Recal l for a momen t the wordsof the 7 2 d Psalm,

which,though appl icable primarily to the

influence of the Prince of Peace as a ru ler,may be trans

l ated in to harmony with th is great temple-building.

“ Menshal l be blessed in him,

and al l n ations shal l cal l h im blessed 3 that i s to say, i n p roportion as soul s are brought to Jesus and bui l t into th is spi ri tual fabric, the purity, the pros

perity, and the progress of i mankind shal l advance. Doesany one doubt th is ? Let h im look around ! To what dowe owe our l ibert i es, our privileges, and our proud positionamong the n at ions of the earth ? I S i t not to the degreei n which the Gospel of Chris t has l eavened the land ? TheChri st ian i ty of the nation i s th e n ation ’s l ife . A l l that i strue

,and hones t, and just, and pure, and lovely, and of good

report among us has been bu t a developmen t of the princ iples which cen tre in the cross of Calvary 3 and if the evil sthat remain are ever to be removed, they can only be soby the conversion of the masses of our fellow-c i tizens to Jesus 3 that is, by the building of them into this l iving templethat has been ris ing so maj est ical ly through al l the Christ ianages . Nay

,wider st il l

,if the world is to be elevated and pu

rified, if the race of men i s to be developed to its noblestpossib il i ties of good

,whether in tel lectual , or moral , or soc ial,

the Gospel of Chris t must sti l l be the instrument which weemploy 3 and that end shal l be reached only when the head


stone of th is holy house shal l be brought forth with shoutings

,Grace

,grace un to i t !”

Having,therefore, al l these truths before you, suffer me

now to m ake the appeal of David : “ Who then is will ing toconsecrate h is service th is day un to the Lord ?” Who i swil l ing . I t i s a volun tary thing. The Lord wil l accept nobegrudged laborer. He wil l have no reluctan t toil . Whosolabors for

'

h im must l abor with’

a wil l . “ Who is will ing toeonseera fe his servi ce ?” I t i s a holy offering— a l aying of

self, and service, and substance upon the al tar of Jehovah ;“ for the palace i s not for man

,but for God

,

”of whom riches

and honor com e . “ Who then is wil l ing to con secrate h isservice ibis (lay unto the Lord ?

” This day ! th is day ! Forour days upon the earth are as a shadow

,and there i s none

abiding.

” Even now it may be almost even-t ide with many.

The eleven th hour may have struck for some,and the warn

ing of the twelfth m ay have sounded for others from theclock of destiny 3 yet as they stand idly i n the market-place,there comes even to such the command, Go, work to dayfor me .” Make haste that you may do someth ing beforethe Opportun i ty goes past. And if there should be heresome

-

David whom God has in trusted with large possess ionsor great prosperity, or what is better than e ither, a greatheart

,l et h im

,too

,hasten to bring forth h is gifts for th is glo

r ions cause,that so h is example may stimulate others, and

we may see a revival of l ife, l iberal ity, and l abor in theChurch of Christ. AS said the great, good Whitefield, i ndays past

,so say I .now to you : I want more tongues, more

bodies,more souls for the Lord Jesus . Had I ten thousand

,

he should have them all . SO that I had as many tonguesas there are hairs on my head the ever-loving, ever lovelyJesus should have them al l !” Who then is wil l ing to consecrate h is service this day unto the Lord ?”


the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways .” Wecan not read this inj unction now withou t be ing rem indedof Paul ’s words to Timothy, i n somewhat similar c ircums tances : “ Thou

,therefore, my son, be strong in the grace

that i s in Chris t Jesus .” Nor can we fail to see the appro

priateness of the command to ourselv'es,for God’s prom ises

,

even in Chris t, are condit ioned on our acceptance of them , andon our obedienc e of the precepts i n connection with whichthey are given . I t may seem

,i ndeed , strange that we should

be commanded to be strong, s ince, at firs t sigh t, s trengthmay not appear to be a thing wholly i n our own hands 3 butwe must n ever forget that God imparts hi s s trength to usonly

.

through the strenuous forth-putting of our own . If wewould se cure h i s m igh t

,we must earnestly employ our own .

I f we would rece ive grac e from him to resis t temptation ,we must ourselves Show firmness and courage 3 i f we wouldu ltimately

,through him

,be conquerors i n the battl e of l ife,

we must zealously carry on the fight ourselves . I n theGospel narrat ive

,the man who had the withered arm re

c e ived strength to put i t forth, by honestly and bel ievinglymaking the attempt to do what Jesus bade h im ; and weshal l be supported i n the d ischarge of difficul t duty onlywhen we endeavor to perform i t as hearti ly as i f the whol epower requ ired were our own ; while at the same time welook up to God for help as s incerely as if al l the m ight werereally to come from him

,as i ndeed i t always does . When

God says “ Be s trong,”we get the strength which we need by

acting in such a way as impl ies that we already possess i t.This may seem a paradox

,bu t i t i s the paradox of faith i n

every form . Admirably has one said , “ The momen t rel igion ceases to command men to attempt the impossible, i tceases to be rel igion 3

” and when faith that i s real ly faith a t

tempts the impossibl e,it changes i t forthwith in to the poss i

ble 3 for then the strength of God i s made " perfec t in human

LAST WORDS . 4 1 7

weakness . For the young espec ially no ax iom is more importan t than this, contrad ictory as i t may seem ,

that to gaind ivin e strength we must be strong

,and set ourselves de

fiant ly against al l ev i l . Take then,my friends

,a decided

stand for God, and truth, and duty, and the strength neededto main tai n that stand wil l not be withheld from those whoseek i t. “ Watch ye, s tand fast i n the faith, qui t you l ikemen

,be strong.

”

Appended to thi s wise paternal counsel,David gave to

Solomon sundry inj unctions as to the discharge of his gove rnmen ta l dut ies toward certai n ind ividual s . F i rs t he spokeof Joab ; and, after referring to his murder of Abner andAmasa in c ircumstances of pecul iar atroc ity

,he said

,

“DO

therefore according to thy wisdom,and le t not his hoar head

go down to the grave i n peace .

” Next he al luded in ‘

kind

ly terms to the sons of good old Barz illai,and commended

them to his tender care thus : “ Let them be of those thateat at thy table : for so they came to m e when I fled becauseof Absalom thy brother. F i nally he spake of Shimei

,who

had so shameful ly and spiteful ly cursed h im on the same sadoccasion 3 and after acknowl edging the oath by which he hadbound himself to him

,he added, “ Now therefore hold him

not guiltl ess for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thououghtest to do untohim 3 but hi s hoar head bring thou downto the grave

'

with blood .

”Now, SO far as regards his request

concern ing the sons of Barz ill ai , we can have no feel ings butthose of approbation ; but i t does seem as if his injunctionsconcern ing Joab and Shimei were characterized by a vin~

dic tive and revengeful Spiri t al together out of harmony withhis usual d isposi tion

,and utterly inconsisten t with the sol

emn posit ion in wh ich he was placed . A death-bed i s aplace for forgiven ess, and not for implacabil i ty ; and eventhose who in the ir l ives have not been conspicuous for the irrel igious princ ipl e have

,as they l ay dying, sen t messages


Of reconcil i at ion to such as have been at variance withthem .

A t first,therefore

,and without going into the cons ideration

of the c ases i n detail, we are d isposed to express our astonishmen t at the Sp iri t here man ifested by David, and to pronounce condemnation on -it. In regard to Shimei, i ndeed,some have supposed that the case is not so bad as our translators have made i t appear. Kenn icott, the learned Hebraist

,has affirmed that i t i s not uncommon in that l anguage to

omit the negat ive i n the second part of a sentence, and cons ider i t as repeated where i t has been expressed in the former part of the sentence, if they be connec ted by the usualconjunctive particl e . Therefore he would read David ’s inj unction as to Shimei thus : “ Hold him not gu iltl ess, butbring thou not h is hoar head to the grave with blood .

” I amno t sufficien tly conversan t with the n icetie s of the Hebrewlanguage to be competen t to give an Opin ion on such a poin tas th is 3 but this proposed rendering has been adopted bysuch scholars as Dr. Angus, i n h is “ Bible Hand-book,” andDr. Jameson , i n h is excellen t commen tary on the 'historical

'

books of the O ld Testament 3 and i t must he confessed thati t rece ives a certain measure of support from Solomon ’s after-treatmen t Of Shimei

,S ince he d id not put h im to death at

firs t, but merely confined him within the l imi ts of the city ofJerusalem

,and shed his blood only when he had v iolated the

condit ions on which h is l ife had been gran ted to him .

But whatever may be said regard ing Shimei,there remains

the case of Joab 3 and when we remember how much Davidowed him , we are apt to feel that he m ight now have condoned h is faults

,and le t him go unpun ished . Al l this must

be frankly conceded 3 but when we go bel ow the surface ofthe n arrative and take al l the bearings of the subj ec t intoour con sideration

,the case against David i s not so bad

as i t looks . I at least am not disposed to pronounce un


c alam ity on the land . Thus, i n the book of the law,i n con

n ec tion with the enactmen t provid ing ci t ies of refuge for theaccidental man-sl ayer, we have this inj unction : But if anyman hate h is n eighbor, and l ie i n wait for him ,

and rise upagain st him

,and sm ite h im mortally that he die

,and fleeth

i nto one Of these c i t ies : then the elders of his c i ty Shal l sendand fetch h im thence, and del iver him into the hand of theavenger of blood, that he may d ie . Thine eye Shal l not p ityh im , but thou shal t pu t away the guil t Of innocent blood fromIsrael, that i t may go wel l withAs an instructive commentary upon this portion of the sa

cred statu te-book, we had before u s a few even ings ago thefact that the slaughter of the Gibeon ites by Saul , which hadcontinued unatoned for, brought down upon the land, evenafte r the lapse of more than th irty years, a v is itation of famin e which ceased on ly when seven Of Saul

’

s de scendan ts

had been given up to j ustice . Hence we may suppose thatDavid feared l est some similar j udgment Should come uponthe people i n Solomon’s t ime for the unpunished crimes ofJoab

,and that he sought

,by l aying these inj unction s upon

h is son , to avert such a calam ity from the nation . Besid es,though at certain cri t ical t imes in his h istory he had beengreatly indebted to Joab

,yet he had been gal led and irr i

ta ted by his haughty and overbearing character, and mayhave wished that Solomon should be del ivered from a yokeunder which he had been fretted and born e down for manyyears . With our New Testamen t ideas, i ndeed, we almostinst inct ively recoi l from these inj unct ions, given on his deathbed by David to Solomon , but we must pl ace oursel ves, l ikehim

,under the Mosaic l aw

,with the old ideas of blood-re

venge which then prevailed,and which that law sought to

regul ate rather than to abol i sh,before we presume to si t in

Deuteronomy xix. , I I— I 3 .

LAST WORDS . 4 2 I

j udgmen t upon them . Now,when we thus regard them ,

wecan not condemn David so confidently as many have done .

O n the con trary,we see

,i n h is anxiety abou t the d isposal of

these malefactors,evidence of a qu icken ing of his conscience

as a magistrate, which was very natural at the approach Of

death ,whil e at the same time i t ind icates the intensity of

his des ire to rel ieve Solomon from the evil consequencesthat would else have resulted from his own failure in theadmin istration of j ust ice . To our thinking

,they wrong the

dying man most shamefully who would impute to personalmal ic e or cruel revenge recommendations which were givensolely on publ ic and j udic ial grounds by one who fel t himself al ready face to face with hi s own final account . . Norcan I forbear to add

,that the d isposit ion which cavil s a t

these inj unctions thus understood,i s of a p iece with the

mawkish sentimental ism of these t imes,which turns eve ry

criminal i nto a s imple obj ec t of benevolence, when it doesnot exal t h im in to a hero

,and of which we see the resul ts

to-day, when j ustice is lying torn and bleed ing in our s treets ;when human l ife

,i ns tead of be ing the most sacred obj ect o f

protect ion by soc ie ty,i s almost as l ittl e regarded among us

as that of the brutes that perish 3 and when the perpetratorsOf th e most palpable murders con trive

,by a thousand plausi

ble pretexts, to elude that penalty which the law has annexedto the ir crime . Let us not forget that th e Go d of Israel i sthe God of all n ation s

,and that his providence i s st ill regu

l ated by the principles on which he governed the world inthe days of David . Al as ! what evil s m ay be even now impending over u s

,because of the ind ifl

'

erence to j ust ice whichhas characterized so much of our recen t so-cal led j ud ic ialprocedure We have had al l manner of con s ideration andpi ty shown to the crim inals ; i t m ight be wel l now if a l ittl eOf both were man ifested to the commun ity at l arge .

I t only now remains, before we come to the last scene of

4 2 2 DAV ID,K ING OF ISRA EL .

this eventful h istory, that we glance a l ittl e at the interes ting oracl e which is introduced by the sacred his torian i n thetwenty-th ird chapter of 2 Samuel with th is phrase : “ Now

these be the l ast words of David .

” I t is not n ecessary tobel ieve that the portion of sacred poetry to wh ich this statemen t i s prefixed was the very l atest u tterance of the Psalmist before he closed h is eyes i n death . The mean ing of thec l ause may be that the pred ic tion which i t in troduces wasthe last formal commun icat ion m ade by David in the characte r Of an inspired prophet

,or i t may Simply ind icate that

the oracle belongs to th e last i l lness of the king ; and so,over and above i ts d ivin e insp iration , i t may serve to showthe curren t of h is thoughts and the support of his heart, ashe was pass ing through the val ley of shadow. In any case

,

i t has a character which i s qui te un ique among the product ions of David . I t i s not a Psalm in which we have the elemen t of praise commingled with that of pred iction , n eitheri s i t a plai n declaration of David ’s sp iri tual experien ce inthe n ear prospec t of death ; but i t i s a prophecy, or oracl e“commencing wi th a description of the prophet and an assert ion of h is inspiration , and then proceeding to del ineate thenature of Mess iah ’s domin ion , with its twofold effec t Of bless~ing on the obed ien t and lowly

,and pun ishment on the rebell

iou s and proud . Then,between the indication of the bless

ing and the curse, we have a kind of parenthetic referenc eto David ’s royal dynasty, the perpetu ity of which , as securedi n the Messiah

,he declares to be al l his salvat ion and al l

h is des ire .Let us attend to each of these portion s of th is interesting

passage . There i s,firs t

,the description of the prophet him

self. This i s u sual in the in troduction of importan t predict ions . We find i t

,for example

,i n the open ing verses of the

books of Isaiah,Amos

,and Jeremiah, and, i n particul ar, we

have a stra in very s im ilar to that before us i n the commence

4 2 4 DAV ID,K ING OF ISRA EL .

sweet that as one l i stens he seems to hear for the time themelody of heaven , and al l sorrow and anxiety are charmedaway. His j oyful odes bear aloft our praises

,as on eagl es’

wings,to heights to which alon e a nd without his ass istance

we had never soared ; hi s Psalms of pen i tence and sadnessgive us m inor stra in s wherewi th to humble ourselves beforethe Lord 3 whil e in the sweet s impl i c i ty of such pastoralhymns as “ The Lord is my shepherd ” we have a beautythat never grows dim , a tenderness that n ever fail s to touchthe heart, and a music that never pall s upon the ear. Truly

,

therefore, i s he styl ed “ the sweet psalm ist of Israel .The next verse sets before us h is d ivin e inspiration “ The

Spiri t of the Lord spake by me, and his word was i n mytongue The God of Israe l said

,the Rock Of Israe l spake

to me . A l l hi s songs,as gathered together i n the book

with which h is name is assoc iated,were d ivin ely inspired ;

but here , as i t seems to me, the reference is spec ial ly to theoracl e which he is abou t to utter

,and to which he wishes

that particul ar importance should be attached . This was tobe his dying prophecy, l ike that given by Jacob to his son s,or those given by Moses and Joshua to the tribes ; and hedes ired that Spec ial attention should be given to i t as be ingnot his only, but the utte rance of the Divin e Spiri t throughhim . How the Spiri t spake by h im we are not informed ;but the assert ion of the un ion of the d ivin e and human i nthe u tterances of the prophe t i s cl early and emphaticallymade . David spoke

,and the human style

'

had al l the charac teris tics of his usual production s ; for the Spiri t u sed not

the vocal organs of the prophet alone, bu t h is in tel lectualand emotion al powers as well . But God Spoke by David,and that which he uttered was the truth, i nfal l ible as he whogave i t . The styl e was n atural and human , the thought wassupernatural and

,d ivine 3 and no part of i t would fal l away

without fulfil lmen t. Indeed,to make th is more striking and

LAST WORDS . 42 5

impress ive, Jehovah is here styled “ the Rock of Israel 3” for

as a rock is immovable in mid-ocean,so God i s unchange

able and incorruptibl e 3 and the word which he speaksthrough his servan t partakes of his own character

,and i s a

part of that Scripture “ which can not be broken .

”

The oracl e thus i ntroduced speaks firs t of the characterof a ruler, whom we easily iden tify as the Messiah . I t i s

,

indeed, the description of an ideal ruler,but the real in

whom i t i s fulfil led is Chris t : “ He that rul eth over men,

j ust rul ing i n the fear of God . I have read the clausewithou t the i tal ic supplement i n our version

,for I take i t to

be not an affirmation of what a rul er ought to be,but a de

l ineation of the sort of rul er the Messiah should be . I t i sthus paral le l to th e predic tion i n the 7 2 d Psalm . Heshal l j udge thy people with righteousness

,and thy poor with

j udgment 3 and to that of Isaiah : “ There shal l come fortha rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shal l grow outof h is roots . With righteousness shal l he j udge the poor

,

and reprove with equ ity for the meek of the earth : and heshal l sm ite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with thebreath of his l ips shal l he sl ay the wicked .

” Thus the ef

feet of his administration should be differen t on differen tind ividual s. The meek, th e righteous, the poor would beblessed 3 but the unrighteous, the d isobedient, the proudwould be destroyed . The righteous would be blessed . Thisi s what is affi rmed in the fourth verse . The sense of thewords

,i ndeed

,both in the Hebrew and in the Engl ish, i s Ob

scure by reason both of the brevity of the expression andthe figurat ive character of the l anguage which i s employed 3but a sl ight al teration of the rendering brings out a beautifuland appropriate mean ing.

Kennicott found in an old MS. the word Jehovah, andhe gives the fol lowing vers ion of the passage : “ And as themorn ing l ight

,shal l J ehovah the sun arise, even an uncloud


ed morn ing,and the verdure shal l spring out of the earth by

the warm,bright Splendor, after rain .

” Now,if th is be adopt

ed as the correc t rendering, i t gives n ot on ly an exqu isi te description of the bless ings flowing from the reign Of Messiahto h is friends— l ight symbol iz ing truth and gladness

,and the

fresh springing of the grass after the Shower representingthe growth of hol iness and peace

,which is always consequen t

upon the reception of the Gospel— but i t al so furn ishes astriking parallel to other prophetic announcements concerning the Son of David . Thus

,i n Hosea vi . , 3 , we read, His

going forth is prepared as the morning ; and he shal l come un tou s as the rain

,as the latter and former rain unto the earth .

”

And i n Malach i iv.,2,i t i s said

,

“ The Sun of righteousnessshal l arise with heal ing in his wings . So again

,i n the 7 2 d

Psalm, the date of which, as we have seen , was near to thet ime at which the oracle before us was given , we read, Heshal l come down l ike rai n upon the mown grass : as showersthat water the earth .

” The ful l force of such a figure,how

ever,can be real ized only when we take in to account the

physical phenomena of the l and of Palest ine, i n wh ich, asJ ameson has said

,

* “ Littl e patches of grass are seen rapidly springing up after rai n ; and even where

‘ the ground hasbeen long parched and bare

,within a few days or hours after

the enriching showers begin'

to fal l, the face of the earth isso renewed that i t i s covered over with a pure fresh mantleof green .

”Now,

could any th ing more appropriately il lustrate the effects which are everywhere produced when theGospel has been rece ived and obeyed ? Great j oy fi l l s thehearts of those who, owning Jesus as their Lord, rece ive for

g iveness at h is hands, and forthwith they begin to grow inal l that i s beautiful

,and good

,and godl ike, so that ( to bor

Commentary, Cri tical , Experimental , and Practical , on the Old and

N ew Testaments ,” by Jameson , Fausset, and Brown , vol . ii. , p . 2 82 .


for them by whom it i s dressed,receiveth blessing from God

but that which beare th thorns and briers i s rej ected, and i sn igh unto curs ing 3 whose end is to be burned 3

” and bothal ike bring before us the solemn fac t

,that while the recep

tion of the Gospel i s the means of blessing to those whobel ieve and obey i t

,i ts rej ection en tails th e greatest cal am i

t ies on those who put i t from them . Chris t has a bapti smof the Holy Ghost for h is people, but a baptism of fire for hisenemies . The wheat he Shal l gather in to his barn

,but the

chaff he shal l burn wi th fire unquenchable . They who welcome the Messiah with open arms

,and rece ive him into their

hearts,have every th ing to hope for from his royal admin

istration ; but they who defiantly rej ec t h im ,and refuse to

subm i t themselves to h im,are courting the ir etern al de

struction .

Midway between these figurative descriptions of the blessedness of those who rece ive the Gospel

,and the destruction

of those who rej ec t i t,we have a touching verse, making ref

erence to David’s personal feel ings in the case : “ Al thoughmy house be not so with God ; yet he hath made wi th me aneverl ast ing covenan t

,ordered i n al l th ings, and sure for th is

i s al l my salvat ion,and al l my desire

,although he make i t

not to grow.

” The common interpretation of these wordsis,that David i s al luding to the sad events i n h is own per

sonal and domest ic history,and declaring that

,i n Sp ite of

these,he trusted in God ’s wel l-ordered and everl asting cov

enan t. That was al l h is salvat ion and des ire, though inhimself and in h is sons i t had not been made to grow.

Now i t i s always painful to d isturb an old and, i t may be,hal lowed expl anation of such a passage as this 3 but the oh

j ec tions to th is understand ing of David ’s wcirds are so serious , that I fear we must conclus ively give i t up 3 for not

'

on ly

does i t requ ire us to give to one Hebrew word,which occurs

four times in the verse,four differen t mean ings, but i t takes

LAST WORDS . 4 2 9

the term house i n its l im ited sense of fam ily c ircl e ; whereashere

,as i n al l the Mess ian ic prophecies connected with Da

vid, i t mean s dynasty or regal l ineage . The bes t expositors

,

therefore, propose to read i t thus, or somehow after this fashion “ For i s not my house so with God ? for he hath madewith me an everlasting covenant

,ordered in al l th ings and

sure ; for this is al l my salvation and al l my des ire ; for wil lhe not make i t [that i s, my house] to grow ?

” Observe,Da

vid has been describ ing the character Of a rul e r ; and redupl icating on that description , he i n effec t says, I s i t not tobe the d ist i nctive feature of my l ineage that i t Shal l rul e i nj ustic e, and in the fear of the Lord ?” a feature which cameout not only in Solomon, but al so I n A sa

,Jehoshaphat

,Hez

ek iah, Josiah, and others, and espec ial ly and pre-eminently

i n J esu s Chris t,in whom this prophecy culm inated

,and by

whom it was thoroughly fulfil led . Nay,was i t not assured

to David by God ’s everlasting covenant that this should bethe character of his house, and pecul iarly of Him who wasi ts greates t and most il lustrious member ? In this

,therefore

,

he would res t. This was h is salvat ion,th is was hi s desire 3

for beyond al l doubt God would make i t to grow. Thus,as

the aged prophet s ings h is death-song he sees Messiah ’s glory afar off, and is glad . He rests in the promise of the comi ng ruler. He looks forward in death to the same SaviourKing to whom now we look backward ; and so, s tretchingthrough long centuries on e ither s ide, our hands mee t andtouch h is

,as together we take hold of the same benign Re

deemer. Nor i s th is a mere fanc iful in terpretation , restingupon no foundat ion 3 for what says Peter i n reference to the1 6 th Psalm ? Therefore being a prophet, and knowing thatGod had sworn with an oath to him

,that of the fru i t of hi s

lo in s,accord ing to the flesh

,he would ra ise up Christ to si t

on his throne 3 David, see ing this before, spake of the resurrect ion of Chris t, that h is soul was not l eft i n Hades, neither


his flesh d id see David, then , Peter be ing witn ess

,had a gl impse of Messiah ’s com ing

,and on that com

ing he rested al l h is hope . I t was hi s salvation and desire .For years he had l ived on the prophecy and promise whichGod gave to h im by the mouth of Nathan 3 and now

, as helay dying

,he pil lowed his head upon God ’s coven an t that

the great righteous Rul er would be sure to come . This washi s hope in death 3 for now we take our l eave of him whosecheckered h istory We have fol lowed with such growing interes t during these by-gone months. David slept with h isfathers .” Sl ep t 3 for thu s e arly was the good man

’s deathaccounted a sleep

,not only as bringing rest after “ l ife’s fit

ful fever,but also as predict ing an awaken ing at the resur

rect ion—day.

“ He was buried in the c ity of David,” and

doubtl ess, as in the c ase of Samuel, al l Israel would mournbeside his grave

,which in after-years became the centre of

the catacombs wherei n were con ta ined the sepulchres of thekings of Judah .

’

Even so l ate as the Day of Pentecost Dav id ’s sepul chre was d ist inguishable

,bu t now it i s unknown .

Yet i t matters not where h is tomb i s ; here is h is monumen ti n the h istory which we have been studying

,and in the lega

cy of sacred song wh ich he has l eft to the Church of everyage, and yonder, on high, i s h is record . Adieu ! thou sweetPsalmist 3 thou royal prophet ; thou tempted, t ried, stricken ,err ing, yet i n the main , t rue-hearted man of God 3 we shal lknow thee better when we meet above, now that we havetraced thy h istory so m inutely here . Now i s thy wish grat ified

, now is thy prayer answered , for now beholdest thou “ thebeauty of the Lord

,

” and inquires t “ i n h is Templ e .

” MayGod make us meet to be there eternal ly thy fel low -worshipers !

I have time only for two practical reflections, which I

*Acts i i . , 30, 3 1 .


sel f and s in,there is One to whom we can cl ing who “ was i n

al l points tempted l ike as we are,yet withou t s in

,

” and whoi s a human brother i ndeed

,but also and especial ly a Divine

Helper. The more c losely we keep to h im,the more se

curely shal l we be kept from fall ing in to s in . I t i s much toget safely to the land at l ast, even though i t should be “ onboards

,or on broken pieces of the ship .

” But if we give al ld il igence to fol low him , and determ in e in al l c i rcumstancesto adhere to his commands , we shall have an entrance m inistered to us abundantly in to h is everlast ing kingdom . I ti s better to be saved

,yet so as by fire

,

” than not to be savedat al l . But Oh

,how much better st il l i t is to be saved in ful l

n ess . Be i t ours,therefore

,to aim after the abundan t en

trance and the gl ad “ Well done 1”

F in al ly : we may see here the bel iever’s hope i n death .

David dies not i n despai r. He has a fi rm hold of God ’scoven an t. He knows God will bring the Redeemer at theappoin ted t ime

,and in the admin istration of the Messiah

King he has h is simpl e trus t. Thus h is experience in looking forward to Chris t’s day was singularly paral lel to thatof Pau l looking backward to Chri st’s work, and upward toChrist’s throne

,and saying

,I know whom I have bel ieved

,

and am persuaded that he is abl e to keep that which I havecommitted to h im agains t that day. Chris t, as the greatdel iverer of God ’s covenan t and prom ise, was thus the comforter al ike of David and of Paul . Death was easy to both,for they trusted in h im ,

and death wil l become gai n to u salso

,when we l ive in him . I t Shal l come to pass that

a t even ing t ime i t shall be l ight . Thus i t was with Israe l ’s k ing

,and thus i t shall be al so with us

,i f al l our sal va

t ion be i n and al l our desire be for h im who i s the righteou sruler and the atoning priest of h is bel i eving peopl e. Yearsago I used to travel on foot i n the winter morn ings for fivem iles, to teach in a coun try school . I had to set out from

LAST WORDS. 43 3

home in the dark, : and I amused myself with marking thebrightes t s tars

,and seeing how one by one they faded in to

d ay. There was one that held out always longest— the brigh tand beautiful pl ane t Venus — and I can remember yet howI used to watch and watch, sure that I would see i t i n thevery act of d isappearing. But I was always d isappoin ted .

Something would attrac t my attent ion elsewhere for a moment

,and when I looked again i t was gon e . So the good

man at death goes out of human View.

He se ts as sets the morning-star,Which goes n ot down behind the darkened west,N or hides obs cured amid the tempe sts of the sky,

But me l ts away into the l ight of he aven .

”

May God gran t to u s such a glorious and peaceful exodusAmen .

43 6 INDEX .

Beauty , persona l , right estimation of, 3 1 7 .

Bene vo lence , re lation of,to persona l expenditure

, 23 1 .

B ereaved parents admonished and comforted, 2 89—2 98.

Bethlehem, s ituation of, 14 3 assoc ia t ions with, 14, 1 5 3 influence of, uponDavid, 1 5 3 anoin ting of David a t , 1 6.

B laikie’s“ David, King of I srael , quoted from or re ferred to, 33 , 34, 245 ,

Blood~revenge , r ight of, 367 .

Blunt’s Scriptura l Coincidences referred to, 309, 400.

Book of Jasher, 1 85 .

Bow,

”Song of the , 1 85 .

Browning, Robert, lines of, on the power of music , 2 8.

CARLYLE , Thomas, on David’s faults, 2 74 3 quotation by, from Richter,3 1 5 .

Carme l , v il lage of, 1 5 6.

Chand ler’s “ Life of David referred to, 2 72 , 385 .

Character, deterioration of, il lus trated from the case of Saul , 188.Cherubim , symbol ic mean ing of

,2 2 6.

Children , overindulgence of, exposed, 3 1 5 .

C himham’

s place a t the roya l table , 343 .

Chris t a t the door of the heart, 2 24.Commerce s timulated by David, 2 5 2 .

Communion with God a solace in t rial , 3 5 7 .

Congregationa l psa lmody, importance of, 2 5 7 .

Consequences of s in can not be arre s ted, 107 .

Convict, letter of a , in illus tration of the power of prayer, 1 2 7 .C oronation of David a t Hebron , 199.

Cush, the s lande rer, des cribed , 143 .

Cowper, B ishop, on the 1 19th Ps alm , 85 .

Cowper, Wil l iam , on Friendship, 65 3 hymn of, 13 1 .

DAV ID,persona l appearance of, 19 3 anoint ing of, by Samue l , 19 ; a t He

bron , 19 1 3 sent for to the court of Saul , 2 9 ; persona l courage of, 3 1 3

playing before Saul , 33 3 Psalms of, the ir pecul iar power, 34, 1 2 3 , 136,3 79 ; re turn of, to Bethlehem , 4 1 3 sent to the camp a t E lah, 44 ; ac

cepts the cha l lenge o f Gol iath, 47 3 interviews of, with Jona than , 5 8,94 . 96, 1 24 3 friendship of, with Jona than , 5 8—63 3 marriage of, to Mi

cha l , 69 3 to Ab iga il , 1 6 1 3 to Maachah, 195 3 escape of, from Gibeah,7 7 ; at Ramah, 84 3 a t N ob, 97 3 at Gath, 99, 1 74 3 in the cave of

Adul lam, 102 3 prov ide s an asylum for his paren ts , 105 3 in the wil

de rn e ss of Hare th, 1 16 3 a t K e ileh, 1 19-1 2 2 3 at Ziph, 1 2 3 3 a t Eu

gedi, 1 33 3 spares Saul magnan imous ly, 13 7 , 140 ; contras ted withRebekah, 146 3 appl ies to Naba l for suppl ies , and is re fused, 1 5 8 3 at

Ziklag, 1 74, 1 7 7 3 hears of the dea ths of Sau l and Jonathan, and s ingsthe Song of the Bow,

”1 84

— 1 88 3 contras ted with Saul , 1 88-2 01 3 is

INDEX . 43 7

crowned a t Hebron, 199 3 chooses Je rusa lem for his capital , 202—204 3builds for himse lf a cedar pa lace , 2 10 3 de feats the Philis tines twice

a t Rephaim, 2 1 2 , 2 13 3 brings up the ark to Jerusa lem, 2 16 3 retur ns

to bless his house , 2 2 8 3 des ires to build a temple , but is preventedby N a than , 2 30 3 deals kindly with Mephiboshe th, 24 1 3 administrati g ; v ictories of, 2 5 9 3 great transgress ion cam ar

tence of,2 70

- 2 7 5 3 bereavem ent of, 2 84 3 res ignation of, 2 87 3 fleesfrom Jerusa lem before Absa lom, 309 3 at Mahanaim

, 32 6 lamen ts

over the death ofAbsalom, 33 1 3 re turns to Jerusa lem, 34 1 is unjus tto Mephiboshe th, 346 3 suppresse s the revolt of Sheba , 348 3 gives up

seven of Saul’s family to the Gibeon ites , 368 3 numbe rs the pe ople ,3 7 1 3 buys the threshing-floor of Araunah, 3 73 3 gives orders for the

proc lamation of Solomon, 403 3 gives a las t charge to Solomon, 4 1 5 3last words of, 42 235 30 3 dea th of, 430.

Deception, s in off exposed, 87—89.

Despa ir, the forerunner of aggravated s in, 1 06, 1 72— 1 74.

D ivine holiness , maje sty of the , 2 2 5 .

D ivine protection given in many ways to the good man , 86, 382 .

Doeg the Edom ite a wi tnes s of Dav id’

s deception a t N ob, 98 ; accuses

David and Ahimelech to Saul , 1 04 3 s lays the pries ts a t N ob, 105 .

Domestic comfort of the people promoted by David, 2 5 2 .

Doxology sung by cotton opera tives at S taleybridge , 396.

ECCLESIASTICAL arrangements made by David, 2 5 6.

Education fostered by David, 2 50.

Edwards’

s Personal N arrat ive of the I ndian Mutiny referred to, 1 36.

E lah, va l ley of, described, 43 3 battle of, 48 3 le ssons from, 5 3—5 7 .

E l iab rejected by the Lord as king, 1 7 3 rudeness of, to Dav id, 46.

E l isha , eflect of mus ic on , 2 8 .

Endor, s itua tion of, 1 80 3 witch of, v is ited by Saul , 1 80 3 ques tions regarding her agency in Samue l’s appearance , 18 1-1 83 .

Eu-gedi, strongholds of, described, 1 33 .

Esdrae lon ,vale of, with its branches , described, 1 78.

E vi l spir it from the Lord troubl ing Saul , 2 5 3 soothed by David’s mus ic ,

33 3 but on ly for a time , 39 3 Chris t the true exorciser of, 40.

Ewald’s description of the para lle l ism of Hebrew poetry, 134 3 his v iewconcerning David’s worthie s ,

”247.

Expiation for s in , necess ity of, 3 76.

Ezel , stone of, 94, 96.

FA IRBA IRN’

S“ Imperia l B ible Dictionary quoted from, 42 .

Faith, lesson of, from Dav id ’s conflict with Gol iath, 5 5 3 produces humility , grat itude , and prayer, 2 39 3 loss of, is the source of greater s in,1 o6 , 1 72

—1 74.

Fam ily worship enforced, 2 2 8.

Famine , v is itat ion of the land by, 360.

43 8 INDEX .

Faraday, M ichael , an example of the profitable employment of le isuret ime, 38 .

Farine l l i’s mus ic, power of, over Philip V ., 2 8.

Free agency of man not interfered with by the purposes of God, 35 , 33 1 .

Friends , choice of, 63—6 5 .

Froude’

s“ His tory of England referred to, 89, 2 5 1 .

Lectures referred to, 109.

GAD joins David in the cave of Adul lam, 103 .

Gath, departure of Dav id to, 99 .

Gerhardt, Paul , hymns of, 13 1 , 2 88.

G ibeonites the ir his tory, 364 3 s lain by Saul, 366 3 Saul’s seven descendants given to, 368.

G ilboa , battle of, 1 84.

G loaming of Life ,” byWal lace , referred to, 33 5 .

God ’

s e ternity a source of comfort to the saint, 394.

faithfulnes s tes ted by David ’s l ife, 390 3 trus t in, enforced, 397.gentleness , power of, 39 1 .

long-suffering with s inners , 90.

mora l government, carried on in harmony with natural law, 360 3re tributive in its character, 386 .

protect ion of his people , 86 , 382 .

recept ion of a s inner contras ted with David’

s reception of Absalom , 3 1 7 .

Gol ia th of Gath, he ight of, 45 3 armor of, 45 3 challenge , the army of I srael , 46 3 en countered and s lain by David, 47 3 sword of, given to Da~

vid by Ahime lech, 97 .

Guthrie , Rev. John , Sacred Lyrics , quoted from, 2 2 1 .

Guthrie , Rev. D r. Thomas , quoted from , 290.

HACH ILAH , David a t , 140.

Happiness , how to obtain, 7 1 3 compared to s leep, 7 1 , 72 .

Hebron , 192 .

Holine ss of God, majesty of the , 2 2 5 .

Homer’s heroes referred to as i l lus trating points in the narrative, 48, 59.

Hones ty of Scriptura l biographies , 2 7 7 , 34 1 .

Honors in Chris t’s kingdom , how distributed, 2 62 .

Hume , Sir Pa trick, susta ined by David’s Ps alms , 136.

Humil ity, les son of, from David ’s bearing at E lah, 5 7 .

Hushai s en t to Jerusalem to de fea t Ahithophe l , 3 1 1 .

I HAVE sinned how diflerently uttered by different men,1 5 0.

I ndiscrim inate indulgence of children reproved, 399.

I nfant sa l vation , arguments in support of, 2 92- 2 94 3 consolation from ,

2 94 3 appeals from , 2 97.

suffe ring and death, 2 84, 2 85 , 2 89 3 solace under, 2 9 1 .

440 INDEX.

MACH IR of Lo-debar jo ins Dav id, 3 2 7 .

M ‘Leod, D r. N orman , l ines from,

Madness fe igned by David at Gath, 1 00.

Mahana im, arriva l of David at, 32 6 3 battle of, 32 8.

Marriage , Chris t ian law of,1 66.

Meekness , lesson of,from the bearing of David to E liab, 5 5 3 from the

conduct of Mephiboshe th, 3 5 6.

Mephiboshe th, kind ly treated by David, 24 1 3 grief of, at David’

s departure from Jerusalem , 343 3 perfidy of Ziba to

, 3 1 2 , 344 3 faithfulness of,to David, and its poor requital , 344—346.

Michal , marriage of, to David, 69 3 device of, to save Dav id’s l ife, 7 7 3

images of, 78—80 3 dece it of, 8 7—89 3 punishment of, by David, 2 24—2 2 5 .

M il ler, Hugh, an instance of the profitable employment of leisure time , 38.

M ilitary organization formed by David, 2 46.

M ilton , Paradise Los t of, 130 3 referred to, 2 23 .

Montgomery, James , l ines from , 33 .

Mus ic, congrega tional , how to foster, 2 5 7 3 medicinal effects of, 2 7—2 9.

Musical arrangements made by David, 2 5 6.

NABAL, character of, 1 5 6 3 rudeness of, to David, 1 5 8 3 death of, 16 1 3 contras ted wi th Samue l , 1 62 .

N athan , message of, to David in reference to the Temple , 2 33 3 vis it of, toDavid after his great transgress ion , 2 7 1 3 parable of the ewe lamb, 2 7 1 3agency of, in the defeat of Adonijah, 401 .

N ationa l prosperity intimate ly connected with the rel igious character ofthe people , 2 60, 4 13 .

N ationa l s ins pun ished by nationa l suffering, 365 .

N e e S ima, Rev. Joseph, incidents in his e arly history, il lustrative of the

power of prayer, 1 2 8 .

N ewton , I saac, quoted from , 1 2 7 .

N ob, David at, 97 3 massacre of the priests at, 105 .

OPPORTUNITY,importance of embracing, 89, 1 89.

PARAN,wilderness of, 1 5 3.

Parents , bereaved, comforted and counse led, 292 , 2 97.care for, enforced on the ir children , I 10.

le ssons to, from Absa lom’

s rebe l lion, 3 16, 333 3 from Adonij ah’srevo l t, 399.

Pestilence , vis itation of, 37 1 .

Phil ip V . soothed by Farinel li’s music , 2 8.

Phil istines , des cription of, 42 3 at E lah, 42 3 compla in of Achish for hiskindness to David, 100, 1 76 3 encamp at the we l l of Harod, 1 78 3 victory of, over Saul , 1 84 3 de feated by David at Rephaim , 2 1 2 .

F lamer’s Studies in the Book of Psalms quoted from , 8 5 .

Plum tre , Professor, Bibl ica l Studies of,

”refe rred to, 309 , 3 1 1 .

I NDEx. 44 1

Polygamy, evils of, 167, 195 , 2 66, 3 1 5 .

Popular favor, fickleness of, 3 2 1 .

Prayer vindicated from modern objections , 1 26 ; i llustrations of answers

to, 1 2 7, 1 2 8 3 answers to, cons is tent with the uniformity of the laws ofnature, 1 2 7 .

Priests, arrangement of, into courses , 2 5 5 .

Prophecy of N athan , interpretat ion of, 2 33—2 3 7 .

Psa lm , apocryphal , after the batt le of E lah, referred to, 5 2 .

Psalms , passages in, probably referring to E lah, 5 2 .

Psalms , probable origin or occas ion of Psalm iii. , 3 14 3 iv. , 3 14 3 v., 350 3

vii. , 142 145 3 xi i. , 1 5 5 3 xv. , 2 19 3 xviii. , 379 3 xxiv. , 2 2 3 3 x x. , 2 10 3

xxx i. , 1 2 2 3 xxxii. , 2 72 3 xxxiv. , 10 1 3 xl i., 3 50 3 xl ii. , 3 5 3 3 xliii. , 35 3 3 l i.,2 72 , 2 83 3 l iv. , 1 2 5 3 1v. , 3 5 o ; lvi. , 10 1 3 lvii. , 135 3 l ix. , 8 1 3 lx l l l ., 1 1 7 ;lxv iii . , 2 2 0 3 lxix. ,

lxx ii. , 4o7 3 lxxxiv. , 3 5 3 3 ci. , 193 3 cx. , 2 5 3 3cxix. , 84 3 c xii. , 2 19 3 cxxxiii. , 20 1 3 cxlii. , 134 3 cxl iii. , 3 50 3 cxliv., 35 3.

imprecatory, referred to , 3 5 1 .

Pythagoras , use of music by, 2 7 .

RAHAB compared with M ichal , 88.Ramah, Dav id at, 82 .

Rebekah contras ted with David, 146.

Rebe l l ion , Absal om’

s , accoun ted for, 304 3 early success ofexplained, 305 3inaugura tion of,308 3adhes ion ofAhithophe l to, 308 3 suppress ion of, 329.

Re cogni tion of God ’

s hand in al l things by David, 389.

Re l igion , connection between , and na t ional prosperity, 2 60, 4 13.

Repentance , true , dis tinguished from fa lse, 1 5 0—1 5 3 .

Revol t of Sheba , 348.of Adon ijah, 399.

Richter, quota tion from, by Carlyle , 3 I 5 .

Ris t, hymns of, 13 1 .

R iz pah’s devo tion to her son , 369 .

Rock of divis ions , or escapes , 1 2 5 .

SACRIFICE, to be s incere , must cost something, 3 7 7 .

Samue l , character of, 9, 1 5 3 3 commanded to anoin t David, 14 ; visited byDavid at Ramah, 82—84 3 death and buria l of, 1 54 3 contras ted withN abal , 1 62-164 3 appearance of, to Saul a t Endor, 1 80—183 .

Saul , chosen king by lot , 9 3 characte r of, 10, 1 2 3 m istakes of, 10—1 2 3 lessons from , 2 1 , 1 87 , 190 3 troubled by an evil spirit, 24 3 s ootlfi d by Da

v id ’s harp, 2 8 3 interv iew wi th Dav id a fter the batt le o f E lah, 5 1 3 j ealonsy of David, 66 3 a ttempts to kil l David, 67 , 76 3 among the prOphe ts ,

” 8 7 , 9 1 3 murders the pries ts a t N ob, 105 3 bes ieges Dav id, 1 20,1 24 3 spared by David in the cave , 13 7, 140 3 vacil lation of feel ing inreference to David accounted for, 142 3 repentance on ly part ial , 1 5 0 3v is it to Endor, 1 80 ; appearance of Samue l to , and ques tions as to

that inciden t, 1 8 1-1 83 .

44 2 INDEX .

Saunders’s

“ Evenings with the Sacred Poe ts ” referred to, 130.

Schools of the prophets described, 82 , 83 .

Scott, Sir Wa lter, reference to, 89 3 quotation from, 99.

Scriptura l biographies , honesty of, 2 77 , 43 1 .Selfism , ev il of, il lustrated from the cas e of Saul , 69 3 from that of themen of Keilah, 1 2 1 .

Sheba, revolt of, 348.

Shew-bread given to David by Ahimelech, 97 .

Shimei curses David, 3 13 3 humbles himself before David, 342 3 is denounced by David to Solomon, 4 18.

Shobi, of Rabbah, joins David, 32 7 .

S lander, s in of, 147 3 evil of listening to, 149 3 proper demeanor under,

Smith’

s“ Dictionary of the B ible ” quoted from or referred to, 42 , 133 ,

Solomon , referred to in N athan’

s prophecy, 2 3 5 3 wisdom of, an incidental proof of the d iflus ion of education under David, 2 5 1 3 birth of, 2 99 3proclaimed king, 401 3 addressed by Dav id , 404 3 rece ives from him

the plans of the Temple , and materi a ls for its construction, 404.

Song born out of trial , 130.

Song of the Bow,

”1 85 .

Song, service of, in the Tabernacle, 2 18.Songs in the n ight, 3 5 8 .

S taleybridgc , incident a t , 396.

Stan ley, Dean, quoted from or referred to, 13 , 5 2 , 1 34, 136, 193 , 245 , 247 ,3 73

Spurgeon’

s Treasury of David quoted from, 387 .

TAMAR, beauty of, 2 99 3 dishonored by Amnon , 300.

Taylor, I saac , quotation from, 36 1 .

Temple the , David’s des ire to build, 2 30 3 N athan’s message regarding,

2 33 3 a type of the Chris tian Church, 242 3 lessons from, 408—4 14.

Tennyson , quotations from, 64, 1 68.

Teraphim, dissertation on , 78—80.

Thankfulness for God’s mercies enforced, 395 .

Thirty Years’ War in Germ any fruitful in noble hymns, I 30.

Tholuck, D r. A . , on marriage , 1 69.

Thomson’s “ The Land and the Book ” quoted from or referred to, 5 1 ,

Transgress ion, the great, of David, 2 64 3 its precursors , 2 65 3 its aggravat ions , 2 67 3 accounted for, 2 68 3 David’s pen itence for, 2 70 3 the con

sequences of, 2 7 5 3 lessons from ,2 7 7 .

Trench, Archbishop, quoted from ,2 6, 1 30, 183 , 18 7 , 1 88.

Trial , fruitfulness of, 130 3 tendency ofDavid’s soul under, 144 3 solace in,3 5 7Trust in God, and do the right 1” 73 , 74.

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David, King of Israel - Forgotten Books

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