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2 Samuel
Chapter Five
2 Samuel 5
Chapter Contents
David king over all Israel. (1-5) He takes the
strong-hold of Zion. (6-10) David's kingdom established. (11-16) He defeats the
Philistines. (17-25)
Commentary on 2 Samuel 5:1-5
(Read 2 Samuel 5:1-5)
David was anointed king a third time. His advances were
gradual
that his faith might be tried
and that he might gain experience. Thus
his kingdom typified that of the Messiah
which was to come to its height by
degrees. Thus Jesus became our Brother
took upon him our nature
dwelt in it
that he might become our Prince and Saviour: thus the humbled sinner takes
encouragement from the endearing relation
applies for his salvation
submits
to his authority
and craves his protection.
Commentary on 2 Samuel 5:6-10
(Read 2 Samuel 5:6-10)
The enemies of God's people are often very confident of
their own strength
and most secure when their day to fall draws nigh. But the
pride and insolence of the Jebusites animated David
and the Lord God of hosts
was with him. Thus in the day of God's power
Satan's strong-hold
the human
heart
is changed into a habitation of God through the Spirit
and into a
throne on which the Son of David rules
and brings every thought into obedience
to himself. May He thus come
and claim
and cleanse
each of our hearts; and
destroying every idol
may he reign there for ever!
Commentary on 2 Samuel 5:11-16
(Read 2 Samuel 5:11-16)
David's house was not the worse
nor the less fit to be
dedicated to God
for being built by the sons of the stranger. It is prophesied
of the gospel church
The sons of strangers shall build up thy walls
and their
kings shall minister unto thee
Isaiah 60:10. David's government was rooted and
built up. David was established king; so is the Son of David
and all who
through him
are made to our God kings and priests. Never had the nation of
Israel appeared so great as it began now to be. Many have the favour and love
of God
yet do not perceive it
and so want the comfort of it; but to be
exalted to that
and to perceive it
is happiness. David owned it was for his
people's sake God had done great things for him; that he might be a blessing to
them
and that they might be happy under him.
Commentary on 2 Samuel 5:17-25
(Read 2 Samuel 5:17-25)
The Philistines considered not that David had the presence
of God with him
which Saul had forfeited and lost. The kingdom of the Messiah
as soon as it was set up in the world
was thus attacked by the powers of
darkness. The heathen raged
and the kings of the earth set themselves to
oppose it; but all in vain
Psalm 2:1
& c; . The destruction will turn
as this did
upon Satan's own kingdom. David owns dependence on God for
victory; and refers himself to the good pleasure of God
Wilt thou do it? The
assurance God has given us of victory over our spiritual enemies
should
encourage us in our spiritual conflicts. David waited till God moved; he
stirred then
but not till then. He was trained up in dependence on God and his
providence. God performed his promise
and David failed not to improve his
advantages. When the kingdom of the Messiah was to be set up
the apostles
who
were to beat down the devil's kingdom
must not attempt any thing till they
received the promise of the Spirit; who came with a sound from heaven
as of a
rushing
mighty wind
Acts 2:2.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel》
2 Samuel 5
Verse 2
[2] Also
in time past
when Saul was king over us
thou wast he that leddest out and
broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee
Thou shalt feed my people
Israel
and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.
Shalt feed —
That is
rule them
and take care of them
as a shepherd doth of his sheep
Psalms 78:70
71. This expression
he useth to
admonish David
that he was not made a king to advance his own glory
but for
the good of his people; whom he ought to rule with all tenderness
and to watch
over with all diligence.
Verse 3
[3] So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David
made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king
over Israel.
A league —
Whereby David obliged himself to rule them according to God's laws; and the
people promised obedience to him.
Verse 6
[6] And
the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites
the inhabitants of
the land: which spake unto David
saying
Except thou take away the blind and
the lame
thou shalt not come in hither: thinking
David cannot come in hither.
Cannot come —
They confided in the strength of their fortifications
which they thought so
impregnable
that the blind and the lame were sufficient to defend them
against the most powerful assailant. And probably they set a parcel of blind
and lame people
invalids or maimed soldiers
to make their appearance on the
wall
in contempt of David and his men.
Verse 8
[8] And
David said on that day
Whosoever getteth up to the gutter
and smiteth the
Jebusites
and the lame and the blind
that are hated of David's soul
he shall
be chief and captain. Wherefore they said
The blind and the lame shall not
come into the house.
To the gutter —
That is
whosoever scaleth the fort
or getteth up to the top of it
where the
gutter was.
That are hated —
The Jebusites
and the lame
and the blind
Who had probably themselves insulted
him
and blasphemed God.
He shall be —
These words are fitly supplied out of 1 Chronicles 11:6
where they are expressed.
They said … —
That is
whence it became a proverb
or a common saying
used by David
and
others
the blind and the lame Jebusites
were set to keep the house
that is
the fort of Zion; and to keep others from coming into it; but now they are shut
out of it
and none of them
either of the Jebusites
or of blind and lame
persons
shall be admitted to come into it again. Which David might ordain
to
keep up the memory of this great exploit
and of the insolent carriage of the
Jebusites.
Verse 9
[9] So David dwelt in the fort
and called it the city of David. And David
built round about from Millo and inward.
Millo —
Which seems to have been the town-hall or
state-house
near the wall of the
city of Zion.
Verse 12
[12] And
David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel
and that he
had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.
King over Israel —
That he might be a blessing to them
and they might be happy under his
administration.
Verse 13
[13] And
David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem
after he was come
from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.
David took
… —
This may well be reckoned amongst David's miscarriages
the multiplication of
wives being expresly forbidden to the king
Deuteronomy 17:17. It seems to have been his
policy
that hereby he might enlarge his family
and strengthen his interest by
alliances with so many considerable families. But all these did not preserve
him from coveting his neighbour's wife. Rather they inclined him to it: for men
who have once broke the fence
will wander carelesly.
Verse 17
[17] But
when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel
all
the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it
and went down to
the hold.
The hold — To
some fortified place to which his people might conveniently resort from all
places
and where he might intrench his army
which lay towards the
Philistines.
Verse 20
[20] And
David came to Baalperazim
and David smote them there
and said
The LORD hath
broken forth upon mine enemies before me
as the breach of waters. Therefore he
called the name of that place Baalperazim.
Baal-perazim-Whither the Philistines were
come from the valley of Rephraim
1 Chronicles 14:11. Baal-perazim
signifies the
master of the breaches: So he ascribes all to God.
As waters — As
floods or rivers of waters
which break the banks
and overflow a land
and
overturn all that stands in their way.
Verse 21
[21] And
there they left their images
and David and his men burned them.
Images —
When the ark fell into the hand of the Philistines
it consumed them: but when
these images fell into the hands of Israel
they could not save themselves from
being consumed.
Verse 22
[22] And
the Philistines came up yet again
and spread themselves in the valley of
Rephaim.
And spread themselves — The expression intimates
that they were very numerous
and made a very
formidable appearance. So we read
Revelation 20:9
of the church's enemies going
up on the breadth of the earth. But the wider they spread themselves
the
fairer mark they are for God's arrows.
Verse 23
[23] And
when David enquired of the LORD
he said
Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a
compass behind them
and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
Go up —
Directly against them
as the following words explain it.
Behind —
Where they least expect thee; God's purposes and promises do not exclude men's
endeavours.
Verse 24
[24] And
let it be
when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry
trees
that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out
before thee
to smite the host of the Philistines.
The sound — A
noise as it were of persons walking upon the tops of them
which I shall cause;
and by this sign
both thou shalt he assured that I am coming to help thee; and
the Philistines shall be affrighted
and not perceive the noise of thy army
until thou art upon them.
Bestir —
Fall upon them.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2
Samuel》
DAVID
KING OVER ISRAEL.
11. Samuel. 5:1-12.
David as king
over Israel. There is a sevenfold characteristic of David as king.
Ⅰ. He was an appointed king:
“ The Lord said to thee” (ver.2). He did not seek the office
but he was sought
for the position (1. Samuel 16:11-13). The same is true of Christ. He was God
sent in His work ( John 3:17-18)
God-qualified for the work (Luke 4:18)
and
God-honoured in the position He occupies (Psalm 2:7). The blessed man of Psalm
1
is the honoured man of Psalm 2.
Ⅱ. David was a kinsman king.
He was no foreigner imported for the place
but was one of the people. “ We are
thy bone and flesh” (verse 1). He was one of their race
and not a stranger.
This was according to the righteous rule of Deut.17:15. Christ also is one of
us. “ He was one of us
” was on a banner at the centenary of Stevenson. So we
say of Christ
“ He was one of us.” He is our kinsman (Heb.2:14).
Ⅲ. David was a fitted king.
“ Thou leddest out
” ＆c. (verse 2).He had proved
himself worthy of the position. “ All through his past life
since the conflict
with Goliath
David had showed generalship
wisdom
skill
forbearance
courage
knowledge of men
and trust in God.” How much more so is Christ! He
was fitted by His sufferings (Heb.2:10)
and His whole life further
demonstrates His fitness to be the Ruler of men. Psalm 72. is a prophetic
statement of His reign in the days to come.
Ⅳ. David was a careful king.
“ Thou shalt feed
” ＆c. (verse 2). Literally
“
Thou shalt shepherd.” The metaphor expresses the care the ruler should have in
reigning over his people. “ The true king seeks not to obtain all he can from
the people
but to do all he can for them; not to plunder the sheep
but to
shepherd them.” Psalm 23. is the expression of the shepherdly care of Christ
for His people.
Ⅴ. David was an exemplary
king. “ Thou shalt be a captain” (verse 2). Not only to lead Israel in time of
war
but to be the leader in every good word and work. Christ is our Great
Leader
and it is to Him we are to look (Heb.12:2
3)
of Him we are to learn
(Matt.11:29)
and after Him we are to follow (Mark 8:34).
Ⅵ. David was a victorious
king. The Jebusites thought they were absolutely secure from the power of
David
but they soon found out their mistake ( verse 6-9). Christ is the Great
Victor over all foes (Luke 11:22; Heb.2:14; Col.2:15; Rom.16:20).
Ⅶ. David was the accepted
king. Israel desired him to be their king
and anointed him as such. Christ is
yet to be the acknowledged King on this earth (Isaiah 32:1).
The kingship of
David may not only be taken in a typical sense
as applicable to Christ; but as
an illustration of the believer’s conquering rule over himself (Proverbs
16:32)
in the power of the Spirit (Phil.2:13).
── F.E. Marsh《Five Hundred Bible Readings》
05 Chapter 5
Verses 1-9
Verses 1-12
Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron
and spake
saying
Behold we are thy bone and thy flesh.
David king over all Israel
It was probably very soon after the death of Ishbosheth
that this visit of the tribes of Israel to Hebron occurred. Now
in this
request the elders urged three reasons why David should be their king.
1. Blood-relationship: “We are thy bone and thy flesh.” It was with
these words that Laban welcomed his nephew Jacob to Haran (Genesis 29:14); with these words also
Abimelech sought the allegiance of the men of Shechem ( 9:2).
2. David had been
under Saul
their leader in war
and as he had
been a victorious leader they are ready to acknowledge him as their king.
3. He had been called of God to be a shepherd and a prince over
Israel.
As the representatives of the tribes the elders come to Hebron
with this petition
and a covenant is entered into “before the Lord.”
1. All the tribes of Israel were now united and the family circle was
one under David.
2. There was peace in Israel
instead of the long
bitter strife of
so many years.
3. Their anointed king was he whom God had selected
so that
instead
of fighting against the Divine purpose
they were now in harmony with that
purpose
and the smile of Jehovah rested on their union.
4. The future was bright before them. So long as they were contending
with one another they had no strength to overcome the enemies of God
and the Jebusites could not be
driven out of Jerusalem. But now
the tribes united
led by such a prince as David and with God on
their side
they were strong to conquer all their enemies.
There are two profound thoughts in this closing verse:
1. The recognition by David of the hand of God in his position as
king over Israel.
2. The recognition of the truth that the purpose of this providence
was for the temporal and spiritual interests of the people of God. The people
are not created
for the king
but the king for the people. (A. E. Kittredge
D. D.)
David king ever Israel
I. Look at Israel
in those years of waiting for their king. Near five centuries before the
founding of the kingdom
the rule which was to govern the conduct of their
coming king had been lodged in the archives of their nation. He had been seen
at the helm of human affairs
of whom it was written: “He worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will.” The steppings of God are not swift enough for
us. Time spent waiting for deliverance or advancement seems lost time. We forget
that preparation is demanded for all promotions
all changes that are radical.
Because Israel would not wait for God to choose for them a king in his own
time
he gave them Saul
of their own choosing. They
however
found little comfort
in him. His life was “one long tragedy.” Human wisdom is often folly. That
which we judge will be for our large advantage often proves our peril. There is
no safety but in waiting for God to go before and lead.
II. Notice God’s
choice of David as king. In the midst of the commotion and desolation of
Israel
Samuel was commanded to go to Bethlehem
and there anoint one of the
sons of Jesse. No explanation was given of the meaning of that anointing.
Neither Jesse nor David understood it
though both must have had conception of
some great honour indicated. The choice was of God. Mighty changes were to take
place in the rule of Israel; a mighty man was required. He was found. God
always has instruments at hand for use.
III. Notice David’s
preparation for the kingship. God was preparing him
through the persecutions
of enemies and the treachery of friends
by a long and painful discipline
for
the kingship of Judah
at Hebron. There he reigned seven and a hail years
when
the throne of Israel became vacant. Purified in the furnace of affliction and
humiliations
grown strong in faith through wonderful deliverances and
exaltations
he was ready for the place which God had made ready for him.
IV. Notice David’s
exaltation to the throne. (Monday Club Sermons.)
David a type of Christ
David is made fully king. He has been
so to say
partially king;
now his kingship is to be completed. It is legitimate to inquire into the
typology of the whole case. Being the father of Christ according to the flesh
it will be to our edification to ask where the lines coincide
where they
become parallels
and where they again touch one another. The study will be at
once interesting and profitable.
1. “David was thirty years old when he began to reign” (v. 4). How
old was Christ when he entered his public ministry? Was he not thirty years
old? The full meaning of this it is impossible to find out; nevertheless the
coincidence itself is a lesson: we stop
and wonder
and think. Providence thus
reveals itself little by little
and we are permitted to take up the separate
parts
bring them together
and shape them into significance.
2. “And they anointed David king over Israel” (v. 3.) Is that the
word which is used when men are made kings? Is there not another word which is
employed usually? Do we not say
And they crowned the king? The word here used
is anointed--a better word
a word with more spiritual meaning in it
and more
duration. The oil penetrated; the oil signified consecration
purity
moral
royalty. There was a crown
but that was spectacular
and might be lost. Was
not Jesus Christ anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows? Have not
we who follow Him and share His kingship
an unction
or anointing
from the
Holy One
through whom we know all things?
3. David reigned forty years. Forty is a perfect number. There are
many numerals which represent perfectness
and forty--the four tens--is one of
them. Or making the whole life seventy years we come again upon another aspect
of perfectness: perfectness in the life and in the royalty: perfectness in both
senses and in both aspects. And is not Jesus Christ to come to a perfect reign?
Has He not His own forty and His own seventy--His own secret number
which
represents to Him mysteriously the perfectness of His reign? He must reign
till He hath put all enemies under His feet.
4. The Jebusites mocked David when he would go and reign in
Jerusalem; they said
“Except thou take away the blind and the lame
thou shalt
not come in hither” (v. 6). In other words: If you can overcome the lame and
the blind
you may enter into Jerusalem
but other soldiery we will not
interpose: even they will be strong enough to break the arms of David. Has no
defiance been hurled at the Messiah? Has He not been excluded from the
metropolis of the world? Are there not those who have mocked Him and wagged
their heads at Him? Are there not those who have spat upon His name
and said
We will not have this man to reign over us? Let history testify
and let our
own conscience speak.
5. David advanced more and more. The tenth verse has a beautiful
expression: “And David went on
and grew great.” The words are short
but the
meaning is boundless. David was a persistent man--he “went one” It is the man
who steadfastly goes on
who enters the city and clears a space for himself
in
all departments and outlooks of life. And is not Jesus Christ going forth from
conquering to conquer? Is He not moving from land to land
from position to
position. “And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written
King of
Kings
and Lord of Lords.” “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms
of our Lord
and of His Christ.” Go on thou mighty Son of God!
6. Then we read in the eleventh verse
“And they built David a
house.” Even those who were averse to Him came to this at the last. And is no
house being built for Christ? Once He said
“The foxes have holes
and the
birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His
head.” Is it to be always so? or is not the whole earth to be the house of the living
Christ
the sanctuary of the crowned Lord? This is the voice of prophecy; this
is the testimony of all history: in this inspiration we pray our bolder prayer
and utter our grander hope. Jesus shall reign
and a house shall be built for
Him
and it shall be called the house of God.
7. “But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king
over Israel
all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it
and went down to the hold” (v. 17). Christ has enemies to-day. There are Philistines
who are banded against Him: they want to deplete His name of all spiritual
meaning
to take away from Him all the glory of His miracles
to deny even His
incarnation
to treat Him as a myth
a vision
or a dream; but still He goes
down to the hold
and still He advances His position.
8. Having overthrown the Philistines in one conflict
we read in the
twenty-second verse
“And the Philistines came up yet again.” These words have
modern meaning--namely
the words “yet again.” The enemy is not easily foiled.
One repulse is not enough. The victory is not secured until the enemy is under
foot--no truce
no compromise
no modification
no temporising
no living by
mutual concession. (J. Parker
D. D.)
King David a type of Christ
David
as king
was an illustrious type of Christ. “I have set my
king upon my holy hill of Zion.” (Psalms 2:6.) “All Israel shall be saved:
as it is written
There shall come out of Sion the deliverer.” (Romans 11:26.) Jesus was recognised as
“The Son of David”; He is “King of the Jews”; “King of kings
” and “of His
kingdom there shall be no end.” This passage suggests several analogies between
King David and King Jesus.
1. David was king by Divine ordination (v. 2
12.) And so Christ was
elected from eternity to be the Monarch of mankind
was predicted of old. “His
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.” (Daniel 4:3; Daniel 4:34.) It was asserted by Himself
“My kingdom is not of this world.” He claimed kingship of Divine origin and
authority.
2. David was ordained to be king for two purposes: “Thou shalt feed
my people Israel
and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.” It is the function
of a shepherd to feed; of a captain to guide and protect. So Christ is the good
Shepherd and the Captain of Salvation. He supplies the need of His people
and
leads them to victory.
3. David was qualified by kindred relationship. “We are thy bone and
thy flesh.” So Jesus took our nature
“in all things was made like unto His
brethren.” “He is not ashamed to call us brethren.” His humanity
linked with
His deity
qualified Him to be the “Mediator between God and men”; the
Shepherd-King of His people; “the
Man Christ Jesus.”
4. David was king by mutual covenant. The Son of David is proclaimed
from heaven as King of men; and He engages to rule in equity
and to guard His
people from harm. We
on our part
accept Him as our Lord: we declare that we
desire Him to rule over us; there is a mutual covenant. He says
“Ye are My
people”; and we say
“Thou art our King.”
5. David assailed the strong fortress of his foes. David’s greater
Son lays siege to the human heart
fortified against Him by unbelief and sin.
He summons it to surrender; brings the battery of truth against its walls;
promises pardon if it will open its gates.
6. David conquered the-fortress and dwelt in it. So Jesus has entered
many a heart by its opened doors
and has proved His power to subdue the most
determined resistance. He then makes it His abode.
7. David enlarged the captured city. “He built round about.” Thus the
kingdom of David’s Son is constantly being enlarged. Faith in the soul grows as
seeds. The leaven leavens the whole lump. Every part of our nature
progressively owns the sway of its Lord.
8. The King of Tyre sent cedar-trees and carpenters to help to build
David’s house. So the Gentiles built up the Church of Christ. Earthly wealth is
consecrated to His service. Not Tyre alone
but every people and clime shall
help in raising up Jerusalem
and making Zion a praise throughout the earth.
9. David reigned in Hebron and Jerusalem forty years. David’s Son
reigns everywhere
and His kingdom shall have no end. “He shall reign for ever
and ever.”
10. David had the joy of being assured that God had exalted His
throne. “He perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel.” And
David’s Son “shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied.”
Lessons:--Let us individually enter into covenant with Christ as our King. Let
us open our hearts for Him to dwell in. Though “blind and lame
” He will heal us
and help us to fight
His battles and share His triumph. (N. Hall
D. D.)
Verse 2
Thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel.
Divine appointment and man’s doing
There are both sides of the great division in evangelical
theology--Arminianism and Calvinism: man’s doing
and God’s planning. The Lord
said that David should lead Israel; and David did lead Israel. And the people
of Israel gave a fair prominence to both sides of the question. They saw that
David could do what the Lord had said he should do; and they knew that the Lord
had said that David should do what they saw he could do. As a practical matter
these two sides of the truth have to be considered by all of the Lord’s people
in all their doing and in all their judging. If a man is called of God to a
special work
the man must show by his doing that he is the very man whom God
has called
and who was the man to be called of God. And in judging of another’s
fitness for his work
it is right for us to consider the call of God to that
man
as well as that man’s apparent success in his work. If the man is clearly
out of the place to which he was called of God
all his ability and apparent
fitness for this other place must be counted insufficient to inspire confidence
in him for permanent success here. It has been well said
as to a Christian’s
personal duty in God’s service
that he ought to work in his appointed sphere
as if everything
depended on his own exertions
while he ought to trust as if
everything depended on God’s strength as given to him in that sphere. (H.
Clay Trumbull.)
Verse 3
And King David made a league with them.
Making a league
For one born into the family
no formal covenant is necessary
in
order to bind to his support all who are of the same blood with himself. But
when one is taken in from outside
to be closer than a brother
or when a
number of persons who are not of one blood would bind themselves together in
mutual fellowship
a specific league must be made in ratification of the new
relation. The form of the league
is different in different cases. The simplest form
and one which has always
had a binding force in the East
is that of eating together
of breaking bread
in common
in token of mutual fidelity. Dr. Cyrus Hamlin
in his Among the Turks
gives various
illustrations of this truth. As he sat on the floor
at dinner
in a Turkish
governor’s residence
the boy gave him in his fingers a piece of roast mutton
to be taken by the guest’s fingers and then eaten. “Now
do you know what I
have done?” asked the boy. “Perfectly well
” answered Dr. Hamlin. “You have
given me a delicious piece of roast meat
and I have eaten it.” “You have gone
far from it
” responded the boy. “By that act
I have pledged you every drop of
my blood
that while you are in my territory no evil shall come to you. For
that space of time we are brothers.” Coming from Smyrna
at one time
Dr.
Hamlin was on a vessel containing a large number of raw recruits for the
Turkish army. “Just before reaching port
some fifteen or so of these recruits
threw off their look of stolid resignation
cleared a place on the deck
as I
supposed
for a country dance; and I looked on with interest. I could see
by
their costumes
that they were all from the same village
or villages closely
associated . . . They stood in a ring
each man’s right hand upon his
neighbour’s left shoulder. Soon one came to take a vacant place
with a semeet
a ring of bread
in his hand. He broke it into bits
and they all ate of it
saying a few words of prayer
probably the first chapter of the Koran. It was a
religious act
plainly. About to separate
and be dispersed into the army
they
bound themselves to be faithful in memory
and in aid
should it ever become
possible. It was to them a kind of sacrament
an oath of brotherhood.” And so
they “made a league” with one another. (The Sunday School Times.)
Verse 5
In Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years.
Jerusalem
the Holy City
It was highly desirable that the capital should be accessible to
the whole country
and should possess the necessary features that rendered it
fit to become the heart and brain of the national life. It must be capable of
being strongly fortified
so as to preserve the sacred treasures of the kingdom
inviolate. All these features blended in Jerusalem
and commended it to David’s
Divinely-guided judgment. In this he greatly differed from Saul
who had made
his own city
Gibeah
his capital--an altogether insignificant place
and the
scene of an atrocious crime
the infamy of which could not be obliterated. To
have made Hebron the capital would have excited the jealousy of the rest of
Israel; and Bethlehem
his birthplace
would have struck too low a keynote
None were to be compared with the site of Jerusalem
on the frontier between
Judah and Benjamin
surrounded on three sides by valleys
and on the other
side
the north
strongly fortified.
I. Its previous
history. To the Jew there was no city like Jerusalem. It was the city of his
God
situate in His holy mountain: “Beautiful in elevation
the joy of the
whole earth.” The high hills of Bashan were represented as jealous of the
lowlier hill of Zion
because God had chosen it for His abode. The mountains
that stood around her seemed to symbolize the environing presence of Jehovah.
The exile in his banishment opened his windows towards Jerusalem as he knelt in
prayer
and wished that his right hand might forget its cunning sooner than his
heart fail to prefer Jerusalem above its chief joy. The charm of the yearly
pilgrimage to the sacred feasts was that the feet of the pilgrim should stand within her gates; and
when at a distance from her walls and palaces
pious hearts were wont to pray
that peace and prosperity might be within them for the sake of those brethren
and companions who were favoured to live within her precincts. But it had not
always been so. Her birth and nativity were of the land of the Canaanite. An
Amorite was her father
and her mother a Hittite. In the day that she was born
she was cast out as a deserted child on the open field
weltering in her blood.
For a brief spell the priest-king Melchizedek reigned over her
and during his
life her future glory must have been presaged; the thin spiral columns of smoke
that arose from his altars
anticipating the stately worship of the Temple; his
priesthood foreshadowing a long succession of priests. Thereafter a long spell
of darkness befell her; and for years after the rest of the country was in
occupation of Israel
Jerusalem was still held by the Jebusites. Joshua
indeed
nominally subdued the city in his first occupation of the land
and
slew its king; but his tenure of it was very brief and slight
and the city
speedily relapsed under the sway of its ancient occupants.
II. The capture.
Making a levy of all Israel
David went up to Jerusalem. For the first time after seven
years
he took the lead of his army in person. Passive
when he was called to
wait for the gift of God
he was intensely active and energetic when he
discerned the Divine summons. David’s first act was to extend the fortifications;
“He built round about from Millo and inward;” whilst Joab seems to have
repaired and beautified the buildings in the city itself. This first success
laid the foundation of David’s greatness. “He waxed greater and greater; for
the Lord
the God of Hosts
was with him.” Indeed
neighbouring nations appear
to have become impressed with the growing strength of his kindom
and hastened
to seek his alliance. (1 Chronicles 11:7-9; 2 Samuel 5:11).
III. A fair dawn. It
has been suggested that we owe Psalms 101:1-8 to this hour in David’s
life. He finds himself suddenly called to conduct the internal administration
of a great nation
that had
so to speak
been born in a day
and was beginning
to throb with the intensity of a long-suspended animation. The new needs were
demanding new expression. Departments of law and justice
of finance
and of
military organization
were rapidly being called into existence
and becoming
localized at the capital. (F. B. Meyer
B. A.)
Verse 6
Except thou take away the blind.
Security not safety
A graphic picture of the haughty security of the Jebusites and of
their consequent weakness is given in Stanley’s Sinai and Palestine. The late
Dean wrote: “When David appeared under the walls of Jebus the ‘old inhabitants
of the land
’ the last remnant of their race that clung to that mountain home
exulting in the strength of these ancient ‘everlasting gates” looked proudly
down on the army below and said
‘Except thou take away the blind and the lame
thou shalt not come in thither; thinking David cannot come in thither.’ The
blind and the lame they thought were sufficient to defend what nature had so
strongly defended. It was the often-repeated story of the capture of fortresses
through what seemed their strongest and therefore became their weakest point.
‘Precipitous
and therefore neglected.’ Such was the fate of Sardis
and of
Rome
and such was the fate of Jebus. (Sunday School Times.)
Jeering as a war-weapon
Long before the origin of the comic-caricature as a political
war-weapon
scoffs and jeers were a favourite projectile in Oriental
warfare--as they are
in the East
at the present time. The jeer of Tobiah
against the Jews who were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem Under Nehemiah
was: “Even that which they build
if a fox go up
he shall even break down
their stone wall.” This was
in spirit
much like the Jebusite jeer at David
Our blind and lame can keep your host at bay. “Come on
thou rider of a
kadesh!” (a hack-horse) was the cry of one shaykh to another in a combat in
Palestine
as reported by Mrs. Finn. And the response of the other was: “At
least I am not the son of a gypsy!” Arab warfare is so far not unlike Chinese
warfare; and so far the present is much like the days of David
in the East. (Sunday
School Times.)
Verse 8
Whosoever getteth up to the gutter.
The assault upon Zion
“Some far-seeing Hittite or Amorite had designed from the inside
of the city that a subterraneous passage should be cut through the rock to the
spring below
so that
in troublous times when the daughters of Zion could no longer venture outside
the gates to draw water from the fountain
the needful supply should be
obtainable without the knowledge of the besiegers
and without risk to the
besieged.” (Harper.) There is strong presumption that David obtained
information of this secret way through a citizen--Araunah the Jebusite. At all
events whoever disclosed to him the singular viaduct--“gutter” of our
Bibles--he issued forthwith the proclamation that an attack through it was
feasible. This has received the amplest confirmation from two other well-known
Palestine explorers by having themselves accomplished the feat. They worked
their way up through this same covered passage. (J. R. Macduff
D. D.)
Storming the citadel
Joab stormed the stronghold of Zion
which the Jebusites
thought-impregnable. Jonathan and his armour-bearer were scornfully despised by
the Philistine garrison (2 Samuel 5:1-25.) So General Wolfe
won the great victory which has made his name famous
by leading his men up the
Heights of Abraham above Quebec
his French opponents not dreaming that such a
feat was practicable.
Storming the fortress
The whole incident recalled a kindred adventure in Scottish
history; when during the wars of the Douglas
Dumbarton Rock--550 feet in
height
crowned with its fortress and castle
had its precipices of ballast
sealed by a few daring men
with the aid of ladders and grappling irons and
misty midnight. An ash tree growing in a crevice near the top served as an
equivalent for what
in the water-course of Jebus
helped materially to crown
the feat with success. (J. R. Macduff
D. D.)
Verses 10-25
Verse 10
David went on
and grew great
and the Lord God of Hosts was with
him.
Greatness by gentleness
“Thy gentleness bath made me great.” So wrote David when he
rehearsed the history that had culminated in his advancement to the throne of
all Israel. He admits
therefore
that he was a “made” man
but not a
“self-made.” man. Here in the narrative of his prosperity he confesses that it
had been the Lord who established him king
who also exalted his kingdom; and
then in a Psalm of devotion he ascribes all his glory to Divine grace.
I. We consider the
greatness David had just reached. Six successive steps
at the least
had the
eternal God taken in his behalf on the way to his advancement.
1. He caused that a full and loyal call should come from the realm
over which he was now to rule as the second king (2 Samuel 5:1.)
2. The Lord trained David for the position he was to occupy by a long
and intricate process Of providential discipline (2 Samuel 5:2.)
3. Moreover
God had chosen David intelligently
years before
and
announced him as the man who should come after Saul (2 Samuel 5:3.)
4. Then
too
God helped on David’s greatness by providing for the
stability of his government a capital and a royal abode (2 Samuel 5:7.)
5. God’s gentleness made David great in that a perpetual presence was
vouchsafed to him for his entire life (2 Samuel 5:10.)
6. Then
also
God had made this monarch great by opening his
intelligence so that he should understand the meaning of Divine Providence
past and future
and admit its special reach (2 Samuel 5:12.)
II. The gentleness
in the Divine dealing with him from his first recognition as a shepherd-boy to
this final establishment of him in the throne of Israel; is that in particular
among the attributes of God which he acknowledges just now. The poet Goethe has
left behind him
in his autobiography
this somewhat curious sentence as a
revelation of personal fact: “I was especially troubled by a giddiness which
came over me every time that I looked down from a height.” Many people
since
his day and before it
have had the same characteristic disturbance; but it has
more often been a height of ambition than merely a height of tower or
precipice. But there is no symptom of giddiness in the quiet ascription of his
gratitude: “Thy gentleness has made me great.”
1. God’s gentleness had borne with David’s want of memory.
2. Then
also
there was David’s want of faith
with which the
Almighty bore in a like spirit of gentleness.
3. To this we may add that God’s gentleness is disclosed in his
patiently bearing with David’s want of courage. (C. S. Robinson
D. D.)
David’s prosperity
I. What David did.
“He went on.”
1. He “went on” with his appointed work. David was not alone in this.
Every man has a work given him by God. David was
above all things
a servant
of God
and every man may be that if he will!
2. He “went on” in the face of opposition. He was opposed by the
Jebusites
and later by the Philistines. If we are in the path of duty
let us
go forward! ‘Tis patient going on that wins! In school and college
in workshop
and office
perseverance triumphs. Even so is it in the godly life. “He that
endureth to the end shall be saved.” “To patient faith the prize is sure
” etc.
II. What David
became. He “grew great.” David “grew great” in his kingly power
and honours
and victories
great in the eyes of his foes
and great in the estimation of
his subjects. The large majority have to be content with mediocrity. Most
natures possess a spark of wholesome ambition
but in many cases it has become
smothered and buried! Many throw away splendid opportunities of becoming at any
rate greater than they are. The idler
the spendthrift
the drunkard
etc.
Ambition may be worthy or unworthy. He who aspires to be great in an honourable
calling by honourable means
to push his way by dint of hard work to the front
is surely to be commended! Let us grow great without sacrificing our integrity
or not at all! If we may not rise on the wings of righteousness let us be
content to keep on the ground! Above all
let it be our aim to grow great
morally and spiritually. But moral ennoblement comes from a higher source.
Tennyson’s Arthur
speaking of the Knights of the Round Table
says:--
“I
made them lay their hands in mine and swear
To
reverence the king as if he were
Their
conscience
and their conscience as their king
To
break the heathen and uphold the Christ
To
ride abroad redressing human wrongs
To
speak no slander
no
nor listen to it
To
honour his own word as if his God’s
To
live sweet lives in purest chastity.”
Write “Christ” instead of Arthur and you have the patent of a
higher nobility than earthly sovereign ever bestowed.
III. The secret of
David’s prosperity. “The Lord God of Hosts was with him.” The secret of all
real greatness is in having the Lord on our side. How can we secure His
presence and help? How did David secure these?
1. He trusted God.
2. He acknowledged and consulted Him.
3. He obeyed God.
The same method of ensuring the Divine help is open to all. If we
would go on and grow great
if we would prosper in all right ways we must begin
to walk in those ways. Have we made the great commencement? He calls us now! (J.
Sellicks.)
Prosperity
I. The tide of
prosperity.
1. David as sole ruler over Israel. Every tide has a turning
and at
last the ebb-tide of David’s misfortunes began to flow. Judah had for seven and
a half years been subject to David’s sway
and now all Israel was anxious to
array itself under his banner. The account given in our lesson is very meagre
but a fuller account in (1 Chronicles 12:23-40) will prove
that the whole proceeding was full of pomp. Adding up the military escorts
there mentioned
we find that they reached the grand total of three hundred and
forty thousand eight hundred
For three days there was universal rejoicing and
festivity. Thus with ceremonies of appropriate dignity
the former shepherd was
at last recognized as sovereign over all God’s chosen people.
2. As military conqueror. Soon after his installation as king over
all Israel
David began to cast wistful glances at Jerusalem. It was really the
Gibraltar of Canaan. But thus far
by reason of its impregnable situation
it
had defied the efforts of the Israelites to capture it
though on one occasion
they had been partially successful. David therefore laid plans for its complete
subjugation. Thus David gained a kingdom
a capital
and a religious centre
from which to rule his people.
3. As king among nations. Prosperity at home was followed by the
recognition of the sovereigns of other nations. Among them was Hiram
king of
ancient Tyre. Distant rulers sought alliance with the king of Israel
and
courted his favour. So he advanced
and became great. The tide of prosperity
swept far up on the sands of David’s life
and the promise of happiness and
usefulness was golden.
II. The cause of
prosperity.
1. David recognized that it was not for his own individual sake that
God had thus prospered him
but that it was “for his people Israel’s sake.” If
he had stopped to think
he would have recognized that he was no more talented
a man than Saul had been. Saul began well
when raised to the throne. In some
respects
indeed
Saul had the advantage over David. At this time in his life
David probably recognized all this
and ascribed the glory to Him to whom it
belonged. Had he only always borne this in mind
he would have made fewer
mistakes and committed fewer sins than he did. So long as his thought ran
God-ward he was safe; but as soon as his mind began to say
“by mine own
might
” he lost power and fell. These first few years of David’s reign were
among the happiest of his whole life. His hardships as an exile were at an end.
He no longer lay down and rose up in fear of his implacable enemy. He was no
longer separated from family and friends
and driven from post to pillar like a
wild beast. His heart was not tried by the apparent contradiction between God’s
promise and God’s performance. The promise of the kingdom had been made good
and David felt that “all’s well that ends well.” Moreover
the people had not
yet become alienated from this ruler. The enthusiasm of a united and prosperous
nation
led by a wise and talented military chieftain
still pervaded all
classes. The great and overwhelming temptations of royalty had not yet
enfeebled the moral character of the king. Enlarged life
filled with unusual
opportunities for usefulness
spread out before him
and filled him with the enthusiasm
of full manhood. This was David’s “golden age.” He stood at the beginning of a
career which might be almost perfect in its achievements. So stands many a
young man and woman. Life stretches out before them
and is full of grand
possibilities. The restraints incident to childhood and the years of tutelage
are over. Powers of body and mind are in full vigour
and hope stands with face
erect and confidence on its brow. Friends applaud
and predict great success in
future days. Well is it for such persons to remember that God is the source of
all their talents and of the conditions of their future success. (A. F.
Schauffler.)
The nature of true progress
It is slow. Ewald would translate this phrase
“And David
gradually became greater and greater.” It was not a sudden and unexplained
outburst of prosperity
but a gradual growth. God’s greatest results are the
slowest of accomplishment. Haste is a sign of feebleness
but that which is to
abide must be slowly achieved. The lower forms of life quickly reach maturity
and quickly decay. Man alone spends years of helpless childhood. The building
up of a kingdom and the formation of character are alike works that cannot be
hurried. The setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth is a task more
difficult of accomplishment than was the establishment of David’s kingdom. We
must not be impatient. God has eternity in which to work. (R. C. Ford
M. A.)
Growing great
There are men
who go on and grow great
among or above their fellows
while the Lord is not
with them. Such growth and greatness are neither to be desired nor to be
admired. Again
there are men with whom the Lord is
who do not go on
as they
might go: and there are yet more of them who do not grow great by their doings
or by the Lord’s planning. Having the Lord with us
is the chief thing. Going on
is the thing of next importance; that is
going on
while the Lord is with us.
Growing great
is of least importance; but if a man is to grow great
let him
see to it that he does not grow away from the Lord
and that he has the Lord
with him in all his going and in all his growing. (H. Clay Trumbull.)
Improvement a duty
Progress and improvement are every man’s duty. It is not right to
remain as we were
or as we are. We ought to be all the time gaining and growing
in experience and attainment and grace. It may be to our shame that we are just
where God put us
and that we have just what God gave to us. A man whose looks
were spoken of contemptuously
said in rejoinder
“You’ve no right to find
fault with my looks; I’m just as God made me.” “I know it
and that’s what I’m
blaming you for
” said his critic; “you’ve never made any improvement on
yourself.” That answer made a fair point. If God puts us at the bottom of a
hill
or at the beginning of a road
it may be for us to mount or to proceed
and not to stop where we are. It was the man who retained just what his Lord
gave him
and who was ready to give back that at the day of reckoning
who not
only lost his possessions
but was cast out into outer darkness as an
unprofitable servant. Remaining just as God made us may be the cause of our
condemnation. (Great Thoughts.)
The laws of vigorous growth
Dr. Hugh Macmillan tells us that the motto on the crest of John
Spreull
of Glasgow
who
for his defence of religious liberty in the times of
Claverhouse
was imprisoned on the Bass Rock
in the Firth of Forth
was “Sub
pondere cresco”--I grow under a weight. His crest was a palm tree
with two
weights hanging on each side of it from the fronds
and yet maintaining
in
spite of this heavy down-dragging force
its upright position
carrying its
graceful crown of foliage up into the serene air. So the very things that
threatened to hinder the growth of the early Church became helps to its
progress. “The stumbling-block became the stepping-stone”; the weights became
wings.
Going and growing great
David went on growing. His activities were not fruitless. There
are some people who do a deal of the going
but all too little of the growing.
We want both of these. There must not merely be the signs of activity
but
there must really be actual improvement and development. A mill-wheel is always
going
but it never gets any further forward; no blame to the mill-wheel
for
it is doing its business by simply going round. A door is constantly moving on
its hinges
creaking
perhaps
as well
but it makes no progress. Still
there
it stands
day after day. This is all right for the door
but all wrong for
you. Keep on going
but see to it that the growing is not neglected either. (Thomas
Spurgeon.)
Verses 11-22
And Hiram
king of Tyre
sent messengers to David.
The kingdom established
1. Now the tide fairly turned in David’s history
and that
instead
of a sad chronicle of hardship and disappointment
the record of his reign
becomes one of unmingled success and prosperity. The fact is far from an
unusual one in the history of men’s lives. How often
even in the ease of men
who have become eminent
has the first stage of life been one of disappointment
and sorrow
and the last part one of prosperity so great as to exceed the
fondest dreams of youth. Effort after effort has been made by a young man to
get a footing m the literary world
but his books have proved comparative
failures. At last he issues one which catches in a remarkable degree the
popular taste
and thereafter fame and fortune attend him
and lay their
richest offerings at his feet. A similar tale is to be told of many an artist and
professional man. And even persons of more ordinary gifts
who have found the
battle of life awfully difficult in its earlier stages
have gradually
through
diligence and perseverance
acquired an excellent position
more than
fulfilling every reasonable desire for success. But it is an encouraging thing
for those who begin life under hard conditions
but with a brave heart and a
resolute purpose to do their best
that
as a general rule
the sky clears as
the day advances
and the troubles and struggles of the morning yield to
success and enjoyment later in the day. David’s prosperity and enlargement in
every quarter were due to the gracious presence and favour of God. Unlike many
successful men
who ascribe their success so largely to their personal talents
and ways of working
he felt that the great factor in his success was God.
There is what the world calls “luck
” that is to say those conditions of
success which are quite out of our control; as
for instance
in business the
unexpected rise or fall of markets
the occurrence of favourable openings
the
honesty or dishonesty of partners and connections
the stability or the
vicissitudes of investments. The difference between the successful man of the
world and the successful godly man in these respects is that the one speaks
only of his tuck
the other sees the hand of God in ordering all such things
for his benefit. This last was David’s case. But is this way of claiming to be
specially favoured and blessed by God not objectionable? Is it not what the world
calls “cant”? Is it not highly offensive in any man to claim to be a favourite
of Heaven? This may be a plausible way of reasoning
but one thing is
certain--it has not the support of Scripture. If it be an offence publicly to
recognise the special favour and blessing with which it has pleased God to
visit us
David himself was the greatest offender in this respect the world has
ever known. What is the great burden of his psalms of thanksgiving? Is it not
an acknowledgment of the special mercies and favours that God bestowed on him
especially in his times of great necessity? What the world is so ready to
believe is that this cannot be done save in the spirit of the Pharisee who
thanked God that he was not as other men. And whenever a worldly man falls foul
of one who owns the distinguishing spiritual mercies that God has bestowed on
him
it is this accusation he is sure to hurl at his head. The truth is
the
world cannot or will not distinguish between the Pharisee and the humble saint
conscious that in him dwelleth no good thing. The one is as unlike the other as
light is to darkness. What good men need to bear in mind is that when they do
make mention of the special goodness of God to them they should be most careful
to do so in no boastful mood
but in the spirit of a most real
and not an
assumed or formal
humility.
2. Midway between the two statements before us on the greatness and
prosperity which God conferred on David
mention is made of his friendly
relations with the king of Tyre (2 Samuel 5:11.) The Phoenicians were
not included among the seven nations of Palestine whom the Israelites were to
extirpate
so that a friendly alliance with them was not forbidden. Tyre had a
great genius for commerce; and the spirit of commerce is alien from thee spirit
of war. That it is always a nobler spirit cannot be said; for while commerce
ought to rest on the idea of mutual benefit
and many of its sons honourably
fulfil this condition
it often degenerates into the most atrocious
selfishness
and heeds not what havoc it may inflict on others provided it
derives personal gain from its undertakings. But we have no reason to believe
that there was anything specially hurtful in the traffic which Tyre now began
with Israel
although the intercourse of the two countries afterwards led to
other results pernicious to the latter--the introduction of Phoenician idolatry
and the overthrow of pure worship in the greater part of the tribes of Israel. Meanwhile
what Hiram does is to send to David cedar trees
and carpenters
and masons
by
means of whom a more civilized style of dwelling is introduced; and the new
city which David has commenced to build
and especially the house which is to
be his own
present features of skill and beauty hitherto unknown in Israel.
For
amid all his zeal for higher things
the young king of Israel does not disdain to
advance his kingdom in material comforts.
3. Two campaigns against these inveterate enemies of Israel are
recorded
and the decisive encounter in both cases took place in the
neighbourhood of Jerusalem. The narrative is so brief that we have difficulty
in apprehending all the circumstances. The first invasion of the Philistines
took place soon after David was anointed king over all Israel. It is not said
whether this occurred before David possessed himself of Mount Zion
nor
considering the structure common in Hebrew narrative
does the circumstance
that in the history it follows that event prove that it was subsequent to it in
the order of time. We see that the campaign was very serious
and David’s
difficulties very great. David attacked the Philistines and smote them at a
place called Baal-perazim
somewhere most likely between Adullam and Jerusalem.
Considering the superior position of the Philistines
and the great advantage
they seem to have had over David in numbers also
this was a signal victory
even though it did not reduce the
foe to helplessness. For when the Philistines had got time to
recover
they again came up
pitched again in the plain of Rephaim
and
appeared to render unavailing the signal achievement of David at Baal-perazim.
Again David inquired what he should do. The reply was somewhat different from
before. David was not to go straight up to face the enemy
as he had done
before. He was to “fetch a compass behind them
” that is
as we understand it
to make a circuit
so as to get in the enemy’s rear over against a grove of
mulberry trees. That tree has not yet disappeared from the neighbourhood of
Jerusalem; a mulberry tree still marks the spot in the valley of Jehoshaphat
where
according to tradition
Isaiah was sawn asunder. When he should hear
“the sound of a going” (R.V.
“the sound of a march”) in the tops of the
mulberry trees
then he was to bestir himself. It is probable that the presence
of David and his troop in the rear of the Philistines was not suspected
the
mulberry trees forming a screen between them. When David got his opportunity
he availed himself of it to great advantage. (W. G. Blaikie
D. D.)
Verses 23-25
When thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry
trees
that then thou shalt bestir thyself.
The special meaning of common things
What a different world this would be if we believed that God
governed it--that He was in it--that He was at work in it--that His footsteps
were still on its mountains--that He walked amidst its trees
and rode on the
wings of the winds--if we realised His presence
and ascertained and saw in the
ordinary things of everyday life the indications of His will. We believe there
was a time when God was in the world
but it seems to us now like a forsaken
world--like a world without God; for we act as if God had nothing to do in it
or with it. What a different Church there would be if we recognised spiritual
influences
recognised them in all their variety and modes of manifestation.
Divine interpositions do not interfere with human agency. Some men are-always
waiting--always looking for signs and wonders
for the sign of the Son of Man
in the heavens--looking for outpourings
for baptisms of the Holy Ghost
for
Pentecostal seasons. They do not see the meaning of common and ordinary things
they do not avail themselves of the means at their disposal.
I. The same things
are to be done differently at different times: Men have sometimes to do the
same things in different ways--in ways prescribed by Divine intimations. David
had to contend with the Philistines. He had beaten them once
but they had come
up again in undiminished strength
in battle array. He is to adopt new tactics.
He is not to “go up
” but to “fetch a compass behind them.” In every age the
Philistines are coming up against the Israel of God. Our mode of warfare must
be regulated by providential intimations.
II. The presence of
Divine indications will be to us the revelations of the Divine will. If a man
desires to do the Divine will
he will have a Divine revelation. “If any man
will do his will
he shall know of the doctrine
whether it be of God.” An
earnest man--that is
a man in earnest to do the Divine will--is never left in
utter ignorance of that will. The difficulty is not so much to find out the
will of God
but to reconcile our wills to it
so that we may be Willing to do
it.
III. Divine
intimations may come through any channel God pleases. We have no ephod
no
priest with Urim and Thummin
no response from the oracle
no audible voice
like that which fell on the ear of David. To us
however
have been committed
the books containing the successive” revelations God has made of His will to
men. In all that pertains to the way of salvation
the revelation is clear
distinct
and definite. I hear a little
bird singing on the branches of a tree
pouring forth its song with the
infinite heavens above and the wide world around
singing in a world where
there is winter as well as summer
and I learn a lesson no words of mine can
express. There are. Divine intimations still in suggestions and impressions. I
am in perplexity. I want to know
what to do
or how to do what I have to do. There come sudden suggestions like
revelations. How am I to determine their source? If they lead me
in dependence
on the strength which God gives
to follow a course involving self-sacrifice
and having a tendency to promote the Divine glory
may I not conclude that they
came from God? May not the Father of my spirit speak to me? May not the soul hear His
voice? There are Divine intimations in circumstances.
IV. The presence or
absence of Divine intimations make the difference between the same objects to
different men. The mulberry trees were seen by the whole army
but the
difference between David and his soldiers was the difference between a revelation
and no revelation. They merely heard a sound
the wind moving the tops of the
trees; there was nothing strange
nothing unusual in this
but David had
received an intimation as to the special meaning of this sound. They heard only
the movement caused by the wind
but David recognised the presence of the Lord
who was going before them to smite the host of the Philistines. So with Saul of
Tarsus. The men who were with him on his way to Damascus saw only the
brightness of the light that shone round about him
but Saul saw Christ. They
heard only a sound
but he heard a voice. Be thankful for revelations in
spiritual matters. You must yourself be spiritual to understand spiritual
revelations. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God
for
they are foolishness unto him.” (H. J. Bevis.)
Waiting for a sign
Our victory was not sufficient to establish the security of the
newly-founded city;--the enemy returned and threatened a renewed attack. The
devout king has not lost faith in God
and again inquires of the Lord. Before
dismissing the history
it will be well for us to profit by the example of the
godly monarch
and to adopt the rule of his life as the rule of our own. That
no enterprises shall be commenced--no plans or projects carried into
execution--no movements made--without first consulting the will of God: seeking
His approval
and placing ourselves under His guidance. “Commit thy way unto
the Lord
trust also in Him
and He shall bring it to pass.”
I. The sign
vouchsafed. The motives by which David was influenced in seeking a sign were
laudable in the highest degree. He sought information as to the best means of
encountering his enemies. Perhaps we may be disposed to think that a mode of
communication with heaven
which secured so distinct a declaration of God’s
will
was far superior to any means which we possess of obtaining a knowledge
of the path of duty. But herein we err for each successive dispensation of
God’s dealing with man has been in advance of that which preceded it. And yet
how often like Gideon we would lay the fleece upon the ground and ask that it
may be both wet and dry;--we want to stand with Moses in the cleft of the rock
while the Lord of Glory passes by and audibly proclaims His mercy;--with
Elijah
on the solitudes of Horeb
we would have mighty winds and the terrors
of earthquake and fire mingled with the still small voice;--with David
we
could wish that the mysterious movement on the tops of the mulberry trees
should remove our doubts and tell in bodily image
or visible sign
or audible
voice
that God is with us. It will be profitable for us to inquire what
advantages we possess under the teaching of the Holy Spirit
which are
comparable with these Divine communications made to the ancient Church. “For
the Jews require a sign
and the Greeks seek after wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:22) They exalted the
material above the spiritual. A morbid love of the wonderful as it appealed to
their senses
so occupied them
that the wonder-words of Christ found no room
within them. It was not evidence that they sought
but the gratification of
mere idle curiosity. They were wrong at heart--and there can be no surer path
to the perversion of the intellect in relation to sacred truth. The Bible deals
very extensively with this tendency of men to amalgamate the spiritual and the
material. In such instances as the teraphim
--which were the objects of so much
solicitude on the part of Rachel
--and those kings of Judah who destroyed the
idols
but did not cut down the high places and the groves
--we have
indications of the cleaving of the human heart to a bodily image
--and the fear
of men to commit themselves entirely to the spiritual and the unseen. The
Church of God is now under the special direction of the Holy Spirit.
1. Special manifestations God makes by means of His written Word. No
logic can argue away the force of impressions made upon the mind by the words
of Divine truth. Only he who has experienced the surprise caused by the
unexpected adaptation to his circumstances of the “word in season” can
appreciate the moral power of such occurrences as these. They lift up the
depressed
--strengthen the weak
--confirm those who were wavering in the path
of duty
--and strengthen the foundations of trust in God and His mercy. It is
no cabalistic use of Scripture of which we speak
but a calm
deliberate
faithful employment of one of the Divinely-appointed ends of the Word.
Revelation is given to us to be our guide
--our light
--our food
--and to serve
countless offices of mercy in our lives.
2. Conscience is another of the means of Divine communication with
men. A faculty which rightly employed brings us very near to God. All its
worth
however
is to be determined by the measure of its subordination to the
truth of God. A conscientious man is not a man who is infallibly right
but one
who acts faithfully in accordance with his views of that which is right. Those
views may be utterly distorted by a false belief
or completely enfeebled by
reason of ignorance. While
then
on the one hand we may not undervalue the
great importance of this vicegerent of God in man
on the other hand let us not
be led astray by
the pernicious belief--so popular in the present day--that conscientiousness
is all that God requires of man. It is subjection to Divine truth that is the
demand of the Eternal
and where this is found all the powers of the soul are
brought into harmony with each other. “I must have a good conscience
” said
William Wilberforce. A necessity which every true Christian will value as above
all earthly acquisitions. It is not indispensable to my happiness that I become
rich or powerful.
much
that is the object of human ambition I could surrender and feel little
loss
--but a conscience void of offence is essential to my existence. A happy
man is he
who knows the power of the blood of sprinkling to cleanse this
mighty agency from all defilement. The astronomer should not be so solicitous
to preserve his bright
clear lenses from dust
--nor the telegraphist so
anxious to guard his delicate machinery from injury
as a godly man to enshrine
his conscience securely from even the minutest disturbing influence. A little
grit on the bearings of the locomotive will disturb the progress and safety of
the hundreds of tons weight
which otherwise would be borne swiftly in the
desired direction. Little causes often disturb the peace and arrest the
progress of the godly. It is worthy of all the care a Christian can bestow on
any object;--the cultivation of a tender conscience. A friend
the last to
forsake us and the most valuable in the hour of need
--or a foe the hardest to
propitiate and the most relentless in his assaults--deserves much
consideration. In determining the path to be pursued
a conscience under the
influence of Divine teaching will impart counsels quite as distinct as those
which David gathered from “the sound of a going in the top of the mulberry
trees.”
3. But our Divine Lord and Master has indicated to us and promised us
a source of instruction even more complete than that afforded by the Word of
God or conscience
--it is the Holy Spirit. “He shall guide you into all truth.”
II. The vigilance
enjoined. Perhaps like the zephyr which
oft at eventide without previous
warning
seems to rise out of the thick serried ranks of ripening corn
and
then taps their curled heads in its onward but gentle course
till the whole
field bows gracefully
as if paying homage to the sweet breeze. Or
as when the
lake
embosomed amidst the Alpine mountains
suddenly changes its glassy
surface and ripple after ripple rises and spreads
--but none can tell of the
wind that has ruffled its breast
whence it cometh
or whither it goeth. Thus
unexpected opportunities steal over us
and say
“Bestir thyself.” Whensoever
the feeling of desire to draw near to God thus takes possession of the
heart
--away to thy secret chamber and fan the flame till the soul is all
aglow. To defer the exercise may be--probably will be--to confiscate a
blessing. At what time soever an open door presents itself for usefulness to
man
or for bringing glory to God--enter in
--pass on
--and do the thing to
which the finger of God points
and reap the blessing He bestows. When some
spiritual Philistine is in thy grasp
thou shouldest smite six or seven times:
for a feeble opposition to evil only provokes its more severe hostility. No
command was more frequently uttered by the Saviour than this
--“Watch.” In
every well-managed ship the men in the forepart are those of keenest vision and
most experience; night and day they pace the deck
one face always looking
ahead
the other abaft. All around we need to keep our guard--lest coming good
be missed
and coming evil takes
us unawares.
III. The promise
given. “Then shall the Lord go out before thee.” In like manner He went before
Israel in their wanderings through the desert. He gave them not only the
assurance of His protection
but the blessing also of His guidance. They had
but to follow the movements of the pillar of cloud
and the waste
howling
wilderness yielded them a security greater than that of thick-walled cities.
Each night saw the fiery defence lighted up which shot its friendly rays round
all the tents of Jacob
--but only intensified the darkness beyond the sacred
enclosure. Many a feeble heart became strong by a glance at the symbol of the
Divine presence. This was the explanation of their surprising victories over
superior armies
and of their defeat and expulsion of the Canaanitish kings. (W.
G. Lewis.)
The moment of opportunity
I. “When
” or the
Divine intimation. “When thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the
mulberry-trees.”
1. They were to wait for God’s leading.
2. They were promised an intimation of God’s leading. The trees were
to be moved at the top. They could only be reached’ from above. It was to be
God’s signal. The whole scene is quite within the scope of imagination. They
are concealed in the thicket. They are waiting for the sign. What different
tempers! What need of patience! How slowly dragged the minutes. Zeal longed to
break from concealment and dash upon the foe. Unbelief wondered if the leaves
would ever stir at all. Fear imagined they might be discovered by the enemy
before the intimation of God’s presence was given. Presumption thought a favourable
opportunity had come
and that it was a mistake not to seize it. Faith
counselled patience continually
while Hope cheered them with bright
songs--until at last the promised token was given
the trees whispered
musically of the Divine presence
and bursting from their ambush they swept as
a torrent on the foe. God is giving constantly intimations of His presence. We
are looking for a revival. Have we any token of the Lord’s will in the matter?
The Divine breath of the Spirit already seems stirring the leaves. The sense of
quivering expectancy which one finds abroad. The unity of desire for a more
abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The increased spirit of prayer which
has been manifested.
II. “Then!” or
human activity. “Then shalt thou bestir thyself.”
1. God expects man to do his part. There is always a human element in
these movements. God uses instrumentalities
not because He is obliged to
but
because He desires and chooses to do so. He would teach us the need of effort.
2. God expects man to do his part at the right moment. “When . . .
then.” When God gives the signal
when the trees sway in the heavenly
gale--strike then--that is the moment
of destiny.
“There
is a tide in the affairs of men
Which
taken at the flood
leads on to fortune;
Omitted
all the voyage of their life
Is
bound in shallows
and in miseries.
On
such a full sea are we now afloat;
And
we must take the current when it serves
Or
lose our ventures.”
3. God expects man to do his part with utmost vigour. “Then bestir
thyself.” This effort must be whole hearted and heavy handed. Because God
promised His help they were not to stint their labour. To the fullest of their
powers they were to exert themselves
3. “For” or the assured victory. “For then shall the Lord go out
before thee to smite the Philistines.” The certain result is victory. This must
be the result
for all the conditions necessary to secure it are fulfilled. God
is leading
man is working: natural conclusion--victory. It must comet (W.
L. Mackenzie.)
The Lord leading; David following
I. A prime
necessity promised. “Then shall the Lord go out before thee.” This was a
necessity to David
for he had long ago learned that all his dependence must be
upon God. It is also a necessity to us. What we want just now especially is for
the Lord to go before us in our contemplated mission. In what way?
1. The Holy Spirit must go before us to prepare the minds of the
people. When our Lord came into the world
the world was prepared for His
coming. There had been certain things done
all over the globe
that made the
time of His coming the best time at which He could come. But it has also been
noticed by our missionaries
especially in the South Sea islands
that before
they arrived there
certain changes had taken place
and certain movements in
the minds of the people
that made the missionaries feel that they had come
just in the nick of time. God had gone before them in providence and in grace
making ready a people prepared for the Word. You cannot tell how much the
conversion of sinners is due to antecedent action on the part of God before the
saving moment came. There is a fire
and you say that the fire was made when
the match was struck
and applied to the wood. Well
that is true; but long
before that moment
he who split the wood and he who made the match had
something to do with preparing the fire
had they not? Where had been your fire
if the wood had not been dried
and ready for the kindling
and deftly laid in
its place? And where had been your light if it had not been for the phosphorus
and all else that was used to make the match? So does the Lord prepare for the
fire of holy service. God is at work in London as well as elsewhere. God is at
work in providence
and with tender touches here and there He is making men thoughtful
constraining them to feel
in a word
making them ready before the time of the
preaching comes.
2. And then the Holy Spirit must go before us to prepare the
preacher. Preachers may think themselves thoroughly prepared for their work;
but the smallest thing may put them out
--some little disarrangement of their
dress
something in the pulpit not quite right
or somebody dropping an
umbrella in the aisle
or some one person in the congregation wire does not
seem in the least impressed. Oh
shame upon us that we
who have such a message
to deliver
should be affected by such very little things! Yet preachers are so
affected
and often they cannot help it.
II. A consequent
action commanded: “Then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out
before thee.”
1. God could do without us if he chose to do so; but God is pleased
not to do without us. What a mercy it is that God deigns to use us!
2. When will some of our brethren learn the fact that God’s working
is not a reason for our sitting still? It is not written
“The Lord will go
before thee
and then thou shalt rest
” or
“The Lord shall go before thee
and
then thou shalt sit still
and be grateful.” No
no; “Then thou shalt bestir
thyself.” Our forefathers
of the olden time
who went everywhere preaching the
Word
the Calvinists of France who
in the Desert and wherever they went
hazarded their lives unto the death
the Huguenots
who could bravely do and
dare and die for Christ
were
to a man
believers in these principles
which
are supposed by some to send men to sleep. The most energetic Christianity that
ever was upon the face of the earth has been just this form of Christianity;
and therefore it cannot possibly be that the doctrine rightly Used will
encourage idleness or sloth. How can it? If you yourself were told to-night
“Proceed on such an errand
and your God will go with you
” would that be a
reason why you should not go? If you were bidden to fight a battle
and you
were told
“God will be with you in the battle
” would the fact that God would
be with you
and would win the victory
be a reason why you should not fight?
You must be made of strange material if that were to be the result of the
promise of victory and the assurance of the Divine presence. Nothing makes men
labour so energetically as the expectation of success; and the certainty of
succeeding
because God is with them
nerves their arm
and makes them do what
otherwise would be impossible.
III. A hopeful sign
afforded. Whether these were mulberry trees or balsams
I do not know; it is
very difficult to discover what trees they were. It does not matter much
but
David was to get round to the back of the Philistines instead of attacking them
in front
and he was to lie quietly in ambush till he heard a rustling in the
tops of the trees when there was no wind
as though they were trodden by the
feet of angels
and God’s host was hurrying to the fray. Perhaps this sign
whilst it was intended to encourage David and his people
was meant to
intimidate the Philistines. They would say one to another
“What is that noise?
What is that rustling? There is a sound of something travelling along the tops
of yonder trees. There is not a breath of wind
but you can hear the leaves
moving. Listen to the rustling; something strange is happening.” The
Philistines were most superstitious
and would be ready very speedily to take
to their heels. However
whatever it was to them
to David it was to be the
signal for attacking them. Christians should always be smiting the Philistines
of sin; but there are certain times that call us to unusual action. And what
are they?
1. To me they are when we see earnestness among God’s people.
2. Again
it is a hopeful sign
when God gives us useful preachers.
Oh
what a blessing a true gospel minister is! There was no better proof of the
Reformation having begun than when Luther began to speak out against the
abominations of Rome
and Zwingle lifted up his voice
and Farel proclaimed the
old faith
and Calvin came forth to declare the truth of God
and Beza and
multitudes of others gave their testimony. These were the birds that sang
because the sun was rising and when God gives us useful preachers
they are
among the signs that he is coming near us to bless the people.
3. Well
when the preachers are there
with a praying people at their
back
then
when you see crowds come together to hear the Word
do you not
think that there is the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees?
“That is right
Mr. Spurgeon
” says one; “stir them up.” I did not say “them.”
I said
and my text says
“Then thou shalt bestir thyself.” It is all very well
to say
“I like to see an earnest church.” So do I but it is better to have
every member zealously seeking the souls of others
for that is the way to have
an earnest church
and that is the way the blessing comes. David
you must
bestir yourself; then the soldiers who are with you will catch the fire from
their leader
and they will bestir themselves.
IV. A sure result
following. The result was all that David could have expected
and more.
Obedient action secured it. David simply “did so
as the Lord had commanded
him.” You do not hear much more about the Philistines after this. That final
stroke had crushed them down. But David did so
not merely thought about it. He
probably thought; but he also “did so.” He came to the practical point. If I
habitually look after others
and speak individually to them about their souls
and if I bring the gospel before them
either in a printed form or viva voce
if I keep on testifying of Christ to everybody who will give me a hearing
I
shall have conversions as surely as I am a living man; it cannot be otherwise.
If you continue looking to God to go before you
and follow after Him with that
part of the work which He has put into your hands
and which is a great
privilege to be engaged in
you shall not labour in vain
nor spend your
strength for nought. “Paul planted
Apollos watered; but God gave the
increase.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Signal for advance
I. That the cause
of God hath not made unopposed progress in the world. Here we have a pattern
and parable of the conflict. The powers of darkness may change their name and
front
but their antipathy remains undiminished to this hour. The Christian
like the Hebrew Church
is militant in its character
needs ever to be on the
alert
and fully equipped to repulse attacks made upon the city of God
and
make aggressions upon the city of Satan. The Philistines are upon us.
II. That God always
has more forces on His side and at His command than appear visible to human
sight. The flowing tide of Divine energy is with the Church of God
and “if God
be for us who can be against?”
III. That God
expects the co-operation of human agency with His unseen forces in the
victories and progress of His kingdom. Those who are in close and conscious
touch with God will hear sounds unheard by the ears of the world
and will feel
that more is with them than all who can be against them. Conclusion:
1. Enlist under the banner of the cross.
2. Equip for the battle of the Lord.
3. Look for the signal to advance.
4. March in the strength of God.
5. Continue to the end then the palm of victory and the fadeless
crown. (F. W. Brown.)
The sound in the mulberry trees
Let us learn from David to take no steps without God. The last
time you moved
or went into another business
or changed your situation in
life
you asked God’s help
and then did it
and you were blessed in the doing
of it. You have been up to this time a successful man
you have always sought
God
but do not think that the stream of providence necessarily runs in a
continuous current; remember
you may to-morrow without seeking God’s advice
venture upon a step which you will regret but once
and that will he until you
die. There are certain signs which ought to be indications to us of certain’
duties. I shall use the verse in this way. First
there are certain special
duties
which are not duties to everybody
but only to some people. If we wish
to know whether we are to perform these duties
we must seek signs concerning
them
and not go and rush into a duty to which we are not called
unless we get
a sign
even as David got the rustling among the mulberry leaves. And then I
should use it
in the second place
thus. There are certain duties which are
common to all of us; but when we see some signs of God’s Holy Spirit being in
motion
or some other signs
these are seasons when we ought to be more than
ever active
and more then ever earnest in the service of our Master.
I. First
then
in
regard to special duties. I shall confine myself to one. The office of the
ministry is a special duty. I believe the office of the ministry
though not
like that of the priesthood
as to any particular sanctity
or any particular
power that we possess
is yet like the priesthood in this--that no man ought to
take it to himself
save he that is called thereunto
as was Aaron.
II. But now I come
to something more practical to many of you; you do not profess to be called to
preach; there are certain duties belonging to all Christians which are to be
specially practised at special seasons.
1. Concerning the Christian church at large. The whole of the
Christian church should be very prayerful
always seeking the unction of the
Holy One to rest upon their hearts
that the kingdom of Christ may come and
that His will be done on earth even as it is in heaven; but there are times
when God seems to favour Zion
when there are great movements made in the
church
when revivals are commenced
when men are raised up whom God blesses;
that ought to be to you like “a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry
trees.”
2. The same truth holds good of any particular congregation. One
Sabbath-day the minister preached with great unction; God clothed him with
power
he seemed like John the Baptist in the wilderness
crying
“Repent ye
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He spake with all the earnestness of a
man who was about to die; he so spake that the people trembled
a visible
thrill passed through the audience. Men and women rose up from the sermon
saying
“Surely
God was in this place
and we have felt His presence.” What
ought a Christian man to say
as he retires from the house of God? He should
say
“I have heard this day the sound of the leaves of the mulberry trees.” I
saw the people earnest; I marked the minister speaking mightily
God having
touched his lips with a live coal from off the altar. I saw the tear in every
eye; I saw the deep
wrapt attention
of many who were careless. There were
some young people there who looked as though they had been impressed; their
countenances seemed to show that there was a work doing. Now
what should I do?
The first thing I will do is
I will bestir myself. But how shall I do it? Why
I will go home this day
and I will wrestle in prayer more earnestly than I
have been wont to do that God will bless the minister and multiply the church.
The same I might say of any time of general sickness
or any time of plague or
cholera
or sudden death. There are times when the cholera is raging through
our streets; the people are all trembling
they are afraid to die; mark
that
is the “sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees.” It is the business
of you and me to bestir ourselves
when people are by any means led to serious
thought
“Now
” said the Puritans
during the great plague of London
when the
hireling parish priests had fled from their churches--“now is our time to
preach.” And all through that terrible time
when the carts
filled with the
dead
went through the streets overgrown with grass
these strong-minded
Puritans occupied the pulpits
and boldly preached the word of God. That is
what we should do whenever we see a time more favourable than another for
telling sinners of the wrath to come. Let us seize it
just as the merchant
looks out for every turn of the market
for every rise and every fall; just as
the farmer looks out for a good season for sowing or planting or mowing. Let us
look out for the best times for seeking to do good. Let us plough deep while
sluggards sleep
and let us labour as much as possible in the best season
to
make hay while the sun is shining
and serve our God when we hear the “sound of
a going in the tops of the mulberry trees.”
3. Keep the same idea in view in regard to every individual you meet
with.
4. I must expressly make an appeal to you in regard to your own
children. The tender plant
if it be of God
it is sure to grow; but let me
take care to be the instrument of fostering it
and let; me take my boy aside
and say unto him
” Well
my son
have you learnt something of the evil of sin?
“And if he says yes
and I find he has a little hope and faith
though it may
be rather a superficial work let me not despise it
but let me remember
I was
once grace in the blade
and though grace in the ear now
I would never have
been grace in the ear if I had not been grace in the blade. I must not despise
the blade
because they are not ears; I must not kill the lambs
because they
are not sheep; for where would my sheep come from
if I killed all the lambs? I
must not despise the weakest of the saints
for where should I get the advanced
saints from
if I put weak ones out of the covenant
and tell them they are not
the children of God? Christian
in regard to yourself there is a great truth
here. Be sure you have the sail up. Do not miss the gale
for want of
preparation for it. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
God’s signals
God signals to His people to take certain steps at certain times.
Then it is their duty to bestir themselves. When the Deluge was about to
descend upon a guilty world
Noah was commanded to bestir himself and prepare
an ark for the saving of his household. When the fire-shower was coming upon
Sodom
Lot was laid hold of by God’s angels and urged to escape for his life.
When the children of Israel were in peril of being overwhelmed by the
Egyptians
God signalled to them the order to advance
and by a majestic pillar
of cloud led them through the parted sea. All sacred history is studded with
illustrations of this truth. Martin Luther
discovering the “open secret” in the
convent Bible at Erfurth
and hammering
his theses on the church door of
Wittemburg; the young Wesleys
awakened at Oxford and sent out to awaken
slumbering Britain
were simply God’s agents bestirring themselves at the
Divine signal. (T. L. Cuyler
D. D.)
Verse 25
And David did so.
Marching orders
Each day read your chapter or passage with the idea that you are
receiving your marching orders; that there is some new service to render
some
new duty to perform
some new virtue to acquire. Let the attitude of your soul
be indicated by Samuel’s words
“Speak
Lord
for Thy servant heareth.” When
you hear
do! (F. B. Meyer.)
Do present duty
Procrastination is reckoned among the most venial of our faults
and sits so lightly on our minds that we scarcely apologise for it. But who can
assure us that had not the assistance we had resolved to give to one friend in
distress
or the advice to another under temptation to-day been delayed
and
from mere sloth and indolence put off till to-morrow
it might not have
preserved the fortune of the one
or saved the soul of the other? It is not
enough that we perform duties; we must perform them at the right time. We must
do the duty of every day in its own season. Every day has its own imperious
duties; we must not depend upon to-day for fulfilling those Which we neglected
yesterday
for to-day might not have been granted to us. Tomorrow will be
equally peremptory in its demands
and the succeeding day
if we live to see
it
will be ready with its proper duties. (Hannah More.)
The grasp of opportunity
Writing an article on Social Economy especially in reference to
wages and industrial progress
Professor Atkinson says: “The man who had the
shrewdness and capacity to seize the opportunity afforded by recent science and
invention had made progress
wealth
success. While from him who had not the
foresight or mental aptitude to adjust himself to the new conditions
had been taken
away even the opportunity for common labour which he enjoyed before.”
Individual activity
Whatever noble work on earth is to be done you must do it
yourself. If you leave it to others it will never be done. Do it yourself. Put
away that poorest of poor spirits which would treat good wishes or
benedictions
or even prayers
as substitutes for personal service. (Bishop
Welldon.)
Doing your duty
There is one lesson which all agree that the Duke of Wellington
taught
and which we are specially desirous of pointing out
viz.
that
throughout life
he made it a rule to do whatever he saw to be his duty at the time--a more rare
and valuable quality than many suppose
unless they remember that it was a rule
which he applied to small things as well as great
to the answering of a
letter
and to the movement of an entire army. While he notoriously confined
himself strictly to his own duties
anything and everything was regarded as a
duty when laid upon him by legitimate and competent authority. It was no
question for him whether the thing were too small for his powers or his
dignity; he was required to do it
he could do it
and he did it--did it with
all his might
whatever it was. Great as he was
he has in this left an example
to the least
as well as to the greatest--to the young as well as to the old. (Great
Thoughts.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》