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2 Samuel
Chapter Twenty-three
2 Samuel 23
Chapter Contents
David's last words. (1-7) David's mighty men. (8-39)
Commentary on 2 Samuel 23:1-7
(Read 2 Samuel 23:1-7)
These words of David are very worthy of regard. Let those
who have had long experience of God's goodness
and the pleasantness of heavenly
wisdom
when they come to finish their course
bear their testimony to the
truth of the promise. David avows his Divine inspiration
that the Spirit of
God spake by him. He
and other holy men
spake and wrote as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost. In many things he had his own neglect and wrong conduct to
blame. But David comforted himself that the Lord had made with him an
everlasting covenant. By this he principally intended the covenant of mercy and
peace
which the Lord made with him as a sinner
who believed in the promised
Saviour
who embraced the promised blessing
who yielded up himself to the
Lord
to be his redeemed servant. Believers shall for ever enjoy covenant
blessings; and God the Father
Son
and Holy Ghost
shall be for ever glorified
in their salvation. Thus pardon
righteousness
grace
and eternal life
are
secured as the gift of God through Jesus Christ. There is an infinite fulness
of grace and all blessings treasured up in Christ
for those who seek his
salvation. This covenant was all David's salvation
he so well knew the holy
law of God and the extent of his own sinfulness
that he perceived what was
needful for his own case in this salvation. It was therefore all his desire. In
comparison
all earthly objects lost their attractions; he was willing to give
them up
or to die and leave them
that he might enjoy full happiness
Psalm 73:24-28. Still the power of evil
and the
weakness of his faith
hope
and love
were his grief and burden. Doubtless he
would have allowed that his own slackness and want of care were the cause; but
the hope that he should soon be made perfect in glory
encouraged him in his
dying moments.
Commentary on 2 Samuel 23:8-39
(Read 2 Samuel 23:8-39)
David once earnestly longed for the water at the well of
Bethlehem. It seems to be an instance of weakness. He was thirsty; with the
water of that well he had often refreshed himself when a youth
and it was
without due thought that he desired it. Were his valiant men so forward to
expose themselves
upon the least hint of their prince's mind
and so eager to
please him
and shall not we long to approve ourselves to our Lord Jesus
by
ready compliance with his will
as shown us by his word
Spirit
and
providence? But David poured out the water as a drink-offering to the Lord.
Thus he would cross his own foolish fancy
and punish himself for indulging it
and show that he had sober thoughts to correct his rash ones
and knew how to
deny himself. Did David look upon that water as very precious which was got at
the hazard of these men's blood
and shall not we much more value those
benefits for purchasing which our blessed Saviour shed his blood? Let all
beware of neglecting so great salvation.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel》
2 Samuel 23
Verse 1
[1] Now
these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said
and the man who
was raised up on high
the anointed of the God of Jacob
and the sweet psalmist
of Israel
said
Last words —
Not simply the last that he spoke
but the last which he spake by the spirit of
God
assisting and directing him in an extraordinary manner. When we find death
approaching
we should endeavour both to honour God
and to profit others with
our last words. Let those who have had experience of God's goodness
and the
pleasantness of the ways of wisdom
when they come to finish their course
leave a record of those experiences
and bear their testimony to the truth of
the promise.
Raised —
Advanced from an obscure estate
to the kingdom. Whom
God singled out from all
the families of Israel
and anointed to be king.
Psalmist — He
who was eminent among the people of God
for composing sweet and holy songs to
the praise of God
and for the use of his church in after ages: these seem not
to be the words of David
but of the sacred penman of this book.
Verse 2
[2] The Spirit of the LORD spake by me
and his word was in my tongue.
His word —
The following words
and consequently the other words and Psalms composed and
uttered by me upon the like solemn occasions
are not to be looked upon as
human inventions
but both the matter and the words of them are suggested by
God's spirit
the great teacher of the church.
Verse 3
[3] The
God of Israel said
the Rock of Israel spake to me
He that ruleth over men
must be just
ruling in the fear of God.
Rock — He
who is the strength
and defence
and protector of his people; which he
manifests by directing kings and rulers so to manage their power as may most
conduce to their comfort and benefit.
Ruleth —
Here are the two principal parts of a king's duty
answerable to the two tables
of God's law
justice towards men
and piety towards God
both which he is to
maintain and promote among his people.
Verse 4
[4] And
he shall be as the light of the morning
when the sun riseth
even a morning
without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining
after rain.
Shall be —
These words are a farther description of the king's duty
which is not only to rule
with justice and piety
but also with sweetness
and gentleness
and
condescension to the infirmities of his people; to render his government as
acceptable to them
as is the sun-shine in a clear morning
or the tender grass
which springs out of the earth by the warm beams of the sun after the rain.
Verse 5
[5] Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an
everlasting covenant
ordered in all things
and sure: for this is all my
salvation
and all my desire
although he make it not to grow.
Altho' —
Although God knows
that neither I
nor my children have lived and ruled as we
should have done
so justly
and in the fear of the Lord; and therefore have
not enjoyed that uninterrupted prosperity which we might have enjoyed.
Covenant —
Notwithstanding all our transgressions whereby we have broken covenant with
God
yet God
to whom all my sins were known
was graciously pleased to make a
sure covenant
to continue the kingdom to me
and to my seed for ever
chap. 7:16
until the coming of the Messiah who is to
be my son and successor
and whose kingdom shall have no end.
Ordered —
Ordained in all points by God's eternal counsel; and disposed by his wise and
powerful providence which will over-rule all things
even the sins of my house
so far
that although he punished them for their sins
yet he will not utterly
root them out
nor break his covenant made with me and mine.
Sure —
Or
preserved
by God's power and faithfulness in the midst of all oppositions.
For this —
Or
in this is
that is
it consists in
and depends upon this covenant.
Salvation —
Both mine own eternal salvation
and the preservation of the kingdom to me and
mine.
Tho' —
Although God as yet hath not made my house or family to grow; that is
to
increase
or to flourish with worldly glory as I expected; yet this is my
comfort
that God will inviolably keep this covenant. But this refers also to
the covenant of grace made with all believers. This is indeed an everlasting
covenant
from everlasting
in the contrivance of it
and to everlasting
in
the continuance and the consequence of it. It is ordered
well ordered in all
things; admirably well
to advance the glory of God and the honour of the mediator
together with the holiness and happiness of believers. It is sure
and
therefore sure
because well-ordered: the promised mercies are sure
on the
performance of the conditions. It is all our salvation: nothing but this will
save us
and this is sufficient. Therefore it should be all our desire. Let me
have an interest in this covenant
and I have enough
I desire no more.
Verse 6
[6] But
the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away
because they
cannot be taken with hands:
But —
Having in the foregoing verses described the nature
and stability of that
kingdom which God had by a sure covenant settled upon him and his seed; and
especially
upon the Messiah
who was to be one of his posterity; he now
describes the nature and miserable condition
of all the enemies of this holy
and blessed kingdom.
As thorns —
Which men do not use to handle
but thrust them away. And so will God thrust
away from himself
and from his people
and kingdom
all those who shall either
secretly or openly set themselves against it.
Verse 7
[7] But
the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a
spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.
Fenced — He
must arm himself with some iron weapon
whereby he may cut them down; or
with
the staff of a spear
or some such thing
whereby he may thrust them away from
himself
that they do him no hurt.
Burnt —
Or
if they do not cut them down or thrust them away they will burn and consume
them.
The place —
Or
in their place
where they grow or stand.
Verse 8
[8]
These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in
the seat
chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up
his spear against eight hundred
whom he slew at one time.
These —
But this catalogue
though placed here
was taken long before
as is manifest
from hence
that Asahel and Uriah are named here. And whereas there are some
difference between this list
and that
1 Chronicles 11:10-47
most of them are easily
reconciled by these two considerations; 1. that nothing is more common than for
one person to have divers names. 2. That as some of the worthies died
and
others came in their stead; this must needs cause some alteration in the latter
catalogue
1 Chronicles 11:10-47
from this which was the
former. Learn hence
how much religion tends to inspire men with true courage.
David both by his writings and example greatly promoted piety among the
grandees of the kingdom. And when they became famous for piety
they became
famous for bravery.
Adino —
This was his proper name.
Lift up —
Which words are fitly supplied out of 1 Chronicles 11:11
where they are expressed.
One time — In
one battle
which though it be strange
yet cannot seem incredible
supposing
him to be a person of extraordinary strength and activity
and his enemies to
be discouraged
and fleeing away.
Verse 9
[9] And
after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite
one of the three mighty men
with David
when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together
to battle
and the men of Israel were gone away:
Gone away —
That is
fled away
1 Chronicles 11:13
being dismayed at the
approach of their enemies.
Verse 11
[11] And
after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were
gathered together into a troop
where was a piece of ground full of lentiles:
and the people fled from the Philistines.
Lentiles — Or
barley
as it is 1 Chronicles 11:13. For both might grow in the
same field
in divers parts of it. And this fact is ascribed to Eleazar
1 Chronicles 11:12
but it is implied
that he
had some partner or partners in it; for it is there said
1 Chronicles 11:14 they set themselves
etc. So
Eleazar might fight in that part where the barley was and Shammah where the
lentiles were.
Verse 12
[12] But
he stood in the midst of the ground
and defended it
and slew the Philistines:
and the LORD wrought a great victory.
Lord wrought —
How great soever the bravery of the instruments is
the praise of the achievement
is to be given to God. These fought
but God wrought the victory.
Verse 15
[15] And
David longed
and said
Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the
well of Bethlehem
which is by the gate!
Said —
Being hot and thirsty
he expresses how acceptable a draught of that water
would be to him; but was far from desiring
or expecting that any of his men
should hazard their lives to procure it.
Verse 16
[16] And
the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines
and drew water
out of the well of Bethlehem
that was by the gate
and took it
and brought it
to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof
but poured it out unto the
LORD.
Would not —
Lest by gratifying himself upon such terms
he should seem either to set too
high a price upon the satisfaction of his appetite
or too low a price upon the
lives of his soldiers.
Poured it — As
a kind of drink offering
and acknowledgment of God's goodness in preserving
the lives of his captains in so dangerous an enterprize; and to shew
that he
esteemed it as a sacred thing
which it was not fit for him to drink.
Verse 17
[17] And
he said
Be it far from me
O LORD
that I should do this: is not this the
blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not
drink it. These things did these three mighty men.
These three —
Jointly: then two of them are mentioned severally.
Verse 19
[19] Was
he not most honourable of three? therefore he was their captain: howbeit he
attained not unto the first three.
Attained not — He
fell short of them in strength and valour.
Verse 21
[21] And
he slew an Egyptian
a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand;
but he went down to him with a staff
and plucked the spear out of the
Egyptian's hand
and slew him with his own spear.
Pit —
Where he put himself under a necessity
either of killing
or being killed.
Of snow —
When lions are most fierce
both from the sharpness of their appetite in cold
seasons
and from want of provisions.
Verse 25
[25]
Shammah the Harodite
Elika the Harodite
Harodite — In
1 Chronicles 11:27
Shammoth the Harorite.
Concerning which
and other changes of the names
which will be observed
by
comparing this catalogue with that
it will be sufficient to suggest
1. that
the same names of persons
or places
are differently pronounced according to
the different dialects of divers places or ages. 2. That one man had often two
names. 3. That David had more worthies than those here mentioned; and as some
of these were slain in the former part of David's reign
as Asahel was; so
others came up in their stead; and some were added to this number
as appears
from 1 Chronicles 11:10-47
where they are named
but
not numbered
as they were here; and where there is a greater number than is
here expressed.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2
Samuel》
23 Chapter 23
Verses 1-7
Verses 1-5
Now these be the last words of David.
The “last words” of David
According to a commonly received interpretation of this passage
David mourned over the ungodly state of his children
but exulted in the
assurance of his
own personal salvation. He first repeated the description he
had received from the Lord of the character which kings and rulers should
maintain
and it is supposed that he next lamented the fact that his children
did not answer to the Divine ideal. It is further supposed that his sorrow on
account of their shortcomings instantly gave place to grateful joy in the hope
that
through the mercy and faithfulness of God
he himself should be secure
and blessed for ever. It might go ill with his children
but it would be well
with him. His family troubles were great and many. Some of his children were
anything but what his conscience could approve and his heart could desire. They
were thorns in his side and arrows in his heart. Still
is it not incredible
that David
as he contemplated the lost condition of his children
could
instantly get comfort by thinking of his own safety? He was sometimes sadly
unlike his true self
but assuredly he was never so unlike himself as to say in
effect
“My children may perish
but
the Lord be praised
I shall get to
heaven myself!” This must be deemed impossible to David
even by those who take
the worst view of his conduct in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. There is
another interpretation of the passage which makes it chiefly and almost
exclusively a prophecy of Christ. It is supposed to regard Him as the King
ordained of God
and to describe the perfection of His kingly character
the
righteousness of His rule
the benignity of His sway over those who submit to
it
and the destructive effects of His sovereignty upon those who are
rebellious and disobedient. Those who adopt this interpretation make certain
changes in the translation of the passage which remove from it everything like
lamentation on David’s part. There is a third interpretation according to which
David here sets forth the Divine ideal of a ruler over men as he in early life
received it from the Spirit of the Lord. Now that he has reached the close of
his kingly career
he compares that career with the description of a good king
which God had given to him
and he finds that he has fallen far short of it.
When he speaks of his “house” not being “so with God
” he does not mean his
domestic circle
but the reigning dynasty
and he refers
not to the godless
character of his children
but to the imperfections of his own kingship. That
had not been altogether such as Gad had enjoined
and as he himself had desired
and determined. When he speaks of the “covenant ordered in all things
” he exults
not in the thought that he is personally safe despite the irreligion of his
children
but in the assurance that he shall be saved despite his shortcomings
and failures as a king.
1. These “last words” reveal to us the lofty standard of kingly character
which was set before David in early life. Righteousness towards men and
reverence towards God are named as the two great essentials in a good king. For
lack of these
monarchs have been curses instead of blessings
and peoples have
been oppressed
and kingdoms have been ruined. But where the authority of God
has been recognised
and the rights of the people have been respected
nations
have flourished
and kings have been a terror to evil-doers
and a praise to
them that do well. Stress is laid upon justice rather than upon compassion
and
history warrants the emphasis. The benignant influence of a God-fearing and
righteous ruler is described in expressive figurative language. Gladness and
growth shall characterise his reign
for “he shall be as the light of the
morning
” etc. Several years elapsed before the throne promised to David came
into his possession; and it is probable that this vivid picture of kingly
perfection was also placed before him some time prior to his accession. These
last words reveal to us the sad consciousness which David had in his old age
that the lofty standard set before him in early life had not been reached. His
kingship was anything but a great failure. It cannot be questioned that David’s
reign was a great blessing to the Jews
and that in the review of his career
there was much to inspire him with joy and thankfulness. Earthly perfection is
one of the pleasant dreams of inexperience. It is generally the honest
determination of young beginners to do very great things
and they firmly
believe that all their lofty aspirations will be fully realised This is one of
the illusions of life by which every new generation is fascinated despite all
the disappointments of preceding generations. Each fresh comer into the field
is blissfully forgetful of human frailties and heroically defiant of
difficulties
and nothing but his own personal experience will be able to shake
his faith in the splendour of his future achievements. There never lived but
One in this world whose review of His earthly life was free from all the
sadness which sight of fault and failure brings. When Jesus hung upon the
cross
He could think of such a work as had never been devolved upon man or
angel
and of that matchless work He could say
“It is finished!” (C. Vince.)
The last words of David
The song falls into four parts.
1. In the introduction
we cannot but be struck with the formality
and solemnity of the affirmation respecting the singer and the inspiration
under which he sang. The first four clauses represent David as the speaker; the
second four represent God’s Spirit as inspiring his words. The introduction to
Balaam’s prophecies is the only passage where we find a similar structure
nor
is this the only point of resemblance between the two songs. In both prophecies
the word translated “saith” is peculiar. While occurring between two and three
hundred times in the formula
“Thus saith the Lord:” it is used by a human
speaker only in these two places and in Proverbs 30:1. The second part of the
introduction stamps the prophecy with a fourfold mark of inspiration.
1. “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me.”
2. “His word was in my tongue.”
3. “The God of Israel said.”
4. “The Rock of Israel spake to me.”
So remarkable an introduction must be followed by no ordinary
prophecy.
2. We come
then
to the great subject of the prophecy--a Ruler over
men. It is a vision of a remarkable Ruler
not a Ruler over the kingdom of
Israel merely
but a Ruler “over men.” The Ruler seen is One whose government
knows no earthly limits
but prevails wherever there are men. It is worthy of
very special remark that the first characteristic of this Ruler is
“righteousness.” There is no grander or more majestic word in the language of
men. Not even love or mercy can be preferred to righteousness. And this is no
casual expression
happening in David’s vision
for it is common to the whole
class of prophecies that predict the Messiah. It is the grand characteristic of
Christ’s salvation in theory that it is through righteousness; it is not less
its effect in practice to promote righteousness. To any who would dream
under
colour of free grace
of breaking down the law of righteousness
the words of
“the Holy One and the Just” stand out as an eternal rebuke
“Think not that I
am come to destroy the law and the prophets; I am not come to destroy
but to
fulfil.” And as Christ’s work was founded on righteousness
so it was
constantly done “in the fear of God”--with the highest possible regard for His
will
and reverence for His law. Having shown the character of the Ruler
the
vision next pictures the effects of His rule. No imagery could be more
delightful
or more fitly applied to Christ. The image of the morning sun
presents Christ in His gladdening influences
bringing pardon to the guilty
health to the diseased
hope to the despairing. The chief idea under the other
emblem
the grass shining clearly after rain
is that of renewed beauty and
growth. The heavy rain batters the grass
as heavy trials batter the soul; but
when the morning shines out clearly
the grass recovers
it sparkles with a
fresher lustre
and grows with intenser activity. So when Christ shines on the
heart after trial
a new beauty and a new growth and prosperity come to it.
3. Next comes David’s allusion to his own house. In our translation
and in the text of the Revised Version
this comes in to indicate a sad
contrast between the bright vision just described and the Psalmist’s own
family. The key to the passage will be found
if we mistake not
in the
expression “my house.” We are liable
to think of this as the domestic circle
whereas it ought to be thought of as the reigning dynasty.
What is denoted by the house of Hapsburg
the house of Hanover
the house of
Savoy
is quite different from the personal family of any of the kings. So when
David speaks of his house
he means his dynasty. In this sense his “house” had
been made the subject of the most gracious promise. But take the marginal
reading--“Is not my house so with God?” Is not my dynasty embraced in the scope
of this promise? Hath He not made with me an everlasting covenant
ordered in
all things and sure? And will He not make this promise
which is all my
salvation and all my desire
to grow
to fructify? It is infinitely more
natural to represent David on this joyous occasion congratulating himself on
the promise of long continuance and prosperity made to his dynasty
than
dwelling on the unhappy condition of the members of his family circle. And the
facts of the future correspond to this explanation. Was not the government of
David’s house or dynasty in the main righteous
at least for many a reign
conducted in the fear of God
and followed by great prosperity and blessing?
David himself
Solomon
Asa
Jehoshaphat
Hezekiah
Josiah--what other nation
had ever so many Christlike kings?
4. The last part of the prophecy
in the way of contrast to the
leading vision
is a prediction of the doom of the ungodly. While some would
fain think of Christ’s sceptre as one of mercy only
the uniform representation
of the Bible is different. In this
as in most predictions of Christ’s kingly
office
there is an instructive combination of mercy and judgment. Nor could it
be otherwise. The union of mercy and judgment is the inevitable result of the
righteousness which is the foundation of His government. Sin is the abominable
thing which He hates. To separate men from sin is the grand purpose of His
government. Oh
let us not be satisfied with admiring beautiful images of
Christi Let us not deem it enough to think with pleasure of Him as the light of
the morning
a morning without clouds
brightening the earth
and making it
sparkle with the lustre of the sunshine on the grass after rain! (W. G.
Blaikie
D. D.)
The dying king’s last vision and psalm
It was fitting that “the last words of David” should be a prophecy
of the true King
whom his own failures and sins
no less than his consecration
and victories
had taught him to expect. The dying eyes see on the horizon of
the far-off future the form of Him who is to be a just and perfect ruler
before the brightness of whose presence and the refreshing of whose influence
verdure and beauty shall clothe the world. As the shades gather round the dying
monarch
the radiant glory to come brightens. He departs in peace
having seen
the salvation from afar
and stretched out longing bands of greeting toward it.
Then his harp is silent
as if the rapture which thrilled the trembling strings
had snapped them.
1. We have first a prelude extending to the middle of 2 Samuel 23:3. In it there is first
a fourfold designation of the personality of the Psalmist-prophet
and then a
fourfold designation of the Divine oracle spoken through him. Similarly
the
fourfold designation of the Divine source has the same purpose
and corresponds
with the four clauses of 2 Samuel 23:1
“The spirit of the Lord
spake in (or
‘into’) me.” That gives the Psalmist’s consciousness that in his
prophecy he was but the recipient of a message. It wonderfully describes the
penetrating power of that inward voice which clearly came to him from without
and as clearly spoke to him within. Words could not more plainly declare the
prophetic consciousness of the distinction between himself and the Voice which
he heard in the depths of his spirit. It spoke in him before he spoke of his
lyric prophecy.
2. The Divine oracle thus solemnly introduced and guaranteed must be
worthy of such a prelude. Abruptly
and in clauses without verbs
the picture
of the righteous Ruler is divinely flashed before the Seer’s inward eye. The
broken construction may perhaps indicate that he is describing what he beholds
in vision. There is no need for any supplement such as “There shall be
” which
however true in meaning
mars the vividness of the presentation of the Ruler to
the prophet’s sight. David sees him painted on the else blank wall of the
future. When and where the realisation may be he knows not. What are the
majestic outlines? A universal sovereign over collective humanity
righteous
and God-fearing. In the same manner as he described the vision of the King
David goes on
as a man on some height telling what he saw to the people below
and paints the blessed issues of the King’s coming. It had been night before he
came--the night of ignorance
sorrow
and sin--but his coming is like one of
these glorious Eastern sunrises without a cloud
when everything laughs in its
early beams
and
with tropical swiftness
the tender herbage bursts from the
ground
as born from the dazzling brightness and the fertilising rain. So all
things shall rejoice in the reign of the King
and humanity be productive
under his glad and quickening influences
of growths of beauty and fruitfulness
impossible to it without these.
3. The difficult 2 Samuel 23:5
whether its first and
last clauses be taken interrogatively or negatively
in its central part
bases
the assurance of the coming of the king on God’s covenant (2 Samuel 7:1-29)
which is glorified
as being everlasting
provided with all requisites for its realisation
and
therefore “sure
” or perhaps “preserved
” as if guarded by God’s inviolable
sanctity and faithfulness. The fulfilment of the dying saint’s hopes depends on
God’s truth. Whatever sense might say
or doubt whisper
he silences them by
gazing on that great Word. So we have all to do.
4. But the oracle cannot end with painting only blessings as flowing
from the king’s reign. If he is to rule in righteousness and the fear of the
Lord
then he must fight against evil. If his coming causes the tender grass to
spring
it will quicken ugly growths too. The former representation is only
half the truth; and the threatening of destruction for the evil is as much a
part of the Divine oracle as the other. Strictly
it is “wickedness” the
abstract quality rather than the concrete persons who embody it--which is
spoken of. May we recall the old distinction that God loves the sinner while He
hates the sin? The picture is vivid. The wicked--and all the enemies of this
king are wicked
in the prophet’s view--are like some of these thorn-brakes
that cannot be laid hold of
even to root them out
but need to be attacked
with sharp pruning-hooks on long shafts
or burned where they grow. There is a
destructive side to the coming of the king
shadowed in every prophecy of him
and brought emphatically to prominence in his own descriptions of his reign and
its final issues. It is a poor kindness to suppress that side of the truth.
Thorns as well as tender grass spring up in the quickening beams; and the best
commentary on the solemn words which close David’s closing song is the saying
of the King Himself: “In the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers
”
Gather up first the tares
and bind them in bundles to burn them.” (A.
Maclaren
D. D.)
David’s last words
I. God’s words by
david.
1. David’s words as king
“David
the man who was raised on high
saith” (2 Samuel 23:1.)
2. David’s words as Psalmist
“David saith
the sweet psalmist of
Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1.)
3. David’s words from God
“The spirit of the Lord spake by me” (2 Samuel 23:2.)
1. “These be the last words of David.”
2. “The man whom God raised on high.”
3. “The spirit of the Lord spake by me.”
II. God’s words
concerning rulers.
1. What good rulers must be: “One that ruleth righteously
in the fear
of God” (2 Samuel 23:3.)
2. What good rulers are like: “He shall be as the light of the
morning” (2 Samuel 23:4.)
3. How God treats good rulers: “He Hath made with me an everlasting
covenant” (2 Samuel 23:5.)
1. “He shall be as the light of the morning.”
2. “He hath made with me an everlasting covenant
”
3. “It is all my salvation
and all my desire.” God’s covenant
III. God’s words
concerning enemies.
1. Equipped for evil: “The ungodly shall be all of them as thorns” (2 Samuel 23:6.)
2. Overcome by power: “The man that touched them must be armed with
iron” (2 Samuel 23:7.)
3. Doomed to destruction: “They shall be utterly burned with fire” (2 Samuel 23:7.)
1. “The ungodly shall be all of them as thorns to be thrust away.”
The ungodly
2. “Armed with iron and the staff of a spear.”
3. “They shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.” The end
of the wicked:
Broken ideals
The history
does not inform us at what period of David’s chequered life “the God of
Israel--the Rock of Israel
” spake thus to him. We may not be presumptuous
however
in fixing on what in our judgment would appear to have been the most
likely time. Voices of highest inspiration
visions of loftiest things
come
as a rule
to men in early life. By an irresistible sense of the fitness of the
figure
we speak of the youth as the “Morning of life
” when all within and
without is at its brightest and its best
and heaven and earth smile with the
promise of the coming
day. It would seem but natural
then
that we should place this vision of the
ideal man--the ideal ruler--at least in some period of David’s earlier life.
There are two or three purposes which ideals and visions serve
and though they
are the mere commonplaces of all serious thinking
I may be permitted briefly
to state them.
I. Ideals and
visions are our only possible means of enlargement and enrichment. For the
chances of true greatness everywhere never lie so much in what a man is as in
what he sees
in perhaps rare moments
he may become. This is clear and obvious
enough to all our minds; but in days when men are asking whether ideals do not
stand in our way
it will bear enforcement. An ideal is the soul
the only
soul
and the only soul in every conceivable direction of sustained effort and
assured progress. Our Saviour knew this full well when He pitched the tune of
our Christian lives in the highest key of all
and bade us “be perfect
as our
Father who is in heaven is perfect.” And the high ground which He took
all
experience approves. A vision of our personal possibilities may be
extravagant--it may even be misleading; but find a man who has ceased to see
such visions
who has ceased to be allured by them
who has ceased to follow
them
and you find a man who is growing from small to less
from mediocrity to
insignificance.
II. We should feel
things as well as know them
There is no chance of continuous and successful
effort
apart from a strict fidelity to what
in our best moments
“the God of
Israel--the Rock of Israel
” has said to us
or has set before us. Moral
precepts will help us on a long way
but they cannot kindle an abiding endeavour.
Abstract injunctions and commands will help us on a long way
but I doubt if
they ever yet carried a single struggling soul within sight of a very high
goal.
III. God sends us
our ideals--our religious ideals--to break the binding arid blinding spell of
religious custom. What stagnation
what paralysis sometimes comes over us!
Then
happy is the man whom the memories of former days
of former visions
of
former vows
disturb at such a time; who accepts
as from God
the reproachful
looks of former ideals; who goes back in thought to the times of his youthful
consecration
and who determines that henceforth Christ and not custom shall be
his King. And when memory travels back to life as it shaped itself to our young
imagination
and then reflect on the way and manner in which it has all turned
out
it requires something like ah effort to talk about ideals. And yet
consider--
1. Most of the deepest things m life we can only
learn from
conscious
perhaps repeated failure. In a fine lecture on Samuel Taylor
Coleridge
the late Principal Shairp tins the following: “Through the wounds
made in his own spirit
through the brokenness of a heart humbled and made
contrite by the experience of his own sin
he entered into the faith which gave
rest
the peace which settles where the intellect is meek.” Now wounds and
failures
and even sin
remembered ideals that seem sometimes only to reproach
us
sometimes almost to mock us
these things have a good account to give of
themselves
if they accomplish for us anything like that
2. Patiently
too
do we come to look upon our brother’s failures.
Sons of consolation indeed do we become when we learn to look through the open
windows of our own. The Voice of voices to this generation exclaims
“Oh! my
brother
my brother
why cannot I fold thee to my breast?” That brother cannot
be folded to this breast in any very effective way till I have come to know
much more what is inside than I could know when “the God of Israel--the Rock of
Israel
” first spake to me.
3. Lastly
there are many great sights in this world. There are many
great and noble things done under the sun. Heroes and heroines are only scarce
to those who
often enough for good reason
cannot see them. (J. Thew.)
David’s swan song
And now comes the last “Lay of the Minstrel
” with its flashes of
heavenly fire--the true “Swan song.” If we treasure with peculiar fondness the
closing sayings of great men
with what devout interest may we not listen to
the concluding strains of the Laureate of the universal church--the last
cadences of that harp of a thousand strings! The grandeur of earthly empire is
fast waning. He has heaven in view. But he would give to his people--to the
world--this dying “Confession of faith” farewell ode of victory. The whole
poetry of his nature seems summoned up for the expiring effort. (J. R.
Macduff
D. D.)
Last wards
Dr. Preston: “Blessed be God! though I change my place
I shall
not change my company; for I have walked with God while living
and now I go to
rest with God.” Matthew Henry: “You have been used to take notice of the
sayings of dying men
this is mine--that a life spent in the service of God
and communion with Him
is the most comfortable life that any one can lead in
this present world.” Rutherford: “If he should slay me ten thousand times ten
thousand times
I’ll trust.” “I feel
I feel
I believe in joy
and rejoice; I
feed on manna.” “Oh
for arms to embrace Him. Oh
for a well-tuned harp!” Rev.
James Hervey: “You tell me that I have but a few moments to live. Oh
let me
spend them in adoring our great Reedeemer! Oh
welcome death! thou mayest well
be reckoned among the treasures of the Christian.” His last words
“The great
conflict is over: all is done.” President Edwards
after bidding goodbye to all
his children
looked about
and said
“Now
where is Jesus of Nazareth
my
never-failing Friend?” And so he fell asleep
and went to the Lord he loved.
Rev. John Wesley: “The best of all is
God is with us.” Rev. Charles Wesley: “I
shall be satisfied with Thy likeness; satisfied--satisfied!” Dr. Payson: “The
battle’s fought--the battle’s fought; and the victory is won--the victory is
won
for ever! I am going to bathe in an ocean of purity
and benevolence
and
happiness to all eternity.” “Faith and patience
hold out.” (G. S. Bowes
M.
A.)
Verse 2
The Spirit of the Lord spake by me.
The inspiration of the Scriptures
I. The Inspiration
Of The Scriptures. This may be shown by the combined testimony of Moses
the
Psalmist
the Prophets of our Lord
and also of the Apostles and Evangelists.
Consider:
1. The language of Moses. Now what does Moses say of his own
writings? “Thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God
to keep His
statutes and His commandments
which are written in this book of the law.”
2. The language of the Psalmist. David
the sweet Psalmist of Israel
claims inspiration for those psalms which are of his own composition. “The
Spirit of the Lord
” he says
“spake by me.” And what are his other testimonies
respecting the word of God at large? Very wonderful
he says
are its
properties. It is the grand instrument
he tells us
in the sinner’s
conversion. “The law of the Lord is perfect
converting the soul.”
3. The language of the prophets. What does Jeremiah say concerning
his own writings? The Lord commanded Jeremiah to set down in a book certain
prophecies. Those prophecies Baruch read in the audience of the king and the
princes. And what is said respecting Baruch’s reading? “Then read he in the
book the words of the Lord in the house of the Lord.” He read in the book “the
words of the Lord.”
4. The language of Christ. He met His adversaries with the Scripture.
5. The language of the Evangelists and Apostles. Our Lord
before His
departure
promised to send to His disciples the Holy Ghost. “And when He is
come
He will bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have spoken
unto you.” The Evangelists and Apostles
therefore
wrote under the controlling
power of the Holy Ghost. “All Scripture
wrote St. Peter
” is given by
inspiration of God
” or
is “God-breathed.” That Scripture Timothy had known
from a child; arid that Scripture was able to make Timothy “wise unto salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.” By that term “Scripture
” which was able to
make its readers savingly acquainted with Christ
was meant the Old Testament
writings. Now
these Old Testament books are directly quoted or alluded to in
the New Testament several hundreds of times. There are more than eighty such
references in St. Matthew; more than thirty in St. Mark; more than fifty in St.
Luke; forty in St. John; more than fifty in the Acts of the Apostles; more than
seventy in the Romans.
II. Words of
counsel.
1. Beware of the sin of unbelief. God has given us-a revelation. The
mighty God
even the Lord
hath spoken. That revelation contains difficulties
and mysteries. Our Lord was satisfied with the Old Testament
and we
therefore
should surely be satisfied. But we have
in addition
a most clear
commentary on the Old Testament. We have the New Testament.
2. Cultivate a childlike spirit. Our Lord has plainly told us that
except we be converted and become as little children
we shall not enter the
kingdom of heaven.
3. Receive all that the Bible reveals. In the Bible
as St Peter
tells us
there are many things “hard to be understood.” This is no more than
we ought to expect
when the infinite God reveals Himself to a finite being
like man. Those things
however
which are necessary for our salvation--sin
death
hell
heaven
the general resurrection
the atonement of Christ
the
work of the Spirit--are written so plainly “that he may run that reads.” (C.
Clayton
M. A.)
God the Author of Scripture
Who built St. Paul’s Cathedral? So many masons
carpenters
iron-workers
carvers
painters--and then there was Wren. Yes
there was
Christopher Wren. He was not a mason
nor a carpenter
nor an ironworker. He
never laid a single stone
drove a nail
or forged a railing. What did he do?
He did it all. He planned the splendid edifice: inspired with his thought and
purpose all their toil
and wrought through every worker. They were his
“hands
” and people flock to-day in their thousands from all over the world to
see Christopher Wren’s masterpiece. Who wrote the Bible? Moses
David
Isaiah
John
Paul? Yes. But the Holy Spirit did it all. “Holy men of old spake as they
were borne along by the Holy Ghost.”
Plenary inspiration of Scripture
In an interesting little pamphlet
written by the late Dr. A. J.
Gordon
and called “Three weeks with Joseph Rabinowitz
” there are several
striking expressions uttered by the Russian Jew. “What is your view of
inspiration?” we asked him
in order to draw him out concerning certain
much-mooted questions Of our time. “My view is
” he said
holding up his Hebrew
Bible
“that this is the Word of God; the Spirit of God dwells in it; when I
read it
I know that God is speaking to me; and when I preach it
I say to the
people
‘Be silent
and hear what Jehovah will say to you.’ As for comparing
the inspiration of Scripture with that of Homer or Shakespeare
” he continued
“it is not a question of degree
but of kind.. Electricity will pass through an
iron bar
but it will not go through a rod of glass
however beautiful and
transparent
because it has no affinity for it. So the Spirit of God dwells in
the Word of God
the Holy Scriptures
because these are His proper medium
but
not in Homer or Shakespeare
because He has no affinity with these writings.”
Verse 3
The Rock of Israel spake to me.
The voice of a rock
The phraseology is peculiarly dramatic and picturesque.
I. The rock has a
voice; the Rock of Israel had been speaking to him ever since he had been in
the kingly seat of power. David’s wild and outlaw life had made him know what
was the value of a stronghold
a shelter
a refuge. Rocks had been in his
experience his best friends for many a year. Rocks were unchanging in their
affection for him; they were immovable in their stability; they were
impregnable for defence; often he had found rest under the “shadow of a great
rock in a weary land.” What had this Rock of Israel said to him during this
wonderful career?
1. For one thing
it had told him
as a counsel of superior wisdom
that he ought to reign righteously all his life: “He that ruleth over men must
be just
ruling in the fear of God.”
2. For another thing
the Rock had spoken the terms and the
conditions of a fine promise. A just ruler would be prospered in proportion to
the purity and piety of his administration: “And he shall be as the light of
the morning when the sun riseth
even a morning without clouds; as the tender
grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.”
3. And for the best thing of all
the Rock had assured him graciously
of a permanent continuance of the Divine favour: “Although my house be not so
with God
yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant
ordered in all
things
and sure: for this is all my salvation
and all my desire
although he
make it not to grow.”
II. Modern
religious experience. What are the conditions of implicit trust in the Lord of
our salvation
such trust ah will insure peace and comfort?
1. The main condition of resting in the Lord is found in looking
outside of one’s self. There is a habit of morbid self-examination which needs
to be shunned. The more conscientious any believer is
the more apt he is to
press unnecessary scrutiny of introspection.
2. The next condition of spiritual repose is found in the avoiding of
unwise counsellors. Once a Christian friend wrote a letter to me
saying that
she had just
after a long struggle
come to something like peace in believing
when along came a “so-called evangelist to torment her before her time
”
telling her that “all we have to do is to accept salvation as we would accept a
book from Christ’s hand.” She could not do this so easily
and hence she was
informed again that her faith had no foundation upon which to be “secure.” It
would break up two-thirds of the business firms in the United States if an
evangelist were to keep going round among the counting-rooms
telling people
that they were in jeopardy every hour unless they could come to absolute
confidence in their senior partners; and then they must be sure
still
that
they have the-right kind of confidence in them; and then they must be modest
and become surest of all that they are not becoming over-sure of anything this
side of heaven. Human beings cannot get on with this; they cannot live so with
God or with man. We must cultivate some measure of unquestioning trust. We must
learn to trust our trust
and not keep rooting it up. No plant grows which is
continually being rooted up.
3. Another condition of rest in God is found in drawing a clear
distinction between historic faith and saving faith. What secures to us a
perfect salvation is spiritual trust in the Saviour
and this is the gift of
the Holy Ghost. And whoever says that we receive Divine grace as we would
receive a book from a man’s hand
is simply mistaken in ignorance
or is
misunderstood in his statement. Mechanical acts are frightfully poor
illustrations of deep religious exercises. Some sort of fervour
some degree of
emotion
is needed in order to appreciate Divine grace and receive it fitly.
Tameness and lukewarmness are simply insipid. It is a heart-trust that God asks
for
not a mere head-trust. A maiden may be told by her enthusiastic lover that
it is as easy to trust him for ever with her life as it is to take a flower he
offers; she knows better. It is easy to receive facts
perhaps
but not so easy
to understand experiences which lie deeper than any mere outward acts. Historic
faith is not necessarily saving faith.
4. Yet again: we are to cultivate confidence in the slowly reached
answers to our prayers for Divine grace.
5. Yet again: we must distinguish between emotions
and religious
states. The one may vary
the other is fixed Faith is a very different thing
from the result of faith; and confidence of faith is even a different thing
from faith itself; and yet the safety of a soul depends on faith
and nothing
else. We are justified by faith--not by joy or peace or love or hope or zeal.
These last are the results of faith
generally
and will depend largely upon temperament
and education.
6. Finally
this unbroken courage is a condition of rest. We must not
think everything is lost when we happen to have become beclouded. That faith is
the best which has been tried and tested. In my study lies a little flower. It
came to me long ago
by the hand of one who plucked it upon the highest ridge
ever reached in the Rocky Mountains. It is of a rich purple colour
light and
graceful in form
and retains yet
I imagine
a faint and delicate perfume. The
lesson which it teaches me is one of endurance and patience. Away up there
where the snow lies late and the storms come early
it has held its own. The
bleak solitudes had no charm for it; nay
I think that this flower was created
to give a charm to a solitude which would have been the bleaker without it. To
me it is the symbol of trust--absolute and implicit trust in God. It is a
living thing that knows how to keep its warmth in despite of ice
and its
beauty in despite of desolation
all around it. (C. S. Robinson
D. D.)
He that ruleth over men
must be just.
The importance of character in rulers
Mr. Stead quotes from Major Lennard’s “How We Made Rhodesia
” a
passage to illustrate Dr. Jameson’s opinions on morality and public life. “What
differences can it make in a man as a legislator what his morals are
if he has
genius and intellect
and can use them? I cannot see how in any way morals can
affect a man’s intellect
and so long as he keeps his immoralities to himself
I do not see how they can affect any one else.” So the Prime Minister of Cape
Colony. The man who cannot see the influence of morality upon mind
how it
affects motive and outlook
and his whole attitude and action in public affairs
may have many gifts
but he is unfit to be Prime Minister of any colony or
state. Far higher than the view of the modern Prime Minister of South Africa
was that which inspired that ancient
Prime Minister of North Africa
who
regarded his position as a trust
and his work as a mission from God. “And
Joseph said: It was not you that sent me hither
but God; and He hath made me a
father to Pharaoh
and lord of all ills house
and a ruler throughout all the
land of Egypt.”
A righteous monarch
When Alfred made his laws his difficulties were only beginning. He
had to depend for their execution on the Ealdermen and Thanes
most of whom
were rude
uncultivated warriors
unable even to read the laws they had to
administer. Many also were careless and unprincipled
either taking no pains
about the matter at all
or favouring the rich against the poor. Alfred
accordingly undertook the enormous labour of going over in person and in detail
“almost all cases” in the kingdom. When he found
as he did very often
that
the judgment given was unjust
he would send for the offending judge
and ask
him why he had delivered it
taking great pains to ascertain whether this was
done out of greed or partiality
or out of simple ignorance. Probably a judge
who was convicted of the former would be suspended or superseded. But more
often the perplexed Thane or Ealderman
when hard pressed
would stammer out
the candid confession
“An’ it please you
my lord king
I did not know any
better.” Asset has preserved us a specimen of the reproof that would follow
which he calls “discreet and moderate.” “I wonder truly at your insolence that
whereas
by God’s favour and mine
you have occupied the rank and office of the
Wise
you have neglected the studies and labours of the Wise. Either
therefore
at once resign your office or endeavour more zealously to study the
lessons of wisdom. Such are my commands.” He adds that the judges
almost
without exception
chose to learn their duties properly rather than to resign
them. (J. Alcock.)
Verse 4
He shall be as the light of the morning when the sun riseth.
King David’s vision of Christ
It is generally allowed that
the Authorised Version is not very
happy here
and that the true idea of the passage is got by reading it as a
vision--a bright vision of a glorious Ruler
as it rose before the entranced
sight of the psalmist. The form of this Ruler is projected before him; He is
one who is “righteous
” and who “rules in the fear of God.” A Divine radiance
goes from Him
diffusing a silvery brightness on every side. “As the light of
the morning!” exclaims the psalmist
recalling the welcome sight of the purple
dawn after a dark and stormy night. By-and-by “the sun ariseth
” rejoicing like
a strong man to run a race. It is “a morning without clouds”; there is nothing
to obstruct the influence of the orb of day as he scatters his treasures from
his golden chariot. See how his beams fall on “the tender grass
” making it
sparkle with diamonds and pearls! This was King David’s last vision--the vision
of a ruler appearing on earth
worthy of these glorious emblems. Who can this
Ruler be? Not Solomon
not Jehoshaphat
not Hezekiah: for though these and
other kings were noble rulers
they did not come up to the high eulogy of
David; neither were they “rulers over men” as such
but only over a small
section of them--David’s own kingdom
if even the whole of that. The Ruler of
the vision has a wider dominion
and belongs to a nobler order. There are few
things that strike the imagination more
or that dwell more vividly in the
memory than a beautiful sunrise in an Alpine country. The Alpine horn wakens
you in the early morning
and
flushed with the expectation of a rare
enjoyment
you hasten to the spot where the view is to be seen. Your patience
is somewhat taxed as the minutes slowly pass
and no sun appears. But as you
look
the flush of dawn begins to brighten the sky
and now
just over the dark
mountain range in the east
you see a speck of ruby peering
brighter than any
gem. Quickly broadens into a slender bow
then to a golden semicircle
and in a
few more seconds the round globe itself stands above the horizon. And what a
glory it spreads over mountain and valley
over lake and river! What a
transformation of the dull dark globe
now bright with a hundred hues and
sparkling with a thousand smiles! Not only are your eyes feasted
but your soul
is thrilled with a holy emotion; your mind carries you to a brighter
transformation
to the thought of the new heaven and the new earth
and of the
great Resurrection morn
when they that dwell in dust shall awake and sing
and
the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with songs and
everlasting joy upon their heads! In the imagery of the vision our Lord is
compared to light; and it is interesting to note the successive touches by
which the image grows in brilliancy. First
He is as “the light”--the most
cheering and reviving
the most beautiful and beautifying of earthly things.
Then He is as the light of “the morning
” for morning light is more cheerful and
reviving than any other. Then the great fountain of light
the sun
comes into
view
suggesting inexhaustible fulness. And lastly
it is a morning “without
clouds
” there is nothing to obscure or interrupt the light in its passage to
earth; it falls on the face
of Nature in an unbroken flood
giving radiance and beauty to every object; and
“there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.”
1. It is indeed a gloomy experience when one first feels what it is
to be a sinner
and first knows oneself to be a sinner--a great sinner--in the
Sight of God. What the Holy Spirit brings home to one may not be dark flagrant
acts of sin
but the fact of one’s rebellious will--one’s systematic disregard
of the holy will of God. Young Bruce of Kinnaird
three hundred years ago
declared that he would rather wade through a stream of boiling lead half a mile
long than endure what befell him one night in the house of Airth
when the Holy
Spirit was convincing him of sin. But when one apprehends the true meaning of
the Baptist’s call--“Behold the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the
world”--is it not as if one passed into the light of the morning?
2. There is another gloomy experience to which many are subject after
they have entered on the Christian life--the sense of indwelling sin
of the
perpetual activity of evil desires
giving birth to a sad contrast between
their souls and those saintly
angelic
Christ-like
beings whom they have
sometimes met with
or about whom they have read. “Oh
wretched men that we
are!” they sometimes cry
“who shall deliver us?” St. Paul was far in the depths when he uttered
that groan. But hardly was it uttered when the light of the morning burst on
him--“I thank God
through Jesus Christ.” He saw in Jesus Christ
over and
above His atoning merit
a sanctifying grace capable of renewing him wholly
and he thanked God.
3. A third gloomy experience of Christians is that which often arises
from the trials and troubles of life. There are St. Sebastians in this world
whom God seems to make a target for all His arrows: all His waves and billows
seem to pass over them. There is a tradition that once a great painter
seeing
a rough block of white marble
said
“I see an angel imprisoned in that stone;
but I will set him free.” It was his way of saying that out of the rough block
he would carve the form of an angel. But what an infinite amount of labour
what innumerable strokes of the hammer and touches of the chisel
were needed
to fulfil the task! Certainly the task of turning the human soul into a pure
unsullied spirit is not an easier one. We may be helped here by another emblem
of the text--“Clear shining after rain.” Heavy rain
pelting fiercely during
the night
batters the tender grass
seems rude
and reckless
arid
destructive; but the morning sun not only makes the grass bright
but helps it
to rise and helps it to grow; and in a little while the grass is stronger and
richer than ever. I knew an eminent Christian
in a prominent position
who
said that on looking back on his life he saw that the times of sorest trial--of
trials that seemed as if they would crush him utterly were the very times when
he got most spiritual good; it was out of such weakness that he was made
strong.
4. We note one other gloomy experience against which Jesus is emphatically
as the light of the morning--that which is bred under the shadow of death. This
is probably due to that feebler faith in the unseen and eternal
in heaven and
hell
in rewards and punishments
which marks the present age. But for oneself
and for all who die in the Lord
how welcome is the vision of Him who is as the
light of the morning! Jesus has Himself died. O Light of the morning! how
welcome is Thy rising to all who have eyes to see! Arise and shine on all the
dark places of the earth. Again and again let these words be verified: “The
people that walked in darkness have seen a great light!” (The Quiver.)
David’s last and best song concerning Christ
This was a prediction of the advent of Christ uttered by David as
his last words: not
probably
the last words that he ever spoke
but the last
recorded of his public and inspired utterances.
I. He comes from
without. The hope of the world
according to the teaching of the Scriptures
is
not in itself. Just as this morning the earth’s face is beautified not by any
brilliancy of its own
but by the light that streams from the open heavens
and
is reflected by the grateful earth
so when Christ should come He would come to
a dark world m the effulgency of the Father’s glory
and the brightness of heaven’s
own light.
II. Like the
morning without
clouds
the revelation which He will give
and the light and
joy which He will shed shall be perfect. There shall be nothing imperfect in
His personality or in His teaching or works. The revelation of God in Jesus
Christ shall be as the light of the morning when the sun ariseth
a morning
without clouds.
III. Christ’s advent
would be like the day-dawn because of the certainty of his coming. What
more
certain than the morning? You have your dark nights
but then there is the
counterbalancing assurance that morning cometh. Yes
the light always succeeds
darkness
and day succeeds night. This is the Divine order of things. “God
called the light Day
and the darkness He called Night
and the evening and the
morning were the first day.” All God’s evenings burst into mornings. God began
with darkness and finished with light
that is the idea here. The evening of
the world has been dark
tedious
and depressing
but “He shall be as the light
of the morning
when the sun riseth.”
IV. The fulness of
His glory and blessing connected with His advent. He would come to all men
alike.
V. Christ would
come with the gentleness of the morning. Oh
the gentleness with which the
light comes to us! Have you thought of it? There is nothing so gentle. You know
that the speed at which light travels is twelve millions of miles per minute.
An engine that comes at seventy miles an hour comes dashing through everything
in its way; but the light that comes at the rate of 200
000 miles per second
has not knocked any of us down yet
nay
not even an insect in its feeble
flight. It comes direct from the sun
through space
at the rate of 200
000
miles per second
and yet this sensitive eye of ours
which is hurt if you but
touch it with even a feather
and is injured even if a breeze comes at the rate
of sixty or seventy miles an hour
and still more if water were splashed
against it with any force
receives that ray without the consciousness of being
touched at all. Anything else but the light
coming at this fearful velocity
would kill us
yet the eye takes in the light and is thankful for it. The most
sensitive nerve is only gratified. Christ’s advent is compared to this coming
of that light. Such is the gentle grace of Christ. He comes to enlighten the
world--comes with the great impetus of almighty love that began in
eternity--and yet a love that falls as gentle as the day of light upon an
infant’s eyes.
VI. His coming
shall be all the more glorious because of the darkness and sorrow which have preceded
it: “When the tender grass springeth out of the earth through clear shining
after rain.” It would not be so glorious if the darkness had not preceded it
and the rain had not come. If you would see things clearly
go out in the
morning. Just when the sun rises
everything appears at its best. During the
day you have the moist land sending up heated vapours
and the denser airs mix
up with the rarer atmosphere
so that you see nothing clearly. But the morning
light is pure and undisturbed
and it is never so pure as when showers of rain
have immediately preceded the dawn. Then it seems as if the rain had cleansed
the atmosphere. A shower does wonders in purifying air. That is the figure in
our text. Just as when a shower has been cleansing the nit of its impurity
and
then the pure light of dawn reveals the landscape
there is nothing so glorious
in nature; so in thy spiritual realm there is nothing so charming as the
revelation of Christ to the heart after its long night of darkness and grief.
Oh
if He but dawned upon the darkness of many of you to-day
you would thank
God for all the sorrows which have prepared the way for His more clear shining
into your heart and life. (D. Davies.)
Christ’s coming as the light of the morning
These are some of the last` words of David; not the very last
which he uttered while on earth
but of those
we may conceive
which he spake
when he knew that he was about to close his course below
and which he would
leave as his dying testimony to the truth which had been the matter of his
faith
and which was still the ground of his hope. These words
as we read
them
might be regarded as those which David now recalled as having been spoken
to him on his elevation to the throne
conveying a lesson concerning the duties
of a sovereign
which he had on the whole endeavoured to fulfil. But a greater
than David is here; and the words may be more properly’ regarded as a prophecy
announcing the reign of that descendant of David in whom his throne was to be
built up for ever. You see
that to what is here said
considered as a
prediction of the Messiah and his times
the voices of the other prophets
agree. But I would direct your attention to what may be suggested concerning
him
and the effects of his mission and work
by the beautiful imagery here
employed.
I. He Is Most
Glorious In Himself. Light
you will acknowledge
is the most beautiful of all
material things: Nature’s resplendent robe
without whose vesting radiance all
were wrapt in unrelieved gloom. Its name is associated with all that we know of
what is fair and pleasant for the eyes to behold. But when we turn from its
lesser sources
from the lamps which man kindles
or even from the moon and the
stars which shine by night
to the light of the morning
to the sun when he riseth
on a morning without clouds
what an object of splendour is before us! But who
is He of whom it is said that “He shall be as the light of the morning
when
the sun riseth?” He is one of whom this sun is only a faint image. But in the
application of the figure which likens the Messiah to the morning sun
we are
to notice not merely the superior excellence of the things represented to those
by which they are held up to view
but the truth that they are found in him in
similar purity and fulness and perfection to that in which their emblems appear
in the natural sun. Wisdom
holiness
benignity
equity
and truth and mercy
are not only more excellent in themselves
more worthy to be admired
more
suited in their manifestations to awaken a sense of beauty and grandeur in the
mind of the beholder than the most brilliant appearances of the light which is
taken in by the bodily eye; but as in him
and shown forth by him of whom we
speak
they have a plenitude and an exuberance which place him
we may say
infinitely
farther above all created excellence than the sun is above the dim lamps that
men kindle by night
. He “is the brightness of the Father’s glory
the express
image of His person.” He is the light of the heavenly world. The seraphim that
worship there veil their faces with their wings before him. He is the Sun of
spirits
and His beams of all-informing thought irradiate every created
intellect. He is “the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world.” Raise your eyes
O believer
to this Sun of Righteousness. He dwelleth
indeed in light to which no man can approach.
II. He came to show
to a benighted world the way of truth and peace. The sun is the great fountain
of light to the natural world. His absence makes night. Though there be lesser
lights to relieve the darkness
even these derive from him their borrowed lustre. The
evening’s twilight and the morning’s dawn give us his faint diffused beams
and
the moon and the planets shine with his reflected glories. But what would our
earth be if he was utterly darkened in the heavens? In the coming of the
Messiah
in that revelation of truth and mercy
of which He is the giver and
great subject
the dayspring from on high hath visited us. “I am come
” said
Jesus
“a light unto the world
that whosoever believeth in me should not abide
in darkness.” How glorious are the discoveries which He makes to mankind
who
were sunk under debasing superstition; who
in the depths of their ignorance of
the true God
offered the homage due to him to dumb idols
the work of their
own hands
nay
to the personified ideas of hate and lust.
III. He comes to put
forth on a depraved world a renovating influence. The sun in the natural world
not only sheds light
“there is nothing hidden from his heat.” He warms and by
his genial influence renews the face of the earth. We have spoken of Him as
revealing the way of truth and peace
this He does not only in His external
word; it is He who opens the eyes of the understanding to discern it
and
inclines the heart to walk in it; to return to God in the faith of offered
mercy
in penitence
grief for past wanderings
and new-born love and
devotedness to his service. A willing people come to him in the day of his
power
in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning he has the dew
of his youth; under His quickening influence the spiritual life and beauty
which sin had blasted revive and flourish. He purges out the gross and debasing
elements of corruption
implants and cherishes the principles and affections which
adorn and bless the soul
and makes it fair and bright in his own reflected
image. Arid it is when he comes in the might of his renewing Spirit that a
voice is heard
saying to the souls which He visits
“Arise
shine
for thy
light is come
and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.”
1. We may observe that when he came in the flesh
He appeared in the
character and for the ends here assigned. It was to this coming that the
Psalmist looked forward when he said
“There shall be a ruler over men
” etc. The
Saviour promised long was born. He appears by the blood of whose cross peace
has been made
and by whom it hath pleased the Father to reconcile all things
to himself.
2. We may observe that He comes in tiffs character
and for the ends
we have spoken of
in the dispensation of His gospel
and when it is made
effectual
to give “light to them that sit
in darkness and in the shadow of
death
to guide their feet into the way of peace.” The invitations of mercy are
from him
and tell of him; and when it enters a nation or a city
when it is
preached to the poor and the guilty among men
there he is evidently set forth
and the light of His salvation diffused.
3. And the time is approaching when He shall thus come in all the
world A great part of it yet lieth in wickedness. Monstrous forms of idolatry
prevail in many places of the earth
and in others a false prophet has deceived
the nations
or Antichristian superstitions perverted the gospel of Jesus. Even
where the light shines most clearly multitudes shut their eyes on it
and show
that they love the darkness better than the light. But we have a sure promise
that thus it shall not always be. The everlasting gospel shall be preached to
every nation
and kindred
and tongue
and people. “The glory of the Lord shall
be revealed
and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord
hath spoken it.”
4. He is to come in the end of the world
when He shall be to them
that look for Him “as the light of the morning when the sun riseth
even a
morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear
shining after rain.” (J. Henderson
D. D.)
Royal emblems for loyal subjects
Eastern despots fleece their subjects to an enormous extent. Even
at the present day one would hardly wish to be subjected to the demands of an
Oriental government; but in David’s time a bad king was a continual pestilence
plague
and famine--a bane to the lives of his subjects
who were under his
caprice; and spoliation to their fields
which he perpetually swept
clean to
enrich himself with the produce thereof. Hence
a good king was a rara avis in
those days
and could never be too highly prized. So soon as he mounted the
throne
his subjects began to feel the beneficent influence
of his sway. He was to them “as when
the sun riseth.” The confusion which had existed under weak governors gave
place to settled order
while the rapacity which had continually emptied the
coffers of the rich
and filched the earnings of the poor
gave place to a
regular system of assessment
and men knew how to go about
their business with
some degree of certainty. It was to them “a morning without clouds” Forthwith
trade began to flourish; persons who had emigrated to avoid the exactions of
the tyrant came back again; fields which had fallen out of tillage
because
they would not pay the farmer to cultivate them
began to be sown; and the new
ruler was to the land as “clear shining after rain
which makes the tender
grass spring up.”
1. David says of Christ
“He shall be as the light of the morning
when the sun riseth.” This he is as king
already
in His church
and as the
rightful monarch in the individual heart of the believer. Wherever Christ comes
into a soul
it
is as the light of the morning when the sun riseth. And
how
glorious is the; sun when from his pavilion he looks forth at morn! Job
describes the sunrise as being the stamping of the earth with a seal; as if
when in darkness
the earth were like a lump of clay that is pervious; then
as
it is turned to the light
it beginneth to receive the impress of Divine
wisdom; mountain and vale all stream with it
till impressed on its
surface we
begin to perceive the glorious works of God. So when Christ riseth upon the
heart
what a glorious transformation is wrought! Where there has been no love
no faith
no peace
no joy
none of the blessed fruits of the Spirit
no sooner
doth Christ come than we perceive all the graces in blossom; yea
they soon
become fragrant and blooming
for we are made complete in Him. The advent of Christ
bringeth to the heart celestial beauty; faith in Him decketh us with ornaments
and clothes us as with royal apparel. The sunrise
moreover
is very much like
the coming of Christ
because of that which it involveth. Those rays of light
which first forced the darkness from the sky with golden prophecy of day
tell
of flowers that shall open their cups to drink in the sunlight; they tell of
streams that shall sparkle as they flow; they tell of the virgins that shall
make merry
and the young men that shall rejoice
because the sun shineth on
them
and the darkness of night is fled. And so the coming of Christ into the
heart is a prophecy of years of sweet enjoyment--a prophecy
of God’s goodness
and long-suffering
let night reign
elsewhere
as it may--yea
and it is a
prophecy of the fulness of the river of God
for ever and ever
before the
throne of God in heaven.
2. We must proceed to notice that the psalmist uses another figure:
“Even as a morning without clouds.” There are no clouds in Christ when He
ariseth in a sinner’s heart. The clouds that mostly cover our sky come from
Sinai
from the law
and from our own legal propensities
for we are always
wishing to do something by which we may inherit eternal life; but there are
none of these clouds in Christ.
4. But
now
to the last figure. David says of Christ
the king
that
his sway is like “clear shining after rain
whereby the tender grass is made to
spring out of the tartly.” We have often seen how
after a very heavy shower of
rain
and sometimes after a continued rainy season
when the sun shines
there
is a delightful clearness and freshness in the air that we seldom perceive at
other times. Perhaps
the brightest weather is just when the wind has drifted
away the clouds
and the rain has ceased
and the sun peers forth from his
chambers to look down upon the glad earth. Welt
now
Christ
is to His people
lust like that--exceedingly clear-staining when the rain is over.
The character of Christ’s government
These words are generally understood to describe duties of civil
governments and the happiness of a people righteously ruled. But they have
doubtless a further reference even to Christ Himself. They designate His
character most appropriately. The energetic manner in which the prophecy is
introduced
and the strong profusion which the dying king makes of his
immediate inspiration
leave no doubt that something more is conveyed than a
mere direction to magistrates.
I. The nature of
the saviour’s government. In the sacred writings peculiar stress is laid on the
equity of that dominion which the Saviour exercises over His people (Isaiah 9:7). And who that has submitted
to His government will not confirm the truth?
1. Behold His laws. Is there one which does not kind to the happiness
of His subjects? They are all comprehended in one--love to God and man. And can
anything be conceived more excellent in itself and more beneficial to man? Well
does the apostle say of it that it is holy
just
and good.
2. Behold His administration. Is there any one point in which a
righteous governor can excel
that is not found in its most perfect measure in
Him? He relieves the needy
succours the weak
protects the oppressed
and
executes judgment without respect of persons.
II. The benefits it
confers.
1. Illumination and joy. The sun rising on the unclouded hemisphere
cheers and gladdens all who behold it. And when it shines on the earth that has
been refreshed
with gentle showers it causes the grass to grow almost visibly.
And is it not thus with all who submit to Christ?
2. Abundant fruitfulness. What an astonishing effect
too
does the
light of his countenance produce in respect to fruitfulness in good works. Let
the soul watered with tears of penitence
or softened by contrition
once feel
the influence of His genial rays
and there is a change in the whole
deportment.
Inferences:
1. How earnestly should we desire the universal establishment of
Christ’s kingdom. Little do men consider the import of the petition
“Thy
kingdom come.” In uttering it we desire that our whole souls
and the souls of
all mankind
may be subjected to Christ.
2. What madness is it to continue in rebellion to Christ. It is not
at our option whether Christ be our ruler or not. For God has set Him king on
the holy hill of Zion. In due season He will “put all His enemies under His
feet.” (Evangelical Preacher.)
The character of the Messiah’s rule genial and beneficent
This psalm describes the empire of the King of kings
and our text
exhibits the gracious and genial character of His dominion. Some men say that
Christianity is not genial
that the Christian scheme exhibits God in a most
unlovely aspect
that the doctrines of Christ are dark with awful mysteries
that the promises of the Christian dispensation offer but little of present
benefit
and therefore of certain and tangible advantage
that its precepts
demand conduct which is too high and self-sacrificing
that its ordinances are
depressing rather than elevating
and that
as a whole
Christianity promotes a
narrow mind and a feeble judgment
morbid and morose feelings
an enslaved
will
a too sensitive conscience
an unmanly bearing
and a character which is
intellectually low
and unsocial
and melancholy. Is this charge against the
religion of Jesus Christ just
and can it be substantiated? We assert that it
is most unjust
and cannot be maintained. (Samuel Martin.)
A morning without clouds.
A morning without clouds
David is at the head of this chapter a representation of all the
people of God; he is raised up on high; do every one who is born of the Spirit
is raised up by the atonement and righteousness of Christ Jesus; even as the
poor out of the dust
and made to inherit that life
and light
and glory
which can be only by faith in Him in whom they are complete and accepted. David
was the anointed of the God of Jacob: so are all who have the spirit of Christ.
This anointing means consecration to God; and in
and by which
anointing
they
know all things essential to salvation. Also David is called “the sweet
Psalmist of Israel.” He was indeed the poet of the Hebrew nation. But all the
people of God shall be sweet singers of Israel: God and salvation their theme;
truly with them the bitterness of death is past
and they are passed from death
unto life--a life of eternal delight. “The Rock of Israel spake to me
and
showed me the way to prosper; he that ruleth over men must be just
ruling in
the fear of God.” And unto none do these words apply as unto the Son of God: He
was that Just One that died for the unjust
that He might bring us to God; He
feared God in perfection
and did always those things that pleased Him. Can we
say this of ourselves? We cannot
for there is not a just man upon the earth
that doeth good and sinneth not: but He did no sin
neither was guile found in
His mouth; He is
therefore
as the light of the morning when the sun riseth
and as fresh as new grass springing out of the earth; by clear shining after
rain
He is “a morning without clouds;” and is thus a pattern of what all the
mystic morning stars shall be.
I. It was when
Adam fell. A morning without clouds.
1. Sin came in as a cloud
a thick cloud
a tempestuous cloud
a
gloomy cloud. And this cloud of darkness is universal--all are involved therein
all are encompassed thereby; no light from any quarter
but darkness every way.
And we
by nature
love this darkness
and hereby prove ourselves to be under
condemnation. We cannot endure the true light! But if God
who “commanded the
light to shine out of darkness
” shine into our hearts
then we see and feel
the desperate wickedness of our hearts
and become a terror to ourselves
and
begin to be drawn by and to love the light of the bright and morning Star.
2. But not only is there the cloud of sin
but also the cloud of
Sinai
where God is inaccessible. Here “clouds and tempests are round about
him!”
3. But there is the cloud not only of sin
and of Sinai
but also of
tribulation. The clouds of tribulation will more or less darken the path of every
one whose face is truly set Zionward: “Many are the afflictions of the
righteous.”
4. But there is also the cloud of death. It casts its shadow over
everything; and this King of Terrors is
indeed
often a terror of kings. But
to those who love the Gospel light
unto such the cloud of death will be but a
passing shadow.
II. What the
morning is without clouds. The morning without clouds is the morning of
Christ’s resurrection. He dieth no more. “Death hath no more dominion over
him.” And now let us carefully trace out how the Lord was unto David a morning
without clouds. It was by a covenant. “He hath made with me a covenant.” This
means a testamentary will.
1. But this covenant is an everlasting covenant. This made David say
“The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.”
2. But this covenant is ordered in all things and sure; there is
nothing vague--nothing at random; as the ark
the tabernacle
and temple
were
not made at random
so this covenant in all its arrangements
is such as shall
meet
and establish
and make good all its provisions and designs. Jesus Christ
is the executor of this will
“And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in
His hands.”
3. And this covenant is all our salvation; it is included in this
covenant; here none are reckoned otherwise than sons
saints
and kings
and
priests to God.
4. But not only is this covenant all salvation
but it answers all
desires. No Christian desires anything more
yet nothing less can save
supply
and satisfy; while neither faith
nor hope
nor love
nor prayer
nor godly
fear
nor good works are the rule of measurement here as to what our real
standing in the covenant is
these graces of the Spirit distinguish the real
Christian from others. (J. Wells.)
Rain clouds not devoid el beauty
Ruskin reminds us that we habitually think of the rain-cloud only
as dark and grey
yet we owe to it
some of the fairest hues of heaven. “Often
in our English mornings
” says he
“the rain-clouds in the dawn form soft level
fields
which melt imperceptibly into the blue.” He describes them
too
as
gathering into apparent bars that cross the sheets of broader clouds
all
bathed in soft
unspeakable light
the barred masses
composed of tresses of
cloud
“looking as if each knot were a little swathe or sheaf of lighted rain.”
As the tender grass
springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.--
Clear shining after rain
The beautiful picture that David draws is produced by a
combination
first
rain
and then
clear shining after rain; and the most flourishing
condition of spirituality is produced by the same two causes; it comes as the
result of a combination of rain and sunshine.
I. How the “clear
shining after rain” is manifested in the heart of the convert.
1. The work of grace begins in the heart with a time of gloom. Clouds
gather; there is a general dampness round about; the soul seems saturated with
doubt
fear
dread. There is something coming
but the soul knows not what; it
feels that it is very sinful
and deserves whatever punishment God may send.
2. After the clouds
in the next place
the rain falls. The real work
of the. Spirit of God often follows upon an inward depression of spirit. An
Irish friend of mine once said
that he had carefully noticed that it did not
rain when the sun was shining; but that
whenever it rained
there were always
some clouds to keep the sunshine off. There is a great truth in what my friend
said. Rain becomes doubly precious to the earth when all the surroundings are
suitable for its reception. All the atmosphere becomes damp; whereas
if rain
could fall when all is dry and warm
mischief might come of it. Well
now
God’s Holy Spirit loves to come and work ill man a congenial atmosphere
a holy
tenderness
a devout heartbreaking; then with the clouds He brings a heavenly
rain.
3. Then the sun shines: “Clear shining after rain.” The man perceives
that he is a sinner
but that Christ has come to save him. He sees his own
blackness; but he believes that Christ can make him whiter than the snow.
4. Then everything grows. The grass is sure to grow when we have mist
and heat together; and When a soul
having felt its need of Christ
at last
beholds the light of His countenance
then it begins to grow.
II. This “clear
stoning after rain” often produces the very best condition of things in the
soul of the believer.
1. Trial followed by deliverance.
2. This experience is realised in humiliation of self followed by joy
in the Lord. It is a very healthy thing for a man to be made to know himself;
and if he is made to know himself
he will have no cause for boasting.
3. Tenderness mixed with assurance. I like to meet with that man
whom Mr. Bunyan speaks of in his “Pilgrim’s Progress
” who was
above many
tender of sin. He was not afraid of lions; but he was dreadfully afraid of
sins. Mr. Fearing is very tender of sin.
4. The blending of experience and knowledge.
III. Our text makes
a very happy combination in the ministry of the word.
1. He who would have a fruitful ministry must have clear shining
after the rain
by which I mean
first
law
and then
Gospel.
2. First
repentance
and then zeal: rain
and then clear shining.
3. If your service is to be successful
bringing glory to God
there
must be in it
first
prayer
and then blessing.
4. My text also means grace softening
and then shining.
IV. The clear
shining after rain in the ages to come.
1. And
first
times of gloom are to be expected.
2. Although times of gloom are to be expected
an age of light will
follow. There will come a day when Christ shall reign amongst His ancients
gloriously; when the ungodly shall hide themselves in obscure places
and the
meek shall have dominion in the earth
and the sons of God in that morning
shall be owned as the noblest of men. There is to come yet “a thousand years”
(whatever that period may mean) of a reign of righteousness
wherein the whole
of the earth shall be filled with the glory of God
and become the vestibule of
heaven. Have comfort about that glorious truth. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
God causeth the grass to spring forth
The grass springs up; the bud opens; the leaf expands; the flowers
breathe forth their fragrance as if they were under the most careful
cultivation. All this must be the work of God
since it cannot even be
pretended that man is there to produce these effects. Perhaps one would be more
deeply impressed with a sense of the presence of God in the pathless desert
or
on the boundless prairie
where no man is
than in the most splendid park
or
the most tastefully cultivated garden which man could make. In the one case
the hand of God alone is seen; in the other
we are constantly admiring the
skill of man. (A. Barnes.)
Verse 5
Although my house be not so with God.
David’s sorrow and resource
The great and elevated among mankind have sorrows proportioned to
their greatness
as the highest points of earth are most exposed to the fury of
the fiercest storms. Kings have their griefs as kings.
I. David’s
domestic sorrow: “My house is not so with God.” Many were the occasions when
this distinguished man had to say: “The sorrows of my heart are enlarged: bring
thou me out of my distresses. All Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me. I
sink in deep waters” (2 Samuel 22:5-6.) Probably as a
king
as a public man
David more habitually and simply cast himself upon the
Lord. As a domestic man
he was less upon his guard. He expected no lion
no
bear
no Goliath difficulty in his home; he therefore did not meet home
temptations and troubles as he had met them: “I come to Thee in the name of the
Lord of hosts.” And some of you may now be drinking of a similar cup of
domestic bitters.
II. Let us look at
David’s personal resource: “Yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant.”
1. In duration it is everlasting. From everlasting the counsel of
peace was between them both--the Father and the Son; the Son
who as Messiah
was to sit and rule upon His throne
and be a priest upon His throne (Zechariah 6:13.) It is that covenant
which
to use the forcible language of Paul to Titus
“God
who cannot lie
promised in Christ before the world began.”
2. Observe its completeness: “Ordered in all things: This is all my
salvation
and all my desire.” Nothing is left to captious chance; nothing to
inconstant and changeable man. There are no contingencies with God; nothing
takes Him by surprise.
3. Look also at its certainty: “Sure.” The uncertainty of all earthly
things is one sad ingredient in the cup of earth’s bitterness. Such was David’s
personal resource at seventy
amidst domestic sorrow. And when we look at the
sufficiency: of it
we may well ask
What has the man of the world to fall back
upon
when all his earthly hopes are blighted; what to be compared with the
believer’s resource? (J. East
M. A.)
David’s dying song
How many choice thoughts have we gained in the bedchamber of the
righteous
beloved? I remember one sweet idea; which I once won from a
death-bed. A dying man desired to have one of the Psalms read to him
and the
17th being chosen
he stopped at the 6th verse
“Incline thine ear unto me and
hear my speech
” and faintly whispering
said
“Ah
Lord
I cannot speak
my
voice fails me; incline Thine ear
put it against my mouth
that Thou mayest
hear me.” None but a weak and dying man
whose life was ebbing fast
could have
conceived such a thought. It is well to hear saints’ words when they are near
heaven--when they stand upon the banks of Jordan. But here is a special case
for these be the last words of David.
I. The Psalmist
says he had sorrow in his house. “Although my house be not so with God.” What
man is there of all our race
who
if he had to write his history
would not
need to use a great many “althoughs?” If you read the biography of any man
as
recorded in the Sacred Word
you will always find a “but
” or an “although
”
before you have finished. Naaman was a mighty man of valour
and s great man
with his master
but he was a leper. There is always a “but” in every
condition
a crook in every lot
some dark tint upon the marble pillar
some
cloud in the summer sky
some discord in the music
some alloy in the gold. So
David
though a man who had been raised from the sheepfold
a mighty warrior
a
conqueror of giants
a king over a great nation
yet had his “althoughs
” and
the “although” which he had was one in his own house.
1. But I imagine that the principal meaning of these words of David
refers to his family--his children. David had many trials in his children. It
has often been the lot of good men to have great troubles from their sons and
daughters.
2. What must I say to any of those who are thus tried and distressed
in estate and family? First
let me say to you
it is necessary that you should
have an “although” in your lot
because if you had not
you know what you would
do; you would build a very downy nest on earth
and there you would 1ie down in
sleep; so God puts a thorn in your nest in order that you may sing. It is said
by the old writers that the nightingale never sang so sweetly as when she sat
among thorns
since say they
the thorns prick her breast
and remind her of
her song. So it may be with you. Ye
like the larks
would sleep in your nest
did not some trouble pass by and affright you; then you stretch your wings
and
carolling the matin song
rise to greet the sun. Trials are sent to wean you
from the world; bitters are put into your drink
that ye may learn to live upon
the dew of heaven: the food of earth is mingled with gall
that ye may only
seek: for true bread in the manna which droppeth from the sky. Your soul
without trouble would be as the sea if it were without tide or motion; it would
become foul and obnoxious. But
furthermore
recollect this
O thou who art
tried in thy children--that prayer can remove thy troubles. There is not a
pious father or mother here
who is suffering in the family
but may have that
trial taken sway yet. Faith is as omnipotent as God Himself
for it moves the
arm which leads the stars along.
II. David had
confidence in the covenant. Oh! how sweet it is to look from the dulness of
earth to the brilliancy of heaven! How glorious it is to leap from the ever
tempest-tossed bark of this world
and stand upon the terra-firma of the
covenant! So did David. Having done with his “Although
” he then puts in a
blessed “yet.” Oh! it is a “yet
” with jewels set: “He hath made with me an
everlasting covenant
ordered in all things
and sure.”
1. David rejoiced in the covenant
because it is Divine in its
origin. “Yet hath He made with me an everlasting covenant.”
2. But notice its particular application. “Yet hath He made with me
an everlasting covenant.” Here lies the sweetness-of it to me
as an
individual.
3. Furthermore
this covenant is not only Divine in its origin
but
it is everlasting in its duration.
4. But notice the next word. “It is ordered in all things.” “Order is
heaven’s first law
” and God has not a disorderly covenant. It is an orderly
one. When He planned it
before the world began
it was in all things ordered
well.
5. That word things is not in the original
and we may read it
persons
as well as things. It is ordered in all persons--all the persons whose
names are in the covenant; it is ordered for them
and they shall come
according to the promise: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and
him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.”
6. To wind up our description of this covenant
it is sure. We cannot
call anything “sure” on earth; the only place where we can write that word is
on the covenant
which is “ordered in all things and sure.”
III. The Psalmist
had a satisfaction in his heart.
“This is
” he said
“all my salvation
and all my desire.”
1. He is satisfied with his salvation.
2. Then
the Psalmist says
he has all his desire. There is nought
that can fill the heart of man except the Trinity. God has made man’s heart a
triangle. Men have been for centuries trying to make the globe fill the
triangle
but they cannot do it; it is the Trinity alone that can fill a
triangle
as old Quarles well says. There is no way of getting satisfaction but
by gaining Christ
getting heaven
winning glory
getting the covenant
for the
word covenant comprises all the other things. “All my desire”--says the
Psalmist. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The everlasting covenant
the believer’s support under distress
Now there are three parts of this last prophecy of David:
The
first of them concerns the subject of all prophecy and promises
that he had
preached about and declared
and that is Christ himself
in the third and
fourth verses. The second of them concerns himself
as he was a type of Christ
(2 Samuel 23:5.) The third part
concerns Satan and the enemies of the Church
in opposition unto the kingdom of
Jesus Christ.
I. A great
surprisal and disappointment; “Although my house be not so with God.” I have
looked that it should be otherways
saith he
that my house should have a great
deal of glory
especially that my house should be upright with God; but I begin
to see it will be otherwise. The best of the saints of God do oftentimes meet
with great surprisals and disappointments in the best of their earthly comforts:
their houses are not so with God. The reasons hereof why it may be thus
are:
1. Because there is no promise of the covenant to the contrary. There
is no promise of God secures absolutely unto us our outward comforts
be they
of what nature they will
be they in our relations
in our enjoyments
in our
persons
of what kind they will
why yet we may have a surprisal befal them in
reference to them all; because there is no promise of God to secure the
contrary
therefore it may be so.
2. Sometimes it is needful it should be so
though we are apt to
think the contrary; and that for these three reasons:
That which we should learn from hence
by way of use
is:
1. Not to put too great a value upon any contentment whatever we have
in this world
lest God make us write an “although” upon it.
2. Let us be in an expectation of such changes of Providence
that
they may not be great surprisals unto us.
II. That the great
reserve and relief for believers
under their surprisals and distresses
lies
in betaking themselves to the covenant of God
or to God in His covenant.
“Although my house be not so with God.” Why do they so?
1. They do it because of the author of the covenant.
2. The second reason is taken from the properties of the covenant;
what kind of one it is: and they are three. It is an everlasting covenant. His
a covenant that is ordered in all things. And it is a covenant that is sure.
He hath undertaken two things.
There is an addition of order
in reference to the matter of it
here expressed.
The springs of the security of this covenant are two:
1. The oath of God;
2. The intercession of Christ. (J. Owen
D. D.)
Household religion
Last words of dying David. As the dying are sometimes visited with
a wave of physical strength to which they were strangers in life
so often in
death the believer is blessed with a mental and spiritual vision
he rises to a
state of exultation in which he feels
sees
comprehends things altogether
beyond his usual ken. “At evening-time there” is often marvellous “light” for the
child of God. To King David it took the form of a vision of the ideal King that
one day should arise (see marg. R.V.) No contemporary suggested it
no history
fanned a recollection; it was an inspiration of God. (2 Samuel 23:2.) Nothing else was
sufficient to explain how a warrior of those brutal days came to conceive of a
kingdom that should be as morning light after darkness. Not even yet has a
kingdom of earth appeared that might be so described. Where is the realm to-day
whose working-classes
e.g.
would say it was as “a morning without
clouds?” David
like Abraham
saw afar off the day of Christ. Then
turning
from the vision of the ideal future to the actual present
the bitter
confession of the text is made.
I. We have here
the confession of the disappointed idealist. Compared with others
David
easily first of the kings
gave peace from enemies round about
established
religion
and by his hymns and personal character made it popular
and made
internal order and justice sure. The secret of his success was the secret of
his acknowledgment of failure
viz.
that he had a very lofty standard which he
felt he had failed to reach. The explanation of many a believer’s depression
and
of many an earnest worker’s discouragement.
II. We have here
the confession of the disappointed Godly parent. We know what had happened in
the matter of Absalom
and what subsequently transpired between Adonijah and
Solomon. Coming events which cast their shadows before upon the dying father’s
heart. He saw there was no likelihood that the ideal he had failed to attain
would be attained by any of his house. And this
although a father’s hope will
linger longer than anyone’s respecting his children. We have then
here a dying
father’s pillow stuffed with thorns because his family is not right “with God.”
In the dying hour it is our own kith and kin we want around us--fortune
fame
etc.
are of little moment--and if believers ourselves the all-consuming anxiety
is how do they stand “with God?” What explanations or warnings may we get from
David’s instance?
David’s distress
consolation
and experience
I. A depth of
distress. “My house
” says David
“is not so with God.” He had many trials; but
with regard to the affliction before us
we may observe two things; that it was
domestic; and that it was principally
though not entirely
of a moral nature.
II. An
all-sufficiency of consolation. “Although my house is not so with God.”
1. And first it tells us that this “covenant” is everlasting. Its
counsels and its contrivances were from eternity.
2. Secondly
he tells us that this “everlasting covenant” is ordered
in all things. Nothing in it is left to any contingency
nothing left to the
intermeddlings of men.
3. Thirdly
he tells us that this “covenant ordered in all things” is
sure. The covenant of works made with Adam was soon destroyed; the national
covenant of the Jews was soon destroyed; and the people
dispersed over the
face of the earth
remain to this day a proverb and a by-word. But this
covenant is unchangeable; it is as sure
as the truth of God
as the
faithfulness of God can make it.
4. Fourthly
the importance he attached to it. “It is all my
salvation
” says he. All my salvation requires to be done is here
and all my
salvation requires to be given is here. And how much is required? Is the pardon
of our sins necessary? There it is. Is holiness necessary? There it is. Is
strength necessary? He will put strength in us. Is grace necessary? This covenant
gives it. Is glory necessary? It provides it. Is God necessary Himself
with
all His relations and attributes? This is the grand provision in the
covenant--“I will be their God
and they shall be My people.” They have all of
them a God
each a God for himself; a God to guide them
a God to guard them
a
God to supply all their need from His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
5. He tells us also of the love he bare to it. It is “all my desire.”
What can I wish for besides?
III. An instructive
experience.
1. This experience of David calls upon you
in the first place
and
says
see what variations there are in the views and the feelings even of the
Godly. If it is now dab
with them
the day is neither clear nor dark
as
Zechariah says
it is a mixture of both. Every thing with regard to them now is
a chequered scene. The image of the Church now may be a bush burning with fire
and not consumed; and the motto of the Church should be
“Perplexed
but not
ill despair; cast
down
but not destroyed.”
2. This experience admonishes you
in the next place
and says
do
not look for too much here. There are some persons
who idolize life; but after
all
what is it found to be? In what condition
and at what period of it
does
it effectually belie the language of Young
who says that
for solid
happiness--
“Too
low they build who build beneath the stars?”
They are “walking in a vain show
” they are “disquieting
themselves in vain;” they are seeking the living among the dead.
3. This experience admonishes you how to improve your afflictions;
and how to render them
not only harmless
but even beneficial. And this will
be the ease
when
like David
we are turned towards Him
and ask
“Where is
God my Maker
who giveth songs in the night?” “Though no affliction for the present
is joyous
but grievous
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit
of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby.” The ploughman is not
angry with the ground; but he drives the ploughshare through it to prepare it
for the reception of the seed. The husbandman is not angry with the vine; but
he cuts it
and prunes it
in order that it may bring forth more fruit. As
constantly as the ox is in the field of labour
he must have the yoke on; and
Jeremiah compares affliction to a yoke
and says
“It is good for a man to bear
the yoke.” Let but the Lord impose it upon us
and it will sit easy
and it
will bear well.
4. This experience of David admonishes you not to cherish discontent
nor to dwell principally on the dark side of your condition
but to cherish
cheerfulness
to look on the bright side.
5. What you are principally to derive from this experience is to see
what resources genuine Godliness has. From what you have heard
you learn that
it-does not exempt; its votaries from afflictions; but then
you see
it
sustains them under those afflictions; it turns them
at least
into a
blessing. (W. Jay.)
The covenant of grace
a support under sorrow
Standing on the borders of the eternal world
David looks back to
his humble original
and blesses that goodness Which God had displayed to him
in elevating him to eminence both in the Church and the state.
I. Even the
children of God
those who are within the bonds of His covenant
may have to
contend with domestic afflictions
may have to lament their errors and their
falls
and must be extended on the bed of death.
II. The nature of
this covenant. It was primarily made with the glorious Redeemer
as the head
and surety of believers; but it is also made with all those who
by faith
accept that Saviour who has ratified it with His blood
and who make of this
covenant thus sealed
“all their salvation and all their desire.”
1. It is everlasting; it is
in the language of the apostle
“The
eternal purpose which the Father purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” All the
manifestations of it in time
and all the blessings which constantly flow from
it
are only the accomplishment of the gracious designs that were formed
infinite ages before a creature lived.
2. It is “ordered in all things;” planned and arranged by Him whose
knowledge is infinite
and whose wisdom is unerring; by Him rendered so
comprehensive that “all things
” all possible exigencies
all conceivable
events that can befall the Christian
are provided for; every difficulty
every
trial
every
tear
and every struggle
were foreseen; together with the
effects to be produced by them.
3. This covenant is sure. If there be any truth in the promise and in
the oath of Jehovah; if there be any strength in that mighty Redeemer
who is
its surety
or any virtue in that blood which sealed it
then those who have a
personal interest
in it
may triumph in the stability of their hopes. (H:
Kollock
D. D.)
A sure covenant
I. The description
which he gives of this great covenant.
1. The time it is to last. It is “an everlasting covenant”--strictly
everlasting--never
never to expire.
2. The completeness of its arrangements. It is “ordered in all
things
and sure.” The covenants of men are often very incomplete. Something
perhaps
hath been forgotten or lost sight of in the drawing of them up
which
makes them almost good for nothing to the parties they are made with. Some
case
some circumstance
is unprovided for
which
as soon as it occurs
makes
the covenant of none effect. Not so in respect of the covenant of grace made
with sinners through a Saviour. No
that is all complete in its provisions.
Complete in reference to God’s requirements. For it satisfies His justice; it
fulfils His truth; it displays His holiness; it magnifies His love; it sets forth
His wisdom; it commends His mercy; it shows forth at once all His glorious
perfections
and puts a song of praise into the lips of men and angels. And it
is complete
again: in reference to man; nothing
nothing is there wanting in
the salvation of Christ Jesus to make it everything poor sinners want.
II. The interest
which David states himself to have in this everlasting covenant. “God hath made
it
” saith he
“with me.” He had an assurance
then
that he was personally
interested in this covenant. He could lay his hand on it and call it his--a
covenant made particularly with himself. And
brethren
there is little comfort
otherwise. It is a poor thing to look upon salvation
and to say
“This and
that man have a part in it. The comfort is when we can bring it nearer home;
when we can think
upon good grounds
“I have a share in it.”
III. David’s
fillings.
1. “All my salvation.” Why that
in other words
is to tell us that
he could most comfortably rest upon it
rest upon it altogether.
2. “This
” saith he
this everlasting covenant of grace
“is all my
desire.” (A. Roberts
M. A.)
Consolations of the covenant of grace
“Yet” this little word “yet” wraps up a great and sovereign
cordial in it. “Though Amnon
Absalom
and Adonijah be gone
and gone
with many smarting aggravations too; yet hath He made with me a covenant; yet I
have this sheet anchor left to secure me: God’s covenant with me
in relation
to Christ
this under-props and shores up my heart. As all the rivers run into
the sea
and there is the congregation of all the waters; so all the promises
and comforts of the Gospel are gathered into the covenant of grace
and there
is the congregation of all the sweet streams of refreshment
that are dispersed
throughout the Scriptures. The covenant is the storehouse of promises
the shop
of cordials and rare elixirs
to revive us in all our faintings; though
alas
most men know no more what are t
heir virtues or where to find them
than an
illiterate rustic put into an apothecary’s shop. (Flavel.)
Divine covenant compensates earthly disappointment
It is wise
when we are disappointed in one thing
to set over
against it a hopeful expectancy of another
like the farmer who said
“If the
peas don’t pay
let us hope the beans will.” Yet it would be idle to patch up
one rotten expectation with another of like character
for that would
only
make the rent worse. It is better to turn from the fictions of the sanguine
worldling to the facts of the believer in the Word of the Lord. Then
if we
find no profit in our trading with earth
we shall fall back upon our heart’s
treasure in heaven. We may lose our gold
but we can never lose our God. The
expectation of the righteous is from the Lord
and nothing that comes from Him
shall ever fail.
Verses 8-39
Verse 10
His hand clave unto the sword.
A heroic sword-grasp
In the roll
of honour of King David’s army
there was one
Eleazor by name
who was counted
worthy to stand with the first three mighty men of David
because “he arose and
smote the Philistines until his hand was weary
and his hand clave unto the
sword
and the Lord wrought a great victory that day
and the people returned
after him only to spoil.” In this account we see that his heroic sword-grasp
was looked upon as a proof of his valour
and was made the mark of his honour
and of his reward.
I. We observe that
Eleazar’s grasp shows his appreciation of the sword as a weapon both for
defence and for aggression.
1. We cannot do much with a weapon in which we have little or no
confidence.
2. The sword of the Spirit is the only weapon by which we can gain a
great victory.
3. The efficiency of God’s Word does not consist in the mere letter
but in the doctrines and duties which it teaches
and in the virtues which it
commends such as truthfulness
justice
purity
benevolence
holiness. Our
grasp of these shows cur appreciation of them.
II. Eleazar grasped
his sword firmly
and did not relax his hold.
1. The enemy
knowing the power of the sword
will seek to wrest it
from one’s grasp. If the grasp be weak
a sly thrust at the “Mistakes of Moses
”
or a bold
materialistic blow at the “Miracles of Jesus
” may break the grasp
and then we are helpless.
2. Worldliness
or avarice
or appetite
or lust
or malice
may so
loosen our grasp upon the principles of the Word that we shall be compelled to
surrender.
3. It requires true heroism to hold on to principle when “the men of
Israel are gone away
” and “the Philistines are arrayed against” us.
4. A true soldier will die rather than lose his sword.
III. Eleazar’s grasp
was made firmer by the conflict.
1. Heroic conflict requires and produces an heroic sword-grasp.
2. A true hero does not stop to count the enemy nor to consider a
compromise
nor to hide himself through fear of ridicule or other evil weapons;
but putting his strength into his sword he rushes on to victory.
3. Christian conflict is not controversy
but an heroic Christian
life which requires and produces a firm grasp on the words and the principles
of the Gospel.
4. Jesus With this sword met and repulsed Satan. (Matthew 4:10.)
5. When we are alone
as Jesus was and as Eleazar was
we can gain
our greatest victories.
IV. Eleazar’s
firmness of grasp
and fierceness of conflict
made his sword cleave unto his
hand.
1. Whatever we cling to
shapes the grasp
and will
in proportion to
the strength of the grasp
cleave unto the hand.
2. The more firmly we grasp
and the more efficiently we use
the
words and the principles of the Word
the more deeply will they be impressed
into our nature and cleave unto us.
3. When the sword cleaves unto the hand
and the hand grows weary
we
can still fight on.
4. The sword of the Spirit has adhered so firmly to the hand of many
a hero in God’s army that even death could not break the grasp.
V. Eleazar’s
heroic sword-grasp was made the mark of his heroism and of his reward.
1. The true marks of honour are obtained through conflict and
suffering.
2. The cleaving of the sword unto the hand is the mark of God’s
greatest heroes: the prophets
apostles
martyrs
reformers
missionaries
and
others.
3. Clinging to the true and the right until the true and the right
cleave unto us
is as heroic in the peculiar temptations of our day as was
Eleazar’s conflict.
4. The marks of our sword-grasp will be our badge of honour in
eternity. Let us
then
be assured that if we rightly appreciate the sword of
the Spirit
grasp it firmly
and use it efficiently until it cleave unto the
hand
we also shall gain a great victory in the conflicts of life
and in the
kingdom of heaven a glorious reward. (J. Saxtell.)
The warrior’s scars
I want you to hold the truth with undetachable grip
and I
want you to strike so hard for God that it will react
and while you take the
sword
the sword will take you. Soldiers coming together are very apt
to
recount their experiences
and to show their scars. Here is a soldier who pulls
up his sleeve and says
“There I was wounded. I have had no use of that limb
since the gunshot fracture.” Oh
when the battle of life is over
and the
resurrection has come
and our bodies rise from the dead
will we have on us
any scars of bravery for God? Christ will be there all covered with scars. And
all heaven will shout aloud as they look at those scars. Ignatius will be
there
and he will point out the place where the tooth and the paw of the lion
seized him in the Coliseum; and John Huss will be there
and he will show where
the coal first scorched the foot on that day when his spirit took wing of flame
from Constance. McMillan
and Campbell
and Freeman
American missionaries in
India
will be there--the men who with their wives and children went down in
the awful massacre at Cawnpore
and they will show where the daggers of the Sepoys struck them.
The Waldenses will be there
and they will show where their hones were broken on that day the
Piedmontese soldiery pitched them over the rocks. And there will be those there
who took care of the sick and who looked after the poor
and they will have
evidences of earthly exhaustion. And Christ
with His scarred hand waving over
the scarred multitude
will say
“You suffered with Me on earth; now be
glorified with Me.” (T. De Witt Talmage.)
The sword of the valiant
Of the old hero the minstrel sung
“With his Yemen sword for aid
ornament it carried none but the notches on the blade.” What nobler declaration
of honour can any good man seek after than his scar of service
his losses for
the cross
his reproaches for Christ’s sake
his being worn out in the Master’s
service. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The sword for use
The glittering sword with its keen edge and jewelled hilt is an
object of beauty as a work of art
yet it is harmless. But in the muscular grip
of a soldier’s hand and swung with a purpose and an aim
it is a dread weapon.
So with truth wielded with skill and power by the consecrated preacher.
Hitting hard
It is told of Abraham Lincoln that once
when quite a young man
he saw men and women put on the block
exhibited for sale
and bought like
cattle. He saw the humbling and degrading familiarities which the buyers took
with file human chattels
saw the looks of dumb and piteous agony which stole
across the poor black faces as wives were sold away from their husbands
and
children torn from their mother’s arms; and he forced his way out the ring and
with flaming eyes
and voice husky with suppressed passion
said to a
companion
gripping him by the arm
“If ever I get a chance to hit at this
thing I’ll hit hard
by the Eternal God.” “My chance has come
” he exclaimed
later in life
“and I mean to hit hard.”
Verse 11
Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite.
Shammah
I wish
you to look at the deed of this man Shammah
who stood in the midst of the plot
of lentils and defended it
and slew the Philistines. The one idea that leaps
up from this narrative is that which you often find through Scripture
that in
the clay of defeat and disaster all God wants is one whole-hearted man. If the
Lord can only get a beginning made
if He can
amidst all the disgraceful
stampede and rout
get but one man to stop running
one to stop flying
one
soul to cease from unbelief and panic and fear
and begin to trust in Him
there and then the tide of battle shall be turned. Shammah did
that is to say
the unexpected. Fleeing had been the order of the day for Israel
and
pursuing;had been the order of the day for Philistia. A very pretty game
truly! We shout and you run. We appear
and you disappear. You sow in the
spring--it was very kind of you
Israelites--and we step in in the autumn and
take the harvest. It is a wonderfully nicely arranged system for Philistia
whatever it may be for Israel. And
just so; don’t we seem to make nothing of
our Christianity (meaning by that
Christ)
as against the powers of Philistia?
Look at them in London to-day. What are we doing? Where are we gaining?
Speaking broadly
it is invisible. Where are we defeated? Everywhere. The world
laughing at us
scandal upon scandal
tale upon tale
wreck upon wreck
ruin
upon ruin. Drink
lust
uncleanness
commercial dishonour
everything that
belongs to the Devil
strong and vigorous
successful and sweeping; and
everything that belongs to Jesus Christ
like those dispirited Israelites
weak
and scattering as a flock of sheep. It is bad enough. But just as then
so I
believe still
if here and there some man would only understand that in all
this there is a trumpet being blown for rallying
times for the individual and
for the community might be mightily changed. There is Shammah
and what seems
to be sweeping through the breast of--I was going to say the poor man
the
noble man--was this: “This is too bad! I am sick and tired of this. Are we for
ever to sow in the spring
and are these Philistines to reap our crop in the
autumn? Are we for ever to be at their mercy? Are we for ever to be trodden
underfoot and scattered like sheep? Death is preferable to this running and
running and running; and in God’s great name I stand to-day--Death or Victory!
If some of us would do that we would be big Christians before night. Just where
you have always yielded
my hardly beset brother or sister
try how it will work
to stand to-day. Resist this onset that always before has made a clean sweep of
you
and what will happen? It will be what always happens: “Resist the devil
and he will flee from you”--he is a bigger coward than you are. “Whom resist
steadfast in the faith.” Then
it was a big fight for very little. “He defended
a plot of lentils.” Not much to fight for
a plot of lentils! But
coarse
horse-feed after all
as I believe it was
it was Israel’s lentils
and
Philistia had no right to them. It was God’s
and not theirs; and little as it
seemed to be to make a fight for
Shammah stepped into the middle of the plot
like one who would say
“It is mine
it is my countrymen’s
it is my God’s
and
ye shall not have it if one man can prevent it.” I wish come one here
young or
old man
would
like Shammah
stand in the middle of the wreck that is left
and have one fight for it. Although what is left may have no more proportion to
what used to be or what might have been than a patch of lentils has to a
broad-acred farm
yet in God’s name stand in the middle of the wreck
and see
what will happen. That is all God asks: Stand
stand in the midst
and then
see! If the Church of Christ would only get possessed of Shammah’s spirit
and
in all the howling wreck that is at home and abroad
if she would stand and
fight
there would be such a central victory as would tell to the furthermost
circumference. I think I see him. He is a sight for dispirited Christians
a
sight for all poor backsliders. You are defeated
overcome
overborne. Old
sins
like Philistines
have come back on you; redeemed though you call
yourself
old sins have come back fore the last month or year and more
and
they have been driving you before them pitiably
somewhat
contemptuously--secret sins
or open sins
or both combined. You have lost
heart
the roaring flood in its strength has swept you away
especially the
weakest thing that ever dared to call itself Christian man
believing man
redeemed man. Now
what are you to do? In God’s name let us all try it
let us
all do what Shammah did--stand in the middle of what is left. What shall you
do? My brother
late in the day as it is
and although night is coming near
although you are not now the man you used to be
and a hundred voices in your
ear say to you
“It is too late to retrieve the past
” those hundred voices are
a hundred lies and liars. It is not too late: stand in the middle of the wreck
left
in God’s great name. Stand
stand! you might die more than conqueror yet.
Over you
there may yet be heard in Heaven the shout of victory: Stand! Shammah stood in
the midst of it
and though it wee not worth two half-crowns of any man’s
money
he defended it
and slew the Philistines
and God came down from heaven
to win a patch of lentils! For the Lord loves victory
and the Lord hates
defeat
and the only thing He wants is to get at His adversary through some
faithful
upright
believing soul. (John McNeill.)
Verses 13-17
And three of the thirty chiefs went down.
The dear-bought draught
I do not think that this was what you might call a mere
sentimental longing. David was strong in true and real sentiment; but I do not
think that when we have him pictured here longing and sighing
that he was
as
some have supposed
merely suffering from passing home-sickness. Some take that
view
and imagine that he just momentarily gave way to one of those whims or
morbidities that come across the spirits of otherwise brave and earnest men
and make them as
weakly sentimental as their neighbours. When I read that “David longed
” and I
hear his longing set forth
I like to think of him as showing here something of
his deepest and best. The Spirit of God would make us know that He understands
us when we are like David. There is a depth in us; a deep below
perhaps
what
we ourselves
in our commonplaces
were unaware of. The hard-beaten bottom or
floor of our soul sometimes gives way. Many a time and oft
when we are not
thinking
or ever we are aware
these common
ordinary
worldly hearts of ours
are cleft as by a great chasm and depth
through which there comes
like the
breath of the mountain wind sighing through a gorge
a great
inexhaustible
“Oh!” Like David
we long! “Oh
for youth; oh for renewal; oh for freshness; oh
to get rid of what
is making me tame
and flat
and dull; of the earth
earthy; and of the world
worldly!” You see
there was a great deal in that
water. There is no water like the water we drank at home
when we were young.
Is that sentimental? Is not that feeling derived from something deep and true
within the soul? It is more than ordinary water. What memory brings into mind
of all the years that have come and gone between! And this “water of the well”
is the type
and symbol
and picture of it--the rush of the spring
with the
sheen and the bubble of the water
We are not so utterly dead
and dark
and
given up as we seem to-day. God can open rivers in dry places. He can pierce
down
down through all the mortification and all the corruption; through all
the sand and sawdust; all that is earthly and carnal--clown to the quick. Then
up there comes that burdened sigh--“Oh for living water! oh for cooling
streams!” Rightly used
it leads the longing soul back to more than original
purity. And this is also a type of the cry of the backslider who once knew the joys of
salvation; who once lived in Bethlehem
the House of Bread; and drank of the
well that bubbles up from beneath its walls. Ah
yes
we repeat it again
there
is a great deal in a drink
in what it suggests. Oh
may you get that
suggestion and the satisfaction of it to-day. “Oh! that I could get back to
God
the living God!” Do not go easily over that word: David longed. Oh that
God would give us to-day longing hearts
to find Him out. For you will never
find out God by greater intellect; never by wider reading and deeper study.
This is the road to God; this is the “new organ” by which we receive the truth
that alone can satisfy. “As the hart panteth after the water-brooks
so panteth
my soul after thee
O God.” May it be given us to-day to taste
and see that
God is good. David’s desire was gratified. The three mighty men said
“He shall
have it.” Shall I say one had wisdom
and the other love
and the other power;
and these three together scattered the powers of Philistia? Oh! don’t you see
how the Gospel breaks out upon us? You yearn for something the possession of
which would be
the renewing of your youth; the lack of which is decay; and your longing is
heard
and your prayer answered before you know it. The Three Mighties
the
Blessed and Glorious Three
Wisdom
Love
Might
have broken the host of the
Philistines
and liars brought to us--right to our parched lips--before our
sighing is done
that bubbling spring for lack of which we die. I knew the
Gospel was there. I knew it when I read the story. I felt it more deeply the
longer I studied it. Do not accuse me of dragging things in--of putting the
Gospel where it is not. The grand key to open the Old Testament is Christ--put
Him in wherever He will fit
and certainly He will fit here. Still further
the
story deepens in
interest. “Nevertheless
he would not drink thereof
but poured it out unto the
Lord.” Here we have the very crown and flower of Gospel teaching. What ought
this great love of God to produce in our hearts? What did this great love of
these three mighty men produce in David’s heart? It begot in him a like spirit
again. They flung themselves away for him; he flung himself
and them with him
back Upon God
the Fount and Spring of all. So with us: Christ has brought us
pardon
and peace
and everlasting life. But let Christ’s sacrifice produce a
self-sacrificing spirit in you--as Christ flung Himself away for you
so fling
your life away for God--and you will enjoy it. It has been brought to you; lay
yourself
body
soul
and spirit
on the altar--it is your reasonable
sacrifice. Give now your money
for money is a covenant blessing. It is one
rill of the fountain that comes from the well--the spring of Bethlehem. (J.
McNeill.)
Longing for the water of the well of Bethlehem
It must have been a rare and imposing assembly that came to crown
David king of all Israel. The Chronicles record the names and numbers of the
principal contingents that were present on that memorable occasion. The
Philistines
however
were watching the scene with profound dissatisfaction. So
long as David was content to rule as a petty king in Hebron
leaving them free
to raid the northern tribes at their will
they were not disposed to interfere;
but when they heard that they had anointed David king over all Israel
all the
Philistines went down to seek David. They probably waited until the august
ceremonial was over
and the thousands of Israel had dispersed to ‘their homes
and then poured over into Judah in such vast numbers--spreading themselves in
the Valley of Ephraim
and cutting off David’s connection with the northern
tribes--that he was forced to retire with his mighty men and faithful six
hundred to the hold
which
by comparison of passages
must have been the
celebrated fortress-cave of Adullam (2 Samuel 5:17; 2 Samuel 22:13-14.)
I. A sudden
reversal of fortune. It was but as yesterday that David was the centre of the
greatest assembly of warriors that his land had seen for many generations. With
national acclaim he had been carried to the throne of a united people. He
realised that he was fondly enshrined in the hearts of his countrymen; but
to-day he is driven from Hebron
where for more than seven years he had dwelt
in undisturbed security
back to that desolate mountain fastness
in which
years before tie had taken refuge from the hatred of Saul. It was a startling
reversal of fortune
a sudden overcasting of a radiant noon
a bolt out of a
clear sky. Such sudden reversals come to us all--to wean us from confidence in
men and things; to stay us from building our nest on any earth-grown tree; to force us to root
ourselves in God alone. Child of mortality
such lessons will inevitably be set
before thee to learn. In the hour of most radiant triumphs
thou must remember
Him who has accounted thee fit to be his steward; thou must understand that thy
place and power are thine only as His gift
and as a trusteeship for His glory.
This contrast between the anointing of Hebron and the conflict of Adullam
presents a striking analogy to the experiences of our Lord
who
after His
anointing at the banks of the Jordan
was driven by the Spirit into the
wilderness of Judaea to be forty days tempted of the devil. It is the law of
the spiritual life. The bright light of popularity is too strong and searching
for the perfect
development of the Divine life. Loneliness
solitude
temptation
conflict--these are the flames that burn the Divine colours into our
characters; such the processes through which the blessings of our anointing are
made available for the poor
the broken-hearted
the prisoners
the captives
and the blind.
II. Gleams of
light. The misty gloom of these dark hours was lit by some notable incidents.
The mighty men excelled themselves in single combats with the Philistine
champions. What marvels may be wrought by the inspiration of a single life! We
cannot but revert in thought to that hour when
hard by that Very spot
an
unknown youth stepped forth from the affrighted hosts of Israel to face the
dreaded Goliath. Thus the lives of great men light up and inspire other lives.
They mould their contemporaries. The inspiration of a Wesley’s career raises a
great army of preachers. The enthusiasm of a Carey
a Livingstone
a Paten
stirs multitudes of hearts with missionary zeal. Those who had been the
disciples of. Jesus became his apostles and martyrs. His own life of
self-sacrifice for men has become the beacon-fire that has summoned myriads
from the lowland valley of selfishness to the surrender
the self-denial
the
anguish of the Cross
if only they might be permitted to follow in his steps.
III. A touching
incident.
Adullam was not far from Bethlehem. One sultry afternoon he was a
semi-prisoner in the hold. Over yonder
almost within sight
a garrison of
Philistines held Bethlehem. Suddenly an irresistible longing swept across him
to taste the water of the well of Bethlehem
which was by the gate. Almost
involuntarily he gave expression to the wish. How often we sigh: for the waters
of the well of Bethlehem! We go back on our past
and dwelt longingly on
never-to-be-forgotten memories. Oh to see again that face; to feel the touch of
that gentle hand; to hear that voice! Oh to be again as in those guileless
happy years
when the forbidden fruit had never been tasted! Oh for that fresh
vision of life
that devotion to the Saviour’s service
that new glad outburst
of love! Oh that one would give us a drink of the water of the well of
Bethlehem’
which is beside the gate! They are vain regrets; there are no
mighties strong enough to break through
the serried ranks of the years
and
fetch back the past. But the quest of the soul may yet be satisfied by what
awaits it in Him who said
“He that drinketh of this water shall thirst again;
but he that drinketh of the water that I shall give him
shall never thirst:
but it shall be in him a spring of water
rising up to everlasting life.” Not
in Bethlehem’s well
but in Him who was born there
shall the soul’s thirst be
quenched for ever.
IV. The overthrow
of the Philistines.--Prosperity had not altered the attitude of David’s soul
in
its persistent waiting on God. As he was when first he came to Hebron
so he
was still; and in this hour of perplexity; he inquired of the Lord
saying
“Shall I go up against the Philistines? Wilt Thou deliver them into mine hand?”
In reply
he received the Divine assurance of certain victory; and when the
battle commenced
it seemed to him as if the Lord Himself were sweeping them
before Him like a winter flood
which
rushing down the mountain-side
carries
all before it in its impetuous rush. Again the Philistines came up to assert
their olden supremacy
and again David waited on the Lord for direction. It was
well that he did so
because the plan of campaign was not as before. Those that
rely on God’s co-operation must be careful to be in constant touch with Him.
The aid which was given yesterday in one form
will be given to-morrow in
another. In the first battle the position of the Philistines was carried by
assault; in the second it was turned by ambush. Sometimes we have to march
sometimes to halt; now we are called to action
again to suffering; in this
battle to rush forward like a torrent; in the next to glide stealthily to
ambush and wait. We must admit nothing stereotyped in our methods. What did
very well in the house of Dorcas will not suit in the stately palace of
Cornelius. Let there be living faith in God. Then shall we know what God can do
as a mighty co-operating force in our lives
making a breach in our foes
and
marching his swift-stepping legions to our succour. (F. B. Meyer
B. A.)
The well of Bethlehem
This incident
which is strangely unlike the ordinary records of
history
and has about it the air of an old-world romance
is here narrated
not in chronological order
but in a review of David’s life
when that life had
well-nigh reached its close and its leading events stood out in their true
proportions. It occurred immediately after David had been made king at Hebron
where there was war between him and the Philistines
who had pushed their way
to Bethlehem
and threatened still further advance. In times of deprivation and
danger
in great crises
which life itself is hanging in the balance
the mind
reverts to early and familiar scenes
and invests them with a strong and
pathetic charm. The man
whose boyhood was spent at the seaside
longs for a
breath of its bracing air. The Swiss mountaineer
far away from home
listens
to the songs of his early days
and is seized with a restless impulse to
return. The old Highland woman
dying in the Red River settlements
surrounded
by miles of prairies
can find no comfort save in remembering the bens and
glens which she loved so well. “Oh
doctor dear
for a wee bit of a hill!”
Surely we can understand it. Heaven lay about us in our infancy
and
from the
rough world in which we dwell it is pleasant to look back and revive the
vanished glory. David’s wish seemed foolish and vain
for the foe was encamped
between him and the well. To reach it was all but impossible. David no doubt
knew that
and his longing was the keener in consequence. We often fail to
value our privileges until we have lost them. We know their worth only when
they are beyond our reach. But the expression of the king’s longing was heard.
They listened to his faintest wish and made it their law. It was a noble and
heroic act
a deed of splendid daring
the mere recital of which rebukes our
selfishness and covers our cowardice with contempt.
1. The incident affords a remarkable instance of David’s power to
inspire devotion. He could have been no sordid
common-place
self-seeking
usurper for whom they did this; no slave of greedy ambition
swayed only by the
lust of power. He was manly
trustful
and chivalrous
as a king should be
and
the enthusiasm and fidelity of his soldiers were but the answering reflection
of his own nobility and grace.
2. The incident exemplifies the power and inventiveness of love. Love
will laugh at impossibilities. It is quick to devise means of fulfilling its
desires
and though it be tender it is also courageous. It is gentle
but full
of power
and can set its face like a flint against all opposition. Love to
Christ will make us pure
strong
brave and victorious. We shall scorn to serve
Him with that which costs us nothing
arid for His sake we shall count all
things as loss. When David had in his hand the water
which only love strong as
death could have secured
he refused to drink it
and poured it on the ground
unto the Lord. How fickle and capricious! we have heard men say. Not so! Far
other feelings prompted the refusal. There is a higher law than
self-gratification. David was the very soul of chivalry
and felt that he had
no right to the water which had been brought as by priestly hands and in a cup
that had on it the marks of sacrifice. To have drunk it himself would have been
sacrilege. There was but One Being worthy of it--He who had inspired the
heroism and devotion which secured it. David saw in the act of the captains who
had jeopardised their lives for him a love
a courage
and a self-surrender of
which no mortal was the fitting object.
4. The action of David’s friends is a witness on both its sides to
the unselfishness and grandeur of our nature. It shows that we have other than
material instincts to satisfy
that we live not by bread alone. Physical
gratification
bodily ease and comfort
prosperity in all its forms leave
untouched vast spaces of our worldly thought and aspiration and need; and if we
possess only what they can yield
the noblest elements of our nature will be
feeble and impoverished
aye
and will become the means of our acutest suffering and
most dreaded retribution. When the depths of our being are stirred
we think of
God and our relation to Him. We live by admiration
love
and hope. There is
something dearer than material pleasure
personal safety
and even life itself
to the man who has been entranced by the vision of the Divine. He reveres the
majesty of truth and duty
fidelity
honour
God. It is not necessary that we
should be at ease
with an abundance of pleasure and of wealth. It is not even
necessary that we should continue to live
but
it is necessary that we should
be true
pure
upright
godly; and to fulfil this great law of our being there
is absolutely no sacrifice which we should not be prepared to make. (J.
Stuart.)
Courage
When the brave and ill-fated English envoy
Cavagnari
was warned
by the Ameer of Afghanistan that his life was not safe at Cabul
he coolly
replied that if he were shot down
there were others ready to take his place.
Whilst one cannot but honour the courage of such a man
and feel a desire to
throw a wreath upon his grave
it would be the greatest possible error to
imagine that the commonest spheres of civil end prosaic life
do not
many and many a time
yield instances of an equally noble
though less showy heroism. (J. Thain
Davidson
D. D.)
Energetic Men
We love upright
energetic men. Pull them this way
and then that
way
and the other
and they only bend
but never break. Knock them down
and
in a trice they are on their feet. Bury them in the mud
and in an hour they
will be out and bright. They are not ever yawning sway existence
or walking
about the world as if they had come into it with only half their soul; you
cannot keep them down
you cannot destroy them. But for these the world would
soon degenerate. They are the salt of the earth. Who but they start any noble
project? They build our cities and rear our manufactories; they whiten the
ocean with their sails
and they blacken the heavens with the smoke of their
steam vessels and furnace fires; they draw treasures from the mine; they plough
the earth. Blessings on them! Look to them
young men
and take courage;
imitate their example; catch the spirit of their energy and enterprise
and you
will deserve
and no doubt command
success. (Christian Weekly.)
Verse 15
And David longed
and said
Oh
that one would give me drink of
the water of the well of Bethlehem.
Craving to enjoy a past comforter
The scene in this chapter was one of the remarkable events in
David’s life. While hiding in the cave he saw from its rocky cliffs
across the
green landscape
the place of the dear
familiar well whose cooling beverage
had often quenched his parched lips when a youth. The picture so revived cravings
of his heart that he gave expression to the innermost feelings of his life.
I. The graphic
description which David gave of the well.
1. The right appellation was truly stated. “The well of Bethlehem.”
It is the most noted
and appears to have made a deep impression on his mind
which the lapse of years had failed to erase. Is not this illustrative of “the
well of Bethlehem” sunk at the birth of Christ? Before this time men had drunk
of impure water
but when God was manifest in the flesh He became the well
without an equal. It is the well of mercy
peace
consolation
and love.
2. The distinctive mark was clearly given. “Which is by the gate.” We
need in our longings to do the same
as there are many wells--science
arts
philosophy
and literature
and the well of
salvation. We must be distinct
as
our lives can only be satisfied with the “well of Bethlehem
” whose bubblings
are ready to give heavenly refreshment. We find it by the Holy Communion table
the spiritual devotion meetings
etc.
3. The proper occupant was fully proclaimed. “The water.” Some wells
are useless
being filled with rubbish or polluted streams; but the well named
by David was faithfully doing its mission. Many wells with us are of no
service--empty or impure.
II. The earnest
longing which David expressed.
1. The sight rekindled the thought of his heart. We wish to recall
hallowed seasons and comforts. The sight of parent
teachers
and friends
rekindle our hearts afresh with comfort and joy. We sigh to taste of the old
streams
to sit by the side of loving parents
to hear the faithful entreaty of
our teachers
to walk with the companions whose society we prized.
2. He gave utterance to the thought of his heart. David had keen
aspirations and passionate longings
so that what he felt readily passed into
words. He-gave vent to his pent-up feelings. In the midst of the worry and
battle of life the scenes of our past days are so vividly portrayed to the
mental sight that we crave for the times and enjoyments that are gone. At such
seasons we cannot contain our feelings
but give expression to them. In things
spiritual it is the same; when we have gone from all the comforts and happiness
of religion a time dawns when we cannot any longer keep the state of mind to
ourselves. We cry out to be satisfied with the living water from the well of
Bethlehem.
3. The unconscious entreaty for brave help. David knew that Bethlehem
had been taken by the enemy. There were great obstacles in the way of obtaining
a drink from the well of his ancestors. Probably he little thought that his
pathetic wish was heard. We often imperil the lives and characters of others by
unconsciously speaking what we feel.
4. The deep craving was of a personal character. David knew what he
wanted. It was not that common
foolish wish for something fresh and new
but
he sought to taste of that which he had often been refreshed with before. The
reason why we have not much enjoyment in this life is because our cravings are
indefinite.
Lessons:--
1. We never realise the worth of our best comforts until we are
separated from them.
2. After a season of spiritual declension how anxiously we crave to
drink again of the eternal spring. (Alfred Buckley.)
The well by the gate
I. The Gospel a
well of Bethlehem. David had known hundreds of wells of water
but he wanted to
drink from that particular one; and he thought nothing could slake his thirst
like that; and
unless your soul and mine can get access to the fountain opened
for sin and for uncleanliness
we must die. That fountain is the well of
Bethlehem. It was dug in the night. It was dug by the light of a lantern--the
star that hung down over the manger. It was dug not at the gate of Caesar’s
palaces--not in the park of a Jerusalem bargain-maker. It was dug in a barn.
The camels lifted their weary heads to listen as the work went on; the
shepherds
unable to sleep because the heavens were filled with bands of music
came down to see the opening of the well. The angels of God
at the first gush
of the living water
dipped their chalices of joy into it
and drank to the
health of earth and heaven
as they cried: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth
peace.” Sometimes
in our modern times
the water is brought through the pipes of the city to the
very nostrils of the horses or cattle; but this well in the Bethlehem barn was
not so much for the beasts that perish as for our race--thirst-smited
desert-travelled
simoom-struck. Oh! my soul
weary with sill
stoop down and’
drink to-day out of that Bethlehem well.
II. This Gospel is
a captured well. David remembered the time when that good water of Bethlehem
was in the possession of his ancestors; his father drank there
his mother
drank there. He remembered how that water tasted when he was a boy
and came up
from play. We never forget the old well we used to drink from when we were boys
or girls. There was something in it which blessed the lips and refreshed the
brows better than anything we have found since. As we think of that old well
the memories of the past flow into each other like crystalline drops
sun-glinted; and
all the more
we remember that the hand that used to lay hold
of the rope
and the hearts that beat against the well-curb
are still now. We
never get over these reminiscences. George P. Morris
the great song writer of this
country
once said to me that his song
“Woodman
spare that tree
” was sung in
a great concert hall
and the memories of early life were so wrought upon the
audience by that song
“Woodman
spare that tree
” that
after the song was
done
an aged mall arose in the audience
overwhelmed with emotion
and said
“Sir
will you please tell me whether the woodman really spared the tree?” We
never forget the tree under which we played. We never forget the fountain at
which we drank. Alas! for the man who has no early memories. David thought of
that well
and he wanted a drink of it; but he remembered that the Philistines
had captured it. And this is true of this Gospel well. The Philistines have at
times captured it. When we come to take a full
old-fashioned drink of pardon
and comfort
don’t their swords of indignation and sarcasm flash? Why
the
sceptics tell us we cannot come to that fountain. They say the water is not fit
to drink anyhow. Depend upon it that well will come into our possession again
though it has been captured. If there be not three anointed men in the Lord’s
host with enough consecration to do the work
then the swords will leap from
Jehovah’s bucklers
and the eternal three will descend--God the Father
God the
Son
and God the Holy Ghost--conquering for our dying race the way back again
to “the water of the well of Bethlehem
which is by the gate.”
III. The Gospel well
is a well at the gate. Do you know that that well was at the gate
so that
nobody could go into Bethlehem without going right past it? And So it is with
this Gospel well--it is at the gate.
1. It is at the gate of purification. We cannot wash away our sins
unless with that water.
2. This well of the Gospel is at the gate of comfort. There is life
in the well at the gate. “All things work together for good to those who love
God.”
3. This Gospel well is at the gate of heaven. After you have been on
a long journey
and you come in all bedusted and tired to your house
the first thing you want is refreshing ablution; and I am glad to know that
after we get through the pilgrimage of this world--the hard dusty
pilgrimage--we will find a well at the gate. In that one wash away will go our
sins and sorrows. (T. De Witt Talmage
D. D.)
Memories of childhood
The incident belongs to that period in David’s life when he was an
outlaw
when Saul was hunting trim and he was hiding with ills ragged followers
in various mountains and eaves.
I. There are times
in every life when we are reminded of the well of bethlehem
and wish in vain
that we could drink of that well again. A children’s anniversary always brings
one of these times to grown-up people. I mean times when our thoughts are
carried back to early days
and we almost sigh as David did because we cannot
cross over to them again
We have visions of happy wells of which we drank in
the dear young days
and from which we are now separated by a barrier of years
and other things. And there are other things which we should like to return to
if it were in any way possible--the leisure
the golden opportunities
the
school days
and the wells of knowledge
the hours which we thought so little
of and for the most part wasted when we had them
the books we might have read
the things we might
have learned
the fitness for life’s work we might have
gained. Most of us would be glad to have those chances repeated. And we have
all longings and regrets sadder than these. All of us
I say
though some have
reason to feel them more than others. Certain other things have left us which
the child had--a certain stock of happy innocence and purity and simple faith.
There were days when we knew little of evil; when we had no thought which we
wished to hide
when our feet had not been in any crooked ways; when our minds
were not defiled; when no chains of habit held us bound
and no fierce passions
within drove us to wrongdoing. It was our Garden of Eden
and the angel with
the flaming sword stops our return. This is what we mean by the wells of
Bethlehem. Or
as Tennyson expresses it--
“The
tender grace of a day that is dead
Will
never come back to me.”
II. We are
reminded by this story that there are better things in life than the well of
Bethlehem. David here was crying for his vanished childhood
and in a moment
certain things happened which proved to him that he was richer as a man than he
had ever been as a child. For one thing
he had won friendships that were
faithful to him even unto death. There are better things than the glory of
childhood
just as the gnarled
strong
winter-worn oak is nobler than the
slender sapling with its first shoots of green. God did not send us into the
world to be always children
but to be strong
long-suffering
serviceable men
and women; to make friends and deserve their friendship; to learn patience
through sorrow and courage
by facing difficulties
and take a real soldier’s
part m the great battle of life. And if we are doing that in a measure there is
no need to sigh for our Bethlehem days. (J. G. Greenhough
M. A.)
The memory of boyhood
David was feeling the strong pressure of memory. He was living
again in his boyhood days
What he said was no doubt only a sentiment. Other
wells were just as refreshing
and their waters as cool as this well of his old
home
but for the moment David was living in the past
and his thirst for
water
which he drank in childhood could be taken
I think
as a longing for a
draught of the purity and the abundance of all that which went to make life
happy when he was a boy. Life is not all plain sailing for anyone
and so for a
brief hour
amid the pressure of your daily business and toil
you step aside
from the hurrying crowds and stop to rest awhile in the presence of God and to
think.
1. The old simple faith. The water may be taken as typifying and
standing for faith
the faith which the child always seems to drink in from any
religious-minded teacher. Those were the days when faith came simply and easily
to you; but you have been out into the world since then.
2. The dangers of young manhood. Is there any secret sin in your
life
come temptation to impurity
some yielding to that degrading sin of
intemperance
some playing with that modern vice of gambling which spoils and
mare and destroys so many lifes? Is there anything which you know is fouling
the purity of that religious youth that you had as s boy
which is clogging up
the stream and making it
alas! very muddy indeed? Well
do you sigh and long
to-day like David
for that pure stream
so fresh
so abundant
which
satisfies
that deep thirst for God which you had in the days gone by
before
sin and doubt had crept in? Thank God if you do
it shows your heart is still
in the right place
and that your life is not turned away so much from God as
perhaps at times you may have suspected. Will you renew that faith to-day?
3. The one standard. Remember
there is only one standard put before
us all
the highest of all standards--the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ. “Be ye perfect
even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (W. F.
J. Robberds.)
Costly water
This gift of water was associated with memories of early days. It
is wonderful how little sometimes will bring back old times to those who have
wandered far
in time or place
from the scenes of childhood’s years. It is
always so. “To this day
” says a French writer
wearied with his work in Paris
and thinking longingly of a quiet holiday he once spent in algeria
“to this
day I cannot think of that siesta in the tent without regret and longing; but
on that afternoon
I must own
in that country
I thirsted for Paris.” When in
Paris he thirsts for Algeria
and when in Algeria he thirsts for Paris. So
David
when in Bethlehem as a boy
hoped likely for better days
and now
looking back
he thinks there could not be anything better than those old times
over again. Cherish your dreams by all means
but
at the time time
learn to
prize the present
and to make the most and best of your opportunities now. Try
to see the present--its beauty and its value--as you will be sure to see it if
you are spared to look back from after years.
2. This gift of water would always be associated in David’s mind with
the love that brought it. What a splendid gift it was! Only a drink of water
but it was turned
as it were
into sacramental wine by the love that brought
it. Just so is it that God values our gifts. The best of earthly gifts is poor
but if it is given with a hearty spirit it will be graciously accepted. Some
one has said that God cares more for adverbs than for verbs; that is
more for
how a thing is done than for what is done. “Do it heartily as to the Lord
”
says St. Paul. The important word is not the verb “do
” but the adverb
“heartily.”
3. David felt that he must associate this gift in a special way with
God. It was one of the finest things he had ever had done to him in his life. Men’s
lives had been in jeopardy to get it. It was too rich an offering to make use
of only for his own gratification
and he poured it out unto the Lord. (J.
S. Maver
M. A.)
Verse 16-17
Nevertheless he would not drink thereof
but poured it out before
the Lord.
The sacredness of life
This event is probably to be referred to the time which
immediately succeeded David’s accession to the throne over an undivided
people. (2 Samuel 5:3; 2 Samuel 5:17.)
I. The sacredness
of life. To the Hebrew the blood was the vital principle (Genesis 4:4.) Hence it was not to be eaten. Even the
blood of a hunted animal or bird was to be reverently covered with dust (Leviticus 17:13.) Because of its
sacredness it was used in the temple worship in acts of consecration (Exodus 29:20)
and in acts of
propitiation (Leviticus 4:6)
and in its Divine
sacredness
as flowing from the Incarnate Word
it was poured out for
that
“full
perfect and sufficient sacrifice
oblation and satisfaction for the sins
of the whole world.” So
too
the solemn act of David expressed the fact that
life is a sacred thing.
1. With what mysteries is it linked
and mankind has ever associated
the mysterious with the sacred. In what manner did life
in its most
rudimentary form
enter into a world that till then had been lifeless? How
wondrous is the chain of life--each following link made of more precious
material arid more “curiously wrought”--that runs up from its first appearing
to man
to the angels
and to the Eternal!
2. How strangely is life interwoven with life
husband and wife
child and parent
brother and brother
friend and friend. Weakness is linked to
strength
and folly to wisdom; while the weakness that is wise is helped by and
vet delivers the strength that is foolish. “No man liveth to himself” in the
economy of God.
3. What possibilities lie undeveloped in life. The child that
slumbers in its cradle may be a Croesus
a Raphael
a Napoleon
a Shakespeare
a Luther. Even when life’s first stages may seem to justify a forecast of the
future
what possibilities remain to us in virtue of diligence
application
fortitude
or through that overruling of things which we name fortune.
4. The everlastingness of its issues makes life sacred. The character
it fashions lasts. Any chord once made to vibrate--be it of feeling or thought
or word
or act
or influence--may vibrate for ever. Death far from ending
rather reveals life’s issues.
5. Yet in the fact that the Son of God took to Himself a human
nature
lived a human life in its varied stages as babe and boy
as youth and
man
has life obtained its weightiest and indelible sanctity.
II. What is gained
by life’s risk partakes of life’s sanctity. Unharmed the three returned bearing
with them a draught of water for which their king and captain had longed. It
was the Balaclava of Israelitish history--an act of fruitless bravery
a
blunder only possible to heroes--though less fatal in its consequences. Had a
warrior been lost then regret for the foolish wish might have prompted the
libation. But though no evil had overtaken them the “jeopardy” had made the
water bleed-like and sacred
and lie “poured it out unto the Lord.”
1. Things necessary when purchased by life’s risk partake of this
sacredness. Every life sacrificed in the service of mankind makes man a debtor
and sets the seal of sanctity upon the survivors. The substitute for the
conscript who dies upon the battlefield
the fireman who perishes at his task
the lifeboatman who falls a victim to the raging sea
the physician and nurse who
die saving the patient
should make these whom they ransom at so great a cost
feel that every breath they draw is no common but a most sacred thing.
2. But things of convenience
hardly of necessity
are purchased at
the same cost
and obtain a like sanctity. Our boasted and elaborate
civilisation is costly in lives. To some it gives comfort and days
for others
it shortens the span of existence. And the civilisation which lengthens life is
largely dispensible; life without these blessings would be possible
though far
less enjoyable. Men could still live in wattled huts and warm themselves with a
wood or turf fire. There need be no coal fire
no steam engine
no railway
travelling
no great engineering works such as we are accustomed to. Yet
how
many and terrible are the disasters to life and limb
which have given us these
advantages
and to our nation so much of her wealth. Very costly are many of
the comforts and conveniences of our modern civilisation. The cutlery which
bright and sharp
lies upon our dining table
has meant a reduction of the
years of life to the grinders who gave it edge. In many of the chemical and
mechanical processes which furnish us the conveniences of modern life there is
a similar sacrifice of the health and life of the workers. We should shrink
from doing without these things; deprived of them men would question if life be
worth living; but in the use of things purchased at such a cost let us remember
that cost; it would give an earnestness to much of the morally relaxed life we
live
could we see these things bedabbled with the blood that procured them.
3. Still more must we feel our responsibility when whims are
gratified by the risk of life. That water from the well by the gate was not a
necessity; it was the gratification of a sentiment; And it was the sense that
life had been jeoparded for a sentiment that made David treat it as he did.
III. There are two
directions in which these words have their bearing upon modern life.
1. Employment means employment of life
the hiring of blood. To say a
man employs so many “hands” is to mention the least important of the powers he
gets a claim upon. He employs lives
hearts
characters; souls that must live
for ever
destinies that never become spent. But these lives must be regarded as
sacred things
and every employer should bear with him the solemn sense of
responsibility. If he feels as David felt
“Is it not the blood of those men
who jeoparded their lives?” he will give in respect of those who serve him
every care for life and for health. Such a man would never send men to sea in
an unworthy ship
or to work with deficient apparatus
or expose them to the
peril of a risky boiler. Neither should the moral perils of employees be
forgotten. No man can justly retain as foreman a man of good ability but bad
morals. No clerk should be asked to pen a letter that goes against his moral
convictions; no traveller should be permitted to feel he must get orders by
means which are not “as the noonday clear
” The wealth that comes from ruined health
lost lives
seared consciences
damned souls
“is it not the blood of these
men?”
2. Perhaps it is well to remember that most persons are the employers
of those who afford amusement. The stern Puritan days are largely past
and the
average Christian man does not refrain from public spectacles on the high
principle that “the world passeth away and the fashion thereof.” But dare men
believing in the Bible countenance amusements involving the risk of life; did
not the early church bring to an end the cruel sport of the Roman amphitheatre?
should not such sports as to-day involve the health and lives of those who
afford others pleasure be discountenanced
and by moral influence suppressed by
the followers of Christ. When we see in the coveted water from the well that is
by the gate
in the gratification we have or craved
the whim we have indulged
the needless convenience we have thoughtlessly enjoyed--“the blood of men who
have jeoparded their lives”--then will a solemn sense of life’s sacredness
steal upon us
and we shall pray
“Deliver me from blood-guiltiness
O God.” (J.
T. L. Maggs
B. A.)
Waste
We speak of things being wasted when they are not used
or when
they are used for an inferior purpose to that which was originally intended.
But waste is a relative term; and in these economic days some of the most
valuable products have been obtained from substances that used to be thrown out
as utter refuse. The most brilliant colours are got from the waste of gas
manufacture; the sweetest perfumes and most delicate flavourings from the offal
of the street; and the mounds of rubbish excavated from the placer mines of
California have formed ever since the most fertile soil
in which have grown
harvests far more valuable than their richest gold. That which is said to be
wasted is often more precious than that which is employed for some utilitarian
purpose. The well of Bethlehem was associated with the happiest days of David’s
life
when
as a shepherd boy
without any care or trouble
he drank of it
and
went on his way rejoicing. The heat and burden of the day had consumed him in
the beleaguered garrison
and the thought of that water was to him like the
beautiful mirage--the desert’s dream of dewy fields and sparkling streams. And
yet
when a goblet full of the clear cold water was put into his bands
and he
was free to drink and slake his burning thirst
he would not take it. His
spirit rose above his languid frame and asserted its superiority. He nobly
denied himself what his body weakly craved. Some might call such spilling of
the water upon the ground an uncalled-for waste
and might blame David severely
for appearing to lightly esteem the act of the brave men. What though the water
had been procured at the cost of so much trouble and danger
did not that circumstance
enhance its value? Was it not the very reason why it should not have been
thrown away? The worst use to which it could be put was surely to pour it upon
the dry ground
where it would do no good to living thing
but would speedily
evaporate into the hot air
and leave no trace behind. We have all heard such
selfish reasonings
and witnessed such penurious prudence in regard to similar
acts of apparently rash generosity. But though the narrow-minded
capable only
of the most short-sighted policy
may condemn it
every enlightened conscience
every generous heart
must deeply feel that David’s act of seeming wastefulness
was in reality one of the noblest in his life. It would have been selfish in
him to drink the water; but it was the height of unselfishness to refuse to
drink it. By not using it
he put it to the highest use. By pouring it out upon
the ground
seeming to waste it
he put a far greater value upon it than could
possibly have been done if it had been used only to slake his thirst. Drunk
it
would have refreshed the parched lips of David for a moment
and then the
incident would have been forgotten. The draught of water would have
accomplished its purpose
and that would have been the end of it for ever. But
by being refused
by being wasted upon the ground
and offered as a libation
to the Lord of heaven and earth
its use remained unexhausted
its memory would
be for ever cherished. To all generations the deed will he spoken of as one of
the finest examples of generous self-denial and pious gratitude; and it will
have an inspiring effect upon all who come to know of it
inducing them to
practice similar self-denial and devotion in their own lives. The water spilt
upon the ground in this way
which could not be gathered up again
rose up to
heaven
a beautiful cloud gilded by the sun
to adorn the sky
to be seen and
admired of all eyes
and to fall again in fertilising rain and dew upon ground
that
but for it would have been for ever barren. (H. Macmillan
D. D.)
Verse 19
Howbeit he attained not unto the first three.
The might of mediocrity
Everybody just now is deploring the singular dearth of genius
which marks our immediate era. Some historic periods are remarkable in
consequence of the brilliant constellations of extraordinarily gifted men which
illuminate them; but the current age threatens to resemble those starless
spaces of the firmament which perplex astronomers. In the musical world no one remains
to play the first fiddle. The dropped mantle of Macaulay lies unclaimed. A
modern commentator warmly protests against the custom of describing certain
prophets as “minor prophets”; but no one proposes to abolish the designation
“minor poets”--they are very much to the |ore
and there is no forehead worthy
of Tennyson’s laurel. Epoch-making scientists like Darwin and Faraday
and
masterly expositors of science like Huxley and Tyndall
have left no
successors. As to great singers like Lind and Titiens
we feel the silence that
Israel felt on the day and in the place of which the sacred historian wrote:
“Miriam died there
and was buried there.” No artist appears competent to take
up Millais’ fallen pencil. No orator like Bright charms the nation. We might
think that the forces of nature were spent. The greatest souls are rarer than
ever. This is the age of democracy
and it would seem as ii it were going to
justify Amiel’s dictum that “democracy is the grave of talent.” The nineteenth
century ended without leaving a single really great figure on the stage. We
rather welcome this parenthesis in the annals of the sublime; it gives a rare
opportunity to mediocrity to demonstrate its great merits
and to show that it
is not without considerable glory of its own. Nothing may compare with the
Divine virtue of genius; it is a direct gleam of the eternal light: and there
is little danger in our day that any real greatness will suffer depreciation
and neglect. The danger always is lest we should disesteem faithful mediocrity.
Victor Hugo regrets the English victory at Waterloo because it was “the victory
of mediocrity.” We do not care to attempt any refutation of this epigram; let
us allow that Wellington was not a brilliant adventurer like Napoleon
and
that
as poets reason
the victory of Waterloo was the triumph of mediocrity.
It must be acknowledged also that the victory of mediocrity is quite a feature
of the world’s general affairs and history. Ages ago the author of Ecclesiastes
wrote: “I returned
and saw under the sun
that the race is not to the swift
nor the battle to the strong
neither yet bread to the wise
nor yet riches to
men of understanding
nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance
happened to them all.” This keen observer discerned what Victor Hugo regretted
that there is a place in the government of the world for the triumph of
mediocrity. We ourselves constantly observe the same thing. The brilliant
preacher conspicuously fails to create a church
whilst the plodding pastor
ministers through years to a flourishing congregation. The brilliant speculator
dies poor
whilst the homespun’ shopkeeper leaves an inheritance to his
children’s children. The fable of the hare and the tortoise never grows
obsolete. Said Diderot
“The world is for the strong.” But the world is not
altogether for the strong
neither are brilliant men permitted to ride
roughshod over the simple. The world is also for the faithful
the artless
the
industrious
the modest
and the meek. All things are not delivered over into
the hands of William the Conqueror
Lorenzo the Magnificent
and Peter the
Great; strugglers destitute of original power and brilliant parts have a trick
of coming out at the top and sharing the spoils with the strong. We may
honestly rejoice that this is so. It may affront the romantic critic to see the
soldier of genius banished to St. Helena whilst the soldier of patience stands
before kings; but the fact is comforting and inspiring to the faithful many.
Intense
decisive faithfulness has the character of the sublime
and it sets
the virtuous man of ordinary intelligence on a level with the most gifted.
Commonplace talent united with high moral qualities is certainly one of the
most precious factors of civilisation. We must not permit ourselves to be
browbeaten by towering greatness; we too have possibilities. Faithful
mediocrity may enter hopefully into all social competitions; it often turns out
to be genius in undress; it has a good chance of the prizes of life. We are not
equal to daring assaults
far-reaching speculations
dazzling manoeuvres; but
simple truth and perfect patience possess mysterious efficacy
and they as well
as genius bring riches and honours
power
and fame. In our struggle against
gifted and splendid wickedness let us remember the victory of mediocrity. The
New Testament frequently calls attention to the power and magnificence of the
kingdom of evil. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood
but against
principalities
against powers
against the rulers of the darkness of this
world
against spiritual wickedness in high places.” “And there was war in
heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought
and his angels.” The Apocalypse brings out very strikingly the glory and power
of the evil with which the saints contend. Wickedness is seen with many heads
eyes
and horns; she is arrayed in purple and scarlet
decked with precious
stones and pearls
having a golden cup in her hand; force
fire
and fury are
attributes of the awful power. This picture is not mere rhetoric. In the actual
world we find these gigantic and lurid poetic images distinctly and powerfully
reflected. A thousand times over wickedness is seen identified with royal
magnificence
luminous intellect
immense learning
fabulous riches
indomitable courage
and resources all but infinite. Now it seems simply
impossible for good
plain
honest
spiritual souls to make headway against the
devilry thus leagued with might
magnificence
and stratagem. Men smile
pitifully when they read on the page of history of clowns going forth with
scythes
pikes
and pitchforks to do battle with panoplied hosts; but it seems
unutterably more absurd for simple men and women to dare the rampant wickedness
of the universe
boasting as it does this strength and splendour. In the
natural world we daily witness the victories of mediocrity
and we may be sure
that in the spiritual universe these victories are not less wonderful. The
conflict of simple souls with the dash and guile of the demoniac powers appears
a battle of doves with eagles; but tiny humming birds are said to attack the
eagle with impunity
ignominiously driving it away. So wickedness in its utmost
pride is strangely vulnerable
and sinks vanquished by very weakness There is a
haste in wickedness which threatens its overthrow; it is feverish
premature
precipitate
and in its hurry comes to grief
despite the greatest advantages.
Goodness
on the other hand
is deliberate
tranquil
patient
and herein finds
a source of strength and victory. “Here is the patience and faith of the
saints.” All hell in its wrath and pride makes shipwreck on this
innocent-looking rock of simple faith and steadfastness
as at Waterloo the
glittering
impetuous legions of France were worn out by the sheer patience and
confidence of the duke. There is a blindness in wickedness which frustrates its
designs. Brilliant
crafty sinners fall into egregious mistakes; they are
guilty of surprising lapses
oversights
miscalculations. There is also in
wickedness s pride and presumption which work its confusion
and in Strange
ways turn its pomp into shame
its boastings into failure. Napoleon is reported
to have said on the morning of Waterloo that he would “teach that little English general a
lesson.” Such pride cometh before destruction. How utterly wrong are they who
capitulate to temptation from the
notion that evil is overwhelming
that it is necessarily
victorious! We too often forget the penetration of sincerity
the depth of
simplicity
the cleverness of uprightness
the strategy of straightforwardness;
we forget that patience is genius
that persistence is the most unequivocal
sign of force
that there is a conquering awfulness in real goodness
an
all-subduing loveliness in the form of simple virtue. Mediocre as we are
we
are destined to great victories. Entrenched in nature
exalted on thrones
defended by literature and eloquence
wickedness shall be vanquished by plain
good men. (W. L. Watkinson.)
The value of second-rate
To the student who asked
“What is the good of second-rate art?”
Ruskin replied: “I am glad you asked me that question. Fifth rate
sixth rate
to s hundredth rate art is good. Art that gives s pleasure to any one has s
right to exist. For instance
if I can only draw a duck that looks as though he
waddled
I may give pleasure to the last baby of our hostess
while a flower
beautifully drawn will give pleasure to her eldest girl
who is just beginning
to learn botany
and it may be useful to some man of science. The true outline
of a leaf shown a child may turn the whole course of its life.
Second-rate art is useful to a greater number of people than even first-rate
art--there are so few minds of high enough order to understand the highest kind
of art. Many more people find pleasure in Copley or Fielding than in Turner.
Most people only see the small vulgarisms in Turner
and cannot appreciate his
grander qualities.” (Christian Weekly.)
Verse 20
He went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of
snow.
A lion in the snow
Perhaps
like me
you have at times found yourself wondering how
it was that Palestine was chosen to be the land of She Bible? There is a
reason
if we did but know it. Perhaps because
so far as I know the world
there is no other country which for climate and other things is so much of a
world in itself. For instance
we read of a man who slew a lion in time of
snow. Now we don’t often think of lions and snow in the same place
but the
Holy Land was a place where you could get all sorts of weather and all sorts of
beasts. The fact is
the old Book was written for all the world; and
live
where you like
you find it speaking of something which you see every day.
Whoever reads the Bible should
however
use his imagination. For instance
in
this story
as we read
we must think Of that old quarry
and how it would look
when the snow was falling. Was the hero of the tale a farmer
and had he gone
out to look after the stock
and did he see
to his horror
the footprints of a
large beast? The marks on the snow are like those of a cat’s feet
but very
much larger. We can hear him say
“There’s a lion down there! He has gone for
shelter. Won’t he be hungry? When the snow-storm is over
he will have my
calves or sheep. No
he won’t! if I am the man I ought to be
there shall be a
dead lion or a dead man in five minutes;” so he went down and slew the great
cat that would have otherwise robbed his flock or his family.
I. God always did
like courage
especially the sort that is not afraid of great odds. He who
always waits to count his enemies will never wear the Victoria Cross. If you
are the only Christian in She shop
there’s a chance for you to distinguish
yourself. When I was a lad
elections were much rougher than they are nowadays.
You could get your head broken without any trouble. A man I knew was
electioneering
and strayed into the wrong committee-room. However
he found
out his mistake in time
and pulled off his ribbon
put it in his mouth
and
swallowed it. That is what some fellows do with their religion when they are in
the midst of God’s foes.
II. Difficulties
and dangers which give the chance of promotion. If you will follow this man to
other parts of the Bible
you will find him at the head of four-and twenty
thousand men. Now David did not make men captains because their fathers before
them were officers; they had to rise by merit; and King David’s greater Son
.
the Prince of Peace
lifts privates into captains when they have shown their
mettle. They tell a tale in Lancashire of an Oldham man enlisting with the
distinct understanding that he was to he an officer; but next morning
when he
woke from his drunken slumbers
he found himself a full private. I am afraid if
he ever got a stripe it was only one of many
and they were on his back and not
on his arm! Distinguish yourself
and ignominy cannot claim you. The higher you
get up the hill the less crowding you will find. When a collection is taken
and some one drops in a piece of gold
it may be hidden by penny pieces while
in the box
but when counting begins they will soon see. This man Benaiah
little dreamed that three thousand years after he killed the lion somebody
would think it worth his while to talk of what happened that snowy day. The
fact is
we are making history every day
and it is for ourselves to settle
whether it is to be sheen or shade. (T. Champness.)
Benaiah
Benaiah went down also and “slew a lion in the midst of the pit in
the time of snow.” That is a man worth looking at! It is a snow day; think of
it. It is difficult to be brave on a day like that. But that was the day when
Benaiah
the son of Jehoiada
the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel
who had done
many mighty acts
went and did another. Did it ever occur to you that that man
was wonderfully like another Benaiah? Did you ever think he was wonderfully
like the Lord Jesus Christ
who
on one of the dullest and darkest days that
ever the world saw
went down into the pit
and encountered
face to face
the
devourer and the destroyer of men. And He had nobody to encourage and nobody to
cheer. All His disciples forsook Him and fled; and single
unaided
and alone
He went down into the pit
and slew the lion
the dragon
the devourer. He
fought and He won. There is a lion-like strength of evil in every one of us
and we are not saved till our foot is upon its neck
and its power is broken.
With some
the lion is out
ranging and roaring
as that lion might be supposed
to have been before this snowy day when he fell into the pit. No
the big work
is to be done yet. Go down into the pit; go down into the deeps of your own
fallen nature
the depths of Satan in you; go down there quick
in the strength
of Benaiah
and win that fight
or you are not saved yet. None of us
old or
young
ignorant or learned
has a right to feel safe until he has done
Benaiah’s deed
and gone down into the depths of sin that are in himself with
the lamp of God and the sword of God
and stabbed to the heart the life of sin
that is in the very deep places of his soul. What does Benaiah mean? Benaiah
means
literally
the man whom God built. There is something in a name
after
all The man whom God built from the protoplasm upward and onward
the
God-built
God-strengthened
God-nerved
God-sustained man. May God grant that
all of us shall have that pedigree! “Born not of blood
nor of the will of the
flesh
nor of man
but born of God.” Born again! Spiritual men
whose
foundations God hath laid in Christ Jesus; and out of whom God is making strong
stalwart
heroic
spiritual
men
because He has built them and founded them on
the Eternal Rock of His own dear Son. (J. McNeill.)
Possible achievement of a man plus God
The Rev. F. B. Meyer had been shown a wonderful collection of
chrysanthemums. The horticulturist said to him
“And all these glorious blooms
come from a common field daisy.” In response to Mr. Meyer’s questions
the
expert told how
by long processes of patient cultivation pursued through a
number of years
the simple wild-flower had become a triumph of scientific
development. “I see
” he said
“the chrysanthemum is a field-daisy
plus a
man.” “Yes
” said the gardener
“that is it.” “And
” said Mr. Meyer
with
impressive intensity
“A Christian is a man plus God--God in Christ
who came
to give us life
abundantly.”
Possibility of great achievements
There is a wonderful power in honest work to develop latent
energies and reveal a man to himself. I suppose
in most cases
nobody is half
so much surprised at a great man’s greatest deed as he is himself. They say
that
there is dormant electric energy enough to make a thunderstorm in a few
rain drops
and there is dormant spiritual force enough in the weakest of us to
flush into beneficent light
and peal notes of awaking into many a deaf ear. (A.
Malaren
D. D.)
Enterprise essential to success
Success is the reward of endeavour not of accident. Rufus Cheats
when someone remarked that great achievements often resulted from chance
thundered out
“Nonsense! as well talk of dropping the alphabet and picking up
the Iliad.”
──《The Biblical Illustrator》