2 Samuel 1:11-27

The facts of the section are:

1 . Having become assured, through the testimony of the Amalekite, of the defeat of Israel in the death of Saul and Jonathan, David and his men spent the rest of the day in mourning.

2 . On the morrow David examines the Amalekite as to the particulars of Saul's death, and being shocked at the sin and shame of slaying the Lord's anointed, he condemns the man to death.

3 . Being left to his own reflections on the sad event which had happened to Israel, he composes an elegy, as an expression of his own feelings and for the use of Israel, in which he refers in impassioned language to

Secularity and spirituality of mind in contrast.

The conduct of the Amalekite was very natural, as we find men in general. So far as he had a policy, it would have commended itself to multitudes. Observant, shrewd, and on the alert for an advantage, he evidently was well aware of the feud between Saul and David; and knowing how of late David had smitten his own countrymen, he judged it more prudent to conciliate him by performing an act conducive to his elevation to a throne, than by simply purloining jewels on a battlefield. The story concocted about his actually slaying Saul was told with the utmost self-complacence, as though no one could doubt the mercifulness and the utility of the act; and no one could have been more amazed than himself when David represented the act as most shocking, and condemned him to die for such Wicked temerity. On the other hand, David's conduct is the reverse of what would have been generally pursued. For Saul had been a most bitter and unrelenting enemy; had charged him with crimes most heinous; had driven him into a painful exile; had returned generosity by increased hatred; and was, as David knew, the only living obstacle to his return to Israel and elevation to the throne. And yet, not only had David been unwilling to do a single deed that might be construed as tending to weaken Saul's legitimate authority, but he now even deplores the reported action of this his would be foreign helper, and charges him with having committed, on his own showing, a most shocking crime. Now, the contrast of the conduct and views of the two men is to be found in the utter dissimilarity of their respective habitual states of mind. The one was intensely secular, and the other intensely spiritual. Consider—

I. IN WHAT SECULARITY AND SPIRITUALITY OF MIND RESPECTIVELY CONSIST , AND HOW THEY EXPRESS THEMSELVES .

1 . The one consists mainly in the tendency to look at things out of their spiritual relations, and the other to look at them in those relations. As a matter of fact, we know that, consequent on the existence of a supreme Being and a moral government which he exercises over spiritual beings, the whole universe is comprised of two distinct yet interrelated spheres—the material and perishable on the one hand, and the spiritual and imperishable on the other. As men necessitated to work out the first lines of our destiny under material conditions, and therefore in incessant contact with the perishable, we are, through the bluntness of our superior perceptions, superinduced by sin, prone to regard all events as pertaining to our fleeting earthly experience. This is secularity of mind—the mind that sees only the lower side of man's life, and takes no note of the higher destiny of which he is capable. On the other hand, spirituality of mind, while recognizing the value and Divine source of our common lot as creatures of struggle under material conditions, perceives the reality of the higher invisible sphere, and estimates all things in the lower according to its relation to the great facts and dominating laws of the higher. The Amalekite looked on Saul as simply a man belonging to a mundane order of things, in which other men were striving for the mastery with him. David saw the existence, alongside the mundane order, of an invisible kingdom, and he recognized in Saul an embodiment of a Divine principle—an institution of Divine authorization. For was he not the Lord's anointed? Was there not more in his existence than was comprised in range of Amalekite vision? Here lies the dividing line between the two great classes of men. The one sees a passing age, with its wants and struggles appropriate to that age; the other sees an invisible and enduring spiritual order, and that man is to be viewed in relation to that order. The one, therefore, is carnal, restricted in range, utilitarian, and in league with practices that "pay;" the other is religious, wide as infinity in range, pervaded by conscious supremacy of holy principles, and in alliance with only what is pure and pleasing before God.

2 . In accordance with their essential nature, they will respectively manifest themselves at times, the one in a use of sacred things for personal gain, and the other in self-abnegation out of reverence for what is Divine. It was the purely secular mind of the Amalekite that led to his endeavour to make gain out of the death of the Lord's anointed, and that, too, without supposing that he was doing anything remarkable. It was David's high-toned spirituality that led him to ignore all the wrongs he had experienced at the hand of Saul, and to pass by the faults and follies of the unhappy monarch, and, instead of finding pleasure in prospect of his own coming promotion, to feel as though in the act done by the Amalekite a violence had been perpetrated against the most holy of institutions. So has it been in all ages, and is still. Men can barter religious professions for gain; or calmly and irreverently handle sacred subjects as though of common import; or behave in the presence of sacred realities as though treading on unhallowed ground. Judas, Simon Magus, the revilers at the cross, have their counterparts in those who seek gain by complying with the will of godless authorities, professional zealots for Christianity, and cynics who make sport of sacred things.

3 . But, also, it is a tendency which in each case gives colour to the entire life. It was not a new thing for the Amalekite thus to think and feel concerning Saul and his relation to Israel and David; for all along Saul had been to him simply one of many rulers among men, and the conflict of the past years had been only a trial of human strength and skill. And, also, David's profound reverence for the Divine idea in Saul's kingship, and his faith in the reality of a Divine purpose for men being incorporated with it, had permeated his life during the weary days of exile. The two men were always governed by their respective tendencies. The one life was narrowed, rendered gross and hard by persistent secularity; the other was broadened, refined, and beautified by constant communion with the unseen and eternal. The whole domestic and private as well as public life of men is affected for the worse or better as they are secular or spiritual in tone. Spirituality is favourable to every phase of human experience. Secularity means debasement. Were society pervaded by so pure, unselfish, and spiritually perceptive a temper as was David's, and more so, David's greater Son, how smoothly would the machinery of life move on, and what music would there be in its roll!

II. THE FINAL RESULT OF INDULGING IN THESE OPPOSITE STATES OF MIND . AS a fact, the Amalekite's zeal brought him disappointment—death. David's fine perception of the sanctities of life, his habitual reverence for Divine institutions as seen in all his relations to Saul, his consciousness that God was establishing his own kingdom in his own way,—all this issued in elevation to a position where spirituality of mind could be exercised for the greater good of Israel. Prophetic is this of the end of all secularity and spirituality. The one must end in disappointment—in loss of those things which it was thought would be gained, and even in judicial separation from the pure in heart ( Matthew 16:26 ; Matthew 7:21-23 ). The other is an education by which we become qualified to rise in the kingdom of God, to exercise over others a higher and wider influence than otherwise could be obtained ( 1 John 3:2 , 1 John 3:3 ; Matthew 25:23 ; 1 Timothy 6:11 , 1 Timothy 6:12 ; Romans 3:21 ).

GENERAL LESSONS .

1 . It is a dangerous thing to form our estimate of what others may do from the ideas and feelings that govern our own actions. The Amalekite could not conceive of any one not rejoicing in the death of a foe.

2 . Dull perception of spiritual realities is a real impoverishment of life, as truly as is an affliction of blindness or deafness.

3 . Regard for Divine institutions is to be cultivated irrespective of the imperfect character of men who act in connection with them.

4 . The exposure of a base spirit is sure to be the result of a direct judgment of the Son of David when we are called to stand before him.

5 . Any attempt to court the favour of the chosen King in Zion by deeds and spirit not in harmony with the holy laws of his kingdom, will inevitably end in banishment from his presence ( Luke 6:46 ; Luke 13:25-27 ).

Sorrow for the miscarriage of life's great purpose.

Contrary to what ordinary men would have imagined, the news of the death of Saul at once diverted David's thoughts from his own personal advantage accruing therefrom, and at once developed an extraordinary sorrow. It must not be concluded that the setting apart of the rest of the day for purposes of mourning ( 2 Samuel 1:11 , 2 Samuel 1:12 ) was simply compliance with custom in paying outward respect for the memory of a deceased monarch and his son. No doubt such an act could be decently performed by one who saw in the disaster an occasion of personal joy; indeed, a heartless rival, who cared alone for his own elevation to the throne, would, as a matter of mere policy, encourage the observance of tokens of public sorrow; for history testifies to the presence of a large element of hypocrisy in the elaborate manifestations of grief that have characterized the obsequies of rival rulers. But David was not a man of ceremony; and the elegy penned for the expression of his own anguish of spirit—so tender and pathetic as it is—must be accepted as the interpreter of the act of public mourning in David's camp. None but a deeply earnest and sincere man could thus write of the woe which came to men on the heights of Gilboa. Tested by the principles that govern the secular mind, the elegy is perfectly unaccountable, especially considering Saul's long-continued persecution of David and the open pathway to the throne which the defeat at Gilboa laid open to him. But there was a wonderful spiritual unity in David's life; and to those who have followed our interpretation of his conduct and motives as set forth elsewhere, there can be no difficulty in perceiving in this public act, and in the elegy, a culmination of the intense and painfully loving interest with which he all along had watched the downward course of the unhappy monarch. There were, indeed, several items entering into his sorrow. He thought of the kingless nation, and mourned for the bereaved "house of Israel" ( 2 Samuel 1:12 ). He thought of the chosen people, distinguished above all nations as the channels of a great and merciful Divine purpose to the world, and he mourned for "the people of the Lord." He could not forget the man whose love to him had been "wonderful, passing the love of women," and he wept for Jonathan ( 2 Samuel 1:12 , 2 Samuel 1:26 ). But, most of all, he thought of one great in position, great in responsibilities, who once had set before him the possibilities of a grand destiny in connection with the unfolding of God's merciful purpose to mankind; and he mourned with an overwhelming sorrow that he had fallen on the field a defeated, ruined man, covered with the shame and misfortunes of a woeful miscarriage of his life's mission.

I. FAILURE IN LIFE 'S MISSION IS THE GREAT DISASTER OF LIFE . David knew that death came to all men, and that the removal from earth of one who has figured before our vision disturbs the whole current of feeling. Had Saul died under some circumstances David would have sorrowed, but the pang of this his sorrow would not have been experienced. He had known Saul as the chosen of God, equipped for high enterprise in the kingdom of God, and in a position to prepare the pathway for the coming of a mightier king. Splendid opportunities arose; strong influences were brought to bear; but all in vain. Life's mission failed. The noble work was not done. Fine abilities were wasted. Dishonoured, abandoned by God, covered with shame—the shame of an abortive life—he passed away. Simple death would have been glory and blessing as compared with this. What was true of Saul may be true of others and, unhappily, is too often the fact. God has a purpose in the life of every human being, and our business in this world is to comprehend the nature of that purpose and realize it in our experience. It is an unutterable disaster if, knowing why we are here, and possessing all the appliances and means of carrying out God's will, we nevertheless pass away as unprofitable servants ( Matthew 25:26-30 ). There are instances of frequent occurrence in which splendid abilities, robust health, excellent social position, fine openings for usefulness, are all wasted by the dominance of unholy passions, and men have to witness the sad spectacle of early promise issuing in a dishonoured name and premature grave. Those who believe that all who are born amidst Christian influences are sent into the world to work out for themselves and others a pure and blessed destiny, and that this can only be secured by our personally falling in the line of Christ's purpose and becoming one with him in the deepest spiritual sense, as Saul was expected to fall in the line of God's great purpose to man through Israel, and live in its spirit,—such persons recognize a terrible miscarriage of life when men live, it may be, in ease and wealth and respectability, but alien in heart to Christ, and then die in the same condition. They have not laid up treasure for the future. Nations and communities are also charged with their respective life work, and it is a fearful thing when, through unfaithfulness, their mission is abortive. Jeremiah's wail over Judah ( Jeremiah 9:1-26 .), our Saviour's lamentation over Jerusalem, and his prospective sorrow over the Church at Laodicea ( Revelation 3:14-20 ), were based on the same view of miscarriage of life's purpose as was David's lament over Saul.

II. The sorrow felt for a miscarriage of life's purpose is DEEPENED BY THE APPREHENSION OF ITS EFFECT ON THE REPUTATION AND PROGRESS OF THIS KINGDOM OF GOD . Saul was not simply a monarch maintaining his own special interests as one among the many kings of the earth; he was regarded by David as, and in fact was, the official representative of the theocracy—the kingdom of God in its early stage of development.

It was the pride and joy of devout men that Israel's king governed a people chosen of God for the assertion and exposition of principles superior to those which obtained in the heathen nations. The pledge of prosperity had been given to the chosen people, and their history had demonstrated to the heathen again and again that the God of Israel was indeed supreme. The uncircumcised Philistines could not know, or if they knew could not appreciate, the spiritual conditions on which national prosperity was guaranteed; but they would be quick to boast over Israel's adversity, and to magnify their idols to the detriment of Jehovah's fame. "Tell it not in Gath" was David's spontaneous expression of the increased anguish of his spirit on account of the failure of Saul's life and work. The possibility of the holy kingdom of God among men being a subject of ridicule and blasphemy—the thought of God's honour being for a moment treated with scorn by the ignorant heathen—this was trouble upon trouble. A kindred sorrow falls on all true hearts when, by the wrecked character and abortive lives of professors of religion, or workers in connection with God's holy kingdom, there arises the possibility of the scoffing world bringing the name and interests of Christianity into reproach; forevery blasphemous word and triumph of joy against Christ is regarded by the loving soul as another thrust into his side. Irreligious men can little know the anguish of true Christians whenever occasion is given, by the inconsistencies and apostasies of life, to dishonour the sacred Name.

III. THE DUE RECOGNITION OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS DISASTER DEPENDS ON A SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION OF THE GRAVITY OF OUR EARTHLY LIFE . No doubt many astute men regarded David's great sorrow as a sheer extravagance. Nothing in the event, from their point of view, could justify such a wail over a bitter foe and ostensible rival. The answer to that reflection on the reasonableness of David's sorrow lies in this—that he looked on Saul's life upon its Godward side, and saw beneath the political and merely terrene aspect a spiritual issue, which issue, affecting as it did all that is most great and momentous in man, threw all else into the background. It is only a spiritual perception—a penetration beneath the temporal and material interests to the invisible and eternal relations and possibilities of human existence—that can enable one thus to judge, feel, and act ( 1 Corinthians 2:15 ). Habitual contact with the visible and perishable unfits men for recognizing the true solemnity of life, and the subtle elements that enter into the determination of human destiny. Nominally many may adopt our Lord's view of the bearing of man's present spiritual state upon his future condition ( Matthew 20:1-16 ; Matthew 25:1-13 , Matthew 25:31-46 ), and yet practically place a successful issue of life in the acquisition of knowledge and wealth, and the development of humanly related virtues. Such persons are disposed to think Christ rather hard and unreasonable in pronouncing the man to be a "fool" ( Luke 12:20 ) who congratulated himself on the fact of his social and material prosperity. For the same reason they deem Christians narrow and uncharitable when they indicate great anxiety for the future condition of those who, while outwardly prosperous and, on the man-ward side, virtuous, pass away without affording evidence of that renewal of nature by which alone they can come into absorbing sympathy with Christ, and cause the whole tenor of their life to flow in the line of Christ's mission to the world. Saul's failure on the spiritual side was seen by David to lie at the root of his general failure; and those only who estimate modern issues of life by the supreme test of the spiritual, can see in many lives, otherwise excellent, a woeful miscarriage of life's main purpose and consequent irretrievable disaster ( 1 Corinthians 1:18 , 1 Corinthians 1:19 ; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 ; 2 Corinthians 5:17 , 2 Corinthians 5:20 , 2 Corinthians 5:21 ; Philippians 3:8 , Philippians 3:9 , Philippians 3:18 , Philippians 3:19 ).

The incidental teachings of a great disaster.

All events have a teaching function in the Divine economy, and we are exhorted to extract good out of evil. It is possible that in the general evolution of human interests the immediate, if not remote, effects of disastrous events are counterbalanced by the contribution they make to the sum total of instruction, by means of which God ultimately elevates the world in purity and peace. The sad issue of Saul's life was doubtless a blessing to David, in that its solemn lessons gave a tone to his subsequent course, which enabled him to withstand many of the perils of position; and we, studying the words of David when the sorrow was fresh upon him, may, in addition to what has already been noticed, gain instruction on several matters which, in its helpfulness to our life, shall illustrate the truth that under the all-controlling hand of God "all things work together for good."

I. As there is a disposition on the part of irreligious men to find delight in the sins and frailties of Christians, and also to find therein excuse for their own impiety, it BEHOVES ALL WHO HAVE THE NAME AND CAUSE OF CHRIST AT HEART TO BE VERY GUARDED IN THEIR REFERENCES TO THE SINS AND MISERIES OF BACKSLIDERS AND THE ERRING . The sins of professors are to be the subject of silent sorrow, and, when possible, of Church discipline; not to be paraded before the world, as though such free publicity were a due chastisement for their unfaithfulness. The spirit that can readily go and "tell it in Gath" is not the spirit of Christ. The evident pleasure which some feel in making known the shortcomings of professedly religious men, can only spring from a desire to excuse their own indifference, or from a wicked Phariseeism, or from a defective sense of the sacredness of the Name of Christ. Where there is sincere sorrow there will be tenderness, and the family instinct will avoid the publicity of family misfortunes. Christians! weep and pray, but "tell it not in Gath" ( Jeremiah 9:1-3 , Jeremiah 9:17-19 ).

II. THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH REVEALS WHAT SERIOUS INJURY HAS BEEN CAUSED TO RELIGION BY THE IMPERFECT LIVES OF ITS PROFESSED FRIENDS , The "uncircumcised" did know of Saul's disaster, and it made them strong in hostility to the chosen race, and at the same time weakened the hearts of the men of Israel. Saul damaged the cause of righteousness and mercy as well as his own personal reputation. Too often has Christ been wounded in the house of his friends ( Zechariah 13:6 ). Considering the many miscarriages of those who were professedly engaged in the furtherance of the kingdom of God on earth, it is a marvel that the progress of Christianity has been what it has. They little think how much they retard the final supremacy of Christ who, by a Saul-like unfaithfulness and degeneracy, encourage antagonism among his foes, and produce paralysis among his friends.

III. MOMENTOUS EVENTS BRING OUT THE FACT THAT CULTURE IS OF SECONDARY IMPORTANCE TO RELIGION . David, as is seen from his varied compositions in the Psalms, and also from this elegy, was a man of fine aesthetic taste. He rejoiced in the exquisite beauties of nature. The dewy slopes of Gilboa, and the fat pastures of its valleys, teemed with objects of delight to his cultured taste; but now that his spiritual yearnings were unsatisfied, now that the holy Name of God was being dishonoured, all considerations of beauty in nature, and joy in the higher culture of life, must be utterly set aside. Let Gilbea become a waste, let the joy of local associations perish, since the religious side of life is languishing! The scenes amidst which our loved ones die are often cherished in the memory with mournful pleasure, and we seem to invest them with a more tender loneliness because there the joy of our life fell asleep. But when the smitten heart bleeds over a shipwrecked character—a life failing in its noblest purpose—then the local associations have no charm; blight and desolation are felt to be the most appropriate accompaniments of an unrelieved sorrow. So truly do great tragic events in life bring out the fact that our religious nature will assert itself as above all mere culture and aesthetic refinement.

IV. A WISE AND TENDER HEART CAN , while overwhelmed with sorrow because of spiritual disaster, APPRECIATE THE VALUE OF HUMANLY RELATED VIRTUES , We have made a distinction between virtues that have simply a human aspect, and those qualities which enter into the essence of religion and are Godward in aspect. David's great grief was that, so far as his religious life and work were concerned, Saul was degenerate and practically ruined. But, as a relief to his anguish on this account, he turns toward the manly virtues of the deceased king, and with exquisite tenderness dwells on them. His courage, his love for Jonathan, and his benefactions to his subjects (verses 22-24), afford some solace for a heart that can find none in contemplating the spiritual mission of the king. Nil mortuis nisi bonum. He could not, from very sorrow and reverence for the most sacred things, speak of the sad miscarriage of his life's work; and this reference to the good of his life was really an expression of deep affection, and at the same time an indication of a sorrow secret and unutterable. Christians who, with the light that Christ gives, see spiritual ruin where others see only, and rejoice in, humanly related virtues, are not blind to the manifest virtues of men; and often, in their silent sorrow for the absence of spiritual saving qualities, they can speak with subdued emotion of the charms and attractions of personal character.

V. THERE IS A WONDERFUL CHARM IN FILIAL PIETY MAINTAINED UNDER MOST ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCES . "Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided" (verse 23). Yes; every heart says "yes." We feel the charm of Jonathan's fidelity to his poor erring father even to the bitter end. David's appreciation of this is, under the circumstances ( 1 Samuel 20:1-42 :l 4), most beautiful. Jonathan knew that David was a holy man, vilely treated by his own father, and destined to ascend the throne; he loved him with a tenderness passing the love of women, and was under provocation again and again to revolt from his father's rule; but with patience, tenderness, and faithfulness, he stood by him to the end, lamenting his sins, restraining his evil propensities, and variously striving to lessen the evils of his government. The filial instinct prevailed. Piety purified and strengthened it. A lesson here for sons—the more valuable in proportion as parents may be irreligious or imperfect. It is a noble thing for a son to watch over, care for, and tenderly restrain the tendencies of an erring father. To some it is given to have that for their special work. Remember Jonathan.

VI. IT IS POSSIBLE TO CHERISH VERY TENDER AND HELPFUL FRIENDSHIPS EVEN AMIDST THE PRESSURE OF LIFE . The friendship of David and Jonathan, begun in days of peace, ceased not during all the subsequent seasons of toil and separation. Doubtless David had often been comforted in his solitude and wanderings by the remembrance of that true heart which beat in sympathy with his own, and Jonathan would be upheld in his delicate and painful task of helping and restraining an errant parent by the assurance that David was not unmindful of him before the mercy seat. The tendency of the hurry and pressure of daily business is to crush out the finer and more tender susceptibilities of the heart, and rob men of the consolations and elevating influence of wise and holy personal friendships. For self-culture, for solace, for spiritual fellowship, and for the acquisition of moral strength, it is well for all men to cherish a few well-selected friendships.

VII. THERE IS A BLESSED INFLUENCE ATTENDING THE CHERISHING OF HALLOWED MEMORIES . David's hallowed memories of Jonathan were to him for years to come a means of blessing. His life was more sober and tender and spiritual for the sweet memory of one so lovable and dear. The language of verses 25, 26 was the indication of a permanent element in David's subsequent life. We suffer loss when beautiful characters are taken away, and we find a gain. For though visible communion is no more, the tender memories are more constant, and touch more closely the deeper springs of life.

HOMILIES BY B. DALE

The Hebrew monarchy.

(Introductory.) The Hebrew monarchy holds a prominent place in the development of the purpose of God to establish his kingdom upon earth. In accordance with this purpose Abraham became the father of a family, distinguished beyond others by the knowledge of the true God and the hope of his promised salvation; the family grew into a nation, and its government was constituted, by the agency of Moses, a theocracy (a word first used by Josephus, 'Contra Apion' 2 Samuel 2:17 ); and the theocracy (impaired in its practical influence during the period of the judges) was united with a monarchy, which commenced with Saul, acquired strength and splendour under David, culminated in the glory of Solomon, and soon afterwards declined to its fall; leaving behind it, when it fell, the undying hope of its restoration under "the King Messiah" ( 1 Samuel 2:10 ). Consider—

I. ITS THEOCRATIC FOUNDATION . Although a king was sought in a wrong spirit, his appointment was not incompatible with the principles of the theocracy. What were these principles?

1 . Its supreme Head, Lawgiver, and Judge was JEHOVAH ; its subjects were his chosen people Israel. Having revealed himself to them as the one living and true God, and redeemed them out of bondage, he made a covenant with them, and became to them all, and more than all, that a human king was to other nations ( Exodus 15:18 ; 1 Samuel 12:12 ; Zephaniah 3:15 ). "He raised and consolidated his universal rule into one of a special nature" (Kurtz, 'Hist. of the Old Covenant,' 3:107). The personal relation thus formed between him and his people was designed to maintain among them his exclusive worship, to keep them separate from the idolatrous and corrupt nations around them, and to make them "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

2 . Its laws were his revealed will, pertaining to the entire circle of civil and religious life. "The commonwealth of the Jews, different in that from all others, was an absolute theocracy; nor was there, nor could there be, any difference between the commonwealth and the Church" (Locke).

3 . Its sanctions were his favour and displeasure, blessing and curse; reward or punishment of a temporal nature following obedience or disobedience, and administered by properly constituted authorities or a special and extraordinary providence.

4 . Its officers were his appointed servants, whose part it was to declare his will and administer his laws, and who (whether priests, prophets, judges, elders, or princes) were themselves subject to them (Michaelis, 'Laws of Moses,' 1:190; Warburton, 'Div. Leg.,' 2 Samuel 5:3 ; Fairbairn, 'Typology,' 2:443). In harmony with these principles a human king was appointed (as already provided for, Deuteronomy 17:15-20 ); not, indeed, to reign independently of the Divine King, or according to his own will and pleasure, but as his viceroy and minister. "To the theocracy was added the monarchy, not to subvert or gradually supersede it, but to fulfil the wants of the age by its side. The pure theocracy became a Basileo-theocracy" (Ewald). "The Hebrews under the reign of David clearly recognized the theocratic nature of their constitution" (Jahn).

II. ITS PRACTICAL EFFICIENCY . The condition of the people rendered the regal office necessary; and it served (especially during the reign of David) to:

1 . Gather them into closer union, and so consolidate and increase their strength. Nothing was more urgently needed. Their common faith (or rather unbelief) and the previously existing officers of the theocracy were insufficient to maintain the practical union and cooperation of the tribes.

2 . Defend them against their adversaries, by whose attacks their very existence was imperilled. It secured their safety and independence, and it extended their dominion "from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates," as it had been promised of old ( Genesis 15:18 ).

3 . Establish order and the more regular and impartial administration of justice. In the days of the judges "every man did that which was right in his own eyes," being subject to no proper restraint by a king, as responsible "minister of God and avenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil" ( Romans 13:4 ).

4 . Promote the main purpose of their national calling, viz. to receive and conserve "the oracles of God" ( Romans 3:2 ) for the ultimate benefit of mankind. "By the constitution of the Hebrew government the civil and municipal statutes of the nation were not only founded upon their religious belief, but they were also so framed as to have the support of that belief for their main object" (Russell, 'Connection,' bk. 18.). And this object was more effectually accomplished under the circumstances by means of the monarchy than it would otherwise have been.

III. ITS MANIFEST IMPERFECTION . Like other institutions dependent for their worth upon the conduct of weak and sinful men, it was marked, in its actual working, by numerous defects; being:

1 . Administered in a manner that did not fully accord with its nature and design. "Whate'er is best administered is best." The authority and power entrusted to the king were frequently used in self-will and for self-exaltation. Hence the misery in which the reign of Saul (really an autocracy) terminated. And even the administration of David, although distinguished by surpassing ability and fidelity, was by no means faultless.

2 . Weakened and marred by the personal crimes of the monarch. David's transgressions exerted an injurious influence, not only upon himself and his family, but also upon his government. They sowed the seeds of insubordination and rebellion.

3 . Often employed for the oppression and corruption of the people. "Its tendency was to absolutism." The magnificence of Solomon was largely based upon oppressive taxation and forced labour; and, instead of opposing and excluding, he suffered and indulged idolatrous practices—most fatal of all things to the throne and nation.

4 . Liable to frequent changes and gradual deterioration. Even a good monarch could not hold his office long "by reason of death;" and the hereditary principle did not insure a successor of like character. With the secession of the ten tribes the early splendour of the monarchy became dim; and its course, with intervals of glorious revival, was downward. It virtually terminated with the Captivity ( Hosea 3:4 , Hosea 3:5 ); after which the civil government was subject to a foreign heathen power, and the theocracy survived chiefly as a political hierarchy; at length "the Romans came and took away their place and nation."

IV. ITS TYPICAL SIGNIFICANCE . It was not only a stage of preparation for the kingdom of the Messiah, but also a type or divinely ordained foreshadowing of it.

1 . It rendered the conception thereof more definite and vivid. "With the establishment of the kingly power, a new class of ideas was brought into view and developed, which for want of the requisite material groundwork could not be previously illustrated; and it now became possible to descry from a distance and to announce in appropriate and intelligible terms the coming kingdom of the Messiah."

2 . It was associated with express promises and predictions ( 2 Samuel 7:12-16 ; 2 Samuel 23:3-5 ). "When mankind was limited to a single family, the Hope of the future had lain in the seed of the woman; the patriarchal age had looked forward to a descendant of Abraham; the Mosaic to a Prophet and a Legislator. In like manner the age of the Jewish monarchy in its bloom of youth and prowess was bidden to fix its eye upon an ideal David, who was to be the King of the future of the world". "The establishment of the kingdom was in the truest sense a defection from God, and yet, humanly speaking, it was a necessary defection. An earthly king fell infinitely short of the type of Divine government represented by Moses, or Joshua, or Samuel; but he was at once a definite centre, and a clear sign of something greater than himself. If he presented the spiritual idea in a fixed and limited form, he also gave distinctness to the conception of the present moral sovereignty of God, and furnished imagery under which the prophets could construct a more glorious picture of the future".

3 . Even its defeats and failure intensified and exalted the expectation. With every disappointment hope sprang up afresh, and found its purest expression in the utterances of the prophets ( Isaiah 9:6 , Isaiah 9:7 ; Isaiah 53:1-12 .; Micah 5:2 ). "What was earthly and carnal in the theocracy was made to fall into comparative abeyance, that the glory of its spiritual excellence might be brought more prominently into view" (Fairbairn). Whilst the general expectation immediately before the advent of Christ was of a temporal kingdom, many "waited" with lofty, spiritual hope "for the Consolation of Israel."

4 . It was (as a type)fulfilled in a higher and more spiritual manner in the kingdom of Christ. In this kingdom the principles of the theocracy are preserved and exhibited in perfection. It is the real theocracy. Its supreme Head ( Ephesians 1:22 ) is at once Divine and human. Its subjects consist of those who are inwardly renewed, and serve him from the heart. It is spiritual, righteous, peaceful, and blessed. Although in the world, it is not of the world. It can coexist in time and place (as the ancient theocracy could not) with every form of civil government; and, without any formal connection or concordat therewith, it can exert a sovereign influence over it. It claims the submission of every individual and every nation, and it is destined to fill the earth and endure forever.

REMARKS .

1 . The purpose of God to set up on earth a kingdom of heaven is the key of history. "The grand idea of a kingdom of God is the connecting thread that runs through the entire course of Divine revelation."

2 . The methods which God adopts in his dealings with men are adapted to their actual condition, and the accomplishment of immediate and beneficent ends; his revelations of himself are accommodated to their capacity for apprehending and profiting by them.

3 . He allows men a large liberty of choice; and, when they Use it wrongly, patiently bears with their imperfections and sins, and overrules them for their correction and improvement.

4 . His procedure is marked by a progressive development; and the facts and truths involved therein contain the promise and prefigurement of later and greater realities. "The Old Testament, when rightly understood, is one great prophecy of the New". "Christianity lay in Judaism, as leaves and fruit do in the seed; although it certainly required the Divine sun to bring them forth" (De Wette).

5 . What is expedient in one age may not be so in another, which has received a higher revelation of the Divine will. The relative worth of institutions and men must be judged of according to their circumstances and the measure of light possessed, their absolute worth according to the highest conceptions of truth and righteousness.

6 . God selects and exalts one nation, not for its own good merely, but for the good of others and the fulfilment of his benevolent purposes toward mankind.

7 . As the people of God in ancient time were taught to look forward to the coming of the Messiah, so we are now taught to look forward to his coming again, and the complete establishment of his kingdom.—D.

David's reign

B.C. 1051-1011. (References: 1 Chronicles 10-29.; 1 Kings 1:1-53 ; 1 Kings 2:1-46 .; Psalms. For his earlier life, as shepherd at Bethlehem, servant of Saul at Gibeah, outlaw in the wilderness of Judah and elsewhere, see 1 Samuel 16:1-23 -34.) When Saul fell on Gilboa, David was about thirty years old; the age at which Joseph stood before Pharaoh, the Levites entered on their official duties, and Jesus began his public ministry. The Second Book of Samuel describes the steps by which he became king ever Judah, and (after seven years and a half) king over all Israel, the consolidation and victorious expansion of his kingdom (ch. 1-10.); his deplorable fall (when about fifty years of age), his repentance, the consequences of his transgression, and the restoration of his impaired authority (ch. 11-20.); and (in an appendix, ch. 21-24.) among other things some events and utterances of his last days (his life ending at three score years and ten). "He most happily combined all the qualifications for becoming the true support of the extraordinary efforts of this period; and he thus succeeded in winning, not only a name unequalled in glory by any other king of Israel, but also a halo of kingly fame as ruler of the community of the true God, unattainable by a king of any other nation of antiquity" (Ewald). "The reign of David is the great critical era in the history of the Hebrews." In it we see—

I. THE PURPOSE OF THE DIVINE KING OF ISRAEL FULFILLED . That purpose (subordinate to the larger purpose mentioned in the preceding homily), to make David ruler instead of Saul, was:

1 . Previously indicated. It was first announced by Samuel, in indefinite terms ( 1 Samuel 13:14 ; 1 Samuel 15:28 ), symbolized in the anointing of David (when about sixteen years old), afterwards doubtless plainly declared to him by the prophet, and clearly manifested by the course of events. It was also more and more generally recognized ( 1 Samuel 24:20 ; 1 Samuel 25:30 ; 2 Samuel 3:17 , 2 Samuel 3:18 ).

2 . Vainly opposed, at first by Saul, and, after he had been made King of Judah, by Abner and "the house of Saul." It was impossible for them to succeed. "There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord" ( Proverbs 21:30 ).

3 . Gradually, surely, and fully wrought out. There were times in which it seemed to fail, but only to become more apparent and effectual; like a stream disappearing beneath the surface of the earth, and after a short distance bursting forth with renewed strength.

4 . Its fulfilment shows the power and faithfulness of God, and should confirm our faith in the fulfilment of all his promises. "Wait on the Lord." "There hath not failed one word of all his good promise," etc. ( 1 Kings 8:56 ). "The Davidic age, with those that lie immediately around it, towers by its special glory like a giant mountain above a wide tract of more level periods. It was, moreover, soon afterwards recognized by the nation itself as a period of unique glory in the fortunes of the monarchy; and its memory has therefore been preserved in the historical narrative with the most exuberant fulness of detail" (Ewald).

II. THE CHARACTER OF THE HUMAN KING OF HIS CHOICE PORTRAYED . The interest of David's reign centres in David himself; his activities, achievements, experiences, utterances, so fully recorded, not only in the history, but also in his psalms. His character (more completely revealed than that of any other man) was the growth of a noble and gifted nature under the influence of Divine grace.

1 . It was matured by long and varied discipline. While keeping his father's flock, in the court and camp of Saul, as an exile at the head of his heroic band, by persecution, calumny, hardship, meditation, temptation, prayer, and during his "apprenticeship to monarchy" in Hebron, his natural endowments and moral qualities were strengthened, developed, and perfected.

2 . It was marked by a many-sided excellence. His insight, skill, prescient sagacity, tender sensibility, sympathy, imagination, fervour, versatility, courage, magnanimity, power of leadership, and of winning the passionate attachment of others, were never surpassed. He was "one of the greatest men in the world" (Bayle). "The most daring courage was combined in him with tender susceptibility; even after he had ascended the throne he continued to retain the charm of a pre-eminent and at the same time childlike personality" (Wellhausen).

"Great, valiant, pious, good, and clean,

Sublime, contemplative, serene,

Strong, constant, pleasant, wise!

Bright effluence of exceeding grace;

Best man I the swiftness and the race:

The peril and the prize!"

(Christopher Smart.)

"There never was a specimen of manhood so rich and ennobled as David, the son of Jesse, whom other saints haply may have equalled in single features of his character; but such a combination of manly, heroic qualities, such a flush of generous, godlike excellences, hath never yet been seen embodied in a single man" (Edward Irving). "The most thoroughly human figure, as it seems to me, which had appeared upon the earth before the coming of that perfect Son of man, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen" (Charles Kingsley).

3 . It was marred by grave defects and aggravated transgressions. Although these were in great measure due to the spirit of his age, the effect of temptation incident to his position, contrary to the general course of his life, and deeply repented of, yet they incurred heavy guilt, and were followed by severe chastisements.

4 . It thus affords a warning as well as an example. "In this history we have the pattern of a pious and prudent prince. Its utility and profit for example of life appears in the prudence, piety, zeal, humility, equity, and good government of David, and all other his heroic and godly virtues worthy of imitation. As also are set down David's infirmities and falls, as examples of the weakness of the best when they watch not over themselves, or are left to themselves, proponed to be eschewed, ut majorum ruina sit minorum cautela, as likewise his repentance to be imitated, and the sharp corrections notwithstanding, as medicinal corrasives wherewith he was chastised; as we see in the Lord's dealing with his dearest sons and servants ( Hebrews 12:6 , Hebrews 12:7 )".

III. THE MAJESTY OF THE DIVINE - HUMAN KING MESSIAH FORESHADOWED . David is to be regarded, not simply as an individual, but as a noble, though imperfect, representation of the idea of a theocratic king, and therefore also as an adumbration of One in whom that idea would be perfectly realized ( Luke 1:32 ). "His relation to the history of redemption is most peculiar and remarkable. The aim and import of the Old Testament history to prefigure, prophesy, and testify of Christ concentrated in him as in a focus" (Kurtz). "As we have a great increase of the prophetic light breaking forth, and encompassing the family and kingdom of David so subsequent prophecy reverts often to the same subjects, insomuch that there is no individual, king or other person, one only excepted, of whom more is said by the prophets than of this king and his throne" (Davison, 'On Prophecy'). "It is David who, without intending it, supplies the personal foundation of all the Messianic hopes, which from this time contribute with increasing power to determine Israel's career; and so he stands at the turning-point in the history of two thousand years and separates it into two great halves" (Ewald). High above him, in the dim and distant future, rose the majestic form of "the King of kings, and Lord of lords." "A person, as such, can never be a symbol. It was not David, or Manasseh, or Ahab, that was the type of Christ as King of Zion; it was the royal office with which these were invested, symbolical as that was of the theocracy, which was typical of the kingly dignity of the Redeemer". The kingly dignity of the Messiah appears in:

1 . His Divine appointment ( Psalms 2:6 ,.7) founded on the Incarnation. "In Jesus the Christ, Jehovah and the Son of David become one. Heaven and earth interpenetrate, that they may unite in him and be united by him" (Delitzsch).

2 . His glorious exaltation after deep humiliation and patient endurance.

3 . His righteous administration ( Psalms 72:1 , Psalms 72:2 ).

4 . His advancing triumph over the enemies of his kingdom and our salvation—"the devil with all his retinue, the world, the flesh, sin, death, and hell; whatever doth oppose his glory, his truth, his service; whatever consequently by open violence or fraudulent practice doth hinder our salvation" (Barrow).

5 . His munificent gifts and the blessings of his reign; refuge, refreshment, repose ( Isaiah 32:1 , Isaiah 32:2 ); "righteousness, peaces and joy in the Holy Ghost." As a King he gathers, governs, protects, and perfects his people.

6 . His wide dominion.

7 . His endless continuance. "His Name shall endure forever."

EXHORTATION .

1 . Submit to his rule. "Kiss the Son," etc. ( Psalms 2:12 ).

2 . Rejoice in his salvation.

3 . Cooperate with his purposes.

4 . Look forward to his final triumph.—D.