2 Samuel 7:9

( JERUSALEM .)

A great name.

Among the great things which God did for David, he gave him a great name, like that of others, statesmen, warriors, kings, who, on account of their abilities, successes, power, and influence, were renowned "in the earth." "The fame of David went out into all lands" ( 1 Chronicles 14:17 ). "Glory consists in the honourable and widespread reputation of numerous and important services rendered to one's friends, his country, or the whole human race" (Cicero). It is:

1 . A desired possession. The love of human esteem, praise, and honour is natural, universal, beneficial, though often perverted to unworthy ends, and not subordinated to the voice of conscience and of God. "That characteristic of man which is at once the most unworthy and the most exalted is his desire of glory. It is the last passion that becomes extinct in the heart of man. There is such a charm in glory that, whatever we connect with it, even death itself, we love it still" (Pascal). "Desire of glory is the last garment that even wise men lay aside" (O. Felltham).

2 . A Divine gift. "And in thine hand it is to make great" ( 1 Chronicles 29:12 ). Although it necessitates, in most instances, strenuous human endeavour, it is never attained apart from or in opposition to the working of Divine providence; which in this, as in other things, is frequently mysterious, but always wise and just and good. How many strive after it in vain!

"Some sink outright;

O'er them, and o'er their names, the billows close

Tomorrow knows not they were ever born.

Others a short memorial leave behind,

Like a flag floating when the bark's engulf'd—

It floats a moment, and is seen no more:

One Caesar lives, a thousand are forgot."

(Young, 'Night Thoughts,' 8.)

3. A weighty responsibility. As it is given by God, so it should be ascribed to him and used for him, according to his will, not for selfish but beneficent ends ( 2 Samuel 5:12 ). Even when righteously gained, it is not always righteously maintained. Some of "the great men that are on the earth" have, by its abuse, fallen from their nest among the stars ( Obadiah 1:4 ), like "Lucifer, son of the morning" ( Isaiah 14:12 ).

4 . An unsatisfying portion. In the midst of its enjoyment the soul craves something higher, and can find rest only in the approbation and fellowship of God ( Psalms 4:6 ; Psalms 73:25 ; Psalms 119:57 ). It cannot impart inward peace; it endures but for a season, and then passes away. "Where are those rulers of the earth gone, with their guards, armies, and carriages, of whose departure the earth stands a witness unto the present day?" ('The Hitopadesa').

"The noise

Of worldly fame is but a blast of wind,

That blows from diverse points, and shifts its name—

Shifting the point it blows from.

Shalt thou more

Live in the mouths of mankind, if thy flesh

Part shrivel'd from thee, than if thou hadst died

Before the coral and the pap were left;

Or ere some thousand years have past? and that

Is, to eternity compared, a space

Briefer than is the twinkling of an eye

To the heaven's slowest orb."

(Dante, 'Purg.')

Remarks.