In the view of his followers, David was the lamp (Hebrew, naer) or glory of the nation, and the continuance of his life and reign was essential to its welfare. This is a striking testimony to their estimate of his personal character and faithful and prosperous rule. Similar language is used of others. "He was the lamp that burueth and shineth," etc. (John 5:35; John 8:12; Matthew 5:14). And every faithful servant of God is "a light giver in the world" (Philippians 2:15). Such a lamp is—
I. KINDLED BY THE GRACIOUS HAND OF GOD, the true Glory of Israel, the Father of lights, the Fountain of life and light (Psalms 36:9). None are so ready to recognize dependence upon God for life and all good as the devout man himself.
"Thou art my Lamp, O Jehovah,
And Jehovah enlightens my darkness."
(2 Samuel 22:29;Psalms 18:28; Psalms 27:1.)
"David's regal life and actions were the light which the grace of God had kindled for the benefit of Israel." Whatever his gifts, his graces, his position, his success, they am all humbly, gratefully, and constantly ascribed to their Divine Source by the faithful servant; and, whilst we admire him, we should "glorify God in him" (1 Corinthians 15:10; Galatians 1:24).
II. CONDUCTIVE TO THE REAL WELFARE OF MEN. "Neither do men light a lamp and put it under the bushel," etc. (Matthew 5:15).
"Heaven does with us as we with torches do,
Not light them for themselves," etc.
('Measure for Measure,' act 1 sc. 1.)
By his counsel, his example, his endeavours, his prayers, he renders invaluable service to others in directing them in perplexity and peril; preserving them from error and evil; stimulating them to effort and conflict; and contributing to their safety, prosperity, and lasting happiness.
III. EXPOSED TO IMMINENT DANGER OF EXTINCTION. The light is liable to be quenched. Life is always precarious; the life of some peculiarly so; like that of David when he went down into the conflict (2 Samuel 21:15, 2 Samuel 21:16; 2 Samuel 5:17-25), waxed faint, and was set upon by the giant Ishbi-benob, in a new suit of armour. And it is not only natural life, but also moral and spiritual life, that is beset by danger. The part which a good man takes in the conflict between good and evil attracts the attention of his adversaries, makes him a special object of attack (1 Kings 22:31); his efforts are exhausting, and his zeal is apt to consume him (Psalms 69:9; Psalms 119:139). "Ernestus, Duke of Luneburg, caused a burning lamp to be stamped on his coin, with these four letters, A.S.M.C by which was meant, Aliis serviens meipsum contero, 'By giving light to others I consume myself'" (Spencer).
IV. WORTHY OF BEING HIGHLY ESTEEMED, carefully sustained, and zealously guarded. "And Abishai succoured him, and he [Abishai, or perhaps David, 2 Samuel 21:22] killed him," etc. The preserving care of God (2 Samuel 8:14) does not render needless human sympathy, assistance, prudence, resolution (2 Samuel 18:3). He who freely spends his strength and risks his life for others ought to be esteemed, considered, defended, and helped by them (1 Thessalonians 5:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:2; Hebrews 13:17); and, herein, they also benefit themselves and the whole community. "If any man serve me, let him follow me," etc. (John 12:26-28).—D.
HOMILIES BY G.WOOD
2 Samuel 21:1
Seeking God's face.
"David sought the face of the Lord" (Revised Version). The Authorized Version has here "inquired of the Lord," as in 2 Samuel 2:1, where it is the translation of a different phrase. Doubtless the substantial meaning is the same. But, as with words, so with phrases, two are seldom wholly synonymous; and the differences are often instructive, suggesting each its own train of thought. So it is with these two phrases. That in the Revised Version leads us to think of—
I. THE NATURE OF TRUE WORSHIP. It is seeking the face of God, to realize his presence, behold his glory, be made sensible of his majesty, holiness and loving kindness. Or, in greater strictness, this may he said to be preliminary to the worship of him. We come into his presence that we may present to him our adoration, praises, confessions, and prayers. We must not be content with coming into his house, seeing his servants, joining in ceremonies—leaving, as it were, our names and messages, engaging and depending on the intercession of those who are supposed to approach nearer to him. Our heavenly Father does not keep such state as to exclude or repel any one from coming near to him. He wishes to see his children, to smile upon them, to embrace them, to speak with them. Any methods of worship which keep men at a distance from him are contrary to his will. The mediation of Christ is not a substitute for intimate converse with God, but a means of attaining it, as we may see by considering—
II. THE POSSIBILITY AND WARRANT OF SUCH WORSHIP. There are, doubtless, difficulties in the way of the approach of men to God. These are removed pre-eminently by the mediation of our Lord.
1. Ignorance separates from God; Christ makes him known. By his teaching, by his own character, and by the Spirit he imparts to his disciples. "In the face of Jesus Christ" we see that of the Father (2 Corinthians 4:6; John 14:8, John 14:9).
2. Sin separates from God; Christ delivers from sin.
3. Not only the putting away of sin, but certain positive dispositions are necessary in seeking the face of God. Christ has secured and he imparts these. To his disciples is given "the Spirit of adoption" (Romans 8:15), and thus they come to God with confidence, affection, and self-surrender. Thus Christ is "the Way" by which we "come to the Father" (John 14:6). "Through him we have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18).
III. THE NECESSITY OF SUCH WORSHIP. We must seek God's face if we would behold it with joy. He sometimes surprises men by sudden and unexpected manifestations of himself to them; but this will ordinarily be to those who love him and are in the habit of seeking him (see John 14:19-23). Hence the exhortations, "Seek the Lord, … seek his face evermore" (Psalms 105:4); "Seek, and ye shall find".
IV. GODLY MEN ARE DISTINGUISHED BY SUCH WORSHIP. "This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O God of Jacob" (Psalms 24:6). "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek" (Psalms 27:8).
1. The godly are impelled to this:
2. Hence they seek God's face daily; and with special earnestness in times of special difficulty or danger. David felt how much he needed Divine guidance in reference to the famine which for three years had harassed the country; hence he "sought the face of the Lord." In trouble the Divine call may be heard, "Seek ye my face;" and many begin to do so when trouble is upon them.
V. SUCH WORSHIP IS FRUITFUL OF BLESSING. It is never in vain (Isaiah 45:19), although at times it may appear to be so (Job 23:3-9). "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13) is a promise of universal applicability. And to gain the vision of God's face is to be blessed indeed. The sight of him:
1. Calms and soothes and comforts the heart. As a mother's face soothes the suffering child,
"Sorrow and fear are gone,
Whene'er thy face appears:
It stills the sighing orphan's moan,
And dries the widow's tears:
It hallows every cross;
It sweetly comforts me,
Makes me forget my every loss,
And find my all in thee."
2. Encourages to pray. When his face is seen, we are enabled to tell him all that is in our heart, with the assurance of success in our suit.
3. Sheds light into the soul. The "light of his countenance" scatters the darkness. Perplexities are half solved as soon as we have caught sight of the face of God.
4. Produces likeness to him. "We shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2) is a promise partially fufilled in the present life.
5. The crowning result is to "see his face" in the fulness of its glory, and forever. (Revelation 22:4.) But to those who refuse to seek him, turning to him their back, and not their face (Jeremiah 2:27), he says, "I will show them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity" (Jeremiah 18:17); and they will at length say "to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb" (Revelation 6:16).—G.W.
2 Samuel 21:10
A mother's love and grief.
This verse is part of a narrative full of difficulty and darkness. It stands out a bright light in the midst of the darkness—a grand exhibition of a mother's love.
I. A MOTHER'S LOVE IS MUCH TRIED. Not often as Rizpah's was; but always in some way or other; as:
1. By the conduct of her children.
2. By the conduct of others towards them.
3. By their troubles.
4. By their deaths;
especially when untimely or by violence; and most of all when their untimely or violent deaths are the penalty of their misconduct, which was, however, not the case with the sons of Rizpah.
II. IT OCCASIONS HER MUCH SORROW. Love, in this world, always brings grief, through making the sorrows of others our own, as well as rendering us sensitive to their treatment of ourselves. The more deep and tender the love, so much the more poignant the grief. And, as a mother loves most, she is most susceptible of sorrow. She is often pained by her children when they do not think it; and every stroke inflicted on them strikes her to the heart.
III. IT IS UTTERLY UNSELFISH. She loves because it is her nature—freely, spontaneously, making no calculation, asking for no return. Not without hope, indeed, that she may one day be rewarded by her children's welfare and affection; but far from regulating her love by this: rather she lavishes it most on those from whom she cannot expect recompense—the weakest, the most sickly, those most likely to die; yea, as Rizpah, those who are dead. "Death might bereave her of them, not them of her love" (Bishop Hall).
IV. IT IS MOST SELF-DENYING. Prompting to and sustaining in arduous labours, long and wearisome watchings, self-inflicted privations, for the good of her children. For the sake of their health, she willingly hazards, and even sacrifices, her own. For the sake of their education and advancement, she cheerfully gives up, not only luxuries, but comforts, and even necessaries. And when they have gone beyond her reach into the unseen world, their mortal remains are dear to her, and she will spare nothing that may honour them or prevent dishonour to them. Of such affection Rizpah is a signal instance.
V. IT IS MOST PERSISTENT. Through six months Rizpah continued watching day and night (with the aid, doubtless, of her servants) by the crosses on which the bodies of her sons and other relatives hung, that neither vulture, nor jackal, nor any other "bird of the air" or "beast of the field" might devour, or mangle, or even "rest on" them, until she had gained her point in their honourable burial. A striking example of the persistence of a mother's love. But this was only the crowning proof of her affection. A mother's love is lifelong. "A mother's truth keeps constant youth." It endures through years of toil, hardship, and suffering; when feebly responded to, or quite unappreciated, or requited by neglect, hardness, or cruel wrong. When son or daughter is utterly debased and degraded, the mother clings and hopes; when cast off by all the world, she does not abandon them.
"Years to a mother bring distress,
But do not make her love the less."
(Wordsworth.)
VI. IT IS SOMETIMES BROUGHT INTO NOTICE AND HONOURED. Thus it was with Rizpah. What she had done was reported to the king; it aroused his attention to his neglect to give honourable burial, in the family sepulchre, to the bones of Saul and Jonathan. He now repaired the neglect, and buried, not only them, but (as is implied) the remains of the seven which had so long been hanging exposed, "in the sepulchre of Kish his (Saul's) father." Thus a mother's love, in this case, exercised a powerful beneficial influence. Moreover, it received honourable mention in the holy records, and wherever the Bible comes, "there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her" (Matthew 26:13). And although usually the light of a mother's love shines chiefly in the privacy of home, and she neither asks nor expects applause or record, it is impossible that she can act a noble part without exercising an influence for good which may widen and ramify far more than she could have imagined, and may secure her an honour she never desired. And if no others, "her children arise up, and call her blessed" (Proverbs 31:28), and tell of her character and works to their children.
In conclusion:
1. If human love be so deep and strong, what must be the love of God, from whom it springs, and of which it is one great sign and proof? All the love of all parents, of all human beings, flows from this original Fountain. The Fountain is greater than the streams.
2. Mothers should seek to have their love perfected, by being sanctified and elevated by the love of God, and directed supremely to the ends which he seeks—the moral, spiritual, and eternal welfare of their children. With this view, they should watch carefully their living children (as Rizpah her dead ones), and especially whilst they are young, that they may not be defiled or injured by foul bird or beast.
3. How strong and constant should be the love of children for their mothers! Prompting them to all that would gratify and honour them and promote their happiness; to self-denial and self-sacrifice for their good, should they live to need the help of their children; and to patience and forbearance towards them, should they, under the infirmities of old age, make demands on these virtues. "Despise not thy mother when she is old" (Proverbs 23:22).
4. How base the conduct of many children (especially of many sons) to their mothers! Selfishly wasting their resources, imposing on their credulity, abusing their indulgence, disgracing their name, breaking their hearts. "A foolish [wicked] son is the heaviness of his mother" (Proverbs 10:1).—G.W.
2 Samuel 21:16-22
Giant killers.
These huge monsters were dangerous enemies. To slay them was to do valuable service to king and country. To assail them required much courage. Those who killed any of them gained great renown; and their names and deeds were recorded in the chronicles of the kingdom, and, as to some of them, have found a place in the Book of books.
I. SOME GIANT FOES OF THE DIVINE KING AND KINGDOM THAT NEED TO BE DESTROYED. We may name superstition, whether pagan, papal, or protestant; infidelity; selfishness; pride; tyranny, ecclesiastical or political; slavery; sensuality; intemperance; war; mammon. Singly, or in partial union, they assail the subjects of Christ, and oppose them in their endeavours to extend his kingdom. And behind lie the devil and his angels, ever active and formidable (Ephesians 6:11, Ephesians 6:12).
II. TO BATTLE AGAINST THESE MONSTERS IS THE DUTY OF ALL CHRIST'S SERVANTS.
1. It is involved in their Christian calling. The new nature which is given to them is instinctively hostile to Satan and his works. The endeavour to serve God and benefit men necessarily brings them into conflict with these powers of darkness. The attacks made on themselves compel them to fight in self-defence (1 Peter 5:8, 1 Peter 5:9).
2. They are supplied with arms and armour for the purpose. (Ephesians 6:11-17.)
3. The enslaved and degraded condition to which these giant evils have reduced their victims appeals to and stimulates them.
4. Their own happy condition under the reign of Christ supplies them with a powerful motive.
5. Regard for him impels and strengthens them. Loyalty, desire for his glory, the hope of his approval, and of the honours and rewards he bestows.
III. HEROES IN THE FIGHT ATTAIN TO DISTINCTION AND REWARD.
1. Who are the heroes? Not those who engage these giants (nominally) as a profession and for the sake of earthly rewards. But such as
2. Their honours and rewards.
2 Samuel 21:17
The unquenchable Light.
"That thou quench not the light of Israel." "The men of David" who thus speak, and doubtless the multitude of his subjects, regarded him as the light (literally, as in Revised Version, "the lamp") of the nation—its guiding mind, its safety, glory, and joy. His death would involve the nation in darkness—in perplexity, confusion, peril, and trouble. Such was likely enough to be the consequence of his death at that period. Nevertheless, David, as a moral and spiritual light, burns on still for all peoples and generations. Death did not quench this light. More emphatically is this true of Jesus Christ our King.
I. HE IS THE LIGHT OF MEN. Intended ultimately to "lighten every man;" actually enlightening those who receive him. He is their:
1. Teacher and Guide. Through whose revelations they know God and himself and themselves; sin and righteousness; heaven, and the way to it; perdition, and how to escape it; the real worth of things; the wisdom needful for the guidance of life. Christ sheds light upon all things—the light by which their true character and relations are made apparent.
2. Safety and Salvation. In darkness is peril; in light security.
3. Glory. Imparting to them of his own lustre.
4. Joy. In knowledge and conscious safety are peace and happiness and hope; in ignorance, doubt, and perplexity, is unhappiness.
II. HIS LIGHT CANNOT BE QUENCHED.
1. Not the light of his personal glory In the battle with his foes and ours, he fell and died; but he rose again, and to a greater brightness of glory, in consequence of his death. His cross itself is a great light for men. He lives above all the power of his enemies. He goes with his people to battle, but cannot be touched by the foe.
2. Nor the Light he has become to men through the knowledge he has given to the world. Great and formidable and persistent have been the efforts to extinguish the light; but it burns on unquenched and unquenchable. It may be obscured here and there, and for a time, but it can never go out. It will yet shine forth over the whole earth, and scatter all the darkness of error and sin.
3. Nor the Light he is to each of his believing people. Through life, and in death, and forever, he remains their Light. His presence in their hearts is their wisdom and joy under all circumstances.
Then:
1. Be grateful for him.
2. Accept the light he sheds.
3. "Walk as children of light."
4. Be lights yourselves. Shine by speech, and especially in your lives.—G.W.
2 Samuel
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