(1 Chronicles 21:2).—(THE KING'S PALACE.)
Self-elation.
This chapter contains the spiritual history of a great soul in its "fall and rising again," its sin and recovery—its
and self-dedication to God (verses 24, 25). Of self-elation, pride, presumption, vain glory (the sin of David), it may be said that it is—
I. A COMMON EFFECT OF EXTRAORDINARY PROSPERITY, temporal or spiritual. Pride; war, famine, or pestilence; suffering and humiliation; peace and industry; prosperity—pride again; such is the melancholy circle of human affairs (Exodus 8:14). "If we knew how to enjoy our blessings in the fear of God, they would be continued unto us; but it is the sin of man that he extracts, even from the mercies of God, the poison which destroys his comforts; he grows fat upon the bounties of Heaven, spurns its laws, and awakens its vengeance" (R. Watson).
II. AN UNGRATEFUL PERVERSION OF DIVINE BENEFITS. "The grave sin of proud exaltation, which David and the people of Israel here had in common, presupposed the elevation to victory and power that God had bestowed by his gracious mind; and its consequence was the judgment that revealed God's anger against the perversion of his favours into plans of self-aggrandizement" (Erdmann). What should produce thankfulness and humility too often results in unthankfulness and vain glory (2 Kings 20:13).
III. A SPECIAL TEMPTATION OF THE EVIL ONE. (1 Timothy 3:6.) "And Satan [an adversary] stood up," etc. (1 Chronicles 21:1). "We see that God and Satan both had their hand in the work; God by permission, Satan by suggestion; God as a Judge, Satan as an enemy; God as in a just punishment for sin, Satan as in an act of sin; God in a wise ordination of it to good, Satan in a malicious intent to confusion" (Hall).
IV. A GRIEVOUS EXHIBITION OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS; inconsideration of dependence, self-ignorance, self-deception, and foolish infatuation (Jeremiah 49:16). "David, when strongly tempted to this gratification of his vanity, was not at all sensible of the evil of such an act; while Joab was. Joab, though a man of blood, and apparently hardened in iniquity, could see through David's vain and arrogant feelings, while David himself, whose mind was under ordinary circumstances eminently sensitive and pious, could not discover the impiety of his proceeding, but persevered in evil for several months. Such is the infatuation of sin!" (Lindsay).
V. A PECULIAR PROVOCATIVE OF DIVINE WRATH (1 Samuel 2:3; Proverbs 16:5); most odious of all things in the sight of God, because most directly opposed to him. "Pride is the beginning of sin" (Ecclesiasticus 10:13). "And what is pride but the craving for undue exaltation? And this is undue exaltation when the soul abandons him to whom it ought to cleave as its end, and becomes a kind of end to itself. This happens when it becomes its own satisfaction. And it does so when it falls away from that unchangeable good which ought to satisfy it more than itself".
VI. A PERNICIOUS INFLUENCE IN RELATION TO OTHER PEOPLE; inciting in them a similar spirit, and bringing untold miseries upon them. What oppression, strife, and other deadly fruits grow out of this "root of bitterness" (Exodus 14:5)!
VII. A RUINOUS TENDENCY IN RELATION TO MAN HIMSELF. (Daniel 4:28; Proverbs 16:18.) "Pride wishes to dethrone God. Pride takes occasion from virtue itself. Pride was particularly odious in David, who was exalted from so lowly a state. His pride was accompanied by falsehood; for he had protested his humility in the psalms which he made for all the people to sing. David was a just man; but this was a reason why God should punish him more severely. For it is certain that the sins of the children of God are more deserving of condemnation than the sins of reprobates and slaves of the devil. These only offend their master, but those do outrage to their Father; these are only rebel subjects, but those are unnatural children and barbarians; these only abuse the gifts of nature, but those profane miserably the gifts of grace. And how much more abominable is Judas than Pilate! Be not surprised, then, that when David, who was complete in a thousand graces, committed the crime of felony against him, the Eternal could not suffer such an indignity without punishing him severely" (Du Bose, in Vinet's 'Histoire de la Predication').—D.
2 Samuel 24:3, 2 Samuel 24:4
(1 Chronicles 21:3, 1 Chronicles 21:4).—(THE ROYAL COUNCIL CHAMBER.)
Unheeded remonstrance.
This was not the first time that Joab remonstrated with David (2 Samuel 3:24; 2 Samuel 19:5); but his manner was now very different from what it had been before; arising, perhaps, from his recollection of the consequences of his former rudeness (2 Samuel 19:13), and his fear of the displeasure of the king, whose authority was fully restored. His remonstrance appears to have been made in a council of the captains of the army (2 Samuel 23:8), to whom the king declared his purpose, and by whom Joab's objection to it was supported (2 Samuel 24:4). As often happens in other instances, it was:
1. Greatly needed, on account of a sinful and dangerous course about to be pursued.
2. Properly offered.
3. Impatiently received, and imperfectly considered; it may be because of:
4. Resolutely rejected and wholly overborne. "The word of the king prevailed," etc. His persistency in his purpose, after the remonstrance,
2 Samuel 24:5-10
(1 Chronicles 21:5-8).—(THE ROYAL BED CHAMBER.)
An, awakened conscience.
The taking of the census occupied over nine months; and during this time David remained insensible to his sin, and waited for the result. At length the work was finished (about wheat harvest), and the number given to the king; but, whilst he looked at the definite proof of the nation's increase, and at first, perhaps, felt elated at the thought of commanding an army of mere than a million soldiers (with something of the spirit of another monarch, Daniel 4:30), the same night" David's heart smote him; and he said unto Jehovah, I have sinned," etc.; "and David arose in the morning," etc. (2 Samuel 24:11). What the remonstrance of Joab failed to effect was wrought by the operation of his own conscience. "It was well for him that his own ways reproved him, and that conscience sounded the first trumpet of alarm. This is characteristic of the regenerate. Men who have no light of grace, no tenderness of conscience, must have their sin recalled to them by the circumstances which at once reveal its enormity and visit it with punishment; but the regenerate have an inward monitor that waits not for these consequences to rouse its energy, but lights up the candle of the Lord within them, and will not let them rest after they have done amiss till they have felt compunction and made confession" (J. Leifchild). Conscience is of a threefold nature—a law, a judgment, a sentiment (1 Samuel 22:20-22). Observe, with respect to it—
I. THE CAUSES OF ITS CONTINUING LONG ASLEEP. These are summed up in "the deceitfulness of sin" (2 Samuel 12:5, 2 Samuel 12:6). More especially:
1. The persistency of the influence under which sin is at first indulged; viz. the pleasing illusion (arising from partial views, strong passions, and self-will) that it is different from what it really is, and the agent better than he really is; which (even when the true standard of right is recognized) perverts the.moral judgment and deadens the moral emotion. "A concrete fact is presented in a partial aspect; conscience pronounces its judgment according to the representation made to it; this representation, or rather misrepresentation, is made, directly or indirectly by the influence of the rebellious will, the true seat of all moral evil" (McCosh). Hence evil is often deemed good, and self-glory the glory of God.
2. The assumption (arising from self-confidence) that what has been resolved upon is justifiable and right; and indisposition to review the grounds of the determination or to examine one's self so that a too favourable estimate of his character may be corrected.
3. The absorption of the mind in the pursuit of the object sought and in other occupations, preventing due consideration of the state of the heart. Alas! how many on this account "regard iniquity in their heart" with an easy conscience!
"Great crimes alarm the conscience; but she sleeps
While thoughtful man is plausibly amused."
(Cowper.)
"And Satan is so far from awaking him, that he draws the curtains close about him that no light nor noise in his conscience may break his rest" (Gurnall). "If a man accustoms himself to slight or pass over the first motions to good, or shrinkings of conscience from evil, which originally are as natural to the heart as the appetites of hunger and thirst are to the stomach, conscience will by degrees grow dull and unconcerned, and, from not spying out motes, come at length to overlook beams; from carelessness it shall fall into a slumber; and from a slumber it shall settle into a deep and long sleep; till at last, perhaps, it sleeps itself into a lethargy, and that such a one that nothing but hell and judgment shall be able to awaken it" (South, Serm. 23.).
II. THE MEANS BY WHICH IT IS SUDDENLY AROUSED. In some cases the publication of the offence, the reprobation of society, the threatening of punishment; in others, serious consideration, deliberate reflection, deeper self-inspection (1 Samuel 24:5; Psalms 4:4), induced by:
1. The feeling of disappointment and dissatisfaction which commonly attends the attainment of an earthly end, or the accomplishment of a selfish purpose. David has 'the number of the people before him; yet, after all, he cannot "delight in this thing" (2 Samuel 24:3). "All is vanity." Where shall the heart find rest (Psalms 116:17; Psalms 73:25)?
2. The occurrence of circumstances naturally adapted to fix attention on a particular subject and excite inquiry concerning the motives by which one is actuated: a pause in "life's fitful fever;" the necessity of contemplating—what next? and next? a sleepless night (Esther 6:1); "sleep that bringeth oft tidings of future hap" (Dante)—"a dream, a vision of the night" (Job 33:15). "David had made spiritual progress since the time when it required the parable of Nathan, and the prophetic announcement, 'Thou art the man,' to awaken him from his spiritual slumber. At this period of his life he examined himself and Weighed his own actions in private, especially at night time; and no sooner was the census of the men of war reported to him than, instead of being elated with self-confidence and puffed up with vain glory, 'his heart smote him,'" etc. (Wordsworth). "Night and sleep bring us times of revision or moral reflection, such as greatly promote the best uses of existence. Whatever wrong has been committed stalks into the mind with an appalling tread. All those highest thoughts and most piercing truths that most deeply concern the great problem of life will often come nigh to thoughtful men in the dusk of their evenings, and their hours of retirement to rest. The night is the judgment bar of the day. About all the reflection there is in the world is due, if not directly to the night, to the habit prepared and fashioned by it. Great thoughts and wonderfully distinct crowd in, stirring great convictions—all the more welcome to a good man; to the bad, how terrible! 'Thou hast visited me in the night,' says David; 'thou hast tried me;' and again, 'My reins instruct me in the night season.' What lessons of wisdom have every man's reins given him in the depths of the night!—things how high, how close to other worlds! reproofs how piercing in authority, how nearly Divine!" (Bushnell, 'Moral Uses of Dark Things').
3. The operation of Divine grace (in connection with a man's own thoughts), which visits the upright in heart, dispels every illusion, and strengthens every holy and God-ward aspiration. Did the Lord in judgment move David to number Israel? His judgment was founded on love, and his goodness led him to repentance.
III. THE EFFECT OF ITS RENEWED ACTIVITY. "And David said unto Jehovah, I have sinned greatly in that I have done," etc.
1. A right knowledge of himself and a correct judgment of his conduct.
2. A painful sense of his guilt and folly. In the truly penitent:
3. A humble confession before the Lord (1 Samuel 7:6); and:
4. Fervent prayer for forgiveness (2 Samuel 12:13).
Of the way of forgiveness and its own pacification, indeed, conscience is unable to declare anything; the knowledge thereof is afforded by the Word of God alone (2 Samuel 24:18). Nevertheless, its awakening tests and manifests the character, and results in peace and righteousness, or in increased "hardness of heart," confirmed rebellion, remorse, and despair. The hour of its awakening comes to all; but it may come too late, when there is found "no place for repentance" (2 Samuel 24:16).—D.
2 Samuel 24:9-13, 2 Samuel 24:18, 2 Samuel 24:19
(1 Chronicles 21:9-13, 1 Chronicles 21:18, 1 Chronicles 21:19).
The Prophet Gad.
"And when David was up in the morning," etc. Gad had formerly given valuable direction to David (1 Samuel 22:5); and he must have been now far advanced in life. He was "David's seer," or spiritual counsellor; a true prophet of God (1 Samuel 2:27; 1 Samuel 3:19; 2 Samuel 7:3); assisted in the arrangements for the temple service (1 Chronicles 9:22), and (like Samuel and Nathan) wrote a (theocratic) history of his time (1 Chronicles 29:29). "The most celebrated representatives of special prophecy in David's period were Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer. As Nathan connected Messianic prophecy forever with the house of David, so Gad was instrumental in moulding the history of salvation even till the period of the New Testament, since, by directing David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he laid the foundation of the temple upon Mount Moriah, in which Israel, by prayer and sacrifice, honoured his God for more than a thousand years" (Delitzsch). He was fully acquainted with the king's purpose, the remonstrance of Joab, the completion of the census; and may possibly already, from his intimacy with David, have observed misgivings in him concerning the measure, and surmised his present state of mind. "He said nothing to him about his sin, but spoke only of correction for it; which confirms it that David was made sensible of his sin before he came to him" (Gill). Notice:
1. His Divine mission. "The word of Jehovah came unto the prophet," etc.
2. His prophetic message. More than what is recorded may have been spoken in his two interviews with the king; but his words contain:
3. His faithful obedience. "And Gad came to David," etc; with:
4. His salutary influence (in accordance with the purpose of his mission), not only in the removal of the pestilence, but also in
2 Samuel 24:13
(1 Chronicles 21:12).—(JERUSALEM.)
Preachers and hearers.
"Now advise [know], and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me." The intercourse of the prophet with the king, especially his language at the close of the first interview, is suggestive of—
I. THE VOCATION OF THE PREACHER of the gospel.
1. Every true preacher is sent forth by God.
2. He is put in trust with the Word of God, and is sent to proclaim it to others, as his messenger and ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20); not to teach his own speculations.
3. The purpose of the proclamation is their spiritual welfare—their instruction, edification, salvation. "They watch on behalf of your souls" (Hebrews 13:17). But, too often,
"The aim of all
Is how to shine: e'en they whose office is
To preach the gospel, let the gospel sleep,
And pass their own inventions off instead.
The sheep, meanwhile, poor witless ones, return
From pasture, fed with wind: and what avails
For their excuse, they do not see their harm?
Christ said not to his first conventicle,
'Go forth and preach impostures to the world,'
But gave them truth to build on."
(Dante, 'Par.,' 29.)
4. The fulfilment of his calling demands the highest qualities—wisdom, sincerity, sympathy, disinterestedness, self-denial, fidelity, courage, zeal, assiduity.
5. The manner of his reception varies (Acts 17:34), and tests the character of those to whom he is sent (Matthew 10:11-13; 2 Corinthians 2:16).
6. He must return to him who sent him, and give account, not only of his own conduct, but also of the manner in which they have treated him and his message (Ezekiel 33:30-33), and the effect produced in their lives. His return takes place in private communion with God on earth, and at "the end of his life" (Hebrews 13:7). "What answer," etc.?
II. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE HEARER of the Word.
1. He receives through the preacher a message from God of unspeakable importance; not, indeed, an announcement of judgment, but a revelation of mercy and of his will concerning him; repentance, faith, and obedience; "all the words of this life" (Acts 5:20).
2. He has the power of considering and understanding it, and of accepting or rejecting it.
3. He is under the strongest obligation to accept and not reject it.
4. He cannot avoid doing the one or the other; indifference, inattention, or procrastination being itself an "answer" little short of positive rejection.
5. Whatever may be his treatment thereof, it is fully known to God.
6. According to the manner in which he treats the message of God, is he justly treated by God, both here and hereafter. "The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). "Now therefore advise thyself." "Consider" (1 Samuel 12:24). "Take heed. therefore how ye hear" (Luke 8:1-18).
III. THE MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF PREACHER AND HEARER.
1. On the preacher, his character, adaptation, diligence (as well as on himself), depend the hearer's acceptance of the message and his spiritual benefit.
2. On the hearer, his attention, acceptance, obedience (as well as himself), depend the preacher's efficiency, success, and present joy. "That they may do this [watch, etc.] with joy, and not with grief; for this were unprofitable for you" (Hebrews 13:17).
3. The relation in which they stand to each other will fully appear in the light of the great day; when the salvation of the hearer will be clearly seen to have been connected with the faithful labours of the preacher (Daniel 12:3), and the reward of the preacher will be proportioned to his success (and not merely to his fidelity). "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?" etc. (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 1 Thessalonians 2:20; 1 John 2:28).
4. For his own benefit, therefore (as well as that of the hearer), the preacher should seek that the hearer may be believing, obedient, and fruitful in good works (1 Thessalonians 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:13).
5. For his own benefit, also, the hearer should seek that the preacher may be faithful and successful.
6. Each should pray for the blessing of God upon the other, so that the proper end of preaching and hearing may be accomplished.—D.
2 Samuel 24:14
(1 Chronicles 21:13).—(THE KING'S PALACE.)
Submission to Divine chastisement.
"Let us now fall into the hand of Jehovah." Already David had been convinced of his sin. He had also confessed it and sought forgiveness. Nor had he done so in vain. But, as formerly (2 Samuel 12:10-12), so now, the (temporal) penalties of sin must follow. Throughout he exhibited a spirit the exact reverse of that in which he had numbered. the people. Consider—
I. THE CHASTISEMENT OF SIN which was laid before him. I. It was consequent upon his sin, and adapted to its correction. A vain glorious pride and warlike policy result (in the providence of God, sometimes by means which can be clearly seen) in the destruction of human life; not only directly by war (Matthew 26:52), but also by famine (through lack of proper cultivation of the soil, wasting consumption of its produce, etc.) and by pestilence (to which both contribute); and are rebuked and chastised thereby (Revelation 6:4-8).
2. It was a necessity, from which there was no escape. He and his people must suffer, according to the fixed and just method of the Divine procedure, for the vindication of the honour of God and the promotion of their own welfare. Herein no choice is left.
3. But it was also optional, within certain limits (Jeremiah 34:17). "Every example, public or private, of a sin brought face to face with its suffering, presents an aspect of choice as well as of compulsion. The mere question of confession or denial, with the consequences of either, is such an alternative in the case of individual wrong doing. The adoption of this expedient rather than that, in the way of avoidance or mitigation of consequences, is an alternative" (C.J. Vaughan). Why was such a choice submitted to him? To test his character; to deepen his sense of sin, by the consideration of its terrible effects; to induce the open acknowledgment of his guilt; to perfect his submission; "to give him some encouragement under the correction, letting him know that God did not cast him cut of communion with himself, but that still his secret was with him; and in afflicting him he considered his frame, and what he could best bear" (Matthew Henry).
4. And it caused him great distress; all the greater because he was required, not merely to submit passively to chastisement, but to choose the form thereof, and thus make it, in some sense, his own. "All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous, but grievous," etc. (Hebrews 12:11).
II. THE SPIRIT OF SUBMISSION which he displayed. "Is it a choice made? or, is it a choice referred back to the offerer? Is it, 'I choose pestilence'? or is it, 'Let God choose'? Whatever the application, the principle stands steadfast—In everything let me be in God's hand; whether for the choice of my punishment, or for the infliction of it, he shall be my Judge; for his mercies are great—greater than man's; the more free his choice, the more direct his dealing, the better is it for the man, the better is it for the nation that must suffer." "And David chose for himself the mortality [death]" (LXX.); "that affliction which is common to kings and to their subjects, and in which the fear was equal on all sides" (Josephus). Of famine and war, with their untold miseries, he had had experience, not of pestilence. By the former he would become dependent on men (for the sustaining or the sparing of life); by the latter, more directly on God; and whilst "the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel," his "anger endureth but a moment" (Psalms 30:5), and "his mercies are great." The spirit evinced is one of:
1. Self-abasement, before the majesty of the supreme King and Judge.
2. Self-abnegation; with noble disinterestedness, setting aside all care for his personal safety, and enduring, in common with the meanest of his subjects, the just chastisement of Heaven. His position might secure him against suffering and death by famine and "the sword of his enemies;" not by "the sword of the Lord" (1 Chronicles 21:12)—
"The pestilence that walketh in darkness,
And the sickness that wasteth at noonday."
(Psalms 91:6.)
3. Self-surrender; the sacrifice of his own will to the will of God (1 Samuel 3:18; 2 Samuel 15:23-29; Psalms 131:1-3.).
"And in his will is our tranquillity:
It is the mighty ocean, whither tends
Whatever it creates and nature makes."
(Dante, 'Par.,' 3.)
"Though he slay me," etc. (Job 13:15). "If Christ stood with a drawn sword in his hand pointed at my breast, yet would I rush into his arms" (Luther).
4. Confidence in the abounding mercy of God. For he is not like man, ignorant, inconsiderate, unjust, wilful, selfish, cruel, and malicious; but knows all things (the secrets of the heart, the force of temptation, the sincerity of penitence, the reality of love), is considerate (of human infirmities, Isaiah 57:16), righteous, "merciful, and gracious," etc. (Exodus 34:6), very pitiful (Psalms 103:13, Psalms 103:14), mitigates affliction (Isaiah 27:8), mingles with it many consolations, and "repents him of the evil" (Jonah 4:4; 1 Samuel 15:29; 1 Samuel 15:16). Such trust is the spring of true submission, and it is fully justified by the event.
5. Cooperation with the merciful and holy purposes of God in relation to the moral welfare of those whom he afflicts. The selfishness of men in famine and their cruelty in war tend to evoke rebellion, wrath, and retaliation; the recognition of "the mighty hand of God" (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6) tends to produce lowly obedience, tenderness, and kindness.
6. Concern for the welfare of the nation, which would suffer less by the last than by the first two of the calamities; and:
7. Zeal for the interests of religion and the glory of God. "Let thy Name be magnified forever" (2 Samuel 7:26). "When the apostle said to the Hebrews that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, does it not contradict the decision of David? By no means. The apostle meant to speak of those who fall without repentance into the hands of God for punishment; but, in a penitent disposition, nothing is so sweet as to fall into the loving and most gracious hands of the living God" (Du Bose).—D.
2 Samuel 24:15, 2 Samuel 24:16
(1 Chronicles 21:14, 1 Chronicles 21:15).—(JERUSALEM.)
Pestilence.
Pestilence, even more than famine and war, was regarded by David as directly inflicted by the hand of God. How far, in this instance, it occurred in connection with secondary causes is unknown. But doubtless, ordinarily, it depends on such causes; the crowding together of great numbers of people, the accumulation of filth, the state of the atmosphere, the susceptibilities of the persons affected by it. "The peculiar source of the thought that a numbering of the people brought mischief lies probably in the experience that epidemic sicknesses often broke out in such numberings, because therein a great mass of people was crowded together, to facilitate the business, in a proportionally small space" (Thenius). Most of the great plagues that have afflicted mankind appear to have originated in the East, where the climate, the soil, and the social habits of the population afford conditions favourable to their production. In all cases, however, the hand of God must be recognized in the consequences of violating his laws, physical and moral; and in the employment of them "for correction." Consider -
I. ITS MOURNFUL PREVALENCE; as at this time in Israel, so in other ages and nations (Exodus 12:29; Numbers 25:9; 2 Kings 19:35; Jeremiah 27:13).
1. Its sudden appearance.
2. Its rapid diffusion; "from the morning to the [a] time appointed [the time of assembly]." "It burst upon the people with supernatural strength and violence, that it might be seen at once to be a direct judgment from God" (Keil).
3. Its extensive presence; "from Dan to Beersheba."
4. Its dreadful destructiveness; "seventy thousand men" (fourteen in the thousand of the whole population). "Such a pestilence and loss of life as this [at Athens, 430 B.C.] was nowhere remembered to have happened" (Thucydides, 2:47). At Rome (A.D. 80) ten thousand perished daily; in England more than half the population; in London over thirty thousand; and again eight thousand persons weekly. These are only a few of the many recorded instances of the awful "visitation of God."
II. ITS MERCIFUL ARREST. "And the angel" (1 Samuel 29:9; 2 Samuel 14:17; 2 Samuel 19:27; Psalms 104:4; Psalms 34:7; Psalms 35:5; Psalms 91:11), who had been "destroying through all the territories of Israel" (1 Chronicles 21:12), "stretched out his hand" (having a drawn sword therein, 1 Chronicles 21:6) "upon Jerusalem to destroy it," etc. The pestilence approached the city, threatening its destruction, and filling all hearts with terror (1 Chronicles 21:16, 1 Chronicles 21:20). We can conceive that it might have spread until the whole human race perished. But its destructive force was limited (as it always is):
1. When its purpose was accomplished and the law of retribution satisfied. "It is enough."
2. By the same Divine power as sent it. "Stay now thine hand." God has placed in the human constitution a self-healing power. "Our natures are the physicians of our diseases" (Hippocrates). He provides special remedies for special diseases; alleviates and often cures them in unexpected, extraordinary, and mysterious ways, The Christian religion is a remedial system by which mortality itself is "swallowed up of life." "I am Jehovah thy Physician" (Exodus 15:26; Matthew 8:16; John 3:14, John 3:15; Revelation 22:2).
3. With tender pity toward the afflicted, involving a change of his procedure. "And Jehovah repented him of the evil" (1 Samuel 15:24-31).
4. In connection with the moral condition of men and their altered relation to himself—humiliation (2 Samuel 24:10), trust (2 Samuel 24:14), and prayer (2 Samuel 24:17). "Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces" (1 Chronicles 21:16), their spirit being doubtless shared in by the people, whose representatives they were. God deals with men according to the state of their hearts (2 Samuel 24:1), and commences doing so even before it is fully expressed in outward actions. Psalms 91:1-16. ("by David," LXX.), 'Under the shadow of the Almighty.'
"Because he hath set his love upon me.
Therefore will I deliver him," etc.
(Psalms 91:14.)
"Some years ago an eminent physician in St. Petersburg recommended this psalm as the best preservative against cholera" (Perowne).
III. ITS MORAL USES, with respect to those who suffer from it or to mankind generally in.
1. Producing efficient impressions of the majesty of God; his sovereignty, justice, and might.
2. Proving the real condition of the hearts of men; whether they will "keep his commandments or no" (Deuteronomy 8:3).
3. Inducing, in those who are rightly disposed, proper feelings of penitence, humility, dependence, submission; and correcting vanity, pride, and self-win.
4. Inciting a purer and loftier trust in God, and more complete devotion and self-sacrifice. "Plagues to us are not funerals of terror, but exercises of holiness. We understand their meaning. They are messages sent to us by God, to explore our hearts, to sound the depth of our love to him, and to fathom our faith in God" (Cyprian, 'De Mortalitate').
5. Presenting a terrible picture of the evil of sin, by exhibiting, not only the natural consequences thereof, but also its degrading effect on the ignorant and unbelieving, who pass rapidly from the extreme of fear to the opposite extreme of recklessness, licentiousness, and despair (1 Corinthians 15:32). "So they resolved to take their enjoyment quickly, and with a sole view to gratification; regarding their lives and their riches alike as things of a day. And fear of gods or law of men there was none to stop them" (Thucydides).
6. Teaching the solidarity of the race; and, more especially, constraining "the higher and more privileged ranks of mankind to own their oneness of life with the humbler and more degraded or even savage classes" (Bushnell).
7. Promoting, in still other ways, the advancement of mankind in knowledge, virtue, and piety; for it is through the discipline of suffering that the race, like the individual, "learns obedience." "The Lord's dealing herein is not penal, but paternal and medicinal" (Guild).—D.
2 Samuel 24:17-19
(1 Chronicles 21:16-19).—(ZION.)
Self-devotion.
"These sheep, what have they done?" etc. (2 Samuel 24:17). As through one man many suffer, so through one man many are delivered from suffering and greatly benefited. This is especially the case when, like David, he is their head and representative, the shepherd of the flock of God (2 Samuel 24:17; 2 Samuel 5:2). His numbering the people in a spirit of self-exaltation was the occasion (not the cause, 2 Samuel 24:1) of the pestilence; his intercession for them in a spirit of self-devotion is now the means in connection with which the calamity is limited in its duration (from three days to nine hours) and wholly removed (2 Samuel 24:25). Already, with an "awful rose of dawn," the agent of destruction goes forth on his mission, and a "great cry" of distress reaches the city (Exodus 12:30). Then the king gathers the elders together (at the tabernacle and before the curtained ark, 2 Samuel 7:2; 2 Samuel 12:20; 2 Samuel 15:25; adjoining the palace in Zion, 2 Samuel 5:7); they are clothed with sackcloth, and overwhelmed with fear and grief (1 Chronicles 21:16; 2 Samuel 12:16; 2 Samuel 15:30); and at length, "about the time of assembly," or evening oblation (Acts 3:1), there appears (beyond the Tyropoean Valley) on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1), "by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite" (just outside the city), "the angel of the Lord standing between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem;" and they "fell upon their faces" in humiliation before the Lord. "Significantly, it was as the Divine command of mercy sped to arrest the arm of the angel messenger of the judgment, that he became visible to David and his companions in prayer" (Edersheim). "As in 2 Kings 6:17 the source of seeing the heavenly powers was in Elisha, and by his mediation the eyes of his servant were opened, so here the flight of David's mind communicated itself to the elders of his retinue, whom he collected about him; and, after he had repaired to the place where he saw the vision, was revealed even to the sons of Araunah" (Hengstenberg). "And David said unto God," etc. "And Gad came that day to David," etc. (2 Kings 6:18; 1 Chronicles 21:18). Here is—
I. A FEARFUL VISION OF JUDGMENT impending over the people. This judgment may be regarded as representing that to which nations are exposed in this world, and individuals both here and hereafter; real, terrible and imminent; the result and reflection of human sin and guilt, which
"Blackens in the cloud,
Flashes across its mass the jagged fire,
Whirls in the whirlwind and pollutes the air,
Turns all the joyous melodies of earth
To murmurings of doom."
(Talfourd.)
1. Similar judgment has been already executed (2 Kings 6:15; Jud 2 Kings 1:7; Romans 5:12; Revelation 2:11; Revelation 21:8). "The wages of sin is death."
2. Solemn warnings of its certain and speedy approach have been repeatedly given (2 Kings 6:13, 2 Kings 6:17; 2 Peter 2:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:3).
3. Only a few persons have any adequate impression thereof; whilst they behold "the wrath to come," the rest are blind and unconcerned, immersed in the pleasures and cares of this life (Luke 21:34; Matthew 7:14).