THE LESSON OF UZZA.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,
ON LORD’S-DAY
EVENING, NOV. 4TH,
1888.
“And David and all
and with singing and with harps and with
psalteries, and with
timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.” (I
Chronicles 13:8).
“And David was afraid of God that day,
saying, How shall I bring
the ark of God home to me?” (I Chronicles 13:12).
“So David, and the
elders of
thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant
of the Lord out
of the house of Obed-edom
with joy.” (I Chronicles 15:25).
DAVID had, in his heart, an intense love to God. During Sauls reign, God
had
been well-nigh forgotten in the land. The ordinances of his house had
been almost, if not entirely, neglected; and when David found himself
firmly seated upon his throne, one of his first thoughts was
concerning the
revival of religion, the reestablishment of that form of worship
which God
had
ordained in the wilderness by the mouth of his servant Moses. So he
looked about him to see where the ark of the covenant, that most
sacred of
all
the ancient symbols, was; and he wrote, “We heard of it at Ephratah:
we
found it in the fields of the wood.” Out of pure love and
reverence to God,
he
called the people together, consulting with them so that the thing might
not
be done by himself alone, but by the nation. It was agreed that the ark
should be brought up, and placed upon
king, in a conspicuous position where it should be the center of religious
worship for the entire nation. It was to be placed near that
sacred spot
where Abraham had, of old, offered up his son Isaac, that, in
the great days
of
assembly, the Israelites might wend their way thither, and worship God
as
he had commanded them.
David’s intention was right enough, no fault can be found
with that; but
right things must be done in a right way. We serve a jealous
God, who,
though he overlooks many faults in his people, yet, nevertheless,
will have
his
word reverenced, and his commands obeyed. “Be ye clean,” says he,
“that bear the vessels of the
Lord.” He will be honored by those that
attempt to draw nigh to him. So it came to pass that, though David
had a
good intention, and was about to do a right thing, yet, at the first, he had
a
great failure. When we have
considered the cause of that failure we shall
note that this failure wrought in David a great fear; and when we
have
meditated for a while upon that fear, we shall see that, when he set
to work
to
honor his God after the due order, he did it with such a great joy that,
perhaps, we have scarcely another instance of such exuberance of
spirit in
the
worship of God as we have in the case of David, who leaped and
danced before the ark of the Lord with all his might.
I. First,
then, we are to consider DAVID’S
GREAT FAILURE. It followed
almost immediately after. “David and all
their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with
psalteries, and with
timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.” This was David’s
first
attempt to bring up the ark of the covenant into the place
appointed for it.
Observe, dear friends, that there was no failure through
lack of multitudes.
It is, to my mind very delightful to worship God with the
multitude that
keep holy day. I know some people who think themselves the only saints in
the
whole world. They do not imagine that any can be the elect of God if
there are more than seven or eight, “because,” say they, “strait
is the gate,
and
narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find
it;”
and, therefore, simply because they are few in number, they straightway
conclude that they have passed through the strait gate into the
narrow way.
It needs far better evidence than that to prove that they
are in the right
road; and, for my part, I love, as David did, to go with the multitude to
the
house of God, to keep time and tune with many hearts and many
voices all
on
fire with holy devotion as they lift up the sacred song in a great chorus
of
praise unto the Most High. There was no failure, in that respect, on this
occasion, for “David gathered all
even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark
of God from Kirjathjearim.”
Thus they came, from all parts of the land, in their
hundreds and
their thousands, an exceeding great multitude; yet their attempt
to bring up
the
ark proved a sad failure. So, you see that it is of little value merely to
gather crowds of people together. However great the multitude of
nominal
worshippers may be, it is quite possible that they may offer no
worship that
is
acceptable to God. We, ourselves may come and go in our thousands,
yet
that alone will not guarantee that the presence of God is among us. It
would be far better to be with a few, if God were in the midst
of them, than
to
be with the multitude, and yet to miss the divine blessing.
Neither was there any failure so far as pomp and show
were concerned. It
seems that these people paid very great honor, in their own way,
to this
ark;
putting it on a new carriage, and surrounding it with the princes, and
the
captains, and the mighty men of the kingdom, together with the
multitudes of the common people of the land. I doubt not that it was
a very
imposing array that day; and, truly, the solemn worship of God
should be
attended to with due decency and order, yet it may be a failure for
all that.
Sweet may be the strain of the sacred song, yet God may not
accept it
because it is sound, and nothing more. The prayer may be most
appropriate
so
far as the language of it is concerned, yet it may fail to reach the ear of
the
Lord God of Sabaoth. Something more is needed beside
mere outward
show, something beyond even the decent simplicities of worship in which
we
delight.
Neither was there any failure, apparently, so far as the
musical
accompaniment was concerned. We are
told, in our text, that “David and
all
harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels,
and with cymbals, and with
trumpets.” I like that expression, “with all their might.” I cannot
bear to
hear God’s praises uttered by those who simply whisper, as though they
were afraid of making too much noise. Nay, but,
“Loud
as his thunder, sound his praise,
And
speak it lofty as his throne;”
for
he well deserves it. Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof, in praise
of
its great Creator. Let all the winds and the waves join in the concert;
there cannot be any sound too jubilant for him who is worthy of
the highest
praise of heaven and earth. It is right to sing unto the Lord
with all your
might; yet there may be a certain kind of heartiness which is
not acceptable
to
God because it is natural, not spiritual. There may be a great deal of
outward expression, yet no inward life. It may be only dead
worship, after
all,
despite the noise that may be made. I do not say that it was altogether
so
in David’s case; but, certainly, all the multitude, all the pomp, and all the
sound, did not prevent its becoming an entire failure. What was
the reason
for
that failure!
If I read the story aright, it seems to me, first, that there was
too little
thought as to God’s mind upon the matter. David consulted the
people, but
he
would have done better if he had consulted God. The co-operation of
the
people was desirable, but much more the benediction of the Most High.
There ought to have been much prayer preceding this great
undertaking of
bringing up the ark of the Lord; but it seems to have been entered
upon
with very much heartiness and enthusiasm, but not with any preparatory
supplication or spiritual consideration. If you read the story through,
you
will see that it appears to be an affair of singing, and harps, and
psalteries,
and
timbrels, and cymbals, and trumpets, and of a new
cart and cattle; that
is
about all there is in it. There is not even a mention of humiliation of
heart, or of solemn awe in the presence of that God of whom the
ark was
but
the outward symbol. I am afraid that this first attempt was too much
after the will of the Flesh, and the energy of nature, and too
little according
to
that rule of which Christ said to the woman at Sychar,
“God is a Spirit:
and
they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Yes,
beloved, all worship fails if that is not the first consideration
in it. Let the
singing be hearty and melodious, let everything in our services be
in proper
order; but, as the first and most important thing, let the Holy
Ghost be
there, so that we may draw near to God in our heart, and have
real spiritual
communion with him. The outward form of worship is a very secondary
matter; the inward spirit of it is the all-important thing; there
appears, to
me,
to have been too little attention paid to that in the first attempt that
David made to bring up the ark; and, therefore, it was a
failure.
One very important omission was that the priests were
not in their proper
places. They appear to have
been there, but they were, evidently, not
treated as their position entitled them to be. The men of war were
brought
to
the front, and the men of worship were pushed aside. Now, in all true
worship, the priest is of the first importance. “What,” you ask, “do
you
believe in a priest?” Yes, in the great High Priest of whom the Aaronic
priesthood was the type; all my hopes for time and eternity are
centered in
him
who is “a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”
If you do not
put
him into the first place, I care little what sort of worship you render,
you
may be very intense, and very devout, after your own fashion, but it is
all
in vain. There is no way of coming unto God except through the “one
Mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus.” There is no way of
approaching God except through the one great High Priest, our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. You may cry unto God, but your prayers cannot reach
his
ear until Christ presents them to his Father. You may bring your sweet
spices, but they will never have any fragrance before the Lord
until the
great High Priest puts them into the golden censer, and mingles
with them
the
precious incense of his own merits, and so makes them acceptable
before the Lord. A prayer without Christ in it will never reach
heaven.
Praise, which is not presented through the merits of
Christ, is but a
meaningless noise which can never be well-pleasing unto God.
These people not only had not the priests in their proper
places, but they
also had a cart, instead of Levites, to carry the sacred ark. The laboring
oxen took the place of the willing men who were appointed by God for this
service David and all the people appear to have forgotten the
appointments
which God made concerning the ark, so they fell into trouble,
and all their
efforts proved to be a failure.
Next, I notice that, the first time, there were no
sacrifices. They put the ark
upon the cart, and went before it, and behind it, and around it, with their
instruments of music, but there was no sacrificial blood shed. They
had
been so long out of the habit of worshipping God in his appointed way that
they had forgotten very much. I wonder that David did not notice this fatal
omission, and I am not surprised that Uzza
died as there is no mention of
the
sprinkling of blood upon the mercy-seat that day. And, beloved, if we
leave the blood of atonement out of our worship, we leave out
that which
is
the very life of it, for the blood is the life thereof. If you have no respect
unto the atoning sacrifice of Christ, God will have no respect unto you. If
you
have no regard for the great propitiation which Christ has made for
sin,
the Lord will not accept either prayers or praises at your hands.
Without the shedding of Christ’s blood, there is no
remission of sin.
All through this incident, we see that there was no taking
heed to the
commands of God, and to the rules which he had laid down. The
people
brought worship to God,
instead of that which he had ordained. What do I
mean by will-worship? I mean, any kind of worship
which is not prescribed
in
God’s own Word. It has sometimes been pleaded, as an excuse for the
observance of some rite or ceremony which is not commanded in the
Scriptures, that it is very instructive, or very
impressive. That is no excuse
or
justification for disobedience. The first commandment may be broken,
not
only by worshipping a false god, but by worshipping the true God in
another way than that which he has ordained. If you set up a mode
of
worship not warranted by his Word, whatever you may plead for it,
it is
idolatrous, and the Lord may well say to you, “Who hath required this
at
your hands?” Mark this, if it be not of his appointment, neither will it
meet
with his acceptance. Inasmuch, therefore, as these people did not show any
reverence for God by consulting his record of the rules which he had
laid
down for their guidance, seeming to think that, whatever pleased them
must please him, whatever kind of worship they chose to make up would
be
quite sufficient for the Lord God of
Beloved, take care how ye worship God. If ye are to take
heed how ye
hear, ye are also to take heed how ye pray, and to take heed how ye praise,
and
to take heed how ye come to the communion table. Take heed how, in
any
way, ye seek to draw near unto the living God, for he is not to be
approached in any slipshod fashion that you may choose to invent. He
has
his
own way by which alone he can be approached. His august court has
rules, even as the courts of earthly kings have their
regulations and-laws;
and
if ye transgress the King’s command, it may be that he will smite you
as
he slew Uzza, or, at the least, your worship will be
unacceptable to him.
II. Now
we turn to our second text, to the second head of our discourse,
namely, DAVID’S GREAT FEAR: “And David was afraid of God that day,
saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?”
What changeable creatures we are! From a careless, and
almost criminal,
want of thought, David’s mind speedily travels to great seriousness of
thought, attended with a very terrible dread. DO YOU wonder that the
death of Uzza caused David to fear
greatly? The procession is going
along, and the harps, psalteries, timbrels,
cymbals, and trumpets are
sounding the high praises of God when, on a sudden, the oxen come
to the
threshing floor of Chidon, and, perhaps,
tempted by the sight of the grain,
they turn aside, or, at least, they stumble, and the ark is likely to be upset.
One mistake usually leads to another. If they had not put
the ark on that
cart, this trouble would not have happened. And now young Uzza, who
had
been living in the house where the ark had been kept so long, perhaps
not
thinking he is doing wrong, puts out his hand to hold the ark, and
instantly falls a corpse. A thrill of horror goes through the crowd,
the
music stops and David stands aghast. At first sight, it does
appear to be a
very severe punishment; yet we must remember that this is not the only
time that God acted thus toward those who profaned the service in which
they were engaged. Nadab and Abihu
instead of taking the proper fire to
light their censers, took strange fire. There did not seem much
difference;
is
not one kind of fire very much like another? Those two young men went
in
before the Lord with their censers kindled by strange fire, and they fell
dead in a moment before God. They had only broken the law in a small
matter, as it seemed; but God has his ways of measuring things,
and his
method is very different from ours. David ought also to have
remembered
how
more than fifty thousand of the men of Beth-shemesh
were slain when
the
Philistines brought back the ark, and the men of Beth-shemesh
looked
into it. Truly “our God is a consuming fire.” He will not be trifled with.
This was his ark, and he would make them know that it was
his; and albeit
that, with good intentions, they had surrounded it, yet, since they had not
reverently obeyed his commands, he would let them see that he was not
to
be
trifled with, nor that his ark could be touched with impunity. Do you
wonder that, in the presence of that corpse, David was afraid of
God that
day?
He was also afraid of God for another reason, namely, that he
himself had
been in a wrong frame of mind, for we read in the 11th verse, that “David
was
displeased because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzza.”
He does
not
seem to have been displeased with Uzza, but he was
displeased with
God. It seemed, to him, a hard thing that he had gathered all that crowd of
people together, and that they had been doing their best as he
thought, for
the
honor of God, and now the whole proceedings were spoilt by the
outstretched hand of an angry God in their midst. So David was angry; and
when he remembered that such wicked thoughts had ever crossed his mind,
he
began to feel afraid of God for his own sake.
Then, I daresay, his own sense of worthlessness for such
a holy work made
him
cry, “How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?” He feared lest, in
some unguarded moment, he might be guilty of irreverence, and so perish,
as
Uzza had done. I have often had, in a measure, that
kind of fear upon
me
which came over David that day. To be a child of God,
is the most
blessed experience in the world, but it also involves stern
discipline. When
God makes you his child, You are
sure to feel his rod. Others may escape
it,
but you will not, “for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” If
you live very near to God, and
you
get many tokens of his favor, you will find that you must watch every
step you take, and every thought you think, for the Lord is a jealous God;
and
where he gives the most love, there will be the most jealousy. He may
leave a sinner to go to great lengths in sin, but not his
saints. He may let
ordinary Christians do a great deal without chastening them, but if
you are
privileged to lie in his bosom, if you have high fellowship with him,
you
will soon know how jealous he is. I have often heard men, while praying,
quote as if it were a text of Scripture, “God, out of Christ, is
a consuming
fire.” The Bible does not say anything of the kind; it says, “Our God is a
consuming fire.” So, the prophet Isaiah asks, “Who among us shall
dwell
with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell
with everlasting
burnings?” And what is his answer? “He that walketh
righteously, and
speaketh uprightly.” He is the only man
who can live amid such burnings,
the
sacred salamander from whom the fire only burns out any remaining
sin.
When you ask to live near to God, see in what a terrible place, and in
what a supremely blessed place, you ask to live. You want to live in the
fire
of
his presence, even though you know that it will consume your sin, and
that you will have often to suffer much while that sin is being consumed. I
have said, again and again, “My Lord, burn as fiercely as it may, I do
aspire
to
dwell in this sacred spot. Let the fire go through me till it has burned up
all
my dross; but, oh! do let me dwell with thee!”
Yet I am not surprised if someone starts back, and says, “I
can hardly ask
for
such a trial as that.” Like James and John we want to sit on the right
and
left hand of our Master in his glory; but when he asks, “Can ye drink of
the
cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized
with?” it will need much more grace than they had if we are able to say,
from our hearts “‘We can.’ By thy grace, we shall be able and willing to
endure anything if we may but dwell with thee.” For, beloved, if
you have
ever had even a glimpse of God in his innermost tabernacle, if he has made
his
glory to shine upon you, you have felt willing even to die, have been
almost eager to die, that you might have yet more of that
beatific vision,
and
never have it clouded again. One of the good old saints said, when he
had
very much of the love of Christ poured into his soul, “Hold, Lord,
hold! It is enough. Remember that I am but an earthen vessel. If I have
more, I shall die.” If I had been in such case I think I would have said, “Do
not
hold, Lord. I am but an earthen vessel, so I shall die in the process, and
glad enough shall I be to die if I may but see thy face, and never, never,
lose the vision any more.”
We need not wonder that David was afraid after such a
manifestation of
the
divine displeasure. He did the best thing he could do under the
circumstances, he left the ark with Obed-edom
for a while, determined to
set
about its removal in a different fashion another time.
III. Now
we come to our third subject; that is, DAVID’S SACRED JOY: “So
David, and the elders of
bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the house of
Obededom
with joy.” Obed-edom took the ark into his house,
and God blessed
him. Then it occurred to David that there was not much, after
all, to be
afraid of in the ark. That awful thing, that had smitten Uzza, had been in
this other man’s house, and been a blessing to him. That fact has often
made my heart rejoice. I have said, “Well, I know that it is a solemn thing
to
live near to God; but I have seen a poor, bed-ridden woman live in the
light of God’s countenance, year after year, as happy as all the
birds of the
air;
then, why should not I do the same? I have seen a plain, humble,
Christian man walking with God, as Enoch did, and happy
from the 1st of
January to the last of December, and God blessing him in
everything; so,
come, my soul, though thy God is a consuming fire, there is nothing for his
children to dread.” So, after David had seen that God blessed Obed-edom
for
three months, he thought to himself, “Well, now, Obed-edom
has had
his
turn, and I may have mine. I will set to work to see if I cannot worship
God rightly this time, and bring up the ark unto my house
in the right
way.”
So he began thus. He prepared a tent for the ark. I
do not read that he did
that before; but, in the 1st verse of the 15th chapter we read, “David made
him
houses in the city of
and
pitched for it a tent.” Now you see that he is thoughtful and careful in
preparing a place for the ark of God; and if I want God’s presence,
I must
prepare my mind and heart to receive it. If I want to enjoy
communion with
my
Lord at his table, I must obey that injunction, “Let a man examine
himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”
I must not
observe the ordinances of the Lord’s house without proper thought
and
solemnity. As the priests washed themselves before they ministered
at the
altar, so would I come, cleansed and sanctified by the purifying
Word, that
I may acceptably appear before God.
Then, next, the mind of the Lord was considered. In the 2nd verse of
this
15th chapter, David says, “None ought to carry the ark of
the Lord but the
Levites: for them hath the Lord chosen to carry the ark of
God;” and he
asserts that the breach upon them had been made because they “sought
him
not
after the due order.” Now is David anxious to obey God. He will do,
not
what he thinks proper, but what God thinks proper; and that is the
right way for us to worship the Lord. How I wish that all
professing
Christians would revise their creed by the Word of God! How
I wish that
all
religious denominations would bring their ordinances and forms of
worship to the supreme test of the New Testament! “To the law and
to the
testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because
there is
no
light in them.” But, alas! they know that so much
would have to be put
away that is now delightful to the flesh, that, I fear me, we shall be long
before we bring all to worship God after his own order. But, my
soul, if
thou art to be accepted of God, thou must see to it that, in all thine
approaches to the great King, thou dost strictly observe the
etiquette of his
court. What is the rule for courtiers who come into the presence
of the
King of kings? What dress are they to wear? With what words can they
approach the throne? In what spirit are they to draw nigh to God?
Answer
all
these questions, and see that thou dost ask the Lord to make thee
obedient in all things to his gracious commands.
Further, you see that, this time, the priests were put
into their proper
places. David said, “Because
ye did it not at the first, the Lord our God
made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.”
Now they are where they should have been at the first, in
the front of the
procession; and, brethren, when God accepts us, Christ will take the
first
place. Our great High Priest will be in the front, and we shall
do nothing
except through his name, and in the power of his precious blood.
Then, on this second occasion, sacrifices were presented
unto the Lord.
Scarcely had the ark rested upon the shoulders of the
Levites than they
offered seven bullocks and seven rams as a sacrifice unto God. So,
we
should never think of doing anything in the worship of our God
without the
seven bullocks and seven rams which are all summed up in the one
perfect
offering of our ever-adorable Lord. O brothers and sisters, keep
Christ ever
before you! Let all your good deeds be done through the strength
you
receive from him, for “of him, and through him, and to him, are
all things.”
Nothing can be right that is apart from him; but if he is
our Alpha and
Omega, and all the letters between, there is no fear that
we shall not bring
up
the ark of the Lord aright. In this spirit of loving obedience, and holy
awe,
relying upon the sacrifice which they had presented, they seemed like
hinds let loose; and David, especially, who I suppose was a
representative
of
the whole of them, seemed as if he did not know how he could
adequately express the joy that he felt. He had his harp, of which he
was a
master-player; so, with his skillful fingers moving among the familiar
strings, he began to sing; and as he sang, he leaped like some of
our
Methodist friends do when they get so excited that they must needs begin
to
jump and to dance. I suppose that all the crowd cried, “Amen!” as David
sang some of his most joyous songs of praise unto the Lord, and that a
great shout went up to heaven, for everyone was glad that day,
and
especially David, as he danced before the Lord with all his might.
We must not forget that this carrying up of the ark was a
typo of the
ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. If there is anything that should
make a
Christian’s heart leap for joy, it is the fact of his Lord’s
return to heaven.
See him! He has risen from the dead, and now he is rising
from the midst of
his
disciples. He continues to ascend till a cloud receives him out of their
sight, and angels fly to meet him as he nears the pearly gates.
Squadron
after squadron salutes the conquering Prince, and bids him
welcome home.
And who, I pray you, is this Lord of hosts who now ascends
his Father’s
throne, and sits down at his Father’s right hand for ever, as the
acknowledged King of kings and Lord of fords? It is the man that died
on
wheels he drags sin, Satan, death, and hell. He leadeth captivity captive,
and
giveth gifts unto men.
“Sing,
O heavens! O earth, rejoice!
Angel
harp, and human voice,
Round Him,
as He rises, raise
Your ascending Savior’s praise.”
Now may ye, who love him, dance with all your might; now
may ye let
your souls revel in intensest delight, and plunge
themselves in the
bottomless sea of ineffable bliss. God grant you so to do, for our
Lord
Jesus Christ’s sake! Amen.
"Excerpted text Copyright AGES
Library, LLC. All
rights reserved.
Materials are reproduced by
permission."
This material can be found at:
http://www.adultbibleclass.com
If this exposition is helpful, please share
with others.