I Chronicles
15
1 “And
David made him houses in the city of
the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.” The contents of this verse and the
following verses up to the twenty-fifth have no parallel in the
Book of Samuel, and
excite suggestion respecting the different objects with which the compiler of
Chronicles
wrote, as compared with those of the author of the former work.
They also
direct fresh attention to the sources upon which they drew. The
history of
the
preparations made for the reception of the ark, and for its safe and
religious escort into the city, is now proceeded with. These
preparations
occupied the three months, or part of the three months, spoken of
in ch.13:14.
The houses may have been both his own
(ch.14:1) and the buildings referred
to
in ch.11:8 and II Samuel 5:9. The old tent, or tabernacle, is repeatedly
alluded
to,
as in ch.16:39; II Chronicles 1:3. It will be remembered that the tabernacle
established by Joshua at
it
(I Samuel 3:3). Afterwards we find it removed to Nob, for there David ate the
shewbread (Ibid. ch.21:6).
From thence, very possibly after the savage slaughter
of
the priests by the order of Saul, it was removed, and we find it at
according to the above references. Here at
which, in the earlier time of Solomon, formed the chief
religious center. The
wanderings of the ark already given from Shiloh, through
mesh, Kirjath-jearim, Perez-uzzah,
now land it in this tent in
It is no more sheltered in the tabernacle. But the
tabernacle, as well as the
ark,
was ultimately brought to the new-built
ch.
9:19; II Chronicles 1:4).
2 “Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the
Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to
carry the ark of God,
and to minister unto him for ever.” This verse together with vs. 12-15 show
that the severe lesson of the destruction of Uzzah had
been laid to heart, and had
made David supremely anxious to take better
counsel of the Law. Uzzah,
though possibly the son of a Levite, more
probably of a Hivite (Joshua 9:7,17),
was
not a priest, nor is there any sufficient evidence that he was a Levite; and most
distinct was the order of the Law (Numbers 1:51-53; 3:29-32; 4:15-20), that
“when the tabernacle setteth
forward, the Levites shall take it down; and
when the tabernacle is
to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up; and the
stranger
that cometh nigh shall be put to death.” So the sons of Kohath
are
to come to bear the sanctuary with all its sacred vessels,
“but they shall
not touch
any holy thing, lest they die.” Many things were allowed to be
carried on wagons under the charge of the Gershonites and Merarites, but the
strict contents of the sanctuary were to be borne in a specified manner by the
Kohathites.
3 “And
David gathered all
ark of the LORD unto His place, which he had
prepared for it.”
All
“The elders of
bring up the ark of the
covenant of the Lord.”
4 “And
David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites:” -
This classification of the children of Aaron, as the
special priests, and of the
Levites, is constantly observed
(ch.12:26-27; 27:17). The mention of the six
representative Levitical families follows.
5 “Of the
sons of Kohath; Uriel the
chief, and his brethren an hundred
and twenty:”
That of Kohath takes
the lead, because, though second in order of
birth (Genesis 46:11; Exodus 6:16-19; ch.6:1-30), its priestly
importance gave it
always first rank. To the same head belonged also three of the
remaining five
families,
viz.
both sons of Kohath (Exodus 6:18); and Elizaphan, who, though son of Uzziel
(Ibid. v.22), had come
to represent a distinct family (Numbers 3:30). The other
two required
to complete the six are Asaiah (v. 6) of the house
of Merari,
and
Joel
(v. 7) of the house of Gershom. The
representatives, then, of
these six families, with the company of the brethren belonging
to each of
them, and the two priests Zadok and
Abiathar (v.
11), are now
summoned into the presence of David, to receive a short but special
charge.
6 Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two
hundred and twenty: 7 Of the
sons of Gershom; Joel the chief and
his brethren an hundred and thirty: 8 Of the
sons of Elizaphan;
Shemaiah the chief, and
his brethren two hundred:
9 Of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the
chief, and his brethren fourscore:
10 Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an
hundred and twelve. 11
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the
priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and
Eliel, and Amminadab,
12 “And
said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the
Levites:
sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren,”
- Nothing of
the appointed observances of the Law are to be omitted this
time, as in the
haste and want of
premeditation of the former occasion
(Exodus 19:22;
28:41; 40:13; Leviticus 8:12; 20:7; 21:8; II Chronicles
5:11; 29:15).
These “sanctifyings” consisted of different observances,
according to the
person and the occasion, but largely of ablutions of the body,
washing of
the
clothes, and keeping separate from all natural and ceremonial causes of
uncleanness in ordinary cases of Levitical
service. “that ye may bring
up the ark of the LORD God of
“bring”
is not the same with the “carry” of
v.2. But the following
verses (13-15) seem to intimate that, whatever the exact reason for which
Uzzah had been
peremptorily cut off, the Levites had also been to blame
in not
sanctifying themselves to carry the
ark by its staves in the way
originally appointed -“unto the place that I have prepared
for it.”
13 “For
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.”
This verse purports to say that the
Levites had been deficient in their duty
in the double sense of”
o
not having
themselves exclusively undertaken the removal
of the ark, and
o
not having executed that removal after the due order.
Due Order (v.13)
David explained the failure of the former attempt to bring
the ark to
regulations divinely prescribed and applicable to such a case. In directing
the
Levites to prepare for their proper service, he acknowledged that, when
he
had before purposed to bring up the ark to its resting-place, he had
acted thoughtlessly and profanely, and had suffered in
consequence. This
lesson is inculcated by the text — God’s order is the due
order.
·
RELIGION DOES NOT CONSIST IN FORM. Even under the elder
dispensation, in which forms and ceremonies were prescribed in
abundance, true religion did not consist in such things. The
psalmists and
the prophets rose altogether above a merely sacrificial and
ceremonial
religion. And under the new covenant, the letter,
the form, sink into
insignificance, compared with the spiritual
reality they are designed to
express and to promote.
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him
must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). We, as
Christians, serve Him, not in
the oldness
of the letter, but in the newness
of the spirit. (Romans
7:6)
·
YET THE MANIFESTATIONS OF RELIGIOUS LIFE AND
SERVICE ARE NOT LAWLESS AND
DISORDERLY. It would be
a bad thing to substitute the form for the reality; but it
does not follow that it
is a good thing to have no form at all. It is the direction
of an inspired
apostle: “Let all things
be done decently and in order” (I
Corinthians
14:40). Our worship should be seemly and
reverent; our work should be
organized and systematic; our liberality should be upon principle.
·
PRESCRIPTIONS AS TO ORDER SHOULD BE CAREFULLY
OBSERVED AND OBEYED. If,
for instance, it is found that the New
Testament lays down certain
principles of Church government, prescribes
certain ordinances or ministries, spiritual Christianity expects
that these will
be reverently considered and observed. Obedience is required
as homage to
the authority of the Lawgiver and Lord. We have no right to set our
fancies and preferences above Divine laws.
·
OBSERVANCE OF ORDER BECOMES CONGENIAL AND
EASY WHEN INSPIRED BY GRATEFUL LOVE. To a child of God,
a friend of Christ, there is nothing harsh or repugnant in
compliance with
Divine
regulations in attention to “due order.” (“For this is the love of
God, that we keep His commandments: and His
commandments are
not grievous.” (I John 5:3)
14 “So the
priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the
ark of the LORD God of
the ark of God upon their shoulders with the
staves thereon, as Moses
commanded according to the word of the LORD.” (So see Exodus
25:13-15;
Numbers 4:15; 7:9.) It is plain that from the first stress
was laid upon the rings and
the
staves through them by which the ark was to be carried, as also the “table of
shittim wood” (Exodus
25:26-28) and the “altar” (Ibid.
ch.27:4-7) and the
“altar of incense”
(Ibid. ch.30:4-5). However, these rings and staves were not
found in the permanent furniture of the temple, except only for
the ark.
The Bearers of the
In the account (II Samuel 6:11-23) of the bringing of the
ark into
principal facts are recorded.
In this chapter we are presented with the religious aspect
of
this solemn act and the preparation David made for it. The motive for bringing
the
ark
to Jerusalem was (see Ibid. v.12) that David had heard of the great blessing
the
ark
had brought upon the house of Obed-edom during the
time it had been there.
David arranges that the ark should be borne only by
Levites, for them only had the
Lord chosen to carry it. By this arrangement it is expressly acknowledged that it
was
contrary to law to place it on a cart (ch. 13:7; that was the way the
heathen had transported it – I Samuel 6:7). The heads of the priests and Levites are
summoned to take the matter in hand. Kohath
is first named, because Aaron was
descended from Kohath, and because to the Kohathites, on account of this near
relation to the priests, there belonged the duty of serving in that
which was most holy,
and
in bearing the holiest vessels of the tabernacle. The transport of the ark was
the
Kohathites’ special work. These priests and six of the Levites were commanded by
David to consecrate themselves with their
brethren to bring up the ark. This
consecration
consisted of the removing of all that was unclean, the washing of
the body and clothes
(Genesis 35:2), the keeping aloof from every defilement,
and from touching unclean
things. David reminds them (v. 13) that because God was not sought according
to his Word, there
came a breach. That Word required that the
ark on which Jehovah
was
enthroned should be carried by Levites, and should be touched by no unholy
person or one who was not a priest (see Numbers 4:15). So the Levites, we are told,
bare the ark on their shoulders with staves, according to the Word of the Lord. From
this portion of our chapter let us learn three spiritual lessons.
·
It was because David
heard of the blessing the ark had been to the house
of Obed-edom that made him send for
it. That ark was Christ. Wherever HE
IS in a heart, a
family, a Church, or a nation, there a blessing will be left.
He came to bless (see Acts
3:26); and none who receive Him shall be
without that blessing. But as in the case of Obed-edom
those
who receive
His blessing are made the channel
of blessing to others. They cannot be
Hid! (Matthew 5:14). David sends for the ark because Obed-edom had
been so blessed by it.
·
Those Levites who bore
the ark, though they had been from of old
divinely appointed to this work, had again to be
consecrated. No touch of
uncleanliness,
or defilement of body or garment, must come near it. So
must it be now with all those who have to do with Christ. To be Christians
is not enough any more than it was to be Levites. They must be clean
Christians. There must be
plenty of “washing,” plenty of “keeping aloof”
from things, and plenty of careful walking with all those who
have to do
with him. “Be ye holy that hear the vessels of the Lord” (Isaiah 52:11);
“Be ye holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44-45)
·
It might seem to human
observation a very trifling difference between
carrying the ark on a cart or carriage, and carrying it on the
shoulders with
staves. But the great point is — What was the
Lord’s word? It was this
made the difference (v. 15). So is it
now in everything. It is not what I
think or what you think or what any man thinks. It is, “What saith the
Word
of the Lord?” This is to settle
every question. And he would not
have been a true Levite any more than that man could be a true
Christian
who would for a moment hesitate to accept this decision as final.
16 “And
David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint
their
brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries
and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up
the voice with joy.
17
So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel;
and of his
brethren, Asaph the son
of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari
their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;” To appoint their brethren
to be the singers. This was the first
step towards what we have already read
in
ch.6:31- 39, 44; 9:33-34 (where see notes).
18 “And
with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben,
and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah,
and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom,
and Jeiel, the
porters.” Ben. This word is either altogether an accidental
interpolation, or a remnant of some statement of the patronymic character
regarding
Zechariah. Another indication of the state of the text in
this verse is to be
found in the probable omission of the name Azaziah
of v. 21, after Jeiel.
It will be observed that no trace of this word Ben is found
in the repeated
list of v. 20.
19 “So the
singers, Heman, Asaph, and
Ethan, were appointed to sound
with cymbals of brass; 20 And
Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth,
and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with
psalteries
on Alamoth; 21 And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom,
and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith
to excel.” The
psalteries
on
Alamoth
(v. 20), and harps on the Sheminith to excel (v. 21), are
descriptions the
exact significance of
which is not yet satisfactorily ascertained. Yet
their connection in
a
series of four divisions of musical duty does throw some light
upon them. These
four verses manifestly purport to describe a special part to be performed by
those of whom they respectively speak. Gesenius
explains psalteries on
Alamoth to mean such
instruments as savored of virgin tone or pitch, i.e.
high as compared with the lower pitch of men’s voices. This lower pitch he
considers intimated by the word “Sheminith,”
literally, the eighth, or
octave. The added expression, “to excel,” need scarcely be, with
him,
understood to mean “to take the lead musically,” but may be read
generally
to
mark their supassing quality.
22 “And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he
instructed
about the song, because he was skilful.” For song. There is
considerable
diversity of opinion as to the meaning of this word. Some think its
meaning to be
“in the carrying (aC;M"B")” i.e. of the ark. Its exact position here seems
not
unfavorable to such interpretation. On the other hand, its position in v.
27 seems
conclusively to point to the translation of the Septuagint and of our
Authorized
Version in this place as the correct one. Dr. Murphy, however, to escape this,
thinks “with the singers” in v. 27 to be a “copyist’s inadvertent
repetition.”
23 “And Berechiah and Elkanah were
doorkeepers for the ark.”
Berechiah and Elkanah. It appears
from the following verse that there was
also another couple of doorkeepers (i.e. persons to protect the
openings of
the
ark, that it should not be opened), viz. Obed-edom
and Jehiah.
24 “And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel,
and Amasai, and
Zechariah, and Benaiah,
and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the
trumpets before the ark of God: and Obededom and Jehiah were
doorkeepers for the ark.” Between these
couples probably went the seven
priests blowing the trumpets (Numbers 10:1-9). These trumpets were of
solid silver, of one piece, were straight and narrow, and had an
expanded
mouth. They are found on the arch of Titus, and are described by
Josephus.
On the other hand, the trumpet, more correctly rendered “cornet’’ (rp;wOv,
as
distinguished from our hr;[]wOxj], which was used for proclaiming the
jubilee, for announcing the new year for sentinel and other
special signals,
and
for war, was shaped like a ram’s horn, and probably made of the same.
The particular appropriateness of the use of the former on
this occasion is
manifest, in addition to the fact that they were the appointed
trumpets for
the
journeying of the camp and a fortiori of the ark itself at a time so
essentially religious as the present. Yet, as we learn from v. 28, the
latter
were used as well, and cymbals, psalteries, and harps. The original
number
of
the silver trumpets was two only, and they were to be sounded strictly
by
the anointed priests, sons of Aaron, at all events when their employment
was
within the sanctuary. Their employment, however, grew far more
general, and we find (II Chronicles 5:12) that their number had
risen to
a
hundred and twenty (so too Ibid. ch.13:12; Nehemiah 12:35). For
Obed-edom, the doorkeeper, see ch.16:38;
and therewith note on ch.13:14.
25
“So David, and the elders of
went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the
LORD out of the
house of Obededom with
joy.”
26 “And it
came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark
of the covenant of the LORD, that they
offered seven bullocks and
seven rams.” This
verse with the following four are paralleled by II Samuel
6:12-16.
The contents of this verse in particular reveal the intense
anxiety and the trembling fear and awe with which the sacred
burden was
now
again lifted. A world of meaning and of feeling for all those present at
least underlay the expression, When God helped
the Levites that bare
the ark (compare
I Samuel 6:14-15; II Samuel 6:13, 18). The offering of
seven bullocks and seven
rams is thought by some to be additional to David’s
offering, when he had gone “six paces” (Ibid. v. 13). Much more
probably,
however, the “six paces”
meant, not six footsteps, but six lengths that would
make some distance.
27 “And
David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the
Levites that bare the ark, and the singers,
and Chenaniah the master
of the song with the singers: David also had upon
him an ephod of
linen.” Several things in this verse indicate a somewhat uncertain
and
unsteady selection of particulars by the compiler from his original
sources.
The natural reading of the verse would seem to say that David and all
those Levites who bore the ark, and
the singers, and Chenaniah, all
wore the robe of byssus,
while David had, in addition, the ephod of
linen. Yet it
is unlikely that all did wear the robe. Again, the Hebrew text
exhibits no preposition before the singers, on the
second occasion of the
occurrence of the expression in this verse. Yet little sense can be
found
without a preposition. The robe was not distinctively a priest’s
garment
(I Samuel 18:4; 24:5, 12; Job 1:20; 2:12), though priests
did wear it.
The robe of byssus is spoken of
only here; II
Chronicles 5:12; and
Esther 8:15. Byssus,
however, is spoken of as material for other purposes in
ch.
4:21; II Chronicles 2:14; 3:14; Esther 1:6; Ezekiel 27:16. The ephod, on
the
other hand, was no doubt distinctively a high priest’s garment (Exodus
28:4-12),
though we read of Samuel wearing one (I Samuel 2:18, 28), and of
David doing the same, as on this
occasion. The fine linen (xwB),
in the first
clause of this verse, is not the same with that (ËB;) in the last clause. The
first clause of this verse (which makes the last clause somewhat
redundant)
bears some resemblance in letters to the first clause of II Samuel 6:14,
which means, “and David
danced with all his might,” and the two clauses
exactly answer to one another in position — another suggestion of
an uncertain
text here.
28 “Thus
all
with shouting, and with sound of the cornet,
and with trumpets,
and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries
and harps.”
Making a noise. This description qualifies the cymbals alone,
and
should rather appear in our translation as “noise-making cymbals.”
Sacred Joy (vs. 16, 25-26, 28)
In the bringing up of the ark from the house of Obed-edom, the prevailing
note is that of sacred joy. We learn:
·
THAT HOLY OBEDIENCE IS ATTENDED WITH SACRED JOY.
The act was one of obedience in
two ways. It was so in spirit; for though
not commanded to take this particular step, the Israelites
were desired by
God to show all possible honor
to that with which His service was
connected. In removing the ark, therefore, to the capitol, David was
acting
conformably to the will of God. It was also obedient in form. This
time the
error in the mode of conveying the sacred chest was avoided, and
the
Word of the Lord strictly
consulted. And the result was a large measure of
sacred joy. Gladness of heart filled the souls of king, priests,
Levites,
people. Everything was done, from beginning to end, “with joy” (vs.
16,
25). Holy obedience will always
have the same effect upon the heart. If we
serve the Lord with our whole heart, endeavoring to do His will,
both in
spirit and in form, we shall have “gladness
in our heart more than in the
time when their corn and their wine increase.” (Psalm 4:7)
·
THAT SACRED JOY UTTERS ITSELF WELL IN SACRED
PSALMODY. “David spake… to appoint… the singers with instruments
of music,” etc. (v. 16).
Sacred song often gives utterance to sorrow and
distress, and there are plaintive strains, vocal and instrumental,
which are
profoundly expressive and touching. But gladness and song seem to be
best associated. “Is any merry? let him sing psalms”
(James 5:13). When
our heart is glad in the Lord, we cannot do better than join
in “psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our
heart to
the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19).
·
THAT SACRED JOY IS SUITABLY ACCOMPANIED WITH
SACRIFICE. (v. 26.) The ceremony would not have been complete
without sacrifice. This was probably a burnt offering or thank
offering; it
was, at any rate, an offering taken from their “flocks and herds” unto the
Lord, and may suggest to us that
now, when God will not take such
sacrifices at our hands, we should, in the time of our gladness,
present such
sacrifices as those with which he is well pleased. We can “do good and
communicate” (Hebrews
13:16). Of our fullness we can contribute to
the need of those who lack. Or from our store we can take that
which
will help to fill the treasury of the Lord.
·
THAT SACRED JOY SHOULD PROVE TO BE A DIFFUSIVE
THING. David wished to extend this rejoicing to all who would
enter into
it; he made it as public as possible; so general was it that
we read that “all
6:19). We
may keep our grief much to ourselves, not inflicting them on
others, much less parading them before others; but we should strive
to
make our friends and neighbors the sharers of our joy. This is true of all
gladness of heart, but it is peculiarly applicable to sacred joy.
When our
souls are glad in Him, our Father and Saviour,
we should seek to make all
whom we can reach and influence partakers of “like precious
faith”
(II Peter 1:1) and hope and
joy. Of the joy that is not diffusive
we may be
suspicious, The joy that is
Divine, that comes from God, and that is in
God, will be after His own nature, bountiful, generous,
communicative.
29 “And it
came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came
to the city of David, that Michal, the
daughter of Saul looking out
at a window saw king David dancing and
playing: and she despised
him in her heart.” Thus briefly
is given by our compiler what occupies five
verses in II Samuel 6:19-23. Neither of the words here
rendered dancing
and playing (but which would be better
rendered “leaping and dancing”)
is the same with those employed in Samuel (Ibid. vs.14, 16,
where our Authorized
Version
rendering is “dancing” and “leaping and dancing”
respectively.
The word in both of those verses that represents
the dancing, does correctly so
represent, but is a somewhat generic form, as it carries the idea of
dancing in a
circle. The reason of
Michal “despising
David in her heart” can only be found
in the unreason
and the irreligion of that heart itself. She was a type of not a few,
who despise devotion, enthusiasm, and above all practical
liberality and
generosity, on the part of any individual of their own family, when
these
are shown to Christ and his Church, and when they think they
may be a
trifle the poorer for it, or when they feel that the liberality
and devotion of
another exposes their own “poverty” in both these respects. (Compare
Cain’s
jealousy of Abel – “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and
Slew
his brother. And wherefore slew he
him? Because his
own works
were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” (I John 3:12)
Intensity
in Religion is Often Misunderstood (v. 29)
One only incident tarnished the brightness of this greatest
day of David’s
life. Michal, his wife, in the proud, we may almost say conservative, spirit
of
the older dynasty — not without a thought of her father’s fallen house
— poured forth her contemptuous reproach on the king who
had
descended to the dances and song of the Levitical
procession. There are
marked differences in the dispositions of men in relation to
religion.
The colder-natured are apt to regard the impulsive as
extravagant; and the
warm-hearted and excitable too readily conclude that the quieter-toned
people are insincere. Eastern ecstatic modes of expressing joy
are quite
different from that of the west.
In time of excitement, rhythmical movements,
such as dancing, afford great relief. And such clanging of trumpet and
cymbals
was
the very thing to set the company upon dancing. Distinguish the natural
movements and gestures of excited feeling from the ordered
fashionable dancing
with which we are familiar. What lessons may be learned from Michal’s
inability
to
appreciate David’s religious intensity?
·
RELIGION FINDS DIFFERENT RESPONSE IN DIFFERENT
INDIVIDUALS. We must not look for the same experiences and
manifestations in all. Each man’s religious conduct will bear the plain
impress of his character and disposition. This may be applied to
experiences of conversion-time, or the beginnings of the Christian
life. As
also to the forms in which men stand related to public worship
and
Christian
work. If we venture to make molds for
the necessary Christian
life, we must take care that they are large and general, with
no fine lines of
must-be peculiarities in
them. Christ gives a new life, and sends each man
forth to express it according to his own genius and character.
·
RELIGION CAN FIND EXPRESSION THROUGH ALL
DISPOSITIONS. So we may not, even in thought, exempt any man from
its gracious influence; and we may not be anxious to have the
natural
dispositions of men changed. Men do not need to be made other than they
are. The all-sufficing change is the inward regeneration, the
renewal of the
vital principle. We need not want to make the channel of the
river bend and
turn in any other and, as we think, more graceful forms. Our
anxiety should
concern the purity of the waters flowing down from the
fountain-head,
which fill the stream. Preservation of the characteristic
disposition is,
however, quite consistent with all due Christian culture, and this
may
sometimes so bring out to the front the best in men, that they may
seem
other than they were.
·
CHRISTIAN CHARITY FINDS A FREE SPHERE FOR EVERY
MAN. Just in this
Michal failed. She had not charity enough to give David
credit for the sincerity which would have
clothed his act with dignity. A
man’s ways may not be our ways, may not even be such as we can
approve; but it should suffice for us if we can see in them the
signs of
genuine religious life and feeling. Then we may wish him “Godspeed.”
Application of a practical character may be carefully made
to those more enthusiastic
and
excited phases of religious life and association which are so marked a feature
of
twenty-first century Christianity. From the calmer, colder point
of view, such as Michal
would take, there may seem in all these only a perilous
fanaticism. The charity that
“hopeth
all things” (I Corinthians 13:7) may
at least enable us to say, in the spirit
of
our Lord, “Forbid
them not, for they that are not against Him are on His part”
(Mark 9:39-40). And
His kingdom has its oncoming in wondrous ways; no
man
knoweth how.
A Chapter of Practical Repentance (vs. 1-29)
There are few happier, and perhaps no better, chapters in
any one’s life than the
chapter of practical repentance. To have to sorrow over the past
and to undo it is,
no
doubt, the incident of a fallen nature and of a frail, imperfect life. When
once,
however, the necessity has arisen, then to sorrow no barren
sorrow, but to add to
it
reparation, alteration, amendment, is at one and the same time to fling a just,
manly
defiance at the merciless spirit of remorse and TO PAY THE MERITED HOMAGE
TO THE GOODNESS OF GOD!
The life of many a good man owns to many a
sin,
many a folly, and, when he goes not so far as these, to many a great and
to-be-regretted
mistake. But the most marked differences between the good man and
the bad are then
to
be seen. This goes from bad to worse, and the tangled victim ere very long
becomes
the
mournful and miserable sacrifice. That goes from bad with tear, with striving,
with
prayer, toward the lost or awhile eclipsed good. The very mark of
the man made
divinely wise is discerned in the repentance wherewith he repents,
the promptness
of
the sorrow and the fear inspired, the deliberateness and the thoroughness of
the
amendment made or attempted. This chapter gives the history of such a
repentance and of its happy consequences. Notice:
MOMENTS OF FAILURE AND PUNISHMENT HAD NOT BEEN
SUFFERED TO OVERWHELM AND TO PROSTRATE MIND AND
ENERGY. Given a
little time to recover nature’s tone — some three
months had by this time passed — and something better than
nature did
also return. A willing thoughtfulness supervened; deep searchings of the
heart, of the written Word, and of what had been actually done
had their
way; and convictions just and right and wholesome were formed.
There is
always one great model exhibited in Scripture of repentance. To
Saul’s
exceeding fear and intense and sudden visitation there needed some
interval
for recovery, and such interval was granted. Even where it may
be
possible, it is not advisable to act, when under the
influence of the
extremes of feeling, when the storm of mental emotion is at its
height. But
it is infinitely hazardous to neglect the right time of
action; and, so soon as
the first intensity of feeling is passed, how many have waited
prostrate till
all disposition to rouse to altered and improved action has
also passed!
ERROR THAT HAD BEEN. David now lays down the Law (vs. 2, 13)
in the very act of confession of that Law broken. He lays
down the Law,
but not out of his own lip — by distinct and emphatic
quotation of itself.
He now saw and read
the Law exact, and he saw how far distant the
conduct for which he was in an eminent degree responsible, and of
which he had
literally been part, had strayed from the letter and
spirit of that exact Law.
This is in fact what still in deepest sense, and
in the deepest hidings of our spiritual nature, produces conviction of the
most spiritual kind — conviction of sin.
When the eye of the conscience
can be gained for a moment to see this sight, and to notice the wide difference
between a holy perfect Law and the actual life, which should lie under its
governance but does not so, the Spirit of God
has gained this end — our
conviction.
UPON OTHERS, BUT ACCEPTS ITS OWN FULL SHARE. David
quotes the Law that concerns the occasion (v. 2). He exhorts “the chief
of the fathers of the Levites” to sanctify themselves and prepare in all
respects according to the Law for the great and holy work now
before
them (v. 12). He also does not shrink from addressing these
pointedly, as
those who were officially and in their own persons to blame. But
he does
not finish his remonstrating and warning sentence without
distinctly
including himself among those in fault, and superseding “ye” by “we”
(v.13). There was never any bare
verbal confession of sin more open than
that of Adam, but there was never any confession more
worthless, for he
wished to lay all the essence of the sin on Eve. The same may be
said of
Eve, as
regards her tempter, the serpent. That kind of confession of sin is
nothing worth. It has
no semblance of meritoriousness in it. No sacred
virtue inheres in it. A double depth of the heart’s hardness, a
double
sluggishness of conscience, sleep, a double self-deception is there.
Short of
this, however, there are not a few, whose it is to exhort and
warn others,
who will largely forget in spirit, even when not in letter, to
include
themselves in needful reproof and in united confession. Yet how often
is
the leader of the flock doubly answerable, in reality doubly blamable,
and in deep truth tenfold called upon to make humblest and
most penitent
confession!
OF ALL TO REPAIR WHAT HAD BEEN AMISS. If we often think too
well of ourselves individually, and sometimes speak too
forgetfully of the
inherent disease of human nature, yet we are frequently disposed to
underrate the effect of the word that is spoken in the Name of the
Lord, of
the faithful appeal that is pointed plainly but lovingly to
the consciences of
those who have been in error, and of the influence of our own
repenting
and confessing example. Put three such incentives as these
together, and
they will rarely fail to find their converts of some amongst a
number.
Moreover, great as
is the contagion of evil, as seen when the multitude
Will flock together to do evil, yet, on the other hand, correspondingly great
Is the attraction of goodness.
The multitude of those who worship,
the
multitude of those who keep the holy day, the multitude of those who
join
to work in and for the Lord’s temple, literal or spiritual, —
all these are
facts as patent, bearing witness to the affection that will
subsist to the
highest ends, within A MULTITUDE BENT
ON GOOD as other facts
bear patent witness to the contagion that works in a multitude
to do evil. The
happier aspect of the multitude is here before us. The
shepherd-king is
shepherding rightly, with truth to the Law, with careful warning for
all as
regards the past, with a faithful rebuke of others, and loving
confession of
his own — and THE WHOLE PEOPLE
CONCERNED AS ONE
MAN! They are of one heart,
of one mind, and they proceed to be
of
one deed.
ACCEPT THE EXACT PLACE AND DUTY FOR WHICH THEY
WERE RESPECTIVELY MOST FITTED. This feature of the occasion is
shadowed forth in all the careful and nice order of the proceedings
from
beginning to end. But it is more than shadowed forth in the distinct
emphasis of allusions, such as those of vs. 16, 17, 22, 24, which
point to
the hierarchy, so to say, of office, of gift, of grace. The
is in perpetual quest of the brotherhood of humanity, so is
it, pari passu,
perpetually contributing to reproduce the order, the very cosmos of
the
world. One of the
grandest evidences of the presence of the living Spirit of
God in any portion of
the Church is THE VISIBLE PRESENCE OF
ORDER! Paul loved to lay stress upon this: “Let all things be done decently
and
in order” (I Corinthians 14:40); “Peace... as in all Churches of the saints.”
(Ibid. v. 33). That Church of
living, modern times,
that may first and best find all
its members awake, all ready for work, each falling into his assigned place
without pride or without envy,
without murmur or without assumption, will first
and best prove the Divine
presence and glory, and challenge a usefulness and
“praise
in the earth” for
APPROVAL, BLESSING. It is certain that God has never been slow to
acknowledge the service that has been humbly and faithfully done to
Him.
And it is most noticeable that,
after His severest and largest chastisements,
swift He will come again to receive and to welcome those who
have learned
to set their face again to Him. How glad was Noah, when he
came forth
from the ark to set foot upon a deluged desolate world, to find
how the
smoke of his sacrifice ascended, acceptable to God, and so
accepted by
Him, that the “Lord smelled a sweet savour,
and said in his heart”
(Genesis 8:21), as we are told,
but evidently said elsewhere as well, the
words of A REASSURING GRACIOUS PROMISE on which THE
WORLD’S LIFE HAS EVER
SINCE SAFELY HUNG! Of God it
may well be said, “He smites to
heal.” And so now, when all is
done reverently and in order, and the whole scene is sacred
with obedience
and with practical repentance, God’s
“help” was given, and it was felt such
a comfort, such an encouragement, such a present performed
blessing, that
anon the whole procession
halts to offer “sacrifices of joy,” and to
“sing, yea, sing praises to the Lord.” It is observable
that we are not
told how the Lord “helped the Levites
that bare the ark,” or in what
signs and indications they recognized His helping presence. It may
have
been that as they feared to lift, lest another fatal stroke of the
invisible
mighty hand should descend, no such stroke fell, and the departing of
fear
was equivalent to a
very inrushing of joy and confidence. Their hands were
stronger, their feet walked more steadily, their shoulders rejoiced
in their
hallowed burden. They didn’t stumble. The inner peace
and confidence that
God’s true and faithful children and servants know, even
early after they
have needed the severest chastening, pervade a quickened and
sensitive
state of mind, so as to produce convictions,
experience, language,
unintelligible to the world, surpassing all its power to
give, outliving all its
power to take away.
SERVICE OF GOD, THE DAY OF HOLIEST DELIGHT AND
WORSHIP, WILL OFTEN
ENOUGH FIND SOME FORM OF THE
WORLD READY TO FLOUT IT. The well-known form on this occasion
needs not to be dwelt upon. But two things under it are well
worthy of
note and remembrance.
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