[17] I would say a word here, on the opening verses of John x. The Lord Jesus presented Himself at the door of the Jewish fold, and having obtained entrance, called out His sheep that were therein, and then He says, "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one _flock_, and one Shepherd." It is strange that the translators should have rendered this "one fold," when the word fold (a????) actually occurs in the same verse. Nor is the distinction unimportant.
A fold is an enclosure for the separation and safety of the sheep; hence the word is properly applied to the Jewish economy. Now, however, it is no longer a fold--an earthly arrangement--a penning up of sheep here below. But the heavenly Shepherd has called forth His Jewish sheep from the earthly fold, and His Gentile sheep from the dark mountains of this wide world, and made them one flock, giving them freedom, and committed them into the Father"s hand. Thus we see the difference between the words "fold" and "flock."
Thus, as David"s men were withdrawn from all connection with Saul"s system by virtue of their a.s.sociation with him, so all those who are led by the Spirit to know their oneness with the rejected Jesus, must feel themselves dissociated from present things, by reason of that blessed oneness with Him.
Hence, if you ask a heavenly man why he does not mix himself up with the plans and pursuits of this age, his reply will be, Because Christ is at the right hand of G.o.d, and I am identified with Him. He has been cast out by this world and I take my place with Him, apart therefore from its objects and pursuits. All who understand the true nature of the heavenly calling will walk in separation from the world; but those who do not, will just take their portion here, and live as others.
Many, alas, are satisfied with the mere knowledge of the forgiveness of sins, and never think of going further. They have pa.s.sed through the Red Sea, it may be, but manifest no desire to cross the Jordan, and eat the old corn of the land of promise. Just as it was in the day of David"s rejection; many, though Israelites, did not cast in their lot in rejection with him. It was one thing to be an Israelite; it was another thing to be with David in the hold. Even Jonathan was not there; he still adhered to the old system of things. Though loving David as his own soul, he lived and died in companionship with Saul.
True, he ventured to speak _for_ David, and sought his company when he could. He had stripped himself to clothe David; yet he did not cast in his lot _with_ him. And, consequently, when the names and the deeds of David"s worthies are heralded by the Holy Ghost, we look in vain for the name of the affectionate Jonathan; when the devoted companions of David"s exile were mustering round his throne in the sunshine of his royal countenance, poor Jonathan was mingled with the dust, having ingloriously fallen, on Mount Gilboa, by the hands of the uncirc.u.mcised Philistines!
Oh that all who profess to love the Lord Jesus Christ may seek a more decided identification with Him in this the time of His rejection! The citizens have sent a message after Him, saying, "We will not have this man to reign over us;" and shall we go and a.s.sociate ourselves with those citizens to forward their Christ-rejecting plans? G.o.d forbid.
May our hearts be with Him where He is. May we know the hallowed fellowship of the cave of Adullam, where the Prophet, Priest, and King are to be found, embodied in the beloved person of Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood. We cannot walk with Saul and David at the same time. We cannot hold Christ and the world--we must take our choice. The Lord grant us grace to reject the evil and choose the good, remembering the solemn words of the apostle: "This is a faithful saying; for if we be _dead with Him_, we shall also _live with Him_; if we _suffer_, we shall also _reign_ with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us." This is the time of suffering, the time for enduring afflictions and hardness; we must wait for the time of rest and glory. David"s men were called, by reason of their a.s.sociation with him, to undergo much toil and fatigue, but love made all light and easy to them; and their names and exploits were recorded and faithfully remembered when David was at rest in his kingdom. None were forgotten. The twenty-third chapter of 2nd. Samuel will furnish the reader with the precious catalogue, and will, no doubt, lead his mind onward to the time when the Lord Christ shall reward _His_ faithful servants--those who from love to His person, and by the energy of His Spirit, have performed acts of service for Him in the time of His rejection. These acts may not be seen, known, or thought of by men; but Jesus knows them, and will publicly declare them from the throne of His glory. Who would ever have known the acts of David"s worthies if the Holy Ghost had not recorded them? Who would have known of the three who drew water from the well of Bethlehem? Who would have known of the slaying of a lion in a pit, in the time of snow? Just so now: many a heart throbs with love to the person of the Saviour, unknown to all; and many a hand may be stretched forth in service to Him, un.o.bserved by human eye. It is sweet to think it is so, specially in an age of cold formality like the present--sweet to think of those who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Some there are, alas, who are not only indifferent to His beloved Person, but who even go as far as to traduce Him--to rob Him of His dignity, and make Him little better than Elias, or one of the prophets. But, my reader, we shall not dwell upon these; we have, thank G.o.d, a happier theme, and we shall, with His help, pursue it. We shall think of those valued men who jeoparded their lives for the sake of their captain, and who, the instant he uttered his desire, were ready, at all cost, to gratify it.
Love never pauses to calculate. It was quite sufficient for those worthies to know that David longed for a drink from the well of Bethlehem, and they procured it at any cost to themselves: "And these three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord."[18] Lovely scene! Sweet sample of what the Church ought to be! Loving not her life unto the death for Christ"s sake. Oh that the Holy Ghost may kindle within us a flame of ardent love to the person of Jesus--may He unfold to our souls more of the divine excellencies of His person, that we may know Him to be the fairest amongst ten thousand, and altogether lovely, and be able to say with a true worthy, "Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." (Phil. iii. 8.)
[18] There is something peculiarly touching and beautiful in the above scene, whether we contemplate the act of the three mighty men in procuring the water for David, or David"s act in pouring it out to the Lord. It is evident that David discerned, in an act of such uncommon devotedness, a sacrifice which none but the Lord Himself was worthy to receive. The odor of such a sacrifice was far too fragrant for him to interrupt it in its ascent to the throne of the G.o.d of Israel.
Wherefore he, very properly and gracefully, allows it to pa.s.s him by, in order that it might go up to the One who alone was worthy to receive it, or able to appreciate it. All this reminds us, forcibly, of that beautiful compendium of Christian devotedness set forth in Phil. ii. 17, 18: "Yea, and if I be poured out upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all; for this cause do ye also joy and rejoice with me." In this pa.s.sage, the apostle represents the Philippian saints in their character as priests, presenting a "sacrifice" and performing a priestly ministration to G.o.d; and such was the intensity of his self-forgetting devotedness, that he could rejoice in his being poured out as a drink offering upon their sacrifice, so that all might ascend, in fragrant odor, to G.o.d.
The Philippians laid a sacrifice on G.o.d"s altar, and the apostle was poured out upon it, and all went up to G.o.d as an odor of sweet smell.
It mattered not who put the sacrifice on the altar, or who was poured out thereupon, providing that G.o.d received what was acceptable to Him.
This, truly, is a divine model for Christian devotedness. Would that we had grace to form our ways according to it. There would, then, be far less of "_my_ sayings," and "_my_ doings," and "_my_ goings."
CHAPTER IV
NABAL AND ABIGAIL.--I SAM. XXV.
It is interesting to observe, as we pa.s.s from stage to stage of David"s history, how different individuals were affected toward his person, and the consequent position a.s.sumed in reference to him. It required energy of faith to discern, in the despised outcast, the future king of Israel. In this chapter we are presented with two striking examples of persons thus variously affected in reference to David"s person and career.
"There was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal." This Nabal was an Israelite, and he appears in marked contrast with David, who, though anointed king of Israel, had not where to lay his head, but was a wanderer from mountain to mountain, and from cave to cave. Nabal was a selfish man, with no sympathy for David. If he had blessings, he had them for himself; if he was "great," he had no idea of sharing his greatness with any one else, and least of all with David and his companions.
"And David heard _in the wilderness_ that Nabal did shear his sheep.
And David sent out ten young men, and David said to the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name," &c.
David was in the wilderness; this was his place. Nabal was surrounded by all the comforts of life. The former owed all his sorrows and privations to what he was; the latter owed all his possessions and enjoyments to what he was. Now, we generally find that where advantages are derived from religious distinction and profession, much selfishness exists. The profession of truth, if not connected with self-denial, will be connected with positive self-indulgence; and hence we may observe at the present day a determined spirit of worldliness connected with the very highest profession of truth. This is a grievous evil. The apostle was made to feel the anguish of it, even in his time. "Many," says he, "walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of _the cross of Christ_: whose end is destruction, whose G.o.d is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, _who mind earthly things_."
(Phil. iii. 18, 19.) Observe, they are the enemies of the _cross_ of Christ. They do not throw off all semblance of Christianity; far from it. "Many _walk_." This expression shows a measure of profession. The persons here pictured would, doubtless, be much offended were any to refuse them the appellation of Christians; but then they do not want to take up the _cross_; they desire not practical identification with a crucified Christ; whatever amount of professed Christianity can be had apart from all self-denial is welcome to them, but not one jot beyond this. "Their G.o.d is their belly, and they mind earthly things."
Ah, how many must plead guilty to the charge of minding earthly things! It is easy to make a profession of the religion of Christ, while Christ Himself is unknown, and the cross of Christ is hated. It is easy to take up the name of Jesus into the lips, and walk in self-indulgence and love of the world, which the human heart knows so well how to estimate. All this finds its full ill.u.s.tration in the person of the churlish Nabal, who having shut himself up in the midst of his luxuries and wealth, cared not for G.o.d"s anointed, nor felt for him in the season of his painful exile and sojourn in the wilderness.
What was his reply to David"s touching appeal? "Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men whom I know not whence they be?" Here was the secret of this worldly man"s estrangement of heart; _he did not know him_; had he known him, it would have been a very different matter: but he neither knew who he was nor whence he was; he did not know that he was railing on the Lord"s anointed, and casting from him, in his selfish folly, the privilege of ministering to the need of the future king of Israel.
The moral of all this is deeply instructive. It demands the clear vision of faith to enable any one to discern the true glory of Christ, and cleave to Him in the time of His rejection. It is one thing to be a Christian, as people say, and another thing to confess Christ before men. Indeed, one can hardly find anything more selfish than that condition of heart which would lead us to take all that Jesus has to give, and yield Him nothing in return. "Provided _I_ am saved, all the rest is unessential." This is the secret thought of many a heart, and if thrown into a more honest form would be this, "If I am sure of salvation, it matters little about the glory of Christ." This was just Nabal"s mode of acting; he reaped all the advantage he could from David; but the moment David put in his claim for sympathy and aid, his worldly spirit developed itself. "One of the young men told Abigail, Nabal"s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness, to salute our master; and he railed on them. But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we were conversant with them when we were in the fields. They were a wall unto us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep." This was all very well.
Nabal could well understand the value of David"s _protection_, though he cared not for David"s _person_. So long as David"s men were a wall to his possessions, he would tolerate them; but when they would become a burden, they were rejected and railed upon.
Now, as might be expected, Nabal"s acting was directly contrary to Scripture, as his spirit was decidedly contrary to the spirit of its divine Author. It is written in the 15th chapter of Deuteronomy, "If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates, in the land which the Lord thy G.o.d giveth thee, thou shall not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy poor brother; but thou shalt open thy hand wide unto him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee." Precious grace! How like G.o.d. How unlike Nabal! Grace would keep the heart wide open to every object of need; whereas selfishness would close it against every applicant.
Nabal ought to have obeyed the word, independently of his knowledge of David; but his selfishness was of too deep a character to allow of his obedience to the Lord"s word, or his love to the Lord"s anointed.
However, Nabal"s selfishness led to very important results; it led, in David"s case, to the exhibition of much that was calculated to humble him in the presence of G.o.d. He is here seen to come down from the high elevation which usually characterized him, through the grace of G.o.d.
No doubt, it was deeply trying to meet with such base ingrat.i.tude from one to whom he had been a wall of defence; it was galling, too, to be reproached on the very ground of those circ.u.mstances into which faithfulness had called him; to be accused of breaking away from his master at the very time that he was being hunted as a partridge through the mountains. All this was hard to bear, and, in the first ebullition of feeling, David gives expression to words which would not bear the examination of the sanctuary. "_Gird ye on every man his sword_," was not just the language which we should have expected from one who had hitherto walked in such a meek and gentle spirit. The scripture just quoted presents the resource of the poor brother, viz.: to "cry unto the Lord," not to draw his sword for revenge. Nabal"s selfishness could never have been remedied by the sword of David, nor would faith ever have adopted such a course. We do not find David acting thus in reference to Saul; he left him entirely to G.o.d, and even when induced to cut off the skirt of his robe, his heart smote him. Why did he not act thus toward Nabal? Because he was not in communion; he was off his guard, and the enemy took advantage of him.
Nature will ever lead us to vindicate ourselves, and resent every injury. The heart will secretly murmur, "He had no right to treat me thus; I really cannot bear it, nor do I think I ought to do so." This may be so, but the man of faith at once rises above all such things; he sees G.o.d in everything; the jealousy of Saul, the folly of Nabal, all is looked at as coming from the hand of G.o.d, and met in the secret of His holy presence. The instrument is nothing to faith; G.o.d is in all. This gives real power to move on through all sorts of circ.u.mstances. If we do not trace G.o.d in everything, we shall be constantly ensnared.
We shall have occasion, as we proceed with our subject, to trace this principle more fully, and shall now turn to another character introduced to our notice in this instructive chapter. This is Abigail, the wife of Nabal, "a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance." A n.o.ble testimony, surely, and one which shows that grace can manifest itself in the most untoward circ.u.mstances. The house of the churlish Nabal must have been a withering scene to one like Abigail; but she waited on G.o.d, and, as we shall see, was not disappointed.
The case of this remarkable woman is full of encouragement and instruction to all who may find themselves cramped and hindered by unavoidable connections and a.s.sociations. To all such the history of Abigail simply says, Be patient, wait on G.o.d, do not suppose yourself void of all opportunity for testimony. The Lord may be much glorified by meek subjection, and will, a.s.suredly, give relief and victory in the end. True, some may have to reproach themselves for having formed such connections, or entered into such a.s.sociations; but even so, if the folly and evil are really felt, confessed, and judged before G.o.d, and the soul brought into an att.i.tude of thorough subduedness, the end will be blessing and peace. In Abigail we see one who was actually used to correct no less a personage than David himself. It may be that her course, up to the time at which the sacred historian introduces her to our notice, had been marked by much that was painful and trying; indeed, it could hardly have been otherwise, a.s.sociated with such an one as Nabal. Time, however, brought to light the grace that was in her. She had suffered in obscurity, and was now about to be raised to an unusually high elevation. Few had seen her patient service and testimony; but many beheld her exaltation. The burden which she had borne in secret was about to drop off before many witnesses. The preciousness of Abigail"s service did not consist in her having saved Nabal from the sword of David, but in keeping David from drawing the sword at all.
"Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him; and he hath requited me evil for good." This was terrible! And David was rashly taking himself out of the place of dependence--the only happy, the only holy place. Nor was it on behalf of the congregation of the Lord. No, it was to avenge himself on one who had treated him badly. Sad mistake! Happy was it for him, that there was an Abigail in the house of Nabal who was about to be used of G.o.d to keep him from answering a fool according to his folly. This was just what the enemy desired. Nabal"s selfishness was used by Satan to ensnare David, and Abigail was the Lord"s instrument to deliver him.
It is well when the man of G.o.d can detect Satan"s working; to be able so to do, he must be much in the presence of G.o.d, for there alone can he find light and spiritual power to enable him to cope with such a foe. When out of communion, the soul becomes distracted by looking at secondary causes, and subordinate agents, just as David was distracted by looking at Nabal. Had he paused to view the matter calmly before G.o.d, we should not have had such words as, "In vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness;" he would have pa.s.sed on, and left "this fellow" to himself. Faith imparts real dignity to the character, and superiority over the petty circ.u.mstances of this transient scene. Those who know themselves as pilgrims and strangers, will remember that the sorrows as well as the joys of this life are evanescent, and they will not be inordinately affected by either the one or the other. "Pa.s.sing away," is written on everything; the man of faith must, therefore, look upwards and onward.
Now Abigail, by the grace of G.o.d, delivered David from the unhappy influence of the _present_, by leading his soul onward into the _future_: we learn this from her exquisite address to him. "And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the a.s.s, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be; and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now, therefore, my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself _with thine own hand_, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal; ... for _the Lord wilt certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord_, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul; _but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy G.o.d_; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall He sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. And it shall come to pa.s.s, _when the Lord shall have done to my lord according to all the good that He hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel_, that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself; but when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid." We can hardly conceive anything more touching than this address; every point in it was calculated to touch the heart. She presents to him the evil of seeking to avenge himself; the weakness and folly of the object of his revenge,--she reminds him of his proper occupation, viz., "fighting _the Lord"s battles_." This must have brought home to his heart the humiliating circ.u.mstances in which Abigail met him, even rushing on to fight _his own_ battle.
However, the reader will perceive that the leading point in this address is the special reference to the future. "The Lord _will_ certainly make my lord a sure house." "The soul of my lord _shall_ be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy G.o.d." "When the Lord _shall_ have done to my lord," etc.; "and _shall_ have appointed thee ruler over Israel." All these allusions to David"s future blessing and glory were eminently calculated to withdraw his heart from his present grievance. The sure house, the bundle of life, and the kingdom, were far better than Nabal"s flocks and herds; and in the view of these glories, David could well afford to leave him to his portion, and his portion to him. To the heir of a kingdom, a few sheep could have but little attraction; and one who knew that he had the anointing oil of the Lord upon his head might easily bear to be called a runaway servant. All these things Abigail knew--knew as matters of faith. She knew David, and knew his high destinies. By faith she recognized in the despised outcast the future king of Israel. Nabal knew not David.
He was a man of the world, swallowed up with present things. With him there was nothing more important, nothing more influential, than "_my_ bread, _my_ flesh, _my_ shearers;" it was all self; there was no room for David or his claims. This might be expected from such an one; but surely it was not for David to go down from his elevation to grapple with a poor worldling about his perishable possessions. Ah, no; the kingdom should have filled his eye, and engaged his thoughts, and lifted his spirit above all lower influences. Look at the Master Himself, as He stood at the bar of a poor worm,--the creation of His own hand,--how did He conduct Himself? Did He call upon His little band of followers to gird on every man his sword? Did He say of the man who dared to sit as His judge, "In vain have I imparted unto this fellow all he is, and all he has?" No; He looked above and beyond Pilate, Herod, the chief priests, and scribes. He could say, "The cup which MY FATHER hath given ME, shall I not drink it?" This kept His spirit tranquil, while, at the same time, He could look forward into the future, and say, "HEREAFTER shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Here was real power over present things. The millennial kingdom, with all its untold joys, with all its heights and depths of glory, glistened in the distance with everlasting light and brilliancy, and the eye of the Man of Sorrows rested upon it, in that dark hour when the scoffs and sneers, the taunts and reproaches of guilty sinners were falling upon His blessed person.
Dear Christian reader, this is our model; thus ought we to meet the trials and difficulties, the reproach, obloquy and desertion of this present time. We should view _all_ in the light of "_hereafter_."
"Our light affliction," says an eminent sufferer, "which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Again, "But the G.o.d of all grace, who hath called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have _suffered_ these things, and to enter into His _glory_?" Yes; suffering must come first and glory afterwards; and any one who, by his own hand, would seek to take off the edge of present suffering and reproach, proves that the kingdom is not filling the vision of his soul,--that _now_ is more influential with him than "_hereafter_."
How we ought to bless our G.o.d for having opened to us such a vista of glory in the ages to come! How it enables us to tread, with a buoyant step, our rugged path through the wilderness! How it lifts us above the things which engross the children of this world!
"We"re not of the world, which fadeth away, We"re not of the night, but children of day; The chains that once bound us by Jesus are riven, We"re strangers on earth, and our home is in heaven."
May we prove the sacred reality of this more, as we pa.s.s along through "this vale of tears." Truly the heart would sink and the spirit faint, were we not sustained by hope--even the hope of glory, which, thank G.o.d, maketh not ashamed, for the Spirit is the earnest of it in our hearts.
In pursuing the narrative of David and Abigail a little further, we have a still more striking example of the vast difference between the child of nature and the child of faith. Abigail returned from her interview with David, and found Nabal "very drunken; wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. But it came to pa.s.s in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pa.s.s, about ten days after, that the Lord smote Nabal, that he died." What a sad picture of a man of the world! Sunk in intoxication during the night, and when the morning dawned, struck with terror,--pierced by the arrow of death. How solemnly like the mult.i.tudes whom the enemy has succeeded, in every age, in alluring and intoxicating with the perishing joys of a world which lies under the curse of G.o.d, and awaits the fire of His judgment. "They that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night;" but, ah! the morning is at hand, when the wine (apt symbol of this world"s joy) shall have altogether evaporated,--the feverish excitement in which Satan now involves the spirits of the men of this world shall have calmed down, and then comes the stern reality of an eternity of misery--unspeakable misery, in company with Satan and his angels. Nabal did not even meet David face to face; yet the very thought of his avenging sword filled his soul with deadly fear. How much more terrible will it be to meet the gaze of a despised and rejected Jesus! Then the Abigails and the Nabals will find their respective places; those who had known and loved the true David, and those who had not. G.o.d, in His mercy, grant that my reader may be amongst the happy number of the former.
I would only observe, further, that the interesting narrative of this chapter gives us a striking picture of the Church and the world, as a whole; the one united to the king, and a.s.sociated with Him in His glory; the other plunged in irretrievable ruin. "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and G.o.dliness; looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of G.o.d, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless" (2 Pet. iii. 11-14).
Such are the soul-stirring, momentous facts presented to us throughout the book of G.o.d, in order to detach our hearts from present things, and bind them in genuine affection to those objects and prospects which stand connected with the person of the Son of G.o.d. Nor will aught else, save the deep and positive conviction of the reality of these things, produce such effects. We know the intoxicating power of this world"s schemes and operations; we know how the human heart is borne away, as upon the surface of a rapid current, when such things are presented: schemes of improvement, commercial operations, political movements--aye, and popular religious movements too--all these things produce upon the human mind an effect similar to that produced by Nabal"s wine, so that it is almost useless to announce the stern facts presented in the above solemn quotation. Still, they must be announced, must be reiterated, "and so much the more, as we see the day approaching." "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night." "All these things shall be dissolved." "The heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up." Such is the prospect presented to all who, like Nabal, surcharged with "surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life," have rejected the claims and appeals of Jesus. The world is being prepared, with inconceivable rapidity, for the introduction of that one who, by the energy of Satan, will head up all its inst.i.tutions, embody all its principles, concentrate all its energies. Let but the last elect one be gathered out, the last member be incorporated into the body of Christ by the quickening energy of the Holy Ghost, the last stone be set in its appointed place in the temple of G.o.d, and then shall the salt be removed, which now preserves the world from corruption; the barrier presented by the presence of the Holy Ghost in the Church shall be taken out of the way, and then comes forth "the lawless one"
on the stage of this world, "whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."
Surely these things ought to check the career of the men of this world, and lead them, with solemnized minds, to "consider THEIR LATTER END." "The long-suffering of our Lord is salvation." Precious word!
Most precious! But let it not be abused; let it not be mistaken for "_slackness_." The Lord waits to be gracious to _sinners_, not to connive at _sin_.
However, as has been already observed, it is almost useless to speak to men about the _future_ who are wholly engrossed with the _present_.
Blessed be G.o.d, there are some who have ears to hear the testimony about the kindness and grace of Jesus, as well as about His coming judgment. Thus it was with Abigail; she believed the truth about David, and acted accordingly; and all who believe the truth about Jesus will be found separating themselves diligently from this present world.
CHAPTER V
ZIKLAG
In dwelling upon a history such as that now before us, which manifestly presents much failure and infirmity, it is well for us to keep in memory what we ourselves are, lest we be found pointing out the lapses of others in a spirit of self-complacency. The divine penman has set before us, with unflinching fidelity, all the imperfections of those whose history He records. His object is to present G.o.d to the soul in all the fulness and variety of His resources, and in all His competency to meet the helpless sinner in his very deepest need. He has not written the history of angels, but of men--men "of like pa.s.sions with us;" and this is what makes Old Testament narratives so exceedingly instructive to us; we are presented with facts which speak to the heart; we are conducted through scenes and circ.u.mstances which unfold to us, with touching simplicity, the hidden springs of our nature, and also the hidden springs of grace. We learn that man is the same in every age; in Eden, in Canaan, in the Church, in millennial glory, he is proved to be made of the same humbling materials; but we learn also, for our joy and encouragement, that G.o.d is the same--"the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever"--"Patient, gracious, powerful, holy"--patient, to bear with our grievous and manifold provocations; gracious, to blot out our oft-repeated sins, and restore our wandering souls; powerful, to deliver us out of Satan"s entangling snares, and from the energy of nature and the world; holy, to execute judgment in His house, and to chasten His sons, that they may be partakers of His holiness. Such is the G.o.d with whom we have to do; and we see the wondrous unfoldings of His character in the deeply-interesting sketches with which the Old Testament history abounds, and in none, perhaps, more than in that now before us. Few characters exhibit more variety of experience than David. He truly knew the depths and heights which mark the course of the man of faith. At one moment, we find him giving forth from his harp the most sublime strains; at another, pouring forth the sorrows of a defiled conscience and a wounded spirit. This variety of experience rendered David a fit subject for ill.u.s.trating the varied grace of G.o.d. It is ever thus. The poor prodigal would never have known such high communion, had he not known the humiliating depths of the far country. The grace which decked him in the best robe would not have shone so brightly, had he not been clad in filthy rags. G.o.d"s grace is magnified by man"s ruin; and the more keenly the ruin is felt, the more highly the grace is valued. The elder brother never got a kid that he might make merry with his friends; and why? Because he imagined he had earned it. "Lo," says he, "these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment." Vain man! How could he expect the ring, the robe, or the fatted calf? Had he obtained them, they would have been but the trappings of self-righteousness, and not the ornaments with which grace decks the believing sinner.
Thus was it with Saul and David. Saul never knew his need as David knew it, nor have we any record of such flagrant sins in his case; at least, what man would p.r.o.nounce flagrant. Saul was the outwardly moral and religious man, but, withal, a self-righteous man; hence we have such expressions as these, "I have performed the commandment of the Lord"--"Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me." How could this man value grace?
Impossible. A heart unbroken, a conscience unconvinced, can never enter into the meaning of the term Grace. How different was it with David! He felt his sins, groaned under them, confessed them, judged them, in the presence of G.o.d whose grace had blotted them all out for ever. There is a great difference between a man ignorant of his sins and walking in self-complacency, and one deeply conscious of his sins, yet happy in the full forgiveness of them.