PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel
Robert Payne Smith [1818-1895] · 562,410 words · 620 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 301
III. Hn; CONDUOT. "And he spared to take of his own flock," etc. It wn,.q: 1, Unjust. 2. Tyrannioal. 3. Cruel; "a wanton aggravation of the evils of poverty, humbling t.he poor man with a sense of injustice and inability to protect himself, deriving a momentary gratilie&Uon from seeing his neighbour laid low at hle fee…
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condemn us, God ie grcnter thnn our hearts, and knoweth all things!'' (Blaikie). F0r this fact let us seek- II. AN ADEQUATE CAUSE. It is seldom due to insufficiency of light or means of knowing sin. Ie it, then, due to men's inconsideration of themselves? or to the per- version of their moral judgment? Doubtless to bo…
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listened t.o a. sermon from Nathan, which exactly suited his own caso, and yet he did not apply it tc himself. He turned the edge of it from himself to another, 'l'he benefit of sermons depends more upon the hearer than the freacher, The best sermon is that '\\•hicb is best appU«l by those to whom it is preached (Words…
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nnd sow wickedness, reap the sBme" (Job iv. 8; Ge.I. vi. 7). 2. Sin serves to account for sull'ering; explains o.nd justifies its existence under the righteous and beneficent government of God. The subsequent sufferings of David would have been inexplicable if hie great tre.nsgre~sion had not been recorded. "The remain…
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Rt~ib11ted to <''!1price ''. (He~gstenb~rg). ." The p_ersonal forgiveneSB Indulged to the Krng of I~rael, m cons1derat1on of his penitence, did not break the connection between causes and their effects. This <'Onnection is stamped on the unchanging laws of God in mlture; and it becomes every ma.n, instrad of itrraignin…
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to bridge without great struggles" (Tholuck). Pa. xxxii., 'The blessedness of forgive- neee;' written subHequently. Other psalms have been sometimes associated with hiR confession, viz. Ps, vi., xxxviii.; three others, viz. Ps. cii., cxxx., cxliii., make up " the seven penitential psalms." 4. David is here set before u…
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Ver. 13.-(THE PALACE.) The forgiveness of sin. "And No.than said unto David, The Lord also bath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die." •• The absolver saw the mighty grief, And hastened with relief;- ' The Lord forgives ; thou shalt not die: 'Twe.s gently spoke, yet heard on high, And all tlie band of angels, ns'd…
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peace, refreshment, and gl&dn881, "sweet AS the living stream to summer thirst." Happy is he who cnn say from the heart, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins 111 • Blessed is hi! whose transgression is taken away, Whose sin is covered ; Bl8811ed is the man to whom Jehovah doth not reckon lniqutty, And in whOBe sp…
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(Hengetonberg). "Towards the heathen Israel's duty was, by obedience to God's Word and commands, to set forth the theocracy, and bring it to honour and recognition. 'l'ranegressions of God's command by the king himself must lead the heathen to heap shame and reproach on Israel and on Israel's God" (Erdmann). III. I…
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God deals with men &coord.ing to tbeir mo1'8l attitude toward him), to avert the threatening calamity; but now he is ~one it is useless to indulge In le.rnent&tlon,1 tho will <>f God must be submitted to without repining (1 Sam. iii. 18), "'!'hose wh o are ignorant of the Divine life cannot comprehend the reasons of…
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Yer. 23.-(TIIE PALACE.) The death of a chi1d. "I shall go to him." David had at least a glimpse of the future life. 'l'he expectation of going to his child in the grave would have afforded him little comfort. But whatever meaning may he attached to the words as uttered by him, they may be profitably considered by us in…
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been i;aid, the fact that l.t comes from a Father's hand, and the ben'lfita which it brings by (1) teaching patience in the trials of life; (2) moderating attachment to its bless• iDgB; (3) spiritualir:ing affection for those who are left; (4) intensifying desire for tho heavenly home. "Let us consider to whom they hav…
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Vere. 26-31 (1 Chron. xx. 1-3).-The fall of Rabbah. This event, which occurred after a two years' siege, between the fall of David and his repentanre, presents several significant contrasts. 1. Material success associated with moral fail?J,re. His army victorious, his enterprise. terminating in triumph; David himself…
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of Rom. ii. 1. Had he been aware that he was passinp; sentence upon himsel( ho would probably have been less severe. Or if he had remembered his own greater ~rimes he would hardly BO hal'1lhly haveoonrlemned a man whose crime was so much Iese hein~us. But it is no uncommon thing for great offenders to be harsh in th…
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in reference to their course of life, their duty to others, or any particular action, or even their religious fo.ith and obeervo.ncee, what the will of God ie; but are content to follow without question the customs of the world around them, or their own inclinationR and habits. 2. Those who refuse to give heed when the…
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with contempt. And in more active life, to be slovenly, slothful, indifferent•1 to offer him " half-hMrted eenioe; to present him with niggard offerings; is to show crrievous disrespect to him (see Mal. i. 6--8). (5) Contempt for his people, or any ;f them. As if the godly were necessarily fanatical. Or because they…
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is granted, Thie was assured by the promises of the Old Testament, such as !Aa. Iv. 7. In the New we have the same assurances, and the difficnlties which arise from tnr, penitent sinner's conviction of the rightness of the punishment threatened to trans"'res- eors (hie conscience being on the side of the Divine justice…
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Ver. B.-Relig,:on reproached through the conduct of the religiom. De.vid's wiclrnd- uess gave occe.sion for reproach of religion by ~he ungodly e.mong his subjects, e.ud by the heathen peoples around. Indeed, it occasions blasphemy and contempt of religion down to the present day. I. Co!.'DUCT WBI0H O00ASIONB CONTE…
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h~a~ts of pe.rent_s nnd their surviving children, In tho ce.se of David we have exprrs~ D1vrne explanat10n of the death of the babe (ver. 14). It was inflicted on accotint of the sin to which it owed its existence, and to vindicate the justico of God a.a against the blasphemies of his enemies. And not unfrequently now …
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of rcgnining his child is worthy of notice. "He eball not return to me." H reminds us thRt when our friends a.re dead all opportunity, not only of enjoying their presence and society, but of benefiting them, and otherwise doing our duty to them, is gone. A cause for regret and penitential sorrow if we have failed in ou…
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of frionds every moming at the yonng prince's of sin was tbe.t larael was a peculiar people, house, and his cousin, attending this levee, sanctified to God's service; and ull unholi- noticed Amnon's melnncholy, and, having ness, therefore, was not merely criminal in forced a confession from hlm, is unscrupulous itse…
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Ver. 18.-A garment of divan ooloun. "the being cut off in the eight of the people" This WIU! probably a long tunic "'ith 11leevee, (Lev. xx. 17). But how could David, who had "o woven Ill! for the colours to form pattemll himself committed crimes for whioh dcRth like tho~o of the Scottish t&rtltne (~ee on was the ap…
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his silence nnrl forl,en,mnce macle him snp- Abaalom would sooner or later take hi• pose th11t 'l'umBr's wrong bad not crrnRed revenge. her brother 11ny deep sorrow. Himself a Ver. 32.-By the appointment; literally, m1m of wo.rm feolings, ho bad expected an for ,ipon the mouth nf Absalom it 11x1• /ai,J Immediate ou…
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his fillltbom, Rnd not have driven his l!OOond ie too great for ua to eay that such o. modo son into terrible orime. He had not done of rendering it mu~t be wrong. And if the ■o beo1mse his own sins had tied his hands. grammar be difficult., the sense put upon Yee; David had good rea■on for weeping the worde by the …
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of good, and the energy of the counteraction had been, not connteractive, but supple- mentary to the force of his unbroken holy life. It is an awful fact that the universe, after eio, ie a changed place, and that the trace of the curse in soma form, though not necessarily active, will ever be found in the thought and…
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Vers. 23-39.-'l'he facts are: 1. Absalom, holding a sheep-shearing festival at Ba:i.1- he.zor, invites the king and his sons. 2. The king, declining to go on account of being unnecessarily burdensome, gets rid of Absalom's entreaty, and bestows on!him a parting blessing. 3. After some persuasion, Absalom obtains permis…
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nnd, althou11:h natural reverence may swny their bearing toward him, they cannot help making critica.l observa.tions on anything thnt undermines the respect due. A really pious son would have wept in solitude over the father's sin, and have tenrlerly covered his shame; but the base tendencies of such young men as Am…
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promoting i?cest, and then, on his own showing, knew that i~ was a settled thing to murder the 10cestuoua man (vers. 3-5; of. vers. 32, 33). This cunning man who had not the courage or honesty to tell David of the design of Absalom, was a mo:al plague in David's f&mily connection. It is an instance of how much evil may…
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HOMILIES BY VA.RIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-33.-(JERUBALEM.) The crime of .t1.mnon. The chastisements which David experienced came upon him chiefly through his family. The misconduct of his sons was largely due to his own "in the matter of Uriah," and his defective discipline (1 Sam. iii. 13; 1 Kings i. 6) in connection wit…
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the wicked." " Am non hero neglected, indeed, the right means; viz. in time to be.ve resisted his affections and not to have given way unto them; to have given himself to abstinonoe and some honest exercises whioh might havll occupied his mind; then by some lawful matrimonial love to have overoome his unlawful lust ; …
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Amnon (ver. 4), we see the kind of friend that should not ho chosen. I. lle is dis- tingui8hcd for subtlety, not for virtue and, piety. "In the choice of a friend, Jet him be virtuous; for vico is contagious, smd there is no trusting of the sound and the sick together" (Seneca). "Friendship is nothing else but benev…
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that if they strike not where God hM commanded to st1ike, they and their throne arc criminal and guilty of the wickedness which abounds upon th~ face of the earth for lark of punishment" (John Knox). ll. U:1n,ARRANTED DY ADEQUATE REASONS. In Israel (1\8 in Persia and other Eastern countries) the king, as vicegerent…
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exnggemted report is brought back thn.t Absalom had slain all his brothers--sure sign, if it hnd been so, that he wns claimincr the throne, and marchincr to it throu11h the blood of hie kindred-David's attitude is that of passive, panic-st~icken submi;sion" (It H. Plumptre, • Biblical Studies,' p. 89). Who can say that…
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prnnJty. "The reYenge whioh he took for the foul wrong that his sister hRd auITcred Rt the h11.nds of Amnon did not shock the men of Israel as it shocks us. 'l'o him, by the feeling of all Oriental nRtions, belonged the special guardi11.nsbip of her honour; 11.nd subtly as the punishment was inflicted, it was nothin…
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"How sharper than o. serpent's tooth it is 'fo ho.vo e. thankless child I " (' King Lear.') 2, '!'heir misfortune (ver. 19). 3. Their disappointment of his hopes; his consternation, trembling anxieties, exaggerated fears (ver. 30); his bereavement by death (ver. 32) and by enforced exile through crime (ver. 34); his …
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much depravity should he.ve been found in t.he family of e. man eo p;odly and devout until we remember the nnfavourableness of polygamy to the right training of families' the foolish indulgence of David towards his children, and his own evil conduct, which ·weakened his authority. Passing by, however, all other part…
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tho hea.ring of their fellows; but let a loathing of them be cherished, and every prac- ticable effort bo made to silence and suppress them. II. 'l'HE SUREH'.r SAFEGUARDS AGAINST BUCH FRIENDSHIP. 1. Cflose and decider}, friendship with Ghrist. Begun early, cultivated diligently by daily communion with him in secret, t…
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Rddre~sed t-0 them, and expounded to them l1y their teachers, have manifestly the same end and tendency. With all Rnd above all, the Spirit which dwells amongst them snd gives life and reality to Rll their communion, worship, and service, is the Holy Spirit, and his work ia to reg-enerate Rnd 11nnctify their nature,…
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have upon Christians in this respect. Jesns very Rolemnly warns acrainst "offendincr," 0 others, even the least, by doing or saying what would lead them into sin or hinder th~ir salvation (Matt. xviii. 6, 7). He repeatedly teaches his disciples that he gave them light in order that they might "shine before men," and…
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EXPOSITION. administration of justice in the realm yet CHAPTER XIV. evidently this woman h11d the right of Yer. 1.-The king'1 hea.rt wa.e towara bringing her suit before the king; and we Abea.lom. Again there is a diversity of ma.y be sure that Joe.b would t.o.ke care that ,·iew RB to the right rendering. The prep…
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dmwing, she represents horself EIS dissntis- welcome ba.ok ono rP-jected because of his fled, and pleads for full forgiveness; 11nd as w_ickeclnesa. The application is plain. Tho this would be a violation of the letter of the king cannot restore A mnon to life and neither Levitical La.w, in order to remove David's mus…
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her words nrc fnr more expressive thnn whnt ia to be decirledly rejected, with all other is given in our vereione. Liternlly they attempts of the Massorltee to remove liltlo nre, R!1 th!f l((e, 0 ffl!/ lord tl,.e Iring, tl1ere ia roughnee808 of grammar. fl<Jfhing Ofl the right <Jt' on the left of all that Ver. 24.-L…
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wiro of Ilohoboam, and mothor of Abijah. Ver. 32.-If there be (a.nv) iniquity in me, In 1 Kings llV, 2 we nre tolcl tbRt Abijah'e ~et him ~ me. The worri '' any,'' wrongly mother wne "Mna.clJO,h the dnughter of mscrterl m the Authorized Version ,s Abiehnlom; " nnd in 2 Chron, xiii. 2 that omitted in the Revieed Version…
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.Astul~ness in human a.ffairs. There are a few facts which, put toaether, seem to warrant the conclusion that David was hostile in mind to Absalom, a;d that therefore the expression in ver. 1, rendered "toward," should be "adverse to," ~Jl. 'l'hese facts are, his evident sorrow for Amnon; the related flight of Absal…
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When, hy complicit_v with David's sin (eh. xi. 17), he advanced hiR own a.mbiti,m by g&ining power over David, be had an idea tba.t the country would be the Rtronger for king and general to be of one mind. His sending for David to conquer Rabbah (eh. xii. 26-30) promoted his own influence over the king, and at the same…
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the wrong done to Absalom in the ruin of his sister, and the wise woman evidently regarded the whole Rffair AS a "strife in the field," Provocation had been given by Amuon, and the anger of Ab!<l\lom, thus aroused, occasioned his death. Amnon would not ha'l"e died, but for his attack on the honour of Absalom. 'l'wo …
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eion may be undorAtood. 1. God provides means/or the redempti011, of the world. The Mosaic economy was, in some of its institutions, a. shadow of the provision that centres in the cross of Christ. Our salvation is of God. If be does not find meanM to cover sin and influence our evil hearts, there is no hope. We cannot,…
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Vers. 21--,'!3.-Imperfect reC011ciliation. The facts are: 1. David, referrinu to the promise he had made, sends Joab to bring Absalom from Geshur, Joab expr:Ssing in lowly form his thanks for the king's gracious attention to his request. 2. On Absalom's return he is ordered to abide in his own house, and not to see …
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first. If possible, our agreements and promises should Le expressed in terms that cov,•r all we think and intend. The mutual confidence of society depends on the cultivation of frankness and candour. 'l'he first inconvenience is the least. The promiHes of Gr,,! are "yea and Amen." There is no disappointing reservati…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-20.-(JERUSALEM.) The woman of Tekoah. 1. In David "the king" we here see that fatherly affection may come into conflict with regal justice. He must· have perceived the ill ellects of sparing Amnon, and felt constrained to punish Absalom. But his grief and resentment were mitigated …
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hapless son, or tho I\Vengers of blood, wns intended, adapted, and employed: 1. To ex~it~ compassion toward the u-nfortunate: I\ son who had slain his brother "ummares" (Numb. xxxv. 11) in the field, and whose life was imperilled by the avengers "the whole family" (ver. 7); and his widowed mother, whose only stay an…
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th0se who repent, and punishes the guilty; and for the king to eparo the guilty on iusullicient grounds, or pardon the impenitent, would be to harden the wicked in their wicke<lneFs, and to act contrary to the purpose for which he is made "an avenger for wmth to him that doeth evil." The reasons assigned, though exc…
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II. AN INBTRU0TIVE ADMONITION FOR LIFE. Is it so? Then: 1. Restrain immo- derate indulp:ence in sorrow, "the grief that saps the mind, for those on earth we see no more." No weeping, anger, nor endeavour can bring back Amnon (eh. xii. 23). Accept calmly what cannot be altered. 2. Repress improper feelin"s of resentment…
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"Man in himself ho.d ever lacked the means Of satisfaction. . . . Then behoved That God should by his own ways lead him back Unto the life from whence he fell, restored; By both hie ways, I mean, or one alone. Bnt since the deed is ever prized the more. The more the doer's good intent appears; Goodness celestial…
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of human posseAsiom,. "Beauty is a thing of gree.t recommendation in the correspon- dence amongst men; it is the principal means of acquiring tho favour and good-liking of one another, and no man is so be.rbarous and morose that does not perceive himself in ,._,me sort struck with its attraction" (Montaigne). "Beauty i…
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justilied himsetr in its commission. On this account, perhaps, David would not permit him, when recalled, to see hie face, but ordered him to remnin at bis own houRe (ver. 24); testifying his abhorrence of the crime, and desiring "to carry further the dis- cipline of approval, to wait till his son was more manifestly p…
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Ver. 11.-Remembrance of God. "Let the king remember the Lord thy Go,1." This passage oc-eurs in a singular bit of history, which illustrates, inter alia, the carc- f uluess which even the most favoured and powerful of the subjects of an Eastern monarch must at times exorcise in seeking to influence him; and, on the oth…
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Ver. 14.-God fetching home his banished. The "wise woman," having succee,lrd in that which she pretended to be her object in coming to David, skilfully appruache<l the renl purpose of her visit, She insinuates, in general and guarded language, that he was cherishing thoughts which were "against the people of God," and …
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and may at any moment banish him "into the outer darkness" (Matt. viii. 12, Rovisctl Yersion). II. 'l'HE PURPOSE OF Gon. To eecare "that his banished be not expelled from him ; " but be brought back, reconciled, restored to himself, bis family, and service. 'l'o "fetch home again his banished." Whence this purpose?…
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vised Version), 'l'he "wise woman," in closing her address to David anrl takin;:?; leave, ns sho thought, of him, pronounces thid blessing upon him. It was a mual form of salutation amongst the Jsrae!ites; and, like our similar forms(" Adieu" equi- valont to "to God [I commend thee);" "Good-bye," equivalent, perhaps, t…
837 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.