as good," and "bless him" equally for whichever in his provi- dence he ordains for us p.]
3. Seek a kingdom of which you can never be dis- possessed—
[David was at that time the mightiest monarch upon earth : yet how soon, and how easily, was he dispossessed of his throne. To what then can we look as stable and perma- nent ? Alas ! like Shebna, we may in an instant be cast out from all that we possess, even as a stone is cast out from a sling''. But there is " a kingdom which cannot be moved," and " against which the gates of hell shall not prevail." This is the inheritance which our Lord Jesus Christ will give to all
who truly believe in him Of this David was secure :
and therefore he regarded not the loss of an earthly kingdom; but willingly submitted to it, if God had so ordained. Do ye likewise secure a portion that is out of the reach of any enemies. Have God for your friend ; and you need not care who is your enemy: for " if He be for you, none can with any effect be against you." You may look with complacency on the gathering storm, and defy all the powers of earth and hell to hurt you. So did David ■"; and so did PauP : and so may the least and weakest of the human race : for " the lame shall take the prey*:" though they were prisoners too, " they should take those captives, whose captives they were; and should rule ovCT their oppressors^:" yea, though they were even slain, yet should they rise to resume the conflict ; and " their enemies should fall under the slain '^." " Fear not, Httle flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom^:" and, once possessed of that, " all tears shall be wiped away from your eyes for ever^."]
P Job i. 21.
1 Isai. xxii. 15 — 19.
r Ps. xlvi. 1—3.
s Rom. viii. 35—39.
t Isai. xxxiii. 23. and xxvi. 6.
u Isai. xiv. 2.
X Isai. X. 4. y Lvike xii. 32.
z Rev. xxi. 3, 4.
cccxx.
David's submission to his afflictions.
2 Sam. XV. 30. And David went up hy the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot : and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
A CONSCIOUSNESS of ill desert has a tendency to reconcile us to the afflictions with which our sins
320.] David's submission to his afflictions. 287
are visited. In some respect indeed it embitters our trials, which the testimony of a good conscience would alleviate : but in other respects it has a good effect, in that it silences every murmur against the dispensations of a righteous Providence. The troubles which David had experienced in his family as the punishment of his own sins, had already been great and manifold : but in the rebellion of Absalom they were risen to their height : they were borne however with a spirit of piety suited to his state, and worthy of his high character. Let us consider,
I. The circumstances in which he was placed —
These were most afflictive —
[He was now driven from his throne, banished from the ordinances of religion, and in danger of immediate destruction. Now considering him as a man, such adversity must be painful in the extreme ; and still more when we recollect that he was a king, and therefore susceptible of pain in proportion to the degradation which he suffered. But view him as a man of humanity, and then how distressing must it be to see his country involved in civil war, and to be himself on the eve of a bloody engagement with thousands of his own subjects ! View him also as a man of piety, driven from the ordinances of religion, and suffering under the rebukes of an offended God; what can be conceived more distressing than such a state as his ?]