The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 46

nntuml co.uses directed by e. controlling mind towards e. single issue. Not only must Bnul be put aside e.nd Jonathan be rendered willing to give place to another, but the mass of the nation must be won. The hand that had won over Jonathan and removed Baul now operates silently on the hearts of the men of Judah-David's own kindred; and their recognition of him as king at Hebron was preliminary, in the order of Providence, to the acquisition on the po.rt of David of the experience that would qualify for sovereignty over the entire nation, and to the gradual creation in the various tri hes of confidence in hie character and abilities, as also the gradual annihilation by a nature.I process of the interest which men very properly felt in surviving members of the family of Saul. As many lines converged on his reaching the throne of .Judah, so this elevation was the opening up of new Jines that would ultimately converge on the complete realization of the Divine purpose in bis life. While absorbed in our own individual experience, we do not see how the line we have to follow is what it is because of being one of many terminating in a common issue. Later on we are able to take the position of a geographer, who surveying the watershed of a region, sees the convergence, after all the circuitous windings round rugged mountains and through wild gorges, of various water-courses into one calm and majestic stream. Thus we now interpret the lives of Jacob and Joseph, and, above all, the varied earthly experiences of our Saviour. We thus have warrant for believing that there are more forces working toward the goal of our life of godliness than we can at present trace. We ought to cherish faith in God's silent action on the spirits of men for the furtherance of the ends for which we, as his servants, live and strive. David could obey, be patient and step forward when occasion offered; but meanwhile God could dispose the minds of Judah toward8 him, and educate the rest to recognize in due time his fitness to be their king also. The courses of nature are on the side of good men. The social world is not a chaos; there is a Power which subdues all things unto itself. This should comfort and strengthen us in all our efforts to see Christ recognized as King of kings. II. SucCESB PARTIALLY ATTAINED 1B BOTH A PLEDGE OF DIVINE FAITHFULNESS AND A 0ALL TO HIGHER AND MORE DIFFI0ULT SERVICE. The elevation to the throne at Hebron was certainly a great success in the long and weary, and, so far as David was concerned with Saul, bloodless conflict. It must have given to the act of anointing by Samuel a fulness of meaning hitherto not realized. 'l'he venerable records of God's faithful- ness to Abraham and Jacob after many a severe trial, which doubtless he was accustomed, at this period of his history, to read and meditate upon (Ps. i. 2; cf. cxix. 97, 99), were seen to be but counterparts of what he now could write. He had waited long; he had abstained from violent means and forced providences, and so could take heart and believe that the Lord forsaketh not his saints, but bringeth to pass that for which they wait (Ps. xxxviii. 1-4). And yet this partial success was to him the starting-point from which he was to advance still further in the fulfilment of life's purpose; it demanded of him more skill, more watchfulness, more caution, than ever. A new set of qualities would find scope for development; different and more subtile temptations would arise; the final triumph would depend on present use of partial success. Now, the case of David reigning at Hebron over part of the nation is the case of all who, like him, are engaged in maintaining the honour of God in a sinful world. What they have attained to, either in personal self-conquest or in subduing men to the obedience of faith, may be taken as pledge of the faithfulness that remains yet to be proved, while it opens up wider reaches of exertion and exposes to new and very dangerous forms of temptation. 'l'be history of the Church up to the fourth century, and its subsequent career till it recovered its tone in the time of the Reformation, furnishes abundant illustration of this double aspect of partial success. Our modern missionary achievements furnish distinct pledges of God's faithfulness, but they impose further and very serious obligations with a view to consolidation, and at the same time expose us to peculiar temptations which find no room in the season of early enthusiasm and sturdy endurance. The same applies to our own personal religion and the bringing of our entire nature into subjection to Christ (Luke x. 17-20; 1 Cor. x. 11, 12). III. SUCCESS PARTIALLY ATTAINED FURNISHES FACILITIES FOR GREATER ACRIETI- MENTB. 'l'he acquisition of Hebron as the seat of government, some twenty miles south of ,Terus11lem, nnd situated among hills that rendered both defence and administration more feasible, furnished solid ground for the expectation that some day the more 44 THE SECOND 1300'.K. OF SAMUEL. (on. n. 1-82.