The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 73

the conflict of the "old" nnd tho "new m11n." The one is on the way to perish; tho other is "ronewod day by day." III. •ruE UNEXPRESSED WOES 011' LIFE ARE VERY RF.AL. "There was Ion~ war." 'l'he sentence is brief, and understandable by a. child. It is repeated with careless en•"· As a rule, it connotes to the ordinary reader only a general idea of men seeking to 8iay- one another. But to read history aright we ought to bring the faculty of imaginnti,m into full play; and it is only as we exercise the historic imagination that we get o. glimpse of the sad facts embodied in this simple form of expression. Subjected to the vitalizing power of this faculty, what uncxpre~sed woes rise up to view! What harsh and fierce dispositions I What weary marchings and wa.tchings I What mur- derous blows and bleeding wounds and agonizing deaths! What widows' wailings and orpho.ns' tears I What losses to homes and nation of strong men and productive toil! 'l'his, which applies to the brief statement of the sacred narrative, is equally true of greater woes. Men read of great battles very much as they read algebraic symbols. '£he real items indicated are not vivid to the mind. Men read also of the banishment of the wicked to outer darkness in the same mechanical way. The hurry of life leaves no time for the imagination to lay hold of the actual facts connoted. Hence the power over the will of mere visible, present realities. Hence the difficulty of getting the "powers of the world to come" to influence motive. Hence, also, the necessity of each man. making an effort to bring his mind into actual view of the facts covered by language, and of the preacher and teacher rendering the aid of well-chosen speech to further. this effort. IV. CONVENTIONAL STRENGTH MAY BE AN OCCASION OF MORAL WEAKNESS. The historian tells us of the growth of David's domestic establishment at Hebron. Estimated by the customs prevalent in the East at that time, this acquisition by David of wives and sons was supposed to add to the splendour and stateliness of his regal position. All the paraphernalia of a court, the wide-reachin!!: influence of family connections, and the imposing show of a large household would lead ordinary men to regard him as among the great ones of the earth. The accidental surroundings of life farm a delusively important part of what is deemed to be human greatness. We are all children in so far as we a.re influenced in our judgments on social position and weight of character by the circumstantials of life. Even the more educated are prone to either identify or associate greatness with large establishments. This kind of con- ventionalism plays an important part in human affairs ; but it is not God's standard.. David's polygamous habits were consistent with the conventional morality of the age, and his domestic establishment projected his public position before the eye of the people in a form accordant to princely fashion; but we kn.ow that beneath all the signs of wealth and greatness there were influences a.t work which could not but weaken his moral force and mar the beauty and sweetness of his private life. Oriental splendour and conventional moralities were indulged in at great moral cost. David in Hebron with many wives and their accompaniments could not be as morally robust as was David in e11rlier days. The same danger attends all who conform to customs not based on strict principles of purity and godliness. Fashion cannot make righteousness. Goodness may live amidst habits essentially alien to the welfare of the individual and to saints, as surely as life may continue in an atmosphere charged with malarious poisons; but the e!lervation of the one will be as certain as of the other. The insensibility of the man t.:> the subtle action of the evil is only an aggravation of its action and in no wise n. palliation. Modern Christians should severely scrutinize the moral quality of the circumstances and habits in which conventional usage allows them to live. This ran only be done by making use of tests absolutely given by God apart from the colouring which custom is apt to give even to Divine laws. V. UNRIGHTEOUS MEN PAY IIOMAGE TO RIGHTEOUSNESS. There can be no question but that Ishbosheth knew well the nature and validity of David's claims; for the theocratic rule was a reality in Israel during and subsequent to the life of Samuel. It was, therefore, wrong for him to put forth any personal claim of his own. Jonatban's example h11d been lost upon him ; o.nd yet this man recognized the evil done by Abner in lustful indulgence, and even ventured to protest against it. On the other han<l, Abner, while being unrighteous enough to indulge in sinful lust and to abet the iuvulicl claim of Ishbosheth, nevertheless is fired with imli~uation that the love of  THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. [oil. nt. 1-30,