The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 78

The policy In all such OABes h&s been to subordinate publio Interests to certain oherish~ feeli!1ge· A t:orm of soon? prinoiple!! may be adopted for the ~ery enme reMon ae prevtou!!ly 1t was reJected. Evil men a.re prone to do the Pame in ecclesiastica.l affairs. In private life men have been known even to A.BIIUme a form of godliness-to quote the Divine truth (vere. 9, 10)-as a means of better subserving their purpose. It were _well if rebuke of sin (vers. 7, 8) always produced the godly sorrow that leads to genume repent&nce, and then the !Id.option of the true principles of the kingdom would be, not as II policy, but as a matter of conviction. The case of Saul of TMsus in relation to the spiritual kingdom stands out in sharp contrast to that of Abner in relation to the temporal kingdom (cf. .Acts ix. 6-20). Ill. DURING THE WORKING OUT OF THE ).JASTER-PASSION THE TRUTH OF Gon ABIDES AS A PERMA~'ENT WITNESS. That Abner :should have so explicitly referred to the Divine purpose (ver. 9) cannot be ascribed to information recently received, but must be accounted for on the ground that he bad &11 along had the truth suppressed in his own mind. He here unwittingly unveils his own conscience and condemns his past counie as a violation of solemn obligations rising far above socio.l considerations and person&.1 prererences. To the people he, perhaps, seemed to be a man upheld by a sense of right, but to himself he was known as a rebel against God. The Divine truth asserted inwardly its own reality. Its light revealed to himself, whenever he calmly reflected on his conduct, the dark and damaging characters of his public career. And though be was now adopting right principles, and so would in future escape the pain of kn.owing that his actions were not running counter to their direction, yet, being conscious of adopting them for unprincipled reasons, he could not avoid the conviction that he was doing the right thing for David, not because of a love of God, but for personal ends. 'l'he sense of right would thus reveal to him the essential crookedness of ways that were ostensibly straight. The man who does right things from bad motives never knows the blessedness of the just. Probably there is no determinate course of wrong-doing in which the light of truth does not bear some witness more or less distinct. Even those who, following lower passions, change the glory of the incor- ruptible God into images after their own likeness (Rom. i. 23), at times find within a protest against their conduct (Rom. ii. 15). No man who has heard the claims of Christ to universal dominion as clearly and authoritatively set forth as ever Abner had heard of the Divine right of David, can live opposed to him, or, as a mere matter of policy, fall in formally with his rights, without being sensible at times of a voice which tells him of his dangerous position and worthless character. Many a converted mall has borne testimony that, for years previous to his conversion, the truth of God bore faithful witness as to what was the will of God concerning him ill his relation to the Anointed One. JV. THE WORKING OUT OF A POLICY CHANGED IN OUTWARD FORM BUT NOT IN NATURE 1'"ECESSITATES ll'D ENSURES MUCH ZEAL AND INGEN,UITY. 'l'he change of e.llegiance was, for Abner, a momentous step. For onlookers it meant on bis part a judgment, and seH-respect demanded that that judgment should be justified by every possible means. His policy being the same along an altered course, he must so act as t-0 make it appear that he had come into the possession of new and true principles, and so get the credit of acting on principle and not on policy void of principle. Of course, a man who sincerely came to the belief that God had purposed David to be king, and loved the doing of the will of God, would at OllCe go and offer bis services to David. Abner did this. Of course, he would be eager to fulfil all conditions that might be specified by David in bringing to pass the will of God (vere. 13-16). This was true of Abller. And as to gaining over others to hie new view of things, no pains would be spared to show the reasonableness of the course now to be taken. Abner made out e. case before the elders of Israel and the more stnrdy Benjamites, and was able to report to David complete success (vers. 17-21). What zeal and ingenuity were implied in all this may be imagined by those only who know how hard it is to justify sudden chanaee of conduct and get one's followers to entertain new ideas. But Abnor's love of pre-;minence _in national affairs must perish if !hese_ efforts. were _not fol'th- coming. The sarne will apply to any one who changes sides ID public affam, and at the se.me time desires to attain to the distinction formerly obtained or secretly longed for. In fact, fully to gratify the cravings of selfish ambition means toil upon toil. OH, III, 1-39.] 'rHE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. 77