uix. 1). Joab sinned with e. strong and violent hand, and by a stron"' and violent : ind he at length perished (1 Kings ii. 34; Pa. !viii. 11). • "0 blind Ju1t I 0 fnnlieh wrath I who eo dost goe.d us on In tho brief life, and in the eternal then Tbus miserably overwhelm us!" (Daute, 'Purg.,' xii.) D. . VP.rs. 81-35,-(IIEnnoN.) David's lament 01Jer Abner. "As a fool dies ehould Abner die?- Thy hands unbound, Thy feet not set in fetters: As one foils before the wicked, thou didet fa.11 ! " Ou hearing of the death of Abner, David exhibited the same generous spirit as formerly at the death of S::ml (eh. i. 11, 12). 1. He disclaimed (before his trusterl servantg, as afterwards, ver. 38) against having had any part therein; declaring, "I and my kingriom are guiltless before the Lord," etc. Malicious persons, jui!ging others by themgelvcs, might accuse him of it; and if it had been instigated by him, he would have brought guilt upon his people as well as himself (eh. xxi. 1; xxiv. 1, 17). 2. He invoiced a curse on the head of the author of the deed; not from a feeling of personal hatred nnd vindictiveness, but of righteous indignation (1 Sam. xxvi 19). 3. He ordered a public mourning in honour of the deceased. "And David said to Joab," etc. (ver. 38). Although he durst not arrest him, he clearly indicated what he thought of his conduct, and sought to remove the odium which it cast on his own good name. 4. He followed in the procession as chief mourner, wept at the grave (John xi. 35), and fasted until s1,rnset. "There is no more beautiful picture in his life than that of his following the bier where lay the bloody corpse of the man who had been bis enemy ever since he had known him, and sealing the reconciliation which death ever makes in noble souls by the pathetic dirge he chanted over Abner's grave" (A. Maclaren). "This short poem is not only a dirge; it is also an apology for David and for Abner himself" (Wordsworth). It expresses- I. AD;MffiATION OF EMINENT WORTIJ, Abner was not a villain (fool) or murderer, deserving of being put in fetters and dying a. felon's death; but brave, capable, noble- mindcd, "great in council, great in war," and worthy of respect and honour. A gene- rous man sees aud appreciates what is best in other men. "The generous spirit oi David kept down all base and selfish feeling, and added another to those glorious con- quests over his own hea.rt which were far higher distinctions than his other victories, and in which he has left us an example which a.I.I, from the least to the greatest, should try to emulate" (Blaikie). II. AFFLICTION FOR A PUBLIO LOSS. A light was quenched "in Israel" (vet. 38). His presence and influence would have contributed to the reconciliation of the tribes and the welfare of the nation (ver. 21). David's sorrow was sincere; bis tears (in con- firmation of his words) evinced the tenderness and sympathy of his heart, moved the people also to tears, a.nd (in contrast with the bearing of Joab) convinced them of bis innocence and uprightness. III. .ASTONISHMENT AT AN EXTRAORDINARY FATE. "The point of this indignant, more than Rorrowful, lament lies in the mode in which Abner was slain" (Kitto,' Cyc.'). How stranii;e that Abner should have fa.lien in the full possession of strength to defend himself and liberty to flee from danger; neither as a prisoner taken in battle nor (in allusion to the right of blood-revenge which Joab claimed) as a murderer delivered up in bonds to the avenger by lawful authority, as be would have been if be were guilty! His fall-so different from what might have been expected and from what he merited- could be accounted for only by· its having been caused by the treacherous malice and murderous violence of" sons of wickedness." IV. ABHORRENCE OF A WICKED DEED. (Vers. 29, 39.) The death of Abner was, even more than his life would have been, conducive to David's interests. "It must have seemed to him, from a prndeutial poiut of view, that it was a piece of good fortune. THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL, [en, m. 1-30,
llut the strength of his moral indignation docs not suffer itself to be assuaged by worldly consideration!!" (Delitzsch). Hatred of wrong is a sigh and. meA.Sure of the love of right. "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil" (Pa. xcvii. 10). Dl\'l'id was as severe toward evil-doers as he was tender and pitiful toward the victims of their wickedness. u He was a me.n extreme in all his exoellenoes-a man of the highest strain, whether for counsel, for expression, or for action, in p030e and in we.r, in exile and on the throne" (E. lrving).-D.