and forbearing alike to Ishbosheth and were out oft' becauee they had committed Haul. How noble his conduct we.a we see the murder; the feet, becauee they hnd by the contrnst with Macbeth, whose better brought the head to Hebron. Still, David nnture wne poisoned and spoiled by the was viola.ting the epirit of the Mosaic Law. hopo thnt he should be king hereafter. At It ordered that the body of o. man who bad the end of the veree tho force ie weakened been put to dee.th ehould be buried the snme in the Authorized Version by the insertion day (Deut. xxi. 23). In the fe.ce of thi~ of irrelovnnt worde. What David said ie, hume.ne enactment, it is wonderful that the " I elew him in Ziklag, and that was the le.we of Christian countries should have reward I gave him for his tidings." allowed the mutilation of the bodies of Ver. 11.-A righteous peraou. Ish- traitors, and the hanging on gibbets of bosheth wna probabl_v a weak rather than criminals convicted of smaller crimes. Re- a wicked man; but David is not speaking membering, therefore, the customs of our of him generally, and, ne regards Rechab fathers, we must not blame David much for e.nd Bae.nab, he was quite guiltless, and suspending the hands and feet of these their crime was not in revenge for e.ny murderers at the pool of Hebron, that e.ll, wrong done them. when coming for water, might know of Ver. 12.-They out oft' their he.nds e.nd their punishment. The bend of Ishhosheth their feet. This was not intended for the was honourably buried in Abner's grave purpose of mutilation, but to carry out an (see eh. iii. 32). Enstem idea of retalintion. The hands
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-12.-The facts are: 1. On the death of Abner, consternation seizes Ishbo- eheth and his friends. 2. The only other representative of the house of Saul was a mere boy, whose age and bodily infirmity rendered his coming to the front out of the question. 3. Two of Ishbosheth's officers, forming a secret design, visit lshbosheth as though on business connected with their duties, and slay him. 4. Stealing away by uight, they carry the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and think to satisfy thereby his love of revenge. 5. David, eagerly reminding himself that God had always delivered him without his having recourse to bloodshed, reminds his visitors also of the punishment he had inflicted on others in a similar ca.se at Ziklag, and denounces their deed as even more atrocious. 6. Thereupon David causes the murderers to be executed, and their limbs to be exhibited in Hebron a.s a warning to the wicked, and meanwhile he bestows funereal honours on the head of Ishbosheth.
Worldly blindness the parent of sorrow and wrong. The whole of the events of this chapter proceed from the inability of men to read the high principles that governed the conduct of David. The general truth may be developed as follows. l. THE DODINGB OF IGNORANCE FILL A LARGE SPACE IN THE LIVES OF SOME ME~. When it is said that Ishbosheth and his people were paralyzed and troubled by the news of the death of Abner, the question comes-Why? Was it because now the healing policy of Abner and David (eh. iii.17-21) would yield to the more fierce policy of Joab? Did the young king and his followers imagine that now it wa.s simply a question of best terms, and that submission was inevitable? Or were they apprehensive that, although David made terms with Abner for the sake of securing his aid, now, when that aid was no longer available for the consolidation of his power, he would take revenge on all who had supported the cause of Ishbosheth? In any case, their fears were not warranted by the governing facts of the situation. Their safety and welfare rested with David, and had they known him, had they read his principles aright, they might have been quite at ease in allowing events to take their course in his supremacy. Their forebodings of trouble sprang from ignorance er the man they had to deal with. They formed their estimate of his possible future conduct on the standards familiar amongst themselves. His life was too lofty in tone and aspiration for them to under- stand. How much of human life is spoiled, is charged with sorrows and fears, which would have no place were our vision clearer and our estimate of others more just and true l Men too often judge of the thoughts and ways of God by their own standard, and so apprehend what never need have trouoled them. Our ignorance of coming events exercises a larger influence over our feelings thau is proper; for though we d<> 102 THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. [on. 1v. 1-12.