The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 104

onch its exnct inilncnco; but it is obvious in this case that worldlineRs of view, lack of epiritunl apprehension, undue estimate of a lofty character, rendered tho crime possible, nnd evon cleared a.way tho barriers of reBAon against its accomplishment. They judged Dnvid to ho ne themselves, and they acted accordingly. The belief that he would be glad inspired tho concoction of the plot, and gave tone of exultation in their approach to him with the head of the murdered man. 'fheir darkness was dense, and in this sense .theirs was a deed of darkness. It is often that men fall into the snare of the devil in consoquenco of their lack of spiritual perception. The false is glossed, the true is veiled. Even disciples, not clearly perceiving the purely spiritual character of their Lord's mission, desired fire from heaven to destroy the unbelieving. During the "dark ages" men perpetrated dreadful deeds to pleBAe Christ, not rising to a true appreciation of his character and methods. Low conceptions of the nature of the kingdom of Christ as it is in the world, now induce men professing an interest in it to render service in forms that would never be entertained were hie kingdom regarded as he regards it-one of purity, of love, and of righteousness. And as this worldly mindedness was a sore cause of sorrow and trouble to David, and hindered the establish- ment of his authority, so the same evil militates much against the final triumph of our Lord. Hence the need of teachbg and the power of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of the blind, that they may appreciate and regulate their actions by the high principles emhodied in the character and kingdom of Christ. . GENERAL LEBSONB. 1. Destitution of the power of spiritual appreheosion and appre- ciation is· a. radical evil of human nature, and can never be removed by any other means tha.n those which God has provided in his truth and the grace of the Holy Spirit. 2. If we would have men knit in imperishable bonds of affection and common interest, we must seek to get them to see Christ as he is, and enter into relationships on the basis of his kingdom. 3. In all our dealings with men we should be careful not to put forward our own feelings and aims as a standard by which to judge them. Clustered truths. It is not easy to weave all the teaching of this chapter on one line, and yet the various incidents recorded nil centre in the disaster which befell the King of Israel consequent on the secession and death of Abner. It may thus be advan- tageous, for the sake of securing unity of form, to look at the remaining leading truths of the chapter as clustering around this sad event. I. THE SMALLER FIGURES OF HISTORY. Mapbibosheth here fignres as an insignificant person in the narrative of persons and events connected with the gradual nnfolding ot' the purposes of God. A mere boy, lamed by a careless nurse, a son of one who had renounced all claim to the throne I His name and misfortune are mentioned, and the tide of events moves on. Now and then we meet with such incidental references in the Bible history. They are but specimens of multitudes equally insignificant who played a small part in the affairs of the world, 1md a.re unknown for ever. Their selec- tion for brief allusion is doubtless part of a vast providential method by which the historians were unconsciously guided to refer to whatever might illustrate the process of elimination by which God at last accomplished his purpose in first raising up David to supreme dominion of his people, and afterwards the true David of the present dispen- sation. The poor lad little knew that he was an element in the working out of a great purpose, and that, small as was his figure in life, it served as a foil to God's greater characters. Modern science teaches us that nothing is really lost, that all small items are used up in the great development of things towards a future higher condition. So the humbler forms of human life are not all lost. 'l'hey play their part, and to some extent modify all that comes after them. In the Church of Christ, the little ones, feeble a.nd uninfluential in a worldly senso, have some part to perform in the great spiritual development which God is working out. Our Mephibosheths are not lost to mankind. The smaller figures of life render the totality of life more varied, and develop qualitie, which uniform greatness could never originate. II. NoTORIOUB IMMORTALITY. These sons of Rimmon have won for themselves a notorious immortality. Had it not been for their base and cruel deed, their names would never have appeared on the page of history. 'l'heir crime has given them a prominent pince as compared with wiser nnd better men. In this case, the reason of it is doubtless to be found in the circumstance that their deed served to bring out iutu  104 THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL.