It wns not the King of Isrnel thAt rAised the arm to slAy, but the wicked Ammonites I Such is the crooked logic of sin. Our Saviour has described Sl\tan as a liar 68 well ns a murderer (John viii. 44). It is evidently very difficult to crush out all light from the conscience. There is a oontinuous protest in the performance of guilty deeds ; but so obstinAte and desperate in alliance with sin is the heart of an impenitent man tho.L this protest, this remnAnt of light, is only used to grace the performance of positiv'e evil with a !'emblance of naturalness and innocence. The crooked ways of sin are traversed by _a~l 1;0e_n who in any measure hug their iniquities, and try to avoid the consequences wh1cn 1t lS feared would come were the deeds of darkness exposed to view. There arc mn.ny acting in this way every day. GEKERAL LESSONS. 1. Men in positions of power have m:iny means at band for hiding their sins from public view (ver. 6); but they should be warned of their corre- sponding peril and increased guilt if they use those means. 2. Real hypocrisy lies in doing things with the appee.re.nce of right and to give an impression of right conduct, when the real aim is evil, e.nd the present motive is subordinate to that aim (vers. 6-11); consequently, just pains should be taken in exposing to men the horrible wickedness of their course, and in getting them to recognize more distinctly, as a govern- ing power in life, the perfect knowledge of God. 3. There are always forces workincr unconsciously against the designs of hypocritical men, rendering, as the action of Uriah did (vers. 11-13), the we.y of transgressors hard. It is vain to fight against God. 4. The man who, in the day of success and real goodness, scorns the unprincipled and hard~ hearted (eh.iii. 29-39), may so fall as to be glad of such men to carry out his evil'designs (ver. 15)--a. warning this to him "who thinketh the.t he ste.ndeth." 5. He who makes use of another as his instrument of evil henceforth becomes weak in all his relations to him. Masters who employ their servants to carry on evil transactions lose •influence over them, and nrtually place themselves in their power.
Vers. lS-27.-0ompZicity in et1il. The facts are: 1. Joab, having executed the wicked commission, sends word to David as to the progress of the war. 2. He: furnishes the messenger with a means of appeasing the probable wrath of David on his learning that the -conflict was more serious than either he or Joab looked for, namely, an announcement of Uriah's death. 3. The messenger carefully describes the.seriousness of the engagement with the enemy, and concludes by referring to the death of Uriah. 4. Dadd sends back an encouraging message to Joab, and professes to acknowledge the inevitable losses and chances of war. 5. On suitable sorrow being shown by the widow for the loss of her husband, David takes her to himself as e. wife. 6. ,The.deed of David is displeasing to God. The narrative here gives us the maturing of David's scheme, and the general character of the secret negotiations carried on with Joab in order to bring his purpose to pass. We have, then, an instance of accomplices in crime~ revealing to us truth, and illustrating fe.cts in connection with human life in all ages. L MEN INTENT ON .A GREAT EVIL ABE FOB0ED TO BRING OTHERS INTO TREIB WI0XEI) SECRETS. Providence kindly frustrated David's attempt to cover bis sin by.means of Uriah's free action; and it therefore became necessary, in bis desperate wickedness, to seek the end in view by means of Uriah'e death. But unless David committed murder with his own hand, which bis conscience would not allow, he must find some one whose ingenuity, with his own, would bring it to pass, and save appearances. Such is the lorric of evil. God in his mercy has filled the world with obstacles to the ,committal or"'sin and to persistence in it when :once committed ; but such is the baseness of the human heart that this, instead of being regarded as a help in the warfare with evil· propensity, is turn.ed into a reason for seeking the aid of another's wits and agency. It is a further fall in evil when men arc thus impelled to drag others into the meshes of their sin. So hardened does the heart become by dalliance with sin acd indulgence in it, that even the character and souls of others are to be ruined in order t;o gratify St'lf and hide iniquity for a few yea,rs from human view. If. THERE .ARE GENERALLY HEN TO BE FOUND READY TO CARRY OUT, THE EVIL PURPOSES oF THEm BUl'EBioBS. Even in the chosen nation a .Joa.b was to he. found, cruel, hard of heart, habituated to .acts of i;everity, 11,nd glad to have the opportunity pf rct{irting in spirit, if not in word•, the former reproaches of bis master (eh. iii. 29, 3~). It h, a sign of the marvellous change that had come over David, that be, who had BO bitterly OH. XI, 1-27,) THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. 275