The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 305

Rt~ib11ted to <''!1price ''. (He~gstenb~rg). ." The p_ersonal forgiveneSB Indulged to the Krng of I~rael, m cons1derat1on of his penitence, did not break the connection between causes and their effects. This <'Onnection is stamped on the unchanging laws of God in mlture; and it becomes every ma.n, instrad of itrraigning the appointment, to brin§ 1>upport to hi8 domestic happiness by tho instrumenta.lity of 11, good exe.mplo • (W. White). His family, his kingdom, and even his own character, were permanently affect.ed by his sin. " Broken in spirit by the consciousness of how deeply he hnd sinned againAt God and against men; humbled in the eyes of his subjects, and his ~nflu_ence with them weakenecl by_ the knowledge of his c~mes; and even his authority ID his own household, and his cl11.1m to the reverence of his sons, relaxed by the loss of character; David appears henceforth a much-altered man. He is as one who goes down to the grave n;iourning. His active history is past-henceforth he is passive merely. All that was high and firm and noble in his character goes out of view, and all that i.s weak a.nd low and wayward comes out in strong relief. The be.lance of his character is broken. Alas for him! The bird which once rose to heights unattained before by mortal wing, filling the air wit.h its joyful songs, now lies with me.imed wing upon the ground, pouring forth its doleful cries to God " (Kitto, 'Daily Bible Illust.').-D. Ver. 13.-(THE PALACE.) The achrwwledgment of sin. "And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord." 1. 'fhe words of the prophet were a decisive te.st of the character of David. Had he treated the messenger and his messe.ge as others have done (1 Sam. xv.12-21; 1 Kings xiii 4; :x.xi. 20; xxii. 8; Jer. x:xxvi. 23; Luke iii. 10 ; Acts :x.xiv. 25), his partial blindness to his sin would he.ve become tote.I, and he would he.~e fe.llen to a still lower depth, perhaps never to rise again. But his genuine piety, as well e.s the exceeding grace of God ( eh. vii. 15), ensured a better issue; e.nd the confidence in his recovery, which Ne.than probably felt in coming to him, we.s fully justified. 2. Hardly was the sentence pronounced, "Thou a.rt the me.n ! " before the long-repressed. cun,lession broke from his lips (1 Sam. vii 6; xv. 24-31), "I am the man! Who says this of me? Yet-God knows e.11-yes, I am the man. I have sinned against the Lord." .. Never so fast, in silent April shower, Flushed into green the dry and lea.fiess bower, As Israel's crowned mourner felt The dull hard stone within him melt" (Keble.) The rnling principle of his nature was like a spring of water which, though choked and buried beneath a heap of rubbish, e.t length finds its we.y again to the surface. "'l'he funda.mente.l trait in David's che.re.cter is a deep and tender susceptibility, which, although even for a. time it may yield to lust or the pressure of the world, yet always quickly rises a.go.in in repente.nce and faith" (' Old Test. Hist. of Redemption'). "If in this ma.tter Ne.than shows himself gree.t, David is no less so. The cutting truth of the prophetic word shakes him out of the hollow p11.Ssion in which he he.s lived since first he saw this woma.n, and rouses him aga.in to the consciousness of his better self, His greatness, however, is shown in the fa.et the.t, king as he was, he soon humbled himself, like the lowliest, before the higher truth; and, although his penitence was e.s deep and sincere as f;>ssible, it did not cause him either to lose his dignity or to forget his royal duties' (Ewe.Id). 3. There is no po.rt of his life for the proper under- standing of which it is so necessary to ree.d the history in connection with what he himself bes written-" the songs of sore repentance," which he "sang in sorrowful mood" (Dante), Ps. li (see inscription),' The prayer of the penitent;' the germ of which lay in this confession, but which was composed e.fter the utterance of the word, "The Lord e.lsv bath put a.way thy sm ; " for "the promise of forgiveness did not te.ke immediate p.,~session of his soul, but simply kept him from despair e.t first, and ge.ve him strength to attain to a thorough knowledge of his guilt through prayer and suppli- ce.tion, and to pray for its entire removal that the heart might be renewed a~d fortified through the Holy Ghost n (Keil). "It is e. generally acknowledged experience the.t there is often e. great gulf between the objective word of forgiveness, presented from without, and its mbjective e.ppropriation by man, which hesitating conscience is unable 0B, XII. 1-81.] THE SECOND BOOK •OF SAMUEL. 309