The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 346

the wrong done to Absalom in the ruin of his sister, and the wise woman evidently regarded the whole Rffair AS a "strife in the field," Provocation had been given by Amuon, and the anger of Ab!<l\lom, thus aroused, occasioned his death. Amnon would not ha'l"e died, but for his attack on the honour of Absalom. 'l'wo things in the final argument come home to David. (1) The reference to the ,-0aya of God, David 118 a. piou~ man and as n. righteous rnler, rejoiced in the ways uf the Lord; to him they wero jm;t and true and wise; they were the professed model of his own conduct, '!'his moral argument to a good man is perfectly irresistible. (2) 'l'he reference to G-orl'a l,llnishe,i, ones. David had of late been a banished one. He hnd known the anguish of hei11g far from his heavenly Father, a spiritual exile, no longer permitted or iaclinccl to the close and blessed fellowship of former times. 'l'be widow's word "banished" hrought back the sad remembrance, followed in a moment by the remembrance of the mercy that had blotted out all his sins and restored him to the joys of salvation. Wise woman, thus to touch the deepest and tenderest springs of the heart! Conijider what is implied in the blessed words, "He doth devise means, that his banished b!I not exrlled from him." , M.u,'s 001'"DITION BY REASON OF SIN IS O?,."E OF DANIBHMENT. As truly as Absa.lom was now banished from David as a consequence of his transgressions, so man is separated from God. The information given us of the fallen angels is slight, but it amounts to this-that they are banished because of sin (2 Pet. ii. 4; Jude 6). Our first parents were banished from Paradise because of sin. 'fhose who are not welcomed at last to heaven will have to refer the banishment to sin (Matt. vii. 23; xxv. 45, 46; Rev. x.ri. 27). Tbe state of mankind, while sin is loved and followed, is one of aliena- tion. 'l'he carnal mind is not subject to the Law of God. We are as sheep going astray. Apart from any positive decree, the fact of sin constitutes moral severance from God. The child wanders, heedless of the Father's love, and all the moral laws of the universe combine with psychological laws to keep him, while in that state, outside te.e blessed sphere of fellowship and rest. It was instinctive for Absa.lom to flee from the face of the king. He banished himself by his deed, and tbe king could not render it otherwise. It is instinctive for one in sin to flee from the face of the holy God, and the Eternal, though omnipotent, cannot render it otherwise. The constitution of nature renders it inevitable. 'l'o sappose that it is au arbitrary arrangement is to imagine an impossibility. No power can make sin equivalent to holiness, and consequently no power can confer on sin the blessedness of the Divine favour. II. GoD 1'"EVERTHELESS REGARDS THE BA.NISHElJ AS BIB. Absalom was the son of David, though an exiled wanderer. David felt for him the mingled sorrow and dis- pleasure of a just and good parent. The change of character and position does not destroy natural relationship. Adam was God's wandering child when, with sad heart, he turned his back on Paradise. The prodigal son is represented as being a son, though wasting his eubstance with riotous living. Our Saviour, in teaching us how to pray, would have us think of God as our Father. The whole tenor of his life on earth was to cause sinful men to feel that God the Father looks on them as his, even while in rebellion against his will. Had be disowned us in this respect, there would indeed have been no hope. It is much to know, in our sins and errors and dreadful ·guilt, that we are God's offspring, that he has a proprietary right in us, and thinks of us as only a father can think of his children (Ezek. xxxiii. 11). III. GoD MAKES PROVISION FOR BRlNGING THE BANIBIIED BACK TO HIMSELF. "Ho doth devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him." W ouderful words for that o.ge, and from a widow I 'l'he great and precious truth is the comfort of myriads all over the world, and the occasion of wonder and joy in heaven. Such an incidental ~tatement reveals to us tha.t the pious of Israel in those times possessed much fuller and clearer knowledge concerning God and hie salvation than they sometimes get credit fCJ!·, or would be inferred from the outlines of national history contained in the Bible. The history is designed to trace the great historic line along which Christ came, and the fact that God was, through the Jewish people, working out a great purpose to be gradually revealed in Chri~t. We are not told of all the detailed teaching of holy priests nnd prophet.I!. We may fairly regard this wonderful statement of the widow as a.u index uf truth widely possessed, distinct from the provision of such means-of blcsRiug llB the Lrazen serpent and the cities of refuie. '!'here ia a twofold sense in which the expres- OH, XIV. 1-33.] 'l'HE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL.