The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 525

heart& Ml'n llN! not condemned for not pr1tiRing God, but for being lovers of sin in thought, feeling, &.nd deed. Their condition nec8llsarily involves ll condemnl\tioa ns surely RB an &.narchical state involves, by its condition, its own destruction, '!'heir ~ot rendering aoknowledii:ments to God for his mercies is only a symptom of the real evi1 1 and not the actual cause of condemnation. A heart true to generoua and puro instincts will alwaye admire power blended with goodness, and be thankful for good plnoed within reach by that beneficent power. "Praise is comely." VIII. 'J'HE DELIVERANCES WROUGHT FOB US BY GoD ABE ONLY PRELUIIINABY BLESS• ING&. All through these verses David speaks of deliverance, of being saved from certain evils, and God as a Deliverer, a Saviour. 'l'his, of course, is a negative good; it is doing something that he may not die, and not be lost. llut it is only a superficial view to say that this was a.ll that David was thinking of. His present position e.s honoured king, ruling over a united nation, and blessed with a moral elevation superior to any other man then lidng, is the counterfoil to this negative aspect, There was no need to say in words what he now was. His life tells that side of the record of God'11 mercy and power. He refers to the deliverances as blessings preliminary to his positive elevation to honour and distinction, Being delivered from the hand of Saul, he was made kiag ia succession; being saved from the banishment consequent oa Absalom's rebellion, of oourse he was positively restored; beiag rescued from the sin of back~ sliding, of course he was reinstated in the Divine favour and holiness of life. This is the correct and New Test.&ment view of the great deliverance, or salvation, wrought for us by Christ. We &re delivered from the curse and guilt of sin ; but that is the negative good, preliminary, necessary to the implied positive elevation to sonship and eternal holiness. He saves from condemnation, but does not leave us as merely liberated souls. He gives us therewith "power to become the sons of God." He makes us "kings, anq priests unto God." The positive aspect of salvation means elevation, progress, con- formity of nature to the Divine will Vers. 5--19.-God's answer to the cry of distress. The facts are: 1. David repre- sents death, the grave, and ungodly men, under various figures, as causing him deep distress. 2. He states that, on crying unto God out of the greatness of his distress, his voice entered even into his ears. 3. He thus indicates, in strong figurative language, the tokens of God's attention to his cry. (1) Some manifest signs of his displeasure against bis foes (vers. 8, 9). (2) A speedy and yet mysterious condescension to the need of his servant (vers. 10, 11). (3) The blending of concealed purpose with distinct manifestations of the reality of his interposition (vers. 12--14). (4) The pressure of his agencies on David's enemies (ver. 15). (5) The thorough rending of all barriers by his mighty power so as to effect deliverance for his servant (vers. 16-19). David represents his condition as one of isolated anguish-he is cut off from God and man 1 standing in a position of peril and suffering, from which there, is no chance of escape, Doubtless there were several occasions in his checkered life when this was true; but he describes them in the terms more strictly appropriate to the time when, being pursued by Saul ~nd his emissaries, he took ref?ge in mountains. Like one stand_iag on a slicrht elevation when the floods are gathenng around, he sees only, on every lllde, death a~ waves eager to sweep him away. The ungodly men with Saul rush -;m as a torrent from which tl;iere is no escape. The sorrows arising from the thought of all his youthful and pa~riotic aspirations being soon ~uried in a :prem_at~re grave, and_ a once promisir.g life being cut off as a w?rthless thm~, gather mes!st1bly around his soul, Whichever way he turns, to the cliffs or the plarn, to the ravme or the cave, he sees that death is there spreading out snares to catch him. Neither God nor man is nigh to rescue. Life's great and holy purposes are being crushed and blighted for ever, No one cares for his souL It was then, when destruction was inevitable, that, as a last desperate resort, he poured out his anguish before God and cried for help. The help ea.me, and the fact and form of the interposition are the theme of his song. Here we notice- . I. PBOVIDENOE PERJiUTS MEN TO COME INTO GBEA'l' EX'l'RE:IIITIEB, David's life was especially providential. He wa.a from his youth the child of Providence, and yet, for no other traceable reason than his patriotism and his gooqn1311s, he wa~ persecuted by &ul, a je.a.lous, auspicioUli king, even to the degree that life was despaired of, All th-e OH, xxn. 1-51.] THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. 639