The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 603

con8idered his frame, and what he could be~t bear" (Matthew Henry), 4. And it caused him. great dis~!; all the greM.er because he was required, not merely to submit passively to chastisement, but to choose the form thereof, and thus mii.ke it In some eense, his own. "All chastening 11eemeth for the present to be not Joyous but grievous" etc. (Heh. xii. 11). ' ' II. 'l'HE srIRIT OF BUBMrssroN which he displayed. "Is it a choice made? or i■ it a choice referred back to the offerer? Is it, 'I choose pestilence'? or is it • Let God choose'.? Whatever the application, the principle stands steadfast-In eve;ything let me_ be m God's hand; whether f?r the choice of my punishment, or for the infliction o~ 1t, h~ shall be my J1~dge; ~or his mercies are great-greater than man's; the more free his cho,ce, the more direct his dealing, the better is it for the man, the better is It for the _ne.tion Jhat must_ ii~ffer." ." And David chose _for himself the _mortality [death]" (LXX.); that affl1ct1on which 1s common to kmgs and to' their subjects, and in which the fear was equal on a.l.l sides" (Josephus). Of famine· and war with their untol<l miseries, he had had experience, not of pestilence. By the form;r he would become_ dependent on men (fo~ the sustaining or the sparing of life); by the latter, more directly on God ; and whilst "the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel," his "~~ger ~ndun;th but a moment" (Ps. xxx. 5), and "his mercies are great." 'l'he spmt evinced 1s one of: I. Self-abasement, before the majesty of the supreme King and Judge. 2. Self-abnegation; with noble disinterestedness, setting aside all co.re for his personal safety, and enduring, in common with the meanest of his subjects, the just chastisement of Heaven. His position might secure him a<>ainsi: suffering and death by famine and "the sword of his enemies;" not by "the ~word of the Lord'' (1 Chron. u:i. 12)- 11 The pestilence that walketh in darkness, And the sickness that wllSteth at noonday." • (Ps. xci. 6.) 3. Self-surrender; the sacrifice of his own will to the wil).. of God (1 Sam, iii. 18; eh; xv. 23-29; Ps. cxxxi.). • , . "And in his will is our tranquiliity: It is the mighty ocean, whither tends Whatever it creates and nature makes." (Dante, 'Par.,' iii). "Though he shy me," etc. (Job xiii. 15). "If Christ stood with a drawn sword in his hand pointed at my breast, yet would I rush into his arms" (Luther). 4. Confidence in the abounding mercy of God. For he is not like man, ignorant, inconsiderate, unjust, wilful, selfish, cruel, and malicious; but knows all things (the. secrets of the heart, the force of temptation, the sincerity of penitence, the reality of love), is con- siderate ( af human infirmities, Isa. lvii 16), righteous, "merciful, and gracious," etc. (Exod. xxxiv. 6), very pitiful (Ps. ciii. 13, 14), mitigates affiiction (Isa. xxvii. 8), mingles with it many consolations, and "repents him of the evil" (Jonah iv. 4; 1 So.m. xv. ~9; ver. 16). Snch trust is the spring of true submission, and it is fully justified hy the event. 5. C~peration with the merciful and holy purposes of God in rolation to the moral welfare of those whom he afflicts. The selfishness of men in famine and their cruelty in war tend to evoke rebellion, wrath, and retaliation; the recognition of "the mighty hand of God" (Jas. iv. 10; 1 Pet. v. 6) tends to produce lowly obedience, tenderness, and kindness. 6. Concern for the welfare of the nation, which would suffer lesR by the last than by the first two of the calamities; and: 7. Zeal for the interests of religion and the glory of God. "Let thy Name be magnifi~d for ever'.' (eh. vii. 26), "When the apostle said to the Hebrews that it is e fearful thmg to fall mto the hands of the living God, doe~ it not contradict the decision of Dav}d? By no means. The apostle meant to speak of those who fall without Tepentamce mto the hands of God for punishment ; but, in a penitent disposition, nothing is so sweet as to fall into the loving and most gracious hands of the living God" (Du Bosc).-'-D. • Ven. 15, 16 (1 Chron. x:r.i. 14, 15).-(JEBUBALEM,) PestileMe. Pestilence,even more tl,ao famine and war, was regarded by David as directly inflicted by the hand of God. How far, in this instance, it occurred in connection with secondary causes is unknown, on. xir.rv. 1-25.] THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL.