_Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him._ ABSALOM; OR, THE FAST YOUNG MAN The Bible resembles a portrait gallery adorned with the faces of remarkable historic men, where every variety of feature and every type of character may be found. An imaginative person, visi... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Absalom rose up early in the morning._ COURTESY WINS HEARTS Lady Montague, speaking of gentle manners, remarked: “Civility costs nothing, but buys everything.” Said Burleigh to Queen Elizabeth: “Win hearts, and you have the brains and the purses of all.” SERVILE FLATTERY Compare the descrip... [ Continue Reading ]
_I pray thee let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord._ DIPLOMATIC INSINCERITY Of royal dissemblers like Absalom history records numerous parallels, notably Charles II., who, in his dealings with the Scots, solely to win them over to his cause, took the Covenant with all the sole... [ Continue Reading ]
_Arise and let us flee._ DAVID’S FLIGHT The motive for the flight was probably a patriotic one. David would not, let the city be destroyed by civil war. Like Louis Philippe, he could: not hear to shed his people’s blood. This tenderness of disposition, so unlike the spirit of the times, is charact... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the king went forth and tarried in a place which was far off._ EXPATRIATION Far up and far back in the history of heaven there came a period when its Most Illustrious Citizen was about to absent Himself. He was not going to sail from beach to beach. He was not going to put out from one hemisph... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ittai the Gittite._ ITTAI THE GITTITE Ittai of Gath was not only a heathen but a heathen of the heathens, a member of a race the most malignant of all the foes of the Church. Yet among the events of this day--a day over which the historian fondly if sadly lingers, more minutely and at greater len... [ Continue Reading ]
_And all the country wept with a loud voice._ THE WAY OF THE CROSS Notice the weeping people. (Luke 23:27.) David’s experience at this time contains many foreshadowings of the passion of our Lord, but also some contrasts, as the conduct of the priesthood. (Verse 24 compared with John 18:13; John 1... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God unto the city._ DAVID’S DEPENDENCE Taking David’s conduct as an example to ourselves, we have brought before us the following truths:-- I. true Godliness engages the soul’s supreme attention, even in time of trial. 1. It draws the thoughts... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Lord, I pray Thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness._ CONSPIRATORS Unfortunately for mankind the time of religious conspirators is not at an end. Under the fair robe of Christianity, there are men who are plotting to take away from us the liberty of conscience. There is steadily g... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hushai the Archite came to meet him._ HUSHAI, THE KING’S FRIEND Contemplate the character of the king’s friend. Like other models of friendship--John the Baptist, Jonathan, Ruth--he is conspicuous for sympathy and unselfishness. But there was a special feature in the story of Hushai which teaches... [ Continue Reading ]