The Village Pulpit Part 12

Then Michal his wife, Saul's daughter, looked out of a window, and sneered at him, "and despised him in her heart." She was one of your cold-blooded people, with no enthusiasm in her, with no zeal for G.o.d, no heart for G.o.d's glory. Better David dancing for joy of heart, than captious Michal with a contemptuous curl of her lips.

David collected great treasures to build the temple, and directly he was at peace, his heart began to yearn to be about the work, and build to the glory of G.o.d. "See now," he said, "I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of G.o.d dwelleth within curtains." But the word of G.o.d came to him by Nathan the prophet, forbidding him to build, because he was a man of blood, the temple was to be erected by his son Solomon.

Nevertheless, David collected for the temple, and above all, composed his beautiful psalms to be sung in it. The gold and the cedar that Solomon set up are gone, but the Psalms remain, and have pa.s.sed over to be the heritage of the Church.

SUBJECT.--How striking is the zeal of David, and how little zeal have we for G.o.d's glory, and for the adornment of His house! Let us consider to-day this zeal for G.o.d's house, and for those things that appertain to the worship of G.o.d, and tend to His glory.

I. Of all the pathetic stories in the Bible, there is one which has struck me for its singular pathos, yet it is one which I dare say has escaped your notice. You have heard of the zeal of David, how his enthusiasm carried him away, out of himself, so that he forgot his royal dignity, and danced before the ark. You have heard of his bitter disappointment, how when through many years he had longed and planned to build the temple of G.o.d, his desire was not allowed to be carried into effect, but the honour was reserved for his son. The zeal of G.o.d's house had eaten him up. This was very touching, I think, but I remember a still more touching story of zeal for G.o.d's house, and G.o.d's honour, and that, not in a great man, but in a humble woman.

Eli, the priest and judge of Israel, had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, and they were priests in Shiloh. They were utterly bad, profligate men, utterly regardless of the honour of G.o.d, and they disgraced their sacred calling by their shameless lives. They s.n.a.t.c.hed from the sacrifices the best portion of the meat, and kept it for themselves, and they dishonoured the tabernacle by their shameless immoralities committed with those women who came to Shiloh to worship.

In a great battle fought between the Israelites and the Philistines, the ark of G.o.d was taken, and Hophni and Phinehas were both slain.

Then the news was brought to Eli the priest, and the old man, when he heard it, fell back off his chair in a fit, and broke his neck and died. The news also reached the wife of Phinehas. We do not know her name. We only hear of her this once, but by the one little incident recorded of her, we know what she was.

"The daughter-in-law of Eli, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered, and when she heard the tidings that the ark of G.o.d was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death, the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not, for thou hast borne a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. . . And she said, The glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of G.o.d is taken." Good, G.o.d-fearing, loving heart! Not a thought about herself. She is in great suffering; not a cry from her other than this, "The ark of G.o.d is taken!" They tell her that her father-in-law, old Eli, has fallen and broken his neck, "But she answered not, neither did she regard it"--only she said, "The ark of G.o.d is taken." They tell her that her husband has been killed in the battle. "But she answered not, neither did she regard it"--only she cried, "The ark of G.o.d is taken." They brought to her her new-born child, a son. What dearer to a mother than the little infant to whom she has given life? But no, even that does not move her mind from the one absorbing idea, "She answered not, neither did she regard the babe," only she cried, "The glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of G.o.d is taken." Then the women who stood by said to her, "What shall the name of the child be, thy husband who should have named it is dead, thy father-in-law is dead, thou must name it." "But she answered not, neither did she regard it,"--only she cried, "The glory is departed from Israel." Then the women that stood by said, "So shall the name be," and they called the child Ichabod, which means, "Inglorious." A few minutes later, and she was dying, and the last murmur on her lips, and the last thought of her heart were, "The ark of G.o.d is taken."

I say this is a singularly touching story, for it shows us a woman whose whole soul was imbued with zeal for the glory of G.o.d, and that woman was the wife of a man whose whole priestly career was one of dishonour to G.o.d.

II. Now I have given you two striking instances of zeal for G.o.d's honour, one in a man, and one in a woman. Have you any such zeal in you? Are your thoughts at all taken up with G.o.d's church, G.o.d's altar, G.o.d's worship? Are you eager that all should be beautiful and seemly in the temple of G.o.d? Does it pain you above every other pain when you know of something which is to the dishonour of G.o.d and of His Church?

Have you any zeal at all like that of David? Have you any self-forgetfulness in what concerns His honour, like that of the nameless wife of Phinehas? I think if there were a little of this zeal, so many of our churches would not be untidy, neglected, ruinous.

There would not be moth-eaten altar-cloths, and worm-eaten altars.

There would not be green mouldering walls, and broken pavements. There would not be a service slovenly, unmusical, irreverent, or if not irreverent, at least unworthy of the glory of G.o.d.

In heaven flame the golden candles, and the censers fume with frankincense. In heaven the seven lamps ever burn, and the altar shines like the sun. In heaven the angels and the saints cease not day nor night in singing praises, and bowing in worship--and we! how do we show that we love G.o.d's worship? The zeal of G.o.d's house does not eat us up, we do not even know what it is.

LXVI.

_THE MEETING HEREAFTER._

Funeral Service.

Joshua iii. 17.

"And the priests that bare the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites pa.s.sed over on dry ground, until all the people were pa.s.sed clean over Jordan."

INTRODUCTION.--That must have been a striking sight! The whole of G.o.d's people pa.s.sing over Jordan. On one side, on that of the Wilderness, a crowd pressing down, and going into the deep river bed, on the other, those who had traversed, rising out of it, and spreading out on the high bank, looking down and watching those who descend into the bed, and cross through it to rejoin them. They stand in a blaze of light. The sun is setting, and the whole sky behind them is flaming with golden clouds, the light strikes in the eyes of those on the further bank, and they look down into the dark channel and shrink, it is immersed in shadow, but then again, they look up, and see the glory, and the forms of their fathers, and brothers, and mothers, and sisters, and children standing there, steeped in light, and they pluck up courage and go down.

They have no cause to fear.

In the midst of Jordan stands the Ark of the Covenant, and it will not move from that place till the last has pa.s.sed over.

SUBJECT.--That story may serve for our comfort. We, like the Israelites, are on our journey, and we have to pa.s.s through the dark bed of the stream of Death, before we can enter into the promised land.

And we have two subjects of consolation.

(_a_) We have the Ark of the Covenant standing in Jordan to secure the path.

(_b_) We have our dear ones watching and waiting for us on the farther sh.o.r.e.

I. We have the Ark of the Covenant standing in Jordan to secure the path. "Lo, I am with you always," said Christ, "even unto the end of the world." That Ark signifies His abiding presence in His Church, which stands between the living and the dead, a Church on this side, militant, on the other, triumphant, a Church on this side made up of good and bad, of tares and wheat, of sheep and goats, on that side, a Communion of Saints.

The Ark and the priests stood in Jordan, so does G.o.d's Church and priesthood ever remain, so long as the world lasts, and that world will last till the number of the elect has been made up, till the last of the people of the Lord is pa.s.sed over Jordan.

The Ministry will remain to teach the way of the Lord, and point the path through the river bed, and to cheer those who are downhearted, to lift up the finger and bid them look to the further sh.o.r.e, and to the glory there, and to those who stand on it watching.

The Sacrifice will remain, the atoning Blood for the remission of guilt, the altar will remain as well as the pulpit, the priest as well as the teacher, sacrifice as well as instruction. Ever throughout the year, the atoning Blood will be pleaded with the Father for the pardon of the sins of the people. The Bread of Heaven, the manna will remain, to be man's spiritual food and sustenance, and strengthen the heart for the pa.s.sage of Jordan.

The presence of Christ will remain, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." "When thou pa.s.sest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the waves, they shall not overflow thee." Therefore, well says David, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me."

II. Metabus, King of the Volsci, was pursued by his enemies. He carried in his arms a little babe, his niece Camilla. In his flight he came to the brink of a river, deep, troubled, and strong in current, and it arrested his flight. He would not have been afraid of the stream himself, had it not been for the little child. He hesitated.

What should he do? He dare not enter with the babe, as he must use both arms to battle through so strong a stream. The enemy were behind.

He heard their shouts! From a distant hill-top they had spied him. He could not find it in his heart to desert the little one whom he loved so dearly.

Then, what do you suppose Metabus resorted to? There were a great many reeds by the river side, with his dagger he reaped them down, and he wrapped the babe up in rushes and reeds thickly round it, and tied them together with his girdle, and then he raised the little bundle in both his hands, and flung it with all his might across the river. After that he sprang into the water and swam across to the other side. He picked up the dear little bundle, took the child out, found it quite unharmed, and escaped with it lying next his heart.

My Brethren! Is not this something like us?--we may have our little ones, and be called on to part with them. There lies the river, the dark rolling river of death. We must cross sometime ourselves. Safety is yonder. Danger, destruction, here. In G.o.d's name, trusting in Him when He wills it, we part with those so dear to us. We wrap them up in their white wraps, and close them from sight in their coffin, and cast them away. They are gone--over the river, and then we are ready in our turn to plunge in and follow.

Now it is a great encouragement to us to follow when we know that those we love are pa.s.sed and are in safety. You parents who have parted with your darlings, you have wrapped them up and cast them away. Whither?

They have only flown across the river, and when you leap in and swim through, you will find them there--your Camillas, safe and smiling on you, on the other side.

CONCLUSION.--Ah! my brethren, what a happy meeting that will be!

Father, mother, brothers, sisters, children, whole families gathered together. What embraces! What tears of joy! What stories to tell of past troubles! What grat.i.tude to G.o.d for his mercies shown! What thankfulness for His Ark that rested in the midst of Jordan, that supplied direction, sustenance, propitiation, comfort, and nourishment for the journey.