EPC Australia

This he built for himself, as soon as he was established king over Judah and Israel. It was, doubtless, very different from the cottage he occupied when a shepherd. But there was no impropriety in this change. A man may alter his mode of living, with his rising condition in the world. The gradations of life are not discountenanced in the Scriptures, and we have never seen any advantage arising from the neglect of them. Good men ought to avoid extravagance; but by being mean or parsimonious, they may cause their good to be evil spoken of.

David, as a king, was obliged to do many things from a regard to his station, rather than from personal choice. Yet godliness is to show itself in all circumstances. Therefore, when he took possession of his dwelling-house, he consecrated it to God. At entering a new house, an entertainment is often given, and dissipation and excess follow. Many are invited, but God is not of the number; yea, they say unto God, Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. But every thing is to be sanctified by the word of God and prayer. Our religion is to be exemplified in little and common things. We are to sanctify the week, as well to remember the Sabbath; and to walk with a perfect heart in our own dwellings, as well as to worship in the temple of God. All we have is the Lord's, and nothing is a blessing till he blesses it.

And we know not what may befall us in our new abode. Here our children may be about us, or here we may weep, because they are not. Here we may find a house of mourning, for the desire of our eyes, or the guide of our youth. Here we may enjoy health, or be made to possess months of vanity, and have wearisome nights appointed unto us. Here we may live many years, or our sun may go down at noon. Let it then be our concern that the place may be the house of God while we live, and the gate of heaven when we die.

David was a poet, and was accustomed to indulge his pious genius on any particular occurrence. Here are the lines he composed on the present occasion. "I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave; thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

All we notice here is, that previously to his occupying this fine mansion, he had been suffering under a dangerous disease. Kings are as mortal as their subjects, and exposed to the same evils of life. And what would a house of cedar be to one who carried into it a body full of pain? But God had recovered him speedily, and while renewed health enabled him to enjoy the blessings of Providence, Divine Grace taught him to value life as a privilege for religious purposes; prolonging his opportunities to glorify God, and serve his generation according to His will.

Nothing is more interesting than little casual insights into the history, and, above all, the experience of good and great men. And in this ode we see the workings of David's mind before, and under, and after the affliction.

Before the affliction: "And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong." He has not said this in words; but his views and feelings, and actions, were all vocal with God. And do we not here see the danger of indulgence? How little can we bear without self-security, without presumption, without losing the heart of a stranger. Hence the necessity of a change, and the advantage of those trials that cry to our hearts, "Arise, and depart hence, for this is not your rest."

Under the affliction: "Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; Lord, be thou my helper." Cain, in his distress, goes to building. Saul sends for music. Few turn to Him that smiteth them. But prayer is the design, the sanctification, the resource, of affliction. Is any afflicted? let him pray.

After the affliction: "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever." He has done it.

"His hand has loos'd my bonds of pain,
And bound me with his love."

Therefore I will serve him with my best powers, and for ever.

And his practice corresponded with his profession. No sooner had he taken possession of his new palace, than "the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God dwelleth within curtains." And then it was that he availed himself of a pious and ardent frame of mind, to swear unto the Lord, and vow unto the mighty God of Jacob. "Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." How different the disposition of the selfish Jews on their return from Babylon! "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?" And what gained they? "Them that honour me," says God, "I will honour." "Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house."

Morning Exercises For Everyday In The Year
By Rev. William Jay