The Statute of David for the Sharing of the Spoil

The Statute of David for the Sharing of the Spoil

(No. 2208)

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JUNE 7, 1891,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they
could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook
Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that
were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.
Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went
with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give
them any of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his
wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. Then
said David, You shall not do so, my Brethren, with that which the Lord
has given us, who has preserved us, and delivered the company that came
against us into our hands. For who will hearken unto you in this
matter? But as his part is that goes down to the battle so shall his
part be that tarries by the stuff: they shall part alike. And it was so
from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for
Israel unto this day." 1 Samuel 30:21-26.

THOSE who associate themselves with a leader must share his fortunes.
Six hundred men had left their abodes in Judea. Unable to endure the
tyranny of Saul, they had linked themselves with David and made him to
be a captain over them. They were, some of them, the best of men, and
some of them were the worst–in this, resembling our congregations.
Some of them were choice spirits whom David would have sought, but
others were undesirable persons from whom he might gladly have been
free. However, be they who they may, they must rise or fall with their
leader and commander. If he had the city Ziklag given to him, they had
a house and a home in it. And if Ziklag was burned with fire, their
houses did not escape. When David stood amid the smoking ruins, a
penniless and a wifeless man, they stood in the same condition. This
rule holds good with all of us who have joined ourselves to Christ and
His cause–we must be partakers with Him. I hope we are prepared to
stand to this rule today. If there is ridicule and reproach for the
Gospel of Christ, let us be willing to be ridiculed and reproached for
His sake. Let us gladly share with Him in His humiliation and never
dream of shrinking. This involves a great privilege, since they that
are with Him in His humiliation shall be with Him in His Glory. If we
share His rebuke in the midst of an evil generation, we shall also sit
upon His Throne and share His Glory in the day of His appearing.
Brothers and Sisters, I hope the most of us can say we are in for
it–to sink or swim with Jesus. In life or death, where He is, there
will we, His servants, be. We joyfully accept both the Cross and the
Crown which go with our Lord Jesus Christ–we are eager to bear our
full share of the blame, that we may partake in His joy.

It frequently happens that when a great disaster occurs to a band of
men, a mutiny follows. However little it may be the leader's fault, the
defeated cast the blame of the defeat upon him. If the fight is won,
"it was a soldiers' battle"– every man at arms claims his share of
praise. But if the battle is lost, blame the commander! It was entirely
his fault–if he had been a better general, he might have won the day.
This is how people talk–fairness is out of the question. So in the
great disaster at Ziklag, when the town was burned with fire, and wives
and children were carried away captive– then we read that they spoke
of stoning David. Why David? Why David more than anybody else, it is
hard to see, for he was not there, nor any one of them. They felt so
vexed, that it would be a relief to stone somebody–and why not David?
Brethren, it sometimes happens, even to the servants of Christ, that
when they fall into persecution and loss for Christ's sake, the tempter
whispers to them to throw up their profession. "Since you have been a
Christian, you have had nothing but trouble. It seems as if the dogs of
Hell were snapping at your heels more than ever since you took upon you
the name of Christ. Therefore, throw it up and leave the ways of
godliness." Vile suggestion! Mutiny against the Lord Jesus? Dare you do
so? Some of us cannot do so, for when He asks us, "Will you, also, go
away?" we can only answer, "Lord, to whom should we go? You have the
Words of eternal life." No other leader is worth following! We must
follow the Son of David. Mutiny against Him is out of the question–

"Through floods or flames, if Jesus leads, We'll follow where He goes."

When a dog follows a man, we may discover whether the man is his master
by seeing what happens when they come to a turn in the road. If the
creature keeps close to its master at all turnings, it belongs to him.
Every now and then you and I come to turns in the road and many of us
are ready, through Divine Grace, to prove our loyalty by following
Jesus even when the way is hardest. Though the tears stand in His eyes
and in ours. Though we weep together till we have no more power to
weep, we will cling to Him, when the many turn aside, and witness that
He has the Living Word and none upon earth beside. God grant us Grace
to be faithful unto death!

If we thus follow our Leader and bear His reproach, the end and issue
will be glorious victory. It was a piteous sight to see David leaving
200 men behind him and marching with his much diminished forces after
an enemy who had gone, he scarcely knew where, who might be 10 times
stronger than his little band, and might slay those who pursued them.
It was a melancholy spectacle for those left behind to see their leader
a broken man, worn and weary like themselves, hastening after the cruel
Amalekite. How very different was the scene when he came back to the
brook Besor more than a conqueror! Do you not hear the song of them
that make merry? A host of men in the front are driving vast herds of
cattle and flocks of sheep–and singing as they march, "This is David's
spoil!" Then you see armed men with David in the midst of them, all
laden with spoil, and you hear them singing yet another song! Those
that bring up the rear are shouting exultingly, "David recovered all!
David recovered all!" They, the worn-out ones that stayed at the brook
Besor, hear the mingled song and join first in the one shout, and then
in the other, singing, "This is David's spoil! David recovered

all!"

Yes, we have no doubt about the result of our warfare. He that is
faithful to Christ shall be glorified with Him. That He will divide the
spoil with the strong is never a matter of question. "The pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in His hands." The old Truth of God by which we
stand shall never be blotted out–

"Engraved as in eternal brass

The mighty promise shines!

Nor shall the powers of darkness erase

Those everlasting lines."

We are certain as we live that the exiled Truth shall celebrate its
joyful return. The faith once for all delivered to the saints may be
downtrodden for a season–but rejoice not over us, O our
adversaries–though we fall, we shall rise again! Therefore we
patiently hope, quietly wait and calmly believe. We drink of the brook
Besor by the way and lift up our heads.

This morning I want to utter God-given words of comfort to those who
are faint and weary in the Lord's army. May the Divine Comforter make
them so!

I. I shall begin by saying, first, that FAINT ONES OCCUR EVEN IN THE
ARMY OF OUR KING. Among the very elect of David's army–heroes who were
men of war from their youth up–there were hands that hung down and
feeble knees that needed to be confirmed. There are such in Christ's
army at most seasons. We have among us soldiers whose faith is real and
whose love is burning and yet, for all that, just now their strength is
weakened in the way and they are so depressed in spirit, that they are
obliged to stay behind with the baggage.

Possibly some of these weary ones had grown faint because they had been
a good deal perplexed. David had so wrongfully entangled himself with
the Philistine king, that he felt bound to go with Achish to fight
against Israel. I dare say these men said to themselves, "How will this
end? Will David really lead us to battle against Saul? When he could
have killed him in the cave, he would not, but declared that he would
not lift up his hand against the Lord's anointed! Will he now take us
to fight against the anointed of God? This David, who was so great an
enemy of Philistia and slew their champion, will he war on their
behalf?"

They were perplexed with their leader's movements. I do not know
whether you agree with me, but I find that half-an-hour's perplexity
takes more out of a man than a month's labor. When you cannot see your
bearings and know not what to do, it is most trying. When, to be true
to God, it seems that you must break faith with man–and when, to
fulfill

your unhappy covenant with evil would make you false to your Christian
profession, things are perplexing! If you do not walk carefully, you
can easily get into a snarl. If Christians walk in a straight line, it
is comparatively easy going, for it is easy to find your way along a
straight road. But when good men take to the new cut, that by-path
across the meadow, then they often get into ditches that are not on the
map and fall into thickets and sloughs that they never reckoned upon.
Then is the time for heart-sickness to come on. These warriors may very
well have been perplexed and, perhaps, they feared that God was against
them–and that now their cause would be put to shame. And when they
came to Ziklag and found it burned with fire, the perplexity of their
minds added intense bitterness to their sorrow and they felt bowed into
the dust. They did not pretend to be faint, but they were really so,
for the mind can soon act upon the body and the body fails sadly when
the spirits are worried with questions and fears. This is one reason
why certain of our Lord's loyal-hearted ones are on the sick list and
must stay in the barracks for a while.

Perhaps, also, the pace was killing to these men. They made forced
marches for three days from the city of Achish to Ziklag. These men
could do a good day's march with anybody, but they could not foot it at
the double quick march all day long. There are a great many Christians
of that sort–good, staying men who can keep on under ordinary
pressure, doing daily duty well and resisting ordinary temptations
bravely. But at a push they fare badly–who among us does not? To us
there may come multiplied labors and we faint because our strength is
small.

Worst of all, their grief came in just then. Their wives were gone.
Although, as it turned out, they were neither killed nor otherwise
harmed, yet they could not know this–and they feared the worse. For a
man to know that his wife is in the hands of robbers and that he may
never see her again is no small trouble. Their sons and daughters were
also gone– no prattlers climbed their father's knee, no gentle
daughters came forth to bid them, "Welcome home." Their homes were
still burning, their goods were consumed and they lifted up their
voices and wept–is it at all amazing that some of them were faint
after performing that doleful miserere? Where would you be if you went
home this morning and found your home burned and your family gone, you
knew not where?

I know many Christians who get very faint under extraordinary troubles.
They should not, but they do. We have reason to thank God that no
temptation has happened to us but such as is common to men and yet, it
may not seem so. But we may feel as if we were especially tried, like
Job. Messenger after messenger has brought us evil tidings and our
hearts are not fixed on the Lord as they ought to be. To those who are
faint through grief I speak just now. You may be this and yet you may
be a true follower of the Lamb–and as God has promised to bring you
out of your troubles, He will surely keep His word. Remember, He has
never promised that you shall have no sorrows, but that He will deliver
you out of them all. Ask yon saints in Heaven! Ask those to step out of
the shining ranks who came there without trial. Will one of the leaders
of the shining host give the word of command that he shall step forward
who has washed his robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,
but who never knew what affliction meant while here below? No one stirs
in all that white-robed host! Not one comes forward? Must we wait here
forever without response? Look! Instead of anyone stirring from their
ranks, I hear a voice that says, "These are they which came out of
great tribulation." All of them have known not only tribulation, but
great tribulation! One promise of the New Testament is surely fulfilled
before our eyes– "In the world you shall have tribulation." When
trouble came so pressingly on David's men, they felt their weakness and
needed to stop at the bank of the brook.

Perhaps, also, the force of the torrent was too much for them. As I
have told you, in all probability the brook Besor was only a hollow
place which, in ordinary times, was almost dry. But in a season of
great rain it filled suddenly with a rushing muddy stream, against
which only strong men could stand. These men might have kept on upon
dry land, but the current was too fierce for them and they feared that
it would carry them off their feet and drown them. Therefore, David
gave them leave to stay there and guard the stuff. Many there are of
our Lord's servants who stop short of certain onerous service–they are
not called to do what their stronger comrades undertake with joy. They
can do something, but they fail to do more–they can also bear certain
trials, but they are unable to bear more–they faint because they have
not yet come to fullness of growth in Divine Grace. Their hearts are
right in the sight of God, but they are not in condition to surmount
some peculiar difficulty.

You must not overdrive them, for they are the feeble of the flock. Many
are too faint for necessary controversy. I have found a great many of
that sort about lately–the Truth of God is very important, but they
love peace. It is quite necessary that certain of us should stand up
for the faith once delivered to the saints, but they are not up to the
mark for it.

They cannot bear to differ from their fellows and they hold their
tongues rather than contend for the Truth of God. There are true hearts
that, nevertheless, cannot defend the Gospel! They wish well to the
champions, but they seek the rear rank for themselves. And some cannot
advance any further with regard to knowledge–they know the
fundamentals and feel as if they could master nothing more. It is a
great blessing that they know the Gospel and feel that it will save
them, but the glorious mysteries of the Everlasting Covenant, of the
Sovereignty of God, of His eternal love and distinguishing Grace, they
cannot compass–these are a brook Besor which, as yet, they cannot
swim. It would do them a world of good if they could venture in but,
still, they are not to be tempted into these blessed deeps. To hear of
these things rather wearies them than instructs them. They have not
strength enough of mind for the deep things of God. I would have every
Christian wish to know all that he can know of the revealed Truths of
God. Somebody whispers that the secret things belong not to us. You may
be sure you will never know them if they are secret, but all that is
revealed you ought to know, for these things belong to you and to your
children! Take care you know what the Holy Spirit teaches. Do not give
way to a fainthearted ignorance, lest you be great losers thereby. That
which is fit food for babes should not be enough for young men and
fathers–we should eat strong meat–and leave milk to the little ones.

Yet these fainting ones were, after all, in David's army. Their names
were in their Captain's Register as much as the names of the strong.
And they did not desert the colors. They had the same captain as the
stoutest-hearted men in the whole regiment. They could call David,
"Master," and, "Lord," as truly as the most lion-like man among them!
They were in for the same dangers, for if the men in front had been
beaten and had retreated, the enemy would have fallen on those who
guarded the stuff. If the Amalekites had slain the 400, they would have
made short work of the two hundred. They had work to do as necessary as
that of the others. Though they had not to fight, they had to take care
of the stuff– and this eased the minds of the fighting men. I will be
bound to say it was a great trial to them not to be allowed to march
into the fight. For a brave man to see the troops go past him and hear
the last footfall of his comrades, must have been sickening. Who could
pleasantly say, "I am left out of it. There is a glorious day coming
and I shall be away. I shall, until I die, think myself accursed I was
not there, and hold my manhood cheap that I fought not with them on
that glorious day." It is hard for brave men to be confined to a
hospital and have no drive at the foe. The weary one wishes he could be
in the front where his Captain's eyes would be upon him. He pants to
smite down the enemies and win back the spoil for his comrades.

Enough of this. I will only repeat my first point–fainting ones do
occur, even in the army of our King.

II. Secondly, THESE FAINTING ONES REJOICE TO SEE THEIR LEADER RETURN.
Do you see, that when David came back, they went to meet him and the
people who were with him. I feel very much like this myself. That was
one reason why I took this text. I felt, after my illness, most happy
to come forth and meet my Lord in public. I hoped He would be here and
so He is! I am also glad to meet with you, my Friends. We are still
spared for the war. Though laid aside a while, we are again among our
Brothers and Sisters. Thank God! It is a great joy to meet you. I am
sorry to miss so many of our Church members who are laid aside by this
sickness, [influenza–see postscript of Sermon #2207] but it is a
choice blessing to meet so many of our kindred in Christ. We are never
happier than when we are in fellowship with one another and with our
Lord.

David saluted the stay-at-homes. Oh, that He might salute each one of
us this morning, especially those who have been laid aside! Our King's
salutations are wonderful for their heartiness. He uses no empty
compliments nor vain words. Every syllable from His lips is a
benediction. Every glance of His eyes is an inspiration. When the King,
Himself, comes near, it is always a feast day to us! It is a high day
and a holiday, even with the faintest of us, when we hear His voice! So
they went to meet David and he came to meet them and there was great
joy. Yes, I venture to mend that, and say there is great joy among us
now! Glory be to His holy name, the Lord is here! We see Him and
rejoice with unspeakable joy!

David's courtesy was as free as it was true. Possibly those who
remained behind were half afraid that their leader might say, "See
here, you idle fellows, what we have been doing for you!" No. He
saluted them, but did not scold them. Perhaps they thought, "He will
upbraid us that we did not manage to creep into the fray." But no. "He
gives liberally, and upbraids not." He speaks not a word of upbraiding,
for his heart pities them and, therefore, he salutes them–"My
Brethren, God has been gracious to us. All hail!" David would have them
rejoice together and give praise unto the Most High. He will not dash
their cup with a drop of bitter.

Oh, for a salutation from our Lord at this good hour! When Christ comes
into a company, His Presence makes a heavenly difference. Have you ever
seen an assembly listening to an orator, all unmoved and stolid?
Suddenly the Holy Spirit has fallen on the speaker and the King,
Himself, has been visibly set forth among them in the midst of the
assembly! And all have felt as if they could leap to their feet and
cry, "Hallelujah, hallelujah!" Then hearts beat fast and souls leap
high, for where Jesus is found, His Presence fills the place with
delight. Now, then, you weary ones, if you are here, any of you, may
you rejoice as you now meet your Leader and your Leader reveals Himself
to you! If no one else has a sonnet, I have mine. He must, He shall be
praised! "You are the King of Glory, O Christ! All Heaven and earth
adore You. You shall reign forever and ever."

III. Thirdly, FAINT ONES HAVE THEIR LEADER FOR THEIR ADVOCATE. Listen
to those foul-mouthed men

of Belial, these wicked men, how they rail against those whom God has
afflicted! They came up to David and began blus-tering–"These
weaklings who were not in the fight, they shall not share the spoil.
Let them take their wives and children and be gone." These fellows
spoke with loud, harsh voices and greatly grieved the feebler ones. Who
was to speak up for them? Their leader became their advocate!

First, do you notice, He pleads their unity? The followers of the son
of Jesse are one and inseparable. David said, "You shall not do so, my
Brethren, with that which the Lord has given us, who has preserved us."
"We are all one," says David. "God has given the spoil, not to you,
alone, but to us all. We are all one company of brothers." The unity of
saints is the consolation of the feeble. Brothers and Sisters, our Lord
Jesus Christ would refresh His wearied ones by the reflection that we
are all one in Him. I may be the foot, all dusty and travel-stained,
and you may be the hand, holding forth some precious gem, but we are
still one body. Yonder friend is the brow of holy thought and another
is the lip of persuasion and a third is the eye of watchfulness, but
still, we are one body in Christ. We cannot do, any one of us, without
his fellow–each one ministers to the benefit of all. The eye cannot
say to the hand, "I have no need of you." We are all one in Christ
Jesus. Surely this ought to comfort those of you who, by reason of
feebleness, are made to feel as if you were very inferior members of
the body–you are still living members of the mystical body of Jesus
Christ your Lord– and let this suffice you. One life is ours, one love
is ours, one Heaven shall be ours in our one Savior!

David further pleaded Free Grace, for he said to them, "You shall not
do so, my Brethren, with that which the Lord has given us." He did not
say, "With that which you have conquered and fairly earned in battle,"
but, "that which the Lord has given us." Look upon every blessing as a
gift and you will not think any shut out from it, not even yourself!
The gift of God is eternal life–why should you not have it? Deny not
to anyone of your Brothers and Sisters any comfort of the Covenant of
Grace. Think not of any man, "He ought not to have so much joy." It is
all of Free Grace and if Free Grace rules the hour, the least may have
it as well as the greatest! If it is all of Free Grace, then, my poor
struggling Brother, who can hardly feel assured that you are saved, yet
if you are a Believer, you may claim every blessing of the Lord's
gracious Covenant! God freely gives to you as well as to me the
provisions of His love–therefore let us be glad and not judge
ourselves after the manner of the law of condemnation!

Then he pleaded their needfulness. He said, "These men abided by the
stuff." No army fights well when its camp is unguarded. It is a great
thing for a Church to know that its stores are well guarded by a
praying band. While some of us are teaching in the school or preaching
in the street, we have great comfort in knowing that a certain number
of our friends are praying for us. To me it is a boundless solace that
I live in the prayers of thousands! I will not say which does the
better service–the man that preaches, or the man that prays–but I
know this, that we can do better without the voice that preaches than
without the heart that prays. The petitions of our bed-ridden Sisters
are the wealth of the Church! The kind of service which seems most
commonplace among men is often the most precious unto God. Therefore,
as for those who cannot come into the front places of warfare, deny
them not seats of honor, since, after all, they may be doing the
greater good. Remember the statute, "They shall part alike."

Notice that David adds to his pleading a statute. I like to think of
our great Commander, the Lord Jesus, making statutes. For whom does He
legislate? For the first three? For the captains of thousands? No. He
makes a statute for those who are forced to stay at home because they
are faint. Blessed be the name of our Lord Jesus! He is always looking
to the interests of those who have nobody else to care for them! If you
can look after your own cause, you may do so, but if you are so happy
as to be weak in yourself, you shall be strong in Christ. Those who
have Christ to care for them are

better off than if they took care of themselves. He that can leave his
concerns with Christ has left them in good hands. Vain is the help of
self, but all-sufficient is the aid of Jesus!

To sum up what I mean–I believe the Lord will give to the sick and the
suffering an equal reward with the active and energetic if they are
equally concerned for His Glory. The Lord will also make a fair
division to the obscure and unknown as well as to the renowned and
honored if they are equally earnest. Oh, tell me not that she who rears
her boy for Christ shall miss her reward from Him by whom an Apostle is
recompensed! Tell me not that the woman who so conducts her household
that her servants come to fear God, shall be forgotten in the day when
the "Well dones" are distributed to the faithful! Homely and unnoticed
service shall have honor as surely as that with which the world is
ringing!

Some of God's people are illiterate and they have but little native
talent. But if they serve the Lord as best they can, with all their
heart, they shall take their part with those that are the most learned
and accomplished! He that is faithful over a little shall have his full
reward of Divine Grace. It is accepted according to what a man has. We
may possess no more than two mites, but if we cast them into the
treasury, our Lord will think much of them.

Some dear servants of God seem always to be defeated. They seem sent to
a people whose hearts are made gross and their ears dull of hearing.
Still, if they have truthfully proclaimed the Word of the Lord, their
reward will not be according to their apparent success, but according
to their fidelity.

Some saints are constitutionally depressed and sad. They are like
certain lovely ferns which grow best under a constant drip. Well, well,
the Lord will gather these beautiful ferns of the shade as well as the
roses of the sun! They shall share His notice as much as the blazing
sunflowers and the saddest shall rejoice with the gladdest. You
Little-Faiths, you Despondencies, you Much-Afraids, you Feeble-Minds,
you that sigh more than you sing, you that would but cannot, you that
have a great heart for holiness but feel beaten back in your struggles,
the Lord shall give you His love, His Grace, His favor, as surely as He
gives it to those who can do great things in His name! Certain of you
have but a scant experience of the higher joys and deeper insights of
the Kingdom, and it may be that you are, in part, at fault because you
are so backward. And yet, if true to your Lord, your infirmities shall
not be reckoned as iniquities! If lawfully detained from the field of
active labor, this statute stands fast forever, for you as well as for
others–"As his part is that goes down to the battle, so shall his part
be that tarries by the stuff: they shall part alike."

IV. Now, fourthly, FAINT ONES FIND JESUS TO BE THEIR GOOD LORD IN EVERY
WAY. Was He not a

good Lord when He first took us into His army of salvation? What a
curious crew they were that enlisted under David! "Everyone that was in
debt, and everyone that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him,
and he became a captain over them." He was a captain of ragamuffins!
But our Lord had not a better following. I was a poor wretch when I
came to Christ. And I should not wonder if that word is near enough to
the truth to describe you. I was a good-for-nothing, over head and ears
in debt and without a penny to pay. I came to Jesus so utterly down at
the heel, that no one else would have acknowledged me.

He might well have said–"No, I have not come to this–to march at the
head of such vagrant beggars as these!" Yet He received us graciously,
according to His promise, "Him that comes to Me, I will in no wise cast
out." Since then, how graciously has He borne with us! We are not among
those self-praising ones who have worked such wonders of holiness. We
mourn our shortcomings and transgressions and yet He has not cast away
the people whom He did foreknow. When we look back upon our character
as soldiers of Christ, we feel ashamed of ourselves and amazed at His
Grace. If anybody had told us that we would have been such poor
soldiers as we have been, we would not have believed them. We do not
excuse ourselves–we are greatly grieved to have been such failures.
Yet our gracious Lord has never turned us out of the ranks. He might
have drummed us out of the regiment long ago, but here we are, still
enrolled, upheld and smiled upon. What a captain we have! None can
compare with Him for gentleness. He still acknowledges us and He
declares, "They shall be Mine in that day when I make up My jewels."

Brothers and Sisters, let us exalt the name of our Captain! There is
none like He. We have been in distress–and He has been in distress
with us. Ziklag smoked for Him as well as for us. In all their
affliction, He was afflicted. Have you not found it so? When we have
come to a great difficulty like the brook Besor, He has gently eased
His commands and has not required of us what we were unable to yield.
He has not made some of you pastors and teachers, for you could not
have borne the burden. He has abounded towards us in all wisdom and
prudence. He has suited the march to the foot, or the

foot to the march. How sweetly He has smiled on what we have done! Have
you not wondered to see how He has accepted your works and your
prayers? You have been startled to find that He answered your feeble
petitions.

When you have spoken a word for Jesus and God has blessed it, why, you
have thought, "Surely there is a mistake about this! How could my
feeble words have a blessing on them?" Beloved, we follow a noble
Prince. Jesus is the chief among 10,000 for tenderness as well as for
everything else. How tenderly considerate He is! How gentle and
generous! He has never said a stinging word to us ever since we knew
Him. He is that riches which has no sorrow added to it. He has rebuked
us, but His rebukes have been like an excellent oil which has never
broken our heads. When we have left Him, He has turned and looked upon
us, and so He has cut us to the quick, but He has never wounded us with
any sword except that which comes out of His mouth, whose edge is love.
When He goes away from us, as David did from those 200 who could not
keep up with him, yet He always comes back in mercy and salutes us with
favor. We wonder to ourselves that we did not hold Him–and vow that we
will never let Him go–but we wonder still more that He should come
back so speedily, so heartily, leaping over the mountains, hastening
like a roe or a young hart over the hills of division! Lo, He has come
to us! He has come to us and He makes our hearts glad at His coming.
Let us indulge our hearts, this morning, as we take our share in the
precious spoil of His immeasurable love! He loves the great and the
small with the same love– let us be joyful all round!

There is one choice thing which He will do, that should make us love
Him beyond measure. David, after a while, went up to Hebron to be made
king over Judah. Shall I read to you in the Second Book of Samuel, the
second chapter and the 3rd verse? "And his men that were with him" (and
among the rest, these weak ones who could not pass over the brook
Besor), "and his men that were with him did David bring up, every man
with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron." Yes, He
will bring me up, even me! He will bring you up, you faintest and
weakest of the band! There is a Hebron wherein Jesus reigns as anointed
King and He will not be there and leave one of us behind! There is no
Kingdom for Jesus without His brethren, no Heaven for Jesus without His
disciples! His poor people who have been with Him in faintness and
weariness shall be with Him in Glory, and their households. Hold on to
that additional blessing! I pray you, hold on to it! Do not let slip
those words–"and their households." I fear we often lose a blessing on
our households through clipping the promise. When the jailer asked what
he must do to be saved, what was the answer? "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and you shall be saved." You have heard that answer hundreds of
times, have you not? Did you ever hear the rest of it? Why do preachers
and quoters snip off corners from Gospel promises? It runs thus–"You
shall be saved, and your house."

Lay hold of that blessed enlargement of Grace, "and your house." Why
leave out the wives and the children? Will you let the Amalekites have
them? Do not be satisfied without household salvation. Let us plead
this Word of the Lord this morning–O You blessed David, whom we have
desired to follow, who has helped us so graciously even unto this day,
when You are in Your Kingdom, graciously remember us, and let it be
said of us, "and David went up there, and his men that were with him
David brought up (they did not go up of themselves) every man with his
household; and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron;" "Every man with his
household." I commend those words to your careful notice. Fathers, have
you yet seen your children saved? Mothers, are all those daughters
brought in yet? Never cease to pray until it is so, for this is the
crown of it all, "Every man with his household."

What I have to say lastly is this–how greatly I desire that you who
are not yet enlisted in my Lord's band would come to Him because you
see what a kind and gracious Lord He is! Young men, if you could see
our Captain, you would get down on your knees and beg Him to let you
enter the ranks of those who follow Him! It is Heaven to serve Jesus. I
am a recruiting sergeant and I would gladly find a few recruits at this
moment. Every man must serve somebody–we have no choice as to that
fact. Those who have no master are slaves to themselves. Depend upon
it, you will either serve Satan or Christ, either self or the Savior!
You will find sin, self, Satan and the world to be hard masters–but if
you wear the livery of Christ, you will find Him so meek and lowly of
heart that you will find rest unto your souls! He is the most
magnanimous of captains! There never was His like among the choicest of
princes!

He is always to be found in the thickest part of the battle. When the
wind blows cold, He always takes the bleak side of the hill. The
heaviest end of the Cross always lies on His shoulders. If He bids us
carry a burden, He also carries it. If there is anything that is
gracious, generous, kind and tender–yes lavish and super abundant in
love–you always find it in Him! These 40 years and more have I served
Him, blessed be His name! And I have had nothing but love from Him. I

8 The Statute of David for the Sharing of the Spoil would be glad to
continue yet another 40 years in the same dear service here below if it
so pleased Him. His service is life, peace, joy! Oh, that you would
enter in it at once! God help you to enlist under the banner of Jesus
even this day! Amen.

PORTION OFSCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–1 Samuel 30.