“And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judith to the hold unto David. And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it. Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.” I Chronicles 12:16-18.
At this time David was in the hold–I suppose in the stronghold of Ziklag, which the king of the Philistines had given to him. It was in that fortress town that he received a welcome addition to his band. David was an exile; and it is not every man who cares to cast in his lot with a banished nobleman. He was outlawed, and his sovereign would have slain him with his own hand if he had found opportunity: few care to stake their all with a man in such a condition. The many who were on Saul’s side spoke very bitterly of David, and, wishing to curry favor with the king, they slandered him to the blackest degree, few respectable people care to associate themselves with a person who is in ill repute. Many to whom he had done no ill were eager to betray David, and sell him into the hand of his enemy; for men sought their own gain, and cared not whom they sold, so long as they clutched the price: it was no small thing for a band of men to unite with a man upon whose head a price was set. David had to stand upon his guard, for traitors were all around: the men of Keilah would have delivered him up when he went in all simplicity of heart within their gates. The fortunes of David were at a low ebb, and hence when these men came to David they did a valorous action–an action which he would be sure to remember in the after days of his triumph.
I want to run a parallel between the case of David and that of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the present moment our Lord Jesus, the Son of David, is still in the hold. Among the men of this world He is not yet enthroned: their hearts go after another prince, and as yet the kingdom has not come to the Son of David. I know that He reigns in heaven, and that He is in very deed King of kings and Lord of lords; but before the eyes of the mass of men He is still despised and rejected. His people, as yet, are but a feeble folk, and often hard put to it; while His kingdom is ridiculed, His claims are derided, and His yoke is scorned. The doctrines which He preached are tossed to and fro like a ball; and men at the present time are glorying in science or tradition, in reason or in speculation; yea, they speak as if human wisdom would soon wipe out the very name of Christianity. It is not so in truth before God; but it is so in appearance before men. This is an age of blasphemy and of rebuke for our Lord the King. Brave are they who will stand to Christ in this, the day of His exile. They shall be right royally rewarded who will now take up His cause, and will go forth to Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. He is the man for the Lord Jesus who can now run the gauntlet of miles of scoffers, and be willing to be called a fool, a madman, or an idiot for His name’s sake. Blessed are they who are not ashamed this day to bear the name of Christ written out large; and to confess that, after the way which men call “orthodoxy,” so worship they the Lord God of their fathers. The philosophic Christian may escape if he will drown the Christian in the philosopher; but this is not to stand out square for Christ. It does our heart good nowadays to meet with a few brethren who are not ashamed still to believe in the merit of the Redeemer’s precious blood, and in the power of His Spirit to regenerate. We feel at home when we drop in with a few who believe in prayer, and expect the Lord to interpose on the behalf of His people. I say, blessed are they who, like these men of Benjamin and Judah, are willing to go to the King in the hold, and take up His cause though it be at a low ebb, and stand up for Him when the many are ready to trample Him down, and are ridiculing His work and His cause. For my own part, I never loved my Lord better than now that He is defamed; and His truth is all the dearer to me because it is flouted by the worldly-wise.
It is to those who will volunteer for Jesus that I am about to speak; and our first head is, that using the text as a parable we have here a commendable example. It is a commendable example for men to join themselves with Christ while He is at a discount. Secondly, here is a cautious inquiry. When David sees these men come he does not at once receive them with open arms, but there is a reserve about him till he has asked them a question or two. He wants to know who they are before he writes down their names in his muster-roll. And, thirdly, here is a very cordial enlistment as they answer to his question, and say, “Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse; for thy God helpeth thee.”
I. First, then, here is A VERY COMMENDABLE EXAMPLE. May the Holy Spirit lead many of my dear hearers to follow it.
Many of these men of Benjamin and Judah, in the first place, went to join themselves to David because they had heard that he was the Lord’s anointed. They understood that Samuel had gone down to Ramah, and, in the days of David’s youth, had anointed him in the name of the Lord to be king instead of Saul. Therefore they said, “Whom God anoints we will follow,” and they came after David. It was fit that they should be loyal to David if they would be obedient to God.
Now, it is within the belief, I trust, of all assembled here, that the Lord God Almighty has anointed “one chosen out of the people” to be His King in Zion–the King of His church forever and ever; and that One chosen out of the people is Jesus of Nazareth, of the house of David, who is Himself, as man, the servant of God, but who is also divine, and counts it not robbery to be equal with God. We have, I trust, all of us drunk in this doctrine, that the Lord Jesus is the Anointed of God, the very Word of God, in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Now, it seems to me that if it be so, the next inevitable step for men who fear God is to go forth and follow the Lord’s Anointed. If Jesus be the Messiah, the sent One of God, in the name of everything that is gracious and right let him follow Him. God has given Him to be a leader and a commander to the people; let us rally to His banner without delay. If the Lord has anointed Jesus to be a prince and a Savior, let Him be our Prince and our Savior at once. Let us render Him obedience and confidence, and openly avow the same. Our Lord puts it thus– “If I tell you the truth, why do ye not believe me?” The argument is irresistible with true-hearted men. If any of you believe that Jesus is anointed to be the Savior of men, I say that you are unreasonable if you do not practically accept Him as such. But if you arc willing to come right straight out, and say, “Let others do as they will; as for me, I will be the loving servant of the Anointed of the Lord”; then you act rightly, and render a reasonable service. What better argument can I find with just and reasonable persons than this? You believe that God has anointed Jesus, therefore accept Him for yourself. If these men followed David because God had anointed him, infinitely more binding is it upon you and upon me, believing that God has anointed of Jesus Christ of Nazareth to be the King, for us to follow Him, that we may be found faithful to His cause and kingdom. Oh, my dear hearers, I am perplexed about some of you: you call Jesus Lord, and yet you do not obey Him; you own that He is the Savior, and yet you do not trust in Him for salvation. Do think this over, and may the Holy Ghost lead you to a sensible decision. If Jesus be God’s Anointed, let Him be your Beloved.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
