The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1876-03-01

ton and through the agency OF JoaD, ne was
at length admitted to his fathers presence,
and received kiss as token of reconcilia-
ton and affection. The next bitter fruit Of
this corrupt tree is the subject of the present
lesson, Absaloms rebellion.
NoTRs ON THE LESSON.
A5salom steals the hearts of the people,
Verses 10. AbsaIom was the son of Maa-
cab, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur.
AS David had violated the law that forbade
intermarriages with the heather, We need not
wonder that the offspring of this marriage
gave him only trouble As Absalom har-
bored revenge in his heart for two years be-
fore he murdered his brother, no doubt he
long plotted rebellion before he began his
willy arts with the people. He was..uO doubt
paving the way for his plots when he sought
the privilege of access to his fathers palace.
Handsome in person, and plausible, and per-
haps attractive in manner, he had dark
and treacherous heart. He begins now the
artful practices of the dcmagOgue.
Verse 1. " Prepared him chsriots and
horses, and fifty men to run before him. -
His first act was to make royal display be-
coming, in the eyes of the people, kings
son, or even king himself. The chariot,
when not used in war, was employed for
pomp and luxury. Horses were at this time
rarity in Israel. David had reserved a
hundred pairs of chariot horses taken in bat
tie, viii; A; but as the king was forbidden
to multiply horses" (Deut. xvii &c. they
did not become numerous till Solomon had
broken through this restriction. AbsalOm
had also fifty out-runners, footmen. A man
of rank at the present day in the East, when
riding, is usually preceded by one or more
servants to proclaim his coming and clear
the way. Elijah honored Ahab by acting
as his avant-courier from Mt. Carmel to
Jezreel, q King xviii: 49, The number
fifty may have been indicative of royalty as
Adonjjah had the same number Il King i:
81 The handsome dashing young AbSalOm,
: with his magnificent suit of hair xiv; rs,
: 26,) attended by this splendid retinue was
the cynosure of all eyes.
e Verses 2, 3.-HiS next step was to foster
= discomfort with his fathers administration of
justice. "Absalom rose up early, and stood
: beside the way of the gate. The city gate,
through which the people thronged, was the
!, ordinary place for the transaction of public
e business, especially the administration Of
s Justice. Here the king himself gave atten-
e ton to important cases. AbsalOm took his
place at the seat of justice early in the morn
: ing, that he might have the first words with
!. every sutton, and impress all with the idea
e that he would be prompt and diligent in at
!, tention to the duties of Judge if he were
b invested with power. He insnuated himself
d into favor by showing personal interest in
s every one in making inquiries as to his home,
J. and by telling him his cause was right, as
r soon as stated. This he could readily do
with both parties to a suit, as his opinions
q were given in private, and not on the judg-
;, ment-seat. Plaintiff and defendant went
away alike his friends.
He encouraged discomfort with the gov
ernment, by saying that the king had ap-
pointed no one to judge their cases. 1t is
probable there was some ground for this
|. charge. The affairs of the nation were not
+ now administered with the vigor that marked
e the earlier years of David'S reign. Sin and
9 trouble had made this able warrior and
statesman old and broken in spirit, when he
ought still to have been in the prime of life.
q True, he was now doing great work for the
church Of his own and after ages, in prepar-
ing those Psalms of humble confession and
of Thanksgiving, the outflow of his own Sor-
row. stricken yet grateful heart But the
affairs of his kingdom seem to have had little
of his thought. When he had completed his
vast conquests, David executed judgment
r and justice unto all his people" viii: 49,
J but this characteristic feature of that earlier
s period of his reign, was now lost in his own
e grief and calamities. There must have been
some ground for the dissatisfaction, which
the willy AbssIom was so sedulously foment-
e ing or it would not Sc soon have become gen.
/ eral; yet this does not render his act any the
less base in alternating the people from his
kind, generous, and fOrgiving father.
Verse 4.-Absalom artfully concealed his
: ambitious purposes; and, like every dema-
: gogue, he wished to be in power for " the
good of the dear people" He would take
care of their rights; yea, he would gener-
Ously sacrifice himself for the public good.
Verse 5.-Another artifce to win the
hearts of the people, was, when any one came
to do him Obeisance as the kings son, to
take him by the hand sud kiss him. Every
malcontent, and every sore-head, and every
vain and weak, minded man, and many one
, that would not be put in these classes, would
20 home and tell by the way-side, and in his
city gate, and among his friends, how when
he went up to Jerusalem, AbsalOm, the hand
soonest man in all Israel, though he rode
with a splendid retinue, had met him famil-
iarly, had inquired about the affairs of his
city, had asked after his neighbOrs, taken an