The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1903-10-08
Gods Covenant with David
Observation-Disclosures


David sat gazing through his win
dow. How novel his sensation of Sc
curity and repose. The fugitive and
forager had suddenly come to a fixed
ness of life. The cave, the leafy cover,
the tent, had given place to the seal
ed dwelling, ample and elegant in the
day. Through the open window the
king in his reYerie saw the goodly
battlements of a city beautiful for sit
uation, and destined to become so
beautiful in itself as to be the joy of
all the earth.
That moment his eye rests upon
the curtained temple browning the
heights. 1t is painful anachronism.
However well it may have suited the
pilgrim epoch of the nations history,
it is now palpably out of date. It's
swaying walls are in strange contrast
to the immovable battlements rising
on every side, yet that moth-eaten
tent shrines the nations palladium
and Jehovah's presence.
David's devout heart can scarcely
contain itsel. He gazes from the
tesselated floor to the fluted cedar
columns supporting gold-fretted cell
ing, and then TO the antiquated tab
ernacle quite ready to dissolve, cries
deprecatingly to his congenial COM
panions: "See now, | dwell in house
of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth
with curtains,'
Nathan was Il trifle precipitate
when he said, Go, and do all that is in
thine heart for the Lord is with the"
He spoke his own mind not the Lords
He could not even claim that permits
sion which st. Paul in a certain place
assumes in contrast to positive com
mandment.
A psychological basis for the reve-
lation which the prophet received
that night is found in the profoundly
important and spirited conversation
which he had with the king that day.
1t is borne in upon his consciousness
as in an audible voice that, however
desirable from the human standpoint,
it is not expedient that David should
build the proposed temples.
An enterprise so vast requires a
period in which plans and speciifica-
lions shall be matured, and adequate
resources and material gathered. The
actual erection of a structure SO uni
que and colossal, whose minutest de-
tail, and all its wealth of curious fur
niture, is to be spiritually significant,
requires the undivided attention of
person thoroughly equipped for such
a task. David is not that person.
Leisure from other pursuits is also in
dispensable. Additional military I'M
dertakings are in store for him before
the prepetuity of his royal house is
fully assured.
Jehovah, in inetfable condecension,
has foresworn a temple, and been sat
isfied with a tent for four hundred
years. There is no need of precipi-
tation now. Jehovah can wait. He
has never yet said, "Why build We Inc
not a house of CEDAR Let the man
who proposes it do this thing for God
known he would have no power to do
it except as it was given him from
God. Let him remember his lowly
origin-the sheep and the sheep cote.
The sine qua non of Dayid's build |
ing house for God is that God should
first build a house for David. This
God will do in the establishment and
perpetuation of his dynasty. David's
holy ambition, however, shall be con-
in the person of his son,
who shall build house for Jehovah's
name.
Punitive Judgments may fall on
David's successors, but there shall
never be such withdrawal of Divine
favor as in the case of infinitely and
the will of the Lord
touching this matter of the rebuild
ing of a temple is revealed to David
by the vision and word of the proph-
ct Nathan.