The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1912-03-22
DAVID, THE ADULTERER AND
MURDERER.
The Downfall and Restoration Of the
lsraelitish King.
(By Paul Norton,)


aciously to the full inspiration of tht
Bible, have been not little interest
ed in the controversy current in The
columns of the Chieftain. Whoever
John Marcus and FL. Nathan may be
| rejoice to see the manly way il
winch they stand up for all that Chris
tians hold dear. l also am glad thai
the opponents of the faith" are cour
ageous enough to express their senti
ments as they do, for in this way, set
ting truth against error the reader may
see the mighty contrast and difference
between the system of unbelief and
the principles of Christianity.
There has been SO much said, and
so many bitter insinuations uttered
against some of the characters of the
Scriptures, as for instance Moses and
David, that | thought / would state a
few facts that would throw different
light upon the subject than that offer
ed by the champions of iniidelity.
II my lNdQtl Will Ndht up lA0 APibAR
and read the 18th chapter of Second
Samuel, he will find the story OF one
OF the saddest downfalls of a man God
recorded anywhere in human history,
while, at the same time we have the
record of one of the most contemplate
and outrageous wrongs that any man
ever committed against a faithful
friend.
! am not one of those who, in think
ing TO defend the BIBLE, would for a
moment offer defense of Dayid's ac-
tion, or in any way minimize the
heinous offense. 1t was awful and
devilish in it's character, and NO
WHERE DOES THE BIBLE DEFEND
1T. ON THE CONTRARY. GOD RE
BUKED 1T IN THE sTERNEsT
TERMS.
Further, no one can read the sequel
to David's crime without seeing clear
ly that Whatsoever man soweth
that shall he also reap" that God
surely Furnishes sin, and that in David's
case there was no exception made
that the most appalling calamities
came upon him in his later days.
Unlike the defenders of Voltaire,
Paine, and others, whose abilities are
usually magnified, and whose vices
they deny, the Bible always paints
faithful portraiture of the characters
therein given. no matter how exalted
their position. or how great their ahil
titles, or how manifold their virtues:
every one of their defections from the
ways of righteousness, is laid bare by
the unerring and unsparing penman.
In this respect the Bible is utterly un-
like any other book, and this is one
OF the many marks of its genuineness,
and a proof of its divine origin
1t is true the Bible asserts that David
was man after Gods own heart,
and up to the time he committed this |
horrible crime the title was worthy |
one, allowing for all the weaknesses |
in human nature. The expression does
not convey the idea by any means
that David was an absolutely faultless |
man. Dayids character was set over
in contradistinction TO Saul who was
constantly disposed to go his own way |
David sought in al things to know the
will of God and do it exactly. Yet it
was still possible for him, as it is pos
sible for men today, whose wills are
not wholly surrendered to God. to step
out of their position of absolute sur
render to God, and in a moment of
and folly TO commit an act
in the sight of God and man.
And such episodes in the career of
men who were accounted brilliant, tai
ented, and good in their day and gem
GRAFTON, have transpired almost times
without number. Such breaks in
human lives are known to all of us,
and not only has it happened to young
men in the heyday of their virility,
but to men who had passed the mer-
idian of their lives; men who had ex-
cellent wives, and who had reared {
large families, suddenly have fallen
beneath the power of the Tempter and
their baser passions, and their light
has gone out in darkness" and the {
pail of disgrace has rested upon their
1t is a fearful thing to sin
against God, and that is one reason
why every one of us need to heed the
admonition: Let him that
he standeth take heed lest |
he fall
It is well to repeat that the sins of {
Bible characters are not concealed
from the public eye In all these is
such detailed description, such
and sincerity of delinea-
ion that, to an unbiased mind, furn-
shes ample proof OF the God-inspired
character of the Holy Scriptures.
We read of David that he "despised {
he word of the Lord to do that which }
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