Evening star., 1961-07-16
SPIRES OF THE SPIRIT
Thou Art the Man,
By DIR. FREDERICK BROWN HARRIS
Chaplain Of the United States Senate
(Dedicoted to Captive Motions Week.
(Dedicoted to Captive Notions Week.

There was a dictatorial
ruler whose will and whim
was a yoke upon the necks
of all the people. Even
though motivated by the
rankest self-indulgence, his
word was the law. He was
the state. Every individual
was subject to his masters
voice.
This. iron ruler, without
regard for the most sacred
rights of a valiant soldier of
his realm, did a dastardly
thing. Beguiled by the beau-
ty of the wife of a trusted
and devoted member of his
armed forces, and while this
fighting man was away bat
ting for his commanders
cause, the despotic head of
state by royal compulsion
took unto himself the ad-
mired and lawful wife of the
absent defender of the kings
interests. Then, to cover up
his adulterous behavior, the
soldier whose spouse the head
of state had stolen was, by
his order, put in the fore
front of an assault on the
entrenched enemy. It was
certain there would come out
no survivors. And so the SOL
dier was killed in battle, a
victim of his masters lust.
But now there flashes upon
the screen of remembrance a
vivid Bible narrative. TIL e
villain of this despicable deed
is none other than King
David. The wronged wife is
Bathsheba, and the mur-
dered husband is Uriah. At
this juncture there strides
into the scene a stern figure
who speaks for honor and
decency and of individual
rights violated by a con-
tefnptible despotism. For here
the conscience haun t e d
David is confronted by Ma
than, the prophet of God,
who knowing the facts the
king had tried to hide faces
the royal culprit with with
ering Scorn.
But first, holding back the
vialS Of his wrath and his
prophecy of disaster, Nathan
tells David a story. AS the
king is also a high Judge, he
requests his verdict on the
case depicted. To his royal
audience of one the prophet
proceeds with his dramatic
portrayal:
There were two men in a
certain city. The one rich and
the other poor. The rich man
had very many flocks and
herds, but the poor man had
nothing but one little eve
lamb which he had bought.
And he brought it up, and
it grew up with him and his
children: it used to eat of
his morsel and drink from
his cup and lie on his bosom
and it was like a daughter
to him. And there came a
traveller unto the rich man,
and he was unwilling to take
one Of his own flock to pre-
pare for the wayfarer who
had come to him; but he
took the poor mans lamb
and prepared it for the man
who had come to him."
The prophets simple story
is a masterpiece Of pathos
and power ranking with the
parallels of Jesus. It wa S
lifted up so effectively that
David, even with a scarlet
letter upon his own life,
blurted out in righteous in
dignation: "AS the Lord iv-
eth, the man who would dc
this deserves to die. He shall
restore the lamb fourfold be-
cause he did this thing and
because he had no pity"
And as David thus judged
another, he perceived not
that the sordid story was a
mirror reflecting his own
guilty features. Then Nathan
thundered, and his words
we're like forked lightning,
Thou art the mani"
If a modern dictator could
only look he would see his
own hypocritical countenance
in that ancient looking glass.
The pungent story throws