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No. XX.

DAVID ON HIS THRONE A TYPE.

FEw, if any, will dispute the statement that David was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. When he was raised up to be king over Israel, God had before Him, as it were, the life and acts of His own Son as King, and so ordered the events in the history of the type, that, whilst what took place seemed to outward eyes the lot appointed for David, when his life should be read centuries after his death, its typical character should be discerned, as the history of the one of whom he is a type should be gathered from the prophetic Scriptures.

For convenience in studying this period of his life we may arrange it under four heads-David at Hebron; David at Jerusalem; David in his priestly character; David in his kingly character.

Prophet, Priest, and King are titles of office which belong to the Lord Jesus. By one only besides him have these three offices been in any measure together filled. David and David's Son stand alone in this. But the difference between them when these offices are more carefully examined is immense. David was a prophet, but he was not the prophet. In common with the other prophets he probably knew not the value of all that he penned. The Lord as the prophet spake of what he knew, and testified of what he had seen. As Priest, David could not minister at the altar of the tabernacle, much less enter the holy of holies. The Lord will be a Priest on His throne after the order of Melchisedek, and He has now entered the holy of holies, a privilege restricted to the high priests after the order of Aaron. David was king over Israel, and his dominions reached from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth, but he could not fill the throne for ever. The Lord will have the throne of His father David, and reign over the house of Jacob for ever.

VOL. I.-New Series. 14

From Bethlehem, the burial place of Rachel, came David. Of all his descendants the only one whom we read was born there, was that ruler," whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Years before David ascended the throne he had been anointed by Samuel as the king of God's choice. Who can say what time will elapse between the first announcement that God's King, the Messiah, was on the earth, and the reins of Government being placed in his hands? Persecution was David's lot before he reigned. Rejection and death were experienced by his Son.

1. To turn to David at Hebron. Saul was dead.

had come true.

David's words on the hill of Hachilah The Lord shall smite him, or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish" (1 Samuel xxvi. 10). He had descended into battle, and perished, and with him three of his sons. The man given to the people at their request to be their king had passed away, conquered and slain by the inveterate opponents of his nation the Philistines. Israel had asked for one to fight their battles. Their king had fought and was overcome. David, the man of God's choice, had been in conflict at the same time with the Amalekites, the persistent enemies of God's people. Saul in the north was fighting with the Philistines; David in the south was engaged with the Amalekites. Israel under Saul fled. David with the 400 pursued their enemies. The Philistines stripped Saul and the slain, and came and dwelt in the cities of Israel. David entered the camp of the Amalekites, recovered all that belonged to himself and his men, and returned to Judah laden with spoil, to learn that Saul was dead, and the time for him to have the kingdom had come.

To outward eyes it might appear that the kingly power had merely changed hands. In God's eyes we learn it was a most important epoch in the history of Israel, and of the world; for, now was to be set up, that throne on which the Lord is to sit, and rule over all. Unasked by the people, God had selected the family and tribe. David succeeded Saul, not because he was the king's son-inlaw, but because he was the Lord's anointed. He was

chosen by God, and anointed by Samuel, before he had done anything to commend himself to the people, or had connected himself by marriage with the house of Saul. Before he was at Saul's court he had the anointing oil poured on him. His valour and his wisdom commended him to the people as a fitting successor to Saul; but, before he could show to them what he was, he had been designated by God for the throne. He succeeded Saul, but did not sit on Saul's throne. In point of time he was Saul's successor. As regards dynasty, he was the head of his own family, and founder of the throne. Ever after it was David's throne on which the kings of Judah sat, however much their dominions might be curtailed, or the glory of the kingdom dimmed. Another point to be noticed is the extent of the kingdom. Saul reigned over all Israel, but was unable to preserve their territory from the inroads of the Philistines; David's kingdom was co-extensive with the grant given by God to Abraham (Gen. xv. 18-21). As God did for David, so will He do for His Son. He will set up for Him a kingdom, posterior in time to the four great empires of Daniel's vision, but more extensive than any of them, and deriving its succession and power from none of them—after them, but not of them or from them.

Before Saul's death David had been a wanderer and an exile, not from choice but necessity. Driven from his house when Saul sent messengers to take him (1 Sam. xix.), he was never allowed to have a settled abode till he sat on his throne in Hebron. From his house he went to Naioth in Ramah to Samuel. Flying from Naioth he is found with Jonathan in the field; thence he escapes to Nob, and then takes refuge with Achish, king of Gath. Unable to remain there, he conveys his family to the king of Moab, with whom they remain; but himself, directed by God, goes into the land of Judah to the forest of Hareth. Thenceforth the forest, or the wilderness, or a cave sheltered the Lord's anointed, till, his faith failing, he betook himself to the Philistines, and had Ziklag appointed for his residence. Was this to be his home? Had his wanderings now ceased? Was he to be content with that city as his permanent abode?