SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13491, 18 May 1907, Page 4 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

THE STORY OF A GREAT LOVE.

BY THE KEV. CANON W. HAT M. H. AITKEX.

I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan': very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of woman.—2 Samuel 1. 26. i It would appear that while the prowessj exhibited by David, and the wondrous results arising from his victory over Goliath, fcadi knit the soul of Jonathan to him, it had sowed the seed of a very different feeling j in the heart of Jonathan's father. As'time passes on, and the popularity of David be-1 comes an established fact, as his courage! in war is exhibited on more than one oc-i casion, and. it is obvious that he/is likely I to become tho idol of the populace, there rises up within Saul's heart a'feeling of] 1. jealousy against him. "This young man is becoming too popular. His fame is f, dangerous to my dynasty. He may steal the, hearts. of my subjects from me, and ulti-i * matoly overturn my throne." I t . Thoughts such as these soon showed on; the surface of Saul's conduct towards one t to whom ho was bo deeply indebted, and d from envy and jealousy he soon passed on a to conceive a, violent animosity against David, whom he began 1 to regard as his { most dangerous and j deadly foe, .and to !l whom he soon showed himself a most bitter! •j and implacable enemy. '.■'•'.,- ' I • THE (KING ON THE : WOBI,P , TUBONE.; ~ 3 'I i Now, the typical* teaching of thonarra- - tive may bo regarded as most suggestive. I There is a king 'already on the world's . throne, who resents with envious animosity r the pretensions of the heir to that throne, s the Lord's own/anointed. But, observe, it J is not at the point of the soul's acceptance of salvation at' tho hands of Jesus Christ j that the hostility of the world usually com- . menocs. You may take. Jesus Christ as J your salvation, and you may rejoice in this 5 deliverance from the dangers with which t ' you were surrounded, without seriously provoking the/animosity of the world. 13ut if you taike a step further, and recognise the regal claims of Jesus, admit His supremacy V over your nature, and present your all/to Him, at once the antagonism of the world will bo awakened, and he that is born after the flesh will persecute him that is born' after the Spirit. • ' ' ■ It is this recognition of the regal rights i of Jesus Christ that awakens the hatred j 3 of the world; for the prince of this world occupies an usurped throne. Ho has himself taken it by guile. The world does 5 not belong to him. Ho gained his power " over it by subtlety and deceit; and there * he sits on that throne, swaying the sceptre 3 of his own infernal tyranny; and whatever , tends to shake that empire awakens at once his bitterest resentment and hostility, which .' he expresses through his servants—the child- > ren of disobedience, in'whom ho lives and ■ works. So it comes to pass that when the ; human heart begins to recognise the authority of another king, persecution on the [ part of the world commences. Hard things , will be said, bitter thoughts will be indulged 1 in, cruel acts will be performed; and though ■ the civilisation of tho twentieth century ! will not permit the martyrdom of the of- . fender, as in earlier ages, still thepcrsecu- . tion is no less real, and scarcely less hard ; to bear. ' ' • THE lord's anointed; David soon found himself in disgrace at ' the Court of Saul, and had to fly for his ' life: and Jonathan, along with others who were attached to that Court, receives instructions to slav the young hero to whose exploits the nation owed its continued existence. And the world has a similar purpose against the Lord's Anointed , now. It actually did murder Him once, and though it is not possible for it to repeat that infamous deed, it still endeavours to murder ! that now life which is, indeed, the life of God in the soul of man. If the prince of this world cannot wreak his vengeance on! the Person of Christ—if he cannot nail) Him again to the felon's tree—he may still inspire men to crucify Him afresh," and put Him to open shame by despising His rights, rejecting His claims', and breaking : away from His control. • , • Not unfrequently this murder is com- ' mitted or' attempted under the mask of ; false and unspiritual religion. Herod pro- : fessed his anxiety to worship the now-born King of the Jews, but it was only that he , might destroy Him; and similarly the worldly has never been slow to adopt an outward! profession of religion; but , true spiritual); godliness has always suffered by coming; under its patronage, and over "and over] 1 again the true Church of Christ has learntjl to her cost that the kisses of an enemy arei deceitful. Saul distinguishes David with! outward rewards and honours, and even gives him his own daughter for a wife; but all the while he secretly plots against; his life. Even so the world has adorned the Christian faith with gorgeous fanes, and enriched it with princely 'endowments. Its ' ministers have been exalted to the highest j social rank, and its hierarchs have dictated ' terms to empires; but all the while the ] world's influence has been distinctly un- ] friendly to the true spiritual life within, and all its servants have received charge to ( slay our David. . t AFFECTION FOR A FRIEND. ! Now observe the position of Jonathan in ! the Court of Saul. He is not called upon to fly from that Court, or to sever p himself from all connection with his father, but in that Court to espouse David's cause, i and to be true and loyal in his affection!; to his friend. Thus we read that at the!' very time when the sentence of death goes , forth against David, and the mere courtier ' and sycophant would no doubt be ready \ c enough to carry it out, Jonathan's affection seems to be heightened rather than diminish- i «d. Refer for a moment to 11. /Samuel xiv. c 2. Here we observe that Saul's deterinina- t tion to slay David seems to increase and j intensify Jonathan's affection for him; "He [ delighted much in David:" and as the result of this Jonathan scorns to have con-j" stituted himself the guardian of David's ; ? interest and the champion of David's cause 1 at tho Court of Saul. ■ - /, l Jonathan, we read, told David, saying J " Saul, my father, seeketh to.;■ kill thee; *) now, therefore', I pray thee take heed unto^'i

thyself." Thus it is thai the conscionsnetj ' of the world's hostility awaken'} within the " ■[Christian's heart a holy and jealous solid. , J >|t,ude for the preservation of that n*w and '■ ■ jkingiy life which we have implanted within '■ :jus. Wo mote Jesus Christ our confidant ' ■ 'and tell Him of all the murderous design^ > against Himself in us which we mctn with [{everywhere in the world. And, oh, how 'I near to Him arc we brought by this f,,j. Sjlowship in peril! And how it lifts us above ' ' ■Jour natural selfishness, and even above more M self-regard, when wo find ourselves taking '{thought for His interests, and jealous for- *; His rights! And hero uc learn the im- , ■ portant and encouraging lesson that such \ >|a truo love as this only grows by oppe.isi". 'jtkm! So far from Jonathan's affection for * j David being subdued by opposition, it fa ; !on the contrary, intensified" anil he is (jj Ascribed hero as delighting much in David 'just when ho finds that David is becoming -j-unpopular. And this is the way with true : and deer) affection; the most heroic ' deeds " -lof love have been performed in the aw Sof recognised antagonism. Wealth «a<i .' Mpower, and rank and comfort, and even "jlifo itself; have been sacrificed at the die. ' 'fates of a truo and mighty affection; and if " i this ho so oven with, natural lore, suro rot less, but more so, must it bo with the love !cf God in the heart of man. And over and over again this has been seen in history,- t ";Hov<? wo not. road of martyrs and confessor!>. J who have felt the whole world against them "".''• iiand vet have clung all the closer to Christ' (for that? Indeed, I may almost My, have '.not all the heroes of our faith grown strong ' !under opposition, if not under persecution? 5 Wo are passed, you say", beyond the age of the martyrs; we are not now exposed ■ ' ; to persecution. That may or may not be [so. ■ But the truth of tlto statement must -, largely depend upon what we mean by J persecution, and one thing is clear, that ■^opposition—bitter, cruel, vehement opposi. Ijtion—to Christ and Hi* presence in the I heart of man has not ceased; and when [ithis is encountered in the power of Divine .' .' ] grace it will produce a robust and manly t type of Christian character such as we shall ,-jnot. meet with under other and more an. i patently favourable circumstances. For , such opposition brings us into closer fellow. . I ship with Him from Whom alone wo can ~ obtain strength to withstand it, and against " Whom we feel the world is doing a foul .'wrong, and acting with base ingratitude. tj THE MAGNANIMITY OF CHKIST. I I Such oppositon brings out in sharp eontrasfc the generous magnanimity of th* J Christ, and the patty meanness of the world, > and thus our love grows by opposition. Nov, ljthe very isolation from our friends, and .[even from our nearest and dearest, which .may ensue from our fidelity to Him, renders Him more and more our familiar Companion ' j and Friend. He has to make up for ail I that wo have lost for His sake, and so JI becomes tho more precious to us. because ■Ho is our all. Thus it is proved that many (waters cannot quench love. They only act Jas the .:ynter did that was poured on the ] altar of Elijah at Cnrmol. These barrelsful of water—which were poured over and over again on the sacrifices, drenching the wood as well as tho victims, and even filling the trench—offered no effectual resistance to the fire,which fell from heaven, but only ret). dered tiio miracle the more conspicuous and , indubitable when the mighty flame burst forth which licked up the waters in 'tho trench as well as consumed the sacrifice. V: 1 Even so, when love takes possession of the 'heart, opposition only adds to its intensity, and offers proof to till beholders of its Divine i origin and its supernatural character. | But, observe, this affection of Jonathan for , I David is not allowed to evaporate in mere j j sentimentality. It takes a very practical form and expresses itself in testimony to | his character and worth. Jonathan, wo read ■■"■';" i in verse 4, " spako good of David before . J Saul his father." Ho was not content to .jkeep his delight in David to himself, for ithero is ever something aggressive in such jtruo love as this; it seeks to infect others with its own spirit, and is happiest whoii ijit succeeds in doing so. j This is a very forcible arsrumont. Observe j how much there is in it. There is first the i suggestion that Saul was incurring grave I moral guilt in assuming such an attitude, j I I towards David. He was sinning, and Jona» •ithan did not shrink from telling him so in j plain terms; even so our object should be j jto convict those whom wo would influence Jof this sin above all other sins. • [j A CONTRAST. '\V'f- ■' J My friends, in pleading with those whc. .belong to the world, I know of no argument more likely to carry weight with men"? 'jhearts than that which sets forth tho con- :;■•:' 'trasfc between Christ's treatment of them • and their treatment of Christ. Place sida • by sido what tho sinner owes to Christ, and what. Christ has received at, his band*. ' 1 j Christ's works towards him • that Jjavo teen very good; and our works towards Christ J that have been very bad, until you succeed ' \ fin awakening something like a sense of shame Within tho rebel heart, as. you set ', forth the unutterable baseness and mean- . ness of, a life of sin. I do not thinSt that anything so much as this is likely to move men's hearts, to bend their will, and to bring them to God.