He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God" (2 Sam. 23:3). Israel's greatest king, David, son of Jesse, had reached the twilight years. Mellowed by time and experience, he was competent to advise. It had been a long time since he had walked wearily into the encamped armies of Israel, a mere shepherd lad, in time to hear Goliath thunder anathemas at his brethren. He could still remember the indignation that swept his soul as none of his brethren responded. Had they forgotten the God who had parted a sea in their defense? Could not a God who smote Egypt for His people's deliverance humble this defiant giant?
And what if they did consider him a brash lad with more zeal than knowledge? A man with enough faith to slay a lion with his bare hands was certainly not destined to die as a herdsman. Neither he nor his brothers knew it then, but a king's palace was to echo to the songs of this sweet singer of Israel. David was not presumptuous. He sincerely believed that with God's help he could overcome Goliath. True, there was no precedent for such an action. And, to be sure, some of the brethren counseled against it. But clearly the time had come for a bold new thrust. A new emphasis! A fresh challenge! For Israel it was now or never.
The Challenge of the 60's
To the Seventh-day Adventist Church the challenge of the 60's is that of reaping the exploding population of the world, that of converting an idle laity from an enormous potential to an active, supreme blessing. The challenge of the 60's is that of launching our church population upon the world population. It is that of impressing this necessity upon our pastors and laity, not as a spasmodic effort but as a sustained and continuous thrust. The challenge of the 60's is that we give to lay activity the priority of death and taxes, that we might know the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and revival in our time. And for us it is now or never.
To David's everlasting credit, he showed respect for organization. This was no wildcat operation conceived in one man's brain and executed without counsel. He secured authorization from King Saul for this bold venture. In fact, Saul sent him forth weighted down so heavily that he needed relief before he could function properly.
A dramatic move was now in order. The armies of Israel trembled in their tents while the heathen raged. Day after passing day they had heard the voice of the heathen outshout their own. Then into the camp strode David, a young man who knew little about the technicalities of military operations, but who felt that whatever the implications or complications involved in his action he must commit Israel to the struggle. This, with a sling in hand, he proceeded to do, and with a vengeance!
What a day to remember! To be sure, he had given God all the glory. Incidentally, no one else deserved it. He had frankly told his enemy before cutting him down: "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts" (1 Sam. 17:45). Somehow this man whose fame has circled the earth never forgot the hand that made him what he was. Ellen G. White says, "When we give ourselves wholly to God and in our work follow His directions, He makes Himself responsible for its accomplishment."—Christ's Object Lessons, p. 363. "The Lord Jesus is our efficiency in all things; His Spirit is to be our inspiration."—Gospel Workers, p. 19. The old king smiled as he remembered the astonishment on Goliath's large face. "Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?" he roared like an angry lion. "Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field" were his famous last words.
But there were other memories. David thought of the time when he was hunted like an animal by a jealous king, driven from the throne by his own son, and laughed to shame by his wife while flushed with the full heat of victory. Yes, the old king had lived a full life. He had survived the hatred of Saul, the curses of Shimei, and the loneliness of exile, to become Israel's most beloved leader. Is not this God's way of preparing men for broader service? In the crucible of tribulation the soul is readied for honor through humility. How could David ever know magnanimity unless tested as he was with Saul? With his enemy at his mercy, he refrained from striking the mortal blow, designating Saul as "the Lord's anointed." Persecution is in itself prophetic of future favor. "Faith looks beyond the difficulties, and lays hold of the unseen, even Omnipotence, therefore it cannot be baffled. Faith is the clasping of the hand of Christ in every emergency."—Ibid., p. 262.
Negative Reflections
But King David also had memories that undoubtedly troubled his latter years. "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." "Although," he added, "my house be not so with God" (2 Sam. 23: 3, 5). This confession reveals a conscience still smarting from the affair of Uriah the Hittite. Also the abortive act of census-taking, and the subsequent slaughter of the innocent must have troubled the old king's heart. But the thought of his problems did not dim his vision. "Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant" (verse 5).
David was much aware of his own limitations. He did not deny that he was feeble and defective. And there were times when his judgment was not the best. But David realized that there can be sincere conviction without depression, agonizing reappraisal without discouragement, and weeping between the porch and the altar without burning the porch and upsetting the altar. Revival in our time is the crying need of the world and of the church. Fitful depression is not repentance. A doubt-producing pessimism is no badge of piety. To depreciate the progress of the church is equally as sinful as Laodicean pride.
"There are enough people who go about helping along the twilight, and doing it theologically. A sick world is not likely to improve if we all keep jerking up the shades in the morning and saying, 'Well, I see it's worse today.' Neither is there anything to be had of grinning or of slapping every third person on the back. There is much in being the kind of soul who has deep and hidden resource. The apostles go marching through the Acts singing their songs and waving their hands to us. They had something to be gloomy about; but no man can lay his life alongside of Stephen's or Peter's or Paul's and not have his pulses quickened. There was a triumph on which they drew in the midst of disaster; not a chirp and twitter practiced for the occasion, but a note resonant, leaving all the life around it quivering and glad."
However, there must be revival without loss of faith. As a church and as individuals we confess that we are "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17). Before the God of all the earth, who is not? Cried the prophet Isaiah, "I am undone." Our confession must ascend to the great heart of God and an urgency bordering on desperation must grip our souls. "As many as I love, I do convict and chasten; be zealous, then, and reform" (Rev. 3:19, Young's translation). A profession of infallibility will not answer the need of this desperate hour. Nor will the reckless abandonment of the accomplishments of time and experience serve even to satisfy the insatiable appetites of ill-willed detractors. Humility born of faith is the only answer.
Perhaps this rare combination of delicately balanced Christian virtues is best expressed in a document I have entitled "A Colporteur's Prayer":
"O Thou at whose command I travel the ' byways, I thank Thee for the privilege. I thank Thee for the weather both fair and foul; yes, for the sunlight and rain, cold and heat. I thank Thee for the lean days as well as the more prosperous ones, for by the former I am chastened and by the latter inspired. Forgive me for the sin of reporting much while doing little, of confusing love for cash with love for souls.
"And, Lord, teach me the difference between a salesman and a colporteur minister, between a bread winner and a soul winner. Forgive me for being in when I should be out, and out when I should be in. And give me the wisdom to know where to be, and when. Remove from me the ambition to excel all others, then help me to do it without pride. Enable me to experience success without elation, and failure without depression. I am weak but Thou art strong. Teach me this, but do it gently, Lord. Amen."
An Enabling Power
And now King David strikes a note of triumph. "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue" (2 Sam. 23:2). Herein lies the secret of his tremendous drive. David received the gift of the Holy Ghost. And further, he ascribed all of his success both on throne and battlefield to this fact. "If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: then they had swallowed us up quick.... Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Ps. 124:2-8).
"As soon as Samuel began to judge Israel, even in his youth, he called an assembly of the people for fasting and prayer, and deep humiliation before God.. . . The people then began to learn where their strength was."—Testimonies vol. 4, p. 517. (Italics supplied.)
"There should be united, persevering prayer, and through faith a claiming of the promises of God. There should be, not a clothing of the body with sackcloth, as in ancient times, but a deep humiliation of soul. We have not the first reason for self-congratulation and self-exaltation. We should humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God."—Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 126.
"By the grace of Christ the apostles were made what they were."—Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 32.
"He does not destroy; He improves whatever He touches."—Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 118.
And how does He do this? By His sinless life, His atoning death, and the power of the resurrection He stands ready to anoint our souls with the fresh dew of heaven. "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. . . . Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:1-5). Yes, by the instrument of His atoning sacrifice He improves whatever He touches!
The strength of the church lies not in its institutions, wealth, influence, or population statistics, but rather in the presence of the living God in our midst. By this are the weak made strong, and through it will revival fires kindle and rekindle themselves until fire burns fire.
The Last Words of David
"He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God" (2 Sam. 23:3). With leadership comes responsibility. A leader must be just and fair. He must make his decisions without fear or bias. Religion, race, wealth, or power cannot sway the judgment of the just. Such men are the crying need of the church and of the world. "Ruling in the fear of God." Again and again King David was reminded that the eye of the heavenly Watcher was upon him. Solemn responsibility! To each of us is committed some phase of leadership in the church of God. May we never touch sacred things with careless hands. And may the business of the church be transacted in the fear of God. Then will we be "as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain" (2 Sam. 23:4). And we will be to our people trees of righteousness, giving them "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit. of heaviness" (Isa. 61:3).
A cowboy listened carefully to the story of the first Palm Sunday. It was the story of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem amid glad hosannas. The cowboy sat in silent reflection, and then spoke.
"Jesus must have had wonderful hands," he said.
Those who heard him asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well," he said, "if Jesus could sit on a colt on which no man had ever sat, an unbroken animal; and if He could soothe it and control it and guide it while people were shouting hosannas in its ears and waving branches of palm trees in front of its eyes, He must have had wonderful hands."
Yes, the rider of the white horse of the Apocalypse has wonderful hands, and with them He will steer, soothe, protect, and control His church through the troubled future.
