because he was the truest example of a king after God's own heart, was the most prominent and striking type of Christ among them. David however was a type in some respects in which his successors were not.

(1) He was not only King and Priest, but Prophet also1, thus uniting in his own person the threefold character of Christ.

(2) He received the special title of "the servant of Jehovah," given only to a few who were raised up to do special work, such as Moses the Lawgiver, and Joshua the Conqueror of the Promised Land. This was a distinctive title of Christ2

(3) His birth-place determined the birth-place of the Messiah, whose birth at Bethlehem was brought about by a remarkable providence3.

5. For these reasons the expected Deliverer was sometimes styled not merely the Son of David, in accordance with the prophecy in 2 Sam. vii., but David. No name could be more appropriate for the ideal ruler of the future than that of the king who had most nearly attained to the ideal in the past.

6. But further, an examination of the quotations from the O. T. applied to Christ in the N. T. establishes the principle that the lives of the saints under the Old Covenant were typical of Christ. They were anticipations, as the lives of saints since Christ came have been imitations, of His life. Their struggles, their sufferings, their teachings, their aspirations, pointed forward to Christ, and were "fulfilled" in Him. That which was partially exemplified in them was completely exhibited in Him. Consequently "the Christian Church from the earliest times has delighted to read in the Psalms the emotions, the devotions, the life, of Christ Himself"."

David, more than any other single individual, was a type, an anticipatory likeness, of Christ the Perfect Man. In the fervency

2 See Matt. xii. 18; Acts iii. 13, 26 (Rev. Version); Is. liii. 11, &c. 3 Micah v. 2; Matt. ii. 6; John vii. 42.

4 See Hos. iii. 5; Jer. xxx. 9; Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24, xxxvii. 24, 25. Stanley's Lect. II. 134.

of his aspirations, in the closeness of his communion with God, in the firmness of his trust, in the strength of his love, he was unrivalled by any human character of the Old Testament. No man ever "touched humanity at so many points ;" and the manysidedness of his character, and the variety of his experience, which qualified him for practical sympathy with all ranks and all conditions of life among his subjects, made him again a type of Him whom "it behoved in all things to be made like unto his brethren1." He was an eminent example of the spiritual capability of the human soul as a recipient of divine illumination, preparing the way for the highest Example of all.

7. In these respects, both as king and as man, David was an undoubted type of Christ. Many other striking correspondences between him and the antitype whom he prefigured may be noted; for example, his occupation as shepherd, first of his flock, and then of Israel: his persecution by enemies, and elevation to reign through many sufferings and trials: the misunderstandings and scorn he met with from his own relations3: his betrayal by one who had been admitted to his closest confidence, and so forth but though these analogies are most interesting and instructive, it may be questioned whether they can strictly speaking be called typical.

I.

CHAPTER VIII.

PSALMS ILLUSTRATIVE OF DAVID'S REIGN 4.

Of the Psalms ascribed to David by their titles many were in all probability not written by him; and of those in the case of which there is no reasonable ground for doubting the

1 Heb. ii. 17, 18, iv. 15.

2 See note on 2 Sam. v. 2; and cp. Ezek. xxxiv. 23; Micah v. 4; John x. 11.

3 1 Sam. xvii. 28; Mk. iii. 21; John vii. 3-5.

This subject is most interestingly treated by Dr Maclaren in The Life of David as reflected in his Psalms. See also Lecture xxv. in Dean Stanley's Lectures.

accuracy of the title a large proportion cannot be connected with any definite event or particular period of his life. Those however which either by their titles, corroborated by their contents, or from internal evidence, can be assigned to particular epochs of his life, are most valuable additions to the history, and should be carefully studied in connexion with it.

2. (i) The Translation of the Ark to Jerusalem called forth a series of Psalms, first among which is Ps. ci. It expresses the high resolves and aspirations for the purity of his kingdom and his court which filled David's mind when he was meditating the transfer of the Ark to his new capital, which would become by virtue of its presence in an especial sense "the city of Jehovah" (v. 8). The eager exclamation "When wilt thou come unto me" (v. 2) expresses his desire to welcome the symbol of Jehovah's Presence as a dweller in his new city.

Ps. xv., in language closely resembling the opening verses of Ps. xxiv., sets forth the conditions of acceptable approach to God, and dwells upon the thoughts with which he would prepare the mind of his people for the solemn event about to be celebrated.

The date of Ps. lxviii. is disputed, but it may well be regarded as a grand choral hymn, composed by David to be sung at the removal of the Ark to Zion, as the procession left the house of Obed-Edom. The opening words re-echo the old watchword for the setting forward of the Ark in the wilderness (Num. x. 35). "God is represented, first as advancing at the head of the Israelites through the desert; then as leading them victoriously into Canaan; and finally as fixing His royal abode on Zion, whence He reigns in the majesty of universal dominion, acknowledged and feared by all the nations of the earth1"

Ps. xxiv. was beyond a doubt composed to be sung by choirs of Levites as the Ark passed through the gates of Zion to its new resting-place. "We can almost hear the creaking of the gates of the old fortress of Jebus, as their hinges swung sullenly open to admit the Ark of the Living God... Lift up your heads, O

1 Dean Perowne's Commentary on the Psalms.

ye gates, and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in1."

To these may perhaps be added Ps. cxxxii., the opening verses of which refer to this occasion, though it was probably not written until later; and Ps. xxx., apparently assigned by its title to the dedication of David's new palace on mount Zion (2 Sam. v. II, 12).

The Psalms of this period are characterised by their lofty moral requirements, by a stern exclusiveness, a noble intolerance of pride and falsehood".

3. (ii) The spirit in which the wars of this period were waged is illustrated by Ps. xx., which is a litany to be sung on the eve of the king's going forth to battle; and by Ps. xxi., which is a Te Deum of thanksgiving for his return. To these may be added Ps. cx. and perhaps Ps. ii. Ps. lx. belongs to the wars with Syria and Edom".

4. (iii) The culmination of David's prosperity is celebrated in Ps. xviii. (2 Sam. xxii.), written probably soon after Nathan's visit (2 Sam. vii.), in that period of peace in which he conceived the wish to build an house for Jehovah. It is the fitting expression of a heart overflowing with praise and thanksgiving, and is unrivalled for the magnificence of its poetry and the sublimity of its thought.

5. (iv) David's Fall was the occasion of two of the most precious Psalms in the whole Psalter.

"The rock is smitten, and to future years
Springs ever fresh the tide of holy tears
And holy music, whispering peace,
Till time and sin together cease 4."

The Fifty-first Psalm is David's prayer for pardon and renewal, springing from the newly-awakened conviction of his sin: the Thirty-second Psalm is a review of his experience written

1 Wilberforce's Heroes of Hebrew History, p. 253.

2 See Stanley's Lectures, II. 74.

8 See note on ch. viii. 13.

• Christian Year, Sixth Sunday after Trinity.

somewhat later, in which he dwells upon the blessedness of forgiveness obtained, and describes the misery he had suffered while his sin was still unconfessed and unrepented of.

6. (v) The Flight from Absalom struck a rich vein of Psalmody. Ps. lxiii. is stated by its title to have been written by David "when he was in the wilderness of Judah,” in all probability between the flight from Jerusalem and the passage of the Jordan. Ps. iii. is a morning hymn, and Ps. iv. an evening hymn, composed on the day following that on which he quitted Jerusalem. Ps. xxvi., and possibly Ps. lxii., refer to the traitors who had deserted him at this crisis; xxvii. and xxviii. probably describe his feelings during his exile at Mahanaim. The characteristic features of these Psalms are the consciousness of God's continued help, unbroken trust, firm assurance of ultimate deliverance; eager yearning for the privileges of the sanctuary. They expand the thought of David's words to Zadok: "If I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both the ark and his habitation" (2 Sam. xv. 25).

Pss. xli. and lv. have been assigned to the time during which the conspiracy was being hatched: lxix. and cix. have very generally been supposed to refer to Ahithophel's treachery; and the Sept. title of cxliii. connects it with Absalom's rebellion. But these references are at best doubtful; and lxix. and cix. are almost certainly not Davidic.

7. (vi) There are no Psalms which can be pointed to with certainty as embodying the thoughts of David's later years. Ps. xxxvii. may indeed possibly be his, and if so, vv. 2-9 are a worthy summing-up of lessons learnt through the vicissitudes of a long life. Ps. ciii. is assigned by the title in the Syriac version to David's old age, but linguistic considerations almost forbid us to accept it as David's. The "last words of David" (2 Sam. xxiii. 1—7) seem to stand alone, and have no companion in the Psalter.