(2 Sam. 15:13-23.)

It was a day of darkness and disaster. Absalom had raised an insurrection against his father and had seized . the throne in Jerusalem. Thus David's life was imperilled. Nothing but a speedy flight would render escape possible. So he said to his servants, "Arise, and let us flee, for we shall not else escape from Absalom."

Then it was that their loyalty showed itself in the clearest way, for they declared, "Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord, the king, shall appoint." Words of comfort these for the rejected king as he "went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried » in a place that was far off."

In this rejection David pictures for us our Lord Jesus refused and cast out by His people, Israel. The prince of this world, Satan, has usurped the throne, and through their lusts rules in the hearts of men.

Loyalty and devotedness are called for to-day on the part of all His own. We may challenge ourselves therefore whether we are ready to do whatsoever our Lord may appoint. Have we placed ourselves, our property, our powers, our lives, at His disposal? The apostle Paul in his day expressed this as he said, "I am ready, not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord Jesus." Would that such an utterance were true of the writer and of the readers of this paper!

Among the servants that passed on before the king was Ittai, the Gittite. He had come with his followers from Gath, the city of the giant whom David had slain. And it would seem that he had arrived but recently, and had come seeking refuge in David's city. "Wherefore goest thou also with us? Return to thy place, and abide with the king:for thou art a stranger and also an exile. Whereas thou earnest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren:mercy and truth be with thee."

There is a pathos in David's words as he speaks of his homelessness, which may remind us of our Saviour's statement:"The Son of Man hath not where to lay His head."

Ittai's reply is truly noble:"As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be." Had he learned from David of the greatness of Jehovah and of His unchanging character? The expression, "The Lord liveth," would indicate that Ittai knew His abiding strength and interest in His servants.

The thought of the living God has gladdened hearts all down the centuries. Moses (Deut. 5:26), Joshua (Josh. 3:10), David (1 Sam. 17:26), Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:4), Jeremiah (Jer. 10:10), Hosea (Hos. 1:10), Peter (Matt. 16:16), all speak of God thus. And in the writings of the apostle Paul it is frequently brought before us. This truth, that God lives, has been the resource of faith for%lis saints in all ages and dispensations. With them we say to-day, "We trust in the living God who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those who believe." Happy are those who can echo in truth the aged apostle's words.

So it was with Ittai. He appears to have had confidence that David lived as sustained in life by the living Lord, and would be brought out of his difficulties and reinstated in Jerusalem. But whatever might be the issue, death or life, where David was, there would Ittai be!

He was prepared to die with David or to live with him. His heart was true to the rejected monarch. How great soever the cost, he would be with him wherever he might be. He was held in his heart's affections by the king, and put his life at his disposal absolutely.

Are we" not reminded of the words of the Lord Jesus, "If any man serve Me, let him follow Me, and where I am there shall also my servant be," and of the encouraging promise added, "If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor" (John 12:26)? He would have us to be with Him where He is. And He is in acceptance on high, and we are in Him there, "Accepted in the Beloved." But He is still rejected by the world, and we are called to take our place on His side, and share with Him here.

Christ's death here in this world is figured in Christian baptism, we are baptized to His death. He has gone out of sight from the world, and we in picture go with Him, henceforth to live here in newness of life as strangers and pilgrims, as we journey to the home prepared by His hand for us on high.

Are we true to our baptism? Do we accept the death-place with our Lord as to the world, while we know our place in life with Him for ever?

Thomas, of whom sometimes we are in danger of thinking and speaking in a slighting manner, may teach us a lesson of devotedness. When our Lord said, "Let us go into Judea again," the disciples replied, "The Jews of late sought to stone Thee, and goest Thou thither again?" Then Thomas cried, "Let us also go that we may die with Him." He desired to be with the Master where He went, and to die with Him if He was put to death.

To Ittai, David said, "Go and pass over." He would not keep him back. Love and loyalty had been shown in his earnest declaration. Clearly he could be trusted fully and depended upon in every emergency. "And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him."

It was over the same brook Kidron that our Lord took His disciples on the night of His betrayal. He had led them in thought to fullest blessing before the Father in His prayer (John 17). Now He leads them out to share with Him in the world of His refusal (John 18:1).

Ittai had been with David, the exile had found a home with him; now with his heart held by David he would be with him when the king himself was an exile in his own land and obliged to flee from his royal home. Such faithfulness and whole-hearted allegiance must have been a comfort to the outcast king and must have gladdened him at such an hour. Having proved his loyalty to David, the king entrusted a third part of his forces into the hands of Ittai. Honored he was in being counted worthy of such a position. May it be ours to follow Christ in equal faithfulness and loyalty of heart in this day, to seek "the things which are Jesus Christ's" and to await His kingdom and glory. Inglis Fleming