"And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth
met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an
hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine. And the king
said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king’s household
to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as
be faint in the wilderness may drink. And the king said, And where is thy master’s son? And Ziba
said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem:for he said, Today shall the house of Israel
restore me the kingdom of my father. Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that
pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy
sight, my lord, O king" (2 Samuel 16:1-4).

"And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet,
nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he
came again in peace. And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that
the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth? And he answered,
My lord, O long, my servant deceived me, . . . and he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord
the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God:do therefore what is good in thine eyes. For
all of my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king:yet didst thou set thy servant
among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto
the king? And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said,
Thou and Ziba divide the land. And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all,
forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house" (2 Samuel 19:24-30).

Was there ever so beautiful a picture of a heart true to an absent, rejected Lord, as that of
Mephibosheth in the 19th chapter of 2 Samuel! We have all enjoyed the story of the finding of this
poor remnant of the house of Saul and the kindness and favor conferred upon Mephibosheth by
King David. But it is not of this that I would now write, but of that other scene where David the
King is returning after the defeat of Absalom, and all are hastening to do him honor. Among the
multitude who flock to the Jordan, is he who with undressed feet, untrimmed beard, and unwashed
raiment shows where his affections have been during those weary days of his lord’s absence and
rejection.

Now I want to draw attention to one point that has appeared to me a strange blemish to the beauty
of the narrative. How is it that after Mephibosheth’s explanation of his absence from David’s side
in the days of his sorrow and shame, that the king should reply, "Why speakest thou any more of
thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land." Does not that look as if the king were
taking very low and unkingly ground with poor Mephibosheth? In Ziba we recognize the religious
man of the earth, with his pretended fidelity, his voluntary humility, his lying accusations against
the true saint, his quick grasp on the estate of his master, his voluntary association with Shimei,
the curser.

But this Ziba is now put on a level and equal footing with Mephibosheth, the loyal, true
Mephibosheth, the object of David’s pure grace and favor. Is that just? Is that right? For one or
the other of these two men is a liar to the heart’s core. If Ziba be true, then surely Mephibosheth
deserves rather to be slain for his base ingratitude in forsaking his benefactor, for his efforts to
have the kingdom restored to himself, for his present shameful duplicity in appearing to have
mourned during his absence. Death, or banishment at least, would be nearer justice than to "divide
the land" with the true and loyal Ziba. If, on the other hand, Mephibosheth be true, then surely
half his master’s land is a great premium on the wicked falsehood and cruel deceit of the servant
Ziba. Does it not look like a blemish in the narrative?

But let us carefully consider the scene. All Judah had come in a crowd to welcome back the king.
Who could tell the true attitude of heart of each individual that comprised this vast multitude. It
seems to have been typical of that coming scene of the triumphant return of our rejected Lord
when all shall yield Him obedience; but that obedience will in many cases be feigned, as Psalm
18 leads us to expect. Do we not see how naturally King David might doubt as to Mephibosheth?
He had heard, and evidently believed up to this time, Ziba’s story accounting for his master’s
absence in the day of trial, so now he asks Mephibosheth to give his explanation. "Wherefore
wentest thou not with me, Mephibosheth?" The answer is not only a straight denial of all that Ziba
had said, but a direct charge of slander against the servant. Who can possibly decide between the
two? It is simply a question of veracity. Who can detect the false and justify the true before all?
Both men lie under the suspicion of the gravest charges. Who shall clear the innocent that his
righteousness may shine as the light?

God’s wisdom is surely needful here. The matter is quite similar to that later scene before King
Solomon_David’s son _when each woman claimed the living child as hers, and there appeared
no way of discovering the true from the false. Yes, it is a similar difficulty, and a similar test shall
solve it. The affections must be touched and allowed to speak out; the true state of heart must be
revealed. "Divide the child," says Solomon. "Divide the land," says David. It does its work. It
has its effect in both cases. If Mephibosheth were false and disloyal, what an escape for him! He
must, in that case, have come trembling down to Jordan; his conscience thundering its accusations
of his ingratitude and disloyalty, and his heart cold with apprehension for his life, and lo! he hears
that he is to have half the land instead of death. "Yes, yes, it is a wise and just settlement," a false
Mephibosheth surely would have cried, seeking to confirm David’s mind before it changed. In just
such a way did the false mother answer Solomon, "Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it."
But listen to the true heart in both cases. Out it comes, with its simple natural cry of inherent
affection. "O my Lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it." "Yea, let him take all;
forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace into his own house." How beautiful! What
need of another word of comment! The Spirit of God leaves it there in its beauty for you and me
to look at, admire, and worship. The scene is perfect. Mephibosheth is fully justified, and by
consequence Ziba is condemned. But the King has just said that no man must "be put to death this
day in Israel." Then no more need be said, or can be said, of Ziba, for that is his desert; so there
is silence, a silence as beautiful as all else:it is perfect.

But now is there in this merely a beauty that we may admire? Is there no practical searching word
for our consciences in this testing of Mephibosheth, to which he answered so happily? There

seems to be here what in the divine wisdom tests every heart. Do we not see in it one of God’s
own ways of trying and bringing out just where the affections of our hearts really are? I believe
that this is a day in which we need to apply very faithfully to ourselves just such touchstones as
these that God’s Word gives us. You and I would not, of course, look upon this world as all our
own; not at all. We would not forfeit the approval of our Lord Jesus by having our portion
altogether here and now. But are we equally careful that our affections are not somewhat divided?
Do we feel content to "divide the land" with Ziba? Ah, that, if I understand the epistles to the
seven churches at all, is exactly the characteristic of the present times. Laodicea is not cold; she
lays claim to the precious things of Christ; she is not utterly indifferent to divine things, not at all.
But neither is she hot. What an immensely solemn word is spoken to Laodicea:"I would thou wert
cold or hot." She will not sacrifice all for Him; Christ Jesus is not all to her. She approves the
sentence, "Thou and Ziba divide the land."

Let us search our hearts, my brethren; let us raise the cry of Psalm 139:23,24. No bird needs all
the forest for its nest_one twig suffices; and our hearts can find nesting place, often
unconsciously, on a very small portion of the world..

Do you want to see a true Mephibosheth of this day of Christ’s rejection? Then look at that man
running his race with these words on his lips, "One thing I do" (Phil. 3:13). Hearken to the voice
of his affections, listen to his heart speaking out, "What things were gain to me, those I counted
loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things." All things loss! Dear
reader, is this your case? Is this thy case, O my soul? Do we admit any thing in this death-doomed
scene to share, in however small a degree, our affections with Him who has shown us poor, vile,
impure guilty sinners the grace and kindness of God? Let our hearts answer. Let our affections
speak.

FRAGMENT.
Is there a thing beneath the sun
That strives with Thee my heart to share?
O tear it thence, and reign alone,
The Spring of every motion there!

"He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself
with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean:but if he purify not himself the
third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any
man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall
be cut off from Israel:because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be
unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him" (Numbers 19:11-13).

It is a solemn thing to have to do with God_to walk with Him from day to day in the midst of a
defiled and defiling scene. He cannot tolerate any uncleanness upon those with whom He deigns
to walk and in whom He dwells. He can pardon and blot out; He can heal, cleanse, and restore;
but He cannot sanction unjudged evil, or suffer it upon His people. It would be a denial of His
very name and nature were He to do so. This, while deeply solemn, is truly blessed., It is our joy
to have to do with One whose presence demands and secures holiness. We are passing through
a world in which we are surrounded with defiling influences. True, defilement is not now
contracted by touching "a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave." These things were, as we
know, types of things moral and spiritual, with which we are in danger of coming in contact every
day and every hour. We doubt not but those who have much to do with the things of this world
are most painfully aware of the immense difficulty of escaping with unsoiled hands. Hence the
need of holy diligence in all our habits and associations, lest we contract defilement, and interrupt
our communion with God. He must have us in a condition worthy of Himself. "Be ye holy, for
I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16).

But the anxious reader whose whole soul breathes after holiness may eagerly inquire, "What are
we to do if we are surrounded with defiling influences and are thus prone to contract that
defilement? Furthermore, if it is impossible to have fellowship with God with unclean hands and
a condemning conscience, what are we to do?" First of all we would say to be watchful; wait
much and earnestly on God. He is faithful and gracious, a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering
God, a liberal and an unupbraiding Giver. "He giveth more grace." This is positively a blank
check which faith can fill up to any amount. Is it the real purpose of your soul to get on,, to
advance in the divine life, to grow in personal holiness? Then beware how you continue, for a
single hour, in contact with what soils your hands and wounds your conscience, grieves the Holy
Spirit and mars your communion. Be decided:be whole-hearted. Give up at once the unclean
thing, whatever it be_habit, or association, or anything else. Cost what it may, give it up. No
worldly gain, no earthly advantage, could compensate for the loss of a pure conscience, an
uncondemning heart, and the light of your Father’s countenance. Are you not convinced of this?
If so, seek grace to carry out your conviction.

But, it may be further asked, what is to be done when defilement is actually contracted? How is
the defilement to be removed? Hear the reply in the figurative language of Numbers 19:17-19:
"And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin,
and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel. And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip
it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that
were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:And the

clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day:and on the
seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall
be clean at even."

The reader will notice that in the twelfth and eighteenth verses there is a double action set forth.
There is the action of the third day and the action of the seventh day. Both were essentially
necessary to remove the ceremonial defilement caused by contact with the varied forms of death
above specified. Now what does this double action typify? What in our spiritual lives answers to
this? We believe it to be this:When we, through lack of watchfulness and spiritual energy, touch
the unclean thing and get defiled, we may be ignorant of it, but God knows all about it. He cares
for us, and is looking after us; not, blessed be His name, as an angry judge, or stern censor, but
as a loving Father who will never impute anything to us because it was all, long ago, imputed to
the One who died in our stead. But though He will never impute it to us, He will make us feel it
deeply and keenly. He will be a faithful reprover of the unclean thing; and He can reprove all the
more powerfully simply because He will never reckon it against us. The Holy Spirit brings our
sin to remembrance, and this causes unutterable anguish of heart. This anguish may continue for
some time; it may be moments, days, months, or years. We once met with a young Christian who
was rendered miserable for three years by having gone with some worldly friends on an
excursion. This convicting operation of the Holy Spirit we believe to be shadowed forth by the
action of the third day. He first brings our sin to remembrance; and then He graciously brings to
our remembrance, and applies to our souls through the written Word, the value of the death of
Christ as that which has already met the defilement which we so easily contract. This answers to
the action of the seventh day_removes the defilement and restores our communion.

Let us remember that we can never get rid of defilement in any other way. We may seek to forget,
to slur over, to heal the wound slightly, to make little of the matter, to let time obliterate it from
the tablet of memory. It will never do; it is most dangerous work. There are few things more
disastrous than trifling with conscience or the claims of holiness. And it is as foolish as it is
dangerous; for God has, in His grace, made full provision for the removal of the uncleanness
which His holiness detects and condemns. But the uncleanness must be removed, else communion
is impossible. "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me." The suspension of a believer’s
communion is what answers to the cutting off of a member from the congregation of Israel. The
Christian can never be cut off from Christ;; but his communion can be interrupted by a single
sinful thought, and that sinful thought must be judged and confessed, and the soil of it removed,
before the communion can be restored. It is well to remember this. It is a serious thing to trifle
with sin. We may rest assured we cannot possibly have fellowship with God and walk in
defilement. To think so is to blaspheme the very name, the very nature, the very throne and
majesty of God. No, dear reader; we must keep a clean conscience, and maintain the holiness of
God, or else we shall very soon make shipwreck of faith and break down altogether. May the
Lord keep us walking softly and tenderly, watchfully and prayerfully, until we have laid aside our
bodies of sin and death, and entered upon that bright and blessed world above, where sin, death,
and defilement are unknown.

(From Notes on the Book of Numbers.)

"Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself:thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy
gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien:for thou art a holy people unto the
Lord thy God" (Deut. 14:21).

In this verse the marked distinction between the Israel of God and the stranger is strikingly
presented. The grand fact of Israel’s relationship to Jehovah marked them off from all the nations
under the sun. It was not that they were, in themselves, a whit better or holier than others; but
Jehovah was holy, and they were His people. "Be ye holy, for I am holy."

Worldly people often think that Christians are very pharisaic in separating themselves from other
people, and refusing to take part in the pleasures and amusements of the world; but they do not
really understand the question. The fact is, for a Christian to participate in the vanities and follies
of a sinful world would be, to use a typical phrase, like an Israelite eating that which had died of
itself. The Christian, thank God, has gotten something better to feed upon than the poor dead
things of this world. He has the Living Bread that came down from heaven_the true Manna; and
not only so, but he eats of "the old corn of the land of Canaan," type of the risen and glorified
Man in the heavens. Of these most precious things the poor unconverted worldling knows
absolutely nothing, and hence he must feed upon what the world has to offer him. It is not a
question of the right or the wrong of things looked at in themselves. No one could possibly have
known aught about the wrong of eating of any thing that had died of itself if God’s Word had not
settled it.

This is the all-important point for us. We cannot expect the world to see or feel with us as to
matters of right and wrong. It is our business to look at things from a divine standpoint. Many
things may be quite consistent for a worldly man to do which a Christian could not touch at all,
simply because he is a Christian. The question which the true believer has to ask as to everything
which comes before him is simply, Can I do this to the glory of God? Can I connect the name of
Christ with it? If not, he must not touch it.

In a word, the Christian’s standard and test for everything is Christ. This makes it all so simple.
Instead of asking whether such a thing is consistent with our profession, our principles, our
character, or our reputation, we have to ask if it is consistent with Christ. This makes all the
difference. Whatever is unworthy of Christ is unworthy of a Christian. If this be thoroughly
understood and laid hold of, it will furnish a great practical rule which may be applied to a
thousand details. If the heart is true to Christ, if we walk according to the instincts of the divine
nature as strengthened by the ministry of the Holy Spirit and guided by the authority of the
Scriptures, we shall not be much troubled with questions of right or wrong in our daily life.

(From Notes on Deuteronomy .)

There is perhaps no greater trial a man can be called upon to face than to take, through grace, a
position he has seen from the Word of God to be scriptural, and then to be rudely awakened to
the realization that the people who were in that position before him are not what he had hoped to
find them. It may even be that they are less spiritual, less devoted, less zealous for God, than
some he has left behind him in systems where quasi-darkness prevailed. In such circumstances,
one needs to be firmly held by the truth or he is likely to be altogether overcome and completely
disheartened. Many an unstable soul has, by such a test, been utterly swept away from his
moorings. Such often go back in despair to the unscriptural positions they had abandoned, and
give out a bad report of the land, thus hindering others from following the light vouchsafed to
them. Some, with too much conscience to build again the things they had destroyed, become what
one might call spiritual free lances. And some, sad to say, become spiritual Ishmaelites, their hand
against every man, and every man’s hand against them; criticizing, fault-finding, restless and
unhappy; occupied with evil; lamenting the conditions of the times; bewailing the unfaithfulness
of anybody and everybody but themselves; and so falling into a spirit of pharisaism that is helpful
to no one, and a hindrance to all they come in contact with.

Now all this results from occupation with persons instead of with Christ. It is supposed that
because people occupy a position of peculiar favor, and have been blessed with special light, they
must personally be more reliable than the generality of Christians, and the flesh is less likely to
act in them than in others. Often one hears of people "coming out to certain brethren," or
"joining" this or that company of saints. All this is bound to result in disaster.

It is to Christ alone we are called to go forth, without the camp, bearing His reproach. He, blessed
be God, never disappoints. If the eye be fixed on Him, if the heart be occupied with Him, if He
be recognized as the one only Center, then, let saints be what they may as to their spiritual state,
there can be no lasting disappointment, for Christ abides.

If I see it to be according to Scripture to gather with fellow-believers to the name of the Lord
Jesus, owning that "there is one body, and one Spirit," the behavior of those already so gathered
cannot alter the truth for one moment. Rather does it call for exercise of soul on my part that I
may be a help to them, stirring them up to fresh devotedness and renewed zeal in self-judgment.

It is far easier to stand aside and point out the low state of the rest_even to withdraw altogether
from their company _than to emulate Ezra who, by his personal faithfulness, lifted the whole
company to a higher plane. There will be less trouble, less perplexity, less concern, if one simply
turns away and leaves the rest to go on as they will; but God is not thereby glorified nor are
failing saints recovered.

The position of gathering to the name of the Lord in simplicity as members of the one body is not
one in which there is no trouble. Far from it. But it is a place where all trouble can be set right
and every difficulty met by the Word of God alone; and this is what cannot be said of any sect in
Christendom. There human ingenuity, man-made regulations, and carnal laws and ordinances are
relied on to keep things in order and to settle disputes. But those who turn, in faith, from all this

to Christ alone as Center and to the Word alone for guidance and disciplinary instruction, find that
Word all-sufficient if there be but obedience to its principles. Of all this the last two chapters of
Ezra furnish us with a most blessed illustration.

The first burst of praise and worship over, Ezra received this rude awakening to which I have
referred above. One can imagine the awful disappointment, the poignant grief that were his when
the sad state of affairs that had developed among the separated Jews was revealed to him. No
description can bring it before us more vividly than his own words.

"Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel and the
priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, doing
according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites,
the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their
daughters for themselves, and for their sons; so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with
the people of those lands:yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass:
and when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my
head and of my beard, and sat down astonied" (Ezra 9:1-3).

Devoted and faithful steward of God! How our hearts are moved by his bitter grief when he is thus
brought to realize the low condition of the people who are in the only right position. Could one
be surprised if he had turned heartsick away from them all, and in lofty seclusion of spirit
endeavored to go on alone with God, giving up all hope of corporate testimony? But this he does
not do. In faithfulness to God he cannot forego the position, and he loves the people of the Lord
too much to give them up.

Almost heartbroken, Ezra manifested all the signs of deepest distress of spirit, and sat down in
bitter astonishment. That such things prevailed in Babylon would not have amazed him. That they
could be tolerated among those gathered to the place of the Name, dumbfounded him.

But at once the news of his grief spread among the people with a blessed and soul-cheering result.
That all were not in sympathy with the looseness that had come in soon became evident. "Then
were assembled unto me," he tells us, "every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel,
because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the
evening sacrifice" (verse 4). God had said, long before, by Isaiah, "To this man will I look; even
to him that is poor [humble] and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word" (Isaiah 66:2).
Such there were still among the remnant, and upon them the Lord could look in blessing. These
men and Ezra, acting with God, would be a majority, however few in number. Such men are
likely to be regarded by the unspiritual as troublers and "old fogies"; but where there is real
exercise of soul, God can be depended on to show whom He recognizes, in due time.

(From Notes on the Book of Ezra.)

Since both Saul and Jeroboam bring to mind the dangers of worldly wisdom, we shall discuss them
together. At the time Saul became King, he is described as "a choice young man, and a goodly
[handsome]" (1 Samuel 9:2). He also seems to have been of a modest nature, for he "hid himself
among the stuff" when the time came for him to be presented to the people.

After he had been king about two years, however, he seems to have lost that modesty. He
presumes to disobey God because he thinks he knows what is best. In 1 Samuel 13 we read that
Saul offered a sacrifice before Samuel came to him. Evidently Samuel had told Saul to wait for
him to come. The reason Saul gave for his action was that the people were scattered from him and
he was afraid the Philistines would come upon him before he had made a proper sacrifice. As a
result of his disobedience God removed the kingdom from Saul’s descendants. The knowledge of
this loss drove Saul nearly mad in later years and was the motivation for his persecution of David.

Lack of faith caused Saul’s disobedience. The world would say that it was a military leader’s duty
to keep up the morale of his troops and to be ready to meet the enemy at any time. Saul saw the
people leaving him and the enemy preparing for an attack (1 Sam. 13:11) and so decided to act
on his own. But faith says, "God can take care of all these circumstances; my only duty is to obey
His command." Saul lost his kingdom by depending on worldly reasoning. What will we lose by
substituting such reasoning for faith?

Jeroboam’s case is a similar one. Before Solomon died, the Lord had promised to make Jeroboam
king over the ten tribes and to "build him a sure house" (1 Kings 11:38) if he would obey the
commandments of the Lord. One would think that when the prophet’s seemingly unlikely
prediction came true and Jeroboam was actually king, he would realize that God could overcome
all unfavorable circumstances and that his faith would be strengthened. But as soon as he became
king he began to use worldly wisdom and to forget God’s promise. God said that the kingdom
would be his if he obeyed God. Jeroboam decided he needed to establish a special religion in order
to keep his people loyal. The world would say that this was astute political thinking; after all, what
did Jeroboam have to offer in comparison with the glory and beauty of the temple and its
surroundings which the people would see if they went there to worship? But God is above all
secular reasoning and Jeroboam lost his kingdom also.

These two young men made similar mistakes for similar reasons with the same result. Let us not
follow in their footsteps. Remember, first, "Without faith it is impossible to please God."
Secondly, God can overcome all unfavorable circumstances no matter what the world may think.
Thirdly, if we disobey God, we lose. We may not have earthly kingdoms to lose, but we will lose
the blessings God has promised us if we substitute worldly wisdom for faith in Him. Listen to God
and ignore the world; the world has only bad advice, while God has only our blessing in mind.