Decision for the King

‘Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you. Now, then, do it.’—2 Sam. iii. 17, 18.
I’N time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel.’  Chosen, anointed, given by God, continually leading and caring for us, yet not accepted, not crowned, not enthroned by us;  our real allegiance, our actual service, given to another ! Self has been our Saul, our central tyranny; and many have been its officers domineering in every department. ‘ Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you.’ Well we might, for the bondage of any other lord was daily harder. Well we might, with even a dim glimpse of the grace and glory of the King who waited for our homage. We sought, first, only for something—we hardly knew what — restlessly and vaguely; then for some One, who was not merely ‘the Desire of all nations,’ but cur own desire. And yet we did not come to the point: we were not ready for His absolute monarchy, for we were loving and doing the will of our old tyrant.

1 2 Cor. iii. 2. 2 Ps. xxxvlii. 15, P. B. V.; ib. cxxxix. 23.
3 Ps. XXV. II. 4 Sam. v. 2. ^ Ps. Ixxxix. 19, 20 ; Isa. Iv. 4.
6 Rom. vi. 16. ? Rom, vii. 23. 8 isa. xiv. 3.

But ‘ the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will’ of self—Satan—the world.* We do not want ‘ to live the rest of our time’ to any but One Will.* We come face to face with a great NOW ! ‘ Now, then, do it! ‘ ‘ Now, then,’ let us, with full purpose of heart, dethrone the usurper and give the diadem to Him ‘whose right it is,’ a blood-bought and death-sealed right.
He does not force allegiance,—He waits for it. The crown of our own individual love and loyalty must be offered by our own hands.  We must ‘ do it.’ When? Oh, now ! Now let us come to Jesus as our King. Now let us, first in solemn heart-surrender, and then in open and unmistakable life-confession, yield ourselves to Him as our Sovereign, our Ruler.
What a glorious life of victory and peace opens before us when this is done ! What a silencing of our fears lest the time to come should nevertheless be as the time past!  Now, then, do it: for the Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.’

1 Hag. ii. 7. 2 I Kings xviii. 21. 3 1 Pet. iv. 3.
?* I Pet, iv. 2. 62 Sam. iii. 18. 7 2 Sam. V. 3.

Now, do not let us ‘ take away from the words ‘ of this promise, and merely hope that our King may save us from some of our enemies. The Lord hath said, ‘will save from all.’ Let us trust our true David this day to fulfil the word of the Lord, and verily we shall not fail to find that according to our faith it shall be unto us.