Newspaper Page Text
4
"SHOW THYSELF MAN.”
Tabernacle Sermon by Reb. Len G. "Broughton
Stenograhically reported for The Golden Age.—Copyright applied for.
Text—Be thou strong, therefore, and show
thyself a man, and keep the charge of Jehovah thy
God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes and
His commandments and His ordinances, and His
testimonies according to the law which is written
in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in
all that thou doest and whithersoever thou turnest
thyself, that Jehovah may establish His word. 1
Kings 2: 4.
HIS text is part of one of the most
interesting histories recorded in the
Old Testament, the history of the con
flict between Adonijah and Solomon,
both sons of David, but sons of differ
ent mothers. David, the king reigning
at that time, was growing old and fee
ble, and it was evident that soon an
other ruler must occupy the throne: so
T
- - y
Adonijah, though he knew his father’s pur
pose to make Solomon king, conceived a plan for
enthroning himself as king of Israel. He gathered
about him his friends and companions, those whom
he proposed to place in positions of trust and
honor, and proclaimed himself king.
Nathan the Prophet became acquainted with
this conspiracy and sought out the mother of Sol
omon and acquainted her with the facts, and she,
remembering the vow that David had made con
cerning her son, sought the king and pleaded her
cause before him, acquainting him with the fact of
Adonijah’s treachery.
While she spoke with the king, the Prophet
Nathan also called and vouched for her words.
David assured Solomon’s mother that he would be
as good as his word, and that Solomon should be
king. Accordingly he had him crowned king at
Gihon.
The news of the coronation of Solomon spread,
and Adonijah heard of it, and he was frightened
[almost out of his wits. He began at once to make
overtures to King Solomon. He sent messengers
to Solomon inquiring if Solomon would spare his
life. The king was a faithful statesman, and he
sent word to his brother: “If you mean to be clever
—to do right—l am your friend. If, however, you
mean wickedness, you shall die.” As much as to
say, “This government is more than the life of
one man, and we are not going to have the peace
and harmony and good of this government dis
turbed by one agitator, and if you continue your
present attitude of agitation your head shall come
off.”
Adonijah was only too glad to get this message.
He was more than willing to bow the knee to the
real king, and soon peace and harmony was re
stored. Then we have the charge of David to Sol
omon, part of which charge we have for our text.
THE WORK OF THE USURPER.
Before beginning to consider the charge I wish
to call your attention to some very interesting
points of this brief history. In the first place I
want to remind you of the work of the usurper
Adonijah. He had absolutely nothing to do with
the government of the kingdom of Israel. He
knew, also, of the vow of David his father that Sol
omon should reign, but he took advantage of his
father in his old age, thinking that perhaps, inas
much as he had failed up to this time to make any
special provision for Solomon’s reign, that he had
grown careless about the matter, and that he could
just proclaim himself king and begin to reign.
This leads me to remark that the spirit of the
usurper did not die when Adonijah died. The
spirit of the usurper is that spirit which today is
playing havoc in this world more than any other
spirit that I know of. I do not refer to the usur
pation of thrones. We look upon the usurpation
of thrones with great contempt for we feel that the
man who is heir to the throne is entitled to it. T
speak of the usurpation of other people’s rights;
of the usurpation of rights in the world of busi
ness, where one man, having an opportunity to
The Golden Age for July 11, 1907.
get the advantage of his brother, seizes that op
portunity. I speak of the spirit of usurpation
that is seen in the world of politics, where one
man, finding that he has an opportunity to get
the advantage of his brother politician and down
him, seizes that opportunity and uses it.
I speak of the usurpation in society where one
man or woman, finding that he or she has oppor
tunity to damage the standing or the reputation of
another, seizes that opportunity and presses it to
its full limit. I speak of the usurpation in the
church, if you will, where one church, finding that
it has an opportunity to usurp the rights of another
church, seizes that opportunity to the detriment
and the hurt of another church. I speak of the
usurpation seen in the conduct of men and women
in the church with respect to one another. I
speak of the usurpation in the pulpit itself; where
one man in the pulpit, finding that he has an op
portunity to get the advantage of his brother min
ister, does not hesitate to use it with the hope of
building himself up in the estimation of the peo
ple.
The spirit of usurpation, the Adonijah spirit, I
say again, in my judgment is the one spirit that
is playing havoc with the peace and harmony arid
prosperity of the world more than anything else.
There is needed to overcome it the world-wide
baptism of the closeness of the relationship of man
to man.
THE USURPER’S END.
Then, also, I want you to note the end of the
usurper. The end of the usurper in the case re
ferred to is very plain and it came very quick.
It came before the usurper had time to carry out
his plan, and he had to bow the knee to the one
he had wronged. But, my brethren, it oftentimes
happens that a man or woman seems to prosper
after usurping the right of another, and perhaps
they do for a while, but it is the rarest thing under
heaven to find that that which is obtained wrong
fully ever in the end amounts to a blessing. I
have in mind now a man who lived neighbor to me
when I was a child, who practically stole from
his brothers and sisters a large estate. He flour
ished on that estate for awhile. I can see him now
as he rode with a proud look by his brothers and
sisters, who were left in penury because of his
roguery, but the time came when that man walked
the streets while his brothers and sisters rode in
their carriages.
I have never known an estate that had been ob
tained in a false, dishonest, or unjust way, to
prosper long. Mr. Moody once said, “I have never
known a man to engage in the business of liquor
selling any length of time that he did not reap in
his own family a drunkard.” A man in the au
dience rose and said, “Mr. Moody, I suppose you
want to know facts?”
“Yes,” answered Mr. Moody, “I do.”
“Well,” replied the man, 44 then I will give you
some. I have been selling whiskey for twenty-five
years, and I have never known a member of my
family to take a drink of it, let alone to be a
drunkard.”
“I thank you, sir,” said Mr. Moody. 41 Are you
telling me the truth?”
4 4 Every word I say is true, and can be vouched
for by many men in this house,” was the answer.
44 A1l right,” said Mr. Moody, “I will not make
that statement again. After this I will say that
there is oile exception to this principle.”
About six months after that Mr. Moody got a
telegram one day calling him to preach the funer
al of the son of that whiskey seller, and upon arriv
ing at the house he found that the young man had
died of delirium tremens. At the time that man
arose and made that statement, that boy was rev
elling in night drunkenness. God is standing to
day, to use a figurative expression, with His fist
clenched against that man or woman who is try
ing to gain for himself at the expense of another.
THE PLACE OF PROPHET AND PREACHER.
1 also want you to note the faithfulness of the
Prophet Nathan in this instance. He went and re
vealed this plot to the king, regardless of what the
consequences might be to him, and in this respect
Nathan stands out as a true prophet of God. The
man who would serve God as prophet or preacher in
this unrighteous age has to be perpetually upon
the watch-tower overlooking the world, finding out
where and how the devil is attempting to inter
fere with and thwart the purpose of God in the
righteous development of the people.
And you can remember that this interference on
the part of the Prophet Nathan was an interfer
ence in matters of state.
Many men think that a prophet or preacher has
nothing to do with matters of state. His business
is to preach the Gospel and let the devil take the
state. Ninety-nine out of every hundred of the
cavillers about that would not know the gospel
from an almanac if somebody did not tell them.
All through the Word of God wherever the prophet
or preacher of righteousness is held up, he is a
man with a vision sufficiently broad and compre
hensive to span the whole of the horizon of life,
and he has to single out places, methods and
means by which the devil is trying to fight against
the people of God, and endeavor to rally the peo
ple of God against the powers of darkness led by
the hosts of Satan.
And this is no easy position. It was not with
Nathan. This was not the first time that the proph
et Nathan dared to interfere with the matters of
State. You remember that he went once to the
king, at the time when David’s character was be
smirched, and there, face to face with the king,
this humble prophet of God dared to look his
king in the face and say, 44 Thou art the man.”
He felt the true mission of the prophet. He
had been gripped with the sacredness and divinity
of his calling as the prophet of God, and having
been gripped with it, there was nothing left for
him to do but to be faithful to the discharge of his
duty in every single detail. I would to God that
we had all over this world prophets and preachers
of righteousness with the broadness of vision that
this man of God had. We would long ago have had
what we are about to have in Georgia. We would
long ago have been delivered from the awful curse
of strong drink that is sapping the life out of
our people.
Again, note the place of the faithful mother
here. This mother of Solomon remembered the
promise of the king with reference to her son, and
when she heard of this wicked scheme on the part
of Adonijah, she comes and pleads the cause of
her son. Oh, what would this "world be without
the faithful mothers!
Look over our congregations. Where are the
fathers? Some of them come, but more of them
stay at home. Mothers, mothers whose hearts nev
er grow tired, never grow weary beseeching a
throne of grace for the child of her bosom.
FIDELITY TO A PROMISE.
Then I want to remind you of the fidelity of the
king. He said, 44 My word is out, and that is
enough. I promised this thing, and because I
promised it, I will do it.” Oh, my God! How we
do need men today who regard their promises; men
in business, who, whenever they say a thing, mean
it; men in politics who, when they say a thing,
mean it; men in the church, men in social life,
men everywhere, who mean what they say. I be
lieve, my brethren, that what people today need
next to religion, is a baptism of manhood that will
enable them to stand for what they say.
Visit the courthouse and see how easv it is for
men to say one thing today and another thing to
morrow. It is an easy thing to get people to
pledge themselves, but it is quite another thing to
get men to do what they pledged themselves to do.
I want to see the time come when we will have