(6) В¶ And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. (7) Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. (8) And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. (9) So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built roundabout from Millo and inward.
Israel had suffered the Jebusites to remain among them contrary to the Lord's command, and therefore they became a snare to them as the Lord had said. See Judges 1:21; Deuteronomy 7:16-18, etc. It should seem that the Jebusites had so fortified Jerusalem, that even blind men and lame (speaking after the manner of men), might defend it. But some have thought by the blind and lame here spoken of, is meant the images and figures on the walls. But I conceive that an higher and more interesting illustration may, without violence, be given to the passage, considered spiritually, and with an eye to Jesus, of whom David was, in many points, an eminent type. Till Jesus takes away the blindness of our eyes, and cures the palsied faculties of our mind, there is no entrance for him in the strong holds of the heart, while the strong men armed keepeth the palace. But, when he comes, and opens both the blind eye, and heals the crippled state of our souls, the strong holds of sin and Satan are thrown open, and thrown down. Come, then, Lord Jesus, come to thy lawful dominion; take possession of the city of thy people, both as the gift of thy Father, the purchase of thy blood, and the conquest of thy Spirit; and do thou dwell in us, and call it, as it rightly is, thine own, the city of the living God; build both inward, and outward, and roundabout; and upon all the glory let there be thy defense. Isaiah 4:3-6; 1 Corinthians 6:19, etc.