13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: a for he did eat continually at the king's table; and b was lame on both his feet.

CHAPTER X.

The king of Ammon being dead, David sends ambassa lors to comfort his son Hanun, 1-2 Hanun, inisled by his courtiers, trests the messengers of David with great

8 And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entering in of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ish-tob, and Maacah, were by themselves in the field.

9 When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of

hire the Syrians to make war upon him, 6 Josb and Abishai meet them at the city of Medeba, and defeat them, 7-14. The Syrians collect another army; but are defeated by David with great slaughter, and make with him a separate peace, 15-19.

A. M. 2967.
B. C. 1037.

An Exod. Isr.

454.

Anno ante

ND it came to pass after this, that

mon died, and Hanun his son reigned

1. Olymp. 261 in his stead.

2 Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.

3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, d Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it.

4 Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one-half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.

e

5 When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

f

6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired & the Syrians of Bethrehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of King Maacah a thousand men, and of h Ish-tob twelve thousand men.

1 Chron. 8. 31-a Ver. 7, 10-b Ver. 3-c 1 Chron. 19. 1, &c-d Heb. In thine eyes doth David?-e Isai. 20. 4. & 47. 2- Gen. 34. 30. Exod. 5. 21. 1 Sam. 13. 4.-g Ch. 8. 3, 5.

Ziba were fair and specious; but he was a traitor in his heart, as we shall see in the rebellion of Absalom; and David's indulgence to this man, is a blot in his character; at this time, however, he suspected no evil; circumstances alone can develope the human character. The internal villain can be known only when circumstances occur which can call his propensities into action: till then he may be reputed an honest man.

Verse 13. Did eat continually at the king's table] He was fit for no public office, but was treated by the king with the utmost respect and affection.

NOTES ON CHAPTER X.

Verse 2. I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash] We do not know exactly the nature or extent of the obligation which David was under to the king of the Ammonites; but it is likely that the Nahash here mentioned was the same who had attacked Jabesh Gilead, and whom Saul defeated: as David had taken refuge with the Moabites, 1 Sam. xxii. 3. and this was contiguous to the king of the Ammonites, his hatred to Saul might induce him to show particular kindness to David.

Verse 3. Thinkest thou that David dost honour thy father] It has been a matter of just complaint through all the history of mankind, that there is little sincerity in courts: courtiers, especially, are suspicious of each other; and often mislead their sovereigns.

Verse 4. Shaved off the one-half of their beards] The beard is held in high respect in the East: the possessor considers it his greatest ornament; often swears by it; and, in matters of great importance, pledges it. Nothing can be more secure than a pledge of this kind; its owner will redeem it at the hazard of his life. The beard was never cut off but in mourning, or as a sign of slavery. Cutting off half of the beard and the clothes, rendered the men ridiculous, and made them look like slaves: what was done to these men was an accumulation of insult.

Verse 5. Tarry at Jericho] This city had not been rebuilt since the time of Joshua: but there were, no doubt, many cottages still remaining, and larger dwellings also; but the walls had not been repaired. As it must have been comparatively a private place, it was proper for these

Ammon.

11 And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.

n

12 Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good. 13 And Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him.

14 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.

15 And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, A they gathered themselves together.

A. M. 295.
B. C. 1036

Exod. Is

455 Anno ante

up 250.

16 And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond • the river; and they came to Helam; and P Shobach, the captain of the host of Hadarezer, went before them.

17 And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.

h Or, the men of Tob: See Judges 11. 3, 5-i Ch. 23. 8-k Ver. 6-1 Dent. 31. 6-m 1 Sam. 4. 9 1 Cor. 16. 13.-n 1 Sam. 3. 18.- That is, Euphress p Or, Shophach. 1 Chron. 19. 16.

men to tarry in, as they would not be exposed to public notice.

Verse 6. The children of Ammon saw that they stank] That is, that their conduct rendered them abominable. This is the Hebrew mode of expressing such a feeling. See Gen. xxxiv. 30.

The Syrians of Beth-rehob] This place was situated at the extremity of the valley between Libanus and Antilibanus. The Syrians of Zoba were subject to Hadarezer. Maacah was in the vicinity of mount Hermon, beyond Jordan, in the Trachonitis.

Ish-tob] This was probably the same with Tob, to which Jephthah fled from the cruelty of his brethren. It was situated in the land of Gilead.

Verse 7. All the host of the mighty] All his worthies, and the flower of his army.

Verse 8. At the entering in of the gate] This was the city of Medeba, as we learn from 1 Chron. xix. 7.

Verse 9. Before and behind] It is probable that one of the armies was in the field, and the other in the city, when Joab arrived. When he fronted this army, the other appears to have issued from the city, and to have taken him in the rear: he was, therefore, obliged to divide his army as here mentioned; one part to face the Syrians, commanded by himself; and the other to face the Ammonites, commanded by his brother Abishai.

Verse 12. Be of good courage] This is a very fine military address; and is equal to any thing in ancient or modern times. Ye fight pro aris et focis; for every good, sacred and civil; for God, for your families, and for your country. Verse 14. The Syrians were fled] They betook them. selves to their own confines, while the Ammonites escaped into their own city.

Verse 16. The Syrians that were beyond the river] That is, the Euphrates.

Hadarezer] This is the same that was overthrown by David, chap. viii. and there called Hadadezer; which is the reading here of about thirty of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. But the resh, and daleth, are easily interchanged.

Verse 17. David-gathered all Israel together] He thought that such a war required his own presence.

18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach, the captain of their host, who died there.

19 And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

CHAPTER XI.

sees Bath-aheba, the wife of Uriah, bathing; he is enamoured of her; sends for, and takes her to his bed, 2-4. She conceives, and informs David, 5. David sends to Joab, and orders him to send to him Uriah, 6. He arrives; and David, having inquired the state of the army, dismissed him, desiring him to go to his own house, 7, 8. Urian sleeps at the door of the king's house, 9. The next day, the king urges him to

go to his house; bat he refuses to go, and gives the most pious and loyal reasons for

his refusal, 10, 11. David, after two days, sends him back to the army, with a letter to Joab, desiring him to place Uriah in the front of the battle, that he might be slain, message to David, 18-25. David sends for Bath-sheba, and takes her to wife: and she bears him a son, 26, 27.

12-15 He does so; and Uriah falls, 16. Joab communicates this news in an artful

Verse 18. SEVEN HUNDRED chariots-and forty thousand HORSEMEN] In the parallel place, 1 Chron. xix. 18. it is said, David slew of the Syrians SEVEN THOUSAND men, which fought in chariots.

And forty thousand HORSEMEN] It is difficult to ascertain the right number in this and similar places. It is very probable that, in former times, the Jews expressed, as they often do now, their numbers not by words at full length, but by numeral letters: and, as many of the letters bear a great similarity to each other, mistakes might easily creep in, when the numeral letters came to be expressed by words at full length. This alone will account for the many mistakes which we find in the numbers in these books; and renders a mistake here very probable. The letter i zain, with a dot above, stands for seven thousand; and the letter nun, for seven hundred: the great similarity of these letters might easily cause the one to be mistaken for the other, and so produce an error in this place.

Verse 19. Made peace with Israel] They made this peace separately; and were obliged to pay tribute to the Israelites. Some copies of the Vulgate add here, after the word Israel, Expaverunt et fugerunt quinquaginta et octo millia coram Israel; and they were panic-struck, and fled fifty-eight thousand of them before Israel. This reading is nowhere else to be found. "Thus," observes Dr. Delaney, "the arms of David were blessed; and God accomplished the promises which he had made to Abraham, (Gen. xv. 18.) and renewed to Joshua, i. 2, 4. And thus, in the space of nineteen or twenty years, David had the good fortune to finish gloriously eight wars; all righteously undertaken, and all honourably terminated, viz. 1. The civil war with Ish-bosheth-2. The war against the Jebusites-3. The war against the Philistines and their allies 4. The war against the Philistines alone-5. The war against the Moabites-6. The war against Hadadezer-7. The war against the Idumeans-3. The war against the Ammonites and Syrians. This last victory was soon followed by the complete conquest of the kingdom of the Ammonites, abandoned by their allies. What glory to the monarch of Israel, had not the splendour of this illustrious epoch been obscured by a complication of crimes, of which one could never have even suspected him capable!"

We have now done with the first part of this Book, in which we find David great, glorious, and pious; we come to the second part, in which we shall have the pain to observe him fallen from God, and his horn defiled in the dust, by crimes of the most flagitious nature. Let him that most assuredly standeth, take heed lest he fall.

8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.

house with all the servants of his lord, and 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's went not down to his house.

10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?

11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here today also, and to-morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the

morrow.

z Ch. 23. 39.-a Psa. 51, title. James 1. 14-b Or, and when she had purified her self, &c. she returned-c Lev. 15. 19, 28. & 18. 19.-d Heb. of the peace of, &c. e Gen. 18. 4. & 19. 2-f Heb. went out after him.-g Ch. 7. 2, 6.-h Ch. 20. 6.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XI.

Verse 1. When kings go forth] This was about a year after the war with the Syrians, spoken of before; and about the spring of the year, as the most proper season for military operations. Calmet thinks they made two campaigns, one in autumn and the other in spring; the winter being, in many respects, inconvenient; and the summer too hot.

Verse 2. In an evening-tide-David arose] He had been reposing on the roof of his house, to enjoy the breeze, as the noon-day was too hot for the performance of business. This is a constant custom on the flat-roofed houses in the East.

He saw a woman washing herself] How could any woman of delicacy expose herself where she could be so fully and openly viewed! Did she not know that she was at least in view of the king's terrace? Was there no design in all this? Et fugit ad salices, et se cupil anté videri. Verse 4, shows us that this washing was at the termination of a particular period.

Verse 3. The daughter of Eliam] Called 1 Chron. iii. 5. Ammiel; a word of the same meaning, The people of my God, the God of my people. The name expressed the covenant-I will be your God: We will be thy people.

Verse 4. And she came in unto him] We hear nothing of her reluctance; and there is no evidence that she was taken per force.

Verse 5. And the woman conceived] A proof of the observation on verse 2; as that is the time in which women are most apt to conceive.

Verse 8. Go down to thy house and wash thy feet] Uriah had come off a journey, and needed this refreshment; but David's design was, that he should go and lie with his wife, that the child now conceived should pass for his, the honour of Bath-sheba be screened, and his own crime concealed. At this time he had no design of the murder of Uriah, nor of taking Bath-sheba to wife.

A mess of meat from the king.] All this was artfully conceived.

Verse 9. Slept at the door] That is, in one of the apartments, or niches, in the court of the king's house. Verse 10. Camest thou not from thy journey] It is not thy duty to keep watch or guard; thou art come from journey, and needest rest and refreshment.

a

Verse 11. The ark, and Israel-abide in tents] It appears, therefore, that they had taken the ark with them to battle.

This was the answer of a brave, generous, and disinter

CHAPTER XII.

The Lord sends Nathan the prophet to reprove David; which he does, by means of a curious parable, 1-1. David is led, unknowingly, to pronounce his own condemnation, 5, 6. Nathan charges the guilt hone on his conscience; and predicts a long train of calamities which should fall on him and his family, 7-12 David confesses his sin; and Nathan gives hun hope of God's mercy, and foretells the death of the chill born in adultery, 13, 11. The chill is taken ill; David fasts and prays for its restoration, 15-17. On the seventh day the child dice, and David is comforted, 18-21 Solomon is born of Bath-sheba, 25, 26. Joab besieges Rabbah of the Ammonites, takes the city of waters, and sends for David to take Rabbah, 27, 29.

a

He comes, takes it, gets much spoil, and puts the inhabitants to hard labour, 29-31. A. M. 2970. ND the LORD sent Nathan unto B. C. 1034. A David. And he came unto him, An. Exod. Isr. 457. and said unto him, There were two Anno ante 1. Olymp. 258. men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds;

3 But the poor man had nothing save one little ewe-lamb, which he had bought and nour ished up; and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock, and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing d shall surely die:

6 And he shall restore the lamb

fourfold,

Hebr.

a Psa. 51, title.-b See Ch. 14. 5, &c. 1 Kings 20. 35-41. Isai. 5. 3.morseld Or, is worthy to die, or, is a son of death. 1 Sam 26. 16.-e Exod. 22 1. Luke 19. 8.- 1 Sam. 16. 13-g See 1 Sam. 15. 19.-h Numb. 15. 31.

and support of him, by whom his spotless blood is shed! But what shall we say of Joab, the wicked executor of the base commands of his fallen master? He was a ruffian, not a soldier: base and barbarous beyond example, in his calling: a pander to the vices of his monarch, while he was aware that he was outraging every law of religion, piety, honour, and arms! It is difficult to state the characters, sum up, and apportion the quantity of vice chargeable on each.

Let David, once the pious, noble, generous, and benevolent hero, who, when almost perishing with thirst, would not taste the water which his brave men had acquired at the hazard of their lives; let this David, I say, be considered an awful example of apostasy from religion, justice, and virtue; Bath-sheba, of lightness and conjugal infidelity; Joab, of base, unmanly, and cold-blooded cruelty; Uriah, of untarnished heroism, inflexible fidelity, and unspotted virtue; and then justice will be done to each character. For my own part, I must say I pity David; I venerate Uriah; I detest Joab; and think meanly of Bathsheba. Similar crimes have been repeatedly committed in similar circumstances. I shall take my leave of the whole with

Id commune malum; semel insanivimus omnes;

Aut sumus, aut fuimus, aut possumus, omne quod hic est.

God of purity and mercy, save the reader from the (EVTEрisarov apapriar) well-circumstanced sin; and let him

learn

"Where many mightier have been slain; By thee unsaved--he falls."

NOTES ON CHAPTER XII. Verse 1. There were two men in one city] See a discourse on fables, at the end of Judges, chap. ix.; and a discourse on parabolic writing, at the end of the xiith chapter of Matthew. There is nothing in this parable that requires illustration: its bent is evident; and it was wisely constructed to make David, unwittingly, pass sentence on himself. It was in David's hand, what his own letters were in the hands of the brave but unfortunate Uriah.

Verse 3. And lay in his bosom] This can only mean that this lamb was what we call a pet, or favourite, in the family, else the circumstance would be very unnatural, and most likely would have prevented David from making the application which he did; as otherwise, it would have appeared absurd. It is the only part of this parable which is at variance with nature and fact.

Verse 5. The man-shall surely die] Literally, 12 ben maveth, "he is a son of death," a very bad man, and one who deserves to die. But the law did not sentence a sheep-stealer to death: let us hear it: If a man steal an ox or a sheep, he shall restore FIVE OXEN for an or, and FOUR SHEEP for a sheep, Exod. xxii. 1.: and hence David immediately says, Ile shall restore the lamb FOURFOLD.

because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I f anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

h

9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? ithou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

m

12 For thou didst it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, P The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

i Ch. 11. 15, 16, 17, 27.-k Amos 7. 9.-1 Deut. 28. 30.

Ch. 16. 22-m Ch. 16. 22. n See 1 Sam. 15. 24.-0 Ch. 21. 10. Job 7. 20. Psa. 32. 5. & 51. 4. Prov. 28. 13. p Eccles. 47. 11.-r Ch. 24. 10. Psa. 32. 1. Job 7. 21. Mic. 7. 18. Zech. 3. 4.

Verse 7. Thou art the man.] What a terrible word! and by it David appears to have been transfixed; and brought into the dust before the messenger of God.

THOU ART this son of death; and thou shalt restore this lamb FOURFOLD. Is it indulging fancy too much to say David was called, in the course of a just providence, to pay this fourfold debt: to lose four sons by untimely deaths, viz. this son of Bath-shebah, on whom David had set his heart, was slain by the Lord: Amnon, murdered by his brother Absalom: Absalom, slain in the oak by Joab; and Adonijah, slain by the order of his brother Solomon, even at the altar of the Lord. The sword and calamity did not depart from his house, from the murder of wretched Amnon by his brother, to the slaughter of the sons of Zedekiah, before their father's eyes, by the king of Babylon. His daughter was dishonored by her own brother; and his wires contaminated, publicly, by his own son! How dreadfully, then, was David punished for his sin! Who would repeat his transgression to share in its penalty! Can his conduct ever be an inducement to, or an encouragement in sin? Surely, No. It must ever fill the reader and the hearer with horror: behold the goodness and severity of God! Reader, lay all these solemn things to heart.

Verse 8. Thy master's wives into thy bosom] Perhaps this means no more than that he had given him absolute power over every thing possessed by Saul; and as it was the custom for the new king to succeed even to the wives and concubines, the whole haram of the deceased king, so it was in this case; and the possession of the wives was a sure proof that he had got all regal rights. But could David, as the son-in-law of Saul, take the wives of his fatherin-law? However, we find delicacy was seldom consulted in these cases! and Absalom lay with his own father's wives, in the most public manner, to show that he had seized on the kingdom, because the wives of the preceding belonged to the succeeding king, and to none other. Verse 9. Thou hast killed Uriah] THOU art the MURDERER, as having planned his death: the sword of the Ammonites was THY instrument only.

Verse 11. I will take thy wives] That is, in the course of my providence, I will permit all this to be done. Had David been faithful, God, by his providence, would have turned all this aside; but now, by his sin, he has made that providence his enemy, which before was his friend.

Verse 13. The LORD hath put away thy sin] Many have supposed that David's sin was now actually pardoned, but this is perfectly erroneous; David, as an adulterer, was condemned to death by the law of God; and he had, according to that law, passed sentence of death upon himself. God alone, whose law that was, could revoke that sentence or dispense with its execution; therefore, Na

15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and "lay all night upon the earth.

t

17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth; but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. 20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the

9 Isai. 52. 5. Ezek. 36. 20, 23. Rom. 2. 24.-t Heb. fasted a fast-u Ch. 13. 31. Heb. do hurt-w Rath 3. 3-x Job 1. 20-y See Isai. 38. 1, 5. Jonah 3. 5.

than, who had charged the guilt home upon his conscience, is authorized to give him the assurance that he should not die a temporal death for it: the Lord hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die-this is all that is contained in the assurance given by Nathan; thou shalt not die that temporal death; thou shalt be preserved alive, that thou mayest have time to repent, turn to God, and find mercy. If the 51st Psalm, as is generally supposed, were written on this occasion, then it is evident (as the psalm must have been written after this interview) that David had not received pardon for his sin from God, at the time he composed it; for, in it, he confesses the crime in order to find mercy.

There is something very remarkable in the words of Nathan, The LORD also hath PUT AWAY thy sin; thou shalt not die: non ab Jaxon may mgam Yehovah | heêbir chattatecha, lo tamuth, Also Jehovah HATH CAUSED thy sin TO PASS OVER, or transferred thy sin; THOU shall not die. God has transferred the legal punishment of this sin to the child: HE shall die, THOU shalt not die; and this is the very point on which the prophet gives him the most direct information-The child that is born unto thee shall SURELY die; n n moth yamuth, dying he shall die; he shall be in a dying state seven days, and then he shall die. So God immediately struck the child, and it was very sick.

Verse 16. David-besought God for the child] How could he do so, after the solemn assurance that he had from God that the child should die? The justice of God absolutely required that the penalty of the law should be exacted; either the father or the son shall die. This could not be reversed.

Verse 22. Who can tell] David, and indeed all others, under the Mosaic dispensation, were so satisfied that all God's threatenings and promises were conditional, that even in the most positive assertions relative to judgments, &c. they sought for a change of purpose. And notwithstanding the positive declaration of Nathan, relative to the death of the child, David sought for its life, not knowing but that might depend on some unexpressed condition; such as earnest prayer, fasting, humiliation, &c. and in these he continued while there was hope. When the child died, he ceased to grieve, as he now saw that this must be fruitless. This appears to be the sole reason of David's importunity.

Verse 23. I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.] It is not clear whether David, by this, expressed his faith in the immortality of the soul: going to him may only mean, I also shall die, and be gathered to my fathers, as he is. But whether David expressed this or not, we know that the thing is true: and it is one of the most solid grounds of consolation to surviving friends, that they shall by and by be joined to them in a state of conscious existence. This doctrine has a very powerful tendency to alleviate the miseries of human life, and to reconcile us to the death of most beloved friends. And were we to admit the contrary, grief in many cases would

21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.

22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

A. M. 2971. B. C. 103

23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back An Exod. Isr again? I shall go to him, but he shall Ando ante not return to me.

458

1. Olymp. 27.

d

e

26 And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

z Job 7. 8, 9, 10.-a Matt. 1. 6.-b 1 Chron. 22. 9-c That is, Beloved of the Lord d 1 Chron. 20. 1.-e Deut. 3. 11.

wear out its subject, before it wore out itself. Even the heathens derived consolation from the reflection, that they should meet their friends in a state of conscious existence. And a saying in Cicero De Senectute, which he puts in the mouth of Cato of Utica, has been often quoted, and is universally admired ;

O præclarum diem, cùm ad illud divinum animorum concilium cœtumque proficiscar, cùmque ex hâc turbâ et colluvione discedam! proficiscar enim non ad eos solùm viros de quibus ante dixi; sed etiam ad Catonem meum, quo nemo vir melior natus est, nemo pietate præstantior: cujus à me corpus crematum est; quod contra decuit ab illo meum. Animus verò non me deserens, sed respectans, in ea profectò loca discessit, quo mihi ipsi cernebat esse veniendum: quem ego meum casum fortiter ferre visus sum: non quod æquo animo ferrem; sed meipse consolabar, existimans, non longinquum inter nos digressum et discessum fore.

CATO MAJOR, De Senectute, in fin. "O happy day! (says he) when I shall quit this impure and corrupt multitude, and join myself to that divine company and council of souls who have quitted the earth before me. There I shall find, not only those illustrious personages of whom I have spoken: but also my Cate, who, I can say, was one of the best men ever born, and whom none ever excelled in virtue and piety. I have placed his body on that funeral pile, whereon he ought to have laid mine. But his soul has not left me; and, without losing sight of me, he has only gone before into a country where he saw I should soon rejoin him. This, my lot, I seem to bear courageously; not indeed that I do bear it with resignation; but I shall comfort myself with the persuasion that the interval between his departure and mine will not be long."

And we well know who has taught us not to sorrow as those without hope, for departed friends.

Verse 24. David comforted Bath-sheba] His extraordinary attachment to this beautiful woman was the cause of all his misfortunes.

He called his name Solomon] This name seems to have been given prophetically; for now shelemah, signifies peaceable; and there was almost uninterrupted peace during his reign.

Verse 25. Called-Jedidiah] Literally, the beloved of the Lord, m. This is the first instance I remember of a minister of God being employed to give a name to the child of one of his servants. But it is strange, that the name given by the father was that alone which prevailed.

Verse 25. And took the royal city.] How can this be, when Joab sent to David to come to take the city; in consequence of which David did come and take that city? The explanation seems to be this: -Rabbah was composed of a city and citadel: the former, in which was the king's residence, Joab had taken, and supposed he could soon render himself master of the latter; and, therefore, sends to David to come and take it, lest, he taking the whole, the city should be called after his name.