5. We learn from these Syrians to avoid those snares and dan gers by which we have been already injured. When the Israelites had smitten the Syrians, they forsook their old allies, and made peace. When we have smarted for our folly in some instances, by our indulgences or confederacies, let us take warning, and not engage in them any more. Experience is never good till it is bought; many buy it very dear, and suffer much before they have learned it; but it is better late than never. Let sinners, the enemies of God, act thus. If they have opposed him, and strove with their Maker, as all sinners do, let their afflictions, their fears, their terrors of conscience, and disappointment in creature comforts, make them solicitous to retreat in time, to make peace with him, and become his servants; otherwise their iniquity will be their utter and everJasting ruin.

CHAP. XI.

In the last chapter we left David in the midst of glory and success; but here a very melancholy story opens upon us, the sin of David in the affair of Bath-sheba and Uriah.

A

ND it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth [to battle,] in the spring, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah, their royal city. But David tarried still at Jerusalem, he 2 began to indulge himself in ease and pleasure. And it came to pass in an evening tide, that David arose from off his bed, where he had lain down to sleep, as is usual in hot countries at that time of day, and he walked upon the roof of the king's house; and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself in her chamber; 3 and the woman [was] very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and inquired after the woman. And [one] said, [Is] not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? He was one of David's guards, and was originally an 4 Hittite, but now a proselyte to the Jewish religion. And David sent messengers, perhaps on pretence of other business, and they took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.*

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And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, 6 I [am] with child.† And David sent to Joab, [saying,] send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. He was a proper person to be sent, being a considerable officer, and the Jews

It is difficult to say how far she was to blame; but he was certainly the greatest crimimal who seduced her, if I had said forced her, the original word would bear me out, as it generally signifies an incapacity of resistance.

She was in danger of death by the law of God, as an adulteress, and therefore consulted with David how they might contrive a way to hide their shame, and she to avoid punishment.

7 say, Joab's armourbearer. And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded [of him] how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered, whether there was any probability of their taking the city. And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet, refresh thyself after the fatigues of the journey. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess [of meat] from the king, in token of extraordinary favour and kindness, that he might go 9 home and feast with his wife. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house, in a guard chamber, with all the servants of his 10 lord, and went not down to his house. 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? He gave him a kind rebuke for not taking more care of himself, intimating that he did And Uriah made a brave, and truly 11 not expect him to keep watch. soldierlike reply, and 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 tomorrow I will let thee depart; pretending that he could not get his dis patches ready, but really hoping, that being so long near so amiable a woman, would engage him to visit her. So Uriah abode in 13 Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk, hoping that he would then have gone home,† and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord; but his resolution was fixed, and he went not down to his house. 14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter And he wrote in 15 to Joab, and sent [it] by the hand of Uriah.

*

the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.t 16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men [were,] he set him to take a part of the city which he knew would 17 be valiantly defended. And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell [some] of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also. The be

Uriah could not think of indulging himself, while his fellow soldiers were exposed to so many hardships. His solemn manner of pronouncing this, one would think should have touched David to the heart for his having abused so brave a man, and indulged himself in unlawful pleasures, while this brave soldier was so willing to endure hardships, and deny himself innocent gratifications.

+ There is no reason to believe that he suspected what had passed between David and his wife; but the hand of Providence was counter plotting David's designs, in order to bring his sin to light.

David formed this horrid contrivance in order to have him slain, and thus, if possible, prevent the infamy and punishment of his wife, and hide his own sin and shame. Uriah him self took this dispatch to Joab; and had he suspected the matter, would certainly have opened the letter.

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sieged made a sally, slew some of the soldiers, and the king's guard, and this brave man among the rest.*

Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; how he had managed, and what ill success they had in the 19 last attack: And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the 20 king, And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a milstone upon him from the wall, that he died at Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then, that the king may know why we undertook such a desperate attack, say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

22

So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that 23 Joab had sent him for. And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the 24 gate. And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and [some] of the king's servants be dead, and thy ser25 vant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease nor dishearten thee: for it is only the fate of war, the sword devoureth one as well as another make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it and encourage thou him.

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And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband, probably seven days, 27 as was usual on such occasions. And when the mourning was past, David sent, and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD; his adultery, the murder of Uriah, and marrying Bath-sheba, were very displeasing to God.

1.

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REFLECTIONS.

HERE is great reason to lament that a good man should be guilty of such horrid crimes. Is this David? the man after God's own heart? Is this he, whose heart smote him

Joab is generally thought to be much to blame in executing the king's orders; but he might be innocent. He perhaps imagined that Uriah had been guilty of some notorious crime, for which David, consulting Uriah's honour as an officer, would not punish him openly, but ehose that he should die serving his country, in the bed of honour.

The messenger put it in a different light; that the Ammonites made a sally, and at first were too hard for the Israelites; but they rallied, and pursued them to the city, and in the height of the pursuit came too near the wall; from whence the archers destroyed some of the guards, and Uriah among the rest.

She has been charged with hypocrisy for mourning; but I see no reason for this. It is probable she thought he fell by the common fate of war; and if he made as good a husband, as he did a soldier, he deserved her highest esteem.

It was indecent for him to marry her so soon; but he thought it necessary, to hide their shame, and screen her from a criminal process. Thus far things went on upon the whole as David desired, but the chapter concludes with an awful sentence,

when he only cut off the skirt of Saul's garment? Is this he, who had so many wives? who was a king, and should have set a better example? What! David seduce a woman of good reputation, eminent for her wisdom and piety, (as the latter end of Proverbs plainly shows) the wife of one of his brave officers, when he was doing his duty, and contrive His murder so deliberately, and the destruction of others with him? to the joy of the Ammonites, and the grief of all pious Israelites who heard of it. A melancholy story indeed is this! Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in Askelon, lest the uncircumcised triumph. The scriptures faithfully relate this shameful miscarriage of one of its greatest heroes; which is at once an evidence of their sincerity, and an awful warning to all, even to the best of men. It was written for our learning, that he who thinketh he standeth, may take heed lest he fall. Therefore,

2. We should learn hence, to avoid all occasions of sin, and quench the first sparks of temptation. Had David been with his army, as he undoubtedly should, he would have escaped this blot. Had he been at his harp, or his psalms, at almost any thing but being idle, he had not fallen. Had he checked the temptation at first, turned away his eyes from the tempting object, and given himself to prayer, he had overcome the temptation. May we avoid every thing which may be an occasion of sin, and an incentive to fleshly lusts; especially idleness, and a love of sloth. Let us mind the duties of our station; make a covenant with our eyes; and if we would be safe, we must watch, as well as pray, that we enter not into temptation.

3. See the mischievous consequences of sin; how one leads to another; and what vast evil one act of vice is often big with; how much one sin needs another to cloak and conceal it. Adultery must be covered with treachery, making Uriah drunk, and then murdering him. The way of sin is down hill; a man knows not where he will stop. The beginnings of sin ought to be dreaded; and the appearances of it avoided; for who can tell where it will end? Let us daily pray, Lord lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

4. We learn that God observes the sins of his own people with great displeasure. He must see it and be displeased with it in every one but the sins of his peculiar people are most of all displeasing, because there is so much of ingratitude and treachery in them. If any, therefore, are so presumptuous and wicked as to encourage themselves in sin by this example, or to palliate their crimes, by pleading what David did, let them know that the displeasure of almighty God will follow them. And the sacred historian, in the account of the unparalleled evils which came on David's family, yea, he himself in his penitential Psalm (Psalm li.) composed on this occasion, has shown us what an evil thing sin is, and what bitterness it will be in the end. Stand in awe, therefore, and sin not.

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We have in this chapter David's repentance for his great sin; than's parable; the application of it to David, and the judgment Nã threatened to his family; the child's death; the birth of Solomon ; and the taking of Rabbah.

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were

ND the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him in a parable,t There w 2 two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The 3 rich [man] had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor [man] had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished 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 daugh ter, exceedingly dear and beloved. 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 5 man that was come to him.‡ 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] shall surely die, or, is worthy to die, because there was so much cruelty in it, being done out of wantonness and tyranny, and not from any ne 6 cessity. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, (according to the law, Exodus xxii. 1.) because he did this thing, and because 7 he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou [art] the man; that guilty person whom thou hast accused and condemned.|| Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over 8 Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 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 thee such and such things. Wherefore then hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, contrived the murder of that brave man by the sword of the enemy; and hast taken his wife

This was after the child was born, when the thing was known, and came to be publicly talked of. It is probable that David repented before this; but Nathan was sent to bring him to a public acknowledgment, that he might give glory to God, and be a warning and admoni tion to others.

+This was a prudent and respectful way of reproving, and after the manner of the eastern nations, by which David was brought to condemn himself. As this was the great design, it was not necessary that there should be an exact resemblance in every particular. Some things were only ornamental. Nathan had been used to come on these occasions, to complain of irregularities in the kingdom, and see that the king did justice to the injured.

He might have added, and he slew the poor man, that he might not tell; but this would have brought the case too close, and David would have seen it too soon.

The prophet here speaks, not as a petitioner for the poor man, but as an ambassador from the God of heaven. David's sin was aggravated by all his obligations to God, in raising him to such dignity from low circumstances, he had given him Saul's estate and family to dispose of as he pleased, and dominion over all the twelve tribes; and if that was not enough, he might only have asked, and God would have given him such things as he wanted, and could reasonably desire.