Page images
PDF
EPUB

A. M. 2949. A. C. 1055; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4341. A. C. 1070. 2 SAM. i-xix.

place, with a design to retire beyond Jordan, he was at-
tended by his guards, his best troops, and principal
friends, a Zadok and Abiathar the priests, understand-
ing that the king was departed from Jerusalem, brought
the ark of the covenant to accompany him in his distress;
but he desired them to carry it back, and to continue
in Jerusalem, because they might be of use to gain him
intelligence of the enemy's motions and designs, and
their character was too sacred, to fear any violence from
the usurper.
Hushai, the Archite, his faithful friend
and counsellor, came likewise to attend him, and, with
all expressions of sorrow, to see his royal master in such
distress, offered to share his fortune: but David enjoined
him to return, and told him, that he would be more ser-
viceable to him in the city, by pretending to adhere to
Absalom, and by defeating the counsels of Ahithophel,
who, as he understood for certainty, was engaged in
his son's measures, and whose great abilities, which the

to the contrary party, that had he stood a siege, and been reduced to straits, they might possibly deliver him up to Absalom. Nor was the preservation of the city itself, which David had beautified, and adorned with a fine and stately palace, and where God had appointed to put his name and worship, the least part of his concern; and therefore he thought it more conducive to his interest in all respects, rather than be cooped up in a place which he desired to preserve from being the seat of war, to march abroad into the country, where he might probably raise a considerable army, both for his own defence, and the suppression of the rebels. -Poole's Annotations.

a 2 Sam. xv. 30. And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered; and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.' This was an indication of great distress: for in ancient times the shoes of great and wealthy persons were made of very rich materials. When any great calamity befell them, either public or private, they not only stripped themselves of these ornaments, but of their very shoes, and walked barefoot. In this manner prisoners taken in war, were forced to walk, both for punishment and disgrace.-Burder's Oriental Customs, vol. 1. p. 231.

6 This he might do for several reasons; for either he might think it not decent to have the ark wander about with him he knew not whither, and to expose it to all the hazards and inconveniences which he himself was like to undergo; or he might suppose that this would be a means to expose the priests to the violence of Absalom's rage, as he had before exposed them to Saul's fury upon another occasion, if God, in his judgment, should permit him to prevail; or this might look as a distrust of the divine goodness, and that he placed more confidence in the token of God's presence, than he did in God himself, who had preserved him in the long persecution of Saul, when he had no ark with him. But what seems the chief reason at that time, for his sending back the ark, was,-That the priests and Levites, of whose fidelity he was sufficiently satisfied, by giving him intelligence of the enemies' motions, might do him more service in Jerusalem, than they could do in his camp.-Poole's Annot,

eThis man might be of the ancient race of the Archites, descendants from Canaan, of whom Moses speaks, (Gen. x. 17.) but since the name of these ancient people is diflerently written, I should rather think that this additional name was given him from the place of his nativity, namely, Archi, a town situated on the frontiers of Benjamin and Ephraim, to the west of Bethel.

Joshua xvi. 2.

The Jews are of opinion, that Ahithophel was incensed against David, and therefore ready to go over to the adverse party, because he had abused Bathsheba, whom they take to have been his grand-daughter, because she was the daughter of Eliam, (2 Sam. xi. 3.) and Ahithophel had a son of that name, (2 Sam. xxiii. 34.) for this reason they imagine, that he advised Absalom to lie with his father's concubines, that he might be repaid in kind; though the Scripture assigns another, namely, that he and his father might thereby become irreconcilable enemies.Poole's Annotations.

king was not unacquainted with, gave him no small uneasiness.

David had scarce passed over Mount Olivet, which lies to the eastward of Jerusalem, when Ziba, whom he had made steward to Mephibosheth, his friend Jonathan's son, came, and presented him with a e considerable quantity of wine, and other provisions; but, upon the king's inquiring for his master, who he thought above all men, in point of gratitude, should have kept firm to his interest, the perfidious wretch accused him of staying behind in Jerusalem, in hopes that himself might be made king; and the too credulous king, in this general distraction of his affairs, believing the accusation to be true, made a hasty grant of all Mephibosheth's estate to this base servant and treacherous sycophant.

As David drew near to Bahurim, a city in the tribe of Benjamin, f one Shimei, a descendant from the family of Saul, and who dwelt in that place, came out, and threw stones at him, and, in the hearing of the whole company, loaded him with the bitterest reproaches and execrations, so that Abishai desired leave of the king to go and despatch the insolent rebel: but by no means would the king permit him, but bore all with an admirable patience, & and resignation to the will of God, as being conscious of his own guilt in the case of Uriah, and of the divine justice in thus afflicting him.

While David continued at Bahurim, Absalom and his party entering Jerusalem, were received with the general acclamations of the people, and Hushai, not forgetful of the king's instructions, went to compliment him, and offered him his service. Absalom knew that he was his father's intimate friend and counsellor, and therefore bantered him at first, upon his pretending to desert his

e And yet the text tells us, it was but one bottle; but what we render bottle, was, in those times, a bag, or vessel made of leather, which might contain a great deal of wine; because we cannot suppose, but that the liquor was proportionate to the rest of the present.—Patrick's Commentary.

f Whether this man had been a personal sufferer in the fall of Saul's family, or what else had exasperated him against David, it nowhere appears; but it seems as if he had conceived some very heinous offence against him, when neither the presence of a king, nor the terror of his guards, could restrain him from throwing stones, and bitter speeches, at him: and it looks as if the king were fallen into the utmost contempt, when one private man could think of venting his malice at him in so gross a manner with impunity.-Howell's History in the notes.

g The words of David upon this occasion are, 'So let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, curse David: let him alone, let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden him;' not that God commanded it by his word, for that severely forbids cursing, (Exod. xxii. 28.) nor moved him to it by his Spirit; for neither was that possible, because God tempteth no man (Jas. i. 13.) But the meaning is, that the secret providence of God did overrule and determine him so to do, that is, God did not put any wickedness into Shimei's heart, for he had of himself an heart full of malignity and venom against David, but only left him to his own wickedness: took away that common prudence, which would have restrained him from so dangerous an action; directed his malice, that it should be exercised against David, rather than any other man; and brought him into so distressed a condition, that he might seem a proper object of his scorn and contempt, which is enough to justify the expression, The Lord hath bidden him,' in the same manner that we read of his 'commanding the ravens,' (1 Kings xvii. 4.) and sometimes inanimate creatures, (Ps. cxlvii. 15, 18.) The short is, David looked upon Shimei as an instrument in God's hands, and therefore took all his abuses patiently, out of a consciousness of his sinfulness, and a reverence to that Deity who had brought him so low, as to deserve the insults of this vile Benjamite.-Poole's Annot.

A M. 2949. A. C. 1055; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4341. A. C. 1070. 2 SAM. i-xix.

old master; but Hushai a excused himself in such a manner, and answered all his questions with that subtlety, that he passed upon the prince for a worthy friend, and accordingly was received into his privy council.

A council was presently called, wherein Ahithophel, who was president, and stood highest in Absalom's esteem, spake first; and the two chief things which he advised him to do, were, first to place a tent on the top of the palace, (for by this time he had taken possession of his father's palace,) and to lie publicly with his father's concubines, that all the soldiers might see, and conclude that, after such an indignity, there could be no hopes of a reconciliation, and thereby be incited to fight more desperately to secure him in the possession of the throne. This advice was suitable perhaps to the young man's vicious inclinations, and therefore he delayed not to put it in execution: but, as for the second thing which Ahithophel proposed, viz. "To take twelve thousand choice men, and pursue after David that very night, and to fall upon his guards, which were fatigued with their march, and unable to make resistance, and so surprise the king, and kill him," he desired to consult Hushai herein; who, seeming not to slight Ahithophel's proposal, advised rather to delay the attempt, until he had got all the forces, of the kingdom together. For, as David and his men were known to be brave, and, at that time, both exasperated, and desperate, in case they should worst the party, sent against them, this would be a means to discourage others, and be thought a very inauspicious beginning: whereas if they staid till a

a The manner in which Josephus makes Hushai answer Absalom, is artful enough, though hardly becoming an honest man. "There is no contending," says he, "with the will of God, and the consent of the people; and so long as you have them on your side, you may be secure of my fidelity. It is from God that you have received your kingdom; and if you can think me worthy of a place in the number of those you will vouchsafe to own, you shall find me as true to yourself as ever I was to your father. No man is to account the present state of things uneasy, so long as the government continues in the same line, and a son of the same family succeeds to the throne.-Jewish Antiquities, b. 7. c. 8.

b It is a wise observation in Tacitus, "In civil discords nothing is more appropriate than haste, for in them there is more need for action than deliberation." Ahithophel therefore thought it highly necessary to make despatch upon this occasion; because he knew, that if he should give the people, that had revolted from their allegiance, leisure to think of what they were doing against their lawful prince, he would give that prince time to raise some regular troops, and those that were about him space to recover from their first fright; Absalom's party would dwindle into nothing, and David's grow stronger and stronger:-" He would grant repentance to the wicked, agreement to the good for crimes strengthen by impetuosity, and good counsel by delay." (Tacitus, Hist. b. 1.) And therefore he advised marching immediately against him, without giving him a moment's time to recover himself.-Calmet's Commentary.

6

c There is something very plausible, and elegant too, in the advice which Hushai gives Absalom, not immediately to pursue and fall upon David: Thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field.' (2 Sam. xvii. 7.) Every one knows, that a bear is a very fierce creature; but she-bears, as Aristotle tells us, are more fierce than the male, particularly when they have young ones, but, most of all when these young ones are taken from them. For this reason the Scriptures make frequent use of this similitude: I will be unto them as a lion,' says God, in relation to the people of Israel, and as a leopard by the way; I will meet them as a bear, that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rent the caul of their hearts,' (Hosea xiii. 7, 8. See Prov. xvii. 12, &c.) So that the purport of Hushai's advice

[ocr errors]

d

numerous army, were come together, they might be assured of victory." Absalom, and the rest of the council approved of this last advice, and Hushai immediately despatched two messengers to David, acquainting him with what had passed in council, and advising him instantly to pass the Jordan, lest Absalom should change his mind, and come and fall upon him on a sudden.

The messengers, as they were making the best of their way, happened to meet some of Absalom's party, but had the good fortune to conceal themselves in a well, until their pursuers were returned; and then proceeding on their journey, came and delivered their despatches to the king, who decamped by break of day, passed the Jordan, and came to Mahanaim, a city of Gilead, where he was kindly received. As soon as Ahithophel heard that David was out of danger, either taking it amiss that his counsel was slighted, or perceiving by Absalom's weak conduct that things were not likely to succeed, and he consequently liable to be exposed to David's hottest indignation, for the counsel he had already given; partly out of pride, and partly out of fear of worse torments, he went to his own house, where he first made his will, and then hanged himself.

David had not been long at Mahanaim, before Absalom, having got together a numerous army, which was commanded by Amasa, the son of Ithra, a relation of Absalom's by marriage, left Jerusalem and passed the Jordan, in pursuit of his father. The king hearing of the approach of his rebel son, and foreseeing that a battle was unavoidable, divided his army into three bodies. The first to be commanded by Joab, the second by his brother Abishai, and the third by Ittai the Gittite,

is founded on this maxim, "That we should not drive an enemy to despair, nor attack those who are resolved to sell their lives at as dear a rate as possible."-Calmet's Commentary.

d The benefits which Hushai suggests, from Absalom's having a large army, are thus expressed in an hyperbolical way, suitable to the genius of that insolent young man, to whom he gave his advice; and therefore more likely to prevail with him; Moreover if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there,' (2 Sam. xvii. 13.) Where his meaning is, that if David should quit the open field, and betake himself to the strongest of their cities, encompassed with high walls and deep ditches, such a numerous army, as he proposed, would be sufficient to begirt it round, and by ropes put about the walls, draw them down, and all the houses of the city, into the ditch that ran about it: not that any such practices were ever used in war, and therefore the words must be looked upon as merely thrasonical, and calculated to please Absalom; unless we will say with some, that the word in the original may denote such machines as are worked by ropes, and were at that time in use to batter down walls. -Calmet's and Patrick's Commentaries.

e Josephus thus relates the matter:-"When Ahithophel was come home to Galmon, he called his family together, and told them the advice which he had given Absalom, but that he would not follow it; and that in a short time that refusal would be his ruin: for David would certainly baffle him, and soon recover his kingdom. "Now it is more honourable for me," says he, "to die asserting my liberty like a man, than to wait sneak ing till David comes in again, and to be slain at last for the services I have done the son against the father."—Jewish Antiquities, b. 7. c. 9.

f In 2 Sam. xv. 18. we read, that 'all the Gittites, six hundred men, which came after him,' namely, David, ' from Gath, passed on before the king;' but who these Gittites were, it is hard to determine; because we have no mention made of them in any other part of Scripture. Some imagine that they were natives of Gath, who, taken with the fame of David's piety, and happy success,

A. M. 2949. A. C. 1055; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4341. A. C. 1070. 2 SAM. i-xix.

and himself intended to go in person with them. But by | such a manner, that it lifted him off his saddle, and his the importunity of the people about him, he was prevailed mule, running from under him, left him there hanging in with not to hazard his person in battle; and perhaps was the air, and unable to disengage himself. more easily dissuaded from it, because the battle was to be against a son, for whom he still retained so tender an affection, that he gave the three generals a strict charge, in the hearing of the soldiers, that for his sake, they should use Absalom kindly, in case he should fall into their hands.

The two armies met in the a wood of Ephraim, which belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, where Absalom's army, though much superior in number, was defeated, and put to flight for the loyalists, upon this occasion, behaved so gallantly, that they killed twenty thousand of the rebels upon the spot, and would doubtless have carried the slaughter farther, had not Absalom, the chief cause of all this mischief, been taken and slain.

с

His hair, as we said before, was of a prodigious length and largeness; and as he was now in flight from the enemy, and riding with great speed under the trees, it happened to entangle itself on one of the boughs in came along with Ittai, whom the Jews suppose to have been the son of Achish, king of Gath, and being proselyted to the Jewish religion, became a part of David's guard, and attended him in his wars. But others rather think, that they were men of Jewish extract, but had this additional name, from their flying unto David, probably under the conduct of Ittai, while he was at Gath, and accompanying him ever after, not only in the time of Saul's persecution of him, but even after his accession to the united kingdoms of Judah and Israel.-Patrick's Commentary. a This wood was so called, as some imagine, because the Ephthem in it; but others with more probability, suppose, that it had its name from the great slaughter (related in Jud. xii.) which Jephthah had formerly made of the Ephraimites in that place.Howell's History, in the notes.

raimites were wont to drive their cattle over Jordan to feed

The expression in the text is, 'The wood devoured more people that day, than the sword devoured,' (2 Sam. xviii. 8.) which some think was occasioned by their falling into pits, pressing one another to death in strait places, creeping into lurking holes, and there being starved to death, or otherwise devoured by wild beasts, which met them in their flight: but the most easy and simple meaning of the passage is, that there were more slain in the wood than in the field of battle. The field of battle, (as Josephus tells us, Jewish Antiquities, b. 7. c. 9.) was a plain, with a wood contiguous to it; and therefore, when Absalom's army was put to the rout, and betook themselves to the wood for refuge, their pursuers made a greater slaughter of them there, than they otherwise would have done, because they could not run away so fast in the wood, as they might have done in the open field.-Patrick's Commentary.

e The words in the text, indeed, make no mention of Absalom's hair in this place. They only inform us, that Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth, and the mule, that was under him, went away,' (2 Sam. xviii. 9.) From whence some infer, that the meaning of the historian is, not that Absalom hung by his hair, but that his neck was so wedged between the boughs, by the swift motion of the mule, that he was not able to disengage himself. For it is hardly to be questioned, say they, but that when he went to battle, he had an helmet on; and an helmet, which covered his head, would have hindered his hair from being entangled in the boughs: but it is only supposing, either that his helmet was such, as left a great deal of his hair visible and uncovered, or that, if it was large enough to enclose the whole, he might, upon this occasion, throw it off, as well as his other heavy armour, to make himself lighter, and expedite his flight; and then there will be no incongruity in the common and received opinion, to which the authority of Josephus adds some confirmation, namely, "That as Absalom was making his escape, upon the whiffling of the air, a snagged bough of a tree took hold of his hair, and the mule, running forward from under him, left him dangling in the air.”—Jewish Antiquities, b. 7. c. 9. |

In this condition a private soldier found him, and told it unto Joab, who blamed him for not having killed him : and when the man in excuse urged the command which he heard the king give the generals, to be very tender and careful of his son's life, Joab, looking upon all this as nothing, or as a command fitter for a parent than a king, went to the place where he was d hanging, and having first given him his death's wound himself, ordered the people, which were by, to despatch him; and so went and sounded a retreat, to prevent any farther effusion of blood, and to give Absalom's party an opportunity of escaping to their respective homes.

Thus died the wicked and rebellious Absalom, and instead of an honourable interment, fit for a king's son, his body was taken down, and thrown into a pit, and covered with an e heap of stones.

CHAP. II.-Difficulties obviated, and Objections

answered.

DAVID, no doubt, was a very fond father to his children, and a tender husband to his wives: of these, it must be owned, he had too many, eighteen in number, if we will reckon his concubines into that relation, which, in those days did not much differ from the other, except in some rites and solemnities of marriage. But as polygamy

d Commentators have observed the justice of God, in bringing Absalom to a condign punishment, and such a kind of death, as was ordained by the law for offences, like unto his. For whereas, in the first place, he was hanged as it were, this was declared by the law to be an accursed death, (Deut. xxi. 23.) and was afterwards, in some measure, stoned; this was the particular kind of death that the law prescribed for a stubborn and rebellious son.— Deut. xxi. 21.

e In the description of the Holy Land, some geographers tell us, that this heap of stones remained even to their days, and that all travellers, as they passed by it, were wont to throw a stone to add to the heap, in detestation of his rebellion against his father. For though it became a custom among the Greeks, to raise an heap of stones in the place where any great person was interred, as a monument of honour and respect; yet it is plain, that none of David's army intended any honour to Absalom's memory in accumulating stones upon him; nor can we think, that David himself, though too fond of this rebel son, made any alteration afterwards in the form of his burial, for fear of enraging the people against him. Some, however, are of a quite contrary opinion, namely, that David, who lamented him with such excess, removed him from this pit, in order to have him laid in the sepulchre belonging to the kings, or perhaps somewhere about the place where the monument which goes under his name, and even to this day, is shown to travellers, was dug in a rock. It is a little chamber wrought with a chisel, out of one piece of rock, which stands at some distance from the rest of the mountain, and is a square of eight paces from out to out. The inside of this chamber is all plain, but the outside is adorned with some pilasters of the same kind of stone. The upper part, or covering, is made in the form of a conic pyramid, pretty high and large, with a kind of flowerpot on its top. The pyramid is composed of several stones, but the monument itself is square, and all cut out of one block. In the time of Josephus, the monument, which was said to be Absalom's, was nothing more than one marble pillar, widely different from what, at present, goes under his name; and which therefore must be accounted a more modern building.-Le Clerc's and Patrick's Commentaries; Jewish Antiquities, b. 7. c. 9; and Calmet's Dictionary, under the word Absalom.

A. M. 2949. A. C. 1055; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4341. A. C. 1070. 2 SAM. i-xix.

2

7

was then tolerated among the Jews, and the prohibition contrivance, in causing Uriah to be sent for home; in of a king's multiplying wives to himself does nowhere receiving him with great tokens of his favour, and enlimit the number of them, David might conceive, that this tertaining him with good cheer, that he might be the polygamy was no transgression of the law, and thence more desirous to enjoy the company of his wife, and so be induced more readily to comply with it, in order to have the child, which was got in adultery, reputed his enlarge his family, and attach the principal nobility, of own. 4th, They observe, from Uriah's answer, that his own nation, as well as some foreign potentates, more had not David's heart been seared, he could not but closely to his interest. For it was always looked upon have felt a strong remorse, upon thinking how he had as a piece of political wisdom in princes, to endeavour abused so brave a man, and how he indulged himself in to have many children, that by matching them into sev- sinful pleasures, while this man, and the rest of his army, eral powerful families, they might have more supporters gloriously endured all manner of hardships, for the serof their authority, and more assistance, in case of any vice of their country. 5th, They observe, from his invasion of it. design upon Uriah's life, when he could not otherwise conceal his lewdness, how naturally one sin paves the way to another, and how, in a small compass of time, the fascination of sensual appetites is enough to change the very nature of mankind; since even he, who formerly spared Saul, unjustly seeking his life, is now put upon contriving the death of a very faithful servant, in a very base and unworthy manner. 6th, They observe it, as a farther aggravation of his crime of murder, that he not only exposed an innocent and faithful servant to be killed, but that, together with him, ' several more brave men, set in the front of the battle, where the service was hottest, must necessarily have fallen in the attack; so blind was he to the public good, and so prodigal of his subjects' lives, if he might but cover his guilt, and gratify his lust. 7th, They observe 10 from his answer to the messengers sent by Joab to acquaint him with Uriah's death, namely, 'the sword devoureth one as well as another,' the vile hypocrisy and obdurateness of his heart, imputing that to the chance of war, or rather to the direction of divine providence, which his conscience could not but tell him was of his own contrivance. 8th, and lastly, they observe, "from his marriage with Bathsheba, even before her husband was cold in his grave, how the eagerness of his indulged appetite had now extinguished, what in some sinners is last of all parted with, and for which he himself had lately imbrued his hands in blood, all sense of shame, and regard to repu tation or decency.

This however is no part of David's commendation, how much soever it might tend to his security; but that a father should be fond of a son, and in some instances carry that fondness to excess; that he should be blind to his lesser faults, and always inclinable, upon proper tokens of repentance to forgive the greater; that he should love to see every thing look gay and handsome about him, be liberal to his decent expenses, and ready to overlook some little extravagancies; that he should be uneasy in his absence, joyous to see him, and when he is in any imminent danger, very solicitous for his preservation, which are all the articles brought against David in relation to his son Absalom. These are faults, if faults they be, which every good-natured parent, who feels the tender propensities of human nature towards those of his own flesh, will easily be induced to forgive and well were it for David, if we could make the like apology for that great enormity of his, in the matter of Uriah; but instead of attempting any extenuation of it, we shall rather take notice of the several aggravations which moralists have discovered in it, and of the reasons for which the Spirit of God thought proper to record it in holy writ.

as

To this purpose, some have observed, 1st, That 'David tarried at Jerusalem at the time when kings went forth to battle, he there indulged himself in ease and luxury, which are the bane and rust of the mind, and so insensibly fell into those loose desires which drew him into such vile perpetrations; so that the first cause of his sin was idleness. 2d, They observe it as an aggravation of his crime, that he certainly knew that Bathsheba was another man's wife, and yet deliberately and advisedly committed the sin; nay, that she was the wife of one who was a proselyte to the Jewish religion, and therefore added scandal to his wickedness, or, as the text expresses it, 'gave great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.' 3d, They observe that there was perfidy added to this guilt, and a sinful

[ocr errors]

56

Deut. xvii. 17. "Patrick's Commentary on 2 Sam. v. 13. 2 Sam. xi. 1. 2 Sam. xi, 1. 2 Sam. xii. 14. a But contrary to this, the Jewish writers have endeavoured to justify David in this whole transaction; and to this purpose have invented laws and customs, that are nowhere to be found, either in the books of Moses, or in the compass of their history. They pretend that David was married to Bathsheba before her husband was dead, because it was a custom, as they say, for soldiers, whenever they went to the wars, to give their wives a bill of divorcement, and consequently a full license to marry whom they pleased. But it is vain to attempt to excuse this black and crying sin in David, for which God so severely punished him, and for which he himself was always ready to acknowledge the divine justice in so doing.-Calmet's Commentary on 2 Sam. xi. 27.

These are some of the aggravations observable in David's crime, which besides his lust and cruelty, is loaded with too just an imputation of perfidy, of ingratitude, of hypocrisy, of deliberation, of obstinacy, and of shamelessness in sin. And for these purposes were they recorded in Scripture, that they might teach us the frailty of human nature, and how liable the best of men are, in some instances of their lives, to be overtaken with very gross faults: that they might show us the natural gradation of one sin to another, and that, when once we have suffered our appetites to break loose from the restraints of duty, in a short time it will not be in our power to set bounds to them, however much we may be inclined to do so: that they might caution us against sloth and idleness, against indulging any inordinate passion, or gazing upon any objects that may endanger our innocence: that they might remind us all how much we stand in need continually of the divine assistance, and therefore how much we are concerned to pray with all prayer and supplication, and to watch, as

[blocks in formation]

A. M. 2949. A. C. 1055; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4341. A. C. 1070. 2 SAM. i-xix.

well as pray, that we fall into no temptation. And, that he might have a better opportunity, not only for lastly, that they might inculcate that excellent precept putting in execution his wicked design, but of making which the apostle has laid down in these words: Breth- his escape likewise; so that David, had he been ever

ren, if any man be overtaken in a fault, ye that are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.'

2

8

so much minded, could not possibly have apprehended him, before he had got to a safe retreat and where, it is easy to imagine, he would tell his tale so well, as to One pernicious consequence of David's transgression gain his grandfather's protection, if not approbation of very likely was, that it made him timorous in inflicting the fact, which, with a small share of eloquence, might punishments upon others; but the reason which Josephus be so set off, as to appear a necessary vindication of the assigns for his not chastising Amnon for his incestuous honour of their family, which had been so grossly violated. rape, namely, because he was his eldest son, and he The law of God indeed is very express :- Whosoloved him, and would not displease him,' is a groundless ever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be calumny, and mere fiction; for, since the sacred his- shed; neither shall he take any satisfaction for the tory has thought fit to be silent in this matter, no one life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall can tell what his father either said or did to him: the surely be put to death.' Whereby it appears, that the true reason, therefore, as we suppose, why his father did supreme magistrate was obliged to execute justice upon not proceed with severity against him, was, because the all wilful murderers, without any reservation; nor had case, as it then stood, was intricate and perplexed, and David any power to dispense with God's laws, or to such as the law had made no provision for. The law con- spare those whom he had commanded him to destroy. cerning rapes is worded thus :— " If a damsel, that is But then it must be considered, that the affront which a virgin be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her Amnon put upon Absalom, was very great and heinous ; in the city, and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both that Absalom, at this time, was out of the reach of Daout of the gate of the city, and ye shall stone them with vid's justice, and so would have continued, had he not stones that they die': the damsel, because she cried not, obtained a promise of impunity; that, by living an exile being in the city; and the man, because he humbled his in a heathenish country, David had reason to appreneighbour's wife.' And again, If a man find a dam-hend, that his son was in danger of being infected with

a

[ocr errors]

sel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found, then the man that lay with her, shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he hath humbled her; he may not put her away all his days.' These are the two principal laws concerning this matter, but neither come up to the case now before us. For had David punished Amnon's crime with death, as the former law requires, Tamar in like manner must have suffered too, even though she was innocent, because she cried not out; and though she was not a betrothed damsel, as the case is put in the latter law, yet David could not compel Amnon to marry her, because such a marriage would have been incestuous; and therefore we may suppose, that though David might reprimand his son very severely, for having wrought folly in Israel; yet he could not bring him before a public judicature, because the law did not properly extend to his case, or if he had made it extend, the innocent must have suffered with the guilty; and a rule of equity, I think it is, rather to let the guilty escape, than that the innocent and injured should be destroyed.

5

The sacred historian has taken care to clear David from any base connivance at Absalom's wickedness in murdering his brother Amnon, by telling us, that as soon as he had done it, he fled, and went to Talmai,' his grandfather, by his mother's side, who was then king of Geshur. Geshur was a city in Syria, which lay on the other side of Jordan; and Absalom, who meditated the murder of his brother, and could not but foresee that it would be an act of high displeasure to his father, invited the princes of the blood to his country seat, which was near the city Ephraim, not far from the river Jordan,

[blocks in formation]

96

their wicked and idolatrous practices, and was therefore
the rather inclined to recall him; and that the clamours
and importunities of the people, which Joab procured
this woman of Tekoah to represent to the king in a very
free and artful manner, did almost compel him to do it:
for, what he said in the case of Joab's murder of Abner,
namely, that he could not revenge it, because
the sons
of Zeruiah, were too hard for him;' the like, very pro-
bably, might have been said in this case, where the
people's hearts were so strongly, and so universally, set
upon Absalom; and that the rather, because his long
banishment moved their pity, and his absence made them
more impatient for his return. The eyes of all, in short,
were upon him, as the next heir, as a wise and gallant,
and amiable prince, unhappy only in this instance of
killing Amnon, for which he had a sufficient provoca-
tion; and therefore, to satisfy the cries of the people,
as well as to provide for the security of his kingdom,
which seemed to depend on the establishment of the suc-
cession in Absalom, David was obliged to forgive him,
and recall him. And when he was recalled, and rein-
stated in the king's favour, it is no wonder that a young
prince, of his gay temper, should multiply his attendants,
and set up a rich equipage, to attract the eyes and
admiration of mankind; or that his father, whose riches
so well enabled him to bear the expense of this magnifi-
cence, and whose heart rejoiced, perhaps, to see his son
the favourite of the people, did not restrain him in it;
because a man of an open spirit himself loves to see his
children make a figure in life, which, in all eastern
countries, was a thing customary, and might here more
especially be expected in the eldest and heir presump-
tive to the crown.

10 Some of the Jewish doctors tell us, that how indulgent soever David might be to his son Absalom, he never

Gen. ix. 6. 8 Num. xxxv. 31. 92 Sam. iii. 39. 10 Poole's Annotations on 2 Sam. xv. 7.

« PreviousContinue »