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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D S A M U E L</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. V.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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How far Abner's deserting the house of Saul, his murder, and the murder
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of Ish-bosheth, might contribute to the perfecting of the revolution,
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and the establishing of David as king over all Israel, does not appear;
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but, it should seem, that happy change followed presently thereupon,
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which in this chapter we have an account of. Here is,
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I. David anointed king by all the tribes,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
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II. Making himself master of the strong-hold of Zion,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:6-10">ver. 6-10</A>.
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III. Building himself a house and strengthening himself in his kingdom,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:11,12">ver. 11, 12</A>.
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IV. His children that were born after this,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:13-16">ver. 13-16</A>.
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V. His victories over the Philistines,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:17-25">ver. 17-25</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David King over All Israel.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1048.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and
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spake, saying, Behold, we <I>are</I> thy bone and thy flesh.
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2 Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he
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that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said to
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thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a
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captain over Israel.
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3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and
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king David made a league with them in Hebron before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: and
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they anointed David king over Israel.
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4 David <I>was</I> thirty years old when he began to reign, <I>and</I> he
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reigned forty years.
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5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months:
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and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all
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Israel and Judah.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. The humble address of all the tribes to David, beseeching him to
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take upon him the government (for they were now as sheep having no
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shepherd), and owning him for their king. Though David might by no
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means approve the murder of Ish-bosheth, yet he might improve the
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advantages he gained thereby, and accept the applications made to him
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thereupon. Judah had submitted to David as their king above seven years
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ago, and their ease and happiness, under his administration, encouraged
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the rest of the tribes to make their court to him. What numbers came
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from each tribe, with what zeal and sincerity they came, and how they
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were entertained for three days at Hebron, when they were all of one
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heart to make David king, we have a full account,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+12:23-40">1 Chron. xii. 23-40</A>.
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Here we have only the heads of their address, containing the grounds
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they went upon in making David king.
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1. Their relation to him was some inducement: "<I>We are thy bone and
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thy flesh</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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not only thou art our bone and our flesh, not a stranger, unqualified
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by the law to be king
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:15">Deut. xvii. 15</A>),
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but we are thine," that is, "we know that thou considerest us as thy
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bone and thy flesh, and hast as tender a concern for us as a man has
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for his own body, which Saul and his house had not. <I>We are thy bone
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and thy flesh,</I> and therefore thou wilt be as glad as we shall be to
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put an end to this long civil war; and thou wilt take pity on us,
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protect us, and do thy utmost for our welfare." Those who take Christ
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for their king may thus plead with him: "<I>We are thy bone and thy
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flesh,</I> thou hast made thyself in all things <I>like unto thy
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brethren</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+2:17">Heb. ii. 17</A>);
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therefore be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+3:6">Isa. iii. 6</A>.
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2. His former good services to the public were a further inducement
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>When Saul was king</I> he was but the cypher, thou wast the figure,
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<I>thou wast he that leddest out</I> Israel to battle, and broughtest
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them in in triumph; and therefore who so fit now to fill the vacant
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throne?" He that is faithful in a little deserves to be entrusted with
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more. Former good offices done for us should be gratefully remembered
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by us when there is occasion.
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3. The divine appointment was the greatest inducement of all: <I>The
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Lord said, Thou shalt feed my people Israel,</I> that is, thou shalt
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rule them; for princes are to feed their people as shepherds, in every
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thing consulting the subjects' benefit, feeding them and not fleecing
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them. "And thou shalt be not only a king to govern in peace, but a
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captain to preside in war, and be exposed to all the toils and perils
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of the camp." Since God has said so, now at length, when need drives
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them to it, they are persuaded to say so too.</P>
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<P>
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II. The public and solemn inauguration of David,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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A convention of the states was called; all the elders of Israel came to
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him; the contract was settled, the <I>pacta conventa--covenants,</I>
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sworn to, and subscribed on both sides. He obliged himself to protect
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them as their judge in peace and captain in war; and they obliged
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themselves to obey him. He <I>made a league</I> with them to which God
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was a witness: it was <I>before the Lord.</I> Hereupon he was, for the
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third time, anointed king. His advances were gradual, that his faith
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might be tried and that he might gain experience. And thus his kingdom
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typified that of the Messiah, which was to come to its height by
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degrees; for <I>we see not yet all things put under him</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+2:8">Heb. ii. 8</A>),
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but we shall see it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+15:25">1 Cor. xv. 25</A>.</P>
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<P>
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III. A general account of his reign and age. He was thirty years old
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when he began to reign, upon the death of Saul,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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At that age the Levites were at first appointed to begin their
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administration,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+4:3">Num. iv. 3</A>.
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About that age the Son of David entered upon his public ministry,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+3:23">Luke iii. 23</A>.
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Then men come to their full maturity of strength and judgment. He
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reigned, in all, forty years and six months, of which seven years and a
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half in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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Hebron had been famous,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+14:15">Josh. xiv. 15</A>.
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It was a priest's city. But Jerusalem was to be more so, and to be the
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holy city. Great kings affected to raise cities of their own,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+10:11,36,Ge+10:32-35">Gen. x. 11, 36, 32-35</A>.
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David did so, and Jerusalem was the city of David. It is a name famous
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to the end of the Bible
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+21:1-27">Rev. xxi.</A>),
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where we read of a new Jerusalem.</P>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David Takes Mount Sion.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1047.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the
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Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David,
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saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt
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not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.
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7 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same
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<I>is</I> the city of David.
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8 And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the
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gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind,
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<I>that are</I> hated of David's soul, <I>he shall be chief and
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captain.</I> Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not
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come into the house.
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9 So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David.
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And David built round about from Millo and inward.
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10 And David went on, and grew great, and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of hosts
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<I>was</I> with him.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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If Salem, the place of which Melchizedec was king, was Jerusalem (as
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seems probable from
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:2">Ps. lxxvi. 2</A>),
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it was famous in Abraham's time. Joshua, in his time, found it the
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chief city of the south part of Canaan,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+10:1-3">Josh. x. 1-3</A>.
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It fell to Benjamin's lot
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+18:28">Josh. xviii. 28</A>),
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but joined close to Judah's,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+15:8">Josh. xv. 8</A>.
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The children of Judah had taken it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+1:8">Judg. i. 8</A>),
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but the children of Benjamin suffered the Jebusites to dwell among them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+1:21">Judg. i. 21</A>),
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and they grew so upon them that it became a <I>city of Jebusites,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+19:11">Judg. xix. 11</A>.
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Now the very first exploit David did, after he was anointed king over
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all Israel, was to gain Jerusalem out of the hand of the Jebusites,
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which, because it belonged to Benjamin, he could not well attempt till
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that tribe, which long adhered to Saul's house
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+12:29">1 Chron. xii. 29</A>),
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submitted to him. Here we have,</P>
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<P>
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I. The Jebusites' defiance of David and his forces. They said,
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<I>Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in
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hither,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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They sent David this provoking message, because, as it is said
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afterwards, on another occasion, they could not believe that <I>ever an
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enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+4:12">Lam. iv. 12</A>.
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They confided either,
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1. In the protection of their gods, which David, in contempt, had
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called <I>the blind and the lame,</I> for <I>they have eyes and see
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not, feet and walk not.</I> "But," say they, "these are the guardians
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of our city, and except thou take these away (which thou canst never
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do) thou canst not come in hither." Some think they were constellated
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images of brass set up in the recess of the fort, and entrusted with
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the custody of the place. They called their idols their <I>Mauzzim,</I>
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or <I>strong-holds</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+11:38">Dan. xi. 38</A>)
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and as such relied on them. <I>The name of the Lord is our strong
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tower,</I> and his arm is strong, his eyes are piercing. Or,
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2. In the strength of their fortifications, which they thought were
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made so impregnable by nature or art, or both, that the blind and the
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lame were sufficient to defend them against the most powerful
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assailant. The strong-hold of Zion they especially depended on, as that
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which could not be forced. Probably they set blind and lame people,
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invalids or maimed soldiers, to make their appearance upon the walls,
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in scorn of David and his men, judging them an equal match for him.
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Though there remain but wounded men among them, yet they should serve
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to beat back the besiegers. Compare
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:10">Jer. xxxvii. 10</A>.
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Note, The enemies of God's people are often very confident of their own
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strength and most secure when their day to fall draws nigh.</P>
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<P>
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II. David's success against the Jebusites. Their pride and insolence,
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instead of daunting him, animated him, and when he made a general
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assault he gave this order to his men: "<I>He that smiteth the
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Jebusites, let him also throw down into the ditch,</I> or gutter,
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<I>the lame and the blind,</I> which are set upon the wall to affront
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us and our God." It is probable they had themselves spoken blasphemous
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things, and were therefore hated of David's soul. Thus
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>
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may be read; we fetch our reading of it from
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+11:6">1 Chron. xi. 6</A>,
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which speaks only of smiting the Jebusites, but nothing of the blind
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and the lame. The Jebusites had said that if these images of theirs did
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not protect them <I>the blind and the lame should not come into the
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house,</I> that is, they would never again trust their palladium (so
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Mr. Gregory understands it) nor pay the respect they had paid to their
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images; and David, having gained the fort, said so too, that these
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images, which could not protect their worshippers, should never have
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any place there more.</P>
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<P>
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III. His fixing his royal seat in Sion. He himself dwelt in the fort
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(the strength whereof, which had given him opposition, and was a terror
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to him, now contributed to his safety), and he built houses round about
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for his attendants and guards
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>)
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from Millo (the town-hall, or state-house) and inward. He proceeded and
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prospered in all he set his hand to, grew great in honour, strength,
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and wealth, more and more honourable in the eyes of his subjects and
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formidable in the eyes of his enemies; for <I>the Lord God of hosts was
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with him.</I> God has all creatures at his command, makes what use he
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|
pleases of them, and serves his own purposes by them; and he was with
|
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him, to direct, preserve, and prosper him, Those that have the Lord of
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hosts for them need not fear what hosts of men or devils can do against
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them. Those who grow great must ascribe their advancement to the
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presence of God with them, and give him the glory of it. The church is
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called <I>Sion,</I> and the <I>city of the living God.</I> The
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Jebusites, Christ's enemies, must first be conquered and dispossessed,
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the blind and the lame taken away, and then Christ divides the spoil,
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sets up his throne there, and makes it his residence by the Spirit.</P>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Sa5_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David's Children.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1046.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar
|
|
trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David a house.
|
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12 And David perceived that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> had established him king
|
|
over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people
|
|
Israel's sake.
|
|
13 And David took <I>him</I> more concubines and wives out of
|
|
Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons
|
|
and daughters born to David.
|
|
14 And these <I>be</I> the names of those that were born unto him in
|
|
Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,
|
|
15 Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,
|
|
16 And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet.
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|
</FONT></P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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Here is,
|
|
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I. David's house built, a royal palace, fit for the reception of the
|
|
court he kept and the homage that was paid to him,
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
The Jews were husbandmen and shepherds, and did not much addict
|
|
themselves either to merchandise or manufactures; and therefore Hiram,
|
|
king of Tyre, a wealthy prince, when he sent to congratulate David on
|
|
his accession to the throne, offered him workmen to build him a house.
|
|
David thankfully accepted the offer, and Hiram's workmen built David a
|
|
house to his mind. Many have excelled in arts and sciences who were
|
|
strangers to the covenants of promise. Yet David's house was never the
|
|
worse, nor the less fit to be dedicated to God, for being built by the
|
|
sons of the stranger. It is prophesied of the gospel church, <I>The
|
|
sons of the strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall
|
|
minister unto thee,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+60:10">Isa. lx. 10</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. David's government settled and built up,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. His kingdom was established, there was nothing to shake it, none to
|
|
disturb his possession or question his title. He that made him king
|
|
established him, because he was to be a type of Christ, with whom God's
|
|
hand should be established, and his <I>covenant stand fast,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:21-28">Ps. lxxxix. 21-28</A>.
|
|
|
|
Saul was made king, but not established; so Adam in innocency. David
|
|
was established king, so is the Son of David, with all who through him
|
|
are made to our God <I>kings and priests.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. It was exalted in the eyes both of its friends and enemies. Never
|
|
had the nation of Israel looked so great or made such a figure as it
|
|
began now to do. Thus it is promised of Christ that he shall be
|
|
<I>higher than the kings of the earth,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:27">Ps. lxxxix. 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
God has <I>highly exalted him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+2:9">Phil. ii. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. David perceived, by the wonderful concurrence of providences to his
|
|
establishment and advancement, that God was with him. <I>By this I know
|
|
that thou favourest me,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+41:11">Ps. xli. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
Many have the favour of God and do not perceive it, and so want the
|
|
comfort of it: but to be exalted to that and established in it, and to
|
|
perceive it, is happiness enough.
|
|
|
|
4. He owned that it was for his people Israel's sake that God had done
|
|
great things for him, that he might be a blessing to them and they
|
|
might be happy under his administration. God did not make Israel his
|
|
subjects for his sake, that he might be great, and rich, and absolute:
|
|
but he made him their king for their sake, that he might lead, and
|
|
guide, and protect them. Kings are <I>ministers of God to their people
|
|
for good,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+13:4">Rom. xiii. 4</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. David's family multiplied and increased. All the sons that were
|
|
born to him after he came to Jerusalem are here mentioned together,
|
|
eleven in all, besides the six that were born to him before in Hebron,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+3:2,5"><I>ch.</I> iii. 2, 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>There</I> the mothers are mentioned, not <I>here;</I> only, in
|
|
general, it is said that he <I>took more concubines and wives,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Shall we praise him for this? We praise him not; we justify him not;
|
|
nor can we scarcely excuse him. The bad example of the patriarchs might
|
|
make him think there was no harm in it, and he might hope it would
|
|
strengthen his interest, by multiplying his alliances, and increasing
|
|
the royal family. <I>Happy is the man that has his quiver full of these
|
|
arrows.</I> But one vine by the side of the house, with the blessing of
|
|
God, may send boughs to the sea and branches to the rivers. Adam, by
|
|
one wife, peopled the world, and Noah re-peopled it. David had many
|
|
wives, and yet that did not keep him from coveting his neighbour's wife
|
|
and defiling her; for men that have once broken the fence will wander
|
|
endlessly. Of David's concubines, see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+15:16,16:22,19:5">2 Sam. xv. 16; xvi. 22; xix. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
Of his sons, see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+3:1-9">1 Chron. iii. 1-9</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa5_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa5_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa5_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa5_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa5_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa5_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa5_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa5_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa5_25"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David Defeats the Philistines.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1046.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>17 But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David
|
|
king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and
|
|
David heard <I>of it,</I> and went down to the hold.
|
|
18 The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the
|
|
valley of Rephaim.
|
|
19 And David enquired of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, saying, Shall I go up to the
|
|
Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
|
said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the
|
|
Philistines into thine hand.
|
|
20 And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there,
|
|
and said, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me,
|
|
as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that
|
|
place Baal-perazim.
|
|
21 And there they left their images, and David and his men
|
|
burned them.
|
|
22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves
|
|
in the valley of Rephaim.
|
|
23 And when David enquired of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, he said, Thou shalt not
|
|
go up; <I>but</I> fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over
|
|
against the mulberry trees.
|
|
24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the
|
|
tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself:
|
|
for then shall the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> go out before thee, to smite the host of
|
|
the Philistines.
|
|
25 And David did so, as the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> had commanded him; and smote
|
|
the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The particular service for which David was raised up was to <I>save
|
|
Israel out of the hand of the Philistines,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+3:18"><I>ch.</I> iii. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
This therefore divine Providence, in the first place, gives him an
|
|
opportunity of accomplishing. Two great victories obtained over the
|
|
Philistines we have here an account of, by which David not only
|
|
balanced the disgrace and retrieved the loss Israel had sustained in
|
|
the battle wherein Saul was slain, but went far towards the total
|
|
subduing of those vexatious neighbours, the last remains of the devoted
|
|
nations.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. In both these actions the Philistines were the aggressors, stirred
|
|
first towards their own destruction, and pulled it on their own heads.
|
|
|
|
1. In the former they <I>came up to seek David</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
because they <I>heard that he was anointed king over Israel.</I> He
|
|
that under Saul had slain his ten thousands, what would he do when he
|
|
himself came to be king! They therefore thought it was time to look
|
|
about them, and try to crush his government in its infancy, before it
|
|
was well settled. Their success against Saul, some years ago, perhaps
|
|
encouraged them to make this attack upon David; but they considered not
|
|
that David had that presence of God with him which Saul had forfeited
|
|
and lost. The kingdom of the Messiah, as soon as ever it was set up in
|
|
the world, was thus vigorously attacked by the powers of darkness, who,
|
|
with the combined force both of Jews and Gentiles, made head against
|
|
it. The heathen raged, and the kings of the earth set themselves to
|
|
oppose it; but all in vain,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1-12">Ps. ii. 1</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. The destruction will turn, as this did,
|
|
upon Satan's own kingdom. They took counsel together, but were
|
|
<I>broken in pieces,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:9,10">Isa. viii. 9, 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. In the latter they <I>came up yet again,</I> hoping to recover what
|
|
they had lost in the former engagement, and their hearts being hardened
|
|
to their destruction,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. In both they <I>spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim,</I>
|
|
which lay very near Jerusalem. That city they hoped to make themselves
|
|
masters of before David had completed the fortifications of it.
|
|
Jerusalem, from its infancy, has been aimed at, and struck at, with a
|
|
particular enmity. Their spreading themselves intimates that they were
|
|
very numerous and that they made a very formidable appearance. We read
|
|
of the church's enemies <I>going up on the breadth of the earth</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+20:9">Rev. xx. 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
but the further they spread themselves the fairer mark they are to
|
|
God's arrows.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. In both, David, though forward enough to go forth against them (for
|
|
as soon as he heard it he <I>went down to the hold,</I> to secure some
|
|
important and advantageous post,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
yet entered not upon action till he had <I>enquired of the Lord</I> by
|
|
the breast-plate of judgment,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>,
|
|
|
|
and again,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
His enquiry was twofold:--
|
|
|
|
1. Concerning his duty: "<I>Shall I go up?</I> Shall I have a
|
|
commission from heaven to engage them?" One would think he needed not
|
|
doubt this; what was he made king for, but to fight the battles of the
|
|
Lord and Israel? But a good man loves to see God going before him in
|
|
every step he takes. "Shall I go up <I>now?</I>" It is to be done, but
|
|
is it to be done at this time? <I>In all thy ways acknowledge him.</I>
|
|
And besides, though the Philistines were public enemies, yet some of
|
|
them had been his particular friends. Achish had been kind to him in
|
|
his distress, and had protected him. "Now," says David, "ought not I,
|
|
in remembrance of that, rather to make peace with them than to make war
|
|
with them?" "No," says God, "they are Israel's enemies, and are doomed
|
|
to destruction, and therefore scruple not, but <I>go up.</I>"
|
|
|
|
2. Concerning his success. His conscience asked the former question,
|
|
<I>Shall I go up?</I> His prudence asked this, <I>Wilt thou deliver
|
|
them into my hand?</I> Hereby he owns his dependence on God for
|
|
victory, that he could not conquer them unless God delivered them into
|
|
his hand, and refers his cause to the good pleasure of God: <I>Wilt
|
|
thou do it?</I> Yea, says God, <I>I will doubtless do it.</I> If God
|
|
send us, he will bear us out and stand by us. The assurance God has
|
|
given us of victory over our spiritual enemies, that he will tread
|
|
Satan under our feet shortly, should animate us in our spiritual
|
|
conflicts. We do not fight at uncertainty. David had now a great army
|
|
at command and in good heart, yet he relied more on God's promise than
|
|
his own force.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. In the former of these engagements David routed the army of the
|
|
Philistines by dint of sword
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
He <I>smote them;</I> and when he had done,
|
|
|
|
1. He gave his God the glory; he said, "<I>The Lord has broken forth
|
|
upon my enemies before me.</I> I could not have done it if he had not
|
|
done it before me; he opened the breach like the breach of waters in a
|
|
dam, which when once opened grows wider and wider." The principal part
|
|
of the work was God's doing; nay, he did all; what David did was not
|
|
worth speaking of; and therefore, <I>Not unto us, but unto the Lord,
|
|
give glory.</I> He hoped likewise that this breach, like that of
|
|
waters, was as the opening of the sluice, to let in a final desolation
|
|
upon them; and, to perpetuate the remembrance of it, he called the
|
|
place <I>Baal-perazim, the master of the breaches,</I> because, God
|
|
having broken in upon their forces, he soon had the mastery of them.
|
|
Let posterity take notice of it to God's honour.
|
|
|
|
2. He put their gods to shame. They brought the images of their gods
|
|
into the field as their protectors, in imitation of the Israelites
|
|
bringing the ark into their camp; but, being put to flight, they could
|
|
not stay to carry off their images, for they were a <I>burden to the
|
|
weary beasts</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+46:1">Isa. xlvi. 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore they left them to fall with the rest of their baggage
|
|
into the hands of the conqueror. Their images failed them, and gave
|
|
them no assistance, and therefore they left their images to shift for
|
|
themselves. God can make men weary of those things that they have been
|
|
most fond of, and compel them to desert what they dote upon, and cast
|
|
even <I>the idols of silver and gold to the moles and the bats,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:20,21">Isa. ii. 20, 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
David and his men converted to their own use the rest of the plunder,
|
|
but the images they burnt, as God had appointed
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+7:5">Deut. vii. 5</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>You shall burn their graven images with fire,</I> in token of your
|
|
detestation of idolatry, and lest they should be a snare." Bishop
|
|
Patrick well observes here that when the ark fell into the Philistines'
|
|
hands it consumed them, but, when these images fell into the hands of
|
|
Israel, they could not save themselves from being consumed.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. In the latter of these engagements God gave David some sensible
|
|
tokens of his presence with him, bade him not fall upon them directly,
|
|
as he had done before, but <I>fetch a compass behind them,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. God appoints him to draw back, as <I>Israel stood still to see the
|
|
salvation of the Lord.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. He promised him to charge the enemy himself, by an invisible host of
|
|
angels,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Thou shalt hear the <I>sound of a going,</I> like the march of an army
|
|
in the air, <I>upon the tops of the mulberry trees.</I>" Angels tread
|
|
light, and he that can walk upon the clouds can, when he pleases, walk
|
|
on the tops of trees, or (as bishop Patrick understands it) at the head
|
|
of the mulberry-trees, that is, of the wood, or hedge-row of those
|
|
trees. "And, by that sign, thou shalt know that <I>the Lord goes out
|
|
before thee;</I> though thou see him not, yet thou shalt hear him, and
|
|
faith shall come and be confirmed by hearing. He goes forth <I>to
|
|
smite the host of the Philistines.</I>" When David had himself smitten
|
|
them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
|
|
|
|
he ascribed it to God: <I>The Lord has broken forth upon my
|
|
enemies,</I> to reward him for which thankful acknowledgment the next
|
|
time God did it himself alone, without putting him to any toil or
|
|
peril. Those that own God in what he has done for them will find him
|
|
doing more. But observe, Though God promised to <I>go before him and
|
|
smite the Philistines,</I> yet David, when he heard the sound of the
|
|
going must bestir himself and be ready to pursue the victory. Note,
|
|
God's grace must quicken our endeavours. If God work in us both to will
|
|
and to do, it does not follow that we must sit still, as those that
|
|
have nothing to do, but we must therefore, <I>work out our own
|
|
salvation</I> with all possible care and diligence,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+2:12,13">Phil. ii. 12, 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
The sound of the going was,
|
|
|
|
(1.) A signal to David when to move; it is comfortable going out when
|
|
God goes before us. And,
|
|
|
|
(2.) Perhaps it was an alarm to the enemy, and put them into confusion.
|
|
Hearing the march of an army against their front, they retreated with
|
|
precipitation, and fell into David's army which lay behind them in
|
|
their rear. Of those whom God fights against it is said
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+26:36">Lev. xxvi. 36</A>),
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<I>The sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them.</I>
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(3.) The success of this is briefly set down,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
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David observed his orders, waited till God moved, and stirred them, but
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not till then. Thus he was trained up in a dependence on God and his
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providence. God performed his promise, went before him, and routed all
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the enemies' force, and David failed not to improve his advantages; he
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smote the Philistines, even to the borders of their own country. When
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the kingdom of the Messiah was to be set up, the apostles that were to
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beat down the devil's kingdom must not attempt any thing till they
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received the promise of the Spirit, who <I>came with a sound from
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heaven as of a rushing mighty wind</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:2">Acts ii. 2</A>),
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which was typified by this sound of the going on the tops of the
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mulberry trees; and, when they heard that, they must bestir themselves,
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and did so; they went forth conquering and to conquer.</P>
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