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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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<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. XII.</FONT>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The foregoing chapter gave us the account of David's sin; this gives us
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the account of his repentance. Though he fell, he was not utterly cast
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down, but, by the grace of God, recovered himself, and found mercy with
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God. Here is,
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I. His conviction, by a message Nathan brought him from God, which was
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a parable that obliged him to condemn himself
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>),
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and the application of the parable, in which Nathan charged him with
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the sin
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:7-9">ver. 7-9</A>)
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and pronounced sentence upon him,,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:10-12">ver. 10-12</A>.
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II. His repentance and remission, with a proviso,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:13,14">ver. 13, 14</A>.
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III. The sickness and death of the child, and his behaviour while it
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was sick and when it was dead
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:15-23">ver. 15-23</A>),
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in both which David gave evidence of his repentance.
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IV. The birth of Solomon, and God's gracious message concerning him, in
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which God gave an evidence of his reconciliation to David,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:24,25">ver. 24, 25</A>.
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V. The taking of Rabbah
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:26-31">ver. 26-31</A>),
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which is mentioned as a further instance that God did not deal with
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David according to his sins.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="2Sa12_1"> </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>Nathan's Parable; David's Repentance.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1036.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him,
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and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich,
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and the other poor.
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2 The rich <I>man</I> had exceeding many flocks and herds:
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3 But the poor <I>man</I> had nothing, save one little ewe lamb,
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which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together
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with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and
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drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a
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daughter.
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4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared
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to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the
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wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's
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lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
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5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he
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said to Nathan, <I>As</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> liveth, the man that hath done this
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<I>thing</I> shall surely die:
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6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this
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thing, and because he had no pity.
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7 And Nathan said to David, Thou <I>art</I> the man. Thus saith the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I
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delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
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8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives
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into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah;
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and if <I>that had been</I> too little, I would moreover have given
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unto thee such and such things.
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9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, to
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do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the
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sword, and hast taken his wife <I>to be</I> thy wife, and hast slain
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him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
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10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house;
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because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah
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the Hittite to be thy wife.
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11 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Behold, I will raise up evil against
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thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before
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thine eyes, and give <I>them</I> unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie
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with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
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12 For thou didst <I>it</I> secretly: but I will do this thing
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before all Israel, and before the sun.
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13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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And Nathan said unto David, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> also hath put away thy sin;
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thou shalt not die.
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14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion
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to the enemies of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> to blaspheme, the child also <I>that is</I>
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born unto thee shall surely die.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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It seems to have been a great while after David had been guilty of
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adultery with Bath-sheba before he was brought to repentance for it.
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For, when Nathan was sent to him, the child was born
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
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so that it was about nine months that David lay under the guilt of that
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sin, and, for aught that appears, unrepented of. What shall we think of
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David's state all this while? Can we imagine that his heart never smote
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him for it, or that he never lamented it in secret before God? I would
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willingly hope that he did, and that Nathan was sent to him,
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immediately upon the birth of the child, when the thing by that means
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came to be publicly known and talked of, to draw from him an open
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confession of the sin, to the glory of God, the admonition of others,
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and that he might receive, by Nathan, absolution with certain
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limitations. But, during these nine months, we may well suppose his
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comforts and the exercises of his graces suspended, and his communion
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with God interrupted; during all that time, it is certain, he penned no
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psalms, his harp was out of tune, and his soul like a tree in winter,
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that has life in the root only. Therefore, after Nathan had been with
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him, he prays, <I>Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and open
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thou my lips,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:12,15">Ps. li. 12, 15</A>.
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Let us observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. The messenger God sent to him. We were told by the last words of the
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foregoing chapter that the thing David had done displeased the Lord,
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upon which, one would think, it should have followed that the Lord sent
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enemies to invade him, terrors to take hold on him, and the messengers
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of death to arrest him. No, he sent a prophet to him--Nathan, his
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faithful friend and confidant, to instruct and counsel him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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David did not send for Nathan (though he had never had so much occasion
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as he had now for his confessor), but God sent Nathan to David. Note,
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Though God may suffer his people to fall into sin, he will not suffer
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them to lie still in it. <I>He went on frowardly in the way of his
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heart,</I> and if left to himself, would have wandered endlessly, but
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(saith God) <I>I have seen his ways, and will heal him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+57:17,18">Isa. lvii. 17, 18</A>.
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He sends after us before we seek after him, else we should certainly be
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lost. Nathan was the prophet by whom God had sent him notice of his
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kind intentions towards him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+7:4"><I>ch.</I> vii. 4</A>),
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and now, by the same hand, he sends him this message of wrath. God's
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word in the mouth of his ministers must be received, whether it speak
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terror or comfort. Nathan was obedient to the heavenly vision, and went
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on God's errand to David. He did not say, "David has sinned, I will
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not come near him." No; <I>count him not an enemy, but admonish him as
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a brother,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+3:15">2 Thess. iii. 15</A>.
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He did not say, "David is a king, I dare not reprove him." No; if God
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sends him, he <I>sets his face like a flint,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+50:7">Isa. l. 7</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. The message Nathan delivered to him, in order to his
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conviction.</P>
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<P>
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1. He fetched a compass with a parable, which seemed to David as a
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complaint made to him by Nathan against one of his subjects that had
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wronged his poor neighbour, in order to his redressing the injury and
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punishing the injurious. Nathan, it is likely, used to come to him upon
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such errands, which made this the less suspected. It becomes those who
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have interest in princes, and have free access to them, to intercede
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for those that are wronged, that they may have justice done them.
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(1.) Nathan represented to David a grievous injury which a rich man had
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done to an honest neighbour that was not able to contend with him:
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<I>The rich man had many flocks and herds</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>);
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the poor man had one lamb only; so unequally is the world divided; and
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yet infinite wisdom, righteousness, and goodness, make the
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distribution, that the rich may learn charity and the poor contentment.
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This poor man had but one lamb, a ewe-lamb, a little ewe-lamb, having
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not wherewithal to buy or keep more. But it was a <I>cade</I>--lamb (as
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we call it); <I>it grew up with his children,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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He was fond of it, and it was familiar with him at all times. The rich
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man, having occasion for a lamb to entertain a friend with, took the
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poor man's lamb from him by violence and made use of that
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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either out of covetousness, because he grudged to make use of his own,
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or rather out of luxury, because he fancied the lamb that was thus
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tenderly kept, and ate and drank like a child, must needs be more
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delicate food than any of his own and have a better relish.
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(2.) In this he showed him the evil of the sin he had been guilty of in
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defiling Bath-sheba. He had many wives and concubines, whom he kept at
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a distance, as rich men keep their flocks in their fields. Had he had
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but one, and had she been dear to him, as the ewe-lamb was to its
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owner, had she been dear to him <I>as the loving hind and the pleasant
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roe, her breasts would have satisfied him at all times,</I> and he
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would have looked no further,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+5:19">Prov. v. 19</A>.
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Marriage is a remedy against fornication, but marrying many is not;
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for, when once the law of unity is transgressed, the indulged lust will
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hardly stint itself. Uriah, like the poor man, had only one wife, who
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was to him as his own soul, and always lay in his bosom, for he had no
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other, he desired no other, to lie there. The traveller or wayfaring
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man was, as bishop Patrick explains it from the Jewish writers, the
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evil imagination, disposition, or desire, which came into David's
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heart, which he might have satisfied with some of his own, yet nothing
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would serve but Uriah's darling. They observe that this evil
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disposition is called a traveller, for in the beginning it is only so,
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but, in time, it becomes a guest, and, in conclusion, is master of the
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house. For he that is called a traveller in the beginning of the verse
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is called <I>a man</I> (ish--a husband) in the close of it. Yet some
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observe that in David's breast lust was but as a wayfaring man that
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tarries only for a night; it did not constantly dwell and rule there.
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(3.) By this parable he drew from David a sentence against himself. For
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David supposing it to be a case in fact, and not doubting the truth of
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it when he had it from Nathan himself, gave judgment immediately
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against the offender, and confirmed it with an oath,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>.
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[1.] That, for his injustice in taking away the lamb, he should restore
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four-fold, according to the law
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+22:1">Exod. xxii. 1</A>),
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<I>four sheep for a sheep.</I>
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[2.] That for his tyranny and cruelty, and the pleasure he took in
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abusing a poor man, he should be put to death. If a poor man steal from
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a rich man, to satisfy his soul when he is hungry, he shall make
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restitution, though it cost him <I>all the substance of his house,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+6:30">Prov. vi. 30, 31</A>
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(and Solomon there compares the sin of adultery with that,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+6:32"><I>v.</I> 32</A>);
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but if a rich man steal for stealing sake, not for want but wantonness,
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merely that he may be imperious and vexatious, he deserves to die for
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it, for to him the making of restitution is no punishment, or next to
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none. If the sentence be thought too severe, it must be imputed to the
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present roughness of David's temper, being under guilt, and not having
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himself as yet received mercy.</P>
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<P>
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2. He closed in with him, at length, in the application of the parable.
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In beginning with a parable he showed his prudence, and great need
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there is of prudence in giving reproofs. It is well managed if, as
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here, the offender can be brought ere he is aware, to convict and
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condemn himself. But here, in his application, he shows his
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faithfulness, and deals as plainly and roundly with king David himself
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as if he had been a common person. In plain terms, "<I>Thou art the
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man</I> who hast done this wrong, and a much greater, to thy neighbour;
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and therefore, by thy own sentence, thou deservest to die, and shalt be
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judged out of thy own mouth. Did he deserve to die who took his
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neighbour's lamb? and dost not thou who hast taken thy neighbour's
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wife? Though he took the lamb, he did not cause the owner thereof to
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lose his life, as thou hast done, and therefore much more art thou
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worthy to die." Now he speaks immediately from God, and in his name. He
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begins with, <I>Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,</I> a name sacred
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and venerable to David, and which commanded his attention. Nathan now
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speaks, not as a petitioner for a poor man, but as an ambassador from
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the great God, with whom is no respect of persons.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) God, by Nathan, reminds David of the great things he had done and
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designed for him, anointing him to be king, and preserving him to the
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kingdom
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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giving him power over the house and household of his predecessor, and
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of others that had been his masters, Nabal for one. He had given him
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the house of Israel and Judah. The wealth of the kingdom was at his
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service and every body was willing to oblige him. Nay, he was ready to
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bestow any thing upon him to make him easy: <I>I would have given thee
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such and such things,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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See how liberal God is in his gifts; we are not straitened in him.
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Where he has given much, yet he gives more. And God's bounty to us is
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a great aggravation of our discontent and desire of forbidden fruit. It
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is ungrateful to covet what God has prohibited, while we have liberty
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to pray for what God has promised, and that is enough.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) He charges him with a high contempt of the divine authority, in
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the sins he had been guilty of: <I>Wherefore hast thou</I> (presuming
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upon thy royal dignity and power) <I>despised the commandment of the
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Lord?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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This is the spring and this is the malignity of sin, that it is making
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light of the divine law and the law-maker; as if the obligation of it
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were weak, the precepts of it trifling, and the threats not at all
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formidable. Though no man ever wrote more honourably of the law of God
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than David did, yet, in this instance, he is justly charged with a
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contempt of it. His adultery with Bath-sheba, which began the mischief,
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is not mentioned, perhaps because he was already convinced of that,
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but,
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[1.] The murder of Uriah is twice mentioned: <I>"Thou hast killed Uriah
|
|
with the sword,</I> though not with thy sword, yet, which is equally
|
|
heinous, with thy pen, by ordering him to be set in the forefront of
|
|
the battle." Those that contrive wickedness and command it are as truly
|
|
guilty of it as those that execute it. It is repeated with an
|
|
aggravation: <I>Thou hast slain him with the sword of the children of
|
|
Ammon,</I> those uncircumcised enemies of God and Israel.
|
|
|
|
[2.] The marrying of Bath-sheba is likewise twice mentioned, because he
|
|
thought there was no harm in that
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou hast taken his wife to be thy wife,</I> and again,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
To marry her whom he had before defiled, and whose husband he had
|
|
slain, was an affront upon the ordinance of marriage, making that not
|
|
only to palliate, but in a manner to consecrate, such villanies. In all
|
|
this he <I>despised the word of the Lord</I> (so it is in the Hebrew),
|
|
not only his commandment in general which forbade such things, but the
|
|
particular word of promise which God had, by Nathan, sent to him some
|
|
time before, that he would build him a house. If he had had a due value
|
|
and veneration for this sacred promise, he would not thus have polluted
|
|
his house with lust and blood.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) He threatens an entail of judgements upon his family for this sin
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>The sword shall never depart from thy house,</I> not in thy time
|
|
nor afterwards, but, for the most part, thou and thy posterity shall be
|
|
engaged in war." Or it points at the slaughters that should be among
|
|
his children, Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah, all falling by the sword.
|
|
God had promised that his mercy should not depart from him and his
|
|
house
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+7:15"><I>ch.</I> vii. 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
yet here threatens that the sword should not depart. Can the mercy and
|
|
the sword consist with each other? Yes, those may lie under great and
|
|
long afflictions who yet shall not be excluded from the grace of the
|
|
covenant. The reason given is, <I>Because thou hast despised me.</I>
|
|
Note, Those who despise the word and law of God despise God himself and
|
|
shall be lightly esteemed. It is particularly threatened,
|
|
|
|
[1.] That his children should be his grief: <I>I will raise up evil
|
|
against thee out of thy own house.</I> Sin brings trouble into a
|
|
family, and one sin is often made the punishment of another.
|
|
|
|
[2.] That his wives should be his shame, that by an unparalleled piece
|
|
of villany they should be publicly debauched before all Israel,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is not said that this should be done by his own son, lest the
|
|
accomplishment should have been hindered by the prediction being too
|
|
plain; but it was done by Absalom, at the counsel of Ahithophel,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+16:21,22"><I>ch.</I> xvi. 21, 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>He that defiled his neighbour's wife should have his own
|
|
defiled,</I> for thus that sin used to be punished, as appears by Job's
|
|
imprecation,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+31:10">Job xxxi. 10</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Then let my wife grind unto another,</I> and that threatening,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+4:14">Hos. iv. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
The sin was secret, and industriously concealed, but the punishment
|
|
should be open, and industriously proclaimed, to the shame of David,
|
|
whose sin in the matter of Uriah, though committed many years before,
|
|
would then be called to mind and commonly talked of upon that occasion.
|
|
As face answers to face in a glass, so does the punishment often answer
|
|
to the sin; here is <I>blood for blood and uncleanness for
|
|
uncleanness.</I> And thus God would show how much he hates sin, even in
|
|
his own people, and that, wherever he find it, he will not let it go
|
|
unpunished.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. David's penitent confession of his sin hereupon. He says not a word
|
|
to excuse himself or extenuate his sin, but freely owns it: <I>I have
|
|
sinned against the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is probable that he said more to this purport; but this is enough to
|
|
show that he was truly humbled by what Nathan said, and submitted to
|
|
the conviction. He owns his guilt--<I>I have sinned,</I> and aggravates
|
|
it--It was <I>against the Lord:</I> on this string he harps in the
|
|
psalm he penned on this occasion.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:1">Ps. li. 1</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Against thee, thee only, have I sinned.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. His pardon declared, upon this penitent confession, but with a
|
|
proviso. When David said <I>I have sinned,</I> and Nathan perceived
|
|
that he was a true penitent,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He did, in God's name, assure him that his sin was forgiven:
|
|
"<I>The Lord also has put away thy sin</I> out of the sight of his
|
|
avenging eye; <I>thou shalt not die,</I>" that is, "not die eternally,
|
|
nor be for ever put away from God, as thou wouldest have been if he had
|
|
not put away the sin." The obligation to punishment is hereby cancelled
|
|
and vacated. <I>He shall not come into condemnation:</I> that is the
|
|
nature of forgiveness. "Thy iniquity shall not be thy everlasting ruin.
|
|
<I>The sword shall not depart from thy house,</I> but,
|
|
|
|
[1.] It shall not cut thee off, thou shalt come to thy grave in peace."
|
|
David deserved to die as an adulterer and murderer, but God would not
|
|
cut him off as he might justly have done.
|
|
|
|
[2.] "Though thou shalt all thy days be <I>chastened of the Lord,</I>
|
|
yet thou <I>shalt not be condemned with the world.</I>" See how ready
|
|
God is to forgive sin. To this instance, perhaps, David refers,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+32:5">Ps. xxxii. 5</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>I said, I will confess, and thou forgavest.</I> Let not great
|
|
sinners despair of finding mercy with God if they truly repent; for who
|
|
is a God like unto him, pardoning iniquity?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Yet he pronounces a sentence of death upon the child,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Behold the sovereignty of God! The guilty parent lives, and the
|
|
guiltless infant dies; but all souls are his, and he may, in what way
|
|
he pleases, glorify himself in his creatures.
|
|
|
|
[1.] David had, by his sin, wronged God in his honour; he had <I>given
|
|
occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.</I> The wicked people
|
|
of that generation, the infidels, idolaters, and profane, would triumph
|
|
in David's fall, and speak ill of God and of his law, when they saw one
|
|
guilty of such foul enormities that professed such an honour both for
|
|
him and it. "These are your professors! This is he that prays and sings
|
|
psalms, and is so very devout! What good can there be in such
|
|
exercises, if they will not restrain men from adultery and murder?"
|
|
They would say, "Was not Saul rejected for a less matter? why then must
|
|
David live and reign still?" not considering that God <I>sees not as
|
|
man sees, but searches the heart.</I> To this day there are those who
|
|
reproach God, and are hardened in sin, through the example of David.
|
|
Now, though it is true that none have any just reason to speak ill of
|
|
God, or of his word and ways, for David's sake, and it is their sin
|
|
that do so, yet he shall be reckoned with that laid the stumbling-block
|
|
in their way, and gave, though not cause, yet colour, for the reproach.
|
|
Note, There is this great evil in the scandalous sins of those that
|
|
profess religion, and relation to God, that they furnish the enemies of
|
|
God and religion with matter for reproach and blasphemy,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+2:24">Rom. ii. 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
[2.] God will therefore vindicate his honour by showing his displeasure
|
|
against David for this sin, and letting the world see that though he
|
|
loves David he hates his sin; and he chooses to do it by the <I>death
|
|
of the child.</I> The landlord may distrain on any part of the premises
|
|
where he pleases. Perhaps the diseases and deaths of infants were not
|
|
so common in those days as they are now, which might make this, as an
|
|
unusual thing, the more evident token of God's displeasure; according
|
|
to the word he had often said, that he would <I>visit the sins of the
|
|
fathers upon the children.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_25"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>David's Humiliation; Birth of Solomon.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1036.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> struck the
|
|
child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
|
|
16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David
|
|
fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
|
|
17 And the elders of his house arose, <I>and went</I> to him, to
|
|
raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat
|
|
bread with them.
|
|
18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died.
|
|
And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was
|
|
dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we
|
|
spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will
|
|
he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
|
|
19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David
|
|
perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his
|
|
servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
|
|
20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed
|
|
<I>himself,</I> and changed his apparel, and came into the house of
|
|
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when
|
|
he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
|
|
21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing <I>is</I> this that
|
|
thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, <I>while it
|
|
was</I> alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat
|
|
bread.
|
|
22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and
|
|
wept: for I said, Who can tell <I>whether</I> G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> will be gracious to
|
|
me, that the child may live?
|
|
23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him
|
|
back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
|
|
24 And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto
|
|
her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name
|
|
Solomon: and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> loved him.
|
|
25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called
|
|
his name Jedidiah, because of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Nathan, having delivered his message, staid not at court, but went
|
|
home, probably to pray for David, to whom he had been preaching. God,
|
|
in making use of him as an instrument to bring David to repentance, and
|
|
as the herald both of mercy and judgment, put an honour upon the
|
|
ministry, <I>and magnified his word above all his name.</I> David named
|
|
one of his sons by Bath-sheba <I>Nathan,</I> in honour of this prophet
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+3:5">1 Chron. iii. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
and it was that son of whom Christ, the great prophet, lineally
|
|
descended,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+3:31">Lu. iii. 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
When Nathan retired, David, it is probable, retired likewise, and
|
|
penned the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:1-19">51st Psalm</A>,
|
|
|
|
in which (though he had been assured that his sin was pardoned) he
|
|
prays earnestly for pardon, and greatly laments his sin; for then will
|
|
true penitents be ashamed of what they have done when God is
|
|
<I>pacified towards them,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+16:63">Ezek. xvi. 63</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The child's illness: <I>The Lord struck</I> it, <I>and it was very
|
|
sick,</I> perhaps with convulsions, or some other dreadful distemper,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
The diseases and death of infants that have <I>not sinned after the
|
|
similitude of Adam's transgression,</I> especially as they are
|
|
sometimes sadly circumstanced, are sensible proofs of the original sin
|
|
in which they are conceived.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. David's humiliation under this token of God's displeasure, and the
|
|
intercession he made with God for the life of the child
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:16,17"><I>v.</I> 16, 17</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>He fasted, and lay all night upon the earth,</I> and would not
|
|
suffer any of his attendants either to feed him or help him up. This
|
|
was an evidence of the truth of his repentance. For,
|
|
|
|
1. Hereby it appeared that he was willing to bear the shame of his sin,
|
|
to have it ever before him, and to be continually upbraided with it;
|
|
for this child would be a continual memorandum of it, both to himself
|
|
and others, if he lived: and therefore he was so far from desiring its
|
|
death, as most in such circumstances do, that he prayed earnestly for
|
|
its life. True penitents patiently <I>bear the reproach of their
|
|
youth,</I> and of their youthful lusts,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+31:19">Jer. xxxi. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. A very tender compassionate spirit appeared in this, and great
|
|
humanity, above what is commonly found in men, especially men of war,
|
|
towards little children, even their own; and this was another sign of a
|
|
broken contrite spirit. Those that are penitent will be pitiful.
|
|
|
|
3. He discovered, in this, a great concern for another world, which is
|
|
an evidence of repentance. Nathan had told him that certainly the child
|
|
should die; yet, while it is in the reach of prayer, he earnestly
|
|
intercedes with God for it, chiefly (as we may suppose) that its soul
|
|
might be safe and happy in another world, and that his sin might not
|
|
come against the child, and that it might not fare the worse for that
|
|
in the future state.
|
|
|
|
4. He discovered, in this, a holy dread of God and of his displeasure.
|
|
He deprecated the death of the child chiefly as it was a token of God's
|
|
anger against him and his house, and was inflicted in performance of a
|
|
threatening; therefore he prayed thus earnestly that, if it were the
|
|
will of God, the child might live, because that would be to him a token
|
|
of God's being reconciled to him. <I>Lord, chasten me not in thy hot
|
|
displeasure.</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+6:1">Ps. vi. 1</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The death of the child: It <I>died on the seventh day</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
when it was seven days old, and therefore not circumcised, which David
|
|
might perhaps interpret as a further token of God's displeasure, that
|
|
it died before it was brought under the seal of the covenant; yet he
|
|
does not therefore doubt of its being happy for the benefits of the
|
|
covenant do not depend upon the seals. David's servants, judging of him
|
|
by themselves, were afraid to tell him that <I>the child was dead,</I>
|
|
concluding that then he would disquiet himself most of all; so that he
|
|
knew not till he asked,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. David's wonderful calmness and composure of mind when he understood
|
|
the child was dead. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. What he did.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He laid aside the expressions of his sorrow, washed and anointed
|
|
himself, and called for clean linen, that he might decently appear
|
|
before God in his house.
|
|
|
|
(2.) <I>He went up to the tabernacle and worshipped,</I> like Job when
|
|
he heard of the death of his children. He went to acknowledge the hand
|
|
of God in the affliction, and to humble himself under it, and to submit
|
|
to his holy will in it, to thank God that he himself was spared and his
|
|
sin pardoned, and to pray that God would not proceed in his controversy
|
|
with him, nor stir up all his wrath. <I>Is any afflicted? Let him
|
|
pray.</I> Weeping must never hinder worshipping.
|
|
|
|
(3.) <I>Then he went to his own house</I> and refreshed himself, as one
|
|
who found benefit by his religion in the day of his affliction; for,
|
|
having worshipped, <I>he did eat,</I> and his countenance was no more
|
|
sad.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The reason he gave for what he did. His servants thought it strange
|
|
that he should afflict himself so for the sickness of the child and yet
|
|
take the death of it so easily, and asked him the reason of it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
in answer to which he gives this plain account of his conduct,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That while the child was alive he thought it his duty to importune
|
|
the divine favour towards it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Nathan had indeed said the child should die, but, for aught that he
|
|
knew, the threatening might be conditional, as that concerning
|
|
Hezekiah: upon his great humiliation and earnest prayer, he that had so
|
|
often <I>heard the voice of his weeping</I> might be pleased to reverse
|
|
the sentence, and spare the child: <I>Who can tell whether God will yet
|
|
be gracious to me?</I> God gives us leave to be earnest with him in
|
|
prayer for particular blessings, from a confidence in his power and
|
|
general mercy, though we have no particular promise to build upon: we
|
|
cannot be sure, yet let us pray, <I>for who can tell but God will be
|
|
gracious to us,</I> in this or that particular? When our relations and
|
|
friends have fallen sick, the prayer of faith has prevailed much; while
|
|
there is life there is hope, and, while there is hope, there is room
|
|
for prayer.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That now the child was dead he thought it as much his duty to be
|
|
satisfied in the divine disposal concerning it
|
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
|
|
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|
<I>Now, wherefore should I fast?</I> Two things checked his
|
|
grief:--
|
|
|
|
[1.] <I>I cannot bring him back again;</I> and again, <I>He shall not
|
|
return to me.</I> Those that are dead are out of the reach of prayer;
|
|
nor can our tears profit them. We can neither weep nor pray them back
|
|
to this life. Wherefore then should we fast? <I>To what purpose is this
|
|
waste?</I> Yet David fasted and wept for Jonathan when he was dead, in
|
|
honour to him.
|
|
|
|
[2.] <I>I shall go to him. First,</I> To him to the grave. Note, The
|
|
consideration of our own death should moderate our sorrow at the death
|
|
of our relations. It is the common lot; instead of mourning for their
|
|
death, we should think of our own: and, whatever loss we have of them
|
|
now, we shall die shortly, and go to them. <I>Secondly,</I> To him to
|
|
heaven, to a state of blessedness, which even the Old Testament saints
|
|
had some expectation of. Godly parents have great reason to hope
|
|
concerning their children that die in infancy that it is well with
|
|
their souls in the other world; for <I>the promise is to us and to our
|
|
seed,</I> which shall be performed to those that do not put a bar in
|
|
their own door, as infants do not. <I>Favores sunt ampliandi--Favours
|
|
received should produce the hope of more.</I> God calls those his
|
|
children that are born unto him; and, if they be his, he will save
|
|
them. This may comfort us when our children are removed from us by
|
|
death, they are better provided for, both in work and wealth, than they
|
|
could have been in this world. We shall be with them shortly, to part
|
|
no more.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. The birth of Solomon. Though David's marrying Bath-sheba had
|
|
displeased the Lord, yet he was not therefore commanded to divorce her;
|
|
so far from this that God gave him that son by her on whom the covenant
|
|
of royalty should be entailed. Bath-sheba, no doubt, was greatly
|
|
afflicted with the sense of her sin and the tokens of God's
|
|
displeasure. But, God having restored to David the joys of his
|
|
salvation, he comforted her with the same comforts with which he
|
|
himself was comforted of God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>):
|
|
|
|
He <I>comforted Bath-sheba.</I> And both he and she had reason to be
|
|
comforted in the tokens of God's reconciliation to them,
|
|
|
|
1. Inasmuch as, by his providence, he gave them a son, not as the
|
|
former, who was given in anger and taken away in wrath, but a child
|
|
graciously given, and written among the living in Jerusalem. They
|
|
called him <I>Solomon--peaceful,</I> because his birth was a token of
|
|
God's being at peace with them, because of the prosperity which was
|
|
entailed upon him, and because he was to be a type of Christ, the
|
|
prince of peace. God had removed one son from them, but now gave them
|
|
another instead of him, like <I>Seth instead of Abel,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+4:25">Gen. iv. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thus God often balances the griefs of his people with comforts in the
|
|
same thing wherein he hath afflicted them, setting the one over-against
|
|
the other. David had very patiently submitted to the will of God in
|
|
the death of the other child, and now God made up the loss of that,
|
|
abundantly to his advantage, in the birth of this. The way to have our
|
|
creature-comforts either continued or restored, or the loss of them
|
|
made up some other way, is cheerfully to resign them to God.
|
|
|
|
2. Inasmuch as, by his grace, he particularly owned and favoured that
|
|
son: <I>The Lord loved him</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:24,25"><I>v.</I> 24 and 25</A>),
|
|
|
|
ordered him, by the prophet Nathan, to be called <I>Jedidiah--Beloved
|
|
of the Lord:</I> though a seed of evil-doers (for such David and
|
|
Bath-sheba were), yet so well ordered was the covenant, and the crown
|
|
entailed by it, that it took away all attainders and corruption of
|
|
blood, signifying that those who were by nature children of wrath and
|
|
disobedience should, by the covenant of grace, not only be reconciled,
|
|
but made favourites. And, in this name, he typified Jesus Christ, that
|
|
blessed Jedidiah, the son of God's love, concerning whom God declared
|
|
again and again, <I>This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
|
|
pleased.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa12_31"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Conquest of Rabbah.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1036.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>26 And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and
|
|
took the royal city.
|
|
27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought
|
|
against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
|
|
28 Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and
|
|
encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and
|
|
it be called after my name.
|
|
29 And David gathered all the people together, and went to
|
|
Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
|
|
30 And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight
|
|
whereof <I>was</I> a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it
|
|
was <I>set</I> on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the
|
|
city in great abundance.
|
|
31 And he brought forth the people that <I>were</I> therein, and put
|
|
<I>them</I> under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of
|
|
iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he
|
|
unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all
|
|
the people returned unto Jerusalem.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here an account of the conquest of Rabbah, and other cities of
|
|
the Ammonites. Though this comes in here after the birth of David's
|
|
child, yet it is most probable that it was effected a good while
|
|
before, and soon after the death of Uriah, perhaps during the days of
|
|
Bath-sheba's mourning for him. Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. That God was very gracious in giving David this great success
|
|
against his enemies, notwithstanding the sin he had been guilty of just
|
|
at that time when he was engaged in this war, and the wicked use he had
|
|
made of the sword of the children of Ammon in the murder of Uriah.
|
|
Justly might he have made that sword, thenceforward, a plague to David
|
|
and his kingdom; yet he breaks it, and makes David's sword victorious,
|
|
even before he repents, that this <I>goodness of God might lead him to
|
|
repentance.</I> Good reason had David to own that God <I>dealt not with
|
|
him according to his sins,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+103:10">Ps. ciii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. That Joab acted very honestly and honourably; for when he had taken
|
|
<I>the city of waters,</I> the royal city, where the palace was, and
|
|
from which the rest of the city was supplied with water (and therefore,
|
|
upon the cutting off of that, would be obliged speedily to surrender),
|
|
he sent to David to come in person to complete this great action, that
|
|
he might have the praise of it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:26-28"><I>v.</I> 26-28</A>.
|
|
|
|
Herein he showed himself a faithful servant, that sought his master's
|
|
honour, and his own only in subordination to his, and left an example
|
|
to the servants of the Lord Jesus, in every thing they do, to consult
|
|
his honour. <I>Not unto us, but to thy name, give glory.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. That David was both too haughty and too severe upon this occasion,
|
|
and neither so humble nor so tender as he should have been.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He seems to have been too fond of the crown of the king of Ammon,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
Because it was of extraordinary value, by reason of the precious stones
|
|
with which it was set, David would have it set upon his head, though it
|
|
would have been better to have cast it at God's feet, and at this time
|
|
to have put his own mouth in the dust, under guilt. The heart that is
|
|
truly humbled for sin is dead to worldly glory and looks upon it with a
|
|
holy contempt.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He seems to have been too harsh with his prisoners of war,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
Taking the city by storm, after it had obstinately held out against a
|
|
long and expensive siege, if he had put all whom he found in arms to
|
|
the sword in the heat of battle, it would have been severe enough; but
|
|
to kill them afterwards in cold blood, and by cruel tortures, with saws
|
|
and harrows, tearing them to pieces, did not become him who, when he
|
|
entered upon the government, promised to sing of mercy as well as
|
|
judgment,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+101:1">Ps. ci. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
Had he made examples of those only who had abused his ambassadors, or
|
|
advised or assisted in it, that being a violation of the law of
|
|
nations, it might have been looked upon as a piece of necessary justice
|
|
for terror to other nations; but to be thus severe with all the cities
|
|
of the children of Ammon (that is, the garrisons or soldiers of the
|
|
cities) was extremely rigorous, and a sign that David's heart was not
|
|
yet made soft by repentance, else the bowels of his compassion would
|
|
not have been thus shut up--a sign that he had not yet found mercy,
|
|
else he would have been more ready to show mercy.</P>
|
|
|
|
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