mh_parser/vol_split/10 - 2Samuel/Chapter 12.xml

<div2 id="iiSam.xiii" n="xiii" next="iiSam.xiv" prev="iiSam.xii" progress="43.96%" title="Chapter XII">
<h2 id="iiSam.xiii-p0.1">S E C O N D   S A M U E L</h2>
<h3 id="iiSam.xiii-p0.2">CHAP. XII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="iiSam.xiii-p1">The foregoing chapter gave us the account of
David's sin; this gives us the account of his repentance. Though he
fell, he was not utterly cast down, but, by the grace of God,
recovered himself, and found mercy with God. Here is, I. His
conviction, by a message Nathan brought him from God, which was a
parable that obliged him to condemn himself (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.1-2Sam.12.6" parsed="|2Sam|12|1|12|6" passage="2Sa 12:1-6">ver. 1-6</scripRef>), and the application of the
parable, in which Nathan charged him with the sin (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.7-2Sam.12.9" parsed="|2Sam|12|7|12|9" passage="2Sa 12:7-9">ver. 7-9</scripRef>) and pronounced sentence
upon him,, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.10-2Sam.12.12" parsed="|2Sam|12|10|12|12" passage="2Sa 12:10-12">ver. 10-12</scripRef>.
II. His repentance and remission, with a proviso, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.13-2Sam.12.14" parsed="|2Sam|12|13|12|14" passage="2Sa 12:13,14">ver. 13, 14</scripRef>. III. The sickness
and death of the child, and his behaviour while it was sick and
when it was dead (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.15-2Sam.12.23" parsed="|2Sam|12|15|12|23" passage="2Sa 12:15-23">ver.
15-23</scripRef>), in both which David gave evidence of his
repentance. IV. The birth of Solomon, and God's gracious message
concerning him, in which God gave an evidence of his reconciliation
to David, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.24-2Sam.12.25" parsed="|2Sam|12|24|12|25" passage="2Sa 12:24,25">ver. 24, 25</scripRef>.
V. The taking of Rabbah (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.26-2Sam.12.31" parsed="|2Sam|12|26|12|31" passage="2Sa 12:26-31">ver.
26-31</scripRef>), which is mentioned as a further instance that
God did not deal with David according to his sins.</p>
<scripCom id="iiSam.xiii-p0.1_1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12" parsed="|2Sam|12|0|0|0" passage="2Sa 12" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="iiSam.xiii-p0.2_1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.1-2Sam.12.14" parsed="|2Sam|12|1|12|14" passage="2Sa 12:1-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Sam.12.1-2Sam.12.14">
<h4 id="iiSam.xiii-p1.10">Nathan's Parable; David's
Repentance. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p1.11">b. c.</span> 1036.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iiSam.xiii-p2">1 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p2.1">Lord</span>
sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him,
There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
  2 The rich <i>man</i> had exceeding many flocks and herds:
  3 But the poor <i>man</i> had nothing, save one little ewe
lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together
with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and
drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a
daughter.   4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man,
and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to
dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the
poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
  5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and
he said to Nathan, <i>As</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p2.2">Lord</span> liveth, the man that hath done this
<i>thing</i> shall surely die:   6 And he shall restore the
lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no
pity.   7 And Nathan said to David, Thou <i>art</i> the man.
Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p2.3">Lord</span> God of Israel, I
anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the
hand of Saul;   8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy
master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel
and of Judah; and if <i>that had been</i> too little, I would
moreover have given unto thee such and such things.   9
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p2.4">Lord</span>, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed
Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife <i>to
be</i> thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children
of Ammon.   10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from
thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife
of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.   11 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p2.5">Lord</span>, Behold, I will raise up evil against
thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine
eyes, and give <i>them</i> unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie
with thy wives in the sight of this sun.   12 For thou didst
<i>it</i> secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and
before the sun.   13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned
against the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p2.6">Lord</span>. And Nathan said
unto David, The <span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p2.7">Lord</span> also hath put
away thy sin; thou shalt not die.   14 Howbeit, because by
this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p2.8">Lord</span> to blaspheme, the child also
<i>that is</i> born unto thee shall surely die.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p3">It seems to have been a great while after
David had been guilty of adultery with Bath-sheba before he was
brought to repentance for it. For, when Nathan was sent to him, the
child was born (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.14" parsed="|2Sam|12|14|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>), so that it was about nine months that David lay
under the guilt of that sin, and, for aught that appears,
unrepented of. What shall we think of David's state all this while?
Can we imagine that his heart never smote him for it, or that he
never lamented it in secret before God? I would willingly hope that
he did, and that Nathan was sent to him, immediately upon the birth
of the child, when the thing by that means came to be publicly
known and talked of, to draw from him an open confession of the
sin, to the glory of God, the admonition of others, and that he
might receive, by Nathan, absolution with certain limitations. But,
during these nine months, we may well suppose his comforts and the
exercises of his graces suspended, and his communion with God
interrupted; during all that time, it is certain, he penned no
psalms, his harp was out of tune, and his soul like a tree in
winter, that has life in the root only. Therefore, after Nathan had
been with him, he prays, <i>Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation, and open thou my lips,</i> <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.12 Bible:Ps.51.15" parsed="|Ps|51|12|0|0;|Ps|51|15|0|0" passage="Ps 51:12,15">Ps. li. 12, 15</scripRef>. Let us observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p4">I. The messenger God sent to him. We were
told by the last words of the foregoing chapter that the thing
David had done displeased the Lord, upon which, one would think, it
should have followed that the Lord sent enemies to invade him,
terrors to take hold on him, and the messengers of death to arrest
him. No, he sent a prophet to him—Nathan, his faithful friend and
confidant, to instruct and counsel him, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.1" parsed="|2Sam|12|1|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. David did not send for Nathan
(though he had never had so much occasion as he had now for his
confessor), but God sent Nathan to David. Note, Though God may
suffer his people to fall into sin, he will not suffer them to lie
still in it. <i>He went on frowardly in the way of his heart,</i>
and if left to himself, would have wandered endlessly, but (saith
God) <i>I have seen his ways, and will heal him,</i> <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.57.17-Isa.57.18" parsed="|Isa|57|17|57|18" passage="Isa 57:17,18">Isa. lvii. 17, 18</scripRef>. He sends after
us before we seek after him, else we should certainly be lost.
Nathan was the prophet by whom God had sent him notice of his kind
intentions towards him (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.7.4" parsed="|2Sam|7|4|0|0" passage="2Sa 7:4"><i>ch.</i> vii.
4</scripRef>), and now, by the same hand, he sends him this message
of wrath. God's word in the mouth of his ministers must be
received, whether it speak terror or comfort. Nathan was obedient
to the heavenly vision, and went on God's errand to David. He did
not say, "David has sinned, I will not come near him." No; <i>count
him not an enemy, but admonish him as a brother,</i> <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:2Thess.3.15" parsed="|2Thess|3|15|0|0" passage="2Th 3:15">2 Thess. iii. 15</scripRef>. He did not say,
"David is a king, I dare not reprove him." No; if God sends him, he
<i>sets his face like a flint,</i> <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.7" parsed="|Isa|50|7|0|0" passage="Isa 50:7">Isa. l. 7</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p5">II. The message Nathan delivered to him, in
order to his conviction.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p6">1. He fetched a compass with a parable,
which seemed to David as a complaint made to him by Nathan against
one of his subjects that had wronged his poor neighbour, in order
to his redressing the injury and punishing the injurious. Nathan,
it is likely, used to come to him upon such errands, which made
this the less suspected. It becomes those who have interest in
princes, and have free access to them, to intercede for those that
are wronged, that they may have justice done them. (1.) Nathan
represented to David a grievous injury which a rich man had done to
an honest neighbour that was not able to contend with him: <i>The
rich man had many flocks and herds</i> (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.2" parsed="|2Sam|12|2|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>); the poor man had one lamb only;
so unequally is the world divided; and yet infinite wisdom,
righteousness, and goodness, make the distribution, that the rich
may learn charity and the poor contentment. This poor man had but
one lamb, a ewe-lamb, a little ewe-lamb, having not wherewithal to
buy or keep more. But it was a <i>cade</i>—lamb (as we call it);
<i>it grew up with his children,</i> <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.3" parsed="|2Sam|12|3|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. He was fond of it, and it was
familiar with him at all times. The rich man, having occasion for a
lamb to entertain a friend with, took the poor man's lamb from him
by violence and made use of that (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.4" parsed="|2Sam|12|4|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>), either out of covetousness,
because he grudged to make use of his own, or rather out of luxury,
because he fancied the lamb that was thus tenderly kept, and ate
and drank like a child, must needs be more delicate food than any
of his own and have a better relish. (2.) In this he showed him the
evil of the sin he had been guilty of in defiling Bath-sheba. He
had many wives and concubines, whom he kept at a distance, as rich
men keep their flocks in their fields. Had he had but one, and had
she been dear to him, as the ewe-lamb was to its owner, had she
been dear to him <i>as the loving hind and the pleasant roe, her
breasts would have satisfied him at all times,</i> and he would
have looked no further, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.5.19" parsed="|Prov|5|19|0|0" passage="Pr 5:19">Prov. v.
19</scripRef>. Marriage is a remedy against fornication, but
marrying many is not; for, when once the law of unity is
transgressed, the indulged lust will hardly stint itself. Uriah,
like the poor man, had only one wife, who was to him as his own
soul, and always lay in his bosom, for he had no other, he desired
no other, to lie there. The traveller or wayfaring man was, as
bishop Patrick explains it from the Jewish writers, the evil
imagination, disposition, or desire, which came into David's heart,
which he might have satisfied with some of his own, yet nothing
would serve but Uriah's darling. They observe that this evil
disposition is called a traveller, for in the beginning it is only
so, but, in time, it becomes a guest, and, in conclusion, is master
of the house. For he that is called a traveller in the beginning of
the verse is called <i>a man</i> (ish—a husband) in the close of
it. Yet some observe that in David's breast lust was but as a
wayfaring man that tarries only for a night; it did not constantly
dwell and rule there. (3.) By this parable he drew from David a
sentence against himself. For David supposing it to be a case in
fact, and not doubting the truth of it when he had it from Nathan
himself, gave judgment immediately against the offender, and
confirmed it with an oath, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.5-2Sam.12.6" parsed="|2Sam|12|5|12|6" passage="2Sa 12:5,6"><i>v.</i>
5, 6</scripRef>. [1.] That, for his injustice in taking away the
lamb, he should restore four-fold, according to the law (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Exod.22.1" parsed="|Exod|22|1|0|0" passage="Ex 22:1">Exod. xxii. 1</scripRef>), <i>four sheep for a
sheep.</i> [2.] That for his tyranny and cruelty, and the pleasure
he took in abusing a poor man, he should be put to death. If a poor
man steal from a rich man, to satisfy his soul when he is hungry,
he shall make restitution, though it cost him <i>all the substance
of his house,</i> <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p6.7" osisRef="Bible:Prov.6.30" parsed="|Prov|6|30|0|0" passage="Pr 6:30">Prov. vi. 30,
31</scripRef> (and Solomon there compares the sin of adultery with
that, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p6.8" osisRef="Bible:Prov.6.32" parsed="|Prov|6|32|0|0" passage="Pr 6:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>); but if
a rich man steal for stealing sake, not for want but wantonness,
merely that he may be imperious and vexatious, he deserves to die
for it, for to him the making of restitution is no punishment, or
next to none. If the sentence be thought too severe, it must be
imputed to the present roughness of David's temper, being under
guilt, and not having himself as yet received mercy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p7">2. He closed in with him, at length, in the
application of the parable. In beginning with a parable he showed
his prudence, and great need there is of prudence in giving
reproofs. It is well managed if, as here, the offender can be
brought ere he is aware, to convict and condemn himself. But here,
in his application, he shows his faithfulness, and deals as plainly
and roundly with king David himself as if he had been a common
person. In plain terms, "<i>Thou art the man</i> who hast done this
wrong, and a much greater, to thy neighbour; and therefore, by thy
own sentence, thou deservest to die, and shalt be judged out of thy
own mouth. Did he deserve to die who took his neighbour's lamb? and
dost not thou who hast taken thy neighbour's wife? Though he took
the lamb, he did not cause the owner thereof to lose his life, as
thou hast done, and therefore much more art thou worthy to die."
Now he speaks immediately from God, and in his name. He begins
with, <i>Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,</i> a name sacred and
venerable to David, and which commanded his attention. Nathan now
speaks, not as a petitioner for a poor man, but as an ambassador
from the great God, with whom is no respect of persons.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p8">(1.) God, by Nathan, reminds David of the
great things he had done and designed for him, anointing him to be
king, and preserving him to the kingdom (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.7" parsed="|2Sam|12|7|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), giving him power over the house
and household of his predecessor, and of others that had been his
masters, Nabal for one. He had given him the house of Israel and
Judah. The wealth of the kingdom was at his service and every body
was willing to oblige him. Nay, he was ready to bestow any thing
upon him to make him easy: <i>I would have given thee such and such
things,</i> <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.8" parsed="|2Sam|12|8|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>.
See how liberal God is in his gifts; we are not straitened in him.
Where he has given much, yet he gives more. And God's bounty to us
is a great aggravation of our discontent and desire of forbidden
fruit. It is ungrateful to covet what God has prohibited, while we
have liberty to pray for what God has promised, and that is
enough.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p9">(2.) He charges him with a high contempt of
the divine authority, in the sins he had been guilty of:
<i>Wherefore hast thou</i> (presuming upon thy royal dignity and
power) <i>despised the commandment of the Lord?</i> <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.9" parsed="|2Sam|12|9|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. This is the spring and
this is the malignity of sin, that it is making light of the divine
law and the law-maker; as if the obligation of it were weak, the
precepts of it trifling, and the threats not at all formidable.
Though no man ever wrote more honourably of the law of God than
David did, yet, in this instance, he is justly charged with a
contempt of it. His adultery with Bath-sheba, which began the
mischief, is not mentioned, perhaps because he was already
convinced of that, but, [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 (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.9" parsed="|2Sam|12|9|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>): <i>Thou hast taken his wife to be thy wife,</i> and
again, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.10" parsed="|2Sam|12|10|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p10">(3.) He threatens an entail of judgements
upon his family for this sin (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.10" parsed="|2Sam|12|10|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): "<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
(<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.7.15" parsed="|2Sam|7|15|0|0" passage="2Sa 7:15"><i>ch.</i> vii. 15</scripRef>), 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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.11-2Sam.12.12" parsed="|2Sam|12|11|12|12" passage="2Sa 12:11,12"><i>v.</i> 11,
12</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.16.21-2Sam.16.22" parsed="|2Sam|16|21|16|22" passage="2Sa 16:21,22"><i>ch.</i>
xvi. 21, 22</scripRef>. <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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.31.10" parsed="|Job|31|10|0|0" passage="Job 31:10">Job xxxi. 10</scripRef>, <i>Then let my wife grind unto
another,</i> and that threatening, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Hos.4.14" parsed="|Hos|4|14|0|0" passage="Ho 4:14">Hos.
iv. 14</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p11">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>
<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.13" parsed="|2Sam|12|13|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. 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. <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.1" parsed="|Ps|51|1|0|0" passage="Ps 51:1">Ps. li. 1</scripRef>, <i>Against thee, thee only, have I
sinned.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p12">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 class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p13">(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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.32.5" parsed="|Ps|32|5|0|0" passage="Ps 32:5">Ps. xxxii. 5</scripRef>, <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 class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p14">(2.) Yet he pronounces a sentence of death
upon the child, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.14" parsed="|2Sam|12|14|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.2.24" parsed="|Rom|2|24|0|0" passage="Ro 2:24">Rom. ii. 24</scripRef>. [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>
</div><scripCom id="iiSam.xiii-p0.3" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.15-2Sam.12.25" parsed="|2Sam|12|15|12|25" passage="2Sa 12:15-25" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Sam.12.15-2Sam.12.25">
<h4 id="iiSam.xiii-p14.4">David's Humiliation; Birth of
Solomon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p14.5">b. c.</span> 1036.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iiSam.xiii-p15">15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the
<span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p15.1">Lord</span> 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 <span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p15.2">Lord</span>, 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> <span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p15.3">God</span> 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 <span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p15.4">Lord</span> loved him.   25 And he sent by the
hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah,
because of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p15.5">Lord</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p16">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 (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:1Chr.3.5" parsed="|1Chr|3|5|0|0" passage="1Ch 3:5">1 Chron. iii. 5</scripRef>), and it was that son
of whom Christ, the great prophet, lineally descended, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.3.31" parsed="|Luke|3|31|0|0" passage="Lu 3:31">Lu. iii. 31</scripRef>. When Nathan retired,
David, it is probable, retired likewise, and penned the <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.1-Ps.51.19" parsed="|Ps|51|1|51|19" passage="Ps 51:1-19">51st Psalm</scripRef>, 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> <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.16.63" parsed="|Ezek|16|63|0|0" passage="Eze 16:63">Ezek. xvi.
63</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p17">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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.15" parsed="|2Sam|12|15|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p18">II. David's humiliation under this token of
God's displeasure, and the intercession he made with God for the
life of the child (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.16-2Sam.12.17" parsed="|2Sam|12|16|12|17" passage="2Sa 12:16,17"><i>v.</i> 16,
17</scripRef>): <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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.31.19" parsed="|Jer|31|19|0|0" passage="Jer 31:19">Jer. xxxi. 19</scripRef>. 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> <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.6.1" parsed="|Ps|6|1|0|0" passage="Ps 6:1">Ps. vi. 1</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p19">III. The death of the child: It <i>died on
the seventh day</i> (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.18" parsed="|2Sam|12|18|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>), 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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.19" parsed="|2Sam|12|19|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p20">IV. David's wonderful calmness and
composure of mind when he understood the child was dead.
Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p21">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 class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p22">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 (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.21" parsed="|2Sam|12|21|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>), 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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.22" parsed="|2Sam|12|22|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. 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 (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.23" parsed="|2Sam|12|23|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>): <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 class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p23">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 (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.24" parsed="|2Sam|12|24|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>): 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>
<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.4.25" parsed="|Gen|4|25|0|0" passage="Ge 4:25">Gen. iv. 25</scripRef>. 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> (<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.24-2Sam.12.25" parsed="|2Sam|12|24|12|25" passage="2Sa 12:24,25"><i>v.</i> 24 and 25</scripRef>), 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>
</div><scripCom id="iiSam.xiii-p0.4" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.26-2Sam.12.31" parsed="|2Sam|12|26|12|31" passage="2Sa 12:26-31" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Sam.12.26-2Sam.12.31">
<h4 id="iiSam.xiii-p23.5">The Conquest of Rabbah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iiSam.xiii-p23.6">b. c.</span> 1036.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iiSam.xiii-p24">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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiSam.xiii-p25">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> <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.103.10" parsed="|Ps|103|10|0|0" passage="Ps 103:10">Ps. ciii.
10</scripRef>. 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,
<scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.26-2Sam.12.28" parsed="|2Sam|12|26|12|28" passage="2Sa 12:26-28"><i>v.</i> 26-28</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.30" parsed="|2Sam|12|30|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:30"><i>v.</i>
30</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p25.4" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.31" parsed="|2Sam|12|31|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="iiSam.xiii-p25.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.101.1" parsed="|Ps|101|1|0|0" passage="Ps 101:1">Ps. ci.
1</scripRef>. 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>
</div></div2>