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him. "Wherefore," continued Nathan, "hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon."

The most terrible judgments were then denounced against the trembling, conscience-stricken king, to fall upon himself and his family, and to involve him in the severest domestic trials and disgrace. "Thou didst it secretly," was the conclusion of the appalling message; "but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun."

This divine message was not lost upon the king. It touched his heart. It brought him to reflection and to penitence for his guilt. "I have sinned against the Lord," burst forth from his lips. He could say no more. It was enough to show the sincerity and the depth of his repentance. The prophet understood it, and saw that it proceeded from a broken and a contrite heart. He was authorized in the name of his Master to pronounce pardon on the offender. "The Lord also," said he, "hath put away thy sin: thou shalt not die." The death of the body, the temporal punishment which David had incurred by his aggravated sin, should not be inflicted upon him, nor should he be doomed to that more terrible penalty of God's violated law, the death, the eternal loss of his soul: so full of mercy is that

Being against whom we have all sinned, to the truly penitent. The case of the guilty king of Israel, who thus found this mercy, should encourage even the vilest transgressor to feel that there is pardon and peace also for him, if he will but look to God for it, in the temper of mind which the gospel of his Son enjoins, and in the way which it points out. See Psalms 51, 32, 33, and 103.

But David, though forgiven, must be chastened, and that severely. "Howbeit," said the prophet at parting, "because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die." This threatening soon began to take effect. "The Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick." The tender father, it would seem, notwithstanding the denunciation of the prophet, could not give up all hope of its recovery. He poured out his supplications before God in its behalf. He fasted, and in the agony of his distress lay all night upon the earth. Some of his principal attendants endeavored to comfort him, and to persuade him to rise up and take nourishment, but to no purpose. On the seventh day the child died. David still remained in his retirement, tremblingly waiting the result. His servants feared to let him know what had taken place. "Behold," said they, "while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our

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voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?"

But David perceived from their appearance, and from their whispering to each other, that the catastrophe had come, and on making an inquiry to that effect, was told that it was indeed so. He bowed in calm submission to the will of God. He felt that his grief and his prayers would no longer be of any avail. He considered it his duty to let his attendants and his people see that the resignation of a pious heart could fill it. with peace. He rose from the earth, and having washed and anointed himself and changed his apparel, he went to the house of the Lord, and there publicly engaged in solemn acts of religious worship; after which, returning to his own dwelling, he partook of the food that was set before him, to show that his fasting and grief were now at an end. His servants were surprised at this, and inquired how it was that he fasted and wept while the child was yet alive, but that when it was dead he arose and did eat bread.

"While the child was yet alive," he replied, "I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? 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."

While these things were taking place, Joab, with the forces under his command, was still carrying on the siege of Rabbah, and at length suc

ceeded in getting possession of that part of the city in which were the reservoirs of water for the supply of the inhabitants. He immediately despatched messengers to David to inform him of this, and to request him to come with an additional body of soldiers, and have himself the honor of taking the city, which honor Joab seems to have declined, and to have preferred that the king his master should enjoy it. David soon arrived, and gaining possession of the city, returned to Jerusalem with an immense spoil, among which was the crown of the captive king, of very great value, made of gold- and adorned with precious stones. The people whom he thus conquered, including those of all the other cities of the Ammonites, he subjected, as some think, to a severe bondage, putting them to very servile employments; or as others suppose, inflicted upon them the most cruel punishments, in the way of a just retaliation for their former treatment of the Israelites.

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CHAPTER XXIX.

AMNON GROSSLY INJURES TAMAR, AND IS PUT TO DEATH BY THE ORDERS OF ABSALOM, WHO FLEES TO GESHUR. AFTER THREE YEARS, JOAB PREVAILS UPON DAVID TO RECALL HIM.

"I WILL raise up evil against thee out of thine own house," was a part of the fearful denunciation which the prophet Nathan had lately uttered in the hearing of David, when sent in the name of Jehovah to reprove him for his sins, and to let him know that he was to be severely chastised on their account. One affecting instance of the fulfilment of this denunciation was now about to take place.

David had a daughter whose name was Tamar, a beautiful woman, unmarried, and the own sister of Absalom. Their mother was Maacha, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur. Amnon, the eldest son of David by another wife, fell desperately in love with his half-sister Tamar, and wished to have her regard him as her husband, although he knew it was impossible, and very wicked too, for them to be married to each other. Indeed, it does not appear that he had any desire to marry her, even if he could have done so. Following the advice of his friend Jonadab, a cousin of the king, Amnon treated Tamar in a very