Page images
PDF
EPUB
[ocr errors]

CHA P. III.

Some Account of Nathan the Prophet. The Child born of Bathsheba fickens. David fafts, and humbles himself before God in his behalf; but to no purpofe. The Child dies. David's remarkable Refignation to the Will of GOD. Solomon is born, and blessed.

HAT very curious and exquifite para

TH

ble of Nathan's, recounted in the last chapter, which placed David's guilt in fo clear a light, and at the fame time so hid it from himself, as to extort his own sentence of condemnation, from his own mouth; at once fo well concealed the criminal, and inflamed the crime, as to irritate the king's refentment beyond all the bounds of justice*. The author of so masterly a parable naturally awakens the reader's curiofity, to learn fome

[ocr errors]

* By the law of GOD, the sheep-thief fhould, at moft, but reftore four-fold, Exod. xxii. 1. If a man shall feal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or fell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

thing of fo extraordinary a perfon. But before I proceed to that head, it will be

pro

per to observe to the reader, that there is one difficulty in Nathan's charge against David, which none of the commentators have cleared. It is this: It feems to be made a part of David's accufation, That he married Bathsheba Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the fword, AND HAST TAKEN HIS WIFE TO BE THY WIFE. Now, I own, I can fee no guilt in this, other than that of multiplying wives, which the kings of Ifrael were exprefly forbidden to do, Deut. xvii. 17. inasmuch as no law of God, or nature, prohibit fuch a marriage, any otherwife than as they prohibit polygamy. Unless the prophet means, that he murdered Uriah in order to make Bathsheba his wife; which must be owned to be a very crying guilt.

THERE is therefore, I prefume, no room for any other cenfure upon this part of David's conduct. He had injured (as I apprehend) an innocent, and a very valuable woman and the only reparation in his power, and proof of his esteem, was, to make her his wife.

to her, was none,

But, alas! this reparation either to Uriah or his

[blocks in formation]

family, or the righteous Arbiter of the earth; or the reproach brought upon the true religion, by this infamous behaviour, in a prince who was the great example, teacher, and guardian of it.

BUT to return to Nathan :

We learn little more of this great man, in the facred writings, than that he was David's prophet, intimate counfellor, and hiftoriographer and the knowledge of him in this laft character, must raise the reader's esteem of his modesty to the highest degree: inafmuch as he hath been very careful not to make himself his theme; nor fo much as to mention his own name, where it could be avoided with justice to his history. Jofephus fays of him, that he was a polite and a prudent man: one who knew how to temper the severity of wisdom with sweetness of manners. And Grotius compares him to Manius Lepidus: of whom Tacitus fays, That he found him to be a grave and wife man, in thofe times; who had a talent of turning away the emperor's mind from those cruel purposes, to which the vile flattery of others inclined him; and was, at the fame time, in equal favour and authority with Tiberius.

H&

HE next finds fome resemblance in him, to Pifo, the Roman high-prieft under Tiberius ; of whom the fame Tacitus fays, That he was not author of any fervile sentence; and could upon occafion moderate with wisdom. But it must be owned, that the negative part of this last character is very far from doing justice to the genius of Nathan; who fufficiently appears, in the facred writings, to be rather an infpirer of noble purposes, than a mere non-adviser of fuch as were base and servile-Witness his ftrong encouragement to David, to put his noble defign of building the temple of God, into immediate execution. And it were but justice to add, That he could do more, than moderate wifely; for it is evident, that he knew also how to reprove princes with authority, and yet without offence; which must be allowed to require very uncommon talents, with a dexterity of addrefs perhaps yet rarer. And this Nathan did, without being impaired in any degree, either of favour or affection, with David: quite otherwife; he seems to have increased in both, his whole life long. But it must be owned, that his known character of being inspired

by GoD, bore him out in this conduct beyond the lot of other mortals, and fo justly endeared him to David, that tradition tells us, he named one fon after him, and committed another to his tuition. And it must be owned, that Solomon, in all probability, could not have been placed under a better preceptor, nor one whofe inftructions would better intitle him to that blessed appellation of Jedidjah, or the beloved of Go D.

WHOEVER Confiders the predictions of divine vengeance now denounced against David, on the fcore of his guilt, in the matter of Uriah, muft furely find them to be in their nature very extraordinary family to continue beyond any other regal race in the known world; and yet the fword to continue as long- never to depart from it!

His

A KING the greatest of his time! his dominion throughly established, and his enemies under his feet; highly honoured and beloved at home, and as highly awful to all the neighbouring nations! Such a king threatened to have his wives publicly prostituted before the face of all his people! And what is yet much stranger, more shock

« PreviousContinue »