pro

upon him, for his fins; and supported himfelf under the lofs of his child, by the spect of finding him one day again in a better world; his next care was, to comfort Bathsheba the best he could, under their common calamity and as fhe appears to have been a meek and reasonable woman, his task (we may well prefume) was so much the easier. She alfo, without doubt, refigned and fubmitted, and her refignation was rewarded accordingly; for she foon after conceived by David, and bare him a fon; and David, as he was now in peace with GOD, and forefaw in the spirit of prophecy, that this fon would be a pacific prince, he called his name Salomon, or Peaceable.

AND as this fon was conceived in innocence, in the happy season of God's reconcilement to his parents, and their establishment in true religion, by fincere repentance and humiliation before him; it pleased GoD to accept him, in a fingular manner. Which is fignified to us in the text, by that remarkable expreffion: And the Lord loved him. And to manifeft his favour to him, for the confolation of David, he conveyed his benediction to the son, by the same hand

:

which had before conveyed his chastisements to the father he fent Nathan to David to bestow upon his fon, in his name, the most bleffed of all earthly, the most blessed, but one, of all heavenly appellations, Jedidjah, The beloved of God.

or,

CHA P. IV.

The Foolishness of wicked Policy. David, upon Joab's Exhortation, goes to the Siege of Rabbah, and takes it. Depofes Hanun: and puts the remaining Ammonites to Death. His Conduct in this Point juftified.

W1

HILST things ftood thus with Da

vid at Jerusalem, the fiege of Rabbah ftill continued, being now far lengthened out into a fecond year. David had hitherto gone on with uninterrupted fuccefs, till his fins arrested his prosperity, and stopp'd him short. The truth is, all wickedness, besides thofe curfes and judgments it draws down from heaven, hath a natural tendency to

defeat

defeat the wifeft fchemes, and check the progrefs of the best purposes; as in the cafe before us the Ifraelites were to make an attack, to fly, and to be defeated, that Uriah might fall: Could any thing more naturally raise the courage of Ammon, or deprefs that of Ifrael, than fuch a project? Doubtless, there were many men in the army, accustomed to be led out to battle by Uriah, and those brave companions of his who fell with him; and brought back with victory, and glory: Would thefe men be eafily brought to follow other, inferior, or untried leaders, with equal ardour? Or would those Ammonites have any terror upon them, to meet these leaders, who had defeated and cut off Uriah, and his brave companions? And did not all this naturally tend to deject Ifrael, and infpirit their enemies? Such is the accurfed policy of guilt: felfish, and fhort-fighted! And fuch the truth and wifdom of that noble maxim in the schools, That evil is not ordinable to good.

THE dejected fpirit of the Ifraelite army naturally tended to make their measures flower, and more cautious; and of confequence, to draw the fiege into greater length.

How

However, the lower city, otherwise called the Royal City, or the City of Waters, was at length taken and the upper city, altho' in all probability much stronger, from the advantage of its fituation, on the top of a hill, could not hold out long, when its fupply of water was wholly cut off. Of this, Joab, in all the generofity of a brave soldier, and all the affection of a faithful fubject, immediately informed his king; exhorting him, That he would come in perfon, and put the finishing hand to the fiege: Left I take the city, faith he, and it be called after

my name.

THERE is a gallantry, and a magnificence in this propofal, capable of creating admiration in the meaneft minds. The man that could transfer the glory of his own conquefts upon his prince, needs no higher an elogy. And it is but juftice to the character of Joab, to declare, that he is, as far as I am informed, fupreme, if not unrivaled * in this fingular inftance of heroism.

DAVID

* It is true, Curtius mentions a like conduct in Craterus, in relation to the fiege of Artacana (lib. vi. cap. 6.); but this conduct of Craterus was evidently the effect of fear, not generofity. He well knew, that his

mafter,

DAVID readily complied with his general's monition; and immediately affembling his people, probably those troops of his militia, then on the duty of their monthly course, he marched them to Rabbah.

AND here I beg leave to obferve, that David had, from the inftitution of his militia, greater advantages for continuing fieges, and being fuccessful in them, than any other monarch we read of in history : inafmuch as he could fend a monthly recruit of twenty-four thousand men to his army, without departing from the established order of his militia, or putting his people to any new trouble or expence; which could not but be a vast relief to the

weary and wounded of the army, and raise the courage of the reft; and at the fame time, a vast discouragement to the enemy, to have fo many fresh men to encounter with every month, whilst they themselves were every day in a.more weary and wasting way. And

mafter, Alexander, was the vaineft and most ambitious of all mortals; and, at that time, tyrannical to a high degree and therefore he did not dare to take the city before his arrival. Alexander now fet up for a God; and fo far aped that character, as not to give his glory to another.

these