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him feemingly even to defpair. He tore his cloaths, and laid himself upon the earth, as one abandoned to distress: and his fervants stood difconfolate around him, with their garments torn alfo; till Jonadab, recollecting himself, in his fubtilty, and running over the train of his own thoughts, easily concluded, that Amnon only was killed; and immediately took upon him, to affure the king, that it must be so: Let not the king, faith he, fuppofe that they have flain all the young men, the king's fons for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Abfalom, this hath been determined, from the day that be forced his fifter Tamar *. Now, therefore, let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king's fons are dead; for Amnon only is dead. Immediately the young men, who were upon the watch, gave notice that they faw a croud of people coming by the way of the hill fide.

* What unparallelled impudence and effrontery was this, to speak with fuch calmnefs and unconcern, of an horrid villainy, which he himself had contrived, and of which he now saw the dreadful confequences! What a mifcreant minifter was this, and how much fitter to be admitted into the counfels of hell, than into those of David!

And

And inftantly, Jonadab cried out to the king, That his fons were come And it came to pass, faith the text, as foon as he had made an end of speaking, that, behold, the king's fons came, and lift up their voice, and wept; and the king alfo, and all his fervants, wept very fore. And Abfalom fled, and went to Talmai the fon of Ammihud king of Gefbur: and David mourned for his fon every day.

AND thus did GoD, by withdrawing his reftraining grace from Amnon, and leaving him a prey to his own paffions, raife up evil to David out of his own boufe: A daughter ravished by her own brother; that brother, murdered by another brother; and that other, in exile upon that account: and foon to perish, by a fate yet more deplorable, had it not been more deferved!

AND now began another, and more dreadful, prophecy of Nathan's to be fulfilled upon David, before his own eyes: the fword was now firft brought in upon his houfe, attended with this dreadful affurance, of never departing from it.

CHA P.

CHAP. VI.

Joab's Device to get Abfalom recalled by means of the wife Woman of Tekoah, fucceeds. Being brought back to Jerufalem, he is not admitted to the King's Prefence, but remanded to his own House. What followed thereupon.

A

BSALOM's fheep-fheering was at Baalbazor, near Ephraim; about eight miles from Jerufalem. He fled, the moment his brother was killed and one may well believe, his accomplices fled with him; who probably were Geshurites, fome of his mother's friends; and fo were fure of the protection of Talmai, for revenging the violence done to his grand-daughter. And there is no doubt but they took their meafures fo well, that no purfuit from Jerufalem, had any been attempted, could overtake them. But David, who must be allowed to have been criminally indulgent to his children, was not of a difpofition to

revenge

revenge

the death of one favourite fon, by that of another; especially when his guilt was no more, than that of revenging an action in itself worthy of death.

THE Vulgate and Septuagint inform us, that when David heard of Amnon's crime, he was much enraged, but would not grieve his fon's fpirit, because he loved him, being his eldest fon. It is true, this addition is not found in the Hebrew text; yet it is confeffedly very antient, and probably but too true. And if fo, he could but ill punish, in Abfalom, the chastisement of that guilt, which his own feasonable chaftisement of Amnon's earlier enormities might have prevented. And in that cafe, his resentment must recoil upon himself, and acquit Absalom, And poffibly this may be the true reafon, why we hear nothing of any measures he took to bring Abfalom to justice, and why he mourned fo much, and fo long, for Amnon. For we learn from 2 Sam. xiii. 37. that he mourned long and daily for him. However, at the end of three years, his affection for Abfalom got the better of a fruitlefs grief, for a loss which could not be recalled; and he was comforted (faith the text) concerning Amnon, Seeing he was dead.

AND

as if

AND now, his concern was, to be fo long robbed of the fatisfaction of feeing another child, who was fo dear to him he had taken up Rebekah's complaint * Why Should I be deprived alfo of them both in one day?

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IN this condition he pined and languished for his fon: And the foul of king David, faith the text, longed to go forth unto Abja-. Lom ; as if his foul would have rejoiced even to have quitted his body, to go out and meet him.

JOAB quickly perceived the king's condition; and thought he should pay his court to advantage, if he could contrive to deceive. and surprise him into a refolution of recalling his fon from exile. To this purpose, he instructed a woman of good fense, and great address, (from Tekoah, a diftant city of Judah) who waited upon the king, in the air and habit of a difconfolate widow, in mourning, and deep diftrefs, on account of her fon; whom his own family were purfuing to death, for having flain his brother, in an accidental contention, in the field.

*Gen. xxvii. 45.

VOL. III.

The

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