them turn their backs, the text tells us, they fled alfo, and entered into the city. And

Joab, not being in a condition either to purfue the chariots, (for he had no horfe) or to affault or befiege the city, returned to Jerufalem; but (it is to be prefumed) not till he faw the country freed from the Syrian

army.

AND now it was, as I apprehend, that David, reflecting upon the danger his army had escaped, and partly, perhaps, thro' his own fault, in declining to lead them out in perfon, added feven more verses to the xcivth Pfalm; the firft of which begins with acknowledging the danger, and afcribing the deliverance to GOD Unless the Lord had been my help, my foul had almost dwelt in filence, &c. And not content with this, David, again revolving the greatness of the deliverance, (which, perhaps is not to be paralleled in hiftory) compofed, or at least sung a second time, another hymn of thanksgiving to GOD, upon this occafion, Pfalm cxxiv *. which is evidently the thanksgiving

of

*If it had not been the Lord who was on our fide, now may Ifrael fay, if it had not been the Lord who was on our fide; when men rofe up against us: then they had swallowed us

up

of a man whose people were thought a sure prey to their enemies; and yet escaped by the providential interpofition of God in their favour. Which was evidently the condition of the Ifraelites, when they were pent in between two great hoftile armies; from whence there was no poffibility of escaping, but by breaking through them by main force a condition, and a deliverance, which could never be reprefented by an apter image, than that which David makes use of in the clofe of this Pfalm; a bird caught in a fnare, who had no chance for his life, but by breaking it: Our foul is escaped even as a bird out of the fnare of the fowlers: the fnare is broken, and we are delivered.

up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our foul: then the proud waters had gone over our foul. Bleffed be the Lord, who hath not given us a prey to their teeth. Our foul is efcaped as a bird out of the fnare of the fowlers: the fnare is broken, and we are efcaped.

Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

CHAP.

CHAP. XX.

The Syrian War finished.

David's

Felicities during this Period fummed up.---This Book ends.

W

HETHER the feafon of the year was too far advanced to keep the field any longer, or whatever other reason made Joab return to Jerufalem, with the Ifraelite army; the Syrians, who knew how far they had injured and provoked David, had good reason to expect they would vifit them again, upon the return of the spring: and they made their preparations accordingly.

HADAREZER (for fo he is now called, by an eafy change of the Hebrew letters d and r, [7] whofe fimilitude is obvious to every eye) affembled his forces, and not finding them of strength fufficient to be confided in, the text tells us, he fent and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river Euphrates, and they came to Helam, under the conduct of Shobach, captain of

Hadar

Hadarezer's hoft. Which when David learnt, and was fufficiently informed concerning them, he gathered the choice troops of his whole realm together, and led them out in perfon against the enemy; paffed the fordan, and arrived at Helam, where they found the Syrians prepared to receive them; and drawn in battle array. up A battle enfued,

and with that, a carnage the greatest of any recorded in David's wars. The Syrians, faith the facred writer, fled before Ifrael, and David flew the men of feven hundred chariots of the Syrians; and forty thousand horsemen (2 Sam. x. 18.); a relation, which we find a good deal diverfified in the first book of Chronicles, the xixth chapter, and the 18th verfe; where it is faid in the English verfion, (which I think very justifiable from the original) that he flew seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen. Now critics are of opinion, that these seven thousand men which fought in chariots, are the men of seven hundred chariots mentioned in the second book of Sam. ten to a chariot; which I think could not be, because then the fashion of their military chariots must have been intirely changed in the compafs of one year.

VOL. II.

T

THERE

THERE is more to be* faid for the article of footmen; because the Chronicles being a fupplement to the books of Samuel and the Kings; and in the second book of Samuel, the hiftorian having made no mention of any footmen flain in this battle, this addition might be made here, to fupply that defect. But, however that may be, they both agree, that David flew Shobach, captain of the hoftile hoft, with his own hands (for his death is perfonally afcribed to David in both); which the Romans made account of, as the highest point of military glory; and fuch as no more than three of their heroes had ever attained, from the foundation of the common-wealth. Nor was the renown arifing from fuch a conqueft, without a foundation of true military glory, in those ages, where perfonal prowefs, and great bodily ftrength, were always effential ingredients in the character of a great commander; whose personal bravery was the sheet anchor, and only resource of his troops, when hard

* The number of chariots brought into the field the pre ceding campaign (thirty thousand) on fuppofition that the text is there rightly tranflated, muft fatisfy every reasonable man, that there could not be more than two men to a cha

riot.

+One fays, be fmote him; and the other fays, he flew him.

pushed