History of the Old Testament Volume 5, Part 11
Dauid with Bathſheba and ƲRIAH.
WIth what vnwillingnes, with what feare, do I ſtill look vponupon the miſcariage of the man after Gods owne hart? O holy Prophet, who can promiſe himſelfe alwayes to ſtand, when he ſees thee falne and maimed in the fall? Who can aſſure himſelfe of an immunity from the fouleſt ſins, when hee ſees the offending ſo haynouſly, ſo bloudily? Let profane eyes behold thee contentedly, as a patterne, as an excuſe of ſinning; I ſhall neuer looke at thee but through teares, as a wofull ſpectacle of humane infirmity:
Whiles Ioab and all Iſrael were buſie in the warre againſt Ammon, in the ſiege of Rabbah, Satan findes time to lay ſiege to the ſecure hart of Dauid; Who euer found Dauid thus tempted, thus foyled in the dayes of his buſie warres? Now only doe I ſee the King of Iſrael, riſing from his bed in the euening; The time was, when he roſe vp in the morning to his early deuotions; when hee brake his nightly reſt with publique cares, with the buſineſſe of eſtate; all that while he was innocent, he was holy; but now that he wallowes in the bed of idleneſſe, he is fit to inuite a tentation. The induſtrious man hath no leaſure to ſinne. The idle hath neither leaſure nor power to auoyd ſinne; Exerciſe is not wore wholſome for the body, then for the Soule, the remiſſion whereof breeds matter of diſeaſe in both: The water that hath beene heated, ſooneſt freezeth; the moſt actiue Spirit ſooneſt ty…eth with ſlackning; The earth ſtands ſtill, and is all dregs; the heauens euer moue, and are pure. We hauehave no reaſon to complaine of the aſſiduity of work; the toyle of action is anſwered by the benefit; If wee did leſſe wee ſhould ſuffer more; Satan like an idle companion, if he finde vsus buſie, flies backe and ſees it no time to entertaine vaine purpoſes with vsus; Wee cannot pleaſe him better then by caſting away our work, to hold chat with him; wee cannot yeild ſo farre and bee guiltleſſe.
Euen Dauids eyes hauehave no ſooner the ſleepe rubbed out of them, then they roue to wanton proſpects; He walkes vponupon his roofe, and ſees Bathſheba waſhing her ſelfe; inquires after her, ſends for her, ſolicits her to vncleaneneſſe. The ſame Spirit that ſhut vp his eyes in an vnſeaſonable ſleepe, opens them vponupon an intiſing obiect; whiles ſinne hath ſuch a Solicitor, it cannot want either meanes or opportunitie▪ I cannot thinke Bathſheba could bee ſo immodeſt, as to waſh her ſelfe openly, eſpecially from her naturall vncleaneneſſe; Luſt is quick-ſighted; Dauid hath eſpyed her, where ſhe could eſpye no beholder: His eyes recoyle vponupon his hart, and hauehave ſmitten him with a ſinfull deſire.
There can bee no ſafety to that Soule, where the ſenſes are let looſe. He can neuer keep his couenant with God, that makes not a couenant with his eyes: It is an Idle preſumption to thinke the outward man may be free, whiles the inward is ſafe: He is more then a man, whoſe hart is not led by his eies, he is no regenerate man whoſe, eyes are not reſtrayned by his hart.
Oh Bathſheba, how wert thou waſhed from thine vncleaneneſſe, when thou yeildedſt to goe into an adulterous bed? Neuer wert thou ſo foule: as now when thou wert new waſhed; The worſt of nature, is cleanlineſſe, to the beſt of ſinne: thou hadſt beene cleane if thou hadſt not waſhed; yet for thee, I know how to plead infirmity of ſexe; and the importunity of a King; But what ſhall I ſay for thee, O thou royall Prophet, and propheticall King of Iſrael; where ſhall I finde ought to extenuate that crime, for which God himſelfe hath noted thee? Did not thine holy profeſſion teach thee to abhorre ſuch a ſin more then death? Was not thy iuſtice wont to puniſh this ſin with no leſſe then death? Did not thy very calling call thee to a protection and preſeruation of iuſtice, of chaſtity in thy ſubiects? Didſt thou want ſtore of wines of thine owne? wert thou reſtrayned from taking more? was there no beauty in Iſrael, but in a ſubiects mariage-bed? Wert thou ouercome by the vehement ſolicitations of an adultereſſe? wert thou not the tempter, the proſecutor of this vncleaneneſſe? I ſhould accuſe thee deeply, if thou hadſt not accuſed thy ſelfe; Nothing wanted to greaten thy ſinne, or our wonder, and feare. O God, whither doe wee goe if thou ſtay vsus not? Who euer amongſt the millions of thy ſeruants could finde himſelfe furniſhed with ſtronger preſeruatiues againſt ſinne? Againſt whom could ſuch a ſinne finde leſſe pretence of preuailing? Oh keep thou vsus, that preſumtuous ſins preuaile not ouer vsus; So only ſhall wee be free from great offences.
The ſuites of Kings are imperatiue; Ambition did now proue a bawd to luſt. Bathſheba yeildeth to offend God, to diſhonour her husband, to clogge and wound her owne Soule, to abuſe her body: Diſhoneſty growes bold, when it is countenanced with greatneſſe. Eminent perſons had need be carefull of their demaunds; they ſinne by authority, that are ſolicited by the mighty.
Had Bathſheba beene mindefull of her matrimonial fidelity, perhaps Dauid had beene ſoone checked in his inordinate deſire; her facility furthers the ſinne. The firſt motioner of euill is moſt faulty, but as in quarels, ſo in offences, the ſecond blow (which is the conſent) makes the fray. Good Ioſeph was moued to folly, by his great and beautifull miſtres, this fire fell vponupon wet tinder, and therefore ſoone went out. Sinne is not acted alone; if but one party bee wiſe, both eſcape. It is no excuſe to ſay, I was tempted, though by the great, though by the holy and learned; Almoſt all ſinners are miſled by that transformed Angel of light; The action is that wee muſt regard, not the perſon; Let the mouer be neuer ſo glorious, if he ſtirre vsus to euill, hee muſt be intertained with defiance.
The God that knowes how to raiſe good out of euill, bleſſes an adulterous copulation with that increaſe, which hee denyes to the chaſt imbracements of honeſt wedlock: Bathſheba hath conceiued by Dauid; and now at once conceiues a ſorrow and care how to ſmother the ſhame of her conception; He that did the fact, muſt hide it. Oh Dauid, where is thy repentance? Where is thy tenderneſſe and compunction of hart? Where are thoſe holy meditations, which had wont to take vp thy Soule? Alas, in ſteed of clearing thy ſinne, thou laboureſt to cloke it; and ſpendeſt thoſe thoughts in the concealing of thy wickedneſſe, which thou ſhouldſt rather hauehave beſtowed in preuenting it: The beſt of Gods children may not onelyonly bee drenched in the waues of ſin, but lye in them for the time, and perhaps ſinke twice to the bottome; What hypocrite could hauehave done worſe, then ſtudy how to couer the face of his ſin from the eyes of men, whiles heregarded not the ſting of ſin in his ſoule. As there are ſome acts, wherein the Hypocrite is a Saint, ſo there are ſome, wherin the greateſt Saint vponupon earth may be an Hypocrite; Saul did thus goe about to colour his ſin, and is curſed; The veſſels of mercy and wrath, are not euer diſtinguiſhable by their actions. Hee makes the difference, that will hauehave mercy on whom he will, and whom he will, hee hardeneth.
It is rare and hard to commit a ſingle ſinne; Dauid hath abuſed the wife of Vriah, now hee would abuſe his perſon, in cauſing him to father a falſe ſeede: That worthy Hittite is ſent for from the wars; and now after ſome cunning, and far-fetcht queſtions; is diſmiſſed to his houſe, not without a preſent of fauour; Dauid could not but imagine, that the beauty of his Bathſheba, muſt needes be attractiue enough to an husband, whom long abſence in wars, had with-held all that while from ſo pleaſing a bed; neither could he thinke, that ſince that face, and thoſe breſts had power to allure himſelfe to an vnlawfull luſt, it could bee poſſible, that Vriah ſhould not bee inuited by them, to an allowed and warrantable fruition.
That Dauids heart might now the rather ſtrike him, in comparing the chaſte reſolutions of his ſeruant, with his owne light incontinence; good Vriah ſleeps at the doore of the Kings palace, making choyce of a ſtony pillow, vnderunder the canopy of Heauen, rather then the delicate bed of her, whom hee thought as honeſt, as he knew faire. The Arke (ſaith he) and Iſrael, and Iudah, dwell in tents, and my Lord Ioab, and the ſeruants of my Lord, abide in the open fields; ſhall I then goe into mine houſe, to eat, and drinke, and lye with my wife; by thy life, and by the life of thy ſoule, I will not doe this thing. Who can but bee aſtoniſhed at this change, to ſee a Souldier auſtere, and a Prophet wanton? And how doth that Souldiers auſterity, ſhame the Prophets wantonneſſe? Oh zealous and mortified ſoule, worthy of a more faithfull wife, of a more iuſt maſter, how didſt thou ouer-looke all baſe ſenſuality, and hatedſt to be happy alone? War and luſt had wont to bee reputed frends; thy breſt is not more full of courage then chaſtity, and is ſo far from wandring after forbidden pleaſures, that it refuſeth lawfull.
There is a time to laugh, and a time to mourne; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embracing; euen the beſt actions are not alwayes ſeaſonable, much leſſe the indifferent: He that euer takes liberty to doe what he may, ſhall offend no leſſe, then he that ſometimes takes liberty to doe what he may not.
If any thing, the Arke of God is fitteſt to lead our times; according as that is either diſtreſſed, or proſpereth, ſhould we frame our mirth, or mourning. To dwell in ſieled houſes, whiles the Temple lyes waſte, is the ground of Gods iuſt quarrell. How ſhall wee ſing a ſong of the Lord in a ſtrange land; If I forget thee, ô Ieruſalem, let my right hand forget her cunning; If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleaue to the roofe of my mouth; yea, if I prefer not Hieruſalem to my cheefe ioy.
As eueryevery man is a limme of the community, ſo muſt hee be affected with the eſtate of the vniuerſal body, whether healthfull, or languiſhing; It did not more aggrauate Dauids ſin, that whiles the Arke and Iſrael was in hazard and diſtreſſe, he could finde time to looſe the reynes to wanton deſires, and actions, then it magnifies the religious zeale of Vriah, that he abandons comfort, till he ſee the Arke and Iſrael victorious.
Common dangers, or calamities muſt (like the rapt motion) carry our hearts contrary to to the wayes of our priuate occaſions.
Hee that cannot bee mooued with words, ſhall be tryed with wine, Vriah had equally proteſted againſt feaſting at home, and ſociety with his wife; To the one, the authority of a King forces him abroad, in hope that the exceſſe thereof ſhall force him to the other: It is like, that holy Captaine intended onelyonly to yeeld ſo much obedience, as might conſiſt with his courſe of auſterity. But wine is a mocker, when it goes plauſibly in, no man can imagine how it will rage and tyrannize; he that receiues that Traytor within his gates, ſhall too late complaine of a ſurprizall. Like vntounto that ill ſpirit, it inſinuates ſweetly, but in the end, it bites like a Serpent, & hurts like a Cockatrice. Euen good Vrias is made drunk; the holyeſt ſoule may bee ouertaken; It is hard gaine-ſaying, where a King begins an health to a ſubiect; Where, oh where, will this wickedneſſe end? Dauid will now procure the ſin of another, to hide his owne; Vriahs drunkenneſſe is more Dauids offence, then his. It is weakly yeelded to of the one, which was wilfully intended of the other. The one was as the ſinner, the other as the tempter.
Had not Dauid knowne, that wine was an inducement to luſt, he had ſpared thoſe ſuperfluous cups. Experience had taught him, that the eye debauched with wine, will looke vponupon ſtrange women: The Drunkard may bee any thing ſaue good. Yet in this the ayme failed; Grace is ſtronger then wine; Whiles that with-holds, in vaine ſhall the fury of the grape attempt to carry Vriah to his own bed. Sober Dauid is now worſe then drunken Vriah. Had not the King of Iſrael beene more intoxicate with ſin, then Vriah with drinke, he had not in a ſober intemperance climbed vp into that bed, which the drunken temperance of Vriah refuſed.
If Dauid had beene but himſelf, how had he loued, how had he honoured this honeſt and religious zeale, in his ſo faithfull ſeruant; whom now he cruelly ſeekes to reward with death? That fact which wine cannot hide, the ſword ſhall; Vriah ſhall beare his owne Mittimus vntounto Ioab; Put yee Vriah in the fore front of the ſtrength of the battle, and recule backe from him, that he may bee ſmitten, and die.) What is becomne of thee, ô thou good Spirit, that hadſt wont to guide thy choſen ſeruant in his former wayes? Is not this the man, whom wee lately ſaw ſo heart-ſmitten, for but cutting off the lap of the garment of a wicked Maſter, that is now thus lauiſh of the bloud, of a gracious and well-deſeruing Seruant? Could it be likely, that ſo worthy a Captaine could fall alone? Could Dauid hauehave expiated this ſinne with his owne bloud, it had beene but well ſpent, but to couer his ſinne with the innocent bloud of others, was a crime aboue aſtoniſhment. Oh the deepe deceitfulneſſe of ſinne; If the Deuill ſhould hauehave comne to Dauid, in the moſt louely forme of Bathſheba her ſelfe, and at the firſt ſhould hauehave directly, and in termes, ſolicited him to murder his beſt ſeruant; I doubt not, but hee would hauehave ſpat ſcorne in that face, on which he ſhould otherwiſe hauehave doted; now, by many cunning windings, Satan riſes vp to that tentation, & preuailes; that ſhall be done for a colour of guiltineſſe, whreof the ſoule would hauehave hated to be immediately guilty; Euen thoſe, that find a iuſt horrour, in leaping downe from ſome hie tower, yet may be perſwaded to deſcend by ſtayres to the bottome. Hee knowes not where hee ſhall ſtay, that hath willingly ſlipt into a knowne wickedneſſe.
How many doth an eminent offender draw with him into euill? It could not be, but that diuers of the attendants both of Dauid and Bathſheba muſt be conſcious to that adultery; Great mens ſinnes are ſeldome ſecret; And now Ioab muſt bee fetcht in, as acceſſary to the murder: How muſt this example needes harden Ioab againſt the conſcience of Abners blood? Whiles he cannot but thinke, Dauid cannot auenge that in me, which he acteth himſelfe.
Honor is pretended to poore Vriah, death is meant. This man was one of the worthies of Dauid; their courage ſought glory in the difficulteſt exploits: That reputation had neuer bene purchaſed without attempts of equall danger; Had not the leader and followers of Vriah: beene more trecherous, then his enemies were ſtrong, hee had comne off with victory; Now, he was not the firſt or laſt that periſhed by his frends. Dauid hath forgotten, that himſelfe was in like ſort betrayed in his maſters intention, vponupon the dowry of the Philiſtim-foreskins. I feare to aske, Who euer noted ſo foule a plot in Dauids reiected predeceſſour? Vriah muſt be the meſſenger of his owne death, Ioab muſt be a traytor to his frend, the hoſt of God muſt ſhamefully turne their backs vponupon the Ammonites, all that Iſraelitiſh blood muſt bee ſhed, that murder muſt bee ſeconded with diſſimulation, and all this to hide one adultery. O God thou hadſt neuer ſuffered ſo deare a fauorite of thine to fall ſo fearefully, if thou hadſt not meant to make him an vniuerſall example to mankinde; of not preſuming, of not deſpayring; How can wee preſume of not ſinning, or deſpaire for ſinning, when we finde ſo great a Saint thus fallen, thus riſen.