The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 4 · Section 194
SECT. CXCIV.
IN Section 192 we had the ſad Hiſtory of David's fall to be dreaded by all good men; now we come to give an account of his repentance, and the manner how he was brought to it. And firſt we may take notice that David did not ſeek to God and turn to him by an act of his free-will, before God touched his heart by his grace. David had now for the ſpace of near ten months continued in his ſin without repentance, (viz. from the conception to the birth of the child, and poſſibly ſomething longer) during all which time he had (as 'tis probable) in a formal manner frequented Gods Ordinances, taking care only to hide his ſin (and not to be cleanſed from the guilt of it) and to cover his ſhame which yet he could not do; for by reaſon of his ſudden marrying of Bathſheba, and her ſo ſoon being brought to bed, it began now by ſome to be ſuſpected and talked of that all was not right between them, and ſo by this deed he gave great occaſion to the enemies of God to blaſpheme. God therefore now ſends the Prophet Nathan to him to rouze him out of the dead ſleep he was in, and to bring him to a ſenſe of his ſin, and to repentance for it. Nathan having received a command from God to go to David on this errand, he began to think with himſelf that he was to deal with a great King whom he was directly to accuſe, ſharply to reprehend, and ſeverely to threaten from the Lord; he reſolves therefore to make his addreſs to him in ſuch a way which he thought moſt likely to work upon ſuch a great perſon. Accordingly coming to him, he tells him that there was a certain rich man in that Country who had exceeding many flocks and herds, and there lived by him a certain poor man who had only one ew-lamb which he had bought, and tenderly brought up and nouriſhed, and it lay in his boſom, and was to him as a young and tender child (a)In theſe Parables we are to look at the main ſcope and drift of them, and not to every circumſtance, many of them being added only as Ornaments to ſet them off., and there came a Traveller to the rich mans houſe, and he ſpared to take of his own flock to dreſs for this ſtranger, but took the poor mans lamb and dreſſed it for him. David hearing this, and apprehending it to be a true relation of a matter of fact done in his Country, his anger was greatly kindled, and he ſaid as the Lord liveth the man that hath done this ſhall ſurely reſtore the lamb fourfold(b)In Solomons time it ſeems there was required ſevenfold reſtitution, Prov. 16.31. unleſs it be meant there that the thief ſhall make ſuch a perfect reſtitution, in which ſenſe the number ſeven is often taken. according to the Law, Exod. 22.1. and I declare that he is worthy to die becauſe he had no pity. Thus David unwittingly paſſeth a heavy ſentence upon himſelf. Nathan replies, thou art the man; thou art he who haſt committed this heinous wickedneſs. For thou art the rich man whoſe many flocks and herds are thy many wives and concubines, Ʋriah is the poor man, and his ew-lamb was Bathſheba his wife; the traveller that came to thee was the ſinful luſt of thy heart, for the ſatisfying whereof thou wouldſt not take one of thy own wives or concubines, but tookeſt the wife of Ʋriah; therefore the Lord hath commanded me to ſay thus to thee, I anointed thee King over Iſrael, and delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; I gave thee thy Maſters houſe, viz. the Kingdom of Saul, who was thy Lord and Maſter, and have exalted thee to ſuch royal dignity and greatneſs, that all (generally) that belonged to Saul is come into thy power, yea his very wives and concubines, whom I have ſo far brought into thy power that none can hinder thee from taking them into thy boſom (a)V. 8. In ſinii, i. e. potentiae ſubjeci tuae; ne que enim ſoceri conjuges huic ducere licebat.; did not my Law forbid it, Levit. 18.8. And if all this had been too little, I was ready to have given thee more; wherefore then haſt thou deſpiſed the commandment of the Lord to do this heinous evil in his ſight? Thou haſt killed Ʋriah one of thy worthy and valiant commanders, who did thee faithful ſervice, and haſt made way for thy marrying his wife by murdering of him; yea thou haſt ſlain him by the ſword of the children of Ammon, treacherouſly betraying him with divers others of thy faithful ſubjects into their hands, and thereby haſt encouraged and given occaſion to the enemies of my people to inſult. Now therefore know (to thy ſorrow) that the ſword ſhall never *V. 10. In ſempiternum ſumitur pro ſubjecta materia diverſe.depart from thy houſe, that is, as long as thou liveſt, but thoſe of thy family ſhall with the ſword kill one another (b)Three of Davids Sons came to a violent death, viz. Amnon, Abſalom and Adonijah.. And becauſe thou haſt deſpiſed me and my Law, behold I will raiſe up evil againſt thee out of thy own houſe. I will afflict thee with many evils, even by thy own children, giving them over to commit rapes, murders, and unnatural rebellions, and will take thy concubines before thine eyes (that is in thy life-time, and thou knowing it) and give them unto thy neighbour; that is, to one near unto thee not only in habitation but in blood, and he ſhall lye with them (c)Abſalom did it openly in the ſight of all Iſrael, Ch. 16.22. in a Tent which they ſpread for him in Jeruſalem upon the top of the houſe, and probably the ſame houſe or Palace from the roof whereof David did firſt caſt a luſtful eye on Bathſheba.in the ſight of the Sun. For thou didſt it ſecretly, as fearing ſhame more than ſin, but I will puniſh thee openly in the view of all thy people. David was ſo convinced and his heart ſo deeply wounded with what Nathan had ſpoken to him that he cried out, I have ſinned, yea heinouſly ſinned againſt the Lord. His heart was ſo overwhelmed with grief and ſorrow that he could not ſpeak much now, but afterwards he confeſſed his ſin more fully to the whole Church in the 51 Pſalm, wherein he acknowledges the greatneſs of his tranſgreſſion, and profeſſes his unfeigned repentance for it. And this Pſalm he committed to the chief Muſician to be ſung publickly in the Congregation as one of the Penitential Pſalms. Nathan perceiving him truly penitent, tells him, the Lord had put away his ſin out of his ſight, it ſhould not be imputed to him to hinder his eternal bleſſedneſs; neither ſhould he die by the ſudden ſtroke of ſome temporal judgment, as his ſin deſerved, even according to his own ſentence. Howbeit (ſays the Lord) becauſe by this deed thou haſt given great occaſion to my enemies to blaſpheme and to ſpeak evil of what I have done in raiſing thee up, and favouring thee ſo highly (ſeeing thou haſt committed ſuch heinous ſins) and they will thereupon blaſpheme the Religion I have appointed, and the profeſſors of it, as though it either taught or favoured ſuch wickedneſs, or at leaſt that the profeſſors of it were all hypocrites, making only a ſhew of godlineſs and honeſty, but not practiſing it, [ſee Rom. 2.24.] therefore by many ſevere corrections inflicted on thee I will vindicate my juſtice, and the truth of my Religion againſt all the reproaches and calumnies of wicked men. And purſuant hereunto I will firſt ſmite the child begotten by thee in adultery with death. Nathan having faithfully delivered his meſſage, departed, and immediately the child fell ſick. And though Nathan had told David the child ſhould die, yet he apprehending (as it ſeems) the threatning to be only conditional, and that upon his tears and repentance the ſentence might be revers'd(d)As was that of Hezekiahs death, and the deſtruction of Nineveh., and though the child (if he lived) was like continually to grieve them (by daily repreſenting to them their ſin and ſhame) yet he prayed and faſted, and humbled himſelf greatly, both with inward contrition and outward afflicting of his body, begging the life of the child(e)Fuiſſe Davidem liberorum amantiſſimum non ex hac tantum hiſtoria ſed ex indulgentia circa Abſolomum & Adonijam apparet., becauſe the innocent babe was threatned with death as a puniſhment for their ſin. However as God had threated, on the ſeventh day after he was born, or after he fell ſick the child died; Davids ſervants at firſt feared to tell him of it, leſt they ſhould too much grieve him, but upon his ſtrict inquiry they told him he was dead. When the will of the Lord was plainly manifeſted he patiently ſubmitted to it, and aroſe from the earth and waſhed and anointed himſelf, and changed his apparel, and went into the houſe of the Lord [the Tent which he had erected for the Ark] to worſhip, that he might further bewail and acknowledg his ſin before God, and beg his pardon, and intreat him that he would pleaſe to lighten and leſſen thoſe puniſhments he had threatned againſt his family, or at leaſt ſanctifie them to him, and give him ſtrength and patience to bear them. And though he had faſted ſeven days while the child lay ſick, (taking only ſome ſmall repaſt in the evening) yet now ſo earneſt he was to ratifie his peace with God, that he would not taſte any food before he had been at Gods houſe; and then he commanded them to ſet bread before him, and he did eat. His ſervants wondring at this carriage of his as ſomething ſtrange, he tells them that whilſt the child was alive he faſted and wept, hoping that God would reverſe the ſentence of death paſſed upon him; but now he was dead, wherefore (ſays he) ſhould I faſt, I cannot bring him back again; I ſhall go to him [viz. into the ſtate of the dead] but he ſhall not return to me into the ſtate of the living. Bathſheba being much dejected under a ſenſe of her ſin, and the diſpleaſure of God threatned againſt them, and begun to be executed in taking away their child, David (like an indulgent husband) laboured to comfort her, and went in again unto her, and ſhe conceived and bare him a Son, whom he (by Gods direction) called Solomon, that is peaceable, becauſe the Lord intended (when he came to the Crown) to give him reſt from all his enemies round about, and to give peace and quietneſs to Iſrael in his days, ſee 1 Chron. 22.9. And the Lord ſent Nathan to David to tell him that this his Son ſhould not only be called Solomon but Jedijah, that is, beloved of the Lord. Thus the Lord manifeſted his love to Solomon before he had done either good or evil.
2 Sam. Ch. 12. from v. 1, to the 26.