Works of Joseph Hall, Part 22
HANVN and DAVIDS Ambaſſadours.
IT is not the meaning of Religion, to make men vnciuill; If the King of Ammon were heatheniſh, yet his kindneſſe may be acknowledged, may be returned by the King of Iſrael. I ſay not, but that perhaps Dauid might maintaine too ſtrait a league with that forbidden Nation; A little friendſhip is enough to an Idolater; but euen the ſauage Canibals may receiue an anſwer of outward courteſie: If a very Dogge fawne vponupon vsus, we ſtroke him on the head, and clap him on the ſide; much leſſe is the common band of humainitie vntyed by Grace: Diſparitie in ſpirituall Profeſſions, is no warrant for Ingratitude: He therefore, whoſe good nature proclaymed to ſhew mercy to any branch of Sauls houſe, for Ionathans ſake, will now alſo ſhew kindneſſe to Hanun, for the ſake of Nahaſh his Father.
It was the ſame Nahaſh, that offered the cruell condition to the men of Iabeſh Gilead, of thruſting out their right eyes for the admiſſion into his couenant. Hee that was thus bloudie in his Deſignes againſt Iſrael, yet was kinde to Dauid; perhaps for no cauſe ſo much as Sauls oppoſition; And yet euen this fauour is held worthy both of memory, and retribution: where wee hauehave the Acts of courteſie, it is not neceſſary wee ſhould enter into a ſtrict examination of the grounds of it; whiles the benefit is ours, let the intention bee their owne; What euer the hearts of men are, wee muſt looke at their hands, and repay, not what they meant, but what they did.
Nahaſh is dead, Dauid ſends Ambaſſadours to condole his loſſe, and to comfort his Sonne Hanun. No Ammonite but is ſadly affected with the death of a Father, though it gaine him a Kingdome: Euen Eſau could ſay, the dayes of mourning for my Father will come; No earthly aduantage can fill vp the gap of nature: Thoſe Children are worſe than Ammonites: that can thinke either gaine, or libertie, worthy to counteruaile a parents loſſe.
Carnall men are wont to meaſure anothers foote, by their owne Laſt; their owne falſhood makes them vniuſtly ſuſpicious of others. The Princes of Ammon, becauſe they are guilty to their owne hollowneſſe and doubleneſſe of heart, are readie ſo to iudge of Dauid and his Meſſengers (Thinkeſt thou that Dauid doth honour thy Father, that hee hath ſent comforters vntounto thee. Hath not Dauid rather ſent his owne Seruants to thee, to ſearch the Citie, and to ſpye it out, to ouerthrow it;) It is hard for a wicked heart to thinke well of any other; becauſe it can thinke none better than it ſelfe, and knowes it ſelfe euill: The freer a man is from vice himſelfe, the more charitable he vſes to be vntounto others.
Whatſoeuer Dauid was particularly in his owne perſon, it was ground enough of preiudice, that hee was an Iſraelite; It was an hereditarie and deepe ſettled hatred, that the Ammonites had conceiued againſt their brethren of Iſrael: neither can they forget that ſhamefull and fearefull foyle, which they receiued from the reſcuers of Iabeſh Gilead; and now ſtill doe they ſtomach at the name of Iſrael; Malice once conceiued in worldly hearts, is not eaſily extinguiſhed, but vponupon all occaſions, is readie to breake forth into a flame of reuengefull actions.
Nothing can bee more dangerous, than for yong Princes, to meate with ill Counſell in the entrance of their Gouernment; for both then are they moſt prone to take it, and moſt difficultly recouered from it; if wee be ſet out of our way in the beginning of our iournie, we wander all the day; How happy is that State, where both the Counſellours are faithfull, to giuegive onelyonly good aduice; and the King wiſe to diſcerne good aduice from euill: the yong King of Ammon is eaſily drawne to beleeue his Peeres, and to miſtruſt the meſſengers; and hauing now in his conceite turned them into ſpies, entertaines them with a ſcornefull diſgrace; hee ſhaues off one halfe of theirs beards, and cuts off one halfe of their garments; expoſing them to the diriſion of all beholders. The Iſraelites were forbidden either a ſhauen beard; or a ſhort garment; in deſpight, perhaps, of their Law, theſe Embaſſadours are ſent away with both: certainely in a diſpight of their Maſter, and a ſcorne of their perſons.
King Dauid is not a little ſenſible of the abuſe of his Meſſengers, and of himſelfe in them; Firſt, therefore hee deſires to hide their ſhame, then to reuenge it. Man hath but a double ornament of body, the one of nature, the other of Art; The naturall ornament is the haire, the artificiall is apparrell; Dauids Meſſengers are deformed in both; The one is eaſily ſupplied by a new ſuit, the other can onelyonly bee ſupplied out of the Ward-robe of time; Tarrie at Iericho till your beards bee growne. How eaſily had this deformitie beene remooued, if as Hanun had ſhauen one ſide of their faces; ſo they had ſhauen the other; what had this beene but to reſemble their yonger age, or that other ſexe, in neither of which, doe we vſe to place any imagination of vnbeſeeming; neither did there want ſome of their neighbour Nations, whoſe faces age it ſelfe had not wont to couer with this ſhade of haire: But ſo re-reſpectiue is good Dauid, and his wiſe Senatours, of their Countrie-formes; that they ſhall by appointment rather t…rie abroad, till time hauehave wrought their conformitie, than varie from the receiued faſhions of their owne people. Alas, into what a licentious varietie of ſtrange diſguiſes are we falne? The glorie of Attire is ſought in noueltie, in miſhapenneſſe, in monſtrouſneſſe: There is much latitude, much libertie in the vſe of theſe indifferent things; but becauſe we are free, wee may not runne wilde; and neuer thinke wee hauehave ſcope enough, vnleſſe wee out-runne modeſtie.
It is lawfull for publicke perſons, to feele their owne indignities, and to endeauour their reuenge. Now Dauid ſends all the hoſte of the mightie men to puniſh Ammon, for ſo fearie an abuſe; Thoſe that receiued the Meſſengers of his louelove, with ſcorne and inſolencie, ſhall now be ſeuerely ſaluted with the Meſſengers of his wrath. It is iuſt both with God and men, that they, who know not how to take fauours aright, ſhould ſmart with iudgments. Kindneſſe repulſed, breakes foorth into indignation, how much more when it is repaide with an iniurious affront?
Dauid cannot but feele his owne cheekes ſhauen, and his owne Coate cut in his Embaſſadours; They did but carie his perſon to Hanun; neither can hee therefore but appropriate to himſelfe the Kindneſſe, or iniurie offered vntounto them; Hee that did ſo take to heart the cutting off but the lap of King Sauls Garment, when it was laid aſide from him, how muſt he needes be affected with this diſdainefull haluing of his haire and Robes, in the perſon of his deputies? The name of Embaſſadours hath beene euer ſacred, and by the vniuerſall Law of Nations, hath caried in it ſufficient protection, from all publike wrongs, neither hath it euer beene violated, without a reuenge. Oh God, what ſhall wee ſay to thoſe notorious contempts which are dayly caſt vponupon thy ſpirituall Meſſengers? Is it poſſible thou ſhouldſt not feele them, thou ſhouldſt not auenge them? Wee are made a gaſing ſtocke to the World, to Angels and to men, we are deſpiſed and trodden downe in the duſt; Who hath beleeued our report, and to whom is the Arme of the Lord reuealed?
How obſtinate are wicked men in their peruerſe reſolutions. Theſe fooliſh Ammonites had rather hire Syrians to maintaine a Warre againſt Iſrael in ſo foule a quarrell, beſides the hazard of their owne liues, than confeſſe the errour of their iealous miſconſtruction.
It is one of the mad principles of wickedneſſe, that it is a weakneſſe to relent, and rather to Die than yeeld; Euen ill cauſes once vndertaken, muſt be vpheld although with bloud; whereas the gracious heart finding his owne miſtaking, doth not onelyonly remit of an vngrounded diſpleaſure, but ſtudies to be reuenged of it ſelfe, and to giuegive ſatisfaction to the offended.
The mercenarie Syrians are drawne to venture their liues for a fee; twentie thouſand of them are hired into the field againſt Iſrael; Fond Pagans that know not the value of a man; their bloud coſt them nothing, & they care not to ſell it good cheape; How can we thinke thoſe men hauehave Soules, that eſteeme a little white earth aboue themſelues? That neuer inquire into the Iuſtice of the quarrell, but the rate of the pay, that can rifle for drammes of ſiluer, in the bowels of their owne fleſh, and either kill or die for a dayes wages?
Ioab the wiſe Generall of Iſrael ſoone finds, where the ſtength of the battle lay, and ſo marſhals his troupes, that the choice of his men ſhall encounter the vantgard of the Syrians. His brother Abiſhai leades the reſt againſt the children of Ammon; with this couenant of mutuall aſſiſtance, (If the Syrians be too ſtrong for me, then thou ſhalt helpe mee; but if the children of AMMON bee too ſtrong for thee, then will I come and helpe thee;) It is an happy thing, when the Captaines of Gods people ioyne together as brethren, and lend their hand to the aide of each other againſt the common aduerſary. Concord in defence, or aſſault, is the way to victorie; as contrarily, the diuiſion of the Leaders is the ouerthrow of the Armie.
Set aſide ſome particular actions, Ioab was a worthy Captaine, both for wiſdome and valour. Who could either exhort or reſolue better than hee, (Bee of good courage, and let vsus play the men, for our people, and for the Cities of our God; and the Lord doe that which ſeemeth him good?) It is not either priuate glory or profit that whets his fortitude, but the reſpect to the cauſe of God and his people; That Souldier can neuer anſwere it to God, that ſtrikes not more as a Iuſticer, than as an enemie; Neither doth he content himſelfe with his owne courage, but hee animates others. The tongue of a Commander fights more than his hand; it is enough for priuate men to exerciſe what life and limmes they hauehave, a good Leader muſt out of his owne abundance, put life and ſpirits into all others; If a Lyon leade ſheepe into the field, there is hope of victorie: Laſtly, when he hath done his beſt, hee reſolues to depend vponupon God for the iſſue: not truſting to his ſword, or his bow, but to the prouidence of the Almightie for ſucceſſe; as a man religiouſly awfull, and awfully confident, whiles there ſhould be no want in their owne indeauours: he knew well that the race was not to the ſwift, nor the battle to the ſtrong, therefore hee lookes vp aboue the hils whence commeth his ſaluation All valour is cowardiſe to that which is built vponupon Religion.
I maruell not to ſee Ioab victorious, while hee is thus godly; The Syrians flee before him, like flockes of ſheepe, the Ammonites follow them; The two ſonnes of Zeruiah hauehave nothing to doe, but to purſue and execute; The throates of the Amonites are cut, for cutting the Beards and Coates of the Iſraelitiſh meſſengers; Neither doth this reuenge end in the field; Rabba the royall Citie of Ammon is ſtrongly beleagured by Ioab; The Citie of waters (after wel-neere a yeares ſiege) yeeldeth; the reſt can no longer hold out; Now Ioab, as one that deſireth more to approue himſelfe, a loyall, and carefull ſubiect, than a happy Generall, ſends to his Maſter Dauid that he ſhould come perſonally, and encampe againſt the Citie, and take it; Leſt (ſaith he) I take it, and it be called after my name. Oh noble and imitable fidelitie of a dutifull Seruant, that preferres his Lord to himſelfe, and is ſo farre from ſtealing honour from his Maſters deſerts, that he willingly remits of his owne, to adde vntounto his. The Warre was not his; hee was only imployed by his Souereigne; The ſame perſon that was wronged in the Ambaſſadours, reuengeth by his Souldiers; The prayſe of the act ſhall (like Fountaine Water) returne to the Sea, whence it Originally came; To ſeeke a mans owne glory is not glory. Alas, how many are there, who being ſent to ſue for God, wooe for themſelues. Oh God, it is a fearefull thing to rob thee of that which is deareſt to thee, Glory; which as thou wilt not giuegive to any Creature; ſo much leſſe wilt thou endure that any Creature ſhould filtch it from thee, and giuegive it to himſelfe: HaueHave thou the honour of all our actions, who giueſt a being to our actions and vsus, and in both hath moſt iuſtly regarded thine owne prayſe.