Works of Joseph Hall, Part 23
DAVID with BATHSHEBA and VRIAH.
WIth what vnwillingneſſe, with what feare, doe I ſtill looke vponupon the miſcarriage of the man after Gods owne heart? O holy Prophet, who can promiſe himſelfe alwayes to ſtand, when he ſees thee falne and maymed in the fall? Who can aſſure himſelfe of an immunitie from the fouleſt ſinnes, when hee ſee thee offending ſo haynouſly, ſo bloudily? Let prophane 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 infirmitie.
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 heart of Dauid; Who euer found Dauid thus tempted, thus foyled in the dayes of his buzie 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 he brake his nightly reſt with publike cares, with the buſineſſe of State; all that while he was innocent, he was holy; but now that he wallowes in the bed of idleneſſe, hee is fit to inuite a tentation. The induſtrious man hath no leiſure to ſinne. The idle hath neither leiſure nor power to auoide ſinne; Exerciſe is not more wholſome for the bodie, than for the Soule, the remiſſion whereof breeds matter of diſeaſe in bothe: The water that hath beene heated: ſooneſt freezeth; the moſt actilie ſpirit ſooneſt tyreth with ſlackning; The Earth ſtande ſtill, and is all dregges; the Heauens euer moue, and are pure. We hauehave no reaſon to complaine of the aſſiduitie of worke; the toyle of action is anſwered by the benefit; If wee did leſſe, we ſhould ſuffer more; Satan like an idle companion, if hee finde vsus buſie, flyes backe and ſees it no time to entertayne vaine purpoſes with vsus; We cannot pleaſe him better than by caſting away our worke, to hold that with him; wee cannot yeeld ſo farre and be guiltleſſe.
Euen Dauids eyes hauehave no ſooner the ſleepe rubbed …ut of them, than they roue to wanton proſpects; Hee walkes vponupon his roofe, and ſees Bathſheba waſhing her ſelfe; inquires after her, ſends for her, ſollicits her to vncleaneneſſe. The ſame ſpirit that ſhut vp his eyes in on vnſeaſonable ſleepe, opens them vponupon an intiſing obiect; whiles ſinne hath ſuch a Solliciter, 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 vncleanneſſe; Luſt is quick-ſighted; Dauid hath eſpied her, where ſhee could eſpye no beholder: His eyes recoyle vponupon his heart, and hauehave ſmitten him with ſinfull deſire.
There can be no ſafetie to that Soule, where the ſenſes are let looſe. Hee can neuer keepe his couenant with God, that makes not a couenant with his eyes: It is an idle preſumption to thinke the outward man may bee free, whiles the inward is ſafe: He is more than a man, whoſe heart is not led by his eyes, hee is no regenerate man, whoſe eyes are not reſtrained by his heart.
Oh Bathſheba, how wert thou waſhed from thine vncleanneſſe, when thou yeeldedſt 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 infirmitie of ſexe; and the importunitie 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 ſinne more than death? Was not thy Iuſtice woont to puniſh this ſinne with no leſſe than death? Did not thy very calling call thee to a protection and preſeruation of Iuſtice, of Chaſtitie in thy ſubiects? Didſt thou want ſtore of Wiues of thine owne? wert thou reſtrayned from taking more? Was there no beautie in Iſrael, but in a Subiects Marriage-bed? Wert thou ouercome by the vehement ſollicitations 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 preuayling? Oh keepe thou vsus that preſumptuous ſinnes preuayle not ouer vsus; So only ſhall wee bee free from great offences.
The Suites of Kings are Imperatiue; Ambition did now proue a Bawd to Luſt. Bathſheba yeeldeth to offend God, to diſhonour her Husband, to clog and wound her owne Soule, to abuſe her bodie: Diſhoneſtie growes bold, when it is countenanced with greatneſſe. Eminent perſons had need be carefull of their demaunds; they ſinne by authoritie, that are ſolicited by the mightie.
Had Bathſheba beene mindfull of her Matrimoniall fidelitie, perhaps, Dauid had beene ſoone checked in his inordinate deſire; her facilitie furthers the ſinne. The firſt motioner of euill is moſt faultie, but as in quarrels, ſo in offences, the ſecond blow (which is the conſent) makes the fray. Good Ioſeph was moued to folly, by his great and beautifull Miſtris, this fire fell vponupon wet Tinder, and therefore ſoone went out.
Sinne is not acted alone; if but one partie be 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 miſſe-led by that transformed Angell of light; The action is that wee muſt regard, not the perſon; Let the mouer bee neuer ſo glorious, if he ſtirre vsus to euill, he muſt be entertained with defiance.
The God that knowes how to rayſe good out of euill, bleſſes an adulterous copulation with that increaſe, which he denyes to the chaſt imbracements of honeſt Wedlocke: 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 heart? Where are thoſe holy Meditations, which had woont 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 ſhouldeſt rather hauehave beſtowed in preuenting it: The beſt of Gods Children may not onelyonly bee drenched in the waues of ſinne, but lye in them for the time, and perhaps ſinke twice to the bottome; what Hypocrite could hauehave done worſe, than ſtudie how to couer the face of his ſinne from the eyes of men, whiles hee regarded not the ſting of ſinne in his Soule?
As there are ſome Acts, wherein the Hypocrite is a Saint, ſo there are ſome, wherein the greateſt Saint vponupon Earth may bee an Hypocrite; Saul did thus goe about to colour his ſinne, and is curſed; The Veſſels of MercieMercy and Wrath, are not euer diſtinguiſhable by their actions. Hee makes the difference that will hauehave merciemercy on whom he will, and whom he will, he 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 farre fetcht Queſtions, is diſmiſſed to his houſe, not without a preſent of fauour; Dauid could not but imagine, that the beautie of his Bathſheba, muſt needs bee attractiue enough to an Husband, whom long abſence in Warres, had with-held all that while from ſo pleaſing a Bed; neyther could hee thinke, that ſince that face, and thoſe breſts had power to allure himſelfe to an vnlawfull luſt, it could be 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 ſleepes at the doore of the Kings Palace, making choice of a ſtonie Pillow, vnderunder the Canopie of Heauen, rather than the delicate Bed of her, whom he thought as honeſt, as he knew faire. The Arke (ſaith hee) 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 my 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 auſteritie, 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 bee happy alone? Warre and Luſt had wont to bee reputed friends; thy breſt is not more full of courage than chaſtity, and is ſo farre 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 bee farre from embracing; euen the beſt actions are not alwayes ſeaſonable, much leſſe the indifferent: Hee that euer takes libertie to doe what hee may, ſhall offend no leſſe, than hee that ſometimes takes libertie to doe what hee may not.
If any thing, the Arke of GOD is fitteſt to leade our times; according as that is eyther diſtreſſed, or proſpereth, ſhould wee frame our mirth, or mourning. To dwell in ſeeled 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, O Ieruſalem, let my right hand forget her cunning, If I doe not remember thee, let my tongue cleaue to the roofe of my mouth; yea, if I preferre not Hieruſalem to my chiefe ioy.
As eueryevery man is a limme of the Communitie, ſo muſt hee bee affected with the eſtate of the vniuerſall bodie, whether healthfull, or languiſhing; It did not more aggrauate Dauids ſinne, that whiles the Arke and Iſrael was in hazard and diſtreſſe, hee could finde time to looſe the reines to wanton deſires, and actions, than it magnifies the religious zeale of Vriah, that hee abandons comfort, till he ſee the Arke and Iſrael victorious.
Common dangers, or calamities muſt (like the rapt motion) carrie our hearts contrarie to the wayes of our priuate occaſions. He that cannot bee moued with words, ſhall bee tried with Wine: Vriah had equally proteſted againſt feaſting at home, and ſocietie with his wife; To the one, the authoritie of a King forceth 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 auſteritie. But Wine is a mocker, when it goes plauſibly in, no man can imagine how it will rage and tyrannize; hee that receiues that Traytour within his gates, ſhall too late complaine of ſurprizall. Like vntounto that ill ſpirit, it inſinuates ſweetly, but in the end, it bytes like a Serpent, and hurts like a Cockatrice. Euen good Vriah is made drunke; the holieſt ſoule may be ouer-taken; It is hard gaine-ſaying, where a King beginnes an health to a ſubiect; Where, oh where, will this wickedneſſe end? Dauid will now procure the ſinne of another, to hide his owne; Vriahs drunkenneſſe is more Dauids offence, than 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, hee 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 than Wine; Whiles that with-holdes, in vaine ſhall the fury of the Grape attempt to carry Vriah to his owne Bed. Sober Dauid is now worſe than drunken Vriah. Had not the King of Iſrael beene more intoxicate with ſinne; than Vriah with drinke, hee had not in a ſober intemperance climbed vp into that Bed, which the drunken temperance of Vriah refuſed.
If Dauid had bin but himſelfe, 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 frō him, that he may be ſmitten, and dye.) What is becomne of thee, O thou good ſpirit, that hadſt woont to guide thy choſen Seruant in his former wayes? Is not this the man, whom we 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 hee ſhould otherwiſe hauehave doted; now, by many cunning windings, Satan riſes vp to that tentation, and preuailes; that ſhall bee done for a colour of guiltineſſe, whereof the foule would hauehave hated to bee immediately guiltie; Euen thoſe, that finde a iuſt horror, in leaping downe from ſome high Tower, yet may bee perſwaded to deſcend by ſtayres to the bottome. Hee knowes not where he ſhall ſtay, that hath willingly flipt into a knowne wickedneſſe.
How many doth an eminent offender draw with him into euill? It could not bee, but that diuers of the Attendants both of Dauid and Bathſheba muſt bee conſcious to that adulterie; Great mens ſinnes are ſeldome ſecret; And now Ioab muſt be fetcht in, as acceſſary to the murder: How muſt this example needs harden Ioab againſt the conſcience of Abners bloud? Whiles he cannot but thinke, Dauid cannot auenge that in mee, which he acteth himſelfe.
Honour is pretended to poore Vriah, death is meant. This man was one of the Worthies of Dauid; their courage ſought glorie in the difficulteſt exploits. That reputation had neuer beene purchaſed without attempts of equall danger; Had not the Leader and Followers of Vriah beene more treacherours, than his Enimies were ſtrong, hee had come off with Victory; Now hee was not the firſt or laſt that periſhed by his friends. Dauid hath forgotten, that himſelfe was in like ſort betrayed in his Maſters intention, vponupon the dowrie of the Philiſtims-fore-skinnes. 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 friend, the hoſt of God muſt ſhamefully turne their backes vponupon the Ammonites; all that Iſraelitiſh bloud muſt bee ſhed, that murder muſt be ſeconded with diſſimulation, and all this to hide one adultery. O God, thou hadſt neuer ſuffered ſo deare a Fauourite of thine to fall ſo fearefully, if thou hadſt not meant to make him an vniuerſall example to Mankind; of not preſuming, of not deſpairing; How can wee preſume of not ſinning, or deſpayre for ſinning, when wee finde ſo great a Saint thus fallen, thus riſen.