son should more than execute the plan which he had devised. Assurances were moreover given, that in the event of their paying constant obedience to the Divine laws, his posterity should, throughout many generations, occupy the throne of Israel; while the promise, first granted to Adam in Paradise, and afterward repeated in succession to the patriarchs, was renewed, though in obscure terms, to him. For all these acts of mercy David was exceedingly thankful, and he expressed his gratitude, as he was accustomed to do, in a hymn of striking beauty.

From that time David gave himself, during many years, to the prosecution of wars and conquests. Not only were the Philistines subdued, and Gath, their chief city, taken, but Moab, the Syrians of Zobah, the Syrians of Damascus, the Ammonites, the Amalekites, and the Edomites, all felt the weight of his arm, till the bounds of the kingdom of Israel may be said to have extended over the whole space originally promised to Abraham. This done, David returned, loaded with spoils, to Jerusalem, and piously dedicated the precious metals which he had taken to the service of the tabernacle.

David's greatness was now at its height. Victorious abroad, and the sovereign of a united and prosperous empire at home, he conducted himself with strict attention to the laws of Jehovah, by placing fit persons over each department in the state, and by regulating his domestic habits according to the dictates of piety and honour. In particular, he faithfully fulfilled his promises to Saul and to Jonathan, by granting to Mephibosheth, the son of the latter, all the lands held by his grandfather, and by treating with marked kindness even Ziba, because he had been a faithful servant to his master. It would have been well for him, had he possessed the same control over his own passions, which he was in the habit of exercising over the passions of others.

Things were in this state, when Nahash, King of the Ammonites, from whom David had, in former times, received hospitality, died, and was succeeded by his son, Hanun. To this prince the Hebrew monarch sent ambassadors, to congratulate him on his accession to the throne, and to renew the league of amity which had subsisted between Nahash and himself. But the young king, listening

to the advice of evil counsellors, put upon the Hebrew envoys the most grievous insults which it was possible to bestow. He caused their beards to be shaved on one side of the face, their garments to be cut short by the middle, and in this plight dismissed them. David's indignation was violently and justly roused. He ordered Joab to march at the head of a great army, for the purpose of vindicating the honour of his crown; and that warrior, finding nothing to oppose him by the way, proceeded rapidly to Rabbah. Here he encountered a considerable body of Syrians, with whom the Ammonites had formed an alliance drawn up in the open country, while the Ammonites, who esteemed themselves less expert in warlike operations, held the strong ground about the town; but Joab made such a disposition of his forces, as to engage both divisions at the same moment. A great and decisive victory crowned his efforts; but the season of the year being too far advanced to authorize the commencement of a siege, he contented himself with chasing the fugitives within the walls, and returned home.

In the mean while, David had conducted the war in person, with his usual vigour, against Hadarezer, the Syrian monarch. Having come up with his main army at Helam, he defeated it with prodigious slaughter, slaying the general Shobach, and destroying both his cavalry and chariots, which so alarmed the petty princes, who acknowledged Hadarezer as their feudal superior, that one and all hastened to make their peace with the conqueror. Finally, Hadarezer himself sued for pardon, and the Ammonites, deserted by their allies, stood alone to abide the shock of David's fury. Nor was it long before the storm burst upon them. In the early part of spring, as soon as it was practicable to take the field, David again despatched Joab against Rabbah, who, after laying waste the open country, and possessing himself of numerous outposts, closely invested the place.

1052.

Such was the condition of public affairs, when DaB. C. vid, who had not accompanied the army, beheld, one evening, from the top of his house, a beautiful woman in the bath. He instantly conceived for her a violent attachment, and though he learned that she was the wife of a brave and faithful soldier, his passion so completely

overcame his reason, that he scrupled not to set all moral and religious obligations at defiance. The consequences were fatal both to himself and others. After several fruitless efforts to save Bath-sheba's reputation, the king formed the desperate resolution of ordering Joab to expose her husband Uriah in battle, and the latter perished by the swords, indeed, of the Ammonites, but by the contrivance of his sovereign. This fact was no sooner communicated to him, than David, with perfect composure, took Bath-sheba to wife, and after a short campaign in person against Rabbah, which he took by storm, inflicting a terrible punishment upon its rulers, he returned to Jerusalem in apparent forgetfulness that the laws of God were not to be violated with impunity.

Time passed, and the partner of his guilt presented him with a son, the fruit of their illicit intercourse. Hitherto no judgment had befallen him; nor had he been taught, by any palpable sign, that Jehovah was offended; but now the announcement was made after a fashion which came home to the bosom of the conscience-struck monarch. The prophet Nathan appeared before him, and in a parable of singular beauty, in which a rich man is represented as seizing upon the solitary ewe-lamb of his poor neighbour, compelled him to pronounce a heavy sentence of condemnation against himself. This was precisely what the prophet desired to effect. He showed David that he was the unfeeling individual who esteemed the sufferings of a neighbour as nothing, provided they opened the way to his own gratifications; and he informed him, that though God, in consideration of his penitence, would spare his own life, a heavy penalty would nevertheless be exacted from him; nor did any great while elapse ere his punishment began.

The child to which Bath-sheba had given birth died, in spite of the urgent prayers and profound humiliation of its father. This was but the commencement of sorrows, which the birth of Solomon can hardly be said to have materially alleviated; and the monarch's sufferings became, for a time, more oppressive, in proportion as their tide rolled on. Among a numerous offspring of sons, David had only one daughter, who was born to him by Maacha, the daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur, and was called VOL. I.-B b.

Tamar. Like her brother Absalom, Tamar was a person of surpassing beauty, and her beauty excited a violent and unnatural passion in the bosom of Amnon, David's eldest son by another wife. It was not, however, in the young man's power immediately to gratify his wishes, because the daughters of a royal house were then, as they are now, kept secluded in eastern countries even from the society of their brothers; but at last, through the contrivance of a friend named Jonadab, he forcibly accomplished his design. This was scarcely done, however, ere his love degenerated into hatred, and he thrust the miserable girl, with insult and loathing, from his presence.

It was but natural that Tamar should communicate her misfortune both to her father and her brother Absalom. She did so; and while the former expressed his indignation in strong terms, the latter, meditating a deeper revenge, said nothing. By this means he contrived to impress upon the minds of the public a persuasion that he intended to pass by the affront unnoticed, because the individual who had put it upon him and his sister was heir apparent to the throne. But Absalom entertained very different intentions. Having permitted an interval of two years to elapse, he invited all his brothers, with Amnon among the rest, to a rustic fête at his country-seat at Hazor, where armed men suddenly burst in upon the ravisher, and butchered him in his cups. As might be supposed, the event created no trifling sensation, both at Jerusalem and elsewhere. At first, a rumour prevailed that Absalom had slain the whole of his brothers, which threw David into an excess of sorrow; and though the return of the horrified company to the capital established the groundlessness of the rumour, enough had been done to wring the heart of a parent more than commonly attached to his children.

David felt once more that his sins had been great, as he contemplated the absolute destruction of his domestic peace; and he acknowledged in bitterness of spirit the justice of a punishment, of which the full amount had not yet been experienced.

Having thus satisfied his revenge, Absalom fled to the court of his maternal grandfather, where, during three years, he continued in exile; at the d of which time, Joab, perceiving that his father's anger had abated, con

trived to have an order for his recall issued. Two years more, however, were permitted to elapse before Ďavid would consent to see him; nor was it till after repeated intercessions on the part of his nobles, that the feelings of the parent were permitted to prevail over those of the monarch. But it would have been well for David had he given way to no such amiable weakness. Turbulent and ambitious, Absalom no sooner found himself restored to his original place in society, than he formed the infamous design of dethroning his father; and he matured his plans with a degree of subtlety, which could hardly fail of ensuring their success.

There appears to have been about this time an B. C. absence of due attention to the cares of government 1036. at David's court. Whether it was that Joab's influence was excessive, and that, like other men who had wrought the state great services, he presumed upon his own merits, we are not told, but the course of justice seems to have been considerably impeded, through the interference of him and his adherents. Absalom was not slow to take advantage of the circumstance. By speaking soothingly to such suitors as found their causes delayed, and throwing out hints that he would willingly assist them, if it were in his power, he gradually insinuated himself into the good opinion of the multitude, till matters were brought, by little and little, to the precise point, whither he was anxious to lead them. Then it was, that having obtained permission of his father to proceed as far as Hebron, under the pretext of performing a vow which he had sworn, when at Geshur, he gathered together a band of daring conspirators, and raising the standard of revolt, openly declared himself king of Israel. Nor was his party inconsiderable, either in point of numbers, or the personal and political weight of such as supported it, seeing that, among others, Ahithophel, one of the most illustrious of David's counsellors, joined the conspiracy, and a large and well-appointed army followed him.

As soon as information was conveyed to David of his son's rebellion, he made haste to evacuate Jerusalem, either because the city was unprepared to withstand a siege, or that he was unwilling to bring upon it so grievous a calamity. He was followed by his guards, his best troops, and