Judah 24, all Israel 17. engaged to spare that unhappy race," needs no other refuta- David over tion than the oath itself. Saul asked David to swear by the Lord, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, that thou I Sam. xxiv. wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house. David 21, 22. gave him his oath accordingly. I will not urge here, that had Saul's family committed crimes worthy of death, David's oath would have been no reason against punishing them according to their deserts; and such punishment, if deserved, had been no breach of his oath. But I shall only observe, that if David did not cut off his seed after him, so as to destroy his name out of his father's house, he did not violate his oath to Saul. Now David did not cut off one single person of Saul's family, whose death had the least tendency to destroy his name out of his father's house. The seed is always reckoned by the males, and not the females of a family, and the name in a father's house could only be preserved by the male descendants. But David gave up only the sons of Saul's concubine, who were not the legal seed of Saul, and those of his eldest daughter, who could only keep up Adriel's name, and not Saul's; and hereby conscientiously observed, without the least violation, his oath to Saul, or need of any mental reservation to help him out. To this it is objected, that if the seed is always reckoned by the males, and not the females, then Jesus Christ could not be the son of David, because he did not descend from David by the male line, but from the female. But it should be observed, that the son by a daughter is as really the son of the grandfather, as a son in the male succession, and that the only difference is, that the succession in a family is kept up by the sons, and not by the females, who by marriage enter into other families, and therefore cannot keep up the names of the families from whence they sprang. Jesus Christ therefore was the son of David, though only so by the mother's side; and as he was not to keep up David's line according to the flesh, it was expressly predicted of him, by a double prophecy, that he should be of the female line. The one, that he should be the seed of the woman; the other, that his mother should be a virgin; so that he could not have been that son of David who was to be the Messiah, and to sit on his throne for ever and ever, had he been David's son by an earthly father. The Judah 24, David over same spirit of prophecy that declared he should be David's all Israel 17. son, as expressly declared that he should be so by the mother; an exception that makes no alteration in the general rule of family's successions, which was constantly amongst the Jews, and almost every nation in the world, in the male line, and not in the female. Nor is it true that "he spared only Mephibosheth," and that "he reserved only one cripple, from whom he could have no apprehensions, and who being the son of Jonathan, gave him the opportunity of making a merit of his gratitude." The history expressly contradicts this assertion, for Mephibosheth had a son, whom he called Micah, who was now old enough to have children, and had four sons, from whom descended a 2 Sam. ix. numerous posterity. See his line in the following table: Saul, Jonathan, Mephibosheth, or Merib-baal, 12. I Chron.viii. 33, 40; ix. 39, 44. Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, Hanau, Ulam, Jeush, Eliphelet. 150 sons and grandsons. Oh faithless David, thus to leave Saul" only one poor cripple!" and who, not withheld by any motives of gratitude, and in r That Micah, Mephibosheth's son, was old enough to have a son at this time is most certain. For, by the marginal chronology of the Bible, Mephibosheth had this son Mi cah, An. C. 1040, and he had been then born some time; and the affair of the Gibeonites, according to the same chronology, was An. C. 1021, which makes a period of nineteen Judah 24, all Israel 17. direct violation of his oath to Saul, did thus wickedly cut off David over all his seed after him, and wholly destroy his name out of his father's house! It appears from what hath been said also, that when it is insinuated that David spared Mephibosheth only because, as a cripple, and dependent on David, he had no room for apprehension from him, it is mere suggestion, and inconsistent with the plainest appearance to the contrary. For as this could not be the reason for his saving Mephibosheth's son Micah, and his family, it is not likely he acted from it in sparing Mephibosheth himself, but from a more worthy motive towards both, out of regard to his oath, and the grateful remembrance he still preserved of his former obligations to and friendship with Jonathan, Mephibosheth's father. This the Scripture asserts; that the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul, 2 Sam. xxi. because of the Lord's oath that was between them, between 7. David and Jonathan the son of Saul. I have one remark more to make on this part of the history, which turns out to David's immortal honour. It is observed, that "some certain contemplations," which are put into David's head, "calling to his remembrance that some of Saul's family were yet living, he concluded it expedient to cut them off, lest they should hereafter prove thorns in his side; and that whenever David projected any schemes, a religious pretence and the assistance of the priests were never wanting." But for this charge there is not any foundation. For Saul's bastard children, and the children by his daughter, could never be thorns in David's side, any more than other people, or the other branches of Saul's family, because incapable of the crown; especially whilst there continued a lineal descent in the male line from Saul himself. David therefore could not be guilty of all this villainy and folly with which he hath been charged, for the sake of cutting off Saul's family, lest they should be thorns in his side, because he cut off none but those who could be no thorns in his side, and suffered all those to live who alone were capable of proving thorns in his side; and therefore years. Now supposing Micah was one or two years old at the time he was said to be young, he must have been twenty or one and twenty years old when the Gibeonites demanded Saul's children. So that Micah Judah 24, David over David projected no such scheme as this of cutting off Saul's all Israel 17. family; yea, his conduct in this affair was directly the reverse of what he must have done had he projected any such scheme; and therefore I must conclude, that as no such scheme was ever projected, there was and could be no occasion for a religious pretence, or the assistance of the priests, to sanctify and accomplish it. There have been, I acknowledge, commotions excited in states by illegitimate children and by descendants in the female line. But I know of no instance in ancient or modern history of any prince, who, remembering that some of his predecessor's family, who might dispute with him his crown by their descent, were living, and concluding it expedient to cut them off, lest they should hereafter prove thorns in his side, should, to answer this end, cut off only the bastard children and those of the daughters, and leave the son and grandson of his predecessor alive to propagate their descendants, and in them claimants to his crown, and thorns in his side, to all generations. Suspicious and jealous tyrants love to make surer work; but David, under a necessity of delivering up some of his predecessor's family to justice, generously preserved the claimants to his crown alive, and delivered up those only from whom he could have nothing to fear, as having no kind of legal right to the government and kingdom. Illustrious prince! be thy name and memory ever revered, thy generosity ever spoken of with praise! who, when forced by Providence to give up to justice some of the guilty family of thy persecutor and sworn enemy, didst, from the greatness of thy mind, thy prevailing humanity, thy regard to thy oath to one who sought thy life, and thy pleasing remembrance of thy once-loved friend, refuse to cut off the seed of him that persecuted thee, and to destroy his name out of his father's house; but didst nourish his seed in thy bosom, maintain it in thy family, suffer it to increase and prosper and spread itself out into numerous branches, even when policy might have dictated other measures, and a wicked craft would certainly have pursued them. Fresh be thy laurels to the latest posterity, and thine unexampled generosity ever be remembered with the veneration and esteem which it claims from all the benevolent and virtuous part of mankind. It should be further mentioned on this occasion, to David's David over Judah 24, honour, that though he was necessitated to deliver up some all Israel17. of Saul's family to justice, to give satisfaction to the injured Gibeonites, yet that he took the first opportunity to pay the last tokens of respect that could be to Saul and his unhappy family. For as soon as ever it appeared that the natural cause of the famine was over, by the return of the rains, David ordered the bones of Saul and Jonathan to be fetched from the men of Jabesh Gilead, who had recovered them from the Philistines, and took them, together with the bones of those that had been hanged up, and buried them honourably in the sepulchre of Kish, Saul's father; whereby he showed that he had no inveterate enmity to Saul's family, but was pleased with the opportunity of showing respect to his name and memory. This whole account concludes with this observation of the historian; They performed all that the king commanded. 2 Sam. xxi. And after that God was entreated for the land. God approved his generosity to the family and remains of his enemy, and, as the reward of it, sent prosperity to him and his people. CHAP. VIII. Wars with the Philistines. 14. Judah 25, AFTER these things, David was again engaged in war with David over the Philistines, and fought four battles with them, in every all18. one of which his usual success attended him; in the first of which the Philistines certainly were the aggressors, and probably in the other three; as there was in each of them a person of a gigantic stature, and in the last of them, one who defied Israel. The Philistines were irreconcilable enemies to the Hebrews, and took every occasion to insult and attack them. And thus much must be said in honour of David as a soldier and conqueror, that, in far the greater number, if not in all his wars, he was forced to them by the injustice of the neighbouring princes and nations, who envied his greatness, invaded his territories, and drew upon themselves the chastisements they suffered. Nor is there any instance to be produced in which he behaved himself with cruelty or contrary to the laws of humanity in the management of these wars, or beyond what the law of arms in those times and countries M m |