virtue, and overcome with anguish at the degradation so cruelly and unmeritedly cast upon her, and exemplary as she was in the observance of the rules of chastity, and ready to exercise the amiable virtues of Sisterly love and charity, yet to render equal the Ways of PROVIDENCE, and to comfort the Broken-hearted, the hope of a Judgment to come must have been present with her, opening to her the prospect of those Mansions, Where the Wicked cease from troubling, and the Weary

are at rest.

The threefold iniquity of Amnon in deceiving so grossly a Father so attentively alive to his reasonable wants and wishes; in deflouring so lovely a Female, whom, from the nearness of her connection with him, and especially from her assiduous and personal kindness towards him, he was most especially bound to honour and protect; and in ultimately discarding her as a Vagrant and an Outcast, instead of soothing her sorrows by reconciliation and union, must, indeed, have agonized any Parent's bosom. But to One so susceptible of right as was David, the anguish occasioned to his mind must have been extreme, and that anguish heightened, in no inconsiderable degree, by the painful recollection of his own but too recent transgressions, and the fearful apprehension that such an example may have left without restraint the youthful passion of his Son, and have influenced him to set at nought the dictates of his conscience and the Precepts of his GOD. Indeed, one powerful determent in ourselves from the commission of sin should be the fear of the effect it may have in superinducing the commission of it by Others, and the consequent aggravation, in the Sight of HEAVEN, of the enormity of our own.

The resentment borne by Absalom towards Amnon, for the dishonour practised by him on his Sister, was but too natural, and to a certain extent, was not inconsistent with the precepts of Religion. Had Amnon taken to him Tamar to Wife, the Anger of his Brother might have been appeased; but by his not doing so, he was magnifying his guilt; and, in every day's continuance of his neglect of the Sister, was more deeply wounding the Brother's feelings to hold converse with such a Man was not to be expected; and thus did sin shut out all access to that blissful communion, which exists where Brethren dwell together in unity: an union which David, who knew so well how to describe, knew also how justly to appreciate, and could not, therefore, but equally lament its absence, especially among the Children of his own loins.

The passion of revenge is what the Spiritual Man will not venture to harbour in his bosom; for though he be angry, and most especially at the vices of his FellowCreatures, yet in the manifestation of that anger he sinneth not, nor will he suffer the sun to go down or to rise upon his wrath. But the carnal Man, unhappily for himself, as well as for Others, is not like-minded; he forgetteth to Whom Vengeance Belongs, and, in the abuse of assumed power, chooses himself to repay; thus we see in Absalom the vindictive disposition was cherished through the long lapse of two years, and at last burst forth to the shedding a Brother's blood, and that in an hour when his Soul was the least prepared to meet its MAKER, when the heart was merry with wine, and altogether set on the good things of this Life; at a time when no disposition to sorrow for sin, with that godly sorrow that worketh repentance, had been manifested. To what a succession of calamity did the ungoverned propensities of Amnon lead, and how fatally was the flame of them fanned by a Parent's indiscretion! Adultery and deliberate murder disarmed him of a Parent's moral authority; and by the fierceness of their glare, when reflected from mature age, eclipsed the errors of youth. Deep as must have been the measure of David's distress at the conduct of his Son Amnon, yet that of Absalom must have greatly enlarged his sorrow, and still more embittered the reflections upon himself for having given Each such sanction from his example; but in proportion to his sense of his guilt, and his apprehension of the fatal consequences flowing

K

from it, was, doubtless, the sincerity of his repentance. Instead, therefore, of priding ourselves on being incapable of falling into so great iniquity, we should employ our thoughts, as arising out of these melancholy events, in gratitude to GOD for having hitherto Protected us by His HOLY SPIRIT, if happily He have so Done, from these so great sins; and by imploring Him in Mercy so to Continue to us His Grace, that we may escape therefrom, and from all other snares and temptations of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, unto our Lives' end.

That Jonadab should have escaped from the punishment that his wicked counsel should seem to have merited, to an extent scarcely inferior to that of Amnon, is another argument in favour of that expectation of the Great Day, when Men shall be Judged according to their works, and they, that have done good, shall be Blessed of their FATHER, Which is in Heaven: and they, that have done or counselled evil, shall feel the terrors of an everlastingly accusing conscience, and endure for ever the consciousness of The DIVINE Displeasure, shut out alike from the Presence of the Visual Glory of their CREATOR, and from the hope of His Pardon and Reconciliation.

The judgment of David seems to have been clouded by a Parent's weakness and partiality: the beauty of Absalom's person misled him from considering the state of his heart, and from strenuously cultivating therein, with a Father's industry and anxiety, a growth of the more excellent and enduring beauties of the Soul; though, indeed, it was not for him, with the recollection of his own trespasses before him, to be extreme to mark what was done amiss by his Son; and the separation from a beloved Child must have been received as an additional though but too justly-merited Chastisement of his own sins; yet still does this part of David's history, as affecting his Children, shew the importance of instilling into minds, at the earliest dawn of reason, the fear of The LORD and an obedience to His Word, as the only effectual means of keeping down the growth and increase of those worst passions of Man's nature, which, otherwise, like weeds in a neglected garden, quickly spring up and multiply therein. Had Amnon and Absalom been so taught by David, and taught with all the watchfulness that is indispensably neces sary to the forming, under the Countenance and Assistance of DIVINE Grace, right principles in the heart, how many bitter pangs of self-condemnation and Parental sorrow would he have been spared! and how profitable, therefore, for instruction or reproof to Others may this narrative, full as it is of distressing incidents, prove, if rightly applied!

***"Now Joab, the Son of Zeruiah, perceived that the King's heart was toward Absalom: and Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise Woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a Mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil; but be as a Woman, that had a long time mourned for the Dead; and come to the King, and speak on this manner unto him!' So Joab put the words in her mouth. And when the Woman of Tekoah spake to the King, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, 'Help, O King! And the King said unto her, 'What aileth thee?' And she answered, 'I am indeed a Widow-Woman, and mine Husband is dead: and thy Handmaid had two Sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was None to part them; but the One smote the Other, and slew him: and, behold, the whole Family is risen against thine Handmaid, and they said, 'Deliver him that smote his Brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his Brother, whom he slew; and we will destroy the Heir also! And so they shall quench my coal which is left; and shall not leave to my Husband neither name nor Remainder upon the earth.' And the King said unto the Woman, Go to thine house! and I will give charge concerning thee.' And the Woman of Tekoah said unto the King, 'My Lord, O King, the iniquity be on me, and on my Father's house: and the King and his

Throne be guiltless!' And the King said, 'Whosoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me! and he shall not touch thee any more.' Then said she, 'I pray thee, let the King remember The LORD, thy GOD, that thou wouldest not suffer the Revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my Son!' And he said, 'As The LORD Liveth, there shall not one hair of thy Son fall to the earth.' Then the Woman said, 'Let thine Handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my Lord, the King!' And he said, 'Say on!' And the Woman said, 'Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the People of GOD? for the King doth speak this thing, as One which is faulty, in that the King doth not fetch home again his Banished: for we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again: neither doth GOD Respect any Person; yet doth He Devise Means that His Banished be not expelled from Him. Now, therefore, that I am come to speak of this thing unto my Lord, the King, it is because the People have made me afraid; and thy Handmaid said, 'I will now speak unto the King: it may be that the King will perform the request of his Handmaid for the King will hear, to deliver his Handmaid out of the hand of the Man that would destroy me and my Son together out of the Inheritance of GOD. Then thine Handmaid said, The word of my Lord, the King, shall now be comfortable for as an Angel of GOD, so is my Lord, the King, to discern good and bad: therefore The LORD, thy GOD, will be with thee.' Then the King answered and said unto the Woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee!' And the Woman said, 'Let my Lord, the King, now speak!' And the King said, 'Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this?' And the Woman answered and said, As thy Soul liveth, my Lord, the King, None can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my Lord, the King, hath spoken: for thy Servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine Handmaid: to fetch about this form of speech hath thy Servant Joab done this thing and my Lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an Angel of GOD, to know all things, that are in the Earth.' And the King said unto Joab, Behold, now, I have done this thing; go, therefore, bring the young Man Absalom again!' And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the King; and Joab said, To-day, thy Servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my Lord, O King, in that the King hath fulfilled the request of his Servant.' So Joab arose, and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. And the King said, Let him turn to his own house; and let him not see my face!' So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the King's face. But in all Israel there was None to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty; from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him: and when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it; because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it ;) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the King's weight. And unto Absalom there were born three Sons and one Daughter, whose name was Tamar; she was a Woman of a fair countenance. So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem and saw not the King's face: therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the King; but he would not come to him; and when he sent again the second time, he would not come therefore he said unto his Servants, See, Joab's field is near mine; and he hath barley there, go and set it on fire!' And Absalom's Servants set the field on fire. Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, 'Wherefore have thy Servants set my field on fire?' And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the King to say, 'Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now, therefore, let me see the King's face! So Joab came to the King and

6

told him and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the King, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the King; and the King kissed Absalom."-2 Sam. xiv.

It was, probably, the custom of the Jews at that time, as well as subsequently, to be addressed with most force and effect by parables: the instance of Nathan has already been under review, and the mode thus adopted by Joab is, in effect, only another variety of that figurative appeal to the heart. If the King could speak pardon to a Stranger, though in a less degree offending against the moral law of Brotherly love, and could interpose between the thirst for vengeance and its inflicetion, it was but reasonable to suppose he might be led to a reversal of his sentence of personal banishment in favour of his own Son, more especially since the offence, of which he had been guilty, had some degree of palliation in it from the unrigh teous cause in the base conduct of the Sufferer, that led to it; and still more as the continuance of the banishment had extended through four long years, in which the Parent's eye had never been gladdened with the sight of a darling Son. Joab, therefore, shewed equally his own wisdom, and his devotion to the King's happiness in endeavouring in the way he did, to bring about the reconciliation; and, notwithstanding his privity of the King's own crying offences, which left the single act of a Brother's blood, when incited by a Sister's deflouring, but comparatively a minor offending, yet would he not awaken in the King's mind the heart-rending recollec tion of what ought instantaneously, and in the earliest stage of the offence, to have obtained Absalom's pardon; but thus circuitously, and with a delicacy the most tender and refined, wrought his purpose of restoring Absalom to Jerusalem, and still waited the gradual approach of the season of perfect reconciliation on his Father's part. From all which, the exalted virtues and wisdom of David, with the unfortunate exceptions before enlarged upon, are inferable; and since the valiant and discreet Joab, the Commander-in-Chief of the Israelitish Armies, forbore to accuse, it would well become us to be more studious of avoiding than of censuring our Superiors' errors; or when compelled to condemn the offence, yet rather to regard with compassion, than with contempt, its Perpetrator. To a mind so piously directed as was, generally, that of David, the argument on the uncertainty of this Life, and of the Forbearance and Mercy of The Gracious GIVER of it, and the Impartiality of His Judgment, must have been powerful; for (true indeed it is) we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again: neither doth GOD Respect any Person, yet doth He Devise Means that His Banished be not expelled from Him. And in whom more obviously were Those Means Exemplified than in David himself, whose Restoration to his Country, and Rescue from the persecuting spirit of Saul, had been so Miraculously Accom plished by the Especial Providence of GOD?

Whether Absalom's destruction of Joab's barley field was the suggestion of Joab himself, to give him a pretext for again interceding with David to become reconciled to his Son, may be questionable; but it is probable that his motive in the interference he made, was rather a desire to give peace and satisfaction to the mind of David, by healing the wound that the absence of his favourite Son occasioned, than any principle of extravagant partiality towards Absalom; and throughout this negotiation, the utmost tenderness of feeling in Joab for his Sovereign's happiness, and an equal reverence for his Sovereign's honour, are conspicuous. And truly gratifying must have been to him the consideration of the success, that attended his peace-making efforts. Had Joab ceased to be a Shedder of blood, how honourable would have been, in general contemplation, his old age, as the faithful Servant and firm Friend and trusty Counsellor of the most pious of Earthly Kings! But his future history, as we shall afterwards see, demonstrates a sad inconsistency of character, and the fiend-like influence of

jealousy over a heart not otherwise insensible of, or inattentive to, the noblest =of impulses.

The contemplation of King David restored, and by whose means, after four years' long and painful separation, to the chief Object of his Parental affections, when, as we shall presently see, those affections were ill placed, shows how our prejudices are apt to mislead our judgment, and how erroneous, frequently, is Man's estimate of his own happiness. A Father's partiality misled the otherwise penetrating and frequently Divinely Inspired mind of King Ďavid; and Joab, who was so faithful in allegiance to his Earthly Sovereign, was unmindful of that higher and paramount loyalty due to That LORD, Who Ruleth over all the Kingdoms of the Earth.

to

**“And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty Men to run before him and Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate; and it was so, that when any Man, that had a controversy, came to the King for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what City art thou?' and he said, 'Thy Servant is of One of the Tribes of Israel.' And Absalom said unto him, 'See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no Man deputed of the King to hear thee!' Absalom said, moreover, 'Oh that I were made Judge in the Land, that any Man, which hath any suit or cause, might come unto me, and I would do him justice!' And it was so, that when any Man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand and took him, and kissed him and on this manner did Absalom to all Israel, that came to the King for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the Men of Israel. And it came pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the King, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto The LORD in Hebron! for thy Servant vowed a vow, while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, 'If The LORD shall Bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve The LORD.' And the King said unto him, Go in peace!' So he arose, and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent Spies throughout all the Tribes of Israel, saying, 'As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron!" And with Absalom went two hundred Men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing. And Absalom sent for Ahithophel, the Gilonite, David's Counsellor, from his City, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices; and the conspiracy was strong; for the People increased continually with Absalom. And there came a Messenger to David, saying, 'The hearts of the Men of Israel are after Absalom!' And David said unto all his Servants, that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee! for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the City with the edge of the sword!' And the King's Servants said unto the King, Behold, thy Servants are ready to do whatsoever my Lord, the King, shall appoint.' And the King went forth, and all his Household after him; and the King left ten Women, which were Concubines, to keep the house: and the King went forth, and all the People after him, and tarried in a place that was far off and all his Servants passed on beside him and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred Men, which came after him from Gath, passed on before the King. Then said the King to Ittai, the Gittite, 'Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the King: for thou art a Stranger, and also an Exile: whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may return thou, and take back thy Brethren: Mercy and Truth be with thee!' And Ittai answered the King, and said, 'As The LORD Liveth, and as my Lord, the King, liveth, surely in what place my Lord, the King, shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy Servant be.' And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over!?