·LIB. XV. David with BathfhebaandUriah. A! dwell in feekd 1:-!oufes, whilesrhe Temple !yes wa(te, is the ground ofGods juft quarrel!. How £l10!1 we !inga Song ofrhe Lord in a £\range tarid;ifl forgetthee,O Jerufa- . km,let my right hand forger her cunning; If! do nor rrmember thee ,let my tongue ckavetotheroofeofmy mouth; yea, if! preferre not Hierufalem tomy chiefe joyAs every man is a limb of the Community, fomu!l he be affeC<ed with the c!lateofthe univerfall body,whether he:tlrhfull,or languiflting; It did not more aggravate D•vtdt fin, that whiles the Arkeand Ifrael was in hazard and diftre!fe, he could findetime to !oofe the rcines to wanton ddires,and aCtions, then it magnifies the religious zeale of Priah,thar he abandons comfort,till he fee the Ark and Ifrael B viCCorious. Common dangers, or calamities muft (like the upt motion) carry our hearts contrary to the wayes of our private occafions. Hee that cannot be moved with words, Otall be rryed with Wine: Yriah had equaily protefted againft fea!ling at home, and fociery with his Wife; To the one, the authority ofa King forceth him abroad, in hope that rhe exce!fe thereof!hall force him to the other: le is like, that holy Captainc intended onely to yeeld fo much obedience, as might conlift with hiscourfe ofau(lerity. But Wine is a mocker, when it goes plau~bly in, no man can imagine how it will rage and tyrannize; he that receives that traycor wirhin his gates, Otall too late complaine of furprizall. Like unto that ill fpirir, it infinuatesfweerly,bur in the endit bites like a Serpent, andhurrslikea Cockatrice, Even C good Yriah is made drunk; the holitft foule may be overtaken; it is hard gain-faying, where a King begins an health to a fubjeC<; Where, ohwhere, will this wickedndfe end~ David will now procure the !inne ofanother, tohide hisownc;Vriahs drunkenne!fe is ma<e Davids offence, then his. It is weakly yeddcd to of the one, which was wilfully intendedofthe other.The onewas as the Sinner,rheother as the Tempter. Had not David knowne, thatWine was an inducement toLuft, hee had fpared thofe fupernuous Cups. Experience had taught him, thattl!e eye debauched with Wine,will look upon (!rangewomen: The Drunbrd may be any thing,fave good. Yet in rhisrhe ayme failed ; Graceis ftrongerrhen Wine : Whiles char withhqlds, in vaine01all the fury ofthe Grape attempt to carry Vriah ro his owneBed. D Sober Davidis now worfethen drunken Priah. Had not the King of Ifrael been more intoxicate with finne., thtn Yriah with drink~:!, he had not in a fober intem. perance climbed up into that Bed, wh1ch the drunken temperance of Yriah refufed. . IfDavidhad been but himfelf,how had he loved,how hadhehonaurcd this hone!land religious zeale, in his fo fairhfull Servant; whom now he crudly feekes to reward with death~That fa.2which \>V~oe cannot hide,the Sword !hall;YriAh !hall be:ue his owne Mtttimrt.s unto Ioah;Put ye Vriah in the fOre . fi'ont ofthe jlrength ofihe Battl,,andrtet~l< backfom him, that"' may b'Jmitu,.,and Ji,. What is become of thee,O thou good fpirit, that hadft wonrroguide thy chofen Servantin his former wayesdsnor this the man,whomwe larelyfaw fo heart·fmirten,for but cutting off E the lap ofthe Garment ofa wicked Ma!ler,rhor is now thus lavifl1 ofthe bloud ofa gracious and wcl-deferving Servant~ Could it be likdy, that fo worthy a Captain could fall alone ~ Could David have expiated this fin with his own bloud, it had beene but well fpenr ; bur to cover his fin with the innocebt bloud of others, was :1 crime above afloniflnnent. . Oh the deep deceitfulneffe oflinne! If rhe Devil! fltould have come to David ~n the.moftlovely form of Bathjb,h•her felf,and atthe firft £l10"ld have dirccllyand 1n piamtelmes,fohmed him to murder hi; belt Servant ; I doubt nor but he would havefpat fcorn in that face, on which he !hould orherwi[e have doted ; now, by many cunning windings, Satan rifes up to that renration, and privaiks : that ft_1all be done for a colour of guiltineffe, whereofthe foule ;vou!.d have hated to be lmmed!atdyguilty: Even rhofe, that finde a juft horror,in leapingdownc from fome Aaaaa hi h 1105
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