and charged Ziba and his servants with the management of that large property. With royal hospitality, Mephibosheth was invited as a perpetual guest at the king's table, and was treated as one of David's own sons.

About this time died Nahash, the king of Ammon, who in the days of David's wanderings had befriended the aged Jesse and his house. Prompted by gratitude, David sent messengers to Hanun, the son of Nahash, to convey his sympathy and condolence. But the Ammonite statesmen, misconstruing David's friendly intentions, roused their master's suspicion, and persuaded him into the belief that those messengers had come as spies to explore the capital and the country. The ungenerous Hanun listened to these imputations, and insulted David's ambassadors in a manner held most disgraceful among Orientals, by shaving off half their beards and curtailing their garments. The men, ashamed thus to appear in Jerusalem, were bidden by the king to stay at Jericho until their beards should have grown again. But Hanun, now justly afraid of David's vengeance, actively prepared for war. He gathered mercenaries far and wide in those districts of Syria which were still embittered against the Hebrews by recent humiliations. An enormous host was assembled. The Syrian hirelings were to attack the Israelites in the field, while the Ammonites were to await them before their towns. David entrusted the command of his army to his long-tried general Joab, who divided. his forces into two parts, retaining one half for himself to meet the Syrians, and confiding the other to his brother Abishai to fight against the Ammonites. Be firm,' he said to him, and let us be firm for our people, and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what seems good to Him.' The brothers agreed to come to each other's rescue if the chances of the war should render it necessary. The Syrians were now impetuously assailed by Joab; they

were completely routed and fled in dismay. The Ammonites, disheartened by this disaster, sought refuge in their towns. But the indomitable Hadadezer assembled a fresh and larger army recruited from the countries of the Euphrates, and prepared for battle at Helam, on the eastern side of the Jordan. Now David himself went out to oppose this formidable array. Victory was faithful to him; for, in a fearful carnage that ensued, the enemy's chief general was captured and slain, and the survivors fled in wild confusion. The Syrians, seeing that their strength was utterly broken, submitted to David, and consented to pay tribute.

But Hanun, who had wickedly occasioned this bloody war, was not to remain unpunished. Joab vowed that his sword should not rest until the country of Ammon was completely subdued, and Rabbah, the great city, conquered. The hosts of Israel marched out upon this distant campaign, and with them went, as in olden time, the Ark of the Lord. Joab led the army, passed rapidly through the enemy's country, and commenced the difficult and wearisome siege of Rabbah. David meanwhile remained in Jerusalem.

95. DAVID'S SIN.

[2 SAM. XI. XII.]

Connected with this war and siege is a grievous crime committed by David. It marks the beginning of the decrease of his prosperity. His moral debasement ushered in the dark and mournful decline of his reign. He indeed repented bitterly, but he could not change the sad course of his existence.

Uriah, a Hittite, and one of the bravest officers in the

Hebrew army, had a beautiful wife called Bathsheba. David saw her and instantly conceived for her a great passion. In order to make her his wife, he determined upon the death of Uriah. He summoned him from the camp at Rabbah to Jerusalem, and sent him back with a letter to Joab, in which he commanded the general to place him at the most dangerous post, to cut him off from assistance, and thus to expose him to certain death. Joab obeyed unquestioningly. Uriah was sent out at the head of a party of men to storm the walls of the city. There he fell, pierced by an Ammonite archer. Joab at once despatched a messenger to David with these tidings. In due time the widow of Uriah became David's wife.

But the sinful deed cried for revenge and expiation. Let us hear the account of the Bible, which is clothed in a parable: But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. And the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said to him, "There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished, and it grew up together with him and with his children; it ate of his own bread and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter. And there came a traveller to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd to dress for the wayfaring man that was come to him, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him." And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man that has done this thing shall surely die: and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and because he had no pity." And Nathan said to David, "Thou art the man. Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over

Israel and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul, and I gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given to thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from thy house, because thou hast despised Me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thy own house, and I will take thy wives before thy eyes, and give them to thy neighbour. . . . For thou didst it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun." And David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. However, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to thee shall surely die.”’

Now Bathsheba bore him indeed a child; but the child lay stricken with a fatal illness, and the king in his great grief gave himself up to mourning and supplication. Stretched upon the ground fasting and refusing comfort, he prayed fervently to the Lord, imploring His help. The prayer remained unheeded. On the seventh day, the child died, and the servants of David, alarmed for their master, sought to hide the sad news from him. But the king grew suspicious at their secret whisperings, and soon learned from them the fate of his child. Then he rose from the earth, washed and anointed himself, changed his garments, and went into the House of the Lord to worship Him. When he returned into his palace, he took the food which

he had refused before. His servants gazed at him in astonishment. So complete a resignation to the heavy hand of sorrow they could not comprehend. Wonderingly they asked, 'What is it that thou hast done? Thou didst fast and weep for the child while it was alive, but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.' David answered,While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.' Did the unhappy king find consolation in the hope of immortality? Did he, in these few words, boldly distance his predecessors and his contemporaries? His answer seems indeed to imply the conviction of another life with a clearness unparalleled before in the sacred narrative. Certain it is that the words uttered by David have found a ready echo again and again in sorrow-stricken hearts.

David and Bathsheba were comforted by the birth of another son, whom they called Solomon, the peaceful,' but to whom Nathan the prophet, blessing him in the name of God, gave besides another name, Jedidiah, the beloved of the Lord,' a name rich with joyous promises.

For more than a year had the siege of Rabbah been continued, until at length some important positions were taken, and the great stronghold of the Ammonites seemed near its fall. It would probably have succumbed to the perseverance and skill of Joab; but the general, loyal and modest, was anxious to secure for David the fame of its capture. He entreated him to hasten to the camp at this last moment, and to take the city, 'lest,' said the warrior, "I take it, and it be called after my name.' So David marched forth from Jerusalem with a large army, and fought against Rabbah and stormed it. He took from the king's head the heavy golden crown set with precious