SAUL'S MURDERER PUNISHED.

205

had been hunted out of society, and kept in perpetual fear of his life by the cruel jealousy of the king, and whose way to the throne was now opened by the death of his rival, could not but have rejoiced in that event.

Mother. Your opinion, my son, as to the rights of a benefactor, is correct; and your supposition of David's feeling is, it must be admitted, the natural dictate of the heart; but just views of our social duties, will produce nobler sentiments. Accustomed to consider his sovereign as the vicegerent of Jehovah, consecrated by his express com mand, and voluntarily accepted by the nation, David was very differently affected when a young Amalekite, conceiving, like you, that his officious zeal would recommend him to the exiled chief, came to him on the third day after his return, to Ziklag, presenting the crown and bracelets of the king, and made the daring boast that his own hand had put an end to the life of that infatuated monarch.

Saul had received a wound in the battle, and was discovered by this young man, on the ground, in the midst of his adversaries. His yet unsubdued spirit revolting from the prospect of falling alive into their hands, he had besought his armour-bearer to give the final blow, and thus deliver him from that indignity. The faithful page turned away from the sacrilegious service-but this stranger, who came up at the moment, acceded without scruple to the request of the king: then tearing off the royal badges, he hastened to bring them to David, in confirmation of the deed.

Charles. Did David betray no symptom of satisfac tion, on the removal of his most bitter enemy' ?

Mother. Exactly the reverse-he received the relation with an exclamation of horror. "How!" cried he, "wast thou not afraid to lift thy hand against the Lord's anointed? Thy blood be upon thy head, for thy mouth hath testified against thee;" and, turning to his servants, ordered the instant execution of the fawning regicide. Both he and his men rent their garments, and fasted and mourned for the disgrace of their country and the excision of the royal family.

But the death of Jonathan, his beloved and faithful friend, was lamented by David with the deepest sorrow.

206

ISH-BOSHETH OPPOSED TO DAVID.

His elegy, on this mournful occasion, is a noble effusion of tenderness for both father and son: "The beauty of Israel (said he) is slain upon thy high places. How are the mighty fallen! Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, whọ clothed you in scarlet with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O! Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places! I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me :thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women!"

Saul, however, having been the sole cause of David's self-banishment, he now took leave of his hospitable entertainer, and, with his little colony of adherents, returned to Canaan, and was immediately crowned at Hebron, by the house of Judah, his own tribe, in the thirtieth year of his age. (B. C. 1056.)

The first recorded act of David's reign was a mark of respect to the memory of the late king. By a special messenger to Jabesh-gilead, he informed them that he was anointed king of Israel, and would certainly requite them for the kindness they had shown to their late lord and his

sons.

But new troubles at once assailed the pious king. Ishbosheth, a son of Saul, survived the ruin of his house. No sooner was David crowned, than Ish-bosheth was set up at Mahanaim, beyond the Jordan, in opposition, by Abner, the commander of Saul's army, and a near relation of his family. Many of the tribes supporting his claim, while that of Judah adhered faithfully to David, a civil war ensued, and the state was distracted some years between the contending parties. At length, Abner receiving an affront from his master, sent messengers to David, with an offer to bring about a general revolution in his favour. The ac quisition of Abner was of prime consequence to the king, yet he required, as the passport even to an interview, that he should be accompanied by Michal, Saul's daughter, at the same time she was formally demanded of Ish-bosheth

ISH-BOSHETH ASSASSINATED.

207

as the right of King David. The cause of the former, continually weakening, and now receiving a death-blow from the intrigues of Abner, he did not venture to refuse this act of justice, but took the princess "from her weeping husband," and sent her by the hand of Abner to the king. This letter of recommendation procured the ambassador and his train such distinction at court, as excited the jealousy of David's chiefs. Joab, especially, a man cruel and ambitious, having lost a brother by the sword of Abner, in a late skirmish, affected to consider the new favourite as a spy, and seized the opportunity of gratifying his own revenge, whilst he put an end, at once, to his growing consequence in the state, by assassinating him, with circumstances of base treachery, as he was departing from the city.

Catherine. These people seem to have had no idea of the atrocious guilt of murder: I hope it was punished in this instance, aggravated as it was by a breach of hospitality.

Mother. Their knowledge was less defective than their practice. David himself was probably induced to spare Joab, because both he and his brother, Abishai, were ex. perienced soldiers, and very necessary to him in the unsettled state of his kingdom. He nevertheless declared his abhorrence of the deed, and buried Abner with funeral honours, himself following the bier as chief mourner, and fasting the whole day, because, as he said, "a great prince had fallen in Israel." Nor did he show the same lenity to Rechab and Baanah, two captains of Ish-bosheth, who, soon afterwards, perceiving the falling fortunes of their master, assassinated him while he reposed in the heat of the day, and brought his head as a tribute to his rival. David told them they had mistaken his character; for if he had not. pardoned the man, who, to ingratiate himself, had violated the person of Saul, his implacable enemy,― "much less would he spare them, who had slain a righteous person, in his own house, upon his bed.”

The Israelites being now weary of intestine convulsions, and their minds prepared by the persuasive reasoning of Abner, no attempt was made to set up a successor to Ishbosheth; but the elders of all the tribes repaired with one

208

JERUSALEM TAKEN.

accord to Hebron, where David had now reigned seven years and six months, and proclaimed him king over all İsrael. (B. C. 1048.)

: Charles. Poor David has had a turbulent passage from the sheep-cote to the throne. I hope he was now permitted to reign in peace.

Mother. David was a man of war from his youth all his days, with but few intervals of peace. His whole life illustrates our daily experience, that neither public honours nor private virtue will ensure unmingled happiness in this mutable world; and admonishes us to look for our reward only in that better state of things, "where all tears shall be wiped from our eyes.'

Even now, when the hearts of all Israel were united in his favour, Jerusalem, which he chose for the seat of his government, was to be won by a contest with the natives, before he could enjoy the throne to which he had been called. Jerusalem, or Jebus, its original name, had been taken and burnt by the Israelites early in the time of the Judges. The natives again obtaining possession, had rebuilt the city, and held it until it was attacked by king David. Their resolute defence induced him to promise the chief command of the army to him who should signalize himself in the capture; and the valour of Joab obtained that reward. The citadel, which had been hitherto called Zion, he enlarged; and strengthened its fortifications. It was now called the city of David-here he fixed his residence, and Jerusalem continued to be the metropolis of the empire until the time of its destruction.

A few years of peace, perhaps five or six, succeeding to the conquest of Jerusalem, were employed in the organization of the government, both church and state. Ever mindful of his religious duties, one of the first cares of this illustrious prince was to revive and establish the public worship of the God of Israel, which had been neglected many years. To this end, after a consultation with the elders, he prepared a tabernacle for the reception of the "Ark of the Covenant," and then, attended by a vast mul titude of the chief men, princes, priests, singers, musicians and other officers of the sanctuary, went to Kirjath-jearim

THE ARK BROUGHT TO JERUSALEM.

209

where the ark had remained nearly fifty years, with but little interruption, and brought it up to Jerusalem. Hymns of praise, composed by the royal poet himself, for the oc casion, accompanied by the sound of trumpets and cymbals, of psalteries, harps, and timbrels, were sung as, the ark moved along, and when it was deposited in its place.Sacrifices were then offered, and a general distribution of bread and wine, from the king to all his people, closed the solemn festival.

The accession of David to the throne of Israel was speedily acknowledged by congratulations from the neigh. bouring princes.-Amongst others, Hiram, king of Tyre, sent an embassy, and with it a valuable present of the fine cedars of Lebanon, and skilful workmen, to build for him a palace, which was immediately commenced. But when the stately structure was finished, David was struck with the disparity between his own splendid dwelling, and the humble tabernacle of the Lord of Hosts, who had raised him from obscurity to pre-eminence! "Shall I," said he, "dwell in a house of cedar, whilst the Ark of God is encircled only with curtains?" Unaccustomed, however, in matters of importance, to act upon the suggestions of his own mind without a superior guide, he sent for Nathan, the prophet, and communicated his desire to erect a temple better suited to the glory which emanated from beneath the wings of the cherubim. The prophet at first encou raged him to go on with his design, but afterwards, when better instructed, informed him that that honour was denied unto him, who had been “a man of war," and was reserved for his successor-a son who was yet to be borna man of peace," with whom "the kingdom should be for ever established."

The king submitted, without a murmur, to this decree, and repaired to the sanctuary, to render his heartfelt ac knowledgments for the gracious promise with which it was accompanied.

Disappointed in the first object of his laudable ambition, David now looked around for other channels to receive his royal munificence. Inquiring particularly for the house of Saul, he found a son of his firm and early friend Jona,