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whence all his blessings flowed; the true and efficient source of all his success and continued greatness. One at least of the sacred songs composed to identify his triumph with devout thanksgiving and glory to God, and which we suppose to have been chanted on the return of the army in triumph to the capital to return thanksgiving to God in His sanctuary, is :

PSALM XX.

"The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble;

The name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
Send thee help from the sanctuary,

And strengthen thee out of Zion;

Remember all thy offerings,

And accept thy burnt sacrifice;

Grant thee according to thine own heart,

And fulfil all thy counsel.

We will rejoice in thy salvation,

And in the name of our God we will set up our

banners:

The Lord fulfil all thy petitions.

Now know I that the Lord saveth His anointed;

He will hear him from His holy heaven

With the saving strength of His right hand.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:

But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

They are brought down and fallen :

But we are risen, and stand upright.
Save, Lord:

Let the king hear us when we call."

The results of this last campaign had evidently

deeply impressed the mind of David with the vast importance of a full and unreserved trust in God. He had been called, if not into actual collision with the power of Assyria, yet certainly with hosts of warriors who had been trained on the very borders of that ancient nation, and who therefore were acquainted with their arms, armour, military tactics, and everything of theirs relating to warfare. To have subdued a numerous army possessing such advantages, and with the scene of conflict several hundreds of miles from his own country, was a most remarkable triumph, and one which amply justified his exulting in the saving power of God. He had seen mighty men trust in horses and in chariots; but his confidence in his God had enabled him to conquer all opposition, and to exclaim, They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright." We can scarcely conceive of such a victory. David does not appear to have had either horsemen or chariots; yet although his army was placed at such manifest disadvantage in the battle-field, the Hebrews took seven hundred chariots, and destroyed all the men that fought in them, so that the fact that the Lord saved His anointed, and was a mightier power than horsemen or chariots, was made perfectly certain.

It may be doubted whether any professed addresses to Deity have been so shallow, empty, and insincere, as many of those avowedly put forth in thanksgiving for national deliverances or great victories, some of which have been occasioned by events that have outraged every principle of morality and religion. Such was not the case here. David was engaged in zealously struggling to secure supremacy over that territory which God had declared it His purpose to place under Hebrew dominion. In this struggle his arms had been crowned with victory, and he returns to his

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country with songs of thanksgiving to Jehovah. This, as we have seen, was not the first time this king of Israel is found so engaged; but it may be observed that, as far as we can learn, he had no precedent for this practice. We know of no country or people before his time who recognised the Almighty as the God of battles, and looked to Him for guidance and power, and paid Him their tribute of praise. David and his soldiers and people presented a sincere and spontaneous acknowledgment of God's interposition and blessing. The terms in which this acknowledgment of Divine intervention is expressed, the elevated and pious train of thought which pervades these inspired compositions, clearly show that religion in its spiritual reality and power had obtained extensive influence over the public mind of the Hebrew people at this time.

This fact deserves careful and distinct record, especially by those who are fond of dilating on the alleged ambition and bloody-mindedness of David. While every other people were being plunged into polytheism and idolatry, worshipping the works of their own hands, the creations of their impure imaginations, or the gross perversions of patriarchal truth, here was a people offering sincere and spiritual worship to God; acknowledging Him as supreme in all spiritual and temporal matters; trusting to His guidance and aid in every national enterprise; and receiving every national advantage or military success as as favours coming directly from His hand. Well might the great Hebrew lawgiver in the anticipation of such a state of things cry out, "Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord ?” (Deut. xxxiii. 29.)

Yet at this time, when the influence of religion was

so pure and so potent, we have to record an instance of gross profligacy and wickedness in the conduct of David. Before we proceed to narrate the circumstances of this painful case, an observation may be offered on the causes which threw the king open to this awful iniquity. It is but seldom (it is believed) that men plunge at once from a real, elevated piety into the deep abyss of abandoned crime. We do not think that this was the case with David. How, then, did his religious declension begin and progress?

Although, following the patriarchal practice, polygamy was allowed by the Mosaic law, an injunction had been placed on the record by that illustrious lawgiver respecting the conduct of Hebrew kings. Foreseeing their power, and the means which would be within their reach for unbridled sensuality, it was forbidden them to multiply wives unto themselves. (Deut. xvii. 17.) The insidious but fatal effect of this practice is distinctly stated in connexion with the law. "Neither shall he (the king) multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away." No number of wives is distinctly prohibited; but while the number is left to the judgment and conscience of the king, the fatal effect of inordinate indulgence is clearly shown, while its practice is plainly forbidden. The violation of this law appears to have been David's first departure from obedience.

In the days of his persecution and wandering, David had two wives. After he had been made king over Judah at Hebron, he took four wives more, besides reclaiming Michal, Saul's daughter, who had been taken away from him: this made the number of his wives seven. On being established in the throne over all Israel at Jerusalem, he added ten wives more to the number. Besides these, it is said that Saul's wives

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were given to him; (2 Sam. xii. 8;) and it is known that he had many concubines, but we cannot ascertain the number; they were, at the least, ten, and might have been more; so that he had, at least, twenty-seven women shut up for his sole use. This conduct was clearly an infraction of the Divine law. It was multiplying wives to a most pernicious and unreasonable extent; while it, at the same time, tended to foster licentious desires, which contributed their influence toward rendering his mind insensible to the restraints of reason and religion.

While things were in this state at Jerusalem, the time arrived when martial operations, which had been suspended in consequence of the unsuitable season of the year, were resumed. David, therefore, determined to complete the chastisement of the Ammonites; and, for that purpose, sent Joab with a considerable army on this service. Joab commenced this war with his usual success: he defeated the enemy in the field, and besieged Rabbah, their capital city. While thus engaged, David, who still remained in his capital, after reclining on his couch during the heat of the day, on one occasion arose and walked on the terraced roof of his house to enjoy the evening air; and from thence he saw a woman, probably in the garden or open bath of a contiguous house, bathing herself. This woman was very beautiful; and seeing her unexpectedly in this manner, David became inflamed with desire, and sent to inquire who the woman was; and although, in answer to his inquiries, he was told that she was then the wife of one of his most devoted and valiant soldiers, he sent for her, and had criminal intercourse with her, after which she returned to her house.

No doubt David expected and hoped that this sin against God, and against a brave and faithful servant,