The Lord sent — When the ordinary means did not awaken David to repentance, God takes an extraordinary course. Thus the merciful God pities and prevents him who had so horribly forsaken God. He said — He prudently ushers in his reproof with a parable, after the manner of the eastern nations, that so... [ Continue Reading ]
Many flocks — Noting David's many wives and concubines.... [ Continue Reading ]
Bought — As men then used to buy their wives: or, had procured.... [ Continue Reading ]
Is worthy to die — This seems to be more than the fact deserved, or than he had commission to inflict for it, Exodus 22:1. But it is observable, that David now when he was most indulgent to himself, and to his own sin, was most severe and even unjust to others; as appears by this passage, and the fo... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord God — Nathan now speaks, not as a petitioner for a poor man, but as an ambassador from the great God.... [ Continue Reading ]
To be thy wife — To marry her whom he had defiled, and whose husband he had slain, was an affront upon the ordinance of marriage, making that not only to palliate, but in a manner to consecrate such villainies. In all this he despised the word of the Lord; (so it is in the Hebrew.) Not only his comm... [ Continue Reading ]
Never depart — During the residue of thy life.... [ Continue Reading ]
Own house — From thy own children and family. Thine eyes — Openly, so that thou shalt know it as certainly as if thou didst see it, and yet not be able to hinder it. And give them — I shall by my providence, give him power over them. Neighbor — To one who is very near thee. But God expresseth this d... [ Continue Reading ]
I have sinned — How serious this confession was, we may see, Psalms 51:1. Put away thy sin — That is, so far as concerns thy own life. Not die — As by thy own sentence, 2 Samuel 12:5, thou dost deserve, and may expect to be done by my immediate stroke.... [ Continue Reading ]
Besought — Supposing the threatening might be conditional, and so the execution of it prevented by prayer. Went — Into his closet.... [ Continue Reading ]
Elders — The chief officers of his kingdom and household. He would not — This excessive mourning did not proceed simply from the fear of the loss of the child; but from a deep sense of his sin, and the divine displeasure manifested herein.... [ Continue Reading ]
Seventh day — From the beginning of the distemper.... [ Continue Reading ]
And came — That is, to the tabernacle, to confess his sin before the Lord, to own his justice in this stroke, to deprecate his just displeasure, to acknowledge God's rich mercy, in sparing his own life; and to offer such sacrifices as were required in such cases.... [ Continue Reading ]
I fast — Seeing fasting and prayer cannot now prevail with God for his life. I shall go to him — Into the state of the dead in which he is, and into heaven, where I doubt not I shall find him.... [ Continue Reading ]
His wife — Who was now much dejected, both for her former sin, and for the loss of the child. Loved him — That is, the Lord declared to David, that he loved his son, notwithstanding the just cause David had given to God to alienate his affections from him.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jedidiah — That is, beloved of the Lord. Because — Either, because of the Lord's love to him, or because the Lord commanded him to do so.... [ Continue Reading ]
Royal city — That is, that part of the city where was the king's palace; though now it seems he was retired to a strong fort.... [ Continue Reading ]
Of waters — Rabbah was so called because it was encompassed with water.... [ Continue Reading ]
Take it — For having taken one part of the city, he concluded the remaining part of it could not long stand out. Lest — Lest I have the honour of taking it.... [ Continue Reading ]
The weight — Or rather, the price whereof, &c. For the same words both in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, are used, to signify either weight, or price. And the addition of precious stones, which are never valued by the weight of gold, makes this signification most probable. Moreover, the weight might seem... [ Continue Reading ]
The people — The words are indefinite, and therefore not necessarily to be understood of all the people; but of the men of war, and especially of those who had been the chief actors of that villainous action against David's ambassadors, and of the dreadful war ensuing upon it; for which, they deserv... [ Continue Reading ]