He wished to conceal his crime, and especially to keep it from Uriah, the husband of Bath-sheba. He sent for him to return from the army to Jerusalem. Uriah came, and David used several expedients to get him to return to his own house, and live with Bath-sheba and his family as usual. Uriah, a brave and patriotic soldier, would not do this while his fellow-soldiers and his general were still prosecuting the siege, and thus David was involved in still greater difficulty. A new and dreadful temptation presented itself to his mind. He began to think that if Uriah was dead, he should not only thus be rid of one who could give him a great deal of trouble, but that he could then soon marry Bath-sheba. But he dared not order Uriah to be put to death, for it would be too outrageous an enormity. He resolved to accomplish by stratagem what he shrunk from doing openly. He despatched Uriah back again to the army with a letter to Joab, and by this means made the man whom he had so grossly injured, the unconscious instrument of his own destruction. That letter contained the injunction, "Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die."

Joab had not the moral courage to disobey the order. He may have been wicked enough too, to hope that a compliance with it would serve to promote his worldly interests by ingratiating himself still more with his sovereign. At any rate, he made use of the first opportunity to carry the

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wishes of David into effect. For soon ordering an assault upon the city which, it will be recolleeted, he was besieging, Joab took care to assign Uriah a place among the foremost, and where he would be exposed to the greatest danger. Some of the men of Rabbah made a sally, while others discharged their arrows from the walls, and a severe conflict ensued. Uriah fell, as had been expected, being deserted, it is probable, by those who might have sustained him and his party; and some of the Israelites were also slain.

Joab immediately sent a messenger to David, to inform him of what had happened. He took care, however, to do this in a way which would not expose either himself or the king. He charged the messenger, saying, "When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king, and if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall? Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriał the Hittite is dead also."

Having received this message, David sent back word to Joab: "Thus," said he, addressing the messenger, "shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more

strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him."

Bath-sheba on hearing of the death of her husband mourned for him, as was the custom, a few days, with the usual ceremonies, but was soon married to David, and thus they both showed that they still cherished the attachment which had been formed between them, and that nothing like penitence for their offences had as yet found its way to their heart.

The divine testimony is left on record against the conduct of David in the whole of this affair; for we are told that "it displeased the Lord." We shall soon see that this displeasure was expressed in the most striking manner. How sad an exhibition of the deep corruption of human nature! It shows into what dreadful sin even he may fall who gives, as David did, very satisfactory evidence of being a good man, and yet, forgetting his dependence on God, yields to the power of temptation, not looking daily and fervently to the throne of grace for strength to resist it. It calls upon us "to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling," bearing continually in mind, that "it is God which worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure." It admonishes every one "that thinketh he standeth, to take heed lest he fall."

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CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE PROPHET NATHAN REPROVES DAVID FOR HIS SINS. THE CHILD OF BATH-SHEBA DIES. DAVID TAKES RABBAH.

SOME months had now elapsed since David committed the sins by which he incurred such tremendous guilt. Uriah he had caused to be slain, and he felt secure against any attacks upɔn his peace from that quarter. Bath-sheba he had taken to be his wife, and she had just become the mother of a son. He began to indulge the hope that the veil of secrecy would be cast over his offences. But God had determined otherwise. Justice must have its course. In the subsequent part of his life David must suffer severely for his great wickedness; and now the time had come to disclose to him the Divine displeasure, and bring him to a state of deep humiliation and penitence.

Nathan the venerable prophet was sent to David by Jehovah to carry this purpose into effect. He bore a most touching and pointed message. But he concealed at first his real design. His object was to make David condemn himself. He began therefore with a parable, the most beautiful and pertinent of its kind of any on record.

“There were two men," said he, addressing the

king, "in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds but the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe-lamb, which he had bought and nourished up; and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto 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 unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him."

David manifested the greatest indignation at this wicked conduct. His anger was kindled. He declared that the individual who had treated the poor man in this manner was worthy of death. "He shall restore the lamb fourfold," said he, "because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."

Little did he expect the denunciation that now burst upon him. "Thou art the man," exclaimed the prophet, accompanying the charge with a fearful message in the name of Jehovah. "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel," was its solemn introduction, followed by a declaration of the favors which David had experienced at the hand of the Almighty-especially in being delivered from the malice of Saul, and constituted king in his stead— with an assurance that other blessings, had they been needed, would have been bestowed upon