to heart that he thereupon became a deliberate Felo de se and after having set his House in order became the Executioner of a punishment upon himself which ought to have been inflicted by the hands of others as a Just reward for his having advised to the Commission of Capital Crimes And thus fell Achitophcl as a true Type of Judas As to Absalom his punishment was very remarkable His Father David against whom he had committed those Capital offences was so strangely indulgent that he gave his Captains particular Charge to deal kindly with him for his sake but behold the Event that Unnatural Monster whom the Indulgence of a Father would have spared the Justice of Heav'n would not suffer to go unpunish'd but armed the Trees of the Forest against him so that his Hair being caught by the branch of an Oak that in which he so much Gloried became the means of his Ruin and serv'd instead of a Rope to hang him up betwixt Heav'n and Earth as a Monument of Divine Justice and to shew that he was accursed but that was not all Divine Justice did so much Incense Joab against him that taking three Darts in his hand he soon dispatch'd him so that he died more sorts of Deaths than one as a Just reward for his Complicated Crimes R. Kimchi's Observations upon Absalom's Tragical Exit are neither improper nor Unpleasant Absalom says he was thrust thro' the Heart with 3 Darts 1. Because he stole the Kiâ—…g his Fathers heart 2. Because he stole the heart of the Sanhedrim that is of the 200 Senators who went with him out of the simplicity of their hearts and 3. Because he stole the Hearts of all Israel He might have added a 4th that as his heart was struck thro' with raging Lust when he went in to his Fathers Concubines in the sight of the Sun so his Heart was now struck thro' with Darts while he hung upon the Tree betwixt Heav'n and Earth The Rabbi has also another Remark which is pertinent enough viz. That as he incestuously polluted his Fathers ten Concubines he was encompassed and slain by 10 of Joab's Attendants who threw him into a Pit and raised a Great heap of Stones over him so that as he liv'd he died and was Buried in an Ignominious manner notwithstanding his having erected a Pillar which Interpreters think was a Funeral Monument resembling the Egyptian Pyramids that out of his Ambition he had prepar'd for himself in the Kings dale or Vallev where the Kings usâ—…d to solemnize publick Plays and Horse-Races Thus did Absalom die and thus was David punish'd for his Murder and Adultery The opinion of the Rabbins that Absalom was sent to Hell as soon as he died for his notorious Crimes is also Remarkable as discovering their thoughts of what such a Villainous Course of Life deserved but their fabulous conceit that David by his having seven times Ingeminated the Name of his Son delivered him from the Seven-Fold Bars of Hell and that by his repeating it the Eighth time he occasioned his being brought into Paradise is altogether Ridiculous The next thing that occurs to our Observation is the punishment inflicted by David upon his Incestuous Concubines their lives were spared because they were under a sort of Constraint yet seeing they were not altogether without fault inasmuch as there 's no mention made of their having resisted or cried out he condemned them to perpetual Widow-hood and neither came near them himself nor suffered them to enjoy the Company of any other Man as they might probably have done had he given them a Bill of divorce It 's not unreasonable to conjecture that Absalom's Beauty and the Authority which he had then usurp'd might make them the more easily consent to his Lewd Embraces and therefore they are punish'd for their Incontinence by a perpetual deprivation of Man's Society And thus David who violated the Chastity of another Man's Wife is put under a necessity of partting with his own Wives which no doubt was very cutting to him for we must rationally suppose that he who was so indulgent a Father was as tender an Husband Tho' this Holy Mans sin was pardoned both as to the punishment which he ought to have undergone according to the Law and as to eternal Wrath which he deserved yet we find that he had but very little respite from Temporal punishment for Absalom's Rebellion was not quite extinguish'd till another sprung out of its Ashes Sheba a Benjamite and Son of Belial taking the opportunity of the Peoples Tumultuating Spirits which were then in a ferment not only by reason of the late Rebellion but also because the Tribe of Judah pretended to have a greater interest in David than the other Ten Tribes sounded the Trumpet to a new Rebellion disclaiming any Portion in David or Inheritance in the Son of Jesse and straightway the Inconstant Israelites followed him and abandoned their Lawfull King whom God had anointed over them This Sheba is generally supposed to have been one of Saul's Family and a Man of Authority and not only envy'd David upon Saul's account but designed to have usurp'd the Crown for himself That Saul's Relations lookâ—…d upon David as being a bloody Man and guilty of Tyranny and Cruelty towards that Family appears plain from Shimei's railing upon David in his distress and perhaps his unjust Treatment of Mephibosheth upon Ziba s false accusation was improved by them as a New Argument to Incense the People against him but in the mean time the Accomplishment of Nathan's Prophecy That the Sword should never depart from David's House is herein very Remarkable for we find him not only plagu'd with one Rebellion upon the back of another but in the midst of this Commotion which made his Crown to totter we find an Intestine discord in his own Family he is Insulted over by his own Sister's Son Joab a Stern and Gallant General who had the Love of the Soldiery and Great Authority among the People and as Josephus says took him up so sharply for his unseasonable and intemperate passion upon Absalom's Death that he threatned if he did not give over his Mourning to betray his Crown and Dignity And now when the Forces were assembling to suppress Sheba's Rebellion David has this additional affliction added to all the rest that his Kinsman Joab did Treacherously Murder Amasa whom David had appointed to be General in that Expedition and tho' Sheba was quickly punish'd for this Execrable sedition according to his demerit yet the Citizens of Abel-Beth-Maachah with whom there 's no doubt but others concurr'd in their sentiments accus'd David as seeking to swallow up the Inheritance of the Lord for marching his Army so Inconsiderately against the Town and offering to storm it without first summoning them to surrender the Rebel Sheba who had fled thither for Protection We find also in the second Book of Samuel that David according to Nathan's threatning was visited with diverse
Passion as neither to regard the Command of God for hanging up other Great men that were guilty of the like Crime nor the hand of God which was gone out against the Common People destroying those by a burning Plague who just before were burning in their Lusts but in the very heat of God's Anger and while the Congregation were all in Tears for their Sins and Judgments as if he would out brave the wrath of God and insult over the Calamities of the people he brought his Midiantish Whore in the sight of Moses and all the Congregation into his Tent and as he made himself thus a Remarkable Sinner the Lord did pursue him with as Remarkable a Judgment by sturring up Phinehas to go beyond the ordinary bounds of his Vocation and become Executioner of his Justice upon this Lustfull Gallant whom together with his Whore he thrust through with his Javelin so that instead of sending a Priest to give him absolution God Commissioned a Priest to be the Messenger of dispatching him to everlasting flames in the very mids of his own Impure flames and while not only the names of Common Sinners but even those of other Great men who were hanged for the same Crimes are buried in oblivion the Name of this Prince and his Tribe are conveyed down to Posterity to perpetuate the Memory of his Infamy and this Remarkable Zeal of Phinehas was so well pleasing to God that the Plague amongst the People did immediately cease upon it It 's an observation naturally deducible from this passage that the Chief Magistrate ought to punish Great Men in an Exemplary manner for such Great and Heinous Crimes as Whoredom and Idolatry Here the great ones are hung up before the Sun while Sinners of a lower rank are suffered to rot by a Common Contagion From hence also we may observe That then a Reformation may have prospect of Success when Ministers and Magistrates concur in it as here Phinehas did with Moses The horrid advice of Balaam before-mentioned puts me in mind of the Counsel which Cardinal Mazarine is generally charged with as to England viz. That the best way to make us Papists was to debauch our Morals particularly by Whoredom We find by the Instance just now related that Uncleanness is a strong attractive to Idolatry and whether the Lewd Example of the Court which overspread the Nation with Debauchery did not very much promote the Popish Interest in former Reigns and likewise lay the Foundation for that Atheism Deism and Socinianism which doth so much abound in this now that the Debauchees cannot find their Account in Popery let Experience testify If the Advocates of Lechery should object that the punishments abovementioned were inflicted upon the People because of their Idolatry and not upon the Account of their Infamous Commerce with the Daughters of Midian it is easie to answer them that they were punish'd for both in Conjunction and the Apostle in the first of Corinthians 10. and 8. assigns their Fornication as the Cause of their Judgments it being indeed the Original Cause and as has been said already Whoredom and Idolatry have a Natural Tendency to one another and therefore Cardinal Mazarine's Receipt abovementioned for perverting Protestants to be Papists may very well pass with a probatum est There 's one thing more to be taken notice of in this Instance and that is the Judgments which this Whoredom brought upon the Midianites as well as upon the Children of Israel It is well enough known that Corrupt Nature is prone enough to Revenge and there 's little reason to doubt but the Israelites were incens'd enough against those of Midian for this Great Injury they had done them yet the Almighty thought fit to whett their Revenge and Commanded them to Vex the Midianites and Smite them because they vexed them with their Wiles and beguil'd them in the matter of Peor and Cozbi that is by enticing them to Idolatry and Whoredom Peor being the Mountain where the Midianitish Baal was worshipped for Baal was an Appellative Name to Heathen Idols as Mary is to the Popish ones but distinguish'd by the places where the most Famous Statues or Pictures of 'em were worshiped as our Lady of Loretto Lady of Prague c. now a days So that here 's a War declared against Midian with as good Authority and for as great and weighty Causes as ever any War was declared under Heav'n The Execution of which we have an account of in the 31. Chap. where it 's recommended unto Moses as the last Military Exploit that ever he was to perform to Avenge the Lord and the Children of Israel of the Midianites which was accordingly done by an Army Contemptible for Number viz. 12000 Men who destroyed a Numerous People Governed by 5 Kings put all their Males to the edge of the Sword their Kings not excepted and amongst the rest Balaam the false Prophet was slain as a just reward for his pernicious Council and so the Riches which he acquir'd and was so covetous of that for the Lucre of 'em he would act contrary to God's Express Command became a prey to the Israelites against whom he had given such Hellish advice It is also observable that Phinehas who had formerly signalized his Zeal is sent along with the Troops which was both a great Honour to him and an Encouragement to them as fighting under the Auspices of Heaven and had it been otherwise they could never possibly have Conquer'd such a great People as the Midianites appear to have been 3 by the Number of the Women saved that had never known Man viz. 32000 their Sheep which were 675000 their Beeves 72000 and Asses 61000 so that God powred Contempt upon that Effeminate Whoring Nation in destroying them by such an Inconsiderable Number of men It 's also to be observed that Moses was very Angry with the Captains for having saved all the Women and the reason given for it is this Because they had enticed the Children of Israel first to Whoredom and then to Idolatry and therefore he Commanded every Woman who had known a Man to be destroyed and thus those Women who thought to have sav'd their Country by Prostituting themselves did thereby accelerate the destruction of themselves and their Country too and the Midianitish Men who consented to this Hellish Stratagem of exposing their Wives to save themselves did thereby procure the ruin of both and their Virgins became a prey to the Conquerors The just hatred of God against this Impure Nation appears likewise in this that their Furniture Gold Silver c. was not to be made use of by the Israelites 'till purified by Fire and Water according to the nature of the thing so abominable in the Eyes of God are all those things spotâ—…ed with the Flesh. There are some who make an exception to the truth of this History of the Total destvuction of the Midianites because they afterwards invaded Israel in great Multitudes in Gideon's
ExternaI as well as Internal Wars Here are diverse Battles with the Philistines taken notice of and in one of them David run a great risk of being kill'd had he not been seasonably rescued by Abishai The last thing we meet with in this Book which any way relates to our purpose is That Interpreters think that the General Luxury and Dissolution of manners which reigned amongst the Israelites after so many Victories over their Enemies and that Peace and Plenty was Restored to them was the Cause of God's stirring up David to Number the people which occasioned a Plague amongst them that like a deluge sweept away 70000 of the people so usual is it for General Prophanity to be followed by General Judgments The first Book of Kings begins with an Account of a new Rebellion hatch'd against David by his Son Adonijah Brother to Absalom which was another bitter effect of David's Unlawful Marriage with Maachah and likewise another instance of the Accomplishment of Nathan's threatning that the Sword should not depart from his House so that he was disturb'd as one may say in his last Minutes with an Unnatural Rebellion by an Ungrateful Son whom he had so tenderly Indulged that he had not at any time displeased him Nay nor so much as reproved him This youngman as he was Absalom's Brother did exactly tread in his steps resembled him both in Person and Manners and had the like fatal Exit which tho' he was pardoned for his Rebellion he drew upon himself by his Uncleanness in desiring to Wife Abishag the Shunamite who as Interpreters think was Married to his Father tho' he never knew her because of his Age upon which Account Solomon cut him off This is another Instance of the Tragical Effects of Unnatural Lust. The next that falls under our Notice is Solomon himself of whom we have this Account in the 11th Chap. of I Kings that he loved many strange Women together with the Daughter of Pharaoh Women of the Moabites Ammonites Edomites Sidonians and Hittites of the Nations concerning which the Lord said unto the Children of Israel Ye shall not go in to them neither shall they come in to you for surely they will turn away your hearts after their Gods Solomon clave unto these in Love and he had 700 Wives Princesses and three hundred Concubines and his Wives turned away his heart after other Gods when he was old so that he went after Ashtaroth the Goddess of the Zidonians after Milcom the Abomination of the Ammonites and built an high-place for Chemosh the Abomination of Moab and for Moloch the Abomination of the Children of Ammon This is certainly one of the most surprizing Instances and greatest Evidences of the mischief that Raging Lust brings upon Men that is to be found either in Sacred or Profane History That Solomon the Wisest of men should be so far besotted with Lust or to use a softer Term Amorous Inclinations to as transgress that Royal Law which forbid Kings to Multiply Wives to themselves and that other Law which forbid the Children of Israel to marry with such and such Nations but yet more that he should be so excessive in Number which we find to be no less than 1000 whereof 700 were of Noble Extract or Princesses and 300 of lower degree and that which is still more surprizing that Solomon whom God call'd Jedidiah his beloved and made him a Type ofChrist and to whom he had twice appeared in such a solemn manner should be so far overcome with the Inticements of those Outlandish and Strange Women as to worship their Gods and promote their Idolatry when he was betwixt 50 and 60 years of Age a time as one would think more proper for him to have been preparing for Death and Eternity and Establishing the true worship of God for which he was the first that had built a Temple than to be led away by such youthfull Lusts and to build high places for the abominable Idols of the Moabites Zidonians c. which Interpreters say were Immodest Statues of Priapus and Venus that were worshiped by the Incestuous off-spring of Lot by his own Daughters This is another Confirmation of what has been so often observed that there is no such powerfull attractive to Idolatry and false Religion as an Impure Life The next thing we are to take notice of is the punishment inflicted upon Solomon and his Posterity for their Crimes which we find to be that the Lord was Angry with him threatned to rend the Kingdom from him and to give it to his Servant and stir'd up Enemies against him both at home and abroad as Hadad the Edomite Rezon the Son of Eliada and Jeroboam the Son of Nebat who was made King by the Children of Israel when the Ten Tribes Revolted from Rehoboam Solomon's Son as an accomplishment of this threatning It likewise deserves our Remark that this fouâ—… defection of Solomon occasions a great dispute amongst Interpreters whether ever he recovered or not because the Scripture is silent concerning it Gregory the Great Theodoret Prosper Aquitanus Beda Rabanus Peter Martyr and others think that he was damn'd for it and Jerome Ambrose Isidore Epiphanius Crissus and others think that God gave him Repentance and that he wrote the Ecclesiastes after his Recovery However this is plain that Solomon's Lustfulness occasioned his IdoIatry and both together that Revolt of the Israelites from his Posterity which is not the only Instance that we shall meet with of Thrones being overturned by Uncleanness We shall also observe here once for all that those high Places and Groves which in the time of Jeroboam Rehoboam and other Kings the Israelites are accus'd of worshipping their Idols in were chosen as places fit for their purpose not only upon the Account on which the Heathens chose such places viz. Because they thought them nearer the Heavens and the Heavenly Gods as on the Contrary they worshiped in Dens and Caves to the Infernal Gods but because there they had a greater Conveniency of fullfilling their Brutish Lusts to which they were incited by the fulsome Statues of Venus and Priapus which they had in those places and to whom they thought that was agreeable worship and therefore it is that the Prophets do so often upbraid them with going a Whoring from the true God and being lain with under every Green-Tree and upon every High-Hill c. which was true in a Literal as well as Metaphorical and Spiritual Sense so inseparable are Idolatry and Impurity and here likewise we may observe once for all That in all those Captivities and publick Calamities which befell the People of God Uncleanness and Idolatry concurr'd as procuring Causes of which we have a clear Pròof in the 14th of the 1st Book of Kings 23d and 24th Verses where after they are accused of building them high places Images and Groves under every Green-Tree and upon every high Hill it 's straightway subjoyned that there were also Sodomites in the