these foure points 1. The quality of the person or what manner of man this David was which committed adultery 2. With whom 3. When. 4. How he was plunged into this gulfe of sinne The first point is the quality of the person Concerning which I may truly affirme that David was the most eminent and remarkable man that was then living upon the face of the earth for it was famously knowne both to Iewes and Gentiles that the God of heaven had been his continuall Buckler and Defence even from his youth up He had defended him from a raging Beare from a roaring Lion from a huge and terrible Giant from the fury of the Philistines from the cruell persecution of bloodthirsty Saul and in a word from a thousand dangers And as the Lord had compassed him about with gracious deliverances so he had crowned him with blessings upon blessings temporal spirituall ordinarie extraordinary First when he was a poore Shepheard following the Ewes the Lord sent Samuel to anoint him King over Israel Secondly the Lord gave him a glorious victory over Golias all Israel did see it and reioiced Thirdly the Lord gave him honour in the hearts of the people so that the women did sing in their dances Saul hath slaine his thousands David his ten thousands Fourthly the heart of Ionathan the Kings sonne was knit vnto him for he loved him even as his own soule Fiftly Michal the Kings daughter loved him so David became the Kings sonne in lawe And after the death of Saul and Ionathan the Lord advanced him to the royal throne the glittering Diademe was set upon his head he raigned over Iuda seven yeers and sixe moneths and then over all Israel even from Dan to Bersheba Besides all this the Lord gave him plenty of gold and silver and victory over all his enemies so that his victorious banner was displayed even from Ierusalem to the River Euphrates Moreover he was a Prophet of the Lord a type of Christ a Secretary of the holy Ghost in penning those sacred and mellifluous Psalms he was also the sweet Singer of Israel and a Composer of those melodious harmonies that were used in the Tabernacle of God hee was likewise one of the Patriarks for so Saint Peter stiles him and God had sworne unto him that he should be one of the Progenitors of Iesus Christ. Now for inward gifts and graces hee was a Child of God a member of Christ a Temple of the Holy Ghost a vessell of grace a sanctified Soul a sweet and well tuned Cymbal a heavenly Organ of angelicall sound in all his workes he prays'd the Lord with words of glory every Psalme breathing religion and devotion in so much that God himselfe gave him this testimony that hee was a man according to Gods owne heart O what eminencie of grace what sublimitie of honour what preheminence of prerogatiues was here and yet for all this David euen this David committed adulterie Now that we may make vse of this example first let vs obserue the frailty and infirmity of man Behold hee that was supposed to be strong as a Lyon and tall as a Cedar was not only incountred but also conquered with a temptation Wherefore in his frailety wee all may behold as in a glasse the plaine image of our owne imbecillity for if the Lyon be conquered what shall the little Lamb doe If the Cedars of Libanus be shaken what shall the tender plant doe Alas what are wee if God withdraw his grace Even the best man upon the face of the earth if he were left to himselfe should perish everlastingly Look upon Saint Peter ô what a confidence and hye conceit had he of himselfe and yet for all his boasting hee did not onely deny but also forsweare his Master Wherfore lay away all presumption let no arogancy proceed out of your mouth but let every man cōsider his own infirmity therby learn a holy and a gracious humility Secondly let us observe the danger wherin we stand for if David a man according to Gods owne heart were tempted what man upon the face of the earth can be free from temptation I confesse that all men are not tempted alike to the same sinne of adultery For as our Saviour sayth There are some Eunuches which were so borne from their mothers wombe but all men are tempted to one sinne or other Now where the banke is lowest there the water will over where the wall is weakest there the enemy will batter and where man is weakest there the divell will soonest assault him for our adversarie is like to a cunning fisherman he cōsiders the natures and inclinations of the fishes and accordingly baiteth his hooke If Iudas be covetous the divell will baite his hooke for him with thirtie pieces of siluer If Achan love pride in apparell the divell will angle for him with a goodly Babylonish garment If Absolon be ambitious the divell will seeke to catch him with the hope of a kingdome Thus hee observeth all and accordingly he tempteth all and therefore looke for temptation whosoever thou art Alas my brother thou carriest sinfull flesh and bloud about thee and dost thou thinke thou shalt not be tempted The world is full of alluring provocations and doest thou think thou shalt not be tempted The divell goeth about like a roaring Lion seeking whom hee may devoure and dost thou think thou shalt not be tempted Wee have an enemy sayth Saint Hierome Cui nomina mille mille nocendi artes atque ego infoelix victorem me putabo dum capior He hath a thousand names and a thousand subtill devices to intrap and intangle the soules of men and I poore wretch shall I thinke my selfe a Conquerour even then when I am taken captive Beleeve me beleeve me haec tranquillitas tempestas est this calme will proove a storme for even then thou art tempted when thou thinkest thou art not tempted nay therefore thou art tempted because thou thinkest thy selfe free from temptation Our blessed Saviour when he taught his disciples to say Forgive vs our trespasses hee taught them likewise to say And leade vs not into temptation thereby teaching us that even those children of God whose trespasses are forgiven are still notwithstanding subiect to temptation Wherefore my sonne when thou entrest into the service of God prepare thy selfe for temptation Thirdly seeing wee are all so weake and yet walke in such danger what is then to bee done That we may learne of the Apostle Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall But how shall we take heed that we may learne of our blessed Saviour when he sayth Watch and Pray If the watch be neglected but one night the Citie may bee taken David had kept watch and ward over his senses all his life time and now neglecting it but one Evening he is not onely incountred but carried
TWO SERMONS PREACHED at the Kings Court this January 1620. Concerning Davids Adultery and his politick Practices By Francis Mason Archdeacon of Norfolk and Chaplain to his Maiesty in ordinary Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walke in the Law of the Lord. Psa. 119. 1. LONDON Printed by H. L. for Nathanael Newbery and are to bee solde at his Shop under Saint Peters Church in Cornehill and in Popes-head Alley 1621. To the Reader COurteous Reader whereas heretofore my slender writings published to the world and my Sermons in that Royall Auditory have been in part polemical incountring with some controversies of these times it pleased God this last year so to inflict upon me that tormenting paine which is incident to students and doth commonly accompany a sedentary life that I did interpret is as an Angel sent from God to put me in minde of my mortality Whereupon I resolved to divert my course from disputation to devotion from controversies to conscience and from henceforth to labour to worke in my selfe and others true mortification and sanctified affections and accordingly to temper both my study and my stile Wherfore being called by my ordinarie course of attendance to preach in that eminent place first of all I considered what sins are likely to be found in Princes Courts And among sundry other two especially did offer themselves to my cogitation carnall Concupiscence and politick Practices For where there is pomp in apparell delicacie in diet and beautifull obiects all concurring many times with idlenesse and ease there a man walketh in the midst of snares and is in danger to be set in combustion with the fiery darts of the Divell Againe Kings houses being not onely places of pleasure but also ever-flowing fountaines of profit and preferment no marvaile if nimble wits doe there set themselves aworke to attaine their owne endes and politickly to supplant all those that stand in their way or hinder their proiects For that they doe so will be evident as I suppose by the Chronicles of all Kingdomes and Countries Now though the English Court guided by so godly and gracious a Soveraigne bee of all other most remarkeable for learned preaching religious prayers and angelicall lauding and praising of God with spirituall Hymns and ravishing straines of melodious musick though it be beautified and adorned with a most worthy garland of sage Senatours Nobles and Gentlemen Yet I dare not altogether exempt it from such sinnes as have alwaies beene incident more or lesse to the Palaces of Princes Therefore in the second place I sought such a Text as might lead mee by the hand to reproove those vices and immediately I laid hould upon the story of King David But though David were a King yet I did not therefore single him out because hee was a King neither intended I preaching before a King to take occasion by King David to glanse in any wise at the sacred persons of Princes God forbid For our King God be thanked though in the highest pitch of worldly prosperitie is for chastity another Ioseph And though hee be for wisedome like an Angel of God and can dive into the depth of humane policies yet hee loveth and practiseth sincerity in all his dealings like to Nathanael the true Israelite in whō was no guile But I proposed David as a generall glasse of humane frailty wherein all men may behold their own imbecillity Neither had I any purpose when I preached these Sermons to publish them to the world but it pleased the Almighty to vouchsafe a blessing beyond expectation For hee that caused the hearts of the Disciples to burne within them while hee opened the Scriptures unto thē as they went to Emmaus did in the riches of his mercy kindle some such sparkles in the hearts of my hearers Which I perceiving by the multitude of those which desired copies did at last yeeld to let them passe to the Presse being mindfull of that of the Apostle As wee have oportunity let us doe good to all men especially to those who are of the household of faith Moreover wheras thou gentle Reader hast long expected my booke of the cōsecratiō of Bishops which by cōmand of authoritie was to bee translated into Latin I certifie thee that I have already finished the translation and by occasion of the opposition of my many Antagonists who have written against mee much inlarged the Worke and prepared it for the Presse under this title De ministerio Anglicano But the childe being brought to the birth as yet there wanteth strength to be delivered Yet I hope that our good God in his due time will give it a comfortable issue In the meane while enioy these my poore labours and giue them leave to worke upon thine affections And so I commend both thee them to the blessing of God Thine in the Lord Francis Mason Faults escaped Page 16. line 20. day is wanting Page 45. l. 4 vanquished for vanished Page 48. l. 8. race for name Page 54. l. 6. Ammon for Amnon p. 78. l. 23. disseised for defeated THE FIRST SERMON Preached at White-Hall before Prince CHARLES vpon Tuesday the ninth of Ianuary 1620. 2. Sam. 12 13. And David sayd vnto Nathan I haue sinned against the Lord And Nathan sayd vnto David the Lord also hath put away thy sin thou shalt not dye HEer are three things in David to be considered his sinne his repentance and his absolution The first thing is his sinne which is ingraven in my Text as it were with the point of a Diamond and that with such great and Capitall Letters that a man may runne and read it in these words AND DAVID SAID VNTO NATHAN PECCAVI DOMINO I HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD The second thing is his repentance presented unto vs in the selfe same words being vttered by way of lamentation as though he should say It is true Nathan it is true that thou hast sayd for I confesse I have sinned alas I have sinned most grievously and that against the Lord. The third thing is his absolution pronounced in these words And Nathan sayd unto David the Lord also hath put away thy sinne thou shalt not dye So first he sinned secondly hee repented and thirdly he was absolved He sinned there was the corruption of nature he repented there was the operation of the Spirit hee was absolved there was the unspeakable goodnesse of God In his sin let us behold our own frailety in his repentance let us learne our owne duty in his absolution let us magnifie Gods mercy The sinne of David reproued by Nathan and here confessed by himselfe was first of all that hainous sinne of adulterie and secondly those other sinnes which he committed while he went about to hide and cloake his adultery Of the former at this time by the grace of Christ of the residue heereafter when it shall please the Lord. Now that wee may rightly understand the haynousnesse of his adultery let vs briefly ponder
the Princes of the tribe of Iudah grandfather to Bezaleel the cunning workman Now it came to pass that when Moses held vp his hands Israel prevailed but when his hands fell downe Amalec prevailed And when his hands were heavie Aaron and Hur rowled a stone and hee sate thereon and they stayed vp his hands on the one side and on the other so his hands were steddy till the going downe of the sunne And even so should David have done hee should have holden up his hands for the hoast of Israel and in so doing both Aaron and Hur that is both Priest and People should have assisted and supported him Yea this may teach vs all our dutie in the like case When Iosua fights against Amalec when the Arke of God is in danger when Iudah and Israel when our brethren that are pillers in the Church of God are up in armes though we our selves be safe at home though wee bee far from dint and danger though wee feare not the roaring of the Cannon nor the push of the Pike yet wee may not follow sinfull pleasures with David but holde up our hands with Moses Yea in such a case it behooveth Moses Aaron and Hur Prince Priest and People to holde up their hands and to pray to the Lord For much availeth the prayer of a righteous man if it be fervent The third circumstance is that David lay then at home in peace plenty and prosperity yea as it is commonly holden in idleness and ease But wherein consisted this idleness I finde three reasons rendred First because hee lay at home in the time of the warres but wee must consider that the life of a King is worth ten thousand of ours and therefore not to bee endangered without great necessitie Secondly because hee lay upon his pallat in the afternoone but we must consider that a King is troubled with cares for the Common-wealth which make him wake when other men sleepe and therefore such rest and repose may sometimes be requisite for him Thirdly because he had leasure to walk upon the top of his house and to view the Citie but it were hard to denie that honest recreation to a King which is permitted to every common person How then was hee idle or no Truely these three points do not of necessitie convince him of sinfull idleness yet because all these three things now concurred and there followed such fowle events as commonly proceed from idlenesse therefore both ancient and late Writers comparing the antecedents with the consequents doe commonly impute his adultery to sinfull idlenesse and this we may imbrace as a most probable opinion Then mark I pray you when David fell Not when he was a poor Shepheard following the Ewes not when hee fought the Lords battels against the Philistines not when hee fled before the face of Saul but when he raigned peaceably at home from Dan to Bersheba when he had atchieved many and great victories abroad and had almost conquered all his enemies when he had inlarged his Dominions was inriched with abundance of gold and silver then and not before he gave himselfe to chambering and wantonnesse And heere let us observe the unthankfulness of David who when he should have beene praysing God for so many and so great blessings neglected his dutie and dishonoured his Maker Wherefore all you Courtiers which live in wealth and ease in pomp and braverie you that dip your foot in oyle and swimme in streames of gold you that inioy all pleasures which Sea or land may afford or the wit of man can possibly devise you that keep the key of natures closet and have the sunne alwaies shining upon your Tabernacle take heed in the name of God take heed lest Satan tempt you For you may see by this example of David that whom adversitie cannot bend prosperity can breake And thus much of the time To come to the fourth point How was David thus inveigled and intangled with the subtilty of sinne Truly by little and little Consider therefore I pray you how sinne steales upon a man by degrees First hee was idle Secondly in his idlenesse hee had a wandring eye which glancing upon a woman as shee bathed her selfe delighted to behold that beautifull obiect Thirdly hee did not onely looke but lust after her Fourthly in his lust he made a curious inquirie to know what she was Fiftly when he knew he sent for her Sixtly when shee came he tempted her and finally he committed folly with her These are the steps which lead to the den of death The first steppe was idlenesse and therfore let vs beware of idlenesse and resist the beginnings A burning torch when it begins to languish if it stand still is quickly quenched but if it be shaken it will recover and receive new inflammation even so the torch of Grace is extinguished by idlenesse but honest imployments do kindle and increase it A running water will keepe sweet when a standing poole will putrefie even so laborious industry will keepe the soule pure but idlenesse fils it with iniquity Now though idlenesse be the mother of much mischiefe yet especially of fleshly lusts Quaeritur Aegystus quare sit factus adulter In promptu causa est desidiosus erat That is it is demanded how Egystus became an adulterer the cause is soone rendred he was idle And if the question be how David became an adulterer the fathers will give you the like answere that it flowed from the fountaine of idlenesse Therefore take heed of idlenesse it was one of the sinnes of Sodome The second step to his fall was a wandring eye which rowling up and down did glance vnawares upon Bathsheba the bright as shee was bathing her selfe and was sodainly rapt with the admiration of her beautie neither was hee satisfied with a glance but as it is most likely hee fixed his eye and gazed upon her again and againe Well it is too plaine what David did Now let us consider what he should have done and what is all our duties to doe in the like case As Ioachim the Priest charged the inhabitants of Bethulia to keep the passages of the mountaines for by them there was an entrance into Iudea so I exhort all men to looke to their hearing and seeing for those are the passages of the mountaines lest by them the divell like Holofernes get entrance into the heart Secondly seeing so little a sparkle can kindle so great a flame seeing so much mischiefe may arise from the glance of an ey and such glances are hardly avoidable by the wit of man therefore let vs all pray to God that he wil be in our eies and in our looking Lord turn thou away mine eyes that they doe not behold vanity Thirdly if thy eye glancing thou feelest thy selfe ravisht with admiration or surprized with affectuous delectation then go out of the place or remove thine eye to an other obiect Gaze not upon the beautie of a woman
David and Bathsheba To begin with the woman After a while she perceives that she had conceived with child and now shee feares lest the world would take knowledge of her lewd demeanor because her husband had bin so long from home Now therefore though secretly she begins to weepe to mourne and to make lamentation Here is a glasse for all women to looke in even Bathsheba the beautifull She that of late gave her cōsēt to lascivious dalliance now shee se'eth her owne folly now shee is cloathed with shame as with a garment Those radiant and sparkling eyes which so darted love into the eyes of David are now all bebleared and beblubbered with weeping the teares run downe her blushing cheekes she wrings her hands shee rents her goulden haire and with all possible speed she sends unto David saying I am with child as though shee should say ô wretch that I am now my sin can be concealed no longer the matter is plaine my very body will shortly bewray it I carrie my accusation about me on the one side I feare the shame of the world on the other the danger of the Lawe but ô how shall I looke my poore Husband in the face You you were the cause of all this and therefore to you I make my moane alas alas what shall I doe So shee that of late had no regard of conscience is now tormented with an accusing conscience and she that before was not ashamed to sinne now she is ashamed lest her sinne should be knowne But what sayd David to all this for now he is put to his shifts Truly hee sheweth himselfe a notable spectacle of humane frailty for he had a greater care of his credit then of his conscience he was more afraid of the shame of the world then he was of the displeasure of Almighty God and therefore he did palliate his sinne to avoid the shame but he did not repent to avoid the displeasure And so much of the first motive His second motive was the danger of his darling for by the Law of God the adulteresse was to be put to death and therefore lest shee whom hee loved so tenderly should lose her life and that by his meanes hee bends all the strength of his wits to conceale the matter Hitherto of the motives now I come to the meanes that is his politike practices His first policy was to cloake the matter by a false imputation for which purpose Vrias the husband was to bee called home from the campe to the end that he cōversing with his wife might be supposed and reputed the father of the childe Wherein David did not only sin against God and his owne soule but moreover hee intended three notorious iniuries the first against the poor babe the childe begotten of his owne body which by this means he would have disclaimed and renounced even before it was born the second against Vrias to whom he would have obtruded a child by fraud imposture the third against the heirs of Vrias which by this plot might have been disseised and defrauded of their inheritance Here was wisedome I confesse but it was the wisdom of the serpent there wanted the simplicity of the Dove Such was the wisedom of Pharaoh who said Com let us work wisely when hee intended to oppresse the children of God Such was the wisdome of Ieroboam who to establish his Kingdome erected a standard to Idolatry by setting up two goulden Calves in Dan and Bethel This was wisdome but not according unto godliness Wisedome did I say or rather folly for how can that be called wisdom when men are wise to doo evill but to do good they have no understanding And I dare be bold to say that the wisdom of Achitophel the wisdom of Matchiavel and all wicked wisdom howsoever it seeme angelicall howsoever it shine and glister in the eyes of the world yet in true judgement it is nothing else but meer folly for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisedome and therefore where there is not the fear of God there cannot possibly bee any true wisdom David himselfe could somtimes say I understand more then the ancients because I keepe thy precepts Wherfore if a man would be truely wise Let him fear God and walke in his precepts This is wisdome according to godliness which will make a man wise to salvation And as this is the wisdome of every private man so herein likewise consisteth the true wisedome of Kings and Kingdomes of States and Common-wealths For as Moses said to Israel Keep the statutes iudgements of the Lord and doe them for this is your wisedome and understanding in the sight of the nations which shall heare all these statutes and say Surely this great nation is a wise and an understanding people Even so I say to you Let all your wisedome be according to godliness let all your policie be ioyned with pietie in all your consultations aske counsaile of the Lord let the God of Iacob be present chiefe President in all your parliaments and then surely hee will blesse this Land and the nations shall see it and say Surely this nation of Great Brittaine is a wise and an understanding people But to proceed in the story The messenger is gone Vrias is sent for he is come to the Court brought to the King who asketh him how Ioab did and how the people did and how the wars prospered and after kinde communication he gave him a courteous dismission Goe home to thy house and wash thy feet and there followed after him a favour from the King a messe of meate no doubt dainty and delicate that hee and his wife might make merry together But for all this courtly and cunning invitation Vrias went not home to his wife but slept at the gate of the Kings palace Which David understanding sends for him againe and thus expostulates the matter with him in friendly manner d Camst thou not from thy iourney why then didst thou not goe downe unto thy house Thus David pretended great love and friendship unto Vrias whereas in truth hee intended onely to make him a cloak for their iniquitie And is not this the fashion of the world at this day Many will pretend great loue and friendship unto a man when if the truth were known it is onely to serve their owne turnes and in relation to their owne private endes and purposes Hitherto wee have seen Davids courteous invitation and friendly expostulation now let us hearken unto the answere of Vrias He said unto David The Arke and Iudah and Israel abideinaents and my Lord Ioab and his servants are incamped in the open fields shall I then goe home to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife As thou livest and as thy soule liveth I will not doe it First let us cōsider what is meant by this that the Arke aboade in tents And it seemeth to
Vrias but it seemeth he perceived that this could hardly be done without the loss of moe Neither did hee write to David concerning this point but understanding that it was the Kings pleasure that Vrias should die he was resolute to perform it thogh the exployt should cost him an hundred mens lives Here it may seeme by Ioab that Captaines are sometimes too prodigall of the lives of their souldiers We read that Abner sayde to Ioab Let the young men arise and play before us So hee accounted fighting but a play and a sport Now though Captaines should be courageous in a good cause yet they must love and tender the lives of their souldiers If any man say that it was not David and Ioab which kild Vrias but the sword of the children of Ammon Let him consider the frame of a clock and he shall see how one wheele mooves another wheele and that another wheele and that the hammer and so the stroake is stricken but the cause of all this motion is a certaine secret weight or poyse which hangeth in a corner and is not seene As for example in the story of Naboth Naboth was condemned to death there the stroake was stricken the hammer that gave the stroake was the iudge which gave the sentence the wheeles that moved this hammer were the false witnesses the wheeles that moved these wheeles were the Nobles and Elders of Iezrael but the secret waights that set all these wheeles a going were Achab and Iezabel So Achab and Iezabel were the principall agents which mooved the men of Iezrael and they the false witnesses and they the Iudge and thus poore Naboth was put to death So in this present story Vrias was slaine there the stroake was stricken the hammer that gave the stroake was the sword of the children of Ammon the wheels that mooved this hammer were the souldiers which first made an hot assault and then suddenly retyring left Vrias to the sword of the enemies The great wheele which moved these lesser wheels was Ioab who so ordered the battell And the secret waight that mooved this wheele was David the first moover and cause of all the motion O David David What hast thou done Knowest thou not that innocent blood hath a cry yea and a loud and a shrill cry and what doth it cry but vengeance vengeance Let all men take heed of this crying sinne if it bee done never so secretly the Lord will finde it out If it bee in the forrest the tree of the forrest shall cry vengeance vengeance and the leaves of the tree shall answere it If in the fielde the beast of the field shal cry vengeance vengeance and the bird of the ayre shall answere it If in the house the stone out of the wall shall cry vengeance vengeance the ioynt out of the timber shal answere it Where ever it be the whole frame of heaven and earth shall cry vengeance vengeance and hell shall open her mouth and answer it And doth secret murther crie for vengeance and hath not open murther the same cry Yes vndoubtedly And heere I must needs taxe a vice which formerly in this kingdom hath much raigned amongst Nobles and gentlemen If they received any word of disgrace they would presently challenge one another to the field revenge their owne quarrels and trye it out with the point of the sword not without great iniurie to the King and his Lawe whom the Lord hath made revenger of wrongs yea to the King of kings for vengeance is mine and I will repay sayth the Lord. Should Subiects thus goe to single Combates for private quarrels Is this courage Is this valour No no it is nothing else but rashnesse and folly If you would be truly valorous then reserve your selves for your Prince and your Countrey for Christ and for his true Religion This indeed would argue a noble courage and a generous spirit But these private quarrels are most lamentable O how many fathers by these ungodly means have bin made childlesse how many children fatherlesse how many wives have lost their husbands how many Gentlemen whose auncestours have beene principall studs and pillers in their Country have by those desperate combates ruinated themselves and their posterity O miserable incounters wherein the very Conquerours gaine no other garland but shame and confusion either to lose their lives by order of Lawe or to forsake their owne Countrey and so to live in perpetuall exile with anguish and vexation of spirit O happy therfore and thrice happy be the Lords Anointed who set out that gracious proclamation against Duels so much tending to the glory of God and the good of this kingdome Here I exhort all such as desire to enioy a quiet conscience that they take heed of this crying sin For if there be no other to accuse the murtherer his own cōscience will accuse him Hee may for a time have a slumbring cōscience but when it wakens it will torment him We read of one Bessus who had kild his owne father of a time hearing but a Swallow chatter he caught the truncheon of a iaveling and did fling at it with wonderfull violence And being demanded why hee did so hee answered Did you not heare this wicked bird accuse mee as though I had killed mine owne father Whereupon hee was examined and confessed the fact So Cain when hee had killed his brother thought that every one that met him would kil him Such is the nature of an accusing cōscience He that hath shed innocent blood hee will think that the very ground hee goeth on is embrued with blood that his garments are besprinkled with blood that his fingers distill with blood If he heare two talke he will think they whisper of blood If hee wake hee will thinke of blood And if he sleep hee will dreame of blood And verely if Davids conscience had not beene benummed hee would have thought that every bird had chattered Vrias that every winde had whistled Vrias that woods and mountaines had sounded Vrias and that the Eccho had redoubled Vrias Vrias But now David to his other sins addeth dulnesse and hardness of heart Thus poor Vrias is taken away a man vertuous and valorous cōmendable in his life honorable in his death For he died fighting in the forefront of the Lords battell and the face of his enemies Whereby hee is now dispatched out of the way hee will bee no more hinderance or obstacle unto them and therfore let us now see what course they take When newes came to Ierusalem that Vrias was slaine the woman she mourned with what minde I know not but the Text testifies that she mourned Which we may conceive to have been in this or the like manner O Vrias my husband my sweet husband Vrias How long this mourning lasted I dare not define The Wiseman saith Seaven dayes doe men mourne for him that is dead If Bathshebah mourned no longer it was very fitting
for Davids purpose In the booke of Deutronomy the captive woman is commanded to bewail her father and her mother a full moneth And so long saith Peter Martyre is Bathsheba supposed to have bewailed her husband and longer in all probabilitie it could not bee So after a while the clowds of sorrow were dispelled and the sunne did shine upon her with his golden beames For David sent for her so shee became his wife and bare him a sonne which was borne in marriage considering the ordinary accidents which usually happen to women in that case and cause them to come before their time it might also be charitably and probably supposed even to bee gotten in marriage also Thus the adultery is covered the eyes of the world are bleared Bathsheba becomes a Queen David enioyes his Darling and now hee might say with him in the Poet in the like case Vicimus exclamat mecum mea vota feruntur Hitherto of his hiding it from man Come wee now to the second branch how he went about to hide it from God himselfe This I gather out of the 32. Psalm When I kept silence my bones waxed old that is while I did not confess it unto the Lord as appeares by that which followeth I sayd I will confesse my transgression unto the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sinne What was this else but so much as in him lay to hide and conceale it from the everlasting God O David What doost thou meane Though thou couldest hide it from the eyes of man yet thou canst not hide it from the al-seeing eye of God Whither wilt thou flie from his spirit or whither wilt thou goe from his presence If thou ascend into heaven he is there if thou make thy bedde in hell hee is there if thou take the vvings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost partes of the sea even there shall his hand leade thee and his right hand hold thee if thou shalt say the darkness shall cover me even the night shall bee light about thee c. Therfore thou canst not hide thy selfe from him He is about thy bed and about thy path and spieth out all thy wayes Hee spyed thee when thou walkedst so idlely upon the toppe of thy house he spyed all thy wandring and thy wanton looks hee sawe thy very heart by what degrees it was inflamed with carnall concupiscence There is not a word in thy tongue but he knoweth it altogether Hee heard thee when thou enquiredst so vainly after the woman hee heard thee when thou wast so foolish as to send for her hee heard thee when thou wast so lewd as to tempt her unto sinne yea hee both heard thee and saw thee and looked upon thee with fiery and flaming eyes when thou wast not ashamed to commit that filthy abhomination Wherefore let no man goe about to hide him self from the eyes of the Almighty For thus saith the Lord Though they digge into hell thence shall my hand take them though they climbe up to heaven thence will I bring them downe and though they hide themselues in the toppe of Carmel I will search and take them out thence and though they be hid from my sight in the bottome of the sea thence will I command the serpent and hee shall bite them Wherfore let all men stand in awe and sinne not But if they have sinned the best counsel that I can give them is to humble their soules and to confesse their sinnes to God with speedy repentance For he that covereth his sins shall not prosper but hee that confesseth and for saketh them shal find mercy Here observe the different proceedings of God and man Man goeth about to conceale it but God will have it revealed David would conceal it to avoid shame but God wil reveal it fil his face with shame that so by shame hee may bring him to glory For so long as it was concealed he repented not but so soon as it was revealed he repented all the dayes of his life And that which is more God will not onely have it revealed but also recorded in holy Scripture for all succeeding ages Yea David him selfe after he repented left the 51. Psalme as a pillar of brasse wherein his blood-guiltinesse is ingraven and so transmitted to all posterity And as the Lord did detect it so hee did likewise correct it For though in his unspeakeable mercie he said Thou shalt not die yet because hee slew Vrias with the sword therefore the Lord the righteous Iudge did punish him in the like kinde Wherefore let all men take heed by this example What measure you mete it shall be measured to you againe Pharaoh drowned the Infants in the river and in succeeding ages Pharaoh and his Hoast were drowned in the Red Sea It was I grant another Pharaoh yet one that did still continue the cruelty of the former Adonibezec cut off the thumbs and toes of threescore and ten Kings and made them gather their meat under his table and as he did to others even so the Lord did unto him Agags sword made many a mother childlesse and Samuels sword did the like to the mother of Agag By the meanes of Achab and Iezabel the dogges did lick the blood of Naboth and in the very same place did they lick the blood of Achab. Yea and the dogs did eate Iezabel under the walls of Iezreel But this present example of David is most memorable For as hee slew Vrias with the sword even so the sword did hang over his own house First Amnon the sonne of David was slaine with the sword by the command of his owne brother Absalon Secondly Absalon the sonne of David did drawe his sword against his owne father Thirdly Absalon himselfe was not onely hanged by the haire of the head and stricken through with darts but he was likewise smitten by ten men Fourthly Salomon drew the sword of iustice against his owne brother Adoniah who perished with the sword Wherfore let all men fear and tremble to plot be it never so cunningly against the life of a man the Lord doth see it will punish it And let all men pray to God to preserve them frō being instrumēts of evil by the example of Ioab whose blood also was afterward shed even while he took hold upon the horns of the Altar Thus much concerning the first generall part that is the sinne of David Now it remayneth that I should proceed unto the secōd that is to his repentance But that must be handled some other time if so it shall please the Lord In cuius manu nos opera nostra Now to conclude let no man compare mee to Cham who delighted to display the nakednes of his father nor yet to those foule flyes which loue to spot the fairest flower For for mine owne part I had rather bewaile mine owne infirmities then
blaze the imperfections of another especially of such as David and Bathsheba who this excepted were holy servants of God and both of them progenitors of Iesus Christ whether wee respect the legall line by Salomon or the naturall by Nathan Yet I have laid open the sinne of David somewhat largely in two severall Sermons First that man seeing the great nesse of his sinne may the better consider the greatnesse of his repentance Secondly that considering the haynousness of his sin wee may the more magnifie the mercy of God in pardoning the same Thirdly that wee beholding in him our owne infirmitie may stand in awe and not sinne Lastly that those which haue already sinned in the like manner as David may not despaire but as they haue sinned with David so they may repent with David that their soules may be saved and God glorified which the Lord grant c. FINIS Luk. 24 32 Gal. 6. 10 a 1. Sam. 17. 34 b Ibid. c 1. Sam. 17. 4. 50 d 1. Sam. 18. 27. 23. 5 e 1. Sam. 18. 11. 23. 20. 24. 16. 26. 2. a 1. Sam. 16. 1 b 1. Sam. 17. 51 c 1. Sam. 18. 7 d 1. Sam. 18. 1 e 1. Sam. 18. 20. f 2. Sam. 5. 5 g 1. chr 28 h 2. Sam. 7. 1 i Act. 2. 30 l act 2. 29 m act 2. 30 n act 13. 22 Mat. 19. 12 a Epist. 1. b 1. Cor. 10. 12 c Mat. 26. 41 a alias Bathshua 1. Chr. 3. 5 b 1. chr 3. 5 c 2. Sam. 5. 13 d 2. Sam. 23. ver vlt. 1. chr 11. 41. e 2 Sam. 5. 4. 5 a 2 Sam. 5. 7 b 2 Sam. 5 20. and 5 25. and 8. 1 c 2 Sam. 8 2 d 2 Sam. 8 12 e ibid. f 2 Sam. 8 3 g 2 Sa. 8 14 h 2 Sam. 10. 6 i 2 Sam. 10 16 l 2 Sam. 11. 1 m 2 Sam. 5. 4 n 1 Chr. 3 5 a Ioh. 19 41 b Tit. 2. 6 c Luk. 15 12 a Eccles. 10. 1 b Pro. 16 31 c Eccles. 25. 6 a Ioel 2. 16 b Exod. 17 c Iam. 5. 16 a Ez. 16 49 Iudeth c. 4. 6. 7 Mat. 14 30 a 2 Sam. 11. 3 b Alias Ammiel 1 Chro. 3. 5 c Iob 31. 1 a Heb. 13. 4 b 2 Cor. 5 10 c Gal. 6. 4 5 Martyr 2 Sam. 1â— Ecclus. 26 14 a in Ps. 50 b 2 Sa. 13 6 2 Saâ— 16. 22 a 1 Cor. 6 9. 10 b Mal. 2 14 Le. 20. 10 b Geogr. li. 16 a Valerius Max. b See Espencaeus de contin l. 3. c 4 c Iuven. sat 2 1 Cor. 10. 8 a Ex. 28. 1 b Gen. 49 10 c Gen. 48 22 d Iob 31 12 Gen. 49. 4 e Gen. 48. 5 Ver. 20 a Eclus 4 21 a Gen. 39 9 2 Sa. 11. 5 a 3. Le. 20. 10 b Ex. 1. 10 c 1. Reg. 12 28. * Psa. 111 10 a Psa. 119 110 b Deut. 4 5. 6 c 2 Sam. 11. 7 d Ver. 10 2 Sa. 11. 11 a 1 Sam. 4 b Heb. 9. 4 c Psa. 132 8 d Num. 10 35 a Est. 1. 8 b 2 Sam. 11. 13 a Peucr in Gen. b Fitzh rel pol. c Alex. ab Alex. gen die l. 2. c. 17 a Dan. 6 b 1 Sam. 22. 18 c 1 Reg. 21 11 a 2 Sam. 3. 27 b Iob 11 14 c pro. 10. 9 d 2 Sam. 11. 17 e 2 Sam. 11. 15 2 Sam. 2 14 a Ro. 13. 4 b Ro. 12. 19 a Pluta de ijs qui sero a numme pumuntur b Gen. 4. 14 c 2 Sam. 11. 26 Ecc. 22. 12 Deut. 21 13 Vpon 2 Sa. c. 11 Psa. 32. 3 Ver. 5 f psa 139 Amos. 9. 2 b pro. 28 13 Psa. 51. 14 c Maâ— 7. 2 d Ex. 1. 22 e Exod. 14 27 a Iud. 1. 7 b 1 Sam. 15. 33 c 1 Reg. 21 19 * 1 Reg. 21 23 2 Reg 9 36 e 2 Sa. 13 28 f 2 Sam. 18. 15 g 2 Sam. 2. 25 h 1 Reg. 2 31 * 1 Chro. 3. 5