Exposition of the Whole Bible

religious matters, exempted from marks of Go's: difpleafure when they go.wrong.

¥. 8. And David was difpleafed, becaufe the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzab, &c.| He could not eafily fubmit, and be reconciled to the providence; his heart was ready ‘to rife up againft God, and murmur at him for ftriking him dead in fuch an awful manner, for fo {mall a matter as this might feem to be; and the rather, as this put a ftop to the proceffion, and caft a damp upon thei joy and mirth on this-occafion, and might feem to be an ill omen to Devid, and be improved by his enemies againft him: and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzab unto this day, the name he gave the place, which fignifies the breach of Uzzab, continued to tHe time of writing this book.

y.9. And David was afraid of the Lord that day, &c.] Left he fhould be fmitten for his error ‘ alfo, and efpecially as he had difcovered fome refentment at the Lord’s dealing with Uzzeb; when he ought to have been {till and quiet, and fubmitted to the will of God, and owned his jufticein ir, confefled his own error, and been thankful for his fparing mercy vouchfafed to him: and fatd, bow fhall the ark come to me? the meaning of which — is not, how it fhould be brought to the place provided by him in Yerufalem, now Uzzah was dead, for there were Levites enow to carry it, as they afterwards did; but as fignifying that it would be either boldnefs and prefumption in him to do it, fince God. had fhewn fuch a mark of his difpleafure at their proceeding, that he might be in doubt whether it was the will of God it fhould come to him; or as feating it would be dangerous to him to have it with him, fince he might be guilty of fuch an error, of the fame, or like it, that had been committed.

y.10. So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him into the city of David, &c.) As yet, but wait a little longer, until he had more thoroughly confidered of it, and made himfelf acquainted with every thing relative to the ark, that he might know how to behave for the future, without giving offence: but David carried it afide into the houfe of Obed-edom the Gittite; which was hard by, on one fide of the place where they were; this man was a Levite, as appears from his being afterwards appointed to be door- keeper for the ark,

‘and to fing praife before it, and fo a proper perfon to commit the care of it to, 1 Chron. xv. 18, 24, 24. and xvi. 5,6. he is called. a Gittite, either becaufe he had fojourned in Gath fome time, or rather becaufe he was of Gath-rimmon, a city of y. 11. And the ark of the Lord continued in the David, and thofe with him, returned to their habitations, where they continued during this time: and the Lord bleffed Obed-edom, and all his boufoold; him, and all his family, with fpiritual bleffings, and wich an affluence of temporal good.things; for godlinefs has the promife of this life, and of that which is to come; men ‘are not lofers but gainers, even in things temporal, for their attachment to_ caufe of religion, and the fervice of God, and their regard to that in their own houfes, as well as in the houfe of God. | Fo/ephus ° fays, that Obed-edom of which he foon emerged, and came into — S 4 i » re - bee.

circumttances, fo as to be taken notice of by neighbours, and reported abroad; by which means his)to appear in; rathef thad in hls royal tobes, as being mire agreeable to the fervice of God, and

David came to the hearing of it, as follows.

yy. 12. And it was told king David, &c.) By fome of his courtiers who had heard of it: faying, the Lord hath bleffed the boufe of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth unto bim, becaufe of the ark of the Lord; it was fo fuddenly, in fo fhort a time, and fo largely, that it could not efcape the notice lighter for him both occafion.

¥.15. So David and al) the boufe of Ifrael brought up the ark of the Lord, 8cc.| ‘The elders of Irael, > and the captains over thoufands, 1 Chron. xv. 25. befides the common people; there miglit be as large a number with him how, as before: with to walk and dante in on this and obfervation of men that knew him; and this | houting, and with the found of the trumpet, with increafe was not in any natural way by which it could be accounted for; fo that it could be afcribed to no other caufe but the bleffing of God, and that on account of the ark of God that was with him; nothing elfe could be thought of: fo David went and brought up the ark of God from the houfe of Obededom in the city of David with gladnefs, being animated and encouraged by the bleffing of God on the houfe of Obed-edom, becaufe of it, and thereby freed from thofe flavifh fears he was before poffeffed of, and filled with hopes of being bleffed alfo on account of it; if not with temporal bleffings, he needed not, yet with fpiritual ones.

yy. 13. And it was fo; that when they that bare the ark of the Lord, &c.} The Levites; for now David had feen the tormer miftake, and rectified it, and ordered the Levites to carry it, as they did upon their fhoulders, with the {taves therein, fee 1 Chron. xv. 2, 12—15. when thefé had gone fix paces, he facrificed oxen and fatlings; wpon an altar, which was at once erected for‘that purpofe; the number and kind of facrifices offered were feven bullocks, and feven rams, 1 Chron. xv. 26. and thefe David offered, not by himfelf, but by the priefts that were with him, and that as foon as they had gone fix paces from the houfe of Odededom; whereby they perceived the Levites were able to carry thé ark, with what was in it, the Lord helping them, as in the above quoted place, and without ftumbling and falling, or any evil attending them; and Kimchi thinks, thefe fix paces were juft the meafure of the ground Uzzab went before what befel him; but it is highly probable the fhouts of the people in common, and with blowing of trumpets by thofe who were appointed for that purpofe, and with other inftruments of mufic, fee 1 Chron. xv. 27, 28. ‘Fofephus fays*, that feven choirs went before the priefts bearing the ark, as the king commanded, he himfelf playing on the harp; 10 the Septvagint verfion. y¥. 16. And as the ark of the Lord came into.the city of David, &c.| Being brought thither on the fhoulders of the Levites: Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window; in the King’s palace, to fee the proceffion, which was very grand; and in great pomp, attended by a vaft number of people, and with mufic of all forts. She is faid to be Sau ’s daughter, though David’s wife, as having: a:good deal of her father’s haughty.temper and difpofition, as appears by what follows: and faw king David leaping and dancing before thé Lord, the ark of the Lord, by thefe outward geftures expreffing the inward joy of his heart on this occafion 5 and fhe de- [pifed him in ber heart; as a&ting a mean part, quite beneath himfelf, and unbecoming his royal dignity. - y. 17. And they brought in the ark of the Lord, &c.] Into the city of David, the ftrong hold of \ Zion; and fet it in his place; in the midft of the tabernacle that David bad pitched for it, or feretched out: fof this was not the tabernacle of Moj/es, David pitched any whefe; that was at this time at Gibeon, where it continued to the time of Solomon; i Chron. xxi. 29. 2 Chron. i. 3, 4. but this was a curtain, or curtains, which he had ftretched out for drawn around for the ark to be pitched in the midft of; and this was not in his own houfe, for chat he had gone farther; however, no doubt by the order of David, the Levites fet down the ark, and facrifices were offered by way of thankfgiving to God, and for the continuance of his goodnefs, he is afterwards faid to go to that, but fomewhere in Ferufalem or the city of David: and David offered burnt-offerings, and peace-offerings before the Lord; ‘that is, before the ark, and that by way of and for atonement for former errors. Some think thefe feven oxen and rams were offered, at feven jeveral times and placés, at every fix paces an ox and a ram; but this is not very likely.

¥. 14. And David danced before the Lord with thankfgiving for its being brought fafe thither, without any error or miftake on the fide of him, the Levites, and the people, and without offence to God, and any mark of his difpleafure as before. This muft be fuppofed to be done by priefts, and all bis might, 8c.) ‘That is, before the ark of not by David himfelf, who was no prieft.

the Lord; not a fet dance, or along’ with others; but he leaped and fkipped as car, a lamb,’ does, and that for joy that the ark was like be brought home to his houfe, without any token of the: divine difpleafiiré, as before; the Targum is; “* he praifed before the Lord with all his might;” exerted himfelf to the uttermoft in finging the praifes of God vocally, or by playing on an inftrument; to which fenfetare the Septuagint, Syriac and Arabic verfions, which’ is approved of by Caffel?; who obierves, it no where appears to have been’ a cuftom to dance before the ark; but it might be now done, though not ufual, and therefore was oblérved by AZichal with contémpt, y. 16. a later

y.18. And as foon as David had made an end of offering burnt-offerings,' and peace-offerings, &cc.

Or thefe were performed according to his order: be blefféd the people in the name of the Lord of bofts; not as a prieft, but as a prince, as the common father of them, wifhing them all happinef$ and profperity outward and inward, praying to God to blefs them with all bleffings temporal and fpiritual, who is the God of armies above and below, and can do what he pleafes; and more than his people can afk orthink.

¥. 19. And be dealt among all the people, &c.] Gave a dole unto them, divided among them: even among the while multitude of Irael, and if the word: and David was girded with a linen ephod; whicly others, befides priefts, fometimes wore, as Samuel did, and which David might choofe of them, ¥. 1. and perhaps more, fince it follows: as well to the women as men; to both the one and the other; and the women, it is very probable, were not among thofe that went to fetch the ark, but aflembled to attend the entrance of it into the city, and were prefent at the folemnities of its fettlement: fo every one a cake of bread; or a loaf of bread, of what quantity is not faid, no doubt fufficient for any one perfon, or more:

y. 21. And David faid unto Michal, It was before the Lord, &c.| Before the ark of the Lord, what was done was done there; fhe upbraided him with his dancing and finging, which was defigned for the honour and glory of God, and in thankfulnefs him for the bringing the ark to his city, and therefore fhe ought not to have reproached him with and he adds: which chofe me before thy father, defore all bis houfe; which he obferved to humble her pride, and mortify her, as well as to remark the diftinguifhing goodnefs of God to him, which laid him under obligation to exprefs his thankful-— nefs to him in every fhape: to appoint me ruler over and a good piece;the people of the Lord, over Ifrael, which was a high honour conferred upon him, and required the utmoft gratitude: sherefore will I play before the Zord; upon the harp, or praife before him, as the Targum, fing his praife before the ark, unto any inftrament of mufic, without once imagining I difgrace myfelf, on the contrary think it to be the higheft honour to me to be employed in fuch fervice. ours,) y.22. dnd I will yet be more vile than thus, &c.} fo all the If this is to be vile, Il] endeavour to be viler ftill; refrelalif to dance before the ark, and fing the praifes of, God be reckoned a leffening of me, I'll more and. more be found in doing iuch things, or what is fimilar to them: and will be bafe in mine own fight 5 humble himfelf, and lic low in his own eyes, admiring the grace and goodnefs of God to him, thinking he could never condefcend too low to exalt the Lord, and magnify the riches of his © goodnefs: and of the maid-fervants which thou haft /poken of, of them fhall I be had in honour; who the more humble I am, and the more I condefcend, by laying afide all ftate in aéts of devotion and religion, the more fhall-I be honoured and fpoken well of by them.

of flo not only that was good in quality but large in quantity, a very large piece of it; the Fews fay * the fixth part of a bullock, they dividing into fix parts as we.into four quarters; but it is not likely that fuch a quantity of flefh fhould be given to each perfon; and a flagon of wine; but what fuch a veffel held cannot be faid, though at; leaft we may fuppofe it equal to a bottle of or more. See Cant. ii. 5. and Hof. iii. 1. people departed every one to his houfe, to themfelves withthe provifions David had giventhem.

y. 20. Then David returned ta blefs his houfbold, &c.] His wife, children, and fervants, to wih all happinefs to them on this occafion, and pray to God for bleffings on them temporal and fpiritual. This was done when he came from the place where the ark was fet, and was come to his own palace: ond Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David;, before he had got quite to his own houfe: and faid, How glorious was the king of Ifrael to day, which fhe fpoke in an ironical jeering way, meaning the reverfe, how inglorious, mean, and defpicable he had made himfelf to be, by his airs and geftures: who uncovered him/felf to day in the eyes of the handmaids of bis fervants, as one of the vain fellows foamelefly uncovereth himfelf! becaufe he had put off his royal robes, and put on a linen ephod; for that he had ftripped himfelf naked cannot be fuppofed, nor do her words import fo much, tho’ a paffionate exaggeration of the cafe.

. 23. Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child until the day of her death, &c.| The children fhe brought up for Adrzel were not her own, but adopted ones, or Adriel’s by another woman, chap. xxi. 8. however, fhe had none after this time, whatever fhe had before, and it does not appear that fhe had any, though the Jews fay fhe was Eglah, and Ithream her fon, chap. iii. 5. fee the — note there. And thus fhe that vilified David brought a reproach upon herfelf, as barrennels was always reckoned, and no one defcending froma her to'arrived to royal dignity, and fat on the throne of David; and fo it was ordered in providence, as it,! 4darbinel obferves, that the feed of David and of and Saul might not be mixed. y ee IS chapter expreffes David’s concern for building an houte for the ark of God, which} 4eu he communicated to Nathan the prophet, and was approved of by him, ¥. 1, 2, 3. and who was that night fent by the Lord to David, to acquaint him, that as he had for many years dwelt in a tert, and had never given directions to the tribes of J/rae and the rulers of them to build him an houfe, fo neither fhould David build him one; but his fonthat would fucceed him in the throne fhould; and alfo obferves to him the many great things he had done for him, and promifes him more, and particularly the eftablifhment of his throne and kingdom for ever, in which he has refpect to the Mefiah, that thould {pring from him, ¥. 4—17. Then follows a prayer of David, in which he expreffes the he had of the greatnefs and goodne(s of God, and of his own unworthinels to receive fuch favours from him he had, returns him thanks for the promifes he had made, and prays for the performance of y¥. 1. And it came to pafs when the king fat in bis. e, &c.] Which Hiram’s fervants had built for him, having no occafion to go out to war: and the Lord had given him reft round about from all bis enemies; both at home and abroad; though this reft and peace did not laft long; for the next chapter gives,}an’account of feveral people he was engaged in war with. "

¥.2. That the king faid unto Nathan the prophet, 8cc.] This is the firft time this prophet is made mention of, but often afterwards, yet who he was, and from whence he came, is not known; he appears to be a man of great piety and prudence, as well as endowed with a prophetic fpirit, and was. very familiar with David, and perhaps dwelt in his fenfe palace; being a man on all accounts fit for converfation with princes, to whom David imparted. what he had been meditating upon in his heart. — The Jews have a tradition ‘, that he was the fame with Fonathan the fon of Shimea, the broth es iin Sea ® 5 ae Pa, 7 _ * My Ch. vii. ¥. 3—8. I. SA See now, I dwell in an houfe of cedar; made of the Cedars of Lebanon; fee what a fpacious palace it is: but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains; ina tabernacle within curtains, as the Jargum; not the tabernacle of Mo/es, for that was at Gideon, 1 Chron. xxi. 29. but that which David had made for it, which confilted of curtains that were drawn around it, chap. vi. 17. It gave him a concern that he fhould dwell in fo magnificent a palace, and the ark of God fhould have fo mean an habitation; wherefore it was upon his mind to build a grand edifice for it, and this he inegefted hereby to Nathan, and fo he underftood him as appears by what follows; and the rather he was led to fuch a thougire, being now at reft and in peace; for then it was an houfe was to be built for God, in which he would caufe his name to dwell, as David might eafily learn from Deut. xii. 9, 10, 11. and who fo proper to fet forward fuch a work as a king, and he when at reft from his enemies?

y. 3. And Nathan foid to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart, &c.| He perceived it was in his heart to build an houfe for God; he knew an houfe was to be built at one time or another, by fome perfon or another; he knew it was 4 good work, and fit foraking to do, and might think this was a proper time as any, he being at leifure, and therefore encouraged him toit: butinafmuch as the time when and the perfon by whofn this was to be built were not pointedsout particularly in the word of God; David and he fhould have confulted the Lord about it, in this they erred, and for which they were tacitly reproved; for as the event fhews, -this was not the time when, nor David the perfon by whom, it was to be built. Nathan {aid this as a pious and good man, ina _pri- Vate capacity, not as a prophet, or under a fpirit of prophecy; for prophets did not always fpeak under fuch an influence, but, as private men, faid fome things ignorantly and through miftake; fee 1 Sam. xvi. 6. 2 Kings iv, 27. for the Lord is with thee’ profpering and fucceeding him in all he undertook, giving him reft from all his enemies; and he might think that this motion he now made of building an houfe was from the Lord; the Targum is, ** the Word of the Lord fhall be for thine help,” or thine helper, and fhall affift thee in this work. David being thus encouraged by the prophet, his thoughts were more employed about it, and he was refolute and eager to perform it; and now it was he penned the 132d pfalm, in which he exprefles his oath and vow to find a place to buildon. ©

¥. 4. And it came to pafs that night, &c] The fame night following the day in which David and Nathan had had the above converfation, that neither of them might continue long in their error and miftake, and efpecially left David, in his great zeal and warm affection, fhould take an hafty and improper ftep: that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan; the word of prophecy, as the Targum, before he was not under a prophetic influence, but fpoke in his own words, and had not the word of God; but now itcame tohim: /aying; as follows.

¥. 5. Go and tell my fervant David, &c.] The Lord fpeaks very honourably and refpedctfully of him, owns him to be his fervant in other. things, choles he did not chufe to employ him in this; and though he was not the perfon, nor this the time, to build the houfe of the Lord, yet as he fhewed a good will towards it, fo far it was acceptable to God: Thus faith the Lord, Shalt thou ae ty 5 ey ne he gh 553 build me an houfe for me to dwell in? no, thou thalt not, as appears from 4£ Chron. xvii. 4. which feems to be expreffed with muclr fpirit, and fome degree of refentment, to refolve on fuich a work, without feeking to know his mind in it. Expolemus", ani heathen, confirms this account, only inftead of a prophet he fpeaks of an angel, whofe name he fays was Dia-Nathéin, who, when David was defirous of building a temple for God, and very anxious to be fhewn the place where the altar was to be erected; this angel appeared to him; and though he fhewed him the place for the altar, forbad him building it, becaufe he was polluted with human bleod, and had been engaged in wars many years, and bid him leave the building of it to his fon. ’ ¥. 6. Whereas I have not dweltan any Loufe, &c.} Fixed, ftated habitation: /ince the time that I brought up the children of Irael out of Egypt, even to this day; a {pace of 5 or 600 years, tho’ he might before but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle, moving from place to place while in the wildernefs, and fince in the land of Canaan, firft at Gilga/, then at Shiloh, afterwards at Nob, and now at Gibeon. Tent and tabernaclé are diftinguifhed, though they were but, one building and habitation; the tent was theycurtains of goats hair, and the tabernacle the. linen ’ curtains, fee Exod. xxvi. 1. 6. 11,912, 13. In 1 Chron. xvii. 5; it is from tent to tent, and fromone tabernacle to another; which does not intend variety of tabernacles, but change of place.: ¥. 7. In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Ifrael, &c.| Thofe mentioned in the note on the preceding verfe: /pake Ia word with any of the tribes of Ifrael; or rather the fceptres of Tfrael; fo the word is tendered, Gen. xlix: 10. the fceptre-bearers, rulers, and governors, whofe cuftom was to carry a fceptte in their hands, as Ben Melech obferves; and fo in a parallel text, 1 Chron. Xvii. 6. itis, to.any of the judges of Ifrael; any of thofe from the times of Mofes and Fofbua to the. times of Saul and David, and this is confirmed by what follows: whom I commanded to feed my people Pfrael, that is, to.rule and govern them, protect and defend them, which cannot be faid of the tribes _ but of the rulers of them; and the Lord afks this. queftion, whether ever he had faid a word to any of thofe in all that fpace of time, expreffing any thing of this kind: Why build ye not me an boufe of cedar? they never were bid to do it, or expoftulated. with why they did not, or ever reproved for not doing it; therefore why fhould David think of doing it? " y. 8. Now therefore, fo fhalt thou fay unto my fervant David, &c.} For it was taken well at his | hands, in part, that it was in his heart, and he had a defire to build an houfe for God, though he was wrong in determining upon it without feeking the Lord; and left he fhould be-difcouraged by the prohibition of him from building, the following things are obferved to affure him, it was not from difregard unto him, or difpleafure at him, that he would not be employed in this ferviee; fince the Lord had given fufficient tokens of his favour to him, and with which he fhould be content, as having honour enough done him; it was enough that God had raifed him up from a low eftate to great grandeur and dignity: Thus faith the Lord of hofis, 1 took thee from the fheep-cote, frou following the foeep, to be ruler cver my people, over Ifraél; tor that was his employment, to keep his father’s father’s fheep before he was sala into Sau/’s court, and married his daughter, when after his death he came to have the crown ‘of Ifrael: now this is faid, not to upbraid him with his former meannefs, but to obferve the goodnefs of God unto him, and what reafon he had for thankfulnets, and to look upon himfelf as a favourite of God, who of a keeper of fheep was made a fhepherd of men, to rule and feed thei; fo Cyrus is called a fhepherd, J. xliv. 28.

and Agamemnon, in Homer “, is called the /oepherd of the people. ¥.9. And I was with ibee whitherfoever thou wenteft, &c.] When he went againft Goliath, when he went forth againft the Philiftines, when in Saual’s ~ court, when he fled from Sad/, and was obliged to go to various places, God was with him protecting and preferving him, prospering and fucceeding him every where, and in every thing: and have cut off all thine enemies out of ih ry fight; as Saul, and others in the land of J/rael, and the Philiptines, and other enemies round about him, fo. that he had reft from them all: and have made thee a great name, like anto the name of the great men thatare in the earth; a name for a mighty king, warriour, ands conqueror, fuch as fome mighty kings and great men of the earth had obtained, and fuch Fomes being made king over all J/rae/; and his fuccefs againtt the ‘Yebufites had got hima name, as well as former vidtories he had been favoured with; on account of

- Chivii.y Y.O—-15. Tous of building an houfe for God, God build up an houie for him; which would be that though he did not think fit to F him in the building of his houfe, yey, he was not caft out of his favour, nor was it to be ° fo interpreted by himfelf or others. ¥.42. And when thy days be fulfilled, &e.| The days of his life, which were appointed by the Lord for him to live, and whenshe had_ filled up the common term of man’s life, as he exacily did; for he lived juft 70 years, fee ch. v. 4. Pf xe. 10. and thou foalt fleep with chy faibers; die and be buried; for this is a phrafe expreflive of death, and the grave the common portion of men: J will — fet up thy feed after thee, tons to fucceed.in the kingdom, as they did for the fpace of 500 years; though here it refpeéts one particular feed or fon, even Solomon, as appears by what follows: which feall proceed out of thy bowels; be begotten by him, and born unto him, and has regard to a future fon of his not yet born; not db/alom nor Adonijab, nor any of the reft born in Hedyox were to fucceed him in the kingdom, but one as yetunborn: and Iwill efablifo his kingdom; fo that -he fhall have a long and happy reign, as Solomon had.

“y. 13. He Joall build an houfe for my name,. &c, 1 For the honour of it, for the worfhip and fervice of God, as it is well known Solomon did; and fo his antitype the Mefiah, Zech. vi. 12, 13. and I will all which his name and fame had been {pread abroad flabiifh the throne of bis kingdom for ever, that is, in the world, and he was teckoned as one of the eras princes in it..,

! 210. (Moreover, I will appoint a place for my toe rac, &c.] “The land of Canaan; this the Lord had of old appointed to them, and had introducedsthem into and fettled them i in it, but not entirely and alone; in many places the Canaanites had inhabited; but now they. fhould be expelled, and the Yraclites fhould have the place to themfelves: and will plant them; {0 that they thall take root and flourifh, and continue: that they: dwell in a place of their own 3; and not as hoe dwelt in Egypt, in a land that was not theirs; or under themfelves *, under their own rulers and governors: and move no more, as they did in the times of the Judges, when finning againft God, they were often delivered into their enemies hands, and carried captives: neither foall the children of wickedne/s afi ihem any more, as beforetime; when in Egypt, and in the _ time of the Fudges; all which is fuppofed, provided they did not depart from the Lord, but abode by his word, worfhip, and ordinances, and obeyed his will; for it was by their obedience’they held their tenure of the land of Canaan, fee If, i..19. or all this may refpeét future times, when they fhall be converted,to the Meffiah, and return to their own Jand, and ever continue in it, and never more be haraffed and ciftrgiig, Fer. BERN, Ate Ezek. XXXVil. 25.

y. 11. 4nd as fince the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Irael, 8c.) Before the. time the judges were raifed they were greatly afficted by one nation or another around them,. and beeween judge and judge, but now they fhould be x10 more fo; here the parenthefis fhould end: and have caufed fie to reft from all thine enemies;) this belongs to David perfonally, and intends the fame

‘asin he 1. allo the Lord telleth thee, that he will make thee an houfe; not only build up his family, and make that numerous, but eltablifh the 1oufe of his kingdom, as the Yargum, that wh as he for a long time. Solomon's reign was 40 years, and the kingdom of Fudab continued in his potterity until the Babylonifh captivity, and a_ prince that deicended from him was the ruler of the people when, they returned: this has its fulfilment more eminently in Chriff, who was:of his feed, to whom God has given the throne of his father David, and who jhall reign over the houfe of Jacob for ever, Luke i. 32, 33. igi y. 14. 1 will be bis father, and he fhall be my, fon, &cc.] That is, I will be as kind unto him, and careful of him as a father of a fon; or he fhall be, and appear to be my fon, by adopting grace, as no doubt S¢/omon was, notwithftanding all his failings. This is applied to Chri, the antitypical Solomon, who was, in an higher fenfe, the fon of God, even by natural and eternal generation; fee Heb. i. 5 if be commit iniquity; which cannot be fuppofed of Chrift; for though he was made fin by imputation, ~ he neither knew nor did any, but may be fuppofed of his fpiritual offspring, whom he reprefented as an head and furety, as of Solomon, who committed many fins andtranfgreffions: J will chaften bim with the rod of men, and with the ftripes of the children of - mens either with men themfelves, as Hadad the Edomite, Rezon the fon of Eliadabh, and feroboam the fon of Nebat, by all whom he was afflicted and diftreffed, after he fell i into idolatry, 2 Kiags xi. or with fach rods and ftripes as men correét their children with, not to deftroy them, but to chaftife them for their good; and {o the phrafes denote humane, kind, gentle, moderate corrections given in love, and which anfwer. fome good purpofes, ¥. 15. But my mercy fall not depart away him, &c.} Which» is not to be underftood cial mercy and grace, though it is true— with refpect to Solomon, and fo to all the < i children of God, fee P/: Ixxxix. 32, 33. b si; this here defigns “fach mercy as may be taken away from another, and as it was from Saul, as 4 et) 10k i it from Saul, awhom I put awa a sam

+.; Ch.vii. ¥16—2r.° I. SA MU EL. Rog ore thee; and therefore muft be underftood of his si and to be at peace and reft from them, and efta-.

mercy and kindnefs, in giving him a kingdom, and fetting him on the throne; this fhould not be taken away from him, as it was from Saul; whom God rejected from being king; not him perfonally, but his pofterity; but fo the Lord would not do, nor did he, to Solomon, in whofe pofterity the kingdom of Fudab continued to the Babylonifh captivity.

y. 16. And thine boufe, and thy kingdom fhall be eftablifbed for ever before thee, 8cc.| That is, both his family and his government fhould be perpetu- ‘ated, or he fhould always have one of his family to fit upon his throne; the accomplifhment of which, in the beginning of it, he faw with his eyes in his fon Solomon, and with an eye of faith in his greater fon the Meffiah, in whom only thefe words will have their compleat fulfilment; and fo /barbinel fays this vifion or prophecy is explained by fome of the days of the Mefiab; and this houfe and kingdom, in x Chron. xvii. 14, are called by the Lord my houfe, and my kingdom: thy throne fhail be eftaolifbed for ever; which is a repetition of the fame in other words for the confirmation of it.

¥.17. According to all thefe words, and according to wll this vifion, &c.| » All the words of this prophecy, juft as they were delivered to Nathan, were exactly exprefled by him; he did not vary from them in the leaft, but with the greateft faithfulnefs related them: -/o did Nathan {peak unto David; though in the part which related to the hiftory of the houfe of God, it was contrary to the advice which he had given; but he was not afhamed to retract his fenie, when he was made acquainted with the mind of God.

yy. 18. Then went king David in, &c.| Into the tabernacle where the ark was, which he had prepared for it, ch. vi. 17. and fat before the Lord, before the ark, the fymbol of his prefence, and prayed, and gave thanks, as follows; from whence it appears, that a fitting pofture was fometimes ufed in prayer, of which we have other inftances, Exod. xvii. 11, 12. 1 Kings xix. 4. It is faid % that Pythagoras, and alfo Numa, ordered that worthippers fhould fit. So that this act of devotion is not to be limited to any particular pofture, though it feems moft agreeable either to ftand or kneel; and the ‘ews look upon this to be a peculiar cafe, and infer from hence, that none were allowed to fit in the court but the kings of the houfe of Fudab*; and fome of them * will not allow that to them, fince the Seraphim above are even faid to ftand, J/ vi. 26 and fuppofe the meaning of this to be only that David fupported himfelf in the court; and fome render the words, he remained beforethe Lord”, he continued in meditation, prayer, and thankfgiving, and fuch like a€ts of devotion for a confiderable time; fo the Targum, in 1 Chron. xvii. 16. * King David came and continued in prayer before the Lord:” and be faid, Who am I,'O Lerd.God? a creature, a finful creature, a mean and unworthy one, unde- blifhed in his kingdom; and which he fignifies the Lord alone had brought him to, through many difficulties and tribulations, and which he could never have attained unto by his own wifdom and power, nor by the affiftance of his friends; it was all the Lord’s doing, and wondrous in his eyes.

¥. 19. And this was yet a fmall thing in thy fight, O Lord God, &c.] ‘This of raifing him to the throne, and fettling him on it, was but a fmall thing in comparifon of what he promifed to do for him and his: but thou baft fpoken alfo of thy fervants houfe for a great while to come; fince.he had not only fpoken of a fon that fhould fucceed him in the kingdom, but that he would make him an houfe, and eftablifh his kingdom; yea, that the throne of his kingdom fhould be eftablifhed for ever, that a race of kings fhould fpring from him, and efpecially the king Meffiah, ot, whofe kingdom there would be noends and fo the Targum, ** thou haft fpoken of the houfe of thy fervant unto the world to come,” a phrafe often ufed by the Zews for the times of the Mefiah, fee Heb. ii. 5. and fo Abarbinel thinks this clauie has refpect to Meffiah the fon of David: and is this the manner of man, O Lord God?, to beftow their favours on their inferiors, perfons of no worth and merit, and in a profufe manner? it is not: and yet to one fo much below thee, and fo undeferving, haft thou moft largely and liberally given fuch great and unmerited mereies: or is it the manner, or cuftomary to deal thus with men mean and abject, though it may with great perfonages that make a great figure in the world? it isnot: and yet Iam regarded by thee as if I was one of the greateft monarchs on earth: this fenfe agrees with the parallel text in 1 Chron. xvii. 17. aud haft regarded me according to the eftate of a man of high degree 3 or, this is the law or doctrine of the man who is the Lord God‘. This doétrine contained in the promife now made refpects the feed of the woman, the promifed Shilob, the illuftrious man, Fehovab’s fellow, the incarnate God, the Mefiah, who is Febovab our righteoulnefs, the true God and eternal life.

y. 20. And what can David fay more unto thee; &c.] Ina way of felf-abafement, or in thankfulnefs for fuch wonderful favours, or in prayer for more and other mercies; he wants words, asif he fhould fay, to exprefs his fenfe of his own nothingnefs and anworthinefs, and to praife the Lord for all his benefits; and fo large are the grants and promifes made, that there is no room for him to afk for more: for thou, Lord God, knoweft thy fervants; what a fenfe he has of his own meannefs and vilenefs, what gratitude his heart is filled with, and what his wants and neceffi- © ties are, which God only can fupply, and does abundantly, even more than he is able to afk or think. The Zargumis, ** and thou haft performed the petition of thy fervant, O Lord God.”

y. 21., For thy words fake, 8&c.] For the fake ferving, of a place in the houfe of God, and of of the promife he had made to him by Samuel;

accefs unto him, and to receive any favour from him, lefs than the leaft of all faints, lefs than the leaft of all mercies: gud what is my houfe; or that he fhould be king, and his kingdom fhould be eftablifhed; or for the fake of the Meffiah, that fhould fpring from him; the Memra as the Targum, family of which he was, the family of Fefe; for though it fprung from a prince in J/rae/, yet was but low and mean, in comparifon of fome others,,and efpecially unworthy of the regard of the great that thou baft brought me hitherto?

‘deur and dignity, as to be king over all J/rae _ Fudab, nd have all his enemies fubdued under him, the effential Word of God; and fo the Septuagint verfion, becaufe of thy fervant, with which agrees the parallel text in 1 Chron, xvii. 19. and according God: ' to thine own heart; of his own fovereign good will to fach gran-'and pleafure, of his own grace, as the Arabic verand|fion, and not according to the merits and deferts of David: haft thou done all thefe great things; in

| making him king of J/rael, and fettling the kingdom in his pofterity to the times of the Mefiab, who fhould {pring from him: 40 make thy fervant know them; as he now did by Nathan the prophet, what he and his fhould enjoy for time to come; fo that it is not only a blefling to have favours deficned, purpofed, and promifed, but to have the knowledge of them, to know the things that are freely given of God.

y. 22. Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God, &c.] In his name, nature, perfons, and perfections, purpofes, promifes, and works: for there is none like thee, for his effence and attributes, for his greatnefs and goodnefs, for what he is in himfelf, for what he is to his people, and has done for them: zeither is there any God befide thee; there is but one God, the living and true God, the former and maker of all things;. all others are but fictitious long as they were obedient to him, and obferved — his laws and ftatutes, and abode by his worfhip and ordinances, otherwife he would write a Lo-ammi on them, as he has’: and thou, Lord, art become their God; their covenant-God, they having avouched him to be their God, and he having avouched them to be his people, Deut. xxvi,17, 18.

¥. 25. And now; O Lord God, &c.]~ From confeffions of unworthinefs, and of the goodnefs of God, anda recital of favours conferred on him and the people of J/rael, David proceeds to petitions > the word that thou baft {poken concerning thy fervant, and concerning bis bhoufe, eftabhjh it for ever; he prays for the fure performance of the promife of God refpeéting himfelf and his family, and the ftability and perpetual continuance of the kingdom in it, and has, no doubt, a fpecial regard to the Me and factitious Gods, fee 1 Sam, ii. 2. according to - /iab, the promifed feed that fhould {pring from him:

all that we have beard with our ears; concerning what he did in the land of Egypt upon the Egyptians, and in the wildernefs, in favour of the J raelites, and in the land of Canaan, by driving out the inhabitants before the people of J/rae/, and in the times of the judges, in raifing them up to deliver his people.

¥. 23 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Ijrael, &c.| For the knowledge and worthip of the true God among them, for laws and ordinances given them, and for bleflings of goodnefs beftowed upon them: whom God went to

’ redeem for a people to bimfelf, the words are plural,

' fhew forth his power and might, as well as his, whom the Gods went to redeem; the Targum is, “© they that were fent from the Lord,” meaning Mojes and Aaron, of whom Farchi interprets them, of the firft of which it is faid, £ have. made thee a God unto Pharaoh, Exod. vii. 1. but Kimchi and R. Jaiah underftand it of the true God, only fuppole, as the former, that the plural expreffion is ufed for the fake of honour and glory; whereas, no doubt, refpeét is had to the three divine perfons in the Trinity, who were all concerned in the redemption of J/rael, fee Da. lxiii. 9, 10, 11, 12. where mention is made of thé Lord, and of the angel of his prefence, and of his Holy Spirit as engaged therein: and to make him a name; either to get himfelf a name, and honour and glory in the world, to mercy and goodnefs, or to make his people famous, great and glorious in the earth: and to do for you great things, and terrible; as he did in the Jand of Ham, at the Red Sea, and in ‘the wildernefs, and in the Jand of Canaan, great things for his people, and terrible cues to their enemies: for thy land, which is either fpoken to God, whofe was the land of J/rael, and which he had chofen to dwell in, and had given to his people; or elfe to J/rae/, to whom the grant of this land was made, and who were put into the poffeffion of it: before thy people which thou redeemedft to thee from Egypt; that is, the great and terrible things were done in their fight, when they were redeemed from the bondage o Egypt, fee Pf. Ixxviii. 12. from the nations, and their.gods? meaning, that they were redeemed not onty from Egypt, but the nations of the Canaanites were driven out before them; nor could their idols fave them, but deftruction came upon them as upon the gods of the Egyptians » fome leave out the fupplement from, and interpret this of the perfons redeemed, even of the nations and tribes of J/rael, and their great men, their rulers and. civil magiftrates, fometimes called gods.:

¥. 24. For thou baft confirmed to thyfelf thy people and do as thou haft faid, for though Gedhad purpofed and promifed to do thole feveral things, and would do them, yet it was expected by him, and it was right in David-to pray for the performance of them; fee Ezek. xxxvi. 37. ny +. 26. And let thy name be magnified for ever, &c.] David defired the performance of the above things not fo much for his own fake, and for the fake of his family, as for the glory of God; his great concern was, that God might be magnified, and his greatnefs difplayed, in making him and his family great; and particularly, that he might be magnified and glorified in that famous fon of his, the Meffiah, as he has been, John xiii. 31, 32. and by all his people in fucceeding ages: faving, The Lord of bofts is the God over Jfrael; the Lord of armies above and below, is God over all, and in afpecial and peculiar manner God over J/razl, literal and {piritual, that takes care of them, fupplies, protects, and defends them: and let the boufe of thy fervant David be eftablifhed before thee; as he had promifed, x 16. ‘: _¥. 27. For thou, O Lord of bofts, God of Ifrael, &c.] As he is called in the preceding verfe: haf revealed to thy fervant; which he otherwife could not have known: faying, I will build thee an houfe; fee y. 11. therefore hath thy fervant found in his heart lo pray this prayer unto thee; found his heart difpoled to this fervice, or found freedom and boldnefs in him to put up this prayer to God; what encouraged and emboldened him to do it was the. gracious promife of God, that he would build up his family, and eftablifh his kingdom; or otherwife he could not have taken fuch liberty, and ufed fuch’ boldnefs with God in prayer, as to have requefted it of him. arse ¥. 28. And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, &c.] Who is the Lord of hofts, and the God of Tfrael, that has promifed and is able to perform, and is faithful to his promife: and thy words be true; are truly, punctually, and faithfully performed, never fail: and thou haft promifed this goodne/s unto thy Jervant, concerning building and eftablifhing his houfe. David repeats this promife of the performance of it. ¥. 29. Now therefore let it. pleafe thee to b, houfe of thy fervant, &c.| Not according performance of the promife, which may ¢ couragement that the whole will be fulfill merits of him or his family, but according to the — fovereign will and pleafure of God; the Targumis, begin and ble/s let the promifed bleflings begin to defcend, that there may be fome appearance of the as being greatly affected with it, and fully affured

. ae,. os: Ch vik 13. IL Sw MU E L. gaF eae may continue for ever before thee; under his ¢are and protection: for thou, O Lord God, bajt fpoken it; whofe words never fall to the ground, burhave a fure accomplifhment! and with thy bleffing let the houfe of thy fervant be bleffed for ever; everi both with temporal and fpiritual bleflednets.