W hereby ſhe both infinuates her great eſteem of,and atteQtion for the - King,thereby winning upon him to compaſs her deſign ; and withal implies,that ſuch an omiſſion of the King's will bring guilt upon him; and yet moſt prudently and decently orders her phraſe fo as not to ſeem to blame or threaten the King. Compare Exod. 5. 16.
2 Sam. 20, 16. This ſenſe ſeems beſt to agree with David's anſwer, which ſhews that ſhe deſired ſome further affurance of the King's Care and Juſtice in her concern |
io And the king faid, Whoſoever faith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he ſhall not touch thee 8
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the revengers of blood to deſtroy any more q,leſt they deſtroy my ſon r, And he ſaid, 4s the LORD hiverh, there ihallnor one hair of thy ſon fall to the earth /.
p The ſenſe is,cither, firſt, Make mention (as this Hebrew Verb 1s oft rendered) of the name of the Lord thy God,to wit,in an Oath ; i.e. ſwear to me by God, Thatthou wilt prote& me and my Son a- gain{ rhe Revenger of Blood. For ſo David did in compliance with This deſire of hers. Only ſhe was forced to expreſs her Mind 1n more general and ambiguous terms, becauſe it had been preſump- tion and 1ud-neſs for her in plain terms to deſire the King's Oath, as if ſhe durſt not truſt his word; yet withal ſhe inſinuares her meaning ſo plain y,tha- the King underſtood ir;and yer ſo handſom- ly and eleg:ntly,rhat the King was much pleaſed with her Wiſdom, and thereby inclined ro grant her requeſt» Or, ſecondly. this. Re- member th: gracious Nature of rhy'God,who is not too ſevere and rigorous to mark at all that is amiſs, nor doth cut of every man- ſlayer, as appears from Numb. 35. and from the example of Ca/n,and from thy ſelf, O King ; though this fhe exprelieth :.ot, bur on!y uſeth ſuch words which ſhe knew would give ſo wiſe and good a King occaſion ro refl:& upon himſelf, and upon t'\e go-dneſs of Go4 in ſparing him, though a willful Murtherer, that the. eby he might be obliged to imitateGod,in ſparing tae perion whom ſhe de- ſigned. Or, YThirdly, this, Remember the Lord,in wheſe preſence thou haſt made me this promiſe, and who will be a witneſs againſt thee,if thou breakeſt it. q Heb. leſt rhe avenger of blood multiply to de- froy; 4.2. le? they cauſe one deſtruftion to another,and add my tur- | viving Son tohim who is flain already. Or, leſt :hou doſt mult: ply a- wengers of blood to deftroy ; i. e. leſt by thy connivance «rt their cruel and malicious proceedings againit my Son, thor: doſt encourage A- vengzrs of blood to the like furious P:attices,and thereby increaſe | the zumber of that ſort of Men, and upon that pretence occaſion . multitudes of Murthers » Or, and let them not deſtroy my Son ; the Future Tenſe, being put for t:eImperative Mood, as 1s frequent. 7. e. He ſhal nor ſutfer the leaſt damage. We have the ſame Phraſe uſed 1 Sam. 14.45. 1 King. 1. 52, Af. 27. 34. Compare Mat, 10. 30. > 12 Then the woman ſaid re, Let thine handmaid, 1 pray thee, ſpeak oe word unto my lord the King, And he ſaid, Say on: |
t Having oblidged the King by his Oath in her ſuppoſed caſe, ſhe now throws off the Veil, and begins to apply this Parable to the Kings and Kingdoms preſent caſe.
12 And the woman faid, Wherefore then haſt thou thoughe ſuch athing againſt the people of God « ? foi the king doth ſpeak this thing as one which is faulty , in that the King doth not fetch home again his ba- niſhed y.
« If thou wouldſt not permit the Avengers of Blood to moleſt me, or to deſtroy my Son, who ate but two perſons ; how unreaſo- nable is it that thou thouldeſt proceed in thy endeavours to avenge Amnon's Blood upon 4bſalom, whoſe death would be highly injurious and grievous to the whole Commonwealth of [/rach;ail whoſe Eyes are upon him as the Heir of the crown, and a wiſe,and valiant,and amiable Perſon, unhappy only in this one aft of killing 4mnon, which was done upon an high and hainous provccation,& whereof thou thy ſelfdid{t give the occaſion by permitring 4mnen to goun- punifhed? x By thy Word, and promiſe,and Oath given to me for my Son,thou condemneſt thy ſelffor not allowing the ſame Equity towards thy own Son y To wit, Atſalom, from that Heathenith Country were heis in evident danger of being infected with their Idolatry and other Vices : whichis likely tobe a great and publick Miſchief to all thy people, if he come to reign in thy ſtead, which he is very likely to do, Ir is true,there was a conſiderable diſparity between her So:is, ind 4bſalom's caſe,the one being a raſh and ſud- den Aion, the other a deliberate and premeditated Murther ; but that may ſeem to be balanced in ſome meaſure; partly, by A4nmor's great and Jaſting provocation; and principally, by the vaſt differ- ence between a private Injury, which was her cafe, and a publick calamity and grievance,which ſhe aftirmed,and the King eaſily bc- lieved was 4blalen's caſe : and what David ſaid in the caſe of Jeab's Murther of Abzer, That he could not revenge it, becauſe the ſons of Zeruiah were too hard for him, 2 Sam. 3. 39. the like paradventure might have been ſaid in this caſe, where the peoples hearts may ſeem to have been univerſally and vehemently ſ-r upon Abſalom the rather, becauſe/his long baniſhment moved their pity, and abſence made him more detireable, as it frequently happens among people ; and therefore it might really be out ofthe King's power to puniſh him ; and ſo he might ſeem to be obliged to ſpare him for the common ſafety of his whole Kingdom.
' 14 For we mult needs die z, and «reas water ſpilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again s:
|| neither doth God refpe& «ry perſon b, yet doth he de-
. ſuffer his brethren to kill him, as in reaſon might have been expe&- . ed; nor hath Godl himſelf yetcut him off for tis Murther, as he
, invarie the Land, and endeavcur by force to re-gain and ſecure his
XIV. I. SY AZM Q” E L. Chap. XIV, ?