John Wesley

But David said to Michal, “I was dancing before the LORD, who chose me over your father and all his house when He appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people…

“Before the Lord - In his presence and service, which though contemptible to thee, is, and ever shall be honourable in mine eyes.”

And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will…

“I will set - I will set up in thy throne, thy posterity, first Solomon, and then others successively, and at last the Messiah.”

He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

“For my name - That is, for my service, and glory. For ever - This is not meant of Solomon, for his kingdom was not forever.”

But My loving devotion will never be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I moved out of your way.

“My mercy - That is, Or, my kindness, that is, the kingdom which I have mercifully promised to thee and thine. From Saul - In regard of his posterity, for the kingdom was continued to his person during life.”

And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, You have also spoken about the future of the house of Your servant.

“A great while - For many future ages, and indeed to all eternity. Is this, &c. - Do men use to deal so kindly with their inferiors, as thou hast done with me? No: this is the prerogative of divine grace.”

For the sake of Your word and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and revealed it to Your servant.

“Thy word's sake - That thou mightest fulfil thy promises made to me, and thereby demonstrate thy faithfulness. Own heart - Or thy own mere liberality and good pleasure, without any desert of mine.”

For You, O LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant when You said, ‘I will build a house for you.’

“This prayer, &c. - That prayer that is found in the tongue only will not please God. It must be found in the heart. That must be lifted up and poured out before God.”

Some time later, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Metheg-ammah from the hand of the Philistines.

“And David took - Gath and her towns, as it is expressed in the parallel place, 1 Chron. xviii, 1.”

David captured from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and he hamstrung all the horses except a hundred he kept for the chariots.

“Seven hundred - Or, seven hundred companies of horsemen, that is, in all seven thousand; as it is 1 Chron. xviii, 4, there being ten in each company, and each ten having a ruler or captain.”

And from Betah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze.

“From Betah, &c. - In 1 Chron. xviii, 8, it is, from Tibhath, and from Chun. Either therefore the same cities were called by several names, as is usual, the one by the Hebrew, the other by the Syrians, or those were two other cities…”

Then David asked, “Is there anyone left from the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for the sake of Jonathan?”

“Of Saul - He saith not of the house of Jonathan, for he knew not of any son he had left, and therefore thought his kindness and obligation was to pass to the next of his kindred.”

And David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.”

“David sent - There had hitherto been friendship between David and him: and therefore the spoils of the children of Ammon are mentioned, chap. viii, 12, by way of anticipation, and with respect to the story here following.”

So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.

“Shaved - To fasten this is a reproach upon them, and to make them ridiculous and contemptible. Cut off, &c. - This was worse than the former, because the Israelites wore no breeches, and so their nakedness was hereby uncovered.”

When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them.

“And served them - And thus at length was fulfilled the promise made to Abraham, and repeated to Joshua, that the borders of Israel should extend as far as the river Euphrates.”

In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, David sent out Joab and his servants with the whole army of Israel.

“After - When that year ended, and the next begun, which was in the spring time. When kings - Which is, when the ground is fit for the march of soldiers, and brings forth provision for man and beast.”

One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.

“Arose from off his bed - Where he had lain, and slept for some time. And the bed of sloth often proves the bed of lust. Washing herself - In a bath, which was in her garden.”

So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

“He inquired - Instead of suppressing that desire which the sight of his eyes had kindled, he seeks rather to feed it; and first inquires who she was; that if she were unmarried, he might make her either his wife or his concubine.”

Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. (Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned home.

“Took her - From her own house into his palace, not by force, but by persuasion. Lay with her - See how all the way to sin is down hill! When men begin, they cannot soon stop themselves.”

Uriah answered, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camped in the open field.

“The ark - This it seems, was now carried with them for their encouragement and direction, as was usual. Fields - In tents which are in the fields.”

In the letter he wrote: “Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle; then withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and killed.”

“He arose - So far is David from repenting, that he seeks to cover one sin with another. How are the beginnings of sin to be dreaded! For who knows where it will end?”

And when the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son.

“Bare a son - By which it appears, That David continued in the state of impenitency for divers months together; and this notwithstanding his frequent attendance upon God's ordinances.”

The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.

“Elders - The chief officers of his kingdom and household. He would not - This excessive mourning did not proceed simply from the fear of the loss of the child; but from a deep sense of his sin, and the divine displeasure manifested herein.”

Then David got up from the ground, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the house of the LORD and worshiped.

“And came - That is, to the tabernacle, to confess his sin before the Lord, to own his justice in this stroke, to deprecate his just displeasure, to acknowledge God's rich mercy, in sparing his own life; and to offer such sacrifices as were required…”

But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

“I fast - Seeing fasting and prayer cannot now prevail with God for his life. I shall go to him - Into the state of the dead in which he is, and into heaven, where I doubt not I shall find him.”

Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head.

“The weight - Or rather, the price whereof, &c. For the same words both in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, are used, to signify either weight, or price.”