r Sin against God, or Disgrace among Men, as
being taken Prisoner by _a Philistine_! A Piece of Madness none but the
_Devil_ could have brought Mankind to submit to, tho' some Ages after
that, he made it a Fashion among the _Romans_.

After _Saul_ was dead, and _David_ came to the Throne, by how much he
was a Man chosen and particularly savoured by Heaven, the _Devil_ fell
upon him with the more Vigour, attack'd him so many Ways, and conquer'd
him so very often, that as no Man was so good a King, so hardly any good
King was ever a worse Man; in many Cases one would have almost thought
the _Devil_ had made Sport with _David_, to shew how easily he could
overthrow the best Man _God_ could choose of the whole Congregation.

He made him distrust his Benefactor so much as to feign himself mad
before the King of _Gath_, when he had fled to him for Shelter.

He made him march with his four hundred Cut-throats, to cut off poor
_Nabal_, and all his Houshold, only because he would not send him the
good Chear he had provided for his honest Sheep-shearers.

He made him, for his Word's sake, give _Ziba_ half his Master's Estate
for his Treachery, after he knew he had been the Traitor, and betray'd
poor _Mephibosheth_ for the sake of it; in which

'The good old King, it seems, was very loth
'To break his Word, and therefore broke his Oath.

Then he tempted him to the ridiculous Project of numbring the People,
tho' against God's express Command; a Thing _Joab_ himself was not
wicked enough to do, till _David_ and the _Devil_ forc'd him to it.

And to make him compleatly wicked, he carried him to the Top of his
House, and shew'd him a naked Lady bathing her self in her Garden, in
which it appear'd that the _Devil_ knew _David_ too well, and what was
the particular Sin of his Inclination; and so took him by the Right
Handle; drawing him at once into the Sins of _Murther_ and _Adultery_.

Then, that he might not quite give him over, (tho' _David_'s Repentance
for the last Sin kept the _Devil_ off for a while) when he could attack
him no farther personally he fell upon him in his Family, and made him
as miserable as he could desire him to be, in his Children, three of
whom he brought to Destruction before his Face, and another after his
Death.

First, he tempted _Ammon_ to ravish his Sister _Tamar_; so, there was an
End of her (_poor Girl!_) as to this World, for we never hear any more
of her.

Then he tempted _Absalom_ t