ON THE HISTORICAL PASSAGES of THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT. BY The LATE RIGHT REV. JOSEPH HALL, D.D. LORD BISHOP OF Norwich. IN THREE VOLUMEs. WOL. II. L O N D O N : [553] 1846. VOL. II. I. Uzzah, and the Ark removed - - - - I II. Mephibosheth and Ziba - - - - 8 III. Hanun and David's Ambassadors . - - 15 IV. David with Bathsheba and Uriah . - 21 W. Nathan and David - - - - - 29 VII. Absalom's Return and Conspiracy 43 II. Ahithophel . - - - - - - . 55 III. The Death of Absalom - - - - . 62 IV. Sheba's Rebellion • - - - - . 69 V. The Gibeonites revenged . 76 VI. The Numbering of the People 81 I. Adonijah defeated - - - - 89 II. David's End, and Solomon's Beginning 96 III. The Execution of Joab and Shimei - ... 103 IV. Solomon's Choice, with his Judgment upon the two VI. Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba . 121 WII. Solomon's Defection . - - - - . 126 I. Rehoboam . - • * * - - - . 132 VI. Elijah with the Sareptan . - - - 172 VII. Elijah with the Baalites - . . . . 182 VIII. Elijah running before Ahab, fleeing from Jezebel . 193 Ahab and Micaiah ; or, the Death of Ahab . Ahaziah sick, and Elijah revenged - - II. Jehu with Jehoram and Jezebel . - - . 312 III. Jehu killing the sons of Ahab, and the Priests of IV. Athaliah and Joash . - - - - . 332 W. Joash, with Elisha dying . 342 VII. Ahaz with his new Altar . - - - 355 VIII. The utter Destruction of the Kingdom of Israel 359 IX. Hezekiah and Sennacherib . - 363 X. Hezekiah sick, recovered, visited . 374 XII. Josiah's Reformation . - - - - . 395 XIII. Josiah's Death, with the Desolation of the Temple, and Jerusalem . . . . - - - . 404 I. Zerubbabel and Ezra . - - - - 410 II. Nehemiah building the Walls of Jerusalem .. 426 III. Nehemiah redressing the Extortion of the Jews 435 IV. Ahasuerus feasting, Washti cast off, Esther chosen 445 W. Haman disrespected by Mordecai ; Mordecai's Message to Esther . - - - - . 454 VI. Esther suing to Ahasuerus - - 469 CONTEMPLATIONS. CONTEMPLATION I. THE house of Saul is quiet, the Philistines beaten; victory cannot end better than in devotion: David is no sooner settled in his house at Jerusalem, than he fetcheth God to be his guest there; the thousands of Israel go now, in a holy march, to bring up the ark of God to the place of his rest. The tumults of war afforded no opportunity of this service; only peace is a friend to religion; neither is peace ever our friend, but when it is a servant of piety. The use of war is not more pernicious to the body, than the abuse of peace is to the soul; alas! the riot, bred of our long ease, rather drives the ark of God from us; so the still sedentary life is subject to diseases, and standing waters putrefy. It may be just with God to take away the blessing, which we do so much abuse, and to scour off our rust with bloody war, &c. The ark of God had now many years rested in the obscure lodge of Abinadab, without the honour of a tabernacle. David will not endure himself glorious, and the ark of God contemptible; his first care is to provide a fit room for God, in the head of the tribes, in his own city. The chief care of good princes must be the advancement of religion; what should the deputies of God rather do, than honour him whom they represent It was no good that Israel could WOL. II. B |