He not tempted Saul only, but possessed him with an evil Spirit, by which he was left to wayward Dispositions, and was forced to have it fiddl’d out of him with a Minstrel.
He tempted Saul with a Spirit of Discontent, and with a Spirit of Envy at poor David, to hunt him like a Partridge upon the Mountains.
He tempted Saul with a Spirit of Divination, and sent him to a Witch to enquire of Samuel for him; as if God would help him when he was dead, that had forsaken him when he was alive.
After that, he tempted him to kill himself, on a Pretence that he might not fall into the Hands of the Uncircumcised; as if Self-Murther was not half so bad, either for 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.