2621. About David; about those who are immersed in the delight of adultery and cruelty

When I was reading the passages about the adultery of David with Bathsheba [2 Sam. 11] and about his cruelty against the children of Ammon [12:31], one whom they said was David was presented for quite a while, for days, with whom I spoke, thinking he could have been among the upright, but if it is he, or if the one with me reflects his personality, as is apt to happen, then this is a leader of adulterers and of the cruel, who derive the highest pleasure from adulteries and cruelty; moreover, he is violently sharp-witted, be-cause he goes in his fantasy higher than others. I have heard that in his lifetime, by the words he wrote in the Psalms he understood himself, not so much the Messiah, Whom he did know, but whether he believed Him to be Jehovah the God of Israel, I do not yet know. 1748, 16 July. See 2 Sam. 12:31.