There was nothing in the ark but the two tables of stone which Moses had put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel on their coming out of the land of Egypt; and when the priests were come out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord.

Then Solomon blessed all the congregation of Israel which stood around about, knelt before the altar in the presence of the people, spread forth his hands to heaven, and prayed the Lord for a blessing on the workmanship of his hands, saying, 'But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold the heaven, and heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee: how much less this house which I have builded!'

Solomon then put up a prayer to the Lord God, that He would look upon this house night and day, and bless it; that all prayers which arose from its walls might be heard by Him; that if they were smitten before their enemies if heaven were shut up, and rain should cease, because of their sins; if there be in the land famine; if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or caterpillar; if any stranger should come out of a far country, for the Lord's sake, and pray towards this house; if they went to battle with their enemies, and because of their transgressions should be carried away captives; yet,' said the king, 'if they should repent and turn unto thee, with their whole heart,

and with all their soul, and pray unto thee toward their land which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: then hearken thou unto the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place, and hear thou in heaven, thy dwelling-place, and when thou hearest, forgive; for they be thy people, which thou didst separate from all the people of the earth to be thine, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses, thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.'

When Solomon had done praying, he arose from before the altar, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice. He then besought the Lord that he would make known to all the people of the earth that the Lord He is God that there is none else. He then tried to persuade the people to let their hearts be perfect with the Lord God, to walk in His laws, and to keep His commandments.

Then Solomon, and all Israel with him, made a sacrifice before the Lord, after which they held a solemn feast together.

The king then sent the people away, joyful and glad of Leart for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David is servant, and for Israel his people.

ABOUT JEROBOAM .

AFTER the death of Solomon, his son, Rehoboam, became king of Israel; and his example is one of the many warnings held up to us in the Bible against pride of heart. Instead of speaking kindly to his people, and caring for their welfare, when they came to him to make their complaints, he at first asked advice of the old men that stood before Solomon his father.' When they told him it would be best to shew mercy and kindness, he paid no attention to their words, but was guided by the young men, who were his own companions, and who had grown up with him. Thus he turned the hearts of the people away from him, and the consequence was, that ten of the tribes of Israel rebelled against him, only the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin remaining faithful to the grandson of David.

Thus it often happens, when we neglect the advice of those older and wiser than ourselves, and follow our own fancies, that we have cause to repent our obstinacy, and wish that we had listened to the words of those who would have proved themselves better able to guide us, than we were to guide ourselves.

Jeroboam was chosen king over the ten tribes of Israel, which you will find spoken of in the Bible as the kingdom of Israel, while the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin are called the kingdom of Judah.

Jeroboam, king of Israel, was afraid when the time came round for the people to go up to Jerusalem and worship in the temple, that the sight of their holy places, and the remembrance of Solomon, and David his father, would cause them to forsake him, and return again to Rehoboam.

To prevent this, he acted very wickedly, in setting up two images, and telling the people they were the gods whom they should worship, and who brought them up out of the land of Egypt.

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This greatly displeased the Almighty, who sent one of his prophets out of Judah to reprove his idolatry. The man of God reached the altar where Jeroboam was standing there burning incense; And he cried against the altar in the words of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord, Behold a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name, and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shalt be burnt upon thee.

'And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; behold the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.'

When the king, Jeroboam, heard the saying of the man of God, he commanded him to be seized, and he put out his hand from him, saying, 'Lay hold on him :' and God caused his hand to wither, so that he could not draw it back again; the altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.'

Then the king said unto the prophet, 'Entreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again; and the man of God besought the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and became as it was before.'

This was a full proof that what the prophet said was indeed true.

In the course of a few years, a young king, named Josiah, came to the throne, and he feared the Lord, walked in His ways, and did all that the man of God had said concerning him.

The book of Kings contains a dark picture of this people, for whom the Lord had done such great and wonderful works.

It affords many striking instances of the mercy, and also of the just anger of a God of truth,- and it would lead us to wonder how a people, who had been so mercifully taken care of from their very earliest history, could ever forget