king was often insolent and out of place from a subject to his sovereign. But King David seems to have borne with his crimes and his insults in a spirit of heroic patience. Joab was a faithful servant to the king on the whole, and much attached to his interests; and David, remembering perhaps how grievously he had offended the King of kings to gratify himself, had too deep a feeling of penitence to punish his servant severely, when he had been so mercifully forgiven himself.

THE DEATH OF KING DAVID.

DAVID had now grown very old and infirm, and the people seeing that he had not long to live, desired that he should name which of his sons was to succeed him as king. Now that Absalom was dead, Adonias was his eldest son; but King David knew that it was the will of God that his son Solomon should succeed him. Adonias began to try, however, to get the throne; upon which Nathan, the prophet, went to David, and informed him of his attempts; and David at once had Solomon proclaimed and anointed king, so as to put his succession beyond all question. Then he sent for Solomon, and gave him a solemn charge to build a magnificent temple in honour of God, telling him how he had prepared the materials, &c., but had never been permitted by God to do it himself, much though he had desired it; and he gave him much holy and good advice, charging him to be faithful to his God, and to observe all His commandments and precepts, as written in the law of Moses. He also charged him to do justice amongst his people, and not to forget that the crime of Joab in murder

ing Abner and Amasa, &c., had never been brought to judgment, which justice to his people required. And King David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel, spoke his last words, prophesying about the kingdom of Christ which was to come, and signifying that the covenant made to him by God, concerning the Redeemer, was not due to the merits of himself or his house, but to the pure mercy of that God who was all his salvation and all his will. Then he gave up his soul into the hands of God, having reigned over Israel forty years. And he was buried in Jerusalem, which became thenceforward the burialplace of the kings of Juda.

Amongst the many beautiful incidents related of King David, there is one which has not been inserted in its right place in this little history, lest its full details should make it too long, but which it would be a pity not to relate, as it sets forth the great character of the holy king in his generous self-denial and human sympathy. David had been out to fight against the Philistines, and had defeated them, but there still remained a garrison of them in Bethlehem. And David, who was wearied and heated, and very thirsty, after the toil of the battle, longed earnestly for some water, and exclaimed, "Oh, that some man would give me a drink of the water out of the cistern that is in Bethlehem by the gate!" Upon which three brave Israelites, at the peril of their lives, broke through the camp of the Philistines, and penetrating into the city of Bethlehem, drew some of the fresh and beautiful water for which the king had so longed, and brought it to David. But the generous heart of their monarch would not permit him to satisfy his thirst at such a price. "God forbid," said he, "that I should do this in the sight of my God, and should drink the blood of these men; for with the

danger of their lives they have brought me the water." And therefore the king refused himself the water to quench his burning thirst, and poured it forth on the earth as an offering to God.

THE REIGN OF KING SOLOMON. SOLOMON began to reign, in fact, before his father David died; for the king, finding himself growing weak, had made his son join him in the government latterly. And God appeared to Solomon in a dream, and desired him to ask any favour of Him he would, promising to grant it to him; and Solomon, calling to mind the great favours and mercies shown by God to David his father, and how He had increased the nation over which he ruled, so as to make him king over a great people, considered how much judgment and wisdom would be required to rule over so great a nation, and asked for wisdom and knowledge, that he might govern his kingdom after the laws of God. And God was so pleased because he did not ask for riches or worldly glory, but had preferred wisdom and knowledge to govern the people over whom God had appointed him king, that He added not only the wisdom for which Solomon had asked, but also riches and glory which exceeded that of all kings before or after him.

The first act of King Solomon was to begin the building of God's temple in Jerusalem. The magnificence of this temple is fully described in Holy Scripture, and it would indeed take a long time to detail the varied splendour of its different courts. The pavement was most precious marble of great beauty; the ceiling was of cedar-wood overlaid with plates of gold, as also were the doors; the holy of

holies, or that sacred part of the temple which was to contain the ark with the more immediate presence of God, was shut in with a veil of purple and scarlet silk interwoven with gold, with cherubims embroidered on it; the pillars of the temple were ornamented with indescribable richness with leaves, and flowers, and fruit of gold work; the furniture of the altar and the altar itself was all of the same magnificence; the censers, candlesticks, &c. being all of gold and silver, and wrought by the most skilful workmen who could be found. The vessel for purifying the priests before offering the sacrifices in the temple was of fine brass, and was called "the sea," on account of its great size; and there were also large brass vessels for washing the animals which were sacrificed. All this external washing or purification, ordained by God in the Jewish law, was intended to prefigure that cleanness of heart which is enjoined by our Blessed Saviour on all His followers. And the splendour of this temple shows us how God ordains the rich and valuable things of this world to be used in His service; in which spirit we see the Catholic Church acts in her magnificent cathedrals and churches built in His honour, and decorated with beautiful paintings and ornaments.

THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE.

As soon as Solomon had finished building this temple to God, which was so rich and grand that there was nothing equal to it in all the world, he proclaimed a solemn feast for the dedication of it to the service of God. And assembling all the priests and ancients of Israel, with the Levites and singing men, or chanters, they all walked in procession,

carrying the ark of God into the temple. And the two tables of stone having the Ten Commandments written on them were in the ark. And sacri

fices were now offered in the temple, and the king knelt down and prayed fervently that God would bless His temple, and grant that the prayers offered

there in His name should be heard. And as Solomon finished his prayer, God sent down fire from heaven which consumed the sacrifices, in token that He granted the prayer, and God's majesty filled the temple. Then all who were there present fell prostrate on the ground, adoring their God, who ever worked wonders to confirm their faith, and mercies to preserve their souls. And God promised to Solomon that as long as he served Him with a whole heart, as David his father had done, He would ever be with him and protect him; but if he and his people forsook their God, and disobeyed His laws, He would forsake them, and abandon them to the most terrible evils and miseries.

THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON.

THE wisdom of Solomon, which was so great that it has now become a proverb, had soon opportunities of being displayed; and there is one special occasion mentioned in Scripture which is a very interesting story, and which we will here relate.

Two women came before the king for judgment, and the one stated her case to be thus: "We both dwelt in one house, and both had a young infant; there was no other person living in the house with us, so that whatever happened therein was known only to ourselves. And this woman overlaid her child in the night; sleeping heavily, she lay upon