And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.

Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,

With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.

LESSON CXXVI.

THE PUNISHMENT OF THE REBELS.

B.C. 1015.-1 KINGS ii. 26-46.

And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the LORD God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.

So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah

the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.

And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.

And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.

And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.

Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon

CXXVI.] THE PUNISHMENT OF THE REBELS.

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his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him

and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.

For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.

And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.

And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.

And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants : and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that 1 have heard is good.

Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?

The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to,* that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head.

And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.

So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

* Aware of, in secret.

LESSON CXXVII.

THE WORDS OF KING LEMUEL, WHICH HIS MOTHER

TAUGHT HIM.

PROV. xxxi. 10-31.

66

B.C. 1015. It is not quite certain, but there is great reason to believe that the poem that follows was Bathsheba's instruction to her son, on what the perfect woman ought to be, whom she hoped to see his wife. Lemuel means dedicated to God," and might well be used to conceal the name of Solomon when the poem went forth among the Israelites. Not being Solomon's own, it appears not to have been added to the Book of Proverbs till Hezekiah's scribes collected such sayings as were current among the Israelites, but not written down. If it be indeed the queen's, it shows her to have had much wisdom and genius; and at the same time it is sad to think that she had fallen from her own high standard herself, or perhaps that, during her married life with David, she learnt what was the true glory of woman, and hoped to see in her son's wife what she could never be herself; though, alas! if she lived, it was to see how much stronger example is than precept.

Who can find a virtuous woman?

For her price is far above rubies.

The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her,

So that he shall have no need of spoil.

She will do him good and not evil

All the days of her life.

She seeketh wool, and flax,

And worketh willingly with her hands.

She is like the merchants' ships,

She bringeth her food from afar.

She riseth also while it is yet night,

And giveth meat to her household,

And a portion to her maidens.

She considereth a field, and buyeth it :

With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

She girdeth her loins with strength,

And strengtheneth her arms.

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good :

Her candle goeth not out by night.

She layeth her hands to the spindle,

And her hands hold the distaff.

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor,

CXXVIII.] A FEW VERSES OF THE SONG OF SONGS.

Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household:
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; *
Her clothing is silk and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates,

When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it;
And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing;
And she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness.

Her children arise up, and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously,
But thou excellest them all.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

But a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands;

And let her own works praise her in the gates.

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LESSON CXXVIII.+

A FEW VERSES OF THE SONG OF SONGS.

CANTICLES ii. 1—4; 8—17.

Solomon wrote many songs, but only one has been preserved. It may have been written in his early youth, when he married Naamah, the mother of his only son, or it may be his song of greeting to his Egyptian bride.

I am the rose of Sharon,
And the lily of the valleys.
As the lily among thorns,

So is my love among the daughters.

As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,

So is my beloved among the sons.

I sat down under his shadow with great delight,

And his fruit was sweet to my taste.

* Embroidery.

Not for the younger; but I have thought it better to preoccupy the mind with some idea of this wonderful hymn.

The voice of my beloved!

*

Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.

My beloved is like a roe or a young hart:

Behold, he standeth behind our wall;

He looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

My beloved spake, and said unto me,

Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

For, lo, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth;

The time of the singing of birds is come,

And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

The fig tree putteth forth her green figs,

And the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock,

In the secret places of the stairs,

Let me see thy countenance,

Let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice,

And thy countenance is comely.

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines :

For our vines have tender grapes.

My beloved is mine, and I am his :

He feedeth among the lilies.

Until the day break, and the shadows flee away

Turn, my beloved,

And be thou like a roe, or a young hart, upon the mountains of
Bether.

LESSON CXXIX.

SOLOMON'S MARRIAGE.

B.C. 1014.-1 KINGS iii. 1; PSALM xlv.*

And Solomon made affinity+ with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

*Not for the younger. Some think the Psalm belongs to a later king.
+ Connected himself.