In Thy presence is fulness of joy;

At Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." 1

The psalm is Messianic, and it admirably fits in with the contemporary progress of a knowledge of the Messiah and a knowledge of immortal life, that this explicit hope of a blessed existence in heaven should have place in a hymn which expressly relates to Christ. Indeed, the very confidence expressed with regard to deliverance from Hades, and an incorruptible glory beyond, is in the New Testament cited as a prophecy of the Redeemer of men, the Precursor of souls into the abodes of immortality.

In harmony with the sixteenth psalm is the last verse of the seventeenth :

"As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness:

I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness."

And again in Ps. lxxiii. 24—26:

"Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but Thee?

And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.

My flesh and my heart faileth:

But God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.'

How far a faith in the future life, pitched in such a highly spiritual key, was the faith of David's contemporaries, we have no means of judging. It is enough for us to see that in his mind, at least, there lived and moved a glorious hope unquenchable in death; and how could it have arisen within him and reached such a height save under the inspiration of that Divine Teacher who raised him up to be leader of the chorus of victory and joy over sin and death to the end of time?

1 Ps. xvi. 7-II.

We must not omit to notice David's farewell to his people and his son.

In the former he alludes to a check Divinely put upon purposes expressed in 2 Sam. vii. 2, because he was a man of war, and of the appointment of himself and his posterity to be kings over Israel. Then follows the touching appeal to Solomon, which speaks for itself: "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it."1

Finally, the wonderful blessing is recorded, in which are lofty conceptions of the Divine Being, and humble views of himself; also the generous purposes he formed, and the spirit of comprehensive intercession he cherished, appear in unprecedented combination: "Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be Thou, Lord God of Israel our Father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty : for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all; and in Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer

1 1 Chron. xxviii. 9, 10.

so willingly after this sort! For all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee. For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build Thee an house for Thine holy name. cometh of Thine hand, and is all Thine own. I know also, my God, that Thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy Thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto Thee. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, and prepare their heart unto Thee. And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep Thy commandments, Thy testimonies, and Thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace for the which I have made provision." 1

On the whole, the cycle of compositions attributed to David, and other passages which he uttered in the course of his life, indicate a stage of knowledge and faith in advance of what is traceable in the case of Moses or Samuel. The revelation of that which is Divine by means of that which is human became more distinct, comprehensive, and striking than ever. Through a deeper consciousness of sin, men were taught a richer appreciation of God's love. Repentance, as a change of mind, appeared with a clearness approaching to that of an after age. Spirituality of worship rose above rites and ceremonies; the righteousness and goodness of God in past dispensations were conspicuously unveiled; and, finally, anticipations

11 Chron. xxix. 10--19.

and prophecies of the Messiah, beyond anything before suggested, came distinctly into view, and there begun to be struck notes of triumph over the last enemy, such as harmoniously melt into the lofty songs of life eternal in the New Testament.

"The psalms of David the son of Jesse are ended." More truly may it be said of him than of Cadmon, the father of English song, in comparison with uninspired singers since: "Others after him strove to compose religious poems, but none could vie with him; for he learned not the art of poetry from men, nor of men, but from God."

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CHAPTER XIII.

SOLOMON.

E occupies a peculiar place in our history. His lot was cast in an age when the Israelites, a peculiar people, not to be reckoned amongst the nations, were - brought into close commercial and political contact with the Gentile world. Scenes in other lands, the manners and customs of foreigners, their modes of thought and expression, and their opulence, glories, and temptations, became known to the race whose chosen inheritance was retired and circumscribed. Egypt, Tyre, Arabia, and the remoter east, came into connection with the youthful and now ambitious kingdom; and the man who presided over its destinies as sovereign caught and delighted in the enlarged views opening upon him and his subjects; and, alas, was led astray from God by the evil charms which mingled with the artistic civilization of the surrounding heathendom. Yet he was employed by the Father of spirits to take a part in the education of mankind; and though it was by no means on a level with his father's work, though it fell far below what was accomplished for his own age by Samuel, or for succeeding ages by Abraham and Moses, yet Solomon taught valuable lessons to men, not only of his own day, but of generations afterwards down to the present. son of a poet.

His songs

He was a poet, the were a thousand and five. The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's, we are inclined to regard as the production.