but divide it.” Then the king, looking towards the affectionate mother, said, “ Give her the living child, and in nowise slay it, she is the mother thereof." (1 Kings iii. 16–28.) This decision of the king showed great judgment, penetration, and acquaintance with the human heart, if not of his extraordinary and supernatural wisdom; or he might have concluded that the real mother would necessarily show kindness to her offspring. The divine historian concludes the narrative by stating that, “all Israel heard," and, we may add, approved, " of the judgment which the king had judged: and the people feared the king; for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment." To the parent of the child, the king's decision was all-important, and she would never fail to speak in admiration of the plan he adopted to detect and expose the artifice of her who stole her child. This affair, as regards matters of state, may be considered trivial, but this, with other wise decisions, with many improvements that he introduced into his government, doubtlessly contributed to diffuse widely the fame of Solomon throughout Israel and the surrounding states, that he was a monarch endowed with strength of mind, which rendered him adequate to the most subtle affairs of his people, as well as the most intricate and conflicting matters of his government.

The sacred historian informs us that Solomon chose the following princes, or eminent men, to be his ministers : Azariah, the son of Zadok, was appointed priest ; Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, recorder; Benaiah, the the son of Jehoiada, over the host or army; Zadok and Abiathar, over the priests; Azariah, the son of Nathan,

D

The news of Solomon being proclaimed king, soon reached the festive board of Adonijah, when its guests were struck with dismay, and every man went his way. Adonijah, fearing Solomon, fled, and succeeded in getting hold of the horns of the altar, where he sued for his life, which Solomon granted. Thus Solomon was firmly seated on his father's throne. Here we may pause to behold piety gloriously triumphant over impiety.

David had cause to reproach himself with excess of fondness towards Adonijah, and with not executing judgment on Joab for the assassination of Abner and Amasa ; yet, we see that the wisdom of Nathan was greater than the valour of Joab. Nathan's wise counsel frustrated the plot; and, conformably to the pleasure of God and the king, for the happiness of Israel, young Solomon was placed on the throne of his father.

Let the wicked that rebel against Heaven, learn from the delusion and ruin of both Absalom and Adonijah, that the day of the Lord will come upon them in an hour when they are not aware; and that to avert the impending blow, they should run with Adonijah to the horns of the altar, grasping the prominent horn of hope, till the offended King shall swear that they shall live and not die,

CHAPTER II.

SOLOMON'S BIRTI-HIS REIGN-HIS WEALTH-HIS

POWER.

THE sacred records afford us little information of the early days of Solomon, farther than that he was the son of David, by his wife Bathsheba. He was otherwise called Jedidiah, “beloved of the Lord,” which may imply that he was highly favoured of the Lord, both in person and mind. It is not improbable but that Bathsheba paid considerable attention to the education of young Solomon, which name signifies "peace," and that to her he was greatly indebted for the first principles of knowledge. As he increased in years, these principles abundantly developed themselves; for as he himself states, “I

gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven, until I had gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem : yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge." He therefore must have been endowed with great natural powers, which he sedulously cultivated.

Nathan the prophet was his tutor; we may therefore be assured that so able a preceptor, seeing the interest he took in securing to him the throne of Israel, would cause him to be well instructed in all knowledge, and in all wisdom; and especially in what related to God's especial government of his highly favoured people Israel, as well as with his wonderful works in creation, and providence. Thus a right bias was given to a mind hungry after knowledge; and Solomon stands forth in an enviable light, as a studious and highly gifted youth. His love of study may be one reason why so little mention is made of him from the time of his birth to his ascending the throne; while the other sons of David are often mentioned, but their deeds stain the

page

of history.

The sacred historian, speaking of Solomon at a later period of his life, says, “ That Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs : and his songs were a thousand and five. He spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.” (1 Kings iv. 30—34.)

Solomon was twenty-one years of age when he was proclaimed king; then his heart seemed right, being zealously affected for the glory of Jehovah. This may be inferred also from David, who, as he drew near the time of his dissolution, on assembling the nobles and the great men of his kingdom, “Blessed the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, for such a son;" and prayed to God, saying, “Give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, that he may build the palace (the temple) for which I have made provision." (1 Chron. xxix. 19.) Doubtless, he was the most worthy of all his sons, and being well disposed towards God, David besought God to bestow on him a perfect heart.

On Solomon being crowned king, we are informed, that David sacrificed a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance: when the people “Blessed the Lord God of their fathers, bowing down their heads and worshipping the Lord, and the king.” Then they inaugurated Solomon as king, when he sat on the throne of the Lord, instead of his father David, and all Israel obeyed him ; also, all the princes and the mighty men, and all the sons, likewise, of king David submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.

The feelings of David on beholding his beloved, his affectionate, his pious, and his dutiful son Solomon sitting on the throne, which he himself had filled for forty years, must have been highly excited with the most lively sense of gratitude to God, who had kept his covenant in raising him up a son worthy to sit on the throne of Israel. We can enter into those feelings, as he called on the whole assembly, saying, "Now bless the Lord your God, for he hath not forgotten his chosen people Israel :" while his anguish and grief must have been extreme on beholding his other sons, who had disregarded his instructions, and even rebelled against him.

Well would it be if children considered the evil that they bring on themselves by sinning against God, and by rebelling against the authority of their parents through perverse conduct. They should heed the advice of Samuel, who, rebuking king Saul, said, “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity