ed to prepare a sacrifice, and call the family of Jesse to the holy service.

"And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem.

And the elders of coming, and said,

the town trembled at his Comest thou peaceably? And Samuel said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And Samuel sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. "And it came to pass when they were come, that Samuel looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

"Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And Samuel said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And Samuel said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.

"Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And Jesse said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

"And Jesse sent, and brought him in. Now the youth was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to.

And the

Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah."

EXPLANATIONS.

Anoint. To anoint a priest or king, was to pour a fragrant oil over his head, and to entreat the blessing of God upon the anointed person. The priests and kings of the Israelites, were sometimes called the "Lord's anointed."

Sanctify. To make holy.-Do not come to the Lord's service, with worldly or wicked thoughts, nor with soiled hands, and unclean garments-make yourselves fit to hold communion with a holy God-raise your thoughts to him, and prepare your hearts for what he shall be pleased to communicate to you. Such was the meaning of the injunction, "Sanctify yourselves," which Samuel uttered to Jesse and his sons. We ought now to sanctify ourselves, when we attend the worship of God.

Sacrifice.-An offering of some animal, or of fruits, or flowers, accompanied with prayers to God.

David, after he had been anointed king, returned to the care of his flocks, but he was soon called into the presence of king Saul. David was a poet and a musician. Those beautiful poems, the Psalms of the English bible, were composed by David, in the Hebrew lan

guage; and sung sometimes in the worship of the Israelites; and sometimes by the divine poet alone, accompanied by the harp-a stringed instrument, known to the ancients.

Saul was disturbed in mind, "an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him," he was afflicted, and nothing but music could calm his agita

tion.

"And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold ̧· new, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, who are before thee, to seek out a man who is a cunning player on a harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

"And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning at playing, and a mighty valiant man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord

is with him.

"Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep. And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.

"And David came to Saul, and stood before him and Saul loved David greatly; and he-became Saul's armour-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.

"And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand : so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”

One of the most extraordinary of the acts of David, was the killing of Goliath. The Israelites were at war with their neighbours the Philistines. The two armies were encamped opposite to one another.

"And there went a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

"And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.

"And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.

"And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may

fight together. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid."

At this time David had "returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem," and three of his brothers attended Saul to the camp. Jesse sent David with parched corn, bread, and cheese, to his brothers, and to their military chief, "the captain of their thousand."

"And David rose, up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.

"And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. And as he talked with them, behold, there caine up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

"And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and. were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter.

"And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the