It was upon this melancholy occasion, that his surviving friend wrote that affecting lamentation, which has been the admiration of ages.

"O beauty of Israel, slain upon thy own mountains! How are the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon: lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Ye mountains of Gilboa, on you be neither dew, nor rain, nor fields affording oblations: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, the armor of the anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the slaughter of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan was not withheld, and the sword of Saul never returned in vain. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with delights, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, slain upon thine own mountains! I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan! very pleasant hast thou been unto me! Thy love to me was wonderfull surpassing the love of women! How have the mighty fallen! How have the weapons of war perished!"

David succeeded to the throne of his kingdom, and through a period of forty (or if you reckon from the time in which he was anointed, forty-eight) years, he resigned beloved by the people, and distinguished by Divine favor. Few characters discover so complete a combination of excellence and of defect as that of David. Yet, from first to last, you may trace the

See note 2, of this Lecture, at the end of the volume.

"man after God's own heart," humble, contrite, affectionate, and sincere! Few reigns have discovered greater fluctuations of triumph and of affliction. Amid the glory to which the Israelites were rising under his rule, and the zenith of which they had nearly attained, his life was chequered by trial. He was surrounded by enemies, and engaged in almost perpetual warfare. His domestic peace was destroyed, by the dishonor of his daughter, and by the slaughter of his son who effected it. He was driven from his kingdom by the rebellion of Absalom. A pestilence of three days ravaged his empire, and destroyed seventy thousand persons. And the last moments of a turbulent life, were disturbed, and embittered, by the conspiracy of his son Adonijah against Solomon, whom he had nominated as his successor.

Before his death, David had formed the design of building a temple to God, which was realized by Solomon. He had prepared most of the materials, had drawn up the plan according to Divine instructions, and left full and clear directions to his son respecting it. We entreat your attention, for a few moments, prior to our enlargement on this purpose, till we bring down the monarchy to its close. In the days of Rehoboam, the kingdom of Israel was divided; and two distinct lines of kings succeeded to the thrones of Judah and of Israel. According to the prediction of Jacob, the "sceptre did not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from beneath his feet, till Shiloh came." The ten tribes of Israel were carried away captive, and have not been heard of from that time to this hour: but the sceptre remained with Judah to the coming of Christ. In the days of the Savior the throne was filled by Herod, who held his power under the Roman

emperor; and soon after the ascension of our Lord, the city of Jerusalem was taken, their temple destroyed, and they themselves dispersed. From that period, they have wandered over the face of the whole earth, "without a king," without a temple, "without an ephod," without a lawgiver, "without a sacrifice," and shall continue to do so, till they acknowledge Messiah the prince, and say "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!"

From the days of Jesus, the kingdom of David has been changed into a spiritual kingdom-a kingdom not possessing worldly splendor, neither supported by temporal power. It has resisted every attack, it has extended over many nations, it must swallow up every empire, it will diffuse itself wide as the world. We must contemplate briefly,

III. THE BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE.

During the theocrary, the worship of God was conducted in a moveable tabernacle, constructed after the pattern drawn up by God himself, and communicated to Moses in the wilderness: nor was any change introduced into this mode of worship, till the prosperous and glorious reign of Solomon. Till the government of the Jews became an established monarchy, no ideas were entertained of a national temple. It rested with David to form, with the Deity to approve, and with Solomon to execute, this magnificent design. Neither labor, nor expense, were spared, in the erection of this grand building, confessedly the most splendid edifice upon which the sun ever shone. For a minute delineation of this stupendous work, we must refer you to the scriptures themselves; and we have little difficulty in confirming the fidelity of the sacred narrative on this

subject. The fact of the existence and the grandeur of this edifice, is indisputable. It must have been known, while it was building, to all the world; for the report of such a design would spread through all nations. It was known at Tyre, because they furnished workmen in the most beautiful and delicate parts of the structure. It was known to the queen of Sheba, who came to be an eye-witness of the wisdom and of the glory of Solomon. It was known at Babylon, by the report of the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. "After Solomon's temple was built, the temple of Vulcan in Egypt, and others in different places, were founded in imitation of it: just as the oracles of the heathens were imitations of the divine communications made to Israel."* The temple of Solomon, erected according to the scriptural account, must be admitted as an indisputable fact. The glory of this temple was soon extinguished; and after its destruction the Jews built another, inferior to the former in magnificence: which also has sunk under the ravages of war, and with that whole dispensation, has yielded to a purer, yet less splendid, order of worship.

"Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands:" neither is his presence confined to a single world. To the limited capacity of man, a kingdom is a large possession, a world is an object of infinite importance. Could he ascend to the next planet, he would look down upon it as a shining spark, amid myriads of others, scattered through the regions of space. Were the presence of the Deity confined to this globe, who would renew the blunted horns of the moon? Who would balance yonder wandering worlds? Who would supply the sun with light? Who would feed the everlasting fires of those

Bishop Watson's Theological Tracts, vol. v, p. 27.

remote orbs, the suns of other worlds, and the centres of others ystems? Who would diffuse glory and felicity through the heaven of heavens? That quickening presence, that powerful hand, that unsearchable wisdom, that unwearied goodness, that infinite Being, is needed every where at the same moment; is adored through all his works, is felt at the same time sustaining the whole universe; and surely "the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands." It remains that we now corroborate

IV. SOME SUBORDINATE SCRIPTURE FACTS.

-To which, however interesting, we cannot afford in our plan, the labor and time of a separate Lecture; and which may with propriety be noticed here.

We have passed over the book of Judges, because it was not immediately connected with the larger events proposed for consideration: but the facts contained in that instructive series of narration, are equally authenticated by foreign testimonies. It will be necessary also to anticipate some other subordinate facts, subsequent in point of time to the subjects discussed this evening, that the thread of those which remain may not be broken, nor more serious and important inquiries interrupted.

The memorial of the actions of Gideon is preserved by SANCHONIATHON, a Tyrian writer, who lived not long after him, and whose antiquity is attested by Porphyry.

From the manner of Jepthae's devoting his daughter, after his victory over the Ammonites, arose the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia: it being usual with the heathens as ÆLIAN observes, to attribute to their later