dealt with. In some Oriental countries, not only are pretenders almost always punished with death, but it has often been the custom for each king, upon his accession, to put to death all his brothers as mere possible pretenders. In Turkey this custom continued into the present century. Pardon brings no comfort to the stricken penitent unless it is distinctly declared and consciously realized. God delighteth in mercy and in assuring the trembling but believing soul of the joy-creating fact of forgiveness. To forgive is the most difficult and the most God-like; it is here that the flood-tide of generosity registers its highest summit.

V. Here we have royal clemency gratefully acknowledged. "And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon " (verse 53). Subdued more by the generous spirit of his victorious brother than by the failure of his own boasted enterprize, Adonijah renders thankful homage at once to the clemency and the dignity of the king. Man forgets the gracious power that delivers him from misery far more quickly than the pungency of the misery itself when endured. Of the ten lepers cleansed, only one returned to give thanks to the Great Healer. To be grateful is the least that man can do, and it is a grace of which he shows the least. Life should be one glad expression of thankfulness and humble obedience.

2.

LESSONS:-1. Power loses none of its dignity or efficiency by showing mercy. To be forgiven increases the obligation to live uprightly. 3. The pardon earnestly sought should be humbly and gratefully acknowledged.

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.-Verse 3. Keep the charge of Jehovah—i.e., preserve the Theocracy, maintain the piety and dignity becoming the Hebrew monarch, who rules by Divine right, and is entrusted with the representation and vindication of the Divine laws. Keep his statutes, p-the prescriptions of the law. Commandments, is, the expressions of the Divine will. Judgments-D objective sentences and ordinances, the solemn declarations of God's

violation of which involves punishment. Testimonies

will against sin (Keil). That thou mayst prosper-Not so much "have good fortune'

"

(Gesenius, De Wette), but be skilful, carry yourself wisely, as he surely will do who acts harmoniously with the Divine statutes, coma.andments," &c., verse 4. The Vatican Sept. omits "concerning me," and "with all their soul." Not fail thee a man: assures "not a completely unbroken succession, but only the opposite of a break for ever (Hengstenberg); lit. "there shall not be cut off from thee a man on the throne;" i.e., thy posterity shall hold the throne in perpetuity: the royal house of David became imperishable in "great David's greater Son." Verse 5. Shed the blood of war in peace; i.e., murderously slew the inoffensive; shed, in peace, blood which should only flow in war. Put the blood of war on his girdle and in his shoes-The "girdle" was the military band, and to which his sword was attached, worn by a warrior, suggestive, therefore, of his rank; while his "shoes" suggest his marching equipment; and these insignia of his ffice and dignity he soiled with murder! (comp. Lange). Verse 6. Do according to thy wisdom-At fitting time, and in fitting manner, mark his crimes with abhorrence, and requite his guilty deeds. Verse 7. Eat at thy table, for so they came to me," i.e., they did me kindness in entertaining me. Verse 8. BahurimA village beyond Olivet, five and a quarter miles distant from Jerusalem. A grievous curseNot merely cursed me, but ♫ a grievous, violent curse (as in Micah ii. 10, “sore destruction"); heinous, dreadful. Such punishment of Shimei was not vindictiveness on David's part, but a vindication of the Divine justice against a ribald impiety. Verse 10. Buried in the city of David-A tomb probably prepared by the king before he died, and afterwards marked with great veneration, even in the time of Christ. Verse 13. Comest thou peaceably?-After recent events, there was reason to suspect his design. Verse 15. The kingdom is turned about-He prudently thus evades the charge on Bathsheba of having herself been accessory to this issue. Verse 16. Deny me not; lit., turn not away my face. Verse 18. Well, I will speak for thee-She saw not the cunning of Adonijah, and might have thought this gratification would appease his disappointment. Verse 22. Ask for him the kingdom also-Solomon saw his crafty aim. The wives and concubines of a deceased king became the property of his successor to the throne (2 Sam. xii. 8); hence the possession of Abishag would have given to Adonijah an additional apparent right to the kingdom; it was treason, therefore, for him, a subject, to claim a member of the royal harem as his wife; and Solomon recognised it as one step towards the seizure of the crown, or as a scheme by which Adonijah sought to found a rival dynasty. Hence the summary justice (verse 25), and hence, too, the religious oath (verse 23), for the royal line of David might not be imperilled by intrigue. Verse 26. Not at this time put thee to death-It did not contain a threat that what was now deferred would be executed at a later date; the sentence would depend on Abiathar's future conduct. Verse 30. Nay, but I will ale here-A defiance of the king's message, thinking that Solomon dared not order his execution there. But Joab had placed himself outside the protection of the altar (Exod. xxi. 14; Deut. xix. 11-13). Verse 37. Thy blood shall be upon thine own head-The legal form of the sentence of death (Lev. x. 9, 11, 12, etc.). Verse 38. Dwelt in Jerusalem many days; D'a'. Verse 42. The word that I have heard is good. Pointed sometimes thus,-"The word is good; I have heard." Verse 46. So the king commanded-that he died-This was not merciless rigour. Shimei had committed perjury, had acted deceitfully and independently-not petitioning Solomon for leave; and having added to high treason (verse 44) this crime of violating his oath, though on keeping it his life hung, retribution was imperative. Kingdom was established Ta in or by the hand, i.e., in the possession of Solomon, or by his administration.

HOMILETICS OF VERSES 14.

OBEDIENCE THE PATHWAY OF BLESSING.

I. That the supreme standard of obedience is the Divine will (verse 3) Will expresses itself in significant actions, or in positive commands. The statutes are the prescriptions of the law, so far as its obedience is connected with definite rules and usages: the commandments, as the expression of the Divine will, which is to be fulfilled: the judgments, as the objective sentences and ordinances, the violation of which draws punishment after it: the testimonies, as solemn declarations of the will of God against sin. All these statutes, commandments, judgments, and testimonies are found in the law of Moses, to obey which David binds his son.-Keil. According to Patrick, the "statutes"

are explained as the positive ordinances of the law, e.g., the command not to sow two seeds of different kinds together: the "commandments" as the moral precepts, not to steal, &c.: the "judgments" as the laws belonging to civil government and the "testimonies" as the laws directing the commemoration of certain events (compare Psalm xix. 7-8): the Written Word is the latest declaration of the Divine will, and the supreme rule by which obedience must be regulated.

II. That obedience consists in the strict conformity of the whole life to the Divine will. This implies-1. Knowledge. There is to be a personal acquaintance with the will of God" as it is written in the law of Moses" (verse 3), and in the books of Revelation and of nature. The Divine Word has been the subject of pious instruction from sire to son, through succeeding generations. As in the case of David, it has often constituted the last solemn charge of a dying father. It has been illustrated in the lives of the good, and enforced by the impressive teachings of many a wondrous providence. There has been line upon line and precept upon precept. Every opportunity has been afforded for becoming acquainted with the Divine will, so that ignorance thereof 18 inexcusable and blameworthy. 2. Circumspection. 2. Circumspection. "And keep the charge of the Lord thy God" (verse 3). In general, this means to take care of God, His person, His will, His rights. A trust of tremendous significance is committed to us: the honour of Jehovah is in our hands. It is only by an exact obedience that we can discharge the duties of our sacred trust: and to do this involves incessant thought, anxious care, and sleepless vigilance. There is reference to the charge given to all kings in Deuteronomy xvii. 18-20. The monarch is amenable to the same moral law as his meanest subject. If obedience is careless and defective in the higher social circles, a similar spirit will soon infect the lower, and the moral integrity of the nation be seriously damaged. "The least deviation in the greatest and highest orb is both most sensible and most dangerous." Keep the charge-as the sentinel the post of danger, as the physician in the critical stage of disease, as the stern and faithful guardian of untold treasure.

III. That obedience should be resolute and manly. "Be thou strong, therefore, and shew thyself a man" (verse 2). Solomon's youth clearly constituted one of the chief difficulties of his position. His exact age at his accession is uncertain. Eupolemus made him twelve. According to Josephus he was fourteen, but this may be no more than a deduction from David's words, "Solomon, my son, is young and tender" (1 Chron. xxii. 5), and from Solomon's own declaration (1 Kings iii. 7), "I am but a little child." Moderns generally have supposed that he was about twenty, which is probably an over rather than an under estimate. For a youth of nineteen or twenty, known to be of a pacific disposition (1 Chron. xxii. 9), to have rule over the warlike and turbulent Hebrew nation, with a strong party opposed to him, and brothers of full age ready to lead it, was evidently a most difficult task. Hence he is exhorted, though in years a boy, to show himself in spirit a man.-Speaker's Comm. It is not always easy to obey. It demands a firm, bold, intrepid spirit to dare to do the right, when by doing so it bears painfully upon those we love. Obedience to the highest law sacrifices all lower considerations, at whatever cost of personal feeling. The obedient man is the true man—the bravest and the best. They who would be faithful to God have need of courage.

IV. That obedience is the pathway of blessing. 1. It insures the fulfilment of Divine promises. "That the Lord may continue his word which he spake" (verse 4). The promises of God are conditional, "which is as an oar in a boat, or stern of a ship, and turneth the promise another way." The original promise

to David that Messiah should come out of his loins was apparently absolute and unconditional (2 Sam. vii. 11-17); but the promise as to his children occupying the throne of Israel was conditioned on their obedience (Psalm cxxxii. 12). David reminds Solomon of this in order to impress upon him a powerful motive to continued fidelity. We never lose the blessedness of the promise till we first neglect the precept. 2. It confers blessing on every undertaking. "That thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself" (verse 3). To infringe law in any department brings crriusion and suffering; obedience is not only the way of safety, but of success. The man whose ways please God shall not lack any manner of thing that is good. Abraham, when at the call of Jehovah he stepped into the region of the untried and unknown, little dreamt of the wealth of blessing that was destined to rest upon him and his posterity as the reward of his faith and obedience. There is no peace so calm and abiding as that which flows from conscious rectitude. "That happiness is built on sand or ice which is raised upon any other foundation besides virtue." Ill-gotten prosperity is transient and full of bitterness. 3. It leads to the highest honour. "There shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel" (verse 4). This promise, confirmed by the Lord himself to Solomon on his prayer at the consecration of the temple (viii. 25), which was repeated by the prophet Jeremiah (xxxiii. 17) at the time of the greatest humiliation of the royal house of David, for the strengthening and consolation of the faithful, found its full realization in Christ, the greatest descendant of David, whose dominion will endure as long as the sun and moon stand (Psalm lxxii.) Fidelity in a lower sphere is an excellent preparation for the honours and duties of a higher. The career of the obedient is like a river, small and unnoticed in its beginning, but gathering volume, momentum, and majesty in its expanding flow. Obedience is, to quote the language of Carlyle, "an everlasting lode-star, that beams the brighter in the heavens, the darker bere on earth grows the night around."

LESSONS:-1. Obedience is the earliest and most difficult lesson to learn. 2. It is often richest in blessing when it is most difficult to practise. 3. We are called to its exercise by the most solemn considerations.

DAVID'S DYING CHARGE TO SOLOMON.

The scene before us is solemnly impressive. The youth that had slain a giant is now, after a most eventful life, about to fall before a mightier arm than that of Goliath; the friend that had wept over his beloved Jonathan, is now going the way of all the earth; the monarch who had exclaimed over the remains of a child, still lovely in death, "I shall go to him, but he cannot return to me," is now at the end of his last stage, and about to mingle his ashes with the departed. We will draw near, and hear his last words of parental tenderness and dying counsel to his royal son and successor. "Be thou strong, and show thyself a man." If the king of Israel needed strength, and was required to show himself a man in the government of his kingdom, no less necessary, nay-onerous as the duties and cares of a sovereign might be-far greater, is the courage which the vigorous maintenance of our moral and religious principles demands.

I. It behoves us to be strong, and quit ourselves as men, as it respects the truth and doctrines of the Gospel. If on any question manliness of character is demanded, it is on this. If the Scriptures are a revelation of God's will to man, receive them as such, and obey them accordingly. How many are there who, manly, perhaps, in many things besides, are here most irresolute, timid,

hesitating, or double-minded. It is not acting as a man to own the Bible to be true, and at the same time treat it as if it were a fiction, a fable, a falsehood. Sustained by the clearest evidence, and published to the world by the highest authority, the Word of God is worthy of all confidence. It is no doubtful question whether the Lord Jesus was sent by the Father to be the Saviour of the world, nor what is the substance of His doctrine and teaching. Whatever He has expounded, it is for us, with a single, simple heart, to follow; to take the truth as He left it; to grasp it firmly as our life, and hold it with the same tenacity as a sinking man would hold the hand that was stretched forth to save him from the gurgling vortex. If we truly believe that we possess the treasure of a true revelation from God, then it is manly to espouse, to defend, to diffuse it for its own inestimable value, for the honour of Him from whom it comes, for the purity, peace, and safety of our own souls, and for its power to regenerate and bless the world.

II. To carry out the admonition is to shrink from no duty and no sacrifice which it may require. It is not the way of the world, even where the Christian religion is professed, to render obedience to the Divine commands. A kind of respectful treatment of the Word of God-nothing bold, nothing decided-is all that it will render; and the love and fear of the world will prompt us to do no more. A still stronger persuasion of the flesh speaks from within. It is sloth, it is selfishness, it is the predominance of some master passion, that governs the irreligious mind, and places men in rebellion against the will of God and the dearest interests of the soul. And then the Evil Spirit, the great tempter, the subtle adversary of man, will suggest all discontented and rebellious thoughts. Thus beset, multitudes, instead of quitting themselves like men and resisting the devil, readily yield. Does he show himself a man who yields to every temptation to neglect the house of God on the Sabbath, and to follow the allurements of pleasure? Does that youth show a manliness of mind who consents to the enticements of sinners, and surrenders himself to companionship with those whose house is the way to hell? Does that misguided and miserable creature show himself a man who, for the sake of indulging the lowest and worse than brutal propensities of his nature, will beggar his wife, starve his children, cover himself with rags, and make his home the scene of poverty, strife, and every hateful and disgusting passion? Ought we not to carry with us as Christians the same resolute and decided temper, the same open and obvious manliness in all matters that refer to eternity, as we do to those which are limited to time? In a word, to serve God is to show the same spirit towards Him which every one of us, who has the heart of a man, would show in defence of the health, the welfare, the happiness, and the life of the members of his own family.

III. To carry out the admonition, we must be bold and persevering in the work of God, till He shall relieve us from all further service. It is manly to begin well, but it is most unmanly to forsake or negligently execute a task once begun. There is a mighty class of inducements to instability in religion, such as are not brought to operate upon the mind in any other sphere of action. Here, as everywhere, success and satisfaction are the recompense, not of half deeds, but of manly, hearty energy, industry, and perseverance. Who is sufficient for these things? No one of himself; but He who gives us the command will not fail us if we rely upon Him for its fulfilment. When He bids us be strong, He is ready to give us power to obey. Heaven is the prize, every effort shall have its reward. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses who have finished their manly course, and reached the crown. They invite us onward. Let us not fear the troubles that beset the way, but be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Arise, for the work is great, the time is short, but the prize is eternal.-T. W. Hamilton, D.D.