Chapter I: TOLD you what sort of place a desert is, and how full it is of (2)

THERE was a very good woman named Hannah, and she grieved because she had no children. Whenever she came with her husband to God's holy place, she used to kneel, and pray with all her heart to God that He would let her have a son; and she promised that if she had one, she would lend him to the Lord all the days of his life.

At last God granted her prayer, and gave her a little son, and she named him Samuel. She was very glad when he was born, and she thanked God, and sang a hymn of praise for her dear little child. But she had promised to lend him to the Lord all his life; and she kept her promise.

As soon as little Samuel was old enough to be without her, she took him to the holy place, that was instead of a church, and gave him to wait upon the Lord. He lived with the High Priest, whose name was Eli, and was taught by him.

Eli was a very old man, and his sons used to behave very badly; but Samuel was always good and obedient to him, and used to wait upon him, and help him when he served God in the holy place. Samuel wore a little white linen dress like the priests; and when his mother came to see him, she used to bring him a little coat. She had five more children afterwards, three sons and two daughters.

If you listen in the afternoon, you will hear how God spoke to Samuel whilst he was still a little boy; and I am sure you like to think of the little child in his white dress, ministering before God in His beautiful holy place. But only think. You can be like Samuel. Your father and mother lent you to God for all your life, when they took you to the font, and made you God's child; and though you live at home, you go to church, and can serve God there, if you kneel and stand and sit quietly at the proper times, mind the prayers, and repeat the Amens, and the verses you know, in their right places. And if you are obedient, and try to be good, God will love you as He loved Samuel.

QUESTIONS.

1. What was the name of the woman we hear of to-day? 2. What did she wish for? 3. What did she do to obtain her wish? 4. What did God give her? 5. What was her son's name? 6. What did she promise? 7. Where did Hannah bring her little son? 8. Who took care of Samuel? 9. Who was Eli? 10. How did Samuel behave? 11. What did Samuel wear? 12. What had Samuel to do? 13. When were you lent to God? 14. Whose child are you? 15. How can you be like Samuel when you go to church? 16. How can you be like him at home? 17. Who will bless you if you try to be good? 18. What kind of children does God love?

SECOND READING.

"Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth."--_1 Sam. 3:9._

HANNAH brought her little son Samuel, to be brought up in the holy place by the High Priest Eli.

Samuel was very good and holy, and God blessed him and loved him. One night, when everyone was gone to bed, but the lamp in the holy place was not yet gone out, Samuel heard a voice calling to him, "Samuel!" He sprang up at once, for he thought that Eli had called him, and he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for thou didst call me." But Eli answered, "I called not, my son; lie down again;" and Samuel went back to his bed.

Then again came the voice calling to him, "Samuel!" and again he thought it was Eli's call. He was not lazy, or fretful at being roused out of his sleep, but he ran at once to Eli, and again said, "Here I am, for thou didst call me." But Eli sent him back to his bed again; and there again he heard the call, "Samuel!"

Patiently he once more rose and came to the old man, but this time Eli knew that it must have been no other than God's own voice speaking to the child. So he bade Samuel go back, and next time he heard the voice, to say, "Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth."

And so Samuel did. Again his name was called, and he made answer, "Speak; for Thy servant heareth."

And God spoke to him in the still night, and told him to give Eli a fresh warning of the sad things that were coming on him and on his sons. Samuel was forced to tell Eli all in the morning, sad and mournful as it was. He was afraid and grieved to have such things to say, but he told the truth, and Eli was too good a man to be angry with him, and only said, "It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good."

And, after that, God often made His will known to Samuel, and blessed him, and all Israel knew that Samuel was God's own prophet. Think of the great honor and blessing of having God so often speaking to him! But we have that blessing too. God is nearer to a little Christian child than He was to Samuel; for the Holy Spirit speaks in a Christian child's heart, and tells him to be good and dutiful, and to think of God, and say his prayers with all his heart. And that is better than even being a prophet like Samuel. Only we must take great care to attend to that voice; or it will leave off, and then we shall get worse and worse, like those bad sons of poor old Eli.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who was Samuel? 2. Where was he brought up? 3. What did his mother bring him every year? 4. Who was the High Priest? 5. What did Samuel hear? 6. Who did he think was calling? 7. What did he do? 8. What did Eli say? 9. How often did this happen? 10. Was Samuel cross at being called so often? 11. Who was honoring him? 12. What did Eli perceive at last? 13. What did he tell Samuel to answer? 14. What did he hear again? 15. How did he answer? 16. What did the voice tell him? 17. Whose voice speaks to us? 18. How does the Holy Spirit speak to us? 19. What must we take care to do?

THIRD READING.

"The Ark of God is taken.--_Samuel 4:17._

GOD helped the Israelites again and again, but they would not leave off their wickedness, and at last He punished them still more. There came up a nation to make war upon them, fiercer than any before, called the Philistines. Then the Israelites fancied that if they took the Ark of the Covenant out into the battle with them they would get the victory, as they had done when Joshua conquered the land.

But God had never bidden them take the Ark. He had commanded that it should stay in its place at Shiloh. They did not heed this, but took it out into the camp, and all the people shouted for joy when it was brought, with the two priests, Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's sons, to take care of it. When the Philistines heard the shout, they said that the gods of Israel were come, and that they must fight all the more bravely. And they did.

God would not help His people because of their self-will, so He let them be beaten by the Philistines, and Hophni and Phinehas were killed, and the holy Ark of God was taken by these heathens. And when poor old Eli, the High Priest, heard the sad news, he was so much shocked, that he fell down backwards and broke his neck and died.

God still shewed His power, for when the Philistines put the Ark into the temple of one of their false gods the idol fell down and was broken; and wherever it was taken the people fell sick, till at last they sent it back to the Israelites: but it never came back to Shiloh. It was hidden in a lonely house in the woods; and the Philistines were strong and the Israelites were very weak and miserable, because they had been so very disobedient.

QUESTIONS.

1. What people came to fight with the Israelites? 2. Why did God let any one hurt the Israelites? 3. What did the Israelites think would help them to fight? 4. What was in the Ark of the Covenant? 5. Where was it kept? 6. Ought they to have taken it? 7. Why not? 8. Why did they take it? 9. Did it give them the victory? 10. Why not? 11. Who were killed? 12. Who was the father of Hophni and Phinehas? 13. What happened to Eli when he heard the Ark was taken? 14. Why did God allow it to be taken? 15. Did it come back again? 16. Why did not the Philistines keep it? 17. What happened to their idol? 18. What happened to themselves? 19. Where had it been before? 20. Did it ever come back to Shiloh? 21. Where was it kept?

Twentieth Sunday.

_KING SAUL._

FIRST READING.

"Behold, the Lord hath set a king over you."--_1 Samuel 12:13._

THERE was a young man named Saul, who was very tall and strong. His father kept a number of asses; for, in the land of Israel, people rode on asses instead of horses. One day all the asses were lost, and Saul and one of the servants went out to look for them. They went a long, long way, and never found the asses; and at night they came to a city, and there they found Samuel.

Samuel was an old man now, and grey-headed; and he ruled over Israel, and everyone honored and loved him, because he was so good and just. Saul was very much surprised when the great and good Samuel met him, and led him into the house, and put him in the chief place, and gave him a choice of meat that had been set apart for him. Saul could not think how Samuel knew anything about him. And he was still more surprised the next morning, for then Samuel came out of the city with him, and sent the servant on before. Then Samuel took some oil, and poured it on Saul's head, which was what was called anointing, and told him that God had chosen him to be king over all the people of Israel.

Was not this wonderful news for him? And you see, God had led him to Samuel to be made king, though he so little guessed what was going to happen when he set out to look for the asses. And God still makes everything happen, even the least thing; it is all for our good, even though we do not quite see why.

So Saul was the first King of Israel; but he was only to be prosperous as long as he would take care to obey God.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who was the first King of Israel? 2. Did Saul expect to be a king? 3. What did he set out from home to do? 4. Where did he come? 5. Who was in the city? 6. What did you hear about Samuel last Sunday? 7. What age was Samuel now? 8. What did he give Saul? 9. What surprised Saul? 10. What did Samuel do to him the next day? 11. What is anointing? 12. What was he to be? 13. But what must he do if he would get on well?

SECOND READING.

"There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few."--_1 Sam. 14:6._

SAUL was the first king of Israel. But just at first, when he was appointed king, the people were in great distress; for their enemies the Philistines had overrun the whole land, and held all the strong places, and were very hard to the Israelites. They would not even let a smith live among the Israelites, that they might not be able to have swords or spears made to use in fighting, and the Israelites had to go into the Philistines' country to get their axes and ploughshares made, and to sharpen the goads, or long sticks tipped with iron that they drove the oxen with.

THE PEOPLE MUCH FRIGHTENED.

Nobody had a sword or spear but Saul and his good son Jonathan; all the rest of the people had nothing better to fight with than axes and mattocks and goads, and they were very much frightened, and came trembling after their new king.

But Jonathan trusted in God, and he and one young man set out creeping along a rugged steep path to see what the enemy were about, and by-and-by they came below the high rocky hill where the Philistines were encamped.

One of the Philistines looked out and said, "Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves;" and he called out to Jonathan, "Come up to us, and we will show you a thing."

Now, Jonathan knew, as he said to his friend, that the Lord can save as easily by few men as by many, so he was not afraid; and he and the other young man climbed up on their hands and knees till they came out among all the Philistine soldiers. Then they began to fight at once, and the Philistines were so surprised at these two men beginning to fight with them, that they most likely thought all the others were behind, and they began to run away.

The people in Saul's camp heard all the noise, and went out to look, and saw the Philistines running away, so they went after them, and killed many, and drove them out of the land, and got free of them once more.

So God blessed and helped the good Jonathan, because he trusted in Him; and Saul became a great king.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who was the first king of Israel? 2. Who made Saul king? 3. Who was Saul's son? 4. Who were the enemies of the Israelites? 5. Why would not the Philistines let the Israelites have any smiths? 6. What is a smith? 7. What tools does a smith make? 8. How did the Israelites get their iron tools? 9. Who were the only ones that had swords and spears? 10. Why were the people afraid? 11. Who crept out to see the Philistines? 12. What did Jonathan know that God could do? 13. Where did he climb up? 14. What happened? 15. What became of the Philistines? 16. Who became king?

THIRD READING.

"Intreat me not to leave thee."--_Ruth 1:16._

ONE fine summer day, a good man named Boaz went out into his corn-fields where his reapers were cutting down the wheat. "The Lord be with you," he said. "The Lord bless thee," they answered. Then he saw a young woman gleaning, whom he had never seen before.

He asked who she was. He heard that her name was Ruth, and she was a stranger and a widow. Then why had she come there? Because she could not bear to leave her husband's mother, Naomi, alone in her old age. She knew that if she kept with Naomi she must be poor and forlorn, and away from all her friends; but she loved her mother-in-law so much, that she said, "Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: * * * where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried."

When Boaz knew that Ruth was poor and a stranger, he told his reapers to drop some handfuls of corn in her way; and he told Ruth to keep among his young maidens, so that nobody might be rude to her, and that she might rest and eat among them when they rested in the heat of the day.

Ruth carried home plenty of corn to her mother-in-law. And soon it was found out that Boaz was their nearest friend; and he married Ruth, and Naomi lived with them; and Ruth was no longer poor and a stranger, but was happy as a wife and mother in her beautiful home.

QUESTIONS.

1. What was the name of the mother of whom we hear to-day? 2. Whose mother was she? 3. But who was good to her? 4. What did Ruth do for Naomi? 5. Where did she go to glean? 6. Who saw her? 7. What did Boaz bid his men do? 8. How did Boaz speak to his men? 9. How did they answer? 10. How was he kind to Ruth? 11. What did she find out? 12. Whom did Ruth marry? 13. What became of Naomi? 14. Why was Ruth so happy?

Twenty-first Sunday.

_THE REIGN OF SAUL._

FIRST READING.

"Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king.--_1 Samuel 15:23._

LAST Sunday you heard how God chose Saul to be king of Israel, and promised to help him if he would obey in all that God commanded him.

Now, there were some cruel robbers that lived in the mountains, and used to fall upon peaceful people and kill them; and take their cows and sheep and camels and asses, and gold and silver, and all they had. So God sent a message by Samuel to Saul and his brave men, to destroy these cruel people; but God said that none of all their prey and riches, that had been gained by such wicked ways, was to be kept by His people; it was all to be made away with; they were to have none of it for themselves.

They won the battle, and killed the robbers, as they were sure to do when God helped them; but then when they saw such fine cattle and choice things, they would not obey God, but went and took it all for themselves. They left only the poor and mean that they did not care for, and helped themselves to all they liked.

And then, when Samuel came to meet them, Saul made as if he had done just what he was told, and said, "I have obeyed the voice of the Lord." But Samuel said, "What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of oxen which I hear?"

Saul wanted to make excuses; but it was not the first time he had been disobedient; and he was only frightened, he was not really sorry; so Samuel was obliged to tell him, "Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king."

Saul would not do as he was told, and so God punished him. Remember that. Your parents and teachers, or nurses, give you orders; and you have to mind them exactly--not only to do what you like, and miss out the rest. Saul did what he liked when he fought the robbers, but he would not obey when he took the spoil. Then God was angry with him. Do not you be like him; but obey when you do not like, as well as when you do like.

QUESTIONS.

1. What is the Fifth Commandment? 2. What must we always do? 3. Who did we hear of to-day who did not do as he was told? 4. What was Saul told to do? 5. Who told him? 6. Who was Samuel? 7. Who was Saul? 8. What was Saul told not to do? 9. How far did he obey? 10. In what did he disobey? 11. Why was it wrong of Saul to keep the robbers' cattle and sheep? 12. What did he say when Samuel came? 13. Was this true? 14. What did Samuel hear that showed that this was false? 15. Whom had Saul disobeyed? 16. How was Saul to be punished? 17. Why was Saul not to keep the kingdom?

SECOND READING.

"I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him."--_Psalm 89:20._

THE hills that lie above Bethlehem have green slopes where the sheep feed. There, one day, a flock was feeding, and a boy with blue eyes and shining hair watched them, and perhaps sung as he watched. He was the youngest of eight brothers, and all the rest had gone down to a great feast; for Samuel, the great Prophet, was come to visit their father.

But the youngest must stay out with the sheep. No one would want him. But see a messenger is coming up the hill. He calls--David is wanted. The Prophet has called for him. So the boy is obedient, and rises up, to run down the hill at his father's call. Perhaps he stopped to wash his face in the clear well of Bethlehem before he went up to the place of the feast, the same place where Boaz had brought his bride Ruth, for Jesse, David's father was Ruth's grandson.

There stood the Prophet, with his long white hair flowing down; and as soon as young David came in, he stepped forward with a horn in his hand, and sweet-smelling oil of olives mixed with incense was flowing upon David's golden hair. He was the Anointed of the Lord. In time to come he would be king, but he must wait long and patiently first.

Yes. Each of his seven brothers had passed before Samuel--tall goodly men--but God had spoken to Samuel, and forbidden him to choose them; for Samuel could only see their fine handsome faces and figures, but God looked at their hearts, and knew they were proud men, who would soon have been as fierce and headstrong as Saul himself. So he had sent Samuel to choose the youngest and least thought-of of all Jesse's sons, and anoint him to be king of Israel. Yes; and above all, to be the forefather of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who was sent to Bethlehem? 2. Who used to live at Bethlehem? 3. What was Samuel to do? 4. Whose son was he to anoint? 5. What does anointing mean? 6. What was anointing to mark him for? 7. How many sons had Jesse? 8. How many came to the feast? 9. Which did not come? 10. Where was David? 11. Were his brothers anointed? 12. Why not? 13. Who saw their hearts? 14. Who was sent for? 15. What did Samuel do? 16. Why was Saul to be punished? 17. Why was David chosen? 18. Was he to begin to reign at once? 19. How was he to wait?

THIRD READING.

"I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel."--_1 Samuel 17:45._

THOUGH King Saul had beaten the Philistines, still they used to come back again and try to conquer the Israelites.

Once they came with an army, and Saul had an army too. The Israelites were on one hill and the Philistines on another hill, and there was a valley between. Then out in front of the Philistines' camp came a giant named Goliath; for there really were giants then, and Goliath had three brothers as tall as himself.

Goliath was nearly twice as tall as any man we ever saw, and he had a helmet on his head, and armour on his breast, and an enormous spear, and a shield, and a man carried a shield before him. He stood out, and called to know if any Israelite would fight with him. Then if Goliath conquered the Israelite, the Philistines should be the lords over the Israelites; but if an Israelite conquered Goliath, then the Israelites should be lords over the Philistines.

But nobody felt bold or strong enough to go out to fight with this great man; and day after day he came and walked up and down, and laughed the Israelites to scorn for not daring to come out, they who called themselves the servants of God.

At last a young shepherd boy came to the camp. He had three brothers among Saul's soldiers, and his father had sent him to take them some loaves of bread, and see how they were. The shepherd boy's name was David. When he came he saw the proud Goliath walking up and down boasting against the Israelites; he asked the soldiers about him, and was so eager that at last they brought him to the king; and Saul asked him how it was that he, who was only a youth, could dare to think of fighting with a man of war like Goliath.

David answered that when he was keeping his flocks a lion and a bear had come and tried to take away a lamb. And God had made him strong to kill both the lion and the bear, and saved him from danger; and he trusted that in like manner God would help him if he fought with the giant.

So Saul wanted to dress David in his own armour, but it was too large for him, and he would not use it. All he did was to choose five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them into his shepherd's bag. And he took his sling, a long strip of leather, the ends of which he used to hold in his hand to throw stones farther with, when he wanted to drive beasts away from his flock. And with only his sling and his stone he went out to meet the giant.

Goliath was fierce and angry when he saw such a boy, and he thought it was only laughing at him to send no better warrior to fight with him. But David said, "Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, * * * whom thou hast defied."

Then David took one of his stones and slung it out of his sling. It struck the very middle of the giant's forehead, and went deep in, and down fell Goliath. All his great strength was of no use to him, and David ran and stood upon him, and drew out his great sword from his side, and cut off his head.

All the other Philistines fled away, and David gave thanks to God for his great victory.

By-and-by David came to be king instead of Saul; and he loved God, and trusted in Him so faithfully that God Himself called him a man after His own heart.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who were the enemies of the Israelites? 2. Who was the giant? 3. What is a giant? 4. What did Goliath wear? 5. What did he call the Israelites to do? 6. Who was the only one that would come out to fight? 7. What was David? 8. Why was not David afraid? 9. What had David killed before? 10. What did David take with him? 11. What was a sling? 12. What did David say? 13. Who helped David? 14. How did David attack Goliath? 15. What happened to Goliath? 16. What did David do to him then? 17. What became of the other Philistines? 18. What did David come to be? 19. What did God call David? 20. Why did God love David?

Twenty-second Sunday.

_KING DAVID REIGNING._

FIRST READING.

"How are the mighty fallen!"--_2 Samuel 1:19._

THE last thing that has to be told about Saul is very sad. You know he would not do as God bade him, but chose to go his own way. Then God forsook him, and left him to grow worse and worse. Then his enemies, the Philistines, came up against him, and his army came together on the hills to meet them.

But God was not with Saul, so his men could not fight, and he was beaten back step by step up into his own hills, close to his home; and there, when he found he could go no further, and that the Philistines would soon be upon him, he did the saddest thing of all--he threw himself on his own sword, that they might not take him alive.

He did not quite kill himself; and when a young robber came by, trying to get garments and weapons from the dead bodies, the unhappy king begged for a death-blow as he lay. The robber gave him the last stroke, and then took the crown from his helmet, and his bracelets, and brought them to David, to show that he was dead.

The robber thought he should have a reward, but David put him to death for having dared to strike the king: and David grieved and mourned for Saul, who had been a great and noble king once. But he had come to this miserable end because he would have his own way and will.

Then, when Saul was killed, David was anointed to be king; and he was a very good man, and served God with all his heart. So God blessed him, and made him great and powerful.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who was Saul? 2. What was Saul's fault? 3. Who came out to fight against Saul? 4. Where was he driven? 5. Who came after him? 6. What dreadful thing did he do? 7. Who killed him entirely? 8. What did the robber take? 9. To whom did he carry Saul's crown? 10. What did David do to him? 11. Why? 12. Who was to be king now? 13. Why did Saul come to such an end? 14. Whose way should he have followed? 15. Can anyone go on well who is self-willed? 16. Who was king after Saul?

SECOND READING.

"I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."--_2 Samuel 12:23._

KING David had a little son, a baby, whom he loved very much; and this child fell sick. While it was sick King David grieved for it, and prayed that it might be made well. But it was not God's will to make the little boy well, and he died. And then David was patient, and knew it was God's will; and he said, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

For David meant that one day he should die, and then his soul would go to be with his little son's soul in the happy place of rest; and by-and-by their bodies will rise again out of their graves, and be joined to their souls again, and live for ever and ever.

King David used to sing the Psalms to praise God; indeed, he first made most of them; and in one he says, "My flesh also shall rest in hope." That was, the hope that he should rise again from the dead, and always live in God's holy home in heaven. Heaven is the happy place where we all hope to meet and live by-and-by, and that is the comfort that good Christians have when death takes away friends whom they love.

QUESTIONS.

1. What was David's sorrow? 2. What did he do when his little boy was ill? 3. Did the little boy get better? 4. What became of him? 5. How did David bear his death? 6. What did he say? 7. Where did he hope to go to his little son? 8. When would his soul go to his child's soul? 9. When will their bodies rise? 10. What does David say of his flesh? 11. What is his flesh? 12. What hope does he rest in? 13. When will our flesh rest? 14. What do we hope to do? 15. Where in the Belief do you say we hope to rise from the dead? 16. What people will be happy then? 17. What are David's songs called?

THIRD READING.

"O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!"--_2 Samuel 19:4._

GOOD King David had more sons besides the little one who died. One was named Absalom. He was a very fine, handsome young man, and had most beautiful hair; but he was fierce and proud, and wanted to be king.

And when David was old, this wicked Absalom gathered men together, and drove his father away, that he might be king instead. Good King David had to go away, weeping and barefoot, down the steep rocky pass, for fear of his wicked son; and cruel men called him names, and threw stones at him as he went, while Absalom was made to reign in his father's palace, and did all he pleased there. But God will not let wicked men prosper; and all David's faithful old soldiers came together to help him. They had a great battle with Absalom and his men; and Absalom was beaten, and fled away on a mule.

But when he came into a wood, his thick hair was caught in an oak tree, and he could not get it loose; and his mule went away, and left him still with his hair caught in the tree.

Now, though Absalom had been so wicked, his father loved him still, and had begged all his men to take care not to hurt the young man Absalom. So when one of the men saw Absalom caught by the hair in a tree he would not hurt him, and only went and told Absalom's cousin, Joab, who was the captain of David's army.

Joab had no pity; he thought Absalom richly deserved to die, and he was afraid the king would pardon him; so he went at once, with three darts in his hand, and killed Absalom as he hung in the tree.

King David was grieved to the heart. No words can say how sad he was to think that his son had died in his sin, and never asked his pardon. He wept, and cried aloud, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!" It was not like his grief for the innocent little baby he had lost before; for Absalom had been a bad man, and for that there is no comfort.

And when all the people came joyfully to bring King David home to his palace, to be king again, still his heart mourned for his son Absalom.

QUESTIONS.

1. What is the Fifth Commandment? 2. Do you hear of any one to-day who broke the Fifth Commandment? 3. How did Absalom break it? 4. Who was Absalom's father? 5. How had David to go away? 6. What did cruel men do? 7. Who came to help David? 8. What did he charge them? 9. Who won the battle? 10. What happened to Absalom? 11. Who saw him there? 12. Whom did the man tell? 13. Why did Joab kill Absalom? 14. Did Absalom deserve it? 15. How did his father behave? 16. What did he cry out? 17. Why was he more sorry than for his baby son? 18. What is sadder than even dying? 19. How should you behave to your parents?

Twenty-third Sunday.

_PREPARING FOR THE TEMPLE._

FIRST READING.

"Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price."--_2 Samuel 24:24._

WHEN David was king his people did wrong again; and there came a plague upon them, so that a great number of them died all through the land of Israel.

David and his priests, and all the good men, fasted and prayed, and entreated that God would turn His anger away. And while they were praying, David saw the Destroying Angel standing with his drawn sword over Jerusalem; but the plague had not begun there. Then David prayed the more; and God made known to him that he must offer up a sacrifice on the threshing-floor of Ornan, just by Jerusalem, and then the plague should be stopped.

A threshing-floor was a flat rocky place on the top of a hill, where the sheaves of corn were laid out, and oxen drew boards, with the under side covered with spikes, to knock the grain out of the ears. Oman's threshing-floor was upon Mount Moriah, where Isaac had been so nearly sacrificed. He was threshing wheat on it when David came and desired to buy it for the sacrifice.

Ornan was a good man, and said he would give the whole place to the king. But David said, "I will not offer unto my God of that which doth cost me nothing." So he bought the place of Ornan, the oxen, and the threshing tools; and the sacrifice was made to show that death must be for sin. Then God pardoned Israel, and the plague was stopped. We should remember that our offerings to God are only worthy if they cost us something. He does not want the things themselves, but He does value the love that gives them.

QUESTIONS.

1. What is a threshing-floor? 2. Whose threshing-floor have we heard of? 3. Where was it? 4. What had happened on Mount Moriah? 5. Whose son was Isaac? 6. Was he sacrificed? 7. Why not? 8. What town was near? 9. Who bought the threshing-floor? 10. Why? 11. What is a plague? 12. Why was the plague sent? 13. What did David see? 14. What was he bidden to do? 15. What did Ornan want to do? 16. What did David say? 17. So what ought we to give to God?

SECOND READING.

"His seed also will I make to endure for ever."--_Psalm 89:29_

YOU know the two Tables of the Commandments were kept in the Ark of the Covenant; and when the Israelites were going about in the wilderness, they had a beautiful tent to keep it in. But now they had come into the Land of Promise, and had no more journeys to make, David wished to build a house, or temple, where the Ark might be kept, and to make it beautiful for the glory of God.

But the Lord had sent a prophet to tell David that he must not himself build a house for God, because he had been a man of war, and had fought, and shed much blood; but that his son Solomon should be a man of rest, and should build the Temple for the Lord.

David did not repine. He thanked God for giving him the hope that his son should do this great work; and all the rest of his life he was busy getting together gold and silver, brass and iron, and beautiful cedar wood, all for the Temple of his God. It was to be built on Mount Moriah, on the threshing-floor he had bought of Ornan, just by the city of Jerusalem, which David had conquered from the Jebusites, and made the capital of his kingdom.

QUESTIONS.

1. What was kept in the Ark of the Covenant? 2. Where was the Ark kept at first? 3. What did David want to build? 4. Why was David not allowed to build a temple? 5. Did he fret and grieve at being forbidden? 6. Who was to build the Temple? 7. What did David get ready? 8. Where was the Temple to be? 9. When had he bought it of Ornan?

THIRD READING.

"All things come to Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee."--_1 Chronicles 29:14._

DAVID had grown to be a very old man, near to his death; but, before he died, he called all the princes of his people together at Jerusalem, and asked them all to bring offerings to help to build a beautiful house, to be a Temple to the Lord their God. So all the people brought what precious things they could, to add to what the king had prepared; and a great quantity was ready--all willingly offered.

Then good King David stood up and made his offering. "All things come of Thee," he said, "and of Thine own have we given Thee." And he thanked and blessed the Lord God, who had been with him all his life; and he blessed his people Israel, and showed them his son Solomon, who was to reign after him; and he gave Solomon a charge to build the Temple of the Lord, and bade them all serve the Lord with all their might. And the crown was set on Solomon's head, and he was king; and David died at a good old age. He was the shepherd boy who came to be a king, and who first sung so many of the beautiful Psalms that are still our best words for praising God.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who was David? 2. Who was his son? 3. What was Solomon to do? 4. What had David got ready for Solomon? 5. What did he ask his princes to bring? 7. What for? 8. When did David meet all his people? 9. Who was to be king? 10. Why was David glad? 11. What did he say to God? 12. Whose are all things? 13. What charge did David give? 14. What had David been before he was king? 15. What did David write? 16. What are the Psalms?

Twenty-fourth Sunday.

_SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY._

FIRST READING.

"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty."--_1 Chron. 29:11._

THE last thing King David did was to have his son, young Solomon, anointed to reign, and then to show him to the people, and charge them to help him build the Temple for the Lord God. For he said Solomon was still very young, and the work was very great; so he begged the people of the tribes to bring their offerings; and so they did.

They brought gold, silver, brass, iron, and beautiful stones, or the wood of oaks and cedars, according to what they had or could give; and when David saw it he was very happy and glad, and offered it up to God, and prayed that God would give unto his son Solomon a perfect heart, that he might serve God and keep His laws.

Then there was a great feast all round Mount Sion, all the people eating, and drinking, and rejoicing, and praising God, who had delivered them from all their enemies.

QUESTIONS.

1. What did David ask of his people? 2. What did they bring him? 3. What were all these things for? 4. Who was to build the Temple? 5. Why was not David himself allowed to build it? 6. Yet what did he get together for it? 7. Why was he happy? 8. What did he ask God? 9. What great rejoicing was there? 10. Why was everything happy now with the nation?

SECOND READING.

"Give me now wisdom and knowledge."--_2 Chron. 1:10._

WHEN King David died, Solomon was still almost a boy. But God spake to him in a dream by night, and said, "Ask what I shall give thee." Then Solomon said he was but young, and knew not how to rule over this great people that God had given him; and therefore he prayed, above all, that God would give him a wise and understanding heart.

And God was pleased with Solomon's choice, and said that because he had cared for wisdom most, and had not asked for riches, or long life, or to put down his enemies, that therefore, besides wisdom, God would give him all the rest--riches, and honor, and length of life--and he should be wiser, and greater, and richer, than any king ever was before him, or should be after him.

All this was because he had cared so much to have a wise and understanding heart to know good and evil. That was first with him, and so God gave him all the rest. So it will be with all those who seek first of all to be good. God does not make us wise all at once like Solomon, but if we care about it, He will help us to get wise by little and little if we really try, and then He will bless all we do.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who was Solomon? 2. Whose son was he? 3. What was he king of? 4. How old was he when he began to be king? 5. What did God say to him at night? 6. What did Solomon wish for most? 7. What did God give him besides? 8. Why did God give him all these things when he did not ask for them? 9. What should we care about most? 10. What will God do for us if we care most about goodness? 11. How will He help us to get wise? 12. But what must we do ourselves?

THIRD READING.

"The wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.--_1 Kings 3:28._

HERE is a story to show how wise and clever King Solomon was. One day when he was sitting on his throne two women came to him: one with a live baby, the other with a dead one, both boys, and just of the same age. They said they had been living alone together in the same house, each with her little baby, till one night one of the women rolled over her child in her sleep and smothered it, so that she found it was dead.

But each woman said it was not her baby but the other's that was dead, and that the mother of the dead one had put the little corpse down by the other sleeping woman, and taken her living child out of her bosom to herself. How was it to be known which was right?--for nobody out of the house knew the two little ones apart, and each of the women declared that she was the mother of the live child, not of the dead. So they came to the king to judge between them.

And what plan could Solomon take to find out the truth? He sent for the executioner, with a sword, and said that as the women could not agree, both the children should be cut in two, and each woman should have the two halves. One woman was content to have it so, but the other only cried out in grief and dread, "O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it."

Then Solomon saw in a moment which was full of mother's love, and which was full of hatred and jealousy; so he said, "Give _her_ the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof." And so the true loving mother had her child safe and well, and the other was disappointed in her spite.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who was Solomon? 2. Who came before him? 8. What had happened to one baby? 4. What did both the women say? 5. What had Solomon to decide? 6. What did he command? 7. Did he really mean to kill the child? 8. But what did he want to find out? 9. What did one woman say? 10. What did the other woman say? 11. Which was the real mother? 12. What did Solomon command? 13. Would not the loving mother rather give the child away than have it killed?

Twenty-fifth Sunday.

_SOLOMON'S FALL._

FIRST READING.

"All the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart."--_1 Kings 10:24._

KING Solomon was the greatest king in wisdom and riches who ever lived. He had an ivory throne with golden lions standing on the steps, and a beautiful house lined with sweet cedar-wood. He sent ships which brought home gold and silver, and apes and peacocks; and it was said that gold was as common as silver generally is, and silver as common as stones!

All people honored him, and the Queen of Sheba came from her far-off country to see him, because of the fame of his greatness. And when she saw him she was quite overcome, and said that all she heard was not half so grand and glorious as what she saw. Very happy, she said, were the people who stood round him and heard the words of his wisdom.

We have the words of his wisdom in the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, for his wisdom came from God. And though we shall never see his purple robes or his gold and silver, do you know what our blessed Saviour said?--"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

The least little flower, if you look well into it, is more beautiful than anything King Solomon ever wore, for God made it; and he could only put things together that were made already.

QUESTIONS.

1. Why was Solomon so rich? 2. Whose son was he? 3. What had he built? 4. When he had built the House of God what did he build? 5. What sort of throne had he? 6. What were the steps? 7. Who came to see him? 8. What did she say of him? 9. Where have we got his wisdom? 10. What do we call it? 11. What did our blessed Saviour say about him? 12. What have we got which are more beautiful than Solomon's robes? 13. Why are flowers more beautiful than Solomon's robes?

SECOND READING.

"Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes."--_Psalm 89:32._

IT is very sad to say that as Solomon grew old he left off being good. He married a great many wives, and brought them from the heathen nations round; and he did not teach them to worship the true God, but let them worship each in her own way.

So, out in his gardens, one lady had her idol to the moon, and another had hers to the dreadful idol Milcom, and so on; and though Solomon knew so much better, even he was persuaded to come and pay honor to these idols, just to please these women--he, the son of David, whom God had blessed so much.

And what the king did the people were sure to do. So God spake to Solomon, and told him that since he had fallen away from the right way, he must be punished, and that ten out of the twelve tribes would be taken away and not belong to his kingdom.

It was not to happen in his own time, but in his son's time, but it must have been very sad to him to know that his beautiful kingdom and great power were to be so lessened, and that his son Rehoboam was a very foolish young man, who would spoil everything. But he was not to lose all, only part, for the sake of the holy King David, to whom God had promised that his throne should last for ever.

QUESTIONS.

1. What wrong did Solomon do? 2. Where did his wives come from? 3. What did they want to worship? 4. Did Solomon let them? 5. What did he do himself? 6. Why was this wrong? 7. What is the First Commandment? 8. What did God tell Solomon? 9. How was he to be punished? 10. How many tribes were to be lost? 11. How many were to be kept? 12. Why were any to be left? 13. What had God promised David? 14. In whose time was the trouble to come? 15. What was the name of Solomon's son?

THIRD READING.

"I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand."--_1 Kings 11:35._

THERE was a strong brave man of the tribe of Ephraim, named Jeroboam, and God sent his prophet to speak to him. Jeroboam had a new mantle on, and the prophet took it and tore it into twelve pieces, and gave Jeroboam ten of them.

Then the prophet said this was to show how God was going to tear away ten tribes from Rehoboam, the grandson of David, and give them to Jeroboam, because Solomon was bringing idols in to be worshipped. And he told Jeroboam that all should go well with him, and he would be a great king, and his sons after him, if he would go on serving the Lord, and the Lord only, and would keep from idols.

QUESTIONS.

1. What was to be taken from Solomon's son? 2. What was the name of Solomon's son? 3. Who was to have the tribes? 4. Who told Jeroboam so? 5. What sign did the prophet give? 6. What was torn? 7. Of how many tribes would Rehoboam be king? 8. Of how many would Jeroboam be king? 9. Why were any taken from Rehoboam? 10. Why were any left? 11. What does the Second Commandment say? 12. How long would Jeroboam go on well?

Twenty-sixth Sunday.

_THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL._

FIRST READING.

"This thing became a sin."--_1 Kings 12:30._