Of David enter'd, and he gave command, In a low tone, to his followers, And left him with his dead. The king stood still 9. 10. "Alas! my noble boy! that thou shouldst die! "Cold is thy brow, my son! and I am chill, Like a rich harp-string, yearning to caress thee, 11. 12 13. 14. And hear thy sweet 'my father!' from those dumb "But death is on thee. I shall hear the gush And the dark tresses to the soft winds flung; "And oh! when I am stricken," and my heart, Yearn for thine ear to drink its last deep token! "And now, farewell! "Tis hard to give thee up, If from this woe its bitterness had won thee. He covered up his face, and bowed himself N. P. WILLIS. PALL, the cloth thrown over a dead body 4 SACK'-CLOTH, a coarse cloth used in mournat funerals. 2 SYM'-ME-TRY, beauty of form; a due pro-5 ing. MAN'-TLING, rising; spreading as a blush spreads over the face. 6 STRICK'-EN, cast down; far gone with age. LESSON VII. THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. 1. THE prosperity of the Hebrews as a nation ended with the death of Solomon, the son and successor of King David. When Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, came to the throne, the ten northern tribes revolted, choosing Jeroboam as their king; and from this time Israel and Judah, with which latter was united part of the tribe of Benjamin, were separate kingdoms. The separation thus effected is called "The Revolt of the Ten Tribes." 2. The subsequent princes of the kingdom of Israel, as the ten tribes were called, were all idolaters in the sight of the Lord, although from time to time they were warned of the consequences of their idolatry by the prophets Elijah, Elisha, Hosea, Amos, Jonah, and others. 3. The history of Elijah is one of exceeding interest. Fleeing before the wicked Ahab, he was miraculously fed by ravens in his concealment; he restored to life the son of the widow who generously gave him a share of her little store; he caused the false prophets of Baal to be put to death; and when he fled from the wicked Jezebel into the wilderness, he witnessed there some wonderful manifestations of Divine power; and, finally, he was taken up alive into heaven. 4. The scene in the wilderness, when he was commanded to go forth and stand upon Mount Horeb before the Lord, is thus described in the Bible. "And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." The poet Campbell has made the following beautiful para phrase1 of this passage: 5. 6. ELIJAH'S INTERVIEW WITH GOD. "On Horeb's rock the prophet stood- A hurricane in angry mood Swept by him strong and fast; Announcing danger, wreck, and death, "It ceased. The air grew mute-a cloud 7. 8. When, through the mountain, deep and loud The trampling of his steeds from far. ""Twas still again, and nature stood And calmed her ruffled3 frame; To earth devouring came; The sickening sun looked wan1 and dead-- "Twas but the terror of his eye That lightened through the troubled sky. "At last a voice all still and small Rose sweetly on the ear, Yet rose so shrill and clear, that all That bade the trembling world rejoice. CAMPBELL. ¿ PAR'-A-PHRASE, an explanation of some 2 LAIR, the bed or couch of a wild beast. text or passage in a more clear and ample 3 RUFFLED, disturbed; agitated. manner than is expressed in the words of 4 WAN, pale; of a sickly color. the author. LESSON VIII. THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH. 1. THE history of Judah, after the revolt of the Ten Tribes, is but little more than the history of a single town, Jerusalem; although Bethlehem and Hebron, villages then of little importance, were included in the Judean, territory. Some of the kings of Judah, like those of Israel, fell into idolatry, for which they and their people were punished by being delivered into the hands of the surrounding nations: others restored the worship of the true God; and of them it is recorded that "God prospered their undertakings.” 2. During the reign of the wicked and idolatrous Ahaz, the country was brought to the brink of ruin. The prophet Isaiah, who lived at that time, points out the corruptions of the land in strong terms. He calls the nation" a sinful people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers." He also says, "Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves." The misery that overspread the land is vividly depicted:1 "Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; your land, strangers devour it in your presence." Once the Egyptians had plundered Jerusalem; and Ahaz paid tribute to Assyria. 3. Hezekiah was as zealous in the cause of God as his father had been indifferent; he cleansed and sanctified the Temple, and restored its services; and he refused to pay tribute to Assyria. Then Sennacherib,2 the king of Assyria, determining to be revenged upon Judah, sent a large army against Jerusalem; but we are told that "the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote, in the camp of the Assyrians, a hundred and fourscore and five thousand men." 4. Accounts of this miraculous overthrow of the Assyrian army are found in Persian and Egyptian history, as well as in the Bible. The instrument by which the Lord executed vengeance upon the Assyrians is supposed by some to have been the simoom3 of the desert; for Isaiah had prophesied of the King of Assyria, "Thus saith the Lord, behold, I will send a blast upon him." Byron's description of the overthrow of the Assyrian host is too beautiful to be omitted. 5. 6. 7. DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB-711 B.C. The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, |