ment. Considering the age of David, the assembly of which we have just spoken must have severely taxed his bodily and mental powers. It was not only a time of intense excitement, but also one that called forth strong religious emotion; and in such a mind as his, placed in such circumstances as he was, it would certainly excite the most hallowed feeling, and elicit very earnest aspirations to heaven. All this leads to the conclusion that, when the great assembly was virtually closed by the universal ascription of blessing to God, the king retired to his private apartment, or to the tabernacle, and, casting himself before the Lord, poured out the fulness of his soul in the following anguage:

PSALM LXXII.

"Give the king Thy judgments, O God,

And Thy righteousness unto the king's son.
He shall judge Thy people with righteousness,
And Thy poor with judgment.

The mountains shall bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.

He shall judge the poor of the people,

He shall save the children of the needy,

And shall break in pieces the oppressor.

They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure,

Throughout all generations.

He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass:

As showers that water the earth.

In his days shall the righteous flourish;

And abundance of peace so long as the moon

endureth.

He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,

THE GLORIES OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM.

And from the river unto the ends of the earth.

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They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him;

And his enemies shall lick the dust.

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents:

The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Yea, all kings shall fall down before him:
All nations shall serve him.

For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth;
The poor also, and him that hath no helper.
He shall spare the poor and needy,

And shall save the souls of the needy.

He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence:

And precious shall their blood be in his sight.

And he shall live,

And to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba :
Prayer also shall be made for him continually;
And daily shall he be praised.

There shall be a handful of corn in the earth
Upon the top of the mountains:

The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon:

And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the

earth.

His name shall endure for ever:

His name shall be continued as long as the sun :

And men shall be blessed in him:

All nations shall call him blessed.

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,

Who only doeth wondrous things.

And blessed be His glorious name for ever:

And let the whole earth be filled with His glory; Amen, and Amen.

The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended."

It is scarcely possible for any one in a devout frame of mind to read this glorious hymn with serious attention without being imbued with something of the inspired author's spirit; and apprehending, in a good degree, the working of his mind throughout the composition of the Psalm. Retired from the excitement of that great assembly into the quietude of his closet, he prays for Solomon as "the king," and also as “the king's son." This last form of expression seems to have recalled to the mind of David all the wonderful prophetic revelations made to him by God through Nathan the prophet. He accordingly proceeds in the following lines to dilate on the character and glory of the kingdom over which this divinely appointed son was destined to reign. When Nathan delivered these prophetic revelations, Solomon was not born; the idea of a temple had only existed as a crude conception in the mind of David, and he appears to have mentioned it only to the prophet.

At the time when this Psalm was composed, Solomon was not only born, but actually seated on the throne of the kingdom; and had already in his possession a vast amount of treasure, devoted to the erection of a noble temple, which he was appointed to build to the honour of Jehovah. As, therefore, the prophecy of Nathan, and the second Psalm, which was founded on it, regarded the kingdom of David, continued through his son and his descendants, as ultimately merging into, and being identical with, the kingdom of Messiah, David considered the inauguration of Solomon, and all the thrilling scenes through which he had just passed, as the glorious establishment of this predicted kingdom; and his rapt spirit exulted in anticipation of its still more glorious development and increase.

PREDICTIONS OF MESSIAH'S KINGDOM.

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In this outpouring of his soul to God, therefore, having uttered a prayer for Solomon, his mind was carried onward, and realized facts and scenes which could have no personal reference to Solomon; but had an exact accomplishment in the kingdom of Christ. A reference to a few lines of the Psalm will make this apparent. It could not have been truly predicted of Solomon that in his days there should be "abundance of peace as long as the sun and moon endure; that they shall fear thee" as "long as the moon endureth ; nor that all " kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve him." He could not 66 save the souls of the needy," nor were "all men blessed in him." These prophecies could only be declared of the kingdom which God had promised to set up in the earth through His incarnate Son, and in Him they will all be gloriously verified. And these powers having been predicated of the royal head of this kingdom proves that we have rightly apprehended its nature as begun in David, rendered more glorious under Solomon, and consummated in Christ.

The pious old king, having realized the best hopes of his life, the grandest aspirations of his heart,-in the events of this happy day, and in the stirring scenes which had passed before him, closed his address to the Almighty with a burst of grateful thanksgiving:

"Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,

Who only doeth wondrous things.

And blessed be His glorious name for ever;

And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen."

And then, as if to indicate that he had nothing further to desire, happy in the fruition of every expected blessing, with every hoped-for good in his possession, his

full heart exclaimed, "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended."

The venerable sovereign did not long survive these events. His health and strength rapidly declined; but even in his weakness he was intent on giving some further religious counsel to Solomon, and, at the same time, cautioning him as to his behaviour to two or three of his subjects. So, calling the young king to his bedside, he again enjoined on him an entire and continual obedience to the laws of God. And that this counsel might rest on his heart as the solemn advice of a dying father, he began by saying, "I go the way of all the earth." He then charged his son to keep the charge of the Lord, and to obey all the commands laid down by Moses, assuring him that he and his children must do this in order to retain possession of the throne of Israel. He then reminded Solomon of the murders committed by Joab, and charged him not to let his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. The kindness of Barzillai was next brought to the notice of Solomon, and he was urged to a generous consideration of the sons of this noble Gileadite. And, lastly, the cruel and treasonable conduct of Shimei was referred to; and the king was requested not to hold him guiltless, but to bring his hoar head down to the grave with blood.

No exception has been taken to David's grateful remembrance of Barzillai's kindness and loyalty; but he has been severely censured for his reference to Joab and Shimei, and for his advice to Solomon respecting them. A brief consideration of these cases will show that this censure is unjust. In respect of Joab, it should be remembered that he had committed two murders under circumstances which rendered the crimes acts of signal wickedness and atrocity. He had never