several persons are found more or less intimately associated with its operation, and in various degrees employed as agents to promote its progress. Abraham, by leaving his family abode at the command of God, and walking in full and unreserved obedience to Him, became the great progenitor of that line from which the Messiah should descend, and was called "the father of the faithful." Isaac and Jacob succeeded to the same vocation; and the latter by his prevalent prayer obtained the glorious name which not only distinguished the nation that descended from him, but adheres to the church in all ages as "the Israel of God." Other holy men subsequently, as priests, prophets, and kings, have in different ways, as instruments in the hand of God, contributed to the proclamation and development of His redeeming plan.

But, of all these, there was no one called to act a more important and prominent part than David. Standing just midway between Abraham and Christ, he was selected to be the last named progenitor of the Messiah, who was from that circumstance called "the Son of David." He was also the real founder of the Hebrew kingdom; for he completed and established that which had scarcely been begun by Saul. For he, by universal submission to the will of Jehovah, gave his kingdom that peculiar character which made it not only typical of the kingdom of Christ, but actually its precursor. As has been already shown, David, by acting uniformly as the vicegerent of Jehovah, exhibited to the world a government under a combination of Divine and human powers in harmonious operation, which set forth in a very striking manner the sovereignty of the incarnate Son of God. Here was the first emblem of this glorious and everlasting kingdom faintly shadowed forth; and David, as the

human head of this sovereignty, by this means, occupied a very interesting relation to the kingdom of the Redeemer.

From these circumstances we see that David's reign, person, and kingdom, formed a grand epoch in the progress of the work of redemption. From his day, the darkness that had shrouded the Divine promises in preceding times gradually dispersed; the full blaze of prophetic light was soon shed on the scene, but its brightest rays identified the promised Son of God with the Son of David. The throne of Christ was "the throne of David." (Isaiah ix. 7.) The richest blessings of the Gospel are "the sure mercies of David." (Isaiah iv. 3; Acts xiii. 34.) And the coming of Christ Himself is thus set forth: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper." (Jer. xxiii. 5.) Thus in every way does Holy Scripture associate the son of Jesse with the origin, progress, and glories of the kingdom of Christ.

We now close this sketch of the life and reign of this great and good king. If rare endowments of body and mind; if a genius and intellectual power more brilliant and extensive than has often been imparted to any of mankind; if great, continued, and abundant success and glory crowning all his efforts; if the special and abiding approval of heaven; and, above all, if the association of his person, position, and powers with the great purposes of Divine grace, indicate the highest position to which humanity can aspire, then David was, at the very least, one of the greatest and most eminent men that the world has ever seen.