was the true place for the human king of Israel
to fill. In thus limiting the description of David as "a man after God's
own heart," it is not necessary for us to vindicate all his acts, or to
uphold him as an immaculate character. But the same ardent temperament
which sometimes betrayed his judgment in his public acts, led him into
great errors and crimes. It also made him the first to discover his
lapse, and the last to forgive himself.

Domestic afflictions humbled David, and persecution by enemies
embittered his life. The kingly crown had its thorns. An only child died
in infancy. Afterwards, his handsome and popular son, Absalom, was
ambitious to get the throne of his father, and became the leader of a
great revolt, in whose conflicts he was slain.

Solomon, another son, was the heir chosen by the Lord, to the crown of
David. And when the monarch of Israel drew near the close of his stormy,
yet splendid reign, he called the intellectual, comely, and dutiful boy
to his bedside, to give him his last words of counsel and blessing.

This scene is depicted in the colored engraving. Among the paternal
exhortations to the young prince was the following impressive address:
"And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy fathers, and serve
him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind; for the Lord
searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the
thoughts. If thou seek him, he will be found of thee but if thou forsake
him, he will cast thee off forever."

Solomon, the second king of Israel, desired and sought, before riches
and honors, wisdom from God, to govern well the people, and it was
freely given.

Under his father's sceptre, Palestine was great in martial achievements,
national wealth, and the fine arts; for the king was a poet and a
musician. Solomon was a man of peace, and during his reign the kingdom
reached its highest glory in oriental splendor and luxury. The temple he
built was a monument of munificence, skill, and royal zeal for God's
honor.

What a wonderful display of wisdom was that decision in the case of the
two women, one of whom, in her sleep, lying upon her babe, had smothered
it, and claimed the living child of the other, who lodged with her. He
knew when he sent for the executioner, and told him to cut in two parts
the live babe, giving to each a half, that the mother would be seen in
the effect of the command to slay. And so it was. The faithless woman
said let i