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SAUL.

TWENTY years after these events we find Samuel gathering the people together at Mizpeh, telling them that they must return unto the Lord with all their hearts, and repent of their wickedness. And they did so, and said to him, "Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines." And the Lord thundered with a great thunder, and discomfited them. And the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel, and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. "And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life."

Do we not often see now that when some great trouble has passed away, at first we are thankful, but soon discontent appears? So it was with this wayward people. They were dissatisfied with the good and wise Samuel, and said, “make us a king, to judge us like all the nations." Perhaps their fathers had told them wonderful stories about the kings of Egypt, their splendid throne, their golden chains, their chariots of war-not remembering the cruelty they themselves had suffered from them. Such childish wishes vexed Samuel, and he prayed unto the Lord, who said, as they wanted a king, a king they should have.

But Samuel was to tell them what sort of a ruler he should be. "This," said he, "will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you. He will take

your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen, and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and will set them to ear" (that is, to plough) "his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots, and he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day, because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day."

But the people said, "Nay, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.'

How senseless Could they have

does their behaviour seem to us! already forgotten, that it was no earthly king that was able to save them from the hand of their enemies ?

Their first king was Saul, a wilful, passionate man, who sometimes seems to to have scarcely been in his right mind. He was very handsome, and "from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people." By the command of God, Samuel told him that he was to be the king for whom the people prayed. "Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inherit

ance?" To this day this custom is followed whenever a king or queen is crowned.

At one time Saul seems to have received the spirit of prophecy, for when a company of the school of the prophets met him, he prophesied with them. Samuel called the people together, saying, "Now behold, the king walketh before you, and I am old and grey-headed, and behold, my sons are with you, and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold, here I am. Witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed, whose ox have I taken, or whose ass have I taken, or whom have I defrauded" (that is, cheated), "whom have I oppressed, or of whose hand have I received any bribe? And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand."

Then Samuel reminded them of all God's mercies to his people, and ended by saying, "Moreover, as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you the good and the right way: only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart, for consider how great things He hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king."

DAVID.

We next read of Saul's disobedience, and how God had already chosen David, the son of Jesse, as his

future successor. and was the youngest of many children. Samuel anointed him by God's command, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward. At length Saul became very miserable. "An evil spirit,” it is said, troubled him, and his servants advised him to find a man who was a 66 cunning" (that is, a clever) player upon a harp to cheer him, and they told him of David, the son of Jesse, who was, they said, cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, a man of war and prudent in matters, and a comely" (that is, handsome) "person, and the Lord is with him." And Saul sent for him, and when the evil spirit was on him, David played on the harp, and "Saul was refreshed, and was well." Perhaps David sang to him some of those beautiful psalms which from that day to this have "refreshed" those who are in sorrow.

David kept his father's sheep,

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"Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle. The Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, and there was a valley between them. And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath." A champion means a bold and valiant man who will go forth to single combat against any enemy

who
may appear.

DAVID AND GOLIATH.

GOLIATH was immensely taller than other men, he had a helmet of brass on his head, and he was

armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat of mail was five thousand shekels of brass.

And he had "greaves" (that is, a covering to his legs like gaiters) of brass, and "a target of brass between his shoulders, and the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron, and one bearing a shield went before him." How strong he must have been to be able to bear such a weight! You have probably seen pictures of this giant, so covered with armour that it would seem almost impossible that he could be wounded by any weapon used by the Israelites. Their arms were swords, spears, bows and arrows, and slings with stones; gunpowder was unknown.

So, proud in his strength, Goliath stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, "Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? Am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants. But if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together."

Cannot you fancy the terror of the poor Israelites, on the opposite hill, not one of them daring to go out to fight the terrible Goliath? But it is said, "Pride goeth before a fall," and we do often find that those who are for ever boasting of their strength, or their cleverness, or their goodness, those who "think of themselves more highly than

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