unto Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the Ark of God dwelleth within curtains," meaning a temporary sort of tent.

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David had been all his life a warrior, and he was told that it should be his son, a man of peace, who should build a fitting Temple to contain the Ark of the Covenant. And the king said, Solomon, my son, is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceedingly magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries. I will, therefore, now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death. And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God, but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars, thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight; behold a son shall be born to thee who shall be a man of rest: his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. Now, my son, the Lord be with thee. Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord, an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver, and of brass and iron without weight, for it is in abundance; timber also and stone have I prepared, and thou mayest add thereto. Arise, therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee."

David reigned till he was more than seventy years old, but his reign was full of troubles and anxieties.

It is said that only those who have been afflicted can fully understand the Book of Psalms, and David could hardly have written them, if he had not gone through all that he so well describes. He had worse sorrows to endure than wars and fighting, even though one of his wars was with his own son, and he had to bear the misery of knowing that he had deeply sinned, and no sorrow is like that.

He wanted another man's wife, Bathsheba, and in order to get her husband Uriah out of the way, he sent him to the army, with orders that he was to be put in the front of the battle. His wicked plan succeeded, Uriah was killed, and, when the mourning for her husband was over, David fetched Bathsheba to his house, and she became his wife, and a son was born unto him.

NATHAN.

THEN God sent Nathan the prophet to speak to David, and he said, "There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up, and it grew up together with him and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock, and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that

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was come unto him: but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

"And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house. For thou didst it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun."

Then David said, "I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. And the Lord struck the child, and it was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child, and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. And the elders of his house arose, and went to him to raise him up from the earth; but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice; how will he then

himself if we tell him that the child is dead? t when David saw that his servants whispered, vid perceived that the child was dead. Therefore vid said unto his servants, Is the child dead? d they said, He is dead. Then David arose from

earth, and washed and anointed himself, and inged his apparel, and came into the house of the rd, and worshipped. Then he came to his own ise, and they set bread before him, and he did eat. en said his servants unto him, Thou didst fast and ep for the child while it was alive, but when the ер ld was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and pt; for I said, Who can tell whether God will gracious to me, that the child may live? But n he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

How many broken-hearted parents have used these words, when standing by the cradle of one of their little ones, who has been taken to that world from whence he never can return to them, but to which they may go to him!

If you look at the 51st Psalm, you will see that it is called "A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him ;" and from that day to this it has been a comfort to those who know how they have sinned, and are sorry for their sins, to use the words of David, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from

my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me."

Not only in this psalm, but in many others, we see that sorrow for what he had done wrong was ever present to the mind of David. You might fancy that he was a man much to be envied he had been taken from keeping sheep on the mountains, to be a crowned king; he possessed gold, and silver, and treasures of all sorts; he ruled over a large country, and was victorious over all his enemies: surely he enjoyed all that this earth could give him. Yet he says in the 38th Psalm, "I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin." Only one thing was able to comfort him : "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is

none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."

Sorrows are sure to come upon us all. Old age and helplessness, sickness, the death of those we love, neglect from those who ought to assist us, and, worst of all, the recollection of our sins and our shortcomings, may all fall upon us, as they did upon King David, and we shall find in the psalms that he wrote the expression of all we suffer.

David was very affectionate and very forgiving. Though Saul had tried to take away his life, he loved him to the last, and he mourned over his death, though it gave him a kingdom.