The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1877-08-22

t fear of God, which is the beginning of wi
f dom," We would not find the choice of ii
youthful king of Israel commended. Th
circumstances of Solomon were very peculiar
He was very young to assume the reignS {
government over such great nation as ha
, been consolidated under David. Faction
we're to bequelled, discordant elements unitet
disappointed aspirants to the throne had t
berestrained, conspiracies represSed, andsom
of his fathers enemies punished, to whor
David, in lenity, had given respite Will
he lived. Well did Solomon need wisdOm il
the restricted sense even Of worldly discre
ton. But his choice seems to have included
more than a mere discernment of what We
fttest to be done in given case 1t surely
included this, but it comprehended more.-
A careful inspection of the circumstance
under which the choice was made, and the
language of the choice itself shows that the
request did not comprehend merely earthly
wisdom. The choice was for wisdom to dc
what was right, and not simply what was sOSSe
The account in Scripture is, that God ap
peared in dream at night, while Solomon
was in Gideon, and God said, "Ask what
shall give thee" And Solomon said, "Thou
hast showed unto thy servant David, my
father, great mercy according as he walked
in truth and uprightness of heart before Thee;
and Thou hast kept for him this great kind
ness, that Thou hast given him son to sit
on his throne as it is this day And now Oh
Lord God, Thou hast made thy servant king
instead of David my father; and | am but a
little child; l know not how to 60 out or
come in. And thy servant is in the midst
of thy people which Thou has chosen, great
people that cannot be numbered or counted
for multitude. Give therefore Thy servant
an understanding heart to judge thy people,
that 1 may discern between good and bad,
for who is able to judge this Thy so great
people. And the speech pleased the Lord
that Solomon had asked this thing"
The request of Solomon evinces humility,
self-distru8t, and genuine recognition of the
source of all elp-the grace of God. These
are elements of true piety, and the very fact
that God so heartily approved of it, and goes
on to grant much for which Solomon did not
ask, makes it at least very probable, if not
morally certain, that far more than the knowl-
edge which scientists defy, was included in
his prayer. 1t does seem to be just such
prayer, and just such an exalting of divine
over human things as Christ enjoined when
he said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness and all things shall be
added unto you" He sought to govern the
people in the fear of God and in righteous.
ness, and because he sought not riches and
honor, God gave him the promise of all these.
But secondly, there is evidence of Solo,
mons being true child of God, in the fact
that he is a chosen, an honored instrument in
the hand of God in the revelation of His will
to man. God did not choose to employ men
who were not cOnsecrated in heart to Him, as
a medium through which to convey to US the
revelation recorded in the Bible. The case
of Balaam is isexceptional and peculiar. God
took Bslaam's words out of his mouth, and
used him as an instrument to pronounce a
blessing on Israel, instead of the curse Balak
desired to have launched on the head of his
chosen people The same may be said of
the prophecy Of the High Priest in relation
to the death of Christ In virtue of his
priessly character, as the spirit of prophecy
was not wholly withdrawn from the Jews,
and was found in connexion with the High
Priest, the prediction was uttered by bad
man, but only in virtue of his official char
acter.. The exceptions but confirm the gen.
eral rule. But in the case of Solomon, we
have large portion of the inspired volume
written by him. First, We have the book of
Proverbs, not merely embOdying worldly
maxims, but as rich in sound instruction and
practical piety as any portion of the Word
of God. Then We have the book of Eccle-
siastes, and finally the Song of Solomon a
poetical effusiOn of high merit in which the
mutual and reciprocal love of Christ to bis
Church, and the Church as the bride or spouse
of Christ to him, are celebrated. AS DR..
Christleib says, Although under special
circumstances God may allow some sordid
person like Balaam to be the medium of rev.
eIation, the rule nevertheless holds good, that
God adopts as his instruments those who,
through their moral and religious character,
were peculiarly capable of aPpreciating di'
vine things, such as Abraham, Moses, David
the prophets, and above all Christ" MOI
merely as prophets, did holy men speak as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost, but
also as channels through which other thar
prophetic truth was conveyed to man.
Solomon wandered far from God, yielded
to the seductive influence of the hesthenisE
aud idolatrous woman he married, and ye
from the record of the book of ECclesiaste
we have every evidence to believe that tn
seed of grace was in his heart. 1t was long
borne down and chOked by riches and world
ly honOrs, by hattery and vOluptuous living
but yet we have as the conclusion of all hi
strivings and dangerous experiments to fin
out wisdom, this devout and pious utteranc