The Brookhaven leader., 1889-12-19


called the sons of God" Who aspires
not for that royalty? Come now, and be
kings and priests unto God and the
Lamb forever.
IL wealth and wisdom could have sat
isfied a man, Solomon would have been
satisfied. To say that Solomon was a
millionaire gives but very imperfect
idea of the property he inherited from
David, his father. lie had at his COM
mand gold to the value of six hundred
and eigty million pounds sterling, and
he had silver to the value of one billion,
twenty-nine million, three hundred and
seventy-seven pounds sterling. The
Queen of Sheba made him nice little
present of seven hundred and twenty
thousand pounds sterling, and Hiram
made him present of the same amount.
If he had lost the value of a whole realm
out of his pocket it would hardly have
been worth his while to stoop down and
pick it up. He wrote thousand and five
songs. He wrote three thousand proverbs.
He wrote about almost every thing. The
Bible says distinctly he wrote about
plants, from the cedar of Lebanon to the
hyssop that groweth out of the wall, and
about birds, and beasts, and fishes. No
doubt he put off his royal robes, and put
on hunters trapping, and went out with
his arrows to bring down the rarest
specimens of Birds; and then, with his
fishing apparatus, he went down to the
stream to bring up the denizens
of the deep, and plunged into the forest
and found the rarest specimens of flow
ers; and then he came back to his study
and wrote books about zoology, the sci
ence of animals; about ichthyology, the
science of fishes; about ornithology, the
science of birds; about botany, the sci
ence of plants. Yet, notwithstanding
all his wisdom and wealth, behold his
wretchedness and let him pass on. Did
any other city ever behold SO wonderful
a man? o Jerusalem, Jerusalem! But
here passes through these streets, as in
imagination l see him, quite as wonder
full and far better man. David, the
conqueror, the King, the poet. Can it
be that l am in the very city where he
lived and reigned? David, great for
power and great for grief. He was
wrapped up in his boy Absalom. He
was splendid boy, judged by the rules
of worldly criticism. From the crown
of his head to the sole of his foot there
was not single blemish. The Bible
says that he had such luxuriant shock
of hair that, when once a year it was
shorn, what was cut off weighed over
three pounds.
But, notwithstanding all his brilliancy
of appearance, he was bad boy, and
broke his fathers heart. He was plot
ting to get the throne of Israel. He had
marshaled an army to overthrow his IA
ther's government. The day of battle
had come. The conflict had begun.
David, the father, sat between the gates
of the palace waiting for the tidings of
tho conflict. Oh, how rapidly his heart
beat with emotion! Two great questions
were to be decided: the safety of his boy
and the continuance of the throne of
Israel. After awhile, a servant, stand
ing on the top of the house, looks off,
and he sees some one running. He is
coming with great speed, and the man
on the top of the house announces the
coming of the messenger, ard the father
watches and waits, and as soon as the
messenger from the field of battle comes
within hailing distance the father cries
out. Is it question in regard to the
establishment of his throne? Does he
say: "Have the armies of Israel been
victorious? Am to continue in my i'm
perial authority? Have l oyerthrown
my enemies?"
Oh, no. There is one question that
springs from his heart to the lip, and
springs from the lip into the ear of the
besweated and be busted messenger fly
ing from the battle-ield-the question;
'Is tho young man Absalom safe?"
When it was told to David, the King,
that, though his armies had been vic
torious, his son had bcen slain, the
father turned his back upon the con-
gratulations of the nation, and went up
the stairs of his palace, his heart break
ing as he went, wringing his hands
sometimes, and then again pressing
them against his temples as though he
would press them in, crying: so, Alb
SALON! my son! my son! Would God l
had died for thee, o, Absalom! my son!
my son!" Stupendous grief of David re-
sounding through all succeeding ages.
This was the city that heard the woe.
Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
/ am also thrilled and overpowered
with the remembrance that yonder,
where now stands a Mohammedan
Mosque, stood the temple, the very
one that Christ visited. Solo
mans temple had stood there, but
Nebuchadnezzar thundered it down.
Zerubbabers temple had stood there,
but that had been Frustrated. Then
Herod built temple because he was
fond of great architecture, and he
wanted the preceding temples to seem
insignificant. Put eight or ten modern
cathedrals together and they would not
equal that structure. 1t covered nine
teen acres. There were marble pillars
supporting roofs of cedar, and silver
tables on which stood golden cups, and
there were carvings exquisite and in
scriptions resplendent, glittering balus-
trades and ornamented gateways. The
building of this temple kept ten thou
sand workmen busy forty-six years.
Stupendous pile of pomp and magnlfl-
cence! But the material and architect
ural grandeur of the building were very
tame compared with the spiritual mean
ing of its affairs and holy of holies, and
the overwhelming significance OF its
ceremonies. o, Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
But standing in this old city all other
fac.S are eclipsed when we think that
ord