The Progress., 1896-12-19

lie Conferred on MS
Nation. l. He rails
81 Israel. for q time TO the height OIL lt9
national aspirations and showed the pos
sihilities Of splendOr and authority 20
which it rl;ght atlain."-I'arrar. 1t til"9
became the basis of an ideal Kingdom
which represented to the peoples lh'i."
the glorious kingdom OF God.
stirred the intellectual life of the peopl1
in new directions" He awakened amol'S
them a strong desire for deeper "lshoil
and higher art, which, during the STORM,
Ter ages which followed never wholly one"
away, and in some directions constantly
developed itself with more ana more
power and beauty'-Ewald ). lie en-
Shrined their worship in a worthy ana
permanent Temple by which he lnlIu'
enccd the religious life down to its latest
days" This Temple was ideallzed. To-
gether with the city, into type OF the
Spiritual Temple and the New jerusalem
! the city of God which came down from
heaven. a. He organized the services OF
! the Levtes ard placed their position on a
secure basis. B. He quickened their
sense of national position, while at the
! same time he rendered them less narrow
in their sympa thics." He left them rich
er in the possession of a We!l-fOrtltied
! city, and he protected their land by tow
ers and fOrtreSSeS. '-Farrar.
, Second. The Evils He Wrought. He
: found a people free, he left them en-
! Shaved (in a degree: he found them I'M
! burdened, he left them oppressed: he
! found them simple, lie left them luxu-
rious: he found them inclined to be faith
! full to one God. he left them Indifferent
to the denominations of the heather which
| they saw practised under the very shadow
Of his palace and his shrine. '-Farrar.
| Solomon lost (for his posterity) the
I kingdom of the ten tribes, and perpet-
uated strife, weakness, debasement, and
/ superstition. by preferring the attractive
SplendOrS of this world to that goodness
! which would in the end have been re-
warded even in the present life.'-F. W.
! Newman.
Books Concerning SOlomOn.-PrOVerbs
was written partly by Solomon and eX-
, presses some of the wisdom for Which he
was famous. E,cclesiastes is now gener-
ally regarded as book about Solomon,
rather than by him: something as Pla-
tos dialogues were about Socrates. The
book sets forth clearly the lessons which
SolOmon's life illustrates and makes i'm
pressive, and which men should learn
from his experience. Solomons Song also
warns men against the pOlygamy which
ruined Solomon, and teaches the beauty
and WhOlesoTenCSS Of the true love OF
one man and one woman toward one an
other 1t thus is symbol of the intensity
OF the love of God towards his people
and the love they should feel toward God
Some Lessons from Solomon's Life.--1
1t is never safe to relax our vigilance or
! think we have reached the place where
we cannot fall. Age has its own tempta-
tons and dangers as well as youth. 2
Genius and knowledge alone are not sufh-
cient safeguards against sin. Neither dc
they excuse sin, but simply add to the
responsibility. He that knew his Lords
will and did it not shall be beaten with
many stripes 5. The way Of trans.
gressOrs is very hard, not only on account
or the punishment at the end, but be
cause so many barriers must be broker
down and restraining influences must be
overcome in order to go on in sin,--tht
love Of God, the conscience and moral ma
ture, the Word of God the Holy Spirit
the sacrifice of Christ, the sense of honor
Gods goodness, early training. the nhu
ences of religion. 4. The greatest wealth
does not shield its possessor from miser,
and unhappiness The legends of tn,
East describe Solomon as tormented, in
deed, yet not without hope. In the 70
nance of Vathek he is described as listen
ing earnestly to the roar of a cataract
because when it ceases to roar his an
guish will be at an end. The king s,
renowned for his wisdom was on tn,
loftiest elevation. and placed immediatel,
beneath the dome. The thunder said he
'precipitated me hither, where, however
do not remain totally destitute Of hope
for an angel Of light hath revealed tina
; in consideration Of the piety of my earl,
youth, my woes shall come to an end. Til
then l am in torrents, ineffabe tor
ments; an unrelenting fire preys on m.
heart The caliph was ready to sink witt
terror when he heard the groans of Solo
; mon. Having uttered this exclamation
Solomon raised his hands towards heaven
: in token of supplication, and the calipl
discerned through his bosom. which wa
transparent as crystal, his heart envel