Cast me not away from thy presence;
And take not thy holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation,
And uphold me with thy free spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;

And sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation :

And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

O LORD, open thou my lips;

And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it :

Thou delightest not in burnt-offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:

A broken and a contrite * heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion:

Build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt-offering and whole burnt-offering:
Then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

LESSON CIV.

THE DEATH OF DAVID'S CHILD.

B.C. 1033.-2 SAM. xii. 15-25.

And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, 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 vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is 'dead.

Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped:

* Worn down with grief.

cv.]

EXPLOITS OF DAVID'S MIGHTY MEN.

143

then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.

And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: * and the LORD loved him.

And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

LESSON CV.

EXPLOITS OF DAVID'S MIGHTY MEN.

B.C. 1033.-2 Sam. xii. 26—31; xxi. 15–17; 1 CHRON. xx. 4-8.

And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name. And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.

And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.

And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.

Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines and David waxed faint.

And Ishbi-benob,‡ which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, Inhabitant of the high place.

* Peaceful.

+ Beloved of the Lord.

and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.

And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant : and they were subdued.

And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam.

And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot and he also was the son of the giant.

But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, slew him.

These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

LESSON CVI.

THE DEATH OF AMNON.

2 SAM. xiii. 23-39.

B.C. 1030.-Five years passed since the crime of David, and not without honour and glory. He may have hoped that his prayers and tears had won the remission of the sentence of constant bloodshed in his house, and foes rising out of his own family, at least during his own life. But his many marriages, and the jealousies among his proud and lawless sons, were bringing about the evil. Abigail's son had probably died, for at the head of the family stood Amnon and Absalom the mother of the latter being daughter of a petty king to the north-east of Bashan. A cruel insult was offered by Amnon to Tamar, the sister of Absalom by the same mother, and after long brooding over it, and finding that his father would not avenge it, Absalom thus took the law into his own hands.

And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons.

And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant.

And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him : howbeit he would not go, but blessed him.

CVII.]

THE RECALL OF ABSALOM.

145

us.

Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?

But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him.

Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.

And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.

And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left.

Then the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent.

And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined.

Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king's sons are dead: for Amnon only is dead.

But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came much people by the way of the hill side behind him.

And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king's sons come: as thy servant said, so it is.

And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that, behold, the king's sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept and the king also and all his servants wept very sore.

But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.

So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.

And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.

LESSON CVII.

THE RECALL OF ABSALOM.

B.C. 1027.-2 SAM. xiv. 1-24.

Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom.

And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now

mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:

And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. put the words in her mouth.

So Joab

And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.

And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead.

And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.

And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal* which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth.

And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee.

And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.

Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.

For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.

Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king

* Embers, or lighted wood.

+ Convicts himself of unkindness.

Make any difference on behalf of rank or station.