CHAPTER XL.

DAVID CONTRIBUTES OF HIS OWN PROPERTY TO THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE, AS DO THE CHIEF MEN OF THEIRS. HIS THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER. SOLOMON IS ANOINTED KING A SECOND TIME. WHAT DAVID DID WITH REGARD TO JOAB, BARZILLAI'S SONS, AND SHIMEI. HIS DEATH.

On the occasion described in the preceding chapter, or as some think, and perhaps with good reason, on a similar one very soon following it, David again addressed the vast assembly before him. He told them that his son Solomon, whom God had chosen to build the temple, was yet young and tender, and the work great; for the magnificent structure to be erected was not for man, but for the Lord God. He said he had made every preparation in his power for the work, gold and silver, brass, iron, and wood, and precious stones of various kinds; and that because he had set his affection upon the house of his God, he had besides all this, and from what was his own peculiar property, provided three thousand talents of the pure gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver to overlay the walls of the houses.*

The gold, according to the estimate of some, amounted to £15,227,343 sterling, and the silver to £2,475,155 sterling. Others make the amount larger.

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Having thus shown his readiness to contribute himself individually to the building of the temple, David called upon the assembly to inquire who among them was willing to do the same. His example was cheerfully and promptly followed. The chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, presented as their offering an immense amount of gold, silver, brass, and iron; while those who had precious stones in their possession gave them into the treasury of the house of the Lord.

The sincerity and cheerfulness with which all this was done, both on the part of the king and the people, constituted the brightest and most delightful feature of the whole transaction, and a general sentiment of religious gladness and of mutual congratulation pervaded the breasts of all present. "Then the people rejoiced," we are told, "for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy." Indeed, he could not refrain from bursting forth in a strain of adoring gratitude and earnest supplications for the divine blessing, which is alike marked by its simple and sublime eloquence and the fervor of its piety.

"Blessed," said he, "be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all

that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is

my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name cometh of thy hand, and is all thine own. I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: and give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision."

David then called upon the whole congregation

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to bless the Lord their God. This they did with united voice, bowing their heads in token of adoring reverence before God, and of respectful loyalty to their king.

On the next day very numerous sacrifices and burnt-offerings were offered up for all Israel, which were followed by a feast that the people celebrated with great gladness. Solomon was anointed king a second time, and Zadok to be priest. One universal sentiment of allegiance to their new sovereign prevailed. "All Israel obeyed him: and all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king. And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel."

And now the life of David was drawing near its close. He was himself sensible of this, and gave his last solemn and affecting charge to Solomon. "I go," said he, "the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: that the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to

their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee, said he, a man on the throne of Israel."

He then reminded Solomon of the guilt of Joab in putting to death Abner and Amasa in cold blood, and alluded also, as it is thought, to the great evil which he had inflicted upon David by killing Absalom. "Do therefore," said he, "according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace."

This would be nothing more than inflicting the penalty of the law upon a murderer. David in his official capacity might have done this before, but feared, as we have seen, to do it, on account of the influence of Joab, and the peculiar state of public affairs. The duty of bringing this atrocious criminal to justice he now devolved upon Solomon, leaving it to his discretion to select the time and the mode.

"But show kindness," he continued, "unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother."

"And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the