We have thus brought the life of this distinguished monarch to its close. What the affecting scenes of his very last moments were, the sacred record does not inform us. We are only told that he died in a good old age, full of days, riches and honor;" that he "slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David ;" and that "Solomon his son reigned in his stead."

He had lived seventy years; having reigned seven years and a half over Judah at Hebron, and thirty-three years over all Israel, at Jerusalem.

CHAPTER XLI.

Concluding reflections.

David was a very extraordinary man. A volume might be written on his character. In what a variety of conditions he was placed, and how many striking qualities both of body and mind he exhibited, showing that he had talents of the very highest order. But natural genius alone could not have fitted him to be what he was. He must un doubtedly, in youth and through the whole course of his life, have been a person of close and accurate discernment, of deep thought, and of industrious application. He must have had great perseverance and decision of purpose. To this

was added that moral courage and cheerful resolution in the performance of duty which nothing but true piety towards God, and an unshaken confidence in his guidance and protection, such as David possessed, can inspire.

His first occupation was that of a shepherd, an employment of no mean or servile character, but one which required much address, skill, and bodily strength and prowess. For the flocks had to be led to suitable pastures, defended against the attacks of wild beasts and robbers, and watched over with peculiar care. That he had this trust, while yet so young, shows the great confidence which was placed in him.

But we have not time to trace the character of this distinguished individual minutely, in all the conditions, employments and relations of life which he sustained. He was a skilful musician ; a prudent, brave and successful military leader; an intrepid hero; a wise and energetic sovereign; an inspired poet and prophet; a conspicuous ancestor and type of Christ; a dutiful son; an affectionate brother; a loyal subject; a devoted patriot; a faithful friend; exercising a magnanimous forgiveness towards his enemies; deeply penitent when he sinned against God, which he did in the most heinous manner; and yet cherishing, as the habitual temper of his mind, an ardent piety and an active benevolence. He lived and toiled for the glory of the Divine name and the

good of his country. He reached the highest summit of earthly grandeur and power, and has left behind him a name that is one of the most conspicuous among the great and good who have ever lived.

While a youth he was faithful to the trust committed to his care. An obscure shepherd-boy, he kept his father's flocks in the quiet vales of Bethlehem. In that lowly condition, he seems to have been distinguished alike for his fidelity and courage; and though he little thought it, was even then maturing for the elevated sphere which he afterwards filled.

You will never rise, my young friend, to any such temporal distinction as David did. But however lowly may now be your lot, you can aspire to the dignity of being a child of God; in this world, a co-worker with him in his sublime plans of benevolence; an associate with the redeemed in heaven; and a glorified spirit, fitted for its high, holy and blissful employments.

The grace that is in Christ Jesus can enable you to do this; and the very condition in which you are now placed may, in the providence of God, as truly be made subservient to these great ends, by the moral training through which you pass, as was the early, obscure condition of David to his subsequent elevation.

All shepherd-boys do not become kings. But all children and youth may reach a loftier desti

ny, and wear a more glorious crown, if, like David, they will love and serve God in the morning of their days.

We trace, through the whole of David's career, a deep feeling of his dependance on God, and a continual looking to Him for guidance and strength.

There were, indeed, occasional exceptions to this; yet they were rare. He was accustomed to feel his weakness, and liability to error and sin. He knew that his only security was in God. He sought divine direction. He relied on the almighty arm; and we have seen how he was protected, guided, and blessed in the midst of the severest trials; how he was enabled to overcome the greatest difficulties, to discharge the most arduous duties, and to carry out successfully the grandest and most extensive plans.

Look to God, my young friend, as David did, habitually, prayerfully, and confidingly, for guidance and grace, and the same divine wisdom and strength shall be your never-failing security.

When David sinned, his penitence was deep, sincere, and efficacious.

Who can doubt this, that marks the satisfactory proof of reformation which he afforded in the subsequent course of his life, and in the progress which he evidently seems to have made in holiness. Who can doubt it, that notices the humility and self-abasement with which he received the severest chastisements, at the hand of God,

for his transgressions, and the breathings of a broken and contrite heart which flow forth in the penitential Psalms, and especially in that remarkable one, the fifty-first.

Read that Psalm, my young friend. Commit it to memory. Let its confessions and petitions often rise from your soul to the throne of the heavenly grace. For you, like David, are a sinner, and a great sinner. I do not mean to say that your sins have been as openly flagrant and enormous as some of his were. But do not imitate the self-righteous Pharisee, and thank God that you are not as bad as David was.

You have the same depraved nature. Had you been placed in similar circumstances, you might have yielded to the temptations before which he fell. Look into your own heart. Recall its innumerable unhallowed feelings and desires. Compare these with the perfectly pure and holy law of God, and acknowledge the amount and the aggravation of your guilt.

Without sincere repentance, David never could have been restored to the favor of God, or brought back to the paths of duty and of peace Neither can you be thus restored, rescued, and saved, without the same repentance.

The repentance of David was mingled with faith. He believed the declarations, the promises, and the threatenings of God. He approached God in the way of his appointment. He offered up the