17 and 20, as also from 2 Chron. xi. 22, it is clear | bable to rest upon. Upon the heroes of David, that it was regarded as the right of the reigning comp. 2 Sam. xxiii. 8 sq., and 1 Chron. xi. 10 sq. king to determine who amongst his sons should Adonijah, like Absalom (2 Sam. xv. 8, 12), presucceed him. He could transmit the kingdom to his pared a great feast, which was ostensibly also first-born or to his eldest son, but he was not obliged sacrificial, in order to impart to the transaction a (2 Chron. xxi. 3) thereto. Adonijah was not at all religious coloring. The well, i. e., the sources of first-born, but only the fourth son. He himself Rogel (Jos. xv. 7; xviii. 16), lay, according to does not take his age into the account, and appeals, 2 Sam. xvii. 17, southeasterly from Jerusalem, in in chap. ii. 13 sq., not to this, but to the voice of the loveliest, most fruitful plain; according to the people who had shown themselves favorably Josephus, in Baoining пapadeiow; according to disposed towards him. David's designation of Schulz (Jerus., s. 79), “"even now a place of recre Solomon as his successor, has its reason in the ation for the inhabitants of Jerusalem." Therius promise in 2 Sam. vii. 12-16; xii. 24 sq.; 1 Chron. derives the name Zoheleth from t, to crawlxxii. 9, 10; he regarded him as the one who, according to the prescript touching & king in Deut. a rock which one must climb with difficulty. This xvii. 15, was chosen by Jehovah. Of a formal place was in every respect suited for a public fes"right" to the throne, possessed by Adonijah, tivity. (Comp. Robinson, Palestine, vol. i. p. 333 which he thought to "assure" himself of (Thenius), Boston, 1868.) there can be no discussion. That he knew well the will of his father, by virtue of which Solomon was to be his successor, is clear from the circumstance that he invited all his brothers, and the men who were employed in the royal service, to a feast prepared by him. Solomon only, and the more confidential friends of David, were not invited. His design was to render null the purpose of his father, and to possess himself of the throne, by conspiracy and force, in opposition to his wish. His undertaking was a formal usurpation, and like that of Absalom, to which the whole narrative manifestly points. Upon this account also the text says: "he exalted himself," i. e., he overexalted himself-made himself somewhat that did not become him (used here as in Prov. xxx. 32; Numb. xvi. 3), with this result, that his father left him to his will (means from his, Adonijah's days, and is not, with Seb. Schmidt, to be understood first of his attempt at royal Sovereignty). The moral infirmity of the royal father, coupled now with bodily weakness, induced Adonijah to enter upon his guilty enterprise. Just as Absalom had done (2 Sam. xv. 1), he provided himself with what, according to 1 Sam. viii. 11, is designated as the first "royal prerogative," chariots, riders, and body-guardsmen, i. e., a brilliant court, in order thereby to impose upon the multitude.

Vers. 7–10. And he conferred with Joab, &c. Through the commander-in-chief, Adonijah hopes to win over the army, and through the high-priest, to secure also the priesthood. Not the conviction "that he had right on his side" (Thenius), induced both men to enter into his plans. Joab had observed that he was sunken in the good graces of David (chap. ii. 5), and consequently could not hope for much for himself from Solomon; but from Adonijah he could hope, especially if made king by his assistance. Abiathar seems to have felt himself set aside by David for Zadok, which priest was at the tabernacle with the ark of the covenant at Zion (see on vers. 33 and 39), and to have feared that the high-priestly family of Eleazar, to which Zadok belonged, would supplant his own, viz.: the family of Ithamar. Upon Benaiah, comp. 2 Sam. viii. 18 and xxiii. 20 sq.; upon Nathan, see 2 Sam. vii. and xii. Shimei is mentioned in chap. iv. 18: Josephus names Rei ó Davidov pízoç. Doubtless these latter filled high offices. That they were the only surviving brothers of David (Ewald), has nothing pro

Vers. 11-14. Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba, &c. According to the custom prevailing anciently in the East, on the occasion of the forcible seizure of the throne, of murdering the dethroned ruler, or the opposing pretenders to the crown, with all their nearest relations (Judg. ix. 5; 1 Kings xv. 29; 2 Kings x. 6, 13; xi. 1), in the event of the success of Adonijah's undertaking, there was very much to fear for the life both of Solomon and of his mother. That David knew nothing of the plans of Adonijah, and that Nathan was first informed of them only at the moment of their execution, shows how secretly the affair had been managed. This would have been unnecessary had Adonijah a recognized right to the throne, and had his own conscience been right in the premises. David, moreover, would not have The prophet Nathan also deemed it his duty to prebeen so very much surprised at his undertaking. vent, as far as possible, a repetition of the history of Absalom. With great wisdom and prudence, he addressed himself to the mother of Solomon, who was especially beloved of David, begging her to apply to the king, with whom rested the right to designate his successor, to represent to him the mortal peril which threatened both her son and herself, and to remind him of his promise to her. When David's mind should first, by this means, become aroused, than he (the prophet) would, in the name of Jehovah, appear before the king, and place before him his given word (1 Chron. xxviii. 5), in order to incite him to immediate action. "When David first promised Bath-sheba, upon his oath, that her son Solomon should become king, is not known. Obviously it was after the promise he had received in 2 Sam. vii." (Keil).

Vers. 15-27. And Bath-sheba went in unto the king, &c. The statement that king David was old, &c. (ver. 1), explains the words: "into the chamber" (ver. 15), and means he was so feeble that he could not leave his sick-room, and needed constant attention.-From ver. 20, comp. 27, it is most explicit, once more, that no one entertained the thought that Adonijah, as the eldest surviving son of the king, had a right to the succession; but that the right to decide whether of his sons should be king, remained rather with the king, and that his decision was anxiously waited for.-I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders, i. e., we shall be treated as traitors and offenders guilty of death. After these words Bath-sheba retired, and Nathan, informed in the meanwhile, went unto the

king. While the former addressed her statement to in ver. 39, we are not to understand the taber the king directly, as a mother, the latter, as proph-nacle of the covenant, but the tent erected by Da et, begins with a question in which, upon the one side, a slight reproach was conveyed that David should not have put a stop sooner to the design of Adonijah, and have exposed his own friends to great danger, and on the other side it expressed the confidence that the king would hold to his oath, and carry it out forthwith.-Under "the captains of the host," ver. 25, the servants of the king (the mighty men) in ver. 10 are included. Kings used to be saluted by the people with the salutation, Live the king! (1 Sam. x. 24: 2 Sam. xvi. 16; 2 Kings xi. 12; 2 Chron. xxiii. 31.) The order of names in ver. 26 contains a climax in which Solomon, as the highest personage, is named last. Nathan's words are anything else than the expression of wounded vanity they simply exhibit Adonijah's hostile sentiment towards the friends of the king, and also the fate in store for them should Adonijah become sovereign.

vid upon Zion for the ark of the covenant (2 Sam vi. 17; 1 Chron. xv. 1; xvi. 1). David expressly gave order for the anointing of Solomon. so that nothing appertaining to the investiture of the king should be wanting. The supposition that anointing took place only with those kings "who were not free from exceptions, or who had no historic right to the throne" (Winer and Grotius, after the rabbins), is unfounded, for David, who here ordered the anointing, regarded Solomon in no respect as an exceptional successor. From the fact that he wished this done not simply by the high-priest, but also by the prophet, we learn the high significance he attributed to the prophetic office in Israel. He says purposely, ruler over Israel and over Judah. He had himself, for some time, been ruler only over Judah: then he had conquered Ephraim, which named itself Israel, and had united it again with Judah. The old disunion had again exhibited Vers. 28-38. Then king David answered, itself on the revolt of Absalom (2 Sam. xix. 40 sq.); The quick and firm resolution of David shows hence, with Adonijah's like undertaking in view. how strong he was yet in mind and will, notwith- he deemed it necessary to declare expressly that standing all his bodily weakness. He repeats his Solomon should be ruler over Israel and Judak. oath, not, however, employing merely the usual for- Benaiah, as the person upon whom the execution mula, as Jehovah liveth! but adding most signifi- of the order devolved, answered David, and decantly, who hath red-emed my soul out of all distress.clared himself ready to carry it out,-not, as i. e., to the God who has been true to me, and delivered me wonderfully out of so many and great dangers,

&c.

will I also remain true unto the end. His oath,

coming from deep emotion, is likewise a praise and thanksgiving unto Jehovah. Had Adonijah an actual formal right to the throne, such an oath would have been the greatest sin, in so far as David, while appealing to the divine mercy and grace, would have knowingly trodden under foot the right of his son. The added his, ver. 31, exhibits the vivacity of the thought. Amongst the Persian kings it appears to have been customary (Dan. iii. 9; v. 10; vi. 22; Neh. ii. 3).

Thenius supposes, to flatter the paternal vanity, but, in the conviction that the king's command was in conformity with the will of Jehovah, he wished that the divine blessing might rest upon the gov

ernment of Solomon.

They

Ver. 38. So Zadok the priest, &c. By the Cherethites and Pelethites we must understand the royal body-guard (Josephus, owuаTOOĹλakƐÇ). On the other hand, the modern interpreters are not agreed whether both expressions are to be under stood ethnographically or appellatively. who urge the former, appeal to 1 Sam. xxx. 14, and hold for the designation of the parentstem of the Philistines, which had migrated from Crete, and that, too, is the same with n David, who for a long while had remained amongst the Philistines, had collected his body-guard from amongst foreigners and not from his own people, and afterwards the appellative remained (Movers, Hitzig, Bertheau, Ewald). Others derive

Vers. 33-37. The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, &e. As no one but the king himself dared ride his mule, the command to let Solomon "ride thereon was an actual declaration that he was king (Esth. vi. 8, 9). Gihon is a place near Jerusalem, on the west side, with a spring of water (2 Chron. xxxii. 30; xxxiii. 14). The valley here situated bears still this name (Robinson, Palest, from , and from the Arabic, cogvol. i., p. 346). It was proper for the anointing to take place at a spot where a large assemblage could be gathered, and whence a solemn entrance into the city, which had no open public square, could be made. Gihon, moreover, was considerably distant from the rock Zoheleth, which was on the southeasterly side of Jerusalem, where Adonijah had gathered together his adherents, so that a collision would be avoided. According to the account of the rabbins, kings were anointed only at places abounding in water, and upon that account also much frequented. But they erroneously identify Gihon with Siloam, which spring lies southeast of Jerusalem. Thenius prefers the reading ji to jina,

nate with D, &c., understanding by the former, lictors, the royal executioners of the punishment of death, and by the latter, runners who, like the ayyapot of the Persians, had to carry commands to remote places (2 Chron. xxx. 6). We hold to this latter view, along with Gesenius, Keil, and Thenius, for although the plural form - instead of

for appellations is certainly unusual, we cannot perceive why two designations should be employed side by side, for one and the same people. (We do not say Britons and Englishmen.) So, then, later the royal body-guard were called

7777 (comp. 2 Kings xi. 4 sq.), i. e., executioners and runners. And last of all, it is highly because the tabernacle was there, from which, according to ver. 39, Zadok took the "horn of oil," improbable that David, who was perpetually at But the three hours' distance of Gibeon from Jeru-war with the Philistines, would have selected his body-guards from thein.-The hom of oil out of salem is conclusive against this. Besides, by, the tabernacle (ver. 39). The "oil of holy oint

ment" (Ex. xxx. 23 sq.) was preserved in the tabernacle in which the ark of the covenant was kept (1 Chron. xv. 1). The pouring of this oil upon the head symbolized the communication of the Spirit () of Jehovah (1 Sam. xvi. 13). By anointing, the royal office with which Solomon was to be invested was set forth as essentially theocratic. The king of Israel was, upon this account, absolutely the anointed of the Lord (1 Sam. ii. 10, 35; xxiv. 7). The taking of the horn from

the "tabernacle " does not force us to the conclusion that the act of anointing took place before or at it and at the same time, also at Gibeon, as Thenius maintains. The great joy and jubilation of the whole people shows that they knew nothing of Adonijah's right to the throne, but that they rather accepted David's decision, who alone had the right to decide. They saw in Solomon's elevation a victory over the unauthorized usurper. Flutes were used at festivals, especially at the feast of tabernacles (Isai. v. 12; xxx. 29; Winer, R.- W.-B., ii. s. 123). Ver. 40. The earth rent. So according to the Chald., which explains pan by ny. The Sept. has xno; the Vulg. insonuit. Thenius reads PA, the earth was struck quaked, which

seems unnecessary.

pears to have been made use of by persons who feared punishment by death. Solomon regarded Adonijah's flight to the horns of the altar as a confession of his guilt and repentance, and he exercised an act of clemency which could only produce the most favorable impression upon the Go to thine house, i. e., not: Do not come into my people. Yet he adds a warning in the words: Presence (2 Sam. xiv. 24), but: Keep thyself quiet, live as a private person, then not the least harm

shall befall thee.

HISTORICAL AND ETHICAL.

The

1. The entire first chapter turns upon the elevation of Solomon to the throne, which is narrated so circumstantially with its immediate occasion and all the attending circumstances, because, as has already been shown in the Introduction, § 3, it constitutes in the highest degree a weighty moment in the development of the history of the Old Testament theocracy. With it begins the period of a blooming of the kingdom of Israel which it never had before, and which never came again. Solomon thereby became elevated to the type of a great, mighty, wise, and prosperous king, which he passes for even to this day in the Orient. prophets even depict the glory and happiness of the Messianic kingdom with expressions which are borrowed from the description of the kingdom of Israel under Solomon. (Comp. Mich. iv. 4, and Zach. iii. 10, with 1 Kings v. 5.) He is, according to his name, the prince of peace, kar' ¿goxin, and the beloved of God (2 Sam. xii. 25), designations which by the prophets and in the New Testament are applied, in like manner, to the Messiah the son of David in the most eminent sense (Is. ix. 5, 6; Eph. i. 6; ii. 14; Col. i. 13). The reception of "The Song of Solomon" into the Old Testament canon shows that to the Jewish synagogue the typical relation was not unknown, and in the Christian Church it has always been maintained.

Vers. 41-48. And Adonijah. .... heard it, &c. While the assembled guests heard the noise and the cry in the city, the experienced soldier Joab caught the sound of the trumpets especially, and concluded, from this warlike token, nothing good. Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, who here, as in 2 Sam. xv. 36 and xvii. 17 appears as the bringer of news, was probably left behind in the city designedly to observe what was going on. Although scarcely himself a witness of what transpired in the royal palace, he could, nevertheless, as Solomon had already made his entrance, be Joab well informed by eye and ear witnesses. named him a valiant man, i. e., a person whose report could be trusted. The at the end of ver. 47, as David was lying upon his bed, certainly cannot mean that he fell upon his knees; still less is a thankful bow in return to those who were congratulating him meant (Thenius). The king bowed himself with his body as far as he could, before his Lord and God, and spake: Blessed, &c. The

2. The brief introductory narrative, vers. 1-4, has been found in many respects very scandalous. This has arisen from the wholly false presupposi tion that it treats of the gratification of the lustfulness of a worn-out old man by means of a concubine. But of this the text declares so little, that it rather states explicitly, David did not know Abishag. The means which the physicians-not he himself-selected to restore to him his lost natural warmth, were, if not unheard of, at least morally questionable, yea, from a Christian point of view, decidedly objectionable. That they did not hesitate to recommend it, has indeed its ground, not in conscious immorality and frivolity, but in the perverted views prevalent throughout the entire ancient Orient upon the relation of the sexes, or in the deeply-rooted lack of chastity, which even the stern lawgiver Moses was not able to put an end to. Hence polygamy was not only permitted, but it was regarded by kings as somewhat belong

at the beginning of ver. 48 does not indicate a new, different action, but simply states that besides his bowing, he spake also the words which follow. Vers. 49-53. And all the guests ... were afraid, &c. The panic which forthwith seized Adonijah and his followers, shows that their conscience was not upright in their undertaking, i. e., that they themselves were not convinced of the righteousness of Adonijah's claims, otherwise they would, with Joab at their head, have made a stand, and not scattered at once. To save his life, which he, as a usurper of the throne, believed he had forfeited, Adonijah fled to the altar, which stood before the tabernacle upon Zion (chap. iii. 15;ing to their royal estate, and it never occurred to 2 Sam. vi. 17). He laid hold of the horns of the aitar, as did Joab afterwards (chap. ii. 28), and appealed thereby to the pardoning power and grace of Jehovah (comp. upon the significance of the act, my Symbolik des Mos. Cult., i. s. 473 sq.). This asylum was ordained originally for unintentional man-slayers (Exod. xxi. 12 sq ); but later on it ap

any one to object to them upon that account

* [The translators, after some hesitation, have adopted the above as a caption. It is not a translation of the author's heading. He has it heilsgeschichtliche," which expresses the conception of the historical process of healing or salvation. It is a term for which we have no available equivalent in English, although the thougat embodied by the word is clear enough.]

(Comp. 2 Sam. v. 13; 1 Kings xi. 3; 2 Chron. xi. 21; Judges viii. 30.) Th's explains the reason why David did not reject the medical advice, and why the matter did not cause any scandal among the people, why even Bath-sheba herself did not feel aggrieved (ver. 15). Whatsoever the narrative has which is repulsive to us, does not adhere to a particular person nor to this particular instance, but to the general lack of conjugal chastity in the Old Testament.

spirited interference there would have been for Israel no Solomon-era, no glorious age of the theocratic house. He proceeded in the matter with great wisdom and circumspection. First he allows the mother of Solomon to prepare the way, con ciliating the infirm and feeble king, then he enters before him himself, with all deference indeed, nevertheless at the same time earnestly reminding and slightly reproving him, and calls upon him as a man and servant of God to fulfil the promise he had given unto the Lord.

3. Adonijah's undertaking, in which there is so unmistakably a reference to Absalom's, is to be 5. The conduct of David, when he learns what understood throughout as blameworthy. He knew is going on, corresponds fully with the divine will that the decision upon the succession to the throne and with his great calling as the founder of the depended upon his father, and that he had already theocratic kingdom, and of the new dynasty which selected Solomon. He knew also the tragical end is to sit forever upon the throne of Israel. He does of Absalom's attempt. Nevertheless, he would not stagger irresolutely hither and thither, like a not be warned by it, but set himself up in the way sick, feeble old man without any will of his own, but, of self over-estimation, making boast of his beau- as if he were still the strong hero, the undismayed, tiful figure. King will he be at any cost. He determined, energetic man, such as in his best makes his preparations without his father's con- years he had so often shown himself amid dangers sent, takes advantage of his infirmity and weak- and in critical situations, he raises himself from ness, and secretly enters into combinations with his sick-bed, swears to observe his word, issues the most influential men who belonged, more his orders, and puts them into immediate execɩ • or less, to the class of malcontents. He allows tion. This resolution and firmness could not have himself to become impatient through his lust proceeded possibly from their opposite, from an for ruling, and to rush into a measure in every re- inward infirmity, i. e., from compliance with the spect premature. Upon the first intelligence, nev- supplication of a wife, nor from dislike of Adoniertheless, of Solomon's accession, a shameful panic jah, whom he had never interfered with (ver. 6), seizes him. All courage to risk the least thing for but had heretofore always indulged too much. It his cause fails him. The whole crowd of his fol- is to be explained only by his faith in the promise lowers scatters like dust, and he himself, in a cow- of Jehovah, by his firm certainty and assurance ardly way, seeks to save only his life. He anx- that Solomon was appointed by Jehovah to be his iously flies to a place of refuge, clings to it, calls successor, and that through him as well his own himself Solomon's "servant," and salutes him as "house," as the house of Jehovah, which it was king. But, scarcely is the danger past, he breaks permitted himself no longer to take care of, should his pledged word to behave quietly, and starts be built up (2 Sam. vii. 11-13). Upon this account anew in secret machinations to reach his goal. He also the Epistle to the Hebrews mentions him flatters the mother of Solomon with hypocritical expressly in the list of the men who have held humility, and seeks to move the heart of the wife the faith and obtained the promise (chap. xi. (see on chap. ii. 13 sq.). Rightly does Ewald say 32). How could he have sworn by Him who had of him : “A man who, according to all the known "redeemed his soul out of all distress," and features of our memorial of him, has much that then, in deep humility, have praised and glorified resembles Absalom, fine form, airy, and ambitious Him, had he been conscious of any injustice toof power, yet inwardly scarcely fit for governing; wards Adonijah, and had not, in the prosperous of an obdurate mind, and yet afraid to venture issue of his commands, beheld a gracious guidance upon open battle. That he was no proper sov- of the God of Israel? It is clear that under such ereign for such a kingdom as Israel then was, a man as Adonijah, who was lacking in all the must be obvious to intelligent men." qualities requisite for the head of the theocracy, the kingdom never would have reached the bloom which it reached under Solomon. It would have been the greatest misfortune for Israel had he ascended the throne, while, viewed apart from the promise, the high and extraordinary endowment of Solomon was a clear indication of Providence that he alone of all his brothers was fitted to preserve, indeed to increase, what David had acquired with indescribable toil and great conflict, under the visible assistance of God. David did not deprive Adonijah of what rightly belonged to him, he only did not bestow upon him what he craved in his foolish arrogance and ambition, to the det riment of the kingdom.

4. Nathan here, as always (2 Sam. vii., xii.), appears right genuinely as prophet. When there is an attempt to bring to completion human self-willed beginnings over-against the counsel and will of God, where the safety and well-being of the chosen people were at stake, then it was the calling of the prophet to interfere, counselling and reminding, warning and punishing. It was not so much personal friendship for David, and love for his pupil Solomon, as rather, and before all, the known will of Jehovah, which had determined that the latter should be king, that induced him to take the step which would have had the most disastrous consequences for himself, yea, might have cost him his life, had Adonijah become king. It was not Zadok, nor Benaiah, nor any of the other friends of David, who brought to nought the ill-starred enterprise. But the same prophet, through whom the great promise had been made to David in respect of the succession, by the providence of God, averted also that which interfered with the fulfilment of the promise. And without his prompt,

6. Of Solomon himself we learn here only this one thing, that he instantly allowed Adonijah to go free, who, by his flight to a place of refuge, was self-convicted of guilt, and, according to the custom in such cases, feared punishment by death. His first act as king was significantly an act of magnanimity and grace, which appears all the more worthy of admiration when we remember

"that Adonijah, had ho won, would certainly have destroyed his brother and all his chief supporters" (Ewald), as both Nathan and Bath-sheba undoubtedly expected (vers. 12, 21).

many a cross, and sorrow, and anxiety, expend their bodily powers, should be all the more pa tient, and console themselves here with the example of David, and know that among the saints of 7. The new historic criticism sees "in our nar- God, also, feebleness of body is found.-We may, rative, distinctly, the fully natural machinery of and should, follow advice for the relief of our dis human actions" (Thenius), a "court-cabal," the tress and the preservation of our life, in so far as astute manager' " of which is Nathan (Köster). it does not militate against the commands of God; "Bath-sheba sought to secure the crown for her for the Lord says, "it is better," &c. (Matt. xviii. son Solomon, although, after Absalom's death, it 8).-Old and sick people should, and it is expected devolved upon the fourth son of David, Adonijah, of them as a work well pleasing to God that they whom Hagith had borne to him. One of the two bear this with a willing heart, with patience, selfpriests at the ark of the covenant, Zadok, sup- denial, and sacrificing love.-Vers. 5-10. Adoniported Bath-sheba's designs, just as Nathan the jah's attempt to obtain the crown: (a) the ground prophet. Both could expect from the upon which it rests (upon self-assertion, pride, lust young Solomon a greater complaisance towards of power, ver. 5, but God resisteth the proud, and priestly influence than from the more independent a haughty spirit goeth before a fall: upon outward Adonijah, especially if they helped the young man, qualities, age, and beautiful person, ver. 6, but 1 against right, to the throne. It was characteristic Sam. xvi. 7; Ps. cxlvii. 10, 11); (b) the means of Bath-sheba to induce David to swear by Jeho- which he employed (he seeks to impose upon the vah that Solomon, instead of Adonijah, should be people by chariots and horsemen, but Ps. xx. 8; his successor. But Adonijah was resolved not to he conspires with false and faithless men, but they allow himself to be robbed of his good right forsake him in the hour of danger, ver. 49; Ps. ci. through an intrigue of the harem. As Da- 6, 7; he prepares for appearance' sake a religious vid was sinking upon his death-bed, Adonijah be- festival, ver. 9, but 2 Mos. xx. 7).—Ver. 5. The eflieved that he must anticipate his enemies," &c. fort after high things (Rom. xii. 16).-How many (Duncker, Geschichte des Alterthums, i. s. 385). No- a person thinks: I will become a great personage, thing is more certain than that the biblical author a man of authority and influence, and then scru did not look upon the matter in such light. This ples at nothing in order to attain his goal. But whole exposition is a distinct example of the mode that which is written in 1 Cor. vii. 20, 24 applies to of treating biblical history already described in the individual as well as to entire classes.-WÜRT. the Introduction, § 5. It abandons the stand- SUMM.: Let no one attempt to take an office against point of the narrator, arranges the history man- God and His will; "and no man taketh this honor, fashion, and then, as is the case here, perverts it unto himself but he that is called of God" (Heb. into its opposite. The divine promise becomes a v. 4). Ver. 6. The father who allows his son to fine-span harem intrigue, the "great prophet," as go on in his pride and in worldly or sinful conduct, Ewald also calls him, becomes the intriguing man- and shuts his eyes, not to trouble him, must exager of a court-cabal, the true priest is reduced pect that the son will trouble him and embitter the to the level of a self-seeker, the firm believing evening of his life. It is the right and duty of king, the man after God's heart, the play-ball of a every father to speak to his son about his conduct woman and of a court-party, the greatest and wis- even when he is no longer a child, and to ask, est king of Israel is a throne-robber, and on the Why dost thou so? A perverted parental love other hand the airy, incapable, deceitful, and cow- is self-punished, Prov. xxix. 17; Sir. xxx. 9.-Ver. ardly usurper Adonijah becomes a martyr of the 7. High personages always find people for the exeright and the unfortunate victim of impure machi- cution of their sinful plans, who, from subservinations. This entire perverted interpretation rests ency or desire of reward, from ambition or revenge, upon the presupposition, already sufficiently proved will act as counsellors and agents; but they have groundless, that Adonijah was "the rightful heir," their reward, and for the most part end with terand falls to pieces with it. ror.-Ver. 8. With those who are meditating treason and destruction we should never make common cause (Prov. xxiv. 21, 22).—Vers. 9, 10. SEILER: He who will not abide his time until God himself shall elevate him, will fall even when he attempts to rise. He who gives the crowd wherewith to eat and to drink, who prepares for them festivities and pleasures (panem et circenses), makes himself popular and beloved for the moment; but all who al low themselves to be gained in such way, to-day shout Hosanna! and to-morrow, Crucify! By not inviting Solomon, Adonijah betrayed his plans, and himself gave the occasion for their frustration (Ps. Ixix. 23; Rom. xi. 9). It is a rule of the divine world-government that the cause of God, through that whereby its enemies seek to thwart and hinder it, is only so much the more pro moted.

8. [It is true that Adonijah was David's eldest son now remaining, and therefore might seem to challenge the justest title to the crown; but the kingdom of Israel, in so late an erection, had not yet known the right of succession. God himself, that had ordained the government, was as yet the immediate elector; He fetched Saul from among the stuff, and David from the sheep-fold, and has now appointed Solomon from the ferule to the sceptre."-Bp. Hall, Contemplations, Bk. xvii., Contemplation i.-E. H.]

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Vers. 1-4. Weakness and infirmity in old age are: (a) the universal human lot to which we must all consider ourselves appointed (Ps. xc. 10); (b) they should loosen the bands which hold us to the temporal and perishable, and ripen us for eternity (2 Cor. iv. 17 sq.).-WÜRT. SUMM. They who, through

Vers. 11-27. Nathan, the type of a true prophet: (a) through his watchfulness and fidelity (Ezek. xxxiii. 7), he is not silent when it was his duty to open his mouth (Is. lvi. 10); (b) through his wis. dom and gentleness (Matt. x. 16); (c) through his