of Israel and the Philistines, returns in triumph to the camp of Saul, marries Michal his daughter, but becomes an object of his jealousy and hatred because he has supplanted him in the affections of the people. Chaps. xv.-xviii. 9. The remainder of the first book is mainly occupied with an account of the persecutions of David by Saul, and of the wonderful way in which God delivered him. It closes with an account of Saul's distress through the invasion of the Philistines, of his resort in trouble to the woman (at Endor) who had a familiar spirit, of the terrible message he received at the lips of the risen Samuel, of the defeat of the armies of Israel by the Philistines, and of the death of Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa. The third part occupies the whole of the second book. It records the reign of David, first at Hebron over the tribe of Judah, with the accompanying war between the house of Saul and the house of David, and then, after Ishbosheth's death, over all Israel at Jerusalem."* Then fol

low David's many victories over the enemies of Israel, his sin in the matter of Uriah, with the chastisements it brought on him and his kingdom, with Absalom's rebellion and final death by Joab; the last error, too, into which David fell, in numbering the people, for which there fell in pestilence seventy thousand of his subjects.

* Prof. E. P. Barrows. Comp. Bible in loc.

The uniform lesson throughout is that disobedience to the commandments of the Lord leads directly to disorder, disaster, and suffering; while dutiful obedience leads as surely to order, happiness, and blessing.

XVI.-The Books of Kings.

These, like those of Samuel, really form one Book. In the original Hebrew it was one book, called "The Book of Kings." It continues unbroken the inspired history of the theocracy or Divine rule over Israel under the kings from Solomon to the downfall of Judah, when the people were carried away into the Babylonish captivity. It was first separated into two books in the Septuagint version, where it is numbered as the third and the fourth of the kingdoms; the books of Samuel being called the first and second. From the Greek translation, the division passed into the Latin Vulgate, and in the sixteenth century Daniel Bomberg introduced it into the Hebrew Bible, whence it appears in all the modern editions. It is to be hoped, however, that in the forthcoming Revised Translation of the Old Testament into English, the original unity will be restored.

The history covers a period of more than four hundred years. Besides giving an account of the kings both of Judah and

Israel, it is, too, eminently a book of prophets; being largely occupied with their history, their inspired declarations, holy visions, and significative acts. It contains the continuous "Word of the Lord." The prophets through whom this "Word" came are Nathan, Iddo, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. While others, as David and Solomon in the early period, and Jonah, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah in the later reigns, had Divine communications contemporary with them. Nor is there any doubt that many members of "the school of the prophets," like Elisha's "young man," enjoyed on certain brief occasions the gift of seership. The Spirit of the Lord was ever present with the nation. peculiarity of these books of Kings which has been noticed by successive critics and commentators is that they do not pretend to give a complete history of the nation during those times. By some they are called fragmentary. The truth is, only

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those incidents are chosen which illustrate the Divine rule, and dramatize the spiritual truths of His kingdom. Those things were taken that were needed to form a literal basis for the Divine prophetic Word; all others were omitted. Hence we read at the close of Solomon's reign, “And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of

Solomon?" And at the conclusion of each monarch's reign after Solomon, that the rest of his acts may be found, for the kings of Judah, in "the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah ;" and for the kings of Israel, in "the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.” In other words, in this writing we have only the Divine lessons; those who would know the general secular history must seek it elsewhere.

The contents of the books strikingly illustrate this characteristic. They divide naturally into three periods; namely, first, the reign of Solomon over the whole nation; second, the history of the co-existing kingdoms of Judah and Israel; and, third, the history of the kingdom of Judah after the extinction of the kingdom of Israel.

XVII.-The Schools of the Prophets.

In the earlier times among the Israelites, men of the priestly order were their teachers and governors in spiritual things. But in the days of the Judges, the priesthood sank into degeneracy, and the people were no longer properly taught, or affected by the acted lessons of the ceremonial service, which had also fallen into disuse. So a new system was raised up to fulfil this mission. Samuel, himself a Levite, perhaps

a priest, was the providential instrument employed to reform the priestly order and establish an order of prophets. The prophetic gift had always existed, confined to only a very few individuals at a time, but Samuel inaugurated a new era in the history of the Jewish church. He wished to provide for a permanent reform and revival of spiritual life. So he instituted companies or Colleges of Prophets, into which young men of suitable character were gathered, and instructed in the Law, and in the vocal and instrumental music necessary for the Sanctuary; and so trained to become fitting agents to receive the Spirit of the Lord and proclaim whatever should be divinely given them. They were to practise prayer, and a -strict order of habit and regimen. They wore a hairy garment, girt with a leathern girdle.

The original School of this kind was established at Ramah, where Samuel lived; afterwards there were others, at Bethel, Jericho, Gilgal, and other places. Some of these became famous, and not unfrequently numbered from fifty to a hundred and fifty students. They were not unlike our colleges and theological seminaries; indeed our modern educational system may be said to have been developed from them, and to be largely modelled after them.

These students, if not in all instances prophets, became the teachers and in