priest and the prophet. The ceremony ended, the blast of the trumpets proclaimed the accession of the new

monarch, and the people burst into a ringing shout, "God save King Solomon!" The enthusiastic

demonstrations of joy were truly Eastern.

There were music of pipes and acclamations of the people, until the ground beneath seemed to rend with the

noise. As the procession returned, the city rang with the jubilee, until it reached the royal palace, where

King Solomon seated himself in solemn state on his father's throne, and received the homage of the court,

while David gave public thanks that he had lived to see that day.

Meanwhile, out in the king's gardens, the strange shouts from the city had reached Adonijah and his

guests. Joab had grown uneasy as he heard the well-known sound of the trumpet. The tidings traveled

quickly, and already one was in waiting to explain its meaning. But it was not as Adonijah had hoped

against hope. The son of Abiathar had come to inform the conspirators of what had just taken place in

Gihon and in the royal palace. And now sudden terror seized those who had but lately been so confident in

their feasting. Every one of the conspirators fled, foremost among them Adonijah; nor did he deem himself

safe until he had reached the sacred precincts, and laid hold on the horns of the altar. This asylum he

refused to quit, until Solomon had assured him by oath that his life would be spared - though on condition

that his future conduct should give the king no cause for complaint.

The events just recorded, which are only briefly indicated in 1 Chronicles 23:1, were followed by a great

assembly of the chief dignitaries in Church and State (1 Chronicles 28, 29.), when the accession of Solomon

to the throne was formally confirmed, and he was anointed a second time (1 Chronicles 29:22). We remember,

that similarly both Saul and David were anointed a second time, o n publicly receiving the homage of their

subjects (1 Samuel 11:15; 2 Samuel 2:4; 5:3). It was in this great assembly that the aged king, speaking, as it

were, from his death-bed, laid before his people the deepest wishes of his heart, and told his inmost

thoughts concerning the character, the stability, and the object of royalty in Israel. Beginning with an

evident reference to the great promise given to him and his house, David first solemnly owned, that the

appointment to the royal office - more particula rly his own election and that of Solomon as his successor -

was of God as Israel's supreme King, and that the stability and welfare of the kingdom depended upon

faithful allegiance to Jehovah, to which he accordingly admonished Solomon and the people (1 Chronicles

Then, following further the line indicated in the covenant-promise, David pointed out that the grand object

of his son's reign must be to build an house unto the LORD. This would be the initial typical fulfillment of

that to which the prophetic promise pointed. So deeply had the king this work at heart, that he had already

prepared all the plans for the Temple; and that he dedicated to this work the vast treasures which during his

long reign he had accumulated, always with this great purpose in view (1 Chronicles 28:11-29:5). But this

was not a work which Solomon either could or should undertake by himself. He must be supported in it by a

willing people. And when the representatives of Israel in that great assembly readily and liberally promised

of their substance, David seemed to feel that the work of his life was indeed done, and that God would now

let "His servant depart in peace." The solemn and joyous eulogy, and the earnest prayer for his people, and

for his son and successor on the throne, with which David dismissed this assembly, form a most appropriate

close to his public career.

Gladly would we here end our record of David's life. But Scripture, in its truthful narration, calls us to

witness yet another scene. We stand by the d eath-bed of David, and hear his last injunctions to his son and

successor. At this time Solomon could not have been more than twenty years of age. Probably he was even

younger. However wise and well-disposed, the temptations and difficulties of his position could not but

awaken fears in the heart of his father, and that in proportion as he kept in view the terms of the Divine

prediction concerning his house, with its warnings as well as its promises. In regard to matters Divine and

spiritual, only one plain advice need he give to Solomon. Spiritual decidedness, faithfulness, and obedience

to God, such simply were the means by which the promises given to David and his house would be

inherited. But all the greater were the political dangers which beset the path of the youthful king, an