which were not irreconcilable with his piety, he was subject to great
trials and misfortunes. The wickedness of his children, especially of
his eldest son Amnon, must have nearly broken his heart. Amnon's offence
was not only a terrible scandal, but cost the life of the heir to the
throne. It would be hard to conceive how David's latter days could have
been more embittered than by the crime of his eldest son,--a crime he
could neither pardon nor punish, and which disgraced his family in the
eyes of the nation. As to Absalom, it must have been exceedingly painful
and humiliating to the aged and pious king to be a witness of the pride,
insolence, extravagance, and folly of his favorite son, who had nothing
to commend him to the people but his good looks; and still harder to
bear was his rebellion, and his reckless attempt to steal his father's
sceptre. What a pathetic sight to see the old warrior driven from his
capital, and forced to flee for his life beyond the Jordan! How
humiliating to witness also the alienation of his subjects, and their
willingness to accept a brainless youth as his successor, after all the
glorious victories he had won, and the services he had rendered to the
nation! David's history reveals the sorrows and burdens of all kings and
rulers. Outward grandeur and power, after all, are a poor compensation
for the incessant cares, vexations, and humiliations which even the most
favored monarchs are compelled to accept,--troubles, disappointments,
and burdens which oppress both soul and body, and induce fears,
suspicions, jealousies, and animosities. Who would envy a Tiberius or a
Louis XIV. if he were obliged to carry their load, knowing well what
that burden was?
Then again the kingdom of David was afflicted with a grievous famine,
which lasted three years, decimating the people, and giving a check to
the national prosperity; and the Philistines, too, whom he thought he
had finally subdued, renewed their ancient warfare. But these calamities
were not all that the old king had to endure. A new rebellion more
dangerous even than that of Absalom broke out under Sheba, a Benjamite,
who sounded the trumpet of defiance from the mountains of Ephraim, and
who rallied under his standard ten of the tribes. To Amasa, it seems,
was intrusted the honor and the task of defending David and the tribe of
Judah, to which he belonged,--the king being alienated from Joab for the
slaying of Absalom, although it had ended that undutiful son's
rebellion. The bloodthirsty Joab, as implacable as Achilles, who had
rendered such signal services to his sovereign, was consumed with
jealousy at this new appointment, and going up to the new
general-in-chief as if to salute him, treacherously stabbed him with his
sword,--but continued, however, to support David. He succeeded in
suppressing the rebellion by intrigue, and on the promise that the city
should be spared, the head of the rebel was thrown over the wall of the
fortress to which he had retired. Even this rebellion did not end the
trials of David, since Adonijah, the heir presumptive after the death of
Absalom, conspired to steal the royal sceptre, which David had sworn to
Bathsheba he would bequeath to her son Solomon. Joab even favored the
succession of Adonijah; but the astute monarch, amid the infirmities of
age, still possessed a large measure of the intellect and decision of
his heroic days, and secured, by a rapid movement, the transfer of his
kingdom to Solomon, who was crowned in the lifetime of his father.
In all these foul treacheries and crimes within his own household may be
seen the distinct fulfilment of the punishment foretold by Nathan the
prophet, as prepared for David's own "great transgression." God's
providence is unerring, and men indeed prepare for themselves the
retribution which, in spite of sincere repentance, is the inevitable
consequence of their own violations of law,--physical, moral, and
spiritual. God gave David the new heart he longed for; but the evil
seeds sown bore nevertheless evil fruit for him and his children.
Aside from these troubles, we know but little of the latter days of
David. After the death of Absalom, it would seem that he reigned ten
years, on the whole tranquilly, turning his attention to the development
of the resources of his kingdom, and collecting treasure for the Temple,
which he was not to build. He was able to set aside, as we read in the
twenty-second chapter of the Chronicles, a hundred thousand talents of
gold and a million talents of silver,--an almost incredible sum.
If a talent of silver is, as estimated, about £390, or $1950, it would
seem that the silver accumulated by David would have amounted to nearly
two billion dollars, and the gold to a like sum,--altogether four
billions, which is plainly impossible. Probably there is a mistake in
the figures. We read in the twenty-ninth chapter of Chronicles that
David gave to Solomon, out of his own private property, three thousand
talents of gold and seven thousand talents of silver,--together, nearly
$74,000,000. His nobles added what would be equal to $120,000,000 in
gold and silver alone, besides brass and iron,--altogether about
$194,000,000, which is not incredible when we bear in mind that a
single family in New York has accumulated a larger sum in two
generations. But even this sum,--nearly two hundred million
dollars,--would have more than built all the temples of Athens, or St.
Peter's Church at Rome. Whether the author of the Chronicles has
exaggerated the amount of the national contribution for the building of
the Temple or not, we yet are impressed with the vast wealth which was
accumulated in the lifetime of David; and hence we infer that the wealth
of his kingdom was enormous. And it was perhaps the excessive taxation
of the people to raise this money, outside of the spoils of successful
wars, that alienated them in the latter days of David, and induced them
to rally under the standards of usurpers. Certain it is that he became
unpopular in the feebleness of old age, and was forced to abdicate
his throne.
David's premature old age presented a sad contrast to the vigor of his
early days. He was not a very old man when he died,--younger than many
monarchs and statesmen who in our times have retained their vigor, their
popularity, and their power. But the intense labors and sorrows of forty
years may have proved too great a strain on his nervous energies, and
made him as timid as he once was bold. The man who had slain Goliath ran
away from Absalom. He was completely under the domination of an
intriguing wife. He showed a singular weakness in reference to the
crimes of his favorite son, so as to merit the bitter reproaches of his
captain-general. "Thou hast shamed this day," said Joab, "the faces of
all thy servants; for I perceive had Absalom lived, and all of us had
died this day, then it had pleased thee well." In David's case, his last
days do not seem to have been his best days, although he retained his
piety and had conquered all his enemies. His glorious sun set in clouds
after a reign of thirty-three years over united Israel, and the nation
hailed the accession of a boy whose character was undeveloped.
The final years of this great monarch present an impressive lesson of
the vanity even of a successful life, whatever services a man may have
rendered to his country and to civilization. Few kings have ever
accomplished more than David; but his glory was succeeded, if not by
shame, at least by clouds and darkness. And this eclipse is all the more
mournful when we remember not only his services but his exalted virtues.
He was the most successful and the most admired of all the monarchs who
reigned at Jerusalem. He was one of the greatest and best men who ever
lived in any nation or at any period. "When, before or since, has there
lived an outlaw who did not despoil his country?" Where has there
reigned a king whose head was less giddy on a throne, or who retained
more humility in the midst of riches and glories, unless it were Marcus
Aurelius or Alfred the Great? David had an inborn aptitude for
government, and a power like Julius Caesar of fascinating every one who
came in contact with him. His self-denial and devotion to the interests
of the nation were marvellous. We do not read that he took any time for
pleasure or recreation; the heavy load of responsibility and care never
for a moment was thrown from his shoulders. His penetration of character
was so remarkable that all stood in fear of him; yet fear gave place to
admiration. Never had a monarch more devoted servants and followers than
David in his palmy days; he was the nation's idol and pride for thirty
years. In every successive vicissitude he was great; and were it not for
his cruelty in war and severity to his enemies, and his one great lapse
into criminal self-indulgence, his reign would have been faultless.
Contrast David with the other conquerors of the world; compare him with
classical and mediaeval heroes,--how far do they fall beneath him in
deeds of magnanimity and self-sacrifice! What monarch has transmitted to
posterity such inestimable treasures of thought and language?
It is consoling to feel that David, whether exultant in riches and
honors, or bowed down to the earth with grief and wrath, both in the
years of adversity and in his prosperous manhood, in strength and in
weakness, with unfailing constancy and loyalty turned his thoughts to
God as the source of all hope and consolation. "As the hart panteth
after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God!" He has no
doubts, no scepticism, no forgetfulness. His piety has the seal of an
all-pervading sense of the constant presence and aid of a personal God
whom it is his supremest glory to acknowledge,--his staff, his rock, his
fortress, his shield, his deliverer, his friend; the One with whom he
sought to commune, both day and night, on the field of battle and in the
guarded recesses of his palace. In the very depths of humiliation he
never sinks into despair. His piety is both tender and exultant. In the
ecstasy of his raptures he calls even upon inanimate nature to utter
God's praises,--upon the sun and moon, the mountains and valleys, fire
and hail, storms and winds, yea, upon the stars of night. "Bless ye the
Lord, O my soul! for his mercy endureth forever." And this is why he was
a man after God's own heart. Let cynics and critics, and unbelievers
like Bayle, delight to pick flaws in David's life. Who denies his
faults? He was loved because his soul was permeated with exalted
loyalty, because he hungered and thirsted after righteousness, because
he could not find words to express sufficiently his sense of sin and his
longing for forgiveness, his consciousness of littleness and
unworthiness when contrasted with the majesty of Jehovah. Let not our
eyes be fixed upon his defects, but upon the general tenor of his life.
It is true he is in war merciless and cruel; he hurls anathemas on his
enemies. His wrath is as supernal as his love; he is inspired with the
fiercest resentments; he exhibits the mighty anger of Homer's heroes; he
never could forgive Joab for the slaughter of Abner and Absalom. But the
abiding sentiments of his heart are gentleness and magnanimity. How
affectionately his soul clung to Jonathan! What a power of self-denial,
when he was faint and thirsty, in refusing the water which his brave
companions brought him at the risk of their lives! How generously he
spared the life of Saul! How patiently he bore the rebukes of Nathan!
How nobly he treated the aged Barzillai! His impulses were all generous.
He was affectionate to weakness. He had no egotistic ends. He forgot his
own sorrows in the sufferings of his people. He had no pride in all the
pomp of power, although he never forgot that he was the Lord's anointed.
When we pass from David's personal character to the services he
rendered, how exalted his record! He laid the foundation of the
prosperity of his nation. Where would have been the glories of Solomon
but for the genius and deeds of David? But more than any material
greatness are the imperishable lyrics he bequeathed to all ages and
nations, in which are unfolded the varied experiences of a good man in
his warfare with the world, the flesh, and the devil,--those priceless
utterances which portray every passion that can move the human soul. He
has left bare to the contemplation of all ages all that a lofty soul can
suffer or enjoy, all that can be learned from folly and sin, all that
can stimulate religious life, all that can console in sorrow and
affliction. These experiences and aspirations he has embodied in lyric
poetry, on the whole the most exquisite in the Hebrew language, creating
a new world of religious thought and feeling, and furnishing the
foundation for Christian psalmody, to be sung from age to age throughout
the world. His kingdom passed away, but his Psalms remain,--a realm
which no civilization can afford to lose. As Moses lives in his
jurisprudence, Solomon in his proverbs, Isaiah in his prophecies, and
Paul in his epistles, so David lives in those poems that are still the
most expressive of all the forms in which the public worship of God is
still continued. Such poetry could not have been written, had not the
author experienced in his own life every variety of suffering and joy.
The literary excellence of the Psalms cannot be measured by the standard
of Greek and Roman lyrics. It is not seen in any of our present forms of
metrical composition. It is the mighty soaring of an exalted soul which
makes the Psalms so dear to us, and not their artificial structure.
They were made to reveal the ways of God to man and the life of the
human soul, not to immortalize heroes or dignify a human love. We may
not be able to appreciate in English form their original metrical skill;
but it is impossible that a people so musical as the Hebrews were
kindled into passionate admiration of them, had they not possessed great
rhythmic beauty. We may not comprehend the force of the melodic forms,
but we can appreciate the tenderness, the pathos, the sublimity, and the
intensity of the sentiments expressed. "In pathetic dirges, in songs of
jubilee, in outbursts of praise, in prophetic announcements, in the
agonies of contrition, in bursts of adoration, in the beatitudes of holy
bliss, in the enchanting calmness of Christian life," no one has ever
surpassed David, so that he was called "the sweet singer of Israel."
There is nothing pathetic in national difficulties, or endearing in
family relations, or profound in inward experience, or triumphant over
the fall of wickedness, or beatific in divine worship, which he does not
intensify. He raises mortals to the skies, though he brings no angels
down. Never does he introduce dogmas, yet his songs are permeated with
fundamental truths, and are a perpetual rebuke to pharisaism,
rationalism, epicureanism, and every form of infidel speculation that
with "the fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." As the Psalter
was held to be the most inspiring poetry in the palmy days of the Hebrew
commonwealth, so it proved the most impressive part of the ritual of the
mediaeval Church, and is still the most valued of all the lyrics which
Protestantism has appropriated in the worship of God. And how potent,
how lasting, how valued is a good song! The psalmody of the Church will
last longer than its sermons; and when a song stimulates the loftiest
sentiments of which men are capable, how priceless it is, how
permanently it is embalmed in the heart of the world! "Thus have his
songs become the treasured property of mankind, resounding in the
anthems of different creeds, and carrying into every land that same
voice which on Mount Zion was raised in sorrowful longings or
ecstatic praise."
What a mighty power the songs of the son of Jesse still wield over the
affections of mankind! We lose sight at times of Moses, of Solomon, and
of Isaiah; but we never lose sight of David.
Such is the tribute which all nations bring,
O warrior, prophet, bard, and sainted king,
From distant ages to thy hallowed name,
Transcending far all Greek and Roman fame!
No pagan gods thy sacred songs invoke,
No loves degrading do thy strains provoke.
Thy soul to heaven in holy rapture mounts,
And joys seraphic in its bliss recounts.
O thou sweet singer of a favored race,
What vast results to thy pure songs we trace!
How varied and how rich are all thy lays
On Nature's glories and Jehovah's ways!
In loftiest flight thy kindling soul surveys
The promised glories of the latter days,
When peace and love this fallen world shall bind,
And richest blessings all the race shall find.
SOLOMON.
THE GLORY OF THE MONARCHY.
ABOUT 993-953 B.C.
We associate with Solomon the culmination of the Jewish monarchy, and a
reign of unexampled prosperity and glory. He not only surpassed all his
predecessors and successors in those things which strike the imagination
as brilliant and imposing, but he had such extraordinary intellectual
gifts that he has passed into history as the wisest of ancient kings,
and one of the most favored of mortals.
Amid the evils which saddened the latter days of his father David, this
remarkable man grew up. His interests were protected by his mother
Bathsheba, an intriguing, ambitious, and beautiful woman, and his
education was directed by the prophet Nathan. He was ten years of age
when his elder brother Absalom rebelled, and a youth of fifteen to
twenty when he was placed upon the throne, during the lifetime of his
father and with his sanction, aided by the cabals of his mother, the
connivance of the high-priest Zadok, the spiritual authority of Nathan,
and the political ascendency of Benaiah, the most valiant of the
captains of Israel after Joab. He became king in a great national
crisis, when unfilial rebellion had undermined the throne of David, and
Adonijah, next in age to Absalom, had sought to steal the royal sceptre,
supported by the veteran Joab and Abiathar, the elder high-priest.
Solomon's first acts as monarch were to remove the great enemies of his
father and the various heads of faction, not sparing even Joab, the most
successful general that ever brought lustre on the Jewish arms. With
Abiathar, who died in exile, expired the last glory of the house of Eli;
and with Shimei, who was slain with Adonijah, passed away the last
representative of the royal family of Saul. Soon after Solomon repaired
to the heights of Gibeon, six miles from Jerusalem,--a lofty eminence
which overlooks Judaea, and where stood the Tabernacle of the
Congregation, the original Tent of the Wanderings, in front of which was
the brazen altar on which the young king, as a royal holocaust, offered
the sacrifice of one thousand victims. It was on the night of that
sacrificial offering that, in a dream, a divine voice offered to the
youthful king whatsoever his heart should crave. He prayed for wisdom,
which was granted,--the first evidence of which was his celebrated
judgment between the two women who claimed the living child, which made
a powerful impression on the whole nation, and doubtless strengthened
his throne.
The kingdom which Solomon inherited was probably at that time the most
powerful in western Asia, the fruit of the conquests of Saul and David,
of Abner and Joab. It was bounded by Lebanon on the north, the Euphrates
on the east, Egypt on the south, and the Mediterranean on the west. Its
territorial extent was small compared with the Assyrian or Persian
empire; but it had already defeated the surrounding nations,--the
Philistines, the Edomites, the Syrians, and the Ammonites. It hemmed in
Phoenicia on the sea-coast, and controlled the great trade-routes to the
East, which made it politic for the King of Tyre to cultivate the
friendship of both David and Solomon. If Palestine was small in extent,
it was then exceedingly fertile, and sustained a large population. Its
hills were crested with fortresses, and covered with cedars and oaks.
The land was favorable to both tillage and pasture, abounding in grapes,
figs, olives, dates, and every species of grain; the numerous springs
and streams favored a perfect system of irrigation, so that the country
presented a picture in striking contrast to its present blasted and
dreary desolation. The nation was also enriched by commerce as well as
by agriculture. Caravans brought from Eastern cities the most valuable
of their manufactures. From Tarshish in Spain ships brought gold and
silver; Egypt sent chariots and fine linen; Syria sold her purple cloths
and robes of varied colors; Arabia furnished horses and costly
trappings. All the luxuries and riches which Tyre had collected in her
warehouses found their way to Jerusalem. Even silver was as plenty as
the stones in the streets. Long voyages to the mouth of the Indus
resulted in a vast accumulation of treasure,--gold, ivory, spices, gums,
perfumes, and precious stones. The nations and tribes subject to Solomon
from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates, and from Syria to the Red Sea,
paid a fixed tribute, while their kings and princes sent rich
presents,--vessels of gold and silver, costly arms and armor, rich
garments and robes, horses and mules, perfumes and spices.
But the prosperity of the realm was not altogether inherited; it was
firmly and prudently promoted by the young king. Solomon made alliances
with Egypt and Syria, as well as with Phoenicia, and peace and plenty
enriched all classes, so that every man sat under his own vine and
fig-tree in perfect security. Never was such prosperity seen in Israel
before or since. Strong fortresses were built on Lebanon to protect the
caravans, and Tadmor in the wilderness to the east became a great centre
of trade, and ultimately a splendid city under Zenobia. The royal
stables contained forty thousand horses and fourteen hundred chariots.
The royal palace glistened with plates of gold, and the parks and
gardens were watered from immense reservoirs. "When the youthful monarch
repaired to these gardens in his gorgeous chariot, he was attended,"
says Stanley, "by nobles whose robes of purple floated in the wind, and
whose long black hair, powdered with gold dust, glistened in the sun,
while he himself, clothed in white, blazing with jewels, scented with
perfumes, wearing both crown and sceptre, presented a scene of gladness
and glory. When he travelled, he was borne on a splendid litter of
precious woods, inlaid with gold and hung with purple curtains, preceded
by mounted guards, with princes for his companions, and women for his
idolaters, so that all Israel rejoiced in him."
We infer that Solomon reigned for several years in justice and equity,
without striking faults,--a wise and benevolent prince, who feared God
and sought from him wisdom, which was bestowed in such a remarkable
degree that princes came from remote countries to see him, including the
famous Queen of Sheba, who was both dazzled and enchanted.
Yet while he was, on the whole, loyal to the God of his fathers, and was
the pride and admiration of his subjects, especially for his wisdom and
knowledge, Solomon was not exempted from grave mistakes. He was
scarcely seated on his throne before he married an Egyptian princess,
doubtless with the view of strengthening his political power. But while
this splendid alliance brought wealth and influence, and secured
chariots and horses, it violated one of the settled principles of the
Jewish commonwealth, and prevented that isolation which was so necessary
to keep uncorrupted the manners and habits of the people. The alliance
doubtless favored commerce, and in one sense enlarged the minds of his
subjects, removing from them many prejudices; but the nation was not
intended by the divine founder to be politically or commercially great,
but rather to preserve the worship of Jehovah. Moreover, the daughter of
Pharaoh was an idolater, and her influence, so far as it went, tended to
wean the king from his religious duties,--at least to make him tolerant
of false gods.