shew-bread, all the utensils required for the service of the sanctuary of pure and solid gold-this amazing profusion of the most precious of all metals in every part of the structure, rendered the temple of Solomon, if not the most extensive, at any rate the richest, the most magnificent, the most glorious edifice, the world ever beheld. The works in brass also were stupendous; besides the two pillars already mentioned which stood at the entrance of the portico, the capitals of which were adorned with decorations of the most delicate and exquisite workmanship, there was an immense vessel called the brazen sea, nearly six yards in diameter, supported by twelve oxen of the same materials; there were ten brazen lavers, richly ornamented with the figures of cherubim, of lions, and of oxen; every thing in one word was provided which could conduce to the solemnity or to the splendour of the worship of God. There were vestments for the priests, musical instruments for the Levites, and every article of convenience and of magnificence which could possibly be demanded by the performance of the ritual of the law.

Repeat the description of Solomon's temple given by Josephus.

"The whole frame was raised upon stones polished to the highest degree of perfection, and so artificially put together, that there was no joint to be discerned, no sign of any working tools being upon them, but the whole appeared more like the work of Providence and nature, than the produce of art and human invention. As for the interior, whatever carving, gilding, embroidery, rich silks, and fine linen could do, of these there was the greatest profusion. The very floor of the temple was overlaid with beaten gold, the doors were large and proportioned to the height of the walls, twenty cubits broad, and still gold upon gold."

Describe the dedication of Solomon's temple.

When seven years and a half had elapsed, the temple was finished, and its dedication was performed with the most imposing solemnity A. C. 1004. and magnificence. The whole body of the Levites

occupied their distinctive place around the altar, many of them with instruments of music, and the two outer courts of the temple were crowded with a vast multitude from every region of the dominions of Solomon. The king himself took his station upon an exalted platform of brass. After a vast number of sacrifices had been offered, the sacred ark, the symbol of the divine presence, was removed into the Holy of Holies, while one united chorus of praise thundered from the whole mighty multitude. While this ceremony was proceeding, while the praises and acclamations of the people rent the very heavens, an awful and supernatural cloud filled the edifice, the priests were compelled to retire, and they found it impossible before such a blaze of glory, to offer the sacrifices which had been prepared. The prayer which Solomon then presented, is one of the most impressive, affecting, and sublime compositions ever offered by man; and his address to the divine Being forms, perhaps, the most exalted and inspiring invocation of God ever uttered in the rapture of devotion and the earnestness of prayer. It was answered by another demonstration of the divine presence, by another testimony of the divine favour. The victims which had been laid on the altar were consumed before all the people by a celestial fire; and "when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever. Since it was impossible that the whole of the multitude could unite in one sacrifice, a number of altars were erected in various parts of the temple; twenty-two thousand bullocks, and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep, were sacrificed as peace-offerings; those portions of the animals which were not demanded for the service of the altars, were distributed among the people; and after the festival had continued a fortnight, they were dismissed to their homes, elated with joy, inspired with admiration of their sovereign, and gratitude to God.

Thus this solemn and imposing ceremony was concluded. How different was the scene many centuries after, when in the vicinity of the very spot where this

gorgeous edifice stood, the Son of God was offered a sacrifice for the sins of the world; when all the splendid ritual and costly sacrifices of the temple were abolished for ever; and when God, descending in the riches and influences of his grace, made the bodies of his people his temple, and their hearts his throne.

SECTION VIII.

THE SAME CONTINUED.

WHAT divine communication was made to Solomon after the dedication of the temple?

A DIVINE Communication immediately after the completion of the temple was made to Solomon; the promises which had already been made to the posterity of David were renewed to him on condition of his fidelity to the service of his God; but at the same time he was assured, that if he or his descendants, again relapsed into idolatry, that matchless edifice which he had just finished would become as ruinous and desolate, as it was wonderful and magnificent; and that, instead of being filled with crowds of worshippers and resounding with the praises of God, it would be converted into a dwelling-place for the obscene birds of the night.

Describe some of the works and riches of Solomon.

The artificers who had been employed in the erection of the temple were afterwards engaged in building two palaces, one for Solomon, and the other for the daughter of Pharaoh his queen. Thirteen years were employed in the work. The palace of Solomon, making all reasonable allowance for the credulity and consequent exaggerations of Josephus, must have been a most gorgeous edifice, and a most splendid ornament to the city of Jerusalem. Its apartments exhibited a vast profusion of gold, silver, precious stones, marble, and cedar, disposed with admirable taste and skill. The hall, which from the cedar it con

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tained, was called the house of the forest of Lebanon, was fifty-eight yards in length, twenty-six broad, and nearly seventeen high. The porch which was the place of audience and the seat of judgment, was peculiarly magnificent; the throne of the king, which it contained, was covered with ivory, inlaid, and richly ornamented with gold; six steps led to it; each step was decorated, on each side, by a small lion; and the arms of the seat were supported by two figures of the same animal as large as life. All these figures, as well as the steps themselves, were covered with ivory and gold. Three hundred shields of gold were carried before Solomon when he appeared in public, and at other times were suspended as ornaments of the palace; and two hundred targets, covered with the same metal, were devoted to the same purpose. The vessels which were used in the palace for drinking, were also of pure gold; and the guards who attended upon the person of the king, were decorated with ornaments of the same costly materials.

Account for the immense wealth possessed by Solomon. Although the statements usually made of the immense wealth of Solomon appear to be incredible, and have been regarded by many as entirely fabulous, yet it is to be recollected, that he was not only the possessor of the immense riches acquired by his father after a long career of successful enterprise and conquest, but he participated in the most lucrative commerce at that time existing in the world. The trade of the Mediterranean, of Egypt, and of the East, flowed through his dominions; from the port of Ezion-geber on the Red Sea, his ships sailed to Ophir, most probably situated on the eastern coast of Africa; and in one voyage brought back to him four hundred and fifty talents of gold; and there can be no doubt that the commerce of Arabia, of Assyria, and perhaps of India, must have been most lucrative to him and to his subjects. The alliance which Solomon maintained with the Tyrians, was in this respect most advantageous. They instructed his inexperienced navigators, they occasionally manned his ships, and their port was inestimable to him as a great channel both for importation and exportation, and a ready market for the precious

commodities which were introduced into his dominions from the regions of the East and South. So that there is every reason, why the language of the inspired historian, should to be taken in a literal sense, "The king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as sycamore trees that are in the vale, for abundance."

In order to display his gratitude to the king of Tyre for the assistance which he had so generously afforded to him in all his undertakings, Solomon, when he sent back the Tyrian artificers, presented Hiram with twenty cities in the province of Galilee. But when Hiram saw them, he was so dissatisfied that he rejected them with contempt, and he gave to the whole district the opprobrious name of Cabul, which Josephus says was a Phoenician word, signifying displeasing, referring to the muddy and dirty nature of the soil. When Solomon found that his gift was rejected, he rebuilt the cities himself.

What other works distinguished the reign of Solomon?

He employed his Canaanitish slaves and his other workmen in surrounding Jerusalem with walls of stupendous strength; he fortified Tadmor or Palmyra, Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, aud other cities; and he completed the entire subduction of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and reduced them to a condition of menial servitude.

Describe one of the most remarkable events in the reign of Solomon.

One of the most remarkable events in the reign of Solomon was the visit of the queen of Sheba to this court. Josephus asserts that this princess was the queen of Egypt and Ethiopia, and he attempts to confirm his story by appealing to the testimony of Herodotus. That great father of Grecian history, however, has no where mentioned a princess of the name which Josephus has given to the queen of Sheba, i. e. Nicaule; and the Jewish historian appears to have too credulously received vague traditions, which exaggerated the glory of the greatest and most magnificent monarch of the Israelites. The fact seems to be, that the queen of Sheba or, as the Son of God termed her,