paths." No doubt So-lo-mon learnt this from his fa-ther Da-vid.

Da-vid now be-gan to think of bringing the ark of God in-to his ca-pi-tal. It was at Kir-jath-jea-rim, a ci-ty nine miles from Je-ru-sa-lem, and had been kept in the house of a Le-vite ever since the days of Sa-mu-el, when the Phi-lis-tines sent it back. Da-vid asked the ad-vice of the cap-tains and lead-ers a-mong his peo-ple, and said, that if it seem-ed good to them, and if it was the Lord's will, he would send a mes-sage through-out the land to pre-pare the priests, the Le-vites, and the peo-ple for this great ce-re-mo-ny. The cap-tains and lead-ers a-greed to what Da-vid said; for the thing was right in the eyes of all the peo-ple."

Mean-while the Phi-lis-tines, knowing that Da-vid had been made king

o-ver all Is-ra-el, came up a-gainst him. Da-vid heard of it and went with a band of sol-diers from Je-ru-salem to the cave of A-dul-lam, which was a-bout six miles off. The ar-my of the Phi-lis-tines was en-camp-ed in the Val-ley of Re-phaim, but they had also post-ed a strong force in the town of Beth-le-hem.

Da-vid's three migh-ty men, A-bishai, Be-na-iah, and the o-ther, whose name is not gi-ven, came down to him to the cave.

It was har-vest time, and the weather was very hot. Per-haps Da-vid and his men were suf-fer-ing much from want of wa-ter. And Da-vid long-ed, and said, "Oh that one would give me drink of the wa-ters of Beth-lehem which are by the gate!"

The three migh-ty men heard him

Bl

speak, and, with-out wait-ing a moment, they rush-ed out, brake through the host of the Phi-lis-tines that was guard-ing the gate of Beth-le-hem, drew wa-ter out of the well, and forced their way back a-gain with it to Da-vid.

But Da-vid was dis-pleas-ed that his friends should have risk-ed their lives to sa-tis-fy an i-dle wish of his. Thirs-ty as he was, he would not drink the wa-ter. There was not e-nough for all, and he look-ed up-on the drop his three migh-ty cap-tains had gain-ed for him as worth so much of their blood. It was far too precious for any use but that of a sac-rifice to God. He pour-ed it out before the Lord and said, "My God for-bid it me that I should do this thing. Shall I drink the blood of

these men that have put their lives in jeo-par-dy? for with the jeo-par-dy of their lives they brought it."

Da-vid thus set a beau-ti-ful exam-ple of self-de-ni-al to his men; and taught them that though he loved them to be brave, he would not have them be rash.

Af-ter this, Da-vid en-quir-ed of the Lord, say-ing, "Shall I go up to the Phi-lis-tines? wilt Thou de-li-ver them into my hand?" And the Lord said, "Go up, for I will doubt-less de-li-ver the Phi-lis-tines in-to thine hand."

Da-vid and his men went up from the strong-hold of A-dul-lam, and smote the ar-my of the Phi-lis-tines in the val-ley of Re-phaim. And David said, "God hath bro-ken in up-on mine e-ne-mies by mine hand, like

the break-ing forth of wa-ters," therefore in re-mem-brance he call-ed the name of that part of the val-ley of Rephaim Ba-al-pe-ra-zim, or the place of breach-es. The Phi-lis-tines, in their haste to es-cape, left their i-dols behind. Da-vid or-der-ed them all to

be burnt.

Be-fore long, the Phi-lis-tines came a-gain to the val-ley of Re-phaim. Da

vid in-quir-ed of the Lord as he had done be-fore. The Lord's an-swer was this, "Go not up after them; turn a-way from them, and come up-on them o-ver a-gainst the mul-ber-ry trees, and let it be when thou hear-est a sound of a go-ing in the tops of the mul-ber-ry trees, thou shalt go out to bat-tle, for then shall the Lord go out be-fore thee to smite the host of the Phi-lis-tines.'