Josephus. The town most probably, almost certainly, began at the southern, or Mount Zion, part of this site, and in its ultimate extension, according to Josephus, comprehended a circuit of thirty-three furlongs; whereas that of the modern town does not appear to exceed two miles and a half. The confining vallies are often mentioned in Scripture. Those on the east and south are very deep. The former is the valley of Jehoshaphat, through which flows the brook Kidron, and the latter is generally called the valley of Hinnom. This denomination is extended by some topographers also to the western and least deep valley, while others call it the valley of Gihon. On the opposite side of these vallies rise hills, which are mostly of superior elevation to that of the site of the city itself. That on the east, beyond the brook Kidron, is the Mount of Olives. That on the south is a broad and barren hill, loftier than the Mount of Olives, but without any of its picturesque beauty. On the west there is a rocky flat, which rises to a considerable elevation towards the north, and to which has been assigned the name of Mount Gihon. Even in the north-east, at Scopus, where the besieging Romans under Titus encamped, the ground is considerably more elevated than the immediate site of the town. Thus is explained the expression of David: As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people' (Ps. cxxv. 2). The relative height of those surrounding hills gives to the city an apparent elevation inferior to that which it really possesses. The district for many miles round Jerusalem, is now of a very barren and cheerless character, whatever may have been its ancient condition. The considerations which may have influenced David in rendering it the capital of his kingdom have been already indicated: but his son Solomon must be considered as having permanently fixed its metropolitan character, by the erection of the temple and the royal establishment. But it was the temple, chiefly, which in all ages_maintained Jerusalem as the metropolis of the country. Even after the destruction of that venerated fabric, the mere fact that it had existed there, operated in preventing the selection of any new site, even when the opportunity occurred. The separation into two kingdoms, after the death of Solomon, did also necessarily prevent any intentions of change which might have arisen, had the whole country remained one kingdom, with a large choice of situations for a capital; and we are to remember that, although, after the erection of the temple, it always remained the ecclesiastical metropolis of the land, it was, in a civil sense, for a long series of years, the capital of only the smallest of the two kingdoms into which the land was divided. But under all disadvantages, many of which are perhaps the result of the wars, the desolations, and the neglect of many ages, the very situation of the town, on the brink of rugged hills, encircled by deep and wild vallies, bounded by eminences whose sides were covered with groves and gardens, added to its numerous towers and temple, must, as Carne remarks, have given it a singular and gloomy magnificence, scarcely possessed by any other city in the world.

The best view of the site and locality of Jerusalem is obtained from the Mount of Olives. The Mount is usually visited by travellers, who all speak of the completeness of the view obtained from the above spot. This view comprehends in the distance the Dead Sea and the mountains beyond; while, to the west, the city with its surrounding vallies and all its topographical characteristics, is displayed like a panorama, below and very near the spectator, the Mount being only separated from the town by the narrow valley of Jehoshaphat. It is seldom indeed that any city is seen in such completeness of detail as Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. The statement of these details would however embrace so much that is modern, that we shall not at present describe it, particularly as all that is of importance to our present purpose has already been indicated.

The climate of the mountainous tract in which Jerusalem is situated, differs from that of the temperate parts of Europe more in the alternations of wet and dry seasons than in the degree of temperature. The variations of rain and sunshine which with us exist throughout the year, are in

Palestine confined chiefly to the latter part of autumn and the winter, while the remaining months enjoy almost uninterruptedly a cloudless sky. The rains have been already noticed under Deut. xi, 14, and do not therefore require further notice in this place. Snow often falls, about Jerusalem, in January and February, to the depth of a foot or| more; but it does not usually lie long. The ground never freezes; but the exposed standing waters in the reservoirs are sometimes covered with thin ice for a day or two. The high elevation of Jerusalem secures it the privilege of a pure atmosphere, nor does the heat of summer ever become oppressive except during the prevalence of the south wind, or sirocco. Dr. Robinson states that during his sojourn at Jerusalem, from April 14th to May 6th, the thermometer ranged at sunrise from 440 to 64° F., and at 2 P. M. from 60° to 79° F.; this last degree of heat being felt during a sirocco, April 30th. From the 10th to the 13th of June, at Jerusalem, the range at sunrise was from 56° to 74°, and at 2 P. M. once 860 with a strong north-west wind. Yet the air was fine and the heat not burdensome. The nights are uniformly cool, often with heavy dew. Yet the total absence of rain soon destroys the verdure of the fields, and gives to the whole landscape the aspect of drought and barrenness. The only green thing that remains is the foliage of the scattered fruit-trees and occasional vineyards, and fields of millet. The deep green of the broad fig-leaf and of the millet is delightful to the eye in the midst of the general aridness; while the foliage of the olive with its dull grayish hue scarcely deserves the name of verdure.

6. Except thou take away the blind and the lame,' etc.— This very difficult passage has been variously understood. The majority of the Jewish, and many Christian, interpreters, apprehend that the epithet the blind and the lame,' was given derisively by David to the idolatrous images in which the Jebusites trusted for the security of their town, and while they retained which they believed the place could never be taken. It is certain that the heathens had tutelar gods for their cities, whose images they set up in the fort or elsewhere: and these, the Greeks and Romans, when they besieged a place, either endeavoured to take away, or to render propitious. But we think it is impossible to read this passage connectedly with such a reference-particularly as the Jebusites themselves are represented as using this expression; and, however proper it might be from David, we can scarcely suppose that the idolaters would themselves employ it. The explanatory statement of Josephus, followed by Aben Ezra and Abarbanel, and supported by Dr. Kennicott, has better claims to consideration. This is, that the Jebusites, persuaded of the strength of the place, and deriding the attempt of David to take it, mustered the lame and blind, and committed to them the defence of the wall, declaring their insulting belief that these alone were sufficient to prevent David's access. Dr. Kennicott thinks the translation in Coverdale's version better than the present. It is, 'Thou shalt not come in hither, but the blynde and lame shall dryve the awaie, etc. He seems himself to think that the Jebusites professed that the blind and lame were to keep him off merely by shouting, 'David shall not come hither,'-or, 'No David shall come hither,' and concludes a learned criticism on the text by proposing to translate:- And the inhabitants of Jebus said, Thou shalt not come hither; for the blind and the lame shall keep thee off, by saying, David shall not come in hither. We are sorry to give this version apart from the analysis on which it is founded; but the considerations we have stated, and the comparison of the different versions we have given, will assist the reader's comprehension of this most obscure passage.

8. Getteth up to the gutter.'-The word rendered gutter ( tzinnor) occurs nowhere else except in Ps. xlii. 8; where it is translated 'water-spout;' and there is a very perplexing diversity of opinions as to its meaning in that place. The word in that text certainly means a watercourse, and the probability is that the word here denotes a subterraneous passage through which water passed; but whence the water came, whither it went, the use, if any, to which it was applied, and whether the

channel was not occasionally dry, are questions concerning which no satisfactory information can be obtained. But recent research has shewn that there is an extensive system of subterraneous communications for water in Jerusalem, and that some of these have their outlets beyond the walls. It is interesting to collect that communications of this kind existed even before the Israelites obtained possession of the city. Besiegers have often obtained access to besieged places through aqueducts, drains, and subterraneous passages; and we may be satisfied to conclude that something of this sort happened in the present instance. Josephus says simply that the ingress was obtained through subterraneous passages. The Jews have many traditions concerning passages leading from Jerusalem to different parts of the vicinity, and their account is confirmed by Dion Cassius, who says, that in the last fatal siege of the town by the Romans, there were several such passages through which many of the Jews made their escape from the beleaguered city.

11. Hiram King of Tyre sent messengers to David.It is interesting to note how early in David's reign his famous alliance with the Phoenicians of Tyre commenced. It may be remembered, however, that David was renowned in the closely neighbouring states before he became king; and, no doubt, not only his eminent public qualities, but his remarkable personal history, was familiar not less to the Phoenicians than to the Philistines. And although an enterprising, commercial, and skilful manufacturing people like them, would be disposed to look down upon a nation so inferior to themselves as the Hebrews in the finer and larger arts of social life,-military success, and such heroic qualities as the character of David offered, have never yet failed to be appreciated wherever found. Hiram 'was ever a lover of David,' and the offered alliance must have been the more gratifying to him, as it came before David acquired greatness, and (before) his fame went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations.' This alliance was one of mutual advantage. Tyre possessed but a strip of narrow maritime territory, the produce of which, if not sedulously cultivated, would have been very inadequate to the supply of its teeming population and numerous flocks. But besides this, the absorbing devotion of the Phoenicians to commerce and the arts, rendered them averse to the slow pursuits of agriculture, the products of which they could so much more easily obtain in exchange for the products of their foreign traffic and their skill. To them therefore it was a most invaluable circumstance, that behind them lay a country in the hands of a people who had none of the advantages which were so much prized by themselves, but who had abundance of corn, wine, oil, and cattle to barter for them. An alliance, cemented by such reciprocal

benefits, and undisturbed by territorial designs or jealousies, was likely to be permanent, and we know that it tended much to advance the Hebrews in the arts which belong to civilized life, and to promote the external splendour of this and the ensuing reign. In the present instance Hiram supplied the architects and mechanics, as well as the timber (hewn in Lebanon), whereby David was enabled to build his palace of cedar, and to undertake the other works which united the upper and lower cities, and rendered Jerusalem a strong and comely metropolis.

24. Mulberry trees' (' becaim, Sing. Na baca).— The Septuagint, followed by Josephus, paraphrases this word by saying, 'from the grove of weeping' (and Toû Čλσovs тоû kλaveu@vos). But, in 1 Chron. xiv. 14, it renders the same word by 'pear-trees,' and is followed by the Vulgate. The word, in the singular, is retained in our version of Ps. lxxxiv. 6, as a proper name. The Arabic seems to consider that hills' are here denoted. Rosenmüller and Gesenius think that the tree called by the Arabians bak or baka, is intended; but it is not well agreed what tree this is. Some make it an elm; but Dr. Royle (art. BACA, in Kitto's Cyclopædia) holds it to be a poplar. The tree alluded to in Scripture, whatever it be, must be common in Palestine, must grow in the neighbourhood of water, must have its leaves easily moved, and must have a name in some of the cognate languages similar to the Hebrew baca. Now the bak of the Arabs, understood as the poplar, is as appropriate as any tree can be for the elucidation of the passages of Scripture in which the baca occurs. For the poplar,' says Dr. Royle, is well known to delight in moist situations; and Bishop Horne, in his Comm. on Psalm lxxxiv. has inferred that in the valley of Baca the Israelites, on their way to Jerusalem, were refreshed by plenty of water. It is not less appropriate in the passages in 2 Sam. and 1 Chron., as no tree is more remarkable than the poplar for the ease with which its leaves are rustled by the slightest movement of the air; an effect which might be caused in a still night even by the movement of a body of men on the ground, when attacked in flank or when unprepared. That poplars are common in Palestine may be proved from Kitto's Palestine, i. 250: "Of poplars we only know, with certainty, that the black poplar, the aspen, and the Lombardy poplar grow in Palestine. The aspen, whose long leafstalks cause the leaves to tremble with every breath of wind, unites with the willow and the oak to overshadow the watercourses of the Lower Lebanon, and, with the oleander and the acacia, to adorn the ravines of southern Palestine. We do not know that the Lombardy poplar has been noticed but by Lord Lindsay, who describes it as growing with the walnut-tree and weeping-willow beside the deep torrents of the Upper Lebanon."

CHAPTER VI.

1 David fetcheth the ark from Kirjath-jearim on a new cart. 6 Uzzah is smitten at Perez-uzzah. 11 God blesseth Obed-edom for the ark. 12 David bringeth the ark into Zion with sacrifices; danceth before it, for which Michal despiseth him. 17 He placeth it in a tabernacle with great joy and feasting. 20 Michal reproving David for his religious joy, is childless to her death.

AGAIN, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.

2 And 'David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of

11 Chron. 13. 5, 6.

4 Or, the hill.

Heb. made to ride.

6 Heb. with.

5 And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.

6 And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.

7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.

8 And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place "Perez-uzzah to this day.

9 And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?

10 So David would not remove the ark of the LORD unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.

11 And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months and the LORD blessed Obed-edom, and all his houshold.

:

12 And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness.

13 And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.

14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.

15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

16 And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

17 And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had 13 pitched for it

and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

18 And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, "he blessed the people in the name of the LORD

of hosts.

19 And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.

20 T Then David returned to bless his houshold. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!

21 And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel : therefore will I play before the LORD.

22 And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and "of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.

23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

Verse 2. Baale.'-The same that is called Baalah, Kirjath-Baal, and Kirjath-jearim. Compare Josh. xv. 9-60; 1 Sam. vii. 1.

C. Took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.'—It will be observed that the whole process adopted in the removal of the ark is entirely contrary to the directions given in the law. The ark was not to be conveyed on a cart, or drawn by any animals, but to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites, by means of staves; which precluded the ark itself from being handled by the bearers in its removals. Indeed, in Num. iv. 15, it is forbidden, on pain of death, that any of the holy things should be touched by the Levites and we might expect to find this law the more rigidly enforced with respect to the ark, on account of the superior sanctity with which it was invested. The ark had indeed before been conveyed on a cart, when returned

11 That is, the breach of Uzzah. 12 1 Chron. 15, 25, 16 Or, of the handmaids of my servants.

by the Philistines; but that case was very different from the present. The Philistines could not be supposed to have been acquainted with the rules for its conveyance; and if they had, they could not have commanded the services of the Levites for the occasion. Now the removal is conducted by persons who ought to have known what the law required in such removals, particularly as they could not but have heard of the awful judgment with which an intrusion on the sanctity of the ark had been visited at Beth-shemesh (1 Sam. vi. 19). Probably the course adopted by the Philistines on the occasion referred to, formed the bad and inapplicable precedent adopted in the present instance.

10. Obed-edom the Gittite.-This Obed-edom was a Levite, as appears from 1 Chron. xv. and xvi. Some suppose he is called a Gittite because he had lived at Gath;

but more probably from being a native of Gath-rimmon, which was a city of the Levites.

14. David danced before the Lord.'-(See the note on Judges xxi. 21.) This dancing before the ark was certainly not a usual circumstance, nor were any of the solemnities and rejoicings attending its present removal usual; but they were thought to be, and doubtless were, proper expressions of exultation and joy at the progress of the symbol of the Divine Presence to the seat of government. It is highly probable, indeed almost certain, that this dancing was accompanied by an appropriate sacred song, or festive psalm, such, for instance, as Ps. lxviii. Thus viewed, the procedure may receive a by no means inapt illustration from the following incident, which Captain H. Wilson describes as having occurred on a day of festive celebration in one of the Pellew islands. An elderly person began a song or long sentence, and on his coming to the end of it, all the dancers joined in concert, dancing along at the same time: then a new sentence was pronounced, and danced to; which continued till every one had sung, and his verse had been danced to.

Some writers, attached to the present style of ideas, maintain that the ancient dances of the Hebrews, which accompanied their canticles, and especially the dance of King David, were not, properly speaking, dances, but only gestures, attitudes, prostrations, by which they occasionally gave more fervour to their thanksgivings for any signal favour they received, as, for example, after their passage over the Red Sea, for the destruction of Pharaoh's army, and for their own deliverance from the persecution of the Egyptians. By this also they attempt to explain that testimony, which David, by dancing before the ark, gave of his joy on that solemn occasion. But that is a mistaken zeal for propriety which connects ludicrous images with an act which, in remote ages, in divers countries, was considered part of religious worship, and was solemnized formerly on that footing. The triumphal procession of the Roman emperors was performed not merely by walking, but by dancing or exultation. Down as late as the last century, at Limoges, the people used to dance round the choir of the church, which is dedicated to their patron saint, and at the end of each psalm, instead of the Gloria Patri, they sung as follows: St. Marcel pray for us, and we will dance in honour of you.' In most of the eastern nations the religious dance was practised, as the ancient Chinese book Tcheonli mentions a dance called Tchon-von, invented by Tcheon-kong. The dancers played on instruments which they accompanied with their voices, and they successively ran through the different notes of music. They began with an invocation to Heaven, next to earth; after which, making a mock fight, they addressed themselves to their ancestors; then, breaking out into loud cries, they called out towards the four quarters of the world.'

17. In the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it.-The old tabernacle, made in the wilderness, with the altar and all the sacred utensils, were, it appears, still at Gibeon (1 Chron. xvi. 39; xxi. 29; 2 Chron. i. 3). Why David erected a new tabernacle, instead of removing the former, does not clearly appear; but it is probable that it was too large for the place within the precincts of his new palace, which for the present he intended it to occupy.

19. A good piece of flesh.'-It was a good piece, if the sixth part of a bullock, as the rabbins say. But the piece was probably not more than enough to furnish every person with a hearty meal. The original word ( eshpar) only occurs here, and in the parallel passage, 1 Chron. xvi. 3. Its etymology is very uncertain. It is probably from fire, and bull, and may then mean 'roast beef,' as rendered by the Vulgate. This is the very thing we do on occasions of great rejoicing.

A flagon of wine.'-The words of wine' are not in the original; and it is agreed that ashishah, does not mean a flagon.' The Septuagint has 'pancake' here, and honey-cake' in the parallel text, 1 Chron. xvi. 3. Honey was used as we use sugar; honey-cake' means therefore a sweet cake, which might be true of a pancake. We use sugar with pancakes, and they would therefore in the literal sense be pan-cakes. The fact seems to be that the word not only denotes cakes generally, but particularly the kind of cake prepared from dried grapes or raisins, and pressed or compacted into a certain form. They seem to be mentioned in the places where they occur (as above cited) as delicacies with which the weary and languid were

refreshed.

niglah), the frequent

20. How glorious was the king of Israel to day, etc.— The meaning of all this verse is, that Michal thought David had acted a part unbecoming his royal dignity, in laying aside the ensigns of that dignity, and taking so active and leading a part in the rejoicings of the people. Our translation is too broad, and insinuates a charge of indecency, which is not to be found in the original, and is adverse to the plain meaning of the context. First, as to the word uncovered,'-we have shewn, in the note to 1 Sam. xix. 24, that the word rendered naked' often means no more than being without the outer garment. The present is a different word ( signification of which is, 'to shew oneself openly;' as in 1 Sam. xiv. 8, Behold, we will pass over to these men and discover ourselves unto them.' And that this is the sense to be selected here, is clear from v. 16, where the cause of Michal's contempt is mentioned-which is, not that she saw him uncovered,' but that she saw him leaping and dancing.' Then the word 'shamelessly' is not in the original at all. Who the 'vain fellows' ('p rēkim) are, is not quite clear. Some think that the term is scornfully applied to the Levites; but this is on the supposition that the reflection refers to David's ephod-dress, which seems to have been the same as that of the Levites. We rather think that it refers to the lower class of the spectators, as the word seems often equivalent to our own popular terms of contempt applied to the low and worthless. The sense then is, that David, in Michal's opinion, had degraded himself by laying aside his kingly state, and putting himself too much on a level with the common people. She probably made her father a model of what a king ought to be; and his character seems to have been more stern and reserved, and much less animated and popular, than that of David.

21. It was before the Lord that I uncovered myself.'— That is, in reverence of the Divine Presence accompanying the ark. To divest oneself of any part of one's raiment is not now, that we can recollect, a mode of shewing respect in the East, one being rather expected to be fully attired in the presence of a great personage, although it is true that servants generally appear in the presence of their masters with their outer robe laid aside, as if to shew that they are ready for active service. This certainly may have been the idea under which David divested himself of his outer robes. But a more exact parallel is perhaps to be found in the custom of the South Sea Islands, noticed by Captain Cook, in the narrative of whose second voyage we are told that, at Oparree, all the king's subjects, his father not excepted, are uncovered before him: which uncovering is there explained to be, the making bare the head and shoulders, or wearing no sort of clothing above the breast. It is added,' when Otoo came into the cabin, Ereti and some of his friends were sitting there. The moment they saw the king enter, they stripped themselves in great haste, being covered before. This was all the respect they paid him; for they never rose from their seats, nor made any other obeisance.'

CHAPTER VII.

1 Nathan first approving the purpose of David to build God an house, 4 after by the word of God forbiddeth him. 12 He promiseth him benefits and blessings in his seed. 18 David's prayer and thanksgiving.

AND it came to pass, 'when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round

about from all his enemies;

2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.

3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with

thee.

4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying,

5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?

6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.

7 In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?

8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, 'I took thee from the sheepcote, 'from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:

9 And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies "out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.

10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,

11 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house.

12 ¶ And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name,

11 Chron. 17. 1. 5 Heb. from after.

and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

son.

14 'I will be his father, and he shall be my If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak

unto David.

18 Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O LORD God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O LORD God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. Ånd is this the "manner of man, O LORD God?

20 And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, LORD God, knowest thy

servant.

21 For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.

22 Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

23 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?

24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.

25 And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.

26 And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.

13.

2 Heb. to my servant, to David. 6 Heb. from thy face. 71 Kings 8. 20. 11 Heb. law.

10 Psal. 89. 30, 31, 32.