as the Saviour of mankind, nor the
fate of idolatrous nations, nor even the future vicissitudes connected
with the Hebrew nation, but to found a school of religious teachers, to
revive the worship of Jehovah, guide the conduct of princes, and direct
the general affairs of the nation as commanded by God. He was the first
and most favored of the great prophets, and exercised an influence as a
prophet never equalled by any who succeeded him. He was a great prophet,
since for forty years he ruled Israel by direct divine illumination,--a
holy man who communed with God, great in speech and great in action. He
did not rise to the lofty eloquence of Isaiah, nor foresee the fate of
nations like Daniel and Ezekiel; but he was consulted and obeyed as a
man who knew the divine will, gifted beyond any other man of his age in
spiritual insight, and trusted implicitly for his wisdom and sanctity.
These were the excellences which made him one of the most extraordinary
men in Jewish history, rendering services to his nation which cannot
easily be exaggerated.

DAVID.

1055-1015 B.C.

ISRAELITISH CONQUESTS.

Considering how much has been written about David in all the nations of
Christendom, and how familiar Christian people are with his life and
writings, it would seem presumptuous to attempt a lecture on this
remarkable man, especially since it is impossible to add anything
essentially new to the subject. The utmost that I can do is to select,
condense, and rearrange from the enormous quantity of matter which
learned and eloquent writers have already furnished.

The warrior-king who conquered the enemies of Israel in a dark and
desponding period; the sagacious statesman who gave unity to its various
tribes, and formed them into a powerful monarchy; the matchless poet who
bequeathed to all ages a lofty and beautiful psalmody; the saint, who
with all his backslidings and inconsistencies was a man after God's own
heart,--is well worthy of our study. David was the most illustrious of
all the kings of whom the Jewish nation was proud, and was a striking
type of a good man occasionally enslaved by sin, yet breaking its bonds
and rising above subsequent temptations to a higher plane of goodness. A
man so elevated, with almost every virtue which makes a man beloved, and
yet with defects which will forever stain his memory, cannot easily be
portrayed. What character in history presents such wide contradictions?
What career was e