he collection was founded by David,
and he contributed many of its most beautiful hymns.

David's boyhood was spent among the rugged hills and valleys of
Bethlehem. As we read his Psalms we feel that the writer has passed
long hours alone with God, and the beautiful things which God has made.

Let us watch him for a moment. It is evening, and the young lad is
alone on the hills, keeping his father's sheep. The sun is sinking,
and all the earth is bathed in golden light. Even the sullen surface
of the Dead Sea reflects the glory, and the hills of Moab glow as
though on fire.

'God is the Creator of all this beauty,' thinks David. 'Yes, bright as
is that golden sky, His glory is _above the heavens_.' (Psalm viii. 1.)

Now the sun has quite gone; night's dark curtain draws across the
world, the rosy glow fades from the hills. One by one the great white
stars shine out, and presently the moon rises. The young lad raises
his face, and gazes upward. '_When I consider Thy heavens, the work of
Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained_' (Psalm
viii. 3) he murmurs; 'how great is this mighty God, how far beyond all
the thoughts and ways of men! _What is man, that Thou art mindful of
him?_' (Verse 4.)

But God loves us even though we are lower than the angels. He has
crowned us with glory and honour. He has given all His beautiful
world, and all the wonderful things He has made, into our hands. '_O
Lord_ (verse 4) _our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the
earth._' (Verse 9.)

In Psalm xxix. David gives a word picture of a thunderstorm. He
describes the furious blast, the crashing thunder, the vivid lightning.
Many times as a young lad he had watched the black storm-clouds gather
over the hills and valleys of Bethlehem. He had no fear of the
tempest. God's voice was in the wind; God's voice divided the
lightning-flashes; God's voice shook the wilderness. Yes, God would
make His people strong, even as the storm was strong.

And when the storm had passed, and the sun shone out once more over the
quiet hills, how clearly the words rose in David's mind, '_The Lord
will bless His people with peace!_' (Verse 11.)

Solomon, David's son, was the wisest king of ancient times. He wrote
many books, but only small fragments of them are found in the Bible; a
few Psalms, Solomon's Song, and a collection Proverbs.

[Illustration: SENNACHERIB, KING OF ASSYRIA. FROM THE ASSYRIAN PICTURE
OF THE