e with a sword, and with
a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord
of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied."

Then Goliath marched forward in all his brass armor to kill David; and
David ran, too, straight toward the giant. When he was at the right
distance he put a stone into his sling and took good aim. Away went
the stone and struck the giant right in the middle of the forehead!
Down he fell on his face with a crash.

Then David marched up and drew the giant's great sword out of its
sheath and cut off his head.

What a shout arose from the army of Israel when they saw that the
great giant whom they so much feared, was dead! And this is the way a
brave boy killed a great boastful giant, with all his bragging words
and his brass armor.

{149}{150}

[Illustration]
THE "TOMB OF RACHEL" WITH BETHLEHEM IN THE DISTANCE

From a photograph taken by Mrs. Fontaine Meriwether,
and used by her kind permission.

This picture is chiefly interesting for the beautiful view it gives
of Bethlehem, lying white against the hillside in the distance.
[End illustration]

{151}

DAVID AND KING SAUL

After David had killed the giant Goliath, King Saul would not let him
go back to his father's house at Bethlehem, but made him stay at the
court, and gave him a high command in the army. King Saul was not
well. He had a disease of the mind which made him at times almost, if
not quite, insane. At such times he was very sad and gloomy. David
could play very sweetly on the harp. When the king felt this trouble
in his mind, he would send for David, who would play on the harp and
the playing would soothe and calm the king so that he would be himself
again.

David was a poet; he not only played upon the harp but he wrote some
of the beautiful songs or psalms which he sang. In some of these songs
he told about the love of God, who cares for his children as the
shepherd cares for his flock.

The poet Browning wrote a beautiful poem about Saul and David and how
the skillful playing of the shepherd had helped the king. Here {152}
is a stanza of the poem. David is supposed to be telling someone about
his playing to the king.

"Then I tuned my harp,--took off the lilies
we twine round its chords
Lest they snap 'neath the stress of the noontide
--those sunbeams like swords!
And I first played the tune all our sheep know,
as, one after one,
So docile the