marriage, if he would slay one hundred of them.

When David saw that Saul was determined to kill him, if he could, he fled away from his house, and dwelt in the wilderness, in caves, and upon the rocks of the wild goats. Here he wandered about with a few followers, always fearing Saul, who several times assembled his men, and went to seek him; and twice David had Saul in his power, and could have slain him, but forbore.

David lived this miserable life for some time; but he had one very good friend in Jonathan, Saul's son. Jonathan did not do as his wicked father did; he felt no jealousy towards David, though he knew that this young man would afterwards be king instead of himself. He saw that David had an excellent spirit, and he was very much pleased with him, because he had ventured his life in fighting with the giant, in order to save his countrymen. He therefore

loved him as his own soul, and stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to him, together with his sword, his bow, and his girdle. When Saul was bent upon killing David, Jonathan told him to keep himself hid; and then he went and spoke to his father in David's behalf. Saul repented for a while; but his passion and malice soon returned; and Jonathan again helped David to escape from the hands of his father.

As long as these two young men were both living, they were great friends to one another; and when David heard that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle, he was much grieved, although he knew that he himself would then be king; and he wrote a beautiful poem on their death, which shewed how sorry he was for them, and how much he had loved Jonathan.

"If it be possible," says St. Paul,

(Rom. xii. 18,) "as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." It is much better to be at peace with all men, and to try to do good to all, as we have opportunity, than to be cross and ill-tempered, and to seek another's hurt. Saul, in trying to do David harm, did himself the most harm, for he was never happy. But David and Jonathan loved each other as if they had been brethren; they loved to talk together of God's wonderful goodness, and to speak comforting words to each other.

This should teach us to seek our friends among those who are good and virtuous characters. The wicked will deceive and desert us, or will lead us astray into sin; but they who love and fear God will always be true friends to us; they will help us when we are in difficulties; they will comfort us in our sorrows, and make our lives pleasant and happy.

PARABLE OF THE EWE-LAMB.

(2 Samuel xi., xii. 1—25.)

AFTER Saul's death David was made king. He reigned forty years, and for the most part gloriously. He subdued the enemies of his country; he executed judgment and justice in the land; he brought up the ark from a private house where it had been for some time, and placed it on Mount Zion; and he made preparations for building a grand temple to the honour of Almighty God.

David was in the main a good man, and a good king; but he did some things which were very wicked, and one thing, in particular, which occasioned him much sorrow and trouble. He committed wickedness with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah; and in order to conceal what he had done, he practised shameful deceit; and afterwards, when he found he could not accomplish his purposes by

any other means, he ordered that Uriah should be placed in the front of the battle, and that then his fellow-soldiers should retire from him, so that he might be killed by the weapons of the enemy. Accordingly, Uriah was set in the front of the battle, and was killed by the Philistines, and David took Bathsheba to be his wife.

Upon this God sent Nathan the prophet to reprove him for what he had done. Now Nathan did not like to tell him at once what a wicked man he thought him to be, but he related to him a parable or story, which was this:

There were," said he, "two men in one city, the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: it grew up together with him and his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay

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