CHAPTER XII.

GOD SAVE THE KING!

That was the shout, with the commencement of the new era, when the tallest man in the nation appeared in the midst of the people that had assembled at the call of Samuel (1 Sam. x, 24).

I will give a short chronology of this United Kingdom under three kings--Saul, David, and Solomon:

Saul is made king 1095 Dies 1055 Rules over Israel about 40 years David born 1085 Kills Goliath 1062 Reigns in Hebron 1055 King over Israel 1048 Dies 1016 Rules over Israel about 40 years Solomon is born 1036 Is crowned king 1015 Lays foundation of Temple 1012 Dedicates the Temple 1004 Worships idols 985 Dies 975 Rules over Israel about 40 years

These figures may not be accurate. They are as near as the dates can be had. Josephus gives the dates as follows:

Saul reigned with Samuel 18 years After the death of Samuel 22 ,, David lived 70 ,, Reigned in Hebron 7 yrs 6m ,, ,, Jerusalem 33 years Solomon lived 94 ,, Having reigned 80 ,,

There is a discrepancy somewhere. Something is wrong in dates, like most other facts in the Bible.

David was twenty-three years old when he killed Goliath. Solomon was twenty-one years old when he was crowned king; according to Josephus, fourteen years of age.

We have no further interest in the dates of those men, but more in their acts and character. Being the rulers of God's own chosen people--with Jehova for a pilot, protector, and guide--with the wooden Box, the ark, with all its mysterious secrets and its holy enchantments; priests, prophets, and sacrifices, with all their secret necromantic performances, these three men, with all their godly professions, were no better than they should have been, even for the age in which they lived.

They were brutal, gross, and licentious. Barbarous crimes were committed by them, with the sanction of their preposterous imaginary God--who is lauded at this present day to the very echo, but the most stupendous piece of folly that ever was palmed off on civilized humanity.

Saul, the first king, in exercising his terrible cruelty towards his enemies perhaps only followed the practices and customs of other nations. Why this bloodthirsty man caused 385 persons to be murdered; why he slaughtered all the inhabitants of Nob, men, women, and children, because Abimelech the priest supplied David with food, are some of those things that pulpit orators can best explain. The life of the priest was not sufficient to expiate the offense he had committed, but Saul had his whole family exterminated.

The ark was no longer available. Jehova had taken the juvenile David in hand. The priestly oracle refused to be consulted. He, Saul, had recourse to a fortune-telling woman of Endor, who was employed to call up the spirit of Samuel.

Saul's jealousies, his quarrels with David, and all his misdeeds, as well as bravery, may be read by those that feel an interest in the matter. He finally committed suicide by falling on his own sword, and the next day the Philistines cut his and his sons' heads off, and deposited them before their idols, Dagon, etc.

Where was God? Can it be possible that our Christian neighbors believe that the life and conduct of Saul was directed by any supreme power? That God directed Saul to do so many foolish, barbarous, and murderous acts?

We shall probably be more interested in David, the man after God's own heart.

David, like Saul, was judiciously selected by Samuel. David's acts and David's conduct were no different from the acts and conduct of any other man in his position and possessing his characteristics. He combined a good deal of philosophy with his bravery; if the Psalms were written by him we have before us a higher type of brain culture, a mind that has undergone some training, is capable of analyzing its own feelings and giving expression to them. His comparisons never extend beyond that--beyond what he knows. He appeals to the higher qualities of men--their good acts, their virtues, their just conduct, their self-restraint, their passions, emotions, faults, and weaknesses. He recognizes them in others, and sees them reflected clearly in himself. His distress and his fears, his gladness and his joys, his trust in an unseen power, are all poetic, some sweet and sentimental. He speaks of his Lord, of his God, as of the pleasant recollections of a dream. Jehova had long since lost the stern reality of Moses, and had changed with the changes the nation had undergone. The formalities had been kept up, the priestly luxuries had increased, the ceremonies were more formal and business-like, but the central power, the centralized government of the people, the mantle of authority, had been shifted from high priest to king.

The God, Jehova, was no longer the guide, the power it had been. For twenty-two years after the death of Samuel, Saul had conducted his government and fought his battles without God, ark, or priest, and sought advice and counsel from other and human sources.

Skeptics even at this early period began to doubt the existence of a God, "The fool saith in his heart, There is no God" (Ps. xiv, 1).

The theocratic period of 395 years from Exodus to Saul had already developed corruption in the church and licentiousness in the Temple. The priestly power received a terrible blow at the hands of Saul when he slaughtered the priest, Abimelech, and his family, thus showing that the representative of God no longer inspired terror; that the priest was nothing more than any other man; that neither God, Jehova, ark, nor any other sanctified paraphernalia could protect him, nor miracle interfere for his preservation.

Opinions were freely expressed, discussion arose, and arguments were not wanting to sustain the doubts that had arisen as to the genuineness, the truth, of the God they had adopted. Neighboring nations had their gods. How was it, if their gods were not more potent, that they should win so many battles, and enslave the nation of the true God?

The same or similar arguments that Abraham brought to bear on the Chaldean gods were now beginning to be used against Jehova.

David, besides being an excellent soldier, a brave general, was a dreamer, a man of imagination. God was to him a sublime vision, a reflected glory of the past. To him, an intense admirer of the beautiful, trees, hills, and valleys, and the phenomena of nature in general, were the wonders of his imaginary God. He was a musician, a poet, a dreamer, in his moments of leisure. Everything he beheld courted, kindled his admiration, awoke new feeling in his sensitive nature, from a pretty flower to a beautiful woman.

The conversations which he holds with his visionary God are the simplest and most confidential. He pours out his grievances and his delight to him. "Thou hast put gladness in my heart.... I will both lay me down in peace and sleep" (Ps. iv, 8, 9).

That Christian translators of the Bible presume to interpret certain passages and words to mean, to foretell, things or events that occurred one thousand years later, is an assumption, and warrantable neither by the text nor by the actions of the persons writing them.

David is supposed to have written the Psalms. When he speaks he refers mainly to himself, addresses himself personally to his Lord. He, David, is himself interested. Then again he speaks of man and things in general, without ever alluding to any one thing or body in the coming future.

David's Psalm ii is headed "The Kingdom of Christ." The writer had no more idea of Christ than he had of Peter the Great at the time that that Psalm was written.

David wrote one hundred and fifty Psalms as printed in the Bible. In the headings, the superscriptions, the solicitude of Christian believers, trying to torture meanings and significations out of sentences or expressions, led them to commit gross errors, as false as they are ridiculous. Judge for yourself:

Psalm ii, 1--The Kingdom of Christ.

"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?" Verse 10: "Be wise, now therefore, O ye kings; be instructed ye judges of the earth."

Psalm xlv, 1--The majesty and Grace of Christ's Kingdom.

"My heart is inditing a good matter; I speak of the things which I have made touching the king; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer."

Verse 10--The Duty of the Church, etc.

"Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house."

Psalm xlvi, 1--Confidence Which the Church, etc.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

Psalm xlvii--The Nations are Exhorted Cheerfully to Entertain the Kingdom of Christ.

Psalm xlviii--The Ornaments and Privileges of the Church.

In not one of these Psalms is there the slightest allusion to a church. It is the extravagant language of an exuberant mind, the outcome of an overwrought imagination upon the subject he was thinking about.

Psalm l, 1--The Majesty of God in the Church.

Psalm li, 18--He Prayeth for the Church.

Psalm lxviii, 7--For His Care of the Church.

Psalm lxxii, 1--David Praying for Solomon, etc.; and The Truth of Christ's Kingdom.

Psalm xciii--The Majesty and Power of Christ's Kingdom.

Psalm cxviii, 19--Coming of Christ's Kingdom, etc.

The passage referred to, viz., verse 19, is: "Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord."

The absurdity of the interpretation is evident from the fact that out of one hundred and fifty Psalms the Christian Bible-makers were able to find only five that could be twisted to make allusion to Christ--the ii, xlv, lxxii, xcviii, and cxviii, and from these certain sentences were selected, and these verses have as much connection with Christ or his kingdom as they have with the man in the moon. Six of all the chapters are supposed to allude to the church; those are above cited.

David had not the remotest notion what would or could happen at any time during his life, or at any time after his death. He was a child of circumstances like Saul, and like many other men after and before them. The same may be said of Moses and Abraham. Opportunity makes the man, if the man is fitting, able, to seize the opportunity when it occurs. No supernatural power had anything to do with any one of these men, or any man that figured in the Bible, any more than God had to do with men that played prominent parts as leaders, rulers, kings, or governors of other nations. Whatever power, skill, intellect, or imagination was developed, it was the proper sum-total of the experience, observation, and instruction of the world's progress.

The Hebrews perhaps had special advantages in some respects over other nations, through their migratory instinct or inclination. The contact with so many other nations gave them the advantage of a broader experience and a greater variety of culture.

David had enjoyed special advantages. After his first heroic action, he became the leader of a band of desperadoes. And Saul himself unwittingly helped him, by making the bargain with David that if he, David, brought him one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, Saul would give him his daughter Michal for wife. David with his band of chosen men brought him two hundred, and thus obtained his wife Michal. Henceforth David leads a kind of bandit's life, with his six hundred brave followers, evading Saul, who is in hot pursuit of him, and meantime fighting other nations, Philistines, Amalekites, etc.; levying contributions, making conquests, whenever and wherever there was a chance; falling in love easily and gracefully as the most expert leader of a gallant band. The pretty, attractive face of Abigail, the wife of Nabal, was an irresistible temptation. Nabal died from fright, it is said. Later in life when he happened to cast his eyes upon the beautiful nude figure of Bathsheba, he immediately fell in love. Since he was a man of action he satisfied his passion almost immediately, and poor Uriah, a captain of his, was sent to the war to be killed.

He was a shrewd and bold warrior, a great lover of woman, a philosopher and a poet. His Psalms bear witness of his acts, deeds, and thoughts. In consequence of his overindulgence with women he contracted a disease, a disease of which he complains most bitterly. Psalm iv: His bones are vexed, he is weary with groaning--"All night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears" (verse 6). Psalm xxxviii: He is in a sad plight: verse 3: "There is no soundness in my flesh;" verse 5: "My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness;" verse 7: "For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease; and there is no soundness in my flesh," etc. The gentleman in all probability was afflicted with a disease known as syphilis in its tertiary stage. There is more of it.

A sober reading of these psalms will find them full of indications of human nature with its frailties, weaknesses, impulses, mixed with superstitious fear, a vivid imagination, and an excitable temperament.

When his greatness had been established, many conquests made, great wealth accumulated, numerous victories gained, festivities were inaugurated. In order to honor God and the ark, David danced and jumped in complete undress before the Box, in a true half-civilized fashion.

We must not consider all these acts as faults. He simply followed the customs of the age. He was the highest representative type of the then struggling civilization. Samuel began, Saul developed, and David consummated a new era of this part of the world of human history--while other sections of the globe were keeping abreast in organizing and drilling the human race to a higher sort of culture, forming nations, establishing kingdoms, producing heroes, evolving lawgivers and poets, and advancing in the arts and war, etc.

David died seventy years of age, leaving a large and numerous family. Of his score of sons, there is none worth talking about, except Solomon, his successor. The immense wealth he amassed laid the foundation for the glory of Solomon, who spent it lavishly, luxuriously, freely.

All in all David was an excellent character. He preserved the Twelve Tribes, exalting the nation, consolidating the government, making it respected and feared without, and giving them by his valor peace and security and prosperity for the next ruler and for the nation.

This young gentleman, Solomon, however, had been fed with a golden spoon. His senses and his passions were prematurely ripe. He did not have to search for opportunity; his desires were easily accommodated and satisfied. His indulgences were many and frequent, and his authority and arbitrariness were soon made manifest.

He was surrounded with the best scholars of the day, and whatever facilities were then to be had were got, either in philosophical works or in other books. The higher studies consisted in close observance of moral conduct, and contemplation of the outer world without knowing anything more than the outward appearances. Science, art, and mechanics were little known.

The school of poesy had begun. Theological disputes were in fashion, and thus theological doubt furnished ample food for conjecture, hypothesis, and imagination. Men had already entered the field of controversy as to the falsity or the truth of the prevailing opinions.

King Solomon in all his glory was the greatest showman upon earth at the time he was living.

Let it be understood that it is not our purpose to write history. That has long since been exhausted; nothing new can be discovered. It may, however, be profitable to call attention to the fact that all these men that figure in the scripture were human, perfectly human. That they acted and spoke in accordance with the prevailing degree of intelligence and customs of nations. That in all their dealings and doings there is not one scintilla of evidence that they were anything else than perfectly natural. That they were struggling as a nation for a position among the family of nations. That their methods of warfare were no better than those of their neighbors. By good generalship, brave conduct, and hard fighting they gained influence, affluence, and prestige. By their conquests and victories they got into possession of a fair tract of land. By robbery and plunder they amassed an immense amount of wealth. By their continual successes under David's brave leadership they secured peace from their enemies, their surrounding neighbors; while those nations were subdued and weakened, the Israelites became powerful and strong. A well-disciplined army, a strong and united nation, was the inheritance Solomon received.

He was the prince-royal--his father a clever king, and his mother the captain's wife, Mrs. Bathsheba, later queen-wife of David. He was the first real prince that had ever ruled Israel--and also the one that caused their ruin, as a nation, by his extravagant and lascivious conduct.

The scriptural story begins in Kings, with the death of David. Solomon, the prince of the blood, was now king in his stead. He ascended the throne when he was twenty-one years of age, having received every educational advantage of a prince. He, after Moses, is the second ruler of Israel that had been instructed and prepared for the high position he was about to occupy. That is the only comparison that can be made between him and Moses. The latter was a giant of intellect, action, and determination, while the former was a luxurious debauchee and squanderer of his father's patrimony.

Why there should be so much adoration and adulation poured out on this man, I fail to see. Because he built the temple and made profuse exhibition of his gold and silver? He could not have built it if his father had not plundered other nations, and given him, Solomon, the money to build with.

Because he had an immense number of chariots and soldiers, decked with costly trappings? The money was there to provide these with, and later the people were pretty heavily taxed for his extravagance.

The only real point of glory may perhaps lie in the fact that he had one thousand women to play with. We all know that he beats the record on that particular branch of human enterprise. There was truly none like him before or since.

And lastly, we have his purported writings, consisting of the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Songs of Solomon.

No sooner was he seated on his throne than he began to remove all objectionable persons, those that were likely to be troublesome or dangerous. His elder brother, Adonijah, whose aspiration led him to great things, was dispatched by Benaiah, Solomon's future general. Abiathar, the priest, he removed where he could do least damage. Joab, David's general, who sought the altar of the temple for protection, Solomon ordered Benaiah to behead. Zadock he made high priest in place of Abiathar. Shimei was the next man on the list for death, and Benaiah received order to kill him. Having removed all dangerous or antagonistic men, Solomon settled himself firmly in his kingdom. Those that are curious may read all about the Temple, his house, the wall, cherubim, vessels and the like of gold, the royal palace, splendors, etc., etc. He became what is termed a glorious king, but luxury and women soon had their effect upon his judgment.

He had reached the zenith of Israel's greatness. He had touched the highest point of its eminence. It was the golden age of the Hebrews--the age of pomp, pride, braggadocio, and exhilaration. Jerusalem became the great center of attraction. Everything obtainable was collected within its walls. No expense was spared. Indeed, the city became the center of luxury, extravagance, and licentiousness. And Solomon was surely, though slowly, paving the way for the destruction of the nation. The older he grew the worse he got. His reason gradually deserted him; he wasted his energy and his strength on his women, so that when he died he was despised, if not hated, by his people. And he left such a rotten condition of affairs that it tumbled to pieces almost before he was dead.

In the course of human events, certain results follow a given line of conduct in the affairs of man. The current of events depends upon our actions, whether good or bad, better or worse. Drain or waste of force and energy, of an individual or of a collective body as a community, state, or nation, slowly but surely weakens, undermining the natural healthy condition, and ultimately leads to a breaking down, and may bring about a final disintegration.

Solomon began his reign with an abundance. He had a plenty both of means and health; a most extraordinary opportunity, with an ample training and education; an immense, well-organized army; a stable, firm government, with a full quota of understanding or wisdom.

As a rule men get wiser as they grow older. They acquire greater deliberation, sounder judgment, better understanding, more skill in the management of affairs, of man and of state. They are generally more conservative in their actions, more cautious in their dealings, more abstemious in their desires. Their pleasures are restricted, their passions subdued, their wants few, and their pursuits in life so evenly regulated, their conduct so accurately adjusted, that a justice and a wisdom seem to guard every thought and every reflection.

Solomon's course was like that of a balloon. He started chockfull of wisdom. He was a marvel, and made a prodigious show. He was a startling phenomenon, the wonder of the age. (You know he asked God for wisdom and God gave it to him; why did not God keep him wise?)

In old age he lacked wisdom. He had almost grown into a senseless imbecile. He was a squanderer of energy, a roué, a debauchee, a frivolous and licentious old man who frittered away his time and his brains on his women and their playthings.

When the pomp, pride, vanity, show, and bluster of his youth and manhood were exhausted, all there was left was the remnants of a glaring painted show. He had, as it were, danced and skipped and capered, sung and spoken his lines, in a blaze of glory and extravaganza on the stage of human affairs; the curtain drops, and alas, you behold, when the paint and gorgeous dress are removed, a simpering, brainless old image-worshiper.

But what a colossal church figure this man makes! What a miraculous personality he is made to be! What a wonderful creation of the Christians' God! A pity some pope has not canonized him and manufactured him into a saint.

As to his writings--if he really wrote them, and they were not compiled or written for him--it is to be regretted that his conduct was not regulated by them.

A most astonishing perversion of truth is the attribution to the eight chapters of the Song of Solomon of the subject of the church's love unto Christ.

The following are the chief interpretations: