David, told him to go after Absalom and bring him back again to Jerusalem.

Joab rejoiced at the success he had met with, and bowing himself to the earth, thanked the king for the great favor which had been conferred upon him. He, doubtless, congratulated himself, too, at having taken a course which would ingratiate him still more with the king, by open ing the way for David's indulging his strong pa rental feelings towards Absalom, while it seemed as if he were only yielding to the urgent solicitations of Joab. It was an instance of consummate address on the part of the latter which has seldom, if ever, been equalled.

CHAPTER XXX.

David is reconciled to Absalom. The rebellion of the latter. David flees from Jerusalem. He sends Zadok and Abiathar back with the ark.

Joab immediately went to Geshur, where Absalom was, and brought him back to Jerusalem. But, although the king thus recalled his offending son from exile, he ordered him to go directly to his own house, and not to come into the presence of his father; intending, in this public

manner, still further to show the detestation in which he held his crime.

Absalom, it seems, attracted a great deal of admiration on account of his personal beauty. "From the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head," it is said, "there was no blemish in him." He was remarkable, too, for the luxuriant growth and quantity of his hair, and probably took great pains to dress and wear it in the most becoming manner. When he had occasion to cut it, it is supposed to have weighed about three pounds. He affords, as we shall see in the sequel, a striking instance of the worthlessness of mere beauty of person, if it is not accompanied with moral worth. And yet how prone the young are to admire others, or to value themselves, on account of such beauty, and to forget that it is only the qualities of the heart, virtuous and benevolent affections, with the corresponding conduct, that should command our approbation and esteem. God looketh on the heart. Examine your heart, my young friend. If that is not right with God, all your personal accomplishments, however great they may be, will only enhance your final ruin by proving incentives to vanity, and additional allurements to sin..

Two years had now elapsed, and Absalom began to be very restless under the disgrace which he was still enduring. He sent for Joab to come to him, intending to induce him, if possible, to

intercede with the king in his behalf. Joab paying no attention to the message, Absalom sent another which was alike unsuccessful. Becoming indignant at this, and determining, at some rate or other, to have the desired interview, he directed his servants to set on fire a field of barley belonging to Joab, and which was contiguous to his own, expecting that this would perhaps bring him, in the way of complaint for the outrage, if for no other reason. He was not disappointed in this. Joab immediately came, to demand the cause of such an injury. Absalom's reply was brief and urgent. "Behold," said he, "I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still. Now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.'

Joab had his reasons for complying with this request. His intercession prevailed. Absalom was sent for by David, and coming into the presence of the king, did obeisance, bowing himself with his face to the ground. He met with a gracious reception, and the king, bidding him rise, kissed him in token of his being forgiven and restored to favor.

But Absalom, so far from being penitent for the murder of his brother, or grateful for the forbearance and clemency with which he had

been treated by his father, now began to carry into effect his ambitious and wicked designs of taking possession of the throne. He cared not that in doing this he would be guilty of rebellion and treason against the rightful sovereign, the anointed of the Lord, and that sovereign his own father. The end he must accomplish, whatever the means might be.

He began by assuming the pomp of a prince who regarded himself as the heir apparent to the throne, providing an equipage of splendid chariots and horses, and a guard of fifty men, who were to run before him when he made his appearance in public. That he might gain the affections of the people, he was in the habit of rising early and taking his station in the road that led to the gate of the palace, to watch the approach of any one who might be coming to seek for justice from the king. He would accost such a one in the most kind and familiar manner, inquiring the place from which he came, telling him that right was undoubtedly on his side, and lamenting, in the most false and insidious manner, that no one was deputed by the king to hear him. Then he would add, to ingratiate himself still farther with the people, "O that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice."

Being the king's son, he was treated with great

respect, and, often on certain occasions, those who approached him would do him obeisance, prostrating themselves before him on the ground. At such times, he took care to return these civilities in the most kind and affectionate manner. He would take those by the hand who offered them, and embrace them as if he bore towards them a very peculiar regard. In these and similar ways, he continued to gain the affections of the people, until, we are told, he "stole the hearts of the men of Israel." So prone are mankind to think well of those who strive to please every body by their flattery, and who make strong assurances of what they would do for the public good, if they only had the power. Beware of those, my young friend, who would allure you by arts like these, to become the mere tool of their selfish and ambitious designs.

It was not long before the wily Absalom began to think that his project was nearly ripe for execution. He now asked permission of the king to go to Hebron, to perform there a religious vow which he had made while in exile in Geshur, if the Lord would bring him back again to Jerusalem. The king, not suspecting the real object of his visit, consented, and bade him go in peace. Unhappy father, yet to receive the severest chastisements of thy transgressions from one of thy own children, and thus to be imposed upon by a son on whom thou hadst so