May the Lord guide us by his counsel to the last breath of life, and then receive us to glory. (Psalm lxxiii. 24.) Though God was angry with Solomon, and threatened to rend the kingdom from his house, yet he would not do it in his days, for David his servant's sake. We are not told what effect the anger and reproof of God had upon Solomon, but there is reason to hope he did repent, and find mercy, yet it is not communicated to us; for while in some instances, such as David and Manasseh, we are informed they found mercy, that we may be encouraged not to despair of being pardoned, on returning to the Lord: yet the repentance of Solomon is not recorded, that we may not presume. O may we have grace to take timely warning before

it be too late for ever.

The King replies, depart in peace,
I shall consider on the case:
The third day hence you may return.
And then my answer you shall learn

TEN TRIBES REVOLT.

BEFORE CHRIST 975 YEARS.

The son of Solomon succeeds,
And Israel with oppression bleeds;
Ten tribes create another king,
And strife and deadly tumults bring.

BECAUSE Solomon departed from the Lord, the Almighty was pleased to raise up, among others, to render Solomon's last days uneasy, Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Solomon's servant; to this man, the prophet Abijah foretold, that God would rend ten tribes from the house of David and give them to him; but this promise to Jeroboam was not for any good thing in his heart; he was a very wicked character; but God would do it to punish the apostacy of Solomon; and the Lord generally chooses

bad men to be the instruments of inflicting his justice on those that revolt from him, making use of their inclinations to answer his wise purposes; but God at the same time gave Jeroboam warning, that only as he acted right could he expect to prosper, (1 Kings xi. 38.)

Solomon having heard that Jeroboam was to succeed him in ruling part of the kingdom, sought to kill him, and Jeroboam fled into Egypt for protection, where he remained until the death of Solomon.

When

Solomon died he left but one son, named Rehoboam, and by his conduct he soon showed that he did not inherit his father's wisdom, and was but little calculated to succeed to the throne. All Israel assembled at Shechem, to make him king; but, instead of confirming him in the throne, his folly showed itself so great on the occasion,