who were invested with supreme authority over them; but now they desired to be governed, like the neigh.. bouring nations, by a King. In compliance with their wish, God appointed Saul to be their King, and the Prophet Samuel anointed him in 1095 B.C. He was, however, rejected by God for his disobedience, and was succeeded by David in 1055. David was strong and mighty: when only a youth, he had slain the giant Goliath; and having been made King, he extended his kingdom by splendid victories. He served God with an upright heart, and composed in His honour those beautiful sacred songs, called Psalms, in which, by Divine inspiration, he prophesied many things concerning the Redeemer of the world, who was to be born of his family, and whose kingdom should have no end. For this reason, Christ is also called the Son of David.

15. Solomon, his son and successor, was a wise and great King. He built a magnificent temple to the Lord in Jerusalem about the year 1000 B.C. The Sanctuary, or Holy of Holies, was overlaid with plates of the purest gold; and in it was kept the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the Two Tables of Laws, written by God Himself. The High-Priest was the only person who was allowed, once a year, to enter the Sanctuary. The people of Israel had no other temple, nor was any one permitted to offer up sacrifice in any other place, except in the temple of Jerusalem.

Who was the first King of Israel? Why was he rejected by God? By whom was he succeeded? What can you tell me of David? Was he also pious? Why are his Psalms so very remarkable? Why is Christ also called the Son of David ?

15. Who was Solomon ? What famous building did he erect? How was the Sanctuary decorated, and what was kept in it? What did the Ark of the Covenant contain ? Who was permitted to enter the Sanctuary, and how many times a year? Had the people of Israel any other temples, or altars ?

Solomon, however, did not persevere in wisdom and goodness. He married Pagan wives, and had, towards the end of his life, the misfortune of being seduced by them from the service of God into the impious practices of idolatry.

16. After Solomon's death, his kingdom was divided (B.C. 980). The tribes of Juda and Benjamin remained faithful to King Roboam, his son, and formed the kingdom of Juda, the chief city of which was Jerusalem. The other ten tribes chose Jeroboam for their King, and made Samaria the capital of their kingdom, which from that time was called the kingdom of Israel. At the same time, they abandoned the religion of their fathers, built a temple for themselves at Samaria, and introduced all sorts of the most abominable idolatry. God, therefore, delivered them. into the hands of the Pagan King, Salmanasar, who destroyed the kingdom of Israel for ever, and led the people to Ninive, into the Assyrian Captivity (B.C. 718). The kingdom of Juda was also repeatedly chastised by God for its many transgressions. In 606, Nabuchodonosor (Nebuchadnezzar) II. took Jerusalem, pillaged the temple, and sent the sacred vessels and a large number of Jews to Babylon; and in 588, he entirely demolished the temple and the city, and carried Sedecias, the last King of Juda, with the rest of the inhabitants, into the same Babylonian Captivity. But the kingdom of Juda was not destroyed for ever,

Did Solomon remain wise and good? What made him leave the service of God?

16. What happened after Solomon's death? Which tribes formed the kingdom of Juda? Who was its first King? Which was its capital? How many tribes constituted the kingdom of Israel? Whom did they choose for their King? Which was the capital of the kingdom of Israel? Did it remain faithful to God? How did God punish it? Did the kingdom of Juda also sin against the Lord ? Was it also chastised, and how? Was not its punishment less severe than that of the kingdom of Israel, and why?

like the kingdom of Israel, that had forsaken the religion of its fathers.

17. These severe judgments of God did not by any means overtake them suddenly and unexpectedly. Men enlightened by God, who were called Prophets, had announced them long before, confirming their words by great miracles, in order to rouse the people to repentance. These same Prophets also promised pardon to those who should repent, and prophesied of the Redeemer who was to come. In their books, written many centuries before Christ, we read all the circumstances of His life and sufferings: His birth of a Virgin at Bethlehem, His office of teaching, His miracles, His passion, His death, His resurrection, the sending of the Holy Ghost, the destruction of Jerusalem, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the splendour of the Christian Church; nay, Daniel foretold the very year in which the Saviour was to appear. The most remarkable amongst the Prophets are, Elias, Eliseus, Isaias, Jeremias, Ezechiel, and Daniel.

18. During the time of the Captivity, illustrious examples of rare virtues were given by Tobias at Ninive; and at Babylon, by the chaste Susanna, by the three young men in the fiery furnace, and by Daniel in the lions' den. The Babylonian Captivity had already lasted seventy years, when Cyrus, King of Persia, took Babylon, and, by Divine inspiration, gave permission to the Jews to return to their own country (B.C. 536), and to rebuild the temple at

17. Did the judgments of God come upon them quite unexpectedly? How did God forewarn the people? Did the Prophets only announce God's judgments? What have they foretold of the Messias? Which Prophet foretold the time of His coming most precisely? Which are the most remarkable among the Prophets?

18. Who distinguished themselves by their virtues at Ninive and Babylon? How long did the Babylonian Captivity last ? How was it brought to an end? What did the Jews most urgently set about after their return ?

Jerusalem. In a short time, the second temple was finished; and when the old men began to complain that its magnificence was far inferior to that of the first, the Prophet Aggeus foretold them that the glory of this latter house should be greater than that of the former, because the "Desired of all nations," the Messias, was to enter it. (Agg. 2, 8-10.)

19. Esdras and Nehemias now re-established the Divine Service in conformity to the law, and collected the Sacred Scriptures, which thenceforth were diligently read and interpreted. All the people shed tears, and repented most sincerely. They never more returned to idolatry, which had brought upon them the grievous sufferings of their Captivity. When, some time later, Antiochus, King of Syria, tried to compel them to adore idols, they resisted most courageously under the command of the High-Priest Mathathias, and his sons; nay, many of them, animated by the glorious example of the aged Eleazar, of the seven brothers, commonly called the Machabees, and of their heroic mother, preferred to suffer the most atrocious of deaths, rather than disobey the law of God. (B.C. 170-143.)

20. Four thousand years had elapsed since the creation of the world, and the signs that were to precede the coming of the Redeemer of mankind, were now accomplished. The Jews longed for it with the greatest anxiety, and even among the Gentiles there was a current opinion that a great Ruler was to rise

Was the new temple as magnificent as the one that had been demolished? In what was it superior to the first one?

19. What is to be observed about Esdras and Nehemias ? How did the people then behave? Did they remain faithful to their Lord and God? How did they show their fidelity ? Who especially distinguished themselves at that time?

20. How many years had the world existed before the coming of the Messias? Were all the signs of His coming accomplished at that time? What was the prevalent feeling of the Jews and the Pagans?

in Judea. The corruption in which the world was sunk, was unbounded. The Jews, indeed, still acknowledged the one true God; but impious sects, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees, had sprung up amongst them, and a great corruption of morals had gained ground. Most of them honoured God only with their lips, but their conduct was according to the sinful desires of their heart. All other nations, even the most enlightened among them, the Greeks and Romans, were devoted to the most shameful idolatry. Innumerable were the gods and goddesses to whom they built temples and altars, and offered sacrifices, even of human beings; and whom they believed they particularly honoured, when they extolled their infamous vices, and imitated them without shame or fear. Such were the Heathens, as St. Paul testifies (Rom. 1, 29-31): "Filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness; full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity; whisperers, detractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, foolish, dissolute, without affection, without fidelity, without mercy." Who was then able to help, and save mankind?-God alone;-and He did help, and did save them. As He had promised to our first parents in Paradise, and foretold by the Prophets, He now showed mercy to mankind, when in their utmost degeneracy, and sent them a Redeemer and Saviour; for, "God so loved the world, as to give His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting." (John 3, 16.)

What was the state of the world? How did this corruption appear among the Jews ? And how, amongst the other nations ? In what did the abomination of idolatry consist ? What character does St. Paul give of the Heathens ? Was there any one then who could help mankind? Did He help them, and how? What did Christ Himself say on this subject?