We have now reached a most important transition period in the history of Israel. Judges has given us the failure, we may say, of the nation as a whole, and their deliverance only by special judges called up for special emergencies. At the death of the judge all quickly lapsed back again to its former state of apostasy and bondage. In i Samuel, which is our historical portion, we have the account of the failure of the priesthood as well as of the nation. Shiloh, instead of being the centre of light and strength for the nation, became the greatest stumbling-block because of the unchecked sin of Eli's sons. All culminates in the captivity of the ark, as though God's holy presence could no longer tolerate the sin of profession, and allowed His glory to be delivered into the hands of the enemy. It is at this juncture that God raises up the prophetic gift, and from now on to the end there was rarely a time when the voice of divine love could not be heard warning, admonishing, encouraging, and directing, as need might be. Samuel also gives us the account of the establishment of the kingdom; first, the king after the flesh, man's natural desire as expressed in King Saul, and then David, the man after God's own heart, type of Christ the King for whom yet Israel unconsciously waits.

There are six divisions in the two books of Samuel, which go together:

1. (Chaps. 1:-8:) The call of the prophet, God's representative in the midst of an apostate people.

2. (Chaps. 9:-15:) King Saul, the people's choice -all that is excellent in the natural man.

3. (Chaps. 16:-2 Samuel 9:) David, God's choice, type of Christ in His rejection and exaltation.

4. (Chaps. 10:-12:) The testing and failure of King David.

5. (Chaps. 13:-21:14.) God's ways of judgment in dealing with the failed king and his recovery.

6. (Chaps. 21:15-24:)The triumph at the end.

Along with i Samuel, we also read the first book of the Psalms, or psalms 1:-41:, as giving to a good degree the experiences of David during the time of his rejection.

The Psalms are most rich, not only in individual soul history, but in a typical foreshadowing of the experiences of Israel, or, rather, of the believing remnant in Israel in anticipation of the coining of Christ in the latter days. Everything looks forward to that.

Another most attractive feature of this first book of Psalms is the frequent reference to Christ Himself, entire psalms being devoted to this. Thus, we have Him as Son of God and King in Zion (Psa. 2:); as Son of man, Head over all things in exaltation in Psa. 8:We see Him in His perfect humanity as the Man of faith in Psa. 16:; while in Psa. 22:we hear His cry of anguish as the Sin-bearer upon the cross. Psa. 24:shows Him again coming in glory; and whether it be the earthly city or the heavenly, its gates are flung wide for the King of glory to come in. Psa. xl, the last but one in our series, presents Him as the burnt-offering who fully accomplished God's will by the sacrifice of Himself.
We cannot too earnestly press upon our readers the importance of the attentive study of this section of inspired lyrics.

Our New Testament portion must be unusually brief. It embodies only the epistle to the Philippians, whose four chapters mark its four divisions in an unmistakable way. Here we see, not a failing type of Christ, as_ David was, but Christ Himself to be enjoyed by faith, and a knowledge of whom goes to make up a genuine Christian experience.

1. In the first chapter we see Him as supreme, the Source of life and the theme of the gospel.

2. Chap. 2:presents Him in His humiliation unto death as the Pattern for His beloved people, while the latter part of the chapter gives certain human illustrations of that humiliation in a practical way.

3. Chap. 3:is most vivid and full of motion. Here Christ is seen on high in glory, the Object for. whose sake all human righteousness and Judaism are left behind, willingly thrown aside as the eager soul presses on to reach Christ in resurrection glory. He is the Prize of our calling on high; and as we run, we look for Him who at His coming will transform even our bodies and fashion them like His own.

4. The last chapter comes down to the practical, daily life where, whatever the need, Christ is found all-sufficient. Thus we have Him as the basis of Christian stability, the Source of Christian strength, the relief for Christian anxiety, the supply of Christian need. Truly Christ is all. May it be ours to translate into our daily experience the wonderful unfoldings of this precious little epistle !