Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-11-29
THE TEMPLE DEDICATED.
LESSON TX, FOURTH QUARTER, IN
TERNATlONAL SERIES, DEC. I

Commit Verses 90. 63-Golden Text,
Hab. ii. eO-Commentary by the Rev.
ID. NJ. Stearns,
Compiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by per
mission Of II. S Hoffman, publisher, Philadel
phia
a. And it was 50, that when Solomon
had made an end of praying all this prayer
and duplication unto the Lord" Between
the last lesson and this one we have passed
over all the most interesting and instructive
account of the building Of the most wonder
full edifice that ever stood on this earth and
also the remarkable prayer of Solomon at its
dedication; the lesson assigned us for today
being the words of Solomons blessing upon
the people after he had finished his prayer
The Temple was to be exceeding magnifical,
of fame and Of glory throughout all coun-
tries Il Chron. xxi, 81. The gold and silver
alone brass and iron being without weight
amounted to 1,l25,090 talents which at ia
pounds per talent would be Ga, 125 tons. worth
over four and half billions of dollars Il
Chron. xii II; xxx, T., .. One room in the
building, the Holy of Holes, was covered with
six hundred talents, or more than thirty
four tons of gold, worth over sixteen millions
of dollars I'll Chron. Iii, 81. The laborers
Ncle loo,uOO OF IOu0u IN
Israel Il XII. V, 1918; II Chron. ii, II, ls,
who brought from the mountains and quarries
the wood and stone for the house. Some day
we may see connection between these and
the l53 great fishes of John xxi, II, and
something else. There was neither hammer.
nor AK, nor any tool of iron heard in the
house while it was in building Il Ki. vi, 4.
So HE stood and blessed all the congrega-
tiOp n Israel with "a lpnI N-niga Wba,,
vid brought the Ark to the tent which he
had pitched for it in Jerusalem, he offered
sacrifice and blessed the people in the name
of the Lord of Hosts III Sam vi II, 49,
Solomon, having now brought up the Ark
the tabernacle and all the holy vessels ". A.
does the same thing
Sc. Blessed be the Lord that hath given
rest unto His people Israel" He had given
rest on every side, so that there was neither
adversary nor evil occurrent. Chap V, A.
Rest and Peace shall be among the blessings
of His Kingdom when it comes. Q's Xxi,
I; lsa. xxi, II, 49, We get foretaste even
here when we consider and obey. Matt. XII
2S-30l We who have believed do enter into
rest: but there remaineth Sabbath rest for
the people of God Heb. iv, 3, Q. r. W
81. 'The Lord our God be with us, +
let Him not leave us, nor forsake u.s." Moses
prayed. IF Thy presence go not with me.
carry us not up hence" And the Lord said.
My presence shall go with thee, and | will
give thee rest" This word of the Lord IL
will be with YOU or Il am with you. is one
of the grandest and most comprehensive
words in Scripture.
Let Him not leave us nor forsake us -
When David gave Solomon the plans of the
temple which he had received from Col Him
self, he said to him: The Lord God, even
my God, will DE with thee; He will not fail
thee nor forsase thee until thou hast finished
all the work for the service of the house of
the Lord" Il Chron. xviii, 10, 2O)
81. That He may incline our hearts unto
Him, to walk in all His ways" This was
just what God desired from them. and what
He would be delighted to grant them, an I'M
divided and obedient heart; they could not
ask anything more in accord with His will
On these conditions He had promised at Sinai
to make them II peculiar treasure unto Him
above all people, kingdom of priests, an
holy nation, and to this end He hal brought
them forth from Egypt and given them the
lands of the heathen. lex. xix, 5, q; Ps. CIV,
4345)
%. Let these my words be
nigh unto the Lord our God dav and night
that He maintain the cause of His servant.
and the cause of His people Israel" Seven
times in his prayer he had pleaded for Thy
people Israel" and had also said: For they
be Thy people and Thine inheritance and
now he indicates his reliance upon God to
maintain his and their cause
60. That all the people of the earth may
know that the Lord is God, and that there is
none else Israel was redeemed and given
the good land, that they might make Jehovah
name in the earth III Sam vii. 23): their
obedience to Him would draw forth His
power on their behalf and thus He would be
glorified in them This, Gods earnest desire
shall be fulfilled in Israel's restoration at the
return of their Messiah lisa. XIV, S, 8: xl,
l-5; TX, l-3; Eek. xxxvii, 2l-2S).
I'll. Let your heart. therefore, be peri .ct
with the Lord our God" The word per
feet" here signifies whole" or full" as in
Josh. viii, 81 Ruth ii, H. where it is 50 trans
lated. Solomon now urges the people to
have what his father had prayed that he
might have Il Chron. xxx, l0. In Gen.
xvii, l, the word perfect signifies upright"
or sincere" as in the margin and in Deut
xviii, H. a whole heart for God will be a
sincere or upright heart and will delight to
walk in His statutes and keep His command
uiehls' ne tudt nath my commandments
and keepeth them. he it is that loveth me- "
He that loveth me not, keepeth not my
words" John xiv, 81, pa
~, 3d. And the king, and all Israel with
aim, offered sacrifice be ore the Lord And
the Lord accepted the sacrifice by sending
fire to consume it, as it is written in II Chron
vii. |: Now when Solomon had made an end
of praying, the fire came down from Heaven
and consumed the burnt offering and the sac
rifices: and the glory of the Lord filed the
house" Thus also was the sacrifice accepted
at the dedication of the Tabernacle, and in
the cases of Gideon and Elijah LEV tx, "a
Judges vi, 2l; Kings XVIII 3s); and no
doubt In the same way was the Lords ac-
ceptance of Abers Offering and rejection of
Gains Offering manifest at the Garden of
Eden when the fire from the sword consumed
the one but did not touch the other Al
though 1t Is not SO written, it seems clear
from these other Scriptures that this was His
way of manfesting approval or disapproval
so the king and all the children of Israel
dedicated the house of the Lord" And He
took possession of it by filling it with His
glory. We read of time when the glory
left the house because of their sins Ezek.
tx, 3; X, 4, Is; XII, 30, and of a time vet flu