Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
1 Chronicles 22:14

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 1 Chronicles 22:14. In my trouble I have prepared — Notwithstanding ail the wars in which I have been engaged, all the treacheries with which I have been surrounded, all the domestic troubles with which I have been overwhelmed, I never lost sight of this great object, the building of a house for God, that his worship might be established in the land. I have curtailed my expenses, and have lived in comparative poverty that I might save all I possibly could for this building.

A hundred thousand talents of gold — A talent of gold weighed three thousand shekels, and was worth five thousand and seventy-five pounds, fifteen shillings, and seven pence half-penny. One hundred thousand such talents would therefore amount to five hundred and seven millions, five hundred and seventy-eight thousand, one hundred and twenty-five pounds sterling. These sums are variously computed by several writers.

A thousand thousand talents of silver — A talent of silver weighed three thousand shekels, and was worth three hundred and fifty-three pounds, eleven shillings, and ten pence. A thousand thousand, or a million, of such talents would amount to the immense sum of three hundred and fifty-three millions, five hundred and ninety-one thousand, six hundred and sixty-six pounds, thirteen shillings, and four pence, sterling; both sums amounting to eight hundred and sixty-one millions, one hundred and sixty-nine thousand, seven hundred and ninety-one pounds, thirteen shillings, and four pence.

Thou mayest add thereto. — Save as I have saved, out of the revenues of the state, and thou mayest also add something for the erection and splendour of this house. This was a gentle though pointed hint, which was not lost on Solomon.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

22:2-29:30 PREPARATIONS FOR THE TEMPLE

David’s encouragement to Solomon (22:2-19)

God’s purpose was that Solomon, not David, should build the temple. Although David understood the reason for this and accepted it humbly, he did all he could to help Solomon in his task. He gathered construction materials in great quantities, and put all foreigners in Israel to work preparing the stones for building (2-5). Most importantly, he encouraged Solomon to seek wisdom from God and obey his commandments, so that he might govern the nation according to the law of God (6-13). David provided Solomon with further practical help by arranging for various kinds of craftsmen to be ready to start work when the time arrived. (14-16).
David’s conquests gave Israel such strength and security that it was safe from attack. This allowed Solomon to concentrate on his building program without interference (17-19).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

DAVID’S FURTHER CHARGE TO SOLOMON

“Only Jehovah give thee discretion and understanding, and give the charge concerning Israel; that so thou mayest keep the law of Jehovah thy God. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou observe to do the statutes and the ordinances which Jehovah charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong and of good courage; fear not, neither be dismayed. Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of Jehovah a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver, and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: amber also and of stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all men that are skillful in every manner of work: of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, for Jehovah is with thee.”

The significance here is the reference to the Law of God through Moses, a reference to Exodus 20:1, and the direct quotations from Exodus 3:4 and Joshua 1:6-9 and Deuteronomy 31:24, thus providing incontrovertible evidence of the prior existence of the Pentateuch long centuries prior to the discovery of that allegedly `false document’ in the reign of Josiah. No wonder the radical critics hate Chronicles. An example of that hatred is the following.

“This chapter is full of general and exaggerated statements. No statement suggests a trustworthy historian. That David contemplated building a temple is likely, and he might have made some preparations for it, but the Chronicler’s description must have been drawn by inference… assisted by a vivid imagination… a careless list of such things as happened to occur to the writer.”International Critical Commentary, Chronicles, p. 255.

Regarding the tremendous amounts of gold and silver mentioned here, Elmslie referred to the passage as hyperbole,The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 3, p. 420. There is also the question of exactly what constituted a talent in the times of Solomon. “Any accurate calculation of the value of the silver and gold mentioned here is a hopeless task, because of the uncertainly of our data, our uncertain knowledge of the Hebrew weights of money, and our total ignorance of the relative value of those precious metals to the commodities of life.”The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 6b, p. 355.

The Roman historian Pliny wrote that Cyrus in his subjugation of Asia took half a million talents of silver and 34,000 pounds of gold,Ibid., op. cit., p. 356. a sum not too very far from the immense amount mentioned here.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

In my trouble - See the margin. David refers to the manifold troubles of his reign, which had prevented him from accumulating very much treasure.

An hundred thousand talents of gold ... - We do not know the value of the Hebrew talent at this period, and therefore these numbers may be sound. But in that case we must suppose an enormous difference between the pre-Babylonian and the post-Babylonian talents. According to the value of the post-Babylonian Hebrew talent, the gold here spoken of would be worth more than 1 billion of our British pounds sterling, while the silver would be worth ahove 400 million pounds. Accumulations to anything like this amount are inconceivable under the circumstances, and we must therefore either suppose the talents of David’s time to have been little more than the 100th part of the later talents, or regard the numbers of this verse as augmentcd at least a hundredfold by corruption. Of the two the latter is certainly the more probable supposition.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 22

Now as we get into chapter twenty-two,

He then called for Solomon his son ( 1 Chronicles 22:6 ),

He had gathered together the men of Israel and he called Solomon his son.

and he charged him to build a house for the LORD God of Israel. And David said to Solomon [verse seven], My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God: But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and you've made great wars: and thou shall not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all of the enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. And he shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee. Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. Then shalt thou prosper, if you take heed to fulfil the statutes and the judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, be of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed ( 1 Chronicles 22:6-13 ).

Now David had his admirable points, but David also had his weak points. And David, for the most part, was a poor father. And as the result of the fact that he was a poor father, he had problems with his children. Now Solomon, in observing this and later writing the Proverbs, had many things to say about correcting children. That's one thing that David was very lax in, that was the correction of his sons.

One of his sons that rebelled against him and it said, "And David never at any time said anything to correct the son." Never even challenged him. "Why did you do this?" And he never challenged. He just let the kid go. And he ended up rebelling against his dad. So Solomon, in observing David as a poor disciplinarian and seeing the result of David's laxity in this particular area, speaks about "if you spare the rod, you'll spoil the child." "The foolishness of the world is bound up in the heart of the child but the rod of instruction driveth it far from him" ( Proverbs 22:15 ). A child left to himself will bring a reproach unto his mother. And so Solomon had a lot to say concerning the discipline of children because he saw where David lacked in the discipline. But where David, for the most part, was a poor father in his failure in the disciplining of his sons, yet in this particular case, David shines as he is now instructing his son Solomon in the ways of the Lord.

Now David did not take enough time with his children. But now in his old age as he has got to turn the reins of the government over to his son and this tremendous task of building this temple unto the Lord, he gives to Solomon the best advice that any father could ever pass on to his son, marvelous advice. David encouraged Solomon to seek wisdom and understanding. And I think that it is significant that when Solomon began his reign and God said to Solomon, "What do you want Me to give to you?" No doubt remembering the advice of his father David, "Seek wisdom and understanding," Solomon said, "Grant unto thy servant that I might have wisdom and understanding that I might be able to rule over this thy great people."

That's exactly what David told Solomon to seek. And when Solomon prayed unto the Lord and desired that he might receive the wisdom and understanding, God was pleased with the request of Solomon and said, "Because you did not ask for fame or riches but for wisdom and understanding, I will not only give you what you ask, but I'm going to give you what you didn't ask for. I'm going to give you great wealth and fame and so forth so that your fame will spread throughout all the world." So Solomon was no doubt remembering these sagacious words of his father to seek wisdom and understanding. And then David said, "And walk in the statutes and the judgments and the commandments of the Lord in order that you may be prosperous."

Now in the first Psalm, David links prosperity with the keeping of the law of God. And many places in the Scriptures these things are linked together. When Moses turned over the reins to Joshua, he commanded him to meditate in the law and in the commandments. "And thus shalt thou make thy way prosperous, and thus shalt thou have good success" ( Joshua 1:8 ). Now David is again linking a prosperous reign to obedience to the law, the statutes, the judgments, the commandments of God. In other words, the law is God's rules for a happy, prosperous life.

You see, there are spiritual rules that govern in the universe or spiritual laws even as there are physical laws that govern in the universe in which we live. Now, we are very conscious of the physical laws. You're all sitting in your chairs instead of floating in the room because there is a law of gravity. And it's the attraction of masses. And thus we know that the law of gravity exists. Now, just why masses attract we may not know. I don't know why there is a attraction of masses and a pull of masses according to the size of the mass. I don't understand Mark 2:1-28 but I know that it's there. I know that it exists, and I live by the law.

Now I don't, knowing and understanding the law, I don't go out and defy the law of gravity because I know that that will bring problems, too. I don't test to see if the law is still working day by day. Nor do I defy it because I can't understand how it works. I don't understand how gravity works. I'm going to jump off this building because I just don't understand how it works. I don't see why I have to obey it; why I have to do it if I can't understand it. If I defy the law, I'm going to suffer. Whether I understand it or not, it's still going to operate. There is a law of magnetism. There is a law of electricity. And there are certain natural laws that govern our universe and we are aware of them. We learn to use them. We learn to abide by them and respect them.

Now, in the same token there are certain spiritual laws that govern in the spiritual world and in the spiritual universe, and though you still may not understand them, how they operate, yet they do operate, and it's wise that you learn to live by them. Respect them. And of course, you can use them for great advantage.

Now God has set forth these spiritual laws. There are laws for happiness. There are laws for prosperity. There are laws for many things that do govern our lives and God has set them forth. Now I can't understand how they work; that doesn't keep them from working. And many times because we can't understand, and in fact, we almost defy the law, we say, "Well, that isn't true in my case. My case is different." And we sometimes violate the law of God thinking that we have some kind of a special case that the law doesn't apply to us, or we don't understand it and so we defy it. And then we wonder why we're hurting. We wonder why we're in such sorrow and such misery. We wonder why we're having so many problems. Well, I've defied the laws of God, the spiritual laws of God is set.

Now, how in the world can it be that the more I give, the more I'm going to receive. That doesn't make sense to me. And yet, that's what the Bible declares. "Give, and it shall be given unto you; measured out, pressed down, running over, shall men give in your bosom. And whatsoever measure you mete it's going to be measured to you again" ( Luke 6:38 ). "If you sow abundantly you're going to reap abundantly; if you sow sparingly you're going to reap sparingly" ( 2 Corinthians 9:6 ). Oh, I'm beginning to understand a little bit now. I have a field out here. And I take five kernels of corn and I go out and plant those five kernels of corn. Chances are, I'll get four stalks of corn. But I'm not going to get much of a return. But if I take a bushel of corn and out in that field and plant a bushel, the more I sow the more I'm going to reap come harvest time.

Oh yeah, I can understand that. Well, it's a principle and it works. I don't know how it works but it does work. The more you give to God the more God returns to you, measured out, pressed down, running over. It's a spiritual law. I can't explain how it operates. All I can do is affirm that it does operate; it does work. There are spiritual laws that govern the universe, and many people, because they can't understand them, fail to use them. And thus lack the benefits. Now, what if you said I am not going to use any electrical appliance until I fully understand the laws of electricity? I want to know why these positive charged currents and so forth can bring power and, you know, the alternating currents and so forth, and I want to know whether or not electricity runs through the wire or around the wire or how it's transmitted and... Think of all the benefits you would be missing out on if you had to understand completely the law of electricity before you attempted to use it for your benefit.

And yet, there are people that do say that concerning spiritual laws. "Well, I don't understand how it works." And thus they don't use. And thus they don't advantage from the spiritual laws that God has set. Now basically, the law that God gave was a law of prosperity. A law of happiness. "Blessed or happy is the man who meditates in the law day and night. For he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper" ( Psalms 1:1-3 ). And so David relates it in the first Psalm, and he relates it here with Solomon. "Now keep the law and the statutes and the judgments of the Lord that you might be prosperous, that your reign might be prosperous over these people. And thou shalt prosper if you take heed to fulfill the commandments, the statutes, the judgments."

Now "be of good courage; dread not, don't be dismayed."

Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a million talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; the timbers. Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, the hewers and the workers with stone and timber, all manner of skillful men for every manner of work. Of the gold, and silver, the brass, the iron, there is no measuring of it. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee ( 1 Chronicles 22:14-16 ).

That's usually the way the work of God is done. "Arise and get going, and the Lord be with thee."

David also commanded all of the princes of Israel to help Solomon, saying, Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land in mine hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people. Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD ( 1 Chronicles 22:17-19 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Preparations for temple construction ch. 22

This chapter is unique to Chronicles. It records David’s plans to assemble building materials and workers for the construction of the temple. He instructed Solomon carefully in what God had promised so his son would carry out the work as God wanted it done (1 Chronicles 22:5-13). This is the first of three speeches by David that the Chronicler recorded: 1 Chronicles 22:2-19; 1 Chronicles 28:1-21; and 1 Chronicles 29:1-9.

The writer provided another reason God did not permit David to build the temple himself. God wanted a man characterized by peace to build His house (1 Chronicles 22:8). David not only shed blood in obedience to God (1 Chronicles 14:10; 1 Chronicles 19:13), but he had also been guilty of excessive violence (cf. 2 Samuel 8:2; 2 Samuel 11:4; 2 Samuel 11:15). Solomon not only ruled in peaceful times, after David had subdued Israel’s enemies, but his name even relates to the Hebrew word for peace (shalom). "Shalom" does not just mean the absence of war, however. It includes the fullness of Yahweh’s blessing that Israel enjoyed because of David’s reign.

If God’s revelation to David (1 Chronicles 22:8) took place at the same time as the one mentioned in 2 Samuel 7:2, Solomon’s birth appears to have followed the giving of the Davidic Covenant (cf. 1 Chronicles 22:9). However, it seems probable that God gave the revelation in 1 Chronicles 22:8 to David before Solomon was born (1 Chronicles 22:9). He evidently repeated it after Solomon’s birth when He gave David the covenant (2 Samuel 7:2). Such a repetition is very probable in view of David’s great desire to build a house for the Lord. This was the passion of his life at the time he became king and from then on.

David also mentioned a qualification on God’s promise: obedience to God’s will (1 Chronicles 22:13). Solomon would only prosper as he submitted obediently to God’s authority. Solomon and all who followed him failed God. Consequently, the original readers of Chronicles anticipated a Son of David who would yet come and complete what Solomon and the other kings of Judah could not. These promises were still unfulfilled in the returned exiles’ day, as they are in ours.

"David is here to Solomon much like Moses was to Joshua. David could do all the preparations for the temple but could not build it, just as Moses could not lead Israel into Canaan." [Note: Thompson, p. 165.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Now, behold, in my trouble,.... Or affliction, which had attended him, through the greater part of his reign, partly through wars abroad, and partly through rebellions and insurrections at home: or,

in my poverty a; living in a frugal way, as if he had been a poor man, in order to lay up money for this purpose:

I have prepared for the house of the Lord; for the building of it, and for things to be used in it:

an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; a prodigious sum, be it reckoned as it will; the gold, according to Scheuchzer b was answerable to 1,222,000,000 ducats of gold; according to Waserus c the talents of gold made six hundred millions of Hungarian pieces of gold, or 6000 tons of gold; our Brerewood d makes them to amount to 450,000,000 pounds; but this being a sum so excessive large as what exceeds the riches of any monarch read of in history, he thinks e the word "kikkar" signifies a mass or cake of gold of an uncertain value; or that this talent was of a lesser value than the Mosaic one, as there were small talents in the times of Homer f, as he observes, and some of different worth in various countries. The silver, taking gold to be in proportion to silver as ten to one, as it formerly was, is just of the same value with the gold; but Brerewood, who takes it to be as twelve to one, computes it at 375,000,000 pounds; but the proportion of gold to silver is now grown, as Bishop Cumberland observes g, to above fourteen to one. According to Scheuchzer the silver talents amounted to 4,500,000,000 imperials or rix dollars; according to Witsius h the gold and silver both amounted to 3000 and nine hundred millions of pieces of gold; but Josephus i has reduced these sums very much, making them to be 10,000 talents of gold, and 100,000 of silver. Dr. Prideaux k says that what is said to be given by David here, and in 1 Chronicles 29:3 and by his princes, 1 Chronicles 29:6 if valued by the Mosaic talent, exceeded the value of eight hundred million of our money, which was enough to have built the whole temple of solid silver:

and of brass and iron without weight, for it is in abundance; there was so much of both, that it was too much trouble to take the weight and value of them:

timber also and stone have I prepared; see 1 Chronicles 22:2

and thou mayest add thereunto; which might easily be obtained, there being not a sufficiency of either of them prepared for the work.

a בעניי "in paupertate mea", V. L. b Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631. c De Antiqu. Num. Heb. l. 2. c. 13. d De Pond. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5. e De Pond. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 6. f Vid. Suidam in voce ταλαντον. g Scripture Weights and Measures, ch. 4. p. 121. h Miscell. Sacr. 2. Exercit. 10. sect. 17. i Antiqu. l. 7. c. 14. sect. 2. k Connection, part 1. p. 6.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      6 Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house for the LORD God of Israel.   7 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God:   8 But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.   9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.   10 He shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.   11 Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee.   12 Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.   13 Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.   14 Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.   15 Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.   16 Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.

      Though Solomon was young and tender, he was capable of receiving instructions, which his father accordingly gave him, concerning the work for which he was designed. When David came to the throne he had many things to do, for the foundations were all out of course; but Solomon had only one thing in charge, and that was to build a house for the Lord God of Israel,1 Chronicles 22:6; 1 Chronicles 22:6. Now,

      I. David tells him why he did not do it himself. It was in his mind to do it (1 Chronicles 22:7; 1 Chronicles 22:7), but God forbade him, because he had shed much blood,1 Chronicles 22:8; 1 Chronicles 22:8. Some think this refers to the blood of Uriah, which fastened such a reproach upon him as rendered him unworthy the honour of building the temple: but that honour was forbidden him before he had shed that blood; therefore it must be meant, as it is here explained, of the blood he shed in his wars (for he had been a man of war from his youth), which, though shed very justly and honourably in the service of God and Israel, yet made him unfit to be employed in this service, or rather less fit than another that had never been called to such bloody work. God, by assigning this as the reason of laying David aside from this work, showed how precious human life is to him, and intended a type of him who should build the gospel temple, not by destroying men's lives, but by saving them,Luke 9:56.

      II. He gives him the reason why he imposed this task upon him. 1. Because God had designed him for it, nominated him as the man that should do it: A son shall be born to thee, that shall be called Solomon, and he shall build a house for my name,1 Chronicles 22:9; 1 Chronicles 22:10. Nothing is more powerful to engage us to any service for God, and encourage us in it, than to know that hereunto we are appointed. 2. Because he would have leisure and opportunity to do it. He should be a man of rest, and therefore should not have his time, or thoughts, or wealth, diverted from this business. He should have rest from his enemies abroad (none of them should invade or threaten him, or give him provocation), and he should have peace and quietness at home; and therefore let him build the house. Note, Where God gives rest he expects work. 3. Because God had promised to establish his kingdom. Let this encourage him to honour God, that God had honour in store for him; let him build up God's house, and God will build up his throne. Note, God's gracious promises should quicken and invigorate our religious service.

      III. He delivers him an account of the vast preparations he had made for this building (1 Chronicles 22:14; 1 Chronicles 22:14), not in a way of pride and vain glory (he speaks of it as a poor thing--I have, in my poverty, prepared, margin), but as an encouragement to Solomon to engage cheerfully in the work, for which so solid a foundation was laid. The treasure here mentioned of the 100,000 talents of gold, and 1,000,000 talents of silver, amounts to such an incredible sum that most interpreters either allow an error in the copy or think the talent here signifies no more than a plate or piece: ingots we call them. I am inclined to suppose that a certain number is here put for an uncertain, because it is said (1 Chronicles 22:16; 1 Chronicles 22:16) that of the gold and silver, as well as of the brass and iron, there was no number, and that David here includes all the dedicated things (1 Chronicles 18:11; 1 Chronicles 18:11) which he designed for the house of the Lord, that is, not only for the building of it, but for the treasure of it; and putting all together, it might come pretty near what is here spoken of. Hundreds and thousands are numbers which we often use to express that which is very much, when yet we would not be understood strictly.

      IV. He charges them to keep God's commandments and to take heed to his duty in every thing, 1 Chronicles 22:13; 1 Chronicles 22:13. He must not think by building the temple to purchase a dispensation to sin; no, on the contrary, his doing that would not be accepted, nor accounted of, if he did not take heed to fulfil the statutes which the Lord charged Moses with,1 Chronicles 22:13; 1 Chronicles 22:13. Though he was to be king of Israel, he must always remember that he was a subject to the God of Israel.

      V. He encourages him to go about this great work, and to go on in it (1 Chronicles 22:13; 1 Chronicles 22:13): "Be strong, and of good courage, Though it is a vast undertaking, thou needest not fear coming under the reproach of the foolish builder, who began to build and was not able to finish it; it is God's work, and it shall come to perfection. Dread not, nor be dismayed." In our spiritual work, as well as in our spiritual warfare, we have need of courage and resolution.

      VI. He quickens him not to rest in the preparations he had made, but to add thereto, 1 Chronicles 22:14; 1 Chronicles 22:14. Those that enter into the labours of others, and build upon their advantages, must still be improving.

      VII. He prays for him: The Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel,1 Chronicles 22:12; 1 Chronicles 22:12. Whatever charge we have, if we see God giving us the charge and calling us to it, we may hope he will give us wisdom for the discharge of it. Perhaps Solomon had an eye to this prayer of his father for him, in the prayer he offered for himself: Lord, give me a wise and understanding heart. He concludes (1 Chronicles 22:16; 1 Chronicles 22:16), Up, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee. Hope of God's presence must not slacken our endeavours. Though the Lord be with us, we must rise and be doing, and, if we do this, we have reason to believe he is and will be with us. Work out your salvation, and God will work in you.

Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible

One Worker Preparing for Another

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A Sermon

(No. 2261)

Intended for Reading on Lord's-Day, June 19th, 1892,*

Delivered by

C. H. SPURGEON,

At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington

On Thursday Evening, August 14th, 1890.

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"Now behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight: for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto." 1 Chronicles 22:14 .

The building of the temple is an admirable type of the building of the Church of God. I am afraid that there are some present with us at this time who have never helped to build the spiritual temple for Christ. They are not, themselves, living stones. They are no part of God's spiritual house; and they have never helped to bring their cedar, or iron, or gold to the great Builder of the Church. In fact, there may be some here who have rather helped to pull it down, some who have delighted to throw away the stones, and who have tried to hide from the divine Builder the precious material which he intends to use in the sacred edifice. Judge your own hearts; and if you cannot say that you are a living stone, if you have not helped to build up the Church of Christ, may you repent of your sin, and may the grace of God convert you! But if you are workers for the Lord, if your hearts are right with God, I think that I shall be able to say some things that will encourage you to work on, even if you should not for a time see any immediate results from your work.

There were many who helped to build the temple: David gathering the materials; Solomon, the master mason, by whose name the temple would afterwards be called; the princes helping him in the great work; strangers, foreigners, and aliens, who dwelt throughout Israel and Judah; these all took their share, and even the Tyrians and Zidonians had a part in the work. Now, we have here many ministers of God and students, Davids and Solomons; but I pray that many, who are strangers as yet, may be enlisted in this holy service by our great Lord and King, and that some, who are farthest off from Christ, Tyrians and Zidonians, who have gone far away from God, may be enabled, by divine grace, to contribute their share to this glorious work of building a house for the living God, a house not made of gold, and silver, and stone, and timber, but a spiritual house for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

I. In considering our text, let us notice, first, that DAVID HAD ZEALOUSLY DONE HIS PART, although he might not build the temple. There are many servants of God whose names are little known, who, nevertheless, are doing a work that is essential to the building up of the Church of God. I have known many such, who have never lived to realize any great success; their names have never been written upon any great temples that have been built; but, nevertheless, they have worthily done their part, even as David did.

You see, then, first, that David had gathered the materials. Many a man collects people together, and yet he has not the fashioning of them. He is the founder of a Christian congregation; but he does not live to see many conversions. He gets together the raw materials upon which another shall work. He ploughs and he sows; but it wants another man to come and water the seed, and perhaps another to gather the harvest. Still, the sower did his work, and deserves to be remembered for what he did. David did his part of the work, in getting together the materials for the temple.

Besides which, he fashioned some of the materials. He had the stone cut from the quarry, and many of them shaped to take their places, by-and-by, in silence in the temple, when it should be reared without sound of hammer or axe. So there are teachers and preachers who help to form the characters of their scholars and hearers, by working away upon their minds and hearts. They will never build up a great church; but still they are knocking the rough edges off the stones. The are preparing and fashioning them; and by-and-by the builder will come and make good use of them.

David had prepared the way for Solomon's temple. It was by his fighting that the time of peace came, in which the temple could be erected. Though he is called a man of blood, yet it is needful that the foes of Israel should be overthrown. There could be no peace till her adversaries had been crushed; and David did that. You do not hear much about the men who prepare the way for others, Somebody else comes along, and apparently does all the work; and his name is widely known and honoured; but God remembers the heralds, the pioneers, the men who prepare the way, the men who, by casting out devils, routing grievous errors, and working needful reforms, prepare the way for the triumphal progress of the gospel.

Moreover, David found the site for the temple. He discovered it; he purchased it; and he handed it over to Solomon. We do not always remember the men who prepare the sites for the Lord's temples. Luther is rightly remembered; but there were reformers before Luther. There were hundreds of men and women who burned for Christ, or who perished in prison, or who were put to cruel deaths for the gospel. Luther comes who the occasion has been made for him, and when a site has been cleared for him upon which to build the temple of God. But God remembers all those pre-Reformation heroes. It may be your lot, dear friend, to clear a site, and to make the occasion for others; and you may die before you see even a cornerstone of your work laid; for it will be yours when it is finished, and God will remember what you have done.

Further, it was David who received the plans from God. The Lord wrote upon his heart what he would have done. He told him, even to the weight of the candlesticks and lamps, everything that was to be arranged. Solomon, wise as he was, did not plan the temple. He had to borrow the designs from his father, who received them direct from God. Many a man is far-seeing; he gets the plan of the gospel into his heart, he sees a way in which great things can be done, and yet he is scarcely permitted to put his own hand to the work. Another will come by-and-by, and will carry out the plan that the first one received; but he must not forget the first man, who went into the secret place of the Most High, and learned in the place of thunder what God would have his people do.

David did one thing more; before he died, he gave a solemn charge to others; he charged Solomon, and the princes, and all the people, to carry out the work of building the temple. I revere the man who, in his old age, when there is weight in every syllable that he utters, concludes his life by urging others to carry on the work of Christ. It is something to gather about your last bed young men who have years of usefulness before them, and to lay upon their consciousness and their heart the duty of preaching Christ crucified, and winning the souls of men for the Lord.

So you see that David had done his part toward the building of the temple. I should like to ask every believer here, Have you done your part? You are a child of God; God has loved you, and chosen you; you have been redeemed with precious blood. You know better than to think of working in order to save yourself; you are saved; but have you diligently done all that you can for your Lord and Master? It was well said, in the prayer-meeting before this service, that there are several thousand members of this church who could not preach, and there were some who did preach of whom the same thing might be said, for it was poor preaching, after all; and our brother said in prayer, "Lord, help us who cannot preach, to pray for the man who does!" Have you, dear friend, who cannot preach, made a point of praying for the pastor of the church to which you belong? It is a great sin on the part of church-members if they do not daily sustain their pastor by their prayers.

Then there is much else that you can do for Christ, in your family, in your business, and in the neighbourhood where you live. Could you go to bed to-night, and there close your eyes for the last time, feeling, "I have finished the work which God gave me to do. I have done all that I could for the winning of souls"? I am afraid that I address some who have a talent wrapped in a napkin, hidden away in the earth. My dear man, go home, and dig it up, before it gets altogether covered with rust, to bear witness against you. Take it up, and put it out to heavenly interest, that your Lord may have what he is entitled to receive. O Christian men and women, there must be very much unused energy in the Church of God! We have a great dynamo that is never used. Oh, that each one would do his own part, even as David did his!

We shall soon be gone; our day lasts not very long. "The night cometh when no man can work." Shall it be said of you, or of me, that we wasted our daylight; and then, when the evening shadows came, we were uneasy and unhappy, and though saved by divine grace, we died with sad expressions of regret for wasted opportunities? It is not very long that I sat by the bedside of one who was wealthy, I might say very wealthy. I prayed with him. I had hoped to have found him rejoicing in the Lord, for I knew that he was a child of God; but he was a child of God with a little malformation about the fingers. He could never open his hand as he ought to have done. As I sat by his side, he said, "Pray God, with all your might, that I may live three months, that I may have the opportunity of using my wealth in the cause of Christ." He did not live much more than three hours after he said that. Oh, that he had woke up a little sooner to do for the Master's church and cause what he ought to have done! Then he would not have had that regret to trouble him in his last hours. He knew the value of the precious blood, and he was resting in it; and I had great joy in knowing that all his hope and all his trust were in his Lord, and he was saved; but it was with a great deal of regret and trembling. I would spare any of you who have wealth such trouble on your dying bed.

If there is a young man here, who has the ability to preach the gospel, or to be doing something for Christ, and he is doing nothing, I am sure that it will be a pain to him one of these days. When conscience is thoroughly aroused, and his heart is getting nearer to God than it has been, he will bitterly regret that he did not avail himself of every occasion to talk of Christ, and seek to bring souls to him. I should like these practical thoughts to go round these galleries, and through this area, till some men and women shall say, "We have not done our part, as David did; but by God's grace we will do so, and he shall have all the praise."

That is my first head, then, David had zealously done his part.

II. But, secondly, there is a remarkable fact in the text, DAVID HAD DONE HIS PARTIN TROUBLE. Read it: "Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold;" and so on. In the margin of your Bibles, you will find the words, "in my poverty." It is strange that David should talk about poverty when his gifts amounted to many millions of pounds.

David thought little of what he had prepared. He calls it poverty, I think, because it is the way of the saints to count anything that they do for God to be very little. The most generous men in the world think the least of what they give to God's cause. David, with his millions that he gives, says, "In my poverty I have prepared for the house of the Lord." As he looked at the gold and silver, he said to himself, "What is all this to God?" And the brass and the iron, that could not be reckoned, it was so much and so costly; he thought it was all nothing to Jehovah, who fills heaven and earth, whose grandeur and glory are altogether unspeakable. If you have done the most that you can for God, you will sit down, and weep that you cannot do ten times as much. You that do little for the Lord will be like a hen with one chick; you will think a great deal of it. But if you have a great number of works, and you are doing much for Christ, you will wish that you could do a hundred times as much. Your song will be,

"Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing

My great Redeemer's praise!"

Oh, to be multiplied a thousand-fold, that we might, anywhere and everywhere, serve Jesus with heart, and mind, and soul, and strength! So, David here considers that what he did was very little.

Yet, it was proof of his sincerity. that he should be saving all this wealth, and preparing for the house of his God in the time of trouble, was a proof of great sincerity. Some Christians want to have all sunshiny weather, and the birds must sing all day and all night to please them. If they receive a rebuke or somebody seems a little cold to them, they will do no more. I have seem many, who called themselves Christians, who were like a silly child at play, who says, when something offends him, "I won't play anymore." They run away at the first rough word that they hear. But David, in the day of his trouble, when his heart was ready to break, still went on with his great work of providing for the house of God. Some who have attended this house of prayer have been absent, and when we have enquired the reason, they have said that they had become so poor that they did not like to come. Oh, dear friends, we would like to see you, however poor you are! Why, if you are in trouble, you should come all the more; for where could you go to find comfort better than to the house of God? Never, I pray you, stay away on account of poverty. David said that he had prepared for the house of his God in the time of his trouble; and that proved his sincerity. One said to me, "Ever since I have been a Christian, everything has seemed to go wrong with me." Suppose that everything should be taken away from you, should you not be grateful that you have an eternal treasure in heaven, and that these losses, which might have broken your heart if you have not known the Saviour, are now sent in heavenly discipline to you, and are working for your good? It shows that a man is right with God when he can walk with Christ in the mire and in the slough. God does not want you to wear silver slippers, and to walk on a well-mown, well-rolled grassy lawn, all the way to heaven.

David prepared for the house of the Lord in his trouble; and I have no doubt that it was a salve to his sorrow. To have something to do for Jesus, and to go right on with it, is one of the best ways to get over a bereavement, or any other mental depression. If you can pursue some great object, you will not feel that you are living for nothing. You will not sit down in despair; for, whatever your trouble may be, you will still have this to live for, "I want to help in building the Church of God, and I will do my part in it whatever happens to me. Come poverty or wealth, come sickness or health, come life or death, as long as there is breath in my body, I will go on with the work that God has given me to do." Do I speak to any who are in great trouble? If you are a Christian, the best advice that I can give you is this, get to work for Christ, and you will forget your trouble. If you are not a Christian, I advise you to trust the Saviour at once, for he is the only solace of spiritual sorrow.

Again, it was an incentive to service when David, in his trouble, prepared for the house of the Lord. There were many things in trouble that would tend to damp his ardour, and make him feel as if he could not hold on any longer; but he said to himself, "I must go on with this work for God. His temple must be 'exceeding magnifical', and my son Solomon must build it, so I must go on gathering the materials." So he just roused himself afresh, and went on with his work with new earnestness, whenever his trouble would otherwise have depressed him.

It must also have given an elevation to David's whole life. To have a noble purpose, and to pursue that purpose with all your might, prevents your being like "dumb driven cattle", and lifts you out of the mist and fog of the valley, and sets your feet upon the hill-top, where you can commune with God. I would suggest to your younger friends that they should begin their Christian life with a high purpose, and that they should never forget that purpose; and if trouble should come, they should say, "Let it come; my face is set, like a flint, to do this work to which my Lord has called me, and I will pursue it with all my might." It may seem as if there were no spiritual help in such advice as this; but, believe me, there is. If God shall give you grace to go on with your life-work, he will thereby give you grace to overcome your life-trouble.

Ye would be like your Master, ask not to have a smooth path, and great success. Remember what a life of sorrow he lived. He was grief's close acquaintance. Yet although he saw but a small Church rising before his bodily eye, he knew that he was doing the work that God had given him to do, and he went on with it through agony and bloody sweat, through shame and spitting. He was not more in earnest when he rode in state through the streets of Jerusalem than he was when he hung on the cross of Calvary. He was resolved to do his work; and in trouble he did it, and he amassed treasure beyond all conception for the building of his Church. Riches of grace and wonders of glory he gathered together by his suffering and his death. If you would be like your Lord, you must be able to say with David, "Behold, in my trouble, I have prepared for the house of the Lord." God give his troubled ones to enter into fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ in this respect!

III. I am glad that I have come to my third point, for my strength well-nigh fails me. What I have to say here is this: DAVID'S WORK FITS ON TO THE WORK OF ANOTHER. That should be a great joy to some of you who do not see much coming of what you are doing. Your work is going to fit on to somebody else's work.

This is the order of God's providence for his Church. It does not happen that he gives a whole piece of work to one man; but he seems to say to him, "You go and do so much; then I will send somebody else to do the rest." How this ought to cheer some of you up, the thought that your work may be no failure, though in itself it may seem to be so, because it fits on to the work of somebody else who is coming after you, and so it will be very far from a failure! You have sometimes seen a man take a contract to put in the foundations of a house, and to carry it up to a certain height. He has done that; he will not be the builder of that house; that will be the work of the next contractor, who carries up the walls, and puts on the roof, and so forth. Yes, but he who did the foundation-work did a great deal, and he is as much the builder of the house as the man who carries up the walls. So, if you go to a country town or village, and you preach the gospel to a few poor folk, you may never have seemed very successful; but you have been preparing the way for somebody else who is coming after you.

I am told that my venerable predecessor, Dr. Rippon, used often, in his pulpit, to pray for somebody, of whom he knew nothing, who would follow him in the ministry of the church, and greatly increase it. He seemed to have in his mind's eye some young man, who, in after years, would greatly enlarge the number of the flock, and he often prayed for him. He died, and passed away to heaven, about the time that I was born. Older members of the church have told me that they have read to answer to Dr. Rippon's prayers in the blessing that has been given to us these many years. If you keep your eyes open, you will see the same thing happen again. You will notice how one shall do his work, which shall be necessary to some larger work that somebody else will do after him. This is God's way, so that the second man, the Solomon coming after David, may do his work all the better because of what his father has done before him. Solomon had not to spend years in collecting the materials for the temple; he might not have got through the building if he had that task. His good old father had done all that for him; and all that he had to do was to spend the money that David had gathered, work up the gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, bring in the big stones, and put them in their places, and build the house for God. I daresay that Solomon often thought gratefully of his father David, and what he had done; and you and I, if God blesses us, ought always to think with thanksgiving of the Davids who went before us. If you have success in your class, my sisters, remember that there was an excellent Christian woman who had the class before you. You come, young man, into the Sunday-school, and you think that you must be somebody very great because you have had several conversions in your class. How about the brother who had given up the class through ill-health? You took his place: who knows which of you will have the honour at the last great day? I was about to say, Who cares? For we do not live for honour, we live to serve God; and if I can serve God best by digging out the cellar, and you can serve God best by throwing out that ornamental bay window, my brother, you go on with your bay window, and I will go on with my cellar, for what matters it what we do so long as the house is built, and God is glorified thereby? It is the way of God in providence to set one man to do part of a work which pieces on to that of another man.

But this is a terrible blow at self. Self says, "I like to begin something of my own, and I like to carry it out; I do not want any interference from other people." A friend proposed, the other day, to give you a little help in your service. You looked at him as if he had been a thief. You do not want any help; you are quite up to the mark; you are like a waggon and four horses, and a dog under the waggon as well! there is everything about you that is wanted; you need no help from anybody; you can do all things almost without the help of God! I am very sorry for you if that is your opinion. If you never get into God's service, he may say to you, "You shall never begin anything; but shall always come in as the second man;" or, "You shall never finish anything; you shall always be getting ready for somebody else." It is well to have an ambition not to build upon another man's foundation; but do not carry that idea too far. If there is a good foundation laid by another man, and you can finish the structure, be thankful that he has done his part, and rejoice that you are permitted to carry on his work. It is God's way of striking a blow at your personal pride by allowing one man's work to fit on to another's.

I believe that it is good for the work to have a change of workers. I am glad that David did not live any longer; for he could not have built the temple. David must die. He has had a good time of service. He has gathered all the materials for the temple. Solomon comes, with young blood and youthful vigour, and carries on the work. Sometimes, the best thing that some of us old folk can do is to go home, and go to heaven, and let some younger man come, and do our work. I know that there are a great many lamentations about the death of Dr. So-and-So, and Mr. So-and-So; but why? Do you not think that, after all, God can find as good men as those that he has found already? He made those good men, and he is not short of power; he can make others just as good as they have been. I was present at a funeral, where I heard a prayer that rather shocked me. Some brother had said that God could raise up another minister equal to the one that was in the coffin; but prayer was offered by another man, who said that this preacher had been eyes to his blindness, feet to his lameness, and I do not know what beside; and then he said, "Thy poor unworthy dust does not think that thou ever canst or wilt raise up another man like him." So he had not an omnipotent God; but you and I have, and with an omnipotent God it is for the good of the work that David should go to his rest, and that Solomon should come in, and carry on the work.

Certainly, this creates unity in the Church of God. If we all had a work of our own, and were shut up to do it, we should not know one another; but now I cannot do my work without your help, my dear friends, and, in some respects, you cannot do your work without my help. We are members one of another, and one helps the other. I hope that I shall never have to do without you. God bless you for all your efficient help! In many Christian works you will have to do without me, one of these days; but that will not matter. There will be somebody who will carry one the work of the Lord; and so long as the work goes on, what matter who does it? God buries the workman, but the devil himself cannot bury the work. The work is everlasting, though the workmen die. We pass away, as star by star grows dim; but the eternal light is never-fading. God shall have the victory. His Son shall come in his glory. His Spirit shall be poured out among the people; and though it be neither this man, nor that, nor the other, God will find the man to the world's end who will carry on his cause, and give him the glory.

This leaves a place for those who come after. On thing David said to Solomon I like very much, "Thou mayest add thereto." I have quoted that sometimes when the collection has been rather small. I have said to each of our friends who were counting the money, "Thou mayest add thereto." It is not all a bad text for a collection-sermon; but it may also be used in many other ways.

Here are certain preachers of the gospel. Cannot I put my hand on some young man's shoulder, and say to him, "Thou mayest add thereto; thou hast a good voice; thou hast an active brain; begin to speak for God; there are numbers of godly men in the gospel ministry; if thou art called of God, thou mayest add thereto"? We have a good Sunday-school, though some of you have never seen it. We have a number of loving and earnest teachers; "thou mayest add thereto." Go thou, and teach likewise; or engage in some other work for which the Lord has qualified you.

I wonder whether there is an unconverted man here this evening, or unconverted woman, whom God has ordained to bless, and to whom he will speak to-night, some stranger whom he will bring in by his almighty grace, some servant of the devil who shall to-night be made a servant of Christ. My Master has a large number of servants; "thou mayest add thereto." If thou wilt yield thyself to Christ, thou mayest come, and help God's people. We want recruits; we are always wanting them. May God lead some, who have been on the side of sin and self, to come out, and say, "Set my name down amongst God's people. By the grace of God, I am going to be on Christ's side, and help to build his temple." Come along, my brother; come along, my sister; we are glad of your help. The work is not all done yet; you are not too late to fight the Lord's battles, nor to win the crown of the victors. The Lord has a large army of the soldiers of the cross; and "thou mayest add thereto." God save thee! Christ bless thee! The Spirit inspire thee! May it be so with very many, for Christ's sake! Amen.

*This sermon is intended for reading on the first anniversary of the beloved preacher's birthday since his death. While he was with us, he always looked for special contributions for the Stockwell Orphanage at this season. He did not seek birthday presents for himself; but he desired that all friends, who wished to show their love to him, would do so by helping to maintain his fatherless family of 500 children. We trust that no one will allow this useful institution to suffer because his voice can no longer plead for it; but that, through this sermon, each reader will hear him saying, "Dear friend, the Orphanage still needs thy loving and generous assistance; thou hast often helped it by thy gifts in the past, and thou mayest add hereto; or if thou hast not given to it, others have, and thou mayest add thereto."

Contributions will be gratefully received by the Treasurer, Spurgeons' orphan Home, Stockwell Orphanage, Chapman Road, London. Collecting-cards and boxes may be obtained of the Secretary. The Annual Festival will be held on Wednesday afternoon and evening, June 22nd. All friends are invited to be present.

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1 Chronicles 21:25-30 ; 1 Chronicles 22:0 .

David was commanded to go to Ornan, or Araunah, the Jebusite, to rear an altar unto the Lord in his threshingfloor. There had been a terrible plague in Jerusalem, in consequence of David's great sin in numbering the people; and they were falling in thousands by the sword of the angel of vengeance. David went up to the threshingfloor or Ornan on Mount Moriah. Ornan was willing to give it to him, but he determined to buy it. We read in the twenty-fifth verse;

Verses 25-28. So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering. And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof. At that time when David saw that the LORD has answered him in the threshingfloor or Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.

There was the place for the temple, where the angel sheathed his sword. Christ Jesus, in his great atonement, is the corner-stone of the temple where divine justice sheathes its sword. There let the house of God be built. Every true Church of God is founded on the glorious doctrine of the atoning sacrifice. It was a threshingfloor, too; and God has built his Church on a threshingfloor. Depend upon it, the flail will always be going in every true Church, to fetch out the wheat from the chaff. We must have tribulation if we are in the Church of God. The threshingfloor will always be needed until we are taken up to the heavenly garner above.

29, 30. 22:1. For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at the season in the high places of Gibeon. But David could not go before it to enquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD. Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.

Now he knew where the temple was to be built; and of a certainty he had discovered that long-predestined site of which God said, "Here will I dwell." This was the very hill whereon Abraham offered up his son Isaac; a hill, therefore, most sacred by covenant to the living God. He delighted to remember the believing obedience of his servant Abraham, and there he would have his temple built.

2. And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.

Observe here a very gracious eye to us who are Gentiles. The temple was built on the threshingfloor of a Jebusite; Ornan was not of the seed of Israel, but one of the accursed Jebusites. It was his land that must be bought for the temple; and now David would employ the strangers who lived in the midst of Israel, but were not of the chosen race, to quarry the stones for the house of God. There was a place for Gentiles in the heart of God, and they had a share in the building of his temple.

3, 4. And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight; also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

Here are the Gentiles again, the Zidonians and the men of Tyre; those that went down to the sea in ships, that had no part nor lot with Israel. There were to bring the cedar wood to David. What an opening of doors of hope there was for poor castaway Gentiles in that fact!

5. And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceedingly magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it.

This was beautiful and thoughtful on David's part. It might be too great a strain upon the young man to collect the materials for the temple as well as to build it; therefore David will take his part, and prepare the materials for the house of the Lord. If we cannot do one thing, let us do another; but, somehow, let us help in the building of the Church of God. The Church to-day seems but a poor thing; but it is to be "exceeding magnifical." The glory of the world is to be the Church of God; and the glory of the Church of God is the Christ of God. Let us do as much as we can to build a spiritual house for our Lord's indwelling.

5-7. So David prepared abundantly before his death. Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD God of Israel. And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God:

And it was well that it was in his mind. God often takes the will for the deed. If you have a large-hearted purpose in your mind, cherish it, and do your best to carry it out: but if for some reason you should never be permitted to carry out your own ideal, it shall be equally acceptable to God, for it was in your heart.

8. But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.

In very much of that fighting David had been faultless; for he fought the battles of the people of God. Still, there are some things that men are called to do, for which they are not to be condemned; but they disqualify them for higher work. It was so in David's case; he had been a soldier, and he might help to build the temple by collecting the materials for it, but he must not build it. 9.

Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; God's Church is to be a place of rest. God's temple was built by "a man of rest."

9. And I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.

Then the house of the Lord would be built; no stain of blood would be upon it. The only blood therein should be that of holy sacrifices, symbolical of the great Sacrifice of Christ.

10, 11. He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee.

May such a blessing come upon every young man here! May the Lord be with thee, my son! May the Lord prosper thee, and may he make thee a builder of his house in years to come!

12. Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.

How much wisdom will be wanted by the young brethren present who hope to be builders of the house of God! When the Lord says to you, "Ask what I shall give you," ask for divine wisdom, ask to be taught of him, and ask that you may have grace to do his will in all things.

13. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfill the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses and concerning Israel: be strong and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

It is a great thing for a Christian to keep his courage up; and especially for a builder of the Church of God to be always brave, and with a stout heart to do God's will, come what may.

14. Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of Gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.

We are unable to tell exactly the amount of precious metal prepared by David; we have to take into account the value of gold and silver in his day; it was probably not so great as it is now. We know this much; it was an enormous sum which David had gathered for the building of the house of God.

15. Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance.

We must have the workmen; they are more precious than the gold. They cannot be put down at any sum of silver: "there are workmen with thee in abundance."

15. Hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.

God will find for his Church enough men, and the right sort of men, as long as he has a Church to be built; but he would have us pray him to sent forth labourers. We forget that prayer, and hence we have to lament that there are so few faithful servants of God. Cry to the Lord about the lack of labourers; he can soon supply as many as are needed.

16. Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.

A very nice text for stirring up idle church-members, who are well content with being spiritually fed, but who are doing nothing for the Lord: "Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee!"

17, 18. David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, Is not the LORD your God with you?

What a good reason for working! What an admirable reason for giving! What an excellent reason for helping with the work! "Is not the LORD your God with you?"

18, And hath he not given you rest on every side?

If he gives you rest, you are to take no rest, but to get to his work. He is the best workman for God who enjoys perfect rest. It is always a pity to go out to preach or teach unless you have perfect rest towards God. When your own heart is quiet, and your spirit is still, then you can work for God with good hope of success.

18. For he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people.

The fighting is over; now go ahead with your building.

19. Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God;

Do not go to build a house for God, and think that is all that is required. You want spiritual communion with God; and you will not do even the common work of sawing and planing and building aright unless you seek God, and are in fellowship with him.

19. Arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.

May God teach us some lessons by this reading! Amen.