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1 Kings Chapter
Six
1 Kings 6
Chapter Contents
The building of Solomon's temple. (1-10) Promise given
concerning the temple. (11-14) Particulars respecting the temple. (15-38)
Commentary on 1 Kings 6:1-10
(Read 1 Kings 6:1-10)
The temple is called the house of the Lord, because it
was directed and modelled by him, and was to be employed in his service. This
gave it the beauty of holiness, that it was the house of the Lord, which was
far beyond all other beauties. It was to be the temple of the God of peace,
therefore no iron tool must be heard; quietness and silence suit and help
religious exercises. God's work should be done with much care and little noise.
Clamour and violence often hinder, but never further the work of God. Thus the
kingdom of God in the heart of man grows up in silence, Mark 5:27.
Commentary on 1 Kings 6:11-14
(Read 1 Kings 6:11-14)
None employ themselves for God, without having his eye
upon them. But God plainly let Solomon know that all the charge for building
this temple, would neither excuse from obedience to the law of God, nor shelter
from his judgments, in case of disobedience.
Commentary on 1 Kings 6:15-38
(Read 1 Kings 6:15-38)
See what was typified by this temple. 1. Christ is the
true Temple. In him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead; in him meet all
God's spiritual Israel; through him we have access with confidence to God. 2.
Every believer is a living temple, in whom the Spirit of God dwells, 1 Corinthians 3:16. This living temple is built
upon Christ as its Foundation, and will be perfect in due time. 3. The gospel
church is the mystical temple. It grows to a holy temple in the Lord, enriched
and beautified with the gifts and graces of the Spirit. This temple is built
firm, upon a Rock. 4. Heaven is the everlasting temple. There the church will
be fixed. All that shall be stones in that building, must, in the present state
of preparation, be fitted and made ready for it. Let sinners come to Jesus as
the living Foundation, that they may be built on him, a part of this spiritual
house, consecrated in body and soul to the glory of God.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 1 Kings》
1 Kings 6
Verse 1
[1] And
it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of
Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's
reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began
to build the house of the LORD.
Four hundred and four score, … — Allowing forty years to Moses, seventeen to Joshua, two hundred
ninety-nine to the Judges, forty to Eli, forty to Samuel and Saul, forty to
David, and four to Solomon before he began the work, we have just the sum of
four hundred and eighty. So long it was before that holy house was built, which
in less than four hundred and thirty years was burnt by Nebuchadnezzar. It was
thus deferred, because Israel had by their sins, made themselves unworthy of
this honour: and because God would shew how little he values external pomp and
splendor in his service. And God ordered it now, chiefly to be a shadow of good
things to come.
Verse 2
[2] And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof
was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height
thereof thirty cubits.
The house —
Properly so called, as distinct from all the walls and buildings which were
adjoining to it; namely, the holy, and most holy place.
Length —
From east, to west. And this and the other measures may seem to belong to the
inside from wall to wall.
Cubits —
Cubits of the sanctuary.
Height —
Namely, of the house: for the porch was one hundred and twenty cubits high, 2 Chronicles 3:4. So that all the measures
compared each with other were harmonious. For sixty to twenty (the length to
the breadth) is triple: or as three to one: and sixty to thirty (the length to
the height) is double, or as two to one: and thirty to twenty (the height to
the breadth) is one and an half, as three to two. Which are the proportions
answering to the three great concords in music, commonly called, a twelfth, an
eighth, and a fifth. Which therefore must needs be a graceful proportion to the
eye, as that in music is graceful to the ear.
Verse 3
[3] And
the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof,
according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof
before the house.
The porch — In
the front of, or entrance into the house, 2 Chronicles 3:4, being a portico, a walk or
gallery, at one end of the building (from side to side.) And the measures of
this were harmonious also. For twenty to ten (the length of the portico to the
breadth of it) is double, or as two to one. And, if the height within, be the
same with that of the house, that is thirty; it will be to the length of it, as
three to two; and to its breadth, as three to one. Or, if we take in the whole
height mentioned, 2 Chronicles 3:4, which is one hundred and
twenty; there is in this no disproportion: being to its length as six to one;
and to its breadth as twelve to one; especially when this height was
conveniently divided into several galleries, one over another, each of which
had their due proportions.
Verse 4
[4] And
for the house he made windows of narrow lights.
Narrow —
Narrow outward, to prevent the inconveniences of the weather; widening by
degrees inward, that so the house might better receive, and more disperse the
light.
Verse 5
[5] And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against
the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and
he made chambers round about:
Against the wall —
The beams of the chambers were not fastened into the wall, but leaned upon the
buttresses of the wall.
Chambers —
For the laying the priests garments, and other utensils belonging to the
temple, therein.
Round about — On
all the sides except the east, where the porch was; and except some very small
passages for the light. And yet these lights might be in the five uppermost
cubits of the wall, which were above all these chambers, for these were only
fifteen cubits high, and the wall was twenty cubits high.
Chambers —
Galleries which encompassed all the chambers; and which were necessary for
passage to them.
Verse 6
[6] The
nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad,
and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he
made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the
walls of the house.
Broad — On
the inside, and besides the galleries mentioned above.
Narrowed rests —
Or, narrowings: as in our buildings the walls of an house are thicker, or
broader at the bottom, and narrower towards the top: only these narrowings were
in the outside of the wall, which at each of the three stories was a cubit
narrower than that beneath it. And this is mentioned, as the reason of the
differing breadth of the chambers; because the wall being narrower, allowed
more space for the upper chambers.
Not fastened —
That there might be no holes made in the wall for fastening them; and that the
chambers might be removed, if occasion were, without any inconvenience to the
house.
Verse 7
[7] And
the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was
brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron
heard in the house, while it was in building.
Made ready —
Hewed, and squared, and fitted exactly according to the direction of the
architect.
Neither hammer, … — So
it was ordered, partly for the ease and conveniency of carriage: partly, for
the magnificence of the work, and commendation of the workmen's skill and
diligence: and partly, for mystical signification. And as this temple was a
manifest type both of Christ's church upon earth, and of the heavenly
Jerusalem: so this circumstance signified as to the former, that it is the duty
of the builders and members of the church, as far as in them lies, to take care
that all things be transacted there with perfect peace and quietness; and that
no noise of contention, or division, or violence, be heard in that sacred
building: and for the latter, that no spiritual stone, no person, shall bear a
part in that heavenly temple, unless he be first hewed, and squared, and made
meet for it in this life.
Verse 8
[8] The
door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went
up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the
third.
The door —
That is, by which they entered to go up to the middle chamber or chambers; such
as were in the middle story.
Right side —
That is, in the south-side, called the right side; because when a man looks
towards the east, the south is on his right hand. There was another door on the
left, or the north-side, leading to the chambers on that side.
Winding stairs —
Without the wall, leading up to the gallery out of which they went into the
several chambers.
Middle chamber — Or
rather, into the middle story, or row of chambers; and so in the following
words, out of the middle story: for these stair's could not lead up into each
of the chambers; nor was it needful, but only into the story, which was sufficient
for the use of all the chambers.
Verse 10
[10] And
then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested
on the house with timber of cedar.
Built chambers —
The Hebrew words may be properly rendered, He built a roof, a flat and plain
roof, over all the house, according to the manner of the Israelitish buildings.
The inner roof was arched, verse 9, that it might be the more beautiful, but the
outward roof was flat.
Five cubits —
Above the walls of the temple: that it might be a little higher than the arched
roof, which it was designed to cover and secure.
They rested —
Heb. it rested, namely, the roof.
Timber of cedar —
Which rested upon the top of the wall, as the chambers, verse 5, rested upon the sides of the wall.
Verse 12
[12]
Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my
statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in
them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy
father:
If — God expresses the
condition upon which his promise and favour is suspended; and by assuring him
thereof in case of obedience, he plainly intimates the contrary upon his
disobedience. Thus he was taught, that all the charge he and the people were
at, in erecting this temple, would neither excuse them from obedience to the
law of God, nor shelter them from his judgments in case of disobedience.
Verse 15
[15] And
he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of
the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with
wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.
Walls — The
name of a wall is not appropriated to stone or brick, because we read of a
brazen wall, Jeremiah 15:20, and a wall of iron, Ezekiel 4:3. And that wall into which Saul smote
his javelin, 1 Samuel 19:10, seems more probably to be
understood of wood, than of stone; especially, considering that it was the room
where the king used to dine. By this periphrasis, from the floor of the house,
unto the walls of the ceiling, he designs all the side-walls of the house.
Them —
The side-walls of the house.
Wood —
With other kind of wood, even with fir; as appears from 2 Chronicles 3:5, wherewith the floor is here
said to be covered.
Floor —
This is spoken only concerning the floor, because there was nothing but planks
of fir; whereas there was both cedar and fir in the sides of the house, the fir
being either put above, or upon the cedar; or intermixed with, or put between
the boards or ribs of cedar: as may be gathered from, 2 Chronicles 3:5.
Verse 16
[16] And
he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls
with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle,
even for the most holy place.
House —
That is, the most holy place, which contained in length twenty cubits, which
may be said to be on the sides Of the house, because this part took off twenty
cubits in length from each side of the house, and was also twenty cubits from
side to side, so it was twenty cubits every way.
The oracle-the most holy place — The last words are added, to explain what he means by the word oracle,
which he had not used before.
Verse 17
[17] And
the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.
House —
That is, the holy place.
Temple —
This is added, to restrain the signification of the word house, which otherwise
notes the whole building.
It — The oracle.
Verse 18
[18] And
the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was
cedar; there was no stone seen.
Cedar —
Cedar is here named, not to exclude all other wood, but stone only; as the
following words shew.
Verse 19
[19] And
the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the
covenant of the LORD.
Prepared —
That is, adorned and fitted it for the receipt of the ark. Solomon made every
thing new, but the ark. That with its mercy seat was still the same that Moses
made. This was the token of God's presence, which is with his people, whether
they meet in tent or temple, and changes not with their condition.
Verse 20
[20] And
the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in
breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure
gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.
Forepart —
Which was in the inner part of the house, called in Hebrew, the forepart; not
because a man first enters there, but because when a man is entering, or newly
entered into the house, it is still before him.
Covered —
With gold, chap. 7:48; 1 Chronicles 28:18.
The altar —
The altar of incense.
Verse 21
[21] So
Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by
the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.
House —
Or, that house, the oracle.
Partition — He
made a veil, which was a farther partition between the holy, and the most holy;
which veil did hang upon these golden chains.
Before the oracle — In
the outward part of the wall, or partition, which was erected between the
oracle and the holy place; which is properly said to be before the oracle,
there the veil was hung; and there the chains or bars, or whatsoever it was
which fastened the doors of the oracle, were placed.
It — The partition; which
he here distinguisheth from the house, or the main walls of the house, which he
had in the former part of this verse told us were overlaid with gold; and now
he affirms much as of the partition.
Verse 22
[22] And
the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house:
also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
Whole house —
Not only the oracle, but all the holy place.
The altar —
the altar of incense, which was set in the holy place close by the doors of the
oracle.
With gold — As
before he overlaid it with cedar.
Verse 23
[23] And
within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.
Cherubim —
Besides those two made by Moses, Exodus 25:18, which were of gold, and far less
than these. The Heathens set up images of their gods, and worshipped them.
These were designed to represent the servants and attendants of the God of
Israel, the holy angels, not to be worshipped themselves, but to shew how great
he is whom we worship.
Verse 29
[29] And
he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of
cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.
Cherubim — As
signs of the presence and protection of the angels vouch-safed by God to that
place.
Palm-trees —
Emblems of that peace and victory over their enemies, which the Israelites duly
serving God in that place might expect.
Within and without —
Within the oracle and without it, in the holy place.
Verse 31
[31] And
for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side
posts were a fifth part of the wall.
Fifth part —
That is, four cubits in height or breadth, whereas the wall was twenty cubits.
Verse 36
[36] And
he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar
beams.
Inner court —
The priests court, 2 Chronicles 4:9, so called, because it was next
to the temple which it compassed.
Cedar beams —
Which is understood, of so many galleries, one on each side of the temple,
whereof the three first were of stone, and the fourth of cedar, all supported
with rows of pillars: upon which there were many chambers for the uses of the
temple, and of the priests.
Verse 38
[38] And
in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the
house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the
fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
Seven years — It
is not strange that this work took up so much time: for, 1. The temple properly
so called, was for quantity the least part of it, there being very many and
great buildings both above ground in the several courts, (for though only the
court of the priests be mentioned, yet it is thereby implied, that the same
thing was proportionably done in the others) and under ground. 2. The great art
which was used here, and the small number of exquisite artists, required the
longer time for the doing it. And if the building of Diana's temple employed
all Asia for two hundred years; and the building of one pyramid employed three
hundred and sixty thousand men, for twenty years together; both which, Pliny
affirms: no reasonable man can wonder that this temple was seven years in
building. Now let us see what this temple typifies. 1. Christ himself is the
true temple. He himself spoke of the temple of his body: and in him dwelt all the
fullness of the godhead. In him all the Israel of God meet, and thro' him have
access with confidence to God. 2. Every believer is a living temple, in whom
the spirit of God dwelleth. We are wonderfully made by the Divine Providence,
but more wonderfully made anew by the Divine grace. And as Solomon's temple was
built on a rock, so are we built on Christ. 3. The church is a mystical temple,
enriched and beautified, not with gold and precious stones, but with the gifts
and graces of the spirit. Angels are ministering spirits, attending the church
and all the members of it on all sides. 4. Heaven is the everlasting temple.
There the church will be fixt, and no longer moveable. The cherubim there
always attend upon the throne of glory. In the temple there was no noise of
axes or hammers: every thing is quiet and serene in heaven. All that shall be
stones in that building, must here be fitted and made ready for it; must be
hewn and squared by the Divine grace, and so made meet for a place in that
temple.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 1 Kings》
06 Chapter 6
Verses 1-38
Verses 1-14
He began to build the house of the Lord.
The temple built
Solomon’s temple is the most wonderful and interesting building in
the world’s history. It was “the mysterious centre of Israel.” It was far more
to Israel than the Vatican is to Rome. It was, so long as it stood, God’s only
earthly palace and temple. The Pyramids of Egypt were old when it was built,
and they show no signs of decay. Solomon’s temple utterly perished after four
centuries. Greek and Roman artists have given the laws of beautiful and stately
architecture to the world, but no one has ever dreamed of copying, in any respect,
the sacred building at Jerusalem. Brunellesehi’s dome at Florence, St. Peter’s
at Rome, the Milan Cathedral are almost miracles of daring genius and patient
toil. The temple was in comparison a homely and plain building in its style.
Its size was, as compared with these, small and insignificant. Yet God in a
peculiar sense was its architect. He filled it with His glory. “His eyes and
His heart were there.” The simple description before us is greatly amplified in
this Book of Kings, and in that of Chronicles, where there are differences
noted. Our attention may rest at present on the--
I. Date of the
temple. It is given with precision. Months and years are mentioned for the
first time since the Exodus. Here we have one of the two or three points
clearly made in the Scripture by which its chronology is determined. We can
easily remember that Solomon’s reign began about one thousand years before
Christ. Homer was singing of the Trojan war. Two and a half centuries must pass
before Romulus and Remus founded Rome. It seems long since Columbus discovered
America. Add a century nearly to this period, and you have the time between the
Exodus and the temple. How long the decay! Wilderness wandering, rude days of
the Judges,--nearly three hundred years. Samuel and the prophets, King Saul,
and then David,--these all must come before God can have a permanent home on
earth for men to see and admire and love.
II. The site of the
temple. This is not mentioned in our text, because so familiar and so often
recorded elsewhere. It was on Mount Moriah, to which Abraham centuries before
had raised his eyes in sad recognition of the place for the sacrifice of Isaac.
III. The size and
plan of the temple. Many a country church is larger than this famous edifice in
its interior dimensions. The cubit is an uncertain measure; but allowing it the
largest limit, we have a room inside of only ninety feet by thirty. It had
three distinctly-marked parts. First, the “temple of the house” (verse 3), or
holy place, sixty feet long by thirty wide. Then, second, came the “oracle”
(verse 7), or most holy place, a perfect cube, thirty feet in each of its
dimensions. This was perfectly dark. In front came, although part of the whole
building, a porch fifteen feet deep, running across the whole east end of the
structure. All this was of stone, covered, according to Josephus, with cedar.
On the sides of this building there was what we should call a lean-to, i.e.
sets of chambers, not for residence, but for some other purposes connected with
worship. They were entered from without by a door and winding-stairs, so that
the holy places themselves were always kept separate.
IV. Preparations
for this work. They had been going on for thirty years, ever since the day when
David conceived of giving the ark of God a suitable home. Money had been
accumulating, and a special treasurer had charge of it. It amounted, perhaps,
to eighty millions of dollars. Spoils of battles were brought to it, like the
banners hanging in Westminster Abbey. Shields and vessels of gold and silver
were gathered in great numbers. But the materials of the temple itself were all
brought from afar.
V. The workmen and
their work. They were largely foreigners, under Hiram, King of Tyre, or native
Canaanites, reduced to practical slavery. Their numbers were immense, one
hundred and fifty-three thousand Gibeonites alone engaging in the toil. Thirty
thousand Jews, in relays of ten thousand, worked side by side with Tyrian and
Sidonian. The significant statement is made that their work was so perfect that
part came to its part without the sound of the axe or hammer. This is
unparalleled in architecture. In boring the Mont Cenis Tunnel under the Alps,
so exquisitely accurate were the engineers, that the two shafts begun at
opposite sides of the mountain met each other with scarcely the variation of a
line. The Brooklyn Bridge is a triumph of human courage and skill; but those
silent seven years on Mount Zion, in which the house of God grew into form,
each stone hoisted to its place without the shaping touch of the chisel, in
which every beam sunk into its socket with no shading of its already true
lines,--that perfect design, perfectly carried out,--where shall we find its
equal? That silence was suggestive. It was Divine.
VI. The builder of
the temple. Not David, the man after God’s own heart. Not the father, but the
son; not the man of blood, but the man of peace. Thus one life completes itself
in another.
VII. The uses of the
temple. Here we must abandon our modern conceptions of a house of God. The temple
was not a place for congregational worship. There was no such thing known in
the world at that time. The congregation could assemble in the court before the
temple, and witness the sacrifices of animals, but they could not enter there.
Only the priests were seen within those mysterious portals. We must banish from
our minds all conceptions growing out of the modern church, save as all
churches are sacred to the worship of God. Solomon repeatedly says that Jehovah
desired this place that His name might be there,--the name of His holiness.
There God was to be represented in His true character,--merciful and gracious,
but perfectly holy. Israel was to pray towards that place, but God was to hear
in heaven, His dwelling-place.
VIII. The condition
of God’s blessing on the temple. While Solomon was busy in the seven years’
work, he was reminded that all his toil and expenditure would be in vain unless
he walked in the way of the Lord. Stones and cedars, gold and jewels, fine
needle-work and silver could not enclose and secure a purely spiritual
presence. God speaks to Solomon himself as if He held him alone responsible for
the preservation of the temple’s sanctity.
IX. The temple a
type and prophecy of the whole body of Christ. It expressed to the ancient people
of God the idea of His dwelling amongst them. He ruled the world, even all the
heathen nations; but Zion was His home. Israel was His abode. Amongst them His
glory and power were to be displayed. Josephus and Philo thought that the
temple was a figure of the universe. Others have thought it typical of the
human form, others still a symbol of heaven itself; but we have the Scripture
proof of its being a prophecy and type of that final temple silently reared by
the Spirit of God,--each stone a living soul,--and the whole structure filled
and glorified by Christ. (Monday Club Sermons.)
The temple built
I. The Lord’s
house begun.
1. The date.
2. The doing.
II. God’s house
builded.
1. The size of the temple.
2. The porch of the temple.
3. The chambers of the temple.
4. The building of the temple.
III. God’s promise
to the builder.
1. The condition.
2. The conclusion.
3. Completion.
Church building
One of the greatest living architects, writing on church
architecture says: “I do not forget the profound emotion that an ancient church
must still excite in any susceptible breast. We need not try to analyse it. But
when we are building our sanctuaries to-day, we must ask ourselves how much of
this is really religious, how much artistic or historic in its promptings; and
further, how much of its really religious portion is genuine and personal, and
how much merely sympathetic and imaginative?”
Church architecture
Dr. Cuyler, in his “Recollections of a Long Life,” has some
interesting remarks on church buildings. “I fear,” he says, “that too many
costly church edifices are erected that are quite unfit for our Protestant
modes of religious service.” It is said that when Bishop Potter was called upon
to consecrate one of the” dim religious” specimens of medieval architecture,
and was asked his opinion of the new structure, he replied: “It is a beautiful
building, with only three faults. You cannot see in it, you cannot hear in it,
you cannot breathe in it!”
The temple built
That temple, which Solomon built and dedicated, which was restored
from its desolation in the time of Nehemiah, and which Herod the Great rebuilt,
was known to all devout Israelites as the house of God. God by His prophets
taught them so to regard it.
I. Devout
intercourse of men with God is prayer. “Prayer is an offering up of our desires
unto God, in the name of Christ, by the help of his Spirit, with confession of
our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies.” In the ancient
temple-worship God caused E is people’s prayers to be symbolised by the smoke
of incense, the sweetest possible fragrance that could be devised and secured
by the art of the apothecary (Exodus 37:29; Luke 1:8-10). It is only trusting,
submissive, unselfish prayer that we can offer up with any good hope of
pleasing Him. Such prayer will not limit itself to the things which we feel the
need of for ourselves--things which will do good to us.
II. This spiritual
fulfilment is for all mankind.
1. This was plainly enough taught in the original declarations
concerning the temple which we have in the Old Testament. The text (Isaiah 56:7) affirms that Jehovah called
His house a house of prayer “for all nations.”
2. The dispensation which had its local seat at Jerusalem was
predestined to be temporary, while the spiritual worship which it taught and
temporarily helped was to be permanent and universal. This even pious
Israelites were slow to learn, slow to believe. Ought our worship to be less
reverent than that in the ancient temple? In these Christian synagogues ought
not attention to the Word of God to be as serious and devout as in the Jewish
synagogues? Our prayers and our service of song,--ought we not to be as careful
that they be true and pure heart-worship, as of old they u ere careful not to
offer strange fire or unhallowed incense? Are we keeping our dedicated sanctuaries
quite clear of everything which would strike our Lord as unsuitable for His
Father’s house of prayer? (H. A. Nelson, D. D.)
Solomon’s temple viewed as a type of the glorified Church
I. In this temple
we have a Divine idea.
1. The church in heaven is a Divine idea of mercy. What St. Paul said
to and of those who composed the church at Corinth is applicable to the
redeemed in heaven--“Ye are God’s building.” The idea of forming a society of
perfect spirits claims God for its Author. Roman force, Popish prescription,
and philosophic reasoning have failed to weld together in blissful harmony the
spirits of men. The Almighty Intelligence is at the foundation of the “church
of the firstborn.” The plan of the building is God’s plan.
2. The church in heaven is a Divine idea of remedial mercy. “Christ
loved the church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it
should be holy, and without blemish.”
II. In this temple
we have a Divine idea embodied.
1. The building of Solomon expressed the Divine contrivance or idea.
It was God’s thought made palpable or visible. The Supreme Being gave Solomon
the idea, and he gave visible effect to it; he prepared the materials. As the
king found them, they were unfit for use. Man in his natural state is unfit for
the church in heaven. A sinner in the building of the glorified church would
disfigure the whole edifice. A change is necessary here before such an one is
fit for the perfected church. The statement--“Ye must be born again,” is
applicable to every man who has not experienced the change.
2. He prepared the materials at a distance from the temple. Lebanon
was some distance from Zion, and here Solomon’s men shaped the stone and wood,
and hence it was the scene of
action and noise, but it was all quiet at Zion; there was not the sound of
hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron, heard at Zion. And in a religious sense,
all the squaring and shaping of character for the temple in heaven must be done
and is, done on earth. There is no Gospel-hammer used in eternity to break
men’s hearts; there is no fiery blaze of Christian truth in heaven to burn out
depravity and sin from the soul.
3. He prepared the materials by different kinds of agency. The
glorified people of God have been prepared by different agencies for their
position in the heavenly temple, but all instrumentalities have been under
Christ. He works all according to His purpose.
III. In this temple
there is the union of a variety of materials.
1. The temple of redeemed spirits in heaven is composed of a great
variety of character--the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the learned and
unlearned are there built into a splendid edifice. No family can be pointed out
which has not a member placed in that building.
2. This variety is blended in perfect harmony. Every character has
been shaped by Divine skill for its exact position in the structure. “Holiness to
the Lord” is inscribed upon every “living stone” therein. The abiding principle
of pure love is the uniting and harmonising principle. Rome has a kind of
outward union, but no incorporation or vital unity; but the perfected church is
one vitality, and for ever.
IV. If this temple
there is magnificence.
1. Look at it as a work of art. The temple upon Zion was the marvel
of creation, and the church in heaven is, and ever will be, the wonder of the
universe! What a blaze of concentrated glories is that celestial temple, what
consummate purity and Divine art!
2. As a work of art executed upon the noblest principle. Love to God
moved King David to suggest the building, and love to God impelled his son
Solomon to carry out the work. The glorified multitudes before the throne are
there through the love of God--love brighter, wider, deeper and higher than
imagination in her loftiest--Divinest soarings has ever described or even conceived--love
which only the greatness of a God could have displayed.
V. In this temple
there is great value.
1. The temple church is composed of spirit--hence of greater value.
The building at Jerusalem cost nearly nine hundred millions of money, but the
treasures of creation are a mere bauble in comparison to the glorified church.
2. The temple church is composed of spirit, through a greater agency
than the edifice at Jerusalem--hence of more value. The structure in David’s
royal city was erected by Solomon, but the church is built into a holy temple
by our Divine Saviour through the Holy Ghost. Solomon was a mat being, but
“behold a greater than Solomon is here,” in the work of humanist roration.
3. The temple church is composed of spirit for immortality. The
splendid fabric on Zion lasted upwards of four hundred years, and then it was
destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. The glorified church, however, is to last for
ever. “I give unto My sheep,” says Christ, “eternal life.” The good of all ages
and climes are built into “a habitation for God through the spirit,” and this
building will continue longer than the sun, even for ever.
VI. In this temple
there is glorious purpose.
1. It was erected as a dwelling-place for God. On the mercy-seat of
that hallowed building God met the high priest, and other men through him.
Probably no higher end can be contemplated in any work than this--to make earth
the house of God. The great purposes of the Incarnation are to make earth the
residence of God--to eject Satan--to sap the foundations of his empire, and to
turn this wilderness world into a Paradise, wherein innocence and God shall
reign triumphantly for evermore.
2. As the dwelling-place of God for the good of mankind. What a
sacred spot was the temple at Jerusalem! Here the Supreme and ever-blessed
Potentate unfolded His purposes of mercy, and made man acquainted with
redemption by blood. God dwells in the midst of disembodied spirits, as their
Everlasting Light, and the Perennial Fountain of all their joy! A river of
blessedness, pellucid and permanent, flows through the heavenly temple, and on
either side of it grows the tree of life, whose fruits convey an element of
immortality to the participants. We shall see God from every point of the
glorious pavilion of redeemed and perfected men. (J. H. Hill.)
The heavenly temple
I. Of the
materials of which it was built. Solomon’s temple was a type of the spiritual
temple in the material of which it was built.
1. It was built of stone. The heart of man in its natural state is a
heart of stone.
2. It was built of stones brought a long distance. God might have
made His temple out of materials on the spot. He might have chosen angels and
archangels and seraphs, and beings who had never sinned. But such was not His
purpose. He selected the stones from a distant country, the souls of man from
earth rather than the angels of heaven. It was made of stones, made ready
before they were brought to the spot. The stones of the heavenly temple are
prepared before they are
removed to their eternal position. We must be hewn out of the rock,--converted
here; we must be prepared on earth, and fitted to occupy the exact spot
intended for us before the time comes for us to be taken away.
II. In the manner
in which it was constructed.
1. That it proceeded gradually. It was impossible for a building to
be made all at once, when the materials were brought from a distance and one by
one fitted together. The temple of God has been going on ever since Abel the
first righteous man was admitted to heaven.
2. That it was carried on according to a plan. It was impossible that
each stone could fit into its appointed place unless that place was
pre-arranged and foreseen. Nay, every detail must have been provided for, and
all the parts accurately suited one to another. So the wisdom of Almighty God
has foreseen and provided for every detail connected with His heavenly temple.
Not only have those been selected who shall form part of the building, but
every stone is numbered and has its appointed position assigned to it
3. It was carried on in solemn and mysterious silence. A fit type of
the mysterious work of God in the construction of His temple in heaven.
III. Solomon’s
temple was a type of the great spiritual temple in the object for which it was
ordained. This was the glory of God. It was not for the pleasure of the king,
or for manifesting the beauty of the carved stones--it was for the praise, the
worship, and the glory of the Almighty. Let us remember that the end of our
salvation is not merely, or even chiefly, our own advantage. There is a higher,
a nobler object to be obtained--the praise of God. Conclusion:--
1. In all buildings, there are stones of all sorts, shapes, and sizes
required. There are the massive pillars, the keystones to the arches, and the
small rubble to fill up the courses. These may not all occupy so prominent a
position, but they are all essential to the construction of the building. So
the humblest Christians are required in the temple above as well as the more
prominent and important.
2. In all buildings there must be builders. So God is the great
Master Builder and the Divine Architect. He superintends the work. The under
builders in this work are His
ministers.
3. The foundation is Christ. The topstone is Christ. He is the Alpha
and the Omega--the beginning and the end. He is the basis and the glory of the
whole building. (J. S. Bird, B. A.)
Character
There is an eminent satisfaction in reading this terse sentence.
King Solomon not only began the house; he finished it. I have often thought
that the temple was a fit emblem of a true man’s character, and Solomon’s
action and energy a fit example for a true man to follow.
I. A man’s
character must be built upon a solid foundation. The foundation of a man’s life
must not and dare not be a thing of chance. The ancient temple taught us that.
It was founded through agony, its position was indicated by an angel, itself
was consecrated by sacrifice. Life and character stand upon great, solid,
permanent principles. No opportunism is of any use. Quick methods, suggested by
selfishness, and attempted by inexperience and ignorance, will give us a house
of cards to be blasted by a breath. What is more, a temporary success upon any
other foundation than these enduring principles is worthless. It has no true
element of success. It is like a gilded ball for a baby; or a bubble to be
pricked by the first chance and disappear. Eternal principles must be our
foundation. Let me point out a few.
1. The deepest down must be truth. Without moral truth no man is
tolerable to others or sure of himself. Moral truth teaches him to say what he
believes, and upon no plea whatever to say anything else.
2. Another principle is honesty. A large portion of honesty is
candour, for a mysterious person, with secret designs and practices, is never
altogether honest.
3. Another principle is purity. This lies deep, but it is a sweet,
enjoyable, and beautiful rule. There is no section or class to whom it ought
not to be dear. It is very close to truth and to honesty, and without it no
character can be strong. It belongs to ourselves, our thoughts, imaginings,
wishes, and motives. It has a kind of chemical action going out through our
whole nature, and so belonging to others so far as we belong to them and affect
them. It is a function of our bodies, our intellects, and our souls. It wears
the sunlight of holiness, for the perfectly pure is God.
4. Deeper yet, for Jerusalem was built upon the foundation of the
hills; and man’s foundation is God. Jesus is the foundation which lies eternal.
Religion is our relation to Jesus.
II. The character
must be built up for a high purpose. It was the consciousness of this which
added the factor of greatness to the work of Solomon. The father of the work
was the Tabernacle. That, at all events, provided the outline. But
circumstances had shifted and lifted themselves during the four hundred years
which stood between. New possibilities had arisen, and therefore larger and
richer work must he effected. Here the ideal of character comes forward. That
shows what we wish; the possible translates the vision into what we can.
Therefore the purpose of our life aims at the highest service we can conceive
and hope to render; such service contemplates God as its object--its highest is
found in Him only. Hence, the character that is to be built is built for
these:--
1. For Sacrifice.
2. A second purpose must, like that of Solomon, be Thanksgiving, for
thanksgiving is as much a duty as prayer.
3. The Residence of God. It is almost astounding in its presumption.
The heaven, even the heavens of heavens, cannot contain Him. We is of purer
eyes than to behold iniquity, and how shall He come into perpetual association
with it? Yet God vouchsafed to come down within a dwelling-place formed by
these hands of sinful men; He was openly seen there, and His presence remained.
Nor will He disdain the work which is of His own hands, nor refuse to dwell in
the fleshy and spiritual temple which we consecrate to Him.
III. The character
must be built up with large and noble ideas. It was a huge undertaking. The
quarries and the forests of Lebanon, the raising and shaping of the stones, the
conveying of the cedar to the sea and then to Joppa, and thence to Jerusalem,
the textile work probably from foreign looms, the brass, the silver, and the
gold, all expressed--and as they seem to us, exhausted--the grandest conception
of the eleventh century before our Lord. Such are to be the kind of ideas that
go to make up our character: the greatest we can, with all of care, all of
patience, and all of completeness we may add. (W. M. Johnston, M. A.)
The law of beauty
When the marble, refusing to express an impure or a wicked
thought, has fulfilled the law of strength, suddenly it blossoms into the law
of beauty. For beauty is no outward polish, no surface adornment. Workers in
wood may veneer soft pine with thin mahogany, or hide the poverty of brick
walls behind thin slabs of alabaster. But real beauty is an interior quality,
striking outward and manifest upon the surface. When the sweet babe is healthy
within, a soft bloom appears upon the cheek without. When ripeness enters the
heart of the grape, a purple flush appears upon the surface of the cluster.
When the vestal virgin of beauty had adorned the temple without, it asks the
artist to adorn his soul with thoughts and worship and aspirations. Ii the body
lives in a marble house, the soul should revolt from building a mud hut. The
law of divine beauty asks the youth to flee from unclean thoughts and vulgar
purposes as from a bog or a foul slough. It bids him flee from irreverence,
vanity, and selfishness as men flee from some plague-smitten village or a
filthy garment. Having doubled the beauty of his house, having doubled the
sweetness of his music, having doubled the wisdom of his book, man should also
double the nobility and beauty of his life, making the soul within as glorious
as a temple without. (N. D. Hillis, D. D.)
The soul’s temple
If Milton says that “a book is the precious life-blood of a
master-spirit embalmed and treasured up on purpose for a life beyond life,” and
affirms that we may “as well kill a man as kill a good book,” then the Divine
voice whispers that the soul is the precious life-temple into which three score
years and ten have swept their thoughts, and dreams, and hopes, and prayers,
and tears, and committed all their treasures into the hands of that God who never
slumbers and never sleeps. Slowly the soul’s temple rises, slowly reason sad
conscience make beautiful the halls of imagination, the galleries of memory,
the chambers of affection. Character is a structure that rises under the
direction of a Divine Master-Builder. Full oft a Divine form enters the earthly
scene. Thoughts that are not man’s enter the mind. Hopes that are not his, like
angels, knock at his door to aid him in his work. Even death is no “Vandal.”
When the body has done its work, death pulls the body down as Tintoretto,
toiling upon his ceiling, pulled down his scaffold to reveal to men a ceiling
glorious with lustrous beauty. At the gateway of ancient Thebes, watchmen stood
to guard the wicked city. Upon the walls of bloody Babylon soldiers walked the
long night through, ever keeping the towers where tyranny dwelt. And if kings
think that dead stones and breathless timbers are worthy of guarding, we may
believe that God doth set keepers to guard the living city of man’s soul. Man’s
soul is God’s living temple. It is not kept by earthly hands. It is eternal in
the heavens. (N. D. Hillis, D. D.)
Verse 6
The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was
six cubits broad.
Enlargement upwards
As the temple was highest, so it enlarged itself still upward; for
as it ascended in height, so it still was wider and wider; even from the lowest chambers to the
top. And this was to show us that God’s true gospel temple, which is His
Church, should have its enlargedness of heart still upward, or most for
spiritual or eternal things, wherefore He saith, “Thy heart shall fear, and be
enlarged,” that is, be most affected with things above (Isaiah 60:5; Colossians 3:1). Indeed it is the nature
of grace to enlarge itself still upward, and to make the heart widest for the
things that are above. The temple therefore was narrowest downwards, to show
that a little of earth, or this world, should serve the Church of God. And
having food and raiment, let us therewith be content. I read not in Scripture
of any house, but this that was thus enlarged upwards; nor is there anywhere,
save only in the Church of God, that which doth answer this similitude. All
others are widest downward, and have the largest heart for earthly things.
(John Bunyan.)
Verse 7
And the house . . . was built of stone made ready before it was brought
thither.
Living stones made ready for the heavenly temple
In the New Testament the Church is termed “God’s building”--“the
temple of God”--“the temple of the Holy Ghost”--“the temple of the living
God”--“an habitation of God in the Spirit:” These terms denote, that as God by
the bright symbol of His glory manifested. His presence in the movable
tabernacle erected by Moses, and the stately temple built by Solomon.; so does
He by His Spirit dwell in the hearts of Christians as individuals, and in the
Church collectively.
I. The stones of
which it is composed. St. Peter says of Christians, that “as lively stones they
are built up a spiritual house.” A stone is a shapeless mass of rock. It is
inert--lifeless: could never split itself from its native quarry; could never
fashion itself into classic shape and beauty; and could never set itself up as
a lintel or column in any edifice of mare And such by nature is the spiritual
state of all men. But believers, having been hewn out from the quarry of
humanity by the a, race of God, are termed “living stones”; not inert masses of
rock, not senseless blocks of marble, but full of life, feeling, action; and
they are thus designated because Christ, as “the tried corner-stone,” “the sure
foundation,” is called “a living stone,” and diffuses His own life through all
parts of the spiritual temple which rests on Him. So that every stone in it,
from the foundation to the top stone, is made a precious, a glistering, a
living stone, through the indwelling life of Jesus, the Prince of Life.
II. The way in
which these living stones are prepared for the temple, furnishes a subject of
interesting and profitable thought. The wood and stone used in Solomon’s temple
were carefully prepared at a distance from the place where the edifice was to
be built. The sacred house was planned out in minutest detail by David, under
the direction of the Spirit of God. Each stone, column, lintel, architrave,
capital, beam, rafter, had its special and appointed place; but as yet the wood
was waving its branches in the forests of Lebanon, and the stone was unquarried
in the mountains of Judea. Many an axe and sharp-edged tool passed over that
tree before it became a stately pillar; and many a hammer and instrument of
iron was used on that once unsightly block ere as a polished stone it was
fitted for the temple s wall. Most beautifully does all this illustrate the way
of God in building up His spiritual and living temple. Though at conversion the
child of God is a marked man, though he is justified freely by the grace that
is in Christ Jesus; yet how much spiritual trimming and dressing, how much
hewing and squaring does he need to fashion him aright for the position which
the Divine Architect intends he shall occupy hereafter! There are sharp angles
of character to be rounded off; unsightly protuberances of conduct to be
chipped away; many roughnesses of temper to be smoothed down; many flaws and
cracks of mind and heart to be chiselled out; and then, when the general form
of the stone is prepared, how much severe friction is required to give it the
right polish, and bring out all its beauties, so that its smooth surface may
fling back the rays of the Sun of Righteousness! Our earth is the place where
this work is to be done; for, as there was no noise of any axe, or hammer, or
tool of iron heard on Mount Moriah while the temple was building, so in the New
Jerusalem above there will be heard no crushing strokes of conviction, no sharp
hewings of an awakened conscience, no sound of preparatory discipline. The
greater part of the preparation to which we are subjected as professing
Christians, is of a disciplinary character, and hence is fitly represented by
the axe, the hammer, and the tool of iron. Now the axe seems driven into the
root of his happiness; now he is broken as a block of granite under the blows
of the hammer of God’s word and now the iron of a sore adversity has entered
into his soul, and he feels himself stricken, smitten, and afflicted. In these
dispensations, however severe, he is being fitted by the hand of God Himself
for a place in glory. God knows for what position in that heavenly temple He
has designed us.
III. The end for which
these living stones are designed. The real end, then, for which God hath chosen
us in Christ Jesus before the world began, and fitted us on earth by His
providential dispensations, is, “that in the dispensation of the fulness of
time, He might gather together in one, all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven and which are on earth, even in Him.” And this recapitulation of all
things in Christ, is to be effected by building all things on Christ as the
sure foundation which God Himself has laid in Zion; and Christians, as living
stones chosen of God and precious, are, in the language of St. Paul, built upon
the foundation of the apostles. This spiritual temple God is now building up,
and it progresses just as fast as the living stones arc prepared to take their
places above. And this building process is going on every day, in our midst,
under our own eyes. (Bishop Stevens.)
Hidden quarries
There is a hidden, withdrawn realm in every one of us, where life
is getting itself chiefly shaped. Not e’en the truest heart, and next our own,
Knows half the reasons why we smile or sigh. “Do noble things, not dream them
all day long,” urges and sings Charles Kingsley; and it is a good music and a
right urging. Yet it is still true that no one can do noble things except he
first dream them. There was a voyage to the New World in the thought of
Columbus before he left Spain, or there could have been no voyage by ship.
There was the boat propelled by steam in the thought of Robert Fulton before
the actual boat could go puffing up the Hudson, drawing in its wake the vast
retinue of later steam navigation. There must be the hidden dreaming before the
doing can be possible. Think of some of these withdrawn and hidden quarries,
where the stones are chiefly shaped, which became builded in the temple of our
lives--the hidden quarries of the imagination, the affections, the will (Homiletic
Review.)
Grave prepares the stones for the spiritual temple
To this our New Testament temple answers. For those of the sons of
Adam who are counted worthy to be laid in this building are not by nature, but
by grace, made meet for it. No man will lay trees, as they come from the wood,
for beams and rafters in his house; no stones, as digged, in the walls. No; the
stones must be hewed and squared, and the trees sawn and made fit, and so be
laid in the house. Yea, they must be so sawn, and so squared, that in coupling
they may be joined exactly, else the building will not be good, nor the workman
have credit of his doings. Hence our gospel church of which the temple was a
type, is said to be fitly framed, and that there is a fit supply of every joint
for the securing of the whole (1 Peter 2:5; Ephesians 2:20-21; Ephesians 4:16; Colossians 2:19). (John Bunyan.)
There was neither hammer
nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house.--
Building in silence
Incidental as the mention of this curious fact may be, we cannot
well doubt that it was intended to have a spiritual significance. God’s house
was built in silence. Those who watched it, as it rose in its beauty and
majesty, must have felt a sense of awe stealing upon them as the great work
proceeded without the din and clatter with which earthly buildings are raised.
Much might be spoken in a general way of the eloquence of silence. If you have
ever been alone on a mountain-top, lifted above the sounds of earth, you must
have had a very solemnising sense of being brought nearer to God and to the
awful world unseen. Shallow rivers are commonly noisy rivers, and, as has been
well said, “the drum is loud because it is hollow.” The profoundest gratitude,
the deepest love, the intensest anxiety, are mute. The inability to express
them is itself expressive. But to speak more directly of the relation of
silence to our spiritual life, observe--
1. Silence seems fittest when we first think of God. Surely the
earliest consciousness of His presence and His nearness, if it be a real and a
vivid consciousness, commands our silence! And then, close as we feel God to be
to us, it is undeniable that there is much in His nature that must ever remain
mysterious; much that, as far as logical statement goes, seems contradictory.
Not mysterious, observe, in such a sense as that we should be justified in
giving up thinking of God altogether; but mysterious as implying that when we
have reached certain lines of limitation to our inquiries, there we must stop.
We can know God; but there is much relating to God which we cannot know.
2. When our religion passes into personal conviction, then again we
find the value of silence. “Then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am
vile; what shall I answer Thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I
spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.” When
the sense of self-reproach is keen, when the conviction of guilt is fairly
awakened, the sinner is dumb before his God. What can he say? Can he give
utterance to the overwhelming sense of personal demerit, or express the depth
of humiliation in the convicted soul? And then, when we go forth redeemed and
disenthralled, how feebly can words indicate the sense of relief, of gratitude
too profound for words! Let not noise, then, be the test of truth. Believe
nothing merely because it is said by many, and said very loudly. The people of
Ephesus cried with a loud voice for the space of two hours, “Great is Diana of
the Ephesians!” but I do not suppose that any truthful person at the end of the
two hours was more impressed by her greatness than at the beginning, or more inclined
to believe that her image had fallen down from Jupiter. As you value truth and
fairness, as it is the sacred duty of every man to form his convictions without
fear or favour, his duty for the sake of others as for his own, resolve never
to be led by clamour.
3. But silence has its proper relation to spiritual worship.
Certainly this truth is distinctly involved in all that Scripture says of the
worth of silence, viz. that if we would commune with our own hearts we must be
“still”; we must cease from the stir and fuss and superficial chatter of a
superficial world; above all, from the wilfulness of our hearts and their
clamorous devices and desires. We must say in the same spirit as the
child-prophet of old: “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth”; and then, in
self-forgetfulness, listen for the voice that is best heard in silence.
4. But silence has its proper place, its due relation, in regard to
our intercourse with our fellow-men. Among the valuable things that some of us
have learned from Thomas Carlyle, we shall not forget the value of silence. It
seems that there is far too much talking in the world. After all, Carlyle only
said what the wise man of old had wisely affirmed, that “in all labour there is
profit, but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.” The author of
Ecclesiastes reminds us that “there is a time to keep silence, and a time to
speak.” We return, last of all, to our original thought. The temple of God is
to be built in silence. In silent conviction the individual is built up a dwelling
for God’s Spirit. In silence is His spiritual temple, His Church, built in its
glory and beauty, “which temple ye are.” It is a silent work, because it is a
spiritual work. “The kingdom of God,” to put this truth into New Testament
language, “is not in word, but in power.” It depends upon the invisible touch
of the Divine Master’s hand, “whereby all the building, fitly framed together,
groweth into an holy temple in the Lord.” (J. A. Jacob, M. A.)
No sound of hammer or axe
1. A single soul under the action of God’s Spirit illustrates both
the steady continuity with which great forces operate, and also what we may
call the periodicity of exceptional and startling upheavals. None can tell how
long it has taken to form a single geologic stratum; silently and slowly, and
by a prearranged law, the processes take place by which what we call a rock, a
stone, a formation is made; but, in some moment of violent interference, the
aspect of a continent is changed. To those close and steadfast years of
formation we attach too little importance. The currents of electric and other
forces, so essential in various ways, are distinctly active, and may be tested,
even where no violent action may be traced; but there comes a thunderstorm, the
elements seem at war; and then we see the awfulness of this power for good or
for devastation. The efflorescence of life, as one may call it, has the same
moral meaning. The pre-ordained flower is in the seed, and grows into its
organic beauty by a living vitality which has its preordained type. You look
out upon the snow-mantled earth; one snowflake, with innumerable crystals, each
exquisite in its beauty and perfect in its structure, is not a snowstorm. But
it is essential to it, and has been separately framed so that each fits into
each for the perfect whole. Do we not see how all these become as parables,
equally with the blocks of quarried stone, which, fitly hewn, went to build the
temple? When, for instance, we ask concerning the origin of spiritual life, we
axe thrown back into the sphere of the hidden and incomprehensible. A good man
always, however, refers all his goodness to the contemplated purpose of the
Almighty. Hence he does not hesitate to use and apply to himself the word,
“elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” The response of the
soul to the words of the Saviour, “I have chosen you and ordained you,” is immediate and unfaltering.
“Even so, Lord; the love that was before all my sin, my very existence, was the
fountain of my life and love.” But I have called it hidden and
incomprehensible. Yes; it is in the Divine secrecies that all the life to be
revealed lies. These are the depths which are unsearchable, the mysteries which
are inscrutable.
2. Let us now trace some of the methods by which, in practical
experience, the setting of these spiritual stones takes place. That there are
such upheavals as correspond with the periods of inorganic nature we have been
reminded. Sometimes stormy religious experiences herald “the peace which
passeth understanding”; and the transfer from the kingdom of darkness to the
kingdom of light is most emphatic and marked. The world intrudes too much upon
our notions of what a spiritual change is. We come to expect something
startling and showy. We want a spectacle to see and to exhibit; but the kingdom
of God cometh, a true kingdom too, “without observation.” Readers of the lives
of Madame Guyon and Fenelon will at once have grasped my allusion. For
“interior silence” was one of those qualities which made the mystics so devout,
and still makes them so interesting study. But that “interior silence,” that
submission of the will to God, that entire absence of self-dependence which has
given to mysticism a peculiar charm for a certain order of minds, does it not
afford us,--in these days of sensationalism, when everything must be tabulated,
set down by name, and labelled with some distinctive sign,--some needful check
and counteractive? Does it not suggest to us that the holiest, and therefore
the best and safest, ways along which men may pass towards the highest life,
are those along the Divine silences? But natures are different. Some need the
stimulus of great external excitement. Let us not condemn them, even while we
claim a place for those who find refreshment and nutriment both in the things
that make no noise. Silence does not mean inaction; nay, has not silence been
called the very “voice of God”? We may be touched to the very core of our being
without any deeper, fuller pulsation than that which indicates a healthy,
natural inward life. Let the goodman be encouraged to hold on his way in
goodness, to cherish with a tender regard the quiet virtues which blossom for
Heaven alone to look at; let him not be discouraged that he hears not the throb
of his inward vitality. If the fruit of the Spirit be with him, let him not
doubt that the Spirit is there. And it would be well to guard against those
laboured substitutes for the Divine endeavour, which often accompany an outward
show of religion. You are not stirred as once you were, let me suppose; this
may be because your nature offers less resistance to the holier will. The noise
of the babbling brook as it dashed against the pebbles or rocks in its onward
course, has subsided because the flow is less impeded; but the deep stream flows
with equal force. My busy, restless, eager friend, we have need of all your
earnestness and energy; but settle it well that there are other natures with as
true an earnestness which are not equally restless and busy. With an inward
reserve force, they, while expending themselves in various ways, have yet
something hidden away from human observation; great reservoir forces which will
not dry up in summer heat, nor become useless in winter’s frost. It is of the
first importance that our wills shall be confirmed to God’s; and that, without
uneasy effort, we endeavour to walk in the light of God. Our outward life may
make no noise, even as our inner life may work without friction, but both have
their sure reward. We may, on the other hand, be so busy that-like one in
ancient story, “As thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone” (1 Kings 20:40)--the special charge
with which we are entrusted may escape us. Let every man bring such gifts as he
has, and always the best he can bring; but it may please God to set more honour
upon those which are lightly esteemed among men and even by ourselves. All
these things press home to us this conviction, that above all we are required
to be simple and faithful, laying bare every energy we have to the eye of
Infinite Love, and willing to have even our best labours passed by and our
unconscious and unpretending efforts crowned with such blessing as the Lord may
allow. (G. J. Proctor.)
Building in silence
St. Paul, in his Epistles, frequently alludes to the temple, and
employs it as a figure or type or symbol to set forth some great Christian
truth.
1. Sometimes he speaks of the individual Christian being the temple
of God (1 Corinthians 6:19).
2. Sometimes he speaks of the Church collectively as the temple of
God (2 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
3. Sometimes Paul speaks of the Church glorified under the figure of
a temple, not yet completed, but progressing, continually growing unto a holy
temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:19). In some invisible realm,
God is rearing a temple of sanctified souls gathered from this evil world.
I. The natural
unfitness of the material. The house was built of stone made ready--made fit,
implying natural unfitness. The stone when raised from the quarry is rough,
shapeless, unsightly, totally unfit to occupy a place in the walls of a temple.
It may serve to fill up a place in a mean and humble structure; but the builder
of a temple requires it hewn, shaped, so as to fit with nicety into its
appointed place, that the entire building may at last be symmetrical and
beautiful, revealing the skill of architect and builder. We all need the mighty
working of the Divine Artificer in order to fit us for the service of heaven.
Our total unfitness is manifest, unfitness of nature, of character, of
disposition, of taste. In what then does fitness consist?
1. You must be in harmony with your environment in heaven. You must
be made ready before you are brought thither.
2. You must be in harmony with the employments of heaven. Heaven is
not a place of inactivity. Ample scope will be given for the development and
growth of both mind and spirit. Every employment there will, however, be of a
highly sacred character, and will be joyful only to those who are in perfect
sympathy with holiness.
3. Another qualification is sympathy with God. In heaven God will be
the supreme joy of angels and all unfallen spirits; God in Christ will be the
joy of all redeemed spirits for ever. There is only one will in heaven.
II. The material
for building the temple was brought from a distance. The woodwork was wrought
from Lebanon-Cedars, the stones also are supposed to have been brought chiefly
from the sides of Lebanon; brass “without weight” from the foundries of
Sue-doth and Zaretan; gold, silver, and precious stones from Ophir and Parvaim.
This fact symbolises the distance, the moral distance, from God of the material
with which He builds for Himself the heavenly temple. Strangers, foreigners,
aliens, enemies, afar off are the expressions employed in the Scriptures to
describe our condition when sought and found by a gracious God.
III. The means
employed. Ordinary means only were used in the erection of Solomon’s temple. No
miracle was wrought. To men hath God committed the ministry of reconciliation.
“We have this treasure in earthen vessels.” Saved ourselves He sends us forth
to save others. While the instruments are human the means are varied. In the
quarry some blast the rock, some hew the stone, some may be seen sawing, others
polishing, others removing it when finished. While holding fast the unchanging
truth, that the Holy Spirit alone effects the great moral change in every
regenerated soul, the means He employs are varied. “There are diversities of
operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). Stones differ
materially in their character and nature. Some will break, others split, others
crumble, others polish. As human beings we differ greatly in temperament,
,disposition, tastes, qualities, and we require different treatment in order to
bring out the best that is in us. The discipline that would be a blessing to
one might prove a curse to another. God, who holds in His hand the weapon,
knows perfectly the nature, the qualities, the character of the man He is
working upon.
IV. Its gradual
advancement. Solomon took seven years to build his temple, but it took David
many more years to provide and prepare the materials. So the great spiritual
temple in the heavenlies has been in process for about six thousand years, and
even now it seems far from completion. The foundation may be considered laid
when the first promise of a Saviour was proclaimed to fallen man. The seed of
the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head. Throughout the centuries the
building has been rising beautiful and fair under the superintendence of the
Divine Architect. Fresh stones are gathered and piled on the sacred edifice.
Every day reports progress.
V. The silence
with which the temple rises. “There was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of
iron heard in the house while it was in building.” This world is the quarry
where the souls of men are to be prepared for the kingdom of heaven. Whatever
change your spirit requires in order to fit you for a place in the heavenly
temple must be realised here. This world is the only one where renewal is
possible. Probation is limited to our earthly life. (R. Roberts.)
Greatest works wrought in silence
I. The erection of
the temple. The building of the temple at Jerusalem was a grand work. But this
grand work, we are informed, was wrought in silence; and when we consider the
nature and dimensions of the material used, this seems very extraordinary. Some
of the blocks of stone were 80 feet long, 10 feet high, and 14 feet wide. Its
pillars were socketed in solid masonry. Yet these ponderous masses were hewn,
squared, fitted without the sound of a hammer, an axe, or any tool. This
silence not only demonstrated that the work was Divine, but symbolised the mode
in which the Eternal works out His vast designs.
II. The processes
of nature. He who built all things is God. How did He rear this grand temple of
the universe, compared to which the building on Mount Moriah is a mere atom?
How did He round and burnish and set ageing the innumerable worlds and systems
that roll throughout immensity? Without any sound of “hammer,” or “axe,” in
infinite silence. How does He bring round the various seasons of the year,
change the aspects of the landscape, draw up the herbs, the plants, and
flowers, from the silent earth, and build up the majestic trees of unnumbered
forests? It is all done in silence. “In solemn silence all” grow and all move,
flourish, and decay.
III. The edification
of Christly souls. All virtuous souls are His building, His temple to dwell in.
But how does He build them up in true knowledge in unbounded confidence in the
truth, and invincible love for all that is right, beneficent, and Divine? In
the most silent way. How did He, the great Architect, begin this work in
Christ? He did “not strive nor cry, neither did any man hear His voice in the
streets.” Thus now He proceeds, He inbreathes a regenerating, holy thought
silently into the soul, and there it works and works until it builds up the
temple of a noble character. Conclusion.
1. Do not judge of the prosperity of any Church by its boisterous
sounds. All Divine operations are in silence. In the working of human
machinery, the grating noise and rattling din are often insufferable to the
ear; but how noiselessly works the stupendous and complicated mechanism of the
great universe! Scarcely a sound is heard where God’s hand is most manifest.
2. Do not endeavour
to promote any Divine cause by noise and bluster°
In
silence mighty things are wrought,
Silently
builded thought on thought,
Truth’s
temple greets the sky.
And
like a citadel with towers,
The
soul with her subservient powers
Is
strengthened silently.
Soundless
as chariots on the snow,
The
saplings of the forest grow
To
trees of mighty girth.
Each
nightly star in silence burns,
And
every day in silence turns
The
axle of the earth.
The
silent frost with mighty band
Fetters
the river and the land
With
universal chain,
And
smitten by the silent sun,
The
chain is loosed, the rivers run,
The
lands are free again.
(Homilist.)
Quiet and order in the temple
I. It might be
expressive of the character
of the worship which would be acceptable to God in the temple.
1. Worship prepared for. The stones were cut and shaped beforehand.
So should we go to the house of God in the spirit of devotion. Many go
expecting there to get spiritual thoughts, who keep worldly thoughts in their
heads until they reach the very doors of the sanctuary. To cultivate a spirit
of prayerfulness and reverence before going to the house of God will warrant us
to expect the acceptance of our worship, and a blessing on ourselves.
2. Worship quietly conducted. God is not delighted with loud and noisy
declamation. A reverent tone
will be subdued; but not hypocritically so.
3. Worship conducted in an orderly manner. Random, irregular,
disorderly services cannot be such as God would approve. Late attendance,
listlessness in God’s house, unseemly haste to leave, all these appear to be
condemned.
4. Worship appropriately conducted. There should be regard paid to
the fitness of things.
II. The
circumstance mentioned in this narrative may be expressive of the character of
the spiritual temple, of which the material temple was typical.
1. There must be a change in those who are made stones in the living
temple.
2. Religion has to do
with the externals of man’s life. An uncouth, rough, rugged
Christian is an anomaly. The servant of God should be gentle, meek, patient,
lovely, amiable
3. The work of preparation must be done outside the church. Men are
not to be brought into Christ s church as members in order that they may be
converted, but because they have been already converted.
4. All stones in the temple were serviceable. Christians in different
spheres of life have greater or less responsibility according to circumstances;
but all are “precious in the sight of the Lord.” (F. Wagstaff.)
The quiet world
One might often think that the great world-life is mostly
characterised by strife and stress and storm. And true it is that these are
facts. In business, competition; in politics, conflicting parties; in
international relations, either war or rumours of war, or, at best, armed
peace--the strain of jealousy and fear; in the church, sectarianism; in
theology, endless controversy; in ethics, even, different schools with many
unsolved problems. In such a world it would appear almost impossible to live a
quiet, tranquil life--to enjoy anything like harmony of being. And this
reflection is not without its danger. There is a temptation to catch the fever;
to live in the storm; to think ourselves on to the rack; to be ever on the wave
of excitement; and to regard life as mainly consisting in its more tumultuous
elements. It is therefore of some value to reflect that behind all the tumult
there is always a great body of life which is quiet and tranquil. The world is
not as noisy as it sounds, nor as stormy as it appears. Paul was no doubt right
when he said that there were many voices in the world, and that none of them
was without signification. It is also true that there is a great deal of
substantial life which is not loud; of solid sound building where the noise of
tools is not heard; of weaving durable material after beautiful patterns
without the din of machinery, on the silent looms of tranquil souls. The sea is
in many ways a fit emblem of life. We have watched it when strong winds made it
angry; how it rose in wrath; how the waters roared and were troubled; how the
waves broke on rock and shore; it looked as if the whole volume of the ocean
had been stirred to its depth. But it was not so. It is even so in the great
human world. Even its most tremendous revolutions leave its largest part in the
steady sway of orderly life, where feeling and thought and action are normal
and peaceful. It is the same along the whole course of history, and we are apt
to forget it. History as written is for the most part the history of what made
a noise. The sound of warriors rushing to battle, the clashing of armour, the
groans of the conquered, and the shouts of the conqueror fill our ears. And yet
it is evident that these were at no time the whole of life. The vast body of
life is always unhistoric; the quiet world is not reported because it is quiet.
Drop into history at any one point that we may think it more concretely.
Harold, the English king, hears of the coming of William of Normandy.
Immediately he marshals the war forces, and soon you hear the tramp of soldiers
on the march. They meet the enemies; the armies fight; there is tremendous
excitement. Ask any historian what the great event of the year 1066 was in
England, and he will say it was the battle of Hastings. And it looks indeed as
if English life then was a battle and nothing else. Yet even when that battle
was being fought, which undoubtedly was the great event of the year, and which
had such important consequences for this country, it is certain that of the two
million people then in England, the vast majority went calmly and regularly on
with their life, many not knowing, and many not heeding the engagement of the
soldiers. Thousands of yeomen and cottars, of freedmen and serfs went the daily
round as if there was no Duke of Normandy on the south coast; hundreds of monks
chanted the canticles divine, undisturbed by the noises of the warriors. And
all these who lived in the quiet world contributed their share to the national
advancement. What is life in Britain from the first coming of the English down
to the establishment of their final supremacy? It is mostly made up of
battles--battles with the old Britons; battles among the different kingdoms of
the English themselves; battles with the Danes--terrible battles; battles with
the Normans; and battles all the way. William of Normandy said on his
death-bed, “I am stained with rivers of blood.” And in reading the history of
this long period we seem to be walking on the bank of a river of blood all the
way. English life then was one long battle. No, no; battles there were indeed,
many and furious, but even then I think the quiet world was larger than the
world of storm. And in the story of those old times, rude and rough as they
were, we can afford to turn our eye from the battle-field to the hearth, where
nature has already opened the fountains of tenderness; where the mother fondles
her child with sweet delicious love; and we may be very sure that more than
king or soldier, the mother builds the nation. If it be true that in noise and
tumult the enemies are driven back and conquered, it is in silence for the most
part that character is built. Japan surprised the world in her war with China. It has
been said that her fighting power has made her a nation, but we might well ask,
what made her fighting power? it was in the quiet world of mutual devotion,
patriotic sentiment, and noble sacrifice, her strength was reared for battle.
And in our day, in these times of national disquietude, one might sometimes
think that the world is made up of governments and armies and speculators--they
make such a noise. And depend upon it, the national well-being is more
dependent upon the quality of the quiet world than upon noisy action. There
must be noisy action, of course; there must be public service; we must have men
whose speeches shall resound to the ends of the earth, and whose words shall be
heard everywhere; but we are too liable to think of our national strength as
consisting in these. Every nation has been asking itself recently how strong it
is. And for an answer they have been counting their ironclads and their armies,
and estimating their exchequers. England has been displaying her flying
squadron to advertise her strength. Our American ambassador in London wisely
reminded us that not in these things lie the real forces of a nation’s life. I
would say indeed that the three great spheres in which a nation is built are
the home, the school, and the
church. In the sweetness and purity of its domestic life, in the character of
its education, in the depth and reality of its religion, a nation’s life mostly
consists. And the best work in these is quietly done. Now, it is very necessary
for those who have to live much in the loud world, to keep in close touch with
the world that goes quietly on its way. The hard serious student will find life
full of problems. To the thinker, there is no doubt that it is so. And you can
find a problem everywhere. The simplest objects when you examine them put you
at the heart of mystery. The simplest statements if you analyse them throw you
upon the profoundest problems. This sometimes becomes a source of great
depression; men are weighed down by it into inaction. Out of this mood I know
no better way than to reflect upon the quiet world. When you are debating what
is duty, thousands are just quietly doing it, and they have peace and harmony
of being because they do. When you cannot decide as to whether or not there is ground for
theism, thousands quietly turn their souls in reverence to the Unknown and
worship, and though they cannot theorise, they know they are helped, they feel
the lift, and the problem is not there to them. Believe me, there is often an
escape from the over-pressure of a problem in the contemplation of a fact. The
life of quiet goodness, of unostentatious fidelity, of calm, resolute devotion,
of aspiring prayer, is a life fed from eternal sources, and drawn onward and
upward by the everlasting energy, ruling all finite movements from the mind of
God; and it will survive the indignities of time, and live in immutable glory.
(T. R. Williams.)
The fruits of silence
The gems of the world’s literature, the marvels of inventions of
science and art, the great thoughts and words which live age after age, are the
fruit of silence. From silent studies of a Raphael comes, at length, the work
of art. The poet broods long in silence and then gives to the world his
immortal song. Inventors with knit brows bend over models, and by and by
produce a boon to toiling races. The orator shuts to the door, and then comes
forth to sway great audiences and sweep away tyranny and wrong. The Christen
lingers in the hush of prayer and meditation, and then appears with his face
all aglow.
Verse 18
No stone seen.
The temple of God flawless
“All was cedar; there was no stone seen.” Take stone in the type
for that which was really so, and in the antitype for that which is so
mystically, and then it may import to us, that in heaven, the antitype of this
holiest, there will never be anything of hardness of heart in them that possess
it for ever. All imperfection ariseth from the badness of the heart, but there
will be no bad hearts in glory. No shortness in knowledge, no crossness of
disposition, no workings of lusts, no corruptions will be there. Here, alas,
they are seen, and that in the best of saints, because here our light is mixed
with darkness; but there will be no night there, nor any stone seen (John
Bunyan.)
Verses 23-30
Verse 29
Carved figures of cherubim and palm trees, and open flowers.
Cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers
The question cannot but occur, Why this peculiar carving
exclusively? Everywhere they looked they were met by this threefold ornamentation,
everywhere cherubim, palm trees and open flowers; these and nothing but these.
If only beauty had been the object, if simply ornament had been studied,
greater variety would have been introduced; but the perpetual recurrence of
these three, amid all the visible forms that convey ideas of beauty, could not
fail to strike and to raise inquiry.
I. The union of
the earthly and heavenly, the natural and the spiritual, in worship and
religion. The highest spiritual creatures and two of the most prominent natural
objects were portrayed together in the house of God. The cherubim representing
heaven, the highest grade of spiritual creation, and the palm tree and the open
flower representatives of earth and nature in their finest and noblest shapes,
were brought together on the walls of the house of God. And there was nothing
else to be seen. The highest creature in the spiritual realm was here set
alongside of natural objects known to all. Teaching that heaven’s service,
though higher, is of the same sort with the service on earth. Representatives
from the temple of nature were there, and representatives from the heavenly
temple. In the house of God and in worship heaven and earth are brought
together. We represent in our worship all creatures that cannot worship. We are
the priests of the whole visible creation, and our worship unites us with the
highest intelligences. We link together the seraph and the flower. Both are
represented and contained in us. In worship, space and time vanish. We are in
the same company with those who are worshipping around the throne the unveiled
glory.
II. Life the grand
source, material, reality. There were three kinds of life portrayed on these
walls. Of all the beautiful objects in nature they were living and only living
things that were pictured there. Life was here in three stages: life rooted and
growing, like the palm tree; life expanded, like the open flower; and life in
its highest state, the life of the cherub. How plainly did the voice come from
the innermost sanctuary: “Life is all.” It is life that is the grand
desideratum in the worship of God. It is life that gives value to all things.
Nothing is valuable without life. The true life of the soul, then, what is it?
The temple explains this. The worshippers were incessantly brought to this
question: What is life which is thus so prominent? And they were evermore
thrown back on the temple for the answer. In the temple was the answer found.
What is life? Life is that which has fellowship with God, life is that which
loves God, and longs after Him; life is that which feeds upon God’s truth. We
are no nearer answering the question precisely and definitely in words than
they were. It is still the grand secret. One great lesson taught by this
threefold exhibition of life in the temple was undoubtedly this, that all life
has the same grand, general laws. How widely apart these different forms of
life were--vegetable life and highest seraphic life; and yet widely apart as
they are they have the same laws. God does all His work from the humblest to
the highest according to the same principles. The life of the plant is
sustained by the same laws as the spiritual life of the cherub. The seraph
burns and sings by the same simple laws of being as the plant grows and the
flower expands.
III. The union of these three things in
spiritual life--worship, fruitfulness, and beauty. Worship represented by the
cherub, fruitfulness by the palm tree, and beauty by the open flower. True
spiritual life shows itself not in one of these but in all. Worship is the
foundation and the nutriment of life. It is by the perception of the glory of
God and by the adoration of it that the soul is sustained; and it is by
fruitfulness that this food finds scope for its energy; for food that is taken
into the spiritual nature, and that does not find outlet and space for its
energy ceases to be food. Wherever there is true worship of God there is also
the fruitfulness of the palm tree, and wherever there is true fruitfulness
arising from the worship of God, there is beauty as the result of these. True
spiritual beauty is the outcome of the union of these two things--worship and
practical fruitfulness.
IV. The union of
these three things in the worship of God--aspiration, growth, and receptivity.
Aspiration was taught by the cherub. The highest form of spiritual life was
presented continually before the worshipper in order that he might know what he
had to aspire to; and the palm tree, the emblem of steady, straight, upward
growth, was a constant lesson and reminder. Did the question rise, How shall I
become like the cherub? Were there no hearts that could read the answer in the
open flower? The open flower is the way to the cherub. One of the finest
pictures of reception among all the objects that God has made is a flower that
lies open to catch the sunshine, and to drink the rain and the dew, shuts up when the
sun departs, but expands itself again when the sun’s rays touch it. By
reception the plant and the flower live; and by reception the soul of man lives
and grows. Our life is that of a flower. Man cometh forth like a flower and is
cut down. It is by aspiring to the cherub life that we gain the victory over
that. We are no longer distressed with the thought of the brevity of the life
when that of immortal beauty has dawned upon us, and when we firmly grasp the
record that God hath given to us eternal life, and that this life is in His
Son. (T. Leckie, D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》