only Jews built the tabernacle, but Gentiles join with them. in building the temple; even strangers and foreigners are built up an habitation of God," Eph. ii. 19, 22. The temple was divided into the holy place, and the most holy, the courts of it into the outer and inner, so there is the visible and the invisible church; the door into the temple was wider than that into the oracle; many enter into profession, who come short of salvation. This temple is built firm, upon a rock, not to be taken down, as the tabernacle of the old testament was. The temple was long in preparing, but was built at last: the top-stone of the gospel church will at length be brought forth with shoutings, and pity there should be the clashing of axes and hammers in the building of it; angels are ministring spirits, attending the church on all sides, and all the members of it.

Thirdly, Heaven is the everlasting temple, there the church will be fixed, and no longer moveable; the streets of the new Jerusalem, in allusion to the flooring of the temple, are said to be of pure gold, Rev. xxi. 21. the cherubim there always attend the throne of glory. The temple was uniform, and in heaven there is the perfection of beauty and harmony. In Solomon's temple there was no noise of axes and hammers, every thing is quiet and serene in heaven; all who shall be stones in that building, must, in the present state of probation and preparation, be fitted and made ready for it, must be hewn and squared by divine grace, and so made meet for a place there.

CHAPTER VII.

As in the story of David one chapter of wars and victories follows another, so in the story of Solomon one chapter of his buildings follows another. In this chapter we have, (1.) His fitting up several buildings for himself and his own use, ver. 1-12. (2.) His furnishing the temple which he had built for God, 1. With two pillars, ver. 13-22. 2. With a molten sea, ver. 23-26. 3. With ten bases of brass, ver. 27-37. and ten lavers upon them, ver. 38, 39. 4. With all the other utensils of the temple, ver. 40-50. 5. With the things that his father had dedicated, ver. 57. The particular description of these things was not needless when it was written, nor is it now useless.

VER. 21. "And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple; and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and

called the name thereof Boaz."]-These two pillars with their names are very significant: Jachin signifies God will establish, and Boaz signifies In him is strength. Some think they were intended for memorials of the pillar of cloud and fire, which led Israel through the wilderness: but I rather think them designed for memorials to the priests and others that came to worship at God's door, 1. To depend upon God only, and not upon any sufficiency of their own, for strength and establishment in all their reli gious exercises; when we come to wait upon God, and find our hearts wandering and unfixed, then by faith let us look for help from heaven, figured by Jachin, for God will fix this roving mind: "It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace." We find ourselves weak, and unable for holy duties, but this is our encouragement; Boaz in him is our strength, who works in us both to will and to do. "Iwill go in the strength of the Lord God:" in which respect these two pillars were figurative of Christ, who is our strength, and he alone it is that establisheth us in his ways. Spiritual strength and stability are to be had at the door of God's temple, where we must wait for the gifts of grace, in the use of the means of grace. 2. It was a memorial to them of the strength and establishment of the temple of God among them. God will establish the gospel church, he will preserve and strengthen it, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

66.

Ver. 50. And the hinges of gold."]-We find that in the temple all the parts within doors were made of gold, and the branches were all made new, except the ark, the mercyseat, and cherubim, the golden altar, the altar of incense, the golden candlestick, and the table for the shew-bread. For the spiritual explanation of which, see the notes on Exod. xxv. We may just observe that the magnificence of the temple, being adorned with gold, with so much glory and splendour, was a figure of the glory of gospel-worship, and of that heavenly light, blessings, and spiritual food, that we enjoy by Christ Jesus, who is the "temple made without hands," where all the elect meet and worship God, and have near access and communion with him.

CHAPTER VIII.

The building and furniture of the temple were very glorions, but the dedica tion of it exceeds in glory, as much as prayer and praise, the work of saints, exceeds the casting of metal, and the graving of stones, the work of the craftsman. The temple was designed for the keeping up of the correspondence between God and his people; and here we have an account of the solemnity of their first meeting there. 1. The representatives of all Israel were called together, ver. 1, 2. to keep a feast to the honour of God for fourteen days, ver. 65. 2. The priests brought the ark into the most holy place, and fixed it there, ver. 3—2. 3. God took possession of it by a cloud, ver. 10, 11. 4. Solomon, with thankful acknowledgments to God, informed the people touching the occasion of their meeting, ver. 12-21. 5. In a long prayer he recommended to God's gracious acceptance all the prayers that should be made in or towards this place, ver. 22-53. 6. He dismissed the assembly with a blessing, and an exhortation, ver. 54–61. He offered abundance of sacrifices, on which he and his people feasted, and so parted, with great satisfaction, ver. 62–66. These were Israel's golden days; days of the Son of Mau in type.

VER. 11. "For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord."]-As the temple was a type of Christ, so this glory that filled the temple was figurative of the glories of the DEITY shining through the man Christ Jesus, with such refulgency and brightness that mortal eyes cannot behold it, and may be considered as an emblem of glory. And as the ark or mercy-seat was the residence of this glory, it was not till the high priest was come out of the most holy place, that the SHEKINAH, that is, the Divine Majesty, took possession of it in a cloud, which filled not only the most holy place, but the temple, so that the priest which burnt incense at the golden altar, could not bear it. By this visible emanation of the divine glory, first, God put an honour upon the ark, and owned it as a token of his presence. The glory of it had been long diminished and eclipsed by its frequent removes, the meanness of its lodg ing, and its being exposed too much to common view; but God will now shew it is as dear to him as ever, and he will have it looked upon with as much veneration, as it was when Moses first brought it into his tabernacle. Secondly, he testifies his acceptance of the building and furnishing of the temple, as a service done to his name, and his kingdom among men. Thirdly, the Lord struck an awe upon this great assembly; and by what they saw, confirmed their belief of what they read in the books of Moses, concerning the glory of God's appearances to their fathers, that hereby they might be kept close to the service of the God of Israel,

and fortified against temptations to idolatry. Fourthly, he shewed himself willing to hear the prayer Solomon was now about to make; and not only so, but took up his residence in this house, that all his praying people might there be encouraged to make their applications to him. But the glory of God appeared in a cloud, a dark cloud, to signify, First, the darkness of that dispensation in comparison with the light of the gospel, by which "with open face we behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord." Secondly, the darkness of our present state, in comparison with the vision of God, which will be the happiness of heaven, where the divine glory is unveiled. Now we can only say what he is not, but then we shall see him as he is.

Ver. 20, 21. "And have built an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt."]-In these words we find that Solomon encourageth the priests who came out of the temple from their ministration, much astonished at the dark cloud which overshadowed them: the disciples of Christ "feared when they entered into the cloud," though it was a bright cloud, Luke ix. 34. so did the priests, when they found themselves wrapt in a thick cloud. To silence their fears, he minds them of that which they could not but know, that this was a token of God's presence, ver. 12. "The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.' It is so far from being a token of his displeasure, that it is an indication of his favour, for he had said, "I will appear in a cloud," Lev. xvi. 2. Nothing is more effectual to reconcile us to dark dispensations, than to consider what "God hath said,” and to compare his word and work together; Lev. x. 3. "This is that which the Lord hath said." "God is light," 1 John i. 5. and he dwells in light, 1 Tim. vi. 16. but he dwells with men "in the thick darkness," makes that his pavilion, because they could not bear the dazzling brightness of his glory: "verily thou art a God that hidest thyself." Thus our holy faith is exercised, and our holy fear increased; there where God dwells in light, faith is swallowed up in vision, and fear in love. Observe Solomon's dedication of the temple, ver. 13. "I have surely built it for thee, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever; 'It shall never be alienated or converted to any other use; the ark shall never be removed from it, never unsettled again.' It is Solomon's joy that God has taken possession, and it is

his desire that he would keep possession. Let not the priests therefore dread that in which Solomon so much triumphs.

Ver. 53. "For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses, thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God."]-The person that solemnly dedicated the temple of the Lord to his service, was "Solomon, the beloved of the Lord," who did not appoint one of the priests to do it, or one of the prophets, but did it himself, "in the presence of the congregation of Israel," ver. 22. First, it is well he was able to do it; a sign he had made a good improvement of the pious education which his parents gave him. With all his learning, it seems he learnt to pray well, and knew how to express himself to God in a suitable manner as the occasion required without a prescribed form. In the crowd of his philosophical transactions, his proverbs, and songs, he did not forget his devotions. He was a gainer by prayer, chap. iii. 11. and we may suppose gave himself much to it, so that he excelled, as we find here, in praying gifts. Secondly, it was well he was willing to do it, and not shy of performing divine service before so great a congre gation he was far from thinking it any disparagement to him to be his own chaplain, and the mouth of the assembly to God and shall any think themselves too great to do this office for their own families? Solomon in all his other glory, even on his ivory throne, looked not so great as he did now. Great men should thus support the reputation of religious exercises, and so honour God with their greatness. Solomon was herein a type of Christ, the great intercessor for all over whom he rules.

Ver. 57. "Let him not leave us, nor forsake us."]— Which shews the truth of grace, the strength of zeal, and the sincerity of love in the heart of Solomon, that he loved the Lord fervently, and, like a christian indeed, esteemed greatly the Lord's presence and the blessing of his people. A true christian may be known from a bypocrite by that value that he bath for the presence and blessings of the Lord above all other enjoyments. The greatest blessing that the christian can enjoy here, is to have God near him in all that he calls upon him for, to support him, to comfort him, to strengthen bim, and to keep him as the apple of his eye.

Ver. 66. And went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart, for all the goodness that the Lord bad done for