The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Chronicles — Section 425

the mind and Recording to the will of him who was to be worshipped in its "most holy place." \\Then we enter upon any great enterprise for God, whether we "arise and build,n or whether we go forth and preach, or whether we organize and establish we must seek to act according to Divine instructions. But we must not now look' for patterns, but for principles. In our New Testament we have the broad principles of all holy action, of all Christian association, of all missionary enterprise. These are not far from sight, and if we honestly and earnestly seek them, we shall find them and may apply them. II. GAINING DIVINE HELP. "The Lord God will be with thee . . . he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (ver. 20). If we proceed in a devoted and prayerful spirit we may claim these words as applicable to ourselves. We want, and can secure: 1. The inspiration which will prompt us to faithful work. 2. The effectuating power which will make our work succeed and endure. 3. 'l'he upholding grace which will carry us through all difficulties to the end. III. SECURING HUMAN co-OPERATION. Solomon would receive (1) help in material from the rich stores of his father (vers. 13-18); (2) the sympathy and assistance of (a) priests and Levites, (b) skilful workmen, (c) the people generally, from the prince to the peasant (ver. 21). We must not aspire to do God's work alone; it is in every way better that we should share the privilege and the responsibility with others. It is so for our own sake, for the.irs, and also for thP. sake of the more perfect accomplishment of the work itself. We may ask and accept aid in material and in men; from those whose specia.l function it is to render service in sacred things (" priests and Levites"), and those who are not thus professionally obliga.ted; from those who are "skilful" as well as "willing" (ver. 20), and from those who are willing but have skill to acquire, who will gain something of skilfulness in Christian work by taking a humble part in the work in hand; from those who are" princes" in social station and religious reputation, and from those who only belong to the "common people;" from all who are willing, and who will act, and thus learn to act more perfectly. IV. MAINTAINING OUR SPIBITOA.L STRENGTH. "Be strong and of good courage,, (ver. 20). We want the strength which accompanies courage. Timidity is weak; fearlessness is strong. And courage is not merely a matter of strong nerves; when of the noblest order, it is the outcome of spiritual excellency; it is the fruit of faith in God. "Be strong and of good courage" means this: maintain your integrity before God; abide in Jesus Christ, that his Spirit may abide in you (John xv. 4); nourish the sustaining assurance that God is with you, to befriend and inspire you ; go forth and hold on in the strength of the Strong and in the wisdom of the Wise, and you will not fail nor be discouraged. " They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength," etc. (Isa. xl. 31).-C. Vera. 1-8.-David's address to the princes of his kingdom. In the last two chapters we have David's final words to the princes of the people and to his son Solomon. In order to pass the kingdom over to his son and t-0 secure the succession, he summoned tho princes, and solemnly, in the presence of them all, appointed Solomon his successor. These princes included the princes of the tribes enumerated in eh. xxvii. 16-22; the princes of the divisions which sP-rved the king (eh. xxvii.1-15); the princes of thousands and hundreds; the chiefs and captains of the twelve army corps (eh. xxvii. 1); the princes of the domains and possessions of the king ( eh. xxvii. 26-31). 'l'he king "stood up upon his feet" to address this assembly. Previously, on account of age and feeble- ness, he had sat in bed. The first part of David's addres~ we have had previously (eh. xxii. 7-13). In the fourth verse he states how his election to be king was of God who had chosen Judah to be ruler, and that in the same way God had chosen Solomon from among his sons to be heir to the kingdom, and had committed to him the building of the temple, and concludes it by exhorting the whole assembly to continue faithful to God. Observe, the blessings of the throne and kingdom are linked to an inseparable condition (ver. 7)-that Solomon be" constant to do my commandments and my judg- JDents." 'l'hus temporal prosperity is inseparably connected with faithfulness to God's truth. Without this neither king nor kin~dom, man nor his work, can prosper in the true sense of the word. In this consists real " establishment." What the founda- tion is to a house God's truth is to a king's throne, Rnd to a man's soul and n!l cH, xxvm. 1-21.] 'fRE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 429