The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 67

. ~I_. SOLEMNITY. The young king seemed overwhelmed with a sense of respon• sibility. He was about to succeed a father renowned as a waITior, as a statesman, as a poet, as a ruler of men. He was about to rule a numerous and prosperous people, who bad been specially declared to be the Lord's, so that he would be hence- forth the representative of Jehovah. He foresaw that there would be snares not e9:sy to avoid, difficulties hard to surmount; and therefore he dared not go forward without the prayer, "0 God of my father, stand by me." Contrast this with the light spirit in which life-work is often undertaken. Describe a father about to vacate his plan in business, or in the Church, whose honour has been unstained, who has been a king amongst men, and urge on any who are about to succeed to such an inheritance the responsibility incurred, that they may feel " who is suffi- cient for these things ? " To go on to unknown temptations, to unattempted duties, in a flippant, godless spirit, is to show the foolliardiness of the captain who, in str9:nge waters, wrecks his vessel on the hidden shoal, because he scorns to employ a pilot. III. HoPEFULNEss. In ver. 4 be tacitly refers to what God had done for his father, as an example and pledge of what God could do for him. He implies that the promise, like the throne, came by inheritance. This was the teaching of the patriarchal dispensation. It was not withdrawn by Christ, who came "not to destroy, but to fulfil.'' Hence, in the first sermon preached after the baptism of the Church by the Holy Spirit, Peter refers to, and endorses for this dispensation, the declaration of Joel, " The promise is unto you, and to your children." Show how the privileges of Christian parentage keep pace with its responsibilities. What God had been to David was a sign to Solomon, his son, of what God would do for him; and therefore be prayed with eager hope. IV. HUMILITY. "I am but a little child." Solomon had enough to make him proud. He was immensely rich, was flattered by courtiers, was obeyed by a dis- ciplined army, was strikingly handsome (Psalm xlv.), and was at an age (twenty years old) when no one thinks least of himsel.£ But be recognized that God made him what he was (" Thou hast made Thy servant king"), and that, so far as wisdom and ability were concerned, he was "but a little child." Such has been the spirit of all trg.ly great men, e.g., Moses, when called in Midian (Exod. iii. 11) ; Isaiah, when he saw the Lord in the temple (Isa. vi.); Jeremiah, when invested with pro- phetic office (Jer. i.) This humility should characterize all who approach God. Refer to the Pharisee and publican (Luke xviii. 10-14) ; also to declaration that except we become as little children we cannot enter the kingdom. Contrast Solomon with his brothers, Absalom and Adonijah. He was content to wait God's time, and so was prepared for the place prepared for him. The chrysalis waits-is kept back-in its inactive stage, till both the wings are ready for the sunshine, and the sunshine ready for the wings. Humbly let us wait for the higher spheres of earth and the highest spheres of heaven .-A. R. Vers. 9-13. The wis<lom of Solomon's chowe. Solomon was never more kingly than when he made this choice. Subsequently he became enervated by prosperity, corrupted by heathen associations, &c., but now he ruled as a king ovel' himself. The bright promise of life is often gradually overcast, till it ends in the gloom of a hopeless night. Examples from Scripture, e.g., Saul the King, Eso.u. It is well to know the kind of choice that "pleased the Lord." In Solomon's there was true wisdom, for it had these elements- !. THE CHOICE WAS FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS RATHER THAN FOR THE ADVANTAGE OF HIMSELF. It was nat like asking for knowledge and wisdom that he might him- self be admired as a sage. This followed, but this he did not seek. He wished to rule God's people well for their good, and asked that he might do what was just in judgment, what was equitable in law. Such equity establishes any rule on a sure foundation. Our hold on India is chiefly due to the righteousness of our magistrates, and the trustworthiness of men like the Lawrences, Lord Mayo, &c. Natives would not hesitate to bring an action in one of our English law courts against an Englisl..t.man, so certain a.re they of eveD.-handed justice. This Solomon OH, IIL 16-28.] THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. 61