The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 155

Ver. 25.-Therefore now [Heh . .A.nd now. worthy ideas-snch as were prevalent in The promise has been but partially fulfilled. th1Lt age-of God e.s a local deity, limited to The house is built; he now prays that the epnce. The words clearly prove his grasp succession may be continued in De.vid'e of the omnipresence and infinity of God. line] keep [cf. ver. 24, "thou hriet kept"] With this pnssage compa.re Psa. cxxxix. with thy servant David my father that thou 7-10; Isa.. lxvi. 1 (quoted in Acts vii. 49), proml!ledet [Heh. spakest to, a.a a.hove] and Acts xvii. 24.J him, saying [The reference is of course to Ver. 28.-Yet have thou respect unto the the great promise of 2 Se.m. vii. 12-16], prayer of thy servant [=the pre.yer I now There shall not fall thee a man 1n my eight offer, which is that thou wilt hear all future to sit on the throne of Israel [cf. eh. ii. 4) , prayers offered here, mine and my people's] ao that [mo.rg., if only. As to the condition, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to see uote on oh. ii. 4, and cf. eh. vi. 12, 13) hearken unto the cry and to the prayer thy children take heed to [Heb. keep. Se.me word as above. The repetition is [Three words are used here, i17;ii:I, i1)J")l:1, snggestive. God's keeping His promise was e.nd nii. The first (from ,'?~ry;:i,'precat~ contingent on their keeping His command- est; see ver. 29) is apparently e. general term ments] their way, tha.tthey walk before me for prayer; the second (from ll~, propitius a.a thou hast walked before me. Juit) is properly e. cry for mercy ; hence an Ver. 26.-And now, O God [The LXX., earnest prayer or supplication; while the Vnlg., Syr., and Arab. read, 0 Lord God, a.s third signifies a joyful cry; hence e. mournful do many MSS. But the word is more likely cry or prayer] which thy servant prayeth to have been inserted (in conformity with before thee to-day. vers. 23, 25) the.n to he.ve been left out] let Ver. 29.-Tha.t thine eyes may be open thy word [The Keri ha.a thy words. Keil [This anthropomorphism does not conflict sees here e. reference to "all the words " of with what was so.id under ver. 27] toward 2 Sam. vii. 17 ; but this, especially when this house night and day [not so much to the reading is doubtful, is somewhat too watch over it e.s to see the worship and remote], I pray thee, be verified [IQ~~ prayer offered there], even toward the place optative form. Gesen., Gre.m. 126. 2] of which thou ha.at said, My name sha.ll be which thou spakest [Psa.. cnx:ii. 14] unto there [cf. Ezek. xlviii. 35, 1Lnd vers. 18. 19, thy servant David my father. 20, &o. When had God said this? Never, Ver. 27.-But L'Z,. Bahr refers for this perhaps, in so many words. Keil says the reference is to 2 Sam. vii.13 implicite (" He use of the word to 1 Sam. xxix. 8; 1 Kings shall build a.n house for my name"), while xi. 22 ; 2 Kings viii. 13; Jer. xxiii. 18] Wlli Rawlinson thinks the " reference is not to God indeed [Heb. verily; same root as that e.ny single text, but to the many pe.sse.ges in of preceding verb, "verified." The repeti- Deuteronomy where God speaks of e. placo tion shows the connexion of thought. " But which He will choose to 'set his name ' oo.n these words be verified ~ Will God there (Deut. xii. 5, 11, 18, &c. ; xiv. 23 ; verily," &c.] dwell on the earth? behold xv. 20; xvi. 2, &o.)" But it is very prob- the heaven and heaven of heavens [Sa.me able that a revelat10n was me.do to David expression Deut. x. 14. Cf. Pea. cxv. 16; respecting the sanctuary, the terms of which cxlviii. 4; Isa. lxvi. 1. The Jewish belief a.re not preserved to us. This is almost respecting the seven heavens (see Wetstein implied by Pae.. lxxviii. 68; cxxxii. 10; l on 2 Cor. xii. 2; Stanley, "Corinthians," Chron. xxii. 1-p!Lssages which prove that Z.c.) is of much later de.te, and a reference David claimed to have Divine sa.nction for to 1t, or to the belief of some Rabbins in two placing the temple on "Mount Zion." Paa.. hee.vens (after Deut. x. 14), is altogether out cxxxii. is unmistakeably DaviLlic, 11ml em- of the question. The " heaven of heavens " ="a.II the spe.ces of heaven, however vast bodies some features of the message of God (e.g., the conditiou, ver. 12) not prcservecl and infinite" (Gesen., cf. Paa. cxlviii. 4). The in 2 Sam. vii.] : that thou mayest hearken analogy of " holy of holies" would, however, suggest that not all the heavens, but the unto the prayer which thy servant shall highest heavens are intended] cannot con- make toward [Marg. in, but Heb. ',~ sup- ta.1n thee; how much less [1:i, ~~: Ewald, ports the A. V. rendering. Now that God S54 c] this houae that I have bullded? he.d revealed His presence in tho temple, [Two points are to be notioed here. (1) the Jew, wherovcr he might be, would, nn,l Solomon never denies for e. moment that as a m1Ltter of fact did, pmy to,cards it the temple was a ree.l habitation of Jehovah, (Dan. vi. 10; Psa. v. 7; Jonah ii. 4), just or that o. relLI presence we.s miwifested there. o.s the Moh1Lmmedan h1Ls his Kibleh in He only denies tlmt the Deity is contained Meooe.] this place. in earthly tewples (2) He lrnd no un- Ver. 30.-And hearken thou to the sup-  THE FlRST BOOit OF KINGS. [cB, VIII. 1-66.