The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 26

will own and honour us as his servants, if only we are loyal and true. "To the wicked God snys, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes ? " etc. (Ps. I. 16). But to the upright in heart (including the penitent, see Ps. li. 12, 13), to all those who have returned in spirit to him, and who sincerely desire to extend his reign over the hearts of men, be is ever saying, "Go, work in my vineyard; go, build up my kingdom• go, gather my erring sons and daughters, and lead them home to my heart."-O. ' Ver. 11.-God's care for the country. "Because the Lord hath loved hie people, he bath made thee king over them." We reach our subject by the remembrauce of- I. Gon's ATTITUDE TOWARD ISRAEL IN RESPEOT OF THE MONAROHY UP TO SOLOMON'S TIME. It has to be considered: 1. That for a visible human sovereignty God held thepeo~le themselves responsible. He did not impose it; nor did he suggest it; nor did he desire it; on the other hand, by the mouth of his servant Samuel, he strongly dissuaded from it (see 1 Sam. viii.). 2. That, granting their request, God gave them a king on their own chosen principle. They demanded a sovereign they could see and hear, one that would be a king "after the flesh ; " and on this fleshly and material principle God selected one that had bodily advantages (see 1 Sam. x. 23, 24). 3. That, when Saul failed, God had pity upon them, and gave them a man after his own choice-a man who had, truly, some serious defects-as who had not ?-but who, by the fascination of his bearing, by the courage and capacity of his leadership, by his unswerving loyalty to his God, bound the nation together, overcame its numerous enemies, extended its borders, and held it fast to the service of Jehovah. And now God had given to the people David's son, Solomon. And we look at- 11. Gon's GIFT TO ISRAEL IN PREFERRING SOLOMON TO THE THBONE. It was a Divine appointment, that made for: 1. National piety. Solomon regarded as the great a.et of his reign the "building a house for the Name of the Lord." And the erection of the temple and the subsequent arrangement of its services did much to bind the people, not of Jerusalem only but of the entire kingdom, to the worship of Jehovah. It promoted national piety by securing the adherence of the people to the service of the true and living God. And this piety meant more than worship; it meant purity also, a sou11.d morality. For no man could be an acceptable worshipper of Jehovah who did not renounce iniqnity and seek after righteousness and blamelessness of life. 2. National pea,ce. Solomon, true to his name, was a man of peace. The nation had known enough of war under David; it required peace, and this Solomon gave it. In this matter almost everything then and there depended upon the character and spirit of the monarch. A war-like king would create national hostilities; a peace-loving king ensured national rest from strife. We know what war means; it may mean glory, enlargement, enrichment; .it must mean cruelty, passion, pain, death, desolation in heart and home; it must mean an arrest laid upon national industry and enterprise. But by the promotion of Solomon God was providing for: 3. National industry. During his reign a great stimulus was given to the industrial arts and to the commerce of the country. Israel opened'.its eyes to see what it had not had any glimpse of before, and an immense stride was taken in the path of civilization and production. Thus God cared for the country which he bad especially made his own. Thus he cares for all countries, when he raises up men that seek the piety (and with that the morality), the peace, the ind~ry, of the people. Thus shall we be truly working with God when we live to promote ihese great causes. It is in these things that a nation finds its real prosperity; and he is the faithful citizen of his native land who throws his influence, in every open way, into these scales; it is he who truly loves and serves his country.--C. Vers. 13-18.-Lessons from the labourers. The interesting particulars we ho.ve of the labours of building the temple give us a variety of suggestions. I. THE VALUE OF A WISE INTERMINGLING. 1. Of blood. The principal architect and engineer supplied by King Hiram was a man of mixed blood; his father was a man of Tyre, but his mother was a Jewess (see 1 Kings vii. 14), and he appears to have been a man of unusual ability. The mixture of races is proved to be of a very distinct ad vantage, and we may be very thankful that the discords and contentions of our early history resulted in the mingling of the virtues of Saxon, Celt, and Roman in the English cn. 11. 1-18.] THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 27