The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 58

Ven;. 13, 14.-God's glory in the sanctuary: church-opening sermon. Profou"Od!y l!~bdued _,rnd 5?lemnized indeed must thos~ worshippers have been on this great occa- sion. \\ hen, m the presence of the sovereign and of all the elders of Israel, tho priests bronght the ark of the co,•enant into its place, into the holy of holies; when they reverently withdrew from that innermost sanctuary, which was only to be entered once in the year by the high priest only; and when, amid the sound of many trumpets and the loud voice of sacred song, the sanctuary was suddenly filled with that luminous cloud which syrn bolized and assured the presence of Jehovah ;-the supreme moment had arrived in the history of the sacred building: "for the glory of the Lord filled the hou~e of God." If we a.sk the question-When may it be truly said of our Christian sanctuaries that "the glory of God has filled" them? we should say it is when- 1 Goo's PRESENCE IS REALIZED BY THOSE WHO WORSHIP WITHIN THE HOUSE. When they who meet one another there are profoundly conscious that they have come to meet God; t hnt the Lord of all power and truth and grace is present in the midst of them-as ti-uly, though not as manifestly, present as he was in the temple when "the house was filled with a cloud." It is a deep and strong sense of God's nearness to us tbat mA.kes that to be "holy ground" on which we stand. II. Goo's SPIRITUALITY IS RECOGNIZED AND HONOURED. God is glorified when he is truly and acceptably worshipped by his human children. And be i., thus worshipped when he is approached and honoured as a Divine Spirit (John iv. 23, 24; Phil. iii. 3); when worship is essentially and predominantly spiritual; when the service is not merely or mainly that of the lip or the hand, but of the mind, of the heart, of the will; of the intellfo:ent, fervent, determining spirit; when prayer and praise and "inquiry n (Ps. xxvii. 4) a.re tbe devout actions of the soul. III. Goo's NATURE AND CHARACTEB ABE PRESENTED IN THEm FOLNESS. When he is not represented in a way that is needlessly and culpably partial and misleading, but when be is made known with the fulness with which he bas revealed himself to us; when the message that is declared concerning him is that " God is light, and in him is no darkness at all," and also that " God is love," love being the chief, the commanding, the crowning feature of his character; when he is presented as the Author of law, and also "the God of all grace,'' and "the God of our salvation;" when he is made known as the Divine One, who punishes all iniquity (both in the body and in the spirit), and who also pardons sin and restores the offender to his favour and his friendship; when not only the grandeur of his holiness, but also the glory of his goodness (Exod. x.xxiii. 19) are upheld before the eyes of men; when he is preached as the universal Sovereign, holding all hearts and lives in his control, and also as the Divine Father, deeply interested in all bis children, and seeking their return to his likeness and to his home;- then the" 11:lorious God" is seen by those who have" eyes to see" the highes~and the best. IV. Goo's GRACIOUS POWER IS MANIFESTED, When, in the Person and'- by the power of his Divine Spirit, he takes possession of the mind and heart of those who are gathered in his presence; when he thus inspires the teacher who speaks in his Name, quickens and animates the hearts of his people, renews the will and regenerates the spirit of those who entered his house unreconciled to his rule. This, bis gracious action, is that manifestation of his glory which we should most eagerl,v desire and should most sedulously seek; it is to be found by purity and prayer (see Matt. v. 8; 1 Cor. iii. 16; vi. 19 ; Luke xi. 13).-C. Vers. 1-14.-Tlte dedwation of the temple: 1. The bringing-m of the ark. I. THE PREPARATION FOR TnE CEREMONY. (Vers. 1-4.) 1. The completion of the temple furniture. The manufacture of the various articles having been described in the pre- cedinu chapter it is here briefly recorded that the whole work which Solomon made for th"e house ~f the Lord was finished-a happy illustration of the proverb, "Better is the end of a tbiou,'' etc. (Eccles. vii. 8). 'l'he work, difficult and varied as well as laborious and costly, had been carried to a successful termination. Of how few human 011. v. 1-14.] 'l'I-IE SECOND BOOK OF 'fHE CHRONICLES. 50