The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 88

Son as our Saviour, Lord, and Friend. 3. \Vill awaken our dce~est joy and call forth our most fervent praise. We too shall celebrate the " goodness ' and the "mercy" of th_e Lord; his praise will be continually upon our lips. 4. Must be maintained by f&1thfulness unto the end. For it is only when we "abide in him," and continue t.o "keep his commandments," that his love and his joy "abide in us" (John xv. 6-11).-C. Vers. 4, 5.-Sacred ove1'flow. What meant this great slaughter of sheep and oxen? Why such a large, such a lavish expenditure of creature life? With our modern ideas of the sacredness of life, animal as well as human, we naturally inquire what purpose was served by sacrifices on such a scale as this. Clearly it was- I. NoT 1:, OBEDIENCE TO A DrvrNE COMMAND. There was no precept of the Law applicable to the case; the matter was entirely exceptional, and Solomon was cast on the resources of his own judgment and feeling. A very large part of our service must be spontaneous. \Ve are continually placed in circumstances in which no biblical statute can be quoted. We need to be possessed of such broad and deep religious principles that these will serve us in any position in which we may be placed. It is not a vast array of precepts, but a few inclusive and suggestive principles, which pre- pare us for the eventualities of our life. II. NOT To ENRICH ONE wno KNOWS NO NECESSITY. Whatever idea the heathen nations around may have had of their sacrifices as an enrichment of their deities, the Israelites had no snch vain thought (see Ps. 1. 8-13). We cannot enrich by our material presentations One who claims and holds the entire earth as his possession. Yet is there that which we can give to God which will, in a true sense, add to his possessions--our hearts and our lives; our own true selves; our trust, our love, our joy in him. May we not say that by the filial response of his children he is enriched? III. NOT TO APPEASE AN INEXORABLE ONE. It might be well enough that the priests , of Baal should have recourse to all the arts and devices of a passionate importunity in order to secure his attention and enlist his aid (1 Kings xviii. 26-29). But the Divine Father whom we worship has not to be approached thus in order to be atten- tive to the voice of our prayer, or in order to grant us bis merciful regard. He may, indeed, for a time withhold from us a. sense of his favour in order to draw forth our prayer a.nd to deepen our faith, and thus to enlarge and bless us. But as be did not require a vast multitude of beasts to be slain on his altar that his anger might be appeased, BO does he not require any multiplied devotions, or incessant entreaties that his for- giving love may be extended t.o us. On the other hand, he waits to be gracious, and is prepared to go forth to meet the spirit that returns to him. It was, tben- IV. A DESIBE TO RENDER ADDED HONOUR TO THE HOLY AND THE GRACIOUS ONEo 1. Solomon and those who were about him may have been powerfully affected by the near presence of the Holy One of Israel; and they may consequeatly have been disposed to offer these sacrifices which purified them from all uncleanness and made them less unworthy to stand before him; thus regarded, these lavish offerings were the over- flow of their humility. We are in no danger of going too far in this direction. We may, indeed, sometimes use language of shame and penitence which is in advance of our inward thought and actual spiritnal condition. That is a great mistake. It is not acceptable to God, and it is misleading to ourselves. But we are never in danger of having too deep a sense of our own unworthiness; by all means let humility of spirit have free course, both in fact and in expression. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 2. Solomon and bis attendants may have been keenly touched by a sense of God's great and special goodness to them, a.nd they may, therefore, have presented these offerings in gratitude and devotion. They were thus the overflow •of their ual. It is right that our zeal in the worship and service of God should be unbound by limits, should be free to utter itself in large and even lavish cont.ributions. We are not to be tied t.o the tenth of our produce and our income; we may be free and eager to contribute a fifth, a half, two-thirds of all that we possess "for the furtherance of the gospel." We are not limited to one-seventh of our time for devotion, or to any prescribed times in the day for communion with God; we do well to let our hearts ascend in prayer and holy fellowship every day and at all hours of the day. If we have the cuIUiciousness of God's abounding kindness, of our Saviour's surpassing love, o.f ea. vu. 1-22,] THE SECOND BOOK OF '!'HE C:tlRONICLES. 89