The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 429

Dnt there is another 8ide to this truth. 'l'here are works which are to be preferred to others, if they can be rightly undertaken, because they are intrinsically better. Hence we urge- Il. THAT TIIERE IS WORK WHIOH Is TO DE rREFERRED WHEN THE 0HOI0E IS OFFERED trs .. _l. The spirit11al to the mechanical; e.g. leading in prayer or urging to religious dC'c1s1on or to deeper and fuller devoteilness, (to be preferred) to the work of "the doorkeeper in the hous11 of the Lord," good as that is in its time and way. 2. 7'/ie J'ractical to the speculative; e.g. doincr some work of rescue or reformation rather than indulging in speculations as to the e~ployments of tho heavenly country, or trying to read the riddle of the Apocalypse. 3. TIie sympathetic to tlie argumentative. It may h~ well to demolish the arguments of the assailant of the faith; it is better to" visit the widow and the fatherless in their affliction," to carry consolation and hope to those who are reaily to faint or to despair. The logical man does well to argue, but tho work of" the man who is a hiding-place from the wind and a covert from the tempest'' is of a nobler, a Christlier kind. 4. The costly to the costless. No sum is too small for the treasury of the Lord, no word too simple for the sanctuary; yet is it a better thing to bring to Jesus Christ that which costs us something (2 Sam. xxiv. 24)-the work which commands and requires our strength, the word on which we have speut patient and prayerful thought, the feeling which is a real expenditure of ourselves.-C. Vers. 6-16.-The service of the Lord, From this account of Josiah's great Passover we may learn- I. TBAT RELIGIOUS LIFE INCLUDES A FEW GREAT OCCASIONS. The religious life of Israel included some special occasions, of which this was one. Provision was made in the Law for one event of surpassing solemnity in every year (Lev. xvi.). .And the very checkered course the nation ran provided a few extraordinary scenes which were great and sacred opportunities. 'l'hus is it with individual lives. During a life of ordinary length and interest there will occur some few events which e.re signal, striking, critical. Much may depend on them; much use should be made of them. But, after all, it is not by them that our life will be sustained, and it is not upon them that any wise man will rely. It is the regular worship; it is the daily devotion; it is the habit=l recognition of God and appeal to him that determines our spiritual position, that. makes us to "live before" him and in him. II. THAT THE SERVICE OF GoD PROVIDES A VERY WIDE OPPORTUNITY, How many men, how many classes or orders of men, contributed to this one service l 'J'he king inspired and directed it (vers. 1, 2); the Levites" killed the Passover" (vers. 6-11); the priests "sprinkled the blood" (ver. 11). The heads of the orders, from the king downwards, contributed generously of their flocks to supply the people's need (vers. 7-9). 'l'be singers sang (ver. 15); the porters "waited at every gate" (ver. 15). So "all the service of the Lord" was rendered, every one ta.king his place and doing his best thereat (ver. 16). The Church of Obrist is one body with many members, and all the members have not the same office; very various indeed are the offices which are rendered by the disciples of the one Lord. .And as, year by year, Christian life, as well as civilized life, becomes more complex and intricate, it becomes more decisively and imperatively our duty to recognize the fact that, while our own particular functio:'1 has its importance, it is only one among many others, and that every one of us 1s beholden to his fellows for valuable services which it is not in his own power to render• .And it is well also to mark that, in a state so complicated, with so many posts to be filled, there is the less excuse for any idle member. III. THAT THE SERVICE OF OTHERS SHOULD PRECEDE PROVISION FOB OURSELVES, ".Afterward they made ready for themselves" (ver. 14). In the kingdom of Christ we are not to stand upon our official rights; we are to claim the supreme honour of serving others after the manner of our Divine Leader. He was "among us as one that servetb • " he was here "not to be ministered unto, but to miniHter;" and we never stand n~a.rer to him than when we abneg:ite any right we might officially claim, and 1,refer to wait upon others' wants; to miuister to their necessities; to make them glad, or to do them good. Of ourselves we may thiuk and for ourselves we may care, but ajterward, not first. l V. THAT WE llA Y BENDER AN EXCELLENT SERVICE BY A REVIVAL OF THE FORGOTTEN, oa, xxxv. 1-27.) THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 433