The Sunday School

1. "And it cameto pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the houso of the Lord, and the king's house, and all Solornon's desire which he was pleased to do." Accordmg to verse 10 the work occupied 20 years, and during all this time Htram, king of Tyre, helped him with cedar and flr trees and with gold, according to all hls desire (verse 11). For this service Solomon gave Hiram as a kind of present S0 cities in Galilee, which, when Hiram eaw, were not pleasing unto him, and he called them Cabul, or displeasing (verses 11-13). It is impossible to please every one, and the great joy of a real servant of the Lord is that he seeks not to please men, but God, who trieth our hearts (Gal. i, 10; I Thess. ii, 4). Concerning all this work it is written that Solomon made all that came into his heart andprosperously effected it (II Chron. vii, 11). ïhis was'wholly due to the blossing of the Lord, which maketh rich and to which toil addethnothing (Prov. x, 23, R. V., margin). The temple issuggestiveof the New Jerusalem, the Bride, the Lamb's wife, which Is to come down from God out of heavenand be ft center and source of blessing to all nations on the millennial earth. It is now being builded and will be the pure and eternal liome of the redeemed out of all nations. At the building of Solomon's temple there was neither hammer nor ax nor any tooi of iron heard in the house while it was building, for the stones were made ready before they were brought thither (I Kings vi, 7). Believers are the living stones in the living temple and are all made ready down here in the quarries of daily lifo before brought to the place of building (I Pet. ii, 5). When we receiv the Lord Jesus, we are by His blood made fit to enter heaven (Col. 1, 12), but by all His healings pared for our place in His temple. There Is not a trial nor a blow too many in all the daily life, but a ' ' needs be' ' for every one. 2. "That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared unto Mm at Gibeon. " At Gibeon the Lord had said to him, " Ask what I shall give thee" (I Kings iii, 5). And the Lord was so pleased to have him ask only for wisdom that He gave him both riches and honor, which he had not asked (verse 18). Now, after 20 years Ho appears a second time to bless liim yet more. Our Lord Jesús carne the flrst time to give wisdom and righteousness to all who will accept Him. He will come the second time, without sin unto salvation, to bestow the completeness of His redemption (I Cor. i, 30; Heb. ix, 28). He is ever the same great giver, giving graee and glory to all who receive Him. 3. "And the Lord said unto him, Í have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made bef ore Me. " When we ask anythiug according to His will we know that He heareth us, and knowing that He has heard us we know that we have the petitions we desired of Him (I. John v, 14, 15.) The Lord accepted the house to put His name there, and assured Solomon that His eyes and His heart would be there perpetually. There is something very comforting in this for every bcliever, for if we present our bodies according to Rom. xii, 1, 2, we may be sure that He accepts the sacriflce, and if His name and eyes and heart would be upon a building of wood and stone, how much more will they be upon every member of the church which is the body of Christ. 4. "And if thou wilt vralk before Me, as David, thy father, walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee. ' ' Compare chapters ii, 4; vi, 12; xv, 5. To walk before God in truth with all the heart is the sum of Christian living. To Abram God said, "Walk before Me and be thou perfect" (Gen. xvii, 1). The Lord being with us (Math. xxviii, 20), it only requires that we steadfastly believe it, and trust Him to live out His life in us, according to Gal. ii, 20. A walk with God implies agreement, Immility and full control of the Spirit, but if we are only willing God will do it (Amos iii, 3; Mie. vi, 8; I John ii, 6; II Cor. vi, 16). 6. "Thenlwill establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever, as I promised to David, thy father." The promise to David was unconditional that his throne would be established forever (II Sam. vii, 12, 16). It will be fulfilled in Solomon if lie will walk before God with a perfect heart; if not, it will have to wait for sorae other who will so do. The king has not yet sat on David 's throne who completely filled the bill, but He livea and waits for it, and will do it when He shall come the eecond time. See Isa. ix, 6, 7; Luks i, 32, 33; Jer. xxiii, 5, 6; Acts ii, 30. 6, 7. "If ye shall at all turn from following Me then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I havo given them, and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people. " The Lord had said about the same thing to Moses in Deut. iv, 26, 27, and 28-37, and for over 18 centuries the world has seen it fulfllled, for they continued as a nation to despiso His word and misuse Hia prophets until there was no remedy (II Chron. xxxvi, 16). When in the fullness of time the Son of God Himself carne to betheir Saviourand King they cast Him out and killed Him, saying, "We have no king but Caesar." Henee for all these centuries since our Lord was I crucified the land has been desolate and Jerusalern trodden down of the gentiles. 8, 9. "Whyhath the Lord done thus unto this land and to this house? Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt." Thus, said the Lord, would j people ask and be answered when they should see the desolations of the city and i the land, and so it has been. Whether the Lord deals with Israel or with the church, He desires to show the abundance which Ho has for and loves to give to His people, that He may be known and trusted in, to His glory and His people's good. See in Deut. xxviii, 1-4, the fullness of blessing which was within Israel's reach simply on condition of obedience. See in Math. xi, 37-30; John xiv, 13, 14; xv, 11; xvi, 24; Rom. xv, 13 - some of the fullness that would be manif estly ours to God's glory if we would keep ourselves wholly for Him. Consider also Eph. iii, 20, 21, Jude xxiv and similar exceeding great and precious things which would be to His glory in us if we would be His obedient ones, living anly unto Hiin. ' ' Of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen" (I Kings ix, 22), and while we who are I leemed delight to be the bond slaves of Jesus Christ there is no slavishness in His service, for we are at the same time chilirenandfriends, f ree in our Fathcr's house to enjoy all that is His and to delight to do üis will.