1 Kings viii, 27. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
The heaven of heavens cannot contain thee.] Lit. the heavens, and the heavens of heavens. What inconceivable sublimity of thought is here! The systems upon systems, equal in extent to our solar system, stretching throughout the infinity of space, with their millions upon millions of suns, whose light, traveling these 6000 years, at the rate of 190,000 miles a second, may not yet have reached us, these systems are represented not only as pervaded throughout their endless infinitude by the omnipresent Deity, but as inadequate to contain God! What unparalleled magnificence of thought! How do the conceptions of the heathen of their gods dwindle into nothingness before this Hebrew expression.—Jenks.
BOND-SERVICE OF CAPTIVES.
CHAP. ix, 21. Their children that were left after them in the land whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bond-service unto this day.
Bond-service.] When Sesostris (king of Egypt) returned from his wars, he caused temples to be built in all the cities of Egypt; but did not employ one Egyptian in the work; having builded the whole by the hands of the captives which he had taken in his wars; and caused this inscription to be placed on each temple: “No native has labored in these.”—Dr. A. Clarke.
QUEEN OF SHEBA AND THE GLORY OF SOLOMON.
CHAP. x, 4, 5. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.
No more spirit (breath?) in her.] She fainted. I have seen precisely the same effect produced: a lady, who was herself an artist, viewing some exquisitely finished oriental paintings, was so struck with astonishment, that she twice nearly fainted; and was obliged to leave the room. What happened to the queen of Sheba is a natural and not uncommon effect, which will be produced in a delicate, sensitive mind, at the sight of rare and extraordinary productions of art.—Dr. A. Clarke.
SYCAMORE TREE.
VERSE 27. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.
Sycamore.] A large evergreen tree, very common in Arabia, Palestine, and Egypt, especially in the low lands. Its wood is very durable, as the mummy chests of it, 3000 years old, prove. Its fruit is like a fig, and eaten by the poor, and its leaves like the mulberry. Hence its name, syke, a fig, in Greek, and morea, a mulberry tree, called Sycamore in the SS. See Harris. Its fruit springs from the trunk and not the branches, is destitute of seeds, very luscious, and is produced abundantly seven times a year.—Jenks.
DANGER OF IMPROPER MARRIAGES.
VERSE xi. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods.
Probably, Solomon's declension was gradual; he was perhaps elated with spiritual pride, as well as induced by his prosperity to indulge in luxury and ostentation; or, perhaps, he deemed it unnecessary for one of his wisdom and ability, and of his rank and authority, to restrict himself by those rules, which were needful or salutary to inferior persons, as if he were secure from those evils which they were intended to prevent! Thus he proceeded, till, perhaps, persons were employed to collect from every part of his kingdom, but especially from the subjected nations, every beautiful woman whom they found, without regard to her religion. Those of superior rank seem to have been numbered among his wives, and styled princesses; while the inferiors were his concubines, with inferior privileges. Those who have noted in history, or in society, the effects of the influence of inveigling women over the greatest and wisest of men, will readily perceive that matters were speedily in a train; and that it was almost impossible, without an immediate divine interposition, that Solomon should stop short of this extreme folly and wickedness, when he had once suffered himself to be entangled in the fatal net. (Judg.53xvi, 4-21.) The inspired historian, therefore, quotes the prohibition of marrying strange women, with the annexed consequence, “Surely they will turn away your heart after their gods,” to show that no eminency of wisdom, or firmness of resolution, will secure any man, when, in a careless or self-confident spirit, he presumes to violate God's commandments, and thus to run into temptation. Of this, Solomon formed a most striking proof.—Scott.
THE OLDEST CITY IN THE WORLD.
VERSE 24. And he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah; and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus.
Damascus.] Called also Damask, but generally El Sham (the sun), by the Arabs, is in a delightful plain, amid extensive gardens, forming a circuit of 25 or 30 miles, well watered by the Barrada, at the east foot of Antilibanus, being surrounded by hills in the form of a triumphal arch, 136 miles north of Jerusalem, 195 south of Antioch, and 276 south southwest of Diarbekir. It is a city of the highest antiquity, being at least as old as Abraham's time; it has often been captured, and several times demolished, but has always risen to splendor and dignity. It has well paved streets, with sidewalks, and above 500 large and magnificent houses entitled to the name of palaces; each house has a canal or fountain. Mosques and chapels are numerous, and the grand mosque is of great extent and magnificence. There are a Greek, Syrian, Maronite, and Armenian church, and 8 synagogues of Jews. Maundrell describes the modern town as long, straight, from northeast to southwest, slender in the middle, but bigger at each end, especially the northeast. Niebuhr makes the walls something less than a league and a half in circumference; and the population is estimated at from 100,000 to 150,000. [Burkhardt says 250,000; Lamartine, 400,000.]—Greenfield, and Enc. Am.
A late traveler, Lamartine, says of it in 1833: “In coming towards the city, we ascended a few hundred paces to a deep defile; our Arabs suddenly stopped short, and uttering exclamations of joy, pointed to an opening in the rock on our right. I approached, and looking through the cleft, beheld the grandest and most singular prospect that ever presented itself to the eye of man. It was Damascus and its boundless desert, lying at the depth of a few hundred feet below us. The city, surrounded by its ramparts of black and yellow marble, flanked by its innumerable square towers, crowned by sculptured crannies, commanded by its forests of minarets of every form, and intersected by the seven branches of its river and its numberless streams, extended as far as the eye could reach. It was a labyrinth of gardens and flowers, thrusting its suburbs here and there in the vast plain, encircled by its forest of ten leagues in circumference, and everywhere shaded by groves of sycamores, and trees of every form and hue.”—Pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1832-3.
Battle Creek Bible Class.—July 4, 1868.
By W. C. G.
HEBREWS II.
Verse 1. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
Q. What does the word “therefore” indicate?
A. A conclusion drawn from what precedes it.
Q. What is the fact from which the apostle draws this conclusion?
A. That God has spoken to us by his Son.
Q. What “things” are referred to?
A. The truths of the gospel, with which they had been made acquainted.
Q. What is meant by letting them slip?
A. The original signifies, as indicated by the margin, to “run out as leaking vessels.” As the contents of a leaky vessel escape drop by drop, almost imperceptibly, so the truth may be suffered to escape from our minds by imperceptible degrees, until, before we are aware of it, our hold upon it is entirely lost.
Verses 2, 3. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.
Q. What is meant by the “word spoken by angels?”
A. Probably reference is made to the fact that the law was given by the ministry of angels; and that angels were often the instruments of communication with God’s chosen people.
Q. What salvation is here alluded to?
A. That provided by the gospel. Great, because of the greatness of the sacrifice, the amplitude of its provisions, and the great amount of light diffused by its being “spoken by the Lord,” and “confirmed by them that heard him.”
Q. How was it confirmed by them that heard him?
A. The apostles, by their preaching, bore testimony to the truths first announced by the Saviour, and thus confirmed it.
Verse 4. God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will.
Q. What signs and wonders are here alluded to?
A. The supernatural manifestations of God’s Spirit, which accompanied the preaching of the apostles.
Q. What “gifts” are here meant?
A. Probably the same as are referred to in 1 Cor. xii.
Verse 5. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
Q. What is meant by “the world to come?”
A. The earth made new, or Paradise restored.
Verses 6, 7. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands.
A. The human race; or perhaps Adam, standing as a representative of the race.
Q. How was he crowned with glory and honor?
A. By being made the lord of the earth, and having dominion over all other creatures.
Verse 8. Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet; for in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
Q. What is meant by the last clause of this verse?
A. The apostle evidently alludes to the loss by the fall. Although all things were in the beginning placed in subjection to man, yet “now we see not yet all things put under him.”
Verse 9. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Q. How was Jesus made a little lower than the angels?
A. By taking upon himself the nature of man.
Q. In what sense did he taste death for every man?
A. He died for all. The provision is complete, and all may be saved by accepting the plan.
Verse 10. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Q. Who is meant by “him?”
A. Probably God, the Father; he who brings “many sons unto glory.”
Q. How was Christ made perfect through sufferings?
A. Not that he was, of himself, an imperfect being, but by sufferings he became a perfect Saviour, and a perfect high priest, in that by experiencing the temptations of the flesh, “he is able to succor those that are tempted.”
Verses 11, 12. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Q. In what sense are the sanctifier and sanctified all of one?
A. They are all members of one body, and heirs together of the same benefits and blessings.
Q. Why does the apostle so frequently quote from the Psalms?
A. The Jews acknowledged them as their Scriptures, and believed that these texts applied to the Messiah, when he should appear. The object in quoting them was to show that he had appeared.
Verse 13. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold, I and the children which God hath given me.
Q. What was the object of the first quotation?
A. To show that Christ ranks himself with his followers, by occupying the position which they should ever be in, i. e., putting their trust in God.
Verses 14, 15. Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil; and deliver them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Q. What is meant by the destruction of the Devil?
A. The defeat of his plans, by the deliverance of the righteous, and his final destruction, when the plan of salvation shall be consummated.
Q. In what sense are those delivered who were subject to bondage?
A. Delivered from their fears, by the hope of immortality brought to light through the gospel.
Verse 16. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Q. What is meant by the seed of Abraham?
A. The nature of man; and in another sense, the lineage of Abraham, thus fulfilling the promise to Abraham and his seed.
Verses 17, 18. Wherefore, in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.
Q. Why was it necessary for him to be “made like unto his brethren?”
A. That he might better understand their natures, their trials and weaknesses, and thus be indeed both a “merciful and faithful high priest.” W. C. G.
Metrical Version of Psalm XXIII.
By John Kellogg
1 The Lord my shepherd is;
He will my wants supply.
2 And down in pastures green,
He maketh me to lie.
He leadeth me along
Where waters gently flow;
3 My soul he doth restore,
When wandering I go;
In paths of righteousness
He leads for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though through death’s dark vale
My journey I shall take,
No evil will I fear;
For thou with me dost dwell.
Thy mighty rod and staff
My sorrows will dispel.
5 In presence of my foes
A table thou dost spread;
My cup doth overrun;
Thou dost anoint my head.
6 Great good shall follow me
Until my days are o’er;
And in the house of God
I’ll dwell forevermore.
John Kellogg.
Contentment in Hardship
“I NEVER complained of my condition but once,” said an old man, “when my feet were bare and I had no money to buy shoes; but I met a man without feet, and became contented.”
“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
In this chapter the apostle inculcates the duty of hospitality, particularly in respect to entertaining strangers; i. e., persons of whom we know nothing, but that they are now in a state of distress, and require the necessaries of life. Some, says the apostle, have entertained angels without knowing them; and some, we may say, have entertained great men, kings, and emperors, without knowing them. By exercising this virtue many have gained; few have ever lost.
God, in many parts of his own word, is represented as the stranger’s friend; and there is scarcely a duty in life which he inculcates in stronger terms than that of hospitality to strangers.
The Scriptures which more particularly recommend this duty are the following: “He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger in giving him food and raiment. Love ye, therefore, the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Deut. x, 18, 19. “I was a stranger, and ye took me in.” “Come ye blessed of my Father.” Matt. xxv, 35. “Given to hospitality.” Rom. xii, 13. Neglect not to entertain strangers. Heb. xiii, 2.
“The entertaining of unknown strangers,” says Dr. Owen, “which was so great a virtue in ancient times, is almost driven out of the world by the wickedness of it. The false practices of some, with wicked designs, under the habit and pretense of strangers, on the one hand, and pretenses for sordid covetousness on the other, have banished it from the earth. And there are enough who are called Christians who never once thought it to be their duty.” But it is vain to inculcate the duty where the spirit of it is not found; and we shall never find the spirit of it in any heart where the love of God and man does not rule.
Benevolent wishes of Be ye warmed, and Be ye clothed, are frequent enough; these cost nothing, and therefore can be readily used by the most parsimonious. But to draw out a man’s soul to the hungry, to draw out his warmest affections, while he is drawing out, in order to divide with the destitute, the contents of his purse, belongs to the man of genuine feeling; and this can scarcely be expected where the compassionate mind that was in Christ does not rule. One bountiful meal to the poor may often be a preventive of death; for there are times in which a man may be brought so low for want of proper nourishment that, if he get not a timely supply, after-help comes in vain, nature being too far exhausted ever to recover itself, though the vital spark may linger long. One wholesome meal in time may be the means of enabling nature to contend successfully with after privations; and he who has afforded this meal to the destitute, has saved a life. “But most who go about seeking relief are idle persons and impostors, and it would be sinful to relieve them.” When you know the applicant to be such, then refuse his suit; but if you have nothing but suspicion, which suspicion generally arises from an uncharitable and unfeeling heart, then beware how you indulge it. If, through such suspicion, a man should lose his life, God will require his blood at your hand.
Reader, permit me to relate an anecdote which I have heard from that most eminent man of God, the reverend John Wesley; it may put thee in mind to entertain strangers:
“At Epworth, in Lincolnshire, where (says he) I was born, a poor woman came to a house in the market-place and begged a morsel of bread, saying, I am very hungry. The master of the house called her a lazy jade, and bade her begone. She went forward, called at another house, and asked for a little small-beer, saying, I am very thirsty. Here she was refused, and told to go to the workhouse. She struggled on to a third door and begged a little water, saying, I am faint. The owner drove her away, saying he would encourage no common beggars. It was winter, and the snow lay upon the ground. The boys, seeing a poor rugged creature driven away from door to door, began to throw snow-balls at her. She went a little distance, sat down on the ground, lifted up her eyes to heaven, reclined on the earth, and expired!”
Here was a stranger; had the first to whom she applied relieved her with a morsel of bread, he would have saved her life, and not been guilty of blood. As the case stood, the woman was murdered; and those three householders will stand arraigned at the bar of God for her death. Reader, fear to send any person empty away. If you know him to be an impostor, why then give him nothing. But if you only suspect it, let not your suspicion be the rule of your conduct; give something, however little; because that little may be sufficient to preserve him, if in real want, from present death. If you know him not to be a knave, to you he may be an angel. God may have sent him to exercise your charity, and try your faith. It can never be a matter of regret to you that you gave an alms for God’s sake, though you should afterward find that the person to whom you gave it was both a hypocrite and impostor. Better to be imposed on by ninety-nine hypocrites out of a hundred applicants, than send one, like the poor Epworth woman, empty away.—Dr. Clarke.
True Test
TRUE TEST.— One evening, we are told, after a weary march through the desert, Mahomet was camping with his followers, and overheard one of them say, “I will loose my camel and commit it to God,” on which Mahomet spoke, “Friend, tie thy camel and commit it to God.”
MODERN SHIMEIS.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
WHEN a man is unfortunate and falls, then his enemies are all made manifest. This was so with David. Absalom, his son, by fair words, had stolen the heart of the people. He succeeded in getting many to follow him against his father David. So strong was this rebellion, that David had to flee from Jerusalem to save his life. Only a few went with him, while the mass was with Absalom. This was a dark hour with David, and it looked as though he must surely fall entirely.
As David was thus fleeing from Jerusalem, Shimei came out and cursed David, and cast stones at him, and at his men, and threw dust upon them. He accused David of being a wicked, bloody man, and then mentioned the calamities which had come upon him, and seemed to delight in naming them over as an evidence that God was not with him. How trying this must have been to David in that hour of adversity! But he bore it meekly, and God soon worked for him. In the end God brought upon Shimei the just reward of his wickedness. See 2 Sam. xvi; 1 Kings ii.
The course of some, in our times, often reminds me of old Shimei. When things go well, and all is prosperous, they do very well; but when any adversity comes upon the people of God, if his servants are afflicted, if they make any mistakes, however small, if any fail to do their duty, or to live out the truth, then these men come forth and begin to curse, and throw stones and dust, like old Shimei. They will eagerly hunt up everything that they can get to find fault with. While the faithful servants of God are bearing burdens, are toiling under great discouragement and heaviness of heart, while they are mourning over the adversities of the cause and are, like Moses, earnestly pleading with God to spare his people, and have mercy upon them, and while they are sacrificing time and means to build up the cause, the modern Shimeis are casting dust, and stones, and curses upon them. They sneer at this, laugh at that, and hold up the other thing to ridicule. God pity them. Angels of God faithfully record it all. The day of triumph for God's people draws on apace. Absalom will fall. David will again return to Jerusalem, and these Shimeis will again fear and tremble for their lives, as did he of old.
O Lord, grant me a part with thy people when others despise them; let me suffer with them while they are weak and few; give me to toil, and suffer, and sacrifice with them while little, and then let me share their triumph with them. Amen.
D. M. CANRIGHT.
Length of Prayers
LENGTH OF PRAYERS.— The subject of the length of prayers is occupying the attention of some of our exchanges. A correspondent of the Congregationalist and Recorder approves of the opinion of an other, that a prayer in the pulpit should never occupy over eight minutes, and says:
The Lord’s prayer occupies about a minute. Our Saviour’s prayer for his disciples, in which he seems to pour out his whole heart of love in their behalf, is about four and a half minutes long: Daniel’s remarkable prayer, chapter ix, three minutes; Ezra’s, chapter ix, two minutes; Nehemiah’s, chapter ix, five and a half minutes; Solomon’s at the dedication of the temple, five minutes; David’s greater prayer of confession, Psalm li, three minutes; the Apostle’s prayer, on the important occasion of filling the vacancy occasioned by the defection of Judas, is about twenty seconds long. I think that in none of the Psalms is the form of praying—direct address to God—kept up for a longer time than five or six minutes.”
The writer also says that he has heard a prayer, dedicatory of a very small meeting-house, more than seven times as long as that of King Solomon at the dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem.
The Richness of God’s Word
God’s word is like God’s world, varied, very rich, very beautiful. You never know when you have exhausted all its secrets. The Bible, like nature, has something for every class of mind. As in the phenomena around us there are resources and invitations both for science and poetry, so does God’s revelation furnish materials both for exact theological definition, and for the free play of devout thought and feeling. Look at the Bible in a new light and you straightway see some new charms.
Idleness
IDLENESS is like the nightmare—the moment you begin to stir yourself you shake it off.