13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
16 O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.
17 I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.
18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:
19 And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.
20 And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king.
21 And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings unto the LORD, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel:
22 And did eat and drink before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the LORD to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest.
23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
24 And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.
25 And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
13 Now therefore, our God, H430 we thank H3034 thee, and praise H1984 thy glorious H8597 name. H8034
14 But who am I, and what is my people, H5971 that we should be H6113 able H3581 to offer so willingly H5068 after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own H3027 have we given H5414 thee.
15 For we are strangers H1616 before H6440 thee, and sojourners, H8453 as were all our fathers: H1 our days H3117 on the earth H776 are as a shadow, H6738 and there is none abiding. H4723
16 O LORD H3068 our God, H430 all this store H1995 that we have prepared H3559 to build H1129 thee an house H1004 for thine holy H6944 name H8034 cometh of thine hand, H3027 and is all thine own.
17 I know H3045 also, my God, H430 that thou triest H974 the heart, H3824 and hast pleasure H7521 in uprightness. H3476 As for me, in the uprightness H4339 of mine heart H3824 I have willingly offered H5068 all these things: and now have I seen H7200 with joy H8057 thy people, H5971 which are present H4672 here, to offer willingly H5068 unto thee.
18 O LORD H3068 God H430 of Abraham, H85 Isaac, H3327 and of Israel, H3478 our fathers, H1 keep H8104 this for ever H5769 in the imagination H3336 of the thoughts H4284 of the heart H3824 of thy people, H5971 and prepare H3559 their heart H3824 unto thee:
19 And give H5414 unto Solomon H8010 my son H1121 a perfect H8003 heart, H3824 to keep H8104 thy commandments, H4687 thy testimonies, H5715 and thy statutes, H2706 and to do H6213 all these things, and to build H1129 the palace, H1002 for the which I have made provision. H3559
20 And David H1732 said H559 to all the congregation, H6951 Now bless H1288 the LORD H3068 your God. H430 And all the congregation H6951 blessed H1288 the LORD H3068 God H430 of their fathers, H1 and bowed down their heads, H6915 and worshipped H7812 the LORD, H3068 and the king. H4428
21 And they sacrificed H2076 sacrifices H2077 unto the LORD, H3068 and offered H5927 burnt offerings H5930 unto the LORD, H3068 on the morrow H4283 after that day, H3117 even a thousand H505 bullocks, H6499 a thousand H505 rams, H352 and a thousand H505 lambs, H3532 with their drink offerings, H5262 and sacrifices H2077 in abundance H7230 for all Israel: H3478
22 And did eat H398 and drink H8354 before H6440 the LORD H3068 on that day H3117 with great H1419 gladness. H8057 And they made Solomon H8010 the son H1121 of David H1732 king H4427 the second time, H8145 and anointed H4886 him unto the LORD H3068 to be the chief governor, H5057 and Zadok H6659 to be priest. H3548
23 Then Solomon H8010 sat on H3427 the throne H3678 of the LORD H3068 as king H4428 instead of David H1732 his father, H1 and prospered; H6743 and all Israel H3478 obeyed H8085 him.
24 And all the princes, H8269 and the mighty men, H1368 and all the sons H1121 likewise of king H4428 David, H1732 submitted themselves H5414 H3027 H8478 unto Solomon H8010 the king. H4428
25 And the LORD H3068 magnified H1431 Solomon H8010 exceedingly H4605 in the sight H5869 of all Israel, H3478 and bestowed H5414 upon him such royal H4438 majesty H1935 as had not been on any king H4428 before H6440 him in Israel. H3478
13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding.
16 O Jehovah our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name cometh of thy hand, and is all thine own.
17 I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, that are present here, offer willingly unto thee.
18 O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee;
19 and give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.
20 And David said to all the assembly, Now bless Jehovah your God. And all the assembly blessed Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped Jehovah, and the king.
21 And they sacrificed sacrifices unto Jehovah, and offered burnt-offerings unto Jehovah, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink-offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel,
22 and did eat and drink before Jehovah on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto Jehovah to be prince, and Zadok to be priest.
23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of Jehovah as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
24 And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.
25 And Jehovah magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
13 `And now, our God, we are giving thanks to Thee, and giving praise to Thy beauteous name;
14 yea, because, who `am' I, and who `are' my people, that we retain power to offer thus willingly? but of Thee `is' the whole, and out of Thy hand we have given to Thee;
15 for sojourners we `are' before Thee, and settlers, like all our fathers; as a shadow `are' our days on the land, and there is none abiding.
16 `O Jehovah our God, all this store that we have prepared to build to Thee a house, for Thy holy name, `is' out of Thy hand, and of Thee `is' the whole.
17 `And I have known, my God, that Thou art trying the heart, and uprightness dost desire; I, in the uprightness of my heart, have willingly offered all these: and now, Thy people who are found here I have seen with joy to offer willingly to Thee.
18 `O Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this to the age for the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, and prepare their heart unto Thee;
19 and to Solomon my son give a perfect heart, to keep Thy commands, Thy testimonies, and Thy statutes, and to do the whole, even to build the palace `for' which I have prepared.'
20 And David saith to all the assembly, `Bless, I pray you, Jehovah your God;' and all the assembly bless Jehovah, God of their fathers, and bow and do obeisance to Jehovah, and to the king.
21 And they sacrifice to Jehovah sacrifices, and cause to ascend burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the morrow of that day, bullocks a thousand, rams a thousand, lambs a thousand, and their oblations, even sacrifices in abundance, for all Israel.
22 And they eat and drink before Jehovah on that day with great joy, and cause Solomon son of David to reign a second time, and anoint `him' before Jehovah for leader, and Zadok for priest.
23 And Solomon sitteth on the throne of Jehovah for king instead of David his father, and prospereth, and all Israel hearken unto him,
24 and all the heads, and the mighty men, and also all the sons of king David have given a hand under Solomon the king;
25 and Jehovah maketh Solomon exceedingly great before the eyes of all Israel, and putteth upon him the honour of the kingdom that hath not been on any king over Israel before him.
13 And now, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer willingly after this manner? for all is of thee, and of that which is from thy hand have we given thee.
15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no hope [of life].
16 Jehovah our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house to thy holy name, is of thy hand, and is all thine own.
17 And I know, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart have I willingly offered all these things; and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, offer willingly to thee.
18 Jehovah, God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and direct their hearts to thee!
19 And give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.
20 And David said to all the congregation, Bless now Jehovah your God. And all the congregation blessed Jehovah the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and did homage to Jehovah and the king.
21 And they sacrificed sacrifices to Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings to Jehovah, on the morrow after that day: a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink-offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.
22 And they ate and drank before Jehovah on that day with great joy. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him to Jehovah to be prince, and Zadok to be priest.
23 And Solomon sat on the throne of Jehovah as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
24 And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves to Solomon the king.
25 And Jehovah magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him royal majesty such as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
13 Now therefore, our God, we thank you, and praise your glorious name.
14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come of you, and of your own have we given you.
15 For we are strangers before you, and foreigners, as all our fathers were: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding.
16 Yahweh our God, all this store that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name comes of your hand, and is all your own.
17 I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy your people, that are present here, offer willingly to you.
18 Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of your people, and prepare their heart to you;
19 and give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.
20 David said to all the assembly, Now bless Yahweh your God. All the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshiped Yahweh, and the king.
21 They sacrificed sacrifices to Yahweh, and offered burnt offerings to Yahweh, on the next day after that day, even one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, and one thousand lambs, with their drink-offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel,
22 and ate and drink before Yahweh on that day with great gladness. They made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him to Yahweh to be prince, and Zadok to be priest.
23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
24 All the princes, the mighty men, and also all of the sons of king David submitted themselves to Solomon the king.
25 Yahweh magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
13 So now, our God, we give you praise, honouring the glory of your name.
14 But who am I and what is my people, that we have power to give so freely in this way? for all things come from you, and what we have given you is yours.
15 For we, as all our fathers were, are like men from a strange country before you, who have got a place for a time in the land; our days on the earth are like a shade, and there is no hope of going on.
16 O Lord our God, all this store, which we have made ready for the building of a house for your holy name, comes from your hand and is yours.
17 And I am conscious, my God, that you are the searcher of hearts, taking pleasure in righteousness. As for me, with an upright heart I have freely given all these things; and I have seen with joy your people who are here to make their offerings freely to you.
18 O Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the deepest thoughts of your people, and let their hearts be fixed and true to you;
19 And give to Solomon my son a true heart, to keep your orders, your rules, and your laws, and to do all these things, and to put up this great house for which I have made ready.
20 And David said to all the people, Now give praise to the Lord your God. And all the people gave praise to the Lord, the God of their fathers, with bent heads worshipping the Lord and the king.
21 And they made offerings to the Lord, and gave burned offerings to the Lord, on the day after, a thousand oxen, a thousand sheep, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and a great wealth of offerings for all Israel.
22 And with great joy they made a feast before the Lord that day. And they made Solomon, the son of David, king a second time, putting the holy oil on him to make him holy to the Lord as ruler, and on Zadok as priest.
23 So Solomon was put on the seat of the Lord as king in place of his father David, and everything went well for him; and all Israel was under his authority.
24 And all the chiefs and the men of war and all the sons of King David put themselves under the authority of Solomon the king.
25 And the Lord made Solomon great in the eyes of all Israel, clothing him with glory and honour such as no other king in Israel had had before him.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 29
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 29 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 29
This chapter relates how largely and liberally David, besides what he had before done, and his princes, offered towards defraying the expenses of building the temple, 1 Chronicles 29:1 and the joy and thankfulness that he and his people expressed on that account, attended with prayers for Solomon, and offering sacrifices unto the Lord, 1 Chronicles 29:9 and the chapter is closed, and so the book, with an account of the second unction of Solomon, the placing him on the throne, and the submission of all ranks of men unto him, and of the death of David, 1 Chronicles 29:22.
Furthermore, David the king said unto all the congregation,.... Having finished what he had to say to Solomon, he addressed the congregation again:
Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen; both to be king, and to build the temple
is yet young and tender; see 1 Chronicles 22:5.
and the work is great; both of governing so great a people, and of building so magnificent a temple, especially the latter is meant:
for the palace is not for man; for any mortal king, though ever so great:
but for the Lord God; the Targum is,"but for the Word of the Lord God,'who is the King of kings, and Lord of lords; and therefore is to be built as with the greatest exactness, according to the pattern he himself has given, so with the greatest splendour and magnificence.
Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God,.... According to the utmost of his ability for the building and decorating of it:
the gold for the things to be made of gold; as the candlesticks, shewbread tables, &c.
and the silver for things of silver; as for basins, &c.
and the brass for things of brass; as the brasen altar, brasen laver:
and iron for things of iron; for nails, hinges, &c.
and wood for things of wood; for rafters, ceilings, floors, &c.
onyx stones; the Targum, stones of beryl: and stones to be set; other precious stones to be set in gold and silver:
glistering stones; the Targum, emeralds; the word is used for stibium, or black lead, with which women painted their eyes; and so may signify black stones, like black lead; as white marble is after mentioned, perhaps black is here meant, or such stones Solomon paved the ways with leading to JerusalemF25Joseph. Antiqu. l. 8. c. 7. sect. 4. : but as such stones are not very glistering, there seems to be no reason for such an epithet; unless the stone "phengites" should be meant, which was a clear bright stone, and served for looking glasses. Domitian the Roman emperor, when under suspicion of being murdered by persons he had offended, garnished the porticos of his palace with this stone, which was of such brightness, that by the images formed in it he could see what was behind himF26Sueton. Vit. Domitian. c. 14. Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 36. c. 22. Isidor. Origin. l. 16. c. 4. ; and so Lucian speaksF1De Dea Syria. of Astarte having a splendid stone about her, called λυχνις, which in the night gave much light to the temple, but shone weakly in the day time, and looked like fire:
and of divers colours; that is, stones of various colours, as jaspers, amethysts, &c. Kimchi interprets it of embroidered clothes, and garments of needlework, and in these precious stones were sometimes inserted:
and all manner of precious stones; as pearls, diamonds, &c. it is hard to say what all these precious stones were for; Jarchi and Kimchi think they were to decorate the walls overlaid with gold, in which they were set; it is certain they were for garnishing and beautifying the house, see 2 Chronicles 3:6.
and marble stones in abundance; for pillars, tables, and pavement, as Jarchi; this was Parian marble, according to the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions; the whitest of marbleF2"----Pario marmore purius." Horat. Carmin. l. 1. ode 19. , found the island of Paros, and which agrees with the word here used.
Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God,.... Had a good will to it, and was earnestly desirous of having it built, and that in a grand manner:
I have of my own proper good; which he had treasured up for his own use:
of gold and silver, even that I have given to the house of my God; to build or ornament it, or make vessels for it:
over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house; for the building of the temple, which is made mention of in the preceding chapter.
Even three thousand talents of gold,.... Which, according to ScheuchzerF3Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631. , amount to 36,660,000 ducats of gold; and, according to BrerewoodF4De Ponder. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5. , to 13,500,000 pounds of our money:
of the gold of Ophir; which was reckoned the best gold; not Ophir in India, which was not known till Solomon's time, but in Arabia, as BochartF5Phaleg. l. 2. c. 27. Colossians 140. has shown; so EupolemusF6Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 30. p. 447. , an Heathen writer, says, that David having built ships at Achan, a city of Arabia, sent miners to Urphe (supposed to be the same with Ophir) in the island of the Red sea, abounding with gold, and from thence fetched it; see Gill on 1 Kings 9:28, and that he was able to give so great a sum out of his own substance, Dr. PrideauxF7Connection, par. 1. p. 5,6. thinks, can only be accounted for by his great returns from this traffic; since these 3000 talents, according to him, amounted to 21,600,000 pounds sterling:
and seven thousand talents of refined silver; amounting, according to ScheuchzerF8Ut supra. (Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631.) , to 31,500,000 imperials, or rix dollars; and, according to BrerewoodF9Ut supra. (De Ponder. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5.) , to 2,625,000 pounds of our money:
to overlay the walls of the houses withal; the gold was to overlay the walls of the holy and most holy place, the silver to overlay the walls of the chambers built around the temple.
The gold for things of gold, the silver for things of silver,.... The one for what was to be overlaid with gold, the other for what was to be overlaid with silver:
and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers; what remained was to be made use of in employing artificers in making vessels for the temple that were needful:
and who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord; or fill his hand?F11למלאות ידו "impleat manum suam", V. L. "ut impleat manum suam", Vatablus, Piscator. and give largely and liberally towards building an house for the service and worship, honour and glory, of God; and David, having set so good an example, could with the better grace recommend the good work to his nobles and people, and which had its desired effect, as follows.
Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel,.... The princes of the twelve tribes:
and the captains of thousands, and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king's work; who were now assembled, 1 Chronicles 28:1.
offered willingly; and cheerfully; needed no more arguments to press them to it, but at once readily communicated.
And gave for the service of the house of God,.... For building and adorning it, and providing proper utensils for it:
of gold five thousand talents; which, according to ScheuchzerF12Ut supra. (Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631.) , came to 61,100,000 ducats of gold: and these, with "the 10,000 drachms"; make of our money, according to BrerewoodF13Ut supra. (Physica Sacra, vol. 4. p. 631.) , 22,507,500 pounds; some reckon a drachm at two ducats and a half, and somewhat moreF14Eisenschmidius apud Scheuchzer. ib. p. 635. :
and of silver ten thousand talents; which, according to the former writer, amounted to 450,000,000 imperials, or rix dollars; and, according to the latter, they made of our money 3,750,000 pounds:
and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron; the weight of each of which were so much.
And they with whom precious stones were found,.... Such as are mentioned 1 Chronicles 29:2.
gave them to the treasure of the house of the Lord; to be laid up there:
by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite; who, and his sons, had the care of that treasury, 1 Chronicles 27:21.
Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly,.... They were not only glad that they had it to offer, but that they had hearts to do it; they found themselves quite free to do the work, and saw it was so with others, which gave them extreme pleasure:
because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord; not grudgingly, but cheerfully; not pressed and urged to it; not by constraint, but freely, and that with a pure view to the honour and glory of God:
and David the king also rejoiced with great joy; it made his heart glad exceedingly, now he was old, and just going out of the world, to see this good work in such forwardness, on which his heart had been so much set; it gave him reason to believe it would be set about in good earnest, be carried on with vigour, and brought to perfection.
Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation,.... To whose goodness he ascribed both the ability and willingness of him, and his people, to offer after such a manner; he knew it was God that wrought in them both to will and to do, and therefore gave him the glory of it:
and David said, blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our Father, for ever and ever; the phrase, "our father", does not belong to the God of Israel, their father by covenant and adoption, but to Israel, or Jacob, the ancestor of the Jewish nation; who is made mention of on this occasion, he being the first that spoke of building an house for God, as some Jewish writers, Jarchi and Kimchi, observe, see Genesis 28:22.
Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty,.... That is, either God is possessed of all greatness and immensity, of dignity of nature, and of all perfections; of almighty power, of excellent glory, of superiority to all beings and of honour, and majesty, and all that grandeur, might, and honour in men, and victory over others; the majestic appearance they make, and exaltation above others they have, are all of God:
for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; they are both made by him, and all that is in them, and therefore he has the sole right unto them:
thine is the kingdom, O Lord; of nature and Providence; he has the sole dominion over all creatures, and the sovereign disposal of all things:
and thou art exalted as head above all; men on earth, and angels in heaven.
Both riches and honour come of thee,.... Whatever of either the children of men have is not owing to their merits, nor to their diligence and industry, and wise conduct, but to the providence of God, Ecclesiastes 9:11 so the gods with the Heathens are saidF15 πλουτοδοται, Hesiod. Opera, ver. 124. see ver. 316. to be givers of riches:
and thou reignest over all; govern the world by wisdom, and dispose all things in it for the best:
in thine hand is power and might; to do whatsoever he pleaseth:
and in thine hand it is to make great; in worldly things, and so in spiritual:
and to give strength unto all; against their enemies, and to do the will and work of God; of all which David had had an experience.
Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. That he that was so great, and so much above them, should take notice of them, and bestow so many great and good things on them.
But who am I,.... Originally dust and ashes, a sinful creature, unworthy to receive anything from God, and of having the honour of doing anything for him:
and what is my people: subject to him, the least of all people, separated from the nations round about them, and despised by them:
that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? that they, who were a poor people, some years ago brought out of Egyptian bondage, should now be possessed of such an affluence, and have such a generous heart and liberal spirit given them, as to contribute in so large and liberal a manner as they had done; all was owing to the goodness of God to them, and the efficacy of his grace upon them:
for all things come of thee; all good things, temporal and spiritual; the Lord is the fountain of goodness, and Father of mercies:
and of thine own have we given thee; for there is nothing a man has but he has received from the Lord, and therefore can give nothing to him but his own, see Romans 11:35.
For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers,.... For though they were in possession of the land of Canaan, yet they held it not in their own right, but as the Lord's:
who said, the land is mine, Leviticus 25:23, they were but tenants in it, and were not to abide long here; they belonged to another city and country; the consideration of which might tend to set them loose to worldly things, and the more easily to part with them for the service of God, and the honour of his name:
our days on the earth are as a shadow; man's life is expressed by days, not months and years, being so short; and by days on earth, in distinction from the days of heaven, or eternity; and these said to be as a shadow, of a short continuance, empty, mutable, and uncertain, dark and obscure, quickly gone, like the shadow of the sun; and not only like that, or of a mountain, tree or wall; but, as the Targum, of a bird that is flying, which passes away at once:
and there is none abiding; not long, much less always, being but sojourners as before; so Cato in CiceroF16De Senectute, c. 23. is represented as saying,"I depart out of this life as from an inn, and not an house; for nature has given us an inn to sojourn, not a place to dwell in:'or "there is no hope or expectation"F17אין מקוה "non est expectatio sive spes", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Michaelis. ; of living long, of recalling time, and of avoiding death.
O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared,.... Of gold, silver, &c. that he and his people had provided and contributed: the gold, according to Jacob LeonF18Relation of Memorable Things in the Tabernacle and Temple, ch. 3. p. 14,15. , amounted to 59,766 tons of gold, and 46,123 gilders, each ton to be reckoned at least 1000 pounds sterling; the silver, reduced to the value of gold, made 46,337 tons, and two hundred and fifty gilders; but both, according to WitsiusF19Miscellan. tom. 2. p. 258. , amounted to 20,585 tons of gold; and if the talents were talents of the sanctuary, and they double the common talents, as some say they were, it was as much more, and may well be expressed by
all this store, besides the brass, iron, &c.
to build thee an house for thine holy name; to perform holy and religious worship in it, for the glory of his name: cometh of
thine hand, and is all thine own: this he repeats, that God might have all the glory of all they had and did.
I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart,.... Searchest it, and knowest it perfectly, whether what is done is from it:
and hast pleasure in uprightness; in what is done in sincerity and uprightness of heart:
as for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; for the truth of which he could appeal to the heart searching God:
and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee; he judged by what they did, and their manner of doing it, that it was done in the uprightness of their hearts also, as his were, which gave him sensible joy and pleasure.
O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, The ancestors of the Jewish nation, whose covenant God the Lord was, and who had ever been mindful of his promise to them, with respect to them their seed:
keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people; let the same disposition of mind always continue in them to serve the Lord their God:
and prepare their heart unto thee; incline and dispose their minds always to fear the Lord, and obey his will.
And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes,.... All the laws of God, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, even to observe them cordially and sincerely:
and to do all those things; he had suggested to him particularly:
and to build the palace for the which I have made provision; as before declared.
And David said to all the congregation,.... Consisting of princes, captains, and officers, 1 Chronicles 28:1.
now bless the Lord your God; as he had done, for putting it into the power of their hands, and into their hearts, to do what they had:
and all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers; some one as the mouth of the rest put up a thanksgiving to God, as David directed, to which they all assented, and in which they all joined:
and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord and the king; the one with religious worship, the other with civil; the Syriac and Arabic versions more plainly distinguish, "they worshipped the Lord, and blessed David the king"; though some think Solomon, now made king, is meant.
And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the Lord,.... David and the congregation:
and offered burnt offerings unto the Lord on the morrow after that day; not having time enough on that day to perform, at least not all of them; and these they offered on the altar David had erected in the threshingfloor of Araunah, by the order of God, where afterwards the temple was built:
even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their burnt offerings; and meat offerings also, both which always went along with them:
and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel; whom they represented; these last were peace offerings, part of which the offerers had for themselves and friends to feast on, as these did, as follows.
And they did eat and drink before the Lord on that day with great gladness,.... Before the ark of the Lord, which was in the tabernacle David had pitched for it:
and they made Solomon the son of David king the second time; the first was upon Adonijah's rebellion, and was done in the presence only of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; but this was done by and in the presence of all the great personages in the land:
and anointed him unto the Lord to be the chief governor; under his father during his lifetime, and then to reign in his own right:
and Zadok to be priest; high priest; which office yet he did not exercise till after the death of David, when Abiathar was thrust out by Solomon.
Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord,.... Who had given it to him, and established him on it, and whose vicegerent he was, and over whose people he ruled:
as king instead of David; he was viceroy to him in his life time, and succeeded him at his death, when he had the full power of government:
and prospered; his reign was happy and peaceable:
and all Israel obeyed him; at once; whereas it was some time, even years, before all Israel obeyed David.
And all the princes and the mighty men,.... The princes of the tribes, and the officers of the army:
and all the sons likewise of King David; as many as were living: and though they were elder than Solomon:
they submitted to Solomon the king; or "gave the hand under"F20וישם יד תחת "dederunt manum sub Selomoh", Pagninus, Montanus, Michaelis. him, promised obedience, and swore allegiance to him, see Genesis 24:2.
And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly before all Israel,.... By giving him such a large share of wisdom and understanding in government:
and bestowed upon him such royal majesty; not only such wealth and riches, but such honour and reverence:
as had not been on any king before him in Israel; not on Saul, nor even on David.
Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. As before related in this book, and in the second book of Samuel; his reign being long and glorious.
And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years,.... See 1 Kings 2:11.
And he died in a good old age,.... Being seventy years of age:
full of days, riches, and honour; had as much of either of them as he could wish for; and having enough, he sought after, and was taken to the possession of, eternal life, durable riches, and honours, and glory, that fade not away:
and Solomon his son reigned in his stead; in full power and authority.
Now the acts of David the king, first and last,.... All that he did that was memorable, both before he was king, and when king in Hebron, and then in Jerusalem:
behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer; which were journals of his life and actions, begun by Samuel, and carried on by Nathan and Gad; out of which what is recorded in canonical Scripture was taken by divine direction, and preserved, while other writings are lost; or rather the book of Samuel designs the first book of Samuel, and the books of Nathan and Gad the second book of Samuel, by whom it was written.
With all his reign and his might,.... The whole of it, and the mighty valiant acts done by him, the battles he fought, and the victories he obtained:
and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and all the kingdoms of the countries; things that were done in his time in Israel, and in the nations round about subdued by him, as Moab, Ammon, Syria, and Philistia.