Matthew Poole and continuators on 1 Chronicles 29

1 FUrthermore, David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender , and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD.

Comparatively: for he was now married, as appears by comparing 2 Chron. 9. 30. and 12. 13.

Marginal references: Ch. 22. 5.

2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God, the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx-stones, and stones to be set , glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble-stones in abundance.

Diamonds, or Emeraulds, or Rubies, or any of those pretious Stones which are usually set in Rings or such things.

3 Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good , of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,

Of that which I had reserved as a peculiar Treasure to my own Use, after I had separated those things which I had devoted to God.

Marginal references: Heb. there is to me a peculiar treasure.

4 Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir , and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal :

Which was accounted the best and purest Gold: of which see Iob. 22. 24. & 28. 16. Isa. 13. 12. By which it appears that those 100000 Talents mentioned before, ch. 22. 14. were a courser and impurer sort of Gold.

The Walls of the Temple with Gold, and of the Rooms adjoyning to it with Silver beaten out into Plates and put upon the other Materials here and there as it was thought fit.

Marginal references: 1 Kin. 9. 28.

5 The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing, to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?

Heb. to fill his hand, i. e. to offer an Offering, as Exod. 32 29. Levit. 8. 33. as I have done.

Marginal references: Heb. to fill his hand.

9 Then the people rejoyced , for that they offered willingly because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoyced with great joy.

Because this was both an Effect of Gods Grace in them, and an Eminent Token of Gods Favour and Goodness to be continued to them, and a good Pledge that this great and long-desired Work of the building of the Temple would receive a certain and a speedy Accomplishment.

11 Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power , and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven, and in the earth, is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all .

i. e. Thou art Great, and Powerful, &c.

As the Soveraign Lord and Owner of all Persons and Things.

Marginal references: Mat. 6. 13. 1 Tim. 1. 17. Rev. 5. 13.

12 Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all , and in thine hand is power and might, and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all .

i. e. Thou disposest of Riches and Honour, as thou pleasest.

Even to the weakest, whom thou canst make strong, and to the strongest, who are weak without thy help.

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 .

i. e. That thou shouldest give us both such Riches out of which we should be able to make such an Offering, and such a willing and free heart to offer them; both which are thy Gifts and the Fruits of thy good Grace and Mercy to us.

We return onely what we have received, and therefore we do onely pay a Debt to thee, and do not hereby oblige thee or deserve any thing from thee.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word] or, [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word].; Heb. [illegible: 1 word] hand.

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 .

These Words may contain a reason either 1. of the first clause of v. 14. Who am I, &c. i. e. What mean and contemptible Creatures are we, and how unworthy of so high a Favour? For, saith he here, we▪ I and my People, as it is v. 14. are strangers, &c. poor Pilgrims who bring nothing into the World, and pass hastily thorough it, and can carry nothing with us out of it. Or rather 2. of the last clause of that 14t[illegible: 1+ letters]. verse, of thine own, &c. For the Land which we possess is thine, not ours, we are not the Proprietors or perpetual Possessors of it, but onely thy Tenants: and as our Fathers once were meer strangers in it, even with or before men, Psal. 105. 12. so we at this day are no better with or before thee, having no absolute Right and Title in it, but onely to travel through it, and sojourn in it for that short time [illegible: 1 word] we live in the World. And thus the Argument seems to be [illegible: 1 word] from Levit. 25. 23. where this is given as a reason why [illegible: 1 word] Inheritances of the Land of Canaan could not be sold for ever, but onely till the Jubily, for, saith God, the land is mine, as to Dominion and Propriety, for ye were (or, for, or, but you are) onely strangers and sojourners with me.

We onely give to thee what we must shortly leave, and what we cannot keep to our selves: and therefore it is a great Favour that [illegible: 1 word] wilst accept such Offerings; or, and therefore we are not perpetual Possessors of this Land and the Fruits of it, but onely Pilgrims and Passengers thorough it.

Marginal references: Psal. [illegible: 1 word] Heb. 11. [illegible: 1 word] 1 Pe[illegible: 1+ letters]. 2. [illegible: 1 word] ▪; Psal. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word] & [illegible: 1 word]; Heb. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word], Lev. 25▪ [illegible: 1 word]

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 .

By the largeness of their Offering I dis[illegible: 1+ letters]ern the Sincerity, Willingness and Generosity of their Hearts towards thee: for David judged, as in reason and charity he ought, of the Tree by its Fruit, and of their Hearts by their Actions.

Marginal references: 1 [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]; Heb▪ [illegible: 1 word]

18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel our father, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people , and prepare their heart unto thee .

Since it is from thy Grace that thy People have such willing Minds to thy Service, as was before acknowledged, I beg the continuance of that Grac[illegible: 1+ letters] to them, that they may persist in the s[illegible: 1+ letters]me generous and Pious Disposition towards thee and thy Worship

Or rather, as it is in the Margent, stablish or confirm, &c. Thou who hast begun a good Work confirm and carry it on by thy Grace, otherwise it will languish, and this very People will prove degenerate.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word]

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 .

By purchasing the Place, 1 Chron. 21. and providing for the Expences of the Work.

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 .

The Lord with Religious, and the King with Civil, Worship, as it is evident.

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 :

Before the Ark, which was there.

Either 1. on the behalf of all Israel, to praise God in their Names, to procure Gods Presence and Blessing for them all. Or 2. so many, that the Feasts which, after the manner, were made of the remainders of the Sacrifices, were abundantly sufficient for all the Israelites which were then present and desired to partake of them; or for all the Governours of Israel there assembled, who may well pas[illegible: 1+ letters] under the name of all Israel, because they represented them all.

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 governour , and Zadok to be priest .

i. e. Before the Ark, in Courts or Places as near to it as they conveniently could. Or, as in Gods Presence, in a Solemn and Religious manner, praising God for this great Mercy, and begging his Blessing upon this great Affair.

This is called the second time in reference to the first time, which was either 1. when he was made King during Adonijahs Conspiracy, of which see 1 King. 1. 34, &c. And so this was done after Davids death, and not upon that day, when this Feasting and Solemnity lasted, as the words at first view seem to insinuate, this being related in the same verse, and immediately after the Relation of the Feast. But there are Examples of things done at distant times put together in one verse, as Act 7. 15. So Iacob went down into Egypt, and died, he and our Fathers, i. e first he, and afterward our Fathers. So here, They did eat——on that day with great gladness, and afterward they made Solomon—king the second time. And this Opinion seems to be confirmed by the following Passages, in which it is related that at this same time they anointed Zadok to be Priest, and that Solomon was King instead of David, and that all Israel, and all Davids sons submitted to him: All which was not done till after Davids death, as may be gathered by comparing this with 1 King. 1. & 2. or 2. in 1 Chron. 23. 1. where it is said that David—made Solomon his Son King over Israel; i. e. he declared him his Successor. And so this second time was during Davids Life. And what David had more privately declared, ch. 23. he now more solemnly owns in this great and general Assembly, in which by Davids Order and the Consent of all that Assembly Solomon was anointed King, i. e. to be King after his Fathers death. And this Opinion the Text seems most to favour. For it is said, And they made Solomon King, &c. they, who? That must be fetched out of the foregoing Words and Verses, they who did eat and drink before the Lord on that day with great gladness, as it is here said, and then immediately it follows, and that with a copulative conjunction, and they made Solomon King, &c. which without violence cannot be pulled away from the foregoing Words. And therefore they must be David and all the Congregation, who were then present, v. 20. of whom it is said, they sacrificed, &c. v. 21. and they did eat, &c. and they made Solomon, &c. The great Objection against this Opinion is, that they anointed Zadok to be Priest at this time, which was not done till after Davids death; for till then Abiathar [illegible: 1+ letters]s not thrust out from being Priest, &c. 1 King. 2. 26, 27. This indeed is a difficulty, but not insoluble. It must be remembred that the High-priest had his Vicegerent who might officiate in his stead when he was hindred by Sickness or other indispensable Occasion; and that there seems to be something more than ordinary in Zadoks case; for although Abiathar was properly the Highpriest, yet Zadok seems after a sort to be joyned in Commission with him, as we see 2 Sam. 15. 29. & 19. 11. and it is expresly said Zadok and Abiathar were Priests, 2 Sam. 20. 25. and 1 King. 4. 4. And it may be further considered, that this anointing of Zadok might be occasioned by some miscarriage of Abiathar not recorded in Scripture. Possibly he was unsatisfied with this Design of translating the Crown to Solomon, and did now secretly favour Adoni [illegible: 1+ letters]ahs Person and Right, which afterward he did more openly defend: Which being known to David by information, might induce him and the Princes who favoured Solomon to take this course. Which they might the more willingly do in consideration of that Divine Threatning, 1 Sam. 2. 31, &c. of translating the Priesthood from Ithamars and Elis House, of which Abiathar was, to Eleazars Line, to which it had been promised to perpetuity, Numb. 25. 13. of which Line Zadok was. And they might judge this a sit Season, or might be directed by God at this time to execute that Threatning to the one, and promise to the other Family. And yet this Action of theirs in anointing Zadok did not, as I suppose, actually constitute him High-priest, but onely settled the Reversion of it upon him and his Line after Abiathars death. Even as Davids making Solomon king, ch. 23. 1. and their anointing Solomon to be the chief Governour here did not put him into actual Possession of the Kingdom, but onely gave him a Right to it in Reversion after the present Kings death, as Samuels anointing of David, 1 Sam. 16. had done to David before him. Hence, notwithstanding this Anointing, Abiathar continued to exercise his Office till Solomon thrust him out, 1 King. 2. 27 and even after he was removed from the Execution of his Office, yet he was reputed the Priest till he died, being so called 1 King. 4. 4. And this, I hope, may in some sort resolve that difficulty. For the other Arguments they seem not considerable. For as for what follows v. 23, 24, 25. Then Solomon sat on the Throne, &c. that indeed seems to belong to the time after Davids death, being sufficiently [illegible: 1+ letters]eparated from this 22d. verse; and not so knit to the foregoing Words, as those words, and they made Solomon King, &c. are. And for the particle, then, that is confessed by all to be often used at large and indefinitely for, about or after that time.

i. e. To be King after Davids death.

Of which the last Note but one.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 21. 39.

23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in stead of David his father, and prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

i. e. On the Throne of Israel▪ which is called the Throne of the Lord, either more generally as all Thrones are the Lords, by whom Kings reign, Prov. 8. 15. and Magistrates are ordained, Rom. 13. 1, 2. or more specially and peculiarly; Either 1. because the Lord himself was in a peculiar manner the King and Governour of Israel, not onely in the time of the Judges, but afterward, Psal. 44. 4. & 89. 18. & 149. 2. Isa▪ 33. 22. or 2. because it was the Throne of Christ the Lord, whose Vicegerents David and Solomon and their Successors were, for whom this Throne was reserved, and by whom it was to be established and enjoyed for ever, Luke 2. 32. 33. Or 3. The Throne of the Lord is put for, The Throne of the People of the Lord, by a concise and short manner of Speech which is frequent in the Hebrew Language, as when the Key of David is put for the Key of the House of David; and the Mountain of the Lord, for the Mountain of the Lords House: Or 4. Because this Throne fell to Solomon not by right of Inheritance▪ for he had Elder Brethren, but by the special Appointment and Gift of the Lord. And so this, of the Lord, is the genitive case of the Efficient, as the Learned call it, and signifies, which the Lord gave him.

24 And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.

Heb. Put their Hands under Solomon, i. e. They owned him for their King, and themselves for his Subjects, and sware Fealty to him; which possibly they now did after the ancient manner with that Ceremony of putting their Hands under his Thigh which was used in Swearing, Gen. 24. 2. & 47. 29. or at least the thing is signified by a Phrase taken from that practice formerly used, though now neglected; it being usual in all Nations and Languages to signifie present things by Phrases taken from Ancient Customs.

Marginal references: Heb. gave the hand under Solomon, Gen. 24. 2, 3. & 47. 29.

25 And the LO[illegible: 1+ letters]D 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.

i. e. Such Honour and Reputation together with Power and Riches, and all things which make a King Great and Glorious.

Either David or Saul, or any of the former Governours of Israel, the Word, King, being oft used in a large sence for any Governour.

Marginal references: 1 Kin. 3. 13. 2 Chr. 1. 12. Eccles. 2. [illegible: 1+ letters].

26 Thus David the son of Jesse, reigned over all Israel .

This Sacred Writer having mentioned the Anointing of Solomon to be King, v. 22. and upon that occasion proceeded to give a further Account of Solomons Actual Settlement in his Kingdom, and of his prosperous and glorious Management of it, v. 23, 24, 25. he now returns to his main and proper Business, to give an Account of the Close of Davids Reign and Life. Thus; i. e. in manner hitherto expressed, David—reigned, &c.

28 And he died in a good old age, full of days , riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.

Fully satisfied with the days which God had given him, having had the Happiness to see his Beloved Solomon settled in his Throne, being now weary of this Life, and desiring to be with God.

29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seet ,

Either in the two Books of Samuel, as they are now called, which were written part by Samuel, and part by Nathan and Gad. Or, in the Annals or Chronicles of that Kingdom, which were written by Nathan and Gad, who were not onely Prophets, but Historiographers or Annalists; out of which either they or some other Prophets took out by the direction of Gods Spirit such Passages as were most important and useful to the Church and to the World in succeeding Ages.

Marginal references: Or, history.; Heb. words.

30 With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him , and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries .

i. e. The Changes which befel him, both his Persecutions and manifold Troubles; and his great Successes and Atchievements: The Word time or times being oft put for things done or happening in them, as Psal. 31. 15. & 77. 5.

Heb. Of these Countries, to wit, bordering upon the Land of Canaan, or not far from it.