Matthew Poole and continuators on 1 Kings 8:44

44 ¶ If thy people go out to battel against their enemy▪ whithersoever thou shalt send them , and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen , and toward the house that I have built for thy Name :

i. e. In a Just Cause, and by thy Warrant or Commission. Whereby he implies, That it was unlawful for them to undertake any War meerly for their own Glory, or Lust; or to enlarge their Empire beyond its due bounds; and that they could not with safe Conscience pray to God for his Blessing upon such a War.

Whereby he instructs them, That they should not trust, either to the Strength or Justice of their Arms, but onely to God's Help and Blessing, which they were to pray for.

To wit, for thy Dwelling-place, and the Seat of thy Temple▪

For to it they were to turn their Faces in Prayer; partly, thereby to profess themselves to be the Worshippers of the True God, in opposition to Idols; and that they sought help from him, and from no other: and partly, to strengthen Faith in God's Promises and Covenant, the Tables whereof were contained in that House.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word] the way of the city.