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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>F I R S T K I N G S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. III.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Solomon's reign looked bloody in the foregoing chapter, but the
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necessary acts of justice must not be called cruelty; in this chapter
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it appears with another face. We must not think the worse of God's
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mercy to his subjects for his judgments on rebels. We have here,
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I. Solomon's marriage to Pharaoh's daughter,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. A general view of his religion,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:2-4">ver. 2-4</A>.
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III. A particular account of his prayer to God for wisdom, and the
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answer to that prayer,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:5-15">ver. 5-15</A>.
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IV. A particular instance of his wisdom in deciding the controversy
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between the two harlots,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:16-28">ver. 16-28</A>.
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And very great he looks here, both at the altar and on the bench, and
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therefore on the bench because at the altar.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Solomon Marries Pharaoh's Daughter.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1014.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and
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took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David,
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until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house
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of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
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2 Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was
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no house built unto the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, until those days.
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3 And Solomon loved the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, walking in the statutes of David
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his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.
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4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that
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<I>was</I> the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did
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Solomon offer upon that altar.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We are here told concerning Solomon,</P>
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<P>
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I. Something that was unquestionably good, for which he is to be
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praised and in which he is to be imitated.
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1. He <I>loved the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Particular notice was taken of God's love to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:24">2 Sam. xii. 24</A>.
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He had his name from it: <I>Jedidiah--beloved of the Lord.</I> And here
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we find he returned that love, as John, the beloved disciple, was most
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full of love. Solomon was a wise man, a rich man; yet the brightest
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encomium of him is that which is the character of all the saints, even
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the poorest, He <I>loved the Lord,</I> so the Chaldee; all that love
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God love his worship, love to hear from him and speak to him, and so to
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have communion with him.
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2. He <I>walked in the statutes of David his father,</I> that is, in
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the statutes that David gave him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+2:2,3"><I>ch.</I> ii. 2, 3</A>;
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+28:9,10">1 Chron. xxviii. 9, 10</A>
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(his dying father's charge was sacred, and as a law to him), or in
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God's statutes, which David his father walked in before him; he kept
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close to God's ordinances, carefully observed them and diligently
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attended them. Those that truly<I>love God</I> will make conscience of
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<I>walking in his statutes.</I>
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3. He was very free and generous in what he did for the honour of God.
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When he offered sacrifice he offered like a king, in some proportion to
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his great wealth, a <I>thousand burnt-offerings,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Where God sows plentifully he expects to reap accordingly; and those
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that truly love God and his worship will not grudge the expenses of
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their religion. We may be tempted to say, <I>To what purpose is this
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waste?</I> Might not these cattle have been given to the poor? But we
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must never think that wasted which is laid out in the service of God.
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It seems strange how so many beasts should be burnt upon one altar in
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one feast, though it continued seven days; but the fire on the altar is
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supposed to be more quick and devouring than common fire, for it
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represented that fierce and mighty wrath of God which fell upon the
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sacrifices, that the offerers might escape. <I>Our God is a consuming
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fire.</I> Bishop Patrick quotes it as a tradition of the Jews that the
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smoke of the sacrifices ascended directly in a straight pillar, and was
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not scattered, otherwise it would have choked those that attended, when
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so many sacrifices were offered as were here.</P>
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<P>
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II. Here is something concerning which it may be doubted whether it was
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good or no.
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1. His marrying Pharaoh's daughter,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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We will suppose she was proselyted, otherwise the marriage would not
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have been lawful; yet, if so, surely it was not advisable. He that
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<I>loved the Lord</I> should, for his sake, have fixed his love upon
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one of the Lord's people. Unequal matches of the sons of God with the
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daughters of men have often been of pernicious consequence; yet some
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think that he did this with the advice of his friends, that she was a
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sincere convert (for the gods of the Egyptians are not reckoned among
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the strange gods which his strange wives drew him in to the worship of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+11:5,6"><I>ch.</I> xi. 5, 6</A>),
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and that the book of
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ca+1:1">Canticles</A>
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and the
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+45:1-17">45th Psalm</A>
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were penned on this occasion, by which these nuptials were made typical
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of the mystical espousals of the church to Christ, especially the
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Gentile church.
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2. His worshipping in the high places, and thereby tempting the people
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to do so too,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
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Abraham built his altars on mountains
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:8,22:2">Gen. xii. 8; xxii. 2</A>),
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and worshipped in a grove,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+21:33">Gen. xxi. 33</A>.
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Thence the custom was derived, and was proper, till the divine law
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confined them to one place,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+12:5,6">Deut. xii. 5, 6</A>.
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David kept to the ark, and did not care for the high places, but
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Solomon, though in other things he <I>walked in the statutes of his
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father,</I> in this came short of him. He showed thereby a great zeal
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for sacrificing, but to obey would have been better. This was an
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irregularity. Though there was as yet no house built, there was a tent
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pitched, to the name of the Lord, and the ark ought to have been the
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centre of their unity. It was so by divine institution; from it the
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high places separated; yet while they worshipped God only, and in other
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things according to the rule, he graciously overlooked their weakness,
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and accepted their services; and it is owned that <I>Solomon loved the
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Lord,</I> though he <I>burnt incense in the high places,</I> and let
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not men be more severe than God is.</P>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ki3_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>God's Appearance to Solomon.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1014.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>5 In Gibeon the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> appeared to Solomon in a dream by night:
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and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
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6 And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my
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father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth,
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and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and
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thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given
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him a son to sit on his throne, as <I>it is</I> this day.
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7 And now, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> my God, thou hast made thy servant king
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instead of David my father: and I <I>am but</I> a little child: I know
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not <I>how</I> to go out or come in.
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8 And thy servant <I>is</I> in the midst of thy people which thou
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hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted
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for multitude.
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9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge
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thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is
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able to judge this thy so great a people?
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10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this
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thing.
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11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing,
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and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked
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riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but
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hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
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12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given
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thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none
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like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like
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unto thee.
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13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked,
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both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the
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kings like unto thee all thy days.
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14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my
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commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen
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thy days.
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15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, <I>it was</I> a dream. And he
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came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace
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offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here an account of a gracious visit which God paid to Solomon,
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and the communion he had with God in it, which put a greater honour
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upon Solomon than all the wealth and power of his kingdom did.</P>
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<P>
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I. The circumstances of this visit,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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1. The place. It was in Gibeon; that was the great high place, and
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should have been the only one, because there the tabernacle and the
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brazen altar were,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+1:3">2 Chron. i. 3</A>.
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There Solomon offered his great sacrifices, and there God owned him
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more than in any other of the high places. The nearer we come to the
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rule in our worship the more reason we have to expect the tokens of
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God's presence. Where God records his name, there he will meet us and
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bless us.
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2. The time. It was by night, the night after he had offered that
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generous sacrifice,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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The more we abound in God's work the more comfort we may expect in him;
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if the day has been busy for him, the night will be easy in him.
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Silence and retirement befriend our communion with God. His kindest
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visits are often in the night,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:3">Ps. xvii. 3</A>.
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3. The manner. It was in a dream, when he was asleep, his senses locked
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up, that God's access to his mind might be the more free and immediate.
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In this way God used to speak to the prophets
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+12:6">Num. xii. 6</A>)
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and to private persons, for their own benefit,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+33:15,16">Job xxxiii. 15, 16</A>.
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These divine dreams, no doubt, were plainly distinguishable from those
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in which there are divers vanities,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+5:7">Eccl. v. 7</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. The gracious offer God made him of the favour he should choose,
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whatever it might be,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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He saw the glory of God shine about him, and heard a voice saying,
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<I>Ask what I shall give thee.</I> Not that God was indebted to him for
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his sacrifices, but thus he would testify his acceptance of them, and
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signify to him what great mercy he had in store for him, if he were not
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wanting to himself. Thus he would try his inclinations and put an
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honour upon the prayer of faith. God, in like manner, condescends to
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us, and puts us in the ready way to be happy by assuring us that we
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shall have what we will for the asking,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+16:23,1Jo+5:14">John xvi. 23; 1 John v. 14</A>.
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What would we more? <I>Ask, and it shall be given you.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. The pious request Solomon hereupon made to God. He readily laid
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hold of this offer. Why do we neglect the like offer made to us, like
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Ahaz, who said, <I>I will not ask?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+7:12">Isa. vii. 12</A>.
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Solomon prayed in his sleep, God's grace assisting him; yet it was a
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lively prayer. What we are most in care about, and which makes the
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greatest impression upon us when we are awake, commonly affects us when
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we are asleep; and by our dreams, sometimes, we may know what our
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hearts are upon and how our pulse beats. Plutarch makes virtuous
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dreams one evidence of increase in virtue. Yet this must be attributed
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to a higher source. Solomon's making such an intelligent choice as this
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when he was asleep, and the powers of reason were least active, showed
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that it came purely from the grace of God, which wrought in him these
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gracious desires. If his <I>reins</I> thus <I>instruct him in the night
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season,</I> he must <I>bless the Lord</I> who <I>gave him counsel,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:7">Ps. xvi. 7</A>.
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Now, in this prayer,</P>
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<P>
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1. He acknowledges God's great goodness to his father David,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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He speaks honourably of his father's piety, that he had <I>walked
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before God in uprightness of heart,</I> drawing a veil over his faults.
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It is to be hoped that those who praise their godly parents will
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imitate them. But he speaks more honourably of God's goodness to his
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father, the mercy he had shown to him while he lived, in giving him to
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be sincerely religious and then recompensing his sincerity and the
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great kindness he had kept for him, to be bestowed on the family when
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he was gone, in <I>giving him a son to sit on his throne.</I> Children
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should give God thanks for his mercies to their parents, for the sure
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mercies of David. God's favours are doubly sweet when we observe them
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transmitted to us through the hands of those that have gone before us.
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The way to get the entail perpetuated is to bless God that it has
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hitherto been preserved.</P>
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<P>
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2. He owns his own insufficiency for the discharge of that great trust
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to which he is called,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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And here is a double plea to enforce his petition for wisdom:--
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(1.) That his place required it, as he was successor to David ("<I>Thou
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hast made me king instead of David,</I> who was a very wise and good
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man: Lord, give me wisdom, that I may keep up what he wrought, and
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|
carry on what he began") and as he was ruler over Israel: "Lord, give
|
|
me wisdom to rule well; for they are a numerous people, that will not
|
|
be managed without much care, and they are thy people, whom thou hast
|
|
chosen, and therefore to be ruled for thee, and the more wisely they
|
|
are ruled the more glory thou wilt have from them."
|
|
|
|
(2.) That he wanted it. As one that had a humble sense of his own
|
|
deficiency, he pleads, "<I>Lord, I am but a little child</I> (so he
|
|
calls himself, a child in understanding, though his father called him
|
|
<I>a wise man,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+2:9"><I>ch.</I> ii. 9</A>);
|
|
|
|
<I>I know not how to go out or come in</I> as I should, nor to do so
|
|
much as the common daily business of the government, much less what to
|
|
do in a critical juncture." Note, Those who are employed in public
|
|
stations ought to be very sensible of the weight and importance of
|
|
their work and their own insufficiency for it, and then they are
|
|
qualified for receiving divine instruction. Paul's question (<I>Who is
|
|
sufficient for these things?</I>) is much like Solomon's here, <I>Who
|
|
is able to judge this thy so great a people?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Absalom, who was a wise man, trembles at the undertaking and suspects
|
|
his own fitness for it. The more knowing and considerate men are the
|
|
better acquainted they are with their own weakness and the more jealous
|
|
of themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. He begs of God to give him wisdom
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>);
|
|
|
|
<I>Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart.</I> He calls
|
|
himself <I>God's servant,</I> pleased with that relation to God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:16">Ps. cxvi. 16</A>)
|
|
|
|
and pleading it with him: "I am devoted to thee, and employed for thee;
|
|
give me that which is requisite to the services in which I am
|
|
employed." Thus his good father prayed, and thus he pleaded.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:125">Ps. cxix. 125</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>I am thy servant, give me understanding.</I> An understanding heart
|
|
is God's gift,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+2:6">Prov. ii. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
We must pray for it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+1:5">James i. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
and pray for it with application to our particular calling and the
|
|
various occasions we have for it; as Solomon, <I>Give me an
|
|
understanding,</I> not to please my own curiosity with, or puzzle my
|
|
neighbours, but <I>to judge thy people.</I> That is the best knowledge
|
|
which will be serviceable to us in doing our duty; and such that
|
|
knowledge is which enables us to <I>discern between good and bad,</I>
|
|
right and wrong, sin and duty, truth and falsehood, so as not to be
|
|
imposed upon by false colours in judging either of others' actions or
|
|
of our own.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. The favourable answer God gave to his request. It was a pleasing
|
|
prayer
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The speech pleased the Lord.</I> God is well pleased with his own
|
|
work in his people, the desires of his own kindling, the prayers of his
|
|
Spirit's inditing. By this choice Solomon made it appear that he
|
|
desired to be good more than great, and to serve God's honour more than
|
|
to advance his own. Those are accepted of God who prefer spiritual
|
|
blessings to temporal, and are more solicitous to be found in the way
|
|
of their duty than in the way to preferment. But that was not all; it
|
|
was a prevailing prayer, and prevailed for more than he asked.
|
|
|
|
(1.) God gave him wisdom,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
He fitted him for all that great work to which he had called him, gave
|
|
him such a right understanding of the law which he was to judge by, and
|
|
the cases he was to judge of, that he was unequalled for a clear head,
|
|
a solid judgment, and a piercing eye. Such an insight, and such a
|
|
foresight, never was prince so blessed with.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He gave him riches and honour over and above into the bargain
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
and it was promised that in these he should as much exceed his
|
|
predecessors, his successors, and all his neighbours, as in wisdom.
|
|
These also are God's gift, and, as far as is good for them, are
|
|
promised to all that <I>seek first the kingdom of God and the
|
|
righteousness thereof,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+6:33">Matt. vi. 33</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let young people learn to prefer grace to gold in all that they choose,
|
|
because <I>godliness has the promise of the life that now is,</I> but
|
|
<I>the life that now is</I> has not <I>the promise of godliness.</I>
|
|
How completely blessed was Solomon, that had both wisdom and wealth! He
|
|
that has wealth and power without wisdom and grace is in danger of
|
|
doing hurt with them; he that has wisdom and grace without wealth and
|
|
power is not capable of doing so much good with them as he that has
|
|
both. Wisdom is good, is so much the better, with an inheritance,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:11">Eccles. vii. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
But, if we make sure of wisdom and grace, these will either bring
|
|
outward prosperity with them or sweeten the want of it. God promised
|
|
Solomon riches and honour absolutely, but long life upon condition
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>).
|
|
|
|
<I>If thou wilt walk in my ways, as David did, then I will lengthen thy
|
|
days.</I> He failed in the condition; and therefore, though he had
|
|
riches and honour, he did not live so long to enjoy them as in the
|
|
course of nature he might have done. Length of days is wisdom's
|
|
right-hand blessing, typical of eternal life; but it is in her left
|
|
hand that riches and honour are,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+3:16">Prov. iii. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let us see here,
|
|
|
|
[1.] That the way to obtain spiritual blessings is to be importunate
|
|
for them, to wrestle with God in prayer for them, as Solomon did for
|
|
wisdom, asking that only, as the <I>one thing needful.</I>
|
|
|
|
[2.] That the way to obtain temporal blessings is to be indifferent to
|
|
them and to refer ourselves to God concerning them. Solomon had wisdom
|
|
given him because he did ask it and wealth because he did not ask
|
|
it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. The grateful return Solomon made for the visit God was pleased to
|
|
pay him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
He awoke, we may suppose in a transport of joy, awoke, and <I>his sleep
|
|
was sweet to him,</I> as the prophet speaks
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+31:26">Jer. xxxi. 26</A>);
|
|
|
|
being satisfied of God's favour, he was satisfied with it, and he began
|
|
to think <I>what he should render to the Lord.</I> He had made his
|
|
prayer at the high place at Gibeon, and there God had graciously met
|
|
him; but he comes to Jerusalem to give thanks <I>before the ark of the
|
|
covenant,</I> blaming himself, as it were, that he had not prayed
|
|
there, the ark being the token of God's presence, and wondering that
|
|
God had met him any where else. God's passing by our mistakes should
|
|
persuade us to amend them. There he,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Offered a great sacrifice to God. We must give God praise for his
|
|
gifts in the promise, though not yet fully performed. David used to
|
|
<I>praise God's word,</I> as well as his <I>works</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:10">Ps. lvi. 10</A>,
|
|
|
|
and particularly,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+7:18">2 Sam. vii. 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
and Solomon trod in his steps.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He made a great feast upon the sacrifice, that those about him
|
|
might rejoice with him in the grace of God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Ki3_28"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Wisdom of Solomon.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1014.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 Then came there two women, <I>that were</I> harlots, unto the
|
|
king, and stood before him.
|
|
17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in
|
|
one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
|
|
18 And it came to pass the third day after that I was
|
|
delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we <I>were</I>
|
|
together; <I>there was</I> no stranger with us in the house, save we
|
|
two in the house.
|
|
19 And this woman's child died in the night; because she
|
|
overlaid it.
|
|
20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me,
|
|
while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid
|
|
her dead child in my bosom.
|
|
21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck,
|
|
behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning,
|
|
behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.
|
|
22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living <I>is</I> my son,
|
|
and the dead <I>is</I> thy son. And this said, No; but the dead <I>is</I>
|
|
thy son, and the living <I>is</I> my son. Thus they spake before the
|
|
king.
|
|
23 Then said the king, The one saith, This <I>is</I> my son that
|
|
liveth, and thy son <I>is</I> the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but
|
|
thy son <I>is</I> the dead, and my son <I>is</I> the living.
|
|
24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a
|
|
sword before the king.
|
|
25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give
|
|
half to the one, and half to the other.
|
|
26 Then spake the woman whose the living child <I>was</I> unto the
|
|
king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my
|
|
lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the
|
|
other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, <I>but</I> divide <I>it.</I>
|
|
27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child,
|
|
and in no wise slay it: she <I>is</I> the mother thereof.
|
|
28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had
|
|
judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of
|
|
God <I>was</I> in him, to do judgment.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
An instance is here given of Solomon's wisdom, to show that the grant
|
|
lately made him had a real effect upon him. The proof is fetched, not
|
|
from the mysteries of state and the policies of the council-board,
|
|
though there no doubt he excelled, but from the trial and determination
|
|
of a cause between party and party, which princes, though they devolve
|
|
them upon their judges, must not think it below them to take cognizance
|
|
of. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The case opened, not by lawyers, but by the parties themselves,
|
|
though they were women, which made it the easier to such a piercing eye
|
|
as Solomon had to discern between right and wrong by their own showing.
|
|
These two women were harlots, kept a public house, and their children,
|
|
some think, were born of fornication, because here is no mention of
|
|
their husbands. It is probable the cause had been heard in the inferior
|
|
courts, before it was brought before Solomon, and had been found
|
|
special, the judges being unable to determine it, that Solomon's wisdom
|
|
in deciding it at last might be the more taken notice of. These two
|
|
women, who lived in a house together, were each of them delivered of a
|
|
son within three days of one another,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
They were so poor that they had no servant or nurse to be with them, so
|
|
slighted, because harlots, that they had no friend or relation to
|
|
accompany them. One of them overlaid her child, and, in the night,
|
|
exchanged it with the other
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:19,20"><I>v.</I> 19, 20</A>),
|
|
|
|
who was soon aware of the cheat put upon her, and appealed to public
|
|
justice to be righted,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
See,
|
|
|
|
1. What anxiety is caused by little children, how uncertain their lives
|
|
are, and to how many dangers they are continually exposed. The age of
|
|
infancy is the valley of the shadow of death; and the lamp of life,
|
|
when first lighted, is easily blown out. It is a wonder of mercy that
|
|
so few perish in the perils of nursing.
|
|
|
|
2. How much better it was in those times with children born in
|
|
fornication than commonly it is now. harlots then loved their
|
|
children, nursed them, and were loth to part with them; whereas now
|
|
they are often sent to a distance, abandoned, or killed. But thus is
|
|
was foretold that <I>in the last days perilous times should come,</I>
|
|
when people should be without natural affection,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+3:1,3">2 Tim. iii. 1, 3</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The difficulty of the case. The question was, Who was the mother of
|
|
this living child, which was brought into court, to be finally adjudged
|
|
either to the one or to the other? Both mothers were vehement in their
|
|
claim, and showed a deep concern about it. Both were peremptory in
|
|
their asseverations: "It is mine," says one. "Nay, it is mine," says
|
|
the other. Neither will own the dead child, though it would be cheaper
|
|
to bury that than to maintain the other: but it is the living one they
|
|
strive for. The living child is therefore the parent's joy because it
|
|
is their hope; and may not the dead children be so? See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+31:17">Jer. xxxi. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now the difficulty of the case was that there was no evidence on either
|
|
side. The neighbours, though it is probable that some of them were
|
|
present at the birth and circumcision of the children, yet had not
|
|
taken so much notice of them as to be able to distinguish them. To put
|
|
the parties to the rack would have been barbarous; not she who had
|
|
justice on her side, but she who was most hardy, would have had the
|
|
judgment in her favour. Little stress is to be laid on extorted
|
|
evidence. Judges and juries have need of wisdom to find out truth when
|
|
it thus lies hid.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The determination of it. Solomon, having patiently heard what both
|
|
sides had to say, sums up the evidence,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
And now the whole court is in expectation what course Solomon's wisdom
|
|
will take to find out the truth. One knows not what to say to it;
|
|
another, perhaps, would determine it by lot. Solomon calls for a sword,
|
|
and gives orders to divide the living child between the two contenders.
|
|
Now,
|
|
|
|
1. This seemed a ridiculous decision of the case, and a brutal cutting
|
|
of the knot which he could not untie. "Is this," think the sages of the
|
|
law, "the wisdom of Solomon?" little dreaming what he aimed at in it.
|
|
<I>The hearts of kings,</I> such kings, <I>are unsearchable,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+25:3">Prov. xxv. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
There was a law concerning the dividing of a living ox and a dead one.
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+21:35">Exod. xxi. 35</A>),
|
|
|
|
but that did not reach this case. But,
|
|
|
|
2. It proved an effectual discovery of the truth. Some think that
|
|
Solomon did himself discern it, before he made this experiment, by the
|
|
countenances of the women and their way of speaking: but by this he
|
|
gave satisfaction to all the company, and silenced the pretender. To
|
|
find out the true mother, he could not try which the child loved best,
|
|
and must therefore try which loved the child best; both pretended to a
|
|
motherly affection, but their sincerity will be tried when the child is
|
|
in danger.
|
|
|
|
(1.) She that knew the child was not her own, but in contending for it
|
|
stood upon a point of honour, was well content to have it divided. She
|
|
that had overlaid her own child cared not what became of this, so that
|
|
the true mother might not have it: <I>Let it be neither mine nor thine,
|
|
but divide it.</I> By this it appeared that she knew her own title to
|
|
be bad, and feared Solomon would find it so, though she little
|
|
suspected she was betraying herself, but thought Solomon in good
|
|
earnest. If she had been the true mother she would not have forfeited
|
|
her interest in the child by agreeing so readily to this bloody
|
|
decision. But,
|
|
|
|
(2.) She that knew the child was her own, rather than the child should
|
|
be butchered, gives it up to her adversary. How feelingly does she cry
|
|
out, <I>O, my lord! give her the living child,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Let me see it hers, rather than not see it at all." By this tenderness
|
|
towards the child it appeared that she was not the careless mother that
|
|
had overlaid the dead child, but was the true mother of the living one,
|
|
that could not endure to see its death, having compassion on the son of
|
|
her womb. "The case is plain," says Solomon; "what need of witnesses?
|
|
<I>Give her the living child;</I> for you all see, by this undissembled
|
|
compassion, <I>she is the mother of it.</I>" Let parents show their
|
|
love to their children by taking care of them, especially by taking
|
|
care of their souls, and, with a holy violence, snatching them as
|
|
brands out of the burning. Those are most likely to have the comfort
|
|
of children that do their duty to them. Satan pretends to the heart of
|
|
man, but by this it appears that he is only a pretender, that he would
|
|
be content to divide with God, whereas the rightful sovereign of the
|
|
heart will have all or none.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. We are told what a great reputation Solomon got among his people by
|
|
this and other instances of his wisdom, which would have a great
|
|
influence upon the ease of his government: <I>They feared the king</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+3:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>),
|
|
|
|
highly reverenced him, durst not in any thing oppose him, and were
|
|
afraid of doing an unjust thing; for they knew, if ever it came before
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him, he would certainly discover it, <I>for they saw that the wisdom of
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God was in him,</I> that is, that wisdom with which God had promised to
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endue him. This <I>made his face to shine,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+8:1">Eccl. viii. 1</A>.
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This <I>strengthened him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:19">Eccl. vii. 19</A>.
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This was better to him <I>than weapons of war,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+9:18">Eccl. ix. 18</A>.
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For this he was both feared and loved.</P>
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