Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vols. 13–63

1 Kings 5:1-5. And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father: for Hiram had always loved David. And Solomon sent to Hiram saying, You know how that Davidmy father couldnot buildan house unto the name ofthe LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence. And, behold, I purpose to buildan house unto the name ofthe LORD my God, as the LORD spoke unto David my father, saying, Your son, whom I willset upon your throne in your place, he shall build an house unto My name. When God intends a man to do any special work for Him, He will find him all the helpers he needs. Sometimes those helpers may seem to be very unlikely persons, but—

"Remember that Omnipotence

Has servants everywhere."

See, dear Friends, when the Lord had given rest to Solomon, he proceeded with the building of the Temple which David had planned. Whenever God blesses you, show your gratitude to Him by undertaking some special service for Him. Now that you are out of your recent trouble, bring your sacrifice of thanksgiving and do all that you can for your Lord— your time of rest may not last as long as you could wish, therefore use it while you have it to God's Glory.

6. Now therefore command you that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with your servants: and unto you will I give him for your servants according to all that you shall appoint: for you know that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like the Sidonians. It is not every man who has every gift. Hiram and his Sidonians could hew timber more skillfully than Solomon and his Israelites. God can always find the right sort of men to do His work. Do not be dispirited because you cannot do everything—why should you? Should not somebody else have a share and be also permitted to have the honor of serving his God? It is well that you cannot do all that has to be done, and that somebody else can do something better than you can!

7, 8. Andit came topass, when Hiram heard the words ofSolomon, that he rejoiced greatly, andsaid, Blessed be the LORD this day, which has given unto David a wise son over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which you sent to me for It is always a good thing, before you agree to do anything, to consider it, to look at it from all points of view. I wish that in giving money to the service of God, there was more consideration as to the objective for which it is given. Some give simply because others do. Some because they are asked. But he gives best who considers the matter and looks all round, and then says, "Yes, this is a just claim upon me as a servant of God and, therefore I will respond to it." So, "Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which you sent to me for"—

8-11. And I will do all your desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that you shall appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and you shall receive them: and you shall accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.Is it not a very pleasing thought that both Jews and Gentiles built the Temple of Solomon? They put the big stones together and cut the cedar and fir trees into the proper shape, yet they were Hiram's fir trees and Hiram's cedar trees, and he floated them by sea to the place where they were landed, and then they were dragged to Jerusalem. And God will let His people of every race and nation have a share in the building of His great spiritualhouse!

12-14. And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He promised him: and there waspeace between Hiram andSolo-mon, and they two made a league together And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.That was a capital rule—"a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home." You who work for God must have your month at work, but you also need two months at home to attend to your own business. There are some people who always stay at Lebanon, always at work, but there is spiritual work to be done at home as well! Getting your heart ready for service, sharpening your tools, looking after your own flocks and herds and so on There was hard work to be done, and if it was to be done well, the workers needed to have their sinews and muscles in good order, so "a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home." One prayer in the class and two prayers at home! One hour of teaching the lesson, twice as much time taken in getting it up and preparing it.

15. And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bore burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains. What were their names? I cannot tell you, but probably there was a book in which they were all recorded. And Christ has many humble workers, hewers of wood and bearers of burdens whose names are not known among men. Well, what is in a name? Let us be content to serve under our greater Solomon and let the whole Glory of building His spiritual Temple go to Him! Never mind who bears the burdens or who hews the stones—the Temple is for God, so let God be glorified, and not man!

16. Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that worked in the work There must be various degrees among the workers in the service of God. He is a

Sovereign and He divides unto every man according as He wills. How this ought to hush all envy and rebellion against the officers in the work of God whom He has called to be overseers of others!

17. And the king commanded. That is at the bottom of all service for our King—let us but get a command from the King, and we obey at once.

17, 18. And they brought great stones, costly stones and hewed stones, to lay the foundation ofthe house. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stone squares I am glad they are mentioned here, for there are still some Brothers and Sisters who are not hewers, but they are stone squarers. Perhaps they do not see many conversions through their efforts, but they do a great deal of the work of instructing the converts. They polish what other people have excavated—they are stone squarers—and just as the Temple at Jerusalem needed the work of the stone squarers, so does God's great spiritualTemple need those who square as well as those who hew the stones that are to be built into it.

18. So they prepared timber and stones to build the house. Nothing is too good or too costly to be given to God, and let us reckon no labor too hard or too heavy that will bring Glory to His holy name!

Psalm 48: A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. It is not every Psalm that is a song, for some Psalms are full of sorrow and it is not every song that is a Psalm, for, alas, there are many songs that are mere foolish rhymes or something worse, but here is a happy combination, "A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah."

Verse 1. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised—Surely a great God should have great praise—"greatly to be praised"—

1. In the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. If there is any place where He ought to be praised, surely it is there! Even if all the rest of the world is silent, let God be praised "in the mountain of His holiness." Holy people must praise the holy God. It is natural that they should do so. It needs holy people to see God and when they do see Him, their eyes will glisten with delight and their voices will ring with His praise!

2. Beautiful for situation, the joy ofthe whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides ofthe north, the city ofthe great King. Thus the Jew praises Jerusalem and thus the Christian praises the Church. The Church of Christ is, to His eyes, the most precious thing in the whole world—there is nothing upon the face of the earth that is so lovely in the sight of God as His own chosen Church!

3. God is known in her palace for a refuge. Are not all her people kings? Therefore they live in palaces and they, none of them, trust in themselves—God is known to them as a refuge.

4. 5. For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled. They came up with their confederate bands of kings to attack Jerusalem! And they looked at it and wondered at its strength and beauty.

5. They were troubled, and hastened away. If they came quickly, they went away still more quickly, hurrying off like a band of frightened children.

6. 7. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail You break the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.God broke up the confederacies of kings that were leagued against His people. Even the great galleons of Tar-shish were dashed to pieces when the Lord blew with His wind and scattered them as, many centuries later, He did with the "Invincible" Armada on our own coasts!

8. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city ofthe LORD ofHosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Selah. [See Sermon #2014, Volume 34—AS WE HAVE HEARD, SO WE HAVE SEEN.] Well might there be a pause here for solemn consideration, for putting the harp strings right and lifting up the heart to the Lord in praise.

9. We have thought of Your loving kindness, O God, in the midst of Your Temple. [See Sermon #2783, Volume 48—a worthy

THEME FOR THOUGHT.] Here is a blessed subject, "Your loving kindness, O God"—a blessed people, we who have enjoyed it—a blessed occupation, "we have thought of Your loving kindness"—and a blessed place in which to do it, "in the midst of Your Temple." When we are in the midst of the Lord's people, in the midst of His Church, then is the time for sweet and blessed thoughts concerning our gracious God!

10. According to Your name, O God, so is Your praise unto the ends of the earth. As is God's name, so is His fame—unto the very ends of the earth shall men hear the praises of the Lord, especially when He delivers His people.

10. Your right hand is full of righteousness. God's right hand is never empty—"Your right hand is full." And when He comes to sinners, He deals with them in righteousness. And when He comes to His saints in mercy, it is still in righteousness. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins"

11. Let Mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of Your judgment. That is, the smaller cities of Judah, let them sing, as well as Jerusalem, the high praises of their delivering God. Perhaps it refers to the women who, in times of war, have to suffer most and worst of all—let them be loudest in their joyous music—as Miriam took her timbrel and led the song of the women on the shore of the Red Sea, so let the daughters of Judah be glad because of the Lord's righteous judgments upon the enemies of His people.

12. 13. Walk about Zion, and go round about her: count the towers thereof. Mark you well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that you may teel it to the generations following. Sunday school teachers, note the security of the Church of God! Mark the eternal Truth on which she is founded, the everlasting promises by which she is guarded, the forts and bastions of Omnipotence that preserve her from the assaults of her enemies! And then tell all this "to the generation following."

14. For this God is our God forever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death. But the Hebrew is better still— "He will be our guide even over death." We shall trample down death, or, as one puts it, we shall stand by the grave of death! What a glorious place for us to stand in when death, itself, is dead through the ever-living Christ, and the Resurrection power that comes through His death! "He will be our guide even over death."

Psalm 95:1. O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. The worship of God should always be joyful, hence there is to be much singing in it. God is not like Baal who can be worshipped with crying and lamentation, and the cutting of the flesh with knives. We who believe in Him regard Him not as the destroyer or the avenger, but as "the Rock of our salvation." You who have hidden in that Rock can truly praise Him!

2. Let us come before His Presence with thanksgiving. Let us not be afraid to stand in the immediate Presence of God. On the other hand, let us not worship Him with lightness and frivolity, but let us come before His Presence with due reverence and solemnity. And when we come, let it be "with thanksgiving." I need not remind you what innumerable reasons we have for thanksgiving. Let us render to God thanks according to what we have received from Him.

2, 3. And make a joyful noise unto Him with Psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. There are no other gods that are worthy to bear that name, but Jehovah is the great King above all that are called gods.

4. In His hand are the deep places ofthe earth. The innermost caverns, the deepest mines of earth, and the far-down places in the depths of the ocean—these are all in God's hand.

4. The strength ofthe hills is His also. He is the God of the hills as well as the God of the valleys. Let us read this verse again. "In His hand are the deep places of the earth." Are any of you there today? Then praise Him out of the deep places. "The strength of the hills is His also." Are you on the tops of the mountains today? Then give Him the praise who placed you there lest through pride your feet should slip.

5. The sea is His, for He made it. Men cannot parcel it out into estates, or cut it up into allotments as they do with the solid earth. But "the sea is His." There God reigns alone and surveys the broad acres of the wild waste of waters as His own.

6. And his hands formed the dry land. As though it were so much plastic clay out of which He had molded this great globe and fashioned the various countries in which the nations of mankind dwell.

6, 7. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hands. Blessed are we if we can say this in very truth! We are highly privileged to have this God to be our God, and to be, ourselves, His purchased inheritance, the objects of His daily care— "the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hands."

7, 8. Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart. It is a tender heart that hears God's voice—and the heart that hears His voice is sure to be made tender. These two things act and re-act the one upon the other.

8-11. As in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your father tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways: unto whom I swore in My wrath that they should not enter into My rest. They had seen God's work, but they did not know His eyes. They had not the sense to perceive the hand of God even in His miracles, or when they did perceive it, they oft rebelled against Him. Oh, that we may not be like that unbelieving generation that grieved the Lord for forty years in the wilderness!