December 25

I Kings viii.—22. And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven;

23. And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart;

24. Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakeest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

27. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded!

28. Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God! to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee to-day;

29. That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there; that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

30. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place; and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place; and, when thou hearest, forgive.

The great longing of David's heart had been to build a temple worthy of the name and worship of Jehovah. For this purpose he had selected a site upon Mount Moriah, opposite Zion, upon which his own palace stood, and had accumulated a vast amount of money and material. The ark, which long rested at Shiloh, had been brought up to Zion; but its only cover was the consecrated tent made after the pattern given at Sinai. David could not brook the thought of living in a better house than was provided for the worship of God. "See now," he said: "I dwell in a house of cedar; but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains." But his pious purpose was frustrated by a dream, in which he was admonished that he was too much a man of war for such a work; but it should be accomplished in the reign of his son. Solo-

54. And it was so, that, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.

55. And he stood and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

56. Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

57. The Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:

58. That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.

59. And let these my words wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require;

60. That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.

61. Let your heart, therefore, be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

mon made it a work of filial piety as well as of religious devotion. The house was built on a magnificent scale. Skilled workmen from Phoenicia were employed in preparing the stone; and Lebanon furnished the choicest woods for its lining. Recent explorations have unearthed at a great depth the original foundations, and upon some of the stones have been found what are supposed to be quarry-marks of the Phoenician workmen. Standing upon a bold, sharp promontory, walled up from the valleys on either side, adorned with porticoes, and spelted with gold, this temple shone resplendent from all sides of the city. At its dedication Solomon made a great feast, and offered in person a most comprehensive prayer, of which the opening and close are given above.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 7, 10, 42.

This is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it. Draw thou near to us, O God our Saviour! as we draw near to thee. Whom have we in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that we desire besides thee. May we this day see thy glory as we have seen thee within thy holy temple!

We bless thee for all the mercies of the week that is now past. Day by day thou hast supplied our wants; night by night thou hast watched over us and defended us. Oh! give us hearts of thankfulness, as the children of thy love.

We pray for the poor, the afflicted, the be-

reaved, and the dying. O thou Comforter of all that are cast down! do thou heal their sorrows, bind up their wounds. In the multitude of their thoughts within them, may thy comforts delight their souls!

We commend our friends, and all belonging to us, implicitly to thy sovereign care. May the pillar of thy presence go continually before them! Guide them by thy counsel. Fit them for living and for dying. May our souls be consecrated with undivided energies to the glory of Him who gave himself for us!—to whom, with the Father and the Spirit, be glory everlasting. Amen.