1 Chronicles 22:19

1Ch_22:19

Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God.

Seeking after God

I. The occasion on which this injunction was given.

II. The injunction itself.

1. The great object of our life.

2. In what way we are to prosecute it.

(1) Avail yourselves of the opportunities afforded for public usefulness.

(2) Begin with the surrender of your whole souls to God. (C. Simeon, M. A.)

The important search

I. The object searched.

II. The method of search.

1. Earnestly.

2. Resolutely. (J. Wolfendale.)

Building the temple

The great aim of missionary work, at home and abroad, is the same. This great work may be illustrated by the text. We have--

I. The heart set upon God.

1. All work for God must begin with ourselves (Act_22:28; 1Ti_4:16).

2. It must be heart-work, not merely duty, custom, or sympathy.

3. There must be a deliberate setting of the heart and soul upon God as our God, reconciled in Christ, fixedly His (Psa_57:7; Deu_10:12).

4. There must be continued seeking God, in prayer, meditation, holy living.

II. The building-work going on. The living Church is Gods sanctuary. He dwells in the hearts of His people (Joh_14:23; 2Co_6:16; 1Co_3:16). The work of Christs followers is to build the sanctuary.

1. By gathering souls out of the world around to Christ.

2. By gathering souls into the Church, uniting in one body in Christ.

III. The sanctuary used for God. Union in the Church must be--

1. For consecration. The temple is not for ornament, nor for the admiration of the world, but for God.

2. For worship: Bring the ark, etc. The ark shadows forth the great propitiation (Rom_3:25). This must hold the first position in the Church, heart, ministry (1Co_2:2).

3. For service: Bring the holy vessels, etc. Each vessel has its use. (J. E. Sampson.)

Set your heart

Let us take this exhortation--

I. In its reference to Gods own people.

1. What are they to seek? The Lord your God.

(1) By endeavouring to obey Him in everything.

(2) In building up His temple. It should be the main object of our life to seek the Lord by building up His Church.

(3) By doing everything to Gods glory.

2. How are they to seek? Set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God.

(1) With fixity of purpose: Set.

(2) Have an intense affection towards Gods service and glory.

(3) With an energetic use of the intellect. We ought as much to speculate and scheme to glorify God as we meditate how to advance our business.

(4) By the union and concentration of all our faculties.

3. When are we to seek the Lord? Now. Now is the only time worth having, because it is indeed the only time we have. When did David mean by his now?

(1) Now that they had an efficient leader--Solomon.

(2) When God is with you.

(3) When God gives rest. Hath He not given you rest on every side?

II. In its reference to those who are converted.

1. Set your heart on true religion, and be not content with the outward form of it.

2. Seek the Lord Himself.

3. Seek Him at once with all your heart. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Seeking God

In the struggle of life many men and women are hampered and depressed by the memory of past weaknesses, errors, and sins. The hours of their real spiritual prosperity are overshadowed and embittered by the recollection of their spiritual adversities. It is one of the wise and helpful laws of our nature that in freeing ourselves from weakness and sin we do not free ourselves from the memory of them. The value of the experience lies in the lesson we learn from it, and the truest repentance is often witnessed by the poignancy of the sorrow, and both the lesson and the sorrow have their roots in memory. But, while we are not to forget that we have sometimes fallen, we are not always to carry the mud with us; the slough is behind, but the clean, clearly-defined road stretches ahead of us, skies are clear, and God is beyond. We were made for purity, truth, and fidelity, and the very abhorrence of the opposites of these qualities, which grows and deepens within us, bears testimony that our aspirations are becoming our attainments. The really noble thing about any man or woman is not freedom from all stains of the lower life, but the deathless aspiration which for ever drives us forward and will not let us rest in any past, whether good or bad. That which makes us respect ourselves is not what men call a blameless career, but the hunger and thirst after God which makes all our doing unsatisfying and inadequate to us. Better a thousand times the eager and passionate fleeing to God from a past of faults and weaknesses, with an irresistible longing for rest in the everlasting verities, than the most respectable career which misses this profound impulse. The past, remains with us to remind us of our perils and our constant need of help, but it ought not to haunt and oppress us. The real life of an aspiring soul is always ahead, We are not fleeing from the devil, but seeking God. (Lyman Abbott.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For else he knew that God would plague them, and not prosper their labor, except they sought with all their hearts to set forth his glory.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(19) To seek the Lord.—Hebrew, “to seek unto the Lord,” as in 2Ch_17:4; Ezr_4:2. The older construction, with a simple accusative, occurred in 1Ch_16:12; 1Ch_21:30.

Arise therefore, and build.—Rather, And arise ye, and build. The second clause explains how the first was to be carried out. Building the Lord a fair and noble sanctuary was equivalent to seeking His favour. Professions cost nothing, and they were not to serve the Lord “without cost” (1Ch_21:24).

To bring the ark.—From its temporary abode on Mount Zion (1Ch_15:1).

The holy vessels of God—e.g., the altar of burnt offering.

That is to be built.—The same participal form as in 1Ch_22:9 : “shall be born.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. and the holy vessels of God] Cp. 1Ki_8:4.

CHAPTER 23

Ch. 1Ch_23:1. Solomon made King

The summary statement of the Chronicler ignores the struggle between the party of Solomon and the party of Adonijah for the throne. Cp. 1Ch_29:22-24; 1Ki_1:5-53.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Is on the point of being built. David was convinced that the work would not be much longer retarded, so that he speaks of it as present. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

To bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God. To settle these in a fixed home had now been of a long time the consuming desire of David"s heart (so 1Ch_15:1; 2Ch_5:2-4) Into the house that is to be built. The preposition l instead of la, before "the house," is to be noticed here (1 Chronicles. Neh_10:35) Also the Niphal participle, H"n,b]gih," here translated "that is to be built," is to be noticed. The meaning of David would be better met probably thus: "Arise, build the sanctuary to bring the ark into the house (then) builded to the Name of the Lord.

The aged king"s parting injunctions to the princes of his kingdom.

There both seems to have been, and on many accounts it is likely that there was, much savouring of the despotic in the position of the kings of Israel, and this even in their best times. It was in part the purposed and just result of their Divine call to the office they were to hold. And the despotic disposition was often as inconspicuous as could be desired, The characteristic evils of the despotic temper did not push themselves into any prominence, did not even make themselves visible, so long as that king divinely designated remembered faithfully to hold himself at the sovereign disposal of the King of kings. But when this was not the case, they developed rapidly and disastrously. It is nevertheless abundantly plain that, when the authority and voice of the good king sounded most absolute, the facts of human life and character were not disregarded. Full account was made of them, and the nature of human society was religiously respected. Hence, at the present time, David calls on the princes of the kingdom, as well as on his own son and successor. He calls on them to close up their ranks round him, and addresses them as though they were truly the responsible props of the throne. He intreats them to co-operate with Solomon as sympathizing fellow-labourers in a grand religious enterprise. Such association of subjects with ruler is necessary to bind together strongly and safely the framework of any community fit to be called sound. Disintegration inevitably sets in with the deceitful interstices often found between class and class, or between ruler and ruled. We may notice here how David

I SKETCHES THE ELEMENTS OF A NATION"S OPPORTUNITY. These elements in the present instance are found in:

1. The fact that there is trustworthy ground for being sure that the Lord is on the side of his people. He is with them, and if so, they may feel that they have One with them far greater than all they who are against them. Confidence in a good cause is a great moral help and support. The confidence that comes of knowing that in the last resort one has a strong friend, is often a great strength. But to have God on one"s side is to have both these in one. It is to have all in one. He will not be found with a bad cause. And he brings unerring wisdom, perfect knowledge, and an

2. omnipotent arm into the field. Nor is the consciousness of the presence and favourable regard of the Lord of less significance when not the works of war but those of peace are m question. Thought and works of skill and cunning invention, of beauty and of wisdom, memory and reason, and the highest attempts and successes of imagination, all lie open to his inspiration. "The inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding". (Job_32:8) And an even special stress is repeatedly laid upon the effects of this condescending presence upon the intelligence and the humble works of man, as, for instance, in the matter of the preparation of the materials used in the construction of the tabernacle of the wilderness. (Exo_31:1-6) And this may be called the central element in David"s suggestions as to the opportunity now before his nation.

3. The absence of external causes of anxiety and apprehension. Worldly care is no doubt a part of the necessity, the discipline, the improving education of the present life. But the distraction of it often has hindered the noblest developments of the powers that lie in human nature. These noblest efforts need the "united heart," the undivided zeal; and if you are to soar aloft, yours must be an unbroken wing. A nation"s life has times without number illustrated all this on a large scale. By severe effort the individual may occasionally triumph over distraction, but the mass are interested in and follow but one thing at a time.

4. The sense of restfulness now the portion of the people. Their own dwelling-place, home, the earthly Canaan, at all events, these are now their portion. And the spontaneous suggestion of them is some grateful earnest tribute forthcoming to their Giver. Home is for rest; rest is for work. Security is not to produce the fruit of sluggishness, but to yield that kind of "quietness and confidence" that shall make into strong, calm, determined purpose.

II MAKES A STRONG APPEAL TO THE LEADERS or THE NATION TO USE TO THE FULL THE OPPORTUNITY. This appeal is twofold.

1. It asks the enthusiasm, the devotion, the full affection of heart and soul, in the first place. These must be "set to seek the Lord God." They must not be left to take their hopeful chance, or chance more or less hopeful; they must be charged to rise to their higher selves. "My soul, wait thou only upon God." Some men of God of old recognized very distinctly how it devolved upon them to take their own heart, to talk, reason with it, urge it,

2. "stir up its good gift," and lay upon it its solemn responsibility, its high privilege.

3. It asks the honesty of action. Great affections will pine without the bracing effects of exercise and trial and strenuous enterprise. Innumerable great purposes have come to ruin; and the wreckage has been visible enough and mournful enough. But the inner invisible wreck that has come of purposes great and holy, which never saw the light, never dared the breath of criticism, nor the winds of opposition, has been a thousandfold mournful and fatal. So David specifics, if not details, yet the leading divisions of practical duty now. "Arise build the sanctuary., bring the ark of the covenant, and the holy vessels into the house," when" built to the Name of the Lord.

Arise, and build.

Before the old king died, he wished to see his successor"s work in train and order. Accordingly, both to Solomon and to the princes, David addressed stirring words of admonition. And as what he had most at heart was the erection of the temple, it was natural that he should lay the greatest stress upon this vast and glorious undertaking.

I Note first, as here described, THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF THE BUILDING. It was "the sanctuary of the Lord God;" it was to be built "to the Name of the Lord." A Divine dwelling, a habitation for the Most High, a holy place. In all this an emblem of the temple of our Saviour"s body, and of that spiritual house which is the temple of the Holy Ghost.

II Remark next, THE PURPOSE OF THE BUILDING. It was to contain "the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God." That is to say, it was not only the locality of God"s manifested presence, but it was the scene of sacrifice and worship and the centre of the nation"s religion. This gave a practical and political significance to the erection of the sanctuary.

III Instructive is the account given of THE DISPOSITION AND SPIRIT OF THE BUILDERS. The work was not to be done mechanically, or from a feeling of constraint. They were to "set their heart and their soul to seek the Lord their God." That is, they were to undertake the work as one distinctively religious, and from a religious motive and with a religious aim.

PRACTICAL LESSONS.

1. Let everything that is Gods engage your sympathy and interest and zeal. Let each Christian hear the voice from heaven saying to him, "Arise, and build.

2. Let Gods work be done in a devout and religious spirit. In serving the Lord seek him, and he will be found of you. T.

Work for god must be done with heart and soul.

set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God." Scripture uses several terms for the composite being, man, but it may be questioned whether, without undue forcing, we oar form, on a Scripture basis, either a dualistic or tripartite theory of man"s being. We find the term body, as indicating the physical being, set in relations with an external world by its five senses; the term heart, as inclusive of the mind and the affections, set in relations with the world of thought, and the world of fellow human beings; and the term soul, as the equivalent of that spiritual being which is set in relation with God, and has its life only in him. But, though these may be the stricter meanings and uses of these terms, they are often used in Scripture as figures of speech; and a man is said to work with his heart when he likes to do what he is undertaking, and a man is said to do a thing with his soul when he does it with a will, with energy and perseverance. It will afford some effective contrasts to consider conceivable ways of working for God, and the illustrations of each will be at once suggested, so that they will need no more than statement.

I WORK FOR GOD MAY BE BY ACCIDENT; either of place, or circumstance, or association.

II WORK FOR GOD MAY BE BY COMPULSION; as may be illustrated in the case of Cyrus, of whom God says, "I girded thee, though thou hast not known me." God makes even the "wrath of man praise him;" and bad men have, unwillingly, done his sow-reign will.

III WORK FOR GOD MAY BE DONE THROUGH WORKING FOR SELF; one who seeks only" his own ends may find that, without credit or blessing to himself, he has really served God.

IV WORK FOR GOD MAY BE DONE HALF-HEARTEDLY. We may "fear the Lord, and serve other gods.

V WORK FOR GOD MAY BE DONE, AND SHOULD BE DONE, WITH CULTURED BODILY POWERS; WITH HEART-JOY IN GOD; and WITH THE INSPIRATION OF THE SOUL"S DEVOTION. Of such work for God the Lord Jesus Christ presents the highest type; but the example is as a human example, within human reach. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.