Annotations Upon the Historical Books Part 2, 1 Chronicles · Chapter 29
CHAP. XXIX.
Verſ. 1. SOlomon my ſonne, whom alone God hath choſen, is yet young and tender, &c.] See 1. Kings 3.7.
Verſ. 4. Three thouſand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and ſeven thouſand talents of refined ſilver, to overlay the walls of the houſe withall.] To wit the gold to overlay the walls of the Temple; and the ſilver to overlay the walls of the other houſes and buildings adjoyning to the Temple: and as ordinarily we account the value of the talents there was prepared by David of gold, eleven millions two hundred and fifty thouſand pound ſterling, and of ſilver two millions ſix hundred twenty five thouſand pound ſterling; and accordingly we may compute what the Princes gave, verſ. 7.
Verſ. 11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatneſſe, and the power, and the glory, &c.] That is, thou art great, and powerfull, and glorious, &c. And all greatneſſe and power and glory that is conferred upon any man comes from thee, and therefore ought to be imployed to thy ſervice at thy command.
Verſ. 15. For we are strangers before thee, and ſojourners, as were all our fathers, &c.] As if he ſhould have ſaid, even the land wherein we live, it is but lent to us for a time, and but a ſhort time do we continue in it, being all as a ſhadow that paſſeth ſuddenly away, and continueth not: ſo that the very land being thine, and we but as wayfaring men, that onelyonly make uſe of it for a while; conſequently, all that we enjoy is thine, and not ours, and of thine own have we given thee. But beſides, the drift of this clauſe may be alſo to ſhew another motive that made them willing to give ſo freely to the building of the Temple; to wit, becauſe they by reaſon of the brevity of their lives, could not hope long to enjoy theſe things, and therefore could not but think them better beſtowed upon this ſervice of God, then kept for themſelves.
Verſ. 18. Keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people.] That is, this readineſſe to conſecrate themſelves, and all that they have to thy ſervice.
Verſ. 21. And they ſacrificed ſacrifices unto the Lord, &c.] To wit, before the ark which which was now in Davids houſe, in the tent which there he had prepared for it: and therefore it is ſaid, verſ. 22. that the people did eat and drink before the Lord on that day.
And ſacrifices in abundance for all Iſrael.] That is, the ſacrifices were offered in the name of all the people, and in ſuch abundance, that all the Iſraelites preſent might eat of the peace-offerings that were then offered to the Lord.
Verſ. 22. And they made Solomon the ſonne of David king the ſecond time, &c.] This, though ſubjoyned immediatly to that which went before, concerning their ſacrificing the next day after that David had made known his mind to the people, is yet to be underſtood of the annointing of Solomon after Davids death, as is evident: firſt, becauſe the making of Zadok the ſole high prieſt inſtead of Abiathar, is here joyned with it, and it cannot be denied but that was done after Davids death, 1. Kings 2.35. ſecondly, becauſe it followeth in the next verſe, that Solomon ſate on the throne as king inſtead of his father David: thirdly, becauſe when David made theſe things known in a publick aſſembly of his Princes, he was not yet bed-rid, chap. 18.1, 2. ſo that Adonijahs attempting to make himſelf king (at which time Solomon was firſt anointed, 1. Kings 1.33, 34.) was after this. And laſt of all, becauſe it followeth verſ. 24. that the other ſonnes of David ſubmitted themſelves to Solomon, which was not till Adonijahs uſurpation was defeated, 1. Kings 1.9.49.50.
Verſ. 23. Then Solomon ſate on the throne of the Lord.] All kingdomes and thrones are the Lords, becauſe all kings are the Lords vice-gerents, and have their power from him; but the throne of the kingdome of Iſrael is upon more peculiar grounds called the throne of the Lord; to wit, firſt, becauſe the diſpoſing of this throne the Lord wholly challenged to himſelf, Deut. 17.15. Thou ſhalt in any wiſe ſet him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God ſhall chooſe: and ſecondly, becauſe the kings of Judah were figures of Chriſt the true anointed, to whom the throne of David was promiſed, that is, that he ſhould be king of the Iſrael of God for ever, Luke 1.33. And he ſhall reigne over the houſe of Jacob for ever, &c.
Verſ. 28. And he died in a good old age.] To wit, when he was ſeventy years old; for David was thirty years old when he began to reigne, and he reigned fourty years, 2. Sam. 5.4.
Verſ. 29. Now the acts of David the king, firſt and laſt, Behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the Seer, and in the book of Nathan, &c.] Some underſtand this thus, that the acts of David were related in the hiſtory or books of Samuel, which are written by Nathan the prophet, and Gad the Seer.