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the highest moment of david's varied life and circumstances

was born out of strife

and judgment

and dismay

the situation that we have read about this morning is on the background of the time when the king unwisely numbered israel

and brought punishment upon himself and the people over whom he ruled

both of them were guilty of iniquity against yahweh

and yet those circumstances provided the means for ultimate joy and glory has god turned their sorrow into rejoicing

and we have read this morning of the moment when david stood rejoicing on the threshing floor of ornan the jebusite

as he engaged in his activity of humility and sacrifice

and in the first of chronicles chapter 22 and verse 1

a remarkable prophecy flows from his lips

then david said

this is the house of yahweh god and this is the altar of the burnt offering for israel

he looked about him and there was the threshing floor

upon which an altar had been built that removed the iniquity from israel

and he looked forward to the time in vision when the house of prayer should be built as an acknowledgement of sin

and stand in the place of divine judgment

so in verses 26 and 27 of chapter 21

david built there an altar unto yahweh and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings and called upon yahweh and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering and yahweh commanded the alt of the angel and he put up his sword again in the sheaf thereof

and the judgment was stayed

david had always desired to honor his god in a memorial temple

it had been his heart's desire from very from many years before

he had expressed his desire to build that house in the second of samuel chapter 7

which brought the divine response in an unconditional covenant

that bore before david onwards towards the kingdom for which we look and although he was not permitted to build that house at that time brethren and sisters since he had been a man of war and had shed blood in combat

nevertheless god respected the intensity of david's heart

he recognized the emotion that he had for the divine honor

and it was in that remarkable chapter the second of samuel chapter 7

that daniel david in verse 19 declared that god's promise that had been brought to him through nathan was for a great while to come

he prays that this was yet a small thing in thy sight oh lord yahweh

but thou has spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come as he looked into the future

to the time when the promise of god to him would come to pass

and though it was in the future brethren and sisters david immediately set about to make plans for that

that opportunity he diligently engaged himself in concentrating upon the divine promise in preparation for the house

his son would build

it filled his life

it filled his heart

it filled his mind that there should be a place of honor for god in the midst of israel

and when he composed psalm 27

and at verse 4

in the times of great distress in his experience

david gives emotion and feeling

to his to to his desire in psalm 27 and at verse 4

in the time that he was secluded in the cave of adalam

under the pressure of strife from saul the king

surrounded by the walls of that cave in the desolate area of judah

he expressed this prayer from his heart that one thing have i desired of yahweh that i will seek after one thing brethren and sisters one thing

as all the turmoil of strife at that moment swirled about him

engaging his attention as his men were

around the him in that camp

urging him to take vengeance against saul

there was one thing that he desired and that he said i will seek after that i might dwell in the house of yahweh all the days of my life to behold the beauty of yahweh and to enjoy sweet communion

in his temple

there was one thing in his life worth value

in fact in fact in verse 13 and 14 he said i have fainted he would have given up all hope of life unless he had believed to see the goodness of yahweh in the land of the living and turning to his companions the men who had come out of the tribes of israel to support him he said to them wait on yahweh

because he knew the moment hadn't arrived at that time

for god to exercise his hand and to restore his servant but it would come

wait on yahweh be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart wait he repeats for emphasis on yahweh

and again in psalm 132

and at verses 4 and 5

the same reflections concerned him

as the great man now turns his attention

to the need of his people

and his prayer in verse 1 is to remember david and all his afflictions how he swear unto yahweh and vowed unto the mighty god of jacob

and in verse 4

i will not give sleep to mine eyes nor slumber to my eyelids until i find a place for yahweh an inhabitation

for the mighty god of jacob

the service of the truth was the greatest thing in david's life

whatever else occupied his attention from time to time it was the principles of yahweh and the strength of the mighty god of jacob that concerned him brethren and sisters and in the busyness of his life he found time to pray had time to strengthen himself in his heart's desire to see this temple for the glory and the and the delight of his god

and in that chapter that we have read together in the first of chronicles chapter 22 and at verses 2 onwards he expresses his enthusiastic preparation for the temple and though it was a long time off

he made preparation today

immediately

without neglect

and as he stood upon that place that place where the altar of god was

that had turned away the sword of the angel in a moment of great distress for the nation

he immediately verse two commanded to gather together these strangers that were in the land of israel and he set masons to hugh wrought stones to build the house of god already he set his heart and his hands in harmony

has he prepared a temple for his god a temple he was not to see

it was a project he would never see completed

it was for a great time to come

it was for an indefinite future

and in all his activity david foreshadowed the program that his greatest son should yet accomplish in his two advents

when upon the place where the altar was set up and sin was destroyed

he would ultimately build the temple for which david prayed

there were strangers engaged in that word verse two

gentiles were brought in under the benevolent

activity of david he called for strangers that were in the land of israel

part of the captives from his conquests of faith as david had gone forth from place to place

upon the warfare of faith in the name of his god there were captives that came from the gentile lands that they might be involved also in the building of this temple

and they were able to bring their diversified skills to the work of david out of every language and tongue and people and nation there they were in a cameo as david overlook and and supervise the work and as proselytes to the hope of israel

in a way the whole world

was called upon to respond to the building of a temple for the glory of god

and the masons were there they brought their abilities to david's project they brought stones

they hewed wrought stones to build the house of god

those stones were prepared away from the site

they were cut to the right size

in preparation for the temple that would later be built

there was to be careful pre-selection

careful choosing

of the right stones for the right place

a checking of the stones

a hewing of the stones a measuring of the stones a storing of the stones always required for the ultimate building that would eventuate

it's a work of faith

for today we as living stones brethren and sisters are being hewn away from the time when the temple will ultimately be built when our lord jesus christ will return in glory and god is carefully measuring

selecting

chiseling away at the rough edges that we may have that it might ultimately fit into the place prepared for us in the mansions of our father

that when our lord jesus christ returns

he will observe in us

those stones that are appropriate for his glory

and david said in plan in motion the plans he prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and the joinings and brass in abundance without weight the whole process

typified the work of the greater david in the building of the spiritual temple of faith

the plans and the preparations were set in motion by the labor and activity of a divine warrior

and as our minds go down the years of history we come to the moment when our lord jesus christ was brought

into the warfare of god

1900 years ago

we saw a man who conquered goliath in his own flesh

a man who felt all the problems and difficulties of life as did david

so that he has a fellow feeling with us

a man who went forth and slaughtered the armies of pride of ambition and of wickedness

a man who selected from the gentiles

those who might participate with him in the preparation and the cutting of stones and all this is done away from the site of the ultimate temple the kingdom of our glorious gods that will be erected in the days to come

so the apostle peter in his first epistle in chapter 2

verses 5 to 8

pictures for us such a scene

ye also as living stones

i built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to god by the work and mission and labor and activity and preparation of jesus christ

wherefore also it is contained in the scripture behold i lay in zion

a chief cornerstone

elect glorious precious

and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded unto you therefore which believe he is precious

and in verse 9 he says for ye are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation a peculiar people that you might be molded and governed and directed and prepared brethren and sisters to show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into the marvelous light of his vision of faith

and that is why in chapter 22 of chronicles and verse

11

david carefully protected the specifications for the temple it was he who wrote them out it was he who described the temple under inspiration of god

and he tells solomon in verse 11 now my son yahweh be with thee and prosper thou and build the house of yahweh thy god as he hath said of thee

he had written out

david had written out the terms of the construction for the benefit of his son

in verse 19 he says set your heart and your soul to seek yahweh your god arise therefore and build ye the sanctuary of yahweh god to bring the ark of the covenant of yahweh and the holy vessels of god into the house that is to be built

to the name of yahweh

it was to be an outstanding temple

a glorious temple exceeding magnificent

and yet not large

in verse 5 he says of that chapter

david said solomon my son is young and tender

and the and the house that is to be builded for yahweh must be exceeding magnifical of fame and of glory throughout all countries

it was outstanding but not large the temple of david was only 90 feet by 30

feet by 45 feet in size the temple itself but that it was surrounded by large courts

in which people might gather designed to hold me a large concourse

which was a symbol of the immortal kingdom of the age to come

a kingdom in which nations might gather together to worship the same god as david did in those days

and now the king calls his son before him he called solomon to cooperate and to continue the work that he had begun but there is typified brethren and sisters in those two men

the two advents of our lord jesus christ

which complete the saving work and the divine scheme of redemption

they stand together

kings together

there is david

the warrior king the man who fought the man who conquered the enemies the man who defeated all opposition

as the lord jesus christ came at the first advent of his ministry to overcome sin and to challenge iniquity and to defeat wickedness

there is solomon

the young man

a man who was to introduce a reign of peace

to build a splendid temple of glory

to witness the gold and the silver and the and the wonderful picture of magnificent majesty

a picture of the day when our lord jesus christ will return from heaven

to establish upon this earth the glory of god and when the glory of our father will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea

and these two men stood together

two kings the only two kings of judah who reigned conjointly

as circumstances in david's own family forced him to bring solomon to the throne before he passed into the article of death

you remember that the threat and challenge of adonijah required the unusual practice of installing solomon on the throne

at the same time as his father

and in doing so the wonderful plan of god was revealed in a picture

those two men completed

the type of the combined advents of the lord jesus christ

verse 5 says that david was that solomon at that time was very young

solomon my son is young and tender

and josephus suggests that he was but 14

years of age when he came to the throne of israel and like young timothy david says he was a timid retiring lad he needed education he needed encouragement he needed wisdom a wisdom that he later sought from god himself

solomon was named before his birth

he was one of seven such men

each one of whom had a divine destiny set before them before they were born

there was ishmael

and isaac

and solomon and josiah

and cyrus and john baptist

and jesus christ

so this man was one of seven of outstanding purpose called to a great mission and in announcing his birth the angel also declared his calling so in verse 9

behold a son shall be born to thee who shall be a man of rest

as david recalls the incident in the past

and i will give him rest from all his enemies round about for his name shall be solomon and i will give him peace and quietness

the hebrew indicates that that declaration was given at the time of his birth

a son shall be born to thee

as isaiah later picked up and said in isaiah chapter 9 verse 6

when he spake about the coming of our beloved lord he said that there should come a time when a son shall be born and his name shall be called the wonderful the counsellor the everlasting god the mighty god the everlasting father

and the prince of peace

and therefore this chapter is additional to and later on than that of the second of samuel 7.

solomon's was to be a peaceful reign of glory and happiness it commenced about a thousand years before jesus christ and could have been

apart from sin

and iniquity and envy and evil and wickedness it could have been

a thousand years millennial introduction to the coming of heaven's anointed king in due time

but for the failure of solomon's son

and the subsequent kings to maintain the glory of the temple

that his father had built had had designed

and so the proposed millennium of peace brothers and sisters turned back into the devastation of eden when sin entered into the world

and when god's righteousness was affronted

and that sad story was caused through the neglect of the ecclesia

they forgot the sound advice of david their founder they allowed the influence of the flesh to dominate and direct their lives

and it's a sad commentary on human nature of which we are part

that so many commence their walk of faith with high ideals and visions of temples and glory and thrones

they start with great plans and firm determination as they come forth from the waters of baptism

but sometimes decline quickly

in a larger scene attitude about apathy and indifference

and their failure is not due to divine neglect

in verse 10 solomon's uh david says he shall or the angel says to david he shall build a house for my name and he shall be my son and i will be his father there is all the wonderful privileges of divine

benevolence here as god says i will be his father he shall be my son i will establish the throne of his kingdom over israel forever and the providence of god set solomon firmly along his pathway to success

as god has brought each one of us up from the waters of baptism by the power of his word brethren and sisters and has constituted us his sons and daughters of faith

and in hebrews chapter 13 and at verse 5

god tells us that he would never leave us nor forsake us

he is our father

we are his children

we have the means to overcome

by the plans which his son our lord jesus christ has given us

and the apostle paul said as he was frustrated by the his own inabilities to overcome he said i can do all things through christ who strengthens me

and by faith

of which john speaks in the first book of john chapter 5 verse 4 when he says this is that which overcometh the world even the victory of our faith

and so in verse 11 david sought the divine blessing on behalf of his son

now my son

yahweh be with thee

and prosper thou and build the house of yahweh thy god as he has said of thee there must be harmony said david to solomon harmony between that man and his god

and he would prosper

if he sought that harmony

as will we

so in psalm 127

when the psalmist speaks about the principle of building he says in verse 1

except yahweh build the house they labor in vain to build it houses built without god brethren and sisters will never last

the storms and the winds and the sands of time

but based upon the rock the firm rock of the foundation of truth when yahweh builds the house they labor with profit that build it

he says except yahweh keep the city the watchman wakeeth but in vain it's it's fine for us to rise up early and to sit up late if god be not with us and in the circumstances of our lives we need more and more in these days to pull god into our life

to walk with him as did enoch and noah

to build with him as did solomon and to draw the experiences of his power into the circumstances of our lives

we must be aware of the presence of the father

in all the activities

to which we put our hand

except he build the house with us

we labor in vain

we need to fulfill in our lives

the divine purpose

as david told solomon in verse 11

as god hath said of thee

there is only one person in this whole world that can destroy the work of faith to which we put our hands and that's ourselves

for we know fully brethren and sisters that the angels of god surround those who love and fear him and will protect them as they walk along the pathway of righteousness

we need therefore wisdom and in verse 12

david prayed for wisdom

only yahweh give thee wisdom and understanding and give thee charge concerning israel that thou mayest keep the law of yahweh thy god

the word understand means to separate

to distinguish

the ability to determine things

it is the application of wisdom in the skill of discernment

to know what should be done and when how and why

and we must realize that in our case we must seek for wisdom and such wisdom must be god given

for the

writer james in his first book his first chapter and at verse 5

tells us that when we have such a need as we have from day to day

verse 5 if any of you lack wisdom

let him ask of god and god gives liberally and uprighteth not and it shall be given him that's the divine guarantee that we can overcome our own disabilities and build a suitable temple to god

but

says james

let him ask in faith nothing wavering for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and

tossed god give thee wisdom

that comes through prayer

he comes through a prayer which is based upon the reading and study and meditation and thought of the word

as david's previously stood in the cave of in getty cave of adalam

and thought about the future that he had been

that he had for his life

and gave himself to meditation from which many of our psalms are drawn we have a man of great skill and discernment

such comes from the is the results of keeping the law of yahweh and faithfully maintaining the standards of the truth upon which foundation only temples can be built

so in verse 13 there was an exhortation to faithfulness then thou shalt prosper if thou taketh heed to fulfill the statutes and judgments which yahweh charged moses concerning israel at a time when there is a great warrior who would lead them into the promised land joshua by name and moses said to that man be strong and of a good courage dread not nor be dismayed and that message was carried down to young solomon it's a blessing of god which is based upon actions of faith

it's true prosperity which is found in the arena of the truth

blessings from god must come from an appreciation and understanding of the divine instructions and our personal placing of confidence

in the hands of god

and so joshua and david stand together in the advice given to solomon and to us and provides us with the means to overcome all obstacles that may face us in our warfare of faith and our building of temples

and then in verse 14 he says to solomon you must give great diligence

for david's own example was given to his son

what wonderful words in this verse

what tremendous encouragement

in the days of my trouble

i prepared for the house of yahweh a hundred thousand talents of gold and a thousand thousand talents of silver brass and iron without white timber and stones

in the days of my trouble

it was in the days of david's difficulty brethren and sisters that provided for his heart's desire he didn't wait until he had time

to spare

and money to spend

that he could go about god's work it was in the days of his problems and difficulties when he was struggling with the opposition all about him when adversaries and opponents were pressing heavily upon him that's when he prepared

and in spite of all the treachery

and the domestic problems

and his personal failings

he never lost sight of one supreme object in his life and it was a house of god and it was in the days of his trouble that he prepared for that

and from his conquest he was able to set aside materials for that project our lord jesus christ in a

difficult parable

tells us

in luke 16 verse 9

i say unto you

make yourselves friends

by using the mammon of unrighteousness

that when it fails

you may be received into everlasting habitations

make friends out of the mammum of unrighteousness use the opportunities that we have

and the days of our privilege to to prepare for the house of the future in the days of our troubles brethren and sisters and never let us put aside the principles of the truth because we have difficulties to face

and look at the last words in that verse 14

david's out of their problems and difficulties was prepared to prepare was prepared to work for the temple but he says in the end of that verse that thou mayest add to it

our lord jesus christ as you see portrayed before you on this table our lord has prepared the materials our lord has placed the plans before us the specifications are all here

to those of us who wish to be associated with solomon

in the temple of glory

when the prince of peace reigns

may well add there to

by his own our own commitment as our lord will complete the great temple by his own presence in the age to come

and verse 15 says that there are many others to assist in this building moreover workmen are with you in abundance viewers and workers of stone and timber and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work

skillful labor in cooperation of building the temple it's provided to us

there's angels

there's prophets

there's pioneers

there's faithful brethren and sisters they're working with us at this present moment president and sisters the cloud of witnesses of which revel hebrews chapter 12 tells us that surround us all the time working for our salvation helping us to build our stones our companions in faith in the in which we find ourselves

will faithfully work with us in the development of the truth

then in verses 16 to 19 you have david's final commitment to this work

but the gold the silver the brass the iron there is no number

arise therefore solomon he says arise therefore and be doing and yahweh be with thee and that's the voice of david to us brethren and sisters as we work and labor in preparation for the temple today horizon be doing

are we slackening our hands

dragging our feet sitting down here

there was no time for solomon to delay the means were at hand said david seek wisdom and now apply yourselves god has provided us for with every opportunity with every circumstance with every need therefore

set our hearts

as he says in verse 9

like his own

my heart's desire

is that i might see that temple

and rejoice in its

rooms

and enjoy the presence of the great king

set your heart and your soul to seek yahweh your god arise therefore and build ye the sanctuary that and to bring the ark of the covenant of yahweh and the holy vessels of god into the house that is to be built give our minds and strength to the work where at the end of time brethren and sisters this vision takes us into the future to the time when the sanctuary will be built when the altar will be there the ark will be established the holy vessels set out

holy vessels of all ages and generations from faithful able

to the coming of our lord jesus christ

all set out before us

and the means by which that is built is portrayed on this table

we have here bread

and wine

they represent the two-fold work of our lord jesus christ

the bread is broken

represents the trials and difficulties of life it teaches us of the need to conquer the flesh to war the warfares of david against sin in all its forms

but there's wine here as well

wine speaks of new life of harmony of joy of success of victory it's the vision of glory

is the peace of solomon

we shall soon see the fulfillment of this chapter

when we gather with our great lord in the sanctuary on zion's hill

then david will see the temple

then he will see the temple in all its reality and his joy will be full

and it won't only be a temple of bricks and mortar although that will be there as well but it will be a house of living stones his seed of faith from all times

and we there with him

if

if we prepare today for the joy of tomorrow

if we arise and be doing

if we set our heart and our soul

brethren and sisters david's voice comes down to us this morning to take up this project and in these days of our trouble to pursue our course faithfully and with dedication

and we shall never be dismayed