- 62-
53)may be regarded either as the argument for the last petitions, or else as an Old
Testament version of "Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory." But the
whole prayer is the opening of the door into heaven - a door moving, if the expression
be lawful, on the two hinges of sin and of grace, of need and of provision.
- The Consecration-Thanksgiving and Offerings. - To the prayer of Solomon, the
descent of fire upon the great altar - probably from out the Cloudy Presence^133 - which
is recorded in 2 Chronicles 7:1, seems a most appropriate answer,^134 (comp. Leviticus
9:24).
Little requires to be added to the simple account of what followed. Rising from his
knees, the king turned once more to the people, and expressed the feelings of all in
terms of mingled praise and prayer, basing them on such Scriptural passages as
Deuteronomy 12:9, 10; Joshua 21:44, etc.; 23:14, and, in the second part of his
address, on Leviticus 26:3-13; Deuteronomy 28:1-14. But it deserves special notice,
that throughout (as Thenius has well remarked) the tone is of the loftiest spirituality.
For, if the king asks for continued help and blessing from the Lord, it is for the express
purpose "that He may incline our hearts to Him" (comp. Psalm 119:36; 141:4), "to
keep His commandments" (1 Kings 8:58); and, if he looks for answers to prayer (ver.
59), it is "that all the people of the earth may know that Jehovah is God, and that there
is none else" (ver. 60).
Lastly, we have an account of the vast number^135 of festive offerings which Solomon
and all Israel^136 brought, and of the Feast of Tabernacles^137 with which the solemn
dedication-services concluded.
(^)