10 Reasons and more why public worship is to be preferred over private (D Clarkson)

1. The Lord is more glorified by public worship than private. God is then glorified by us when we acknowledge that he is glorious. And he is most glorified when this acknowledgment is most public. This is obvious.

2. There is more of the Lord’s presence in public worship than in private. He is present with his people in the use of public ordinances in a more especial manner, more effectually, constantly, intimately. Here are the clearest manifestations of God.

4. There is more spiritual advantage to be got in the use of public ordinances than in private, ergo they are to be preferred. 5. Public worship is more edifying than private, ergo, &c.

6. Public ordinances are a better security against apostasy than private, and therefore to be preferred: an argument worthy our observation in these backsliding times.

7. Here the Lord works his greatest works; greater works than ordinarily he works by private means, ergo. The most wonderful things that are now done on earth are wrought in the public ordinances, though the commonness and spiritualness of them makes them seem less wonderful.

8. Public worship is the nearest resemblance of heaven, therefore to be preferred.

9. The examples of the most renowned servants of God, who have preferred public worship before private, is a sufficient argument. It was so in the judgment of those who were guided by an infallible Spirit, those who had most converse with God, and knew most of the mind of God; and those who had experience of both, and were in all respects the best, the most competent judges.

10. Public worship is the most available for the procuring of the greatest mercies, and preventing and removing the greatest judgments.

11. The precious blood of Christ is most interested in public worship, and that must needs be most valuable which has most interest in that which is of infinite value.

12. The promises of God are more to public worship than to private.

Westminster Conference 2022 Day Two

The one about the two Scotsmen

If you compare two days, inevitably one will be superior to the other and our second day, for various reasons, was not quite up to our first one. We began with Ian Hamilton, now based in Inverness, who spoke on Protestantism and Tradition. This was a useful and helpful paper, though in danger of rambling at times, I felt. (The anti-Baptist barbs were less of a problem.)

He ended with four conclusions

1. We should give serious thought to the way the church has worshipped down the ages

2. We should never unthinkingly receive church tradtions no matter how godly those we receive them from

3. We need to understand what Sola Scriptura means. It is not Scripture without tradition but tradition always in the light of Scripture.

4. We should practice Calvin's maxim about letting love be our guide. (This is from Calvin's Institutes where he encourages a dynamic approach to worship and gives wise advice on how to determine fitting changes. "... because these things are not necessary to salvation, and for the upbuilding of the church ought to be variously accommodated to the customs of each nation and age, it will be fitting ... to change and abrogate traditional practices and to establish new ones. Indeed, I admit that we ought not to charge into innovation rashly, suddenly, for insufficient cause. But love will best judge what may hurt or edify; and if we let love be our guide, all will be safe" (4.10.30).

In the afternoon we had another Scotsman, this time Alistair Wilson from Edinburgh on David Livingstone (1813-1873) who will have been dead 150 years come next May. This was a thoroughly researched and well presented paper using powerpoint that looked at three questions about Livingstone

• Was he really a ‘missionary’?
• Did he support and enable imperialism?
• Did he act inappropriately towards his wife and family, towards his colleagues, and towards the people of Africa?

Dr Wilson's were nuanced but sympathetic to Livingstone without hagiography. He certainly began as a missionary and even his years as an explorer were with future missionary work in mind. This paper will be well worth reading when it is published. It seemed to me that Livingstone was a typical pioneer with all his good and bad points.

We had decent discussions following both papers. The final paper is not discussed. This time round it was on Guillaume Farel and should have been given by Stephane Simonnin but he had covid and so Jeremy Walker read his paper. Farel is a lesser known Reformer and it was good to hear his story.

So pretty good stuff all round. Numbers were slightly down but not by much. We are a little on the old side but we are trying to address that. Next year, it was announced, the papers will be on Matthew Poole, Eric Liddell, Theodore Beza, Thomas Aquinas and the Puritans on original sin and Edwards on the History of Redemption.

Ministers Fraternals

Ministers fraternals are a great thing especially for ministers in independent churches. I go to two very different fraternals more or less once a month. It is a pity they fall in the same three days but there we are. I have mentioned both here before now. First, there's the Westminster Fellowship which is an all day affair (10.30 am-3 pm with a short break for lunch plus time to travel there and back). Last Monday we had a speaker, which we often do. Robert Strivens addressed us on what to sing and gave us some useful historical and biblical material to chew over. He was keen to point out that the modern way of thinking is not just about using modern hymns but about a certain understanding of worship too. About 20 of us gathered and we had a good session. There are one or two psalm singers among us which slowed down proceedings but they have to think about these subjects too as you still have to decide which psam version to use and which tune. (PS we use New Christian Hymns in book form and are accompanied by a piano). Then today I joined nine other men at Hampstead Heath station to walk over the Heath and get a coffee before heading down to Gospel Oak, talking all the way. This is a much looser way of doing things but means I get my 10,000 steps in, get to know some of my fellow ministers (better than I would at Westminster, although this time I shared a bus ride with two different ones coming and going, which was good).

Affinity Study Conference 2019 Worship Day 1

I've been away and there are a few gaps to fill but I have come straight to the Affinity Study Conference and want to report on that before I do anything else.

Good to be here once again at the King's Park Centre with the usual crowd plus or minus a few. We kicked off with papers from Mark Johnston and David Kirk, one an Ulster man in Wales the other an English/Welshman in Scotland. Mark opened up with a biblical theology and David gave us a New Testament study. There was some overlap in treatment but no obvious disagreements. The format is that we have been sent all six papers beforehand and the speakers are given five or six minutes to summarise them. Questions are then asked in plenary session before dividing into small groups. We then reconvene for further discussion.

Example quotes

Johnston (quoting Michael Morales Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? Nottingham: Apollos, IVP, 2015, 39-74).

The seventh day is not only the first to be blessed, and the only day mentioned three times, but it is also the first object ever to be set apart as holy by God. Moreover, the seventh day is the only object of sanctification in the entire book of Genesis; “he sanctified/made it holy” is the book’s only verbal use of the root qds.

Kirk: Gathering is not primarily for practicing a defined set of rituals; it is the fundamental context for the expression of the common life of the members.

Carey Ministers Conference 2019 Day 1

Bob Letham

David Campbell

It is good to be at the Carey in Swanwick once again. Numbers seem to be good (about a hundred or so?) and as always there is a good spirit.

The meetings began yesterday with three sessions from three different men. I missed the first session with Jonathan Worsley from Kew on worship, which looked helpful. We then had a session on the Trinity (the first of three) with Dr Bob Letham. This one "From biblical foundations to orthodox doctrine". It was an excellent clear introduction on a topic that we need to keep coming back to. We recited the Nicene Creed together. 

The highlight of the day perhaps was David Campbell on the beauty of holiness who took us to the Lord Jesus Christ, the holy servant of God and made us long to be holy like him. It was an excellent session.

He noted how after the death of the saintly Robert Murray McCheyne, a letter addressed to him, which he had not shown to anyone, was found responding to the last sermon he preacched in Broughty Ferry, Dundee. The anonymous writer testified that McCheyne had been the means of leading him to Christ, and concluded, ‘It was nothing you said that made me wish to be a Christian; it was rather the beauty of holiness which I saw in your face!’” So challenging.

Westminster Fellowship

The Westminster Fellowship continues to meet on the first Monday of the month at Westminster Baptist Church (kindly lent and staffed - Jonathan Arnold is about to become the pastor of the church, good news about which we are very happy).

Last Monday was a good old fashioned discussion day looking at evangelism and worship. About 15 ministers and retired ministers gathered and we soberly discussed our present troubles and joys under the able chairmanship of Mostyn Roberts.

One brother who works overseas but is often with us expressed quite movingly his great appreciation for the fellowship. 

We meet again in February.

Last Week 1 Westminster Fellowship

Last week was so busy there was no time to write up. We kicked off with a Westminster Fellowship down at the chapel. There's not normally one in July these days but things have been a little different this year so there was an opportunity to hear Gordon Cooke from New Inn, near Pontypool, on Jeremiah Burroughs. It was chiefly a summary of Burroughs' book Gospel Worship with some additional material from his Gospel Fear, followed by discussion. We're quite a conservative lot so we were mainly in agreement with Burroughs but it was a worthwhile time. I notice that a new biography on Burroughs is now out. See here.

A Special Time

This month's Evangelical Times (March) carries the second article in the series of three guest articles that I have done

A special time

Last month, this column highlighted society’s nervousness about the idea of specialisation and noted how a growing number of evangelicals are nervous about special days, times and people.

How strange that those who believe God has singled out one special planet, one particular species on it and one special people from among them to receive his blessing should think like that!

We considered the fact that the New Testament marks out the first day of the week as special. It is the Lord’s Day, a day to be kept to him. This month we address the question, whether it is right to think in terms of special times of worship.

Is it right to put a notice outside a church building announcing ‘worship services’? Should we speak of ‘coming together to worship’? Or is that, as some suggest, a concept more Jewish than Christian, and one that has no New Testament basis?

Worship services?

For some years, various evangelicals have been advocating the idea that it is wrong to think of those times when God’s people gather together as times of worship. Their arguments are similar to those against a special day.

People who are not keen on keeping the Lord’s Day special often assert that every day belongs to the Lord. Similarly, those who say that our meetings are not primarily for worship often assert that all of life is worship, not just certain hours in the week.

They may then go on to give the impression that there is little difference between going fishing or having a family meal on one hand, and corporate prayer and praise on the other. More often the idea is developed, with reference to Hebrews 10:25 and 1 Corinthians 14, that the main purpose of our meetings is encouragement and edification.

The character of Christian meetings thus significantly shifts from a vertical to a horizontal focus — meetings are seen to be chiefly for teaching, rather than worship.

Certainly Romans 12:1 urges believers to offer their bodies ‘as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God’ and Paul calls it ‘your spiritual act of worship’. There is no suggestion, however, that those who live such lives will not take time apart, especially on the Lord’s Day, to worship.

John 4:24 says that worship in the new age is to be ‘in spirit and in truth’. Surely this does not mean forbidding the church to have any set times and places for public worship? Rather it points out that worship occurs, not automatically when one is in a certain place or following a certain ritual, but when one offers honour to God in accord with his standards.

Examples

Yet, just as some cannot see how one day needs to be special, so there are those who cannot see why Christians need special times to worship. Well consider these points:

If all of life is worship, and there are no special times of worship, why does Acts 13:2 say of the disciples that it was ‘while they were worshipping the Lord and fasting’ that the Holy Spirit told them to set apart Barnabas and Saul?

If all of life is worship and there are no special times of worship, what do we make of Jesus’ statement that when two or three come together in his name, he is there with them (Matthew 18:19-20)?

If all of life is worship and there are no special times of worship, what does Paul mean when he speaks, in 1 Corinthians 5, about God’s people being ‘assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus’ and ‘the power of our Lord Jesus’ being present?

If all of life is worship and there are no special times of worship, what about prayer? We are told to pray continually, but New Testament believers, clearly, still set aside times for prayer (e.g. Matthew 18:19; Acts 12:5; 1 Corinthians 14:23-25).

At times they were praying together; at times they were not. Surely the same is true of sung praise and hearing God’s Word.

God’s glory

What we are saying is not new. It is what believers have practised in all ages. This is not because they have unwittingly imbibed the idea from Jerusalem or Rome, but because it is there in the New Testament.

Some today are nervous about calling their meetings ‘services’ or ‘acts of worship’. This undermines such meetings and detracts from God’s glory. Rather, we should be setting aside regular times for the precise purpose of worshipping Almighty God.

52 JC No 46

Worshippers sincere and hypocritical (from the commentary)

Commandments and ordinances differ thus. The latter term relates strictly to exercises of piety and of divine worship; the latter is more general, and extends both to the worship of God and to the duties of charity. ... Now, though hypocrites, in that (one) respect, are very careful and exact, they do not at all resemble Zacharias and Elisabeth.

For the sincere worshippers of God, such as these two were, do not lay hold on naked and empty ceremonies, but, eagerly bent on the truth, they observe them in a spiritual manner.

Unholy and hypocritical persons, though they bestow assiduous toil on outward ceremonies, are yet far from observing them as they are enjoined by the Lord, and, consequently, do but lose their labour. In short, under these two words Luke embraces the whole law.

Westminster Fellowship

It was good to join the men at the Westminster Fellowship on Monday to listen to Neil Evans from Porth on the subject of worship. He very helpfully spoke about the present situation then set out the calssic Reformed positon but in modern dress and with his own emphases. He helpfully exposed the way laudable but secondary motivations (such as the desire to evangelise) dictate worship. He expressed dissatisfaction with the common attitude that says that we agree on the principles but then is totally pragmatic in practice. The whole area is very difficult nevertheless and it was good to hear the paper and then to discuss with the 20 or 30 minsiters gathered on this ocassion. Next month we have Professor Stuart Burgess with us.

The basic paper can be found here.

Banbury

Banbury, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>,
via Wikimedia Commons

It was my privilege to preach yesterday in Banbury Evangelical Church. The church was formed some 24 years ago and meets in Banbury School, in a lecture theatre in the Sixth Form area (ideal in many ways for preaching and listening). Until recently their pastor was Robert Strivens but he is taking up this post as Principal of LTS. Having had some hand in that I felt obliged to preach.

I enjoyed the time among this group of around 50 (am) 30 (pm), fairly monocultural, fairly greying but earnest Christians in the Dr Lloyd-Jones tradition. I had a very nice afternoon with one of the elders and his wife, parents of four grown up children and learning Arabic in their spare time (!).

The service was very simple and straightforward (New Christian Hymns, ESV) - the way I like it. I preached from Matthew 11:28-30 and on Solomon's wisdom from 1 Kings 3. Several seemed to be taking notes. There are three elders and the church seemed fairly positive though there is a little frustration perhaps. For example a lady came in that morning who loved the sermon, etc, but is looking for something 'more lively' in the singing department and probably won't return. Our situation here is similar and I guess that if we 're not going to get a praise band the only answer is a pouring out of the Spirit.

En route I caught some of the Radio 4 morning service. There was a praise band and the music was well executed if you like that style (even the drummer was halfway decent - a rare thing in this context I find). It was obviously an Anglican church as they had absolution near the end. I wasn't sure if it was evangelical as the message was rather woolly. At the end they said it was from St Michael's, Aberystwyth and Stuart Bell was the preacher. That made sense. (I noticed that the producer was the late Hugh Morgan's daughter, Sian Baker).

For more on Banbury see here.

Archive 9b Why twice?

Continued

4. At most churches the two meetings are quite distinctive. Failure to attend both may create an imbalance. In many places one meeting features teaching for ‘saints’ and the other a gospel message for ‘sinners’. Anyone receiving only one of these is getting an imbalanced diet. Even where this is not strictly followed there is usually a commitment to expository preaching morning and evening. Rarely will a minister preach on a book of the Bible in the later meeting that he has already expounded in the morning and vice-versa. Oncers are likely never to hear some parts of Scripture expounded even though a little effort would give them the opportunity. Listening to the message on tape is hardly the same thing as being there under the Word and worshipping with the people.
5. By coming to both meetings you may avoid the ‘Service’ mentality. Perhaps it is the word ‘service’ that gives the wrong impression. Undoubtedly some look on the church as providing a service for the public’s convenience. Services at different times of the day mean that one can come when it best suits. If you are a late riser or you like to have an elaborate Sunday lunch, fear not, you can always catch ‘the late show’. Or if you like to stop in on Sunday evenings watching TV or you go to see friends or family after lunch ‘the first sitting’ should be enough to keep you up to the mark. Full involvement in all the meetings of the Lord’s people should help to dispel that sort of consumer mentality which does so much harm to Christians.
6. Paradoxically it will enable you to be aware of everyone in the church orbit, even the Oncers. I have a friend whose church had a large number of Oncers, some the morning sort and some the evening type. Thus the morning and evening congregations were quite different. Some never met even though they went to the same church and heard the same men preach! While Oncers continue to exist the only way to know all those who attend the same place of worship, you cannot do the same.
7. You will be a great encouragement to your pastor and the rest of the congregation who have no doubt put as much effort into the earlier meeting as the later one if you will make the effort to come to both. The super-spiritual will reply that they do not come to church to please men but to please God. However, in Hebrews 10:25 the writer has no embarrassment in urging the people to meet more often in order to encourage one another. What an encouragement it might be, under God, if you decided to give up your lie in, your walk in the countryside, your cosy evenings in or whatever and started coming twice on Sundays. It will do you some good too if you stay humble. What about it?

Archive 9a Why twice?

This article appeared in Grace magazine some years ago. Similar points are made in the opening article in the latest Banner mag.

Sadly, we hear increasingly of churches giving up having two preaching meetings on the Lord’s Day. Thankfully most Grace churches continue to have two meetings and sometimes more. Yet not everyone wants to be at both meetings. Let me introduce you to that exotic but hardly rare species of churchgoer sometimes known as The Oncer.
Oncers come in 3 main varieties. Most common are Morning Oncers. They are very faithful on a Lord’s Day morning, never miss. But as for any later meetings they are nowhere to be seen. Of course, sometimes older people are a little weary or wary of venturing out at night. Legitimate duties keep some away but, sad to say, even when a lift is arranged or circumstances change the Morning Oncer often still refuses to venture out a second time. Evening Oncers are rarer but, especially in some parts of the country where the tradition is strong, you will see such people without fail in the evening or afternoon meeting though they hardly ever come in the morning. Most exotic of all are Random Oncers. With these you never know quite what will happen until the day is over. If they are not there in the morning they may be there in the evening, but then again, you may not see them at all.
Such people are often unbelievers but plenty of men and women who profess faith in Christ almost never think of coming along to church twice on the Lord’s Day, even though there are always two meetings and they are well able to come to both. The idea of coming twice on the Lord’s Day is a form of fanaticism they dare not contemplate. When I was converted as a teenager, no-one told me to come to both Sunday meetings I just assumed it was the right thing to do. Not everyone finds it so simple. What arguments might induce them to come more often?

1. Remember, each meeting is a ‘public means of grace’. Therefore all healthy believers will want to be at both. At church the Word of God is read and expounded, the sacraments of the Lord’s Supper and baptism are often administered, there is prayer and praise and fellowship. All these are means of receiving blessing from God. How odd that any serious believer should deliberately throw up half the opportunities they have for such things each Lord’s Day.
2. It is a Scriptural command to meet often with God’s people. Hebrews 10:25 shows us that there were problems with attendance even in the earliest days. However, the writer urges his readers not to give up meeting together as some have done but to do so more and more as you see the Day approaching. The nearer we get to the Day of Judgment and the Lord’s Return the more eager we ought to be to meet with God’s people.
3. Coming to both meetings will greatly help you to honour the Lord’s Day. Christians certainly differ in their understanding of the Lord’s Day but there is a general recognition that Sunday should be different, separate from the other days of the week. Surely this should be so not merely for part of the day but for the whole day. If you properly prepare yourself for and properly take part in the two meetings, you will find that most of your day has been wisely filled. One sometimes wonders what Oncers do with the rest of their day.

To be continued

5.3 Solomon Worship

Previous Chapter

How to establish the worship of God on earth 2
It must have been a very grand state occasion when David spoke these words to Solomon. In 28:1 it becomes clear that this is so. There is some repetition in these chapters but there are at least four new things to note about the establishment of the worship of God.

1. It will be established by one chosen by God
In 29:1 we read ‘the one whom God has chosen’. David begins by again explaining how he had wanted to build the Temple but had been forbidden by God. He then refers firstly to God choosing him and then to Solomon as his successor and the one who would build the temple. See verses 5-7.
'Of all my sons - and the LORD has given me many - he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. He said to me, Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom for ever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.'
The worship of God is to be established by one chosen by God. The temple was established by Solomon but the worship of God on earth, worship everywhere in Spirit and in truth, is established by the Lord Jesus Christ – he is the one God has chosen to do it. It cannot be established without him.

2. It will be established through sincere obedience
In light of this David speaks to the leaders and says (8, 9a) 'So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants for ever.'
To Solomon, as leader of the people, he says 'acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.'
We must never forget that. David goes on 'If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you for ever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.'
That is the message for us who believe today - the LORD has chosen you to build a temple … Be strong and do the work. Let us be about this grand work of building the church through worship and praise.

3. It will be established according to God-given plans and instructions
Next (11-18) David gives Solomon the plans for the various parts of the temple. These plans ‘the Spirit had put in his mind.’ He also gave instructions regarding the conduct of worship in the temple and what was to be used, including the mercy seat or atonement cover, here called ‘the chariot’. This was the very throne of God. Verse 19 'All this, David said, I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan.'
When we talk about plans we think immediately of the Word of God. It is the plan, the road map, the God given chart, for conducting the worship of God. We must follow it to the letter.

4. It will be established as its progress is encouraged by God’s continued presence and help
In verse 20 David again says to Solomon ‘Be strong and courageous, and do the work’. He goes on 'Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.'
That promise is for us too who believe. He is with us and will never fail us or forsake us. Further, just as for Solomon (21) 'The divisions of the priests and Levites were ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing man skilled in any craft was willing to help him in all the work by obeying.'
In a similar way we can be sure of God’s help today.

How the worship of God is to be sustained here on earth
Finally, in Chapter 29, David speaks of additional giving to the work that he has made and the leaders give too. David also praises God and the people follow suit. Here are lessons for us about sustaining the worship of God. It is sustained by several things.

1. What Christ has already given
There is some repetition at the beginning but then David says that in addition to what he has already given, he wants to give gold and silver from his personal treasures. This gives us an insight into the way that the Lord Jesus has given to us. Such giving sustains the work.

2. The giving of God’s people
However, David challenges the others there and says (5) ‘Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD?’ And there is an excellent response. The various leaders also give tons and tons of gold, silver, bronze and iron and also precious stones. 9 'The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.' They are like the Philippian believers in Paul’s day who first gave themselves to the work and then gave gifts to the work. What a joy it is when God’s people freely give.

3. Worship that is lead by Christ
We then read (10-13) that 'David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours, etc.' He goes on to humbly express the fact that it is God who enables his people to be generous and that they are only giving God what he has already given them. This is how the Lord leads us to worship God – humbling ourselves and honouring him.

4. The prayers of its head
Then in verses 18 and 19 David prays 'O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people for ever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.'
That is how Christ prays for all who believe. 'And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.' The Lord’s desire is for his worship to flourish through Christ.

5. Worship from the people of God
David then urges the others (20) to ‘Praise the LORD your God. So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.’ They all worshipped. They also made many sacrifices and (22) ‘They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD that day’ and acknowledged Solomon as king a second time, with Zadok as priest. What a glorious picture. This is how it should be with every believer today.

Next Chapter

5.2 Solomon Worship

Previous Chapter
How to establish the worship of God here on earth 1
Previous Chapter
First we consider these four things.
1. The extensive preparations already made for the worship of God beforehand
Led by God, David had decreed (22:1) that ‘The house of the LORD God is to be here’ that is, on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite ‘and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel’. We cannot go into this here but it was no doubt where Abraham took his son Isaac to sacrifice him. It points to the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus was going to make in Jerusalem. David appoints (2) ‘stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God’ and provides materials for the temple to be built (3, 4) – iron to make nails for the doors, etc, and ‘more bronze than could be weighed and more cedar logs than could be counted’ from Phoenicia. He explains (5) 'My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendour in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it. So David made extensive preparations before his death.'
In a similar way we can say that by his death on the cross Christ has extensively provided for his people all the materials necessary that they may be the Temple of God. God’s people were, as it were, ‘young and inexperienced’ but God was intending and is intending a church ‘of great magnificence and fame and splendour in the sight of all the nations’. Do not fear for just as ‘David made extensive preparations before his death’ for Solomon’s temple so Christ has made extensive preparations by his death and so the task we are facing should not daunt us. In Christ we have the resources to take forward the work of building his church.

2. The worship of God will be established, though not as we sometimes expect
From verse 6 we have David’s actual charge to Solomon regarding the temple. He explains how, ‘I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God’. He was prevented, however, by a message from God saying (8-10) 'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.'
In Jesus’ day there was confusion about the way the kingdom would go forward too. People like James and John did not realise at first that Jesus would die before the kingdom was established in the ways they envisaged. They imagined Jesus sat on an earthly throne, one of them on his right, one on his left. However, Jesus did die. When he rose again he sent the Holy Spirit and the establishing of the church has been in his hands, as it were, ever since. He is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the one of whom God says 'He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.'
Jesus has left us but God will ‘establish the throne of his kingdom’. We can be sure of that. God’s house will be built – not always in the way we expect but it cannot fail.

3. The words of prayer and encouragement here and Christ’s word for and to us
David speaks to Solomon in verses 11-13 of his prayers for him and speaks to encourage him. He asks that ‘the LORD be with you, and’ prays that Solomon may ‘have success and build the house of the LORD’ as promised. ‘May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel’, he prays ‘so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God.’ David is convinced (13) that Solomon ‘will have success if’ he is careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave to Moses for Israel.
‘Be strong and courageous’ he says ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged.’ You know that Jesus intercedes for his people and speaks to them. He prays that they may know God’s presence among them, that his church will be successfully built and not fail. What ‘discretion and understanding’ we need, especially those who lead. As we said before, obedience is absolutely crucial in all this. So let us listen to this exhortation from the Lord to ‘be strong and courageous’ and let us ‘not be afraid or discouraged’ despite the difficulties of the task.

4. The beginning of the work and how it is carried on to completion
David’s final words to Solomon are in verses 14-16. He reassures him ‘I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD.’ He mentions just how much ‘gold, silver, bronze and iron, and wood and stone’ he has amassed. ‘And you may add to them’ he says. There are also many workers of all sorts. All that remains now is for Solomon to hear this word – ‘Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you.’
Finally, David speaks not only to Solomon but also (17-19) to ‘all the leaders of Israel’ telling them ‘to help his son Solomon.’ I suppose we could say that Christ, like Solomon, has his commission from his Father to build his church. However, God also speaks to us and he tells us ‘to help his son.’ The Lord says to you today, if you are a believer,
Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side?
By the death of Christ on the cross comes justification and being justified we have peace with God. Just as he ‘handed the inhabitants of the land over to’ David so that ‘the land’ was ‘subject to the LORD and to his people’ so Christ has subdued the devil and his people now have great power. So (19) 'Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that all that is sacred and honouring to God may be brought together for his glory.'
Christ has begun the work but for it to carry on it is important that we take heed and be devoted heart and soul to ‘seeking the LORD’ our God and building his church. Are we?
In 1 Chronicles 23-26 we have a description of how David assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and Levites. Their names are given and their work is described. Then in Chapters 28 and 29 come more words to Solomon.
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5.1 Solomon Worship

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Intro
We begin with a question. How often do you find yourself thinking about Kings and Priests? You may think it a rather strange question and answer ‘No time at all really’. But let me expand a little. By kings and priests I do not necessarily mean men of ancient times with golden crowns and sceptres or men in ceremonial clothing making sacrifices and blessing people. No, I mean do you think about rule, about leadership, authority and control? I mean, what about prayer and worship, what about confessing sins and finding forgiveness, dealing with the deepest issues of life?
The Bible has a lot to say about kings and priests and it has a lot to say about these important related issues. I say this because we are looking at the life of Solomon and so far have thought of him, understandably, chiefly as a king. We have done that by looking at 1 Kings 1 and 2. I suppose the obvious thing would be to go on next to 1 Kings 3. However, as we have said, the Book of Kings is not the only place that talks about the life of Solomon. There is also quite a lot in the Book of Chronicles. Perhaps we ought to say something about Kings and Chronicles at this point.
In English Bibles, Chronicles comes after Samuel and Kings and is with the history books. This is adopted from Greek Bibles, which place Chronicles in that position under the heading Paraleipomenon - ‘Things forgotten’ or ‘Things passed over’. Certainly the chronicler mentions things not found in Samuel and Kings. He also leaves out things that are there but it is rather misleading to think of Chronicles in this way. There is more to it. The real issue is a different approach.
The Chronicler has been accused of many bad things such as being too narrowly focused, rather aloof, eccentric and given to riding his own hobbyhorses. He is also supposed to be too black and white, rather inventive, sometimes inconsistent and given to exaggeration, lacking in theological clarity and an unattractive writer. Understandable as such accusations may be they are wide of the mark. He may not be the writer that the author of Kings is (‘less a stylist more a pastor’ someone has said) but the differences can all be understood if we bear in mind these four things.

1. Chronicles is found at the end of the Hebrew Bible and so acts as a summary of Old Testament history and theology though focusing on the period of the kings.
2. Whereas Samuel and Kings was completed at the time of the exile, Chronicles was completed after the exile. The books have two different aims and address two different situations. Both have the same underlying message, however, of the covenant God at work with his people and both point to Messiah but one describes a drama working towards a crisis, while the other is much more down to earth in ethos.

[Pic Ezra was perhaps the author of Chronicles]

3. Chronicles is really a sermon on the relations between God and his people. The writer uses history to spell out a simple

lesson about the faithfulness of God and the fact that he is a God who answers prayer.
4. The writer of Chronicles has a special interest in matters to do with the temple and the priesthood.

So what we will do is to consider David’s charge to Solomon to build the temple. Building the temple was one of the greatest achievements of Solomon’s life. He is the one who God used to bring this about. He was not only the king but the one who lead the people in setting up the Temple of God in Jerusalem following the preparations made by his father David. I want us to consider first Solomon’s commission to do this work. This covers a sizable portion of Scripture. - really all the final chapters of 1 Chronicles, from Chapter 22 to 29, but especially Chapters 22, 28 and 29.
Just as a study of the establishment of the kingdom pointed us to Christ and the importance of obedience and ruthless discipline in order to establish God’s kingdom so these verses point us to Christ and his work of establishing the true worship of God in every place.
In the Old Testament worship came to centre on the Temple in Jerusalem, which replaced the tabernacle of the desert years. The Temple was very much a physical entity of stone and wood and metal but it symbolises the true spiritual worship of heaven and points forward to the establishment of God’s church here on earth with God himself at its heart. Christians are to be the true temple of God.
In these verses we are thinking of David and Solomon together. Both point us to Messiah.
1. David and his words speak of victory in battle and points us to the work of Christ on the cross.
2. Solomon, whose name means peace, points us by his actions to the benefits of Christ’s work on the cross and the establishment of God’s worship on earth that must follow from the victory on the cross.

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