John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 8:39
Then hear thou in heaven thy dwellingplace ,.... Which was more properly so than this Solomon had built, and the Lord had taken possession of: and forgive ; remove the calamity and distress, be it what it may: and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest : that his prayer is cordial and sincere, his confession and repentance genuine, and that he is truly sensible of his sin, and sorry for it, and is pure in his intentions and resolutions, through... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 8:22-53
Solomon having made a general surrender of this house to God, which God had signified his acceptance of by taking possession, next follows Solomon's prayer, in which he makes a more particular declaration of the uses of that surrender, with all humility and reverence, desiring that God would agree thereto. In short, it is his request that this temple may be deemed and taken, not only for a house of sacrifice (no mention is made of that in all this prayer, that was taken for granted), but a... read more