John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Chronicles 6:1-42
See Introduction to Chapter 5 read more
See Introduction to Chapter 5 read more
That walk before thee with all their hearts - "With all the will of their souls and with all the affection of their hearts." - Targum. read more
The dedication, and Solomon's prayer. The ark once within the most holy place, the whole temple seems to wait expectant for its own solemn offering and dedication, to that heaven from which its pattern came, to its own supreme Architect, of whose wisdom it was designed, and of whose inspiration of the mind and heart of so many, its beautiful and costly materials had been ungrudingly given and skilfully wrought. The picture photographed so faithfully in this chapter does not fail of... read more
Spiritual attitude. We have in these three verses four references to attitude. Solomon "stood before the altar;" he "spread forth his hands;" he "kneeled down upon his knees;" he spoke of those who "walk before God." Now, it is worth while to observe that— I. BODILY ATTITUDE IS NOT WITHOUT ITS VALUE . In the gospel of Christ, with all its precious and glorious spiritual freedom, there are no regulations as to posture in prayer; it is in no particular position of body... read more
The dedication of the temple: 3. The consecration prayer. I. THE PERSON OF THE SUPPLIANT . Solomon. 1 . Royal. That Solomon should have prayed was not surprising, considering the example and training he must have received from his father, and remembering the solemn and impressive spectacle he had witnessed. It is difficult to shake off habits formed within the soul by ancestral piety and early training; while, if a sense of God's nearness and a realization of God's... read more
No God like thee , etc. The quoting of Scripture and the utilizing of language in which the religious feeling of those who have gone before has expressed itself had plainly set in ( Exodus 15:11 , Exodus 15:12 ; Deuteronomy 7:9 ). The prayer which this verso opens occupies twenty-eight verses; it is the longest prayer recorded in Scripture. It consists of two verses (14, 15) of opening; then follow three petitions—first, that God would perpetuate the line of David ( 2 Chronicles 6:16 ... read more
Compare Kings (marginal references).Compare Kings (marginal references). read more
2 Chronicles 6:14. O Lord God of Israel, &c. Solomon, in the foregoing verses, had signed and sealed, so to speak, the deed of dedication, by which the temple was appropriated to the honour and service of God. Now here in the prayer by which it was, as it were, consecrated, it is made a figure of Christ, the great Mediator, through whom we are to offer up all our prayers, and to expect all God’s favours, and to whom we are to have an eye in every thing wherein we have to do with God. read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Chronicles 6:12-41
Solomon had, in the foregoing verses, signed and sealed, as it were, the deed of dedication, by which the temple was appropriated to the honour and service of God. Now here he prays the consecration-prayer, by which it was made a figure of Christ, the great Mediator, through whom we are to offer all our prayers, and to expect all God's favours, and to whom we are to have an eye in every thing where we have to do with God. We have opened the particulars of this prayer (1 Kgs. 8:12-53) and... read more