2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

I have prepared with all my heart 

Science, music, business -all things have their right place when God is on the throne. In the world God is not on the throne. But we are not of the world.

We are striving after conformity to Him who said

"It is my meat and my drink to do the will of Him that sent me."

We are asked to follow him. We excite the world's pity by the effort. Never mind,

"The world passeth away, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever."

The end will justify all. There is final good in no other. All other paths end in darkness, however bright now. Christ stands at the end of if. Christ is coming.

He will come as surely as the world is filled with the cross of his shame on church spire and prayer book cover, and it will then be manifest to all the world which class have sought good in the right channel - those who see man only in all they do and arrange, or those who have set God before them in the faith of His existence, the belief of His promises, and the obedience of His commandments.

Seasons 2.32

16 O Yahweh our Elohim, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.

THERE are moments in every spiritual man's life when gratitude yearns for special vent of utterance--times when he feels strongly what David said on a certain occasion, "I will not offer unto the Lord my God that which hath cost me nothing".

Words in a sense cost him nothing: he longs to do something more than offer praise. It is not that he supposes God can be enriched by anything he can give, or that he can put God under obligation, or that he can establish a claim to His favour by anything he can do: for such a man earnestly recognizes above all things what David also said when he handed over incom-putable treasure of gold and silver to the divine service: "All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee .... All this store that we have prepared... cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own".

Yet he feels an intensity of gratitude that can only find satisfactory expression in deeds of self-deprivation--above and beyond the freewill and thank offerings of sacrifice provided for in the routine service of the tabernacle.

The Law of Moses Ch 31

23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.

Date: Circa 960 BC - Since Asaph's appointment: 40 years

WHEN David died, Solomon had already acceded to the throne, for the nation had crowned the young king in the presence of the old one. 1 Between Solomon's first and second anointings, 2 he had been given detailed instructions by his father for the building of the temple, including its exact location on Mount Moriah. When he began to build, he was careful to lay the foundation of the house in the very place where Yahweh was seen of David, for this mount was none other than the place where Yahweh had been seen of Abraham in earlier times. 3

Yet, surprisingly, at the commencement of his sole reign, Solomon gathered the whole congregation to make solemn offering at Gibeon. His visit to the tabernacle of Moses there was intended to give direction to the nation, for he went to Gibeon to encourage them to worship in that place. 4 It would be another fifteen years before the temple was dedicated. 5 and he wanted Israel still to have a spiritual centre at which to assemble.

His action paved the way for worship to continue at Gibeon until the temple was completed. It also confirmed that the principles of the Law of Moses, including the laws of sacrifice, would not be superseded, but rather subsumed into the temple service, when it was ready.

That God approved of his action was made evident by the fact that Yahweh was seen of Solomon in Gibeon, and He granted unto him the request of his prayer. 6 For the present, then, Gibeon would remain as the place of national assembly.

The House of Asaph were left with the lonely task of singing before the ark in Jerusalem, without the people assembling there. Their time alone, however, helped the family to develop their spirit of outstanding faithfulness, for their song was an exercise in personal commitment. Their moment would come, but until it did their daily tasks would be performed with the utmost dedication.

1 1 Chronicles 29:23,24.

2 1 Chronicles 23:1; 29:22.

3 The correspondence of Moriah and Yireh "in the mount Yahweh shall be seen" (Genesis 22:2,14) is alluded to by the Spirit in the record of Solomon:

"Then Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah, which was seen of David his father [margin]" (2 Chronicles 3:1).

4 2 Chronicles 1:2-6.

5 1 Kings 6:1,37,38.

6 A similar explanation of Solomon's purpose in leading the nation in sacrifice at Gibeon is offered in Solomon - Wise and Foolish, Tecwyn Morgan, pages 77,78.