1 Chronicles 28:9, 10 And you, Solomon my son, know you the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind… The scene is one of profound interest, for it is one of deep and strong emotion. A father who feels that his end is near is delivering an earnest charge to his son, who has, as he hopes, a brilliant course before him. There is everything to add solemnity and pathos to the scene. The aged king excited to one last painful effort, the assembled princes of Israel, the "young and tender" Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:5) kneeling before his father, the outpouring of royal and parental tenderness and solicitude, - everything combines to make the occasion one of greatest interest. And what can be more impressive than the last injunction given by a departing father to the son who is his destined heir: who will, if any one does, carry on his work when he himself is removed? David's supreme desire is that Solomon shall be a faithful servant of God, and do the special work which awaits his care. We are invited to consider - I. IN WHAT TRUE PIETY CONSISTS. It embraces two things. 1. A practical knowledge of God. "Thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God," etc. And this knowledge of God includes (1) an intelligent understanding of his nature and his attitude toward the children of men. We must have some mental apprehension of him; we must understand that he is a holy, pure, ever-present, all-observant Spirit; claiming our reverence, love, obedience, and submission; condemning our ingratitude, our departure from himself, our sin; ready to receive, forgive, restore all who return to him in penitence and faith. (2) A direct, practical acquaintance with him. Such acquaintance as is gained by coming to him in personal approach; by contact of our spirit with his Spirit; by the prayer, the pleading, the surrender, which is not formal but spiritual - not "after the flesh," but from the soul; for "the Lord searcheth all hearts," etc. 2. Continuous spiritual service. "Serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind." Having found his favour and entered into his kingdom, we must live continuously in his service. We must render this "with a gladsome mind," not constrainedly and as of necessity, not hypocritically, not servilely, but cheerfully and heartily - the obedience of love, of those who are satisfied if he is pleased. This our service is (1) to be lifelong; (2) to cover all the particulars of our life, extending to all our human relationships and all our various spheres of activity. II. WHAT POWERFUL INDUCEMENTS WE HAVE TO DEVOTE OURSELVES AT ONCE TO GOD. These are four in number. 1. Strong filial considerations urge us to do so. David pleaded with Solomon to" know the God of his father." The young prince must have felt that if he gave his life to the service of God, he would be (1) delighting the heart of his beloved father, and (2) treading closely in his honoured parent's footsteps; in both ways acting worthily and "as became his father's son." The same or similar considerations should be potent and prevalent with ourselves. 2. By so doing we may hope to accomplish great things. Solomon had the prospect of "building a house for the sanctuary." We may not anticipate such an achievement, but we may hope to do good and even great things for our God and our race, if we devote our whole powers from the beginning to the service of Christ. We may (1) influence, during a long course, many hundreds or even thousands of souls for good; (2) help many a good and beneficent work; (3) render invaluable aid to some one useful cause or Church. 3. Honest and persevering effort to find his favour is certain to be rewarded with success. "If thou seek him, he will be found of thee" (see Matthew 7:7-11). 4. Neglected opportunity has a disastrous end. "If thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever." Those who in youth are conscious of the heavenly call, but who give not heed to the voice Divine and to parental earnestness, but yield to the lower and ignobler impulses, enter on a course of folly and sin, which too often runs on to an evil end, to a life without nobility and without achievement, to a death without hope, to a future without the joy of home. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. |
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