Annotations upon the remaining historicall part of the Old Testament. The second part. to wit, the books of Joshua, Judges, the two books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, and the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther : wherein first, all such passages in the text are explained as were thought likely to be questioned by any reader of ordinary capacity : secondly, in many clauses those things are discovered which are needfull and usefull to be known ... and thirdly, many places that might at first seem to contradict one another are reconciled ... / by Arthur Jackson.

CHAP. XXIX.

Vers. 1. SOlomon my sonne, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, &c.] See 1. Kings 3.7.

Vers. 4. Three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thou∣sand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the house withall.] To wit the gold to overlay the walls of the Temple; and the silver to overlay the walls of the other houses and buildings adjoyning to the Temple: and as ordinarily we account the value of the talents there was prepared by David of gold, eleven millions two hundred and fifty thousand pound sterling, and of silver two millions six hundred twenty five thousand pound sterling; and accordingly we may compute what the Princes gave, vers. 7.

Vers. 11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatnesse, and the power, and the glory, &c.] That is, thou art great, and powerfull, and glorious, &c. And all greatnesse and power and glory that is conferred upon any man comes from thee, and therefore ought to be imployed to thy service at thy command.

Vers. 15. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fa∣thers, &c.] As if he should have said, even the land wherein we live, it is but lent to us for a time, and but a short time do we continue in it, being all as a shadow that passeth suddenly away, and continueth not: so that the very land being thine, and we but as wayfaring men, that onely make use of it for a while; consequently, all that we enjoy is thine, and not ours, and of thine own have we given thee. But be∣sides, the drift of this clause may be also to shew another motive that made them willing to give so freely to the building of the Temple; to wit, because they by rea∣son of the brevity of their lives, could not hope long to enjoy these things, and there∣fore could not but think them better bestowed upon this service of God, then kept for themselves.

Vers. 18. Keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people.] That is, this readinesse to consecrate themselves, and all that they have to thy service.

Vers. 21. And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the Lord, &c.] To wit, before the ark which which was now in Davids house, in the tent which there he had prepared for it: and therefore it is said, vers. 22. that the people did eat and drink before the Lord on that day.

And sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.] That is, the sacrifices were offered in the name of all the people, and in such abundance, that all the Israelites present might eat of the peace-offerings that were then offered to the Lord.

Vers. 22. And they made Solomon the sonne of David king the second time, &c.] This, though subjoyned immediatly to that which went before, concerning their sa∣crificing the next day after that David had made known his mind to the people, is yet to be understood of the annointing of Solomon after Davids death, as is evident:

first, because the making of Zadok the sole high priest instead of Abiathar, is here joyned with it, and it cannot be denied but that was done after Davids death, 1. Kings 2.35. secondly, because it followeth in the next verse, that Solomon sate on the throne as king instead of his father David: thirdly, because when David made these things known in a publick assembly of his Princes, he was not yet bed-rid, chap. 18.1, 2. so that Adonijahs attempting to make himself king (at which time Solomon was first anointed, 1. Kings 1.33, 34.) was after this. And last of all, because it followeth vers. 24. that the other sonnes of David submitted themselves to Solomon, which was not till Adonijahs usurpation was defeated, 1. Kings 1.9.49.50.

Vers. 23. Then Solomon sate on the throne of the Lord.] All kingdomes and thrones are the Lords, because all kings are the Lords vice-gerents, and have their power from him; but the throne of the kingdome of Israel is upon more peculiar grounds called the throne of the Lord; to wit, first, because the disposing of this throne the Lord wholly challenged to himself, Deut. 17.15. Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: and secondly, because the kings of Judah were figures of Christ the true anointed, to whom the throne of David was promised, that is, that he should be king of the Israel of God for ever, Luke 1.33. And he shall reigne over the house of Jacob for ever, &c.

Vers. 28. And he died in a good old age.] To wit, when he was seventy years old; for David was thirty years old when he began to reigne, and he reigned fourty years, 2. Sam. 5.4.

Vers. 29. Now the acts of David the king, first and last, Behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the Seer, and in the book of Nathan, &c.] Some understand this thus, that the acts of David were related in the history or books of Samuel, which are written by Nathan the prophet, and Gad the Seer.