All right, we're in 1 Kings, and let me get back to it here. 1 Kings chapter 8, and we've been studying through, well actually even before that, but as far as the 1st, 2nd Samuel, now we're into 1 Kings, and before that we went through Joshua and Judges, studying the history of Israel. If you need any more copies over there, just, you got some extra ones? OK. All right, good. All right. The first page that I handed out, the one that is just more of a basic outline, that one is, like I said, it's a basic outline. But then I have some notes here. We're not going to. get all the way through this chapter. This morning I just pulled out some things to try to emphasize. It's a lengthy passage. If you'll notice, it's from verse 22 through verse 56. Our last lesson before all the snow and all this stuff hit us was in the first half of the chapter. And now this is beginning in verse 22 and through verse 56, it covers a lot of ground. So I just want to emphasize some basic things this morning. And one of those is going to come, of course, a lot of it's going to deal with prayer. That's what our devotional was about this morning. And so I want to get into some more of that in relationship specifically to this prayer. And there's so many things that that we need to emphasize and just can't deal with it all. So I just want to bring out a few things here. But you notice, let's read first of all from verse 22 through verse 24. And we'll read these verses and then I want to look at them. So verse 22 says, Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel and spread forth his hands toward heaven And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven above or on the earth beneath who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart. For who has kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisest him? thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. So tremendous is an introduction to his prayer. It's a lengthy prayer, but it's an introduction to it in several things. First of all, he addresses God in individual praise. This is his praise toward God. I want you to notice some things about this. First of all, Solomon stood in the presence of all the congregation, verse 22. So this is a personal statement of his, but it's for all the congregation to hear. And when I thought about this, first of all, notice where he's standing. He's standing before the ark. Well, what's that mean to us? When the Bible tells us these things, it's for a reason. God could have put a lot of other descriptions. It's like the rest of the Word of God. There's a lot of historical facts God could have told us, but He chose not to. What He did tell us, we need to know. So Solomon stood, first of all, before the ark. What is that telling us? Well, what is the ark? What does it represent? We know that all of these things that involve the worship of God in Israel are a type of that which is greater. The ark is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ and the presence of God. So in Christ, we have God manifest in the flesh. And so it's typical of the Lord Jesus Christ And in that, at this particular time, it had the tables of the covenant. I want you to compare something here. If you hold your hand here in 1 Corinthians and look at this passage here in 2 Chronicles 6 and verse 13. Chapter 6 and verse 13. So you have the ark representing the mercy of God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the presence of God. And in that, it says here in 2 Chronicles 6, verse 13, For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, five cubits long and five cubits broad and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court. And upon it he stood and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven." So the Word of God tells us one part of it in Kings, now it emphasizes something else. And I want you to notice this emphasis, it repeats for us, before all the congregation of Israel. It reminds me, he's in the court, place of God's worship, it's the house that God had ordained for him to build, where the typical testimony of God is. God has always had a place where He has put His name. God has always had a place that God has ordained for worship. You can go back to Genesis. We've looked at this before. You go back to Genesis. After man's sin, God established, He placed cherubims to guard the way of the tree of life. And when that word placed is the word shekin, it's where the glory of God was, the shekinah glory of God. When the tabernacle was completed at Mount Sinai, when everything was all completed, made according to the pattern that God established, God told him make it according to the pattern. When it was completed, as Moses began to, had prayed, The Shekinah glory of God came and filled that place. We're going to see the same thing in relationship to this temple. The same thing's going to happen. And so God's marking out His house of witness. So it's in the midst of the court where the worship of God is and the testimony of God before the Ark of the Covenant. And then He prays before all the congregation. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 12. We know that in the Lord Jesus Christ that the law was done away. Two things we always have to keep in mind about that when we speak about the law is done away. First of all, what it does not mean. It does not mean that the morals, the righteousness of the law was done away. That's never changed. God's moral standards, God's righteousness has been true from the very beginning before the law ever came along. In the law, you have a codification of God's righteousness. But the righteousness that's revealed there is not new. And the same thing is true today. When the Word of God speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilling the law, He satisfied the law's demands. When it speaks of the law being done away, it does not mean that God's moral standards or God's righteous standards have been done away. And that includes, when you look at the Ten Commandments, for instance, that includes all ten, not nine. It includes all ten. Now, in half of it, our relationship with God, and half of it, our relationship with men, or how we relate to men. But nothing's changed other than some of the details, how we do it, but the standard hasn't changed. So now we find in Hebrews chapter 2 this. It says of the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 12, let's back up to verse 11. For both he that sanctifieth, that would be God, and they who are sanctified, and so God and Christ, are all of one. for which cause he's not ashamed to call them brethren. Saying, so he quotes from the Old Testament now where God called them brethren. Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. Now if you go back to this same passage in the Old Testament it says in the midst of the congregation will I sing praise unto thee. So what is a church? It's a congregation. It's more than just an assembly. It is an assembly, but it's a congregation. It's God's people congregating together. We come together specifically for the purpose of worship of God and serving God. And God has ordained that that the church is now the house of God. Whereas the temple was the house of God in the Old Testament, now this church is his house of witness. And so the Lord Jesus Christ sang in the midst of the church. When did he do that? Have you ever taken note of how many times the Word of God tells us he sang? We have a couple of instances specifically where, not that it just mentions that he was praying, but very specifically instances at high points of his ministry as far as turning points, but he prayed in the garden. He prayed before he appointed his apostles and placed them in his church, but singing. I only find one place in the Bible where it talks to us about the Lord Jesus Christ singing. That doesn't mean it's the only time he sang, but it's the time God wants us to take note of. And that was right after he instituted his supper with his apostles, and they went out into the night. So he sang in the midst of his church, and it was before Pentecost. So it's obvious then, looking at the facts, you don't have to get into much deep theology Just look at the basic facts and start there, and it's very obvious that the church started before the day of Pentecost. As a matter of fact, the church existed before he went to the cross. He not only gave it his supper, but he practiced it with them. And then he sang with them before they went out into the night. So, and that other verse, I've got Hebrews 26, 30, but that's, there's no 26 chapters, I don't know what, I don't know how that got into the notes, just scratched that off. I noticed that after I'd copied these off this morning, I said, how did that get there? Anyway, the other, second thing I want you to note there is in verse 23, So to come back to our passage this morning, and he said, Notice a couple of things about this here. First of all, he begins his prayer exalting God. God wants us to do that. Did you know the passage we looked at in our devotional this morning, one of the things it mentions in prayer with thanksgiving. There's prayer and supplication and then it says with thanksgiving. We're going to find Solomon here praying for God's mercies. we're also going to see him thanking God for God's mercies. When we ask God to do something for us, if he does something for us, it's because he's merciful. And when we're asking for new mercies, we should also be introducing those with thanksgiving for his old mercies, that is, the ones in the past. how many times that God has been merciful to us. If we just spent time thanking God for all of his mercies, if we would do like some of the old preachers used to say that people ought to do, sometimes we just need to go out in the forest and spend some time with God. If we'd go out there and start thanking God for his mercies, we'd be out there all day. and we still wouldn't be done. And if we can't do that, if we don't, well, I don't think I could do that, then we really need to spend some time with God. We really need to spend some time with God. Because we have a life full, as the children of God especially, we have a life that has been filled with the mercies of God. Is the word of God not true? His mercies are new every morning? The older we get, the more we should have. And I'm talking about especially now to those who know the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who know what it is to experience God's mercy. Every day is filled with His mercies. And even just specifically the things that relate directly to our salvation. and God's ministry to us and work in our lives and sanctifying us and the benefits we receive from that. But he distinguishes the characteristic of God. There's one characteristic here specifically I want you to notice that he distinguishes about God. Lord God of Israel, there is no God like Thee in heaven above or on the earth beneath. who keepeth covenant and mercy with thy servants." He's talking about Israel. God made a covenant to Abraham, and it included the nation of Israel. It includes the Gentiles as well, and, Lord, we're going to get to this before we get done here. But it includes us also, but it specifically has to do with Israel in relationship to certain things, and that's what he's talking about here. The difference that distinguishes God from every other so-called God is that our God is a covenant-keeping God. He chose us in Christ. He made a covenant in the Godhead, and He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. That covenant was made between the three persons of the Godhead, and it will not fail. God keeps His covenant. Distinguishing characteristic about God, we know that God will finish everything that's in that covenant. We have more certainty than all these Old Testament saints had. Why? Because God raised Christ from the dead. God raised him from the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ wrought out our salvation, our redemption on the cross of Calvary, and then God raised him from the dead. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ is perfect in holiness because he was raised by the Spirit of holiness. And we just go on and on and on about God that way. He performs his promises by which he declares his mercy and his faithfulness. His covenant with David, Isaiah chapter 55, I believe it's verse 5, talks about the sure mercies of David. David prayed about that. He mentions that more than once, that God has been merciful to him. He made a covenant with him, and God promised he would not break that covenant. That covenant is established. It's forever. and it's established, but the promises were made to David. The covenant wasn't first made with David. The covenant that was made to Abraham wasn't first made with Abraham. As far as men are concerned, it was first given to Abraham. But the reality of that covenant, the redemptive part of that covenant, goes back to Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. But that's with man. But God made the covenant before time began. God is an infinite God, and so He's an unchangeable God, and it'll never change. David's sin, if that covenant that God made with David would have been dependent upon David's sinlessness, it wouldn't still be true. But it wasn't dependent upon David in any way. It was dependent upon the covenant of God and the promises that God made in that covenant. And so it's full of, it declares His mercy and it declares His faithfulness. Mercy is not earned by our walk. Now I'm saying that because the last part of that verse says, who keepeth covenant of mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart. Does that mean that His people earn it? No, I just explained how that David would have lost it. But David understood the mercies of God. But David did, he was one who, as it says here, he did walk before the Lord with all his heart. Not in perfection in every aspect of his life, but with all his heart. His heart was totally, what's the word I want here? Well, anyway, his heart totally embraced God and the covenant that God made with him. But what's the evidence of that? It's what I'm trying to get to here. Mercy's not earned by our walk. but our walk is evidence that we are part of his covenant. The people that are part of God's covenant have the evidence of that in their life. Look at Romans chapter 8 and verse 1. Romans chapter 8 and verse 1. Yes, we are justified by faith. There's an aspect of this that because Luther never understood this part, He called the book of James an epistle of straw. It's not an epistle of straw. He just didn't understand what it was talking about. The book of James is talking about the evidence of our faith. The book of Romans, for the most part, is talking about the fact that we're justified by faith and faith alone. But that kind of faith by which we receive the righteousness of God, that kind of faith has evidence. Faith that doesn't have evidence is a wrong kind of faith. We're not saved by our works. We're saved by faith. But the kind of faith that saves will be evident. Look in Romans chapter 8 again and it says, There is therefore now no condemnation. Up to this part, this point, it's all been what Christ has done for us. There is therefore now no condemnation because righteousness is in Christ to them which are in Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus we have the righteousness that is in Christ Jesus by our union with Christ. And then it says, "...who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." That last clause is not how we're not condemned. That's the evidence that we're not condemned. Our walk will reflect our faith. That's the evidence. The first half is how we're justified. The second half is the evidence. that were justified. So there is justification by faith in Christ, and then there's the justification that is evidence in our life. In other words, that is a statement of our righteousness that is in Christ Jesus and that we trust him for it. It's evident in our life. Now, when you look down through these verses, and I'm Well, I'm going to run out of time here. I'm talking too much about each one of these things. But verse 25, I want you to see quickly seven things, seven petitions of prayer that Solomon makes. In verse 25, he says, Therefore now, Lord God, Lord God of Israel. Keep with thy servant David, my father, that thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. So first of all, he prays that God would keep what he promised with David. We should—listen, this is praying according to the Word of God. This is praying according to the revealed will of God. What God has promised in His Word, we should not look at that and think, well, I don't need to pray about that because God's already promised that. No, Solomon's prayer starts with that. God would have us remind him, not because he loses his memory. Not because he forgets. God would have us, though, remind him of his promises. Now, I don't know all the reasons for that, but I do know this. God wants us to know what they are. Now, that's one of the obvious reasons. If we remind God of his promises, it means we've read the Word of God. and we know what His promises are. Learn this about prayer. When you're reading your Bible, like you do every morning and every other time you read it, when you're reading the Word of God and God makes a promise, then pray about that. Make it a note to pray about that. Now, that becomes a basis for what we ask for. That becomes the basis of what we ask for. Are we praying according to the will of God? Well, that's a good start right there. Now, so God made promise to David in the covenant that he made with David. Solomon was one part of that. So Solomon's praying about himself. And that's where it should start with us. He's praying about himself. that God would raise one up to sit upon David's throne. And David was the first one after David to sit on his throne. Verse 26, he says this, And now, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. Now, if it was fulfilled completely in Solomon, what's he talking about? Well, the word verified means to establish and build it up. Let this promise be established and build it up. That's talking about not only Solomon's time, but that's talking about in time to come. So God's promises, what God spoke to him, must be the ground of our desire. Solomon is praying about what God does moving forward with David's throne and the nation of Israel and the foundation of his prayer is what God promised in covenant with David. Verse 28 says, Yet have thou respect under the prayer of thy servant and to his supplication. Have respect. under the prayer of thy servant." How many times? Sometimes it just seems like we just barge into the presence of God and just assume that God will hear what we pray. Solomon asked God to have respect under his prayer. You stop and think about that. Why would God have respect under my prayer? Who am I? to ask the God of eternity to do anything for me. Born in sin, born a rebel against God, a hater of God, totally resisted his will all my life until he converted me, until I was born again. Why would he have respect unto my prayer? Where was he standing? He was standing in the presence of that typical testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so because of that, he can say, have respect unto my prayer. And because of the promises of God that he had made, yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee today." Have respect. What does it mean? Hearken. Hearken unto my prayer. Why would God pay attention to me? Well, because God's faithful. Verse 29, his eyes opened to the temple. What does that mean? That thine eyes may be opened. Is there anything that God doesn't see? No. He's all seeing God. but he prays that thy eyes may be opened." So what is that talking about? It's to own this temple, to have his eyes open to it, in other words, to regard it. Regard this temple, honor this house. Solomon was used of God to build it, and all the materials David provided a lot of those before he died. But the rest of it was, Solomon was used to put that together, to build it according to God's design. God used Solomon that way. But now he says, let your eyes be open unto this temple. In other words, all these fancy materials, all this extremely good wood, and the architecture, and the skill that built it, and all the external beauty, is not what he's talking about. But it's needed more than anything else now that it's built. Now that it's built, honor it. Now, God honors His Son, and He honors us in His worship that way. But in other words, own this house. Put your honor upon it. Israel forgot this prayer in so many ways, and this is one of the ways they did. Solomon prayed for this, and God did honor his prayer. But later, when people like Jeremiah prophesied and told them that God was going to destroy this place and destroy this temple, and when the Lord Jesus Christ came, they were still carrying the same mentality. Even though God had destroyed the temple, in Jeremiah's time, had to be rebuilt. They still didn't learn. Oh no, God will not destroy this place. This is his house of worship. He won't destroy this place. He will when he takes his honor from it. And the reason he took his honor from it is because they turned it into a house of idols. Their worship was vain worship. Their worship was in hypocrisy. They became like the Gentile nations around them. There was no honor in it because they had profaned God's house, and in profaning God's house, they profaned his name. And so he took his honor away from it. He did destroy it. And so, you look at this, it's a privilege. To be able to pray to God this way. So to display His presence, when He says, your eyes be opened to this temple, that is, that His presence be there. His power, God's providence and His grace and His mercy. To look upon this house with favor. You go down to the next part of it here in verse 29 also. Look at how he prays. He says, "...that thine eyes may be opened toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there." My name shall be there. "...that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of which thy servant shall make toward this place." God doesn't dwell in a house like we think of God restricting himself to this place. God does meet with us. God dwells in his church and he dwells in his people. But that doesn't mean he ceases to be omnipresent. God says through the prophet, where is the house that you built in my name? Heaven is my throne. And the earth is my footstool. That didn't change when this temple was built. Heaven was still his throne and the earth was still his footstool. So what is it talking about? He put his honor there. He put his name there. His name means not just a particular name. There are a lot of names of God in the Old Testament. It's not a particular name except for what those names represent about God. It's like we think about your name is important. Today, people sell their name. They make a name for themselves, and then they make a bunch of money off their name. They sell their name. So I guess that's what their names were. And it's amazing what they sell their name for. Wicked companies, and they sell their name for those. they're losing their reputation. If they had a good name, now they don't. You see, when it talks about my name, I've placed my name there. It's the same thing in relationship to us meeting here together. God has placed his name in his house of witness. We are to guard God's reputation. Our life is supposed, and our walk is supposed to guard God's reputation. What reputation does God have in the world because of our life? Do we honor His house the way it should be honored? That His house, when we meet together as God's people, that this is more important than any other thing in the world. Everything takes backseat. I started to say second place. Everything else, you know, takes backseat to God. Now, it should. If we honor Him, it will. Let me move on and close it. I'm not going to get through this this morning, but anyway. Verse 30, quickly, I'm out of time. Verse 30 says, And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place, and hear thou from in heaven thy dwelling place, and when thou hearest, forgive. He extends his requests for God's people. That is from himself and praying for himself. Now he extends the same thing to God's people, and that God will hear their prayer. As he prays that God will hear his, now he prays that he will hear the requests of his people the same way. In heaven, Solomon recognized God had not restricted himself to this building. He had placed his name here, but God's still in the heavens. He still rules in the heavens. And then last of all, in hearing their prayers, He says, forgive, which means he knew his people were still sinners. And so are we. We need God's forgiveness. Being a child of God comes about, we begin to experience what it means to be a child of God when we experience repentance. And then the life of a child of God is a constant matter of repenting from sin and confessing it to God. It's a life of repentance between now and when we go to glory. So, seven things that we can learn from in the prayer of Solomon.