1 Kings chapter 8 verse 22 we
read, And 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 earth beneath,
who keepeth covenant and mercy with Thy servants that walk before
Thee with all their heart, 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. Solomon stood before the altar
of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel
and spread forth his hands toward heaven. Here Solomon stands,
the king, David's son, before the altar of the Lord in the
presence of all the congregation of Israel and spreads his hands
toward heaven. Here he stands. But Solomon is
but the picture. The scene presented to us here
in type and figure is of Christ, the Son of God, the King of Kings,
stood before the altar of the Lord. in the presence of all
his people, spreading forth his hands toward heaven, and praying
to the Father on the people's behalf. Oh, what a scene this
is, and what a picture of Christ and his gospel. Yes, who is it
that stands before the altar of the Lord but the king himself,
the son, Solomon David's son. But in picture, he is a picture
and a figure of Christ, the son of God, who came before his people
and stood before them, before the altar of the Lord, spreading
forth his hands toward heaven. We see Christ having come from
heaven's glory into the darkness of this world. Having entered
into the thick darkness, the light came from heaven's glory
and stood in the presence of his people before the altar of
the Lord. He lived as a man with his face
set like a flint towards Jerusalem. He came into this world to go
to that place of execution outside the city, to be nailed to a cross. He was obedient unto the Father,
obedient even unto death. He went before his people. to the altar. He was nailed as
it were to the altar of the Lord. He was judged and sacrificed
on his people's behalf. And nailed to that cross, he
lifted up his hands toward heaven. Here in the presence of his people,
he stands as their intercessor. as their mediator between God
and men, as their saviour, as the one who would lead this people
unto God and unto salvation, as the only man who could take
his people's sin and pay the price for it and take God's condemnation
for their sin. as the only sacrifice that was
acceptable unto a holy and a righteous God, as the only sacrifice that
God would accept upon his altar, as the only sacrifice whose blood
could purge his people's sin. He came as the only priest that
could offer this sacrifice. He came as the Great High Priest. He came as the sacrifice, the
Lamb of God. He came as the redeemer. He came as the ransom price.
He came as the prophet, the priest, and the king. He came as the
son of God, the intercessor, the mediator of his people. And
here before them, he stood before the altar. Here he stood before
the altar. He knew what awaited him. He
knew what death he should endure. He knew the darkness into which
he would be plunged. He knew the fires of God's wrath
that would descend upon him. He knew the horrors of bearing
his people's sin. He knew the horrors of being
cast out from the presence of God's mercy from the presence
of God's deliverance. He knew the horrors of being
treated as the sinner and having to endure the judgment of God
pour down upon him. He knew what cup he must drink. He knew what it would take to
deliver his people from their sin. And yet he stood before the altar. Christ came as the faithful son
of God, walking before his Father, doing all things that please
if his Father, obedient in all things. He came as the faithful
one, looking by faith unto God his Father, knowing that what
he would endure would accomplish that which had been promised,
knowing that that which was promised by his father would be wrought,
would be brought to pass, knowing that salvation, assuring a certain
salvation of every one of his chosen people, would be brought
about. He knew that what he would endure,
would finish the work, would accomplish it. and without flinching,
without turning, though all the world raged against him, though
every enemy was set upon him, though Satan and his legions
would devour him, though the wrath and judgment of God would
descend upon him, though he must endure all things on the part
of his people, even unto death, he stood before the altar. in the presence of all the congregation
of Israel and spread forth his hands toward heaven. Here on their behalf he intercedes. He stands as his people's intercessor
before a holy God, as their propitiation, the one who would appease the
wrath of God on their behalf, the one who would bring mercy
upon them. The one who would answer their
judgment, their guilt. The one who would stand in their
place and say, I will pay the price on their behalf, set them
free. The one who would plead their
cause before a holy God. The one who would say, let them
go. I will wash them in my own blood. I will pay the price. I will
pay the judgment. Condemn me and not them. Let
my people go. So he stood before the altar
of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel. They gathered unto their king
before the sun. They gathered with him as he
stood before the altar on their behalf. They looked on as he
spread forth his hands toward heaven. They come unto God through
him. Here, in Solomon's day, the people
gathered at the temple as Solomon, their king, stood before the
altar and prayed unto God on their behalf. And that people would then come,
over the years to follow, up to the temple where the priests
would make offerings for them. where blood would be shed and
where forgiveness of sins would be pronounced. But in all the
outward coming to the temple, in all the outward gathering
of the people before the altar, in all the outward sacrifice
and the shedding of blood and the sprinkling of that blood
upon the mercy seat, the faithful saw through this the picture
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They saw in this Christ their
Saviour go into an altar for them, bearing their sins, being
nailed to a cross, slain on their behalf, and the blood of the
Lamb of God being sprinkled upon the mercy seat. Here they come
unto God through Christ alone. And here he stands before the
altar of the Lord, spreading forth his hands toward heaven,
a picture of the cross, Christ nailed to the tree, his hands
held high as their king, the priest, the sacrifice upon the
altar of the Lord. What a scene this is. Has God
brought you here? We may read of Solomon on this
day. We may read elsewhere of Christ
as he was taken to the tree and sacrificed. But has God brought
you by faith to see, to see the King, to see the Son, stood before
the altar to see your sacrifice, to see the lamb slain, to see
the blood shed, to see by faith it sprinkled upon the mercy seat
for you as the priest come out. Do you know that the blood has
been received as the Lord made known forgiveness of sins unto
you? Solomon stood before the altar
of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel. In the presence of all the congregation
of Israel. Yes, when Christ was nailed to
the tree, when the sacrifice was slain upon the altar of the
Lord, it was in the presence. of all the congregation of Israel. All God's people, all His elect,
chosen before the foundation of the world, the Father chose
this people, He gave them to His Son, He laid every name upon
His Son's heart. All God's people spiritually
were gathered at the cross in Christ. There he stood in the
presence of all the congregation of Israel. Every one of them,
spiritually speaking, were nailed to the cross in Christ. Believer, if he died for you,
you were in him when he died. You were crucified with Christ. You were slain when Christ was
slain. You died when he died. He stood
in the presence of all the congregation of Israel. A great multitude
from every nation, from the four corners of the earth throughout
all time, from the beginning of time to the end of time, this
people that God had chosen were all gathered around their Lord
and their Saviour as the Lamb of God was sacrificed on their
behalf. All His people approach unto
the Father in Him, they look on by faith, they behold by faith
the Lamb of God sacrificed on their behalf. When Christ was
crucified, we read in Matthew that the people sat down and
watched him there. They beheld him. They looked
upon this one nailed to the tree, his hands lifted up unto heaven. And those who were given faith
to believe looked upon their Saviour, their king, the son
of God, their sacrifice, their lamb, the lamb of God slain on
their behalf, they looked on and saw their saviour dying in
their place. He stood before the altar, he
was nailed to the cross, and his hands were spread up towards
heaven. Solomon spread forth his hands
toward heaven and spake. Oh, how Christ, when he hung
upon the tree, reached up unto God for all his people. He who
had come down from the heights of glory into the depths of the
sin of this world. He who came down from the highest
height to the lowest depths reached up from man unto God above. What an intercessor he is. What
a mediator between God and man. What a savior. He reached down
from the highest height to the depths of the earth, to however
low we may be, to however far down we may have fallen in our
sin and our wretchedness. He came down to seek and to save
that which was lost. He came down to the lowest depth
to find the lowest sinner. In the darkest corner of this
world, the most wretched the most vile, the weakest, the vilest,
the basest, the most lost. He came down to where they are
and found them. And he led them by faith to his
cross. From whence he lifted up his
hands toward heaven. Yes, he reaches down to the earth. And he reaches up to the heights
of heaven. and brings his people unto the
Father. He brings his people unto the
Father. I am the way, the truth, and
the life, Christ said. No man cometh to the Father except
by me. But he came and he stood before
the altar of the Lord, in the presence of all his people and
spread forth his hands toward heaven on their behalf. We as sinners, if we know what
we are, like the publican who prayed, cannot but lift our eyes
up toward heaven. Oh, the Pharisee may come into
the temple, and pray towards God to be seen of men. He may
thank God that he's not like other men. He may stand in his
own self-righteousness and his own glory, and he may look up
towards the heavens in his own blindness. But the sinner that
knows what he is cannot but look up his head and cries out unto
his God, God be merciful to me, the sinner. He's full of His
wretchedness. But here in Christ, He has a
Saviour who goes before Him. One who can stand before the
altar on His behalf. One who is able to stretch forth
His hands toward heaven and to reach up on the sinner's behalf. and to bring the most wretched,
the most blind, the most deaf, the most dead sinner unto a holy
and a righteous God. What a mediator He is, what a
saviour. There is none so far off that
He cannot find them, there is none so wretched that He cannot
deliver them. You may feel yourself to have
gone so far astray that God could not possibly look upon you in
mercy, you may feel like you've gone too far. But God came to
save sinners in the person of his son Jesus Christ. Christ
came into this world to save sinners. He came not to call
the righteous, but sinners unto salvation. And he reaches up. He spreads forth his hands toward
heaven on their behalf. And as he stands in the presence
of his people before the altar of the Lord, and reaches up into
heaven on their behalf, he speaks. He speaks as Solomon spake here,
and he declares the gospel. He preaches the covenant and
the accomplishment and the fulfillment of the covenant. He declares
under His people why He came and for what purpose and He declares
what He has done, what He has accomplished. He came to deliver
His people from their sins. He came to fulfil the promise
made between God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit that
Christ would come and be offered up as a sacrifice for His people,
that He would deliver them from their sins, that He would bring
them to dwell with His God and Father eternally, forever, that
He would blot out their sins, that He would bring in everlasting
righteousness. And He comes before them and
preaches His mercy, His grace and His gospel. He declares a
covenant fulfilled on their behalf. Solomon spread forth his hands
toward heaven and he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God
like Thee in heaven above or on earth beneath who keep His
covenant and mercy with Thy servants that walk before Thee with all
their heart. who has kept with thy servant
David, my father, that thou promised him. Thou speakest also with
thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is
this day. Therefore now, Lord God of Israel,
keep with thy servant David, my father, that thou 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. And now, O God of Israel, let
thy word, I pray thee, be verified which thou spakest unto thy servant
David my father. Solomon stands before the people
and declares the covenant of God, the promise of God made
unto his father David. He prays unto God on their behalf
and says, remember what thou hast promised, O Lord, and what
thou hast brought to pass this day, what thou hast fulfilled,
that thou promised to build this house, that thou promised to
dwell with thy people, that thou promised to meet them at the
mercy seat, at the altar of the Lord. In Christ in his gospel,
from the cross. As he stands before the altar
of the Lord, spreading his hands toward heaven, when he cries
out it is finished, he reminds us, he preaches unto a fallen
world, he preaches unto his people, in all the presence of his people,
of all Israel, throughout all time, he declares unto them a
covenant, a covenant promised, a covenant fulfilled. covenant
accomplished he declares unto them when he cries out it is
finished that the temple of God in Christ is built and God will
now dwell in with his people everlastingly, eternally in Christ. They are brought into God's presence. Their sins have been blotted
out. They've been washed clean in his blood. Righteousness has
been satisfied. The righteousness of God in Christ
is made theirs. and they are united in Him unto
God their Father. Here they are brought into the
temple, as it were, brought into the dwelling place of God, brought
in to the fulfilment of the covenant, brought into God's house, one
with God their Father, righteous before a holy God, in Christ
their Saviour. Here they are, one with their
Saviour, gathered as one people, gathered as the bride of Christ,
gathered as the body of Christ, gathered as the house of God,
the temple, gathered as the fulfillment of the covenant, the new covenant
in which God promised to write his laws upon all the hearts
of his people, to write his gospel, to write in their heart that
they are forgiven through the blood of his Son, that they are
righteous, to write in their hearts mercy and love and grace. He fulfilled all that God had
promised. When Christ hung there upon the
cross, stood as it were before the altar of the Lord his hand
spread up unto heaven he had brought it to pass he cried out
it is finished and there was no more to do nothing to be added
nothing to be worked for. All had been accomplished, there
was nothing for man to do, there was no decision to be made, no
works to be added unto Christ's work. He'd accomplished salvation
and from this place he preaches it and he declares it throughout
all the ages. He comes unto us in this day
and generation and speaks from the cross preaches from the altar
and says it's accomplished, the promise has been brought to pass,
this day I have saved thee through offering up my blood on your
behalf. He brought it to pass, he finished
the work when he comes unto us in the spirit of God. from the
cross in his gospel and declares unto us in particular, it's finished. He's declaring there's no more
for you to do sinner. Your sin has been blotted out.
have blotted it out, I've brought in righteousness for you, you're
mine, I loved you, I gave myself for you, you're mine, come into
my house and dwell with God forevermore. I've brought you everlasting
life, I've brought you everlasting salvation, I've brought you everlasting
righteousness, the work is finished, look and live. look and live. And when the Spirit of God causes
us to look up by faith and to see Christ there upon the cross
in our stead, to see his hands reaching under heaven, to hear
his faithful promise in the gospel, it's finished. Then we see our
sins roll away, the burden taken off our back, The curse taken
away. Everything that brought us down,
everything that condemned us, everything that we were striving
to improve at, everything that we were trying to cleanse, everything
that we were trying to cover up, it's all taken away. There's
nothing to cover up. There's no sin there to be seen.
There's no need to live any better. You're clean in God's sight.
You're washed, you're clean, you're perfect. Then we see ourselves
as forgiven, God's wrath as appeased, propitiated, God's righteousness
made known and manifested in Christ in the Gospel, manifested
by his faith upon the cross on our behalf. Then we hear his
voice crying out from the altar in the presence of all his people,
it is finished. And then we find ourselves led
forth by the right way into this eternal dwelling place of God. Yes, what is the consequence
of the fulfilment of this covenant? It is that God should dwell with
man in his temple in Christ, in the hearts of his people. Solomon says, will God indeed
dwell on the earth? Behold the heaven of heavens
cannot contain thee, how much less this house that I have builded.
Will God dwell on the earth? Can he dwell amongst men? Can he dwell with this people? 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, 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, that thou mayest hearken unto
the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. Solomon was but a man, a sinful
man. Solomon's temple that he built
was but an outward building. The people that were gathered
before him that day were sinners. But it's all a picture of that king, that son, who truly
built a house that God would dwell in. God could not dwell
in this temple made of stone but God dwells in Christ. God
dwells eternally in Christ and in his people those stones built
up as his house in him. Will God indeed dwell on the
earth? In Christ he will. Will God indeed dwell with his
people? In Christ he will. The consequence of what Christ
did upon the altar of the Lord, when he was nailed to the cross
and lifted up his hands toward heaven, when he bore the sins
of his people, when he cried out in faith in the darkness,
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The consequence
of his taking those sins away, of shedding his blood, of crying
out, it is finished. The consequence of his fulfilling
the covenant on his people's behalf is that God, who cannot
be contained by the heaven of heavens, should come and dwell
in Christ, upon the earth in the hearts of his people, that
he should come and dwell in his temple, in Christ and his people
united with him. That temple which was raised
to the ground when Christ was crucified was built again as
he rose again from the dead and the people rose up in him. Oh,
what a dwelling place God has made for Israel. not Israel upon the earth, not
that nation at war in the Middle East, but the spiritual Israel
of God, all his chosen, all his elect, all those saved by grace
and chosen by Christ, all those gathered into this place, into
this temple, into this house, all those gathered in Christ
by his gospel, through his spirit, as God brought you there. But how can God dwell with man
in such a place? Solomon, at the end of this prayer
here, the end of this section, prays for forgiveness. Hearken
thou to the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel,
when they shall pray toward this place, and hear thou in heaven
thy dwelling place, and when thou hearest, forgive. Forgive. How can God dwell with
man? Only if their sins be taken away.
Only if they can be forgiven. Only in righteousness. God cannot
dwell with sinners where there's sin. God cannot receive sinners
with sin within them and blood on their hands into his presence.
They must be perfect, they must be righteous. God can only dwell
as a righteous God with a righteous people. And they must be as righteous
as He is righteous. They must have the very righteousness
of God. Their sins must be entirely,
completely, totally taken away, blotted out. They must be made
righteous within. Their sins must be taken away
and their sin must be taken away. The very nature of sin in their
own hearts must be taken away. They must be given a new heart.
They must be righteous within and without. They must have a
righteous heart and all their deeds must be righteous. They
must be perfect inside and outside. They must be cleansed in and
out. They must be washed in blood and they must have their hearts
sprinkled with blood. And if they have, then God, when
he hears, will forgive when they come unto him. in this place,
in Christ, in the temple. He will hear them and forgive. When they cry out for mercy,
he will look upon his son. He will look upon the altar.
He will see the blood shed on their behalf, and he will hear
his son's cry on their behalf. He will hear his son's prayer
on their behalf. He will hear the son's prayer
unto God as Solomon prayed here, and he will forgive. because
their sins have been blotted out by Christ their Saviour. God can only dwell with those
who have no sin. And Christ, when He went to the
cross, when He was nailed to the altar, when He was offered
up upon that altar, when He was slain, took away their sins in
entirety. He took away all their sins.
He was made sin for them, that they might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. God can only dwell with man when
an acceptable sacrifice has been offered up on His behalf. an
acceptable sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice. Only if a man, a perfect
man, die in their place, takes their sin away, purges their
sins, brings in righteousness, only then can they be forgiven. Forgiven of all their sins, past,
present and future in entirety. And that is exactly what Christ
did when he stood before the altar in the presence of all
the congregation of Israel and spread forth his hands toward
heaven. That's exactly what he did in
perfection by faith upon the cross as he stood stood before
the altar, stood in the presence of his people, stood before God
as he interceded for them as he spread his hands toward heaven
and cried out unto his God and brought about the fulfillment
of the covenant as he brought in everlasting righteousness
on their behalf as he washed their sins away in his blood
he came to forgive their sins and he forgave them in entirety
and forgiving their sins, hearing their cries for mercy, He brings
them and unites them unto God the Father in Him, in order that
they should dwell with God and God should dwell with them in
Christ, in the temple forevermore. Have you been brought there?
What a dwelling place. How remarkable that God should
truly come and dwell upon the earth by faith in the hearts
of his people in Christ alone. What a dwelling place. How he
who is light comes into the thick darkness and dwells in the hearts
of his people. There's darkness all around but
in Christ in their hearts there's light shining forth. There's
light There's only light to be found in the Gospel, only light
to be found in Christ, only light to be found in this dwelling
place, only light to be found in this house, in this temple.
But what light there is, what light there is when God comes
and dwells in the hearts of men, in His Son. Oh what a sight was
seen on this day, what a day to have been there amongst Israel
when Solomon stood before his people at the temple. But oh what a sight to see, what
a day if God brings you, brings me to stand in the presence of
Christ the Saviour by faith, to look upon him upon the altar,
to look upon Him lifting up His hands unto heaven, to hear His
prayers on our behalf, to hear His intercession, to see the
Mediator leading His people under God, to hear His cries, Father
forgive them, they know not what they do. As God brought you there,
As Christ the Son stood before you and spoken his gospel by
his Spirit into your heart, have you heard him cry on your behalf,
it is finished, the warfare is accomplished, there is no more
sin, there is no more sacrifice for sin. Thou hast been made
the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Have you heard him cry
on your behalf, Father, forgive them? They know not what they
do. Has he loved you and given himself
for you? Has God brought you to see him,
stood before the altar of the Lord in your presence, stretching
forth his hands toward heaven for you?