2 CHRONICLES 6 (NOTES OF A READING)
2 CHRONICLES 6 (NOTES OF A READING)
CAC It is evident that this point in the prayer in verse 32 becomes something much greater than what has preceded; we come to the true glory of the house. In the previous sections of the prayer, the subject is the failure of God’s people. There is the possibility of sinning against one’s neighbour, and of Israel being put to the worse before their enemies; and then in the section from verse 26, of no rain, and of pestilence, and locusts, and various things that are the result of the failure of the people.
In verses 32 and 33, it is a question now simply of the greatness of God’s name; that is clearly the glory of the house. There is no limitation at all here; it is God’s great name. It says all peoples of the earth are to “know that this house which I have built is called by thy name”. It is the present moment. The greatest thing about the house is that His name is set there. His name is called upon His house, and the stranger even in a far country hears that name, and comes to where that name is set. It is very beautiful. You are outside the range of any failure of God’s people.
It is the mind of God given to us as light, for instruction, that we may come into the greatness of God’s thoughts. The gospel is only truly presented to man as connected with God’s house. It is precious light given to us in this room as to His house. In the mind of God there were no loose ends; there was only one place where God’s great name was set, only one place for anyone to go. All things have become complicated today through the wickedness of men. There is only one name, and one place, and one house. So every convert is to find his way to the place from where the light came to him. We want to get free from the darkening thoughts of men, and get back to the great thoughts of God.
His great name is purely a name of grace. His great name today is “the Father” — a name of infinite grace and of power too. It speaks of His mighty power and stretched-out arm, that is, God moving in power for the salvation of men, His name is bound up with it, revealing all that He is in grace. It is what He is for all men; if one man was shut out it would take something off God’s great name. What He has done for His people He is ready to do for all men. It is very fine. The gospel is the telling out of God’s great name; to put it in one word, that is the gospel. I venture to say sometimes that His house on earth is an extension of heaven. The place where God chooses to set His name is still here in the principle of it. In the midst of a day of ruin and departure our hearts should greatly cherish a place that gives some expression of God’s name. God’s name is now inseparable from the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jerusalem was a universal centre. In all your priestly relations with God you had to come to Jerusalem; and really there is only one place where God can be worshipped “in spirit and truth”. It represents all saints, but they do not come to it. It is for us to come to it, and not to be narrowed and contracted in our thoughts of God’s great name. A new convert turns instinctively to where he can find most of God. All the confusion has not altered the divine thought. This would bring every convert at once to God’s house. Every convert ought to be there. In Acts 2 the house was in principle there, and the gospel went out with the result that there were soon five thousand there. There is pure light and atmosphere found there, and that is what I covet for myself.
Rem The people rejoiced at “the glorious greatness of God” when the child was healed (Luke 9: 43).
CAC They “were astonished at the glorious greatness of God”. That is the thing. The Spirit is here to establish these things; and if there are only two, they can be. If things had not come in to take away from the lustre of God’s name there would have been one company. That they “may know” — that is God’s object now. If saints walk in some measure in the light of these things God’s name will be known.
Rem Psalm 86: 9 - 12 shows this.
CAC So there is a spot on earth even today where God’s name is cherished and continually praised. We ought to be able to ask people if they know God’s name, and go on to say where it is known. Zion is God’s present attitude to men secured by the Person and victory of the Lord Jesus; but it is provisional, it is a tent. I hope this is understood.
Rem The Psalm referred to, followed by the next two Psalms, confirms what you say. Psalm 133 gives us the house of the Lord.
CAC It is an ascending matter. If we do not understand the principle of ascension we shall not get very far. It says they brought up the ark out of Zion. It is grace, that is, the principle of law is no benefit to men or God, and He has discarded that principle. And in David He has brought in the new principle of grace and God can rest in it in Zion; but that is not the full thought of it. The thought is that God would have spiritual conditions brought about that correspond with His own thoughts of grace, so that He can be restful in conditions brought about in His house for His pleasure. You cannot get further than to be able to bring Christ into His true place as Man before God; so that the glory fills the house. There is nothing further. The glory of God fills the house immediately. It is just as much all of grace with regard to the house.
Rem The spirit of joy should mark us in the morning meeting, you would say?
CAC Quite so. Zion’s priests stand “clothed with salvation”, the Psalm says, but it is God’s priests here, you get to the full divine thought as in Ephesians 2. It is to be noted how the writer dwells much on mercy and grace, but Paul brings you to the house at the end of the chapter; it is because He has placed us with the priests of Zion, and it is a full salvation, for He has clothed us and put us in the heavenlies in Christ. So there is not a question unsettled in the mind of the saint who has come to this. The thought of Zion is pure grace, unmerited favour, so is our place in eternity. On the other hand there is what is due to Christ; what He has suffered in order that there should be a place for Jehovah. It is due to Him that there should be a house.
Rem We should be concerned about this matter.
CAC I think it is grieving to divine Persons when we are not interested. If God makes a great supper and people despise it, it is a serious matter. He has given us Scripture to form our thoughts and exercises. The Father cannot forget what is due to Christ; He will never hide away His face from His anointed. His faithfulness ensures that what is due to Christ will be brought about. “He shall see of the fruit of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isaiah 53: 11). If we reached that side, it would help us in our appreciation of grace. The house is a place secured by Christ at the cost of great affliction. This is a point, I think, that should be reached in the morning meeting.
Rem “Let thy saints” — the quality is, they are that,
“thy priests” and “thy saints”.
CAC It is very fine. How He loves to take possession of those who enter into His thoughts. How He loves to have us with Him. That is the character of the house; it is covered with pure gold — gold of Parvaim. It is so accredited to them in perfection. So it is a very great favour if we are brought into a sphere of things altogether restful to Him. The whole church has moved entirely away from these things. There has been no ministry of them until recently, when, feeble as we are, we have been looking to enter into these things in a day of recovery. A servant of the Lord once remarked to a man, ‘You have never known what it is to be an object of delight to God’. You reach a point when you get beyond what is offered, you move into the absolute repose of worship; because the priests cannot enter there.
This is the climax and it magnifies grace, and it magnifies Christ, and we are entitled to lose sight of ourselves in the presence of the transcendent grace of our God and of what Christ is. What He has suffered! It makes it due to Him that He should have brethren. “Remember for David all his affliction” and “I will not give sleep to mine eyes ... Until I find out a place for Jehovah” (Psalm 132:4). Remember what is due for Him, on His account. We find in Scripture the darker the day, the greater and more distinctive the work of God becomes. So we have the passover improved in quality until as the days darkened they kept the feast of tabernacles, the best of all, which they had not done since the days of Joshua the son of Nun.
We find what was in God’s mind was brought out in Moses’ song, when he spoke of “The place that thou, Jehovah, hast made thy dwelling, The Sanctuary, Lord, that thy hands have prepared” (Exodus 15: 17). It looks right on hundreds of years to the temple. Supposing this is secured in a few saints, here and there, what a pleasure it is to God! He takes pleasure in the quality of the thing, not in numerical greatness. We want to be concerned as to the quality.
Rem Caleb and Joshua would illustrate that.
CAC They were the remnant, and they secured the thing for God. He had more pleasure in the faithfulness of those two than He had grief in the six hundred thousand of others.
Well, there is a fine opportunity for us; surely none of us would want to miss it.