THE

were outside the oracle. All the
holy vessels were made of gold.

Solomon’s servants were indus-
trious, and did the work very
quickly; but seven years passed
before the temple was finished,
Then Solomon called all Israel to
come to the great feast, when the
temple was to be dedicated to God.
The priests brought the ark, and all
the holy vessels; and they put the
ark in the oracle, under the wings
of the cherubim. In the ark were
the tables of stone, which God had
given to Moses so many years before.
When the priests came out of the
holy place, the cloud filled the
house. The bright glory of the
Lord was there. All the people
stood in holy reverence, while the
king blessed them, and prayed to the
Lord. Solomon prayed that God
would always bless His holy temple,
and hear the prayers of his people
there. He knew that he and his
people would often be in trouble,
and difficulty, and sorrow. Perhaps
their enemies might fight against
them; or there might be a plague
or famine in Israel. Who could
help them then? Only God; so
Solomon prayed that when, in these
times of sorrow, he and his people
should go and pray in the holy
temple, God would hear, and answer,
and bless them.

When Solomon had ended his
prayer, he rose from his knees, and
blessed the people again. It was a
beautiful sight. The good king
praising God, and blessing his peo-
ple, and the people attending to all
he said, and praying to God too;
and all the house filled with God’s
glory. Then they offered sacrifices
to the Lord ; and He accepted those

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sacrifices, because they were offered
in faith; and He blessed the people.
Then Solomon made a great feast,
and afterwards sent the people away
full of joy and gladness.

And now God appeared again to
Solomon. It was by night when
Solomon was asleep. “What did
God say? He told Solomon that
He had heard his prayer. He said,
“JT have blessed my house, and I
will hear the prayers which my peo-
ple make to me there. And if thou
wilt obey and serve me, as David
thy father did, then will I bless thee
and keep thee for ever. Butif thou
and thy people forget me, and serve
and worship idol gods, then I will
forsake you. I will not then at-
tend to your prayers. I will turn
away from you and bless you no
more.”

How happy Solomon and his peo-
ple were, to have the promise of
God’s blessing when they were
faithful to Him! In all their trou-
bles and difficulties they might go
to His holy temple, and pray there,
and He would hear them. We have
holy temples too. The churches
where we may go every Sabbath
Day, are dedicated to God, and He
promises to hear the prayers of His
people there. We ought to be very
thankful for these holy temples, and
very glad to go to them. And when
we are in God’s house, we should re-
member what a holy place it is.
God is there. We cannot see His
bright glory, and the cloud which
Israel saw; but we know that His
Spirit is there, to bless and teach
His people. Jesus says, “ Where
two or three are gathered together
in my name, there am I in the midst
of them.” Matt. xviii. 20.