2 Chronicles 30:26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. I. ITS GOD WAS GRACIOUS. (Ver. 9.) Its people had a Divinity who was: 1. Propitious towards their persons. He had given them one heart (ver. 12). 2. Propitious towards their sacrifices. He accepted them, although offered not in perfect accordance with the Law of Moses (ver. 16). 3. Propitious towards their prayers. He heard the king's intercession (ver. 20), the priests' prayers (ver. 27), and the people's confessions (ver. 22). II. ITS KING WAS RELIGIOUS, (2 Chronicles 29:2.) This was manifested by: 1. His care for the institutions of religion. Exemplified in his purification and dedication of the temple, including his rearrangement of the Levitical orders of musicians. 2. His zeal in the observances of religion. Shown by his revival of the Passover ordinance, and the efforts made by him to secure a national observance of the same (2 Chronicles 30:1). 3. His possession of the spirit of religion. Besides being a man of prayer (ver. 18), he delighted to encourage others in good works (ver. 22), and evinced his own sincerity by the abundance of his liberality (ver. 24). III. ITS MINISTERS WERE INDUSTRIOUS. (Ver. 17.) 1. In attending to their own personal sanctification. (Ver. 15.) This no ministers of religion under the New Testament dispensation can afford to neglect. He who cares nothing for the cultivation of piety in himself is not likely to be zealous in aiming at the good of others. 2. 1n discharging the public services of the sanctuary. Under the Hebrew economy these services were the offering of sacrifice and the blessing of the people (ver. 27) by the priests, with the making of music by the Levites; under the Christian economy they are chiefly the preaching of the gospel, the conducting of worship, and the superintendence of the Church. Where the ordinances of religion fall into abeyance and neglect, and the ministers of religion are as heedless of the souls of others as of their own, it is idle to expect prosperity, in either Church or state, in city or in country. IV. ITS INHABITANTS WERE JOYOUS. (Ver. 26.) 1. Exulting in Jehovah's favor. Without a conviction that they possessed this, the mere external celebration would not have filled them with such long-continued, deep, and exuberant emotion (Psalm 33:21; Isaiah 12:2; Romans 5:11). 2. Observing the rites of religion. In turning from the worship of idols to serve the living God, they experienced an inward satisfaction which made them "sing in the ways of the Lord" (Psalm 138:5). 3. Enjoying the affection of their brethren. Of one heart and mind, there was not a jarring note in their melody. They dwelt together in peace, and loved as brethren, each esteeming the other as better than himself, and all preferring one another and honouring one another. - W. Parallel Verses KJV: So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. |
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