“OUR holy and our beautiful house, where fathers praised Thee, is burned up with fire.” Such was the plaintive expression of those who sighed and cried for the desolation of the temple of God, and the city of Jerusalem; these being the center around which the affections of all the faithful of Israel ever revolved. “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,” cried they by the rivers of Babylon, “let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the root of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.” Psalms 137:5, 65If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 6If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. (Psalm 137:5‑6).
And who can read, unmoved, the glowing account of the dedication of this beautiful house in the commencement of the second book of Chronicles, where King Solomon kneels amid the glory, before the congregation, on the brazen scaffold he had made, and spreading forth his hands toward heaven, uttered the dedicating prayer, closing with the exquisite words:― “Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into Thy resting place, Thou, and the ark of Thy resting place, Thou, and the ark of Thy strength: let Thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and Thy saints rejoice in goodness.” But, alas! The dark future seems, even then, to have cast its shadow; when, warning them of their responsibility of cleaving to the Lord, He tells them, in the event of their not doing so, “This house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it, so that he shall say, Why hath the Lord done this unto this land, and unto this house? And it shall be answered, because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers.” The time, alas! came, when the prophet cried, “Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised Thee, is burned up with fire.”
And what a house it was! In intrinsic value it was worth millions of pounds; while in design and in elaborate execution, it was marvelous! The shechinah glory filled the holiest of all. All that that could appeal to the senses, and all could touch the heart were there; and, beyond all other thought, Jehovah owned it as His — His house. “This is my rest forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.” Ps. 132:14.
Even the house which succeeded it, at whose dedication there were tears mingled with the rejoicing — even that house was beautiful, and had its “Beautiful gate,” and its “Solomon’s Porch.” But the “holy and beautiful house,” mourned by the prophet, as being burnt up, far transcended it in material worth and beauty. One glory, indeed, the latter house had, which the former had not; that is, its courts were trodden by the blessed feet of Him of whom it is said, “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” John 2:1717And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. (John 2:17).
But where was it all then, at the hour of the prophet’s wailing? All burnt — destroyed. The golden vessels were at Babylon, and used there in honor of the heathen gods; the priesthood scattered, and its service silenced. Yes, that beautiful house, which, under Solomon’s direction, rose on Mount Moriah. Beautifully has the poet Heber said:
“No workman’s steel, no ponderous axes rung;
Like some tall palm the noiseless fabric sprung.
Majestic silence! — then the harp awoke,
The cymbal clang’d, the deep-voiced trumpet spoke;
And Salem spread her suppliant arms abroad,
Viewed the descending flame, and blessed the present God.”
How true it is that Jehovah has magnified His word above all His name. His name in connection with His beautiful house may be dishonored, but His word never! That can never fail.
But, dear readers, another temple is rising, as silently, yet as surely, as this, and will be far, far more beautiful. Revelation 21:9-279And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 10And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. 17And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 18And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 19And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. 21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 22And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. 25And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 27And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Revelation 21:9‑27). It is the Church of God, and is composed of living stones. 1 Peter 2:55Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5). The apostle Paul tells ALL believers in the Lord Jesus Christ that they “are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:20-2220And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:20‑22). May I close this paper by asking, Are you one of the “living stones?” The building will soon be completed. Believe and live!
“View the vast building! see it rise,
The work how great, the plan how wise;
O wondrous mercy, power unknown,
Which rears it on the Living Stone.”
A. M.