Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 8:22-53
Solomon having made a general surrender of this house to God, which God had signified his acceptance of by taking possession, next follows Solomon's prayer, in which he makes a more particular declaration of the uses of that surrender, with all humility and reverence, desiring that God would agree thereto. In short, it is his request that this temple may be deemed and taken, not only for a house of sacrifice (no mention is made of that in all this prayer, that was taken for granted), but a house of prayer for all people; and herein it was a type of the gospel church; see Isa 56:7, compared with Mat 21:13. Therefore Solomon opened this house, not only with an extraordinary sacrifice, but with…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 8:22
HIS PRAYER. (1Ki. 8:22-61)
Solomon stood before the altar--This position was in the court of the people, on a brazen scaffold erected for the occasion (Ch2 6:13), fronting the altar of burnt offering, and surrounded by a mighty concourse of people. Assuming the attitude of a suppliant, kneeling (Kg1 8:54; compare Ch2 6:24) and with uplifted hands, he performed the solemn act of consecration--an act remarkable, among other circumstances, for this, that it was done, not by the high priest or any member of the Aaronic family, but by the king in person, who might minister about, though not in, holy things. This sublime prayer [1Ki. 8:22-35], which breathes sentiments of the loftiest piety blend…
Read the whole note in the consoleAdam Clarke on 1 Kings 8:37
If there be in the land famine - pestilence - The Fourth case includes several kinds of evils:
1. Famine; a scarcity or total want of bread, necessarily springing from the preceding cause, drought.
2. Pestilence; any general and contagious disease.
3. Blasting; any thing by which the crops are injured, so that the ear is never matured; but instead of wholesome grain, there is a black offensive dust.
4. Mildew; any thing that vitiates or corrodes the texture of the stalk, destroys the flowers and blossoms, or causes the young shaped fruits to fall off their stems.
5. Locust, a well known curse in the East, a species of grasshopper that multiplies by millions, and covers the face of the earth…
