at upon the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was
established greatly.")

Ver. 13. "_He shall build an house for My name, and I establish the
throne of his kingdom for ever._"

The general establishment which was spoken of in ver. 12 precedes the
building of the temple; the eternal establishment mentioned in ver. 13
follows the building of the temple, or is coincident with it. It is
evident, that the first clause of the verse refers, in the first
instance, to the building of the temple which was undertaken by
Solomon. (Compare 1 Kings v. 19, where Solomon says, "Behold, I purpose
to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake
unto David my father, saying. Thy son whom I will set upon thy throne
in thy stead, he shall build the house unto My name.") We shall not,
however, be at liberty to confine ourselves to what Solomon, as an
individual, did for the house of the Lord. The building of the house
here goes hand in hand with the eternity of the kingdom. We expect,
therefore, that the question is not about a building of limited
duration. If a building of only a limited duration were meant, such,
surely, might have been erected long ago, even in the period of the
Judges. The contrary, however, is quite distinctly brought out in 1
Kings viii. 13, where, at the dedication of the temple, Solomon says,
"I have built Thee an house to dwell in, a fixed place for Thee to
abide in _for ever_." If, then, with the eternity of the kingdom of
David's house the eternity of the temple to be built by him be closely
bound up, the destruction of the latter can be only _temporary_, and
the consequence of the apostasy and punishment of the Davidic race,--of
which vers. 14 and 15 treat. Or, if it be definitive, it can concern
the _form_ only. If the building of the temple fall into ruins, it is
only the Davidic race from which its restoration can proceed; the local
relation of the royal palace to the temple prefigured their close
union. Hence, the building of the temple by Zerubbabel was likewise
comprehended in the words, "He shall build an house for My name." It
was impossible that the second temple could be reared otherwise than
under the direction of David's family. But we must go still farther.
The essence of the temple consists in its being a symbol, an outward
[Pg 140] representation of the kingdom of God under Israel. The real
import of our passage then is,--that henceforth the kingdom of David
and th