Verse 13. - I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. The temple which Solomon was to build was the symbol of the new development of Israel, and naturally these words suggest a meaning not unworthy of so great an advance in the accomplishment of the nation's mission. Had we, indeed, only this passage, we might be content to take it in a popular sense, as signifying that, whereas Saul's throne (and subsequently that of the many usurpers in Samaria) had but a brief existence, Solomon's descendants should hold for many centuries undisputed possession of the kingdom of Jerusalem. But in Psalm 89:29 we read, "His (David's) seed will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven." And again in vers. 36, 37 a continuance is assured to it as lasting as that of the sun and moon. We can scarcely, therefore, be wrong in the conviction that these promises pointed onwards to the establishment of Christ's kingdom, and that the great importance attached to the building of the temple finds its explanation in its relation to him. This full establishment after so long a delay of the Mosaic typical ritual, the addition to it of psalmody, giving it a spiritual side, and making the worship that of the heart, the bestowal of empire, and the rapid development of the people under David and Solomon, were all steps in that wonderful series of special providences which made the Jews fit to be the progeniters of the Messiah, which surrounded him during his ministry with companions capable of understanding and recording his teaching, and provided for him, after his death, missionaries, not merely with zeal enough, but with intellectual gifts sufficient to enable them to persuade both Greece and Rome to listen to tidings so wonderful and mysterious as that God for our salvation had become man. Keil also well points out that the temple was a symbol of Christ's incarnation; for it meant the dwelling of God on earth. "I have surely," says Solomon, "built thee a house of habitation, a place for thee to dwell in forever" (1 Kings 8:13). The same thought was in St. John's mind when he said, "The Word became flesh, and dwelt as in a tabernacle among us" (John 1:14). For the verb used by him, literally "tabernacled," is a comparison between Christ's life on earth, and the dwelling of God in "the tent of meeting." But there is more than this. Christ himself calls his body "the temple" (John 2:19, 21). At the Resurrection he raised up again the temple of his body which the Jews had destroyed, and at the Ascension it was removed from the earth, to be reserved in heaven until his second advent. His reign now is spiritual, and his temple is not a building made with hands, but is the heart of the renewed believer (1 Corinthians 6:19). And this indwelling of Christ in the heart will continue unto the end of the present dispensation. For Christ's indwelling is that also of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16); and the gift of the Spirit continues unto the end of the world. "The Father shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever" (John 14:16).

7:4-17 Blessings are promised to the family and posterity of David. These promises relate to Solomon, David's immediate successor, and the royal line of Judah. But they also relate to Christ, who is often called David and the Son of David. To him God gave all power in heaven and earth, with authority to execute judgment. He was to build the gospel temple, a house for God's name; the spiritual temple of true believers, to be a habitation of God through the Spirit. The establishing of his house, his throne, and his kingdom for ever, can be applied to no other than to Christ and his kingdom: David's house and kingdom long since came to an end. The committing iniquity cannot be applied to the Messiah himself, but to his spiritual seed; true believers have infirmities, for which they must expect to be corrected, though they are not cast off.He shall build an house for my name,.... For the honour of it, for the worship and service of God, as it is well known Solomon did; and so his antitype the Messiah, Zechariah 6:12,

and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever; that is, for a long time. Solomon's reign was forty years, and the kingdom of Judah continued in his posterity until the Babylonish captivity, and a prince that descended from him was the ruler of the people when they returned: this has its fulfilment more eminently in Christ, who was of his seed, to whom God has given "the throne of his father David", and who "shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever", Luke 1:32.