1 Chronicles 9:27 And they lodged round about the house of God, because the charge was on them, and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them. I. AS TO RECOGNISING THE IMPERATIVENESS OF DUTY. "The charge was upon them.'" Duty was the absolute and dominant thing to these gate-keepers. So should it be with us. Duty grows out of the relations in which we are placed. 1. Some of these relations are toward God. God puts us where we are. 2. Some of these relations, as with the Levite gate-keepers, are towards God's house. The charge is upon us as Church-members to attend upon, give to, and work for the advancement of the Church to which we belong. 3. Some of these relations are toward our fellow-men. Israel depended on these Levites for certain service. Our family, Church, city, State, nation — all have claims upon us for duty. II. CONCERNING THE IMPORTANCE OF ADJUSTING ONE'S LIFE SO AS TO BE ABLE TO DO DUTY. These Levites "lodged round about the house of God." That is, they so adjusted their arrangements of living that they could do the duty that devolved upon them. They planned for it, provided for its certain accomplishment. III. AS TO SOME OF THE WAYS IN WHICH DUTY IS PRESENTED TO US. 1. In ways of permanent obligation. In the case of these Levites we are told that the work "pertained" to them. It was a permanent thing, of unchanging obligation. One of the best ways for us to recognise the dominance of duty is by faithfulness in connection with those possibly prosaic, but unchanging and permanent, duties that "pertain" to us. 2. Others come in the way of regular recurrence. "The opening thereof every morning pertained to them." Most of our duties are of this everyday, regular, recurring kind. 3. Duty is presented to us oftentimes in things apparently trivial Theirs was the opening and shutting of the gates: Not apparently a great thing; but it had as close and vital a relation to character as if it had seen great, As they did their work, lowly though it seemed, well or ill, they were morally well or ill. To most of us the work God gives does not seem great. But little things can be greatly done. By doing little things faithfully many a life has been made great. (G. B. F. Halleck, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And they lodged round about the house of God, because the charge was upon them, and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them. |
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