1 Kings 8:12-21
"12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 13 I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” 14 Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. 15 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, 16 ‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there. But I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ 17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ 20 Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 And there I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”"
This is a high moment of dedication for Solomon, and the awe of God's presence has brought a hush to his spirit, as he humbly rehearses His dealings with his father David and himself. One can almost sense the wonder in his voice as he says (20), 'The Lord hath performed His Word', and this gives the greater force to his simple, yet profound, statement in the next verse, 'I have set there a place for the ark', for to prove the faithfulness of God's Word in one's experience is the best incentive to giving that Word its true and proper place. What a grandeur there is about 21! He could have done no greater thing than this. Happy is the man who makes this the summit of his ambition in the service of God. Well would it be for the Church in our time if this were to become the aim of its leaders!