Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

Article 1

“And King Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants” (1 Kings 10:13).

The Queen of Sheba came from afar to hear the wisdom of Solomon. She had heard his fame in her own land and desired to see him of whom she had heard so much. So she set forth on a tedious journey, with her mind full of questions and problems hard to solve.

What a picture of a soul first coming to Christ! How many are the difficulties that then arise — difficulties relating to the question of sin, the holiness of God, the power of Satan, the judgment of God, and eternity that looms before us all — these trouble and perplex souls when first awakened, and all the wisdom of men fails to give peace, or solve the problems that demand solution. But when the gospel message, speaking of Jesus, falls upon the ear and reaches the heart, it arouses a desire to see and know the One of whom the gospel tells. And faith makes the journey, believing Him to be as good as His word, when He says, Come to Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

The Queen of Sheba had not been long in the presence of King Solomon before all her hard questions were answered. And so it is with the one who comes to Jesus. For King Solomon is a figure of Him, raised from the dead, and in the glory. Let us bear that in mind. He is in the glory a real living Man, on the right hand of God, and in him we shall find the solution of every question. He took the sinner’s place upon the cross, and settled in His death, for those who trust in Him, every question that could arise between the soul and God. The fact of His resurrection and exaltation proves that these questions are settled, and now believing in God, who raised Him from the dead, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

When the Queen of Sheba’s difficulties were removed she could then look round on the glory of Solomon. And she was overwhelmed by his greatness, his glory, and his wisdom. There was beauty in everything she saw, and her heart was filled with praise. She speaks of the happiness of those who stood before Solomon, and praises God, who had delighted in him, and made him supreme in Israel. Now is not this what takes place in the soul that really turns to the Lord Jesus Christ? When delivered from doubts, and difficulties, and perplexities, it is free to be occupied with Christ, and to see how great are the glories that shine in His face. He is the effulgence of the glory of God, and the express image of His person, and all true greatness and moral excellency are seen in Him. As the heart is thus occupied, two thoughts possess it: first, the happiness of those who are brought to Him to be His companions for ever, and then the delight of God in setting Him upon the throne. And God has done this, not only because He loves His Son, but because He loves His people. Wondrous fact!

Then the Queen of Sheba began to make her requests, and we can see why they were more than granted. Her whole vision was filled with the greatness of Solomon, and being about to return to her own land, she says, so to speak, “I am going back to my people, who know you not. Give me those things which will exalt you before them, for I want them to know something of your greatness, and your wisdom, and your glory.” And could Solomon deny such a request as that? We think not. And so it will be with us if our hearts are filled with the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall not be praying for something for ourselves so much, or that which will make us great in the eyes of others; but we shall earnestly desire to have that which will exalt the name of Christ. In this way we shall ask in the name of Christ, and He Himself tells us that whatsoever we ask in His name believing, we shall receive. And again: “In that day ye shall ask in My name: and I say not to you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loves you, because ye have loved Me.” Receiving answers to our requests from the Father, we shall be able to go forth to men, to lift up and exalt Christ in the power and energy of the Spirit and the grace which God gives.

“So the Queen of Sheba turned, and went to her own country.” This seems to answer very much to what is said in the Acts of the Apostles, that “they which were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.” They went about speaking of Jesus, and this surely is the happy, privilege of all who know Christ for themselves. They turned into this world of darkness and death to shine as lights and hold forth the word of life; to proclaim the blessed saving name of Jesus, and thus to enlighten others as to the grace, the wisdom, the love, and power which are found in Him to meet all their desperate need. Oh, may God grant that we may know what it is to pray prevailingly, and the result must be a devoted life and fruitful service. But if we are to pray and prevail, Christ alone in His glory and love must fill our souls. Then all we ask for and seek will be for the exaltation of His name, and we shall receive all our desires, yea, exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think.

Article 2

“And King Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty; so she turned and went to her own country” (1 Kings 10:13).

No more successful prayer than this has been placed on record, for not only did the suppliant receive an answer to her full satisfaction, but out of his royal bounty the king gave her more than she could ask or think. Greater than Solomon and more liberal in His giving is our Lord, and this Ethiopian queen, by her coming to Solomon, shows us how needy folk may come to Him, whether they are sinners or saints, and no matter how far they have lived from Him, and be enriched beyond their best expectations and in turn enrich others. It is an interesting and instructive story.

She “heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the Name of the Lord” (verse 1).

She heard of his fame; this is the first step, for “faith comes by healing, ” and it is faith that puts the soul in motion towards the Lord, and, “how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard.” But there are some who hear and are unmoved; they do not believe. The story of the glory of the great Lord and Redeemer of men is to them as a tale that is told; they are like the people who lived during the Lord’s life on earth; they heard with unhearing ears, and did not heed the words of wisdom that flowed from His lips; they would not come to Him that they might have life. Like them we must not be, or this Queen of the South will rise up in judgment against us. Having heard of Solomon, nothing would satisfy her but she must see him, and become acquainted with him. Moreover, there were many baffling problems in her life and kingdom, which her wise men could not solve; she felt that Solomon could. Her very needs urged her to go to him.

“She came to prove him with hard questions” (verse 1).

She was not disappointed, for as she unburdened her heart to him, he answered with God-given wisdom. All her difficulties disappeared, for “Solomon told her all her questions; there was not anything hid from the king that he told her not.” It is even thus when the heart turns to Christ; and to whom can we go but to Him? He is the wisdom of God, and is made wisdom to us, and He has the words of eternal life. He only can solve our problems. Have we wrestled with those great problems concerning our sins, our sinful self, our past, our present, our future? Do questions as to our relations with God and our fellow-men disturb our tranquillity and burden our spirits? He has said, “Come to me … I will give you rest”. What a relief it is to lay our burdens at His feet, and to place ourselves there and learn of Him. This is no mystical, unreachable, imaginary theory; it is real, and thousands can testify to its reality. It is the knowledge of Christ, and the entrance of the Word of Christ into the heart, that gives the peace of Christ in view of all difficulties.

When the Queen’s mind was relieved of all its questions she was able to consider Solomon and his wisdom and his works. And so great did she find him to be, and so wonderful the wisdom of his works, that there was no more spirit left in her, and she exclaimed:

“Mine eyes had seen it; and behold, the half was not told me” (verse 7).

She was entranced with his greatness, and it was under the influence of his royal splendour that she made her requests. It is a great day when the soul reaches this point in regard to Christ; when the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord breaks first upon the soul; when it is set free from a profitless self-occupation and from all its harassing questions, to be Christ-centred and filled with the glory of His greatness. Why, this will be our heaven in heaven!

“For ever our still wondering eyes
  Shall o’er His beauties rove
To endless ages we’ll adore
  The riches of His love!”

This is the one true condition of heart for prevailing prayer. It is when Christ and His glory controls us that we shall pray in His Name and “whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” It was charged against some, “Ye have not because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:2-3). We shall not be guilty of such folly as that, if the glory of the Lord fills our souls; for no man could seek His glory and the gratification of his own lusts at the same time. If we are near to Him we shall know the wealth of His giving and we shall ask. We shall be guided in our asking by our knowledge of Him, and we shall not ask amiss. We shall desire only that He may be magnified and we shall not desire to consume what we expect from Him upon our lusts.

“She turned and went to her own country” (verse 13).

She went to spread Solomon’s fame in her own land and to show the benefits of acquaintance with him by the great gifts he had given her. And in like manner it is the Christian’s privilege to witness for Christ in the world, and it is in connection with this witnessing that prayer is indispensable. We can understand how this dusky Ethiopian woman would say “O king, I am returning to my people, they know nothing of your greatness. Give to me that which will show to them the truth as to it, that I may show it to them.” The king could not refuse such a request as that. And will the Lord refuse our prayers if we pray in such a spirit and to such an end? Nay, He will give to us all that we desire, whatsoever we ask, and He will do more, He will do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, for this is His royal bounty. And to Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.