Bede

David had prepared by singing psalms, and the other prophets too by prophesying prepared for the Lord who was indeed the true Solomon a place that he might build a house, because they taught the hearts of their hearers by true faith, earnestly urging them to receive with faith and devotion the Son of God who was coming in the flesh.… It is appropriate that this place should be on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite because the church is customarily designated by the term “threshing floor,” as John says of the Lord: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor.” Ornan, whose name means “enlightened” and who was a Jebusite by origin, signifies the Gentiles by his origin, and by his name he indicates these same [Gentiles] who were to be enlightened by the Lord and transformed into children of the church to whom the apostle rightly says, “Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Jebus is the same city as Jerusalem. Now Jebus means “trampled on” but Jerusalem “the vision of peace.” As long as the Gentile Ornan reigned there it was called Jebus; but when David bought a place of burnt offering there, when Solomon built a temple to the Lord there, it was no longer called Jebus but Jerusalem, because, that is, as long as the Gentiles continued in ignorance of divine worship they were trampled on and made a mockery of by the unclean spirits, following mute idols according as they were led to do; but when they called to mind the grace of their Creator, they immediately found in themselves both the place and the name of peace, as the Lord says of them, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” Therefore, while Ornan still held sway in this city it was called Jebus, but when he sold the site of his threshing floor together with his oxen and threshing sledges to king David, it took the name Jerusalem because the Gentiles who still persisted in their obstinacy were trampled on as worthless and contemptible by the wicked spirits; but when they learned to sell all they had and offer it to the true king, they could no longer be trampled on by the demons and vices but were given a greater share of inner peace, which they possessed with their Creator.

If you of the brotherhood would take delight in hearing who that Abijah was from whose priestly division it is said that Zechariah derived his rank, he was the high priest during the time of King David. By the Lord’s order, Aaron was the first single high priest appointed by Moses under the law; after his death his son, Eleazar, received the gift of the high priesthood. When he too had died, his son, Phinehas, became his successor as high priest. Thus up to the time of King David, over a period of about 470 years, one after the other became heir of the high priesthood. When David, burning with great zeal for religion, wanted to fashion a temple for the Lord, the Lord willed this to be carried out by his son Solomon instead. David himself nevertheless was concerned carefully to make ready everything that pertained to the future construction and reverent ceremonies of this temple. He also arranged for singers to chant the psalms daily at the time of sacrifice, to the tune of musical instruments. This was to arouse the minds of the people in attendance to remembrance and love of heavenly matters, not only by the sublimity of the words that were sung, but also by the sweetness of the sounds by which they were sung. Desiring that, as the worship and magnificence of the temple increased, the graceful exercise of the ministry and the assembly of those ministering might also increase, David called together all the descendants of the sons of Aaron, those descending from the stock of Eleazar and those from the stock of Ithamar, and he divided them into twenty-four sections, choosing individuals from each section as high priests; the rest, who were in the sections of the lower priesthood (which is now called that of priest), he ordered to exercise their offices with this provision, namely, that when any one of the high priests departed this life, whoever was considered the best in his section should succeed him in the high priesthood.David set up these sections in such a way that the individual high priests, along with the priests who were under them, should minister for eight successive days, that is, from sabbath to sabbath. And although all in the priestly class were equal, yet one of them who seemed to be more worthy of special reverence and more outstanding and in power was to have the name of “high priest.” As to the order that was to be observed among these sections, it was determined by the casting of lots in the presence of King David and the leading persons of the priestly and Levitical families. In this distribution of lots, it is found that Abijah, from whose priestly division and generation Zechariah sprang, occupied the eighth place. It was fitting that the herald of the new covenant, in which the glory of the resurrection was declared to the world, was born in the place of the eighth lot, both because our Lord rose from the dead on the day after the sabbath, which is the eighth day following the seven days of creation, and because we are promised at the end of time an eighth age of everlasting resurrection, following the six ages of this world and a seventh of tranquility for souls, which comes in the next life.

It is to be noted, of course, that the thirty cubits of height spoken of above reached to the middle story; from there on to the third story another thirty cubits were added until the portico that was around the temple on the south and north and east reached the roof, as we learn from Josephus’s account; from there to the top of the temple roof was another sixty cubits, and so the total height of the house according to the book of Paralipomenon amounted to 120 cubits. Also the portico that was in front of the temple to the east, according to the account of the aforesaid volume, was the same number of cubits in height. That is, the porticoes around the temple of which we have just spoken, this book calls treasuries and inner chambers. David, it says, “gave his son Solomon a plan of the portico, and of the temple, and of the treasuries, and of the upper room, and of the inner chambers and of the room for the mercy seat”; here too he refers to the outer houses that were outside the courtyard of the priests surrounding the temple, when he adds, “As also of all the courts that he had in mind, and of the surrounding chambers for the treasuries of the house of the Lord and for the treasuries for dedicated objects.” The fact that the entire height of the temple was 120 cubits refers to the same mystery as when the primitive church in Jerusalem after the passion and resurrection and ascension of the Lord into heaven received the grace of the Holy Spirit in the same number of men. For fifteen, which is the sum of seven and eight, is sometimes taken to signify the life that is now lived in the sabbath rest of the souls of the faithful but will be brought to perfection at the end of the world by the resurrection of their immortal bodies. Now this fifteen arranged in a triangle, that is, numbered with all its parts, makes 120. Hence by the number 120 the great happiness of the elect in the life to come is aptly represented, and by it the third story of the Lord’s house is aptly completed because after the present hardships of the faithful and after their souls receive their rest in the life to come, the complete happiness of the whole church will be achieved in the glory of the resurrection. To this mystery likewise refers, as we have said, the fact that the Lord on rising from the dead and ascending into heaven sent to this number of men in tongues of fire the Holy Spirit, who enabled them, though differing from each other on account of the diversity of their languages, suddenly to speak in his praise in a common tongue by giving them a knowledge of all languages. For the church too in its own turn rising from the dead and ascending to heaven in incorruptible flesh will be fully and perfectly enlightened by the gift of the Holy Spirit when, according to the promise of the apostle, “God” will be “all in all.” Then there will be complete unity of languages universally for the preaching of the wonderful works of God because all join with one mind and voice in praising the glory of the divine majesty that they see before them.

That which we have seen and our hands have touched concerning the Word of life. For not only did they see the Lord with their physical eyes like the others, but they also perceived His divine power with their spiritual eyes. Especially those who saw Him transfigured on the mount, among whom was John himself. And when he says, "and our hands have touched concerning the Word of life," he refutes the madness of the Manichaeans, who deny that the Lord assumed true flesh; the apostles could not doubt the truth of this flesh, as they attested not only by seeing but also by touching; especially John himself who, accustomed to recline on His bosom at supper, touched His limbs more freely the closer he was. And even after His resurrection from the dead, their hands touched concerning the Word of life, as they understood without any doubt that He had taken on true flesh, though now incorruptible, hearing Him say: "Touch and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have" (Luke 24). It is well said, "and our hands have touched concerning the Word of life," because as they proved the truth of His resurrected flesh by touching with their hands, they more surely knew Him to be the Word of life, that is, the true God. Hence Thomas, who was specially ordered to touch Him, immediately upon touching the flesh, confessed Him to be God, saying, "My Lord and my God" (John 20).

But if we walk in the light, etc. The distinction of words is to be noted, because he says that God is in the light, but that we ought to walk in the light. For the righteous walk in the light, as they advance to better things by serving with works of virtue. But divine holiness, to which it is said: "But you are the same" (Ps. CI), is rightly remembered to be in the light, because being full goodness always existing, it does not find where it may advance. To the faithful it is said: "Walk as children of light" (Eph. V). For the fruit of light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth. But God always exists as good, just, and true without any progress. If, therefore, we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. Because it evidently gives an indication that we are advancing by walking in the path of light, if we rejoice in the bond of fraternal fellowship, with which we likewise may reach the true light. But even if we are found to do the works of light, if we seem to hold inviolable the rights of mutual love, we should not think that by our progress or industry we are able to be completely cleansed from sins. For it follows:

And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. For indeed, the sacrament of the Lord's passion both alleviated all past sins for us in baptism and forgives whatever we commit after baptism due to daily frailty, by the grace of the same our Redeemer. Especially when among the works of light that we perform, we humbly confess our errors to Him daily, when we receive the sacraments of His blood, when we pray for our debts to be forgiven as we forgive our debtors, when, mindful of His passion, we willingly endure each adverse thing. Remarkably, when speaking of the Lord, it is said: "And the blood of Jesus His Son"; indeed, the Son of God in the nature of divinity could not have blood; but since the same Son of God also became the Son of man, appropriately He calls the blood of the Son of God due to the unity of His person, to show that He truly assumed a body, truly shed His blood for us; and to refute the heretics who either deny that the true flesh was assumed by the Son of God or that the Lord Jesus truly suffered in the flesh which He assumed. Similar to this is what Paul says: "The Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20).

If we confess our sins, He is faithful, etc. Because we cannot be without sin in this life, the first hope of salvation is confession, and no one should consider themselves just or lift up their neck before the eyes of God. Then comes love, because charity covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4), which is consequently highly recommended to us with much praise in the following parts of this Epistle. Beautifully, both are suggested together, that we should both pray for our sins and obtain God's indulgence when we pray. Therefore, He is also called faithful to forgive sins, retaining the faithfulness of His promise, because He who taught us to pray for our sins and debts promised fatherly mercy and ensuing forgiveness. He also affirms Him to be just, because He justly forgives true confession. "That He may forgive us our sins," he says, "and cleanse us from all iniquity." He forgives daily and slight sins to the elect in this life, without which they cannot live on earth; He cleanses them after the dissolution of the flesh from all iniquity, bringing them into that life in which they neither wish to sin nor can. He now forgives greater temptations to those who pray, so they may not be overcome; He forgives the smallest, so they may not be injured; He then cleanses from all, so that no iniquity at all may exist among the blessed in the eternal kingdom.

But if anyone sins, we have an advocate, etc. See how John himself maintains the humility he teaches; surely he was a righteous and great man, who drank the secrets of mysteries from the Lord's breast. Yet he did not say, "You have me as an advocate with the Father," but said, "We have an advocate." He said "we have," not "you have." He preferred to place himself among the sinners to have Christ as an advocate, rather than place himself as an advocate for Christ and be found among the condemned proud ones. However, it should not be said that bishops or leaders do not intercede for the people. For the Apostle prays for the people, and the people pray for the Apostle, who says, "Praying together for us and for you, that God may open to us a door of the word" (Colossians 4). And the Church prayed for Peter when he was in chains, and it was heard, just as Peter also prayed for the Church, because all members pray for each other. The Head intercedes for all, of whom it is written: “He is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Romans 8). For the only-begotten Son interceding for man means showing himself as man to the co-eternal Father. And for him to have prayed on behalf of human nature means he took up that same nature in the height of his divinity. Therefore, the Lord intercedes for us not with voice, but with compassion, because what he did not want to condemn in the chosen ones, he preserved by taking it up. And rightly when he said we have Jesus Christ the righteous as our advocate with the Father, he added righteous; for a righteous advocate does not take on unrighteous causes: he will then defend us righteously in judgment, if we now know and accuse ourselves as unrighteous. For why should one not be righteous who already rages against his own unrighteousness through tears?