Connecticut western news., 1876-02-25
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS.
By the Past0r of n Sunday School.

FOR FEBRUARY 9TH. 1876.
 THE ARK BROUGHT TO ZION.-I]
 E'-- SAM. VI, 1-15.
 GOLDEN TExr.-The Lord haeh chosen Zion: He hath desired 1t for hls habita- tlon. Ps. cxxxii, 1S.s -...E.....
 DATE-104e B. c.
 NTRoDUCToRY.-Tbe events related ir this lesson are somewhat more fully stated Tn Chron. 18th and 18th chapters Frou the account there given it would seem that the battles which formed the subject o1 the last lesson took place during the three months the ark rested at the house ot Obed Edom. Whether thus is so or not makes nc difference. All these events took place at che beginning of David's relgn as king of all the tribes. gFEa E.s .g.-- srt. gLEssoN.-i1l David gathered together the chosen men, the leaders and 1nfiuen- tial men of the nation. 3000O of them. He consulted these men q Chron. xiii, 1-2) as to the acton he was about to take, and they were of one mind in advising 1t. Strange to say, this king, who had not gone into battle without asklnQ tho directlon of God. now, ln dealing with the work of God, does not seem to have thought of
 [2l With this large company David went to 'Baaie or Judah, which was the old Capaanitish name of Kirjath- -learim, !, !wh,ch a % means ms city of forestsl to bring the City of David. As to the structure of the ark see Ex: XIV. 10; its contents. Ex. XIV, M, xl, 20, Ex. xvi, S2, Mum. xvii, 10, Heb. K, 4 Its use, Ex. XIV. 22, xxx. 6. The Is raelites treated the ark arlght tor a uum- Der ot years: Then they made 8 sort of idol of it, and trusted it rather than God i; so God allowed it to be taken from them q Sam. iv, S-11. In Sam, chapters and 6. you will find the account of it's stay among the Philistines and It's restorati And see Sam. vii. 1-2. ..
 
 gong up from Baale to Jerusalem. And here we do not see the superstition that had carried the ark into the battle field. On the contrary we see it treated with ir- reverence, and the commands of God dis regarded. A proc ssion is made. the king himself heads it, playing upon hls harp. But God committed the care ot the ark to the Levites. David committed it to common men. God had directed how it should be borne; the Philistines had sent 1t forth m the way they carried their idols; David fol- lows the teachings of the Pnllistlnes rath- or than the teachings of God.
 l611l And now we see the result of this prayerless effort to do good thing. It was it in wrong way. The king set tue ex- ample of prayerless irreverence All the arrangements were made without consult ing God, and many of them in plain disre- gard of Gods expressed commands. No king, and dld thatw hlch God had most posi-. lively forbidden even the Levites to do. See Mum. iv, 15. And then David, who was chiefly at fault, when Ged had pun ished tl, the saSr'iege e l of Uzzah: was angry. was afraid. The ark was carried into the house of Obed. Edom, near which Uzzah was smitten. and the procession broke up and David went home. '..3.
 of great Hse to us. Among them are these: We may do even right thing m a wrong way. Whenever we try to do anything that ought to be we'll done (any thing that IS worth doing is worth dolng well,l let us are we doing it prayerfullyf David con suited other men. but he did not go to God. We often ask other people what they think, but forget to ask God. Second, have we tried to find out what God has said the Bbe He had I 'S told 0f DatsIS ali s6ont how the ark ought to be carried, and how 1t should be treated, but David forgot to think about that. We often forget that God has taught us what is in the Bible. Like David we forget to apply what we know. ...- .'sa
 [12l David was told that God had blessed the household Of Obed-Edom. We do not know just what God did for them. God always blesses those who take good care of what he loves.
 [1s.15l So David finished what be had started 10 do three months before. Iu the meantime he had prayed and studied his | Bible. What kind of Bible did Davld | nave 2 He had prepared place for the | ark q Chroh. xv, I. He had found out | who ought to carry the ark Il Chron. | Zv. 3, 8. 4. Il 15, 25-ss) The sacrificing was | ln expression of thanksgiving and prayer. | The dancing of King David was an act of | ellglous worship. It was approuriate to he times and the people. God does not | eem to have been dlspleased at 1t. Some people worship God " hlls dancing even in hese days. bat God has nowhere told US o.