Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1878-01-19
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
The International Sunday School Les.
son for January 20th-Tho COven.
ant Renewed III. Chron. xv. 3-15.
BY WILLIAM NJ. TAYLOR, ID. d.
From the Christian at Work.

Il
lem, tor the purpose of renewing the COW
enant into which the tribes had original
ly entered with Jehovah. Similar servi-
ces were held at later dates, I'm the days
of Hezekiah and Nehemiah; and a feat
uie common to them all alike was that
they were preceded - 'nes of national
detection, and almoss-lt astacy. In the
the course of years the sacred books fell
into neglect and the people were (verse
- without the true God, and without a
| teaching priest and without law" But
Oh these occasions, which in modern lam
guage would be described as great s.revi-
walls of religion" the old principles un-
derlying the covenant of Sinai were
brought forth into distinctness, and the
wOrshippers were moved with the spirit
which had prompted the IsraeIites at first
to say to Moses. .'All that the lord hath
said, will We do and be obedicnt.''
1t NAV be convenient for us to consider
the following things:
1. THE OCCASION OF THIS REVIVAL.
When Asa was returning from his vic
tory over Zerah, he was met by aprophet
Aziriah, who set distinctly before him
and his troops the relation i'm which he
stood to JenOvah. In particular he traced
the triumph which they had achieved to
the fact that the Lord had been with
them, ard plainly told them that their
national prosperity depended entirely on
the preservation of their allegiance to
God. He affirmed that if they served Je-
hOvah, lie would be found of them, but
that If they forsoOk Him, he would tor
sake them. He wished. therefore. that
Asa and the people should understand
that the victory over Zerah had been
granted to them because of the religious
reformation which they hal already be.
gun, ami he sou ght TO encourage them to
20 on in the good way, saying TO them.
BE strong, therefore. and let not your
hauus be weak. tor your work shall be re-
warded." No genuine revival can be pro.
duced except in connection with the pub
fishing OF the truth, and wherever Gods
| Word is faithfully proclaimed and SIM
cerely believed, men will return unto
| Him.
III. THE CHARACTER OF THIS REVIVAL.
Asa appears. tn. Oughout, :is the leader
i'm the movement; yet We must not sup
pose that the people were not willing to
follow. They went together and SO sat-
| isfied were many. even of the tribes of
| Ephriam. Manasseh and Simeon. with
his procedure that ''they tell to him out
of Israel, when they saw that God was
with him." (verse 81 He first put away
all the abOminable idols from the land.
and out OF the cities which he, or rather
perhaps his father, hnd taken from israel
| and then he renewed the altar of the
Lord which was before the porch, and
which had either been allowed TO fall
| out of repair. desecreatrd by some of his
| predecessors. 1t Is said I'm verse Is that
| the high places were not taken away;
and some may think that there is a con.
| tradictiOn between that statement and
! the one made lii verse ), about the abOm-
| Unable idols, rs well as that i'm chap. xiv.
3. about the high places, but the true ex-
| planatiOn seems TO be that the high
places were OF two sOrts-One kind ap-
prOprlated TO the worship of false deities.
| which would be abolished with the de-
structiOD of the idols, and another sort.
| i'm which the worship was avowedly rem
dered to Jehovah. This latter might be
tolerated as al irregularity, though it
was really an evil. but not of so serious
and aggravated Il character as the other
The high places which were removed we
understand tn hive been those which
were employed in the service OF false
| 4. But even in these circumstances
gods; those which were allowed to re-
main We supposed TO Lave been such as
were used for the worship of Jehovah.
Dy persons whose zeal was not strong
enough to take them to Jerusalem at the
appointed times.
| But the most important movement of
Asa was the summOning of the people to
Jerusalem, i'm the third month of the iif-
teenth year of his reign. 1t is prob lble
the occasion was the feast of the penre
cost, and it was signalized first by a great
sacrifice in which seven hundred oxen
and seven thousand sheep were offered
unto the Lord, and second, by the oath
OF the people solemnly taken, ''fliat who
soever would not seek the Lord God OF
Israel should be put TO death, whether
small or great. whether man or woman"
They publicly committed themselves 10
the side of Jehovah, and as He was the
true king OF Judah and unfaithfulness to
Him was thus also high treason to their
rightful sovereign, they agreed that
every one who was guilty of that should
be put to death. The following principles
then seems clear:
/ 1. A covenant or oath never can make
that right which is in its own nature
wrong. This is TOO obvious to need to
be illustrated.
2. When that which we covenant to do
is already a duty, the ground of our Oh
iigation TO do do ii, is not our covenant.
but Gods command. That which makes
a thing right is not its conformity with
any oath Of ours or with any covenant
OF our fathers, but its conformity with
the law OF God. We are bound to il,
therefore Irrespective of any covenant.
3. Still, in peculiar circumstances,
when there is any danger inenacing the
Church. or the nation, or when any duty
has fallen into ncgiect, or when there is
amy special call i'll Coils providence. il
may be useful TO enter into general
covenant, tor the quickenng OF the con-
science of the community. and for the
purpose of bringing the people to more
earnest determination to do that which
/ is required.
the covenant must be an entirely spOn-
taneOus thing, and should pot be forced
4 T.