Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-03-10
ENTERING JERUSALEM.
LESSON xl, INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY
SCHOOL SERIES MARCH, II.

en- Text, Ps. cxviii, 20-Memorize
Verses 1e-Is-Comment by Rev. VIII
liam Newton, d. ID.
lFrom Lesson Helper Quarterly, by permission
Of II. s. Hoffman, Philadelphia, puhlisher.l
housekeeping or house Of figs, near to
Bethany. Over against, opposite. Straight
way, at once; without seeking. Loose them.
or unite them. Aught, anything. That it
might, in order that. etc. Daughter of Zion,
Jerusalem. The foal, the young one. Clothes,
or outer garments. Strewed, spread or
scattered. Hosanna, Heb, save now for
merly word Of prayer, but now OF praise.
Son Of David, one of the titles of Jesus as
Messiah. Moved, aroused or excited. The
multitude, |. e., the people that came with
him, or formed the great procession. House
Of prayer, l. Q, in which prayer shall be offer
cd. Wonderful things, !. g., the great works,
miracles or signs Crying, singing or call
ing out. Sore displeased, very angry.
V. Is. The incidents Of this lesson stand
alone in its impressiveness; or rather in the
character Of its imprcssiveness. tits singu-
lar blending Of Gods foreordained purposes,
with mans perfect freedom of action by
which those purposes were to be carried out
Jesus, as the true Messiah, had come to the
people to whom he was promised All the
great works ascribed to the Messiah by their
prophets, had been wrought by him. Even
the soldiers were constrained to say, "Never
man spake as this mani" And now as ne
drew nigh to Jerusalem and knew that he
was nearing the cross at every step thither,
he also knew that his triumphal entry into
the city must then be made; even as it was
foretold. "All things were ready The ap-.
pointed time had come. The people were
thronging in great multitu les about him.
Not knowing why they did IL, the owners of
the ass had tied her before his door, and
there she stood, awaiting the messengers
Of the master, coming to claim her for his
service And so he paused at Betaphage, to
make the needed preparations. And SO he
sent forward two of his disciples to the vii
lage over against them. 1t does not seem
that he told them for what purpose the ass
and her colt were TO be brought. He did so
in the case OF the fish to be caught for the
tribute money. Matt. xvii, 27. He did SO in
the case of the two disciples sent to prepare
for the Passover, Mark xiv, 13. BUT he did
uOb W bO HI tu1S Cdo6. 1lc eG6IllS 10
have sent for the ass without telling them
why the animal was needed There was
TO be no preparation for their playing part.
No limiting to them what the prophet had
said. No telling them what they would be
expected to do. The time had come. The
occasion would be silently brought
before them, and the rest would be as
the spirit moved them to act. And in this
"a ffr,saf al I
l. The Lords knowledge Of coming events.
2. Some intimations of his power
v. A. This, manifestly, refers to the
Saviour's knowledge of what was to be DONE
and his purpose in doing it, and not at all to
the disciplesa They did what he told them
to do without, at that time, having anything
except that he told them to do it. The pur-
pose of it all lay in his own mind alone. He
knew what was written. He knew why it
was written He knew that the me was
come, and that this proof Of his Messiaship
was to be furnished against themselves by
the people to whom he came. And there
fore, all this was done.
V. 5, 6. This prophesy Is in Zach. TX, g.
Nothing could be palmer The time Of the
coming kingdom had come. Their king him.
self had come, and the shouts Of the multi
t1de, as they proclaimed his coming. rent the
air. Would they receive their kings 1t was
the crisis of Jerusalem's destiny. Who can
say that this was not real things That this
triumphal entry into Jerusalem did not mean
the setting up Of the kingdom then and there,
IL the nation had received its king.
". 10. And here commences the disciples
part with that Of the multitude. Thus far
Jesus had acted alone, and now the time for
their action had come. We can see the act
ing Of the process Every line Of the record
adds some new feature to the picture. See!
The disciples have returned with the ass and
her coltl What shall they do with theml A
sudden impulse seems to seize them. They
take their loose, flowing, outside garments
and lay fSem on the unframed colt. Rever-
emily they approach their Lord, and under
his gently constraining power ssset him
thereonr There he sits, just as the prophet
foretold-but with no word spoken by him
Zion's king with his face toward lions capi-
tai Sudden and unlocked for as the fire Of
the Lord that fell on Eliiah's sacrifice, q
strong impulse seized the great multitude, as
they took up the line OF march toward
Jerusalem. It was composed OF two sections
those that went before and those that fol-
lowed after with Jesus IN the midst The
march begins. From those nearest the per-
son of the Lord, shout, as Of triumph goes
up. Listenl Why it Is the strain of their
old prophets q portion Of the Great Hallel
or song 1T praise-an acknowledged tribute
to the Messiah Sec Ps cxviii, =, 90. The
song passes from man to man: from those Ia
the rear the gladstone strain rolls On: "Ho-
sanna to the Son Of Dayidl Blessed be he
that cOmetll il tho nnm0 OF the Lord Ho-
eauua In the hi11patfu Those that went be-