Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-11-08
HIS GRIEF FOR HIS son.
LESSON W. FOURTH QUARTER, IN
TERNATlONAL SERIES, NOV. 10.

Text of the Lesson, II Sam. xviii, 1888.
. Commit Verses 81, 33-Golden Text,
Prov. xvii, 25-Commentary by the Rev.
ID. VI. Stearns.
Compiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by per-
mission of IL S Hoffman. publisher Philadel-
phia.
David, hearing of Absaloms rebellion, took
his servants, and followed by six hundred
faithful Phlistines under Ittai the Gittite
fled from Jerusalem. Zadok and Abiathar
also with the Levites bearing the ark, went
with him, but David sent back the ark say
ing that if God delighted in him he would
bring him back to his city and throne
1ushai, the archite, David's friend was also
sent back in order that, perchanre, he might
he used of God TO defeat the counsel of
Ahithophel, who had turned traitor to David
and become Absalom's counselor. 1t turned
out as David had trusted it would; Absalom
accepted the advice of Hushai rather than
that of Ahithophel, and Hushai sent word to
David which led him and all who were with
him to cross over Jordan to the other side,
and they came to Mahanain, Levitical city
of God, where long before the angels of God
met Jacob Gen. xxxii q. Absalom and his
army also crossed the Jordan, and then fol
lows the record of the conflict, and the death
of Absalom at the hands of Joab as he hung
by his head in an oak. The verse Immediate
ly preceding the one which begins our lesson
says, "They took Absaom and cast him into
a great pit in the wood, and laid very great
heap of stones upon him." Thus persisted
beautiful Absalom.
Is. "Absaloms monument" This is the
r. V. translation instead of "Absalom's
place" Here is the record of something this
wicked, willful, hayward son had done in his
lifetime that his name might be perpetuated
Saul, the king, did the same thing after he
defeated the Amalekites Il Sam. XIV. ~,
like those whose inward thought is that their
houses shall continue for ever, and who call
their lands after their own names. (Ps xix,
H. In Absaloms life everything was for
Absalom, and his name, and his pleasure; it
might be said of him as of Belshazzar, The
God i'll whose hand thy breath is, and whose
are all thy ways, hast thou not glorifed. ~
Dan. V, 23) The life of Christian is to
deny self and please God, magniying His
name; unto such He says: II will give in
mine house, and within my walls place and
a name better than of sons and of daughters
| will give them an everlasting name that
shall not be cut off" lisa. wi, 81
10 20. Then said Ahimaaz the son of
Zadok, Let me now run and bear the king
tidings." This was the son of Zadok the
priest. and he had already endangered his
life for David when he and Jonathan, son of
Abiathar, brought word from Hushai to
David that he should flee across the Jordan
CHAP. xviii; now he is anxious to convey to
David what he thought would be glad It'd
ings for him, but Joab will not consent.
2l Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the
king what thou hast seen." We do not know
anything more about this man than is here
recorded, nor why Joab sent him instead OF
Ahimaaz unless the reason is found in the
words ''what thou hast seem" His name sig
nifies "black," and he may have been per
sonal attendant upon Joab, and seems tC
have witnessed the killing of Absalom.
%, 23. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way Of
the plain and overran Cushi." This power
full brother" for such is the significance OF
his name, was so eager to bear tidings that he
again pleaded with Joab to let him run after
Cushi, and Joab finally consented He wa
SO swift of foot that he outran Cushi and
to David first. This reminds us of that othel
disciple who outran Peter and came first t.
the sepulcher John Xxx, A..
"A. And David sat between the two gates
and the Waterman went up to the roof ove
the gate" Wenow pass from the battle fielC
with its twenty thousand slain Verse ., AM
the monument which Absalom did not built
for himself the heap of stones, to behol,
David as he receives the tidings from the mes
sengers Ahimaaz and Cushi AS the thou
sands of David's soldiers marched out of tn
city of Mahanaim he stood by the gate side
and all the people heard as he charged tn
4 l.. ia
gently with Absalom for his sake 1t may b
that he remained there until the tidings came
soanXious was he concerning his son Absalom
%, 20 "And the Waterman cried and toll
the king He sees first the one and then til
other running alone, and he reports each t
the king as he comes in sight, and now W
may fancy the anxiety of the kings trembling
heart till he hears the tidings
q, 2S "Al is we'll" This was the shou
of Ahimaaz as he drew near to the king wit
the tidings that the kings enemies were over
come. Say We to the righteous that it sha
be well with him Woe unto tn
wicked 1t shall be i'll with him." 81 kno,
that it shall be well with them that fear Goo
which fear before Him; but it shall not b
well with the wicked, neither shall he pre-
long his days which are as shadow becaus
Eccl. viii, II, l21 The time will come whe
all who make war with the Lamb shall b
overcome, for He is King of Kings and Lor
of Lords REV. xviii A.
20, 80 And the king said, Is the youn
man Absalom safer Ahimaaz had crieC
1t is well" but the king replies, as it we
with AbsalomN He seemed to have no heal
for any but this wicked son.
81 "And Cushi said Tidings, my lord I'll
king; for the Lord hath avenged thee tn
day of all them that rose up against thee
Thus from the mouth of two witnesses I'll
fact is established that the enemies of l..
king are defeated. For the ninth time
this lesson we find in this verse the wor
"tidngsn it would almost seem as if IL
Golden Text should have been a verse col
corning tidiugs, such as lisa. lxi |, or xl, o. W
should always be as ready as these runner
to bear good tidings, but we see how the he,
tidlngs may fail to affect a heart that has a
idol, and prefers its idol to the welfare
| others
81. THE enemies of my lord the king |
as that young man is" Still unaffected b
the good tidings of the defeat of the enem
the king again asks, as the young man AL
SALON. safei" and receives his reply in the.