The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-06-03
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
JUNE Z.
Lesson Text: Hezekiah, The Good
King, III Chronicles. xxx, lii
Golden Text: l Sam, H., 80
Commentary.

five and twenty ears old, and he reigned pine
and twenty years in Jerusalem" Hayipg in
the lost lesson stepped back about l00 years
to consider the revival in the days Of Joash,
we now return to about the time OF the le son
OF two weeks ago, for it sss in the beginning
OF the reign OF Hezekiah that the ten tribes
were carried into captivity III Kings xviii, 10).
He was the last but one Of the good kings Of
Judah. His father, Ahsz wa' q wicked king,
and his son, Manasseh. WAS the worst OF al,
(I1viii, ~, %; xxxiii, 9, l0). But lothian,
his grandfather, did right in the sight Of the
Lord, and prepared his ways befJre the Lord
his God (I1vii, Q 81.
2. "And he did that which was right in the
sight Of the Lord, acc riding to oil that David,
his father, had DONE" Abraham a'so is spoken
Of q, father to Israel (I.aiab Ii, q, and in
Matt /, /, Jesus is called Son OF David, Son Of
Abraham. The wo.d SON in scripture often
indicates likeness or sameness Of nature, sig
nifying the closest possible resemb ance (see-
Thess. Y, S; Actsiv, S6; John viii, Az. 10
DO right in the GIT Of the Lord was one of
the commands laid upon all Israel (Deut Vi,
18), but it is only VT tten OF eight Of the kings
alter the death Of Solomon. Hez kah trusted
in the Lord God Of Israel, 60 that after him
was none like him among all tho kings OF
judah, nor any that were before him; for lie
clavs to the Lori and departed not from fol-
lowing Him.
8. ''He, in the Hrst year OF his reign, in the
first month, opened the doors Of the house Of
the Lord, and rep aired them" What grand
beginning he max. d, a1d how promptly! He
does not allow q month to pass after he be-
comes king without attending to the house Of
the Lord. Ahaz, his father, bad destroyed the
vessels, shut up the doors, aud made affairs in
every corner Of Jerusalem (Ixviii, 2D. Heze-
kiah now seeks to undo his fathers sin, ard
he loses no time about it. Right relations
with God lie at the foundation Of all es"; IL
we are right with Him all will be we'll, but il
not rikht with HIM nothing else can be right.
''Seek first the kingdom Of God aud His right
eorsness" is binding command upon all, and
at all times.
T. ''And he bro ,ght in the priests and Le-
vites, and gathered them together into the
east street." Toere was time when the head
OF each family acted as the prizes: OF the house,
holi, Offering sacriti g uuto the Lord COB |.
5; Gen. viii, 20; XII, z, 81. But since the
building OF the tabernacle at Sinai the house
Of Aaron and the tribe Of Levi we're set apart
to stand between thu people and God and to
o1er sacrifice. There had been much sin in
Israel and the first thing necessary to right
relations with God was the putting away Of
sin by stonement in Gods appointed way, and
then provision for continued clean ing. We
have now great High Priest who, once for
all, made stonement for sin by the sacrifice Of
Himself, and who, risen from the dead, and
alive for evermore, even liveth to mako in err
cession for His redeemed, now appearing in
the presence OF Col for Is (Heb. *, 2t-2s).
S. "And said unto them, hear me, ye Le-
vite:; sauctify now yourselves, and sanctifHthe
house Of the Lord God Of your fathers, and
carry forth the filthiness out of the hoy
place." Sanctfcstion inc udes separation and
holiuess. We mu be separate from all that 2
defles and the temples Of our bodies should
be fl ed with tn. Spirit. The actual temple
Of Solomon was type Of the body o; Lord
Jesus Christ John ii, 19, 2D. The church
collectively is now the temple. and the bodies
OF individual believers are also temples III
teen days to cleanse the temple on this oc-
casion Tvs. 15-17); but it takes much longer
than that to cleanse some believers from the
f.thiness Of flesh and spirit which clings 80
closely.
6. ''For our fathers I'VE trespassed, and done
evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have
forsaken him, and have turned away their
faces from the hab;tation Of the Lord, and
turned their backs" SO alas, said Jeremiah
little later in history (Jer. ii. 13, III, and so
said Mo.es ere the nation was ct forty years
old (Deut. ix, =, 24). Their history might be
called continued for.aking OF the Lord who
red. emed them. A record of oil His kindness
and OF their kindness Ut heart is summarized
in Ps. lxIviii, where we resd that notT1th-
standing all His vor derful works the ! tempted
God, spake ag,inst God, believed not in God,
and trusted not in Hi. salvation, Provoked
Him, grisved Him. and limited the Holy One
Of Israel. remembering not His hand nor hs
deliverances Tvs. 1S, 19, %, 40, Al, Az. -.
z. "Also they have shut up the doc OF the
porch, and put out the lamps, and have not
burned incense, nor offered burnt offerings in
the holy place. unto the God of Israel" They
literally did all these things. Let US consider
the application to ourselves in spiritual
sense. When seals in church have to be
bought in order to be occupied, and the poor
must take seats that no others want, or whsn
we do not put forth edoc.s 70 win people to
the hou. Of God, may We 1t bs said to shut
up the doors?
8. "Wherefore the wrath OF. the Lord was
upon judah and Jerusalem, and he hath de-
livered them to trouble. to astonIsnm ent, and
to Kissing, as ye see with your eyes," In Lsv.
xvi and Deut xvii it was clearly foretold
that the wrath Of the Lord woull thus come
upon them, if they were disobedient and
Moses added, 81 call Hesveni.and earth this
day sg ,inst you, that I have set before you
life aud death. blessing and cursinS; therefore
choose fe that both thou aud thy seed may
and whole hearted reliance upon Him. BE
said to Abram: Il am God Almighty. Walk
tho1 before me and be thou perfect upright
or sincerc).
"ro serve Him, and that ye should minister
unto Him" While serving people aud minis
t,riug unto them, in a sense, yet We are as
priests of God ministerin, unit Him, for
whatever ia done unto the least VI His, ne
counts as done to HiM,.lf (Matt. XIV, 40).
s:And burn incense" Incenss beins
symbol of prayer, we are reminded OF such
words as these, "Fray without csasing;"
"pray1ng always with all prayer and suppllca.
cation 10 the spirit, and watching thsreunto;'
sin everything, b. prayer AMI suPpicatlop.
with Thanksgiving, let your requests be MADE
known unto God" Ct Thess. Y, II; Eph. VI, LII
Phil. iv, G.-[Lesson Helper.
live Deut XXX, 19). As God by His servant
forctold so 1t came to pass. Italwiys was aud
always will be just as God says.
9. "For, 10, our fathers have fallen by the
sword; and our sons and our daughters and
our wives are in captivity for this" One hun,
dred and twenty thousand fell in one day, and
90, 900 women, sons and daughters were car
red captive because they h,d rorsaken the
Lord God Of their fathers (ch Up. xviii, 6, 81
This also had been plainly foretod (Deut.
xviii, 25. 32). and so it came to pass. Think
for q moment at t more than 100 QUO who In
heathendom are dying every day, without
know ledge Of God. esides all in Christendom
who have heard Of Him, but do not believe in
Him. There is no remedy but the return Of
Christ. and yet how few, even Of those who
bear His name, ever ask Him to return, or do
aught to hasten it.
10. ssNow it is n mine heart to make cove
nant with the Lord God Of Israel, that his
free wrath may turn away from u.s." So did
Asa, and at later period Nehemiah (chsp.
". l2; Neh. (, 29), and each obtained bless
ing from the Lord. See the encouragement
to act thus in II Chron. vii, IA. David found
comfort in the uIchanyeal leness and fullne,s
of Gods covenant with him. and Gods faith
fulness should ever be our resting place.
IL. "My Sons, be not now negligent"
Cursed be he that doeth the work Of the Lord