Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-12-31
THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST
LESSON !, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. 3, 1892.

Stearns.
1. "And there shall come forth a rod out
ST the stem of jesse and Branch shall
ROW out of his roots" The prophets were
The messengers of Jehovah to the people to
turn them back to God that they might
serve Him in sincerity. and manifest the
only living and true God to other nations
They showed Israel her sins, warned them
of coming Judgment if impenitent, re-
minded them of Gods love to them, and
always pointed forward to restoration
and glorious kingdom. The Rod or Shoot
and Branch of Jesse is the same that was
promised to David in III Sam. vii, 12, 49,
He is the Son mentioned in Isa. vii, IA; tx,
g., See also Math. j, /; Rev. V, 3.
2. "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest
upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and under
standing, the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of
the Lord" Here is the fullness of the D-
vine power. See Col. i, IS; ii, 9; John ill,
81. He is the wisdom of God and the
power of God q Cor. i, "a. In these seven
statements concerning the Spirit in this
verse we see the righteousness of Jehovah,
the power to discern the nature of things,
and the difference Of things (wisdom and
understanding, the power to form right
Counsel and might, a thorough acquaiut-
ance with God and sincere alteration of
Him knowledge and fcar). All fully found
in the coming King.
3. And shall make Him of quick under
standing in the fear of the Lord; and He
shall not judge after the sight of His eyes,
neither reprove after the hearing of His
ears" The r. " says, His delight shall
be in the fear OF TIE Lord" o.. according
to Delitsch, THE fear of Jehovah is fra
GRANGE to Hin" In Fps. Xl, 8, John viii, 20,
the light shines upon The first clause. And
in John vii, "a, He himself seems to refer
TO the last part of the verse, when He tells
them to Judge not according 10 the APP
rearance." What a glorious administra-
tion Of eecth's affairs there will be when
such king shall sit on David's throne and
be king over ell the earth. See Zech. xiv,
| 9; Jer. iii, IL.
I. But with righteousness shall He
judge the poor and reprcye with equity for
the meek Of the earth; and He shall smite
the earth with the rod of Fills mouth, and
with the breath Of His lips shall He Stay
the wicked lie will DE incorruptibly
righteous to all; the unfortunate and heart
broken will find in Him true friend. On
the first half of this verse read Ps. lxxii,
Pa. The last half of the verse makes it
very clear that this Kingdom of righteous
ness on earth will not be till after the
second coming Of Christ, for it is only then
that He will smite the nations and destroy
the Antichrst. See Ps. ii, s, o; II Thess. ii.
s, in connection with Rev. ii, &c, 81; XIX,
lilo,
g. "And righteousness shall he the girdle
Of His loins and fathfulness the girdle of
His reins." All His doings shall be- bound
up in Righteousness and fathfulness, and
the fruit thereof shall be peace, quietuess
and assurance forever 0sa. XxXii, 1918.
When God shall make His frstborn higher
than the kings of the earth, then shall
mercy be built up forever and faithfulness
be established (Ps. lXXXix, ., 21). 1t is the
privilege Of every true believer to antedate
the kingdom by enjoying this peace even
now.
6. "The wolf also shall dwell with the
lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with
the kid; and the calf, and the young lion,
and the failing together; and little child
shall lead them" There il no need to
spritualize this and the next two verses,
as so many do. The simple statement is
that the animals here mentioned which
now deyour each other, shall in the days OF
the kingdom live in perfect peace together,
as 40 doubt they did before sin entered this
world. See lisa. Ky, Il, 25; Rom. viii, 2l
IS And tie COW and the bear shall
! feed; their young ones shall lie down to-
! pether; and the lion shall eat straw Ike
the on; and the sucking child shall play
/ on the hole Of the asp and the Weaned child
! shall put his hand on the cockatrice dem"
/ Fierce and bloodthirsty conflicts now rags
among all creatures rational and irrational,
but the peace of Paradise snail be restored;
and this prophecy shall he realized on this
earth, for, although we are taught TO eX-
| poet great burning and shaking, never
| theless we look for d new heaven and earth
wherein dwelleth Righteousness Heb. xii,
81, 2S; II Pet iii, l3). Then shall man have
the dominion first given him in Eden, and
| promised to be restored to him Gen. /, IS;
Dan. vii, 20.
| 9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all
my holy mountain; for the earth ANAL DO
! full of the knowledge of the Lord as the
| waters cover the sea" Jerusalem shall be
city of truth and holiness; Israel, as a
| people, shall be all righteous, and Palestine
! shall be the happy and honored center OF
| the whole earth Czech. viii 8; lisa. TX, Fl;
| xvii g.. In those days, as completely as
| the waters cover the sea- leaving not
| crevice untitled, so shall the glory of tho
Lord fill the whole earth (Num. xiv, 81;
| Hab. ii, IA Ps. Xxi, 1920. Then shall
Gou VIII be done on eaftu aS III heaven,
and the kingdom come.
10. and in that day there shall be a
root OF Jesse which shall stand for an en-
| sign Of the people; to it shall the Gentiles
seek; and His rest shall be glorious" The
expression, that day" wherever found in
Scripture, has its own peculiar sgnihcance
| See 1t seven times Ia chapters TO xii. The
coming King is not only a branch from
| Jesse, but also the root OF Jesse; the root
and offspring of David (Rev. xxi, 16)
| David's son and Dayid's Lord; the Cod
man, truly God and truly man. He is the
son of Mary, son of David, son of Abra-
ham, son of God to sit on David's throne
draw all nations unto Him, and give them
the rest of His glory (Math. i, |; Luke i,
32-35; Isa ii, 10. If we are now redeemed
| by His blood, and overcoming by the same,
we shall reign with Him in His kingdom
| (Rev. xii, II; v, 9. 10; iii, 2D. That all Ia,
| tons shall seek unto Him, and to Israel
because of Him, is evident from many
testimonies of the Spirit through the
prophets. "Arise, shine, for thy light is