Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-03-10
PROMISE OF RENEW ALL
LESSON XII, FIRST QUARTER, INTER.
NATIONAL sGRlES, MARCH 10.

Memory Verses, 25-27-Golden Text,
Eek. xxxvi, 26-Commentary by the
Rev. ID. NJ. Stearns.
25. "Then will / sprinkle clean water
upon You. and We shall be clean; from all
your flthiness, and from all your idols,
will cleanse you" Six lessons in Isaiah,
four in Jeremiah and one in Ezekiel give
us but the merest glance at the 1C6 chap
ters Of those three books, and yet the
teaching Of these lessons is in perfect &C
cord with all prophecy. The words of this
verse refer primarily to the yet future
cleansing Of the nation of Israel Oversees
22-24 Jer. xxx:i, I, 81, and yet may apply
in sense to every true believer.
%. "a new heart also will | give you,
and new spirit will l put within you"
The seat of all our difficulties being within
us, there must he change there before
anything can he right.
u. And will put my Spirit within you,
and cause you to walk in my statutes"
The same spirit who spake and wrought
in Christ, and in prophets and apostles,
God will give to Israel, and gives now to
every believer. Our part is to welcome
Him, and surrender to Him our whole
being and He will do the rest. John xiv,
l6, II, 26; XIV, %; xvi 49,
IS. "And We shall dwell in the land that
gave to your fathers; and We shall be my
people and will be your God" There is
no way of applying the first part of this
verse to the church or to believers now; it
is peculiarly and only for Israel in the
! future. The church has no special land,
her inheritance is heavenly, the New Jeru-
| salem, from which she shall reign with
| Christ over the whole earth. The last part
of the verse may he spiritually applied to
the church. See ii Cor. VII 1918.
| 30. Il will also save you from all your
uncleannesses; and lay no famine upon
| you" No good thing will He withhold
from them that walk uprightly (Ps. lxxxiv,
| 1D, and while Jesus, by His great work of
atonement saves from the wrath to come
He also saves by His present power and by
His word and Spirit in us, from daily sins
| (Math. i, 2l; Rom. V, 10; Jude XIV, II. w.
80 And will multiply the fruit of the
| tree, that We shall receive no more re-
proach among the heat hen" Peculiarly
for Israel, and yet when a believer is seen
longing for and enjoying the things of this
world hat are not of God Il John ii, 15-17),
then it is rs if he said, Jesus cannot sat
| isly me; must have the world too" and
thus the manifest famine in such soul is
a reproach to God.
81. "Then shall ye remember, and shall
loaihe yourselves in your own sight for
your iniquties." The Lord will pour upon
them the spirit of grace and of supplica-
tons, and there shall be true repentance
when they see their long rejected King
| Czech, xii, l0) The sight of the King in
His glory always causes lOathing of self
(Isa vi, s; job xiii, 5, q; Dan. y, s.. Pride
or self esteem is a proof that we have not
seen Jesus.
80. Not for your sakes do this, saith
the Lord God, be it known unto you"
Israel was not in the first place chosen for
any good that was in them, but all was
done for them because of Gods promises
to Abram and to David Deut tx, 5, 8, p;
! King ri, 81, 81; Mic. vii, 20). Jesus OF
Nazareth is son Of David, son of Abram,
the promised seed (Math. i, /; Gal. iii, l6),
and all who are in Him have all things
made sure to them for His sake (Gal. iii, 20).
80. "Thus saith the Lord God, | will also
cause you TO dwell in the cities and the
wastes shall be builded." Compare Zech
viii, :, 8. Cleansing first and then restora-
tiou-this is always the order. If you have
lost fellowship with God through sin, the
sin must be confessed and forgiven before
the communion can be restored.
81. "Aud the desoate land shall be titled
whereas it lay desolate IN the sight of all
that passed by" Its desolatencss was q
reproach to God, and a constant advertise
ment Of lsrae's sin. We, as believers
gloriiy God only when we bear much
fruit (John XIV, s.. If our lives are selfish
and self indulgent we are then like Israel
in her rebellion and sinfulness. (lios. " /
Q; XII,
80. "And they shall say, This land that
was desolato is become like the garden oil
Eden" That will cause people to pr,ist
the God OF Israel, and thus other nations
will be drawn to God, even rs the queen Of
Sheba was drawn to Jerusalem by the
fame Of SOLOMON.
SO. Then the heather that are left
round about you shall know that /, the
! Lord, build the ruined places, |, the Lord
have spoken it, and / Will do it" Multi
tudes out of the nations shall perish in hC
judgments preceding Isracl's national con
version or in connection Herewith, but
some shall be left and these shall 50 up K
Jerusalem from year to year to worship
the King, the Lord Of Hosts (ZeCh. xiv, l6)
The hand of the Lord shall be SO manifest
that all shall see it.
81 Thus saith the Lord God, ! will yet
for this be inquired Of by the house Of
Israel to do it for them" lIo will prepare
their hearts TO pray for the blessing He i:
about to give, This Is His way, While II,
is ever ready TO give every good thing He
will have US feel our need and ask Him
When we are specially led therefore to pray
for any thing or for any one, we may safely
conclude that the spirit is leading us To ash
for that which He is ready to give us.
50. las the flock of Jerusalem in hel
solemn fcasts. so shall the waste cities bO
filled with hocks of men, and they shall
know that am the Lord" Or, according
to Iech. i, Il, "My cities through prosperity
shall yet be spread abroad and the Lore
shall yet comfort Zion, and snail yet choos,
Jerusalem" And Zech. ii, 4, Jerusalem
shall be inhabited as towns without walls
for the multitude of men and cattle there
J in" These days are already dawning, ant
! the full accomplishment must be near
Oh, believer, make full surrender to an,
have perfect trust in the Lord, thai