Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-12-25
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON XIII, FOURTH QUARTER, IN
TsRNATiONAL SERIES, DEC. 27.

13-Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
stearns.
LESSON Solomon Amounted King Il
Kings l. $500 Golden Text, l Kings ii,
3, keep the charge of the Lord thy God
to walk in His ways" AS it was tho
Lord plan thut Solomon and none other
of the sons of David should sit on his
throne, so it surely came to pass q Chron.
xii 81 Every purpose of the Lord shall
be performed" der. Ii, 29). 1.-THE Lord
of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as
have thought so shall it come to pass, and
as have purposed so shall it stand" lisa.
xiv, 24). Hear our God as He says, not
withstanding all the vain imaginings Of
rulers and people, Yet have l set my King
upon my holy hill of Zion" ops. ii, 81.
LESSON II-Solomon's Wise Choice Il
Kings iii, 5-15). Golden Text Ps. cxi, 10,
1.-THE fear of the Lord is the beginning Of
wisdom" 1t is interesting to note that
not only the second lesson at the beginning
of the quarter, but also the second lesson
from the end of the quarter, the one of two
weeks ago, had as its topic Wisdom. Let
1t be impressed upon us that wisdom is
the principal thing" not the wisdom Of
this world which crucifed our Lord but
our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who is
'the Wisdom of God" See James /, g.
LESSON III.-Solomon S Wealth and Wis
dom Il Kings iv, 25-34). Golden Text,
Sam ii, 80, "Them that honor me 1 will
honor, and they that despise me shall be
lightly esteemed. He asked only for wis
dom, but God gave him wealth as well as
wisdom, yet not for his own glory, but
that God might be glorified through him,
for he sat on the throne of the Lord for
the Lord his God Il Chron. xxx 23; II
Chron. tx, s. Every Christian is in the
world for God, and God will give to every
child of His all the wealth and wisdom
which He sees that we will use to His glory
that He may be made known.
LESSON IV.-The Proverbs of Solomon
prov. i, 1-19). Golden Text, Prov. i, 10,
MY son, if sinners entice thee, consent
thou not" Sinners are after something
for themselves at any cost, even the cost of
the life of a fellow being if that is the only
way to get what they want but Christ,
the Wisdom of God, sought nothing for
Himself and voluntarily laid down His life
that He might be life ana blessing to all
who receive Him.
LESSON N.-Building the Temple Il
Kings V, 1-12). Golden Text Ps. cxxvii,
/, Except the Lord build the house, they
labor in vain that build it, This temple
was, like the tabernacle, a place for God
to dwell in in the midst of His people Is
rael. David said, ut must be exceedingly
magnifcal of fame and of glory through
out all countries q Chron. xxi, 81. The
fact that every stone was made ready be-
fore it was brought to the building q
Kings vi, y is very suggestive of Gods
dealings with the believer, making each
one ready down here for his place in the
building above (Eph. ii, 21).
LESSON NL-The Temple Dedicated Il
Kings viii, 54-63). Golden Text, Hab. ii,
90, THE Lord is in His holy temple let
all the earth keep silence before Him" In
connection with prayer and sacrifice the
building when finished was given to the
Lord, and He accepted it by filling it with
His glory. The great temple, the New
Jerusalem. shall yet be seen filled with the
glory of the Lord, and all the earth shall
enjoy its glory. If any believer will by
virtue of the blood of Christ present him
self honestly to Christ, he, too, shall be
filled to the glory of God that Christ may
be magnihed.
LESSON VII.-God's Blessing Upon Sol
onion Il Kings tx, 1-9). Golden Text,
Prov. X, 90, 1.-The blessing of the Lord, it
maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow
with il" The continuance OF the mani
fest blessing of the Lord upon Solomon
depended upon his obedience. Our saliva
ton depends wholly upon the blood of
Christ, to which we can add nothing We
never can be more safe than we are by His
merits when once we truly accept Him,
but our enjoyment of Him and usefulness
to Him depend upon our obedience and the
; closeness of our walk with Him.
LESSON Withdrawals of Obedience
; prov. iii, 1-10 Golden Text, Prov. Iii,
6, "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and
He shall direct thy paths" Here again is
the Lord as our wisdom entreating us to
lean upon Him and never upon ourselves.
What He seeks for is. on our part weak
= ness and helplessneSs and emptiness, that
> He may perfect His strength in our weak
. ness and fill our emptiness with His full
ness. We can yield to Him, we can trust
Him and rely upon Him, that He may
work. This is all He asks.
LESSON IX.-The Fame of Solomon Il.
Kings X 1-1O) Golden Text, Math. xii,
AZ, Behold, greater than Solomon is
here" 1t WIS the fame of Solomon con-
corning the name of the Lord for Solomon
had nothing great or glorious except as
God gave it to him. l often wonder
what the Lord would give us of His power
and glory, even here, if He saw that we
would use it only for Hin. We think that
we are seeking only His glory, when often
!, perhaps He sees some pride of talent, or
/. knowledge, OF scholarship, or denomina-
# ton, or somewhat that binders Him from
!, working.
Il LESSON X.-Solomon' Sin q Kings xi,
i Alb. Golden Text, Cor. X, II, Let him
l. that thinketh he standeth take heed lest
!, he fall" He used the power and wealth
d which God gave him to magnify himself
a; and indulge himself and make himself
II like other kings of the earth. He did not
obey his own precepts but trusted in him
Of self and leaned upon his own understands
ing. He even set up idols, almost without
numher, &c please those whom he loved
more than God, and thus terribly dishon-
ored God and turned his back upon Him.
IT This is written to warn us to let nothing
D. come between us and God.
y, LESSON XL-Cautions Against Intem-
~ nerance lProY. xxiii. l5-2hl. Golden Text.