Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1898-11-09
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON WI, FOURTH QUARTER, IN
TERNATlONAL SERIES, NOV. IS.

by the Rev. ID. M. Stearns.
copyright. 1898. by d. M. Stearns.l
30. "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,
That which thou hast prayed to me against
SenDacherib, king Of Assyria, I have
heard" In the fourteenth year of Heze-
kiah the king Of Assyria came against
Judah and greatly blasphemed the Lord
both by word and by letter. Hezekiah,
when he had read the letter, spread 1t be-
fore the Lord and prayed oversees 14-19).
Many times have followed Hezekiah q
plan and always found rest. If we ask
anything according to His will He hear
that we tell Him everything and have
careful anxiety about nothing. See in
verse 10 that the great desire of the king
In asking for the overthrow Of Sennacherib
was that all the earth might know that
the God Of Israel was the only true God
81. "This Is the word that the Lord
hath spoken concerning him. The virgin,
the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee
and laughed thee to scorn.' The people
of God in Judah, called the daughter of
Zion, the daughter of Jerusalem compare
Lam. ii, 1S), having God as their defender
and avenger, need fear no enemy. In such
strength Moses and Joshua lived; Gideon
also, and David when he went fearlessly
against Goliath. When we seek only the
honor and glory Of God, He will not fall us.
%. "Whom hast thou reproached and
blasphemed, the Holy One Of Israeli"
As in the next verse, "By thy messengers
than hast reproached the Lord" They
spake against the God of Jerusalem as
against the gods Of the people of the earth,
the works of the hands Of man, and for
this cause Hezekiah, the king, and the
prophet Isaiah, the son of Amor, prayed
and cried to heaven (II Chron. xxxii, 10,
22). God heard their prayer, and now we
will see how He answered 1t.
90. II will turn thee back by the way
which thou earnest" This Is a part Of the
word Of the lord concerning Sennacherib.
See also verse %, ~ know thy abode and
thy going out and thy coming in and thy
rage against me-" He who created all
things can set bounds that none can pass.
We can only 60 here and there or do this
or that II the Lord will (Jas. Nv, 15). Man
does not stop to consider that all his words
and even his thoughts are known to the
Lord FPS. oxxxix, Ia, and that 1t Is i'm.
possible to hide anything from Him. Even
Adam, blinded by satan, thought he could
hide from God among the trees (Gen. iii,
81. Happy are those who live as in the
sight of the Lord.
30. "And this shall be sign unto thee"
BY comparing this verse with Lev. XIV,
81, %, the sign seems to have been the
special blessing Of God upon the Sabbath
year, or, in other words, the blessing of
God on His obedient people. What but the
hand Of God could cause land to produce
three years crop in one year? In the
r. V. margin of Prov. x, 22, we read that
the blessing Of the Lord maketh rich and
toll addeth nothing thereto.
30. "The remnant that is escaped of the
house of Judah shall yet again take root
downward and bear fruit upward" The
doctrine that 1t is ever the few out of the
many who are really the Lords and who
glorify Him is found in all Scripture. The
stories of Noah, of Lot in Sodom, of Elijah
and such statements as Sew there be
that find II" "An afflicted and poor peo-
pie who shall trust In the Lord, indicate
that which God sees to be ever true. See
Math. vii, IA; Zeph. iii, 10.
81. "Out Of Jerusalem shall 90 forth
remnant; the zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall
do this. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall
also bring the kingdom Of peace on earth
which shall have no end lisa. TX, y. All
shall be accomplished in and through tho
Son of David, our Lord jesus Christ, Of
whom it Is written, "The zeal Of thine
house hath eaten me up" (Ps Xix, o; John
II, ~. 1t is nothing with the Lord to
work with many or with few; nothing is
too hard for Him III Chron. xiv, II; Jer.
xxi, 10.
82. Therefore thus saith the Lord con-
corning the king of Assyria." Our Lord
doeth according to His will in the army of
heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth (Dan. iv, 35). His thoughts and
purposes are as good as accomplished lisa.
xiv, "a; Jer. II, 29).
8S. "By the way that he came, by the
same shall he return and shall not come
into this city, saith the Lord This was
the decision of Him who had all the hosts
of heaven under His control and all power
to carry out His purposes He could say,
Hitherto shalt thou come, but no farther"
dob. xxxviii, III. Even the great ad-
versary must stop when God shall say SO,
and he shall go to the pit for thousand
years, and to the lake Of fire forever.
"a. "For I will defend this city to save
1t for mine own sake and for my servant
David's sake" See also chapter Xxx, 6,
and compare lisa. XXI, g.; Zech. xii, 8.
The 81 Wills" of Jehovah are q study of
greatest possible benefit. They often CO.
cur in sevens and in connection with the
statement 81 am Jehovah" See Elk. vi,
6-8; Gen. xvii, IS; Ps. xoi, 14-18. Be-
cause He Is what He is He will do what He
says, not for Israel's sake, but for His own
sake. See Eek. xxxvi, 90; Ps. owl, 8.
We must not look for worthiness or merit
in ourselves, but in Him who alone is
worthy FPS. CIV, /; Rev. v, 4, 81. Take
all the comfort you can find in such pas
sages as lisa. kill, IS; John IL, 12.
35. "And 1t came to pass that night
that the angel Of the Lord went out and
smote in the camp of the Assyrians an
hundred fourscore and five thousand"
The work Of this angel is also mentioned
In lisa. xxxvii, SO, and in III Chron. xxi,
81. When the devil Is to be bound and
cast into the bottomless pit, 1t is written
that one angel will do 1t (Rev. Xxx, 1-3).
Consider In each of these cases the power
of an angel and then think Of the millions
upon millions of them mighty In strength,
doing His commandments, hearkening
unto the voice of His word REV. v, II /;
Ps. Gill; 20). Think of tho angels disre-
gard Of and power over soldiers and fast
barred gates in the story of Peters release
In Acts xii. Think of the one who carried
good tidings to Paul In the storm at sea
(Acts xviii, remember that they arc all
ministering spirits sent forth to minister