The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1899-09-01
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON x, THIRD QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, SEPT. 8.

Text, Cor. III, IL " Commentary
Prepared by the Rev. ID. M. stenrns.
Copyright 1893. by D. M. stearnsl
TO- "And when the builders laid the
foundation of the temple Of the Lord they
set the priests in their apparel with trum-
pets and the Levites, the sons of Asaph,
with cymbals to praise the Lord, after the
ordinance of David, king Of Israel That
God should dwell in the midst of Israel
was His purpose from the first, and SO He
said to Moses concerning the tabernacle,
Let them make me sanctuary that may
dwell among them" Eek XIV, 81, and when
the tabernacle was finished He filed it
with His glory, as He did also the temple
(Ex. xl, 8S, "a; I Kings viii, 10, ~ He
Would fill the church with His glory now
II she was wholly given up TO Him, and SO
He would every individual believer, and He
would be glorified in us if we were willing
IL. And all the people shouted with
great shout when they praised the Lord
because the foundation of the house of the
Lord was laid. " In each of the 26 verses
of the one hundred and thirty sixth psalm
the refrain is, For His mercy endureth
forever, and the first verse is, Oh, give
thanks unto the Lord, for He is good. "
1t is probable that this was one of the
songs they sang. We would do well to
make at least the first verse our daily song
God is good and God is love in all that He
does. Righteous also is He In all His
ways, and it becometh us ever to praise
Him. The foundation Of the house of the
Lord makes us think of the silver sockets
on which the boards Of the tabernacle
stood, the silver being the ransom money
which the numbered ones paid as an atone
ment for their souls Eek. xxx, 10, 10;
xxxviii, -25-27).
IL. "But many of the priests and Levites
and chief of the fathers who were ancient
men that had seen the first house, when
the foundation of this house was laid be-
fore their eyes, wept with q loud voice,
and many shouted aloud for joy In
Hag. ii, 8, it is said that this seemed as
nothing in comparison with the first
house. The old people, looking back and
thinking of the past glory, wept as they
remembered that which had been, while
the younger people probably rejoiced in
anticipation of a temple for the glory Of
God. Ezekiel had said that God would do
better unto them than at their beginnings
Geek. xxxvi, ~, and it may have been
faith in God that led to the shouting aloud
for joy.
IS. $50 that the people could not dis
Germ the noise of the shout of joy from the
noise of the weeping of the people, for the
people shouted with loud shout, and the
noise was heard afar off " There was
much noise, and it was heard at a great
distance, but it was very confused. Mis-
sionaries have gone into all lands, but
there is often confused testimony just as
it is in what we call the home lands.
There is a great need of a clear joyful tes-
timony that Christ died for our sins; that
He is risen from the dead and alive forever
more, ready to receive all who will come
to Him, and that He is coming again to
reign in righteousness and subdue all
things unto Himself
l. "Now when the adversaries of Ju-
dab and Benjamin heard that the children
of the captivity builded the temple unto the
Lord God of Israel The great adversary,
the devil is ever going about as roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour Il Pet.
v, 81, and he has had long practice, for he
has been at it ever since he began In Eden
to tempt Eve, but our Lord Jesus has
taught us that he may be overcome by
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God. In Rev. xii, IL, we read of some
who overcame by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony and
who loved not their lives unto the death.
2. "Then they came to Zerubbabel and
to the chief of the fathers and said unto
them, Let us build with you, for we seek
your God as ye do, and we do sacrifice
unto Him since the days of Esar-haddon,
king of Assur, which brought us up hith-
err This king is mentioned by name in
II Kings xix, 81, and the people are men
H. 10 +Lof,
worship, it is said that they feared not the
Lord, but while they had kind of fear
they still worshiped their own gods I'll
Kings xvii, s3, "a, 41). They talked fair
", and their request sounded well, but
their hearts were not right with God.
They were the adversaries of God and of
His people Cain worshiped God in his
own way, but he was really an adversary
of God and of his brother, who worshiped
God in truth.
g. eye have nothing to do with us to
build house unto our God, but we our
selves together will build unto the Lord
God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of
Persia, hath commanded us" Although
this seemed unkind, it was not SO, but was
on the part of Zerubbabel and Joshua real
faithfulness to God. A great difficulty
and disgrace and dishonor to God in the
church today is her conformity to the
world and the way in which she seeks the
favor of the enemies of God in what she
calls the Lords work. Because she is in
partnership with Sodom she cannot know
the blessing of the Most High God, pos
SCISSOR of heaven and earth.
4. "Then the people Of the land weak
ened the hands of the people of Judah and
troubled them in building" People can