The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-11

Save for my daily range
 Among the pleasant fields of Holy Writ. I might despair. --Tennyson. Fearth Quarter, Lesson VII, Esra viii 91-3z--November l2, 1905.
 Exra's Journey to Jerusalem. Ezra was a savior of Judaism. It was crisis in the national life. Seventy years had passed since the return from the captivity. Zerubbabel, the prince of Judah, had left the little colony In Jerusalem, and gone back to Baby Ion, his birthplace, to end his days. The defenses of Jerusalem were still un- finished. There was a sort of creep
 ing paralysis of indifference In Church and State. There was no enthusiasm. no sturdy faith. There was a widen ing gap between nobles and rustics. Paganism was making subtle inroads. The days of the Hebrew State and re- lIfRion were numbered. Then appeared the s.second Noses" The nobility of Ezra's personal character and his worth to his nation can hardly be overesti- mated. He put an imprint upon his ohurch which it bears to this day. And as Christianity is evolved from Judaism, Christianity itself may be said to bear to some extent the marks of the "good scribe" Ezra would furnish material for shin ing and patriotic lyric. He was such stun as reformers are made of. lie had prepared his heart to seek the LMw of the Lord and to do 1t and to teach is Israel statutes and judgments. Ho was a man who could bring things 10 pa ssin spite of most unfavorable condi- tiors. So that a heather monarch put n carte blanche order into his hands for such supplies and money as might be necessary to the success of his enter prise.
 shine out in the very inception of his delicate and dangerous enterprise. Ills hath grows brighter as he crosses q thousand miles of bedouin-fnfested desert. It reaches it's full splendor as he enters the Holy City and discharges his duty with unswerving and noble patriotism. Ezra's discretion IS shown l in his three days pause at the river l Ahaya, and his careful inspection of his company, and his re-enforcing 1t with representativees of the priesthood. before starting on the march. His de- clininR the armed cavalcade supplied | by the king to guard the caravan was a triumph of faith and prayer. The dangers were real and great. The
 | fact that the company was treasure
 laden was matter of common report.
 and there were robber bands in the
 way. But the journey was essentially | a religious one. Ezra believed that the | educational power of the movement
 would be discounted if he leaned upon
 | the arm in flesh. He had an assurance
 of safety before he started. How mod.
 est the record: "So we lasted and be.
 sought our God for this and He wal
 l entreated of us."
 The conditions which Ezra found or l entering Jerusalem were deplorable ir | the last degree. All civic pride and
 national hope were gone. The, people
 were utterly dispirited. All radiant
 | prophecies were unfulflied. The city | was defenseless: no gates, no walls
 Predatory bands made incursions al | will. They left their dead and wound cd in the streets. and carried away | captives. to be sold into slavery. Un- der these conditions faith falteredl religious services were omitted, and as | usual mutual suspicion and interne- cine strife had begun.
 Ezra's was Gods man for the hour. then striking in Jewish history