The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-07-04
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR JULY q.


\ snbjects Hezeklah's Prayer, Isa xxxyi18.s
I-8-Golden Text, Pisa. XVII, 1--Mera-
DRY Verses. 4-6--C Commentary on the
Days Lesson.
l. Isaiah warns Hezekiah OF ap4
proacbing death III. II. I'm those
days. This may only mean iii the
days Of Hezekiah. That this was in
1 the fourteenth year OF his reign is eyi-
| dent when we consider that fifteen
years were added to his life (v. s., and
| yet be only reigned twenty mine years
\ u Kings is: D. 1t must have been be-
fore the invasion by Sennacherib FROM
the fact that God promised to deliver
them out of the hand OF the King OF
Assyria and to defend Jerusalem.
"Sick unto DEATH Sick Of Il malady
which. i'll the natural course Of things,
would have proved fatal From
Kings 20: z we learn that the disease
was probably a carbuncle God sends
Illness upon the good not in punish
ment for sins past, but as trial OF
their faith and patience from. 3: Sl-
Isaiah. Isaiah's character stands
before us as one Of almost superhumaR
elevation Came unto him. There is
no species Of cruelty greater than to
suffer friend to lie on Il dying hed
IDENTIFY no danger to be apprehended
from communicating to the sick their
true condition. 1t should be done ten
derby and with affection, but 1t should
be done faithfully Set thine house in
order" Arrange your affairs SO that
they will 60 on without you; referring
to his family, his plans, his successor
and his kingdom. Thou shalt die.
Death was the natural result Of his
sickness.
II. Hezekiah prays in great distress
Tvs. 2, 81.
2. Face toward the wall He
turned away from those who werG
present so that he might pray more
freely and collectediy. 5. Remember
now" The old covenant promised tenn
poral prosperity, including length OF
days, to the righteous. Walked q
Life is journey; GODS people walk
with Him tGen. 5: p: Kings 8: q.
"a perfect heart" Literally. with a
whole heart" one absolutely devoted
! to Jehovah. The king pleads his up
Brightness and holy conduct before God.
He could not have done this, in the
face of death, had he not felt in his
heart the truthfulness OF his state
ments. His influence had been wholly
on the side Of true religion; he had not
forsaken the ways of the Lord. "Wept
sore" Literally, with a great Weep
ing" The great sorrow of Hezekiah
at the approach of death was only nat
ural. The desire to live ones full term
of years is right Hezekiah felt that
/ his work was unfinished.
III. Gods promises to Hezekiah Tvs
4-6). 4 Then came" etc. God spak6
to Isaiah Immediately q Kings 20:4).
). God of David thy father" Cod
remembers the covenant with the faith
er to the children (Exod 20-5). Heard
thy prayer God still hears prayer.
1t is His viii that we pray Matt. Z: q
IL; John 10: y. Why then are there so
many unanswered petitions? Because
there Is so much aimless praying
| DANES 4 81. "Seen thy tears Affec-
tionate prayers are especially pleasing
to God Cold, lifeless prayers are not
answered David refers to his tears
(Psa. So; 8 as though God bottled them
and kept an exact account Of them I'M
His book" add unto thy days" In
Kings the promise is, II will heal thees
on the third day thou shalt go up unto
the house of the Lord" The Lord still
heals people, sometimes by directing
the sufferer to the proper remedy and
sometimes without the use of a rem
| edy In this case (see 2 Kings 20: d
the Lord told Hezekiah to make poui
tice of figs and put it ON the poll. or
| carbuncle. Fifteen years." Hezekiah
is the only man who was ever informed
Of the term of his life. God in mercy
has hidden the time Of our death irons
our eyes. We should be always ready
and should work as though each day
was our last. g. Twin deliver. The
Assyrians We're a powerful enemy and
were constantly to be feared.
~. The sign given Hezekiah Tvs. Z,
81. Z. "a sign" Hezekiah asked for
a sign q Kings 20; 81. Asking for q
sign is a pious or a wicked act accord
ing to the spirit in which it is DONE
Hezekiah is given his choice of two
signs, and he chose what appeared to.
him to be the more difficult
s. Shadow Of the degrees" THE
shadow on the steps" r. " Many
opinions are held with regard to this
miracle The older commentators be-
lieved that the earth's motion was act
ually reversed around its axis 1t has
1 been urged with good deal Of force
that the true cause OF. the phenomenon
was solar eclipse in which the noon
| obscured the upper limb Of the sun,
| which would have the effect of lengtI-
! ening all shadows and thus causing the
appearance of going backward on the
! dial of the stairs. But the opinion genz
orally held at present is that it was a
miraculous use Of the laws of refrac-
ton. dial of Ahaz. Steps of
Ahaz." Il. VI, margin The dial which,
Ahaz set up, and which he probably
/ obtained from Babylon, for he appears
TO have, been fond of foreign objects Of
art z Kings IS: 1O) The Assyrians
We're the first to divide the day into
| twenty -four hours. Herodotus states
| that the Greeks obtained their knowl-
edge of the dial and the division Of the.
day into twelve parts from the Baby-i
lonians. who were in constant inter-
course with the Assyrians. "ReturneCH
ten steps (R w We must SUPPOSE
that the steps, whatever they WERE
could be seen from the sick chamber
of Hezekiah, to whose mind the sign
was significant The retreating shadow
meant added years to his life. What
kind Of apparatus is denoted by tho
"steps Of Ahazs we have no means or
determining.
New york's Parks.
| Chief Engineer Nelson F. Lewis, OF