The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1906-02-02


III. The Second Assault.-Vs. 81
The Scene. A pinnacle of the Temple
in Jerusalem. 5. "Taketh him." prob.
ably in spirit or vision-a picture that
would be familiar to Jesus. "Setteth
him on a (the) pinnacle" or rather
wing 'of the temple"
The Weapon of Attack. G. "If thou
be the Son of Cod" as you claim,
will show you an easy way TO prove
your claim, and to accomplish your
mission. Cast thyself down" into the
court crowded with worshipers, and as
they gaze upon you as if descending
from heaven they will hail you as
King, Messiah, and Redeemer. What
a charming vision was present TO his
mind, of uniting people breaking from
the Roman yoke. No long delays, no
fierce conflict, no awful rejection by
his beloved nation, no ages of slowly
transforming the nations, but immedi-.
ate triumph for the truth, Gods king
dom bursting upon the earth in sudden
and unspeakable glory. himself 1.-The
visible dictator of invisible powers"
For IL is written" in Pisa. 91:11,
He shall give his angels charge con-
corning thee" so that you will be safe
trusting on your Fathers promise. And
you will prove that you are the Son OF
God by the way God upholds you ac-
cording to his promise
The Sin lay in the misuse of Gods
promises, n tempting God by presum.
ing that God would interfere to pre-
serve him because he was his child,
while that child was defying Gods
laws. The course Satan proposed
would have destroyed the whole value
and power Of his salvation. gaining
him subjects. not children; outward
homage. and not new hearts. il would
have rendered Impossible the true and
blessed kingdom of heaven, in NOR
ally transformed world
= The Weapon of Victory. Jesus met
the temptation with the Word of God
the sword of the Spirit. a weapon
that we too may use. like King Ar
thurs sword. which flashed with the
flame of sixty torches, and with every
stroke Glove a man."
7. 1T is written (Deut. 6:16) again"
On the other hand, as explaining the
words you quote. Thou shalt not
tempt the Lord thy Cod" That is.
"distrust God or test his power pre-
sumptuously." A case is described, Ex.
17:1-7. II is to demand that God
should fulfil his promises to those to
whom they are not made. and in cir
cumstances in which they do not APP
ply. or else appear TO have dishonored
his Word
Whatever had happened TO Jesus
had he yielded, the victory would have
been Satan's. Either he would have
been killed. and thaC would have ended
his work; or if by chance he survived,
his whole mission 10 man would have
been a failure.
III. The Third Battle.-Vs. $40. A
conflict between the kingdom of this
world. and the kingdom of heaven
The Battlefield. s. The devil taketh
him up" probably in vision or mag.
nation. as there is no mountain from
which can be seen with the natural
eye "all the kingdoms of the world.
and the glory of them
The Weapon of Attack. 9. "All these
things will ! give thee" l will with
draw my opposition. / will use all my
influence and power to make you the
greatest worldly king. like Alexander
or Caesar. Your hopes shall be real.
lied. 1T was Satan's masterpiece.
Satan offered him at once. without
waiting long centuries for wrongs TO
cease. the very things he had come on
purpose 10 gain. II was an appeal to
the highest motives and noblest feel
ings 1t had greater power and attrac-
tons because it was the way the Jews
expected the Messiah to rule, and the
kind OF kingdom they longed for. Sa-
tan. as il touched by Ithuriel's spear
revealed his own true nature by the
condition attached. IF thou wilt fall
down and worship me-" Not a bald
act of bowling down before the Devil,
which would repel even a common sim
ner; rather such m act of worship as
men give when they worship money.
by loving II better than God; as they
worship success. by placing it before
duty; a real. not a formal. worship. Sa-
tan is too shrewd to insist on the form
IL he can gain the heart.
The Armor Of Defense. V. TO- Je-
sus may not. before this. have realized
that the tempter was Satan; but now
the robes of light fell off. and Satan
stood undisguised before him. in all
his hideous nature. To give up dying
for the sins of the world. to give up
converting the world. and let Satan
really rule-this could come only from
Satan. the great adversary of all good.
For II is written (Deut 6:13). Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God" The
first and great commandment. There
is none other worthy of worship. and
there is no other way of gaining the
true kingdom of God.
w The Victory-v. IL. No great.
err victory has ever been recorded The
greatest Joy and peace are those that
come as benediction after conflict