The Winchester news. [volume] (Winchester, Ky.) 1908-19??, 1908-11-20
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson VIH.-Fourth Quarter,
For Nov. q, 1908.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.
TEXT of the Lesson, ! Kings !, 32-40,
So 53-Memory Verses, SO, 40-Golden
Text, Chron. xviii, documentary
Prepared by Rev. D. M. Stearns.

Prepared py hCvs ~ w. SbSdfuSs
copyright, 1908, by American Press Association
Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that
did He in heaven and in earth, in the
seas and all deep places" Ops. cxxxv,
O.. 'The Most High ruleth in the king
dom of men and giveth it to whomso-
ever He will. He dOeth according to
His will in the army of heaven and
among the inhabitants of the earth"
dan. iv, 81, 80. Even when our Lord
was crucifed Herod and PLATE and the
people of Israel did what the hand and
counsel of the Lord determined before
to be done (Acts iv. q, 2S). So it is al
ways, through good men and bad men,
and even the devil, and through good
men who often act unwisely, God is
ever working out His eternal purpose
which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord (Eph iii, III. He who sees and
declares the end from the beginning
says, My counsel shall stand, and
will do all My pleasure" Qsa. XVI, 10;
Ps. xxxiii, 10, III. Men are left free
to do as they choose and are guilty if
they do wrong, but God is ever work
ing out His purpose in spite of every
thing and every one who may be set
against Him.
Thus we see it in our lesson today.
David being old, one of his sons, Ado
nijah, whom he had never displeased
by even asking him why he did any
thing, exalted himself to be the king,
though he knew that the Lord hau
given the throne to his brother Solo
mon, and Joab, who was David's chief,
and Abiathar, the priest, whom David
had SO protected and made one with
him, followed Adonijah q Kings /, B.
Z; II, 15). 1t does not seem so strange
that spoiled boys, like Absalom and
Adonijah, should be so desperately
wicked, but to see a priest like
Abiathar joining him is perplexing. 1t
seems so easy to turn from what is
right and do the wrong thing.
There were some who remained
faithful to David, such as Nathan, the
prophet; Zadok, the priest; Benaiah, the
son of JehOiada, one of David's mighty
men who slew lion in pit in snow
time, and also an Egyptian with the
mans own spear. and did many
mighty acts Oh Sam. xiii, 20-23; /
Kings 1, g.. Nathan told Bathsheba
the mother of Solomon, how things
were going, and she and Nathan
brought word to David, whereupon
David called these three faithful men
and babe them cause Solomon to ride
upon his own mule and have him
anOinted king over Israel and Judah,
that he might sit upon his throne and
be king in his stead oversees $3.50
This was as the Lord had purposed,
for He had said to David, Behold, il
son shall be born to thee, who shall be
a man of rest, and l will give
peace and quietness unto Israel in his
days, and l will establish the
throne of his kingdom over Israel for
ever q Chpon. xxi, 8, 10, prom
Use primarily, but only partly true Of
pletely seen in Jesus as the Son of
David Qsa tx, 6, Z; Jer. xiii. 8, 6:
Luke i, 1883. Then sat Solomon
upon the throne of David, his father.
and his Kingdom was established
greatly q Kings ii, Id, or as it is writ
ten in l Chron. xxx, %, ''Then Solo
mon sat on the throne of the Lord
as king instsId of David, his father.
and prospeTd, and all Israel obeyed
him. No throne but this was ever
called the throne of the Lord. The
days come when the same city, Jerusa-
lem, shall be called the throne of the
Lord and al the nations shall be gath
cred unto it, to the name Of the Lord
to Jerusalem DER. iii, 10. David's
charge to Solomon in chapter ii and in
l Chron. xviii is worthy of being
laid up in the heart. Note specially
these words: "Know thou the God of
thy father and serve Him with perfect
heart and with willing mind, for the
Lord searcEeth all hearts and under
standeth ali the imaginations of the
thoughts" Il Chron. xviii, 81.
For over twenty years 1 have found
special blessing in these. That express
sion, ''the Imagination of the
thoughts" is found again in chapter
xxx, Is, and again sad contrast in
Gen. vi, 5. How deeply God searches
not only the heart, but the thoughts Of
the heart, and somehow, back of that,
the Imagination of the thoughts! How
much and how continually we need the
precious blood which cleanseth from
all sin! In the last chapter of ii Sam.
we find word from David in verse "a
which is worthy Of application to all
believers, Neither will l offer burnt
offerings unto the Lord my God of that
which doth cost me nothing" And
this was in connection with the pur-
chase of the place where the temple
was afterward builded Gil Chron. iii,
u. 1t was also the place where Abra-
ham had offered up his son Isaac, and
the great thought is redemption by a
costly sacrifice. In David's abundant
preparation for the temple which he
was not allowed to build we see 9
manifestation of that zeal which he
prayed that Solomon might have. He
said, II have prepared with all my
might for the house of my God, **