The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-03
International SundaySchool
 Lesson
mnalMIlHlnalnmmNl NlnHaIr ElNNIINMInE ElIVI

Fourth Quarter. Lesson l. samuei vi, I-12. October 1, 1905. DAVID BRINGS THE ARK TO JEhU"
 SALEM.
 The re-enthronement of Jehovah was the last step in the reform which David had undertaken. The golden ark, Jehovahs throne, was to be set up in state. But In this very act Of devotion the general irreligion of sew enty years bore it's deadly fruit. A right thing was done in a wrong man ner. There was only one correct and prescribed way to carry the ark. namely, upon the shoulders of the priests by rods thrust through the rings at the sides of the ark. In place of this, an expedient copied from the heathen was used. namely, placing the ark upon a cart drawn oy oxen. This disobedience tended to destroyed the inviolable sancity of the ark and with 1t the reverence which was its chief design to cultivate. This error must be corrected by an exemp- lary punishment The stumbling oxen afford the opportunity. The ark tot ters and is on the point of falling to the ground. Uzzah puts out his hand. catches the ark. and sets it upright on the cart. The act was natural, but on no circumstance was any hand 10 touch the ark. The emergency which seemed to make it necessary was merely the continuation of a process that had been wrong. from the start and the whole of it the outcome of half century of irreligion. It Is not just Uzzah's act that Is punished. It Is the disobedience of all the people as represented In him.
 But UZzah died not In vain. David cried out in grief and disappointment, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?" That was a question he ought to have asked in the beginning. Had he done so, a human life would have been saved, and a mortifying de- lay avoided. It Is distinctly said that an awe of Jehovah filled the king from that hour. Doubtless 1t filled the na- lions heart as well. This was the purpose of the divine Judgment.
 The nation was placed on probation for three months. In that time the Scriptures relating to the ark were searched. At the end of that time there was no further questions as to how it was to be carried, and It's sancity conserved. In the ninety days in which 1t rested in the home Of pious Obed- Edom. his phenomenai prosperity and that of his whole family was a standing evidence of the blessing the ark could be to tho entire nation if properly shrined in their reverential care.
 A new home bringing of the ark Is now attempted It is done exactly ao- corLing to the pattern which the Lord showed Moses in the Mount The priests and the Levites sanctifed themselves for this service. And the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders. with the slaves thereon, as Moses commanded. according to the Word of the Lord.
 Trained choirs chanted antlphonaliy the noble hymns which David had composed for this occasion. There were superb orchestral interludes. At stated intervals the procession halted to offer sacrifices to Jehovah. and the king, in the ecstasy of religious joy. executed a rhythmic dance, playing his own accompaniment. and chanting one of his own hymns.
 So this noble shrins-not entirely uulike the shrimes of other nations, perhaps. but certainly and infinitely surpasslng them in significance came. at length. Co an appropriate