Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1911-07-28
Jehovah's Suffering
Servant
Sunday School Lesson for July .. 1911
Specially Arranged for This Paper
LESSON TEXT Isaiah 52:ls; 1912.

LESSON TEXT-Isaiah 52:l3; 1912.
MEMORY VERSES-5S:4-6.
GOLDEN TEXT-"The Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity OF us all.'-Isa. 1876.
The lesson is from the second part OF
the Book of Isaiah.
Whenever written IL belongs to the time
of the exile. just before the return
1t brought hope inspiration. instruction.
life. and light In the darkest. period In
the history Of Israel.
Gods peculiar people were in exile
among heather populations. Their
homeland. Palestine, had been devas-
tated Jerusalem lay in ashes. The
temple was heap of ruins. The ma
ton was like the stump of a mighty
tree which had been cut down. The
tree had been cut down because 1t re-
fused to bear the good fruit for which
God had planted it. But in captivity
the people had been learning their les
son, and the time had come when 1t
was possible for a new shoot to
spring up from the barren stump, and
a renewed nation to take up its APP
pointed mission. But in order to do
this, the nation must be made to see
clearly what they must be and do, and
the deepest motives toward this end
be inspired within them. All this Is
a parable for the world.
1t throws no little light on our les
son to realize its relation to the
prophecy as a whole. According to
all critics the whole lesson really be-
longs to the fifty-third chapter of
Isaiah, the fifty-second ending at the
twelfth verse. The prophecy consists
Of 81 chapters. of which the fifty-third
is the central one, making the whole
| prophecy to consist of three sections.
| First, the first thirteen chapters are a
trumpet call to the captive Isrealites
who have been hanging their harps
on the willows" unable to sing the
songs of Zion," to awake to faith in
God, and obedience and, loyalty to
him, and to be prepared for their de
liverance.. Second: Chapter So pre-
sents the means by which the re-
demption can be accomplished, the
heroic service of his people. and the
supreme self-sacrifcing love of his
son. Third: The succeeding thirteen
chapters present the results Of the re-
deeming nation, and the redeemed
world
The service of God was a commits
sion to witness and prophesy for God
upon earth" Israel was elected not
to salvation, but to service" or rather
as in the case OF any individual. the
nation was elected to salvation that
it might be of service 1t was neces-
sary that the servant" who was to
carry out Gods purpose of saving the
world should be nation. from the
condition of the ancient world. "Of
all possible combinations of men the
nation was the only form which In the
ancient world stood chance of sur
viving in the struggle for existence"
The servant of God was the nation OF
Israel.
Jesus Christ did Gods service for
the worlds redemption by bearing the
sorrows and sins of man. His suffer.
ings were not because he himself had
done wrong, but in order that he
might save us from them. He bore
them on his heart and sympathy. He
bore them away by his healing power
He bore them as the martyr and the
hero suffers that he may save the op
pressed and the wrongsd and perse
, cuted from their sufferings He bore
them away by transforming them into
, character. He bore them by giving
his life for our sins. so that by re
moving sin he removed most of the
griefs of man. Christianity has beer
the chief power in removing the griefi
? and sorrows Of mankind.
The prophet foresees these things
! fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The picture
, in these verses is almost photograph
of what took place five hundred years
later. He was oppressed, his suffer
, ings were unjustly inflicted on him
' Read the story of his trial. He opene'
Z not his mouth in protest. He submit
: ted to the wrong.
e Jesus was put to death with th'
wicked on the cross, and they though
. to bury him In criminals grave
3 They appointed his grave with tn
+ wicked, but by striking providenc
d the same authority gave permission I
q a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea, VIII
/ provided him with an honorable buria
e In his own rock-hewn tomb.
!. Yet 1t pleased the Lord because n
saw the good to be gained He sha
see his SEED. his spiritual descendant
r filed with his spirit and carrying on
, his plans. He shall prolong his day
a He rose from the dead, assembled
+ heaven, and is the everlasting ieade
y and king. OF all kings he is the mos
T. glorious. OF all kingdoms his is tn
d largest, noblest, best beyond all con
e pare.
NJ This far-off vision Of Jesus, and
e the redeemed world. is one Of tn
i strongest proofs of a revelation frol
n, God. Professor Ramsay declares thi
I'd the Bible is undue among ancient r
ID Lgions in that ito the Hebrew prop
.. cts, and to them alone. the better az
re lay always in future"
70 "The best is yet to be,
The last of life for which the first WI
- made"
We sec in this lesson the one sour
of power for saving man. and tran
forming the world. The path of U