The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-10-13

Golden Textile retaineth not his
anger forever. because he ~delighteth
in mercy.-Micah. I: IS.
Historical Setting.-Time-Probabl bly,
Il. G.. 53s.
Place-Baby1on. or Eebatana, capt.
tai Of the Persian empire.
The Lesson Text in Everyday Dress.
Cyrus had hardly settled himself IN
Babylon before he felt strangely
moved to exert himself in behalf Of
the captive Jews, The lesson explains
that 1t was the Lord who stirred him
mp, and J~osephus says that the aged
Daniel was God atAant In the mat
ter. h Is probable, at any rate. it
Is probable that some one called the
Kings attention to the prophecy re-
lating TO him tIsaiah ~: 1928: as:
Ia, tor In his decree authorizing
the Jews to return to their own and
he declared that Jehovah had charged
him TO build him an house in Jeru-
salem" and he authorized the raising
of funds for that purpose. Copies
Of the royal command were sent by
runners throughout the kingdom, and
on receipt OF the news the chief
ta.ns Of the various cians'or families
arose. and with the priests and Le-
eites and all whose spirit God had
stirred up started for Jerusalem.
Those who stayed behind perhaps
about f~ve-sixths of the entire num-
herl contributed literally to the en-
terprise. and the wants of the seventy
thousand who went were ~abuudantiy
supplied. Az for Cyrus. he sent the
sacred vessels which Nebuchadnezzar
had taken from the temple In Jeru-
salem.
The Heart Of tho Lesson.
God does not forget His people.
There are times in our lives when We
no longer hear His voice nor see His
guiding hand, but the fact thai We
do not hear Is no evidence that He is
not within hearing distance. and the.
TACT that We do not see does not prove
that He has ceased Il watch over us.
When a father ceases to work In his
child s sight X does not mean that he
has ceased 10 work for his child.
To all human appearances the cap
tive Jews We're a God-forsaken people.
Fer seventy long years they had been
esiies in a strange land. among the
enemies Of Jehovah. During all that
time there had been no sign of APP
preaching deliverance. SO far as one
could see Jehovah was making no
preparations whatever to deliver them.
Inc old generation was passing away.
II the new generation thai knew
not Jerusalem was growing up in Us
place. 1t seemed inevitable that they
would he gradually merged in the ma
tion that had captured them. and
that in the course Of time the very
name of Jehovah would be forgotten
among them, When they were in
their own land they were continually
Terwnelmed with manifestations OF
Ills thoughtful love. and when they
went up to the house of God there
were infallihie signs Of His presence.
but now when they looked up at the
blue sky they could not wonder III
God a not lost sight OF them.
Now. at last. when everything
seemed to conh~n tiSir fears, wheni
TO all human appearances there was
not the slightest ground for hope that
they would ever see Jerusalem again
now, at last. the hand OF God ap-l
peared in their midst as suddenly as
the hand that wrote on the wall. III
the captive Jews had spent the whole
seventy years trying 10 imagine NY
what means God would deliver them.
they never would have guessed the
plan which now unfelded Itself so