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LESSON
LESSON FOR DECEMBER a.
UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN.
7 LESSON rExr-Tsa,ab e.1-1

1~CA00ON XGLA1-lSAI8L VAL.
GOLDEN TEXT-For unto US = chill
Ii born, unto US q son Ia given; and tn
government shall be upon his shoulders
and his name shall be called Wonderful
Counsellor. the Mighty God, tho Everlast
Ing Father. the Prince OF Peace.-lsa- 90
The Christmas lesson naturally anG
logically follows the three lessons WI
have just had from the book of the
Revelation where Jesus In his glory
had been portrayed. and the ultimate
success Of his work is fOreseen In the
new heaven and the new earth. Isaiah
saw the vision of his first coming. John
saw the vision OF his second coming
when what he began the first time
shall ultimately be accomplished. The
prophecy here spoken was uttered dur
ing the reign of Ahaz, b. G. 738 to
723. The king Of Assyria was attack
ing Syria. The tribes of northern Is
rael were carried away as captives-
Judah was in danger of invasion. (See
II Kings Is :29) Isaiah was preach
! ing In his home city, Jerusalem. His
vision of the Messiah Savior was not
more than 800 years before John saw
the vision Of the glorified Jesus.
!. Darkness Versus Light wv. 1-5).
We need to go back into the eighth
chapter to get the full historical situa-
ton of this part of the lesson. Ahaz,
trembling in Jerusalem, had with him
the Prophet Isaiah, the wisest and
greatest man in his kingdom, yet Ahaz
listened not to his words of warning
and rebuke. He dOggedly pursued his
own course and sought help in every
other quarter than the right one. This
explains Isaiah'S words, SThe people
that walked in darkness" Primarily
he may have referred to those of the
lands Of ZebulOn and Naphtali, the
Galilee Of the nations John :46;
7:52) and the light which shone in
them, which was the light of the world,
Jesus Of Nazareth (John 8:12). But
there is larger application in this
verse to the whole world which lay
in darkness until Jesus came, and the
whole world has seen or shall see the
great light duke :78-79). With the
coming of light comes the increase Of
joy ". r. W. In Israel there is to
be, through Christ, wonderful in
crease Elsa. 40 :20-22; Zech. 10: ~. In
of harvest and of victory. The re-
IigiOn Of Jesus Christ is pre-eminently
the religion of joy (Acts SIS; Phil.
4 #; 1 Peter / :9) but the Child that
was to be born was to be Deliverer |
too, for the "yoke of burden" was tax
of $1,S00O00 that had recently been
levied by the king Of Assyria. 1t was
a night Of thick darkness for Israel. |
Then, even as now, we have the moral |
darkness. (Read Rom. I :2O-32.) But |
the prophet saw the joy Of deliverance.
Jerusalem had been left In peace,
Hezekiah succeeded his father, Ahaz,
and entered upon religious revival in
the kingdom. The people who had
walked in darkness had seen a new
light. The prophet saw the dawning
rays through the midst Of this dark
ness of ignorance being removed. He
also saw the coming Of the Light Of
Men 700 years later, and the multi
plication of the nations, the increase
Of their joy.
II. Unto Us a Son Is Born wv. go.
The greatest joy for Israel in Isaiah's
lime was in this vision Of the Messiah.
he promised Savior. Isaiah is look
ng ahead seven centuries We are
cooking back nineteen. He was to be
King over his people Name and title
s here given. "a ssWonderful" be-
.ause of his nature, being both hui
nan and divine. The word made flesh
md dwelt among us. ca Counselor"
me who has the wisdom to guide him
elf and others. No one guided by him
las ever failed of true success. (3)
The Mighty God" He was truly God
10 that we can trust him to the utter
most. He can also save to the utter
most. (4 Everlasting Father" ex-
're:sing his divine loving kindness and
Standardization with the Father 20
lie Is also "Prince of Peace" the one
Who rules so that peace and prosper
ty abide in his kingdom. He brings
eace between man and God, and be-
Ween man and man. He is the peace | |.
f the soul as well as bringing
eace to the soul. The completeness
f this picture which Isaiah saw is :
he one which st. John saw, of which
re have been recently studying. These
wO verses are marvellous ones, not
My because CT the clear prediction of Q
esus of Nazareth, made more than
even centuries before his first advent, :
ut marvellous also for the fullness =
nd richness of the revelation they con- '
lin concerning the person, character 9
nd work of Christ. "a
Our Lords earth life began at Beth pc
hem, but he was from all eternity -
John 8 1868; John :1-2). =
AS man is not at peace with God
e cannot be at peace with himself or
Is fellows; but as Jesus restores
sace between man and God, he also
,stores peace to the heart Of the in
vidual (Phil. 4 ~.
Sunday school officers and teachers
lould realize the difference between
e peace with God (Rom. 5 ~ and
a v,oooo 80 cd <DI,t ~