Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1917-11-14
SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson vII.-Fowth ouarter. For
Nov. 1o. 1917.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.

Text Of the Lesson. Neh. Ii. tti-Mew-
ory Verses. 5. .e-Goiden Text Matt
vii. documentary Prepared BY Rev.
o. NJ. Stezrns
Continuing day and night in prayer
to God Il, o. ansl watchin. for ga or
rortunity to speak to the king. IL tissssl-
~ came IL il 80 inacii easier To reach
the King of Kings than il is 10 gam &C
cess 10 or obtain a hearing from seine
earthly t95ea. ate. yrt t.ssi s.'>s-s tsiiaaa
i,lstru:acusssi.iy ia His s,i.a i.islr and
way The matter WAS 50 heasit upon
the heart OF Nehemiah THAI he r~ahi
not. after some months of waiting. re
press his sadIIess even in the f'rs-~eiiee
Of the king fer he WIS the Kings cgif-
bearer e. IL ii. Il. The king oi,>e.v-
ed 1t an said. Thou art not sis'k.
What Is this sorrow of hearth He re-
piled that be could not help being sad
when the city of his fathesS WAS waste
and the gates consumed with tire.
Isaiah had written long before: Zion
is wilderness, Jerusalem deSoia tieti.
Our holy and our beautiful house.
where our fathers praised Thee. IL
burned up with fire. and all our pleas
and things are laid waste" lisa. Xiv.
10, III.
Now that the captivity was over and
many had returned aud the temple
had been rebuilt and dedicated the
wall was still in ruins aud. the city
desolate and reproach. and this was
the burden upon the heart OF Nehe-
miah. When the king asked him what
he desired in the same moment he
spoke to God in heaven and to the
earthly king before whom be was
standing verses 4, 81. This we can
all do. and II we always talked with
God before talking to people how diff
ferent our words would often he. He
asked the king to send him 10 Jeru-
salem that he might build the city
Verse 81. The king asked him how
long he would be gone and when he
would return. and when Nehemiah set
time 1t pleased the king to send him
Verse g. II the queen sitting by
the king was Esther. as Is probable.
II will help us to understand many
things Yet we do not need to under
stand as much as we need to see the
good hand OF God upon him In grant
ing his request and providing the
wherewitiai to rebuild the city oversees
Z. 81. am reminded Of two Of my
favorite texts In Phil. ii. IL. and lisa.
Xiv. 4. r. Y.
III Is God who worketh.- "A God
who worketh for aim, who waiteth for
him." The journey to Jerusalem. which
took Ezra and his company fcur
months to accomplish. is not consider
ed aor referred TO- except that the
king seni captains Of the army aud
horsemen with him verses Oil This
does not seem TO me to Indicate any.
less faith on the part OF Nehemiah
than on the part Of Ezra. hut Ezra
had said something very strongly
about G.4i's care Of His own without
human aid. and he felt that he had To
prove ii, and he did. and the Lord
holiased his trnst. Nehemiah was Just
as m,is.l, q man af God AZ Ezra. hui ;n
ha,l nia,ie ia boast that he felt ron,
PEELED 10 prove.
Let us not judge one Another. but
each for himself have faith in God and
prove It. Like Ezra. after he reached
Jerusa lem. 80 Nehemiah spent three
quiet days before he did onything
tverse H.: Ezra viii. 81. There are
different interpretations Of the saying.
He that believeth shall not make
haste" lisa. xviii. 16l. but there are
surely times when we must 20 slowly
and very prayerfully. Without telling
the priests or the mobiles or the rulers
what was in his heart to slo he and
some few men with him went out by
night to fook the matter over and get
a correct knowledge Of the rssil conaii
ton Of affairs VERSES II. 16i Then he
laid before the rulers the retwmcfIful
good hand of God upon him and Of the
kings commission and provision. So
they said Let us rise up and build. :
and they strengthened their hands for
the work oversees IL. lS,. As In the
story Of Ezra. there are always some
outsiders who seem to want a share IL,
q good work and II not allowed to
help will do all they can to hinder. So
now we have the Toronto, the Am
monte and the Arabian exceedingly
grjeved because some one had come Ia
seek the welfare Of Israel. and they
ds~pist'd and laughed 10 srorn Nei,e-
miah and his party and accused them
Of rci,eiliiig against the king tverSe.s
10. 19,.
Nehemiah said to them. I'VE ARE
servants Of the God Of heaven and will
arise and build ami He will prosper
US. but You have no part in this work
or In this city tverse M. So they set
TO work priests and rulers and people.
men and women. merchants and aIsptiie-
carries and golsIsmiths. each one over