Middletown transcript., 1922-05-06

GOLDEN TEXT.-Come ye, and let u,
walk In the light of the Lord.-Isa. 2:5.
REFERENCE MATERIAL. - Ps. 4s
Mic. AIS; Phil AS. 81 Gal SOP. 23
PRIMARY TOPIC.-How to Be Peace.
maker
JUNIOR ToPIC.-swords Beaten Into
Plowshares.
!NTERMEDIATEAND SENIOR TOPIC
-How to Make Peace and Keep It.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
| -Condltions Of Permanent Peace.
Isaiah does not set forth merely m
Ideal for world ut strife, but fore
tells what shall actually take place In
the latter days. which shall put an end
TO all earth's strife. In these Scrip
ture texts he reveals the fact that
Jesus Christ shall come and establish
His kingdom and remove from mems
hearts the cause for strife.
!. The Kingdom Established (IsD.
2:2-4.
by mountain" in the Scriptures Is
meant Kingdom" (Dan. 2:35; Rev.
1871; 17:9-11.)
1. Its position ". %. 1t shall be in
a place of supremacy. 1t stands at the
head Of all kingdoms. In fact the
Kingdoms Of this world shall then be-
come the kingdom Of Christ (Rev.
IL :15).
z. The restored nation the teacher
OF the Gentiles ". 81. God called
israel that He might make His name
known among other nations Now after
many centuries of apostasy and rebel
non the chosen nation comes into Its
own. Gods favor will be so outstand-
ing as to gain the attention of the
whole world and cause the people to
come up to Jerusalem to hear the law
Of God.
d. The divine judge ". ~. The
problems of the nations of the world
shall be adjudicated by One who is all
wise, and He shall rebuke many peo-
pie. Because of this rebuke they shall
convert their implements of war into
implements of husbandry and they
Shall learn war 10 more.
u. The King Elsa. IL :1-5)
l. LIS lineage ". -. He is Of royal
stock, of the house of David. From
the fact that the branch" grows out
OF Davids roots, it is shown that Mes
slah shall come when the fortunes Of
the nation are very low.
=. His qualifications wv. 2-3u). The
Holy Spirit shall rest upon Him in
HIS completeness, qualifying Him for
His work. Wisdom and understand
ing refer mainly to the clearness of in
tellectual and moral insight; counsel
| md MIGHT n hn
sound practical direction and vigor to
follow and carry through the decisions
OF practical wisdom; while the knowl-
edge and the fear of the Lord define
relation by Its two parts of acquaint.
ance with God founded on love and
reverential awe which prompts to
obedience" He shall have quick un.
derstanding In the fear of the Lord
and His delight shall be to do Gods
Will. This has fulfillment in Jesus
Christ In whom are hid all the treas.
ures of wisdom and knowledge (Col.
2:3).
3. The character of His reign wv.
3b-o). O Not judge after the sight
of his eyes" His knowledge Is per-
feet; his judgment pierces through the
problems, even seeing the motive
which lies back Of the act. (2) mot
reprove after the hearing of the ear"
The word "reprove" means decide"
His decisions, therefore, will be on the
basis OF fact, not on hearsay. He can.
not be deceived nor imposed upon. He
knows all things, even from the begin.
ming. (3) with righteousness shall
judge the poor" He Will mete out i'm.
partial justice to them. Many times
now the poor suffer because the
wealthy are able to bribe the Judge,
but when Christ shall reign as King
the poor shall get justice. The poor
shall not suffer in justice because he
Is poor nor escape justice because he
is poor. (4) "Shall reprove with
equity for the meek" "Reprove" here
doubtless means decide" In fact the
meek shall inherit the earth (Matt.
$50. (5) "Shall smlte the earth with
the rod of his mouth" By the earth"
is meant here the wicked inhabitants.
When Messiah cOules to reign there
will be great wickedness in the earth
(see Psalm 2:9-12; Luke 1S:S). (6)
He shall be glrded with righteousness
and falthfulness ". 81. He is abso-
lutely righteous and will faithfully
carry out all His words.
III. Description of christ's Reion
wv. COY.
There will prevail universal peace
between men and animals. In this de-
scription each animal Is coupled with
that upon which it naturally preys.
(D The wolf shall dwell with the
lamb. (2) The leopard shall lie down
with the kid. (3) The calf and the
young lion and the failing shall lie
down together. (4) A little child shall
lead them. (5) The COW and the bear
shall feed together. (6) The lion shall
eat straw mot iesh) like an OK. ca
The sucking child shall play on the
hole of an asp. tS) The weaned child
shall put his hand on the cockatrice's
den. When the King of men and the
Lord of nature shall manifest His
power in the earth there will be uni
versal peace. The only peace for the
earth will be when Christ the Prince
Of Peace shall reign.