Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-12-18
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
Psalms 2; Isaiah 11I-1O
BY DR.. MARION MICH. HULL

Golden text: "Ask of me, and ]
shall give thee the heaven for thine
Inheritance, and the uttermOst part
of the earth for thy possession.
Psalms 2:S.
The passage from Isaiah is only a
very small part of the prophecy
which is delivered. It is concluded
in Oh. 10:5-12:6. Assyria was a great
world power; her eyes were set on
the world dominion. Her armies
were headed toward Egypt and
would crush the little kingdom of
Judah on the way. Isaiah delivered
this message to comfort his people
"a the view Of the Assyrian invasion.
---@efly he said: Assyal is the rod
in the hands of God. With Assyria
God will punish us for our SINS, par
ticularly the sin of disobed.ence to
Aim; but when that purpose has been
accomplished, God will utterly de-
! -stroy the rod, and in its place will
set up the kingdom long promised
to David which shall be universal
and lndestructible; and our hearts
shall be filled with singing. There
fore, in spite of the dark. present
outlook, Cry aloud and shout, thou
1nhabItant of Zion; for great in the
midst of thee is the Holy One of
Israel"
q. Isaiah uses very interesting fig
ure here. The lofty cedar of Leban.
on is cut down; and when a cedar
is cut down no shoots ever come
out OF the stump. But an oak felled
will send out shoots from the stump
and a new tree will grow out of the
cold stock. When the Assyrian is
cut down it will be forever-and so
ut has been-but when Judah was
.felled 1t would only be for a time. A
shoot would come out of the stump
or Jesse and a branch out of his
roots should bear fruit. 1t looked
as though Judah's history was at an
end, but in Gods own time there
came from the stock of Jesse a
shoot, just tender shoot at first
IN the Babe of Bethlehem, which
'erew into the branch and which is
seven now bearing fruit.
Character of Reign
The King who had such a small
beginning, a king of David's line. is
described Upon Him should rest
the Spirit of God, the 4t1rit of wis.
dom and understanding, the spirit of
counsel and might, the spirit OF
knowledge and OF the fear of Je-
hoVah. Notice this seven-fold spir-
it-perfection in mental, moral and
spiritual equipment. 1t takes this
perfection to make Him eligible to
be the king over all the earth and
for His kingdom to be permanent.
= His kingdom-His reign-shall be
characterized by perfection of rule.
His delight shall be in the fear of
Jehovah" One translation gives
thls-His every breath shall be in
the fear of Jehovah. Gods will is to
be the supreme law of His kingdom
and is to characterize equity. The
poor will get justice and the meek
will get his. due. No sin will have
any place in His kingdom, but
righteousness and faithfulness shall
'girdle every act.
How greatly do we desire such a
reign! Man is constantly trying to
secure this by various means. but
just as constantly failing. Democ-
racy Is what we need, says one; and
: democracy has been tried and failed.
Th1s party says that the failure is
due to the party in power, and makes
eXtravagant claims if only the reins
OF government are put in their
hands. This man points out the
weakness of the other; so that no
one would ever suspect that the other
had any virtues at all, and loudly
procialms his own ability and sper-
fect1on(0 Sometimes he succeeds in
loohng enough voters to secure his
election, and then they discover that
iC
their high hopes for the best are
toomed to disappointment. Some are
telling us today that these things
can only be secured when the prin-
elpIes of Jesus are adapted by the
rulers in authority. That will be a
long step in advance of course. but
G4lina's adoption of the principles of
democracy have not made China an
Ideal republic, nor has Germany's
adoption of the principles of democ-
rafy improved the condition of her
people. We must have more than
the principles of Jesus; we must have
Jesus Himself rule over every heart
and In person; And, praise God,
that is just what we are going to
have when He comes the second
time! But not until then
Other Characteristics
There are to be other character
istlcs Of His reign, when He comes
aSain. Sin has wrought havoc no.
only in the world of men and of
government, but also III the whole
creation. Every animal suffers
from its results. The stronger in
variably attacks the weaker. One
Is. ever prey to some other. Did
it ever occur to you that very few
animals (other than domesticated
animals) ever die a natural death,
but ends in a MISUNDERSTANDING by
some stronger animal? But in His
Kingdom 1.-The wolf shall dwell with
the lamb, and the leopard shall lie
: down with the kid; and the calf and
the young lion and the failing to-
gether; and q little child shall lead
them. And the COW and the bear
shall. feed; their young ones shall lie