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is evident, however, that the prophet had in mind
the alliance which had been entered into by Israel
or Ephraim with Damascus; The doom of Damas
cus would mean the destruction of the fortress Os
Ephraim. The prophet then proceeded to describe
the judgment of Ephraim which would issue from
the destruction of Damascus, and he declared that
the effect produced would be that of compelling
men to look to Jehovah rather than to idols. The
reason of this visitation was that Ephraim had for
gotten God.
In the midst of these burdens of the nations we
have a soliloquy of the prophet which falls into
two sections. The first reveals his consciousness of
the opposing peoples, and of Jehovah as perfect
defence. The second is of the nature of a procla
mation to certain ambassadors, who were charged
to return to their people, and to wait for Jehovah.
Immediately following this soliloquy We have the
burden of Egypt. Jehovah’s advent will result in
the destruction of idols, in civil war, in failures in
counsel, and in the government of the Egyptian
people by a cruel loru and a false king. This day
of visitation will be one of physical catastrophe.
The waters of the Nile will fail, and consequently
all industry—fishing, weaving, and building—will
be paralyzed. Yet the prophet saw hope even for
Egypt, and with the far-reaching vision of faith he
saw both Egypt and Assyria joined in the worship
of Jehovah, and ultimately a triple alliance of Is
rael, Egypt, and Assyria made a blessing in the
midst of the earth.
Turning again to Babylon, the prophet described
the whirlwind sweeping against it, and so terrible
was the sight that he was filled with horror.
Very brief but very forceful is the burden of
Dumah. The prophet had heard some enquiring
voice demanding the hour of the night. In briefest
words he answered that he saw morning and night,
and invited further enquiry.
The burden of Arabia consists of a vision and
an interpretation. The vision is that of a fugitive
people. The interpretation announces the coming
of judgment within a year upon the children of
Kedar.
In the midst of the prophecies concerning the
nations occurs one of protest against the indiffer
ence of Jerusalem to the things concerning which
the prophet is speaking. He first described the
joyous people as they stood in contrast to him with
his sorrow and his broken heart. It was a day in
which Jehovah had called to mourning and they
were full of merriment. This was an unpardona
ble sin, as it revealed their callousness. Imme
diately following this protest, the prophet uttered
his denunciation of Shebna, declaring that he would
be rejected from his office, and his place be taken
by Eliakim.
The burden of Tyre is a graphic description of
her desolation. Her harbors are closed. Her bor
ders are desolate. The sea, which had been her
highway, is abandoned, and Egypt her ally is af
frighted at the report. This desolation is the act
of Jehovah. After seventy years the prophet de
clared that she should be visited by Jehovah, and
restered to a position of affluence. There is in
the prophecy no hint of any turning to God on
the part of Tyre. Her restoration was to be, in
some way, of service to God’s own people.
In the last chapters of the second circle the
prophet takes a wider outlook, and the world is
seen under the government of the throne of God.
In consequence of widespread corruption, wide
spread desolation is determined upon. The earth
is seen to mourn and fade away devoured by a
curse, while all mirth ceases. This prophecy of
world-wide judgment ends with the declaration that
it will be by the act of Jehovah, and will issue in
perfect victory. There follows immediately a song
of praise for judgment both in its procedure and in
its results, which results are to be the spreading of
a feast in the mountain of the Lord, and His illu
mination of the nations, followed by the ending of
sorrow and the wiping away of tears. Naturally
following this prophecy of praise is the great song
which would be sung in the day of Jehovah’s ulti
mate victory. The deep secret of the new condition
will be that of the mind stayed on Jehovah. Re
membering that he was still speaking in the midst
The Golden Age for August 15, 1907.
of circumstances of judgment and that its processes
must proceed to consummation, the prophet uttered
the final call to the people of God, urging them to
quietness and patience until the indignation be
overpassed. This circle ends with a message, which
describes the process toward ultimate restoration,
and announces its certainty. The way is the way of
judgment. The first issue of judgment would be
the restoration of the chosen people, and to this
he referred under the figure of the vineyard. The
figure here stands in striking contrast to the way in
which it appeared in chapter five.
The third and last circle consists of a series of
prophecies concerning the chosen and the world.
It opens with a graphic revelation of the difficulties
with which Isaiah had to contend, and of his un
swerving loyalty to the truth. In answer to his
declaration that judgment was to fall upon
Ephraim; priests and prophets, overcome by strong
drink taunted him with the slowness of his speech
and its halting method. He answered them by de
claring that there was another method of speech,
and, moreover, that there w*as a purpose in the
halting method which he had adopted. He then
warned them of their folly, declaring that their false
covenant with death should be disannulled, and urg
ing them to cease their scorning.
A series of declamations follows this picture.
The first sets forth the purpose of Jehovah in judg
ment. The prophet then denounced an alliance with
Egypt, declaring the shame of it jand its uselessness,
and proceeded to foretell again the destruction of
Assyria. A second time he denounced the alliance
with Egypt, declaring it to be a false trust con
sequent upon the turning of their back upon Jeho
vah.
The prophet then described the reign of the com
ing King, wihch is to be characterized by the
establishment of order, and the consequent creation
of refuge and refreshment for all who are in dis
tress. The beneficent effects of such a reign will
be the restoration of sensibility, and of a true sense
of values in which men will know violence and call
it by its right name, recognizing true nobility. Ev
idently conscious of how different were the cir
cumstances described, to those in the midst of which
he was exercising his ministry, he made his appeal
to the women. This recognition of the influence of
women, for the second time in the course of this
volume, is a revelation of the prophet’s keen in
sight and accurate apprehension of one of the most
prolific causes of national disaster. A degraded
womanhood always creates a dissipated and ener
vated manhood.
After the great message the prophet celebrated
a victory, and predicted the method of the final
triumph. The presence of God is a fire filling the
heart of the sinner with fear, while the righteous
dwell in safety in the midst of its burning.
The last two chapters of the first division reveal
the prophet’s breadth of outlook. He saw in the
future, worldwide desolation. From this wide out
look he passed to a description of the judgment of
God upon Edom, which illustrates the larger truth
already declared. The final word stands in start
ling contrast. Following the picture of desolation,
we have one of restoration. The whole earth was
seen in the former as brought into confusion and
emptiness. Now we observe the restoration of the
natural order. Thus, at the close, as throughout
the whole of this great division, God is seen mov
ing through judgment toward peaee.
Kentucky is vastly encouraged by the victory in
Georgia. Judge S. W. Hager is democratic candi- •
date for governor and is a pronounced State prohi
bitionist. Judge A. E. Wilson is the republican can
didate and his platform is pledged to local option.
No candidate now anywhere dares to assume the
championship of the licensed traffic.
* M
Don’t fail to see our offer of a free trip to the
Jamestown Exposition on page 11.
Among the Workers,
Next year will be the centennial of the planting
in Alabama of the Baptist and Methodist churches.
Flint River Baptist Church, a few miles above
Huntsville, was organized October 2, 1808. The
Methodists began work the same year. The first
religious service at Birmingham was held by Rev.x
J. L. D. Hillyer in September, 1871. The Methodists
began their work in that city a few weeks later.
Some deacons in England are writing to The
Times and Freeman of London about the way the
churches steal preachers from other churches. They
show that this practice often greatly injures the
church that loses its pastor. Some good preacher
who was just then unemployed is left out to scuffle
along a little further, and sink a little deeper into
hopelessness. Will God answer the prayer of
churches and mission boards to send forth laborers
unto the harvest, when churches and mission boards
neglect to employ those whom God has already sent
forth ?
Dr. J. J. Taylor, of Knoxville, in an article in The
Baptist Banner says:
What truth needs is not protection, but promul
gation; not apologists, but apostles, The processes
of dialects, the forms of logic, have their uses;
they are often helpful in disclosing error and coerc
ing stubborn minds. The critic’s work and the legit
imate deductions therefrom have a place in accred
ited schemes of investigation; but in the emergen
cies of life these things count for very little.
Governor Northen was orator of the day in a
Fourth of July celebration in Jersey City. He
availed himself of the opportunity to impress upon
the minds of his audience the importance of apply
ing Christian principles to the solution of Sociolog
ical problems.
John D. Rockefeller has given to the city of
Cleveland his magnificent summer home in East
Cleveland, comprising nearly 600 acres of wooded
land, for use as a public park, together with an en
dowment and improvement fund of $2,000,000.
An exchange has a very instructive story from the
pastor of a church of working people in St. Louis.
The custom had been to raise money for church
purposes by fairs, bazaars and the like. Those de
vices finally lost their charm and were ruled out
by order of the church. Then they concluded to try
the Joash method. They appointed a month of self
denial. During the month each member of the
church saved what could be saved and put it in an
envelope. The end of the month brought ‘ ‘ Joash
Day,” when all brought their offerings and dropped
them through a hole into a chest just as the people
in the time of Joash brought money to repair the
temple (2 Kings 12). The results were so satis
factory, there had been such joy in giving and
such bountiful results that the church determined
to have a month of self-denial and a “Joash Day”
every year. Bazaars, fairs and all such devices
were forever abandoned.
The Boston Watchman has this notice of Dr. F.
B. Meyer, who is so greatly admired in Georgia
and many other American states and sincerely loved
in Atlanta where he is well known. The notice is
as follows:
“Rev. F. B. Meyer, on the occasion of his sailing
from England for America, received a great recep
tion at Christ Church, Westminster, June 21. There
were three gifts, a silver casket with a scroll ad
dress and a check for $1,260, from 802 subscribers,
a roll-top desk and an address from 5,000 scholars
of 17 Sundav schools.”
•t R
Teacher. —“Children, what creature is that in
ornithology which hag a very long neck, has some
thing to do with trimming big hats, does its fight
ing by scratching and kicking, and often gives
cause to men to be afraid?”
Eager Pupil.—“l know, teacher!”
Teacher. —“Well, Sammy, what is it?”
Sammy.—“An eld maid!”—Baltimore American.
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