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INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM¬
MENTS FOR DECEMBER 13.
Subject: Solomon Dedicates the Tem¬
ple, 1 Kings 8—Golden Text, Ps.
122:1—Commit Verses 10, 11—
Read 1 Kings Chs. 5-8.
TIME.—1004 B. C. PLACE, Je
rusalem.
EXPOSITION.—T. The Gathering
at Jerusalem to Dedicate the Temple,
1, 2. Great national gatherings for
religious purposes were one of the
marked features of the life of God’s
chosen people Israel. Not only had
they their three regular yearly feasts
l(Ex. 23:14-17) but there were special
gatherings for special occasions like
[this (cf. Josh. 23:2; 24:1; 1 Chron.
128:1). Sometimes, as in the case be
fore us, the regular and the special
were combined (cf. Ezra 3:1-6). The
Israelites when walking with God
[took plenty of time for due acknowl¬
edgment of God’s godness, and lor
the cultivation of their moral and
’spiritual life. The dedication of the
temple occupied seven days, and was
immediately followed by the regular
yearly Feast of Tabernacles (2 Chron.
: 7:8-10). There were in all fourteen
days of confession of sin (for the
Day of Atonement occurred on the
tenth day of this month, Lev. 23:27,
which would be the third day of the
seven days of the dedication), of
thanksgiving and worship and prayer.
No wonder that God manifested Him¬
self to them in such a glorious way.
The immediate purpose of this great
national gathering of all tho leading
people of the nation was that they
might bring up “the ark of the cov¬
enant’’ with due honor. All the sen¬
ators of of them the nation presumed were there, but
none to touch the
ark that stood for God’s presence in
their midst. God had appointed that
only “the sons of Kohath” should
I ■bear the ark (Nu. 4, 15 B). On this
occasion the most important of the
sons of Kohath, the descendants of
Aaron, the priests themselves, bore
the ark (cf. Josh. 3:6, 14, 15; 6:6;
De. 31:9; 1 Chron. 15: 2, 11-15).
Not only the ark, but the entire
tabernacle, which up to this time had
been at Gibeon, was brought up. Sac¬
rifices and offerings expressing con¬
fession of sin, trust in atonement
through blood, consecration and com¬
munion with God, were offered in
[countless profusion. By the “oracle
of the house” is meant the most Holy
■Place reserved for the ark (ch. 6:19
;22). In this most Holy Place the
ark was placed under the sheltering
[wings of the Cherubim (cf. ch. 6:27;
[Ex. 25:20-23). At the time the rec¬
ord contained in this book was writ¬
ten everything still remained just as
■it was arranged the day of dedication
i(v. 8). The ark contained the two
■tables of stone which Moses had
.hewed out at Horeb, and on which
[Jehovah Himself had written “the
[ten words” (or commandments) (De.
;10:l-5, R. V.). These “ten words”
Avere God’s covenant with Israel (Ex.
[34:27, 28, R. V.). Hence the ark
[that contained them was called “the
lark of the covenant. 11 With the law
!of God perfectly kept within, and its
jblood-sprinkled mercy seat above,
i where God met His people (Ex.
■25:20-22), it was a remarkable type
;of Christ. These ten words were also
[called “the testimony,” because they
[were God’s witness to the truth and
[to His will. There was absolutely
nothing else in the ark but these two
tables of stone. Besides the ark, in
!the tablernacle, were tne pot or
!manna (Ex. 16:33, 34) and Aaron’s
'rod that budded (Nu. 17:10, 11). As
[these were by divine commandment
so closely associated with the ark of
j testimony, the author of the Epistle
ito the Hebrews regards them as being
jin it. (The Greek preposition trans
Gated “in • l has a wider meaning and
use than our word “in.”) Only the
[law which Jehovah Himself had
/written was actually inside the ark.
[The complete Mosaic law (not merely
[the ten words) written out in full by
[the hand of Moses, was beside the
lark of the covenant, in the tabernacle
(De. 31:26), and afterwards in the
temple, where it was found when the
temple was being repaired in the days
of Josiah (1 K. 22:1-20).
* II. The House of Jehovah Filled
iWith the Glory of Jehovah, 10, 11,
j«2, 63. When everything was com¬
plete, and the temple was left emp¬
tied of all else for God Himself, His He
came down and filled it with
own Ineffable glory. When every
[thing is in place, and we have pre¬
sented ourselves to God to be His
[temple, and have taken off our hands,
•He will come and fill us too with His
[glory. “The cloud” that “filled the
/house of the Lord” was the Shekinah
[glory of His own awful presence (Le.
16:2; Ex. 13:21; 14:24; 16:10;
24:16-18; 2 Chron. 5:13, 14). When
the conditions are met to-day, God
[just as really and manifestly, and far
(more blessedly, fills His house with
[His glory. In a similar way Jehovah
‘had filled the tabernacle with His
[glory when that was set up, and ev¬
erything finished according to His
■word (Ex. 40:34, 35). And He again
[filled the temple when Solomon had
[finished his prayer (2 Chron. 7:1-3).
'[We have a far more abiding constant¬ privilege
[than Israel; for it is ours to
ly behold the glory of God in the
•person of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:18;
,4:6; Jno. 1:14).
The Result of Long Ages.
The institutions, of any age are
merely the crystallized opinions about
‘God of the age preceding.
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LOVE.
O Lord, t am no t brave, great truths to
^ speak,
Tl0 ^ Wls e—the skeptic to assure:
And » oh, I am not strong, to help Thy
weak.
Nor rich, that I could much relieve Thv
poor.
But, Father, I would serve Thee in some
I m'vht way,
seek out for Thee some wan
For d’ring sheep:
some of Thy dear tempted ones, might
Or pray,
with Thy weeping ones my heart
mieht weep.
Thou wilt not care, I know, how small my
task.
, The Although thing Thou rulest ah the stars above:
supreme, that Thou of me dost
ask.
Is, that the prompting of my heart be
love.
—Mrs. Frank A. Breck. in Home Herald.
The Children of the Good.
It is freouently a matter of remark
that the children and successors of
goodly people do not manifest the
fervent piety and love which marked
their fathers. And peopl« sometimes
inveigh against this manifestation of
the degeneracy of the times in which
we live, says H. L. Hastings, in an
article on apostasy and degeneracy.
But it is possible that they overlook
one fact, which, if recollected, would
fully explain the evils of which they
complain. The one vital fact bearing
on this question is, that righteous¬
ness or piety is not hereditary. No
man, however good or gracious his
parentage may have been, is born so
well that he does not need to be born
again. Religion is not transmissable
by descent. Hence, the entire work
of regeneration, conversion or renew¬
ing of heart and life, has to be re¬
peated with each successive genera¬
tion. It was vain for the .Tews to say,
“We have Abraham for our father.”
It is equally vain for us to boast of
pious ancestors, and saintly fathers
and mothers, when the only thing
that can save the children of the best
parents is a thorough conversion to
God and a personal acquaintance
with the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are not therefore to think it
strange that the children of good peo¬
ple go wrong, or that they fail to man¬
ifest the fervor and faith of their pre¬
decessors. We are to look to God for
the renewal aftd salvation of our off¬
spring, knowing that unless they re¬
pent and find salvation they will sure¬
ly perish as though they were the
children of> the vilest sinners that
ever lived.
Prayer.
Go not. my friend, into the danger¬
ous world without prayer. You kneel
down at night to pray, and drowsi¬
ness weighs down your eyelids; a
hard day’s work is a kind of excuse,
and you shorten your prayer, and re¬
sign yourself softly to repose. The
morning breaks, and it may be you
rise late, and so your early devotions
are not done or are done with irreg¬
ular haste. No watching unto pray¬
erful wakefulness once more omitted,
and now is that reparable? We sol¬
emnly believe not. There has been
that done which can not be undone.
You have given up your prayer, and
you will suffer for it. Temptation is
before you, and you are not ready to
meet it. There is a guilty feeling on
the soul, and you linger at a distance
from God. It is no marvel if that
day in which you suffer drowsiness to
interfere with prayer be a day in
which you shrink from duty. Mo¬
ments of prayer intruded on by sloth
can not be made up. We may exper¬
ience, but we can not get back the
rich freshness and strength which we
wrapped up in those moments.—
Frederick W. Robertson.
The Argument of Our Longing.
This heart-hunger for God, which
is the deepest reading of human his¬
tory, is a tacit argument for that
which will supply it. We expect cor¬
respondence between an instinct and
that which will satisfy it, between a
faculty and its object, between a need
and its fulfillment. We were made
for God. It is written in every as¬
piration, and breathed in every pray¬
er; we were born for the love of God.
No work, no engrossment, or cul¬
ture of natural powers, will satisfy a
man who has once awakened to his
heart-need. Only a faith like that
expressed in the great words of St.
Augustine can satisfy: “Thou hast
made us for Thyself, and our heart
is restless till it finds rest in Thee. >»
—Hugh Black.
Irresolution.
In matters of great concern, and
which must be done, there is no surer
argument of a weak mind that irres¬
olution; to be undetermined where
the case is so plain, and the necessity
so urgent. To be always intending to
live a new life, but never to find time
to set about it, this is as if a man
should put off eating, and drinking,
and sleeping, from one day and night
to another, till he is starved and de¬
stroyed.—Tillotson.
Supreme Art of Living.
To grow old, patiently, braveiy,
even joyfully—that is the
art of living. And if you and I
to ever learn how, we must begin
when life is strong and full of vigor.
Impatience and freu'ulness now can
hardly culminate later in serenity
content.
THE PULPIT.
K SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV DR. C. W. M’CORMICK.
Theme: Prayer.
Brooklyn, N. Y.—A large audience
gathered in the Nostrand Avenue M.
E.- Church, Sunday morning, to hear
the first sermon by the new pastor,
the Rf v. Dr. Charles W. McCormick.
He was greeted by hundreds of the
people at the close of the service.
His morning subject was The
Ground and Scope of Christian
Prayer. The text was from Ephes
ians 1:16-17, “Wherefore I also cease
not to give thanks for you, making
mention of you in my prayers. ■ Dr.
McCormick said:
Saint Paul was a man of prayer.
He believed in prayer. He was fully
persuaded that between himself, a
persecuted and imprisoned apostle,
and needy saints everywhere, there
was a vital and effective relationship
by way of the throne of grace. To
him the question, Does God answer
prayer? had no existence, Had he
lived in our day he would have had
little in common with those who find
the chief value of prayer in the self
inspiration and self-culture which un¬
doubtedly are among its good results.
The nearest he ever came to speaking
of the reflex influence of prayer was
in his letter to the Phillppians, where
he says: Be careful for nothing;
but in everything, by prayer supplica¬
tion, with thanksgiving, let your re¬
quests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth
all understanding, shall guard your
hearts and your thoughts in Christ
Jesus Plere the result of prayer is
subjective. It is the peace of a soul
that has joyfully confided everything
to the care of God, the Father, But
It is not the mere relief from anxiety
which follows the shifting of one’s
burdens to the back of another. It is
the “peace of God,” God’s peace, the
kind and measure of peace which God
has, and which He imparts to His
children who trust in Him, of which
Jesus said, “My peace I give unto
you.” in
The ground of Paul’s confidence
prayer is his conception of God and of
his own relation to God as a chosen
ambassador. Back of all his theology
and ethical teaching lies his own per¬
sonal experience, God had touched
his life and spoken directly to him.
This experience was at once his point
of outlook and his unfailing ground
of confidence for himself ami for the
church.
His conception of God was that
God is both transcendent and im
mament; above the world and in the
world; not the logical concept of
philosophy, nor the unknowable force
of science. He was a personal God,
whose eternal power and Godhead are
displayed in the works of His crea¬
tion; who gave law to sinful men;
who upholds all things by the word
of Ilis power; who seeks to redeem
the world in Christ; who works in the
saints by His spirit to will and to do
of His own good pleasure; and who
has promised in Christ the complete
restoration of all His children.
Chiefly, however, his view of God
was from the standpoint of Christ as
Redeemer. Here he saw the mystery,
hidden through the ages, which the
angels desired to look into, revealed
in Christ, the unfolding of God’s eter¬
nal purpose to redeem a lost world
from sin. This purpose is not new.
It antedates and is involved in crea¬
tion. It is as strong and changeless
as the nature of God Himself. Such
was Paul’s thought of God.
And his conception of his own re¬
lation to God and of his mission ac¬
cords with this thought. He was sim¬
ply God’s man or as he loved to say,
God’s bond-servant; the least of all
the saints, hut called of God to de¬
clare the mystery of redemption to a
perishing world. Necessity was laid
upon him; the love of God con¬
strained him; he was debtor to all
men because of the great grace given
unto him; he was part of God’s plan,
implicated from the very beginning
in the eternal purpose. As such he
could do nothing but obey and trust
as becomes a co-worker with God.
It is not strange, therefore, that
with such ideas of God and himself
he should believe in prayer, It is in
conceivable that he should not.
Prayer in such a case is simply the
confidential request of a weaker part
ner in a work dear to both partners.
The answer is assured. Besides, God
had already given His Son; what
needful thing could He withhold?
Whoever prays with Paul will have
no narrow or exclusive views of
prayer. Listen to some of the petl
tions he offers, He prays that he
may be prospered by the will of God
to come to the Romans; for the
Ephesians, that they may have the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of God, oeing strength¬
ened with power through the Spirit,
and having Christ constantly dwell¬
ing in their hearts that they may per¬
fectly know God’s surpassing love.
He asks God to give the Philippians
the soirit of wisdom and discernment
and discrimination, that they may be
sincere and void of offense, filled with
ail the fruits of righteousness. In
like manner he prays that the Colos
sians may be filled with the knowl¬
edge of God’s will in all spiritual wis¬
dom and understanding, walk worth¬
ily, bear fruit, increasing in knowl¬
edge and power. Finally he prays
that God may count the Thessalon
ians worthy of their high calling, and
fill every desire growing out of good¬
ness, and every work of faith full of
His power.
In all of Paul’s prayers we miss a
familiar note. He seems to disre
gard the ordinary needs of life, Yet
he did not really do so. He simply
subordinated them and assumed that
Everything to Build With.
We have recently purchased the Harris Manufacturing
Company’s lumber plant and stock and will devote our
exclusive attention to the builders supply busines in the
future.
Our very complete stock includes
Brick, Lime, Sand, Cement, Fiber Wall Plaster, Paris
Plaster, Laths, Framing—rough or sized to order;
Weatherboarding—several grades; Sheeting. Shingles,
Prepared Rooting, Kiln Dried Flooringand Ceiling, the
kind that don’t crack open—several grades; Doors —
plain, and fancy glass front doors; Sash and Blinds—
in usual sizes; Window Cords, Weights and Pulleys;
Mantels, Columns, Balusters, Brackets, Mouldings '
Wainscoting, Corner and Plinth Blocks; Turned and
Sawed Work Made to Order; Door and Window
Frames; Sherwin-Williams Paint, Oils and Varnishes;
Guaranteed Roof Paint.
IN FACT
Everything to Build Ulith.
Bring us a list of the material that you want, or a plan of
the house you anticipate building, and let us convince you
that our prices are right.
Fort Valley Lumber Company.
God would withhold from His chil¬
dren no good thing. With him God’a
work was everything. Surely, if he
did that work faithfully, God would
supply all his needs. Hence he prayed
for what he thought was of highest
importance. As to the rest, he was
m God’s care.
The great petitions of Paul’s pray¬
ers are three: For a satisfying knowl¬
edge of God, a worthy life, and ac¬
cordant power. These are man's
great needs. Our text to-day deals
chiefly with the first.
An essential prerequisite of a sat¬
isfying knowledge of God is a cer¬
tain soul-preparation which God only
can give. This preparation is two¬
fold: 1. The Spirit of God recreates
the spirit of man so that it becomes
a spirit of wisdom. 2. In like man
ner it becomes a spirit ot' revelation.
By the term “spirit of wisdom” is
meant, not merely a wise spirit,
though so much is, of course, implied,
but a spirit which is essentially wise
even in its temper and action. Like¬
wise the “spirit of revelation” signi¬
fies, not the revelation, or the povver
to make revelations, hut a spirit
which can receive is susceptible to
revelations, Such a spirit results
partly from the removal of limita¬
tions, partly from a change in point
cf view, and partly from added power.
Only such a spirit can see God truly
or life wholly. Only heart vision is
clear vision. Hence the prayer of the
text, that the eyes of the heart may
be enlightened. It was with the eyes
of the heart that the father saw the
prodigal afar off. It follows, then,
since a knowledge of God involves
and conditions a man’s wisdom and
spiritual understanding, and is essen¬
tial to wholeness of vision, that the
very sanity of our views of life is
wrapped up in our conception of God.
In the knowledge of Him alt other
knowledge has its beginning and in¬
terpretation. involved
Three great corollaries are
in the knowledge of God for which
Paul prays: 1. If God be the trans¬
cendent and immanent God of his
experience, and if men come to know
Him as such, the call of God to salva¬
tion and holiness is a perfect guaran¬
tee of His loving interest, and a suf¬
ficient reason for unfailing hope. In
the knowledge of God, the child of
God perceives the hope of his calling.
2. The riches of God’s glory is in His
saints, His inheritance, and the peo¬
ple of His possession. The nature
and work of God display His valua¬
tion of a redeemed race. The saints
are His cherished possession. 3. To
know God as Paul knew Him in
Christ Jesus is to see the very forces
at work which God relies upon to save
the world, and to apprehend the
greatness of His power toward us who
believe. To know God is to under¬
stand that all power in Heaven and
in earth is at His disposal and that
it is pledged to supply all the needs of
His children.
Both the other subjects for which
Paul prays are impossible without [
this knowledge of God; with it, they
are possible and almost assured. The
perfect walk and the perfect work
would seem to be the normal out¬
growth of such spiritual understand¬
ing. To know Him and Jesus Christ
whom He hath sent, is, and must ever
be, life eternal.
Knew When He Was Happy.
The soul of an editor who had died
of starvation was being conducted to
the Elysian fields. As they passed the
portals of the infernal regions, he
asked his guide if he might not go in
and look around. The guide consent¬
ed but warned him to stay hut a few
minutes, as he could not, wait long.
A long time passed, and the editor
had not returned • so the guiding an
ged went in search of him. He found
him before a cage in which a number
of doomed wretches were being toast¬
ed on red-hot griddles, Over the cage
was the sign Delinquent Subscrlb
ers.”
“Come.” said the guide; “we must
be going.” the ed
“Don’t, wait for me,” renlied
ttor. “T am not. coming. This is hrar
en enough for me!”—Lippincott’s.
A man is unusually strong when he
knows his own weakness.
Even a lazy man will hustle when
he sees a chance to work his fellows.
W. H. HAFER,
DENTIST.
Fort Valley, Georgia
Office over First National Bank.
C. Z. McArthur,
Dentist
FORT VALLEY, GA.
Office over Slappey’s Drug Store.
A. C. RILEY,
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW,
WRIGHT BUILDING,
Fort Valley, Ga.
Practice in all the courts. Money
loaned. Titles abstracted.
Tire $ Ofc Insurance
H. D. Skellie
Office Phor.e No. 54.
FORT VALLEY, GA.
C. L. SHEPARD,
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW,
Fort Valley, Ga.
Office Over Fir«t Notional Bank.
TONSORIAL ARTIST
For anything in the tonsorial line
don’t fail to call on
WILLIAMS
Next Door to Post Office.
Experienced alL workmen Everything and courteous up-to-date,
tention to „.iw
---
NEWSY (JLK ANiNGS.
According to a decision of the Illi¬
nois Supreme Court foam is not beer.
Railroad companies are preparing
to expend millions for freight equip¬
ment.
Dalmatians look with suspicion on
Austria’s annexation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
Turkish Ministers are pleased at
Russia’s determined opposition to
Austria’s aims.
Rear-Admiral Emory landed at
Amoy and called on the imperial Chi¬
nese commissioners.
Lee De Forest, the wireless expert,
said wireless telephones were proving
a success on two British warships.
Henry Farman covered twenty
miles in twenty minutes in his aero¬
plane, flying from Mourmelon to
Rheims.
At the dispersal of the McGrath
iana Stud of horses, tho property of
of Milton Young, 468 head realized
$81,285.
Naval officers at Newport ex¬
pressed the opinion that the stranded
cruiser Yankee would be saved by
John Arbuckle’s plan.
Many expressions of public opinion
in favor of the anti-noise ordinances
were received in New York City by
the Committee on Laws and Legisla¬
tion.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Justice
Issued orders that in future subjects
of foreign powers in Bulgaria should
no longer enjoy the intermediary of
their consuls.
The New York City Board of Edu¬
cation postponed action on a resolu¬
tion designed to bar teachers and
other employes from taking an active
interest in politics.
Bequests of $150,000 to the M etro
politan Museum of Art and of $2,
000,000 to the New York Post Grad
uate Hospital were made in the will
0 £ Frederic Cooper Hewitt,
The boy who is thrown on his own
resources is the one who does things.