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TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I NE S S
establishes it on earth. The majesty of both' the King and His kingdom will be recognized throughout the whole earth. That kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and the dominion of its King is throughout all 'generations. All other kingdoms will give way to this one. Wars .w ill end; national jealousies will cease; and all will be at peace, enjoying prosperity and, security. II. T he L ord ' s G race (14-17) The Lord will sustain the fallen and lift up those who are bowed down. Many are in this' condition now, or will be — prior to the time when the kingdom will be set up. They are fallen and bowed down because of various.causes : physical, mental, and spiritual. All are in need of the gracious upholding of, the King. Their appeal to Him will not be in vain. All who call upon Him, in any age, will have an answer from Him. His grace will cover every need. All living things look to Him for their provision, and are not disap pointed. The beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea, together with all mankind, find their desires fully met by the King’s gracious treatment and provision. But that provision will be made in perfect righteousness, in accordance with the nature of the Lord whose ways are always and supremely righteous (v. 17). It is His righteousness that must be established before His grace can be manifested. We can praise God that the righteousness rests uflon the firm foundation of the finished work of Christ upon the cross of Calvary, where the way was opened for God to act in grace. By that work the Lord Himself will establish justice and equity in all the earth. We should never forget that God is first righteous before He can be gracious (cf. Heb. 7:1, 2). . III. T he L ord ' s C ompassion (18, 19) The presence of the Lord is ever with thé people, but that presence is realized only by those who feel their need of Him and call upon Him in truth. To such He is always near—so near that the feeblest cry. is heard and answered. But the petition must be made “in truth.” Much supplication goes unanswered because little truth is in it. There-is the selfish cry, the one that desires only personal relief from burdens, irrespective of the con sequences to others. There is the cry that does not consider whether the thing asked is" righteous. There is also the teasing cry which, would endeavor to cause Gpd to change His mind about a settled matter. All these peti- - A
(v. 11). The saints of God will have marvelous, subjects to talk about in the days of our*Lord’s victory. All the events connected with the Lord’s sec -4 ond advent will become subjects of entrancing interest. But there are rto less reasons for the saints of God to talk about the things of God today. It- is their privilege to talk about the wonders of God’s Word. It is their responsibility to speak of the glories of redemption to those who have never heard of them. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so” (Psa. 107:2). 4. "The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call ■upon him in truth" (v. 18). This means that thé Lord is always ready to hear " the prayers of His children. But« there is one condition imposed which must be heeded if arféwers are to be ex-’ pected. Prayer must be in truth. It must be offered in harmony with the teaching of God’s Word on the subject of prayer. Golden Text Illustration P salm 145:12 People who pass Lord Rothschild’s 1mansion in Piccadilly often notice that the end of one of the cornices is un finished. One is likely to ask, “Couid not the richest man in the world af ford to pay for that cornice? Or is the lack simply due to carelessness?” The explanation is very simple, yet suggestive. Lord Rothschild is an or thodox Jew, and every pious Jew’s house, tradition says, must have some part unfinished to bear testimony to the world that its occupant is, like Abraham, a pilgrim and stranger on the earth. The incomplete cornice on the mansion seems to say to all who hurry by in the streets, bent on amass ing worldly wealth, or going with the crowd in the paths of folly: “This is not Lord Rothschild’s home; .he is traveling to e t e r n i t y.”—Christian Herald (London). People Help Us To Know God L uke 4:16-22 MEMORY VERSE: “So shall I keep thy law continally for ever and ever” (Psa. 119:44). AIM: To show that Jesus Christ is the world’s greatest Teacher and from Him we learn the way of salvation. APPROACH: Long ago, a little group of people went to the house of
BLACKBOARD LESSON
tions rise no higher than the sound of the voice, k v . * The desire of those who fear the Lord will be fulfilled. He has tender mercy and loving compassion upon all the troubled, and can and does satisfy their desire. To fear the Lord means to hold Him in such reverence that He and His plans and purposes are supreme in one’s thinking. It is about the same as the prayer, “Our Father which art in -heaven, Hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy Will be done” upon earth. When this petition is offered in truth, and God’s honor and authority and will are foremost in the .mind, then the fear of God is in the heart and the answer is assured. Such a person as this can ask anything and it will be done or given. Points and Problems 1. Psalm 145 is an alphabetic or acrostic Psalm. This means that in the original language each successive verse of the Psalm begins with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in their proper order. For an unknown reason one letter is missing. Thus there are twenty-one verses in the Psalm in stead of twenty-two. The purpose of this alphabetic idea was for one or -both of two reasons: (1) It was meant to be an aid to the memory, (2) It was a method employed to exhaust the subject at hand. The subject of this Psalm is that of praise to God. Whichever may have been the .exact purpose of the acrostic plan, we may be sure that the words of this Psalm present abundant reasons why every redeemed soul should say “Hallelu jah!” / 2» ."Thy saints shall bless thee" (v. TO). This refers definitely to the time when Christ’s kingdom shall be estab lished in the earth. Then, when the ideal order for this earth is set up and men shall see the King with undimmed vision, His saints shall be filled with praise and adoration of Him who is worthy of all praise. But now, even though the King’s presence is absent from the world, one of the best ways to determine a saint of God is by the presence of a praiseful spirit in his life.. 3. "They shall speak *of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power”
God one day, and they f o u n d that their Teacher that morning w a s the best Teacher w h o ever l i v e d ! Today we s h a l l h e a r about Him. LESSON STORY:- It was a Sabbath day, and when the
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