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sand. This is the largest army of which we hear in Scripture, but it does not exceed the known numbers of other oriental armies in ancient times. Darius Codomannus brought into the field at Arbela a force of 1,040,000. Xerxes crossed into Greece with above a mil lion. Artaxerxes Mnemon collected 1,260,000 men to meet the attack of the younger Cyrus.— Speaker’s Com. Twenty camels employed to carry cour iers upon them might have procured that number of men to meet in a short time. Every one of these Cushite shep herds, carrying with them their own provisions of flour and water, as is their invariable custom, might have fought with Asa without eating a loaf of Zerah’s bread or drinking a pint of his water* supply.— Bruce. v. 11. Cried unto his God. His prayer is short, but there is much in it. He gives to God the glory of His infinite power and sovereignty. He takes hold of their covenant relation to God. He pleads their dependence upon God, and the eye they had to Him in this expedition. He asks God to maintain His own honor.—Henry. It is nothing with Thee. R. V. “ There is none beside Thee to help between the mighty and him that hath no strength" — to help the weak under unequal con ditions. Asa’s prayer breathes the true spirit of faith and trust in God.—Dum- melow. Help us, O Lord. Sometimes a fog will settle over a vessel’s deck and yet leave the topmast clear. Then a sailor goes up aloft and gets a look out which the helmsman on deck can not see. So prayer sends the soul aloft; lifts it above the clouds that befog us, and gives us a chance to see which way to steer.— Spurgeon. The best answer to all objections urged against prayer is the fact that man, when he is in real need, cannot help praying, for we may be sure that that which is so spontaneous and ineradicable in human nature has its fitting objects and methods in the arrangements of a boundless Provi dence.—Chapin. Prayer is a strong wall and fortress of the church. It is a goodly Christian’s weapon, which no man knows or finds out, only he who has the spirit of grace.— Luther. The protection of God cannot, without sacrilege, be invoked but in behalf of justice and right.—Kossuth. We rest on Thee. He who has sought God in the day of peace and prosperity can with holy boldness cry to Him in the day of testing, and rest upon His prom
ises, and God will have delight in. giv ing him great victory.— Sum. Bible. v. 12. So the Lord smote. The de feat of Zerah is one of the most re markable events in the history of the Jews. On no other occasion did they meet in the field and overcome the forces of either of the two great monar chies between which they were placed. — People’s Bible. Prayers are heard in heaven very much in proportion to our faith. Little faith will get very great mercies, but great faith, still greater.— Spurgeon. Our prayer and God’s mercy are like two buckets in a well—while one ascends, the other de scends.-—-Hopkins. Prayer moves the hand which moves the world.—Wallace. Pictorial Questions Who was Abijah? 2 Chron. 13:1. Who was Asa? In whose stead did Asa reign? What is the city of David? How long did the LESSON land of Judah have QUESTIONS rest? W. H. Pike Did Asa do right? Did Asa do right in man’s sight or God’s sight? What reform did he undertake? What did he cause to be destroyed? 14:3, 5. What command did he send out to all Judah? What was the result to his kingdom of these religious reforms? What did Asa build? What did God give Asa and his king dom? What reason did he give for building these cities? Did Asa prosper in his building pro jects? Did Asa have a standing army? How large was his army? What equipment did Asa’s army pos sess? What kind of men did Asa choose for his army? Who was Zerah? - Where was the land of Ethiopia?
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