A Study Showing the Importance of Intercession. A Call to Prayer. From a Sermon Preached By DR. W. B. H INSON Portland, Oregon Isaiah 59:16. “And He wondered th a t th ere was no intercessor.”
th e foot of thundering Sinai had made a calf of .gold. An aw ful licentiousness had broken out in wicked adoration of th a t idol made by Aaron. And the an ger of God flamed like lightning. And God said to Moses, “You le t th e people die, and I will make of you and your seed the chosen nation .” And Moses, w ith no p article of selfishness about him, replied in th is high and fearfu l fashion. “Have mercy upon the people, O God; or if not, blot me I pray Thee ou t of th e book which Thou h ast w rit ten .” And God answered, “ I will blot only those out of my book who have sinned.” B u t He heard th e prayer of Moses. And then in Numbers you read th a t Miriam murmured against Moses and therefore! against the God of Moses: and she went white w ith leprosy as a resu lt of h er rebellious heart. And Moses against whom she had m urm ured prayed for her, and in seven days her flesh was clean as th a t of a child* And Aaron— in Deuteronomy we are told— sinned against God, and Moses who was b ro ther to Aaron and Miriam, bu t who also fathered them and moth ered them , prayed for A aron; and as a resu lt of his intercession for his brother, th e sin of Aaron was forgiven. And then in Joshua we read th a t Israel m et w ith a sw ift and terrib le de feat, before th e men of Ai. And in con sternation th e leader of th e arm y asked God why th is th ing was so. And he dared ta lk like th is to Jehovah, “W hat shall I say when Israel tu rn s h er back to h er enem ies; and w hat will you do w ith your g reat Name if you let Israel
HE stream of intercession rises in far off Genesis,— th a t first hook of th e Bible— and runs all through th e Book un til it finds its home as a lake of silver in a chalice of gold in th e four-square city of God
mentioned in Revelation. The most spectacular intercessory prayer th e Bible discloses is th a t of Abraham pleading for doomed Sodom and Gomorrah. “-God,’! he said, “ If th ere are fifty good people in Sodom will you spare it? ” And the Lord re plied in th e affirmative. “Should th e re lack five of th e fifty will you spare it? ” And again th e reply was, “Yes.” “ If only fo rty good people are found in Sodom will you suspend th e doom?” And the Lord de clared He would. “ If b u t th irty good people be found,” pleaded th e p atriarch , “W ill mercy be shown?” And “Assur edly,” replied Jehovah. “And if th ere be b u t tw enty ju s t persons found in those wicked cities, may they be spared by Thy G race?” And th e Lord said, “Yes.” “Suffer me bu t one more word,” said th e p atriarch , “ If th ere be ten good people found in Sodom will forbearance be extended?” And God still answered, “Yes.” A w onderful illu stration of the pathos and pertinacity of intercessory prayer. When you come into th e book of Exo dus you find the most sta rtlin g illus tratio n of th e prayer of intercession found in th e Old Testament. Israel at
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