age to protect his faithful subject, and the prophet of the Lord. Such a king shall have no countenance from the King of Kings, and the Source of Kingship* He dared not and did not, release from custody the man he owns as the mouthpiece of God, but re- manded him to prison (v. 21). De Palissy, the famous potter, imprisoned as a heretic I y the Romanists was visited by H e n ry III, the French monarch". "My good ma n ," said the king, "you have now served my mother and myself for forty-five years. We have put up with your adhering to your religion amid flames ' and massacres: now I am so pressed by the Guise p a r ty as well as my own people, t h at I am constrained to leave you in the hands of your enemies, and to- morrow you will be burnt unless you be- come converted." "Sire," answered the un- conquered old man, "I am ready to give my life for the glory of God. You have said ma ny times t h at you have pity on me; and now I have pity on .you, who have pro- nounced the words M am constrained!' It is not spoken like a king; it is wh at you, and those who.constrain you, ... . can never ef- fect upon me, for I know how to die." .(Smiles.) Such a king had no place on the throne of David. No other word from the Lord could come but, "Thou shalt be deliv- ered into the hands of the king of Babylon." 3. If the Word of God were favorable t a un- godly sinners they would not. persecute His prophets; but so long as they remain in their ungodliness they may seek a word f r om the Lord but will find f r om cover to cover t h at it is against them. > PIVOT. fail or forsake thee," Josh 1:5 is His Word. False Charge. It is false" (vs. 14). A good m an doing the will of God may be charged wrongfully. Evil men are prone to give good men- bad motives. Joseph was falsely charged by Potiphar's wife. Daniel suffered from false charges at the hands of the politicians in Babylon. The Apostles were charged with turning the world upside down when .they were trying to turn it right side up, and Christ Himself was falsely ac- cused. The p a th of duty is not a. p a th of roses. A prison often awaits the faithful follower of the Lord, but better a prison with a clear conscience t h an a palace with a hard heart. False Prophets. "Where are now your prophets?" (ve. 19). Time will tell who are the true and who the false prophets. If the Old T e s t ame nt is full of my t hs and fables, if men can be saved by character, if there is no hell, if all men are saved, then will the Church have been found to have been built upon a false foundation and our glori- ous ma r t y rs to have died fdolishly. But if there is a hell and salvation can only be a t- tained through faith in the atoning blood of Christ, then will the false prophets of the 20th Century stand guilty before God and a deceived race.
people (v. 4) to warn, council, or speak God's word to them. J. indignantly repelled the charge. "It is false!" said he. 2. But the princes "smote him" (v. IB). They probably beat him with "forty stripes save one" (2 Cor. 11:1.4) as they did the later patriot- prophet Paul. " T he tender mercies of the wicked are cruel" (Prov. 12:10), and are the same in all ages (Mt. 10:17; Jno. 19:1). IV. THE PROPHET IN PRISON. 1. "Five phases of Jeremiah's prison ex- periences are recorded: (1) He is arrested in the gate and committed to a dungeon on the false charge of treason (¿7:11-15); (2) he is released from the dungeon, but re- strained to the court of the prison; (3) he is imprisoned in the miry dungeon of Malchiah (38:1-6); (4) he is again released from the dungeon and kept in the prison court (38:13- 28) ; (5) oarried in chains from the city by Nebu-zar-adan, captain of the guard, he is finally released at R a m ah (40:1-4)." Scof. Bible. To this may be added t h at J. was taken against his will and carried captive into Egypt by the r e mn a nt who in direct repudiation of the Word of God by J. (42:9- 16) went into Egypt (43:4-7). 2. "Is there any word from the Lord?" (37:17). The craven king, fearful of his princes, "secretly" asked of the prophet a word from the Lord. H e had neither thè convictions nor the cour- PITH AN Zedekiah the King illustrates a tendency amo ng men. He wanted the prophet J e r e- miah to pray for J u d ah while at the same time he was putting his t r u st in men. False Hopes. "Deceive not yourselves" (vs. 9). Men are buoyed up with false hopes. Zedekiah looked for help from Egypt, which is a type of the world. He closed his ears to the message from God. He was stubbornly fighting against the will of God. He de- sired the prayer of the prophet, yet wanted his own will. He tried playing false and loose with God. He shut his eyes to the t r u th and believed a lie. Wh en Israel was faithful to God they wei% irresistible in con- flict - with their enemies. When they renounced allegiance t o God and repudiated His prophets they became an easy prey to the enemy. God can work His will with the weakest instrumentalities. You cannot place confidence upon the a rm of flesh. The hypocrite's hopes shall perish. ... Job 8:13. The world will fail you, h uman philosophers will fail you,. friends will fail you, God alone can be depended upon. "There h a th not failed one word of all His good promises," 1 Kings 8.56. "I will not
Lesson for August 27th
JUDAH'S END COMES AT LAST. Lesson IX. J er. 39. (Cf. 2 Kgs. 25:1-7; 2 Chr. 36:17-21: Jer. 52:4-17.)
I. THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. "Jerusalem," according to Gesenius, means "The Foundation of Peace" or "Safety." We see then t h at its n ame is not history but prophecy. For the city h as known but little
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