T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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I n t e r na t i ona l Ser i es of Sunday School Le s sons || flv EXPOSITION OF THE LESSON, - Frederic W. Farr (JV DEVOTIONAL COMMENT, B - John A. Hubbard jL2L A A ' ll C W O W * COMMENTS FROM THE COMMENTARIES, H. G. Dean CTW) I f ^ ^ ELEMENTARY, - ~ - ~ Vfr v Mabel L. hferrill v v U
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known everywhere. Nowhere in the Old Testament is this more clearly expressed than here. The nations are called upon to rejoice and be glad because the worship of the true God will take the place of idols and because the one and only true God is to be the judge of all the earth at the end of time. The Psalm closes with the rest of the three fold blessing of the high priest and Holy Trinity with which it began. The “Old Hundredth” Psalm: (Psa. 100:1-5) Of all, the Psalms, this is perhaps the one that has come home most to the hearts of men in every age. Everyone knows it, loves it and sings it. This may be partly due to the music which has been given to it since the time of Luther. It is a universal Psalm. It is addressed to “all people that on earth do dwell,” It sets forth in clearest utterance that a true follower of the one God is not sor- sowful. If the people of God in general lived a more joyful life they would be more envied and highly esteemed. The Psalmist gives three reasons for this joyful spirit. Je hovah* as the object of praise, is the only true God. He is also the Creator and we are his people whom He feeds and protects. The chief reason, however, is that the Lord is good and his mercy is not only for time but for eternity. We can best appreciate the meaning of this when we are in eternity ourselves. “The Psalter, in more ways than one, is rich in mission ary meaning............ There is one thing which strikes the reader at once, and that is the constant anticipation of a King that shall reign in righteousness, and of a Kingdom that shall reach to the uttermost COMMENTS from the ends of the earth. The King of COMMENTARIES whom the Psalmists sing is more H. G. Dean God than man, and the dominion which is promised to him is hu manity, rather than Israel. Of course the national glory is there, but we know that we are dealing with a great mis sionary thought, which admits of no limitation short of hu manity as a whole. . . . But the missionary character of the Psalter is not only in its foreeast of the Messianic Kingdom, but much more in the fullness, the richness and the beauty with which it delineates both the deepest experiences and the most transient moods of the human soul in its rela tion to God. Nothing important seems to be left out........... It would have been inconceivable beforehand how a com munity which was thinking only of its exclusive privileges and its superiority to the other nations of the world could unconsciously forecast a holy King to whom all the nations of ,the heathen should be given, and compose the grateful praises in which a ransomed humanity would join. But that inconceivable possibility is precisely the miracle which is realized in the Psalms and the missionary significance of it must be plain as soon as it is pointed out.”—The Bible as a Missionary Book. Psalm 47:1-9 “This is rightly regarded as a Messianic psalm, in as much as it looks forward to the submission of all the na tions of the world to Jehovah as their King.”—Cambridge Bible. “They are bidden to praise Jehovah because He is a terrible conqueror, subduing all peoples and placing them under his own chosen people Israel.”—Amos R. Wells.
Some Missionary Teachings of the Psalms Golden Text: “Let the people praise thee, 0 God; let all the people praise thee.”, Psa. 67:3. Lesson Text: Psa. 67:1-7 (Read Psalms 96-99; .Rev. 5:8-14) Devotional Reading, Psa. 98:1-9. Introduction: The Psalter is the Hebrew hymn-book. It is inexpress ibly dear to believers because its hymns are the utterances of religious feeling in song. The highest thought of any people is always found in their poetry. Dispensationally, the teaching of the Psalms belongs to. EXPOSITION the coming kingdom age, but theolog- Dr. F. W. Farr ically they express the religious expe rience of Jew and Gentile in every age since God fashioneth their hearts alike. Many of the Psalms are distinctively prophetic; many of the historic Psalms have a prophetic outlook; while the Messianic Psalms are either historic or prophetic, according as they relate to the first or the second advent. The extracts that follow are taken almost at random from the list of one hundred and fifty hymns.- • A Paean of Praise: (Psalm 47:1-9) The historic event that gave rise to this Psalm is not in evidence, but by common consent it is called Messianic. The Hebrew, like the Celt, is always emotional. The intens ity of the joy expressed by this Psalm is the reason for its brevity. Such intensity of feeling cannot be long sustained. It soon spends itself. In the first place, the joy of the Lord rings out true and loud in spite of the fact that the immediate occasion is past and may even have been forgotten. No faith could be dubious or melancholy which could produce a song of this character. Then the sentiment of gratitude is woven into the strain for the personal part taken by God in the national deliver ance. The Psalmist actually believed that God took an interest in his people, and interposed for their defense in time of peril and need. Then follows the assurance of certainty concerning the future fulfilment of the promises of God’s Word. What has already taken place is the guarantee of more to follow. The glory of Messiah’s reign must culminate in universal rule. “The excellency of Jacob whom Ihe loved” will more and more become manifest, but the Kingdom of God will not be limited to Israel for God is the King of all the earth. A Benedictory Song: (Psalm 67:1-7) Here the ancient blessing of the high priest is turned into a prayer. The blessing of God to Israel is stressed as nowhere else in the Psalter, yet the object of the Psalm is to proclaim the world-wide nature of the Divine blessing. One passes, over into the other through the purpose of God. The reason given for granting the prayer of blessing to Israel is that Israel may pass it on to the ends of th earth. Israel was intended to be the missionary nation which should banish heathenism and idolatry and make God
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