T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S wept with a loud voice, and praise and lamentation combined (Psa. 106). They shouted, as Israel shouted, the shout of faith and victory, and the walls of Jeri cho went down. So should the saints of God always shout. Do not the sera phim sing (Isa. 6:3) “ Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” ? And will not the Lord descend from heaven with a shout some good day? And will not the Church cry “Hallelujah” ? How could they refrain? Every true, instructed Christian knows that the departed saints must be looking forward to that event. God had not forgotten Israel. His Word cannot be broken. The religious life of the true Israel was a joyful life. Read the story of the feast days. In 1 Chron. 6:16-30 we have the choir list ed which David appointed (v. 31) “And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after that the ark had rest.” and in 1 Chron. 16:4-43 we have the great Hallelujah Chorus composed by David, in one verse of which he calls upon the earth to “Sing unto the Lord, * * * shew forth from day to day his salvation.” and-the spirit of praise is the voice of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:19, 20) “ Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” A great deal of the present-day music sung in our churches lacks the rever ence which should characterize devo tion. Some of it is unscriptural and meaningless. The old hymns are the best because of their depth of expression of devotion to the Lord. Most anthems are specially designed to exhibit the voice of the singer and not to express the joy of blood-washed saints. The lesson, however, is clear. God’s people should be a trustful restful, prayerful, praiseful people- We be long to our Father in Heaven and He belongs to us. -He never sleeps.' His eye is upon us. His love is unchanging.
730
Outline: (1) The Foundation of the Tem/ple, vs. 3:8-13. (2) The Futile Effort to Frustrate the Work, vs. 4:1-6. (3) The Finishing and Dedication, 6:14-22. Introduction: The teacher will have to tell the story of this lesson and weave into it a few definite lessons. In order to do any justice to the account, the three chap ters should be read LESSON carefully and prayer- EXPOSITION fully. We are suggest- 3P. C. Horton ing three heads in the outline, which w i l l furnish a basis for the lesson. (1) THE FOUNDATION OF THE TEMPLE, 3:8-13. “ The founda tion of the house was laid” (3:14). The second chapter gives a long list of the remnant returning from captivi ty -s- representatives from all of the tribes, but mostly from Judah and Ben jamin. The account of the first return B. C. 536 is found in Ezra 1-6 and re corded in Haggai and Zechariah; the second under Ezra, in B. C. 458, is re corded in Ezra 7-10; the third, fourteen years later, under Nehemiah, is found in Neh. 2:1-5. When the seventh month came the altar was set up (3:2, 3). This was the first essential for Israel, and it is the first essential in every believer’s homie,— an altar to the Lord, a family altar, where the family (if there is one) may gather in praise and prayer. Think of the joy they experienced as they kept the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atone ment, and commenced the daily burnt ¡offerings! Get the picture of the priests in their priestly robes, the Levites and Sons of Asaph with their cymbals, and the multitude singing and praising God together and shouting for joy as they laid the foundations for the Temple. Some who had seen the first temple
Made with FlippingBook Annual report