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T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
July 1927
scene consisting of many ranges, one towering above the other, is before the physical eye of the observer. In describ ing this mountain scene the observer may speak of some hills in the immediate fore ground and in the same breath speak of a lone towering mountain peak in the most distant range and not violate any principle of logic and common sense. Thus it was the. prophet saw the entire line of kings, all of which, except one, committed iniquity and were chastised. Furthermore, God was a Father to every one and they were His sons, as the pas sage declares, but like the lone mountain .peak in the distant range, the prophet sees the King of Israel Who never com mitted any sin and in Whom “sin in the flesh” did not reside. This is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory Who came unto His own and His own received Him not, but said, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him, crucify Him.” Being rejected by His own and put to death for our sins and raised for our justification, He, like the nobleman, has gone into a far country to receive for Himself a kingdom and to return. In the meantime His faithful servants, to each,of, whom He has com mitted “a pound,” are to be diligent as ambassadors for the king. Upon His re turn He will reward them according to their faithfulness and works and will take His great power and reign over the earth for then “the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.” The curse be ing lifted and all His foes slain, He will reign upon the earth a thousand years and at the same time the downtrodden people, Israel, shall become the head of the na tion instead of the tail. David was over whelmed by such wonderful and amazing promises and could hardly comprehend how God would condescend to honor him in such a signal manner, as is expressed in his prayer of thankfulness and grati tude to God (1 Chron. 17:16-27). In spired by this vision of glory, the same vision of glory when “the glory of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea,” every true Christian heart re echoes the _sound which went forth from the lonely isle of Patmos, “Even so come. Lord JeSUs,” Thou bright and morning Star, to deliver us out of the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. God’s Promise to David 1 Chron, 17:1-12. Memory Verse: “O how great is thy goodness.” Psalm 31:19. Approach : Did mother or a teacher ever promise you a reward? How many of you boys were ever promised some money to do an extra good job of clean
ises. There is one person who keeps every promise He ever made. He has never failed and will keep every promise. Do you know who that person is? Yes, the Lord Jesus. Our story today is about a promise God made to David. Lesson Story: Boys and girls, why do you come to Sunday School and church? To learn about Jesus. To study the Bible. Because God’s Word tells us to meet to gether. Because we love the Lord Jesus, and we come to His- house to worship Him. (Review, emphasizing reverence and sincerity in our worship, and careful thought for God’s house.) In our beau tiful story today David is sitting in his house, built of the beautifully scented Cedar wood, and he is thinking.of his nice, comfortable home. Of course David is. very thankful for the lovely home God has given him, but he is thinking of the Ark of God which we. heard about last week, with only a tent house. David’s love of God made him want to have a better place than a, tent for God’s house. David talked about his plans to Nathan, the prophet of God, an earnest, true hearted man, who kept in close touch with God. David showed great wisdom in talk ing over, his wish with such a man of God. Many of God’s people today are living in fine, comfortable homes, but they are not thankful for the blessings God has sent them. Are you? Nathan, the prophet, thought it was a good thing to have, a better house for God, but he did not trust to what he thought, but he went to God. We will never make any mis takes in doing the wrong thing, if we ask'God to lead us. God told the prophet to tell David that He was not yetiready to. build a perm anent'house" of God, as the people were
Fred S. Shepard’s Blackboard Outline
Sometimes T V E S IR E S T ) ICHER I K 1 VENTED •-£. JL V E WARDS Thy will be done. Matt. 6:10. not yet settled, and the tent could easily be moved from place to place. "God said he had taken David away from caring for the .sheep that he might become a leader for his people. He had taken such good care of the sheep God knew he could trust him to be a good king and leader. God told David through the prophet that his son should build' a tem ple for God’s house. It was as great a joy to David to know his sort would be honored in building God’s house as in receiving that honor himself. So while Go.d did not permit David to build him a house, yet David’s prayer was answered, and a most mag nificent house of God was built by- Sol omon after David had gone home to heaven. .After hearing God’s promise for him and his children, David broke forth in praise and thanksgiving. How happy God was to hear David praising him. Do we praise God for His goodness to us, even when we can not have our own way? David did not get to build the house of God, but he praised God. Our; memory verse is a part o f his praise. Let us say it together and as we say it, may we think how’great His good ness has been to us. ously erred and will still be his strength ; to warn all against the force of sudden temptation in unguarded hours. When David at length came to his senses, his harp was strung to new meas ures of sadness, in which sorrow for sin was blended with a heart-cry after holi ness. In his Psalms of penitence, he has shown that there is forgiveness for the backslider, and .thousands through them have been kept from despair. David’s trouble started when he con tented himself with sending his troops against Ammon, and he “ tarried at Jeru salem.” Had he been enduring hardships with his men, these temptations to luxury and lust would probably not have come near him. Plenty of healthy activity is always a safeguard against sin. He is found loitering behind» taking his quiet siesta in the hot hours of the after noons. He strolls out upon the palace roof, peers into the household privacies below, admits a polluted thought to his heart, then pursues it to the end. He must have this beautiful married woman. Her husband must be gotten rid of by strata gem that shall make it appear that he had perished in battle. Sin started, ever takes more sin to hide it. Passion ran ste
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A ugust 28, 1927 N a than Leads David to Repentance Lesson Text—2 Samuel 12:1-14
TAAVID was at the height of his pros- ^ perity. He had reached the crowning .point of his work for Israel. He had written and sung his sweetest and most
trustful songs. Sure ly the emissaries of the devil must have been closely dogging his steps that at such a time he s h o u l d have a -fierce out break of his passion ate nature, that for
many a month should benumb all that was spiritual in him, and bring him a curse from God ! The Bible is a faithful Book. It never leaves us to think that any human ser vant of God sprouted wings while here on earth. It plainly tells ,us their sins and how they got the crushing burden of iniquity removed from their souls. So David, like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and Peter, sinned at the very point of his pe culiar excellence. Why should the story of his deep-dyed' sin appear on the pages of Scripture? To show that there is forgiveness for sins through contrite confession; that God loves His child even when he has griev
ing up the yard? When the work was done what did you expect? Did mother or father keep their promise? Yes, they did. Do people here on earth ever fail to keep promises ? Yes, e v e r y day. We should be very care
ful when we make promises, to stand by our word. The world is full of sor row and trouble because.of broken prom
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