Cylchgronau Cymru

January 15, 189^ THE WELSH WEEKLY, 11 SABBATH SCHOOL LESSONS. SPECIAL COURSE. Hebrews xii. 25-29 (Jan. 24th, 1892). Connection.—Ebrard erroneously connects this exhortation with the last words of ver. 24, construing it as a warning " not to refuse this Jesus, who by His blood cries for grace to us." Ver. 26 makes this view of the connection untenable : the voice, which we are Exhorted not to refuse, is not a voice which (especially) cries for grace, but a voice which shakes " not the ©arth only, but also heaven." Besides, the Speaker everywhere in this Epistle is God, whether by men, or Angels, or by the Son. The connection is rather with the whole of the preceding paragraph : the warn¬ ing is based upon the contrast drawn between the two revelations, and upon the superior privileges of Christians, which privileges bring with them weightier responsibilities. ; Outline.—Christians are warned as to their conduct towards God's final revelation of Himself (25-27). In proportion to the superiority of this revelation is the guilt of its rejection (25a). And this revelation is superior to the former, inasmuch as it is heavenly, hot earthly (26), complete (26), and final (27). A final practical appeal (28)j and a solemn inducement (29) close the Section. Ver. 25. Him that speaketh. Not Jesus, but God ; that is, of course, God in Christ. The exhorta¬ tion is not to refuse God's will and final revelation. The present tense indicates, according to Westcott, that " He who ' spake in a Son ' (c. i. 2) still speaks in Him." They. The people of Israel to whom the law was given. Escaped not. Delitzsch takes this to mean that in spite of their entreaty they were compelled to remain on Sinai, to listen to the voice, and to witness all the terrible phenomena which accompanied the revelation. Ebrard supplies "penalty"; and this is the most probable view (compare ii. 2, 3). Westcott refers to the long sufferings of the Israelites in the wilderness as witnessing to the punishment of their unbelief. Who refused. The verb is the same as that used in ver. 19, and rendered there " entreated." But the sin of the people could not have been their entreaty for the mediation of Moses, for God approved of the fear which dictated that prayer (Deut. v. 28, 29). Westcott finds their sin in " the temper which made the request necessary." We may take that entreaty as typical of their disposition to refuse God's commands, which soon and constantly brought upon them the Divine anger. Him that spake on earth. Not Moses, for it is the same person who speaks "on earth" and "from heaven " ; nor yet Christ, for it is inconceivable that so important a thought should be thus unceremoniously introduced; but God. On earth. That is on Sinai; the words which the Israelites heard proceeded from the mount. The speaking also bore an earthly character, and it was attended with earthly accompaniments. Moreover the purpose and sphere of the speaking were earthly. If we turn away. Belter, " we who are turning away." The Hebrews were already in this condition ; they had not become apostate, but they were in that Btate of " turning away " which precedes apostasy. Him that speaketh from Heaven. The speaker again is. God. The antithesis lies not between the persons who speak, but between the earthly character of the old revelation and the heavenly character of the new. The expressions " on earth " and " from heaven " are highly figurative. We must also avoid extorting from the words more that a relative signifi¬ cance. Strictly speaking, every self-revelation of God must be " from heaven," and every such revelation to 'nan must be " on earth " ; in other words it must be both Spiritual and material. But the progress of Divine revelation consists in the triumph of the Spiritual over the material—of the reality over the form. While the revelation was obscure aDd incom¬ plete, through being clad in material forms, the self- revelation of God in Christ is clear and full, through the Spiritual character of its manifestation. , Ver. 26. Shook the earth. In the narrative of the giving of the Law it is stated that " the whole mount quaked greatly." The same fact is frequently repeated ia the Old Testament (see Judg. v. 4, 5; Ps_. Ixviii. 8 and cxiv. 7). These convulsions of nature which accompanied the old revelation were small compared With the revolution which is wrought by the new. Promised. The word may be taken in its literal meaning. "The announcement of this final catas¬ trophe of the world, however awful in itself, is a 'promise,' because it is for the triumph of the cause of God that believers look " (Westcott). Yet once more, &c. The words are quoted from Haggai ii. 6, and adapted to the writer's argument, by the omission of the words sea, dryland, all nations, and by emphasizing the word heaven. The prophecy, which primarily relates to the glory of the second temple and the triumph of the house of David, is taken to indicate the consummation of the divine revelation in Christ. Between the beginning and the end there is a correspondence and yet a contrast: in both cases there is a " shaking; " but in the latter case the shaking is more extensive and effectual. Ver. 27. From the expression Yet once more (which means Again, once for all), the writer infers the finality of this " shaking," that no other shall follow. This involves the removal of all things shakeable, so that the unshakeable things may remain. Are Shaken. That is, they are even now being shaken. Things that are made. " The visible earth and heaven are treated as transitory forms, which only represent in time the heavenly and eternal. As the material types of spiritual realities they are spoken of characteristically as ' made,' and so as liable to perish " (Westcott). That those things.....may remain. It is doubtful whether we should connect these words with the clause immediately preceding (things that are made), or make them dependent on the removing of those things that are shaken. Either connection would render an appropriate sense. Delitzsch adopts the former; Westcott, Bleek, and others take the latter view. We quote from Westcott the following general exposition of the passage :—" The crisis to which the writer of the Epistle looks forward is, speaking generally, the establishment of the ' heavenly' Christian order when the ' earthly ' order of the Law was removed. He makes no distinction between the beginning and the consummation of the age then to be inaugurated, between the catastrophe of the fall of Jerusalem and the final return of Christ; the whole course of the history of the Christian Church is included in the fact of its first establishment-." Ver. 28. A kingdom. The idea of a kingdom naturally follows the prophecy in the last verse. " Beceiving: a kingdom " may mean either " becoming subject to a king," or " obtaining sovereignty." The latter is the meaning here. This kingdom cannot be moved; it consists of the unshakeable things which remain from the catastrophe which the writer has just described. Let us haye grace. Some read "Letus hold fast the grace;" others, "Let us realise (make our own) the grace." A more probable rendering is " Let us have gratitude." This accords well with the follow¬ ing, " Whereby we may serve, &c." " Thankfulness is the Alpha and Omega of all true service of God " '(Delitzsch). Ver. 29. A consuming fire. The reason, why He should be served with " fear." INTERNATIONAL LESSON. HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER AND DELIVER¬ ANCE.—Isa. xxxvii. 14-21, 33-38. (LESSON IY.-JANUARY 24, 1892.) QUARTERLY TEMPERANCE LESSON. Golden Text.—The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth and delivereth them.—Ps. xxxiv. 17. Time.—This event took place probably about b.c. 701, towards the last of Hezekiah's reign, twenty years after the end of the kingdom of Israel. Place.—Jerusalem, the oipital of Judah. Kings.—Hezekiah, of Judah ; Sennacherib, of Assyria. Place in Bible History.—2 Kings xviii. 17-37; xix. 1-37. 2 Chron. xxxii: 1-22. The Cluster of Prophecies about this Assyrian invasion includes chapters xxix-xxxiii. 36, 37, beginning while the enemy is afar off, and ending with th9 sudden destruc¬ tion of Sennacherib's army. Other chapters are placed by some in this cluster, but there is quite a difference of opinion. Confirmations by the Assyrian Monuments.—The light thrown upon the times of this lesson by the Assyrian monuments, so lately discovered, has been very great, and it all goes to confirm the general accuracy of the Bible records. Difficulties have been removed, and doubtless more will be removed, as " future excavations may fid up the imperfections of the record."—Sayce. "In the royal library at Nineveh," says Professor George Smith, " were probably over 10,000 inscribed tablets, from one inch to one foot square, including almost every subject in ancient literature. Sargon (722) first made this library worthy of the empire. Sennacherib, his son, continued to add to it. Great numbers of these tablets and cylinders, with inscrip¬ tions upon them, have been brought to the British Museum and other museums, and the inscriptions have been trans¬ lated." We have access to four sources of Assyrian information about the times of this lesson. (1) Inscriptions on on the so-called Taylor cylinder; (2) those on the Kouyunjik bulls; on (3) another cylinder, similar to the Taylor cylinder, translated by Professor George Smith (" Assyrian'Discoveries," pp. 296-308); (4) inscriptions on slabs in Sennacherib's palace.—Peloubet. Vers. 14-20. 14. And Hezekiah received the letter. The one from Sennacherib, referred to above, demanding the surrender of the city. And Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord. Not because God could not hear him at home, but because it was the most retired from other cares ; was most fitting for a public matter, like the one in hand; was best adapted to worship by all it3 associations ; was the place God had appointed to meet his people, and thus was most reverential and expressive of honour to God. And spread it before the Lord. Not that God might read it in a material sense, but as a part of his prayer, just as we in prayer tell God what we know that He knows infinitely better than we do.. It is a part of true prayer to express our feelings to our Heavenly Father. —P. " The spread out letter was a prayer without words." —Delitzsch. 15. And Hezekiah prayed. Why did God wait for Hezekiah to plead so long and earnestly ? Why does He wish us to wrestle in prayer ? (1) It is not because God is unwilling to bestow good things, or must be over-persuaded, for he is more ready to give than we are to ask. (2) It is that His gifts may bring moral benefits, and save from sin. (3) It is to make us fit to receive, to intensify our desire and appreciation of the things God would bestow. As Jeremy Taylor says, " Our prayers upbraid our spirits when we beg tamely for those things for which we ought to die; which are more precious than Imperial sceptres, richer than the spoils of the sea, or the treasures of tha Indian hills." 16. O Lord. Jehovah, the ever-living eternal Being. Lord of hosts. Not merely the hosts of heaven, the stars, the angels, the bright spirits of the glorified, who are organized into ho^ts to do His will, but all the forces of nature, of every kind, which are also an organized host, under His control, to work out good to those who love Him. God. The personal Creator, who governs and controls all things. God of Israel. The covenant God, who has made promises to His people. That dwellest between the cherubim. This refers to the visible glory, the Shechinah, which really sat upon the lid of the ark, otherwise called " the mercy-seat," and underneath the wings of the cheru¬ bim, which overshadowed the seat of' mercy.—Cowles. Thou art the God, eYen thou alone (all others were pretenders and usurpers), of all the kingdoms of the earth. Assyria belonged to him, as well as Israel. No nation is beyond His power; and therefore He could help against this enemy. 17. Incline thine ear, etc. Spoken after the manner of men, as we still do, although we believe that God is a spirit. Reproach the liYing God. Hezekiah's plea was for the honour of God Himself ; and in the Lord's Prayer the first petitions are for the honour of God and the coming of His kingdom. 18. Of a truth, Lord, etc. The boasting of the Assyrians was true. Vers. 19, 20. And have cast their gods into the fire. These idol gods of the other nations had no power against the invaders. Of course not, for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands. But Jehovah was not an idol. Men did not make Him, but He made mpn. Now was the opportunity to prove to all the kingdoms of the earth . . . that thou art the Lord, eYen thou only. It really was a contest, like that on Carmel, under Elijah, when the consuming fire proved who was the true God. All the world was looking at Jerusalem. They knew the Jews' claim for their God. Salvation, now, against this overwhelming force, would show to all nations that Jehovah was not like their idols, but was the true God. 21. Then Isaiah . . . sent unto Hezekiah. Prob¬ ably in response to a message from the King, as a little while before (xxxvii. 2). Both were praying. When Isaiah had learned God's will, he reported this me sage to Heze¬ kiah. Whereas thou hast prayed for me. Showing that he trusted in God, and turned to Him for help. 37. So Sennacherib . . . returned, and dwelt in NineYeh. Nothing is said here of the length of time he lived after this, but we learn from the monuments that he lived twenty years longer, and engaged in five campaigns, but none of them in Palestine. 38. His sons smote him, b.c. 681. Apparently to gain the kingdom, but they had to flee for their lives, and a younger son, Esarhaddon, one of the greater of Assyrian king?, reigned in his ttead. SERMON SKETCH. A King in trouble.—I. Hezekiah's trouble. (1) Kings cannot escape trouble. (2) Piety does not prevent trouble. (3) Trouble may arise, not from our own wrong-doing, but from the wrong-doing of others. (4) Great troubles may be conveyed to us by insignificant means. A Letter.—II. Hezekiah's refuge. (1) Hezekiah sought God, his refuge, in the temple. (2) He would set up a good example to the nation. (3) He would publicly manifest his confidence in Goa's power to protect and save.—W. O. Lilley. Foe myself, if by the stroke of my pen or the opening of my mouth I could sweep away every distillery and brewery and wine vat in the world, I would do it instantly ; yet I am not prepared to judge another as being untrue to God or his obligations to his brother who still does not see his way clear to the total abstinence position. On the other hand, we are bound to look the whole subject of drunkenness squarely in the face, and then decide for our¬ selves before God. It is certain that there are more tem¬ perate users of wine in the world than there are drunkards. It is not certain that tempi-rate use of wine leads to drunkenness, even in a majority of cases; but it is certain that total abstinence is an absolutely safe rule both for each man and each man's neighbour. This is much more true now than it ever was, for the simple reason that the modern discovery of artificial production of alcohol has, by its introduction into the manufacture of all manner of alcoholic drinks, made them more dangerous and deadly than they were in any other age of the world. A glance at the history of the world will show, I am sure, that no one practice has led more to the final overthrow of nations than that which culminates in the almost universal habit of wine drinking. This habit is the sure sign of general debauchery of life and decay of conscience. — Dr. Pentecost. . . - - -