Christian Nation Vol. 18 1893 - Rparchives.org

CHEISTIAN NATION.Volume 18.the conflict for the freedom of the sh ve.The first Presbytery ever organized inNorth Carolina was constituted in 1774 byRevs. Cuthbertson, Sim and Dobbin, who hadcom 3 over from Ireland to the help ofthesttuggliug church; but it did no*; last long.Carried away by the plausible argument of theduty of unifying Ohrist's body and perhapsinfluenced by the tide of popularity whichgranted the new government to think that thenecessity for testimony bearing no longer existedin this country, in 1782 the EeformedPresbytery formed a union with the Associate,Bat the result disappointed their intention.Instead of joining two denominationsinto one they split them into three. Theyformed a new church out of parts of two oldones, I'he Covenanter church being based onthe doctrine of Christ's headship over thenation and the Secession church on a doctrinedirectly the opposite, when an atempt wasmade to harmonize the two on a middle ground,naluially those faithful to principles on bothsides refused to unite. And so all such attemptsat reunion must fail- We must waitGod's time for tha healing of the divisions ofthe church. When that time comes the unionwill uot be made at the expanse of a sacrificeof principle; but there will be an outwardunity of form because of an inward unity ofsentiment.•For eight years the remnant of the churchremained with onlv one minister, Eev. Wm.Marlin of South Carolina, till in 1791 Mr.McGarragh arriving from Ireland, and iu 1792 and let him bo hanged on it; then tear downMr. King from Scotland, the threo ministers his house, and make it a desolation." And thoformed a committee of the Scottish Presbyteryfor taking charge of the affairs of the churchin North America. This committee continuedtill 1797 when it was disorganized by the suspensionof Mr. McGarragh for irregularitiesand the relapse of Mr. Martin into intemperance.Bnt in 1798, other ministers havingarrived, the Presbytery of the Covenanterchurch for the United States of North Americawas organized for the second time and bascontinued ever since. She has passed throughtwo storms similar to that which disorganizedher in 1782, one in 1833 and one in 1891, Thecauses which agitated her have been verymuch alike in the three cases; dissatisfactionwith the church's testimony on the question ofcivil goverument and church union. She hasbeen much weakened by her latter two divisionsyet still continues to steadily increase andwill as long as she maintains a consistent testimonyfor Ohrist's headship over the nation.When the time comes that she ceases to holdthat doctrine and enforce it, tbe time will alsohave come when her existence is no longernecessary and the Covenanter church will becomea thing of the past,f Concluded nexi week. ]Sabbath School Lesson.LESSON VI„ SABBATH. FEBRUARY 5. 1893Title, " Dedicating the Temple." Ezra 6:14-22.GOLDEN TEXT:"Iwas glad when they said unto me, let us go infothe hotise pf the Lord."14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and theyprospered through the prophesying ot Haggai theprophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And theybuilded, and finished it, according to the commandmentof the God of Israel, and according to the commandmentof Gyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes kingof Persia,15 And this house was finisheddn the third day ofthe month Adar, whioh was in the sixth year of thereigu of Darius the king.16IT And the childien of Israel, the priests, and theLevites, aud the rest of the cbildren of the captivity,kept the dedication of this house of God withjoy.17 And offc-red atthe dedication of 6his house of Goda hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundredlambs ; and for a siu offering for all Israel, twelve hegoats, according to the uumber of tribes of Israel.18 And they set their priests in their divisions, andthe Levites in their courses, for the service of God,which is at Jerusalem ; as it is written in the book ofMoses.19 And the children of the captivity kept the passoverupon the fourteenth day ol the firstmontb.20 For tbe priests and the Levites were purified together,all of them were pure, aud killed the passoverfor all tbe children of the captivity, and fortheir brethren the priests, aud for themselves.21 Andthe childrtn of Israel which were oome againout of captivity, aud all sucli as had separated t .emselvesunto tbem from the filthinessof the heathen ofthe land, to seek the Lobd God of Israel, did eat,22 And kept the feast of unleavened bread sevendays 1 with joy , By for the tbe Bev. Lord T. had P. Robb. made them joyful,aud turned the heart of the kingof Assyria unto them,to strengthenThere is somethingtheir hands iuverytherefreshingwork of the housein theofGod,13ththeverseGodofofthisIsrael.chapter. Tatnai and Shetharboznai,and their companions had done all intheir power to secure a cessation of the workon the temple. Darius replies to their lettersby repeating his ordeT that they help with thework, and then says, "If any of you attemptsto change one word of this order, take enoughof timbir out of his house to build a gallows,l3th verse tells us that these men went to workon the temple, and rendered such efficient aidthat thi work was very soon completed. Andtoday, if the authorities at Washington wouldonly meet the question of opening the Expositionon Sabbath, wi h a little of the same spirit,we might liope^ by the firstof May, to haveopened to the world an Exposition of which tbeOhristian people of this oountry need not beashamed. In the lesson today, note threethings:I. The Tbmplw Builded and Finished.II. The Temple Dedicated.III. The Passover Obseeved.I. The Temple Builded and Finished 1.The proper persons were engaged in the workV, 14. The elders of the Jews builded; probablythe same as "the chief of the fathers," referredto in chap. 11:68, The younger men no doubtwere engaged in labor, but the elders wereworthy leaders in a good cause. Some one remarksthat they did not hishor.or their eldershipby working in the Lord's cause. A wellloved teacher was accustomed to repeat to hispupils the saying, " Soiled hands are no disgrace,when soiled in a good cause." 2. Themeans contributing to their success. The lessonsays it was " through the prophesying ofHaggai, aod Zachariah, tho prophets." Whenwe turn to these prophecies, and note howplainly these faithful men told the peopletheir faults, pointed out the right way, andheld before them the hqpe for the future, weunderstand the meaning of this passage, 3The orders under which the work was completed.It was "according to the commandmentof the God of Israel." There had been a timewhen the commandment of the Lord was notrespected in Israel, What was the result ofthese divine commandments disregarded?Answer: A temple destroyed, and a wholenation carried into captivity. Now they areglad, when it is said to them, "Go into thehouse of the Lord." But they wrought alsounder orders from Cyrus and Darius andArtaxerxes. In the earlier part of this book wehave recorded the decrees of Cyrus and Darius,but nothing has been said before this of anydecree from Artaxerxes. But in the seventhchapter we have a comprehensive decree fromArtaxerxes, and in the 27th v. it is said to be,"to beautify the house of theLord." This,then, is probably what is referred to in theleeson. 4. The time when the house was finished."And this house was finished onthethird day of the month Adar," v. 15. Haggaigives the exact date of resuming of work. (Oh.1:15.) Ezra here gives the exact date ofitscompletion. From Zerubbabel's laying of thefoundation (Ezra 3:10) the time that, hadelapsed "^as 21 years. From the resumptiott"of the work, the time was^four years, fivemonths and teh days.—S. & E. When Godhas use for dates He pieserves them sotbthere is no doubt about them.II. Tee Temple Dedicated.. 1. It wat. anational dedication. There is no doubt butthat many who belonged to the ten tribes returnedwith Zerubbabel. "The children of •Israel," v. 16 There is another reference tothe fact that this temple was intended to representthe whole nation. "The priests, theLevites, aud the rest of the children of thecaptivity." Ezra seems desirous to connectthis temple with the old, that he may be ableto identify tho religion of the times with thatwhich was observed by Israel in her formerdays. 2 A joyful dedication. At the laying ofthe foundation, (Ezra 3: 12) the old men hadwept, and the young men had shouted for joy,so that it could not be told which was the noteof joy or which the sound of sorrow. In thisdedication we have no account of any weeping.And this is quite suggestive. We all knowwhat changes twenty years make on a congregation.It is likely that, at the dedication ofthis temple, not one remained of all those whobad wept when the foundation was laid.Although the building lacked in outwardmagnificence, there was no lack of joy at itsdedication. 3. It was a worshipful service."They offered at the dedication of this houseof God, a hundred bullocks, two hundredrams, four hundred lamias, and for a siu offeringfor all Israel, twelve he goats, according tothe number of the tribes of Israel." v. 17.Here was a great sacrifice, one that cost theworshipers much. It was the worsh"p of thewhole nation, A goat for a sin offering waspresented for each of the twelve tribes ofIsrael. If we compare tie sum total of theofferings made at this time, with the offeringsmade at the dedication of Solomon's temple, itlooks like a very small thing. But if we rememberthat the returned captives did notnumber above 50,000, while it is estimated thatthe nation nnmberetl at least 10,000,000 whenSolomon dedicated the temple, in this viewof it then, their 712 animals represented asmuch real value per worshipers, as did the142,000 victims at the firstdedication. 4. Itwas the beginning of a regular service. ThisIS taught in the 18th verse. The priests andthe Levites fell into their respective places ofservice, and all was conformf:d to the law ofMoses. Before leaving this part of the lesson,let us ask what this temple lacked? It had amost holy place, but there was no ark, nomercy seat, no Cherubim. The temple thatSolomon built was filledwith the glory of theLord, once, llthch, 7:1, and so far as the recordshows, only once. It was not in vain that theyinade a most holy place and left it empty—itstood, waiting for the coming of our Lord,;aDJtu "^'^..^o* ^'iter iti but when he was crucifieathe veil was rent, and thus showed to ns a newand hvmg way into the holiest of all. even