Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 March 1911 — OLD TESTAMENT TIMES BROOKLYN TABERNACLE BIBLE-STUDIES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OLD TESTAMENT TIMES BROOKLYN TABERNACLE BIBLE-STUDIES

A HOLY NATION PICTURED March 26 • "Happy tke people that fan that I Bappp the ptop la whose God it Jehovah."—Pedlm IU;U. HEN God accepted Israel to 111 be his people, be entered Into a Covenant or agreement with them. He gave them the Law, represented in the Ten Commandments, as the basis of the Covenant which Moses mediated. Israel agreed to be faithful to God, and to keep those commandments perfectly. And God agreed that in that event he would bless them; they should be his people, and by doing the things contained in the Law should live everlastingly, not die. Not only so, but he promised to bless them in all the temporal affairs of life. Israel failed to get these blessings, for the same reason that any other would have failed; namely, because God’s Law is perfect, the measure of a perfect man’s ability: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, being and strength; and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’’ Hence, the Israelites continued to die, as their fathers had done, and as all mankind die—not being able to keep the Divine Law perfectly. Happy Is That People In our lesson the Prophet David pictures the holy, happy, blessed nation of the Lord. It is a picture of the future and not of the past. It is an ideal picture; It will be realized when Messiah's Kingdom shall have been established amongst men—when Satan’s power shall be restrained, when he shall be bound, when the blessings of Restitution shall have uplifted man-

kind from sin and degradation , and shall have j brought them 1 back to the image 1 God lost in Eden, but reacquired for our race through the sacrifice on Calvary. But that happy nation will ac- 1 quire additionally, a happy home and worldwide Paradise. Even human perfection

would not bring happiness if cyclones, tornadoes, blizzards, tidal Waves, earthquakes, famines and pestilences continued. Thank God, the Bible’s assurances are that the blessing of the Lord shall be, not only upon mankind, but upon all their earthly home. The earth shall yield her increase. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad and blossom as jjje rose~. The Lord will make his footstobL glorious. —Acts 3:19-21; Isa. 11:9; (yc!s;, Ezek. Isa. 35:1; 60:13. Particulars Given by the Prophet

Incidental to the blessed condition of the holy nation of the future, the Prophet mentions a deliverance from strange children: “Rid me and deliver me from the hands of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and whose right hand is the right hand of falsehood."—Psa. 144:11. In the Church of the present Age there are some whom the Apostle styles “bastards," or strange children. All may make the same profession and confession, but “the Lord knoweth them that are his," and in his due time shall separate the false or strange children from the true and will glorify the saintly ones as members of the great Messiah, The Christ Then will come the time for dealing with humanity in general—the time described in our text, when humanity in general, under the Messianic Kingdom, will be privileged to become the holy and happy people of God—when Satan and sin will be banished and righteousness and Truth will flourish and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will fill the whole earth. The great Messiah undertakes to be the world’s Life-Giver, Father, Regenerator. All mankind will be awakened from the tomb and have the opportunity for regeneration and full attainment of human perfection and Godlikeness. However, for. quite a time there will be strange children amongst men—those who will experience the blessings of that glorious time without giving proper heart responses. Not until the world shall have been rid of these by their dying the Second Death, will the fullness of happiness prevail amongst the children of men. “Timet of Refreshing Shall Come, and He Shall Send Jesus Christ” “Then your sons will be like plants, grown up in their youth; your daughters like corner-pillars sculptured in the model of a palace.” The grace and beauty of the children of Messiah, partakers of human Restitution blessings (Acts 3:19-21), will be marvelous. Then the garners will be full, furnishing all manner of provisions. Then your sheep will bring forth thousands and tens of thousands in your open pastures. Then there will be no migration—no further seeking for better or mors happifying conditions. Then there will be no complaining in our streets. Discontent is now rapidly increasing with every added blessing of dur wonderful day. The difficulty lies in the fact that sin and selfishness are reigning in the hearts and minds of men. der the wonderfully changed conditions of Messiah’s Kingdom, peace, happiness, contentment will take the place of selfishness and discontent ■ .

A “strange child" stricken.