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256 THE CONVENTION TEACHER Lesson VIII. November 21, 1948 POETRY IN THE BIBLE SENIOR TOPIC: POETRY IN THE BIBLE Psalms 24 [[line]] AUTHORIZED VERSION [[column 1]] 1 The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. 3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. [[/column 1]] [[column 2]] 6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. 7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 8 Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in the battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10 Who is the King of glory? The lord oh hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah. [[/column 2]] [[line]] REVISED VERSION [[column 1]] 1 The earth is Jehovah's, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein. 2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the floods. 3 Who shall ascend into the hill of Jehovah? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; Who hath not lifted up his soul unto falsehood, And hath not sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive a blessing from Jehovah, And righteousness from the God of his salvation [[/column 1]] [[column 2]] 6 This is the generation of them that seek after him, That seek thy face, even Jacob. Selah. 7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors: And the King of glory will come in. 8 Who is the King of glory? Jehovah strong and mighty. Jehovah mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; Yea, lift them up, ye everlasting doors: And the King of glory will come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? Jehovah of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah [[/column 2]] [[line]] MOTTO TEXT-He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. Psalms 40:3 [[line]] [[column 1]] LESSON SETTING Time: Uncertain Place: Uncertain LESSON OUTLINE I. God's Lordship. (VV. 1, 2,) II. God's True Worshipers. (VV. 3-6.) III. Triumphal Entry of the King of Glory. (VV. 7-10.) [[/column 1]] [[column 2]] DAILY HOME READING November 15-November 21 M. Hannah's Poetic Prayer. I Samuel 2:10-10. T. "The Son of the Bow." II Samuel 1:19-27. W. The Shepherd Psalm. Psalms 23. T. "Bless the Lord, O My Soul." Psalms 103:1-14. F. "Remember Mine Affliction." Lamentations 3:19-27 S. "The Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Me." Luke 4:16-19. S. "Sing Unto the Lord with Thanksgiving." Psalms 147:1-10. [[.column 2]] INTRODUCTION [[column 1]] "The choral hymn was probably sung on the occasion of the memorial of the ark from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David on Mt. Zion. It was a day of Solemn gladness and triumph. It was not a long time since David had wrested the stronghold of Zion from the last remnant of the hill tribes of the Canaanites which lived in Palestine. Henceforth this mountain city, deemed by its ancient inhabitants invincible, was selected by the conqueror as the seat of his royal residence and the center of re- [[/column 1]] [[column 2]] ligious worship; and thither, after subduing his enemies, he determined to bring the ark, which for nearly fifty years, had been neglected at Kirjath-Jearim. It is difficult for us to conceive the feelings at once of this most exalted and fervent patriotism, and of the deepest religious enthusiasm, which would be awakened in the hearts of the people by such an event. The king and priests, and people, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands (1 Chronicles 15:2) in solemn procession, and with all [[/column 2]] [[end page]] [[start page]] THE CONVENTION TEACHER 257 [[column 1]] the accompaniments of music and song, conducted the ark to its resting-place on the holy mountain. It was then that this majestic anthem rose to heaven. Jehovah's [[/column 1]] [[column 2]] is the earth, and the fulness thereof; and the gates of the grey old fortress were bid to lift themselves up, as being too narrow to admit the King of Glory." [[/column 2]] EXPOSITION [[column 1]] I. GOD'S LORDSHIP.(VV. 1-2) (1) The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. The earth is the Lord's--the world belongs to God, with all its forms of beauty and magnificence, with all its ponderous forces and mystic laws, with all its mineral wealth and hidden treasures of earth, air, and ocean. Man has conquered the earth by the power of the sword, and claimed the right to dispose of it in petty states and kingdoms; but the earth does not belong to men. Man is but a tenant-- "a lease-holder upon most precarious tenure, liable to instantaneous ejectment." and fulness thereof- It is God who makes the soil fruitful, the air vital and sustaining, and the water in the great ocean-bed maintain its just proportion to the land. Thus we see the productiveness, and following it is the growth of population. Thus there is always enough for man and beast. God fills the earth with plenty and keeps it full. These words acknowledge the divine sources and ownership of the world's wealth, and they that dwell therein-- The Jews claimed to be the sole and peculiar possession of Jehovah, and yet they were accustomed to sing words like these. They are not the only people whose sentiments and conduct have been beneath the noble teachings of their creed. Christianity has done a brave work to break down the exclusiveness of nations. Not one specially favored nation, but all nations belong to the Lord. The rights and freedom of manhood belong to every individual member of the human family, whatever his country, his color, his surroundings. All living beings--the denizens of earth, air, and sea are the property of Jehovah. The supreme Owner of all desired and the obedience and homage of all. The devout mind see in God all things. (2) For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Probably this refers to the story of creation in Genesis, the dry land having emerged from the water, and seeming to emerged from the water, and seeming to rest upon it. There are many theories about the origin of the world, but here is one true theory, which is that God made us. The divine ownership of the world is confirmed by the fact of its preservation. "The preservation of the [[/column 1]] [[column 2]] world is a perpetual miracle." It requires the exercise of the same power of God as that which first called it into being. The area of the sea is three times greater than that of the land. But for the preserving care of God, the waters of the ocean would inundate and submerge the earth and destroy all its inhabitants. As much water is given to the ocean by the rivers as would make a new ocean yearly, and yet the sea is not increased. The preserving power of God has put into operation the law of gravitation, by which the sea loses daily as much moisture as it receives from tributary streams. How insecure are the foundations of the earth--resting on treacherous and unstable water! If God were to withdraw His hand for a moment, the elemental forces of nature would annihilate the world and they that dwell therein. He who preserves the world has an undisputed right to possess it. II. GOD'S TRUE WORSHIPERS. (VV. 3-6) (3) Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?This verse has a query. His holy place is no less than the very seat of glory. Being such, you cannot imagine it but hard to come by. There is a hill of glory hard to climb, difficult to ascend, craggy to pass up. The broad, easy way leads somewhere else; the way to this is narrow--it is rough and troublesome. But not only to ascend but stand there, to continue at so high a pitch, to be constant in piety, to be constant in truth and faith. That will be hard indeed, and bring more difficulties with which to contest. The devout and sincere worshiper is admitted into the area of the heavenly temple; his spiritual vision is intensified; he becomes familiar with the deeper truths of God; he catches glimpses of unearthly glories; he is filled with the ecstasy of unutterable emotions. (4) He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. There must be a moral and spiritual fitness. We must observe right conduct. He that hath clean hands--The ceremonially unclean were not allowed to touch the sacred things of the temple. Certainly the morally impure, whose hands are defiled with wrong-doing, cannot enter into hallowed fellowship with God. The con- [[/column 2]] [[end page]]
