In the School That History Keeps
The International Sunday School LFMOB For September 30, 1017.
A Quarterly Review, "The Goodnem and Severity
of Hod."—Daniel Oi 3-10
i
By WILLIAM T. ELLIS
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS
To review a former study is like
visiting a familiar city with the lar
ger vision of the traveler whose
horizon has widened. The vaster
reaches of the themes studied are
perceived in a review, and what rela
tion each bears to all. There is nd
subject that so well repays repeated
study as the Biblej like Solomon's
storehouse, it produces treasures
new and old. Of necessity, the uni
form series of S.unday school lessons,
which are studied around the world,
cover whole ranges of history and
moral teaching by a few selected
Incidents and passages. The past
quarter's work Is a survey of the
history of Israel and Judah, with
brief glimpses into the prophecies
which made the period's immortal
contribution to literature.
The book-taught man must always
sit at the feet of him who has made
a first-hand study of life. The wis
est men are they who know what Is
In man from personal observation
and experience. Yet even they, to
maintain perspective and proportion,
must study the character of man as
it is written in history. There is
distinct educational value, apart
from all religious considerations, in
the fact that eighteen million per
sons have for tierce months past
been studying chapters in the his
tory of the ancient nation of Judah.
Moving the Arm That Moves tlie
World
These studies in human nature,
flespite all that is dreary and dis
appointing in them, have pointed out
the one phase of universal and eter
nal truth, which is man's hope, the
mercy of the Lord. The pitifulness
and long-suffering of Jehovah to
ward Judah, are wonderfully appeal
ing and revealing. "Like as a fa
ther pitieth his children, so the
Lord pitieth them that fear them."
God's love for man surpasses man's
power to grasp. Incidents without
number in Judah's history riiake
this plain. When Sennacherib came
down "like a wolf on the fold," the
hosts of heaven were promptly en
listed for the Jews. Eternally God
fights with His own.
And He is easily entreated. Heze
kiah's plight and prayer drive home
the teaching, which is as new as if
freshly discovered by every human
life that puts it to the test, that
"God is our refuge and strength, a
very present help in trouble." This
great and infinite Jehovah, who
stands as the background of all his
tory, is yet so personal that He may
be affected by the deeds and plead
ings of faithful hearts.
This truth was the light of Ju
dah's dark times. The old seer
Isaiah beheld the highest revelation
of Jehovah in "The Suffering Sav
iour." The ultimate .expression of
God's character is Jesus Christ. His
characteristic voice is one of gracious
Invitation. "How everyone that
thlrsteth, come to the waters, and he
that hath no money, buy wine and
milk without money and without
price." They do not know God at all
who do not know that He is love,
iMgl CARTERS B
sdßmm iiver 8
r 11 •'''•••- ~WM
f Two Splendid |
Things
| One is plenty of open- X
v, air exercise.
% If you can't get all of |
| that you should, it's all
|i the more important that
X you should have the-®
|i other tried-and-true rem- |
edy for a torpid liver and V
! bowels that don't act
freely and naturally.
Take one pill every night; L;j
more only when you're nre it*> ]
necessary. !•
CARTERS
ffITTLE g
U SVER &
I|Wlls
€tnuin<i bears Signature 'J
Colorless faces often show the |
absence of Iron in the blood. 5
Carter's Iron Pills |
will help this condition. |
NUXATED IRON
increases strength
of delicate, nervous,
Mm FIT 111 111 rundown people 100
II I I P er cent. In ten days
I| I I Irw In many instances.
w HAIJM SIOO forfeit If It
fails as per fuU ex-
Ask your doctor or druggist about* it."
Croll Keller, G. A. Gorgas, J. Nelson
Clark always carry ft in stock
/
Hr reason of thorough distribu
tion with the drag trade In the
United States and lower selling
costs, reduced prices are now pos
sible for
Eckman's
Alterative
FOR THROAT AND LUNGS
Stubborn CouKha and Colda
No Alcohol. Narcotic or Habit
forming Drug
$2 Size $1 Size
Now $1.50 Now 80 Cts,
Eckman Laboratory, Philadelphia.
C OL P S &
Head or chest—are best Jgj-sK
_ treated "externally" jMWA
V/ MttU Unfair Mon* V
VICKVAPORUES
FRIDAY EVENING,
eager to lavish of His best upon all
who will receive Him.
So like a seesaw goes Judah's his
tory, that taking it section by sec
°n It is .difficult to understand
whether it is really moving up or
down. Herein comes the benefit of
?, , a review as this; the nation's
" f e is viewed as a whole, and we see
that its progress is downward, de
spite occasional good kings and great
prophets. Judah grew worse and
worse, until it became intolerable to
the King of kings. So, with a re
gret that was greater than could be
felt by either the most ardent Jew
ish patriot, God wiped it off His
slate. Even His patience has limits.
To take the measure of Judah's
history, wo must consider its total
results and not its isolated experi
ences. So it is with a life, not one
deed, but its general tendencies de
termine its destiny: A life's trend
is more important than its traits.
God views a life as a whole. Wise
self-examination asks, "Whither
does my life trend? What is its in
fluence as a whole?" Similarly, one
may ask of his own country and
time, as of old Judah, "Whither its
general tendencies? Is it bound God
ward or earthward? Are its ruling
sentiments noble or sordid? Is it
getting better or is it getting worse?"
The best use that Sunday school
members can make of this ancient
history of the Jews is to apply it as
a plumb-line to the present prac
tice.
A Peculiar Nation
ISobody can study closely the world
of to-day, and especially the older
nations, without being convinced
that the place and mission of Amer
'ca and by America I mean North
America, for there is no essential dif
ferencein the ideals of Canada and
i J, United States—is as absolute
ly distinctive as was that of ancient
Judah.. The new life of the old orient
Is being shaped principally by the
history and Idealism of this new
West, which has been providentially
placed in its magnificent geographi
cal isolation, in order to work out
a -unique destiny. A veritable
teacher and prophet among the na
tions are we. What may vaguely
be called the American spirit is the
most powerful weapon at work on
the earth to-day. No sordid, ma
terial Influence this; it is high ideal
ism and spirituality. It spells lib
erty and brotherhood and justice
and emancipation. Those great con
ceptions which created this Western
World are to-day the deepest need
and desire of uncounted millions of
earth's people, who are heirs of op
ptession, subordination. Ignorance
and fatalism. Judah failed to be
true to her mission; and she not only
forfeited her own existence, but she
also failed to serve the nations to
whom she had been commissioned a
schoolmaster.
Three Kinds of Men
In Judah's short days—for three
hundred and fifty years seem but
episodal in the long sweep of his-
Jer.v the power of the man born to
high place was greater than now.
The king's divine right was accept
ed by all—except the few rivals who
would overthrow him. There was no
great reverse of outspoken public
opinion, such as is the strength of
our modern democracies. The king
was far above the people. A mod
ern nation can get along fairly well,
even though Its king be a rake or
fool. Not so in Judah's day. Thus
we find three outstanding' factors
in the life of that kingdom to be
the good kings, the bad kings and
the prophets. There were a num
ber of colorless kings, who may be
passed by without comment.
That the nation lived so long as
it did was due primarily to the good
kings—Hezekiah, Asa, Jehoshaphat,
Josiah. The history of Judah was
like a mountainous sky-line, with the
good kings as the mountain peaks.
They made their people to turn to
God. Forever they stand as illus
trations of the truth that one man
has power to lead many men to do
good. Now that people choose their
own rulers, it may reasonably be said
to be incumbent upon them to sec
that these rulers are men with that
first qualification for good citizen
ship, the fear of the Lord.
The power of one small boy in the
neighborhood for mischief is the
wonder and despair of parents. It
seems as if one such is able to off
set the influence of half a dozen
good boys, plus all the anxious par
ents concerned. It was so with the
mischief-making kings of Judah.
They made the people to sin. The
warnings of the prophets, the strong
pull of the nation's providential his
tory, the examplo of their pious
predecessors, all seemed to be nulli
fied, when kings like Rehoboam,
Joash, Ahaz, Manasseh and Jeho
iakim came to the throne. The peo
ple who condone or suffer wicked
ness in a public official are trifling
with their own and their children's
welfare.
Like beacons, beckoning a bewil
dered traveler on a dark night, were
the prophets of Judah lsaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekial and Daniel. The
man with a word of truth is the
divine corrective in the life of so
ciety. A nation is never in the
worst state so long as it has fear
less, disinterested men, who will pro
claim the wise word of true coun
sel. The underlying evil of the na
tien was Its neglect of God's clear
word, and failure to follow the path
He had clearly marked out Writ
ten over all those troublous gener
ations wo may clearly read, "Right
eousness exalteth a nation, but sin is
a reproach to any people."
Taking Civilization to Task
It has chanced to be my lot to
traverse practically all the ruins of
antiquity. I have trodden the fallen
grandeur of all the ancient and im
perial civilization. In these ruins one
reads a story of a retributive power
who overrules all of man's vaultings
and ambitious plans. One cannot
visit Nineveh for instance, and be
hold the Children of Israel who have
still survived while the glory of
Sennacherib has perished without
awesome thoughts of the God of
Abraham and the children of the
promise.
A long look hack over the mil
lenniums makes It clear that society
has an obligation to God. He has
held accountable the nations of the
earth. God deals with peoples as
well as with individuals, and that
is the lesson for to-jday. We are en
gaged, on this western continent,
in creating a new civilization. If we
are not ignorant of the teachings of
time we will keep God's program In
mjnd and hold out nation true to Its
obligation to the King of kings.
"Hold ye the faith, the faith our
fathers sealed us.
Whoring not with visions over wise
and over stale.
Except ye pay the Lord,
Single heart and single sword,
Of your children In their bondage
Shall He ask them treble tale."
"The Live Store" "
n! ; TKecognition!
t Doutrichs a Wonderful Store. Recognition is
worth a lot these days—and when you are playing in a
"big game" you must be a heavy hitter to put it over —time was when small
things were big—but the clothing business today requires the Know How
as well as the where-with, it takes both to be successful. You can't make
a home run with a hole in your bat neither can you fool the public long
and get away with it We've played the game with square-dealing, good merchandise
and honest representation from the day we opened our doors in Harrisburg and through this
method we have attained permanent and lasting results.
They say Doutrichs have revolutionized the
clothing business in central Pennsylvania, and we feel
highly complimented that this "Live Store" has won the loyal patronage
and good will of such a vast multitude of people. We are going to do a big
ger clothing business than ever before, because careful planning and enor
mous buying months ago has enabled us to stock heavily with good merchan
dise at considerable lower prices than can be obtained now for high grade, standard mer
chandise and when you see the clever styles and numerous fabrics in Suits and Overcoats
we have you'll not criticise us for handling
Headquarters for "Stetson Hats"flSyßi
Ever buy a hat that you were not pleased
with? then kick yourself for getting an unbecom- /Jmf CL J /K
inghat that can't happen at Doutrichs because we would cer
tainly rather not sell you a hat than have you displeased you . /V,
can return anything you buy here for exchange or have your jTfr \_<W WtJ
money back on request. ffgjwtf
Scratch Finished Hats, $2.50, $3.00, $3.50 to $5.00 WtAW 'lim
Velour Hats in All Colors, $5.00 to $7.50
tThe Boys' Department UndcTWCZir
There's lots of room here now and
since we enlarged our children's I 1 1! 1 * 13 - ro P ea nion
department. It don't take long to grow in pop
ular favor, if you have what the boys want, and
the way the balcony is crowded at times is
convincing evidence that Doutrichs and the t (*VQ
boys are becoming fast friends no other ™ vUlvl U
store can boast of As large an assortment of The New y Neck pu JJ.
Boys' Suits at over" Sweaters are here
$5.00 $6.50 $7.50 to SIB.OO g""
Come Here and Get Acquainted
N™ Department. s£jj QO 50 an{ J $g 50
Street j , Penna.
HAHRISBURG TELEGRAPH
EPTEMBER 28, 1917.
13