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THE CHOSEN PEOPLE
THE CHOSEN PEOPLE
"God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things."— Heb . i, l, "Yes; so it was ere Jesus came— Alternate then His Altar flame Blazed up and died away, And Silence took her torn with Song, And Solitude with the fair throng That owned the festal day; For in earth's daily circuit then Only one border Reflected to the Seraphs' ken, Hea
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FIFTH EDITION. PREFACE.
FIFTH EDITION. PREFACE.
In drawing up this little book, at the request of several friends, the Author has been chiefly guided by experience of what children require to be told, in order to come to an intelligent perception of the scope of the Scripture narrative treated historically. Since a general view can hardly be obtained without brevity, many events have been omitted in the earlier part, and those only touched upon which have a peculiar significance in tracing the gradual preparation for the work of Redemption; a
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TABLE OF THE BOOKS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE ACCORDING TO DATE.
TABLE OF THE BOOKS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE ACCORDING TO DATE.
4004 1689 Genesis 1529 Job Psalm lxxxviii. by Heman, the Ezrahite, (See 1 Chron. ii. 6) 1491 Exodus 1491 Leviticus 1451 Numbers Psalm xc. and (perhaps) xci 1450 Deuteronomy 1451 1427 Joshua 1312 Ruth 1120 Judges 1171 1056 1 Samuel Psalms, certainly vii, xi, xvi, xvii, xxii, xxxi, xxxiv, lvi, liv, lii, cix, xxxv, lvii, lviii, cxliii, cxl, cxli, and many more 1056 1 Chronicles Psalms, certainly ii, vi, ix, xx, 1023 Psalms iii, iv, lv, lxii, lxx, lxxi, cxliii
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LESSON I. THE PROMISE.
LESSON I. THE PROMISE.
"The creature was made subject unto vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope."— Rom . viii. 20. When the earth first came from the hand of God, it was "very good," and man, the best of all the beings it contained, was subjected to a trial of obedience. The fallen angel gained the ear of the woman, and led her to disobey, and to persuade her husband to do the same; and that failure gave Satan power over the world, and over all Adam's children, bringing sin a
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LESSON II.
LESSON II.
"The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham."—Acts, vii. 2. Among the sons of Shem (called Hebrews after his descendant Heber, who dwelt in Mesopotamia) was Abram, the good and faithful man, whom God chose out to be the father of the people in whom He was going to set His Light. In the year 1921, He tried Abram's faith by calling on him to leave his home, and go into a land which he knew not, but which should belong to his children after him—Abram, who had no child at all. Yet he obeyed a
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LESSON III.
LESSON III.
"When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt."— Hosea , xi. 1. The country where the Israelites had taken up their abode, was the valley watered by the great river Nile. There is nothing but desert, wherever this river does not spread itself, for it never rains, and there would be dreadful drought, if every year, when the snow melts upon the mountains far south, where is the source of the stream, it did not become so much swelled as to spread far beyond its banks, a
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LESSON IV.
LESSON IV.
"Where Is He that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock? Where is He that put His Holy Spirit within him?"— Isaiah , lxiii. 11. When Moses had led the 600,000 men, with their wives, children, and cattle, beyond the reach of the Egyptians, they were in a small peninsula, between the arms of the Red Sea, with the wild desolate peaks of Mount Horeb towering in the midst, and all around grim stony crags, with hardly a spring of water; and though there were here and there slop
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LESSON V.
LESSON V.
"But He was so merciful, that He forgave their misdeeds and destroyed them not."— Psalm Lxxviii. 38. In the year 1431, Joshua led the tribes through the divided waters of the Jordan, and received strength and skill to scatter the heathen before them, conquer the cities, and settle them in their inheritance. The Land of Canaan was very unlike Egypt, with its flat soil, dry climate, and single river. It was a narrow strip, inclosed between the Mediterranean Sea and the river Jordan, which runs due
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LESSON VI.
LESSON VI.
"As is the fat taken away from the peace-offering, so was David chosen out of the children of Israel … In all his works he praised the Holy One Most High with words of glory …. The Lord took away his sins and exalted his horn for ever, He gave him a covenant of kings, and a throne of glory in Israel."— Ecclus. xlvii. II. When Samuel grew old, the Israelites would not trust to God to choose a fresh guardian for them, but cried out for a king to keep them together and lead them to war like other n
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LESSON VII.
LESSON VII.
"But if his children forsake My Law, and walk not in My judgments: if they break My statutes, and keep not My Commandments, I will visit their offences with the rod, and their sin with scourges."— Ps. lxxxix. 31, 32. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, brought about, by his own harshness and folly, the punishment that God had decreed. By the advice of his hasty young counsellors, he made so violent a reply to the petition brought to him by his subjects, that they took offence, and the ten northern tri
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LESSON VIII.
LESSON VIII.
"As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water."— Hosea , x. 7. Many promises had marked out Ephraim for greatness, and at first the new kingdom seemed quite to overshadow the little rocky Judah. But the founder of the dominion of the ten tribes sowed the seeds of decay, because, like Saul, he would not trust to the God who had given him his crown. He was afraid his subjects would return to the kings of the House of David, if he let them go to worship at Jerusalem, and therefore
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LESSON IX.
LESSON IX.
"Where is the dwelling-place of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions?"— Nahum , ii. 11. When the confusion of tongues took place at Babel, and men were dispersed, the sons of Ham's grandson, Cush, remained in Mesopotamia, which took the name of Assyria, from Assur, the officer of Nimrod, the first king. This Assur began building, on the banks of the Tigris, the great city of Nineveh, one of the mightiest in all the world, and the first to be ruined. It was enclosed by a huge wall,
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LESSON X.
LESSON X.
"Is this the city that men call the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?"— Larn. ii. 15. Manasseh's son, Amon, undid all the reformation of his latter years, and brought back idolatry; and indeed, the whole Jewish people had become so corrupt, that even when Amon was murdered in 642, after only reigning two years, and better days came back with the good Josiah, it was with almost all of them only a change of the outside, and not of the heart. Josiah was but eight years old when he c
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LESSON XI.
LESSON XI.
"By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, when we remembered thee, O Sion."— Psalm cxxxvii, 1. Babylon, the city which was to be the place of captivity of the Jews, was the home of the Chaldeans, who are believed not to have been the sons of Gush, like the Assyrians whom they had conquered at Nineveh, but to have been at first a wandering tribe of the north, and to have descended from Japhet. They had nearly the same gods as the Ninevites, but thought the special protector of their city wa
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LESSON XII.
LESSON XII.
"When the Lord turned again the captivity of Sion, then were we like unto them that dream."— Psalm cxxvi. 1. The Persian power, prefigured by the silver shoulders, the bear and the ram, was indeed nigh. The ram had two horns, because two nations were joined together, the Medes, who had revolted from Nineveh, and the Persians. The Medes lived in the slopes towards the Tigris, and had learnt to be luxurious and indolent from their Assyrian neighbours; but the Persians, who lived in the mountains t
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LESSON XIII.
LESSON XIII.
"The Lord doth build up Jerusalem, and gather together the outcasts of Israel."— Psalm clxxvii. 2. 42,360 was the number of Jews who returned to their own land by the permission of Cyrus. They were under the keeping of Joshua the High Priest, and of Zerubbabel, son of Salathiel, who was either by birth, son of King Jehoiachin, or else had been adopted by him from the line of Nathan, son of David. In either way, he was head of the house of David, and would have been king, had not the crown been t
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LESSON XIV.
LESSON XIV.
"They that be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shall raise up the foundations of many generations, and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach."— Isaiah , lviii. 12. There is great difficulty as to what the Persian kings were called; their real names were very hard to pronounce, and they are commonly known by words that mean a king, instead of by their real names. This makes people uncertain whether the king who is called Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther be the same with him
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LESSON XV.
LESSON XV.
"Ships shall come from Chittim, and shall afflict Eber, and shall afflict Assur."— Num . xxiv. 24. Mountain lands, small islets, and peninsulas broken into by deep bays and gulfs, rise to the northward of the east end of the Mediterranean, and were known to the Jews as the Isles of the Gentiles. The people who dwelt in them have been named Greeks; they were sons of Japhet, and were the race whom God endowed, above all others, with gifts of the body and mind, though without bestowing on them the
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LESSON XVI.
LESSON XVI.
"Why hast Thou then broken down her hedge, that all they that go by pluck off her grapes?"— Ps . lxxx. 12. The leopard of Daniel's vision had four heads—the great horn of the rough goat gave place to four horns; so when Alexander was taken away so suddenly from the midst of his conquests, leaving no one in his room, his great officers divided them between themselves; and after much violence and bloodshed, four Greek kingdoms were formed out of the fragments of his conquests, Thrace, Macedon, Egy
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LESSON XVII.
LESSON XVII.
"The dead bodies of Thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the air, and the flesh of Thy saints unto the beasts of the land."— Ps . lxxix. 2. The history of Antiochus the Great is foretold in the 11th chapter of the prophet Daniel, from the 14th to the 19th verse. On the death of Ptolemy Philopator, this king entered Palestine with a great army, and easily obtained from the time-serving Jews the surrender of Jerusalem. Some of them who had forsaken their Law to gain the favour
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LESSON XVIII.
LESSON XVIII.
"In that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces."— Zechariah , xii. 3. Never was there a time when God left Himself without a witness; and in these darkest times of the Jewish history, He raised up a defender of His Name. There was a small town, named Modin, near the sea shore, whither a Greek officer called Apelles was sent to force the people into idolatry. He set up an altar to one of his gods, and having ordered
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LESSON XIX.
LESSON XIX.
And He shall put a yoke of iron on thy neck until He have destroyed thee.—_Deut. xxviii._48. Aristobulus, the son of Hyrcanus, was called King, as well as High Priest of the Jews; but the mixture of worldly policy with the sacred office did not suit well, and the Asmonean Kings were not like their fathers, the Maccabees. Still their courage and steadiness made the Jews much respected; and the Greeks and Romans around them began to read their books, and there were some few who perceived that the
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LESSON XX.
LESSON XX.
"It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel."— Gen . iii. 15. It was in the 4004th year of the world, the 30th of the empire of Caesar Augustus, the 37th of the reign of Herod the Edomite, that Augustus, wishing to know the number of his subjects, so as to regulate the taxes paid by the conquered countries, to provide corn for the poorer Roman citizens, sent out an edict that each person should enroll his name at his native place, and there pay a piece of money. Thus the Divine Pow
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LESSON XXI.
LESSON XXI.
"Ten men shall take hold, out of all language of all nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."— Zech. viii. 23. By the coming of Him who had been so long promised, in His human Body, and the completion of His sacrifice, all the objects of the old ceremonial Law were fulfilled; the shadows passed away and substance took their place, so that the comers thereunto might be made perfect. Instead of being admi
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LESSON XXII.
LESSON XXII.
"Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him, and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders."— Deut. xxxiii. 12. After Saul's marvellous call from Heaven, he spent three years in solitude in Arabia, ere entering on his work. Then returning to Damascus, he began to set forth the Gospel. The Jews were so angry at his change, that they stirred up the soldiers of the Arabian king, Aretas, and he only escaped them by being let do
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LESSON XXIII.
LESSON XXIII.
"The Lord hath accomplished His fury; He hath poured out His fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof"— Lam. iv. 11. In His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, oar Lord had wept for the woes of the city which would not own Him, and had foretold that the present generation should not pass away until His mournful words had been fulfilled. One alone of His Apostles was left to tarry until this coming for vengeance; the rest had all gone through the pai
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LESSON XXIV.
LESSON XXIV.
"I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high mountain and eminent."— Ezekiel , xvii. 22. In the year 70, the same in which Jerusalem was destroyed, happened the first great eruption of the volcano, Mount Vesuvius, in which was killed Drusilla, the wife of Felix. Her brother, Agrippa, ruled by favour of the Romans for many years in the little domain of Chalcis. Titus was empero
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LESSON XXV.
LESSON XXV.
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven."— Matt v. 10 It had been revealed to St. John that the Church should have tribulation for ten days; and accordingly, in her first three hundred years, ten emperors tried to put out her light. Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Antoninus, and Aurelius, have been mentioned; and the next persecutor was Severus, an emperor who went to Britain, firmly established the Roman power over England, and built the great
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LESSON XXVI.
LESSON XXVI.
"The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ."— Rev . xi, 15. The son of Constantius, Constantine, became emperor in 307. He was in doubt between the two religions; he saw that Christianity made people good, and yet he could not quite leave off believing in the heathen gods, and was afraid of neglecting them. As he was passing the Alps to put down a very powerful and cruel tyrant, who had made himself master of Italy, he and all his army suddenly beheld in t
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LESSON XXVI.
LESSON XXVI.
"The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel"— Isa . lx. 14. The empire was again divided into two parts, which were held by two brothers. Valentinian, who had the eastern half, was an Arian; and Valens, who ruled at Rome, was a Catholic. Though all the empire was Christian, still there were sad disputes;
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LESSON XXVIII.
LESSON XXVIII.
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened."— Matt . xiii. 33. The miry clay which Nebuchadnezzar saw mixed with the iron of Rome, had by the end of the fourth century nearly overcome the strong metal, and the time had come when the great horn of the devouring beast was to be broken off, and give place to ten others. The Romans for the last two hundred years had been growing more and more selfish and easy in thei
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LESSON XXIX.
LESSON XXIX.
"God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie."—2 Thess . ii. 11. The Eastern Empire was not broken up like the Western. The emperors reigned at Constantinople in great state and splendour, in palaces lined with porphyry and hung with purple, and filled with gold and silver. The Greeks of the east had faults the very contrary to those of the Teutons of the west. Instead of being ignorant, rude, and savage, they were learned, courtly, and keen-witted; but their sharpness was
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LESSON XXX.
LESSON XXX.
"While men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat." — St. Matt. xiii. 25 Is the West there was no heresy as there was in the East. The simple Teutons believed what they were taught, and grew softened by little and little, as their clergy gained more influence over them. The clergy were usually bred up in the convents, and there read the good old books which had come down from learned times, St. Jerome's Latin Bible, and the writings of the holy Fathers of the Church, from St. Clem
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LESSON XXXI.
LESSON XXXI.
"Surely the isles shall wait for Me."— Isaiah , ix. 9. It is not easy to make out exactly the ten kingdoms to which the Roman dominion was said in Daniel to give place, because sometimes one flourished, sometimes another; sometimes one was swallowed up, sometimes a fresh one sprang forth; but there can be no doubt that the ten horns mean the powers of Europe, which have always been somewhere about that number ever since the conquest by the Teuton nations. By the time the first thousand years had
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LESSON XXXII.
LESSON XXXII.
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a treasure hid in a field."— Matt . xiii. 44. When the Services of the Church were first drawn up, almost everyone in the East spoke Greek, and most people in the West understood Latin; and when the Teutons learnt Christianity, they also, with it, learnt a little Latin. Thus the Prayers and the Scriptures remained in that tongue, but the people themselves spoke each their own language. German, English, French, Spanish, and Italian are mixtures in different deg
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LESSON XXXIII.
LESSON XXXIII.
"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes."— Isaiah , liv. 2. Just as the Reformation was beginning, fresh lands were being found beyond the Atlantic Ocean, where the knowledge of the Gospel might reach. Christopher Columbus, a gallant Genoese mariner, and deeply religious man, was full of the notion that by sailing westwards he might come round to India, and thence make a way for winning b
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LESSON XXXIV.
LESSON XXXIV.
The fearful effects of infidelity in France roused good men everywhere; and the Church began to show that power of reviving and purifying herself, which proves that the Lord abideth with her for ever. Some time before things had come to this pass, an English clergyman, named John Wesley, had been striving to awaken people to a more religious life; but he did not sufficiently heed the authority of the Church; and his followers, after his death, quite separated themselves from her, and became abso
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LESSON II.
LESSON II.
1. Whom did God separate among the sons of Shem? 2. What were the terms of the covenant with Abraham? A. Abraham believed, and God promised that his descendants should have the land of Canaan, and in his seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed. 3. What was the token of the covenant with Abraham? 4. Which son of Abraham inherited the promise? 5. Who were the sons of Ishmael? 6. What measure was taken to keep Isaac from becoming mixed with idolators? 7. Which of Isaac's sons was chosen
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LESSON III.
LESSON III.
1. Who were the Egyptians? 2. What kind of place was Egypt? 3. What remains have we of the ancient Egyptians? 4. What were the idols of Egypt? 5. How long were the Israelites in Egypt? 6. How were they treated in Egypt? 7. What prophetic Psalm is said to have been composed in Egypt?—_P_s. I. xxxviii. 8. Who was appointed to lead them out? 9. How was Moses prepared for the work? 10. How did God reveal Himself to Moses? 11. What wonders were wrought on the Egyptians? 12. What token of faith was re
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LESSON IV.
LESSON IV.
1. How many Israelites did Moses lead into the wilderness? 2. How were they supported there? 3. What was the difference between the covenant with Abraham, and the covenant on Mount Sinai? 4. How did the Israelites forfeit the covenant? 5. How was God entreated to grant it to them again? 6. What signs of the covenant did they carry with them? 7. How was Moses instructed in their observances? 8. What was the Tabernacle to figure? 9. What did all the ceremonies shadow out? 10. Why were the Israelit
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LESSON V.
LESSON V.
1. In what year did the Israelites enter Canaan? 2. What kind of country was Canaan? 3. Where was the first seat of the Tabernacle in Canaan? 4. How was the inheritance of the tribes arranged? 5. Why did not the Israelites occupy the whole of their territory at once? 6. Who were the Phoenicians? 7. What were the chief cities of the Phoenicians? 8. Who were the chief gods of the Canaanites? 9. How were the Israelites governed? 10. What was the consequence of their falling from the true worship? 1
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LESSON VI.
LESSON VI.
1. When did the Israelite kingdom begin? 2. Who was the first king of Israel? 3. On what conditions was Saul to reign? 4. What was Saul's great error? 5. Who was chosen in Saul's stead? 6. Of what tribe was David? 7. What was David's great excellence? 8. What were David's exploits? 9. How was David prepared for the throne? 10. What terrible massacre did Saul commit in his hatred of David? 11. What prophecy was thus fulfilled?—1 Sam . ii. 32, 33. 12. What was the beginning of David's kingdom? 13.
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LESSON VII.
LESSON VII.
1. How did Rehoboam bring about the accomplishment of the sentence on Solomon? 2. What tribes were left to him? 3. How was he prevented from making war on Jeroboam? 4. Who was the Egyptian king who invaded Judea? 5. Who succeeded Rehoboam? 6. Who succeeded Abijah? 7. What was Jehoshaphat's great error? 8. Into what danger did Ahab send him? 9. What great deliverances were vouchsafed to Jehoshaphat? 10. How did Jehoram act on coming to the throne? 11. How was he punished? 12. What became of Ahazi
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LESSON IX.
LESSON IX.
1. Who founded the Assyrian Empire? 2. What is the description of Nineveh? 3. What prophet was sent to warn the Ninevites? 4. How did the Ninevites receive the message? 5. What prophetic book besides Jonah is concerned with Nineveh? 6. Which King of Nineveh was contemporary with Ahaz? 7. Why did Ahaz seek the alliance of Tiglath Pileser? 8. What victories did the Ninevites gain? 9. What was the effect upon Judah? 10. What profanation did Ahaz commit in the Temple? 11. Who was the successor of Ah
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LESSON X.
LESSON X.
1. What was the character of Amon? 2. What reformation did Josiah make? 3. What discovery was made in cleansing the Temple? 4. Why was the Law of Moses so awful to Josiah? 5. What answer did Huldah make to Josiah's inquiries? 6. What was the great merit of Josiah? 7. What prophecy did Josiah exactly fulfil?—1 Kings , xiii. 2. 31, 32, 8. Who were the prophets of Josiah's time? A. Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and a little later, Habbakuk. 9. What was Josiah's situation with regard to his neighbours? 10. W
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LESSON XI.
LESSON XI.
1. Who were the Chaldeans? 2. What does Isaiah say of the origin of the Chaldeans?— Is . xxiii. 13. 3. Who was their chief god, and how was he worshipped? 4. Describe Babylon. 5. What were the prophecies of the state of the Jews in captivity?— Lev . xxvi. 33, 34.—38, 39.— Jer . v. 19. 6. What change for the better passed over the Jews? 7. Who were the royal children brought up as slaves? 8. How had their slavery been foretold?— Is . xxxix. 7. 9. What instance of self-denying faith was given by t
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LESSON XII.
LESSON XII.
1. What was the power which was to overcome the Assyrian? 2. How had the Persian power been figured in the visions?— Dan . ii. 32.—vii. 5.—viii. 3, 4. 3. What was the meaning of the two horns of the Ram? 4. What was the difference between the Medes and Persians? 5. What was the religion of the Persians? 6. What was the character of Cyrus? 7. Who was the reigning King of Babylon? 8. What was the trust of the Babylonians? 9. But what had been foretold concerning Cyrus?— Is . xlv. I, 2, 3. 10. How
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LESSON XIII.
LESSON XIII.
1. How many Jews returned from the captivity? 2. Who were the leaders of the return? 3. Who was Zerubbabel? 4. Why is it supposed that his father was only the adopted son of Jehoiachin? A . Both because Jeremiah sentenced Coniah to be childless, and in Luke iii. Zerubbabel's descent is derived from David, through Nathan. 5. What story is told of Zerubbabel's gaining favour with Darius? 6. What title did Zerubbabel bear? 7. What was the only inheritance left for him? 8. What was the blessing of G
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LESSON XIV.
LESSON XIV.
1. Who is Ahasuerus supposed to have been? 2. What was his great act of tyranny? 3. By what means did he try to repair the loss of Vashti? 4. Of what race was Esther? 5. Why would not Mordecai bow down to Haman? 6. What benefit did Mordecai do the king? 7. How did Haman seek revenge for Mordecai's scorn? 8. How did Esther conduct her intercession? 9. What great deliverance was given to the Jews? 10. What fresh aid was given to the building at Jerusalem? 11. What was the date of Ezra's arrival? 1
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LESSON XV.
LESSON XV.
1. Who were the Greeks? 2. Who was the chief Greek god? 3. What were the Greek philosophers trying to find out?—See Acts , xvii. 27, 28. 4. What were the Greek games?—See I Cor . ix. 24, &c. 5. Which were the two chief Greek cities? 6. What was the most learned of all cities? 7. Who subdued all the rest of Greece? 8. What was the name of the great King of Macedon? 9. How was Macedon figured in Daniel's visions?— Dan . vii. 6.—viii. 5, 6, 7. 10. What yet older prophecy was there of the Gr
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LESSON XVI.
LESSON XVI.
1. How was the division of Alexander's empire foreshown?— Dan . vii. 6.—viii. 8. 2. What were the four horns? 3. What was the Greek power in Nebuchadnezzar's dream? 4. Which of the Greek princes came in contact with Palestine? 5. What did the Angel call them in Dan. xi.? 6. What was the name of all the Greek kings of Egypt? 7. What were the names of the Greek kings of Syria? 8. To which of them did the Jews belong at first? 9. What colony did Ptolemy Lagus bring into Egypt? 10. What prophecy was
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LESSON XVII.
LESSON XVII.
1. How was Antiochus's punishment of the traitors foretold?— Dan . xi. 14. 2. What were the conquests predicted in the 15th verse? 3. How did he treat Judea?—verse 16th. 4. What alliance did he make? 5. What was the prophecy of this marriage?—verse 17th. 6. What expedition was predicted in the 18th verse? 7. What checked him in this expedition? 8. What became of Antiochus the Great? 9. How was this predicted?—verse 19. 10. Who were the Romans? 11. What were they in Nebuchadnezzar's dream?— Dan .
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LESSON XVIII.
LESSON XVIII.
1. What deliverers were raised up for the Jews? 2. Why was the family of Mattathias called Asmonean? 3. How was Mattathias first roused to resistance? 4. What purification did Mattathias make? 5. What were the predictions of him and his sons?—Dan. xi. 32, 33. 6. Who succeeded Mattathias? 7. How arose the name of Maccabees? 8. What was the great work of Judaa Maccabæus? 9. What was the end of Antiochus Epiphanes? 10. How had it been predicted?—Dan. xi. 44, 45. 11. What was the death of Eleazar? 1
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LESSON XIX.
LESSON XIX.
1. Who was the first Asmonean King? 2. What prophecy thus had a fulfilment? A. Zech. vi. 13; but this was only really accomplished in our Lord. 3. Who reigned after Aristobulus? 4. Who after Alexander Janneus? 5. What dispute broke out between the sons of Alexandra? 6. Who fostered the ill-will between the brothers? 7. To whose decision was the dispute referred? 8. What was it that made the Roman power so terrible? 9. How did the Romans extend their dominion? 10. What were the Roman triumphs? 11
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LESSON XX.
LESSON XX.
1. In what year of the world did Augustus number his people? 2. What was the object of Augustus? 3. What was the real cause of this taxation? 4. What prophecies had foretold that the Messiah should be born of a woman?—Gen. in. 15.—Is. vii. 14.—Jer. xxxi. 22.—Micah, v. 3. 5. How was Bethlehem fixed for His birth-place?—Micah, v. 2. 6. How was His birth foretold?—Is. ix. 6. 7. What allusion was there to His being received into a stable and rejected by His townsmen?—Is. i. 3. 8. What were the rejoi
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LESSON XXI.
LESSON XXI.
1. What was fulfilled by the one great Sacrifice? 2. What were the ceremonies of the Law?—Heb. x. 1. 3. What was the difference between circumcision and baptism? 4. How had baptism been enjoined?—Mark,xvi. 16. 5. Where had its regenerating power been declared?—John, iii. 5. 6. How had the promise of being cleansed by His blood been held out in the Old Testament?—Ps. li. 2.—Is. i. 18.—lii. 15.—Joel, iii. 21.—Zech. xiii. 1. 7. How were the faithful invited to constant partaking of pardoning grace?
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LESSON XXII.
LESSON XXII.
1. How had St. Paul first been converted? 2. How did he spend his time after his conversion? 3. How bad education fitted him to be an apostle to the Gentiles? 4. How was he introduced to the apostles? 5. What was his first mission? 6. What name was first given at Antioch? 7. How were SS. Paul and Barnabas first set apart? 8. What was their first journey? 9. Who was their companion? 10. What was the occasion of the first Council of the Church? 11. Why must the decisions of a truly general council
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LESSON XXIII.
LESSON XXIII.
1. How had the apostles been martyred? 2. What Church was left in Ethiopia? 3. What Church was left by St. Thomas? 4. Which apostles left writings? 5. Who alone survived to hear of the destruction of Jerusalem? 6. How had this been foretold?—John, xxi. 22. 7. How did the Jews bring punishment on themselves? 8. How did they misread the prophecies? 9. How had our Lord predicted their self-deception?—Matt. xxiv. 5-11. 10. What Roman was sent against them P 11. How was he called off? 12. What warnin
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LESSON XXIV.
LESSON XXIV.
1. What were the events of Domitian's persecution? 2. How was St. John a martyr in will? 3. What was revealed to St. John in a vision? 4. Where was the latter part of St. John's life spent? 5. What were the instances of St. John's love? 6. What are the writings of St. John? 7. In what year did he die? 8. What were the habits of the early Christians? 9. How did they meet for worship? 10. What was their practice on the Lord's Day? 11. How did they arrange themselves at their assemblies? 12. How di
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LESSON XXV.
LESSON XXV.
1. How had our Lord forewarned His followers of their sufferings?— Matt . x. 16, 17.— John , xvi. 2. 2. How had they been told to meet their afflictions?— Matt . v. 12.—1 Peter , iii. 14. 3. What had He said of confessing or denying Him?— Matt . x. 32, 33. 4. What had been promised through St. John to such as overcame?— Rev . ii. 17.—iii. 5 and 21. 5. How had the lot of the martyrs been shown to St. John?— Rev . vii. 14-17. 6. How many periods of persecution had been predicted?— Rev . ii. 10. 7.
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LESSON XXVI.
LESSON XXVI.
1. Who was the first believing monarch? 2. How was Constantine converted? 3. Tell me a few of the promises that Gentile sovereigns should obey the Church?— Ps . lxxii. 11.— Is . xlix. 23.—lx. 4.—lxvi. 12.— Rev . xi. 15. 4. What was the date of Constantine's conversion? 5. What was Helena's expedition to Jerusalem? 6. How did she do honour to the holy places? 7. What did Jerusalem thenceforth become? 8. What prophecy thus had a partial and material fulfilment?— Is lx. 10.—lxvi. 20. 9. How did Con
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LESSON XXVII.
LESSON XXVII.
1. Who were the two brothers who reigned together? 2. What evil habit prevailed in their days? 3. What was the great work of St. Jerome? 4. Into what tongue did he translate the Bible? 5. What was the bishopric of St. Ambrose? 6. How was he chosen? 7. How did St. Ambrose resist the Empress Justina? 8. Why did he hold out against her? 9. Who was the Catholic Emperor? 10. What fresh heresy had arisen? 11. What fresh confession of faith was made at the Council of Constantinople? 12. What was the se
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LESSON XXVIII.
LESSON XXVIII.
1. How had the Roman power decayed? 2. Of what were the feet of Nebuchadnezzar's statue made? 3. What nations had attacked the Romans? 4. What was the faith of the Teutons? 5. Under what form did they first learn Christianity? 6. Who ruled the Roman empire? 7. What portion first was lost to Rome? 8. Who conquered Britain? 9. How was Ireland converted? 10. What prophecies were there that these distant places should be won to the faith?—Is. xlix. 1.—lxvi. 19. 11. What great act of self-sacrifice m
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LESSON XXIX.
LESSON XXIX.
1. What evils prevailed in the East? 2. What heresies were there taught? 3. What threat had been made in the Revelation?— Rev . ii. 5. 4. What alarm befell the East? 5. How was the true Cross recovered? 6. What false religion sprang up? 7. Who was Mahomet? 8. What was his false prophecy called? 9. What were the requirements and promises of the Koran? 10. In what year was the flight of Mahomet? 11. How did he spread his religion? 12. Where did he die? 13. How do the Mahometans honour Mecca? 14. W
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LESSON XXX.
LESSON XXX.
1. What was the danger of the Western Church? 2. Why were the people so ignorant? 3. What respect did they pay to religion? 4. What errors began to prevail? 5. What Greek emperor tried to prevent image worship? 6. What different decisions were arrived at in the east and west? 7. Who was the great western emperor? 8. What power did Charles le Magne give the Pope? 9. What miseries came upon the west? 10. Who was the great and good English King? 11. How were the Northmen converted? 12. What harm di
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LESSON XXXI.
LESSON XXXI.
1. How many horns had sprung up in Daniel's vision of the Roman power? 2. What do these horns signify? 3. How had our Lord shown how Christianity should work through the nations?— Matt. xiii. 33. 4. But how had Solomon shown that too few would really honour the Lord?— Eccles. iv, 15, 16. 5. In what were the people too prone to trust? 6. Why was it wrong to trust in the intercessions of the Blessed Virgin?—1 Tim. ii. 5. 7. Who had the chief power in the Western Churches? 8. What was the old way o
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LESSON XXXII.
LESSON XXXII.
1. How had the Services of the Church come to be in an unknown tongue? 2. What deceit was practised upon the people? 3. How were those who found fault punished? 4. How was it that there was less ignorance than formerly? 5. Who began to preach against indulgences? 6. What translation did Luther make? 7. How did England separate from the Pope? 8. What became of the English monasteries? 9. Why did the Italian clergy hinder inquiry? 10. What were Luther's party called, and why? 11. Who was the Swiss
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LESSON XXXIII.
LESSON XXXIII.
1. Who discovered America? 2. Who were the first inhabitants of America? 3. Why did the Pope think he had a right over them? 4. To whom did he give them? 5. How did the Spaniards use the Indians? 6. Who tried to prevent their cruelty? 7. What people were brought to the West Indies to work for the colonists? 8. What prophecy was thus fulfilled?— Gen . ix. 27. 9. What work did the Jesuits do in South America? 10. What harm did the Jesuits do at home? 11. What bad spirit rose up in Europe? 12. What
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LESSON XXXIV.
LESSON XXXIV.
1. What schism arose in England? 2. How has St. Paul warned us against separations?— Romans , xvi. 17. 3. Why is it dangerous to follow any unordained minister?— St. John , x. I. 4. How has our Lord taught us to cling to His Church?— St. John , xv. 4. 5. How can we be sure that ours is a true branch of the Church?— A. Because our Bishops come straight from the Apostles, and our faith and our Sacraments are the same as theirs, and agree with Holy Scripture....
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