Newspaper Page Text
8 (152)
j The Sunday School I
HD** C0VB3.LNT WITH \BKAH\M.
March 2, 1913. lien. U; 17:1-8.
Cikliii'd "Ha (a fnithfitl thu*
jromised."?Heb. 10:23.
HOME DULY BIBLE HEADINGS.
M.?Gen. 15:5-18.
T.?Gen. 16.
W?Gen. 17:1-8.
T v?Gen. 1T:15-2L
F.?Gen. 18-1-15.
S.?Heb. 9; 11-22.
S?Eph. 2:11-22.
SHORTER CATECHISM.
Q. 39. What is the duty which God
req> Ireth of man?
A. The duty which God rectnireth of
r*-*. ? to f. Via wni
il MJL lOf UUCU1CUV.C HJ UIO 1 C ? CnlCU WUl.
LESSOX OUTLIXE.
The sign God gave to Abraham, vs. 1-5.
Abraham's faith, vs. 6-8.
Abraham's sacrifice and covenant
with God, vs. 9-18.
The sign and seal of the covenant,
ch. 17:1-8.
LESSOX STl'DT.
The Time: The Incidents of this lesann
rsrrnrrpH ini*t nftAr A.hmm'a rp?rriA
of Lot from the invading kinga of the
East, and in connection with Abram's
apparently increased conviction that.
God's covenant was to he accomplished
in some other way than Ms having
any child. Perhaps he had come to
regard Lot as nis netr and the one
through whom the promises were to be
wrought out, and now had forced to
give uy his ho-pe in that direction because
of his disappointment in Lot's
character and life.
God'* Willingness to Repeat: To
confirm the faith of his chosen people,
maintain their hope, and to encourage
them, God graciously repeats his promise.
He pities the need of his people
for this reassurance but all the same
responds to It. "God willing more
abundantly to show unto the heirs of
promise the immutability of his
conneel, confirmed It by an oath, that
"by bwa Immutable things we ur.lgbt
have a strong consolation who have
fled for refuge to lay hold upon the
hope set before us."
a .unrp sppnnr rHifnnrmcm. uwn
promise is here mors specific than before.
It grasped the fears of Abram
and sought to allay them. (It responded
to the cry of a disappointed heart atid
sought to substitute a song. It made
definite promise of an heir. It 111nstrated
the nnmbeTlessness of Abraim/s
posterity. It revealed the fart that
though there should be for a long
period a prevaleney of darlcness, yet
fhe snn "wonld surely come ont and
Israel should become a great nation.
In giving this renewed eoverlnnt Ood
appeared to Abram In a vision, one of
the several thoophanles with which
Abram was honored, so that "ho believed
In the T/ord, and he connted It to
Mm for righteousness."
Ifew fJrar* for ffew 5eed?u All thle
wag at a time when Abram seemed to
stand In apeclal need. The trial* of h!?
faith were aerere. The enemies who
carried off T>ot m1?ht return. He was
dlsaorolnted In T>ot. He was lonely and
.*.11^1 1 ? - I - *
rjrmn 'T^, i nn f/rcvunm promisn tJi
Ood had neemed Blow of fnlfllment, and
Mm? part of the covenant even wtiwO
ImpowBlbTe of fnlflllment. Ood recoanlved
tMn at nation, And ho waa willing
to Impar now hope. "Ab thy doy,
bo ohall thy ?tren?cth ho." Ood never
foraakae his |>eople In their time of
?eed. TbaH faith may aaarn )n da
ThH S PR18BTTBRH
cline. but his word gtandeth sure.
A Shield and K?nardi A protection,
a defease. against the foes that men
aced Abram from the East and North, !
and from Immediately around him; and
more still from the distrust, fear, disquiet
from within which doubtless at
this time sorely tempted Abram. And
an exceedingly great reward! God's
readiness to look upon faith and a faithful
life as come to be rewarded, is still
further proof of his grace. He promised
himself as that reward. Such a
hope, and the promise of such a gift,
world inspire new courage and reanimate
the failing heart.
Faith and Righteousness: Faith Is
not the ground or cause of righteousness,
but the means appointed of God.
Tt is the channel through which the
b'essing flows. It carries the stream
but does not make it It is the hand
that lays hold upon righteousness,
offered in Christ, who Is "The L?ord Our
Righteousness." "Abraham saw my
day, and was glad.** He was the fath
*-r vi au mem mai oeue^e. J ne laua
which he bad was a confident resting
In the strength of God.
And Tell the Stars: Who can count
them, even in this land But here we
hare comparatively a -poor conception
of the significan<cy of the Illustration.
In Palestine the brilliancy and
number of the stars seem multiplied
many times over. The clearness and
dryness of the atmosphere bring out
myriads more than we see. "So shall 1
thy seed be." was the promise.
A Horror of Great Darkness: As explained
by God himself, this typified
the period of apparent hopelessness
through which Hsrael should pass, In
the sojourn, practically as c&ptlves, In
Egypt- But Israel should come out
of this, and with great substance. God
thus provided against the day when
the trial must come, both by announcing
It and by declaring that it should
have a happy end.
That Brought Thee Outi God's first
deliverances of his people are to be
looked npon as pledges of future deliverances.
What he has done, he will
do again. Men are prone to forget his
goodness of the past and to demand
r.ew evidence. TMs is both Ingratitude
and lack of faith. "God Is not
slack concerning his promises as some
iren count slackness, but Is long suffering
to you-ward. not willing that any
should perish."
The River of Fgypt t Not, as so many
carelessly think, the Nile, but a little
stream on the eastern border of the
Egyptian territory, which lay cast of
u:b iib? Hnfj aiong me soumwesxern
boundary of Palestine.
Whereby Shell I Knnwi This Interrelation
by Ahram, Implying that he
wished end needed proof of God's sincerity
In the promise made him, seem
to Indicate that Abram's faith had
somewhat declined. It may not menn
this *o much a* It reflects a very common
condition of the human race, the
desire for a token or sign. an outward
expression of the unseen.
Our aim In life should always "be to
do our test Our life will be a failure
If we are satisfied with the aim simply
to make our life better.
"Not with eyeservlce, nn men-pleasera'.
but as the servants of Christ, doIn*
th9 will of God from the heart;
with Rood will doing service, as to the
Lord, and not to imen," "Whatsoever
ye do, do It heartily, as to' the Lord, and
not unto men."
God sees to It that those who serve
him best and with most singleness of
heart reap the richest reward for themselves.
"Of the Lord ye shall receive
the reward of the Inheritance; for ye
serve the T*rrd Christ"
iN OF THE SOUTH
The Prayer Meeting
PRACTICAL SERVICE.
Topic for Sunday, March St The
nhJ.il.. HIT ?a. ?at ? o
lurai i iirputiu in* inn i rni"l?"?l 3Cr*
vice.?Matthew 6:tS-1t?.
DAILY READINGS.
Monday: Testifying. Acta 1:6-11.
Tuesday: Siuning lives. Eph. 6:3-14.
Wednesday: Serving the poor. Matt
19:16-22.
Thursday: leavening the nation.
Rom. 13:1-10.
Friday: Serving the church. Acts
6:1-7.
Saturday: Serving the lost. Matt.
9:32-33.
Men are saved to serve. They are
rflllA/I trt fl 11 fo nnt 4a o ato to nr ?nn_
dition.
Believers are co-workers with God.
They are to he doers of the word, and
not hearers only.
Until their acceptance of Christ
"Come" Is the word that rings In their
ears; after that It is the word "Go."
If one loves Christ with all his heart,
he will not be content to do lese, when
God asks It, than to serve him with all
his strength.
The first act of service is to confess
Christ. "With the heart man helleveth
unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made nnto salvation.
A further act of service is in witnesshearing.
"Ye shall he witness unto me,
both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and
in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth."
Indeed, the great function of the
church and the purpose of the organization
on the earth is that It may bear
witness to Christ and his gospel. Take
this out of Its life and it has no reason
for being.
A pure and upright life Is practical
service to God. It Is the other side of
the seal of the foundation of God
which standeth sure: "Let every one
that nameth the name of Christ depart
from Iniquity."
"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom
which cannot be moved, let us have
grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably
with reverence and godly
fear." Grace shows Itself In service,
and service Is the proof of grace.
The Christian will find practical service
In ministering to those who are
needy. "Go and sell that thou hast, and
give to the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure In heaven." "The poor ye
???^ ni ?u/o *?iwu /vu.
"And the King shell answer and say
unto them: "Verily I say unto you, ln?
asmuch as ye have done It unto one
of the least of these my 'brethren, ye
have dono It uivto me."
One may serve Christ by taking part
In the administration of the church's
business. "Look ye out among yon
seven men of honest report, full of the
Holy tlhost and wisdom, whom we may
appoint over this business."
Most of all, however, Christ Is served
by his people exerting themselves to
win souls. And Jesus, when he saw
their faith, the faith of the four men
who brought their friend to him, henlod
the man sick of the palsy.
"And whithersoever he entered, Into
villages, or cities, or country, they laid
the sick In the streets, and besought
him that thsy might touch If It were
hut the border of his garment: and as
many as touched htm were made
whole."
True service of Christ Is for his sake,
not for that of the one serving him.
He and not oneself Is the object It
must not be seen of men. to be praised *
of tnea.
im
[February 19, 1913
[Young People's Societies!
THE TALENTS.
Matt 26:11-30. M eek of Feb. 28.
Seve-f.l of our Lord's parables place
emphasis on diligence and preparation
for whatever the future may unfold.
Such is the meaning of the parable of
the Ten Virgins recorded In the chapter
preceding. In the lesson 'before us the
kingdom of heaven Is represented by
the case of a man's taking a journey
Into a far country and entrusting his
servants with property to be used
wlselv nnrt nrnfltfLhlv Kv f.hpm until
should return.
The Master here represents our Lord
who has ascended into heaven whence
he will return at a time which he has
not made known. Professed Christiana
are the servants who are entrusted
with the care and use of his possessions
until he shall return. The talents
which the master left with his servants,
represent the endowments of body,
mind and spirit which he has bestowed,
Including every valuable possession,
such as time, influence, material pos
Bcaeiuut>, ur vuciai, civil ana ousiness
stations in life?all resources that are
justly available for use.
The fact that a professing Christian,
has made a false profession does not
ro.r.ove his responsibility. As such he
cannot render spiritual service but as
such he is one whom Christ came to
seek and to save. The grace that saves
others is available for him, and his
plain duty is to seek that grace and
he shall find It. Then as a trophy of
redeeming grace he Is prepared to render
acceptable service and thereby to
glorify his Lord. The use of talents
does not make men Christians, but
rather serves as evidence thin they are
such by expressing the faith that is in
them.
There were five talents given to the
first servant, two to another and one
to a third. This part of the parablo
clearly represents the different proportions
of responsibility that our Lord
in his providence and by his grace
places upon those whom he calls to
serve him. Some have wider influence,
superior training, more worldly goods,
moro aptness to teach, more natural
sympathy, or tact, or InBight into human
naturo than others. Such persons
aro responsible for rendeilng greater
service than thoso who aro not so highly
endowed. "Every man according to
his several ability," is the rulo. All
should rest In the assurance that they
have the degree of responsibility and
opportunity that is most pleasing to
tholr Lord.
From what tallows it is evident that
rowards are not uneasured by results
accomplished, but <by faithfulness, tin
case of both those who had used their
Lord's money It had Increased a hundred
fold, and the approval of the
.Master In the two cases was expressed
in the same words, "Well dono good
and faithful servant; thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many things; enter
thou Into the Joy of thy Lord." Wo
may not, therefore, conclude that they
who are entrusted .with most, are the
most faithful. Vory ootmnottily the con
trary Is true. Indeed the Scripture*
teach that the widow's offering of n
farthing wee more than the offering*
given hy others "of their abundance."
We nre plainly taught In the ppreAle
that none are exoluded from the requirement
of the faithfulness. An account
must he rendered whether shuttles
and advantages are limited or abundant.
Such Is the leeeon derived from
the case of the servant who received
one talent