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Young People's Societies
THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM.
(TEMPERANCE LESSON.)
March 9, 1913. Gen. 19:1-8, 12-29.
GOLDEN TEXT.?"Come out Iron
uning them, and be ye separate, aaitl
me jiorn, nna touch not tne nncleai
thing.'*?2 Cor. 6: 17.
HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS.
W.?Gen. 19: 12-17, 23-29.
T.?Gen 18: 16-33.
W.?Isa. 6: 8-24.
Th.?1 Ki. 20: 13-21.
F.?Dan. 6: 1-9, 25-28.
S.?Gen. 9: 18-27.
S?1 Pet 4: 1-11.
SHORTER CATECHISM.
Q. 40. What did God first reveal ti
man for the rule of his obedience!
A. The rule which God first revealei
to man Tor bis obedience was the mora
law.
LESSON OUTLINE.
Lot's angelic visitors, vs. 1-3. .
God's warning scorned, vs. 12-14.
Lot hurried out of Sodom, vs. 15?1*3
The city destroyed. Lot's wif
turned to salt, vs. 23-29.
LESSON STUDY.
Places: Abraham was dwelling a
the time of this story at Mamre, nea
Hebron, some twenty miles south c
the site of Jerusalem. Lot was 1
Sodom, one of the cities of the Plair
considered Iby the best scholars as sil
lated in that territory which is nw
covered by the shallow waters of th
southern end of the Dead Sea.
Time: Perhaps fifteen years hav
passed since the date of the last lessoi
Ish'mnel has been born to Abraham an
Hagar, and Is now a well grown la<
Abraham Is ninety-mine years of agi
According to the best chronology, '
was a little more than nineteen hut
dred years before Christ.
Abraham's Prayer: When the in
pending doom of Liot'e city was at
nounced to Abraham, the latter offere
his memorable rprayer to God for th
delivery of the city if there be fonn
in it so many as fifty righteous, fort:
five, forty, thirty, twenty, ten.
have often wondered -wby Abraham
stopped at ten, wben he had gained t
much, and have felt that he might hai
nad ills wish even If "he had come dow
to one. Lot 'himself. We often etc
too soon In our prayers.
The IneTlfablc Results First I>
pitched his tent toward Sodom. Ne
he was In the very city Itself. No
he Is threatened with the destructtr
that Is sweeping upon It, he Is the vl
tlm of Its sins. All has come from tl
worldly spirit which moved him
take the fairest part of the land wh?
Ahraro made his generous offer. Tl
sordid or worldly spirit always hrlm
Its evil end. TCvIl associations or cor
panlonehl-ns * ? -
ipicavuui CJT 8
tractive or promising, end In dlsastc
Hast Thon Here Anjr Besides: Ti
angels visiting Lot desired to sa
others -with him. They bade lot brli
them ont of that place. God'a mercy
bonndleee. He Is not willing that ai
should perish but that all Should con
to repentence. It would seem, hoi
ever, that the evil deeds of Sodom ve
ed no soul hut Lot's,
Bring Them Ont of Tills Place: Th
1s still the command to God's peopl
They must plead with the sinner, n
the power of parental authority, ai
whatever other means thev may fir
possible, under God, to convert m<
from the error of their -way* The r
9
THE PRESBYTERIi
sponsibility of believers Is not discharged
until they have urged and
warned and struggled faithfully to
bring every one to the place of safety.
Ah Oue That Mocked: Fools miake a
mock at sin. Much more do they mock
at efforts to show them their sine. They
will not believe, and so they think no
one else can really 'believe. In this
, case, however, the wicked sons-in-law
i of Lot, mocking at sin themselves, re,
garded Lot's entreaties as so much
mockery. They would not treat the
matter seriously from any standpoint
whatever.
While He Lingered: Lot still delayed.
lit may have been from dislike to
leave his comfortable home in Sodom,
or from too much love for the place, or
from business Interests, or from too
low an appreciation of the angels' command
or of the danger of remaining, or
from an indifference to duty and danger
born of too long association and fa3
miliarity with Sodom and its ways and
people. "We do not know more than
a that he lingered.
1 Laid Hold Upon His Hand: The
angels had actually to force Lot and
his wife and daughters away from Sodom.
The reason for this act of semicompulsion
is given, and it is very significant:
"The Lord being merciful
r. unto him." Sinners are so loath to
e trust God that he must needs sometimes
"compel them to come In."
Escape for Tlij Life: It became a
life and death business. It was not a
t matter for dallying over. Look not ber
hind thee. Cut loose entirely. Give up
f altogether the old possessions and den
lights. Neither Btay thou in all the
i. plain. Make a clean sweep. Get clear
-- out of the zone of evil. Escape to the
v mountains. Seek some higher place,
e above the low level and the danger of
sin. Every expression indicates the
e urgency of the case. Every command
i. shows that there is danger neair, and yet
d the power of escape.
1. Ills Wife Looked Back: Her eyes
b. followed her heart. Just as there Is life
It for a look at the Crucified One, so often?
times there is death for a look at the
old loves and the old sins. The conneci
tion between the sinner and his sine
i- must be completely severed. Come out
>d and bo ve oparate, said the Lord. Lot's
ie wife'8 disobedience to this command
id was fatal. Trying to serve Christ with
7- one band while holding on to the world
re with the other, never pays. Christ
m wants the whole heart amd the whole
?o life.
re The Smoke of the Country: The
"n signs of the great disaster appeared
rp across the hills of Judea to Abraham,
many miles away, at the oak of
ot Mamre, near Hebron. Doubtless he
xt looked at the rising volume of unwonted
w smoke with awe. and trembled until
>n he received word that Dot was safe,
c- And doubtless God's just dealings with
he sin and the sinner gave him new and
to enlarged views of duty. We may learn
sn much, If we will, from the fate of the
he sinner.
ta God Remembered Abraham: In all
n- his wrath, God remembered mercy. In
lb- this case, however, the -rata
n*. God's paying "heed to Abraham's special
h? plea for "Lot. The prayer, abort as it
re seemed to fall of -what Abraham might
iK have asked for, was heard, even though
la Sodom was not spared. Lot was saved.
iy No prayer to God is unavailing. All
ie will be heard. The answer may not
w- come In the form desired, but its suJbx
stance will be there. Ood knows better
what to dve then we Vnnw
In Ami he always gives!
!e.
se Idfe Is short and we have never too
id much time for gladdening the hearts
id of those who are travling the darh
?n Journey with us. Oh! be swift to love,
?- m*Ve hsate tn ha kind.?Amie!
UN OF THE BOOTH
| The Sunday School |
OBEYING CONSCIENCE.
Topic for Sunday, March 9: Obeying
Conscience. 1 John 3:18*24.
v
DAILY HEADINGS. fc
Mondaj: The Imperative mood. Acts 1;
4:18-20. f
Tuesday: A conscience aflame. Jer. r
20:9. h
IVcduesday: The urge of conscience, d
Rom. 2:13-15. a
Thursday: Witness of conscience, r
Rom. 9:1-5. c
Friday: Suffering for God. 1 Pet 3: 1
13-17. b
Saturday: God before men. Amos
7:14-17. n
Conscience is that faculty In man c
which passes judgment upon the r
oughtness of things." 1
It dealB with duties, principles, and g
obligations, as meu stand in practical
relation to them. ^
The word "conscience" is a com- t
nniltiH xr/irH frnm twn T .oHn
words meaning "knowing" and "to- t
getiher," or "with." Two conclusions ?
may he drawn. f
First, the derivation of the word may ,
refer to the fact that in an act of "con- t
science" man and God are meeting and j
the judgment is that of both man and f
God.
Or, the word may have reference to the
fact that every act of conscience (
has in it two elements, one being the <
mental recognition of facts and rela- c
tlons, and the other the moral Judgment r
upon them. ]
Conscience knows and judges togeth
er. ?lta chief feature Is this Tatter, of j
course, -which is the moral phase of it, c
ibut an enlightened conscience is the
only reliable and proper conscience.
Conscience, in the narrowest sense
of the word, and referring to its moral
and Judgment aspects alone, is well declared
tc be God's voice speaking in the
soul. But it is a voice -wbich men can ]
pmsilv lram tn Hrnati ,
Shall conscience always toe otoeyed? i
Yes and no. Yes, always, when its 1
orders agree with. God's truth; no, it ]
matters not how strongly it speaks, <
wtoen its call is contrary to that which 3
God would have us do. The Hindu I
mother throwing her toabe into the
Ganges because her conscience tells her '
to do it is grievously sinning. <
The sin, in such cases, liee not so ]
much in obeying conscience as in hav- '
lng such a conscience. There is such a 1
thing as "a good conscience," which
God enjoins all to seek, and its oDDOslte.
a poor conscience, which may be either 1
one which does not speak clearly- and
emphatically, or one which has not been
properly taught or enlightened.
All moral Judgments should be according
to a moral law. The conscience
cannot act correctly apart from the
norm or rule of all moral action.
That rule is God's will. That divine
will is revealed chieflly in the divine
Word. A good conscience is one -whose
Judgments and acts are based upon
God's revealed wilt, bis word. When Its
judgment Is against the will, there's
something wrong.
Conscience la a director, not a,
saviour. It Is not to be thought that
beoause one tries to obey It, therefore
he has atoned for sin. If the conscience
i? perfect In Its functions and enlightened
to the highest possible degree, It
Is still only paying to-day's dobte, not
i yesterday's. It supplies no merit. Acti
!ng conscientiously Is a duty. One deserves
no thanks for doing what It Is
his duty *n do He Hay* np no oredit
by It
i
[February 26, 1913
The Prayer Meeting I
j- r =n
WISDOM FROM ABOVE.
James 3:17. Week of March 2.
The word "wisdom" like many other
fords in the Scriptures 'has several
Indred meanings, or has several rented
uses. Paul speaks of "words
vhlch man's wisdom toacheth," refering
to the prevailing philosophies of
ds day. Sometimes it is used to inIcate
merely human discretion or
ound judgment. Sometimes it means
evealed truth, and sometimes the reepticn
and use of that truth. The
atter is its meaning in the passage
lefore us.
This wisdom "is from above." It is
tot of h jinan origin, not the product of
ulture, or strength of mind, or soundless
of judgment, or nobility of spirit;
t is God's gift to ono in whom the
Jpirit of truth dwells
It is "pure," Mke a garment that ha3
teen washed clean and white. Wo aie
old of the saints that Dey are clothed
n white robes. It is said of Christians
hat they are cleansed. They have been
lubjects of the washing of regeneration
md rPnpwlnor A# UAIV
? . W?w VI uuv iivij VIUUOIn 1UIO
visdom from above is an endowment of
hose of whom it is said, "The hlood of
fesus Christ his Son oleansetb us
rom all sin."
Those who have heavenly wisdom are
peaceable." They are not given to contention
or wrangling. They are not
eonsorious or harsh in their judgments
>f others; they rather judge themselves.
The effect is to promote harmony,
lelpfulness, and good will.
Another characteristic of this wisdom
s gentleness. It promotes Christian
lourtesy and considerateness for others.
It imparts a discernment of propriety
tnd of 1-he rights and Interests of oth
:ns. 11 aiways encourages rather than
liscourages the growth and practice of
gracious principles in the lives of all.
It is "easy to be entreated." This
heavenly endowment makes us fair-ninded
in considering truth and duty
in relation to others, and makes us
tender-hearted and sensitive to the appeal
that may he made to our reason or
jur benevolence. It prepares us for having
our errors corrected, and for profiting
by needed admonition or reproof.
lit is "full of mercy and good fruits."
The characteristics of wisdom hero
described are closely related. One is
preparatory to another. When one is
"easy te be entreated" he is prepared
to be "full of mercy and good fnrita.
for be is full of the kind and sympa
thetlc sentiments which prompt to acts
of mercy and general benevolence.
The expression "without partiality"
means that It Is unambiguous; there Is
no danger of misconstruing Its quality
or mearftng, If fairly regarded. We
sometimes hear of Inconsistencies in
the conduct of professing Christians,
hut this wisdom from above brings al!
parts of the lite into harmony. The
several graces of the Spirit aTe In a
healthy state and sustain normal relations
to each other
Finally, the wisdom that God gives Is
without hypocrisy. It makes no
alliance with frauds, amd makes no
compromise with substitutes or imitations.
Many false prophets have gone
out Into the world hut as such they
have not been endowed with that wis
aom. Tney have not ppoken its
language nor breathed its spirit.
"What shai!l -we say of the Importance
of seeking this wisdom and being constantly
endowed -with it. To be without
it is to be destitute of the essentials of
both happiness in our own Itrw and
helpfulness to others
4