Newspaper Page Text
The
Sunday = School
International lesson com
ments FOR FEBRUARY 20.
Subject: The Golden Rule—Temper
ance Besson, Matt. 7:1-12
„ —Commit Verses 7, 8.
\
GOLDEN TEXT. “Therefore All
things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to
them, for this is the law and the pro
phets.” Matt. 7:12.
TlME.—Midsummer A. D. 28.
PLACE.—Horns of Hattin.
EXPOSITION.—I. The Sin and
Folly of Judging Others, 1-5. Judg
ing is God’s work, not ours (Ro. 14:
2-4, 10-13; 1 Cor. 4:3-5; Jas. 4:11,
12). We are neither called nor com
petent to sit in judgment upon others.
If we attempt it we shall reap exactly
what we sow, w r e “shall be judged.”
We shall be judged by God (Jas. 2:
.12, 13), by other men (context) and
condemned by ourselves, in the very
judgment we visit upon others (Ro.
2:1). Of course, it is not meant that
we shall abstain from all estimates of
others (see v. 6). It does not mean we
shall not be ready to condemn others
even when appearances are against
them (1 Cor. 13:5, 7, R. V.); and
when for purposes of deciding what
to do we must form an adverse opin
ion, even then we must not regard
that opinion as infallible, irrevocable
or final, but leave the final and decis
ive judgment with Him to whom it
belongs, God. The practice of judg
ing one another is rending the church
of Christ. If we will not judge oth
ers we “shall not be judged” (Luke
6:37). In our giving also, as well as
in our judging we shall reap just
what we sow (Luke 6:38). Men will
give to us as we give to others, and
so will God (Phil. 4:19; 2 Cor. 9:6).
Generosity pays. When we measure
out to others, we are really measuring
to ourselves. Most men are sharp
sighted to see a mote in another’s
eye, but pass unnoticed a beam in
their own. Jesus meets this strange
injustice with a startling “why?”
There is no clearer proof of our sel
fishness than that we judge others by
such different standards from those
by which we judge ourselves. One
great reason of our harsh judgment of
others is that we fancy that it covers
up or atones for our own faults to
discover faults in others. It does not
l(Ro. 2:1, 2, 21; 14:12). Jesus calls
the one so blind to his own faults and
so open-eyed to the faults of others,
by no soft name, “hypocrite.” That
is just what he is.
IT. The Folly of Feeding Hogs
Pearls, <J. There is a proper sphere
for exercising our powers of discrim
ination. When we give out truth we
should seek to give it to those who
will appreciate it, and should suit our
message to our audience. A dog
loves his vomit and a hog wallowing
in the mire (2 Pet. 2:22). When we
find men wedded to their filth, it is
both vain and dangerous to cast the
pearls of God’s holy truth before
them. We should turn from them.
But it is well to note that verse 6 is
preceded by verses 1-5, and not to
judge too hastily that another is a
dog or a hog.
in. The Wisdom of Prayer, 7-12.
Jesus begins His stirring words on
prayer with three commands, each of
which is accompanied with a corre
sponding promise. Remarkably brief
are the commands, remarkably ex
pressive are the promises. The en
joyment of the promises is condi
itioned upon obedience to the com
mands. Command one, “Ask.” What
love on God’s part to command us to
pray as if we were conferring a favor
on Him by doing it. Surely if we
don’t obey, it is a grievous sin and in
sult to Him. If we do, what then?
“It shall be given you.” It is the eas
iest thing in the world to get things;
just “ask” for them (Jas. 4:2; ch.
21:22; Jno. 4:10; 14:13, 14; 15:7;
1 Jno. 3:22). We ought always to be
at this (Luke 18:1-8). But earnest
asking does not stop with asking, it
also seeks and knocks, and it finds
and has the door opened to it. Jesus
puts the power of prayer very strong
ly, “every one that asketh receiv
eth.” Note that He does not say that
every one who asks gets everything
he asks, but “every one that asketh
receiveth.” There is a way of asking
that gets the very thing asked every
time (Jno. 15:7; 1 Jno. 3:22; 5:14,
15; Jno. 14:13, 14), but in everyone’s
prayer there is power, and every real
prayer effects something. And there
is power in seeking and knocking.
Some men never find anything of any
worth, for they do not really seek.
No door of marvelous opportunity
opens to some men because they have
not . the faith and earnestness to
knock. Jesus’ argument to prove
God’s readiness to answer prayer is
beautiful and absolutely conclusive.
To sum it up in four words, God is a
Father. How the scientifice and met
aphysical and theological objections
to God’s answering prayer disappear
before that conception of God. Jesus
founds His “Golden Rule” of life
upon this conception of God. He be
gins it with “therefore.” Since God
is our Father and gives good things—
all good things, pre-eminently the
Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13) —to them
that ask, “therefore” everything we
desire men to do to us we should do
toothers. This sums up the whole O.
T. revelation of duty. The “Golden
Rule” requires not merely that we
should not do to others what we
would not have others do to us, that
is negative (the Confucian Golden
Rule) ; 'the Christian “Golden Rule”
is positive and requires that we
should do unto others all that we de
sire others to do to us.
THE PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
REV, JOHN WESLEY HILL, D.D.
Theme: The Workings of Providence.
Text—Rom. 8:28.
“And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love
God.”
We have here Paul's epitome of
Providence, his summing up of hu
man life and experience under the
superintending hand of God. Had he
been a materialist, he would have left
God out of the question, and said,
“You are a part of a great, merciless
machine, wound up by chance and
controlled by circumstances, and your
sufferings are due to the inexorable
movements of fate, against which you
struggle in vain.” Had he been a
Stoic philosopher, he would not have
said, “All things work together for
good,” but, “You are in the hands of
an awful system, of which evil is an
inevitable part,” and his exhortation
would have been, “Resist the evil
with the bold front of an unflinching
spirit.” Had he been an Epicurean,
he would have said, “Chance has pro
jected evil into the world. Fight
chance the only way in which you
can, by drowning all your cares in a
sea of sensual pleasure.” But Paul
was neither a materialist, nor a Stoic,
nor an Epicurean, but a Christian
philosopher. He believed that God’s
plans are eternal, that human suffer
ing is a part of the necessary disci
pline of life, that eternity alone is
the final interpretation of time, and
that “all things work together for
good to them that love God.”
Under Divine Protection.
Note the boldness of this Pauline
declaration: “All things work to
gether for good.” Had Paul known
nothing of the shocks and storms of
life, had his career been one of un
interrupted inspiration and unabated
triumph, then it might he urged that
the audacity of the proposition is evi
dence of ignorance of the facts in
volved. But Paul’s life was inter
woven of sunshine and shadows; in
fact, he knew much more of the
storms of life than of its calms. The
vision of the past was ever before
him; the prisons through which he
had passed, the uproar at Ephesus,
the earthquake at Philippi, violence
at Jerusalem, trials with the churches,
chains at Caesarea, shipwrecks and
stripes, while before him passed
scenes of anguish which were far be
yond his power to describe; and yet,
towering above these dark and pain
ful memories, we hear him exclaim,
“All things work together for good
to them that love God.'’ He thus
compresses the universe into this one
little word of three letters, all!
Glorious truth! We are not alone
in life’s vicissitudes! God’s eye is
upon us, and His arms encircle us.
We are not helpless, for the infinite
Deliverer is ever present, even when
we are unconscious of His presence,
inspiring with wisdom, imparting
Strength and enabling us to come off
more than conquerors over all the
trials and difficulties of life, the toils
and sufferings, defeats and crosses,
gains and losses; all things seen and
unseen, near and remote, dark and
bright, good and evil, are harnessed
as swift steeds to the chariot of the
divine purpose, and nothing can per
manently obstruct its progress.
Harmony anrl Co-Operation.
Again, let us notice the law of this
Providential process: “All things
work together.” And what is this
but the law of co-operation? Noth
ing in the universe below the being of
God is complete within itself. Every
thing leans upon and helps to bear
Up everything beyond, below, above,
and around itself. The dewdrop
works with the sunbeam, the seed
with the clay, the bee with the flow
er; the valley with the mountain, the
rivulet with the river, and the river
with the ocean; the heavens lean up
on the earth, and the earth reflects
the splendor of the heavens from its
laughing valleys, its snow-crowned
mountains and its ever-changing sea.
There is no isolation anywhere. The
faintest trace of matter, the most del
icate, microscopic cell has its place in
the universal creation, and performs
its function, not only for itself, but
in behalf of all. The gases that com
pose the air we breathe work togeth
er with life-giving and health-sus
taining power; eliminate the oxygen,
and this old world would be shroud
ed in death; the seasons work togeth
er, spring and summer, fall and win
ter, in a grand procession of beauty,
order and fruitfulness.
Light is beautiful, but light cannot
form the exquisite picture. Shadows
must lie there, a dark background
upon which the light can pencil its
jbeauty. The sunshine and shadow
must work together. Why, God can
not paint a rainbow until He has un-
Ibraided a beam of light into its seven
(prismatic hues, to borrow from and
lend to each other entrancing loveli
ness. So also the Lord knows how to
blend bright and dark things in hu
man life, so as to produce the most
happy, holy and heavenly character.
Oh, my friend, you can afford to be
patient and trustful, for God is mold
ing you to a pattern brighter than
angelic being, even according to the
image of His Son. The blow of the
hammer and the incision of the chisel
may be painful, but these are neces
sary to the removal of imperfections
and to the revelation of the angel
that is lurking in the hiding places
of your being. God is the great, in- 1
finite Sculptor, and you can depend
upon it He will not overlook the!
roughness, nor fail to smooth down
the rebellious grain!'
All things work together. The
lightning in It \ l and
fles the atmoAp \ ere; . th t e thunderbolt
that prostrates ti giant oak, beneath
which many fowi shelter, lets the
sun shine upon’ s J>°, t . of , ean , h that
had hitherto been\ full ° f darkness;
the cloud that meads the sky is
frequently but the aaow of an ap
proaching blessing. ” om< ? flowers
must be trampled upxJv 1
fragrance Is detected, x. it is like
wise true that human 1 ™ ust “ e
broken before their wetßF h of sym
pathy and love becomes pvw. ductive.
Strength and Love Through \ 'differing
Then, again, we should rex member
that tilings are not always as cA e y ap
pear. The sun appears to r% ano
set, but science places it in the ltre
of a family of worlds; the stara i X P*
pear to rove about without restrain L
but they, too, are fixed centres, fast -
ened to their points in space. The
rainbow appears to be a dense and
permanent arch of beauty, reared
against the solid sky, but philosophy
etherealizes both the bow and the
sky. And so in human experience,
we are deceived by appearances. It
seemed a cruel fate that tore Joseph
from his father’s arms and sold him
into slavery; but God lifted Joseph
from a pit to a throne and made him
lord over all Egypt. “All these tilings
are against me,” explained Jacob,
when the outrayings of Providence
were no longer discernible: but at
that very moment the horses and
chariots were on their way to carry
him down to the land of plenty. It
seemed a great calamity that turned
aside a professor of natural science
from his self-appointed way, but Scot
land gained through that the minis
try of Thomas Chalmers.
A Divine Hnnd at the Helm.
It is hardly possible for us to ap
preciate thfe force of the original
verb, “work together.” The thought
is that there is a beneficent power
grasping, subordinating, overruling
and directing all things for the larg
est measure for good. True, this
good may not always be apparent, but
it is none the less real. We cannot
measure the movements of Provi
dence by the swift beating of our lit
tle timepieces. God’s clock strikes
once in a thousand years. It is not
a question of calendar, but of char
acter. The thought of the text in
volves the largest good. This is the
goal of the divine intent. God is not
absorbed in gratifying our temporary
whims. He will not condescend to
our petty wants, as the indulgent pa
rent who pampers the spoiled child
by granting the sweetmeats for which
it cries. God’s medicine is not always
sweet. It is sometimes bitter-sweet,
hut if it is necessary to our highest
good He will not withhold it. The
statement of the text employs a sin
gular verb with a plural noun, denot
ing the harmonious workings of
Providence, and we may rest assured
that this power is working in our be
half every moment. Though we deny
it and resist it, the process continues,
silently and savingly, subordinating all
things to our final good, yes, and ma
king even the stumbling blocks of
life steps toward the throne.
Oh, what a comfort there is in this
thought! There can be no wreck,
for God’s hand is at the helm; there
can be no calamity, for His wisdom
and power overrule for good all that
comes to me. The promise is in the
present tense, not in some aeon of
eternity these things shall result in
good, hut here and now, amid the
changing scenes of life, poised as we
are in a probation bounded by two
eternities, it is the believer’s privi
lege to look through and beyond all
secondary causes and agencies to
trace the footprints of God as upon
the billows moving forward to the ac
complishment of His beneficent pur
poses, and to know that “all things
work together for good to them that
love God.”
“God Thinks of Me.”
It is this thought that gives to me
my position in the universe. If God
thinks of me, loves me, and watches
over me, it is because I am a part of
His plan. I may be but a rough peb
ble, yet I have my place in the great
universal mosaic. I am essential to
the unity and perfection of the whole.
I am here but for a day. I am not
a tenant, but a tourist. Eternity is
my race course, and the universe is
my home. All things are in league
with me; yea, they are my servants,
“working together for good.” “There
fore I shall not be afraid for the ter
ror by night, nor for the arrow that
flieth by day, nor for the pestilence
that walketh in darkness, nor for the
destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at my side, and
ten thousand at my right hand; but
it shall not come nigh me.” Yea, I
shall not tremble when death knocks
at the door, for he comes as the mes
senger of God, bringing my passport
to yonder world out of sight, still
working for my eternal good.
Standing thus, strong and secure,
the future flames with light, clouds
roll back, the eternal day draws nigh,
and although dark questions around
me rise and the path is not always
plain before my eyes, faith brings the
distant near and enables me to sing
with John Burroughs:
Serene, I fold my hands and wait.
Nor care for wind or tide or sea;
I rave no more ’gainst time and fate,
For lo! my own shall come to me.
The stars come nightly to the sky,
The tidal wave unto the sea;
Nor time nor space nor deep nor high
Can keep my own away from me.
The Old Stand-By.
Now, let our hopes anew be fired,
The frugal mind this comfort
gleans:
No wicket trust has yet conspired
To raise the cost of pork and beans.
—Washington Star
GEORGIA NEWS IN PARAGRAPHS.
The Georgia State College of Agri
culture at Athens is to make an ex'
hlbit at the state fair in Macon next
fall. The exhibit is to be made up
from the products of the farm at Ath
ens and wifi demonstrate to the pub
lic the splendid results of scientific
farming, rotation, diversification and
better crops with less acreage. The
arrangements have been made by
President J. J. Conner of the Georgia
Agricultural society.
The following pardons and com
mutations were granted by Governor
Brown on recommendation of the
prison commission: Robe'rt Young,
Oconee county, twelve months’ sen
tence for carrying concealed weapon,
commuted to fine of SSO and costs;
Perry Crawley, Berrien, larceny,
twelve months, commuted to present
..service; Walter L. Hornsby, Fulton,
assault and battery, twelve months,
pardoned;. Charlie Akin, Fulton, car
rying concealed weapon, pardoned on
recommendation of judge and solici
tor.
Sent up for forty years from Jeffer
son county, Georgia, escaped and re
captured in Jefferson county, Alaba
ma, is the moving picture exhibit of
Tom Patterson’s life since getting
his name on the court records the
day before Christmas, 1901. Patterson
was sent up for twenty years in two
cases of assault by Judge Evans. He
got away from the Worth county
gang.’-but was soon caught in Bir
mingham, Ala. The prison commis
sion has asked Governor Brown for
requisition papers.
This has been the most profitable
season in the live stock business
Jackson has ever experienced. A to
tal of fifteen cars of horses and
mules have been sold in the local
market to date. Jackson is a great
distributing point for live stock for
the surrounding country and several
counties come here to purchase their
horses and mules. The average price
of mules this season has been around
S2OO.
If any of the guns or other equip
ment of Georgia’s military companies,
furnished by the United States gov
ernment, are missing the captains
had better scurry about and find
them before their inspection date
rolls around, or the responsible cap
tains will have to dig up the cash
and pay for the lost property on the
spot. General order No. 5 made the
emphatic requirement that all prop
erty for which the captain of each
company is accountable, must be pro
duced on inspection, or the price of
it paid over in cash. The property
itself is furnished to the state by
the United States government, under
the state allotment, but the title to
it remains in the United States, so
that whatever is collected on account
of property lost or destroyed, goes to
the general government.
The validity of the Georgia prohi
bition laws will be thoroughly tested,
it is understood, by George Cureton,
who is under bond to appear at the
March term of court, in Dade county
on the charge of manufacturing whis
key in violation of the Georgia state
laws, a true bill having been returned
by the grand jury at the September
term of court. Both he and the
United States gauger, B. F. Thomp
son, who was arrested by Sheriff
Thurman, will, it is understood, make
their fight on the grounds that the
prohibition law as regards manufac
turers of whiskey is unconstitutional.
The national house passed tne bill
introduced by Representative Lee of
Georgia authorizing the secretary of
war to return to the state of Georgia
a brass cannon which was captured
by the union forces at Marietta, Ga.,
during the civil war. This is the
brass cannon taken from the military
school in Marietta and which Govern
or Brown nas been trying to obtain
from the federal government.
Advices from Washington, D. C.,
state that in all probability the Riv
ers and Harbors congress will report
favorably on the bill of Congressman
Gordon Lee appropriating the sum
of $637,000 for the improvement of
the Coosa fiver and its opening to
navigation. Congressman Lee has
been aided in his endeavor by Con
gressman Moon of Tennessee and
Congressman Burnett of Alabama.
Seventy-five Georgia counties have
made requisition upon the prison
commission for their quota of state
convicts for the new year beginning
April 1, and in every instance they
want more than they had last year.
In other words, a year’s trial has
greatly increased the demand for con
victs for road-working purposes. Not
one single county which has been us
ing state convicts will surrender
them; instead of that they all want
to increase their force.
The many friends of General Clem
ent A. Evans, the widely known and
well beloved commander-in-chief of
the United Confederate veterans, and
member of the state prison commis
sion, will much regret to learn that
he is sick at his home in Atlanta,
where he has been confined to his
room for several days. General Evans
has been suffering from an attack of
grip. The hope is general that he
will soon be completely restored to
health.
A contract is pending between the
city of Columbus and the Columbus
Railroad company, whereby the latter
company can use the new concrete
bridge soon to be constructed by the
city for trackage to and from the
city of Girard, Ala., and it is under
stood that such an agreement will be
closed at an early date. In this event,
it is said that the Columbus Railroad
company will construct a line from
its present terminus in upper Girard
to lower Girard, forming a belt line
Ativnne a atefrh and i. Yrlpttrin may
nrlrklv ascertain our opinion free wfirihor ai
iryontlon is protiahljr pateittAblo. Communlm-
Units strictly coiifJiienHal. HAIGBOCX on I'ater.u
sent free Oldest airency for securing pnrmits.
I’aioiirs taken through Munn .t Cos. rwelve
tperuu notice, without charge, tn the-
Scientific American.
A h* v Mfflom#fy tnvkir. T .'rupNf of
•relation of nry # lentttic Journal. Twhs, 1 1
T ir: four months, *L Boldbyall w*w*(lch i*r,
NewVci
Office O F St- Wiuihirifion. I), c
SPORTING BREVITIES.
Swathmoro College lost to the Navy
at basketball, 53 to 16.
The Navy and Harvard eight-oared
boat race is to be rowed April 21 on
the Severn.
Dr. James Dwight, of Philadelphia,
was unanimously elected nresident of
the United Slates Lawn Tennis Asso
ciation.
Tommy Burns and Bill Lang, the
heavyweight champion of Australia,
are matched to fight for the Austra
lian title.
Seven of the Brooklyn baseball
team signed contracts, but “Jake”
Daubert. a first baseman, held out for
more salary.
Football canno;, be ranked as a
snort for the general upbuilding of
the average boy, inasmuch as certain
physical oualificatious are necessary
to start with.
Eddie Grant, who made more hits
than the mighty Wagner in the Na
tional League last year, has signed a
contract with Philadelphia at a sub
stantial increase in salary.
In his annual renort. at the annual
mating of the National Baseball
Commission in Cincinnati. Ohio, Au
gust Herrmann, the chairman, de
nounces “syndicate” baseball.
A baseball war has been averted, a
golf war Is threatening, football is be
ing attacked, and now the skaters,
just to be in ttyle, are at swords’
points. Winter is a desperate time.
C. C. Matthiesen and Mrs. W. J.
Faith and Mr. and Mrs. Guy E. Rob
inson, all of New York City, tie at
eighty-nine in the mixed foursome
handicap on the Pinehurst (N. C.)
links.
Two more players, Albert Klawit
ter and Ralph Bell, sign with the
Giants, and E. C. Poster attached his
name to a contract for service with
the New York American League base
ball team.
FEMININE NEWS NOTES.
Suffragists started a meat boycott
and asserted that one thousand house
holds had agreed to join in New York
City.
Mrs. Oliphant wrote seventy-six
novels, besides six biographies, and
was the most prolific of modern
writers.
The German Empress owns jewels
worth $550,000, and has the right to
wear the crown jewels, valued at
SBOO,OOO.
Anti-suffragists called on Governor
Hughes to announce that they will
make a determined fight against votes
for women.
Municipal dance halls where work
ing girls may enjoy recreation with
out evil influences were promised by
Park Commissioner Stover in New
York City.
Mrs. Oceana Seaborn Pollock died
Bt her residence near Christiansburg,
Va., in her seventieth year. She was
one of the best known educators in
the South.
Alabama, Mrs. O. H. P. Belmont’s
native State, has made the president
of the Political Equality Association
a member of the Alabama State Fed
eration of Labor.
Thirty-one years ago, so a news
paper in Scotland affirms, a woman
in Glasgow bought a ticket for Can
ada. Only a few weeks ago she
crossed the ocean with it.
Mr. and Mrs. Cr K. G. Billing- an
nounce the engagement of their
daughter, Blanche Pauline, to Will
iam Halsted Vander Poel. No date
has been set for the wedding.
At Mexico City, James G. Bailey,
Secretary of the United States Lega
tion, presented to President Diaz the
commemorative medal of the Hudson-
Fulton Celebration Cpmmissiou.
N, W. Gilbert Nominated For
Vice-Governor of Philippines,
Washington, D. C. Newton W
Gilbert, of Indiana, was nominated bj
President Taft as Vice-Governor ol
the Philippines, and Charles B. El
liott, of Minnesota, as a member ol
the Philippine Commission and Secre
tary of the Department of Commerce
and Police. To Charles E. Magoon
former Provisional Governor of Cuba
was offered the position of Vice-Gov
ernor and Secretary of Commerce and
Police, but he declined owing to hh
doctor's advice.
A Warning.
A deaf but pious English lady, visit
ing a small country town in Scotland,
wont to church armed with an ear
trumpet. The elders had never seen
one, and viewed it with suspicion and
uneasiness. After a short consultation
one of them went up to the lady just
before the opening of the service and
wagging his linger at her warningly,
whispered, ‘‘One toot and ye're oot!"
—Human Life.