The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-27
READING FOR THE DAY.
Sunday School Lesson for July 4, 1886.

JESUS AND THE BLIND MAN.--John TX. l. II.
Golden Text-One thing I know that whereas
VAS blind, now / see.--John TX 25
Isaiah declared that when the Messiah should
some. He would open the eyes Of the blind. and
that the ears of the deaf should be unstopped,
and He would cause the lame man to leap as q
hare. John describes with great minuseness and
care the miracles of Jesus that were exact and
literal fulfllments of such prophecies. They
ought to have carried conviction to the
minds of the Jews, but the fact that
several of these great miracles were
worked on the Sabbath day entirely
destroyed their force with the scribes and
Pharsees, and they insisted that Jesus was
servant of Satan because he technically violated
she ceremonial law that forbade any work on the
Sabbath The work done In the miracle was
when He mostened the clay with spittle, and
made of it a paste for the blind mans eyes.
Such trivial labor as this was. in their minds, a
breaking of the Sabbath The discussions that
grew out of this miracle put Christ and the lead
srs of the old church party in sharp antagonism,
and they did not rest until they had this great
Sabbath-breake on the cross. This miracle oc-
cured within six months of the crucifxion, in
she city OF Jerusalem, near one of the gates of
the temple, and probably on the Sabbath after
''rhe great day of tho feast" Of tabernacles
PRACTICAL LESSONS.
/. Useless Speculation-"Who did sin, this
man or his parerts2" is type of the questions
shat men may discuss endlessly and without
profit. They may entirely overlook the present
tact that men are now sinners, and that God has
provided plan of salvation for sin so large, so
real that whosoever will may come and be
saved. A drowning man might we'll try to
get up a discussion over the question whether
ne would have fallen oyerboard if the vessel had
been headed the other way, and refuse to touch
. hfe-preserver thrown to him by the captain
until his theoretical questions were settled. For
all these discussions seek in some way to put
the blame of mans sin back on God.
2 Use of Present Opportunities Work while
1t is day, for the night cometh. The great diff
ference among men is in their power to see and
use an opportunity before it is past We all are
Wise. when 1T is too late, and, waiting for some
great opportunity, we wait in vain. The value
of an hour, truth, an opening, an impulse to
you does not depend upon the size of it, but
what you can make out of it. 1t is the quick
earnest use of what you have that brings to you
large and better things. We never know how
much OF good there Is in an opportunity until we
use It.
g. This is our Only Probaton--The night
eometh when no man can work. AN our chances
for eternal life are given US in this world. The
Bible gives no assurance or hope OF any change
of character after death Grace and mercy are
offered here and now. You have now the power
of choice, and you deliberately choose sin and
against God. With death you pass as sinner
into the land of darkness, eternal night, and
there no man can work.
l. A Christian Sabbath-Cnrist consecrated
the day to the work of doing good, and in a no.
bic sense such work is worship Good works
please and gorify God The highest pleasure
il in working with God. We may
come to the close of such Sabbath
more tired than any other day of the week, but
Il is o kind of WEAKNESS that is rest, and that
gives splendid preparation for regular
week day labor. The modern ideas of the Sab
bath make it a day of stagnation, of enforced
hleness, of over feeding the body to the point of
mental incapacity, of the smallest possible serv-
bee of God and the greatest amount of self-in-
diligence.
5. Confessing Chrst-Like the blind man,
We ought to confess him as orr Lord who hath
opened our eyes. We may not know many
things about the creed, but may be sure of
cur salvation.