Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-04-13
WE ARE TO WATCH.
LESSON III, SECOND QUARTER, IN
TERNATiCNAl SERIES, APRIL IS.

Text Of the Lesson, Matt. xiv, 82-5i.
Golden Text, Mark xiii, 37-Mcmorizc
Verses AZ, 40, 44-Comment by Rev. II.
5. Hoffman.
From Lesson Helper Quarterly. 10y permission OF
VI S. Hoffman, Philadelphia, publisher.
Notos--V. ~ Watch, because of the I'M
expectedneSs and suddenness of His coming.
" a. House broken, dug through for houses
in the east were built of sunburned clay, which
was often dug through. V. AZ. Ready, not
only watchfulness, but prepared for His com
ing v As Faithful and wise, watching and
ready V. a. Blessed, used by Christ, al
ways denotes something exceptional and
rare, V. A. A great reward for a rare man.
v. as Evil, because uniaithful-unfath-
fuhess springs from unbehcf V. 40.
Unbehef leads to cruelty, rioting and
wickedneSs v 81. Asunder, cut oil from
Gods people and Gods presence. Weeping
and gnashing of teeth, excluded forever from
hope, "woepng' because of the opportunities
lost otcrnally, "gnashing his teeth" As he re
members the folly of his course his eternity
is made up Of regrets and self censure This
the fire that is never quenched.
Jesus had left the temple never to return
TO it again He had predicted It's dcsluc-
ton In company with his disciples, he
Journeys toward Bethany. On the way over
the hill hc tolls them many things about the
destruction Of Jerusalem, the end of the age
and OF his coming again. The Greek word
for watch is closely allied with the word
wake The master cnioins not a curious
cooking for his coming, but vigilance and
diligence that oyerluoks 20 duty and INDUCES
in no Incidence
We, too, must watch against temptations,
evil influences unfathfulnosS and all the
wilcs of the devil
We must watch for his coming with hope
and joy. And hasten it 10y watching for the
signs of his spiritual presence, ard for open
lnES and opportunities to serve him. The
obscurity and uncertainty as 10 the time of
his coming Is the reason why we should
watch. The event itself is as certain as
death, but the time of the event is most I'M
certain The destruction of Jerusalem was a
type of Christ's second coming. which will
take place III due time.
V. 43 The duty of watchfulucss il illus
tratCd by one watching against robbers
Not knowing when they may come, the pru-
dent householder must L eepa constant watch
Otherwise there is no safety. If he knew the
day and hour when the burglar would come,
constant watchfulness would not be a noccs-
sity
V. "a Included il this state Of watchful-
ness is the idea OF preparation Only those
not ready find his coming uncomfortable.
Not only must we profess but our lives must
he in accordance with our profession. Readi-
ness to meet Christ, at a moments warning
or without any warning at all, is the duty of
every Christian.
V. 4547. Here the duty of watchfulness
is illustrated by faithful servant or
steward Faithlulness and ability made this
servant ruler over others a position he did
not abuse, for he wisely dispensed food to
those under him. The ministers Of Christ
owe their Office purely to the fact that they
give the bread Of life to souls, aud they are
honored for the works sake.
Note the reward which Christ gives. 1t is
both outward and inward Larger rulorship,
wider spheres, greater opportunities are
given, together with greater capacity and
richer experience.
V. as. A. true watching IS connected with
faith, so not watching is connected with I'M
belief The wicked servant says or thinks
''in his heart" what no is afraid or ashamed
to speak openly. The worst skcptcism is that
which turks in the heart. Untolicf is the
primal cause of all evil thinking and acting
" 40. Unbelef leads the evil servant not
only to neglect the household in not giving
nulrishment to its inmates, but to maltreat
ine; his fellow servants who were faithful tC
their absent Lord. They were abused he
cause they were faithful
One sin leads to another, and the lesser Il
tho greater. Next he resorts to worldlincS
and immortality Tyranny over other
USUALLY goes hand IN hand with laXity TOWARD
ourselves and ends in self indulgence
V. 50 Christ still 'lordn of the sinful
servant at last comes Thoughts that HI
would not come did not avail to hinder hi
coming, The uneXpcctodncss Of his coming
IL again made prominent.
V. ST. The loving and tender Saviour her,
uses words suggestive Of the most terrible
punishment Of the wicked. "Shail bo Gu
esundcr,n means that the body shall he Gu
into two part Us by saw or orther instru
nent of torture. Christ used the stronges
words in vogue when speaking Of the punish
rnent of the wicked He drew his metaphor
from the most terrible modes of punishment
The wicked servant is "hypourit.n bccaus
he under the guise Of fidelity expected at las
TO present himself to his lord and bccaus
under the senblance of official zeal he tor
monted his fellow servants, His place wa
appointed with 'hypocrites," Luke has
with unbelievers,' for unbetief is at tn
bottom of all hypocrisy. He must go wit
hypocrites because he is one, Each perso
at last must 90 to his own plaza Of reward
and to his own company.
Tho last clause of the verse denotes tho bit
terest agony Of the mind and soul, "VceT
ing" because Of opportunities forever lost
"gnaslling Of teeth because he remember
the folly Of his course. Eternity is spent i
unayailing regrets and in the sullcn rnge G
elf-condemnation.
Specimen Washington TraInps.