The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1888-02-09
JESUS AND TIE CHILD
LESSON WI, INTERNATIONAL SUN
DAY SCHOOL SERIES, FEB. ~.

LESSON VII, INTERNATIONAL SUN
DAY SCHOOL SERIES, FEB. ~.
Text of the Lesson, Matt. xviii, LA.
CoIden Text, Matt. xix, I4-Memorize
Verses 2-G-Comment by Rev. William
Newton. ID. ID.
From Lesson Helper Quarterly, by permission
Of IL S Hoffman, Philadelphia, publisher.]
Notes.-At the same time, or in that hour
while the event last recorded was taking
place Shall receive, do service to or. regard
with kindness or love- In my name for my
sake. Offend, or cause to stumble or 60
astray. Woe, sorrow or trouble. Ofenses
or occasions of stumbling. Halt, lame
Manned, having lost limb. Their angels,
or guardian spirits. Behold the face, are
near to the throne, or high in the presence Of
These little oneS i. e., which believe in me, or
the young i'll years, and the little or lowly in
glace.
z. l. 1t is clear that the disciples at this
tine, and up to the coming of the spirit on
the day of Pentecost, held very low and un-
worthy views concerning the kingdom of
God. 1t was to be an earthly kingdom alto
gether, and in it of course they were to have
the chief places They had, taking advantage
of his absence, disputed among themselves as
to which of them should be foremost in it.
They were thoroughly imbued with the ideas
of the men of their time.
Fs22t Our Lords answer consists of the
acted ttce1 and the spokerssker And each
illustrates the other. See that Little child in
the arms OF Jesus. How sweetiy beautiful
the scene isl The little one knows not the
meaning of the distinctions that seem so
great III the eyes of the disciples. They have
no charm for him. He is content with the
lowliest place. And with this child in his
arms our Lord states the great principles of
his Kingdom. Earthly distinctions can have
no place there. The spirit of this little child
illustrates that of all its subjects Do not
ask who shall be greatest there. For unless
this little childs spirit of humility have a
governing place within you, you cannot
even enter there. And in order to do this.
you must be converted, turned around in the
spirit and intent of your being And
what is conversions Other phrases for
it, ''being born from above" .born of the
spirit, y "new creatures in Christ, having a
new heart and a right spiritn And like ell
these, it is not mans work, but Gods. "Ex-
cept ye be converted" And when his great
work is done, the result comes out in the
mans humbling himself, "even as weaned
child" He seeks great things for himself 10
more. By the masters side, and for the
masters sake, any position is welcome, and
any service sweet And the master SAYS that
he sis the greatest in the kingdom of heaven
For it is the masters spirit over again since
he came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister and to give his life ransom for
many"
Y. ). Two points invite us here, i. e.,
l. The persons spoken of, and
g Their relations to the Lord Jesus
As to o.. One little child and lone such
little child" are very different in their scope
and meaning. The first would mean simply
q little child. The second would indicate a
little one in grace. A converted one, one of
the Lords own people; one of the 'such" as
enter the kingdom.
And as to (3. This relation is very clearly
put To receive such an one-i. e., to do
service or kindness to such a one-is to re
ceive me, to do service or kindness to me-
And he that receiveth me receiveth him that
sent me. How glorious this is! The least
service to such an one forming a direct con-
nection between the doer of the service on
the one hand and the Lord Jesus and the
father in heaven on the other. Done here;
felt and received there The service. u
memorial there. The blessing following it, a
proof Of it here.
V. g. This is another side of the same great
truth. And about as far as the one ascends
in blessing, the other descends in doom. This
death by a millstone about the neck of
course is a reference tc mode of death
practiced at that time. And the meaning is
that such death would be "better' than the
guilt of leading one of the Lords little ones
into sin.
VI We have three things:
l. The consequence of offenses.
9 The certainty of their occurrence.
s. The guilt of those who bring them
about
AS to l. The meaning is that the offenses
produce the woe. The woe follows the Of
fense, as the result flows from the cause
Woe is trouble, grief, sorrow. Now look
over history-or through society. or indi-
vidual life anywhere-and see how the woo
follows the offense. 1t may be persecution
or some pleasant inducement to sin. Every
where the woe follows the offense
AS to q But why must it need be? And
the answer is that so long as human nature
TCflallS Us III 10 IOuJitL bIOSc VINO w III
delight in laying a stumbling biock in the
way of others, or in some way leading them
into sin.
And as to g. Who can fitly describe his
guilts Who can paint the utter hatefulness
of that man who deliberately seeks to drive
OF to seduce others into sin! The deepest
woo will be his lot.
vs.. s, o. The meaning CT these verses lies
,,,fon Tho c.T, 10 ,,o+; ;,, |.
hand, the foot, OF the eye, but in the evil
heart that uses them for its own corrupt pur-
poses. Cutting off the hand or foot, or pluck
ing out the eye, therefore viii no. destroy the
sinful desire. The meaning, therefore, of the
passage is, that however dear certain object,
or indulgence, or habit, or desire may be-
if it leads US into sin-we must renounce,
deny or overcome it.
V. TO- This verse and the next contain the
two reasons why children are not to be dc.
spised. The first is that the Lord holds them
in high account Their angels are near his
throne, in his immediate presence. The
doctrine of guardian angels is most clearly
! taught inthe Word
VII. This is the second of the two reasons
| Just referred TO- 'The Son of Man is come
| to save that which is lost" And they were
| lost. Therefore their salvation is within Tho
immediate object of his coming, and SO they
are to be held in reverent estimation A'
| ''the Son of Man." Jesus is the head of al
worlds. All creatures owe him supreme
allegiance; ''that which is lost" is his, and
he comes to save it. And the thought il
divinely beautiful, that he who is head ovel
all should thus give himself for tho salvatio.
| of the lost,
| v 12-14. In this parable our Lord unfold
the principle of the Divine action, Ant
from this parable we learn that one sheep O
the Good Shepherd has gone astray. On
world has gone out from its glorious sister
hood and raised the standard of rebellion
against him And how did he treat it! Dix
he leave that wandering sheep to perish il
the wilderness? That rebellious world Il
continue in rebellion and be forever lost
MOL He goes out from the blessedness an'
glory of his heavenly home and seeks tn
| wandering one 'suntil he finds it," AM
where does be find itl In the Cross to whicl
he gives himself for the salvation Of the lost
| Tiere-pnly there-are pardon and peace.