Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-04-20
THE. SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Notes on. the Lesson for April
22" The Ten Viz.
gins"
From the Chicago Standard. i,

from the Chicago Standard
The lesson for the above uats NAV be found
IN the first thirteen verses Oh the tweuty-hftn
chapter of Matthew.
WHAT THE LESSON TEACHES
1hen 1t il a small word but worth q mo-
ments thought. 1t refers to the time of un.-
versal acknowledgment Men listen to tn.
paraDies now as pretty storles In the Gay of
our Lords appearing, whether they wish OF
no. 'hey Will be brought to a personal reallzA-
uon OF the application. Some day the lnult-
light Are you prepared tor the great clear
OIL the them
Took their lonps. Lamp-bearers are We
an. Not Christians merely hold lamps aloft;
jews, Greeks, Barbarlans. all OF us have
minded the natural law and provided Light
1or the journey. Contucius had his lamp; 1t
burned We'll at first Socrates lighted torch,
but IT tickered and went OUT. The followers
OF theodore Parker have lamp, beautifully
small burner. 1t looks we'll on the parlor
table in the daylight. But all, as for the
night, It has not yet been fully tried We
have all taken lamps.
large proportion. Does it ove:-est,mate the
ratio OF lmprovidence to-day? There Is
nothing OF significance III the number sten;"
there IL startling import IN the connected
number Tha1s tive" as representing the full half.
word virgin" But the fact that five of them
were sfooAsh," witless, should give us grief
Look at your circle, in the school, in the So
ciety, at the home. How many are wise.
How many, alas, foolish?
Took no OIL They had not sgrace suffi-
Gent They had no reserve of godllness. A
great many people have little CLOVIS of piety
Ihey are drawn for moment toward C4rlst
and they set their faces toward him, torch i'll
R1Nk 10 N,1k r,.1J
a complete conservation. 1t Is like flash III
the pan, the blaze of an empty wick. They
have taken no oil with them.
Vessels with their lamps. 1t was cumber-
some, no doubt. But the extra vessel was
we'll worth the carrying. Lamps of light and
vessels of oil go together. There is too much
OF tendency to let impulse take the place OF
plety, and good resolutions stand for true re-
llglon Men think because the truth has once
ha IN upon the mld that they are some
says the Scripture, syour own salvation with
fear and trembling" The Christian pilgrim
has q burden in each hand
Lhey all slunnbered and slept. There was
sponded to the demands of tired nature. The
difference lay in the preparation that had
been made. Here is test; in fact, three
tests IN succession. First, the test of wait
ing The wise were prepared for the hour of
waking and it's glad call; the foolish had no
|
Of getting themselves ready for summons
they had only equipped themselves for slun-
Der: The Christian and the wording GO
their way much alike, rising and reclining at
"a cry made Then note the difference.
Behold TIE bridegroom. It is the Crisis in
mems affairs that brings them to the test.
It all looks forward to that grand climax In
the end of days whom the world shall be
brought to judgment When men are tried
| they show what strength they have. 1t is on
the sudden call in an emergency that real
character is discovered. What moment of
testing it will be when that midnight cry ut
| last rings out!
Trimmed tAei,. lamps That is what tests a
light: Will it stand trimming? If it has oil
it will burn all the more brightly; if not, even
the feeble spark. will fade. There are many
lamps burning with q sickly, smoky flame, If
Is, out and theowner has gone to sleep careless
of the fact. Ah, they will not bear the trim
ming But here is another lamp turned very
low, perhaps, but burning with strong.
healthy radiance. You can trim this sort
Conc OFT. just about to go out They had
a little life left, but not much; Just enough tc
make discontinue visible, as they flashed up
and expired. 1t is not necessary for us to in
sist with some that the five were Indifferent
Christians or hypocritical professors. They
privilege and had had some good impulses,
as who have not? But they neglected the
better spirit. went their witless way, and
when suddenly called to account, 10, there
was just enough light left to show them
where they might have been and what was
their srievous loss.
Not enoMglntonMs1mdt for 50M Every man
needs his full store of strength in the hour of
supreme demand No one has aught to spare
In fact the grace of God is not, some teachers
1t cannot be handed down from father to son :;
it cannot be shared by brotherly partition
Jonathan Edwards and President Burr would
fam have divided their righteous portion, if
enough for both
Bmyfor yourselves. Each man goes straight
to the source for all ne has Of grace. If the
dogma of commutable righteousness taught
by the papal church were the truth, then
union Of church and state. If the contnen-
tai doctrine, 80 widely adopted by Pmdobap-
fist faiths, of traditional grace were Scriptural
then we might look to see the oil in one lamp
aysg for snShsr ia, 11es
chrsf Without VIZ Yes eY but ' nos
without the going and the getting.
While tHey mont to- buy; Il is the place
who are not already possessed Of the needed
light They are looking for it They have
gone to buy. You see it in the troubled face,
the restless. movements of the last hours
y; 1T anxiety could save man, then lew
would go unsaved. Many conceal it, but
none escape it. In mind at least, and to one
mart or another, the expiring soul casts about
as the shadows thicken, for the light o
child of earth, take it now while it is offered.
I&moW you not. 1t was the plain truth.
They had not made themselves his friends
ere the festivities began, and it was contrary
to the laws of the marriage feast that a
stranger should intrude upon the happy COM
pany We are given an intimation of the
judgment scene. The sentence pronoun ced
then and there against the finally impenitent
will not be an arbitrary one. 1t will spring
in perfect righteou sness from the very IA
tionale of events. sThese will go away" not
rs excommunicated. but as untitled. There
is naught of heavens beauty to be recognized
in them Their entrance would be tart in
truson The lord of grace and 81 DRY knows
them not.
Watch therefore,. That is the conclusion of
the whole matter, Watch not to evade God.
but to find him and know him; watch not to
escape the sight of the open door, but to be-
! hold it and to enter in SWELL, what if the
door be shut, said two of Whittield's andi:-
ors once in merry, whispering mood An.
other will open. They were parp!vzed to-
hear the Spirit gnided preacher say the next
moment, anticipating cavil, "Some careless,
tritfing person may be lightly thinking, what
matter if the door be shut. Another will
opeu.' Yes" he proceeded smother ,rii7