News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-08-30
THE |. s. S. LESSON.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
SEPTEMBER 2.
Lesson Text: The Spies Sent Into
Canaan" Mum. xiii, 1923
Golden Text; Mum viii,
3O-COmmentarY.

documentary.
This lesson, which records the sending OF
the twelve spies to search out the land before
entering into it, mig hit well be entitled 1.-THE
sad work of unbelief," for although we are
told that Moses sent them, and in the first
and second verses that 1.-THE Lord spake unto
Moses, saying, send thou men," yet the rea-
son of this sending is seen from Deut l., y
to be because the people demanded it. Thu
word of the Lord was: Behold, have set
the land before you; go in and possess the
land which the Lord sware unto your fathers
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give unto them,
and to their seed after them" lDeut l., SID;
so the only thing for faith to do was to go up
and possess it
When we desire another way than Gods
way, and have our hearts set on something
which we are determined to have He some
times grant us our way and our desire in
| order that He may thus teach us our folly
and convince us of our sin: When they
lusted for meat, He gave them their request,
| but sent leannesS into their soul; when they
desired a king inst ad of God, it is written
81 gave thee king in mine anger and tool:
him away in my wrath" (Ps. evil, 10; Hos.
xiii, IL The only way of rest and victory
is perfect submission and obedience to God
in all things.
1920. These verses give us the instruc-
tons of Moses to the twelve spies ere they
set forth. There was one from each tribe,
every one a ruler, all heads of the children
small, mean business in which they were
| about to engage, to see whether the land were
| good or bad fat or lean well wooded or not.
| If some father or mother should plan gift
| of great value for their children, the very
best and most appropriate that their love
| could suggest or devise, it would surely not
| be very tiatttering to the parents or credit
able to the children if the latter should wish
to examine the gift before consenting to ac-
cept it. God Almighty had chosen the land
| Canaan and Oily a
Isaac and Jacob and their descendants for
ever, and He could not give anything but
the very best. When He called Moses at the
burning bush to go to Pharaoh and lead out
| the people, He said: II am come to deliver
them out of the hands of the Egyptians and
bring them up out of that land unto good
land and large, unto land flowing with
milk and honey" lEx. iii, s, II; xiii, .;
xxxiii., 81 When God, who chose it, thus
described it again and again such good
and fruitful land, why should there be any
| such instructions given by Moses, unless it
may be that Moses, fully believing what God
| had said, wanted these heads of Israel to see
for themselves what he knew to be true,
thinking they would thus be persuaded to
| go right up and possess it.
81, "a. This is the record of their journey
| and their search. Yin and Rehob were the
| southern and northern boundaries Josh.
| XIV, j.; xix, 2S); so they went through the
| whole land to the extreme north. Hebron or
| Mamre was Abrahams tenting ground,
| where he built an altar unto the Lord after
| Lot was separated from him Gen. xiii, 49,;
| there, also the Lord and His angels APP
peared to him as he sat in the tent door in
the heat of the day, and rested themselves
| under the tree while they partook of the food
| prepared by Abraham and Sarah Gen.
| xvii.l; and there Sarah died and was buried
| in the cave of Machpelah Gen. xiii, 2-l9.
| In that cave lay the bodies of Abraham and
| Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah
| (Gen. xix, 29-31): it is about twenty miles
south of Tor oil OH hal
Beersheba. What privilege to visit such
placel Had these rulers been men of faith,
how that faith would have been strength
ened by the remembrance of the promises to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
25-27. They returned after forty days
Some time we shall see more than we do now
of the significance of that wonderful number
forty. We think at once of Moses in the
mount with God, Elijah visiting the same
mount, Jesus in the wilderness with the wild
beasts, the period between His resurrection
and ascension, and the many other forties Of
the Scriptures; but who has seen the depths
of significance in any of them?
Surely it floweth with milk and honey,
and this is the fruit of il" Just as God had |
said, truly good land and they had moth.
ing to do bnt march up at His command and |
posses and en- Joy it. 1t was His gift to them. |
Their part was to obey and take it. He |
brought them out, that He might bring them |
in and give them the land which He sware |
into their fathers (Deut vi, 23). Abundance |
of peace, fullness of joy, rivers of pleasures,
green pastures, waters of quietness, quiet |
resting placeS-these are some of the fruits |
of or privileges of the Christian life which
we ought constantly to enjoy, and thus give
a good report of the redeemed land and OF
Him who. brought US there.
rs, 20. Nevertheless, the people be strong,
: the cities walled and very great; 7
and moreover we saw the children of Anak
there This was simply leaving God out of
the question. and considering only their own
strength How could they, with that Taber-
nacle standing over in their midst, the pillar
of cloud over 1T and the presence of God in
it thus forget Him and talk as if it was
eoad as Let ns s6 With these verses cons i
also verses 1888, and then we will save the
joyful song of verse 80 for the last.
we are not able = = = they are stronger
than we. We were in our own sight as grass
hoppers.n 1t reminds US of the record in
Job xxx, where the pronouns g." my
me, referring to job, are used about forty
five times, and God is mentioned or referred
to only five times. In Job xiii, >. g. we hear
him saying, Il have heard of Thee by the
hearing of the ear, but now mine eve seetb
Thee; wherefore abhor myself and repent
in dust and ashes Then do we find health
and prosperity restored to him. Whether it
be Isaiah, or Daniel, or John, when the glory
of the Lord is revealed to them, there is no
faces in the dust is where we find them.
When NebuchadneZZar talked of his great
Babylon and the might of power and the
honor of his majesty, he was soon made to
know that the King of Heaven is able to
abase those who walk in pride Dan. iv, 30
81. When the day of the Lord comes all
lofty looks and haughtiness of men shall be
made low, and the Lord alone shall be ex-
allied in that day lisa. ii, 12-10.
80. "Caleb stilled the people," We must
be still if we would hear and know the mind
of God. and that voice which stilled the
storm on Galilee has in all ages stilled the
soul that has been willing to heed il. ''Stand
thou still while that may show thee the
word of God,n said Samuel to Saul; and to
the people he said, ''Stand still that l may
reason with you before the Lord" Il Sam.
tx, 81; xii, 10) ''Be still and know that
am God" is helpful precept for every day.
Cps. Xvi, ~ Let us go up at once and
possess it, for we are well able to overcome
it," The minority report was the correct one
this time. 1t has been truly said that
with God is always a majority, but the
world cannot see that, every word of this
utterance is weighty; it is the language of
faith; of one who sees God and not self or
difficulties. What God commands must be
done promptly.-LeSsOn Helper
The New York WOrtd, referring to
the funeral of the millionaire atheist,
Courtlandt Palmer, remarks: Court
landt Palmer died peacefully, serenely,
and quietly, but not hopefully, He