Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-02-25
THE RICH YOUNG RULER.
LESSON TX, INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY
SCHOOL SERIES, FEB. 90.

of II. s. Hoffman, Philadelphia, publisherl
Notes.-Came, i. e., out of the company
around. Mark says, running. One, Luke
says ruler or member of the Sanhedrim.
Master, or teacher. Enter into life, be saved
from death and have everlasting life. Keep,
obey or live according to. Honor, this is
moro than to obey, and no one word win de-
fine it. Reverence is perhaps the best.
Hardly, or, it is hard for. A rich man, one
that trusts in riches. Exceedingly, very
much. Then, in that case, or, if that is SO.
This, l. e., that rich men can be saved. I'M
possible; possible, i. e., men cannot do this,
but God can.
V. l6. Mark and Luke supply two very in
teresting features of this case From one
we learn that he was ruler, i. e., a member
of the Sanhedrim. From the other we learn
that he came running. He was in earnest,
and not afraid to have it known that he was.
He was not satisfied with what the doctors
of the law taught concerning this great
question. He felt, he was sure, there was
something more. But what was it, Where
should he find sthe one who could lift the
veil and let in the light2 1t would seem from
the narrative that he had been following
Jesus secretly, or without making himself
known. he wanted to hear what this great
teacher would say about it. And now, as
he hears his last words, he could restrain
himself no longer. He came running to
Jesus, with the great question, "Good Mas
teri what must do that / may have eternal
hfeq' or, ''inherit eternal lifeg"
v. IL. Before answering his question our
Lord, gently yet pointedly, rebukes him for
the use of the title by which he addressed
him. Why did he use ita He did not mean
it. He did not mean to say that he (Jesus)
was the good. For that title belongs only to
one-or to God And, as an unmeaning com
pliment, he could not receive it. Now this
does not mean that Jesus declined a title be-
longing only to God; but that the young
ruler himself did not mean to intimate that
it so belonged to him. And therefore he
could not receive it from him Now, in our
Lords answer to the young rulers question,
we must observe that he answered from his
standpoint He occupied the ground on
which be stood. His question was, "What
shall do that Imay have, or inherit, eternal
lifep He would have it as the result of his
own doings. He proposed to work for it, He
wanted to have it, as of debt, as q working
man receives his wages. And SO the master
replies to him. Keep the commandments -
lie did not propose the difficulties of tho
case. He would have him ascertain these for
himself. He would have him find out for
himself that obedience to the law, as the
price of eternal life was a chain of many
links, and if one Of these was broken the
chain itself was worthless. It offered no
connection between the man and the object
ne had in view But the young ruler did
not see this. And so
v. 1920. When he heard the Lords an
swer he at once asked which of the COM
mandments he meant And in answer the
Lord cited the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth
and fifth, while Mark adds the tenth. Now
all these were of the second table of the law
Not a word is said about those of the first
table. The young mans relation to God
seems to have been entirely left out of the
question. Why was thisa And there seems
% be no doubt about the answer. For it is
manifest that our Lord meant to show how
utterly hopeless his case was, even on his
own chosen ground. For, if he proposed to
be saved by the works of the law, or to enter
into life because OF obedience to the law, it
must be very clear that he had obeyed the
law. Now, if itwere question of obedience
TO mans law--i. g., if it concerned the out
ward act alone-it would be very easily set
tied. But il that ''law is spiritual" if the
lustful thought is adultery and the angry
thought is murder, then the case is q very
different one.
The young ruler proposed to win eternal
life by the deeds of the law. Now the sum-
ming up of the second table Of the law is,
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself .
He said he did. And Jesus replied in effect,
''If you do it IS very easy to prove it. You
would not hesitate to part with anything you
have to relieve your own wants. Now why
should you hesitate to relieve the necessities
Of your neighborg You would not il you
loved him as You do yourself Now, there
fore, go and do it, and prove your claim is
true. This was the simple issue; and one
more clearly defined could not well be pro-
sented. And is that aIll No. For that
might spring from a motive utterly mad
missable. And so the Master adds, stand
come and follow me-"
v. %. How true to the life this is How
clear the revelation it makes of the ruling
power in this young rulers heart Doubt
less he was attracted by the Masters teach
ing; but the glitter of his gold had brighter
luster in his eyesl Doubtless he was con-
cerned for bis eternal life. But clearly, khe
present had for him the greater attraction.
He was in "the valley Of decision and
quietly yielded to the power Of the present
and the seenl He turned and went away,
for he had great POSSESSIONS The present
aAkl t4le tAks4AdA AAAc were Wci&ueQ 8ZalHS6
each other, and the beam went down on the
side Of the present Poor youngm mani
Y. g, a. It IS not hard to imagine the deep
compassion that moved in the Masters
breast, ashe turned to his disciples and spoke
these words. Doubtless they had seen and
heard all that had passed; and be would
shield them now from any wrong impress
sions the young rulers example might make
upon them. And II we ask Tor the reason
underlying the declaration Of the Master-or
why it is hard for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of God-there seems to be two rea~
sons, / e.
=. Riches beget q sense Of power IN tho
holder of them Therefore the rich man IS
COMMONLY pulled up with d sense Of his i'm
portanee. BE can DO auythiag; and his pride
upcfs Itself even ngaiugt God.
2 Richea bgcume an obievt Of tr1Hh to THAR