Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-02-10
JESUS AND THE CHILD.
LESSON VII, NTERNATlONAL SUM-
DAY SCHOOL SERIES, FEB. IL.

Newton, ID. ID.
tFrom Lesson Helper Quarterly, by permission
of H. S. Hoffman, Philadelphia, publisherl
| 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 go
astray. Woe, sorrow or trouble. Offenses,
| or occasions of stumbling. Halt, lame.
| Manned, having lost a 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 in years, and the little or lowly in
| grace.
| V. l. 1t is clear that the disciples at this
time, and up to the coming of the spirit on
the day of Pentecost, held very low and I'M
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
V. Pa. Our Lords answer consists of the
acted deed and the spoken word. And each
illustrates the other. See that little child in
the arms of Jesus. How sweetly beautiful
the scene isl The little one knows not the
meaning of the distinctions that seem so
great in 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 converaoni Other phrases for
it, "being born from above" "born of the
spirit" new creatures in Christ having a
new heart and a right spirit" And like all
these, it is not mans work, but Gods. "Ex-
cept we be converted" And when his great
work is done, the result comes out in the
mans humbling himself, "even as a weaned
child" He seeks great things for himself no
more. By the masters side, and for the
masters sake, any position is welcome, and
any service sweet And the master says that
he 'is 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
many"
" s. Two points invite us here, i. e.,
l. The persons spoken of, and
2. Their relations to the Lord Jesus
AS to Q). One little child and lone such
little child" are very different in their scope
and meaning. The first would mean simply
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 C2). This relation is very clearly
put. To receive such an one-i e., to do
service or kindness to such 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 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. a
memorial there. The blessing following it, q
proof of it here.
V. 6. 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 milestone about the neck of
course is reference to mode of death
practiced at that time. And the meaning is
guilt of leading one of the Lords little ones
into sin.
VI. We have three things:
/. The consequence of offenses
g The certainty of their occurrence.
| g. 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
tense, 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 woe
follows the offense. 1t may be persecution
or some pleasant inducement to sin. Every
where the woe follows the offense
AS to .. But why must it need be! And
the answer is that SO long as human nature
remains as it is will be found those who will
delight in laying a stumbling block in the
way of others, or in some way leading them
into sim
And as to 8. Who can fifty describe his
guilti Who can paint the utter hatefulness
of that man who deliberately seeks to drive
or to seduce others into sin! The deepest
woe will be his lot.
VS.. s, 0. The meaning of these verses lies
upon their surface The sin is not in the
hand, the foot, or 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 will not 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. 10. This verse and the next contain the
two reasons why children are not to be de-
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 in the Word.
V. IL. 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 the
immediate object of his coming, and so they
are to be held in reverent estimation. As
1.-The Son of Man." Jesus is the head of all
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 ovei
all should thus give himself for the salvation
of the lost.
Tn this nara b1a our ord unfold.