Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-09-07
THE. SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Notes on the Lesson for September 8,
1.-THE Unbelief Of the"
People"
From the Chicago standard.1

People,"
From the Chicago Standard.1
The lesson for above date may be found
in the first ten verses of the fourteenth chap
ter OF Numbers.
INTRODUCTORY
kadesh Barnea. place OF unbelief. Scene
OF 1srael's apostasy. It was great gate of
privilege unentered. The Jews promised
land OF blessing refused by faithless hearts
and declined by faithless feet. The geogra-
piers have been at infinite pains to fix the
counts eighteen coniectural sites. They
might spare themselves the labor. On tho
map OF personal experience it is easy enough
to put the finger on the place. for every life
has, truly, its kadcsh Barnea and perhaps
in 1srael's history. The ninth day of Alb.
they tell u.s. day suggestive Of evil to the
nation. On this same day of the year. cen
turtles after. Northumberland destroyed
Jerusalem and its temple; long after, Titus.
on this same dread anniversary. captured
and sacked the place: and yet later, we are
told, Aadrian besieged and took the city.
putting thousands upon thousands to the
sword Israel has had her days of humilia-
ton, and this is one Of them. Saddest, day
in all history. tho day of unfaith.
WHAT THE LESSON TEACHES.
And the people ,cept that night. To be
sure: it was natural. quite naturai-the
trouble is. too natural. There was nanght
OF the spiritual there. We usually find at
the entrance of a great undertaking place
Of weeping. The borders Of !. new land and
OF new civilization mark the point Of
shrinkings and misgivings. Every yielding
furrow OF the West has first been watered
with tears. We remember a visit made
years ago to one of the then remote coun-
ties OF Kansas. An uncle. who had lost u
fortune in the East and gone. like so. many
OF MS nelghbors. to new country to recu-
perate. drove us across the waving prairie to
call upon woman of more than ordinary
taste and refinement. who. as she spoke Of
the old East. looking about her upon the
obtrusive newness Of the land. let tears
spring to her eyes. j." said our friend,
as we drove away. there is not woman in
this county that doesn't feel that way" 1t
thought that had not Providence so directed
that the funds were usually exhausted and
return cut off when the new lands were
reached. our large and beautiful West would
have been much more slowly developed than
it has been. Taking all into consideration.
strange scenes, hostile natives, no wonder
Israel wept.
M't,7nured against Noses Here was-real
sin and ingratitude. We could condone the
tears Of the night: but this muttering and
murmuring against Gods ordained leaders
was both vain and vicious. It is usually the
first symptom Of unbelief and the spreading
malady OF faithlessness. When "a people be-
gin. with .carping and criticism. to torture
the soul OF the loyal servant whom God has
set to lead them, you may look presently to
see louder disdain, and then. perhaps. a
period OF punitive wanderings in the wilder
ness. Murmuring is easy.as easy ass lying.
and as desperately wicked. Murmuring
means murder Savonarola was pious
day. After a while we find him distrusted.
then watched. bounded. imprisoned, and
finally they have put to death one of the
noblest of living men and robbed the world
OF one OF its greatest ministers of, good.
Did Israel do much else with Moses?
Would God ace had died in this Wilder-
ness. They had their prayer. In that very
wilderness they persisted, all but Joshua. and
Caleb. loyal to the Lord. Take heed how ye
pray. God hears our cries whether uttered
is prayer-hearing and q prayer answering
God. and the plant that we lift to him.
whether it be vocal utterance or the speech
of prevailing conduct. shall have it's due re-
Spouse. Would God we were dead. would
God we had never started, would God we.
were back in desert days! Beware Of, such.
prayers Of petulancy.. God may take US. at
our word, and put us back in some empty
wilderness. What lis the concentrated prayer
Of your life. brother. friend? Is it remon-
toward Egypt and the wilderness. or hopeful.
resolute facing Of the future, however full of
hills and giants? Canaan. not the desert, is
Gods land.
Wherefore hath the Lord brought US? Dis
loyalty to God was ut the bottom of it all.
Not Moses not Aaron; the Lord himself had
been their leader. and presently in. their in
creasing rebellion they had confessed the
real enmity of their hearts and cried out
against God. 1t is the course Of sin and
disObedience. First we are lifting the hos
tile cry against Gods servants, then against
Gods providences. and then. all at once, we
have spoken and declared ourselves dis
trustful of God. From this point the way to
open abandonment Of the Lord is Il sheer
and rapid steep.
Let us make as a captain. Plain sedition.
The next step was open outbreak. tits to
be noted that this was more quiet move
ment. They whispered it. as it were, from
lone to another" until it had grown to fell
ly fixed upon such q revolutionary leader.
Only the intervention. of Jehovah, in all
probability. prevented the final precipitation
of the plot A sort OF Guy Fawkes point it
was in Israers history. The train was laid.
The cry mas ready, Back to Egypt" But
forth in firm restraint, and recreant Israel
went for forty years into the hold of the
wilderness. 1t never pays to fight against
God.
Fell on their faces-remt their clothes, This
was the first dissuasiye-the dissuasiye OF
faces"-Joshua and Caleb rent their
Clothes" 1t was,intensely expressive. with
all the force of the Oriental language of the
face and body. The people were left in no
doubt of the enormity of their sins. For
bear, o Israel! cried the priest and prophet.
falling prone in the dust. Forbear. q for
bear! cried the loyal captains Of the host.
vehemently tearing their garments before
the eyes of the people. No doubt of the
earnestness of these men. You have heard
the creed of the bells"-the soft. soothing
ringing of the Uhiversalist bell-"No hell
no hell" The loud. warning notes from the
Methodistic tower. Repent, believer The
spirit of u mans inmost belief is to readin
all his conduct and life. The. troublesome
question is whether half of the church are
living as if the great world were lying. in
wickedness and as ii we were sure that un.-
belief means death.
And the glory of the Lord'oppea,ed:
| little while ago, in these lessons. we We're
| reading how ION the day that the tabernacle
was reared up the cloud covered the taber-
| nacle." That was, Gods response to faith
the answer of love. This is God S, response
to rebellious unbelief, the answer OF just
wrath. Belshazzar saw it on the walls Of
his revels. Herod beheld it in his Wanton
slumbers. Sad, thought some who heal
this lesson to-day will doubtless experience