Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-02-14
JESUS AND TIE CHILD.
LESSON WI, INTERNATIONAL SUM-
DAY SCHOOL SERIES, FEB. IL.

Verses s-6-Comment by Rev. william
Newton, D.D.
| IFrom Lesson Helper Quarterly, by permission
Of II. 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 0fenses,
or occasions of stumbling. Halt, lame
Manned, having lost limb Their angels,
/ or guardian spirits. Behold the face, are
near to the throne, or high in the presence of.
| These little ones, j. e., which believe in me, or
the young in years, and the little or lowly in
grace.
| " /. 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 un-
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.
| " 24 Our Lords answer consists of the
acted deed and the spoken word And each
1
| 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 child's spirit of humility have a,
( governing place within you, you cannot
1 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 conversion9 Other phrases for
/ it, ssbeing born from above "born of the
! SPIRIT "new creatures in Christ, having
new heart and a right spirit" And like all
these, it is not mans work, but Gods SEX
cept ye be converted" And when his great
work is done, the result comes out in the
mans humbling himself, s'even as a weaned
| child.n 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
minister and to give his life ransom for
many"
! " s. Two points invite us here, i. e.,
/. The persons spoken of, and
.. 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 (g. This relation is very clearly
| put. To receive such an one-i e., to do
service or kindness to such a 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, a
proof of it here
| v. G. 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 a mode of death
practiced at that time. And the meaning is
| that such death would be 'sbetter" than the
| guilt of leading one of the Lords little ones
/ into sin.
] VI. We have three things:
! !. The consequence Of offenses
9. The certainty of their occurrence
8. 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. It may be persecution
or some pleasant inducement to sin. Every
where the woe follows the offense.
/ As to 2. But why must it need be9 And
the answer is that SO long as human nature
remains as it is win be found those who viii
delight in laying stumbling block in the
way of others, or in some way leading them
| into sin.
And as to g. Who can fitly describe his
guiltl Who can paint the utter hatefulness
of that man who deliberately seeks to drive
or to seduce others into sina The deepest
woe viii be his lot.
VS. 8, 0. The meaning of these verses lies
upon their surface. The sin is not in tho
! hand, the foot, or the eye but in tho evil
ueS1Es tuAt uSe5 bnsIn AOI ALo own cOTTupb puT-
poses. Cutting or the hand or foot, or pluck
ing out the eye, therefore viii 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 rencunce,
deny or overcome it.
" 10. This verse and the next contain tho
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.
" IL This is the second Of the two reasons
just referred to. ssThe 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
nrn to be held in reverent estimation As