Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-12-14
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
THE TERNATIONAL SERIES FOR
THE FOURTH QUARTER
Text of the Lesson, Judges xvi. 21-31'
Commit verses -- GOIdcn Text,
job xxNii. Commentary
byRcV. ID. VI. Stcarns.


In all the Scriptures tho great truth is kept
before us that If wc would ENJOY peace and
have victory over all enemies it must be by
mind stayed upon God, and by al humble
walk with Him in cheerful and whole hearted
obedience. Another truth brought before
us over and OYER aal over again is that God
often chooses g. .'~. unlikely Instruments
with which Ia '.,sn His purposes, that
no flesh may glory in HIS presence Aud
everywhere we are taught Gods readiness to
forgive and to restore 10 favor and useful
ness i'll some measure when there is a truo
turning from sin to Him, either on the part
Of a nation or an individual
Gideon judged Israel forty years and was
succeeded by Ahimclcch, lola and Jair; then
they did evil again and were oppressed by
the Pnilistincs and Armonites eighteen
years; God then raised uD .cphtha as their
dciverer and judge, and he was succeeded
by lhznm, Zion and Abdon; then they did
evil again ard were delivered into the hands
of the Ihilistines, who oppressed them forty
years, Sod then raised up Samson as a de-
lvercr and judge and his is the last rule re
corded il the book of Judges, the closing
chapters describing tho condition of things
when every man did that which was right
in his own eyes Chap xvii, &; xxi, PSI
g; 1.-THE Philst;nes took him, and put out
his eyes, Behold him, "a prisoner, a slave,
blind and helpless, and consider who he is
and what he had been. His birth was fore
tod by the Lord, who appeared twice to his
mother and once to his father; he was a
It-
who was fully separated unto the Lord. hav-
ing nothing to do with the vine, either as to
wine or grapes, and no razor was to come
upon his head Mum. vi, IS; as 20 his
mighty acts, he had rent lion as he would
have rent kid he had slain Il thousand men
with the jawbone of an ass, when shut in
city 10y those who wanted to kill HIM he arose
in the night and took the gates and the posts
and the bar on his shoulders and carried
them away to the top Of u hill. and many
other marvellous fcats of supcrhuman
strength had hc performed. but now his
power and glory have departed from him,
and he is in the power of his enemies poor,
blind. helpless prisoner What is the cause
of TINS terrible talI, and why this reproach
upon the Lord through His servant for not
only is Samson dsgraccd but the name of
the Lord Is dishonorcd Milton in his sam
son Agonistcs' makes him say:
20 you nave nav, oroI,h1
OF idiots and atheists, have brought scandal
10 Israel, diindencc of God and doubt
In feeble hearts, propcnse enough before
To waycr or fall of and join with idols
The causo WINS sirnniv that Samson had da
parted from his conservation and had given
/ his time and attention TO things which he
| should hive been separated from He saw II
woman in Timnath; he saw an harlot i'm GAIA :
he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek
and thus. instead Of making a covenant with
his eyes Ljob vxyi. Il. n, lot his c,-as lend
him int, trouble. and now ne hos lost them
~ The nalr of his head began to grow
/ acoio" Not tpat Somsnu's s.rcpoth Inv in
his hair bur IN MS conservation 10 God If
which ms locks were an outwnrd token. and
ms we SEQ the outward evidence of his sa1oro.
tion 10 God returning. have we NOT reason IN
believe that in hi, heart there is true nari-
tonoa and . s,n.9ro ro,urn to IA t,nd of
Isroel who had 50 WONDERFULLY colled MIN
, but whom, he had so crieyousl, slandered
- "a great sacrifice INTO noqon their
I lrod.n Bacon is mentioned ton ti,n.s IL, 1
samuel Y 81. and once IN / Cbroniclos y IN
II was the GREAT national God of tho pbiIis.
tine, The name sionifies fish - and ire
form is said 70 have been tho foco md hands
of u man with tho toiI of II fish
2t o1hov PRAISED thair cod y IF Sorsor
had only praised the living md truo God Inv
a whole hearted conservation tn Him thon
these Gentiles had not had this occasion IN
praise their god
"Our God hath delivorod into ou,. bordc
our enen1yn I'm this md no nrooe,liuo ,-orso
we find this statement and tbav M do,,ht
thought il true. Ncbuchodnczzor nrohohIv
thought that he siIbduod ,Jehool,im hut II Is
written that .tho ord cavo .Iebnial,in, int
his hand" dan. i ~
%. call for Samson. that bo ,nov mako
us snort A preat connarv of nncirc,,,,,.
cjsed Philistines uraisina and ,yo,.sh,ninc
devils or demons end servant of th, 60
God of Israel in their midst mol,inr, sno1t
for them. 1t is true he WINS NOT there Of his
own accord nor was il nv onv moaro 70 his
liking. but if he had not Of his own fro, ,,,II
md NV his own ..boica donortad fror, hoir,,
consecrated to God ho had never c,,no 90
this most pitiful and discroceful cordition
~ ,,r, - - :. =,