The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1889-04-20
THE TWO COMMANDMENTS.
LESSON III, SECOND QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, APRIL p.

mlssiol OF IL s. Hoffman, publisher. lhiiadel
phLa.
Let Us bear in mind that we are in these
lessons IN the last Week of our Sayiour's life On
earth and only two or three DAYS before Els
crucnlxlon tie is speaking His last words to
them, and every word is wcightier than thew
imagined, and of more Importance than evcl
we have yet seen.
- And one of the scribes came. and
having heard them reasoning together, and
pereeiving that He had answered them wei,
asked Him, Which is the first commandment
OF alF From Matt. xxi. 81, 81, we learn
that this scribe was lawyer and Fharisee.
and that he came tempting Him. That any
man or company of men should think that
they could entangle Jesus Ia His talk, or
catch Him in His words, and TO that end
felSn themselves jlst men EIatt xii Is.
Mark XII, -; Luke Ky 20, seems to Us very
foolish indeed, but we must remember that
they dld not know Jesus and were blinded be-
cause OF their unbelief What seems more
strange Is, that even now in our day there is
just tho same spirit that was manifest in
these unbelicying questioners. ANY one who
has much to do with teaching E:ble classes
knows that there are everywhC.o me. and
women no seem 70 delight in argument and
In asking questions that have no profit in
them, and happy is that teacher who can re-
ply to each with Thus saith the Lord"
Not only the Scribcs and Pharisees, but also
the disciples, were often found reasoning
in their hearts CLARK ii, 6, s; viii, 10, n in.
stead OF mcekly sitting like Mary at Jesus
feet to hear and receive His word Q.us,o Y,
50; Jas i, 2D.
the commandments is, Hear, o Israel: the
Lord our God is one Lord" In this ard the
next verso of or lesson Jesus quotes from
Deut. VI, t, 5; the word dwelt in Him richly
and lie had an answer for every one from it.
hen tempted by Satan He overca1e him by
quoting from this book OF the law, and how
often we find Him saying 1T is written" or
Have ye never read il the scIipturesln 1t
IS the sword Of tho Spirit with which we must
become familiar If we would be soldiers of
Christ, and Use 1t skillfuliy both fer our own
defense and for the overthrow of the enemy
80. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart and with al thy soul, and
with all thy mind, and with all thy strength
This is the first commandment" When God
spoke from the smoking, quazing, cloud COW
cred Mount Sinai. out OF the midst of the
fire, the words of the ten commandments, Of
which tie Saviour here gives tho sum, lie
profaced them with these words: Il am the
Lord thy God, which have brought thee out
of the land of Egypt, out OF the house of
bondage TX. Xxx, l, p, and more than eighty
times this fact Is mentioned il the law, the
prophets and the psalms, either as an evidence
Of Lis great love or Is reason why they
should obey Him.
81 And the second is like, namely this
Ci,~lr 81.
there is none other commandment greater
than these" As love to God ccnprehends
the first four of the ten commandments. so
love to man conlProheads the other six; and
as our golden text says Love !. the fulfilling
of the law" In | Cor vii, Is, the Spirit
through Paul says, Now abideth faith, topa
love, these three; and the greatest OF these
is love-; or paraphrasad it reads:
Faith. Hope and Love row dwell on earth,
And earth hy them is best;
But Faith and Hope must yield to Love,
OF all TIE Eraces best
Hope shall to full fr1Iition rise,
And Faith be sight above;
These are the means, but this The end
Tor sciEtS forever love.
These very words, Thou shalt love thy
EciShbor as tkyscif," are another quotation
from tho law OF Noses, and are found IL Lev.
xix, IS When we think OF the full signiff-
cameo Of this love IS defined in Cor xiii
~, long suffering, kind, free from envy, not
Wanting itself, not puffed UP nor behaving
unseeu1ly, seeking not her own, not pro
rol.cd n Z J. :oi~lir,r no evil, etc. where
can we lock for any illustration of it except
n Him who in CIR lesson has thus replied 10
this scribe! 1t IS cs if lie SAID to him In
Moses you find the law, but ia me you find
the law fulfilled, for that law Is in my heart
and came to fulfil ell Righteousness, receive
n2c, poor, helpless sinner, and | VIII be to
you the end Of the law fer Righteousness; yea,
| viii be your righteousness (I2s. X, 5; Matt
iii, Is; Rom. <. /; | Cor. i, 20}
81. And the scribe said unto Tim. Vel
Master, taoI hast said the truth for there is
one God; and there is none ether but He The
scribe believed in one God and thus far &C
cepted the truth, but Ec was bind to the
fact that the Truth stood before him in
human form, God manifest in the flesh. lie
knew that the God Of Israel once taberrcclod
in q tent in the wilderness, and also at GilCal
and Shiloh il the Holy Land, end afterwards
IN Solomon's temple at Jerusalem, but he did
not know that the same Cod had row come
and had already taberGaclcd among them
more than thirty years in tie body prepared
for lin John i, II; Heb. <, s. ; and that 1t
YVES He that talked with him. Oh if his
eyes could only have been opened, what
blessings eternal might have been his, and
all within his reach that moment
80. And to love Him with all the heart,
and with all the understanding, and with all
the soul, and with all the strength, and to
lovo his CcigLbor as himself, is ElCrc tLaa
whole burnt offerings and sacriGces." Truly
this man seems enlightened, no not only
knew tho truth when lie heard it, but be
seemed to understand it, ard to know the
difference between outward formal worship
and real heart service; be seemed to under
stand that no amount Of burnt offering or
sacrifice would avail unless there vas on the
PSrt OF the oiIcrcr 4 spirit Of true obedience
and grateful sense Of the love Of God
81. And whca Jesus saw that lie answered
discreetly, Ec said unto him, Thou art rot
far from the Kingdom of Cod" lie know
the truth, be understood tho truth, he spoke
well Of the truth, bat lie did not receive the
truth He was very near entering in, just at
tho door, and the door was opea, but we 90
not read that he entered in. lie was in
measure convicted, but not converted How
near one may be to me Kingdom without
entering IN Is made GwsUly clear in Heb. vi,
&C, K. v, where we are told Of some who
were enlightened, tasted the heavenly Gift,
were mado part2kers OF the Holy Ghost,
tastefl the good word Of God, and tie powers
of the age to come, and yet fell away John
I, 27-2J; | John ii, 10, Phil i, G, and other
passages mako it Enthusiastically clear that the
truly saved are forever saved; but Heb ii,
40; x, $500; II Pet. ii, 2J-22, tel Is how
much one may know and enjoy, and yet be
lost; how very near enc may be and yet not
enter in The Lord Jesus Christ is tIs only
Saviour, and the only saved ones are these
who are truly Ia Him
The North Star Lecture and Con
cert Co, of Minneapolis viii give one
Of their very interesting Lecture-Con-
certs in this city in the near future for
I he han at cF IL En-,nr,, Nd Inlt.t