Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1890-08-16
SUNDAY. SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FoK
AUGUST IL.
Lesson Text: :. The Ten Lcpcrs," In: c
xviii, Il-1o-GoIden Text: Luke
xviii, ~ commentary o,
the Lesson.

xviii, III commentary o,
the Lesson.
H.. "And il came to pass, as Ho went to
Jerusalem" The time draws nigh for Eli II
to be offered up and ITO Jerusalem" is His
daily thought for He Himself said ut
cannot be that prophet perish ont of Jer-
usalom" CHAP. xiii, 33); "When the time
was come that He should be received up Flo
steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem"
He went through tho cities and villages,
teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem"
Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all
things that are written by the prophets con-
plished" (chap. tx, ST. xiii, %; xviii. BY.
At Jerusalem He was to finish the work.
which tho Father hal given Him to do, and
He was pressing on to finish that work.
He passed through the midst of Samaria
and Galiec.n As on another occasion, when
He must needs go through Snmaria" there
were many who praised God, and are prais-
ing ilim still, that He ever passed that way;
so, doubtless, on this journey, many besides
tue ten lcpers OF our lesson were caused TO re-
ioice because of His presence among them.
10. "And as He cnterel into u certain vii
lage, there met Him ten men that were lep-
crs, which stool afar of. u Utterly uncean,
dwelling alone, without the camp for village,
or city,, how sad was the condition Of these
poor men (Lev. xiii, 44-iG). Altar of from
human help, and sympathy, and friendship;
living and yet dead to al! the ordinary rela-
tionships of life. Consider the leprosy OF
Miriam, Naaman, Gehazi, Uzziah and the
four men at the gate OF Samaria Mum. xii;
II Kingsv., Z; XIV, 81. Perhaps there is no
more forcible representation oil sin and tho
tt,nt Of
leper and his leprosy.
10. "And they lifted up their voices and
said, Jesus Master, have mercy on us" They
made no profession; they made no promises;
they knew they had nothing but leprosy. and
as poor, unclean, cast out lepers they could
only beg for mercy, aud this they did. What
happy day it was for them when Jesus
canio thcir way! They had hoard OF Him;
they heard of the healing of other lepcrs ny
tunity, and they seize it, How wise they
WERE What contrast to tho man i'll our
lesson, who, like many to-day, believed in
larger hope-a possibility Of salvation after
death-and so after he died cried: Father
Abraham, have mercy OH me" How vain
was his cry. There is no ono to come to but
Jesus, and 10 Time like tho present, for now
is the day of salvation III Cor. vi, p.
Il. "Go shew yourselves unto the priests
And it came to pass thatas they went, they
were cleansed.n Thus He spake unto them,
not disrcgarding nor setting aside tho law,
Iefor He came not to destroy but to fulfill the
law, but told them to do as commanded i'll
the law LEV. xiii, Q; xiv, 81. They might
have reasoned and argued and have said:
Master, the priests cannot help us the law
cannot heal us; we do not need to lind out
whether we aro lepers OF not we know we
are; it is mercy We ask for from Thee, who
alone canst heal us. But they did not argue,
they obeyed and went; His word was sulii-
Gent; and as they went they were cleanse i
is. .tAud one Of them when he saw that he
was healed, turned back, and with loud voice
glorified God" As obediently he went the
Lords command, he finds himself new man
as to his body; he is clean, he is whole, he Is
no longer leper; 10 longer shall he he cut
off from home and friends: that very day he
becomes part of the world again, with its
pleasures and employments instead OF being
an outcast. And what is now his first
thought? Gratitude to the Lord who healed
him to repentance from. IL, ~, and with
loud voice he makes it known.
l6. "And fell down on bis face at His feet,
giving Him thanks; and ho was u Samari-
TAM Here is humility, gratitude, reverence
and worship. Here is the proper place for
every penitent snner-'on his face, at Jesus
feet.n And the proper place for every saved
sinner who is teachable is "at the feet of
Jesus, hearing His word' lchap K, 39l. The
fact that this man was Samaritan reminds
MS Of the statement that 1.-THE Jews have no
dealings with the Saniaritans" John w., b..
But that, no doubt, refers to self righteous
moral. clean Jews. When jew found him.
self leper, he saw himself no better than q
Samaritan leper; they were all in the Same
sad case, with nothing to boast Of but their
60 o1-a
bettaI. than another. A deep conviction oil
sin is one of the grandcst things to take away
all-pride, and it makes us see TINT Ill God
sight all arc sinners together.
III .And Jesus answering said: Were
there not ten cleansed? but where are the
nineY' Is it possible that with returnn :
health there came also old prejudices and
Jewish pride of birth, and as they saw this
Door Samaritan clarifying God did thoy de-
spise him as they kept on their way to their
priests? 1t certainly looks that way And
are there not many sick and afflicted a ana
tried ones to-day who are crying unto God
for deliverance, making Him all kinds of
promises if He will only heal or deliver
them? Many time He hears their cry
and delivers them and saves them for Ills
names sake, that He might make His
mighty power to be known; but they soon
forget His works, believe not His word,
-murmur and hearken not to His voice US
evil. S-25).
IS. 'There are not found that returned to
give glory to God, save this stranger" he
came unto His own and His own received
Him not, but as many as received Him to
them gave He the right or privilege to be-
come the SONS OF God John l.. II, ~. Out
of all the multitudes upon whom He con-
ferred healing of the body we are not told
how many or how few truly received Him
and gave glory to God, but when we remem-
Der that only about 120 of all those gathered
in Jerusalem at the passover waited together
for the baptism of the Holy Ghost (Acts l.,
Isl we are compelled to think that not even
one in ten of the multitudes He healed ever
became His true disciples.
19 "And He said unto him, Arise, go thy
way, thy faith hath made thee whole" Or.
as in the margin of the r. v, THY faith
hath saved thee" Happy man! He has now
not only clean body, but clean, blood
! washed soul. OH how much the others
missed by their ingratitude. How much
value is a whole body if it is only the taber-
nacle Of lost SOUL which will some day
carry soul and body to perdition? But If
the soul is saved by faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ then we can, with quietness and con-
fidence. look forward to the time when even
these bodies OF our humiliation shall be
fashioned like unto His glorious body lisa.
XXX, IS; Phil. iii, 30, 2D. In order to
glorify God we must first be saved, for they
that are in the flesh cannot please God; so it
would seem that this stranger became a
saved man when in his heart he fell crate
fully at Jesus feet, even before his body got
there; but now he has from Jesus own lips
the assurance of his salvation. While as
surance is not essential to salvation, it is the
glorious privilege of every saved one to be
assured Of it.-Lcsson Helper.