The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-07-09
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
JULY 13. .-
Lesson Text: "The Great Supper"
Luke xiv, 15-24-Golden Text:
Luke xiv, documentary.

In our last lesson we saw the religious lead
ers Of tho people contending with Him be-
cause Ho healed woman on the Sabbath
day; but He put them to shame and caused
His followers to rejoice. So shall it be again
when those who cast out others for His sake
say, Let the Lord be glorihed; but He shall
appear to the joy Of His people and His
enemies shall be ashamed lisa. lxvi.,9, BE
then repeated the parallels Of the mustard
seed and the leaven, both of which had a full
fillment in Israel at that time, and
are having fuifilment in tho
church to-day. He added prophecy
concerning the coming deso1aticn Of
Jerusalem because Of her rejection Of Him,
indicating its continuance until he should
come again. After this we find Him in the
where He had evidently been invited to dine.
He here heals man who had tho dropsy, and
speaks parable to the invited guests to
teach them humility, after which he tells
His host that II, when he makes feast, he
would invite those who were unable to re-
turn the compliment, he would have re-
compense at the resurrection Of the just;
and this leads one OF the guests to give ut
terance tothe first words OF our lesson.
Is. blessed is be that shall eat bread in
the kingdom Of God" According to the
first part of this verse, that which caused the
guest to utter these words was the Sayiour's
remark concerning the resurrection Of the
Just. Those who by the Spirit have eyes to
in the story Of the cherubim IN the Garden
of Eden. Tho eleventh chapter of Hebrews
makes it plain that Abel, Enoch, Noah,
Abraham, Moses and the others believed aud
rejoiced in the resurrection. And while
Ps xvi speaks Of the resurrection Of Christ
Ps. l., speaks Of the very resurrection
which Jesus referred to, the resurrection Of
the blessed and holy Of Rev. Xxx, 8, leaving
the bodies of the ungodly to remain in their
graves thousand years longer REV xx., 8.
49, Then said He unto him, A certain
man made great supper, and bade many"
This parable Is somewhat similar to that In
sion week in Jerusalem and this while on.
His way to Jerusalem luke xiii, %; xviii.
3D.
II. "Come; for all things are now ready
This was the message which the servants
was to carry to John the Baptist, and the
twelve were some OF the servants as they
went forth, saying: ''Repent, for the King.
dom Of Heaven is at hand"
18. Sand they all with one consent began
tomake excuse" Nothing to do but to tsko
it; simply to accept the invitation and bo
there; yet they prefer not to. How anxious
many are to get an invitation to anything
great in this world, and how disappointed Il
left out. Here is the God Of Heaven inyit-
ing freely to the riches Of His grace aud
glory, and it is not considered worth accept
ing .,. -.;.., =. ,..u,,.s ,naI
must needs go and soe it: pray thee have
me excused" His little piece Of ground for
which he has paid few shekels is of more
Importance than that which has cost so
much. II pray thee" seems to imply an ad-
mission that he ought to 60, but be evidently
does not want to. How Moses and all the
ways that they might enjoy His favor, but
they preferred their own ways III Chron.
xx1vi.. IS, 16; Jer. H., 13).
10. II have bought five yoke OF oxen, and
I 60 to provo them; l pray thee have me ex.
cused" Lands must be seen to, and oxen must
be proved, but the great feast provided by in
finite love may go q begging. It is nothing
to them. The earth is the Lords and the
fulness thereof; the cattle on thousand
hills are His Ps. xiv, /; ], 10; yet there
are fools land plenty of them today who
prefer little which they can purchase to the
great riches which the Lord Of all offers SO
freely to "whosoever viii"
90. 81 have married q wife, and therefore
l cannot come" This is no better than the.
Others, yet the refusal is even more decided
81 cannot come" If tho invitation did6ot
include his wife, he mig ght have had some ex-
cuse: but Gods invitations include all who
are willing: and while the Others might
have to leave their lands and oxen, he could
bring his wife with him il he had minded to
come
81. $50 that servant cana, and showed his
lord these things" A servant has only to de-
liver his masters message, and take the an
swer back, il there is any; hs has no power
to excuse people. Our responsibility ceases
when we have lovingly and faithfully given
the invitation, proclaimed the glad tidings.
Then it becomes us, like the disciples, to tel
Jesus all we had done and taught Mark w.,
30, leaving results with Him. s~
''Go out quickly into the streets and lanes
of the city, and bring in thither the poor,
and tho manned, and the holt, and the
blind" These have no earthly possessions
or pleasures to entangle them they will bs
more likely to accept the invitation. 1t was
lust these four classes which Jesus advised
the Pharisee, in whose house He was, to H.
vito to his feast in order that ne might pa
recompensed at the resurrection of tfe JUST
and Jesus does not advise another 10 90 "nas
He does not do Himself.
%. "And the servant said, Lord it Is doua
as Thou hast commanded, and yet there is
room.n The servant has only to obey, low
inely to deliver His message and report Tor
further orders. 1t is not said whether any
among thesa classes excused themselves or
not, but it is said: "Yet there is room.n
What abundant provision! What riches OF
His grace! What plenteous reiemptionl
What Kingdom is hers foreshadowed when
1.-The eyes Of the blind shall be opened, and
the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; tho
lame leap as hart, and the tongue OF ths
dumb sing lisa. xxxv, $50. And thank
God, yet there is room, and whosoever will
may come.
23. 'And thu Lord said unto the sarvant
Go out into the highways AMI hedges"
Again it is ''Gor The word for the out
sder is Gomez And the encouragement is:
Him that coneth onto Me I will in no wise
cast out" Come unto Ne all ye that labor
and ara heavy laden" "Cons now and Let
us reason together, sal the Lord. Though
your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white
as snow, though they b. red like crimson
they shall be as woow (Johu vi, 81; Matt.
xi, %, Isa l., 1S. .r#
compel them to come in, that my house
may be f1lled." We are not simply to invite,
but to urge and lovingly constrain them to
come. Our indifference to the salvation OF
others is strange sight We believe that we
ara Joint heirs with Christ to al Inheritance
which is incorruptible and everlasting and
tha. all who are not in Christ are on the way
to everlasting punishment; yet we can meet
them. do business with them. have fellow
ship with them, and never even invite them
to Share our inheritance. much less compel
them to come to the feast.
"a. "For say unto you, That mono Of
those men which were bidden shall taste Of
nv supper" Refusing to accept His graoous
invitation they doom themselves TO hear tho
tesrful words, "D,plrs from NJ, ys cursed
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels Matt XIV, 4p, as to the
irst invited who refused, AMI the others
yatharei from streets anl lanes, highways
and hsiges: we know that Israel has lost tho
orivilerss of the Horeb covenant Elk. xix,
noI 81 O o. all tha1 ara to be given