Connecticut western news., 1890-08-20
PREVAILING PRAYER.
LESSON VIII, THIRD QUARTER, INTER-
 NATIONAL SERIES, AUG. 24.

NATIONAL SERIES, AUG. 24. Text of the Lesson, Luke xviii. 1-14.
 Commit Verses, 13. 14-Go1den Text,
 Luke xviii, I4-Commentary by Rev. D.
 M. Stearns.
 [Compiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by per mission of H. & Hoffman, publisher, PhiladeI- phia.l
 l. "And He spdke O parable unto them to this end, that men ought allrdys to prav, and not to faint" The Kingdom of God and the coming of the Son of Man in power and glory, and the cross as the only way to the Kingdom, were the topics constantly in the mind and on the lips of the Lord Jesus All the miracles of heal ing were foreshadowings of the health that shall be when the Kingdom comes, and His discourses were full of the righteousness of the Kingdom.
 9 There soas in 0 ctty c judge, aChich feared not God, neither regarded man." The eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole earth QI Chron. xvi, g.; Jer xxxii, 19; Zech. iv, 10) had seen many such He sees many such today both in high and low places among men.
 8. "And there tcas c aOtdolU in that citE and she came unto him, saying, AUenge me of mine adrersary" Many are the widows and fatherless that in this world are poor and oppressed, and yet God sees and cares for each one, though He may not always seem to. See His special rela- ton to such in Deut. X, r, IS; Ps. xviii, s In Jas. i, 27, we learn that part of pure and undeflled religion before God is to visit the fatherless and widows in their aff1ic- tion.
 4 And he tuoattd not for c ,Dflile: but aftereUard he satd 1rithin himself, Though fear not God, nor regGrd man."
 g. "Yet because this a0idoa0 troubleth me, I tDiu auenge her, lest by her coaattn- ttdl coming she aDeary me-" No regard for God or man, and no desire to do justly for this oppressed and persecuted widow, but simply through desire for his own per sonal comfort, he will finally attend to her. Let us ask ourselves if there is any of this spirit in us. When we see it even in the disciples we have cause to fear for our selves (datt XIV, 23) Am I doing good works simply from sense of duty, or to quiet my conscience9 Do help the poor just to get rid of them? Is my comfort the main thing?
 6. "A7ad the Lord Sdid, Hear 1phdt the unjust judge satth." What a contradio- tion there is in these two words unjust judge" when we remember that it is writ ten, "He that ruleth over men, must be just, ruling in the fear of God"
 T. "ATd shall not God aUerage His o1Dn elect tohich cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long aOtth them2" The word "elect" in Scripture refers sometimes to the believing remnant of Israel Qsa. lxv, g, 22); sometimes to the church gathered out of Jews and Gentiles Rom. viii, 33; Col. iii, 12), and sometimes to Christ Him. self Qsa- xiii, ). nasmuch as in the Cos pels Christ is dealing only with Israel (Matt. I, 5, 6; xv, 24), with but a hint here and there of the church (Matt. xvi, IS; John X, 16), He must refer here to the elect of Is- rael as in Matt. xxiv, 9.
 & "I teu you that He tUill aUenge them speedtly" When Jesus came in His humil- iation as a servant to suffer and die, He read from the prophecy of Isaiah concern ing the acceptable year of the Lord, and He closed the Book. When He comes again to Israel it will be to fulfill the next sen tences, which He did not read that day.
 Nevertheless, ,Uhen the Son Of Man conseth, shall He ind faith on the earthY" The time when the Son of Man shall come in power, and great glory (Matt. xxiv, 30; xvi, 64) is the time when He will avenge speedily; and this question implies that at that time the faithful remnant in Israel will be very few in number. In fact He tells us in Matt. xxiv, 21, 22, that the tribu- lation of those days just before His return shall be so great that it shall be shortened for the elects sake.
 9. "And He spoke this pdrdble unto cer- tain tUhtch trusted tn themselpes that they tCcre righteous and despised others" We shall now learn who constitute the true elect, and whether they are the elect rem nant of Israel or the elect church. the sanna spirit is necessary in each.
 10. "I1Co men aCent up into the temple ts prdg the one U Pharisee and the other q publican" Outwardly the two are alike in this, that they both go to the temple and they both go to pray.
 II. "Ihc Phdrisee stood and prayed thus srith htmself" He trusted in himself (ver. 9 and prayed with himself It was self all the way through with him, and ir bis own eyes he was A No. 1. He knew nothing of Paurs motto, Mot I. but Christ"
 "God thdnk thee that dn, not as othes men, ertortioners, unjust, adulterers, oI eren as this publican. The man did not think that his prayer would be reported and handed down to posterity as a speci men of self righteousness, any more thar we think that we must give account of oul words But let one of mans latest inven tions, the PLonograph, remind us how easily God can record all our words and even OUT thoughts.
 12 1T fast tlDice tn the loeek, gtpe ttthe, of au that possess" The law of Nose: required but one fast in the year Uev xiii, 27-29(. During the seventy years captivity, however, they had four yearly lasts Czech viii, 19), but this man with hii two a week was away ahead of all require nents; he was very religious. And thel he gave tenth of all to religious purposes and according to Nal. iii 10, that was tn right thing to do. He does look like goot man. But observe, he only prayed witt himself; be did not ask for a single thing.
 1S "And the publican, stdndtng dfG of, tcOttld not lift up SO much as hts eye unto heGrerl, but Snnote upon hts breast sGytng, God be mercif,tl to me q sinner. Here is a man despised by others; like tn 1epers of the last lesson he is an outcast; h stands afar off as if confessing his grea distance from God, morally; he has no one good thing to say about himsa he i a sinner and he knows it, and he feels ii and that is his plea, and on that ground h asks for mercy. His 'sbe merciful' has il it the idea of mercy through atonement. is like saying, Be propitious," Make ra conciliation." He recognizes the need of sacrifice for his sin He thinks of the mel cy seat sprinkled with the blood of atone ment. He is one of the truly peniteni bringing the sacrifice of broken spirit, broken and a contrite heart (Ps. Ii, ID, an he looks for forgiveness through the blood shedding of 8 substitute. If he does nc see all this the Lord sees it in his God merciful to me sinner"
 IA. "I teu you this man a1ent dotr,t to hi house justified, rdther than tue other. The Pharisee's goodness was in Gods sigh only as filthy rags Qsa- lxiv, 6), for it cam from a sinful, deceitful and desperatel wicked heart (Jer. xvii, 0; and a corrut tres cannot bring forth good fruit.
 A Bachelor Entertains.