The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1890-08-27
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
AN INTERESTING AND INsrRuu-
TIVE LESSON.
Reflections Of an Elevating Character.
Wholesome Food for Thought study.
Ing the scriptural Lesson InteliIgentSy
and Probably.

/
ciple OF trust, the incident OF the children
| ana the story OF the rich young man. For
| old ana young. babes In Christ and we'll
statured Christians, the one standpoint ~
acceptance with God Is thoroughness OF
| self-surrcndcr and completeness of trust
That plain-spoken prophet, Sam Jones. al
| luding particularly To repentance, gives us
| word In season here: when was a lit
tie boy at my mothers knee. learning the
| alphabet. / repeated the letters from A To
| H. and then backwards and by sample lots,
| ana my mother finally said, You know
| your letters. my boy now you can begin to
| spell. L found | could not even spell
| Baker without the alphabet When moth
er said, Get your First Reader said.
Good-by. C's; now I'm done with you
| forever But / found that from the first
page TO the very last they were all covered
| with b C's. so from the beginning on un-
| I'll a man graduates he deals all the time
with the alphabet, and even his very diplo
ma Is written in the alphabet"
WHAT THE LESSON SAYS.
And. This Scripture follows Immediately
upon the parable OF the Pharisee and thd
| publican In the temple Infants. Babes,
simply. See Luke .: IL, ''Ye shall find thu
| babe wrapped In swaddling clothes;" same
word.-Touch them. For blessing. See
| Matt. 10: 13.-iiis disciples. Not much
| disciples, learners now, as they might be-
Rebuked them. As the multitude did to the
| blind man at Jericho. 1s: 49,
| Called them. That Is. summoned them
for a quiet word of counsel.-Suffer little
| children. To put no hindrance in the way.
He Il speaking now especially of those who
| are capable OF choice; not the same word as
| In v. 10. Doubtless the groups about him
| included various ages.-Forbid them not.
| Children who wished 10 come 20 him were
| not To be hndered. AS for the babes whom
| the parents brought no advice Is given,
though the implication Is that, for the end
| sought Christ's prayer and blessing, they
| too were 10 come unchecked. So ought all
| parents, In prayer to Christ, to-day.-Of
such is the kingdom. Rather, TO such be-
longs the kingdoy, I. e., to those who are
trustfully childlike. THE kingdom" here
| doubtless refers to that spiritual reign OF
| God IN the soul that Jesus came to estab-
| lish.
Followed thee. Peter gets swift and
sure glimpse OF Christs meaning here
| Manifold more. Present reward.-Life
everlasting. Future award.
WHAT THE LESSON TEACHES.
Infants, that he would touch them. And
he has touched them. The touch OF Christ's
| blood avails for all infanthood. Away with
| that impious notion OF elect infants. The
| little onos are not received for their parents
sake, or on any other grounds than Christ's
| sacrifice In their particular behalf Tho
atonement is too great and serious matter
| To permit OF the entrance of this weak
human nature in any aspect save as sup
L
| that. God must do all the rest. Rose
| Porter" says some good things, but surely
she Is forgetting herself when she says,
| "When my father and mother offered me to
the Savior, as he had babe them do, he.
the dear Christ, took me for his own"
| What, then, Of the neighbours child? What,
] then, Of herself before christening? Be
I reasonable. Ii Chrst's blood avails for the
| babies, IL availed as soon rs shed.
| Suffer the little children To come unto me,
/ n,ah f.Vfat hnv.a To- -.
should be on the part of the church such a
hesitancy To receive child faith. More than
| one pastor has had this experience of late,
that he has seen the little children OF the
Sunday school or mission band far in ad-
| vance OF their parents in point OF spiritual
| mindedness and Christian devotedness, and
that, too, although the latter be called
church members The next great reform
ought 10 be a reform at this point. Parents
should encourage children's conversions in
| stead of standing coldly in the way, as so
| many are doing. The organization of pas
| tors classes with distinct evangelistic
| purpose In view Is a plan finding favor in
many localities. The little ones are ready;
| certainly Christ Is ready To receive them.
| The only question is, are the pastors, arc
parents ready?
| Yet.lackest thou one thing. But IL was a
great thing. So large was IL that to make
| up for IL he needed To sacrifice all that he
already professed to have In order to secure
/ IL. Let us see ABOUT this one thing. In the
| young mans inventory of stock he could, as
| he thought plead punctilious life. More
| over he was "A ruler and doubtless well-to-
| do. Now but one more thing Is needed.
| Yet see what il costs. You have riches?
| Yes. Throw them in. Not all OF them?
| Yes, every farthing "sell all" What else
| has this young man? 4 fiawless record.
| Throw that I'm, too. What, give up the
| credit of life lived so long scrupulously
and piouslyr Yes, leave that behind. In
| fact. give up everything. and Come, follow
| mo-" To lack so much was 10 lack good
| deal In fact, the very things he possessed,
| since his heart was averse, were an added
| hindrance to his securement OF the prize OF
| eternal life. He was very rich" He was
| very, very poor.
| Possible with God. As mans extremity IL
| Gods opportunity, so mans liabilities mark
| Gods abilities. What man cannot do God
| can. This does not mean that God Is able
| 70 save a man In spite OF his dependence
| upon his riches. That Is just as impossible
| with God as with man. since IL Is an impos-
| sibility connected with the very nature of
| things. The reference here is To the moro
| Immediate question, "Who, then, can be-
| saved?' The implied answer Is, ''As for
| that, no one can be saved Of himself But
what man cannot do God can" That Is, the
| new birth Is a change too great and grave to-
be accomplished by any power short Of Del
| ty. Man must yield up all he has, and yet
! that does not effect the change. After the
whole of mans powers have been submitted
| and surrendered, then infinite and almighty
power must work, and only after Gods
hand has been stretched forth is salvation
wrought. This Is the Lords doing and IL
| is marvellous I'm our eyes"
| In this present time. The worth OF Chris
tian living Is largely thing of the present.
| Christ came not simply to offer heavenly
riches but to redeem the present life. A
large part OF the Christians reward is in
the life that now is. Men may well DO
urged to live Christly lives, IL only for the
sake OF the better world that might be made
here and now. An English minister urges
that we ''should not tell n man he needs re-
ligion because he may have to die to-mo
row, but because the probability Is no Will
have to live many year longer" Prom
ise Of life that now Is and OF that which Is
TO come q how rich and profitable tho
| life In Christ! IAN hundred fold here.
| "And I'm the world To come eternal life"
All, we are not told how many fold that r.,
Next Lesson.-"Jesus and Zaccheus tAe
| Publican. Luke 10: 10.
| ------=-------
An attempt to get some idea of ths
area over which a flash of lightning il
visible is to be made, according to an an