Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-05-08
THE SUNDAY school,
AN INTERESTING ANp,Nsr,,,o
TIVE LESSON. "oc.
Reflections Of an Elevat,np an,
Wholesome Food for Thought -s.sa
ing the scriptuFal Lesson In+.;,,.
aud Probably. eendy

aud FrOnta0lYs ay
The lesson for Sunday, May 10, m.
found in Amos s: 1-14. may We
INTRODUCTORY,
The herdman preacher, Amos, With ~,
volume OF sermons of his, can mo, ta .hS
leave a strong impression on the m;rd "A 10
homfletics. as embraced in this booI, is!s
own. He is sharp, direct, intreniS - ms
plain, blunt figures of speech. tho MS
usually of a brief but effective yoc,b,, syn
go straight to the mark. and there Any,
sturdy force to his full-armed, honest H. Is
that tells every time. We have in ,n;,s
the picture of plain-spoken, hard hin; ;.io
country parson some one has recently ,,', nas
sketching. He interrupts his exposiiion y.
the parable of the sower at the words .sn,e VI
fell among thorns and the thorns snr,n, .'n u'
and cholSed thcm.' to step down to the ,n w
OF the school-house and unceremoninnUulnr
eNpel Il couple of obstreperous youths .ns
then the next moment is back in his n, ''uu
saying. "But. brethren. others fell intnn rnss
good ground and brought forth frui ito s spo,
an hundred-fold, some fifty-ro,d. so,As
thirty-fold. Who hath the ears to hear ~,
him hear" We can fairly see this b,, ~
listed herdman of Tekoa striking his sv,it.
blows right and left. and leaving ,hs
ground about him covered with his Slain '4 a.
the Lord. And yet he was tender-hearteJ
Who, in the end. are more tender hnaT,as
WHAT THE LESSON SAYS
Thus. A frequent Introductory with rio
prophets. The Book of Amos is but a sarias
of sermons to the people. This is one n
these distinct discourses. Saith the Lord
Said to occur in this prophecy forty times
-Basket. Amos abounds in parallels and
illustrations, largely drawn from farm lfe
work. possibly the cages in which the frai,
was caught-Summer fruit Or full-rine
harvest fruits, j. e., in season. The word
literally means cutting.
Howlings, or wailings In keeping with
Oriental demonstrativeness of grief The
Hebrew is yalel, a mimetic work. 1t stands
first in the original Of this verse.-Ten-
corpses.-They shall cast them forth with
silence. Seven English words for two in the
Hebrew; cast forth, silence.
Swallow up. First meaning pant after
as Of Il hound on the trail.-To make the
poor Of the land to fail. Nine words in the
English for three in the Hebrew; to reduce
the poor of the land.
corn. Verb and noun, same word in the
Hebrew, like corn, the corn.-set forth
wheat. Hebrew, open the wheat, as if It'll
were the wheat markets probably the
wheat sack. Making the ephah small. He
brew, cutting short the ephah.-Falsify-
ing. First meaning, bending or making
crooked, !. e.. the balances.
WHAT THE LESSON TEACHES.
A basket of summer fruit. 1t is a hus-
Landmarks own illustration, and an effect
i've one. Amos, like our Lord, finds a text
for his sermon from nature. What is the
significance of q basket of fruit, fully ripe:|
1t means, harvest, ingathering, the out
come of the seasons toll and patience.
God had planted and nurtured and tended
USnl nj ,,yl LA
spring and the Towering of early summer
he had watched and cared for his chosen
seed. Now he comes to gather in the fruit
of 1t ALL and what does it amount to? SIM
upon sin, heaped and crowded. and nothing
more. He has sowed mercy and reapei
cruelty. has sowed tenderness and reape3
blood, has sowed truth and reaped deceiJ
The basket is full. the fruit is ripe, and it il
very bad. So looks many kind father on
the outcome Of love and labor bestowed
through long years upon a graceless sdn
So stood forth RCino's boasted- Si,A1i...Sit
after all the suns of prosperity had beamcd
upon it through the centuries. Alas, shall
the similitude hold with reference to oul
| own God-blessed civilization? What shall
be the character of our basket of summer
| fruit?
| When will the new moon be gone, that we
may sell corn. The difference between Oul
oppression and theirs is this. that we scruple
| uOU W CRUSH duu XIII Ou How ulOOuS dllu
| Sabbeths as we'll as on the cOmmOnest OF
| days. OF course for the majority of men
the chamber Of commerce and the market
| place is closed on the Lords day and the
| holiday, but the murderous work goes on
| Possibly as some of us sit in the Lords
| house with a calm and pious exterior we are
| in mind shouting on Change and plotting
how we may down our neighbor and throttle
| our mercantile competitor. We are very
like those ancient Jews. If our ephah Of
commerce is small our ephah Of worship i;
| likewise small; if our shekel of cupidty
and selfshness is large son Change" it will
be exceedingly large in the sanctuary, and
our sacrifice will be an abomination. God
| will none of it. When we go to the Lord in
prayer or worship let it be with cleansed
spirit For "as man thinketh in his
heart, so is he."
| The refuse Of the wheat. Amos knows
farm life. He is himself herdsman. But
that does not prevent him from aiming a
shaft or two at his old companion Of in
dustry. He is not partial or unfair, and
when he charges the merchant for selling
the needy pair of shoes, he follows it
right up with an instance of deceit that
belongs to the granary and barn. Refuse Of
the wheat 1t is SO easy to put it in with
the lump. 1t will not be seen in the great
mass; it will make no difference. But it IS
seen of God, and it does make a difference
| IN Cne STATE OF the heart, great dlHeT
ence. Farmers and all may we'll remember
| it. In this matter of deceit Ga little leaven
leaveneth up the whole lump" In Gods
pure sight it is all leaven; it is all refuse
o, to be honest all the way through, thor
oughly sound
at is the little rift within the Lutte,
That by and by will make the music mute,
And, ever widening. slowly silence all:
| The little rift within the lovers lutte.
Or little pitted speck in garnered fruit,
That rotting inward slowly moulders all"
A famine in the land. We may we'll fear
1t. Not hunger for bread nor thirst ior
water, but u linked hunger and thirst loI
the words of the Lord. And this is not thaV|
hunger and thirst spoken of in the beau,
tudes as having great reward, but ra lLet
the settled sort. the ultimate OF sin, .ll as
cries out OF darkness for the cooling tou.n
OF Abraham's finger on the parched tonsu.,
| A thirst that comes too late, & hunger ths ~;
shall be left lamenting 1t is always posi- posi-
BILE. This land may yet know it, Your o .iSs
soul may experience it. Indeed, the 1ani ine
may be upon you now, though the tons ,rt
to-day be speechless and the worldly he I'LL
deceive Some time Satan's famine WI If
smite you in your fair land, and the cry ~.
want be wrung from your unWllllns .h hp
To-day it may be effectual, but not W. wv +
o friend, that you would see where ;; s,n Al,
leading you. "Use it," as said the olu mp M
vine, "as it will use you. 1t Is your % Tii
derer and the murderer of the world ~
| 1t, or it will kill yOu,n