The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1891-05-06
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
AN INTERESTING AND INSTRUC-
TIVE LESSON.
Reflections Of an Eievating Character
Wholesome Food for Thought - Study
ing the scriptural Lesson Intelligentiy
and Probably.


INTRODUCTORY.
| The herdman preacher, Amos, with this
volume OF sermons of his, can not fail To
| leave "A strong impression on the mind. His
| homiletics, as embraced I'm this book, is his
own. He Is sharp, direct, intrepid His
plain. blunt figures of speech. the sign
| usually of IA brief but effective vocabulary,
| go straight to the mark. and there Is n
| sturdy force To his full armed, honest blows
that tells every time. We have III MIND
the picture of plain-spoken. hard-h hitting
country parson some one has recently been
| sketching. He interrupts his exposition OF
the parable OF the sower at the words. "Some
| fell among thorns and the thorns sprang up
| and choked them,n To step down to the door
OF the school, house and unceremoniOusly
eXpel IA couple of obstreperous youths, and
then the next moment is back In his place
saying, "But, brethren. others fell into good
| good ground and brought forth fruit, some
| an hundred fold, some flfty-fold, some
| thirty-fold. Who hath the ears to hear, let
| him hear" We can fairly see this hard
listed herdman OF Tekoa striking his swift
| blows right and left, and leaving the
| ground about him covered with his slain OF
| the Lord And yet he was tender-hearted
| Who, in the end. are more tender hearted
| than they that speak the absolute truth?
| WHAT THE LESSON SAYS.
| Thus. frequent Introductory with the
prophets. The Book OF Amos is but series
II sermons TO the people. This Is one OF
| these distinct discourses. Saith the Lord.
said to occur i'm this prophecy forty times
BASKET. Amos abounds in parallels and
| illustrations largely drawn from farm life.
The word basket may also be translated net
work. possibly the cages i'm which the fruit
was caught-Summer fruit Or full-ripe,
| harvest fruits, l. O., in season. The word
literally means cutting.
Howings, 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.-Tem-
| ple or palace.-Dead bodies Our word
| 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 "a hound on the trail.-To make the
| poor of the land to fail. Nine words in the
| English for three in the Hebrews To reduce
| the poor of the land.
BE gone. Literally pass over.-Sell
corn. Verb and noun, same word in the
| Hebrew, like corn, the corn.-Set forth
| wheat Hebrew open the wheat, as If it
| were the wheat market; probably the
wheat sack. Making the ephah small He
brew, cutting short the ephah.
| ing First meaning, bending or making
crooked, l. g., the balances.
WHAT THE LESSON TEACHES
A basket of summer fruit. 1t Is hus-
| bandman's own illustration, and an effect
i've ono. Amos, like our Lord, finds "a text
for his sermon from nature. What is the
| significance OF a 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
| Israel. Through harsh winter, budding
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 it all, and what does IL amount TO? Sin
upon sin, heaped and crowded, and nothing
more. lie has sowed mercy and reaped
cruelty, has Sowed tenderness and reaped
| blood has sowed truth and reaped deceit.
| The basket is full. the fruit is ripe, and IL is
very bad. So looks many kind father on
the outcome of love and labor bestowed
| through long years upon graceless son.
So stood forth Rome's boosted civilization
| after all the suns OF prosperity had beamed
upon it through the centuries. Alas, shall
the similtude hold with reference To our
| 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 our
oppression and theirs is this, that we scruple
| not TO crush and kill on new moons and
Sabbeths as well as on the commonest OF
| days. OF course for the majority of men
the chamber OF commerce and the market
pace is closed on the Lords day and the
| holiday, but the murderous work goes on
Possibly as some OF us sit i'm the Lords
house with n calm and pious exterior we are
how we may down our neighbor and throttle
our mercantile competitor. We are very
| like those ancient Jews. IL our ephah of
commerce Is small our ephah of worship is
| likewise small; If our shekel of cupidity
and selhshness Is large "on Change ii will
be exceedingly large in the sanctuary, and
our sacrifice will be an abomination. God
will none OF il. 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. lie is himself herdsman. But
that does not prevent him from aiming "a
| shaft or two ut his old companion Of in
| dustry. lie is not partial or unfair and
when he charges the merchant for selling
| the needy a pair of shoes, he follows il
right up with an instance Of deceit that
| belongs to the granary and barn. Refuse of
| the wheat. 1t is so easy TO put IL in with
| the lump. IL will not be seen in the great
mass; IL will make no difference. But 1t Is
| seen OF God, and it does make a difference
| i'm the ate of the heart, great differ
ence. Farmers and all may well remember
| it. In this matter OF deceit "a little leaven
| leaveneth up the whole lump" In Gods
pure sight IL IS all leaven: IL is all refuse.
| q, to be honest all the way through, thor
oughly sound.
| alt 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 rottlng inward slowly moulders all"
| A famine In the land. We may we'll fear
| IL. Not hunger for bread nor thirst for
water. but "a linked hunger and thirst for
| the words OF the Lord. And this Is not that
| hunger and thirst spoken OF in the beati-
tudcs rs having great reward, but rather
the settled sort. the ultimate of sin, that
| cries out OF darkness for the cooling touch
| OF Abraham's finger on the parched tongue.
| A thirst that comes too late, a hunger that
| shall be left lamenting 1t is always posi-
| BILE This land may yet know IL. Your own
| soul may experience it, Indeed, the famine
may be upon you now, though the tongue
| to-day be speechless and the worldly heart
deceive. Some time Satan's famine will
| smlte you I'm your fair land, and the cry OF
| want be wrung from your unwilling lips.
| To-day IL may be efectual, but not then.
| o friend, that you would see where sin Is
| leading you. "Use it.n said the old di-
| vine, It will use you IL Is your muir
| derer and the murderer OF the world. Kill
IL, or ID will kill yOu.n