The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-05-11
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
A Song of Praise - Ps. 1O3;1-22 - Lesson
for May Is, 1892.

The SUNDAY SCHOOL.
A Song of Praise - Ps. 103:1-22 - Lesson
for May Is. 1892.
Especially Arranged from S s. Quarterly
GOLDEN TExT.-Blcss the Lord, o my soul.
and forget not all His beneiits-Ps 1922
CENTRAL TRUTH-God's mercies are infinite,
and demand the highest praises in heart. in
word and in life.
AUTHoR-Probably David
TIME-Probably written during the last years
OF his life.
HELPS OVER HARD PLACER. "All that is
within me-" his whole spiritual nature. .. For
get not ALL" remember every one; they arc
many, and we are liable to forget Redeem
eth" savcth at cost 10 Himself. Life from
destruction" Q) our life in this world; (2) our
eternal life through the redemption Of Christ
s. "Satisfieth thy mouth" the soul; mouth" as
a type of all desires Renewed like the eagles"
made as strong and fresh and active and JOY
full as that of the king OF birds in his prime
The common version very unnecessarily
makes the Psalmist responsible for the
fable of the eagles renewing his youth.
There is an allusion, no doubt,
TO the yearly moulting of the feathers Of the
eagle and other birds. "All that with reason
charms and captivates in the appearance OF
yonth is seen in heightened measure where tho
spiritual life develops itself undisturbed in fell
lowship with God. He has QD the innocence,
(2) the enjoyment, go the strength and energy,
a. the development and growth, (5)
the hope which belong TO youth"
g. "Slow to anger" does not punish any
sooner than he can help; bears with his chill
dren. o. Neither will He keep His anger for
ever" He will not punish His children to their
destruction as He must His enemies who will
not repent II. las the Heaven is high" the
greatest conceivable height IL "As far" etc:
the greatest imaginable distance. l3 Like as
q father pitieth:" The father pitch his chill
dren, that are weak in knowledge and instructs
them; pitics them when they are forward, and
bears with them; pities them when they are
sick, and comforts them when they are fallen,
and helps them up again: when they have Of
Tended, and upon their submission forgves
them; when they are wrongci, and rights them
a. "Hc knoweth our framc;' for He made us,
and therefore understands all about u.s. Is
Grass E. flower" short-lived, easily destroyed
H. From everlasting TO everlasting" the
greatest conceivable duration. Then that
fear Him" this is the third time this limitation
is given, Only such can claim the promise. lS
keep His covenant" TO bless and save il we
obey His commands.
LESSON NOTES.
Why does David charge himself to
forget not?" Because men often forget
Gods goodness. Moses knew this ten
dency of the human heart, and in an
address to Israel said: 'Only take heed
to thyself-lest thou forget the things
that thine eyes have seen" Deut. 4: 81.
And again in verse 30: Take heed unto
yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant
of the Lord your God" All these warn
ings were vain, however, for before long
they forgot the Lord their Cod Il
Sam. 12:91), and ''soon after forgot His
works" FPS. 106:13), and acted as though
He had never saved them from Egypt or
given them a law from Sinai. But the
Israelites were not the only ones whose
| memories were bad. Thousands to-day
have arisen from their beds in
| health and comfort and found
themselves surrounded with many
mercies, who have forgotten so much as
to thank God for his favors. If to-
morrow they were suddenly taken sick,
| they would not forget to pray earnestly
| for that health for which to-day they
| forgot to give thanks. The ten lepers
were all equally earnest in their cry for
help, yet when they were all healed,
there was only one of them who had the
common decency to go back and say:
"Thank you" How often we close our
prayers saying: "All these favors we
ask for Jesus sake, and to Thee will we
give the praise forever" Yet when
| God does grant us the desires of our
heart, we forget to praise Him at all.
So, too, Christians forget how God has
helped them in days that are passed,
and as soon as any new trouble comes
they are in the depths of despair. Even
the Apostles had to be chided by the
| Saviour for their lack of faith, for which
read Matt. 1860, 10. The chances are
that if tomorrow trouble were to come
to all the Christians in this school, nine
out of ten would forget all past deliver
anccs and worry about the present diff
Guilty.
What does David charge himself to
remember? Not Gods mercies in gen.
cral, but specific favors. 1t is hard to
be grateful for general mercies. We
need to dwell on them somewhat in de-
tail to impress our hearts with their
multitude and magnitude. This David
does And ~ he calls to mind Gods
forgiving grace. "Who forgiveth all
thine iniquities." This is really the
foundation stone of all the structure of
gratitude. He who has not experienced
gratitude for the pardon, tas really not
| IL
Glad he may have been. but not CRATE
full. Every child of God begins here, in
his song of praise. The first note of
true praise is always called forth by the
first message of pardon. But (2) David
remembers Gods healing grace. In
times of sickness God has been good to
him. Behind the doctor. David realized
that Gods power stood, and his heart
goes out in gratitude. Co. He also re-
calls the deliverances from sudden
death vouchsafed. The halrbreadth
escapes of his past life fash up before
him, and in them, too, he recognizes the
hand of God. az The times oi ease
and plenty crowd upon his memory,
and he writes them down in his cata-
logue of favors. (5) So many are Gods
gifts to him, that he declares that he is
satisfied with good things, and his
strength is renewed, so that even the
wheel of time has been turned back
and his youthful vigor and joy have
been renewed.
| PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
1. Every one should praise God with
heart, voice, life, in public and in pri
vate.
2. He that has praising spirit will