The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-05-10
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON VII, SECOND QUARTER, IN
TERNATIONAL SERIES, MAY IA.


/. "Whoso loveth instruction loveth
knowledge, but he that hateth reproof is
BRITISH" Nearly every verse in this lesson
contains a contrast between the righteous
and the unrighteous, the wise and the fool.
And Scripture is full of such contrasts from
the story Of Cain and Abel 60 the end of the
book. The wise build upon the rock; the
foolish build upon the sand; the wise have
lamps well trimmed; the foolish have lamps
going out. The Lord knoweth the way Of
the righteous, but the way of the ungodly
shall perish (Math vii, "a, 26; XIV, lib;
Ps. l. g. And as to the brutes, they even
put men TO shame and know more than
some men lisa i, 81.
2. "a good man obtaineth favor of the
Lord, but man of wicked devices will He
condemn. The Lord showeth favor to all
lie maketh His sun to rise on the evil and
on the good and sendeth rain on the just
and on the unjust" (AIath. V, 45). He offers
Himself freely to all, but only those who
receive Him shall enjoy Him John i, IL,
12) Those who receive Him not are con-
demned already, and to shut Hin out from
our hearts is the most wicked device that
satan can invent John iii, 49,
3. "a man shall not be established by
wickedness, but the root of the righteous
shall not be moved" Wickedness shall not
deliver those that are given to it, and,
though men make a covenant with death
and hell, it shall not stand (Eccl viii, S; Isa.
xviii 1s). The Lord bringeth the counsel
of the heather to naught. lie meketh the
devices of the people of none effect ops.
xxxiii, 1O). But, on the contrary, all who are
in the rock Christ Jesus are in sure and
eternal refuge
t. "A vi-tuOus woman is crown to her
husband, but she that maketh ashamed is
as rottenness in His bones" If this is true
literally of wife and husband, how much
more of the church and Christ? We are
said to be even now married to the Lord
that we should bring forth fruit unto God
(Bom vii, A., and Paul says Of the believ-
ers ut Ccrinth, Il have espOused you to one
husband that may present YOU as a chaste
virgin to Christ" QI Cor. xi, p.
3 THE thoughts of the righteous are
right, but the cOunsels Of the wicked are
deceit" This must mean the thoughts
which he thinks through US, for we are
not sufficient of ourselves to think any
thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is
OF God" OF Cor iii, 81 The natural heart
is deceitful above all things and desperate
ly wicked der. xvii, 81, and therefore cOun-
sci from such heart cannot hut be deceit.
The contrast between Christ and satan is
the contrast between truth and lying
6. THE words of the wicked are to lie in
wait for blood, but the mouth of the up
right shall deliver them" The last verse
contrasted the thoughts Of the righteous
and of the wicked. This contrasts their
words.
z. The wicked are overthrown and are
not, but the house of the righteous shall
stand" Jesus and all His house shall
stand. The gates Of hell shall not prevail
against His church (Nath. xvi, 49,.
8 "a man shall be commended accord
ing to his wisdom, but he that is Of per
verse heart shall be despised." That which
Christ, the wisdom of GCd, does or says or
thinks, in and through US, that shall stand
and be approved, but apart from Him we
can do nothing (John XIV, >; II Tim ii, 49,
AL who, having heard Of Him, will not sub
NIT to Him are among the peryerse to
whom it is said, Behold, ye despisers, and
wonder and perish Acts xiii, ~.
8. HE that is despised and hath a serv-
ant. is better than he that honoreth him
self and lacketh bread" If we will humble
ourselves to be His servants and be willing
to be despised for His sake, He will in due
time exalt Us, while those who prefer to
honor themselves and despise the bread of
life must forever perish
10. "A righteous man regardeth the life
of his beast, but the tender mercies of the
wicked are cruel" Life is the special gift
of God and can come only from God. He
giveth life and breath and all things He
giveth natural life to man and beast He
Giveth life eternal to all who receive Him.
Il. 80 H. l. 4 Il.
isfied with bread, but he that fOlloweth
vain persons is void of understanding. "
| Here it seems TO be the diligent ana the
slothful contrasted. Jesus says, MY Father
worketh hitherto, and l work" He gives
TO every man his work. He gives to
each pound and says, Occupy till
| come"
II. "The wicked desireth the net of evil
men, but the root of the righteous yieldeth
| fruit" It is written that "they sacrifice
unto their net and burn incense unto their
| drag because by them their portion is fat
and their meat plenteous" QIab. i, 16). In
other words, they prosper and grow rich
and live only for the present, desiring only
the net which will gather in the most gain.
They think not that suddenly they may be
called away, and then where shall their
| gain be? The righteous gather fruit unto
life eternal Their gain will abide.
10. 1.-The wicked is shared by the trans
gression of his lips but the inst shall come
out of trouble" Troubles come to all good
and bad, and ofttimes apparently more to
/ the righteous than to the wicked but the
wicked finally gooff into trouble unending
while the righteous are sure to be in due
time delivered. They shall forget their
misery and remember it as waters that
pass away. And not only so, for we have
also the comfort of knowing that all pres
ent tribulation, patiently borne, is working
out for us far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory Job XII, 10: ii Cor. iv, ID.
! A. "A man shall be satisfied with good
by the fruit of his mouth, and the recon.
pense of a mans hands shall be rendered
unto him" Say ye to the righteous that il
shall be well with him, for they shall ca;
the fruit Of their doings. Woe unto the
wicked; it shall be i'll with him, for the re
ward of his hands shall be given him lisa
iii, 10, III. Such is the uniform testimony
of Scripture. If Christ, the wisdom of God
is accepted, then salvation is ours, and there
will be reward in proportion to labor (Rom
vi, %; / Cor. iii, S; Rev. xxi, l2). If Christ
is rejected, the soul is lost, and suffering
will be according TO sin (John iii, is; Luke
xii, AZ, 49,.
10 1.-The way of fool is right in his OWL
eyes, but he that hearkeneth unto counsel
is wise" All benefit for time and eternity
comes from receiving and obeying the wis
dom Of God, but rs that is opposed to the
wisdom of man and casts down all man.
reasonings Gil Cor. x, 8, margin) many il
their pride and folly prefer their own way