Passaic City record., 1893-07-15
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
JULY 10.
Lesson Text: ssPaul at Athens" Acts
xviii, 22-31-GoIden Text: John
iv., 24-Commentary.

hill and said Ye men of Athens, 1 perceive
that in all things We are too superstitious.
or: as in the r. ", somewhat religious y
We have passed by his farewell to Philippi,
his preaching at Thessalonica and Berea, and
the prosecutions he endured at each place.
We now find him at Athens, waiting for S1laS
and Timothy, whom he had left at Berea
His spirit is greatly stirred by the idolatry OF
the city, and in the synagogue of the Jews
and in the market of the city he preached
Jesus and the resurrection. From the time
that Jesus met him on the way to Damascus
he determined to know nothing but Christ
and Him crucifed Il Cor. IL, q, and the sub
stance of his preaching may be gathered
from this statement. He reasoned with
them out of the Scripture, opening and al
leging that Christ must needs have suffered
and risen again from the dead, and that this
Jesus whom preach unto 5ou is Christ"
(Acts xviii, 2, 81.
49, "For as I passed by and beheld your
devotions found an altar with this inscrip-
ton, To the Unknown God. Whom there
fore ye ignorantly worship Him declare
unto YOU" 1t would seem that In their many
affairs to many gods they feared lest any
should have been omitted, and hence this
altar with its strange inscription. Very re-
ligious they were, but there was nothing to
it. for they knew not God. 1t is more sad,
however, to think of the Righteousness of to-
day. which means nothing.
"a. ''God, that made the world and all
things therein, seeing that He is Lord of
heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples
made with hands" He takes them right to
the first of Genesis and would make them
acquainted with the Creator of all things.
They were without excuse for not knowing
His eternal power and Godhead, for the
works of His hands should have taught them
this rom. l., 19, 20). Before we can come
to God we must believe that there is a God
(Heb. XII, g. and the one whom these Athe-
mans knew not was the only one whom they
ought to know-the Lord who is the true
God, the living God and King of Eternity
(Jer. x, 10, margin).
25. .'Neither is worshiped with mems
hands, as though He needed anything see
things" What startling things these must
have been to be heard for the first time A
God greater than sun, moon or stars, heaven
or earth, and the author and giver of all life
and being. Yet this is the old, familiar story
of the Bible which we possess, but are so slow
to give to others, which tells of Him in whose
hand is the soul of every living thing and the
breath of all mankind Dob xii, 10). 1t is
His nature to give. He so loved that He
gave His only begotten Son that whatsoever
receiyeth Him shall never perish (John ill.,,
16; x, 81, 28).
26. Sand hath made of one blood all Ma
tions of men for to dwell on all the face of
fore appointed and the bounds of their habi-
tation." All Nations may truly say: "Have
we not all one Father? Hath not one God
created u.s. (Mal. H., 10)? And as to the
bounds of habitation, not only has God or
dered even this, but He has done so with re-
spect to Israel. as it is written. "When the
Most High divided tC the Nations their in
heritance, when He separated the sons of
ADAM He set the bounds of the people ac-
cording to the number of the children Of Is
raeP' (Deut. xxi, 81.
81. .sThat they should seek the Lord, if
haply they might feel after Him and find
Him, though He be not far from every one of
u.s. If they would live up to the light they
had God would find ways to send them more
light. as in the case of Cornelius and the
Ethiopian eunuch. The exhortations to seek
the Lord are very many and very instructive.
See such as Isa. w., 6, z Zeph. IL, 3; Jer.
xxx, 10; Math. vi, 49, His nearness to us
is very strikingly described in Rom. K, 6-10,
but there it speaks of those who have His
of how can they hear it unless some one take
it to them.
%. '.For in Him we live and move and
have our being, as certain also of you own
poets have said, 'For we are also His off
spring." The first clause is very briefly
stated in Col. l., II, '.By Him all things con-
sist" The use which Paul makes here and
in Titus l., IL, of the Greek authors seems
to indicate the advantage to missionary OF
some knowledge of the writings of the peo-
pie if by such knowledge they may be turned
from vanities to the true God (Acts xiv, 15).
We are to use all means which God can bless
that we may by all means save some q Cor.
tx, %.
80. ..Forasmuch, then, as we are the off
spring of God, we ought not TO think that
the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or
stone craven with art and mans device.
Quite commentary upon this verse is found
in Isa. xl., 1928, and elsewhere in the
prophets. Is not the same sin manifest to-
day even in the church when so much
strength is spent in raising money? The
The cry is for gold and silver and wisdom
of man. instead of for God, Who owns the
gold and silver and has all the wisdom alag.
IL, L Cor. l., 30). If those who profess to
believe in God would only trust Him and not
in idols, either men or metal, He would soon
show Himself strong on our behalf and pour
out more blessing than we could manage (II
Chron. xvi, 81.
80. "And the times of this ignorance God
winked at, but now commandeth all men
everywhere to repent" In the r. V. it is
said sGod overlooketh" which is much
better translation. He allowed to go unpun-
ished because He is long suffering and not
willing that any should perish. Jesus told
the Jews that God suffered many things be-
cause of the hardness of their hearts (Math.
xix, s Mark x, 81. He was grieved all the
same Gsa. xiii, 10; Mark ill.,, 81, but bore
with them and many a time forgave them as
His sevant Moses pleaded for them. But we
live in different days, but God has now made
full provision for all through the finished
work of His dear Son and commands all to
believe on Him (John ill.,, 23).
81. "Because He hath appointed a day in
the which He will judge the world in right
eousness by that man whom He hath or
dained, whereof He hath given assurance
unto all rsen, in that He hath raised Him
from the dead" The Greeks had known
some great men, leaders and teachers of the
people, but they had never known one who
having died lived again hence when Paul
got to this point they either mocked or
turned away. Jesus, risen from the dead,
alive forevermore, having all power in
heaven and on earth, is the one who in all
things has and must have the pre-eminence.
The great question now is not, 'Am moral
or religious or getting better?" but, first of
all. "Have received Jesus?" See John i.
12 John ", II. Then am so living unto
Him tina. in that day the works shall not be
burned up, but rewarded q Cor. iii, 11-15l
Lesson Helper.
TWENTV -QTUpM T 0om