Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-07-14
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON III, THIRD QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JULY t6.


"a Commentary by the Rev. ID. N.
stearns.
%. Then Paul stood in the midst Of
Mars hill and said, Ye men of Athens, |
perceive that in all things ye are too super
stitous" or, as in the r. ", somewhat
religious" 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 Sias and Timothy, whom he
had left at Berea. His spirit is greatly stirred
by the idolatYy of the city, and in the syna-
gogue of the Jews and the market of the
Ity 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 crucified Il
Cor. ii, p, and the substance of his preach
ing may be gathered from this statement.
He reasoned with them out of the Scrip
lures, opening and alleging that Christ
must needs have suffered and risen again
from the dead, and that this Jesus whom
preach unto you is Christ" (Acts xvii, 2, 81.
% For as | passed by and beheld your
devotions | found an altar with this in
scription, To the Unknown God. Whom
therefore ye ignorantly worship Him de
clare 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 religious they were, but there was
nothing to it. for they knew not God. 1t is
more sad, however to think of the reli
giousness of today, which means nothing.
"a. God, that made the world and all
things therein, seeing that he is Lord of
heaven and earth, dweleth not in temples
made with hands, He takes them right
fa he Of nd 10
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. /, 49, 20). Before
we can come to God we must believe that
there is a God Heb, XII 81, and the one
whom these Athenians 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 DER. X, TO- margin).
25 Neither is worshiped with mems
hands, as though He needed anything, see
ing He giveth to all life and breath and all
things" What startling things these must
have been to be heard for the first timei A
God greater than sum- moon or stars, heav-
ell or earth, and the author and giver of all
life and being Yet this is the DID, 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
Job xii, 10y 1t is His nature to give. He
so loved that He gave His only begotten
Son that whosoever receiveth Him shall
never perish John iii, l6; x, 81, 28).
90 And hath made of one blood all
nations of men for to dwell on all the face
of the earth and hath determined the
times before appointed and the bounds of
their habitation." All nations may truly
say: Have we not all one Fatherf Hath
not one God created u.s. (Mal ii, 1872 Aud
as to the bounds of habitaton, not only has
God ordered even this, but He has done so
= with respect to Israel, as it is written,
, when the Most High divided to the ma
tions their inheritance when He separated
the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the
people according to the number of the chill
J dren of Israel" (Deut. xxi, s..
81. THAT they should seek the Lord, IL
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 lisa. Nv, 6, Z: Zeph
ii, 3; Jer. xxx, ID; Math. vi, 80. His near
ness to us is very strikingly described in
Rom. X 6-l0, but there it speaks of those
n who have His word and raises the question
n oversees "A, 49, of how can they hear it unless
q q some one take it to them.
4 2S For in Him we live and move and
s have our being, as certain also of your own
i poets have said, For we are also His off
q SPRING" The first clause is very briefly
4 stated in Col. i, II, by Him all things
j consist" The use which Paul makes here
- and in Titus i, IL, of the Greek authors
!" seems to indicate the advantage to mis-
e sionary of some knowledge of the writings
81 of The people if by such knowledge they
t may be turned from vanities to the true
lie God (Acts xiv, 49, We are to use all means
8 which God can bless that we may by all
means save some q Cor. tx, 22).
90. "Forasmuch, then, as we are the off.
spring of God, we ought not to think that
Il the Godhead is like unto gold or silver OF
n stone craven by art and mans device"
Il Quite commentary upon this verse is
a found in lisa. XII 1928, and elsewhere in the
4 prophets Is not the same sin manifest to-
q day even in the church when so much
strength is spent in raising money? The
4 cry is for gold and silver and wisdom of
man. instead of for God, who owns the gold
n and silver and has all the wisdom alag ii,
i s; Cor. /, 30). If those who profess to be-
= lieve in God would only trust in Him and
IS 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 QI Chron. xvi, o.
80 And the times of this ignorance God
winked at but now commandeth all men
everywhere to repent" In the r. " it is
said God overlooked" W hich is much
better translation. He allowed to go un-
punished because He is long suffering and
not willing that any should perish Jesus
told the Jews that God suffered many
things because of the hardness of their
hearts (Nath. xix, 8; Mark X, 81 He was
grieved all the same lisa. xiii, 10; Mark III
81, but bore with them and many a time
forgave them as His servant Moses pleaded
for them. But we live in different days, for
God has now made full provision for all
through the finished work of His dear Son
and commands all to believe on Him
Il John iii OBJ