Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-09-07
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON Xl, THIRD QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, SEPT. 10.


~ stcarrs.
~ For this cause therefore have called
Tor you to see you and to speak with you
because that for the hope of Israel / am
bound with this chain During the three
months at Malta many miracles were
wrought by Paul in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and many must have heard the gos
pei oversees I'D in due time arriving ut
home, Paul was suffered TO dwell by hiu,-
self with soldier that kept him. and after
three days he called togethcrf1.e chiefs of the
Jews and made known to them why he was
prisoner and why at Rome. Before A grip
pa he had spoken If the hope of the prom
Use made of God unto he fathers as some
thing concerning the - tribes (xxvi. G, y.
Il. And they said unto him, We neither
| received letters out of Judea concerning
th'e, neither any Of the brethren that came
Showed or spakc any harm Of thee They
ana not have daily papers with the news
! from all the world in each issue. 1t may
have been some comfort TO Paul to know
that tongues i'll this part of the world had
not yet opened fire on him. He hsd been
enjoying his share of it elsewhere and had
| found some pleasure in it Oh Cor. xii, 10.
~. But We desire to hear of thee what
! thou thinkest, for as concerning this sect
| Wv Ni''N 'ihi tNtlJ W lltIt IL is spoken
against" In chapter xiv. 3, the followers
| ofJcsuS are called the sect of the Nazarenes
! If Paul had not been spoken against at
Rome up to this time, it would now be evil
| dent to him that his Master had and his
| Fellowship would he sure to come But
| Inul was ready, for his prayer was to know
| Him, and the power Of His resurrection aud
the fellowship of His sufferings phil hi. l0).
%. He expoundcd and testified the king
dom of God, persuading them concerning
Jesus both out of the law of Moses and out
OF the prophets from morning until even
ing" Having gathered unto him in his
lodging company Of Jews, he, as his Gus
tom was, preached unto them Jesus as Son
OF David and coming King from their own
Scriptures lchapter xvii, =, 3; xix, s; xiv !
14) Doubtless Acts xiii, 1G-41, is fair sam
pie of his preaching ard reasoning lie
sought to convince them that Jesus of Naz- |
areth was indeed the promised Messiab |
that it was ali foretold that He should die |
and rise again, and that now they were to
receive Him, serve Him patiently and faith |
tllly and wait for His return Acts ill., 1921; |
1hess. i, Q, 10; Titus H. l1-l8
2i And some believed the things which !
were spoken, and some believed not" We |
are nowhere taught that the good news will |
be universally received In this age Some
seed will fall by the wayside and some on |
rocky soil, but a portion will find good |
ground; some will be saved, and the church |
shall be completed (dath. xiii 1923; Cor. |
tx, %; Eph. V, ~. Even in the next age. |
when satan shall lie bound, there will be |
deceivers who will only yield feigned !
obedience and viii follow satan when he |
comes out of the pit Ops. Xvi, 3, margin;
Rev XXX, {, s..
20. And when they agreed not among
themselves they departed after that Paul |
had spoken one word, Well spale the
Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our
fathers That ii was not the prophets
who spake or wrote, but God by His spirit
through the prophets is everywhere taught.
Compare Acts j. Q; ii, II; iv, %, and notice
who it is that speaks. David in his last
words said, The Spirit of the Lord spake
by me, and His word was in my tongue"
81 sam. Nxii, y. Peter says it was the
Spirit of Christ who spoke through the
prophets q Pet. l. 10, ~
20. Hearing ye shall hear and shall not
understand, and seeing ye shall see and
not perceive" 1t was not very encouraging
to the prophet to be told that the people
would neither perceive nor understand his
message, but jeremiah and Ezekiel had the
same prospect before them. They shall
fight against thee" The house of Israel
will not hearken unto me- der i, 10; Eek
Ill, y. The messenger OF the Lord has only
to deliver the message faithfully der xiii,
2S), sure that it will accomplish the Lords
pleasure Qsa. ", H. and take refuge and
comfort in Luke X, 1G
20 For the heart of this people is waXed
gross, and their ears are dull of hearing
and their eyes havet they closed lest should
heal them" The difficulty is not on Gods
do Batf -l,-1l l..
will not listen to God. 1t is written that
the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh
and also that Pharaoh hardened his own
heart (EX. Y, l, 90 q; viii, IS, 32J. The Lord
did it by giving him a command which he
would not obey, and Pharaoh did it by re-
fusing to obey the Lords command. God
Is always right, but man wrong
-. lie 1t known therefore unto you that
the salvation Of God is sent unto the Gen
tiles, and that they will hear it," Compare
chapter xiii, 46, Il. ITO the jew first" was
Pauls motto and custom Rom. i, lG. Had
it been continued to this day who can tell
what the results might have been? Obedi-
ence is our part Results are with God, and
lie Will see to it. That God would gather
from Jews and Gentiles without distinc-
ton and on the ground of simple faith in
Christ those who would form the body Of
'N' =" hiNS'FiN lt'NdItt W 1 ulIl
(Rom, xvi, % 90; Eph. iii, l-l2).
70. And when he had said these words
the Jews departed and had great reasoning
among themselves" The word preached
does not profit unless it is mixed with
lslth III those who hear it lleb. iv, o. The
weapons OF our warfare are intended to
cast down reasonngs and every high
thlng that eNalteth itself against the lSuowl-
edge OF God and bring into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ III Cor.
X, o. margin To profit by the word we
must receive it with meekness Jas. i, 81.
81. And Paul dwelt two whole years in
his own hired house and received all that
came IN unto him, doubtless accomplishing
the VIII OF God and clarifying Tod as much
as when Journeying through Asia and Mac
edonla. Being no longer able to 90 to peo-
PIE, uou brought people to Him, and though
ne was bound he rejoiced that the word of
nod was not bound or Tim. ii, 81.
81. Preaching the kingdom of God and