Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-12-01
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON *. FOURTH QUARTER. III
TERNATioNAL SERIES. DEC. 2.

TERNATioNAL SERIES, DEC. 2.
Text Of the Lesson, Luke vii, e4-s5 Mem
DRY Verses. e.. cS-GoIden Text, Luke
Vii, Commentary by the Rev. u. NJ.
Stesrrs.
%. Ard when the messengers of john \
were departed He began to speak unto the Z
people Conserving John, What went yc
out into the wilderness for to seos A reed +
shaken witt the winsis' Il is possible that !
this lesson preeeties III lac order of events /
the lesson of last week. John, from the prii-
on into which Herod had put him MARK
vi, II; Matii. ri, 81, had sent messengers to 4
Jesus TO inquire il he We're the Christ. /
Jesus wrought miracles before them and
said they should tell John what they had I
seen and heard and add, Blessed is he /
whatsoever shall not be offended in me . l
Then Jesus begins TO talk to the people .
about John and asks them II he was like i
reed shaken with tho wind, weak ono !
easily blown about
25. But what went yc out for to sees I
A man clothed in soft rs.iinentg Behold I
they which arc gorgeously apparelcd and
live delicatcly are in kings courts They |
knew that John lid not indulge in fac |
clothes nor luxurious living, but rs it is ,
written, The Same John had his rai,nent |
of cancels hair and lcathcrn girdle /
about his leins, and his meat was lccua.s /
and wild hcney'' (Math iii, A. He sought |
not earthly comforts nor self indulgence, |
but lived to make known and point cut |
the Lamb Of God, who taketh away the sin
of the world. He did not seek any great 1
ness for himself John /. 20; Jcr xiv, 81.
&C. But what went ye out for to seos I
A prophet Yea, | say unto you, and much
more than a prophet" The father of
John, filed with the Holy Spirit. after i,
the birth Of the child had said, And thou, I
child, shalt be called tho prophet of the I
Highest, for thou shall go before tho face /
of tho Lord to prepare his ways" (Lukc i, /
go. A prophet was not necessarily enc 4
who predicted future events, but rather one
who spoke for Sod. Abraham is the first
one called a prophet in the Scriptures
(Gen. Xxx, -. but he uttered no predic- /
lions, yet he was Gods representative. See I
Aaron, TIC prophet er spokesman for |
Moses lex. iy, IS; VIII u
20. This is he Of whom it Is written,
Behold, send My messenger before Thy
face, which shall prepare Thy way before
Thee. +" Tho Spirit, through Malachi, had
said this some 400 years before tMal iii, 4
IL, and about 500 years before Malachi the I
same Spirit had said through Isaiah that n /
voice would cry III the wilderness, Pre- I
paro yc tho way of the Lord" lisa. Il. 81 /
How clear to God is the end and all the I
steps that lead TO it from the very begin l
ming and lie says, My counsel shall /
stand, and l will do all my pleasure lisa |
XVI, l0).
IS. For say unto you, Among those I
that arc born of women there is not a
greater prophet than John the Baptist,
but he that is least in the Kingdom of God d
is greater than he" Gabriel said of him,
: He shall DO great in the sight of the
Lord and shall drink neither wine nor /
strong drink, and he shall be filled with |
the Holy Spirit oven from his mothers \
womb (Luke i, 49,. Although he was \
permitted by God to languish and die in !
prison, yet he ceased not to be great in
the sight of the Lord.
20. And all the people that heard Him
ard the publicans justified God, being 1
baptized with the baptism Of John" All \
who honor the messenger of God by be- |
lieying and obcying His word thus honor
Cod (Math. K, s0), but those who reject
the message and the messenger dishonor
God and make Him liar because they be- +
lieyc not His message Il John v, 1o).
so. ''Biit the Pharisees and lawyers re
iocted the counsel of God against them I
selves, being not baptized Of Him." In
chapter xvi, ID, it is written that they .
derided Him, and He said unto them, We I
are they which Justify yourselves before |
men, but God knoweth your hearts, for 4
that which is highly esteemed among men |
is abomination in the sight oil God. !" The |
heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, |
and none can thoroughly knowit but God I
der xvii, o. 10); therefore His word OF I
truth must be against it, and to reject tho I
truth of God against ourselves proves us I
children Of the devil
81. ''And the Lord said, Wherounto ,
then shall lilen the men OF this genera
tions And to what ere they likef" He !
was ever finding analogies in nature and |
in people He called Himself vine, q |
door, a shepherd, tho light, the way, the !
truth, the life. He compared tho present |
condition Of affairs, called the mystery of |
the Kingdom, to a mustard tree, heaven, |
etc. He said through Hosea, Il have null |
tiplicd visions and used similitudes by the |
ministry of the prophets" (Hos. xii, 10). |
SO. ',They Gro like unto children sitting /
in the market place and calling ono to an
other and saying; We have piped untoyou,
and ye have not danced. We have mourn |
ed 20 you, and ye have not wept." The |
children could not please their fellows, |
and neither John nor Jesus could please |
that wicked and adulterous generation.
But they did not try. They sought only !
to please God, and they did it. The Fa- |
ther testified from heaven that He was |
well pleased with Jesus (Math. iii, II; |
xvii, 81, and Jesus has just borne good |
testimony TO John in this our lesson.
Il T,4J. . ID xsxl
eating bread nor drinking wine, and ye |
say he hath devil" The Spirit through |
Isaiah wrote that in his day He that de |
parted from evil was accounted mad lisa
lix, 10, margin), and through Hosea: Tho |
prophet is a fool. The spiritual man is |
mad (aos. tx, a. Since the days of Cain |
men Of God like Abel have been accounted |
beside themselves and not fit TO live-lt
only to DO cut off from the land of the liv- |
ing der ii, 100.
81. THE Son Of man is como eating ,
and drinking, ard We say, Behold q glut-
tonous man and a wine bibber, friend
of publicans and sinners. 4" Truly 1.-THE
carnal mind is cnmity against God, for it
Is not subject to tine. law of God neither
indeed can be (Rom viii, y. Let us not
grievc nor take it amiss If for His sake we
are called unreasonable ard uncalled for
names. And IL the things attributed 10
US are the very farthcst from the possibili-
ty of our doing the fellowship with Jesus
is all the closer. Let us never seek 20
please people, but ever study to show our
selves approved unto God, ambitious to
be well pleasing unto Him III Tim. ii, Is;
III Cor. V, Q, r. ", nargin}.
49, But wisdom is justified of all her
children. Self condemnation justifies God,
49,. 4 I
themselves. 1t is only when we take the
place of the guilty, accepting Gods testi-
mony against us and receiving Jesus as
our righteousness, that we are justified in
His sight. All such honor Christ, who
is the wisdom OF Gcd and He honors all
such by making them accepted in Him q
Cor 1 d 70 and Euh 1 Ga