Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-11-16
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON VII FOURTH QUARTER, INTER-
NATlCNhL SERIES, NOV. rs.

Text of the Lesson, Luke vi. 2O-31-Mcm-
DRY Verses, eT-31- Golden Text, Luke vi,
81 Commentary by the Rev. u. NJ.
Stearns,
90 "And He lifted up His eyes on His
disciples and said, Blessed be yc poor for
yours is the kingdom of God" While
this discourse is i'm substance the same as
n portion of the sermon on the mount, it
Is evident from comparison of Math. V.
l., and Luke vi, II, that it was spoken at
another time and under different circum
stances. This had better be called IA scr
mon on the plain" 1t follows in tho
order of events the choosing of the twelve.
His first word is blessed, y reminding us
of the "hlcsscds" of Ps. i, /; xxi, |;
cxiX, /. In Math. v, 3, He speaks of the
poor in spirit" in Jas. ii, b, it is the
poor of this world, rich i'm faith;" i'm lisa.
Xvi, ,, it is the poor and contritc spirit
that trcmbcth at His word In every
case it is the humble pcnitcnt pleading no
good i'm self and looking only and wholly
to Jesus.
2l blessed are We that hunger now,
for We shall be filled. Blessed are We that
weep now, for We shall laugh" If we
suffer, we shall reign with Him III Tim.
ii, 12), and the sut1crings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with
the glory which shall be revealed in us
| (ROm. viii, lS). 80 we are to rejoice in
being partakors of His suilcrings because
of the exceeding joy ut the revelation of
His glory Il Peter iv, 80 Nothing will
SO fully enable us to do this us proper
understanding and appreciation of the
kingdom of which He spcaks-the king
dom of God, the kingdom of heaven. 1t
is not the church, not Christ in us, not
heaven, where God dvclls, but this earth
filled with thc glory Of God and His will
done on earth as in heaven in the days
when He and His glOricd church shall
return to reign over the ear. (Dan. H. IA;
viii p; Iech. xiv, 9; Rev V, ., 100.
%. Blessed are ye when men shall hate
you and when they shall separate you
from their company and shall rcproach
you and cast out your name as evil for the
Son of mans sake. " Some have thought
that if the perfection of goodness could be
seen on earth in human form all would
love it, but Jesus has proved otherwise,
for He was absolute perfection of love
and mecknesS, of grace and truth, and yet
was hated and put to death by religious
people. His word to his followers is that
they shall be hated of all for His names
sake (NIath. Y, 22) The blcssedness of it
is our fellowship with Him.
%. "Rcjoicc We i'm that day and leap for
joy for behold your reward is great in
heaven, for i'm the like manner did their
fathers unto the prophets" Take my
brethren, the prophets who have spoken
i'm the name of the Lord, for an example
of suffering affection and of patience
(Jas. Y, 100. Abraham looked for city
which hath foundations; Moses looked for
the recompensc of the reward; Jesus Him
self did not disregard the joy set before
Him. Everywhere we are taught that it
is suffering now with glory to follow. The
whole Bible story is the humiliation and
cXaltation of Christ Il Pet. i, ~ foretold,
fOrcshadOwcd, manifest in Himself and
His people and finally consummated.
"a. But woe unto you that are rich,
for We have received your consolation"
Riches used for the glory of God are in
deed blessing, but riches kept for the
owners thereof to their hurt are curse.
Heaping up treasure for selfish gratifica-
ton is only heaping up wrath for eternity.
Neither silver nor gold can deliver in the
day of the Lords wrath (Zeph. i, 49,, and
they that trust in their wealth can by no
means redeem IA brother nor give to God IL
ransom for him Cps. Xix, 6, y. Those
who live merely for present enjoyment
may have ii large amount, but there is al
ways the possibility of "a sudden going out
into awful torment duke xvi, 23).
%. Woe unto you that are full, for ye
shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh
now, for We shall mourn and weep. -"
1t is the pleasure of the Lord that His
people should be fun of joy and peace
full of the Spirit, filled with all the full
ness of God, satisfied with favor and full
with the blessing of the Lord (Rom. Ky
10; Eph. V, Is; iii, 80; Deut XXXiii, 23)
20. Woe unto You when all men shall
speak well of You, for so did their fathers
to the false prophets. They did not all
speak well of Isaiah, jeremiah Ezekiel
Daniel or the others who were true to
God, as is evident from such passages "a
Jer. XII 10; xviii, 1; Dan. vi, 4, etc.
~. But | say unto you which hear
Love your enemies; do good to them which
hate you" In verses 81 to 81 He goes
on to say that if We love and do good only
to those who love and do good to us we
are no better than the unsavcd, for any
sinner can do that, but if we can by His
grace love and do good to our enemies
that is Godlike and an evidence that we
are His children, and we shall have IA great
reward (verse 30 and Math V, A, 49,.
90 DlcaS illflll lllib CURSE you anu pray
for them which dcspitefully use you. ~
These are graces of the new nature, not of
the old. The natural man is not given to
this sort of thing, but Christ in us can do
| it, The Indian understood something of
it who, when he heard this command, cx-
ctedly walked up and down, saying: This
Indian can't do it. If God would make a
new Indian, he might perhaps do it," If
any man be in Christ, he is IA new crea-
ture or creation Oh Cor Y, 10.
20. And unto him that smiteth thee on
the one check offer also the other, and
him that taketh away thy cloke forbid
not to take thy coat also" 1t is surely
more than human to act thus, and yet we
read of those who took joyfully the spoil
ing of their wealth, knowing that they
had in heaven better and an enduring
substance (lIeb. Y, 34). Jesus suffered his
enemies to smite Him, to spit on his face,
to take away His clothes-ycs, even His
life-and we are told to consider Him who
endureth such contradiction against Him
self, lest we be wearcd and faint in our
minds, and to remember that we have not
yet resisted unto blood (Heb. xii 3, ~.
30 "GiVe to every man that aslxerh Of