Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-04-19
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON III. SECOND QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERl-S, APRIL Fl.

40 "watch, therefore, for yc know not
what hour your Lord doth come" Dur
ing this eventful week, upon which we en-
tered two or three lessons ago, He taught
them many things from day to day in tho
temple, the record of which, with tho
events of the week. occupies nearly third
of each of the gospels One of these days,
as He departed from the temple, His dis
ciples called His attention to the great
stones and buildings, upon which, to their
great ama2cmcnt, He toe them that the
whole thing was to u thrown down.
They then inquired somewhat confuscdly
as to when this should he and what would
be the sign of His coming and of the end
of the age. In Mark xiii, 3, we find that it
was four of the disciples who asked Him
privately of these things as He sat upon
the mount of Olives. If, in reading the
three parallel accounts In Math. xiv,
Mark xiii and Luke xxi, we distinguish
between the destruction of Jerusalem and
the temple and the end of the age mt His
coming, all will he quite plain. The Old
Testament everywhere teaches that He
viii como to build up, not destroy, Jeru-
salem, as in Ps. CHI rs; lisa. XIV, 9, 10; xii,
II; Zech. xiv, 3, 4, s, 9, SO that we must
never confound the Lords coming with
Ulle obstruction Oh JtruSdltll, Dlll HINdy
associate it with the rebuilding of Zion.
43 But know ths-that If the good
man of the house had known i'm what
watch the thief would come he would
have watched and would not have suf-
fercd his house to be broken up The
coming of tho Lord is associated with
vengeance upon His enemies, and the 70.
dcinption of His people Israel, as in lisa.
xxxiv, s; xxxv. 4; xiii, 4, and He will como
upon those enemies as thief, suddenly
and unexpectedly, for their destruction
1I Thess. i, 10, but children of light
will not be thus ovcrtakcn, for they are
supposed to be continually watching for
Him who loved them and redeemed them
by His blood that they might reign with
Him (Rcv. V, 9, 10; Thcss. V, 40.
"A. "Thercforc be yc also ready for in
such an hour as We think not the Son ot
Man cometh. We only wait for the com
plction of the elect body, the church, be-
fore that body shall meet Him in the air
Il Thess iv, l6-1S) and inasmuch as He
only knows when the last member Of that
body shall be gathered we keep on hearing
testimony, expecting any hour to be gone
to meet our LoId, saved by His blood.
serving in the power of the Spirit and
waiting for Himself
40. who, then, Is a faithful and wise
servant whom his Lord hath made ruler
over his household, to give them meat in
due scason?' The virgins Of the next chap
ter tell us how to he wise, and the parable
of the talents teaches us how to be faith
ful. Results and success He will sec To-.
Wise and faiJhful is our part. The only
good and nourishing meat and bread for
the household is found only in the king 5
harder, the AL Scripture" which is al!
sufficient for all His people Oh Tim. iii,
Is, 10.
as. blessed is that servant whom His
Lord, when He cometh, shall find so do
ing Blessed is the man who has learned
/ for himself to dwell continually in Jcru
salem and cat ut the Kings table III sam.
tx. 80. Even though he be lame on both
feet, happy and peaceful and satisfied
shall he be- He will he sure to he telling
others of the abundant and inVigorating
food which the King supplies day by day
without fail l.jor. lii, 30, 81 Ez vi, -,
and thus He shall minister meat in due
season to The glory of the King and the
joy of HIS people. | can testify that the
people are hungry for and receive grcedily
the food which the King provides without
any of the accompaniments "f the liXing-
| and devisingS Of man
| II. Verify | say unto you chat He shall
make him ruler over all His goods As
Elezer had control of all The goods of
Isaac which his father had given nntt
I him. that he might obtain II bride for Isaac,
so the Father, having given all things unto
I the Son, has sent the Spirit with fun con
troll over all to complete the bride of
Christ. and he who is filled with the Spirit
has control of all as the human instru
] ~ VIII l.
All are yours, and ye are Christ $, and
Christ is Gods" Il Cor. iii, %, 23).
AS. But and if that evil servant shall
say in his heart My Lord delayeth His
coming II not wise, with lamps filled
and brightly burning and vessels full also
and faithfully using the talents and the
pounds, occupying till He come, then il
looks as if we must be evil servants. II
not constantly expecting Him, but saying
or acting as if we said, He will not come
in my day, He cannot come for q long
time yet, such and such things must hap
pen before He can come, Is there not q dan
ger of being classed with the evil servants
40. And shall begin to smite his fellow
servants and to eat and drink with the
drunken" To eat and drink with the
drunken is suggestive of all those, pro
fessedly the Lords, who find their joy.
and satisfying portions with the people Of
the world, who are intoxicated with it,
pleasures and pursuits, its aims and am
billions, its fashions and follies. They may
be moral and temperate Ia the eyes of the
world-yes, even teetotalers, SO called
yet in the eyes of the Lord drunken anC
blinded with the transient vanities of this
present life.
80. Tho Lord of that servant shall com,
in day when he looketh not for Him ant
in an hour that he is not aware of" Let
all tremblc to say, Where is the promis,
of his comingY' Oh Peter iii, ~ lest sud
den destruction come, from which there
shall be no escape Il Thess V, -. Rather
let us SEQ to it that we SO abide in Hin
that when He shall appear we may hav,
confidence and not be ashamed before Hin
at His coming Il John ii, 2s)
81. And shall cut him asunder anC
appoint him his portion with the hypo
critics. There shall be weeping and gnash
ing of teeth" 1t is impossible for any o
Christ's sheep to be lost (John X, 27-29)
for any true servant of His to perish
Such may have their works burned M
and they themselves saved as by fire &