Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1895-10-03
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
INTERESTING AND INSTRUCTIVE
LESSON.
Reflections of an Elcvating Character
Wholesome Food for Thought
Studying the scriptural Lesson In
te1IixentIy and Probably.
Lesson for Oct. 8.


Golden Text-"The Lord raised up
judges, which delivered them. Judges
.: 10.
The subject matter Of the lesson this
week is found in Judges 2: 1-12, 16 Chas.
Yatman calls Judges ''the Acts of the Old
Testament" But il is in the main u
record of evil acts. We have named it in
our study Bible, the Book of Degeneracy
Its keythought, anarchy, its keyword
''forsook," its key object, broken altar,
and for its keytext II: q. Every man
did that which was right in his own eyes"
or, as getting at the real root of the mat
ter, the thirteenth verse in the midst Of
our lesson, "And they forsook the Lord
and served Baal and Ashtaroth." Josh
ua had told them at the end of his life
Josh. %: 16) what would be the conse-
quences of such conduct. The book of
Judges is but practical comment on the
text of his address.
"An angel of the Lord came up from
Gilgal to Bochim." Gilgal means tnrn-
ing, the place of covenant and consecra
ton with Israel. Josh. IA: 6. / Sam.
IL: 14.) Bochim means weeping. Would
that a good angel of "reminiscences or re-
Election, might come up from our Gilgal
of good resolution, alas, sadly disregard
ed, and bring MS to wholesome weeping.
.They forsook the Lord God of their
fathers" A godly ancestry was likewise
insufficient. Indeed no one is held long
or strongly to the Lord God of his faith
ers." TO each generation and to each in
dividual soul there must be a newly ap-
pretended and personal Lord God upon
whom the individual takes hold-or i
tl
this generation was that they
'knew not the Lord in individ-
ual surrender and trust. Presently. as
with every age and person, they We're
brought to know him in judgments.
Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges
which delivered (saved) them" Thank
God for the nevertheless" it is like
unto whatsoever in sweetness and sug-
gestion of mercy. 'Where sin abounded.
grace did much more abound" God
never forgets to be gracious. HE will
not always chide." but he is always ready
to save. He will not keep his anger for
ever but he will his love. for ''his mer-
cy endureth forever" Those judges or
saviors were i'm meagre outline, but an
ticipations of the Great Deliverer sent to
an ungodly world. that "whosoever be-
licveth on him should not perish but have
everlasting life" This is the burden of
Gods gracious nevertheless" And it
holds
Illustrations.
1t was a time of moral decadence, a
kind of religious 'let-down," such rs
comes to an individual or community that
forgcts OF declines to retain God in all
the thought. Says Geikie concerning the
days of'the Judges. weary with years of
struggle. satisfied with what they had
acquired: tempted to seek friendship with
the Canaantes by the similarity of Ian
guage, the opportunities of profit, the Sc
ductions of neighborhood. by their own
want of military science, and by the
weakness of tribal division; their warlike
feelings gave way 10 desire for ease
and quiet" 1t was the twin iniquity of
disloyalty toward God and friendship to-
ward the world, precisely the state of
things, a constant menace still, against
which Paul pronounces when he says,
''Be not conformed TO this world" (Rom,
II: y: or Peter when he exclaims I'll Peter
1: 13-15): Wherefore gird up the loins
Of your mind. be sober. and hope TO the
end for the grace that is to be brought
unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ:
as obedient children. not fashioning your
selves according to the former lusts in
your ignorance; but as he which hath
called you is holy SO be We holy in all man
ner Of conversation"
Lawlessness is abroad in the land.
There perhaps never was time when
there was so much disregard for whole
some statutes. We are in the' days of the
Judges. Family government is not what
il used TO be. How beautiful in the eyes
Of men and angels, the old-timc house
hold, where God was reverenced and
loved, where fathers word was respected.
where mother sat a queen at the hearth
stone, and happy but carefully-nurtured
children grew up to call the roof-tree
blessed. What can bring it back to us ?
Nothing short of disobedienee-the spirit
of implicit obedience to law. DIR. Charles
III. Parkhurst has recently been speaking.
in the Ladies' Home Journal. some sage
words on ''Compulsion in Child-Train-
ing" Says he: '"The ultimate worth of
a man is the keenness and vigor Of his
moral intuitions. II is at this point, then.
that disciplinary effort has first to be laid
out. Hence'my insistence upon obedience.
There is nothing generates moral fibre
like cordially doing as we are told. Chill
dren used to obey their parents. There is
as much family government at present rs
there used to be, only now il has changed
hands. 1t is far more important to train
chid's will than it is to train his mind.
He may alter his mind as he grows older,
but he will probably alter his will. Adult
anarchy is nursery lawlessness come TO
the full corn in the ear" Words of truth
and soberness-a warning to us all. Grid
ed loins-never were they more nee Ied
than to-day, and especially among the
young. A fixed purpose, mind made up
to serve and obey the Lord. Ii is abso-
lutely necessary in this disobedient and
naughty world, full of temptation to dis
loyalty. that one arm himself with n de-
termined mind Godward. BE willing to
be laughed at for the sake of il. Be able
TO stand the sneer. "Tied to his mothCr's
apron strings" Be out and out for God
and Gods truth. In a woodland let il
be our last word here-obey God!
Next Lesson-"The Triumph of Gid