Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1895-04-20
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON III, SECOND QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, APRIL 81.

DRY Verses. &4-46-Golden Text, Mark
xiii. s3-commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
Stearns.
AZ. "Watch, therefore, for ye 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 the
temple, the record of which, with the
events of the week. occupies nearly a 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 amazement, He told them that the
whole thing was to be thrown down.
They then inquired somewhat confusedly
as TO when this should be and what would
be the sign of His coming and of the end
Of the age. In Mark Kill, 8, 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 at His
coming, all will be quite plain. The Old
Testament everywhere teaches that He
will come to build up, not destroy, Jeru
salem, as in Ps. Gil, 10; lisa. XIV. 8, 10; lxii
IL; Zech. xiv, 0, 4, 8, 0, SO that we must
never confound the Lords coming with
the destruction of Jerusalem, but always
associate It with the rebuilding of Zion.
AZ. "But know this-that IL the good
man OF the house had known In 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 the Lord is associated with
vengeance upon His enemies, and the ro-
deInption of His people Israel, as in lisa.
xxxiv, s; xxxv, 1; xiii, 4, and Ho will come
upon those enemies as thief, suddenly
and unexpectedly, for their destruction
II Thess. i, 7-9), but children of light
will not be thus overtaken, 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 (Rev. v, 8, 10; Thess. v, 4-6).
Al. Therefore be We also ready, for in
such an hour as ye think not the Son Of
Man cometh" We only wait for the COM
pletion of the elect body, the church. be-
fore that body shall meet Him in the air
Il Thess iv, 1919, and inasmuch as He
only knows when the last member of that
body shall be gathered we keep on bearing
testimony, expecting any hour to be gone
to meet our Lord, 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 season." The virgins of the next chap
ter tell us how to be wise, and the parable
of the talents teaches us how to be faith
full. Results and success He will see To.
Wise and faithful is our part The only
good and nourishing meat and bread for
the household is found only in the kings
larder, the ''all Scripture" which is all
sufficient for all His people Oh Tim. i'll,
10, 10
46. 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 Jeru
salem and eat at the Kings table III Sam.
TX, 13). Even though he be lame on both
feet, happy and peaceful and satisfied
shall he be. He will be sure to be telling
others of the abundant and invigorating
food which the King supplies day by day
without fail (Jer. lii, 88, "a; Ez. vi, 81,
and thus He shall minister meat in due
season to the glory of the King and tho
Joy of His people. / can testify that the
people are hungry for and receive greedily
the food which the King provides without
any of the accomplishments of the fxings
and devisings of man.
AZ. Verify / say unto you that He shall
make him ruler over all His goods. AS
Eliezer had control of all the goods Of
Isaac which his father had given unto
him, that he might obtain bride for Isaac,
so the Father, having given all things unto
the Son, has sent the Spirit with full 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-
ment through whom the Spirit works
'All are yours, and ye are Christ's, and
Christ is Gods q Cor. iii, %. 28)
4S. But and If that evil servant shall
say in his heart, My Lord delayeth His
coming" If 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 it
looks as If we must be evil servants. IL
not constantly expecting Him, but saying
or acting as IL we said, Ho will not come
In my day, He cannot come for long
time yet, such and such things must hap
pen before He can come, is there not dan
ger of being classed with the evil servantsi
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 joys
and satisfying portions with the people Of
the world, who are intoxicated with its
pleasures and pursuits its aims and am
billions, its fashions and follies They may
be moral and temperate In the eyes of the
world--yes, even teetotalers, so called
yet in the eyes Of the Lord drunken and
blinded with the transient vanities of this
present life.
90. THE Lord Of that servant shall come
in day when he looketh not for Him and
In an hour that he is not aware Of Let
all tremble to say, Where is the promise
of his comingi" (II Peter iii, y lest sud-
den destruction come. from which there
shall be no escape q Thess. V, 81. Rather
let us see to it that we SO abide In Him
that when He shall appear we may have
confidence and not be ashamed before Him
at His coming q John Ii, 2S)
81. And shall cut him asunder and
appoint him his portion with the hypo-
critics. There shall be weeping and gnash-
ing Of teeth" Ii is impossible for any OF
Christ's sheep to be lost John K, 27-29),
for any true servant OF His to perish
Such may have their works burned up
and they themselves saved as by fire Il
Cor. iii, IL, 15) Bnt there are many both
In the pulpit and in the pows who, being
hypocrites, shall have to share the hypo-
critics portion. The lord only knows who
they are 1t Is not for us 70 isldre ~,