Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-12-10


scriptures-Time Well Spent.
Lesson for December ~.
Golden Text.--"For the drunkard and
the glutton shall come to poverty
Prov. %: 81.
Cautious Against Intemperance" u
the subject of this lesson; Prov. 70: To-
%. The evils of intemperance rs seen
by its results is one of the topics men
toned In the golden text. The lesson may
be taught simply as a temperance lesson
IL desired, or the teacher may give empha-
sis to the injunctions as to the obedience
to parents.
Explanatory.
! eff thine heart be wise:" the heart in
cludes the intellect and the will-"My
heart shall rejoice:" the parents heart.
MY reins shall rejoice:" stronger
expression than the preceding-a deeper
rejoicing.
LET not thine heart envy sinners:" one
of the most frequent sources of tempta-
ton, especially to the young, Is the ap-
parent prosperity of the wicked. The
only protection against this temptation
Is that indicated in the second half of the
verse, "be thou in the fear of the Lord
all the day long,"
"Surely there is an end:" rather, as In
revised version, ''there is a reward" The
righteousness and equity Of the coming
judgment is given as a reason for calm
ness on the part of the righteous.
"Guide thine heart in the way:",the
heart needs guiding, and only its owner
can guide it Alright, though he needs
help from above for that purpose. HUI
man responsibility for human destiny is
solemn thought, which Is frequently
emphasized in the Proverbs.
BE not among winebibbers:" by avoid
Ing the society of corrupt persons, a
young man may be sure of escaping their
communicating influence. 1t is true that
it is not always possible to avoid them
altogether. But usually one may ind
means to keep out of the way of evil men
If it is really desired.-"Riotous eaters
of flesh" literally of their own flesh;
perhaps the reference is rather to the in
temperate mans destruction of his own
physical force by his excesses, than to
the case of the glutton.
''The drunkard and the glutton shall
come to poverty" truth proved by al
most universal experience; as true to-day
as in ancient Israel. The drunkard loses
ambition and the ability to save money,
and poverty is the inevitable result
"Drowsiness shall clothe a man with
rags" laziness is not merely weakness,
but sin, as the book of Proverbs clear
ly teaches.
The son that supposes his father must
have forgotten all about young mems
needs and desires because of his greater
age shows a peculiar sort of folly that
the writer's of Proverbs are never tired
of ridiculing. 1t is the supreme folly of
human life, next to the folly of despising
God.
BUY the truth and sell 1t not:" truth
and wisdom all through the book are rath-
er the practical qualities that show them
selves in good conduct than theoretical
understanding of science or theology.
"The father of the righteous shall
greatly rejoice:" it was the greatest
blessing of the Hebrew father to have
God-fearing children; this was esteemed
more highly than worldly prosperity. One
would not think this can be true to-day
by the relative attention paid to business
and to home-training.
Teaching Hints.
The warning against intemperance and
other sins in this lesson is based on their
sad results, that being the argument that
is more likely to appeal to those in dan
ger than any other. Poverty and physical
deterioration are the results which inev-
itably follow Incorporate habits, if per-
sisted in. The danger in teaching such
lesson is that it be made so general that
1t may fail to impress the class. 1t is
necessary to illustrate by actual examples
from the teachers experience, still better
from cases with which both teacher and
class are familiar. 1t will do little good
to tell stories drawn from fiction or from
Sunday school papers; hence we do not
include any such stories here. The teach.
er will undoubtedly know of men whose
lives have been wrecked by intemperance.
Such actual occurrences may be brought
home to the class with real power when
n story-book example would fall fat. or
course the teacher will use such discre-
ton in speaking Of persons known TO the
class as to avoid wounding the feelings
OF their inocent families. 1t Is not nee
essary to be brutal in order to be specific
Next Lesson-"The Birth of Cbr;ytn
Matt. 2: lip.