Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1896-04-07

| >A4gTy lgyy-vwyS chapter and also the
| .M4Es1 MI passages referred to
| WkkeU A3SsA under Light from
| ~ TNsNM Other Scriptures"
| S7zSS--AAys so to gain and
v7GH s 81: N: vS ss;s ,s 10;
| produce by reiterat-
ing the one truth in many ways, and
| from many sources. When one wishes to
| break stone he strikes many successive
| blows upon the same spot When a bat
| terry would break down a city wall, shot
| after shot is fired against the same place.
| me truth of this lesson should make a
| deep impression on the minds of the
young. should help them to come to q
! determination to seek the kingdom of God
| now.
Time.-December, A. D. 90 Place.
| somewhere in Perea. Jesus.-Thirty-
| three years DID, a little more than three
months before his cruciixion.
The full text of to-day's lesson is as fol-
| lows:
%. And he went through the cities and
! villages, teaching, and journeying toward
| Jerusalem.
70. Then said one unto him. Lord, are
| there few that be saved? And he said
| unto them,
"A. Strive to enter in at the strait gate:
| Tor many, ] say unto you, will seek to
| enter In, and shall not be able
70. When once the master of the house
Is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and
| We begin to stand without and to knock
at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto
| us: and he shall answer and say unto you,
| L know you not whence we are:
| 26. Then shall we begin to say, We have
eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou
hast taught them in our streets
| q. But he shall say, tell you, know
you not whence we are; depart from me.
| all we workers of iniquity.
Is. There shall be weeping and gnash-
| ing of teeth, when We shall see Abraham
| ana Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets,
In the kingdom of God, and you yourselves
| thrust out.
| ~. And they shall come from the east,
| and from the west, and from the north,
and from the south, and shall sit down in
| the kingdom of God.
so. And, behold, there are last which
shall be first; and there are first which
| Shall be last.
Some explanations to most ambiguous
| passages are as follows:
%. Lord, are there few that be saved?
| Literally, that are being saved" from
| sin and everlasting death. 1t does not
| seem to me that this question was asked
| out of idle curiosity, Of which there is no
| hint; but that it came from an earnest
| soul in view of what he had observed, and
| heard, and felt. AS a Jew, he had been
taught that only the few were saved, for
few became Jews where alone salvation
| could be found. In the second book OF
Esdras of the Apocrypha, which belongs
between the Old Testament and the New,
| and with which he doubtless was familiar,
| this question is discussed, and 1t is as
| sumed that few only will be saved. Tho
most high hath made this world for many,
| but the world to come Tor few" 8:D.
| There are many more of them which
perish than of them which shall be saved;
like as wave is greater than a drop
Co.: 10, 10.
! "a Strive to enter in at the strait gate,
| or narrow door of palace or a city.
From the eastern custom of receiving
| petitions at the gate, the gates of the
| king became phrase, as we now say The
| Sublime Porte, for the Turkish govern
| ment and is used of the Persian court"
| Scott and Liddeli. The picture is Of
the gate of the city or palace of God. the
| kingdom of God, and hence the gate to
| eternal life. On the other hand, there is
| given in Matthew the picture of another
| city, the city OF destruction, with it's wide
gate. and broad avenue leading thereto.
26 We have eaten and drunk in thy
| presence. They had been guests with him,
| when there was 1.-The feast of reason and
the flow of soul" They had been his COM
| panions, tn ough not intimate, for they had
listened respectfully while he taught in
! their streets, and knew about the gospel
| and their duty.
! a. And yet he shall say, tell you, I
| know you not whence We are. do not
| recognize you as my disciples, or as chill
dren of God. i see into your hearts and
| know that you have not the heavenly
| spirit, the life and spirit of God. You do
not belong TO that kingdom. for you are
workers of iniquity. Depart from me, fol
you do not belong with me. Go to your
| own place.
| tba IF mi ~
are, shall be weeping and gnashing OF
| teeth, ''signs respectively of anguish and
| Notwithstanding Bible. while most Of
| the descriptions of this awful future state
| are tlgurative, all the figures point to o
| reality which is beyond description Since
the merciful Savior teaches most about
this matter, we are not mercifui If We
| omit it."-Revision Com. When we shall
| see Abraham, etc, their ancestors whom
they refused to initiate, and yet expected
| to be with them in glory, because they
were their children duke ~ So the
| rich man in the parable, being In tor.
ments, saw Lazarus in ADraham's bosom
duke 16: 19-3D.
80. And, behold, implying, strange as II
may SEEM" there are last which shall be
first, etc. ''rhese words are said by the
Lord on at least three different occasions
(here and in Matt. 10: 80; and 20: 49,
badler. Some who were first called shall
| be last in power and usefulness in the
kingdom, as was true among the apostles
and still more true Of the Jews and the
Gentiles. Some who were first in privi
leges opportunities, blessings, shall be last
in the good that should result from them
There are first in zeal who grow cold
while others increase from small begin
nings to burning and shining lights. There
are children OF drunkards that go ahead
Of some of the children Of the best pa
| rents.
The lesson is that no one can depend on
his parentage, education, wealth. rank. or
talent, without choosing and willing that
which is good; and on the other hand those
who have been most unfortunate in early
surroundings and influences can rise and