The National tribune., 1896-01-30

| Verses 40, Al. PARABLE oil isoCk anu Sahu
| Verses 1919.
| Zone reading these notes should first carefully
Study the paragraph from the Holy Scriptures as
| indicated above.i
| /. MOTE AND BEAM.
| Data.
| st. Matt, 1875; St. Luke, Gal, %
| Time.
We date May (Pl, A. d. 27-second year of
Christ's ministry.
The Mount of the Beatitudes-in the vicinity
of Capernaum
Definitions.
]. Beholdest. We cannot avoid looking SO
| long as we have eyes. The text refers to look
which is sought prolonged, in some cases saucy.
| We may render, starest.
| 3 Mote mote" is a small. dry particle,
| as G. o. chat, a splinter fine spire of grass
or grain, the spicul9 or beard on the head of
barley or wheat, mere speck, spikelet a
elume, a silver. Figuratively it means little
| fault foible.
Men are often telescope as to their own
| faults aud microscopic AS to the mistakes of
| other persons. Christ meant to rebuke the
| tendency of men to be blind to their own errors
| and quick to notice the slips of their associates.
Olshausen says: ITO have beam in ones eye
| without observing it is certainly an image of
the widest self deluson."
B. Beam. beam " is a large square piece
of timber. joist. Figuratively it means a
| heinous ofiense.
4. Eye. This need not be taken literally.
1t means, probably, conduct, character, moral
habit.
| 5. Pull out the mote-cast out beam. mote
| is little defect in character-a beam is a great
moral deformity. Let me pull out the mote
allow me to point out to you your faulty con-
| duct. Cast out the beam-renounce and rid
yourself of your moral deilement Naturally
| we pull out silver and cast out beam.
6. Hypocrite. The original refers to stage
| actor, to one who assumes characters different
| from his own. So the word got the meaning
| of deceiver.
The Teaching of the Mote and Beam Parable.
There is something utterly inconsistent in
men setting themselves up as critics OF human
conduct Who is faultlcss9 Let him speak.
| Let him hurl stones. Some men attain such an
admitted superiority in morals that society
| would welcome from them suggestions and
| censures, but such men are too conscious of
| their own defects to be supercilious This
| parable is the arJumentum ad hominem. 1t was
intended to be personal. We cannot doubt
| that many saw the point, and possibly some
were led to reformation in manners, If not In
| principles. The parable is Of use through the
entire history of the Church. The beam eyed
| yet get after the mote-eyed. Men are yet in
consistent. Still, persons try to reform others
without setting the example of their own i'm
| provement. v
Suggestions.
l. In order to criticise another, one must be
himself free from all fault. Were this rule OBJ
served we would hear little complaint. st.
| Matt, % "a; st. Luke, 4 %; Ro., 2:2l.
2. A man, who is himself defective, and yet
;,.dn bo, blr IN
| OF another's foibes or faults, is hypocrte.
| His deceptivencss is shown thus. 1t is sup
| posed ono does not critcise in another what is
| offensive in himself. His assumption to re-
| prove is struggle to conceal his own impro-
prictes. The very effort he makes is hypo-
critical act.
3. When mans spiritual vision is clear
when he is free from fault-he may assume to
| direct, teach. and reprove others. A drunkard
| on the platform as q temperance lecturer,
| thief advocating the eighth commandment,
miser pleading for philanthropy are gross in
| constituencies Even when one is pure he should
| be coy of the rebukin spirit. Gal. 6: Il. After
getting beam out of ones eye he has skill
| and vision for removing a splinter from the
| eye of another person. Both those with beams
and notes will welcome one who seeks to
| move their defects. Having judged and con-
| victed ourselves we can have countenauce, and
| tolerance. too, in Judging and convictiDg
silly and outrageous for man to begin the cor
rection of evil in others, leaving himself de-
| fectve.
L. Reformation costs great effort pull out the
mote, cast ont the beam.
Origin ofthe Beam and Mote Parable
| 1t is said this was Jewish proverb. It is
| represented that this saying came down from
the times when the Jews were governed by the
| Judges. We learn the following from the Tai
| mud Some sutton was requesting the Judge
| to remove the small sticks notes from
| his eyes, so as to see the case more clearly;
| whereat the Judge retortcd, telling him 10 cast
| out the beam, or stick of timber. from his own
| eye. The same proyerb used by Rabbi
! Tarphon to show another thing. Said he:
wonder whether anyone lives in our age who
| will receive a slight correction; who If you re-
quest him TO clear the mote out OF his eve, will
not retort by asking you to pull out the beam
| from your own"
Illustrations
A lady, on one occasion, upon examining a
| room which had not long before been put in
order, com planned to the servant that it was
| dusty. The latter said, respectfully, The
| dust is your glasses, and, sure enough, when
| they had been removed and carefully wiped,
| the room put quite another aspect. How
very wide is the application that can be made
of such an anecdote, and yet it is really only
| an extract from the Sermon on the Mount
| We see in it our Lords words respecting the
mote and the beam. Objects change according
to the media through which they are examined,
| just as the chsmcle0n-and there are many
| men like them-takcs its hue from the tree it
| happens TO be on. The monster that we see in
| the moon is often but the fly upon the glass of
| the telescope. There is much wisdom in the
| exhortation to be slow to speak and slow to
| wrath.
A striking illustration Of the Saviors para
| BILE of the beam and the mote is found III the
| life of Joseph Bonaparte. While residing in
| Bordentown, N. j., he had poor fellow ar
rested convicted. and imprisoned for stealing
| from him six silver spoons, and yet he himself
| bad been a thief on grand scale, having, dur
ing his Spanish campaign, distracted the
| treasures of that country aud ri1ed its
churches.
PARABLE OF FIGS AND GRAPES.
Data
St: Matt. 7:l5-1s; 90, 81; -: aa; st. Luke,
6: 43 Al. '1
| A. d. q, May ~.
Place.
Mount of Beatitudes.l
| Definitions
| /. Beware. Lookout for. be cautious of, avoid,
be on guard against. 10: II; 1876. IL; st.
Mark, 12 49, st. Luke. IL: Is 20: 45-47; Acts,
10: 40; Phil, 3:2; Col, 2:s; Tim, 3: Isl