The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-12-09
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
DECEMBER 13.
Lesson Text: "Cautions Against In
temperance" Prov. kill, 1926
-Golden Text: Prov. kill,
21 - Commentary.

Is. "My son, II thine heart be wise, my
heart shall rejoice-eVen mine.", In listen.
Ing to this father entresting his son we must
think OF our Heavenly Father entreating His
children, for all the love Of parents to chill
dren Is but the f8intest shadow of the love
Of our Father in heaven. As physically, so
spiritually, the heart Is everything, and
without q healthy heart the body cannot
have perfect health, 30 without new heart
we cannot have spiritual health. Out OF the
heart are the Issues of life prov. w., 2S).
| Out Of the abundance Of the heart the mouth
speaketh (Msth. XII, 84). Out Of the heart
| proceed evil thoughts and all unoleanness,
for 1t Is desperately wicked CMath- xv., 19i
18. "Yea, my ycins shall rejoice, when thy
lips speak right thtngs." The substance Of
| our conversation indicates the condition OF
our heart, and II we thought Of this we might
be more careful Of our words. The Lord
| looks upon the heart, and not only 80, but
upon the Imagination OF the thoughts OF the
] heart q Sam. xvi. 7; I Chron. xviii, 81,
and perhaps this may help US to understand
'the VEINS" Parents may we'll rejoice in
their inmost being when their children speak
right things. .,
II. "Let not thine heart envy sinners,
but be thou In the fear of the Lord all the
day long" A new heart is heart in which
God dwells; 1t Is put In US by God Himself
that He alone may occupy 1t. It Is new
spring to our actions, words and thoughts,
new motive for everything, even God
working In us those things which are pleas.
Ing In His sight. Such heart will not envy
sinners, but will rejoice In the Lord Away,
and abiding In Bis love, satisfied with His
goodness, will fear to grieve Him lest II
lose this fellowship, which Is heaven Oh
earth.
1S. "For surely there Is an end, or reward
and thine expectation shall not be cut of. 1"
See this repeated In chapter XIV, "A, and
add Jer. XXX, II, 81 know the thoughts
think toward you," saith the Lord,
you an end and expectation" The expecta.
tion Of the return Of Christ, and the right
eousness that shall then BIZ seen, the wrongs
that shall be righted, and the glory that
shall be revealed, Is the most helpful truth
which as redeemed soul have ever saen.
Do not the words ''end," "reward," sex
peStsaton," all point et to it? ~ We'll has 1t been
purifeth himself even as He Is pure" q
John ill.,, 81.
19. "Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and
guide thine heart in the way" Our Lord
said, "Be wise as serpents and harmless as
doves" (Math. K, 16). And In Jas. ill.,, II,
we read Of the nature Of true wisdom, that
1t Is ''drst pure. then peaceable, gentle and
easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good
fruits, without partiality, and without hy-
pocrisy:" Surely this is none other than
Christ Himself, and as to the way, there ts
none but he. he Is wisdom, and he Is the
way, and Christ In US Is the hope Of glory,
the glory which rectiaes our Life here and
puriaes from all uncleanness.
20. "Be not among wine bibbers; among
rotous eaters Of flesh" This sort Of thing
belongs to the wisdom OF earth, which Is
sensual and devilish (Jas. ill.,, l5). The king
dom of God is not meat and drink, but
Ghost (Rom. xvi, 17). The word for the be-
lever Is 'Be not drunk with wine, but be
filled with the Spirit" (Eph. ", 18). Any
method Of reform short Of that which looks
to new heart, new fountain within, will
prove unavailing. The old nature Is incur
ably corrupt In the sight OF God (Rom. Will,
y, and though 1t may be made moral and
somewhat temperate, It never can enter the
kingdom. Only that which is born from
above can enter Gohn ILL.,, 8, margin).
81. "For the drunkard and the glutton
clothe q man with rags Whatever may
become Of the drunkard as to this life It Is
written that drunkards cannot inherit the
kingdom q Cor w., 10. AS to the glutton
he was, according to law, to be stoned with
stones Oeut. XXI, 40. 2D.
AZ. "Hearken unto thy father that begat
thee and desplse not thy mother when she Is
old" One would think such commands
wholly unnecessary II we did not know the
wickedness Of the human heart, but God,
who knows the heart. has written it. Let
each one ask himself. '.Am clean before
God in this natter" Then how much more
should we hearken to Him who has Of His
own will begotten us with the word Of truth
(Jas. l., 1S), who pitieth like father and
comforts as mother (Ps. GILL, 13; Iss. Xvi,
1S), who says, "Inollne your ear and come
unto Me, hear and your soul shall live" lisa.
2S. '"Buy the truth and sell it not; also
wisdom, instruction and understanding"
Omitting the word "also," which Is in italics,
we learn that the truth Is these three things,
or that Jesus Christ, who is the truth, is the
sum OF all wisdom and understanding. Isa.
w., /, says we con buy without money and
without price. We certainly cannot In any
sense give an equivalent for what we get as
we do In ordinary buying and selling, but
there Is q giving up or laying down Of our
own thoughts and opinions that He may be
our wisdom and our righteousness. clay
thou thy treasure In The dust and the al.
mighty shall be thy treasure" (Job XIII.
"a, 25, R. w.
"a. "The father OF the righteous shall
greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth wise
child shall have joy of him." Just as with
earthly parents somo children are great
Joy and some are great sorrow. so among
the children Of God some are Joy to Him
and others a grief. We lead Of some who
''rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit" CIsa.
kill, 10), and of some who must have the
flesh destroyed by satan that the spirit mny
be saved, and Of some whose works will be
burned up and they saved as by fire q Cor
", s; ILL.,. i5).
25. "Thy father and thy mother shall be
glad. and she that bare thee shall rejoice
Thus our lesson begins and ends with the
Joy Of parents in wise children. We turn to
Him OF whom the Father said, "Ths is My
Beloved Son in whom I am we'll pleased"
and who could truthfully say OF Himself,
II do always those things that please Him"
and VI whom 1t is written that He neve'
pleased Himself (AIath. ill.,, II; xvii, 5; John
Will, 2S; Rom. xy., 81, and we say, lord,
make me as far as possible such a child to
the Father as Thou vast" If he sees that
we mean it, He will take us In hand to sub
due the selt-life and make manifest In US his
own life, for He is able to subdue all things
unto Himself III Cor. w.. IL; Phil. ILL.,, 21).
We must be willing, and He will surely do
h.-Lesson Helper. 4