The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-07-24
Sunday School LESSON for July 25
Paul Preaching i'm Athens.
BY j. e. GILBERT, D. D., ILL. D.,
Secretary of American Society OF Religious Education
Acts XVII, 22-34.

WORSHIP.-The apostle next present.
ed the proper motive and method Of the
worship which ought to be offered to this
exalted Being, who had made all things,
who governs all things. The pagans sup
posed that their gods had needs which
might be supplied by men and in supply
ing which favor might be obtained. They
brought costly offerings of food and
drink for the gods to consume. This idea
of the dependence of god on men, the re-
Versal of the truth, Paul diSc.aims ana
disproves. psalm 1, 9-l0). The God whom
he proc'aimed cannot be worshipped with
mems hhndS theS Is, by their gifts
(verse 25) on the contrary, He is the
giver of life and breath and all things,
Uames i, 10 Worship must not be a
barter, a purchase of a blessing. 1t must
rather be a grateful homage on the one
side, and a free, unmerited bestowal on
the other The absolute, infinite, all
sufficient and self contained God, the
God of the Jew and of the Christian, is
thus set forth.
OFFSPRING.-StiIl further to enlarge
the conceptions of God the address pro-
ceeds to show how men are related to
Him. (Verses 26, q and 2S.) The Atheni-
ans claimed to be aboriginal, to have
sprung from the earth, and they regarded
the rest of mankind as inferior. Paul de-
clares that God had made all men of one
blood, and therefore they constituted one
family, a doctrine imbedded in the whole
Scripture(Gen. ii, ID; that this world
wide family had been divided by the
Maker into nations, with appointed boun-
daries Gen. XII, s.; that II was His will
that all the nations, wherever they might
be, should seek after Him and find Him,
thus producing a universal system Of
worship (Rom. /, 20); that to assist such
a Va IN
individual; that, in fact, the very life of
men is constantly derived from Him, 60
that without Him they could have no be-
ing (Col. 1, ID; that, in short, men are
not the product of nature, but the OFF,
spring. the children of God, bearing His
image (Gen. l, 26), entitled TO communion
with Him. q John, 1, 81
IDOLATRY.-In support of the last
thought, that men are the offspring of
God, Paul quoted from the Grecian poets.
The reference is probably to Aratus, a
native of Cilicia, PauPs native province.
(Acts xxi, S9) Cleanthes, who lived about
800 b. c., uses very nearly the same Ian
guage. Plato, in the same spirit, de-
clares that God is the "the father Of noble
children" and Piutarch that the soul is
not only made by Him but begotten by
Him." which is very near the Scripture
view. (Matt. vi. 81 Relying upon such
authority, which his audience ought TO
respect, the apostle calls attention to the
folly of idolatry. He does so, however,
in the gent!est manner. 1--WE ought not
to think" he says, CHASING himself with
! the philosophers, that the Godhead is
hike unto gold or silver, or stone" Ger
tainly not He would rather be like man
IL men are his offspring. Verse 29) Be-
meath his words or between the lines is
an unuttered suggestio of the Goldman.
II anywhere He is to be seen he might be
| expected I'm human form rather than I'm
"a craven image. isaiah XVI, $50