El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-13
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON VII, FOURTH QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, NOV. "a.

Text of the Lesson, Acts xviii, 17-31-Mem-
ory Verses, 80, 81 - Golden Text, ROM
i, 10 Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
Stearns.
II. "After three days Paul called the
chief of the Jews together The express
sion ''three days. is SO suggestive of resur-
rection that one cannot fail to think of it
who has anything of the spirit of Paul,
who had as one of his heart utterances
"That may know Him and the power OF
His resurrection (Phil. iii, 1O). At his
conversion he was three days without
sight, and then Ananias came to him, sent
of God. Probably he gave himself to prayer
these three days in Rome that he might be
fully in the Lord s hands as His messenger
to accomplish His pleasure, and now the
principal Jews of the city have come to-.
gether to hear what he has to say.
IS. 'There was no cause of death In
me-" Yet here he is in Rome prisoner
by the will of God. So there was no cause
in Christ why He should be hated (John
XIV, 25) or crucified, yet by the will of God
He suffered the just for the unjust. To be-
willing to endure hardship for the good of
others is Christlike, for He loved us and
gave Himself for us, leaving His home in
glory for over 33 years and suffering all
the humiliation consequent upon His being
the sinners substitute, that we who accept
Him might not only be saved, but share
His glory.
10. "Not that had aught to accuse my
nation Of Although it was through his
own people that he was now a prisoner,
yet he would not accuse them, but rather
see the hand of God in it all and continue
to love and pray for his poor, blinded peo-
pie See his heart for them in Rom. TX,
3, and x, l, Il could wish that myself
We're accursed from Christ for my breth-
rem Brethren, my hearts desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might
be saved And it was his custom always
as here in Rome to seek the Jews first.
90. "For the hope of Israel am bound
with this chain" By comparing chapters
xiii, 6; xiv, Is; XVI, 6, z, it is evident
that the hope which Paul meant was asso-
ciated with resurrection, the resurrection
of Christ and then of His people. The
resurrection spoken of in Dan. xii, 1-3, and
in Hos. vi 3, and elsewhere-very fully in
Eek. xxxvii, where 1t is said that they
shall be one nation in their own land under
one king, never to be divided or scattered
any more
81, 20. Gas concerning this sect we
know that everywhere it is spoken
against" They had heard nothing evil OF
Paul, but they had heard the followers of
this Jesus Christ spoken against. Simeon
said to His mother that He would be for
sign spoken against duke ii, 34), and it is
written, ''A1l that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution Oh Tim.
iii, 12). The carnal mind is enmity against
God and the wisdom of this world knows
not God.
90. "He expounded and testified the
kingdom of God persuading them con-
corning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses
and out of the prophets from morning till
evening"" Having appointed him day,
they came to him to his lodging, and thus
he talked to them. The beginning, mid
die and end of his talk was Jesus and His
resurrection, looking to the kingdom yet
to be established with Israel as a righteous
nation at the center, Jesus, the Son Ut
David, as their King, and all nations
blessed through them, their King acknowl-
edged by all as King of kings and Lord
of lords.
"a. "And some believed the things
which were spoken and some believed
not So it has been and will always be
in this age. Paul never expected that all
would believe him, but he labored that he
might by all means save some (Rom. XII,
IA; Cor. tx, 22). Our Lord taught rs
that some seed will fall by the wayside,
some on stony SOIL some among thorns
and some ON good ground; that the tares
will grow with the wheat until the harvest
and that the kingdom will come at harvest:
time.
25-27. "And when they agreed not
among themselves they departed after that
Paul had spoken one word" That one
word was quotation from Isa vi, 9, 10,
and is also found in Math. xiii, IA, 10;
John xii, 40; Rom. XII, s. Isaiah having
seen His glory and having heard the ques-
ton, ':Whom shall send and who will go
for us?' replied, "Here am ], send me-"
Then he was told that the people to whom
he was sent would not all receive his mes.
,ioh md Il io1x oil co told
the same thing (the record is in Jer. i,
and in Eek. ii and ill., 1t is the one
business of the Lord s messenger to deliver
the Lords message faithfully, diminishing
not word, and trust the Lord to see to
the results See Hag. i, 10; Jer. xiii, 20;
XVI, 2. We are not to think out the mes
sage any more than the prophets did or
our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Both He
and they spake only the words commanded
them by God (John xii, 40; Jer. i, e, z;
Ex. iv. 12), and we must not think to DO
otherwise.
80, 90. To the jew first was his way al
ways; then, when rejected by them, turn
to the gentiles, sure that somehow the
Lord shall see of the travail of His soul
and shall be satisfied. Since He shall not
fail nor be discouraged Elsa. xiii, A, there
is no room for any servant of His ever to
be discouraged. We must remember His
word to Moses and to Joshua to put off
their shoes, which, If understand 1t, Sig
nif1ed that the work was the Lords and
not theirs.
80. "And Paul tiwelt two whole years in
his own hired house and received all that
came in unto him. During that time he
proDa bly, wr,te the epiSties to the Ephe-
slams, the Philippians, the Colossians and
some Others. When people came to him,
he would be ever ready to welcome them
and talk with them of Him of whom his
heart was so full.
81. preaching the kingdom of God and
teaching those things which concern the
Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no
man forbidding him. Thus this book of
the Acts begins and ends with the king
dom, for we read in chapter i, 8, that dur
ing the 40 days between the resurrection
and ascension our Lord, when He appeared
from time to time, spoke of the things per-
tanning to the kingdom of God. The time
will come when the Kingdoms of this world
shall have become the kingdom of our
Lord and of His Christ when all kings