Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1898-01-19
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON w. JAN. %, MATTHEW
5: 1-12.
Golden Text: We Are the Light of the
World.-Matt. 5:14-The Beatitudes
Some Explain .ory Remarks on the
Lesson.

The section includes the Beatitudes,
which are practically the text, and such
applications and illustrations as are CIV
en- in the rest of the chapter. Commit to
memory verses to TO-
suggestions to Teachers.-Although this
lesson follows in Matthew close upon the
general view Of Jesus Galilean ministry
In our last lesson, yet we know from the
other gospels that quite a number of
events took place in the meantime. sew
eral of which are recorded in Matt. 8-12.
They are particular examples of the
work described in last weeks lesson.
Now we come to a new and marked epoch
In the ministry of Jesus, and we should
note its place in his life and'work. Take
also the wider view of the lesson, that
includes in some degree the whole chap
ter. The Beautitudes are, as it were, the
text of the Sermon on the Mount. AS
we study each one, we can turn to the
applications and examples given in the
other verses. DR.. Shedd tells preachers
Ito study daily, nightly. and everlasting
y the best authors" The advice is good
1t is good for teachers. There is nothing
better to study in this way than the Ser
mon on the Mount. The application of
Its truths to modern life. our own and
that OF our scholars, will both impress it
on the memory and make it's truths shine
with new and heavenly light Place in
the Life of Christ.-Toward the middle
of his ministry; after he had gained con-
siderable following and proved by word
and deed his rightful authority as a
teacher. 1t was the middle of the second
year, the Year of Development. and
marked New Epoch. Historical Set
ng.-Time.-Summer of A. d. %.
Explanatory.-A Night of Prayer
From Luke 6: u, we learn that the new
epoch in the development of Christ's
kingdom was preceded and ushered in by
night of special prayer Although to
Jesus prayer was daily bread, vital air,
the gate of heaven, yet there were times
when battles were to be fought, great
questions to be settled. guidance given.
power to be received, when eternal issues
depended on the decisions of the hour;
at these times Jesus would be long time
alone with his Father, in deepest COM
munion and earnest prayer. duke 3:
Fl, %; Mark 1: $50. The Selection of
Twelve Apostles, for instruction and
training for the great work of building
up his kingdom.-Luke 6: 1915. For the
names of the apostles. and their charac-
teristics. see Lesson VIII. on Matt 10.
Fundamental Principles of the Kingdom
of Heaven.-The inhabitants of heaven
live according to these principles as nat
urally as they breathe; and when all the
people of earth do the same, heaven will
have come down from God. prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband" Note
that this sermon does not comprise the
whole teaching of Christ. nor present the
way by which this glorious state can be
attained. But much of what follows in
the gospels of practical morals Is an un.
folding exemplifying and illustrating the
principles unfolded in this inaugural adj
dress. A chart of life. as charts show
sailors where to go and what to avoid.
The keynote of this discourse is found In
Matt. 8: As. "Be we therefore perfect ev-
en- as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect Christ's Biography. - 1.-THE
Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount
are Christ's biography. Every syllable
he had already written down in deeds.
He has only to translate his life into
language. Burnet Wright. d. d.
The Revolution.-'The social, industrial.
political and religious conditions of the
Jewish people were fast becoming in
tolerable." "O The revolution came
soon. The destruction of Jerusalem was
in A. d. TO- 1t failed utterly and hope
lessy. 1t caused a ruin worse than the
cancer it tried to cure. 1t effaced the ma
tional life. (2) This revolution which
failed-failed utterly and hopelessly-fol
lowed a course accurately the opposite
in every respect to the course prescribed
by Jesus Christ."-W. B. Wright. The
Beatitudes.-Ns. 1-9. First The Beat-
tudes are the text of the Sermon on the
Mount Illustration. They are to the
whole sermon what the Salon Care is to
the whole Louvre of Paris: small room.
containing the choicest pictures. the gems
of art. Second, Here is found the only
true method by which the needed moral
revolution can be realized. What men
needed first was a change. not in their
circumstances. but in themselves. Bles-
sedness. Jesus affirmed. comes not from
outward conditions, but from inward
states. 1t consists not IN positions, but
in dispositions" Reformers try In vain
ito construct stable and happy COM
munity from persons who are selfish
weak and miserable. Their first cry is:
Get your circumstances changed
Christ's first call was: Get yourselves
changed. and the things that stand
around you will be changed When the
torch is lighted. every dark crystal in
the cavern will sparkle. w. B. Wright.