The true northerner., 1898-05-04

1 -SSoN VI. SECOND QUARTER. INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES. MAY 8.

Text of the Lesson, Math. xii. i-i4-nIem-
ory Verses. 2.4-Goiden Text. Luke xiv.
IL Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
stearns.
ICopyright. 1898 by ID. NJ stearns.l
l, 9. And Jesus answered and spake
unto them again by parallels, and said,
The kingdom OF heaven Is like unto GER
hahn king which made marriage for his
son." When the kingdom shall have como
for W hich our Lord taught us to pray. the
will of God shall be done OH earth as In
heaven. But while this IL sure, according
20 Rev. xi, lo; | Cor XIV. "a, 20, ana
other assurances, there are many seeming
delays, and there shall be until the time
when He who has tho title deeds shall ex-
claim, "There shall De delay no longer
(Rev. x, 8, X. W. The preparations for
that glorious consumlnation and the many
events leading up b IL are SO one with IL
that they seem to he spoken Of as a part of
it. The Bible story beg ms with marriage
I'm Eden, and enGs with the marriage OF
the Lamb (Rev xix, oi which many mar
riage stories like those of Isaac and Re-
bekah, Joseph and Asenath, Moses and
Zipporah, Boaz aud Ruth, are very sug-
gestive
3. "And sent forth his servants to call
them that were hidden to the wedding,
and they would not come" Not only will
there be the bridegroom and the bride,
essential TO any wedding, but there will
be those who are called THE virgins her
companions" (Ps xiv. IA; perhaps the
wise virgins of Math. XIV, Then there
l~o. sobt fNr
their lord when he returns from the we'd
ding (Luke xii, 36), and we read In Rev.
xix, g. blessed are they which are called
to the marriage supper of the Lamb. All
will be there either as bride or guests who
are redeemed by His blood up To that time.
4. Again, he sent forth other servants,
saying, Tell them which are hidden, Be-
hold have prepared my dinner. My oxen
and my fatlings are killed, and all things
are ready. Come unto the marriage.
Not until we shall see the fullness and
magniiicence of all that is here signified
when we shall be at the real marriage,
can we begin TO imagine what is included
in these preparations But we can get
some faint idea if we will persistsntly and
prayerfully ponder this great fact, that God
SO loved that He gave His Son, and that
Him freely give all things John ill., l6;
Rom viii, 32) These servants may in
clude the seventy and the apostles, but the
messengers are not so important as their
message: "All things are ready. Comet
B. "But they made light of 1t and went
their ways, one to his farm, another TO his
merchandise | am writing these notes
in the harbor of Colombo, Ceylon, in the
last week of my three weeks trip from
Shanghai TO Calcutta, and l have never
been more impressed than l have these
weeks at sea, with the awful truth that
they all make light Of it, Meeting com
panies Of those who love the book from
day to day every day of my life when at
home, il is something new TO be asked TO
live for weeks with men and women who
roam the world over, but care not for Him
or HI q affairs whose their breath Is.
g. "And the remnant took His servants
and entreated them spitefully and slew
them. II those who make light of these
things are allowed to go on their way, the
way of self and death, they may not show
the reality of the oarnal mind that is in
them, but If the invitation is pressed upon
them, the spirit of hatred, which Is muir
der, may become very manifest.
z. But when the king heard thereof he
was wrath, and he sent forth his armies
and destroyed those murderers and burned
mp their city" Because there Is wrath
beware lest He take thee away with His
stroke; then great ransom cannot deliver
thee (Job xxxiv, lS).
=. "Then saith He to His servants, The
wedding Is ready, but they which were
hidden were not worthy" He might have
said that they did not consider His invita-
tion worthy of acceptance, but He seems
TO pass by their treatment Of Him and
speaks only of their treatment of them
selves. 1t may be like Paul's saying to
the people of Antioch, "Ye put the word
of God from you and Judge yourselves un
worthy of everlasting lie (Aots xiii. 46).
o, 10 go ye, thoIeiore, into the high
ways, and as many as ye shall find bid to
the marriage. So those servants went,
and the wedding was furnished with
guests. Our present commission Is TO
go everywhere with the invitation that the
time OF tho marriage may come.
IL. And when the king came in to sea
the guests he saw there a man which had
not on wedding garment. There is one,
and only one, who will judge every one
and everything (Acts xvii, 81. His eyes
are as flame of fire, and nothing can
escape Him or them. 1t Is a small matter
comparatively what people think of us
Christ Is the Judge, not they. He has, by
being made sin for us, provided perfect
righteousness which He gives freely to any
one who will truly accept Him (II Cor. v.
2D 1t is illustrated in the GOATS of skins
provided for Adam and Eve (Gen. ill., 81,
and plainly stated by the believer in Isa
Xxi, 10.
~. And He saith unto him, Friend,
how camest thou in hither not having a
wedding garment And he was speechless. "
AS the thief Is ashamed when he is found
der Ii, 26), so sinners shall be ashamed
and oonfounded when brought before His
eyes of fire, and / John H. %, indicates
possibility of believers being in some sense
and measure ashamed also.
13. "Then said the king to the servants,
Bind him hand and foot and take him
away and cast him into outer darkness.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth" Only in seven places do we find
this expression indicating great torment.
The other places are Math. viii, 1e xiii.
AZ, 90; xiv, 81 XIV, 30, and Luke Kill,
28. In each case they are from His lips
xuh0 ho Yna Of ha lova ~