El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-08

ory Verses, 4-11-Golden Text, Heb. Ii.
1s - Commentary by the Rev. ID. M.
Stearns.
1. "Then was Jesus led up Of the Spirit
into the wilderness, to be tempted of the
devil" From the beginning to the end
He was under the guidance and control OF
the Holy Spirit most fully. The Father
having testified to the fact that He was
His beloved, we'll pleasing Son, the Spirit
now leads Him into this great conflict
with the devil, at the very beginning OF
His public work, that He may meet the
adversary face to face and overcome him.
And now, in that He Himself hath SUI
fered, being tempted, He is able to succor
them that are tempted (Hcb. II, 18). He
had been subject for 80 years to all the
temptations of an ordinary human life,
but this Is something special, and, as Dr.
Weston says, has to do with Him as Son
Of MAN." Son of God and the Messiah.
8. "And when He had tasted 40 days
and 40 nights, He was afterward an hun
gered" Luke ~, Q, says, "In those days
He did eat nothing" This was not a new
thing ON the earth, for Moses passed
through 1t twice and Elijah once (Deut.
TX, Q, ID; Kings XIX, 81. On the Mount
Of TRANSPORTATION we find the three who
tasted 40 days. There must be some won
drous Significance connected with 1t which
we have not yet had revealed to us. In
Mark II, 10, we read Of another occasion
ON which He was hungry, and one OF His
last utterances on the Cross was, II thirst"
(John xix, 2s), but what an awful thirst
that must have beenl
g. "And when the tempter came to Him
he said, II thou be the Son Of God, COM
mand that these stones be made bread.
God had testified, "This is My Beloved
O. - H,,,x <ha f, Hfo
face, with this "f." As in the garden Of
Eden he questions the word of God with
his "Yea, hath God said'' (Gen. iii, ~, and
has ever since been doing the same thing,
90 he does not hesitate to face the Son of
God Himself with his devilish doubts.
Think 1t not strange, then, II he oft ap-
proaches you in this way, but receive not
his doubts; 1t Is better not to listen to him
1. but He answered and said, It Is
written, man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of
the mouth Of God" Not the qualification
Of our desires, but the will Of God, Is the
great thing. Just as in our words we
show our loved ones our hearts, SO God In
His word has given US His heart for us,
and God is love. Shall we be satisfied with
His heart and His way and thus live on
His word, or shall we Insist on having all
things minister to our comfort at all costsf
s. "Then the devil taketh Him up into
the Holy City and setteth Him on a pin
nacle of the temple" Up to Jerusalem,
the city Of the great king (chapter v, 85).
Do not stop to ask how, but simply believe
and consider the temptation and the VIC
tory and ask the Spirit to apply it to your
own soul The wilderness, and the hun
ger, and the stones suggest the hard and
lonely and commonplace things in daily
life, but the Holy City, the temple and a
pinnacle thereof suggest holy things and
the heights thereof not so common, but
far more dangerous ground because moro
holy.
g. "And saith unto Him, If Thou be the
Son of God, cast Thyself down, for it is
written, He shall give His angels charge
concerning Thee and In their hands they
shall bear thee up, lest at any time Thou
dash Thy foot against a stone" The devil
can quote Scripture and sometimes quite
freely and at great length, but never to
glorify God nor to help a soul to know
Him. He always perverts it with the pur-
pose Of working ruin. The man who
thinks that because he Is a child Of God
and controlled by the Spirit therefore
he cannot sin, nor even make a mistake
is on a pinnacle Of the temple listening to
the devil. He would do well to consider
these words, "n man think himself to
be something when he Is nothing, he de-
ceiveth himself ''f any man think that
nc AnOWotn ne kuOWe6u uO1n-
ing yet as he ought to know" (Gal. vi, s.;
Cor. viii, q.
2. "Jesus said unto him, It is written
again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God" Scripture never contradicts Scrip
ture, but explains 1t and instructs us how
to avert its abuse. Jesus quoted 1t from
the heart to the glory Of God, believing
every word, but the devil uses it only
wickedly. We may be said to tempt God
His help, or in any way claim His prom
Uses for selfish er,ls. Our Lord lived that
the Father might be glorified, and taught
us that when We are willing to live thus
we can ask what we will and receive it.
8. "Again the devil taketh Him up into
an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth
Him all the kingdoms of the world, and
the glory of them" The first temptation
was to satisfy His physical need, to satisfy
Himself, on the ground that He was en-
titled to it; the second was to show Him
self and what a great one He was; the
third was to accept the world without the
way Of the cross. The prince of this world
offers it simply on condition that it be &C
cepted as from him and that he be thanked
for 1t.
9. "And saith unto Him, All these
things will 1 give Thee If Thou wilt fall
down and worship me-" The time will
sin, the beast of Rev. xiii, will accept this
offer Of satan and for a brief period will
do wondrously, but, oh, how brief his do
minion, how fearful his fall and how aw-
full his eternal doom, the lake Of fire and
birthstone foreverl Grew. xix, 2O)
10. "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get
thee hence, satan, for it is written, Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him
only shalt thou serve" "True worshipers
worship the Father IN spirit and in truth,
for the Father seeketh such to worship
Him. God is a Spirit, and they that wor-
ship Him must worship Him in spirit and
in truth" (John Nv, 80, 24). The word of
God is the only guide, the Holy Spirit the
only teacher, the Lord Jesus the only way
to God the Father; SO to worship in spirit
and in truth means that in all things
Jesus is acknowledged as Lord to the glory
Of God the Father, and that all is done In
accordance with the word and in the pow
er Of the Spirit.
II. "Then the devil leaveth Him, and
behold angels came and ministered unto
Him. Luke Nv IA sava that; the devil