Middletown transcript., 1899-12-09
.IHE SUNDA ! s. IL ;. JIls
LESSON xl. FOURTH QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, DEC. 10.

iii, Verses, 3-1O-Gold-
en- Text, III Cor. TX, 7-COmmentary
Prepared by the Rev. ID. WI. steaFnns
Copyright, 1889, by D. n. stearns.I
In this last word to His people through
! the prophets, before He Himself should
come, He tells them plainly what He
| saw in them that He did not like and
| urges them to return to Him that He
may forgive and bless them. His first
| word is, 81 have loved you" verse p,
and this is always the burden of His
| plea. He chose them as special people
to Himself not because they were many
or good, but simply because He loved
them Deut. vii, {, s.. With an everlasting
| love He loved them, and with loving
kindness He drew them, and when they
wandered from Him He said that If they
| would only return to Him He would heal
j their backsliding and love them freely
| (Jer. XXI, 3; Hos. xiv, a.
6, Z. 20 priests, that despise my name"
He said to the priests, who were His
messengers to the people Iii, q, that they
! counted His service WEAKNESS. They
brought Him the torn and the lame and
| the sick and thus despised His name
(verse 13). They showed Him no honor
either as Father or Master. 1t has been
said that God Is not called Father in the
Old Testament, but see, in addition to our
lesson, Deut. xxi, 6; lisa. xiii, 16; Jer.
XXI, o.
8. "Offer it now unto thy governor"
It is actually true that people offer to
God what they would not offer to their
fellows. They offer Him the result of
misspent life, worn out body, a half
hearted service or that which they can
give and never feel it, as some say. In
the church or Bible class offering, which
Is supposed to indicate in some measure
our gratitude to God, what does God
think of the pennies that are sometimes
found there by the hundred, while the
donors profess to be so grateful for their
privileges? / think ! must have several
pounds weight of mutilated coin which
has accumulated from the Bible class
offerings. If all the thousands in these
classes were as grateful as the com.
paratiyely few who give me the thou
sands of dollars to pass on in His name,
how much more might be accomplished.
8, 10. Il have no pleasure in you, saith 4
the Lord Of Hosts. neither will accept
an Offering at your hand. - The words
seem to indicate that they only served
God or professed to do so because there
was some personal gain in it, as when
satan said, Doth Job fear God for
naughtY Job i, 81 The revised version
seems to say that God would prefer to
have the doors Of His house shut rather
than have them offer Him vain offerings.
II. Notwithstanding all formality and
hypocrisy the kingdom shall come, and
both Jews and Gentiles shall delight to
honor His name. IN all H the world world His His
name shall be great, "Far above all
principality and power and might and
dominion and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that
which is to come" Eph. !. 21) All kings
shall fall down before Him, all nations
shall serve Him FPS. lxxii, III, and all
nations shall send their representatives
to Jerusalem from year to year to wor-
ship the King, the Lord Of Hosts Czech.
xiv, 16, I'D, In all times Of darkness q
look at the kingdom and Its glory Is very
cheering.
iii, 8, 9. 'eWill man rob God? Yet ye
have robbed Me-" He gave them all |
they had, lands and vineyards and homes |
for which they labored not and which |
they did not deserve, and He asked them |
to give Him one-seventh of their time |
and one-tenth of all the increase which |
He gave them, not that they might en- |
rich Him in any way, but that He might |
bless them the more, and they misjudged |
Him and were ungrateful and unbeliev-
ing and despised Him and robbed Him.
10, IL. Bring ye all the tithes in
to the storehouse, that there may be meat |
In mine house, and prove Me now here
with, saith the Lord of Hosts" Let US
not fail to believe that He means here |
just what He says, as He always does
unless it is manifestly figure, and that
He is asking His people to return to Him
His just portion, that He may bless them
more abundantly. If a neighbor with
nice vegetable garden should send you
some choice things from his garden in |
quite attractive basket and your covet-
BUSINESS should exceed your gratitude and
lead you to keep the basket, too, what
should you think of yourself? II we fail
to give the Lord at least a tenth Of that
which He gives us or enables us to earn.
we are worse than the one who would
keep the basket. Jacob gave the Lord
tenth, and some people would not like to
be counted meaner than Jacob Abram
gave tithes to Melchisedek. Christians
are the seed Of Abraham, and the Lord
Jesus is our great King Priest, to whom
we owe all (Gal. iii, %; Eeb. vii, /, q.
There is that scattereth and yet increas-
eth; there is that maketh himself poor,
yet hath great riches prov. xi, "a; xiii
2. God so loved that He gave His only
begotten Son. The Son of God loved me
and gave Himself for me. If His love
does not constrain me to give cheerfully
to Him, what do know of it or Him?
was led to see my privilege in this matter
while pastor Of a church in Boston from
1880 to 1886. had no stated salary, but
accepted as my portion that which was
left after all current expenses were paid.
Living on the tithes of others and giving
all my time to the Lord and having moth
ing snnerhuons in nv income. | tried to |
persuade myself that the Lord did not re-
quire a 1.-THE from me, but one day In the
early spring of 1884 Mum. xviii, 26, took
hold Of me, and from that day to this
have by His grace been obedient in this
matter and have known something of the
blessedness thereof and earnestly desire
It for all.
IL. 'AlI nations shall call you blessed,
for We shall be a delightsome land, saith |
the Lord Of Hosts" This is yet to be
true Of Israel when the Lord Of Hosts
shall dwell in their midst foreYermore,
and the name Of Jerusalem shall be Je-
hovah-shammah-the Lord is there (Ezek.
xliii, z; Xviii, 35). But national promises
are ofttimes true for individuals Job
xxxiv, 29), and every believer who be-
comes obedient in this matter will know
blessedness and have the con-
sciousness of being delight to the Lord
as well as of delighting in the Lord as
never before. ''The Lord taketh pleasure
In His people. He will beautify the meek
with salvation" (Ps cxlix, A. Instead of
being content to be saved by Him and
have the assurance Of place in heaven
as our great ambition, LET us yield so
fully to Him and live SO wholly for Him
that we shall be to the praise CT His sio-
~ all the way home.