The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1902-04-04
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
lesson I'm the international serie,
for April 8, 1002-saui Of Tarsus
Converted.
Prepared by III. G.. Lexington.
THE LESSON TEXT.

any of this way. whether they were men
or women, he might bring them bound
into Jerusalem.
g. And as he journeyed, he came near
Damascus, and suddenly there shlpeu
round about him a light from Heaven:
A. And he fell to the earth, and heard
a voice saying unto Him; Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me?
8. And he said: Who art thou, Loro
And the Lord said: am Jesus whom thou
persecutest; it is hard for thee to KICK
against the pricks,
6. And he trembling and astonished, said
Lord, what wilt thou have me to do! Ano
the Lord said unto him: Arise, and go into
the city, and it shall be told thee what
thou must do
q. And the men which journeyed with him
stood speeches., hearing voice, but see
Ing no man
5. And Saul arose from the earth; and
when his eyes were opened he saw no man
but they led him by the hand, and brought
him into Damascus
9. And he was three days without sight,
and neither did eat nor drink.
10. And there was certain disciple at
Damascus, named Ananias; and to him
said the Lord in vision: Ananias Ana
| he said: Behold, am here, Lord.
II. And the Lord said unto him: Arise,
| and go into the street which Is called
| Straight, and inquire In the house Of Judas
| for one called Saul, Of Tarsus; for, behold
| he prayeth,
| named Ananias coming In, and putting
his hand on him, that he might receive his
| sight -
GOLDEN TEXT.--Repent We there
| fore, and be converted, TINT your sins
may be bIotted out.-Acts 3;19.
| Saul Before Conversion. .............ys ~
| He Sees Heavenly Sight.............Vs. =
He Hears Voice .:.................evs Us. -
His Three Days Blindness. .......,.Vs. 8-9
| Ananias Sent to Saul. lois
| Saul After Conversion s.........s...Vs. 1854
| Saul Before Conversion.--We are not
| told very much concerning Saul prior
| to his conversion, but the brief
glimpses we are allowed give us a pref
| ty fair clew to his character. These
| glimpses of Saul are from Acts $500, in
Acts 81, Acts 8:3, and in the first two
verses Of this lesson. The first two
| of these references show Saul in the
band of those who stoned the
disciple stephen, and saul was con-
senting unto his death" In s:3 we are
told Saul made havoc of the
| church" Acts OIL shows Saul breath
| ing out threatenings and slaughter
against the disciples of the Lord" We
do not need to infer from these pas
sages that Saul (PauD was particu-
| larly bloodthirsty. He was an enthu-
siastic, Jealous partisan of the Jewish
traditions, "pharisee of the phari-
sees (see Phil. ga, 81. The teachings
of Jesus concerning Himself, and con-
corning the kingdom of God, which He
came to found, brought into strict con
trast and opposition those leaders Of
thought who stood for the old tradi-
tons and for the preeepts of the rab-
| bis.
He See& a Heavenly Light Upon
one Of his missions of persecution Saul
comes face to face with the fact that
he has not been doing right Before
he thought he had. But his whole con-
science had not yet been awakened.
| He had been cropping in the darkness
| A great light suddenly appears. Itwas
a light, the like of which had never
before appeared to him, light ''above
the brightness of the SUM- 1t was
no earthly light, but light from
Heaven.
He Hears a Voice. Then he heard
voice; it was no earthly voice, but,
like the light, from Heaven: saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou me?" ii
| is a curious, but convincing, proof
that the voice was from Heaven from
the fact that Saul Immediately per-
ceiyed that it was the voice of the
Lord, but the speaker was such a
| Lord as Saul had not known, for he
said: "Who art thou, Lord?n The
voice came again; II am Jesus, whom
thou persecutest." Saul's next ques-
ton was the natural one for strong
man to ask. If this was indeed the
Lord, the Master, it was for Saul to
obey. So he asks: "What wilt thou
have me to do?" But it was not vet
for Saul to learn. First he was to 90
to Damascus and have a session to
readjust his ideas and his own life
to his new experience.
His Three Days Blindness. During
the next three days Saul had plenty
Of time and opportunity to think
things over, The Lord he had thought
he had been serving by prosecuting
the disciples of Jesus, he had found
to be Jesus Himself. Here was soul
conflict, sure enough. He was three
days without sight, but with the tenn
porary loss of sight came spiritual
vision.
Ananias Sent to Saul. -Ananias was
a disciple. To him came vision Of
Saul in his struggle toward the light.
At the command Oh God he went to
this aforetime prosecutor that he
(SauD might again receive his sight.
Saul After Conversion. After con-
version he was the same Saul as he
was before, and yet not the same
He had the same old strength of zeal
and enthusiasm, but now it was ex-
pended in the right direction, and
"straightway he preached Christ in
the synagogues, that He is the son
OF God" "And he spalSe boldly in
the name of the Lord Jesus"
Grapes from Canaan.
The worst getting is that which him
ders giving.
Blessed is the man who consecrates
Gods gifts to His glory.
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