Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1902-04-05
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Esesson in the international Series
for April 6, 1sO2-saul of Tarsus
Converted.
Prepared by II. c. Lexington.
THE LESSON TEXT.
(AcU 9:1-12.)

Prepared by n. G. Lexington.
THE LESSON TEXT.
(Acts 9:1-12.)
/ And Saul. yet breathing out threaten
ings and slaughter against the disciples OF
the Lord, went unto the high priest.
2. And he desired of him letters to Da-
nascus to the synagogues, that If he found
any of this way. whether they were men
CT women, he might bring them bound
into Jerusalem.
5. And as he journeyed. he came near
Damascus; and suddenly there shiped
round about him a light from Heaven:
(. And he fell to the earth, and heard
a voice saying unto Him: Saul. Saul, why
persecutest thou me?
5. And he said: who art thzH Lord7
And the Lord said: am Jesus whom thou
persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick
against the prieks-
s. And he trembling and astonished. said:
Lord, what wilt thou have me to DO? And
the Lord said unto him: Arise and so into
the city. and 1t shall be told thee what
thou must do.
Z. And the men which journeyed with him
stood speeches., hearing voice, but see
Ing no man
8. 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.
8. 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
he said: Behold. am here. Lord.
I. 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,
u. And hath seen in a vision a man
named Ananias coming In, and putting
his hand on him, that he might receive his
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
GOLDEN TEXT.-Repent ye there
fore, and be converted, that your sins
may be bIOtted Out.-Acts 3;19.
| Saul Before Conversion. .............Vs. LIZ
re sees HeSVenly Slght...'......-..NR
His Three Days Blindness...........Ys vs.. So
AnaIn1as Sent to saul .'.'...''........Xs 1913
Saul Before Conversion.-We are not
told very much concerning Saul prior
to his conversion, but the brief
| gEmpses we are allowed give us pref
ty fair clew to his character. These
| glmpses of Saul are from Acts $500, in
Acts ST., Acts s: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 6:3 we are
told Saul made havoc of the
church" Acts 9:1 shows Saul breath
|
against the disciples of the Lord" We
do not need to infer from these pas
sages that Saul (PauI) was particu-
Iarly bloodthirsty. He was an enthu-
siastic, Jealous partisan of the Jewish
traditions, a ''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-
lions and for the precepts of the rab-
| bis.
He Sees 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. 1t was
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 a light from
Heaven.
He Hears a Voice.-Then he heard
a voice; it was no earthly voice, but,
like the light, from Heaven: saul.
Saul, why persecutest thou me?' Tt
is a curious, but convincing, proof
that the voice was from Heaven from
the fact that Saul Immediately per-
ceived 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, ord?" The
voice came again: 81 am Jesus, whom
thou persecutest." Sauls next cues
ton was the natural one for a 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 AID 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 Sau1.-Ananias was
a disciple. To him came vision of
Saul in his struggle toward the light.
At the command of God he went to
this aforetime prosecutor that he
| (Sau) 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 Cod "And he spake boldly in
| the name ~ the lord Teeus''