Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-02-22
guteraatianal gessol1.
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON TX, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, MARCH 2.

viii, 2-Memory Verses, 80, 6O-Go1d-
en- Text, Matt. V. 44-Commentary
Prepared by Rev. d. NJ. Stearns.
copyright, 1902, by American Press Association.l
"a, 55. "But he, being full Of the Holy
Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heav-
en-" With great power and boldness, be-
Ing filed with the Spirit, Stephen had
spoken the truth and, like Peter, had ac-
cused the council of being the murderers
Of Jesus Christ. They were so cut to the
heart that they were filled with fury and
gnashed their teeth at him. How sug-
gestiye was their conduct of the place to
which they were journeying, where there
is weeping and gnashing Of teeth not
against others so much as because Of
their own torment! Matt. xiii, AZ. 50;
xii, 49,
56. "And said, Behold, l see the heav-
ems opened and the Son Of Man standing
on the right hand Of God" This is one
O; the seven times that we find the phrase
in Scripture heaven opened" The pas
sages are Eek. /, l.; Matt. iii, 16; John /.
81; Acts vii. Sc: <, IL; Rev. iv. l; xix,
II, and they well repay a careful study,
for the Lord Jesus is always the central
person, and the more we look into heaven
the more heavenly We become, and there
Is so much room for improvement in that
direction.
81, IS. "Then they cried out with
loud voice and stopped their ears and
ran upon him with one accord" This is
the first Of the four lone accords' OF the
devils followers in this book of the Acts,
the others being xii, 20: xviii. II; xix, ~.
The number four suggests the four cor
ners of the earth tRev. vii, -, or the
whole earth, and reminds us that the
whole world lieth in the wicked one u
John V, 10, r. W, and the wicked one
will never cease his hatred Of God or OF
the people of God. We are wise when
we stop our ears as David did and refuse
to hear the mischievous things that evil
people speak FPS. xxxviii. II. 13), out to
stop ones ears from hearing the things
of God is truly the devils work. Refus-
ing the truth, they were believing lie
UI Thess. ii, 10. III, and, believing that
Jesus Of Nazareth was an impostor. they
Judged Stephen to be guilty Of BIAS
phemy, and in stoning him thought they
were obeying their law (Lev. xiv, l6).
while they themselves were, before God,
the blasphemers and the guilty ones, but
they were blinded by the god Of this
world III Cor. iv, 3, ~. This is our first
introduction to the young man named
Saul, unless, as some think, he is the
same young man who went away from
Jesus one day sorrowfully because he
loved his possessions.
SO. Lord Jesus. receive my spirit.
Thus said Stephen as they were stonlng
him to death, for he knew whom he be-
lieved and saw Him even before he went
out to be with Him. When our LORD
Himself was dying. He said. FEATHER.
into Thine hands commend My spirit.
And similar words came from David by
the same spirit long before Luke KILL
46; Ps. xxi. 81. for he also could truly
say: 81 trusted in Thee. 0 Lord. My
times are in Thy hand" FPS. XXI. IA,
15). These dying words of Stephen and
of the Lord Jesus give no encouragement
to the belief that between death ana
resurrection the spirit is asleep and un-
conscious. If any are not fully per-
suaded concerning the life and bliss OF
the believer apart from the body. let
them read and believe Luke xvi, %; xiii,
43; II Cor. v, 8; Phil. |, p, %; Rev. w.
Oil.
GO. Lord. lay not this sin to their
charge" Like his adorable Lord and
Master he prayed for his murderers
duke xiii, 34). Our instructions are,
Love your enemies: bless them that
curse you: do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use
you and persecute you" Matt. v, ~.
And while this is impossible to the natu-
raj man, if any man be in Christ ne is a
new creature, born from above, temple
of the Holy Spirit, a mansion IN when
the Father and the Son have come to
dwell III Cor. v, II; / Cor. vi, 10, 70;
John xiv, 23), and Christ in us can do
what He did when here on earth In the
body prepared for Him. 1t is our privi-
Iege to yield fully to Him and take as
our motto, "Not I, but Christ" (Gal. II.
2O).
viii, /. "And Saul was consenting unto
his DEATH" Hear his own account OF
what he said to the Lord Jesus long aft
erward, "And | said, Lord. they know
that / imprisoned and beat in every syn
agogue them that believed on Thee, and
when the blood Of Thy martyr Stephen
was shed l also was standing by and con-
senting unto his death and kept the raj
ment of them that slew him" (Acts xii,
10, 20). Before Agrippa he said. 81 verify
thought with myself that l ought to DO
many things contrary to the name OF
Jesus of Nazareth, which thing l also
did in Jerusalem" (Acts XVI, o, 1O). And
then he went on to tell how not only in
Jerusalem, but in other cities, being e1-
ceedingly mad against the saints. he was
the means Of their imprisonment, punish
ment and death. Our lesson tells of the
greatness of the persecution in Jerusalem
after the death of Stephen and how all
the believers except the apostles were
scattered through Jud@a and Gamaria.
The Lords command was to go into all
the world and preach the gospel to every
creature" ITO be His witnesses unto the
uttermost parts Of the earth" Mark XVI,
Is; Acts i, 81. but up to this time they
seem to have confined their testimony to
Jerusalem. and it required persecution
to scatter them that they might obey His
command. Thus He maketh the wrath
of man to praise Him and restraints what
He does nut see fit to use Cps. lxxvi, 10y.
2. "And devout men carried Stephen
to his burial and made great lamentation
over him." Well, they did not bury
Stephen, but they buried all that was
left of him on the earth, the house in
which he had sojourned. Stephen him
self was "absent from the body, present
with the Lord" but his body was asleep.
even as Jesus had said of Lazarus when