Mower County transcript., 1903-10-21
THE S.UND n J 4 1 !. Z SCHOOL.
.tEsSoN..lV FOURTH QuARTER, INTER;
AT.l0NALs SERIES, OCT 25.

3lS-l
;sf NATIONAL SERIES, OCT. 25.
Text of the Lesson, Ps. xnxii-Mem-f
ory Verses, 5-7-GoIden Text, Ps.
IS s3. xxi. .1-.Commentary Prepared by
Rev. d. NJ. Stearns. .5z I;
ICopyright 1908, by American Press Association ]
It seems quite fitting that we should
consider David's. joy because of for
g1yeness after having considered his
sorrow because of sin. But neither the
one nor the other will do us any good
unless the experience is truly our own.
This is one of the psalms entitled
"Maschil.' which according to the
margin, signifies ''giving instruction" )"
but according to another interpreta-
ton Ito act wisely" and unless we
have for ourselves individually con-
fessed our sins and obtained forgive
ness of the same we have neither
acted wisely nor obeyed our 1nstruc-
tions. Some one has defined 'iniqui-
.ty as peryerseness, unrighteOusness,
trans2ression, a going beyond; sin, a
coming short. Rev. DR.. Spurgeon has
called it three headed dog at the
gates Of hell, whose barking has been
slenced by Christ for all who truly
receive Him. In Elk. xxXiv, 6, Z, the
name Of the Lord includes the forgive
ness Of iniquity, transgression and sin.
In Rom. iv, 6-8, the Spirit through Paul
quotes the opening words of this psalm
In connection with the statement that
all this blessedness, including right
eousness, comes to us as the. free gift
of God, apart from any works of ours.
It is most clearly set forth in Scrip
ture that neither money nor good
works can purchase the forgiveness Of
sins. 1t can only be obtained by a
great sacrifice, which God Himself has
provided, and it must be obtained in
this present life. Consider we'll Rom.
iii, 1924, and the teaching of the epis-
ties everywhere OH this topic; also
Job xxxiii, ~; xxxvi, 1S; Ps:; xix, g. Y;
Zeph. i, IS. Sin unconfessed Is like a
gathering wound, which swells and
tOrments; but. sin acknowledged and
confessed receives forgiveness prompt
.ly through the; merits of our Lord
Jesus Christ. But there must be no
guile, no deceit; the soul must be hon
est before God. Then the blessedness.
the true happiness, will surely come.
Confession is the lance which relieves
the fostering wound Ger. iii, Is, II;
Hos. xiv, 1, y. Then we can hear God
saying to- US Isa. xiii, %; / John ii, II;
Acts xiii, 49, SO. These are matters
demanding our most earnest considera-
tion, and every selah in. the psalms
calls us to special meditation.
Luther calls this one of the best
psalms because it teaches that for
giveness Of sins: comes without law OF
works to Lim WHO truly believes that
is, receives the Lord Jesus. Verses
and teach us; that the ,godly need
forgiveness and a. refuge and a de-
1liverer, and indeed it is only the godly
who know how much they do need it.
It is only as we grow in grace and il,
the knowledge Of God that we see the
exceeding sinfulness of sin, and then
do we become truly thankful for I
John i, I, 8. He, and He only, is our
city of refuge and our strong deliy-
Him and with Him and hear Him say
like David to Abithar, 'Abide thou
with Me, fear not, for he that seeketh
My life seeketh thy life, but with Me
thou shalt be In safeguard' Il Sam
xxi, 23). Contrast hiding from God
and hiding. in God in Gen. iii, 8, 10;
Ps. xci, 9, 10; cxix, III. TO avoid the
snares into which the devil would lead
us we must be meek enough to be
taught and guided and have our eyes
ever toward the Lord (Ps. XIV, 9, 15).
If we are teachable and desire only
the will of God we may rest assured
that He will fulfill to us the promise of
verse s and comfort us with the assur.
! ance Of Isa. Xviii, II. The marginal
reading of verse 8 is very helpful, Il
! will counsel thee; mine eye shall be
| upon thee,'' assuring us not only OF
/ guidance, but Of watchful care to see
that. we do not turn out of the way
according to lisa. XXX, 21. I once saw
a guide at railroad depot tell lady
| which car she should enter, and then
watching hth' as she went along the
platform and seeing her about to enter
the wrong car, he ran after her ana
put her in the right car. He counseled
her and then kept his eye upon her
As to- the. horse. or mule of verse. O.
notice that the reference Is to such as
have no understanding stubborn, un
| subdued- there are horses and even
mules which seem to have more un
derstanding than those who drive
them. To be as willing and obedien1
as a good horse would be quite an ad
vanced life for some Christians The
lR. v. of the last clause, elise they
| will not come near unto thee" suggests
how difficult it is for the Lord to get
some people near enough to Him K
/ guide them.
Unless we are intimately acquainted
!