The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-01-06
THB SUNDAY scHoolV' !
,,7r RuA4,sNsL ltssoa 6 eo1"sSi
J" is1eR JANUARY TO-

SSs1eR j1Auaay TO- a
s,..snins Of Jo4R tn1
ti tis', fa.s. ih., !. ysr,esJ "a Text. Mat
s. ary . TIC pay; Es.ssn. IS S
l. a a g II u 7 ta,repentanee Tvs. 40. II
those dayS The time is defined in Luke
8: l.. It essf time of moral dearsh Z Kl
Israel had tome barren wilderness
1he Roma emperor was despotioS and
cruel Hel land Plate were little bet
ter The sthood was filled with cor
rupt men, d even Caiaphas, the high
priest, wa coarse and brutal Unde4
such leaqe} the people had sunk intoa
very ioW degraded moral condition.
1t had Deens our hundred years since tbey
pad heard prophetic warnings, when sud
deniy Jonn appeared upon the scene
John the Beptist.' So named By Mafi
and Luke anH by Josephus, who mentionfl
his great in3fpence and speaks OF the
crowds that nhocked to hear him preach
Preacmng Heralding, word suggeeS
1n9 the prsci ifmation OF a king. John waf,
a. great refoEmer. In the wilderness
John preached in the wild, thinly IN
ha5ited regldn lying west of the Jordan
and the Deaf Sea as far north as Enonl
two,thirds oil the way to the Sea Of Cali
dan" 4 -
9. "Repent ye." Repentance includes
!. Conviction. 2. Contrition. 8. Con;
fession. A.; Reformation, and leads .stc
conversion. ,John, Jesus, Peter and Paul
all preachedS repentance. "Kingdem oi
Heaven. as Jesus is the Messiah, that is,
the Amounted. the King, 80 His gospel u |
a Cu ND - l..
The kngdom of Heaven and kingdom oi
God in the New Testament mean one and
the same thing and generally have refer
ence to the spiritual kingdom which Christ
sets up in the hearts of His followers. All
hand" The Jews expected great national !
dellvercr Ihe meaning here is that the
coming OF the Messiah to begin His domiR.
ion on earth, under the Christian economy
is at hand. 80 z.
8. "Esaias." The Greek form for Isaiah
The reference here is to Isaiah 40: a-5; alsd
see Luke 8: 4.6. "The Voice. The proph}
| ecy draws. attention to the work rather
than to the worker. The voice of the
prophet was loud and distinct. Prepare
ye. The idea is taken. from the practice
OF Eastern ponarchs, who, whenever they
took a journey, sent harbingers before thernI
to prepare the way The Jewish church
was the desert country. sPaths straight.
liz ~ 11SHd tdkBuoSCs I Ac lnWUIu
illustrate tie strengthening force of th@
gospel. There must be thorough prep
aration before God sour-King, will com2
to us. ThHtsself. LIVE must be through
low" 3 The crooked. dishonest life mus
be "straight htened." Let us remove the ot
structions d nnbeIief and carnal desires.
Had his raiment:0 = etc: The au
great prophet Elijah in the popular mind
He was clo,hed in the coarse; rough clot1
called 'sack.loth in The Scriptures.
was cheap, bnt admirable for keeping 6u|
the heat, cad and rain. This mantle wa
girded around him with leather girdie d
undressed Ede. His food consisted o.
locusts, closiy resembling our rasshop2
pers, and oi wild honey: An this was
natural al. yell as simple mode Of livinl
Food. "Loc,sts' The law of Moses gave
John here rbresents the symbols of thu
repentance pnnn hes, according to am
cient custom hair or sackcloth
the fasting solitude, were thl
ordinary out of deepest hunilia
tion.
H. Many made Tvs. S, 81
5. went heir homes and
went to th ere John was
preaching, successful and
the heart q tion was stirred
~ odd FMarL a. ooa 1A5
phs p rea;on Az 1n,st have been]
o anor1nSms verv nonnlar hntj
!, ,onmjar;tv 4 mix s,,ch 40 Ia
: p"Gnnfee Le;a
,f tho M
Iobn ! . o
ri A
fvs' lion -
honor a
M selfish
tion for i
inc % to ia -
mo- bnt
aPhsr;se
,r.t;sfs tSats
erai or az iohsA n.
nnwriften 9q4(
adhered to the WI. 49,
refrIsed to eiye much Neia.
They did not believe in future lie,
rels or spirits "Said unto them" Th
three leading religious sects at that timd
ssnes w. :n md he handled them with terribl1
senerit1 He cama info the forest of Cad
js,p. ahso:ntq cnstoms. socia, ineoralities
,enaporsnca ,emS,ous sHina;na his gospel ar and
sr,Ipe .ru;pe W "RefornI Repeutf ye brood O
ss,,Sgnrss'n Tbe reformer was thorough
There. ipers; was NO compromising with 'th}
nns,iS1,, ;o9uonoee aroIInd him "Genera
Gor4u's s: ,;;nare .RroodS of viiers. : wi
aanotas iion oa pprsoro decetfnl and maiicious
oeno'sS eSrLI;nIs not -, cav - etc. The naturaI
-: inA ~ the ' nnressnerate heart ia td
aIg0 lnPuiss " a,sos sm md suhterfuces when
sIeA ssa oomoc;enca wuv ;s tonched. John shattera
two tue Common errors: . The first, that bapl