Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1904-04-29
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR MAY 1.


I. Christ teaching His disciples to pray
Tvs. Ia. !. WAS praying" 1t was the
nabit of Christ to pray. Many instances
ire referred to in the gospels besides thf
general statement in Heb. 5: 7. "Whef
lie ceased" Perhaps He was praying such
powerful prayer as to arouse the feeling
That they knew not how to pray, and
needed to be taught. Teach US to pray.
they knew that prayer was important, and
hey had desire for ability to pray Alright
LAS John also taught" Each new dis
oensation may not only have its new I'M
:o!dng of truths. but its new revelations
nay open new modes of access, and new
;opics of prayer and modes of worship. A
different prayer was offered in the Mosaic
'itual from the patrjarchal form. John
opened up new scope OF prayer; and this
new dispensation requires OF Jesus to set
;he range of prayer in accordance with the
new range of truth, and the new position
If man with God.
3 Say" The beauty and value of the
lessons in the Lords prayer arise from
l. The tone of holy confidence; 1T teaches
rs to approach God as our Father (Rom.
}: l5), in love as well as holy fear. 2. Its
absolute unselfshness; it is offered for all
The brotherhood of man. 3. Its entire
spirituality; of its seven petitions, one
oniy is for any earthly boom and that on y
for the simplest. 4. It's brevity and alb
sence of all vain repetitions (Eccl. 5: p.
). It's simplicity, which requires not learn
ng, but only holiness and sincerity for lta
Universal comprehension. For these rea..
sons the Fathers called it the "epitome OF
he gospel" and "the pearl Of prayers,
Our Father" An expression of love and
,ondescension Here are two grand ideas:
[. That tender and respectful love which
we should feel for God, such as that which
children feel for their fathers. 2. That
strong confidence in Gods love to us, such
as fathers have for their children. This
ceation dictates to us reverence Tor His
person. zeal for His honor, obedience to
His will, submission to His dlspensatl0ns
and Establishments, and resemblance to Hls
nature. (Which art in heaven" In the
;crmer clause we express his nearness 10
Is. in this His distance from us. In this
we contrast Him with the fathers we have
here below, and so raise our sous to that
heaven" where He dwells, and that ma
lesty and glory which are there, as In their
proper home.
8. Give us" The good things Of this
life are the gifts of God. This teaches
is our dependence upon Him, and is
essen OF contentment, frugahry and pa,
:ient labor, moderation, beneNyoence and
:aith. Day by day" In the order in
bread" Life's most common necessity.
Strength to gain it, skill to earn it. power
20 eat it-all are from God From Him the
soil. the seed, the sun, the harvest This
includes a prayer for the instruction OF
Gods word, which is often compared to
:ood Zoo %: II; Tim. 4: s.: and for the
assistance and support of His grace, for
strength to do His will, for that bread
which endureth unto everlasting HE:
orr
represented as debt Man has nothing to
oay; if his debts are not forgiven they
must stand charged against him forever:
Sin is an old debt, a just debt, great and
! growing debt. eve also forgive" Else
how could we entreat Thee TOR pardon!
Not into temptation" As the prayer for
daily bread raises us above care Tor to-day,
and the prayer for the forgiveness OF SINS
IS meant to quiet us concerning the past,
10 is the prayer against temptation
weapon for the uncertain future, that we
may not fall again under the might OF
evil. Deliver us from evil" From all
the wicked fascination and miserable re-
suits of sin.
II. The parable of the importunate bor-
rover Tvs. So. 5. HE said" Although
idle repetitions in prayer are forbidden,
yet persistency and importantly IN prayer,
wrestling with God and not letting Him
tinctly taught. See Luke Is: l-S. mid
night" In those hot countries it rs com.
mon, where it can be done safely, to travel
in the night. LEND me-" 1t was usual
with the Jews to borrow bread from one
another: and certain rules are laid down
when and upon what condition this IS to
be done. 6. Friend; is come" Be
nighted, belated, and who has lost his
way. A strong reason why ne should have
prompt relief. :,
7. "Trouble me not" The trouble made
him insensible both of the urgency of the
case and the claims of friendship. I'm
bed" We learn from travellers that 1T Is
usual in the East for a whole family to
sleep in the same room, each laying his
mattress on the floor. Il cannot" With.
out exertion, which was equal to Il will
not" 8. "His Importantly Literally,
his shamelessness; that is, his unolushing
persistence. His perseverance IN asking
and stating his own inability to supply
friend. CAS- MANY" His reluctance once
overcome. all the claims of friendship and
necessity are felt to the full.
III. The disciples used to persistency IN
PRAYER Tvs. 9-l3). 9. Il say unto you"
We have it from Christ's own mouth, who
knows His Fathers mind, and in whom all
promises are yea and amen Ask, seek,
knock" This verse contains very import
ant directions. In everything, Dy prayer
and supplcation, we are to make our re-
quests known unto God; then we are to
seek" continue to ask and knock at the
door of His mercy. Our approaches to
God should be with earnestness and In
sincerity. These three words include the
ideas of want and loss. We are destitute
of all spiritual good, and have lost God,
and are in danger of losing eternal life; be
in earnest; be importunate; ask with con,
6dence and humility; seek with care and
application; knock loudly and long, 10
"Eyerv one receiveth, etc" Christ binds
Himself to hear and answer. No soul can
pray in vain that prays as God has direct
ed But our asking must be in harmony
with the will of God, and in faith (James
4: 2, 81.
Ii, IL. eff a son shall ask, etc" From
that which the friend will do, the discourse
of the Saviour rises even to that which
one could expect of father" and from
that which an imperfect earthly father
does even to that which the perfect
Father in heaven bestows. The stone rep:
resents to us useless gifts, the serpent and
the scorpion things which are really harm
f,n. If human fathers would not give
either one or the other to their children,
then it is impossible that our father in
heaven will mock the prayers OF His chill,
dren who call upon Him. Is. Being evil.
Sinful people are ready and anxious to
give good gifts to their children. From
natural affection they are ready to pro-
vide everything necessary to their sup
port and comfort.