The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-08-03
The Ten Commandments.

"A certain rich young man who had
served all the commandments from
youth evidently thought hat his char
for inheriting eternal life were very cd
what lack l yet?" he asked Of Jesus, i
ting the question as though it were seal
~ possible that he lacked anything. [
Saviour showed to him, says Wellspr}
that instead of having an indisputable i
to eternal life he had none at all.
There is a vast number who, like Il
wealthy young ruler, over-eIalt the
commandments. If one will carefully
through and weigh them he will see
they do not present u high moral sta
ard. The Hebrew race, and much less
world, was not ready at the Time OF t
PRONUNCIATION for the revelation Of y
ideals. 10 the little child we have to
"Do not" and wait with what patio
we may for the time when we can 4
"Do." The human race then was in
"Do not" stage of development. AL
commandments are "shall nots" save tn
Take the two tables and see how III
they require. The first table does not
that there is only one God, and that
should love Him with all our heart !
soul and mind and strength. All thai
demands is that we shall have no. oil
gods before Him, shall make no images
worship, shall not take His name in Vi
and shall refrain from all work upon
Sabbath, thus keeping it holy. MANI
man does this without any thought of
ing particularly religious; he's just BID
decently civilized.
So 1t is also with the second table. Y
would set up a claim for special respect
cause he has always honored his pared
never murdered or been unchaste, or std
or borne false witness, or coveted
neighbours possessions as Ahab covej
Naboth's vineyard? There are men d
t%ruthfully can say that they have regard
all these commandments, and yet I'll
neighbors would characterize them
"meaner than dirt" In order to b$
good man one must do something,
merely refrain from doing something hi
full. One can keep all the mandates Of
second table, and yet be stingy, cruel. /
pressive and hateful. Taken all togetH
they do not sum up to the golden n
which tells US to do unto others as
would have them do to US. "Thou s11
not" keeps the hands to the side; ct
shalt" extends them in loving service.
How is it that people have such an
allied conception of the ten comma
ments? 1t is because we have been I'd
ing the gospel into them-as we should
Ever since Jesus gave His answer to
lawyer, who asked Him, (Which Is
greatest commandment in the Law
Christian people have been interpret
the first table of the law as meant
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God VI
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, !
with all thy mind" and the second I'd
as meaning, Chou shalt love thy neigh
as thyself."
And that is what they should mean
US. But, don't you see, that n nd
have a higher moral standard than the
commandments, just as they read, in
der to be respectfully good? Not that
should throw them aside, any more Il
we should throw aside the alphabet
cause we are reading fine literature, or
rules for addition, subtraction, multiple
ton and division because we are id
sums in algebra, But no one should
like congratulating himself if he still N
painfully putting the letters together
spell cat or baker, or scratching his b
over the question, Seven times two
how many?" "Wherefore," says the !
ter to the Hebrews, leaving the doct}
of the first principles OF Christ, lett
press on unto perfection" Don't
back near the starting point with the
commandments.