The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-06
INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY-SCHoOL LESSON
Copyright, Davis W. Clark.)

as to make a vital union. Mere me- chantcal union is insufficient In na- ture good scions are grafted into poor CT stocks. In grace the poor, sinful scions are grafted into Chrift, the true and good stock.
 No one must be content with being merely grafted into Christ There must be the ambition for abundant fruitfulness. Failure at this point in- sures ultimate separation from Christ.
 Jesus word is the pruning knife, Now ye are pruned through the Word which have spoken unto you"
 The figure from nature indicates the naturalness of the believers relation to Jesus. Here is nothing arbitrary or fictitious. He who chooses to be dis ciple, treasures the Masters teachings in his heart, actualizes them in life and deed. keeps himself open to the infinite life, such an one will have wholesome and fruitful life.
 Jesus spoke of His joy an hour be- fore His agony. That joy was full and unimpaired, even by the shame and suf- fering of the cross.
 Fancy has fairly spent Itself in imag- ming how the figure of the vine sug- gested itself to Jesus mind. One says that a vine draped the window where He was sitting as He talked. Another that they passed vineyard while lie was discoursing, and that fire was kindled in it to destroy the dead branches. These suggestions are based upon the supposition that Jesus got His sinnilitudes from what met His eye at the time All this Is artificial and unnecessary. John is so intent upon the subject matter of Jesus discourse that He forgets to give us the environ ment and scenery, if. indeed, there was any of significance.
 The substance of this hgurative and hortatory sermon Is the necessity of vital union with Jesus. and the blessed results of that union.
 Mosaic from Commentaries. I am the true Vine: Genuine, ideal, perfect Vine in contrast to Israel, the stock which God had planted to bring forth fruit to Him.-Exp. Greek Test. Christ is made through the suffering5 of death a Vine putting forth It's branches.-Luther. Father. ... Illus bandman: owner of the soil who tends the vine himself and establishes the re- Iation between the vine and the branches.-Plummer. Branch that bear eth not: As in a vine some branches may be fruitful. others barren, accord ing as there is vital connection or not. So disciples may be fruitful or reverse, as they are vitally connected with Christ or but mechanically attached to Him.. F. B. Branch that beareth He purgeth: pruneth. stripping 1t of what is rank: process painful but no less needful than in natural husband ry.-Ibid. Now: Already, clean through the world: already in a purified and fruitful condition through the long ae- ton of that searching word. Abide in me: Living, active. interpenetration. So my disciples: Evidence your dis cipleship. Continue in My love: Not loving Me, but continue in the posses sion of My love for you. Keep my Obedient spirit of true dfscipleship, cherishing the continuance of Christs love. I the Vine, ye the branches: great emphasis: only seeming tautology.-Stier. Without Me: The question here is not of external doing and general influence upon men, but of the holy power to save ourselves and others through deliverance from sin and death-Schmieder Nothing: Leaves and sour grapes are not fruit. -Stier.
 Christlan EndeavOr and EpwOrth
 League Topics.
 The Making of n Christiani His Exer-
 else. (James i, 22-27). May 2, 1905.
 This Is one of the catholic Epistles; that is, 1t is general. not being ad- dressed to any particular church. Spe- cial interest attaches to 1t because the writer was probably the Lords broth er' and the bishop of Jerusalem. It was likely written in that city. and is perhaps the earliest of the Epistles to be written. It has been aptly called the gospel of common sense." It Is handbook~of practical advices. What 1t lacks in continuity 1t more than makes up in the vigor and value of its thought. Some of It's contentious say ings relate to-Trial and the use of 1t: Wisdom and how to get 1t; Riches and their illusiveness; Temptation and the origin of it, etc. The unsystematic character of the writing Is found in the fact that what would be a proper hortatory conclusion is found in the very midst of 1t. The climax of the Sermon on the Mount undoubtedly sug- gested this paragraph to St. James. Be doers, not mere hearers" Hearing Is not an end in itself. It is a means. We hear in order that we may know what and how to do. Any other kind of hearing is as iputile- as the passing glance in the mirror. There Is another kind of looking which Is worth while The golden angels. standing upon the ark of the covenant with pended form and eyes fixed were symbols of that better-looking. Coneentfation Is just as necessary in religion as in any other pursuit The whole mind must be fNea