Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1906-08-01
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON VI, THIRD QUARTER, lNTERNA-
TloNAL SERIES. AUG. 8.

by Rev. ID. NJ. stearns.
copyright. 1905 by American Press Association.
He seems to be still in the house 0
the Pharisee where He had been In
vited to eat bread on the Sabbath day
where He had healed the man of hi
dropsy, spoken to the guests of humil
ity, and to~the host OF making a feas
for the poor, the manned, the lame. tn,
blind, instead of for those who hat
abundance. One of the guests hearing
these things said, Blessed Is he tina
shall eat bread In the kingdom Of
God" Verse 49,, evidently assoclatine
such feast as the Lord had suggested
J and also the time of recompense, with
the time of the kingdom. He may have
been a man well versed In Scripture
and If so he would recall such passages
as lisa. xxxv, 5, @; Xxi, l, 2; XIV, 9, 8;
Dan. xii, l, 8. 1t Is just possible that
he may have heard the Saviour say,
MANY shall come from the east and
west, and shall sit down with Abra-
ham, and Isaac, and Jacob. In the king
dom of heaven" Matt viii, IL. Our
Lord did afterward speak to His dis
ciples Of eating and drinking at His
table In His kingdom duke xii, 30.
30), A reiteratlon of what we have Of
ten said about the kingdom may not be
amiss here. 1t Will be kingdom on
this earth, including the whole earth
and al nations, with Israel In their
own land at the center. 1t will be
kingdom Of righteousness and peace,
over which the Lord Jesus Christ and
His saints shall reign. There shall be
nc. .@96re sin, nr66ff sickness, nor suffer-
ing, nor death, nor devil, Btt the
glory of the Lord shall fill the whole
earth. Those who have followed us
any length of time in these studies
should easily supply the proof texts
for these statements.
To prove that men are not willing to
consider the blessedness of the king
dom, nor take any interest In 1t, nor
accept it however freely offered, He
tells of the great mans supper and It's
treatment. Inasmuch as only those
who are saved, born again, shall see
and share the kingdom, this supper
may represent the salvation which God
has so fully provided In Christ, doubt
less looking on to the marriage supper
Of the lamb (Rev. xix, 81. The right.
eOusnesS which Is necessary to fit US
for the presence of God has been so
fully provided in Christ that nothing
can be added to it, "All things arc
now ready" is literally true concerning
the great redemption, and "come" Is |
the word for every sinner. Compare |
the marriage supper in Matt. xii, LA, |
and consider the full preparation on
Gods part fOreshadowed In all the sac
rifces from Gen. Iii, 81, onward.
There Is nothing left for man to do,
nothing that man can do, but accept |
that which God has In His love pro-
vided. Consider the comes" Of Gen.
vii, 1; lisa. lis; lv, /; Matt. XII, %; Rev.
xii, II, and consider also what your
reply has been. If these excuses on
the part Of those Invited had not been
given us by Him who knew all men,
and knew what was in man, we would
hardly think such excuses possible. The
manifestation of self, and self interest
on the part of each, and the Indifference
to the gracious invitation and the con.
tempt with which they treated the host,
set forth most plainly that "the carnal
mind Is enmity against Cod" Men do
not want the kingdom of God, nor
Gods interference with their affairs.
Like the demons their cry Is: "Let us
alone. What have we to do with thee
thou Jesus of Nazareth Mark 1-24)
1t is true of so many who have heard
and know the gospel, The God in
whose hand thy breath is and whose
ire all thy ways hast thou not glorl-
led" Dan. V, 23). 1t seems to be true
Of the church as 1t was of Israel,
They know not the thoughts of the
Lord, neither understand they His
CIic Nv, 12). The decision of
he man who made the supper, None
II those men which were hidden shall
aste of my supper" Verse 24), makes
is think Of the solemn words, Glow
hall we escape, if we neglect so great |
alvatlOnY QIeb. II, 81 And also II {
Thess. j, 7. 8, "The Lord Jesus shall
re revealed from heaven with his q
mighty angels in flaming fire taking S
vengeance on them that know not c
Tod and that obey not the gospel of I
ur Lord Jesus Christ" See Prov. |, v
4-27 I
Those who were invited having re-
used the poor and the manned and b
he halt and the blind are gathered In, t
nd there being still room, people are q
altered from the highways and O
edges to fill the house. The question d
annot but arise, Shall we continue to r.
ress the invitation upon those who so a
ersistently refuse, or shall we turn to &c
theirs, such as those mentioned, that n
ley may come? Shall we evermore =,
zach the same people. or let the Lord =,
Sc us to the utmost to give the gospel
those who never heard? There are
ANY people who are poor, or compar-
lively so, in this worlds goods, who W
'nsider themselves rich in their own fc
orality- or righteousness and need no .,
lviour Rom. X, 3, 4; Rev. II, II, 49,, q,
lessed are all who see themselves to ~
, helpless and outcast and far from 10
cd, for to such the good news of a ~
lviour and full and free salvation o.
i'll be apt to prove acceptable, ~
There is another great difficulty, ~,
hich Is set forth in the rest of this o1
lapter: Multitudes will seem ready ~
accept such free salvation without y.
'unting the cost of following such a -,
lviour, so when He saw the multi ~ -
DIES coming after Him He set before ~.
EN- the cost of disclpleshlp. for while -,
e cost Of our salvation fell wholly W,
ION Him, the cost OF following Him, W.
being Ills disciples. falls upon us Wv
e verses 90 81. 80. ln'