Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1906-11-21
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LeSSONvIll, FOURTH QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, NOV. rs.

Text of the Lesson, lisa. v, 11-23
Memory Verse. 11-Colden Text. l
Cor, TX, 27-Commentnry Prepared
by Rev. ID. NJ. stearns.
copyright. 1906. by American Press Association
This temperance lesson. with It's gold
ID text concerning keeping under the
body. coming In between our lessons
on Gethsemane and Calvary, has the
very strongest possible Settling for a
life OF self control. or, better. self re-
hunciation, which is the only true tenn
pe-ance Verses / to 7 OF the lesson
chapter describe Israel as the vineyard
of the Lord Of hosts, but notwithstand-
ing all the care bestowed upon 1t, bear
Ing only wild grapes. In Hos. K, l it Is
written. Israel is an empty vine; he
bringeth forth fruit unto himself"
and living unto oneself Is intemper-
ance out and out. The Lord Jesus
never In any way sought to please
Himself. His whole life was for God
and for US, and as branches In Him,
the true vine, there Is no opportunity
for any form of self life, but only for
the life described In these words. mot
|. but Christ, Who loved me
and gave Himself for me" (Gal. II, 20).
Verses to 10 describe the selfshness
that would buy up the earth II posi-
bic (verse 8, |. c.) and control 1t all for
selfish interests. All the trusts and mo-
nopoles of today are illustrations OF
this, but the worst Is yet to come
(Rev. Kill, 16, ~ under the antichrist,
of whom 1t Is said that "he shall exalt
himself and magnify himself above all
and shall prosper dan. xl, SO, 30.
Verses II and II describe the prodi-
gal sons style of selfish living, the
strong drink and music and reyelry OF
riotous living, the indulgence of the
animal nature, and that Is a SANDER
upon animals, for the widest beasts
would not do So We have an illustra-
ton In the drunken revelry Of Bel
shazzar, who dared to use the golden
vessels of the house Of God and prais-
ed the gods of gold and silver and
wood and stone, but that night he was
slain. and for the sequel to his story
see Luke xii. 20; xvi, %, %, in connec-
ton with verse IA of our lesson.
Blinded by the great adversary and
devourer, they cast away the law OF
the Lord of hosts and despise the word
of the Holy One Of Israel and regard
not the work OF the Lord nor the oper-
alton of His hands oversees IL, pa. In
chapter xviii, it Is written that the
priest and the prophet, those who
should be wholly for man before COO
and for God before man, have erred
through strong drink and are swal-
lowed up of wine. In xxx, o, we READ
of those who are drunken, but not
with wine; who stagger, but not with
strong drink. and the context SHOWS
that this comes from neglect OF the
word of God. The bondage OF Egypt
with its iron furnace or the captivity
in Babylon or the famines experienced
from time to time by the children Oh
God as recorded IN the Scriptures,
suggest something worse than that
which affects only the body. The fam
Inc OF hearing the words Of the Lord
amos will, II, 12) leads to the perish
ing Of multltudes who descend into
hell because they are taught by the
precept and example of those who pro-
fess to be guides that there Is no hell
and no need Of salvation by subst-
tute and that a desire to do as near
right as we know how is all that Is re-
qured Of US.
When the Lord alone shall be exalt-
ed (verse 16; chap. II, II, 10 they shall
see the madness Of having resisted
Him. but II will be too late. and In vain
shall they call upon the mountains ana
rocks to fall upon them and hide them
from the face of God and the Lamb
Rev. vi. IBID. How heartrending the
CRY of Him who came from heaven to
Calvary that we might not perish when
He wept over Jerusalem and said, III
thou hadst known because
thou knowest not" duke xix, AZ, Az.
One of Isaiah's contemporaries said by
the Spirit: "There Is no truth nor mer-
cy nor knowledge of God in the land
My people are destroyed Tor
lack Of knowledge They nave
left off to take heed to the Lord (Hos.
w. l, 6. 1O). And again, Their doings
will not suffer them to turn unto their
God" QIos. V, ~. Thus the people OF
God whom He redeemed from Egypt
and on whose behalf He wrought as
He never did for any other people
went on from bad to worse, SHINING, as
II were. with a cart rope and hooking
God oversees IS. 19) till there was no
remedy but to give them over to their
enemies because they Knocked his mes
sengers. despised His words and mis-
used His prophets QI Chron. xxxyi' 10;
Jer XII y.
The protesting church Of today Is
rushing on to her doom, drunken WIN
her own pride and self conceit and I'M
belief. saying. like the people of Noahs
time: "What doth God know? What
can the Almighty do?" Job xii, H.
~ Wise and prudent in their own
eyes. not knowing that they are de-
ceived by the wicked one, they, IKE
Eve, count that desirable which God
has said they must not take. Their
hearts follow their eyes Job XXI, y
I'M ruin oyertakes them. In Prov. XVI,
Y we learn that there Is more hope OF
a fool than Of a man who Is wise In his
own conceit Wine and strong drink
muddle mems brains and blur their
vision and wake up all the evil that Is
in them and make them seek their own
sinful qualification at any cost.
But there are many who never touch
strong drink who are so drunken With
their own intense selfshness that their
desires must be gratIfied no matter
who may suffer To be saved by Christ
and to become wholly occupied with
MI. A.. 4i,o o,lv ron, odv hOth for those