The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-02-28
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM
MENTS FOR MARCH 8 By
THE REv.I. w. HENDERSON.

Text, Luke ISL Memory
Verses, 1920.
Abram Is now Abraham And he
Is still familiar friend of God. God
yet appears to him and converses
with him, giving him comfort, in
spiration, advice God is his coun-
selor, and his Joy is In Him.
This lesson presents for our con-
sideration four matters of impor-
tance, 1. e., Gods confidence in Abra-
ham; the consequences of communal
sin; the loving sympathy of Abraham
with the sinners of a SHINING COM
munity; the mercy and justice of
God.
God had confidence in Abraham.
He had delegated to him work that
was to have its influence upon all
time. And having summoned him,
God doesn't forget that Abraham Ia
In His confidence. Abram had been
selected by Him, and he had fulfilled
with fidelity the obligations that God
had laid upon him. Abram had been
faithful to his Divine commission.
Therefore God had confidence in him;
therefore God recognized Abraham's
right to know the Divine will and
to receive information of the Divine
Intentions. The proof of this lies in
the question of Jehovah, "Shall /
nide from Abraham that which / do?"
Here God recognizes that Abraham
was called of Himself, that he was
trustworthy, that he had claim
upon the Divine favor
The lesson shows lis also the conse-
quences of communal sin. 1t de-
scribes to us the end of social In
iquity. 1t is, in way, parallel to
the stories concerning the conse-
quences Of sin that we have had al
ready. Sodom was so wicked that, to
paraphrase verses 20 and 21, we may
say that the very walls cried out to
Heaven. 1t was sunk in sin, dead
with depravity to all sense of de-
cency, its shame smelled to Heaven,
Its iniquity was grievous. And God
stood 1t as long as His integrity
would permit and then He visited a
righteous judgment upon it. He re.
moved its inhabitants from any part
In this worlds affairs, He totally an.
initiated its earthly power for cor
ruption, He wiped the place off the
map. But in Lot was a remnant OF
manhood left, and only a remnant al
that. God saved the remnant.
Abraham's "peradventure" prayer
Is remarkable for many things. II
Indicates to us that prayer has q
proper place in the life of the man
who lives near to God, that Abraham
had no proper conception of the full.
ness of the character of God, that i'm.
plicitly he attributed to Jehovah a
hardness that was unreal, that he felt
that he was on such terms of init.
macy with Divinity that he could Sc.
cure favor for others beside himself.
These things are perfectly clear as
we read the text and they need no en-.
larging. The most remarkable thing
about the prayer isthis, that Abraham
had love for sinners who were not
related to him by blood, as we'll as at.
lection for his own kin. It Is evi- =,
dent, of course, that with righteous
Lot as the price he hoped 70 strike q
sharp bargain with Jehovah. But
back of that there lies an appreciation
Of the love that good men should
have for sinners outside of their per-
sonal acquaintanceship.
The justice and mercy of God are
here revealed. Abraham could not
ask more than God was ready to
grant. For the sake of ten decent
citizens He stood ready to let mercy
take the place of exact justice and
give the city another chance to re-
deem itself. That struck even Abra-
ham as fair proposition. It was all
that he dared to ask. Evidently the
ten couldn't be found. Gods mercy
was valueless. The city is lost. But
With an exact justice that humanity
has not yet learned to administer,
Lot and his family are spared. His
wife dlsobeyed commands and she
was turned to salt Lot and his
daughters just escaped to the hills
and that was all. And study of the
precious trio will make one wonder
how even they escaped.
The immediate lessons are these:
We may all enjoy Gods favor and
enter into knowledge of His mind,
as II is continuously revealed, II we
will obey Him. Except this land is
to follow after Sodom and the en-
pires that are dead, we must comport
ourselves In righteousness. Some of
the sin of America smells to Heaven
as badly as Sodoms ever did. Our
social iniquities, CLOSED with the re-
finementS cf an unprecedented civil
ization and protected by the seal of
legality, are simply ungodly. We who
are striving to do Gods will in the
midst of such conditions should pray
Gods patience with those who defy
HIM. And however hard It may be
for us to understand, sometimes, the
mysterious way of God with His
world we must always remember
that He is juster than humanity and
more merciful than are we.
These notes may assist:
VS.. IS. Blessed" CT. Gen. 1873.
VS.. 20. "Cry." The cities are
spoken of as crying out to Heaven be-
cause OF the wickedness within their
walls. Sin" CT. Gen. 10.
VS.. 21. "Go-see." Notice the
anthropomorphic language.
VS.. 23. Consume" "The older
Israelite philosophy held that a mans
fortunes were always exactly proper
toned to his conduct, so that II man
suffered 1t was clear proof that he
had sinned." This is what worries
Abraham. For Lot was measurably,
in his time. good man.
Uha -, r,.ax, oe nod ta tha oooot 20