The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-07-10
THE. SUNDAY SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM
MENTS FOR JULY II Blythe
REV. I. ". HENDERSON.

REV. I. W. HENDERSON.
Subject: The Ten Commandment
Duties Toward God, Ex. 20:l-
11-Golden Text: Dent. 6:5-,.
Memory Verses, Iii.
This lesson and its successor deal
with the ten commandments. OF all
Old Testament writings these are
perhaps the best known. There are
no words in all the Old Testament
more important than these. They
should be written large upon the
walls of every building in the land.
Especially large and lasting upon the
walls of the public buildings. They
should be the guide for the guidance
Of the life Of humanity in so far as
they meet the moral necessities Of
the times. For the ten command
ments are eternal. They are not
only the word Of God but the testi-
mony Of the ripest and best human
experience of the ages. They are
valuable because they are. Gods law,
because they are simple, because they
have been found efficient In the past
and particularly applicable and
necessary in u own day and age.
The first commandment Is to- b
found in verses 1-3. It L. a call OF
God to, undivided loyalty. There
cannot be right relationship between
man and God unless man stands
ready to yield fealty to God to the
exclusion Of every other fact and
force in life. Originally and specific
ally 1t was q call to the undivided
loyalty Of the ~Israelite to the one
true Jehovah as opposedstosthe null
titude Of deities that infested the ecl
clesiastical and theological world of
that age. But in its wider signif-
canoe 1t Is a call to the service OF the
one true God over against the seduc-
tons Of the pleasures and the sins
and the e%ngrossing cares Of the life
temporal. For many a; man makes
money a God, or position, or power,
or intellect, or pleasure.
The second command is included
In verses 4-6. Given In the midst Of
an idolatrous age this command was
especially appropriate. For fdolatryt
had destroyed the finer spiritual fac:
ulties of the nations that praeticedftts
lowered their conceptions Of the ma
iesty and spirituality OF Jehovah and
debased their religious life. The
principle underlying this cem1nandis
valid to-day. There is great danger
In any attempt to portray the inyfsi-
BILE and omnipotent God. 1nithe very
nature Of the case It Is an impossi-
bility adequately to convey however
skillful we may be, any really com
prehensive idea Ut the glory and per
sonality of God. For God Is divine.
Humanity ID the works OF human
lty are fnice and partial. And any
attempt to convey to the mind and
heart and soul, by means Of purely
finite and temporal agencies, q trne
conception of the infinite and eternal
is hopeless and quite dangerous. Its
hopelessness Is Inherent III its very
.tmpossibility. It's; danger lieg in $the
human prom " 80 to elevate the gvisj
BILE to a pla.. Of prime Importance
The third commandment lin
verse 7. And it Is q, good Command.
It is as timely to-day asst was when
God Numbered 1t into the soulsSo OF
Israel. The language OF, the times liz
In many ways a gross violation OF tht1
command. The vocabulary OF the
streets is so positively indecent that
one cannot walk the thorOughfareE
of any village or city In this land
without having ones fner sensibiH-
ties shocked. The amount OF goddess
talk that is prevalent in this country
Is positively, awful. And 1t is not
only unrighteous to use the nameSof
God in vain, but it is also unmanly,
Indecent and disgusting. Every
small boy and growing youth should
early learn this truth II none other
that bad language is simply q cone
fession of q fundamental inability.
to talk the language OF civilized and
decent men. The idea that 1t Is man
ly and an evidence Of maturity to
curse and swear and be generally
profane is totally erroneous. Aman,s
culture and refinement are shown not
by the amount Of bad language that
he uses, but by the amount he doesn't
use. There Is no excuse for bad Ian.
guage. It Is simply dirty habit
The fourth commandments may be
read in verses Gil. It Is a plea ana
demand for the dedication OF one
seventh of ones time to the particu-
lar purpose of religious and physical
refreshment. The writer personally
has no preference for any particular
day as a rest day. For he 4concetyes
that the important thing to-day Is; to-
so remedy conditions in this country
that men shall be able to have one
day a week for spiritual and physical
refreshment. He is perfectly willing
to allow Individual liberty OF prefer
ence and conscience full sway when
It comes to the consideration OF what
day in the week shall be used as the
rest day. He is, however, puritani.
cally narrow on the proposition that
we must so adjust present Industrial
conditions in America that men may
be able, one and all, to secure one
day q week for the special culture OF
their souls and the best refreshment
Of their bodies.
The fourth commandment contains
another admiration that might well
be pondered by some OF the lazy loa1-
ers of young men who waste e
time hanging around hotel and sa-
loon corners instead of doing eome-
thing for the betterment OF the world
and themselves. It says six days
shalt tnou labor" And no man is
really entitled to any consideration
at the hands of society unless he q
in some fashion measured up to this
command. No man really appre,
ciates the rest day who has not lab1
ored over against 1t. And no man.
has any business to live on society
without rendering some sort OF re-
urn for the living.
Canadian Railway Progress.
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