The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-20
International SundaySchool
 Lesson
naa a,u0M oluuI 0muIHa 0ImO uMl


 12-17. July Fl, 1907.
 The Tea Commandments; Duties To
 ward Men.
 The Matterhorn is one of the Alps of course; but 1t has It's own strik- ing personality, rising like an obelisk with sides too sheer to hold the snow which crowns its neighbors. The dec- aIorue is a part of the Biba, of course; but among these hills of truth 1t rises with an individuality all it's own. Part of the Bible. yes; but strangely dls- tinct from il. Like the Matterhorn It must needs catch the eye of the most cursory and superficial reader It can not be hid. It is the best and most widely known of any part Of the Old Testament at least. if not of the entire Scripture.
 Comprehensiveness is the character ictis of this unique ethical cQde. The commandment is exceedingly broad. It Is @ miracle in words that such num- Der and variety of duties could be in | cluded in terms so Drief; Ihat IS the power and utility of it. The number of them is in itself an aid to memory The commandments can be counted on the fingers. They are ten words one for each digit.
 It is at ono recognized that the prin- ciples irradiated in this singular man ner are basal. They are Fundamental
 
 wealth can not exist without them. They are essential to social order In proportion to the obedience given them will be the stability of the State. In this connection the heinousness of crime is apparent Breaking the con- mandments does not merely injure the immediate parties; 1t tends to disin- | tegrate and subvert the whole social l order. The sentimental combining of crime and unwarrantable use of ex ecutive clemency are therefore | in themselyes harmful to the common veal. The immediate parties can not | be divorced from the larger relation which their deeds maintain.
 l The reception and ratification of this | unique and comprehensive ethical code ! was under circumstances exceedingly | appropriate. The physical environ l ment could not have been more signi- | ficant. It seemed meet and right that | the unyieiding law should come from the gray and thunder -smitten pile of | Sinai. Time was apt .too-the gene sis of a nation. The specific ceremony on the occasion was brief. but telling. Moses built 8 national altar at the foot of the Mount. and set up twelve pill lars about 1t. oue for each of the 1 tribes of which the nation was com l posed. He sprinkled half of the blood | of the victim upon the altar. It was an | object lesson, as if to say that the life | (blood signifyinS life) of Jehovah | himself was staked upon his fidelity in | awarding the rewards and punshments defined by the law. Then Moses read from parchment scroll a transcript O fthe Decalogue which he had made from the tables of stone. When he had finished. the people in one voice re- sponded, solemnly and earnestly. as the | occasion, the environment, and the ynrfIo hayn nCelx Ircv to do: All that the Lord hatn-said will we do. and be obedient." Then Moses took the other half of the blood of the victim. and sprinkled 1t upon the peo- pie. in sign that they pledged their lives to obedience to the law of God as read in their Learing that day. And this speaking national ritual closed with Moses solemn words. Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words" t0- .. Jesus relation to the law is exceed ingly significant As a Divine teacher he would not ignore this epi- tome of the Divine will. He condenses and expands it. Paradoxical? Yes. | but certainly true. It would seem that abbreviation of the Decalogue was inn possible. It seems the very soul of brevity But Jesus In a stroke re- | duces the ten words to one-Love. Love God. Love neighbor. On this hangs all the law. Again. he expands | the law. He carries 1t from external deed to internal temper, from which the | deed arises. At the same time he helps us by his Divine prespicuity to an understanding of the principles of the law. an appreciation of their worth and truth. and admiration and love Of | them so that we find ourselves In tune | with them. The Decalosue becomes the very vocabulary of our souls de- sires
 ANALYSIS AND KEY. 1. The individuality of the Decalogue Part of Bible yet distinct. Best known.
 g. Comprehensiveness. Brevity.
 g. Fundamental.
 Stability of State equal to obedi- ence to Decalogue. =.
 f. Ratification of original ethical code.
 Physical environment. time. and ceremony appropriate.
 5 Jesus condenses and expands Deca- \ 1ogue.
 Love. condensation.
 Carrying from external deed to internal temper, expansion.
 THE TEACHER'S LANTERN. Our attention is called especially to the second table of the law: our duties to men The first table is evidently the basis of the second. The last six comma ndments flow naturally out of | the first four.
 | Fifth commandment: The whole of what has been called relative duties" is here indicated by one particular phase of them; namely. the Family. This relation Is first in point of time and importance, as being the source of all other relations. Of course, 1t Is conceded that larger scope maintains in the Orient in the terms father and moth.s all ancestors and the venerable | generally are included, Even Cicero | said. We ought to venerate parent as we do God" The parent Is the gift of God. and stands in the place of God. phis has been called the first command ment with promise. This Is only the | enunciaation of a natural law. Dutl- | ful children are usually free from the | vices which tend to shorten life. Or course, the idea of happy conditions is included in the promised prolongation of days. for more longevity Is not always desirable. Where unhappy conditions are involved. 1t may well be deemed a curse and misfortune.
 Sixth commandment: The Revised | Version Is evidently a preferable read ing Thou shalt do no murder" Never in the history of the race has this com | mandment held such universal sway. The number of capital crimes of which the law takes cognizance is reduced to a minimum. There was a time when