The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1908-06-30
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL,
Lesson Third Quarter, For
r. July S, 1903.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.
Text ct the Lesson, l Sam. viii, 1922.
Memory Verses 10, 2o-Golden Text.
Prov. viii. ts-comrentary Prepared
by Rev. o. M. Stearns.

| III turning Ddck 10 the Old Testament
for six months which remain Of this
year we are to learn or the same Israe
and the same Lord of whom We have
been reading In the gospel by John
and very similar treatment of the Lord
by Israel. for In all ages man is the
same In his sin and the Lord Is the
same In His unchanging love and long
suffering. Israel could say truly. and
they will yet say again as never before.
THE Lord Is our Judge. the Lord Is our
Lawgiver, the Lord Is our King; He
will save u.s. lisa. xxxiiI, 22,. BY His
own great power He brought them out
OF the iron furnace Of Egypt at the ap-
pointed time according TO Ills word to
Abraham. He bore with them and
cared for them forty years In the
wilderness and In due time placed them
In the land Of Canaan. Then He gave
them judges for about $50 years until
Samuel the prophet Afterward they
desired, a king tActs Kill. lT-ai,. that
they might be like other nations oversees
Z. ID. 2OI, and thus they rejected the
Lord rs their King md forsook Him.
preferring not to be the Lords own
peculiar people. He had never dealt
with any nation as He had with Israel
He bare them on eagles wings ana
brought them unto Himself that they
mig be His peculiar treasure above
all other people Oil Sam. VII, %, "a:
Elk. xix. 4, 81. yet they wearied Of Him
and rebelled against Him and rejected
Him. How like to the record In John
|. II. and xix. 10. "He came unto His
own. and His own received Him not"
THE chief priests answered. We have
no king nut Caesar" The carnaI MIND
ever since sin, entered the world BIZ
been at enmity against God. always
manifest In greater or less degree.
Israel sin at this time Is reproduced
In the great majority Of protesting
Christians today. They are unwilling
to be whole hearted for God. preferring
conformity to this world. even though
IL means eternal and irrpparable loss.
Samuel felt hurt evidently that the
elders Of Israel should thus set him
aside. or at least act on that line. but
he did the wise thing. as was his wont
he told the Lord all about il. The
Lord comforted him as Jesus did Ills
disciples long afterward when lie said:
The servant Is not greater than his |
Lord. II they have prosecuted Ne. they |
will also prosecute you' (John ~. a0I |
The Lord assured Samuel that He
Uphovah was the rejected one and not /
Samuel He authorized Samuel to tell
Israel that He would give them king.
but he gave them fair warning, com.
missioning him 10 tell them what kind
OF man he would be. So Samuel told
all the words OF the Lord unto the pep
pie fverse l01. Just as he had told the
words Of the people unto the Lord.
In the former case he acted as pruoh.
ct. the Lords spokesman. and in the
latter as priest representing the people
before God The people werr warned
th { the king they desired would sosely
Cypress them and that they would be
sorry they had asked for him dis
They were told that he would take
about all that belonged 10 them. Notice
six times In these verses just referred
to. "Iie will take. he will take" Their
sons and daughters and fields and
grain and servants and fOct:s he woald
TO himself. This they were
plainly told. and yet they Insisted that
they would have a king so AZ 10 be
like other nations. So II was written
long afterward. Il gave thee king I'm
mine anger and took him away In Ny
wrath uloS. xiii. III. Does II not seprI
as II Jesus had this In mind when lie
said: II am come In Ny Fathers name
aud ye receive Me not. II another
shall come In bis own name. him We
will receive" John v. 49,. This other
Will be the antichrist spoken Of IN
Dan. ri. 3G Is: ~ Thess. u. $40. u
would seem monstrOus that men In
any measure sane should choose
mana mortal. selfish man-who womb
take everything they bad from them.
instead Of the Living Col. who gave
them MI things richly to enjoy. lie
gave them bread from heaven during
forty years In the wilderness, aud all
the flesh they could eat. and water
from the rock. and the land 81 Canaan
with all It's riches. as set forth In Deut.
II. e-l2. and Ills continual presence
and constant care and Ills power and
His wisdom. 10 would seem unbelIey.
able that men would turn their backs
upon such an Almighty Friend aud
choose o r0bber II we had not read
That these same people In nfter years
coolly and deliberately rejected Jesus
81 Nazareth. their Messiah. the Je
hovah Of the Old Testament. and chose
robber and Murderer In Ills stead
Men are now persistently and de!ibcr.
itely and continually choosing tho
pleasures OF sin for o season and re-.
'using the Kingdom Of God, with lis
sternal weight OF glory: choosing q
and destroyer and liar. who
blinds their eyes to the light Of the
glorious gospel, rather than the Lord Of
life and glory, who gave Himself a sac.
'if1ce for our sins, even for the sins OF
he whole world. The things seen and
temporal are more 10 the great ma.
Iority than all the things Unseen and
@sEUat anH Iffs.s Il. Il