The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-01-22
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL,
Lesson IN.-First Quarter, For
Jan. "a, 1909.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.

Memory Verses 9, 1o-ooIden Text,
Acts III, 16-commentary Prepared
by Rev. D. NJ. stearns.
copyright, 1908, by American Presa AssOciation.l
In this chapter we have another
testimony from Peter to the power of
the risen, living Christ in the presence
of large congregation in the temple,
who were gathered to see the man
who had been lame from his birth
now perfectly healed. In this discourse
Peter looks back not only to the death
and resurrection Of Christ, but away
farther back to the prophecies concern
with Abraham and then onward to
the time Of His coming again to re-
store all things of which the prophets
have spoken. Thus we have another
example Of the contents of the Scrip
lures and how to use them-the hu-
initiation and suffering Of Christ, the
center Of all, and the kingdom the
circumference. See in Pet. 1, IL;
", 13; V, 1, his repeated references to
the sufferings Of Christ and the glory
that shall follow. 1t is written In lisa.
xxxv, 6, among other samples Of king
dom life, that "the lame shall leap as
an hart" and In this man Of our les
son walking and leaping and praising
God we have a fulfllment Of that
prophecy, for, as 1 understand it. the
kingdom was not irrevocably post
poned till by the martyrdom Of Ste
phen they rejected the Holy Spirit, as
they had the Father and the Son.
AS the apostles preached the good
news there were not thousands saved
every day or every week, but daily
some saved ones were added to the
church III, 40. There is quite con-
trast between helping a poor blind
beggar and winning thousands Of souls,
and yet the former may as truly glo-
rify God as the latter. Not many lives
are filed with startling events, but
every redeemed life may be filled with
so called commonplaces to the glory of
God. find much help and comfort In
meditating upon the life that was lived
in the humble home and the carpenter
shop of Nazareth, with which the Fa-
ther testified that He was well pleased.
In the opening verses of our lesson
the temple is very prominent, but nei-
ther tabernacle nor temple was any
thing apart from Him who said, LET
them make Me sanctuary, that !
may dwell among them" Ex. XIV, g.,
one greater than the temple, who
when he cleansed 1t said, Make not
My Fathers house an house Of mer-
chandise" (Matt. XII, @; John II, 16).
While, as a rule, there was at this time
no real worship Of God In the temple,
we must remember such as Zacharias
and Simeon and Anna and that our
Lord Jesus Himself often taught the
people there. The gate Beautiful is at
least suggestive of Him who is "alto-
gether lovely" CS. Of Sol. v, 16) and
points onward to the time Of the king
dom when the walls Of the city shall
be called Salvation and her gates
Praise Elsa. Xvi, 49,. The inhabitant
shall not say, 1 am sick, and there
shall be no more death nor sorrow nor
crying nor pain on the whole earth
Qsa. xxxiil "a; Rev. xxi, A.. The
needy, the poor and him that hath no
helper shall find q true helper In the
King who shall then reign in righteous
ness Ps. lxxii; Isa. xxxii, 1, 10. If any
would inquire why this man was born
lame, see John *, 8, and lay to heart
verse and let God work His works
In us. This poor man asked, expect
ing to receive" (verse 81, which is
more than can be said Of many who
profess to pray to God. May Ps. lxit
8, become truly our own experience.
We see in the days in which we live
an unprecedented grasping for silver
and gold because Of that which people
think 1t will do for them, because they
know not the Scriptures, that neither
silver nor gold shall deliver them in
the day Of the Lords wrath" and that
no rich man can by any means redeem
soul nor give to God ransom (Zeph
1, 1s; Ps. Xix, 6, q. In Jesus Christ,
the Creator Of all things, who alone
can truly say, "The silver Is mine and
the gold is mine" (Hag II, 81, are du.
rable riches and righteousness and
health for body and soul. To know
Him as Peter and John did is better
than all earth's riches or wisdom OF
might Ger. *, %, 24. Peter washed
sanctifed, justified and Spirit filed ia
In such conscious fellowship with the
risen Christ that he can be such q
channel Of health from Christ to this
lame man that all the people can see
1t. All believers should be In such
fellowship with Christ that something
Of His life and power might be seen
in each Of us, to the glory of God phil
I, 20; II Cor. iv, III.
Talking to Israelites, Peter magni
fed the God Of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, whose son Jesus. the Holy One
the Just, the Prince Of Life, had beer
killed by them, but by God had beer
raised from the dead, and insists that
In His name alone had this lame man
been healed. He therefore urges them
to change their minds about Jesus and
receive Him as their Saviour and Mes
siah and thus obtain the forgiveness
Of sins. The gospel that does not pro
claim the forgiveness of sins through
T. Il n -