The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1910-05-12
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson Vll.-Second Quartec,
For May Is, 1910.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.

TG-"SuiOlJ NSI Sc -NASiGNh hCNN1
Matt. xii, 3o-Commentary Prepared
by Rev. D. M. Stearns.
We have today the option of the
regular lesson or a special lesson CD
the Holy Spirit. but as the lesson for
the day gives opportunity for a study
of the Holy Spirit we will continue
regularly. First we see Him healing
a demon possessed man who was both
blind and dumb. and the man both
spake and saw. The people were
amazed and said, rs not this the son
of David?" perhaps recalling the
words of lisa. XXXv, ), 6, Then the
eyes of the blind shall be opened and
the ears of the deaf shall be unstop-
ped; then shall the lame man leap as
an hart and the tongue of the dumb
sing" Recently we saw Him heal Il
demon possessed dumb man dX, 81
331. but in this case the afflicted man
was blind as well as dumb. But moth
ing is too hard for the Lord. Can we
imagine a kingdom without sickness
or infrmity or suffering Of any kind?
Yet that is what we expect and shall
surely see in His time Qsa. XXXiii, "a;
Rev. xxi, ID.
The blind Pharisees madly accuse
Him of casting out demons by the
power of the devil himself, as if Satan
would cast out Satan and work
against himself. How foolishly the
devil does cause people to talk! They
talk much more fooliShly today when
they say ard teach that there is no
devil at all and no hell. 1t would seem
from verse p that unbelievers were
permitted by their ruler to do some
wonderful things, even as the magi-
clans of Egypt counterfeited the mir
acles of Moses up to a certain point.
We know from II Thess. ii. 8: Rev
xiii, Ills. that at the end of this age
the devil will specially deceive many
by his miracles and signs and lying
wonders Our Lord Jesus said that
if it We're possible they would deceive
the very elect Matt. xiv, 2D, so we
must not be deceived by the wonders
wrought by the adversary in the name
of spiritualiSm. Christian Science and
other false teaching of our times,
These things will continue and in
crease until the devil. the strong man
of verse 20, shall have been bound
and shut up in the bottomless pit for
1000 years Gtev. Xxx, 49,. The truth
of God. just as it stands in His word.
is the only power that will set us free
from all decisions John viii. 80. So.
We are either with Christ or against
Him. either taught by the spirit Of
God or the devil oversees 2S. 3U. If
people resist the Holy Spirit and listen
TO the teaching Of demons it is, as
Jesus said. impossible to escape the
damnation of hell Matt. xiii 33l. AS
I understand it the objectionable sin
of verses 81. 50. and | John V, lG. is
the persistent turning from the Holy
Spirit to the devil and attributing to
the latter the works Of the Spirit. Let
it comfort and encourage any who
fear they have committed the unpar-
donable sin to remember that the very
fact that they have fear of such
guilt is evidence that the Holy Spirit
has not left them. and. however far
they may have wandered. if they will
only turn to the Lord the word stands,
Him that cometh unto me l will in
nowise cast out GOhn vi, 30.
That words are an evidence of the
condition of the heart Verse 80 should
make US cOvet to have the word OF
God dwelling in us richly in order
that our words may SAVIOR of Christ.
1t would be well to be like Elihu in
Job xxXil, 1920. ard that would be
the case if our experience was that of
Job xiii. II; Jer. XIV, Is. If we kept
verse SO of our lesson in mind it
would make us more careful in view
of Rom. xiv. 10, -.
In verse 3S see these blind and foOi
ish Pharisees asking for q sign after
He had already wrought in their pres
ence all the signs which the prophets
had said would be done by the Mes
siah No wonder that He called them
an evil and adulterous idol worship
ing, world conformed) generation
Verse 39), a generation of vipers Verse
"a; xiii, 33). of their father the devil
John viii, Az. for He knew them well
and knew what was in them.
See in verses 40, Al. His Endorsement
of the story of Jonah and the great
fish and Nineveh and her repentance.
and no doubt He looked onward TO the
time when Israel, cast up on their
shores by the nations. would become
truly penitent at His appearance in
glory and carry His message not to
one city. but to all nations for their
good. See in verse AZ His indorse-
ment of the story of the queen CT
Sheba and the wisdom of Solomon, and
doubtless He looked onward to the
fulfillment of lisa. TX. Is he to US a
greater than Jonah or Solomon or
Moses or Aaron? Do we say. with
great gratitude and gladness, I'VE
have such an High Priest Heb. viii.
1; vii. 20; iv. 15D. and have we as be-
levers entered into rest? (Heb. iv. 81
Those who profess to be His friends
and yet talk down the things that He
believed are no friends of His, but
rather belong to the company repre-.
nv pbo Of IIic