The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1910-01-28
SOME LAWS or
THE KINGDOM
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LESSON TExT.-Matt- 5:17-:6, s., IS.
| Memory verse ~.
GOLDEN TExT-.Be We therefore
perfect. even as your Father which Is In
heaven is perfect"-Matt- 5:4S.
| TIME.-The summer Of A. d. q, near
the middle OF Christ's ministry.
PLACE.-The additional site is the
Horns of Hattin. two or three miles west
Of the Sea of Galilee.
Suggestion and Practical Thought.
To-day we have a vision into the in
nermost spirit of the commandments
illustrated by a few examples.
The Underlying Principle-Vs. 1870.
think not that l am come to destroy
the law, or the prophets" their moral
teachings, their promises, all they
stood for in the nation, for these were
Gods teachings through them. All
and of the world were built on the law
and the prophets. The Pharisees had
already accused Jesus of abrogating
the law of Moses mark 2:24; John
Sis, 18). Jesus denies the accuse.
ton in the strongest language.
"Abrogate the law of Moses? Never!
You Pharisees have abrogated it by
your false interpretations and misap-
plications. | have come to fulfill it.
Is. For verify l say unto you, till
heaven and earth pass away, n jot
or one title shall in no wise pass away
from b law, till all things be accom-
plished." Because the moral law is as
eternal as natural law. There is no
repeating clause in the New Tesla.
ment that sets aside the Old Tesla
ment."
The Sixth Commandment, Thou
Shalt Not Kill-Va. 21-26. "Ye have
heard in the synagogues and from
the teaching of the scribes. Said by,
better Ito" Thou shalt not kill.
commit murder In danger of the
Judgment" Not in the commandment,
but in accord with the Jewish laws.
"The judgment" was the properly con-
stftuted authorities. In this case the
local court established by the san
hedrim in every town of Palestine
ment of capital crimes.
%. But 1. The ''I' is emphatic. Say
unto you. The court punished after
the crime: Jesus would prevent the
beginnings that led to the crime.
The Principle Illustrated by the
Third Commandment = VS.. 1887.
There are two ways of breaking the
command: Thou shalt not take the
name of the Lord thy God in vain"
o. By not keeping the promise made
in Gods name; for this dishonors the
God whom you pretend to serve. (2)
By a careless and trivial use of the
name of God and religious things,
which ~cultivates irreverence, dimin-
1shes their power over men, and
makes them trivial and unreal in the
minds of both speaker and hearer.
The Scribes' Interpretation of this
commandment was: Thou shalt not
forswear myself, but shalt perform
unto the Lord thine oaths," with the
emphasis on 'the Lord"
What was there wrong in this?
Nothing so far as it went. But 1t
missed the whole spirit of the CON-
mand by their limitation of it to oaths
made in the name of God.
The Principle Illustrated by the
Law of Retaliation-Vs. 3S-42. "An
eye for an eye" A rule for punishment
of offences coming before the civil
court, and founded in justice, much
more so than the modern system of
fines, which favors the rich. This rule
is found in the lately discovered
Code of Hammurabi (B. C. 10000
tooth for tooth. y for eye, limb for
limb, son for son." etc.
80. But / say Resist not evil,'
or him that is evil" The Greek can
be rea either way. Resist not evil
by evil, but overcome evil with good.
G) "Smite thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the other Also" not liter
ally, for that would be like the rab-
bis Interpretation, but act in that
spirit; exactly as Christ did to the
man in the trial who struck him with
a rod.
CD 40. eff any man WILL" wills to,
proposes to u thee at law, has some
quarrel with you or thinks you have
wronged him, and wants to go to law
about it, and would take away thy
coat let him have thy cloak also"
Love the Fountain and Source of
All These Manifestations of the Chris
tan Life-Vs. 43-47. "Ye have heard
1t is the common teaching. Thou
shalt love thy neighbor" Uev. 1919.
Good teaching as far as it went. But
it was limited Cd by their definition
of "neighbor" as applying to those of
their own race and religion, and not
extending to all with whom they came
in contact; and CD by their addition
of and hate thine enemy"
The Ideal and the Goal-v. 4s. Be
We therefore perfect. The A. V. is
better here than the r. v. translation.
Perfect" means complete in every
part, having every element of the
heavenly character in the fullest de-
gree. The perfect "are those who
have reached the goal, have attained
maturity" In Eph. Alb, IA, perfect
describes f~ull-grown men in contrast
with babes. ct is the goal of human
excellence" the complete develop
ment of being, the embodiment of all
the commands of the whole moral
law.
Illustration. I'm the Royal gallery at
Dresden may be often seer a group
Of connoisseurs, who sit for hours be-
fore a single painting. They walk