The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-09-13

Lesson Xl.--Third Quarter, For
Sept. Is, 1912.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.

Text Of the lesson. Matt. XII eo-3o.
Memory Verses. 2s, so-Golden Text.
Matt. XII, 28-commentsry Prepared
by Rev. D. M. stearns.
This lesson is another step backward
In the regular sequence of events. bus
1t matters comparatively little. as He
IL the heart of every lesson. and the
book is given to us that we may know
God. who can be known only through
Jesus Christ, as we shall see before
we have finished the lesson.
Our attention is caught first by the
three references to His mighty works
oversees 20, 81, 23), and we remember
that He said on one occasion: "lf | do
not the works of MY Father believe Me
not. But If / do, though We believe not
Me believe the works. that We may
know and believe that the Father is in
Me and / in Him" John K. 81, 3S). In
Israel's national anthem. which was
written long ago and which they will
sing when the kingdom comes, they
viii exhort one another to declare His
doings, for He hath done excellent
things (Isa. xii, A.. In their great psal-
ter they are repeatedly urged to talk OF
ali His wondrous works Cps. lxxyiii, A:
xcvi, g; CIV, 2, s; cvi. q. We should
begin at creation and follow on through
His dealings with Noah, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob. Joseph, Israels deliver
ance from Egypt and all His subse-
quent dealings with them. then remem-
Der that He who did these mighty
works in Chorazin, Bethsaida. Caper-
naum, is the same person whom we
saw working from creation onward,
who was born as the Son of Mary in
Bethlehem, but whose goings forth
have been from of old, from the days
of eternity CMic. v, 2, margin). Mark
His II say unto you" oversees %, 24l
and remember that it Is the same as
the thus saith the Lord" of the Old
Testament, and 1t stands to all eternity.
He is speaking as the Judge when He
talks of the future Of Tyre and Sidon
and Sodom and the day Of Judgment
and says that it will be more tolerable
for them than for the cities in which
He did His mighty works. for the Fa-
ther judgeth no man, but hath commit
ted all judgment unto the Son Gohn "
90. What this ''more tolerable" may
mean we cannot know certainly. but
we do know that there are degrees in
punishment, many stripes and few
stripes, as there are also degrees In
glory-every one punished or rewarded
according to their doings (Rey. xxi, u;
Jer. xvii, 10. Salvation is the same
for all and wholly Of grace apart from
any works OF ours, but the rewards for
the saved will be according to service.
All who reject Christ are lost, but pun
ishment will be according to desert.
AS to the day Of judgment, It will COW
err a thousand years. saved people being
judged for service at the judgment seat
Of Christ and the nations after that,
when the redeemed come with Christ
in glory, both Of those judgments at
the beginning of the thousand years
the judgment Of the great white throne
for the rest of the dead at the end OF
the thousand years. The Lord is not
willing that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance (II Pet.
ILL, %, and one of His last commands
before His ascension was that repent
ance and remission Of sins should be
preached in His name among all ma
tions duke XIV, At, Even after the
church shall have been caught up. when
the trumpets shall be sounded and the
Walls of wrath poured out, 1T will be in
order that men may repent (Rev. tx, 20,
81; xvi, 8, I'D, The wisdom or this
world cannot receive these or any 9TH
er truths Of God and Is increasingly re-
jecting the whole word of God, and thus
we learn that we are fast nearing the
end of this ungodly age and the dawn
of a better one. Let us be glad to be
the little children, the babes, who be-
lieye every word that our Heavenly
Father has told us, and let us not for
get that the world by it's wisdom,
whether In the pulpit or the pew or the
professors chair. does not and cannot
know God Il Cor. !. 21). 1t is better to
know God than to possess the riches or
wisdom or might of this world, but it
requires true humility and poverty OF
spirit, and that the proud. r~ebellious.
carnal mind of man does not have and
does not want der. tx. 2S, "A; Matt. v.
3; JAS. iv, 81.
When we are able to say concerning
all the words and works OF God. all
that He does or permits to be done, the
words of verse 26 from the heart,
Even so. Father. for so it seemed good
in Thy sight" we have reached a place
of real soul rest, a place where We can
abide satisfied" This was the rest OF
the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father
sent Him, and He lived by the Father.
always pleasing the Father and de-
lighting Himself In the Fathers will.
So He says to all those who labor and
are heavy laden, Come unto Me, and I
will give you rest.p The rest is to be
found In Himself, not in His service
nor His gifts. We must learn TO sing
from the heart. Jesus, / am resting.
resting Ia the joy of what Thou art.
He says. '..My peace I give unto you.'
The love OF the Father and the will OF
the Father were His rest and peace.
and they may be ours too. Only the
meek and lowly heart can enjoy His
yoke and learn Of Him, but to the nat
ural man this meekness and humility
are utterly distasteful, for the natural