The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-05-31

Someone has called attention IN -.
butts OF God as recorded in n.
Scriptures, showing that they sIvar.
lead to something good and coptract.
them with those of men that are alwavs
the introduction to some ~derogatory r.
mark. In something resembling m.
the words Of Jesus, Take heed ar
tremendous with import.
Doing was the greatest thing in tba
Jewish religion that Jesus came IN II
aside when he established his nav
Kingdom. 1t is easy for a man in ~
10 do for himself in order to meri,
Gods favor. 1t is hard to lot Gna d.
for us and we to accept his finished
work.
In this lesson there is one incln
sive word and three illustrations T5lo
word is the word righteousness ami.
stituted in the Revised Version "a,
the word aims" in verse one TIA
three lines Of application or lIlnstr,
tions used are, first, that we shan
make our righteousness secure by an
doing our aims as not to be seem ~
men; second, that in the saying Of
our prayers We shall not, like the
hyprocrites, desire to be seen of man
and third, that in the keeping of our
fasts and our vigils we do them not
as do hyprocrites, that the multitudes
may observe and comment thereon
In another lesson upon this mani.
festo of Jesus we studied the subject
OF the law and in it he summarized Il
all by telling us that except our rtgbte.
BUSINESS shall exceed the Righteousness
Of these Scribes and Pharisees, whom
John the Baptist designated as a zen.
Grafton Of Yipers-hypocrites, we shall
IN no wise enter into this new kingdom
which Jesus came to establish.
Righteousness He Demands.
In the lesson Jesus shows us tbs
difference between their righteous
ness and the righteousness which he
IS demanding of the subject of his
kingdom, He demands that our righte,
BUSINESS shall seek its approval not
from nor among men but of God, The
motive which must govern Is the
glory, not of man but of God, not
mans approval but the approval OF
God. In verse two the word aims"
is retained and hence the first illus
tration has to do with our doing Of
aims |, e., u relations to men about
MS, our right-ness. The doing of aims
has no fundamental connection with
any question of honesty between man
and man. The doing Of aims accord
ing to the strict Interpretation Of civil
law is no part Of duty. There is no
reason why the business man should
give away his earnings provided he is
just In his dealings and does not de.
fraud in his transactions. Yet we do
see men making great gifts and bene-
factions to the cause of philanthropy
Why? Jesus lays bare the secret
when he says, that they may have
the glory Of men"
Next Jesus takes up the subject Of
prayer. Again Jul attention Is drawn
to the fact that the exercise of prayer
has but little to do with our relations
to men. True it is these relations
must be right before we can come to
God acceptably but prayer is to DO d.
rected to God and not to man. Apart
from our belief in God, why should we
pray? Commercial or other inter.rela-
tionships do not require prayer, why
pray? The keen blade of Jesus
logic again reveals the innermost Sc.
cret, that they may be seer of men"
and such an idea of righteousness is
repugnant in the kingdom of Jesus.
We now come to the third ~illustra'
tion, the keeping of fasts. Fasting
does not and never has appealed to
the natural man. Naturally it is re-
pugnant and dlstasteful and yet We
see men making a show of fasting and
imposing a like burden upon others,
why? THAT they may be seer OF
men," Is there, then, no place for,
nor ministry in fasting? Certainly
there Is. True fasting, however, con-
sists in foregoing and abstaining for
the glory of God"
God the Final Judge.
1t is a sad fact that much of our len
ten fasting and Of our abstemiousness
upon Fridays is that it shall be seen
OF men and not because of any real ap
probation Of the underlying need or
sense of the principles of fasting.
This lesson is a great warning that II
condition our righteousness upon
the approval Of man it will have no re-
ward whatever Of God. The ostenta-
tious or unctious display Of phil
anthropy will receive its reward from
men and weighs naught.
In so doing we are but selfishly
seeking to exalt and this is always an
tagonistic to God who is properly jeal'
Gus OF the glory which is rightfully his.
Our exaltation should be of God, not
from man. If our prayers are but
external forms repeated to make an
impression upon men, like that one
said to be "the finest prayer ever Of
Tered TO a Boston audience" we need
expect no answering reply from the
throne on high. II our fasting is pa
raded before men as an outward show
to create in the minds of men a false
estimate of II spiritual lives, we must
look to men for our reward and not 70
God for 1t has no merit that Will
avail with him.
How the honest heart Of mankind
at the suggestion Of affected
,iety for personal, material, gain or ad-
Hypocrisy is, however, SUD