The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-04-28
SUNDAY SCHOOL;
Lesson X.-Second Quarter, For
May 2, 1915.
The INTERNATIONAL SERIES,

Memory Verses, 4, -GoIden Text,
Prov. xxx, 25-commentary Pre-
pared by Rev. D. M. stsarns.
The work Of the devil is not a pleas
ont meditation, but it Is necessary that
we should know our great adversary
so as to successfully resist him The.
topic of the lesson today is Saul trying.
to kill David, and ever since Cain.
killed Abel the devil has been very
busy killing people. He is spoken Of
in Heb. IL, II, as having the power Of
death: but. although he has been per-
mitted to follow his occupation SO long.
the time will come when he shall be.
sent to the lake Of fire forever and
there shall be no more death on this
earth REV. *. 10; xxi. 4; I Cor. Nv.
26). Meantime it Is the believers priv
ilege to be delivered from fear Of
death and from all bondage in connec-
ton Herewith (Matt. Z. %: Heb. Il.
15). All envy and jealousy and strife
are also of the devil and should not be-
tolerated in a believer (Jas. Ill. 1416;
Eph. iv. 80. 81.
Although chapter xix or a part Of It
is our lesson chapter, We must look at
xviii for the connection. The first four
verses Of chapter xviii are thrillingly
beautiful in their assurance and mani
festation Of the love Of Jonathan and.
David, but we shall come to that topic
in our next lesson. After David's vic
tory over Goliath Saul set him over
the men Of war. and he was accepted
in the sight Of all the people. and the
women sang his praises, magnifytng:
him much more than Saul xviii, sd.
This made Saul angry and Jealous. and
twice he tried to kill David with u
javelin, but each time David escaped
xviii. S-11). While God may allow bis,
saints to be sorely tried, prosecuted
and even slain. no real evil can befall
them, for in the resurrection they shall
be as manifestly without injury as
were Daniels friends when they came
out of the furnace or Daniel himself
when he came out Of the lions den.
Because the Lord was manifestly
with David and he behaved himself
wisely Tor p%rospered. xviii, 5, IA, a
GIN Saul became afraid of him. re-
moved him from being head Of the
army and made him captain over a
thousand. But all Israel and Judah
loved David xviii, 12-16).. The rest
of chapter xviii tells how Saul sought
to get rid of him by subtlety; but, fail
ing in that scheme, he became David's
continual enemy. Chapter xix opens
with a command to Jonathan and to all
the servants that they should kill Da-
vid. but Jonathan advised him to hide
a little while until he could talk with
his father. The result of this inter-
view was that Saul swore to Jonathan
that David should not be slain, so Jon.
athan brought him back. and he was
in Saul's presence as in times past
xix. 10. So far so good. but a a
liable to give way to an evil spirit at
n moment cannot be trusted. How
sadly suggestive the opening words OF
verse s, And there was war again.
So it has been. and so it shall be until
the devil is removed from the earth
and the air, and the whole age in
which we are now living is described
by our Lord as a time of wars and ru-
mors Of wars, famines, p~estilences and
earthquakes (Aatt. xiv, 6, y. but the
time will come when the nations snail
learn war no more, for He who alone
IS able to do it will make wars to-
cease unto the end Of the earth.
In the war with the Philistlnes Da-
yid was victorious again and slew
them with a great slaughter, and the
Lord wrought another great salvation
for all Israel (verses ), s.. But there
was war again in Saurs heart and
home, for the evil spirit was yielded
to, envy and anger had control, ana
the iavelin almost did its deadly work
with David oversees 9, 10y. Again the
Lord was his shield and deliverer. and
the weapon did not prosper lisa. Nv,
III. AS some one has said, the devil
is very persistent. and so David nad
not much peace. Now he seeks to
kill David in his own house. and MS
wife, Michal, proves to be. his human
deliverer, helping him to make his es-
cape through q window and putting an
image in his bed, for when she said to
the messengers that he was sick saul
then sent to bring him on his Bee.
| Saul was so angry when he found how
his daughter had deceived him that ne
spake of killing her oversees 11-lO.
What fearful control Of Saul the deV-
il did obtain! And it is so still that II
the Spirit Of God is resisted the ad-
versary comes in with great power. II
people will not receive the truth God
allows them to receive a lie OH Thess.
ii. 1912. David, seeing himself so
persistently prosecuted. fed to his
friend Samuel at his home in Ramah,
and they both went and dwelt in Nal
9th. Three times Saul sent to lake
him there, but each time the Spirit OF
ro5 b;ndorod opd avan tOok hold OF