Evening star., 1919-09-27
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON

inere are two ways in which 1t is
possible to treat a review lesson. It
is possible to take up each study of
the quarter and make a resume of
!ts sanent features. Another method
ls TO point out the outstanding truths
common to the quarters lessons. To
sucn a treatment our present study
seems to lend itself.
The topics for the past three months
nave Deen fundamental in character
ana wide In scope. It has been well
70 get down to a study Of the basic
tninss OF religion. There should re-
SUIT from such a survey a deep and
lastlng benefit. In religion. an An
other fields of human activity. we
are prone to give too much thought
70 the external and more patent
pies. pies Just as the builder cannot
erect a lofty skyscraper on a weak
ioundatton, 80 1t is not possible Id
build strong. Christian life and
character without secure GROUNDING
In the vital truths. OF one thine
we may be sure. and that is that nd
sincere and earnest student of the
and attention to the past twelve les
sons without a material deepening
ana quickening Of his spiritual life.
The review theme-Jesus, Our
Savior and King-is the climax in
the serfes. The majestic figure OF
ouf LORD. the divine Son of God. il
symnolical Of the highest type OF
heroism. as in the last days Of Hi.
earthly mission. He sets His face
toward Jerusalem, to meet the in.
evttable conflict with the chief priest.
and scribes. - 's
The time had come for a public decla-
rauoh OF kingship. by means of q dra-
fH1HnnhoI
uaLy taught that He had come to estah.
nsn the kingdom of God and He now in
tended to proclaim that the kingdom
was already in their midst That men
should acknowledge Him as King was
tne purpose Of much Of His efforts. he
. nao esta abiished the church, with its
splflt OF love and service. for the pur-
pose OF furnishing visible representa-
lon OF that Kingdom. 1t is. as we saw
N our iirst lesson, the working force OF
the kingdom. The ordinance Of baptism
was designed to provide a means Of de-
caring publicly our allegiance to Him,
The Lords supper. which He Instituted,
was ever to be testimony of our con.
Vlctlon that some day the Christ is to
reign as King of Kings and Lord of
Lords, but that day can never come till
He has been acknowledged by every
soul.
How sad must have. been the heart Of
end while the songs Of hosannas rang in
His ears. He who pierces beyond the
veil into the very heart and soul knew
that the throng was hailing Him as an
earthly king. They had long looked for
a temporal kingdom. How meaeer was
their conception! The Son of God had
come. not as master of material things,
but as the Master Of hearts and mo-
tives: not as a temporal, but as an eter-
nal King. Only a few great souls had
caught a glimpse Of the real kingdom,
and during two thousand years there
has been an overwhelming circle OF
these who hail the lowly son of Joseph.
the carpenter Of Nazareth, as the King
OF their lives, and have sworn allegiance
to the truths He taught and exemplified
while upon the esIth.
But it was not only as a King that
the Christ wished to be accepted. In
the ninth verse Of the twenty-first chap
ter of Matthew we read that the multi
tudes cried, BLESSED is He that cometh
in the name Of the Lord" Even though
they failed to grasp the real significance
Of their cry. He did not rebuke them.
for it was His desire to be recognized
as Gods representative. He came pri-
marily to reveal the Father, to make
God and His holy attributes known unto
man. How could men worship intelli-
gently Supreme Being Of whose char
acter they were ignorant? He taught
VI Oil SlcTHdl AIC WILL. IOu. he Cfl-
umphed over the grave and death to
demonstrate the power Of God. AS the
representative of the Father He healed
and forgave sins. Upon His followers is
trjoined the duty Of bearing witness of
Christ and thus aiding men to find God,
through the Son.
I, conclusion. it should be said that
the quarters lessons lay heavy re-
sponsibilities upon all Christians.
Those who have studied these great
truths must feel the serious duties
confronting them. Through the
agency OF the church. the kingdom is
to be advanced Not by might nor
power, but by spiritual N generation
the world is to be won for ChristiaA-
ity. We are called to high service.
Opportunity was never SO widespread
as today. It remains for this genera
tion to give a new ne :. impetus ng.ssu to His
task, but that task is part of Gods
plan 70. the et world tSs nsst with .aS the
nossibiItties of the future as our in
centives. let rs renew our allegiance
and redouble our efforts for our Savior