Christian Nation Vol. 18 1893 - Rparchives.org

Sabbath School Lesson,LESSON v., SABBATH, APRIL 30, 1893,Wisdom's Warning. Prov. 1:20-33.GOLDEN TBXT :.See that ye refuse not him that speaJceih. Heb.12:25.20 Wisdom crieth without ; she uttereth her voicein the streets:21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in theCHEISTIAN NATION. Volume 18.openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth herwords, saying,22 How loug, ye simple ones, will ye love simplic­It is clearly enunciated, " Wisdom criethity ? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and aloud," V. 20. (I follow rev. ver.) The announcementhere made is like the voice of anone of my reproof: vs. 24, 25. Here is anfools hate knowledge?awful indictment. Wisdom standing at the23 Turn you at my reproof : behold, I will pour out crier, about to offer something valuable, andmy Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto he cries, " On the last, that great day of theyou.feast, Jesus stood and cried." In the 9ih chapterWisdom sends out her maidens who cry in24 Because I have called, and ye refused ; I havestretched out my hand, and no man regarded ; the highest places of the city. Here is the25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and Gospel proclaimed.would none of my reproof :2. The call of wisdom is most publicly made.26 I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock "Wisdom crieth aloud in the street: she utter­when your fear cometh ;27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and yourdestruction cometh as a whirl-wind; when distressand anguish cometh upon you.28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will notanswer; they shall seek me early, but they shall noting of the arates, in the city she uttereth herwords." What eould more accurately expendthis, than the words of our Lord, " Go ye intoall the world and preach the gospel to everyflnd me:creature ; and lo I am with you alway, even to29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not the end of the world." This call is universal,ohoose the fear of the Lobd .made to men, intended for all the sons of Adam,This language is spoken after the manner of80 They would none of my counsel: they despised and offered freely, withont money or price,men. God does not deride—Jesus Christ willall my reproof.3. The lesson taught. It is the lesson of repentance."Turn you at my reproof," v. 23. the gospel, and refuse to repent, will findthem­not mock ; but those who despise the offer of31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their ownway, aud be fllledwith,Eev. T.theirP. Eobb.own devices.God is constantly reiterating this in the wordselves, in the day of trial, like the person who32 For the turning away of the simple shall slayThe book of Proverbs is one of the poetical read, but especially in the word preached. Hisis captured, and held up before the Judge whothem, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.books of the Bible. It is made up of short, reproofs are administered in many ways, the mocks him. Christ will reject the impenitent.33 But whoso hearkeueth unto me shall dwell safely,pithy sentences, mostly in couplets, and each word, providence, conscience, all these are constantwith reproof of the sinner. If the re­He will say, " Depart from me, I never knewand shall be quiet from fear of evil.giving expression to an important tiuth. Lordyou."Bacon says, "The genius, wit and spirit of a proof is effectual, the result will be evident. 2. They shall be deserted. " Then shallnation are discovered in its proverbs. The The repentance of the lesson, if sincere, genu­theine repentance will consist of these things. (1)call upon me, but I will not answer," v.books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and parts of28. Nothing is more certain to meet us in theJob, may be said to contain the moral and politicalphilosophy of the Jewish people. Each repentance without sorrow. It is not genuineSorrow on account of sin. I'here is no true future, than is the Judgment. ''Judgment tocome." Listen to reason on that matter now.of these little sentences contains a germ repentance if the sorrow has respect to theIt will be too late once the Judgment is set.thought, capable of being expanded into a vol­penalty merely, and not to the fact that sinA pious father was distressed with a numberume. Writings from several different authorsappear in this book, but the larger portionbeing from the pen of Solomon, his namestands at the head of the book, just as the bookof Psalms is called David's Psalms, while manyof the collection were written by other inspiredauthors. In the study of the lessons whichhave been selected from the book of Proverbs,it will be interesting to note how the idea ofthe Christ permeated the entire book. In anumber of places he is very graphically picturedin this sacred verse. In the lesson fortoday we have an example of this. Notice :I. Wisdom.II. The Lesson she Teaches.III. The Powee by Which the Lesson isAccompanied.IV. The Lesson Neg lected.V. ''he Consequences.I. Wisdom. Most commentators diffuse thisover a variety of manifestations, such as nature,human intellect, divine revelation, and hypostaticalwisdom. It seems to loose its force,when so widely dift'used. Let us look at Wisdombere as a personification. The word in theHebrew is plural; this is what is ciled theplural of excellence. It is objected that thisword as used in Proverbs cannot refer to Christ,and the fact that it occurs in the feminine form,and is presented as a female, forbids such reference.The objection does not hold. In theNew Testament, the word " Spirit " is neuter,and yet it is used throughout the entire NewTestament to represent the third person of theTrinity. TtieSch and 9.h chaptersof Proverbscan only be understood in the sense of hypostaticalwisdom. If they present Ohrist underthe figureof Wisdom, then Christ is set forthin this initial chapter, under the same figure. is promise of these lines. And so 1 findit setIf we can grasp the thought that Christ ishere set forth under the philosophic doctrinesof wisdom, we can make the application asdiffuse as we desire, remembering always todilute the principal thought with the doctrineof Christ, found in the Gospel.II. The Lesson Taught by Wisdom. 1.eth her voice in the broad places : she criethin the chief place of concourse • at the enter­has been committed. (2) There must betrust. The sorrow must; be accompanied byfirm dependence on the promise of God. (3)Prompt obedience. 'Turn." Itis a positivecommand, and will not admit of delay. Theobedience demanded is immediate. "Todayif ye will hear his voice " " Now is the acceptedtime." It is important to note also thepersons of whom this obedience is demanded,V. 22. " How long, ye simple ones, will yelove simplicity? And scorners delight themin scorning, and fools hate knowledge?"Simple ones. Unwary persons, such as areeasily influenced ; persons who have notlearned to bo suspicious. An old adage usedto run thus, " treat every man as a rogue untilyou know him to be honest •" This might beamended to suit the present day and read," treat every man as a rogue, till you knowhe is dead." It is painfully true that no onecan know of a certainty who is honest.Scorners. The simple one is a passive sinner,one who allows himself to be led about byothers; the scorner is of another eolor, andtakes the lead in open, perverse, wicked oppositionto thait which is religious..Fools. These are worst of ail. They knowthey are going the wrong road, but prefer togo the wrong road and pay their way, than totake free passage over the right road, with thecertainty of a wealthy estate at the journey'send. These are the persons addressed by thelesson of repentance. To such as this, Christextends his call. " Whoso is simple." ch. 9 .-4.III. The Power Accompanying the Lesson." Behold I will pour out my Spirit unto you,I wili make knowu my words unto you," v. 23,If the passage of scripture under considerationsets before us the Christ, then the Holy Spirijtforth all along the line of promises. No oneneed be without the Spirit, for the promisehere is plain. If they turn—repent, the Spiritis here promised.i V. The Lesson Neglected. " Because Ihave called and ye refused, I have stretchedout my haud and no man rt-garded ; but yehave set at naught all my council, and wouldgate, in the street, upon the highest places ofthe city, calling, ^'Utreating, urging men tocome, and they refuse. Was ever such an indictmentpossible during our Lord's ministry? "0Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest theprophets and stonest them that are sent untothee, how often would I have gathered thychildren together, even as a hen gathereth h^rchickens under her wings, and ye would not."Matt. 23 : 37. " Who hath tjelieved our report?"Jer. 53 : 1. And it is only too true today.Ohrist, by his ministers, is stretchingforth his hands to a gainsaying aud rebelliouspeople.V. The Consequences 1. They shall berejected. " 1 also wili laugh," etc., vs. 26, 27.of thoughtless and irreligious sons. Onemorning he called them about him, and, withstreaming eyes, told them a dream he hadduring the night. In his night vision theJudgment was set. When he cams before thethrone, he was rejoiced to find that he wasplaced upon tie Judge's right Land. Immediatelyhe began to look for his children. Tohis dismay they were nowhere to be seen onthe right hand. Going around to the lefl, hefound them there. As soon as they saw theirfather, they caught hold of him. He startedback, but the Judge stopped him, saying," Ihey shall call upon me, but I will notanswer." The lesson is plain. The Judgmentwill be certain, the separation will be eternal.3. This result will be inevitable. It will bethe fruit of their own devices. " The backslidingof the simple shall slay them, aud theprosperity of fools shall destoy them," v. 32.The lesson of this text is easily learned." What a man soweth, that shall he also reap."" Sow the wind," " reap the whirlwind." Sowrepentance into life, reap life eternal.Application.I take the application of the Spirit. Onepractical lesson is all that the passage nee4B)for an appropriate and impressive closing." Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell seeurely,And shall be quiet, without fear ofevil," v. 33. " Come unto me—I will giye yenrest." «• My yoke is easy—my burden, light."