Christian Nation Vol. 18 1893 - Rparchives.org

CHEISTIAN NATION.Volume laSabbath School Lesson,are past their effort to gain the point wherethe feai of God will be absent. Possibly someLESSON VII, SABBATH. MAY 7, 1893. bad men for a time succeed. Their day iscoming. They may learn now to despise theFruits of Wisdom. Prov. 12:1-15. Lord, and they do despise him, who regret hismercy. The day is coming when they will respectGod'a power, and despise their own folly.GOLDEN TBXT :The fruit of righteousness ts a tree of life, and he But the other kind of fear is that which isthai winneth souls is wise. Prov. 11:30.1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge : buthe that hateth reproof is brutish.2 A good man obtainetti favour of the Lord : butany pain like that which is telt when fearingthat a loving father has been hurt in his feelings.A truly affectionate wife has no fear ofa man ef wicked devices will he condemn.8 A mau shall not be established by wickedness : her husband, unless it is the fear that she maybut the root of the righteous shall not be. moved. not please him. The fear of God, that springs4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her hueband . but from the fountain of love, fears only that whichshe that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones. would displease God ; hence " He walks uprightly."5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but thecounsels of the wicked are deceit.3. In this verse ths fool is put first. Sometimeshe does become prominent. He is spec­6 The words of the wicKed are to lie in wait forblood : but the mouth of tbe upright shall deliver ially so when the rod is to be used. God hasthem. "his own methods of punishing folly. In i he7 The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the case of the fool, his tongue is the member withalore. The bitterness and the joyfulness areboth your own. "It is only in a modified sense,house of the righteous shall stand.which he plays tte fool, and God punishes him and in a limited measure, that you can share8 A man shall be commended according to hia wis­witdom : but he that is of a perverse heart shall be de­can see this almost any day. A person who yourself."Aenot.that member. If we will be observant we them with another, so as to have less of themspised.talks too much, especially if he is reckless in 11. Contrast in the way, and at the end.9-H'e that is despised, and hath a servant, is better his talk—as one man put it, " if he is econom­Iical of tlie truth," he will suffor for it. Some right a tabernacle. At the end, the house ofthe way, the wicked has a house, the up­than he that honoreth himself, aud lacketh bread.10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: would translate " rod " " sceptre." In that the wicked is torn to pieces, destroyed as by abut the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. case it would mean that the fool lets his tongue whirlwind. The tabernacle of the righteous11 He that tilleth his land shall bs satisfled with rule him. A grave fact. Liok at the contrast." The lips of the wise shall preserve of God, an house not made with hands, eter­may dissolve for a little ; yet he has a buildingbread ; but he that followeth vain persont is void ofunderstanding.him." A truly wise man is safe. He does not nal in the heavens.12 The wicked desireth the net of evil •men : but talk at random. His words are well selected,12. Things not always what they seem.the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit,and bring him into honor and favor. Which" There is a way that seemeth right unto a13 The wicked is snared by the transgression of his of these will we choose?man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."lips : but the just shall come out of trouble. 4. Full or empty crib—which? The verseMen often think rhey are right, when they are14 A man shall Eev. be satisfied T. P. Eobb. with good by the fruit represents the firuitof industry, or the wantwrong. A person's head will sometimes become"turned." East appears west, and theof his mouth rand the recompense of a man's handsThis lesson is a fine specimen of the proverbialmethod of teaching. Each verse com­that follows slothfulness. The ox here standsahall be rendered unto him.for honest labor : the absence of the ox laziness.A man cannot carry on agriculture with­15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes : butpletes a lesson. The lesson is composed of twohe that hearkenech unto counsel is wise.phrases, put in antithesis. This is well calculatedto fasten the lesson taught, on theout the help of the domestic animal. The animal,however well trained, must be accompaniedby the master and directed by him. So wemind of the learner. The general thoughtwhich runs through the passage is the characteristicsof those who are truly wise. And wemay apply the thought to every line of industry.In nothing is the thought more importantthan in things spiritual.do well to bear m mind that God recognizesas truly wise, only those who accept of the5. Testimony Bearing. The true witness, andoffer of mercy through the Lord Jesus. Thebest analysis of this lesson is the one which theversification of the text gives us.V. 1. Wisdom in a wife. Every wisewoman buildeth her hoase. This will applyto worldly prosperity. A wise woman, in thesense of an industrious, economical housekeeper,will add most materially to a man's•worldly prosperity. This is emphasized by theantithetical phrase. " the foolish plucketh it•down with her hands." What a striking wayof stating a fact that is constantly before our•eyes ! Bad management of a house will throwout of the windows faster than a man can carryin at the door. If this is true in secular things,how much more so in things spiritual. A manof devout piety may find his religion allbut shipwrecked, by being married to a womanwhose wisdom is all of this world. Childrenare apt to follow the influence of the mother.An irreligious woman may, with her hands,drag down her husband's house so that not oneof them will be found in the house of God.2. Fearing the Lord, or despising HimTrue wisdom fears the Lord. " The fear ofthe Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Ps. Ill;10. There are two kmds of fear of the Lord.There is the fear whicn is the dread of the penalty,the fear of punishment. There is no manliving but what is afraid of God in this sense.All their blatant, boastful words against Godafraid to grieve the Lord, or offend him, orseem to despise his goodness. This is the fearof the loviug child who caunot be made to sufferthe false, are here contrasted. A true witnesstells the whole truth and no more. He is faithful.His testimony will clear the innocent,and condemn the guilty. Let the thought bemade practical. The true witness for Christneyer deviates from the truth. He wiil be unpopular,will suffer in this life for the truthssake, but he will overcome " by the blood ofthe Lamb and the-wordof his testimony." " Afalse witness will utter lies," and he will receivethe portion of liars.6. Seeking, but not finding. "A scornerseeketh •wisdom.'" At firstthat seems untrue.We would .say, no, the scorner does not seekwisdom.Why does he not find? 1. He seeks it in thewrong place. He looks beneath. True wisdomis from above. He seeks it second in thewrong way. He scorns the wisdom that is revealedin tbe Bible, forgetting that it is " theentrance of the word", that "giveth light." Atruly wise man, one who understandeth, hasknowledge opeu before him. He is acquaintedwith the way of truth.7. A person we should avoid. It does nottake long to determine which class a man belongsto. Wheu a persons conversation demonstratesthat he is one of the silly people, wemay properly pass on, and leave his company.8. Wisdom directihg the way and fully deceiving.One who is truly wise is guided bycertain fixedprinciples. He can give a reasonfor the hope that is in him. A foolish person,guided by folly, is under influences that arebad, and they deceive him. He thinks he hasplanned well ; he findshimself cheated.9. The mocker versus the pious. " Foolsmake a mock at sin." This is true in a generalsense. They scout the idea that sinamounts to anything. One critic calls attentionto the fact that the word rendered " Sin,"may mean suffering. Cain made a mock atthat. He brought of the fruits of (he field, athank offering. Men who depend on meremorality, and do not depend on Christ, makea mock at ihe sin-offering. " The righteous "refers to those who accept of the Lord Jesus,and they obtain the favor of the Lord.10, Heart secrets. The two extreme experiencesof a human heart, which comprehendall others between them, are " bitterness " and"joy." The solitude of a human being ineither extremity is a solemnizing thought.Whether you are glad or grieved, you must benorth is in the south. The conviction is strong.Common sense says, the sun rises in the east,but one whose head is " turned^" will feel thatit is west, even though the sun does rise there.We cannot trust feeling. It is not a safe guide.Follow impressions that are wrong, and the•nd is disaster. This is true in morals. Wemust not trust to ourselves. We must not leanto our own understanding.13. Sorrow succeeding joy. There are fewindeed who can say they have had real joy.There is always a mixture. Something is lacking,something is not as it should be. Solomontested joy, and laid it aside after labelingit " Vanity and vexation of Spirit." Most ofus have seen persons laughing until the scalejust balanced for a moment, aud the laugh hadturned into a cry. And very often the tearstainedcheeks of childhood will beam withsmiles through their teara. There is only onething here which the scripture speaks of as•'all joy." "Count it all joy, my brethen,when ye fall into diverse temptations." JamesYet it is true that he does seek it.1:214. Backsliding and steadfastness. A backslideris one who has stood high among men,his reputation for morality and piety was abovereproach. He has fallen into evil ways, andthe result has been that he loses his standingin society, aud falls into disfavor with God.The upright person may make no stir amonghis fellowmen, but he has the joy of an approvingconscience.15. Watchful against deceivers. Harrisgives four marks of a foolish man :1. "The man who believes too much inothers."2. " The man who believes too much in himself."3. " The man who is easily offended"