Bibles laid open; millions of surprizes; Blessings beforehand; ties of gratefulness; The sound of glory ringing in our ears; Without, our shame; within, our consciences, Angels and grace; eternal hopes and fears; Yet all these fences and their whole array, One cunning bosom-sin blows quite away. ", . —Geo. Herbert. VI. TWO SPECIFICATIONS. 1. Greed. "Woe to them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place (for any one else)." This is a timely text for land grabbers, lumber, coal, oil and railway barons; but is a principle applicable to all selfish appropriation of the good things of life, which God designs that all should share. It applies to things and This lesson on Temperance is well chosen. Intemperance in the Scripture is not con- fined to the use of strong drink. ,Our pas- sage of Scripture clearly defines the dangers which beset the best of people. Israel was the chosen nation of God, the recipient of His special favor and choicest blessings. He had separated them to Himself and dwelt in their midst. . He had done everything for them that it was possible for an all loving and all powerful God to do. It is against this people that God is compelled to utter his fearful judgments. Is there not a note of warning here for .our own land? God has blessed us beyond compare. His providences have been wonderful toward this favored country of ours and yet is it not true that- we have become infatuated with sin—madly intoxicated? Is it not true that while liquor is slaying its thousands, lust is slaying its tens of thousands? One of the worst forms of intemperance is the insatiate greed- for money, and has it not possessed the people? Has not this disease penetrated the whole land, and can we not hear the woe against money loving which is the root of all evil? The money habit has fastened itself upon all classes and has be- come a menace to the very sructure of so- ciety. When an individual has the habit I. WAR. (1)' History of War. "History is written In blood." Wars, battles, sieges, conquest, slaughter and rapine, victories and defeats, from the beginning, are the bulk of the record. The monuments of Assyria and Egypt; the art aftd poetry of Greece; the oratory* of Athens-and Rome, all find their chief . inspiration . in "the noble art (and practice) of war.'' "To overcome in battle, and subdue Nations, and bring home spoils with infinite Slaughter" has been "held the highest pitch Of human glory." ^2) Horrors oT War. The navies of the world could be maneuvered in the blood shed in war. Tlf£ most horrible crimes in 1;he calendar have been committed with im- punity under its license, and morality, pur- Lesson IX.—"Peace Lesson." Micah 4:1-8. ' May 28.
people great and small. 2. Drink. "Woe to them tnat follow strong di'lnk." This for the "temperance" lesson. It stands opposed to all excess in gratifying the lusts, the ap- petites of the flesh. To those who prosti- tute the good gifts of God, the music, the social feast, to godless, sensational, and de- basing pleasure. 3. Therefore they "are gone into captivity." There are no slaves like those who give themselves over to the gratification of their greed for property (money), drink, and pleasure. No matter how "honorable" they may have become, by their dishonorable dealing, they shall come to .a day when they will "famish;" and they that give themselves to drink now shall "be dried up with thirst" in this life and in the next (Luke 6:24). his moral downfall is certain. He becomes an idolator of the worst type. We hear but few sermons against this sin and but few words of warning. . Again there is the woe for the wicked, and the description of their sins is drawn with a masterful hand. Notice how ap- propriate it is for our own day. (1) The sin of self-conceit, Vs. 21, so rampant, from the schools which deny the Word of God to' the slums which damn the name of God. (2) The sin of sophistry, Vs. 20. We have the fair speech which so often covers a foul heart and whether it be the Eddyite that denies the fact of sin, or the Sodomite which practices the devilish art of sin, the awful shipwreck of souls is the same. (3) The sin of scepticism. The one who flaunts his challenge in the face of God as Goliath did to Israel, ridicules the Word and work of God and says, "Let us drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." (4), The sin of the Sensualist who begins to toy with sin and supposes a silken cord holds him, but alas finds too late that Satan has bound him with a cart rope. God closes •the picture with a warning of the coming whirlwind of wrath which will sweep all the wicked as the flame- does the chaff. God makes us wise through the warning. ity, pity, dies out of hearts where huriiane sentiments and social virtues formerly dwelt. To describe them would be — to talk of murders, rapes' and- massacres, Acts black as night, abominable deeds, Complots of mischief, treasons, villainies Ruthful to hear yet piteously performed." (3) The Cost of War. (a) In men. Our Civil War cost a million lives. Ten times the globe's population haVe' fallen in war. (b) In money. When the last pensioner is paid that, strike will have cost us $5,000,000,000. The indirect losses, and-un- realized possibilities due to it, J are incal- culable. One battleship costs $25,000,000, first and last in its lifetime of fifteen years. The nations yearly pile up in military costs $1,500,000,000, to top their war debts of twenty times as much, (c) If all this money, men and labor had been spent In peaceful pursuits! 66% of the expenditures of the United .States Government in 1908 went for army, navy and pensio'ns. If that $600,000,- 000 had gone into interstate public utilities!
Pith and P i v o t T . C . H.
Lesson for May 28.
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