The Heart of the Lesson By T. C. HORTON
The lesson is a simple one. We must learn to fix our eyes upon Jesus Christ, “the Captain of our salvation.” We must believe in His leadership, we must have confidence in His all-power. We must be saying as well as singing, “Where He leads me I will follow.” There are splendid victories for faith. Let us go up and take the land. Forty years have not sufficed to break the stubborn, fault-finding hearts of the Israel ites. God’s great grace and God’s just judg ments have failed to bring them into sub mission to His will and into accord with His purposes. Their hearts are full of un belief and ingratitude. Moses, the meekest of men, worn by the years of contention and Strife with a gainsaying people, breaks down and yields to the snare of unbelief and falls into the sin of arrogance and pride. What a wonderful book is the Bible. You will search its pages in vain for a single suggestion of warrant for the senti mental teaching so prevalent in our day concerning the nobility of man, but you will find everywhere the evidence of the no ability of human nature. Moses is 120 years. of age. On former occasions his meekness was unshaken. He had victory over himself; he either held his peace or brought the people in prayer to God. Here God’s charge against him is very definite. “Ye believe me not. Ye did not sanctify me in the eyes of the people.” Meekness is the fruit of faith. Meekness is not weakness.. It is strength; it is power. The. sin of unbelief is a damning sin, but it is most heinous when found in one of God’s servants. Moses was'old enough to know better and therefore his sin was greater than the sin of the people. Job was the most patient of men and yet his great sin was impatience. Peter was the man of courage and yet he fell a victim of cow ardice. The devil gets his work in at the weak places in our character; he shoots his darts through the thin place in the armor. L esson IV-— O ctober 26, 1913. Golden Text,—Psalms 19:14.
L esson III— O ctober 19, 1913. Golden Text',—Romans 8:31.
The lesson is an illustration of the saying, “It depends upon the point of view.” There is a division in the rank of the spies. They j bring in a majority and a minority report. Majorities are frequently wrong. The little Hock is often right. Ten men say, “We are not able.” Two men say, “We are able.” Here are ten men occupied with giants. They could see nothing besides.- They knew that there were walled cities and splendid fruits, but these things played a small part in their eyes; they saw nothing but giants and themselves as grasshoppers. The two men saw the giants, but they saw some thing else. They had a natural eye and saw things as they were, but they also had an eye of faith and they saw God and in the sight of God giants were not so terribly big, nor the matter of driving them out an impossible undertaking. When the Philis tine Goliath confronted Israel the people saw . only him. When David came down and saw him he did not seem so very big to David for the shepherd lad saw Jehovah in the background and Goliath looked easy ■to David. If God fills the vision of a be liever a giant is as nothing, but if a giant fills the vision then God is as nothing. When Peter’s vision encompassed Christ he saw no waves, but when the waves filled his vision he saw no Christ. When the eye of faith is fixed upon the Lord Jesus Christ how wonderfully well things go on; how obstacles and difficulties disappear; how enemies are made to bite the dust! How the soul can sing while it meditates upon the blood of the cross-! “There is life for a look at the crucified one.” If God be for uS, we do not fear giants. For we know one soldier of the Lord can chase a thousand, and two can put ten thousand to flight. There are a good many weak .and cowardly reports handed in by Christians. Not more than one out of five of the ordinary, run of Chris tians has the courage tot say, “We are able.”
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