T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
m 2
Psalms or lesser prophets.— Camb. Bible. P erhaps containing some of the inspired epistles themselves.— J. P. & B. v. 16. No man stood w ith me. I t Is human to stand w ith the crowd. I t is divine to stand aloije. Noah bu ilt and voyaged alone. Abraham wandered and worshiped alone. Daniel dined and prayed alone. E lijah sacrificed and w itnessed alone. Jesus lived and died a lo n ej^B arb o u r. v. 17. The Lord stood w ith me. In sharp con trast to those who fled, leav ing the apostle in his evil hou r (v. 16). — C ritical Com. v. 18. Shall deliver me. Not a poor mangled fragm en t of me, as a shepherd rescues out of th e mouth of a lion two legs or a piece of an ear (Amos 3 :1 2 ). — Horn Com. little girl was dying; th e doctor came in, and afte r examining her quietly, rem arked to the nurse, “H er life is. ju st finishing.” The little girl open- LESSON ed her eyes, and ILLUSTRATION looking a t h i m, W. H. P ik e said: “No, Doctor; it is ju s t begin ning.” P au l’s was ju st beginning. It is related of Sir W alter Raleigh th a t when has executioner gave him the choice of position on th e block on which he was' to be beheaded, he said, “ It m atters little in w hat direction my head falls if my h ea rt is rig h t.” P aul had received Christ and was' complete in Him and knew he was right. Bible Illu stration s.—Abraham ’s car eer closed w ith a beau tifu l trib u te to his character— “And Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was gathered to his people.” Gen. 25:8. R ead Moses’ last message in Deut. 33:1-29. Notice I Sam. 12:1-5, a p art ing message of a g reat man. Read th e p arting words of David, I K ings 2:1-10. P au l’s Resignation.— P aul closed his life probably a prisoner and a martyr. Dr. Chalmers, the famous Scottish SubjectIllu stration .S -A
a t the same tim e look and long io r His coming.— Sum. Bible. v. 9. Do th y diligence. “Make an earnest effort, do thy best.”— Hum phrey. v. 19. Demas h a th forsaken. The word means “ to leave in the, lurch or in evil circum stances.” Close associa tion w ith Christians ywho are under per secution will only be endured by tru e love and brave devotion. — Barlow. Loved th is p resen t world. Demas fell through th e lu re of the world. David fell through th e lu st of th e flesh (2 Sam. 11 :1 -5 ). P eter fell through the testings of the devil (Matt. 16:21-23). — Bennett. Demas had been impreg nated w ith th e sp irit of Christianity, bu t the world gained an opportunity of plying Demas w ith its seductions. Oh th e degrading, deadening tendency of an attachm en t to tim e and sense.—-Mel- vill. Spiritual tragedies are often re corded in a single sentence. Demas stands forever as a w arning to thon who begin with th e Son of God, b u t al low themselves to trifle unresistingly w ith th e seductions of th e world which crucified Him. The choice of th e world is never a sudden thing. A t first the yielding is almost imperceptible, but gradually worldly sta n d a rd s'a re adopted until w hat began as a mere toleration becomes positive passion.— Holden. v 11. Mark is profitable. Mark had been under a cloud for having forsaken P aul a t a critical moment in his mis sionary to u r w ith Barnabas. (Acts 15: 37-40; 13:5, 13). Timothy has subse quently occupied th e same post in re lation to P aul as Mark once held. Hence Paul' appropriately here wipes out the past censure by high praise of Mark, and guards against Timothy’s making self-complacent comparisons between himself and Mark. Demas apostatizes, Mark retu rn s to the rig h t way and is no longer unprofitable.—.Jamieson. v. 13. The cloke. Doubtless the cloke was an old companion. It Jnay have been w etted many times w ith the w ater to rre n ts of Pamphylia, and whit ened w ith th e du st of th e long roads, and stained w ith the brine of shipwreck. Now shivering in some gloomy cell u n der th e palace or, it may be, on the rocky floor of th e Tuilianum , w ith th e w intry nights coming on, he bethinks him of th e old cloke and asks Timothy to bring it w ith him .-8-Parrar. The parchments; Possibly a document to prove his righ ts as a Roman citizen, or any precious rolls of Isaiah or the
Made with FlippingBook HTML5