The Heart of the Lesson By T . C. HORTON
the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which' exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 9 :23-24. “W ere there none found that returned to give glory to God, save this stra n g e rf” “One turned back,” not repentingly, but rejoicingly; not with, sorrow that he had listened to that voice, but from joy which he could not restrain. He knew that he was healed and he wanted to find Him who had spoken the Word. His heart was full of gratitude; he must give expression to it. He forgot the priest and his need of a cer tificate. His soul longs for the face of the benefactor. He falls at His feet in the at titude of a worshiper. There is not only recognition of His grace and power, but of His w orth. He was a Samaritan, not so well taught as the Jews with greater rea son for refraining than returning, yet he did better than he knew in the simplicity of his' faith, gaining the cleansing of his soul as well as body. T h e Culpability o f the N ine. Where are the nine? What a reflection upon those nine Jews! He knew where they were, busy now with the blessing which had been brought to them—more anxious’ for a for mal certificate than a further acquaintance \yith the Man of Galilee. They are occu pied now with plans for themselves. The world has new attractions for them with regained health and a place among men. There are at once forces at work to occupy their thoughts and engage their hearts that saw nothing in the person of Christ nor in His great power to draw them to Himself. They are like the many in Christendom sat- Lesson IX.—May 31. Golden Text, Luke 17:18.
Lesson VIII.—May 24, 1914. Golden Text, 1 Corinthians 1:31. “H e that glorieth, let him glory in the L ord.” In the lesson for today the Lord empha sizes four sins common to most of us—the sin of offending God’s little ones, of an un forgiving Spirit, or doubting God’s word and of self-righteousness in service. The golden text suggests a method by which all of these sins may be avoided. The word glory as used here means to boast and the exhortation is to “boast in the Lord.” The Jews boasted that they were the children of Abraham and the disciples of Moses. The' Pharisees boasted that they were not as other men. .The tendency to boasting is natural to the flesh. We boast of our parentage, of our blue blood, of our accomplishments, of our social position, of our wealth, .Christians boast, of their deeds, of their churches, of their denominations. We boast of our institutions; we parade our statistics and in all this we displease the Lord. “For who maketh thee to differ from another and what hast thou that thou didst no.t receive? Now,'if thou didst re ceive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?” 1 Corinthians 4:7. All that we have and all that we are and all that we ever will be is by His grace. Where, then, is thé occasion for our boast ing? How sad, if not silly, must boasting appear to the Lord, except it be boasting in the Lord. The antidote for unbelief, the death-blow to pride, the cure for the blues is boasting in the Lord. Paul boasted in tribulation. Romans 5:3. He boasted in weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9). He would not boast in men (1 Cor. 3:24), but he would boast in the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:14), by which he was crucified to the world. There is no experience in the believer’s life in which he may not boast in the Lord. “My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof and be glad” (Ps. 34.2). “Thus saith the Lord, Let not
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