LESSON IV. Golden Text. Matt. 1 3 : 30 There is a personal devil and t h e re is a literal hell and this lesson affords the teacher an opportunity to put the prop- e r emphasis upon these neglected doc- trines. Th e re are two and only two classes in the world children of God and children of t he dievil. These two classes a re seen in t he F o u r th of Genesis. Cain, the devil's seed, and Abel t he seed by f a i th of t he righteous one is a t r ue worshipper of God and the o t h er a will wo r s h i p p e r—a liar and a mu r d e r e r. Every seed brings f o r th a f t er its kind —a l wa ys everywhere this is the univer- sal law. God sowed Abel, Enoch, Noah, Ab r a h am, Moses, David, Daniel, P e t er a nd Paul. The devil sowed Cain, Ish- mael, Esau, P h a r a o h, Amalek, Ahab and Judas. The two kinds of seed have been growing side by side d u r i ng t he cent- uries and will until the end. T h e re is no world conversion here. Th e re is a suggestion t h at t he types may some- times be so similar t h at it will be diffi- cult to tell t h em apart, but some are s h e ep and o t h e rs a re wolves in sheep's clothing. The sheep will hear the voice of t he Shepherd when He calls and will follow H im to the glory. The u n e r r i ng eye of t he Lord is upon His own. The gospel is a divider. Some are separat- ed unto everlasting bliss and some to e t e r n al burning. Dives goes to his own place as does J u d a s, and La z a r us gravi- t a t es to Ab r a h am 's bosom as did Steph- en to t he glory. The seed sowing will continue, the world will jog along in its journey with wh e at and t a r es growing side by side until t he end, but t h e re will be an end. Many people evade this issue. They seek to close their eyes to t he aw f ul fact of t he end and t he imperative eternal separation.. It is with a sense of t he solemnity of the obligation t h at we u r ge every teacher to meditate and dwell upon those words, f u r n a ce of fire and weeping and wailing. The contrast here is f e a r f ul and wonderful. E t e r n al fire for t he tares. The brightness of _ t he sun for t h e wheat. He t h a t hath ears to h e ar let him. hear. E t e r n i ty will have ma ny surprises. LESSON V. Golden Text. Matt. 6 : 3 3. This Golden Text is not golden in its application. The seeking suggested is not t he seeking of t he sinner, but the seeking of t he Saviour and here as al- ways He seeks until He finds. The picture is t h at of the Lord Jesus. In t h e first place He is seen as a man who
finds If we t u rn to t he Scripture we find Israel is a peculiar t r e a s u re unto Him above all people, Ex. 19:5, and in Psa. 135:4. He says, " J e- hovah h a th chosen Jacob for Himself and Israel for His peculiar t r e a s u r e ." This corresponds so perfectly with t he figure here that we conclude t h at He is speaking now of His earthly people, t he Jews. The t r e a s u re is hid in the field of the world, Matt. 1 3 : 3 8; Rom. xi:25, and t h at is where we find Israel. He purchased t he field, Jno. 3 : 1 6; Jno. 6:51, at a great price and t he t r e a s u re is His. In the following parable we have something seemingly entirely dif- ferent. A me r c h a n t man seeking pearls is one of absorbing interest. With wh at satisfaction does the Me r c h a n tman beg- gar himself in order t h at He may pos- sess this precious pearl. It is evident t h at the pearl cannot be Christ for the Church does not sell all to buy Him, b ut He who was rich, for o ur sakes became poor t h at we t h r o u gh his poverty mi g ht become rich. F or t he Church He paid t h e gre,at price, Acts. 20:28. T he Me r c h a n tman k n ows t he value of precious stones. Wh a t gave value to the pearl was not Inherent in itself but t h at which was bestowed upon it by t he One who chose it. All of t h e glory of t hé Christ of God is bestowed upon t he Church. She says, I am black. Song of Solomon 1:5, but He says, "Behold thou a rt f a ir my love," Song of Solomon 4:1. She is to Him t he pearl of great price, Ep h. 5:25 and she will deck t he bosom of t he Lord of Hosts in the ages to come and will be resplendent with the glory of His grace, Eph. 2:7. This view seems to harmonize t he parables. T he treas- u re is hid in t he field. The pearl is t a k en out of t he field. We do not sing, " I have found t he pearl of greatest price," but He sings it, and we cry, grace, grace. God is our F a t h e r. 2 Cor. 6:18. He begat us. 1 Pet. 1:3. He gives us food, drink, clothes. Matt. 6131, 32. He gives us good things. Matt. 7:11. He keeps us. Jno. 10:29. He values us. Matt. 10:29-31. a treasure. THE F ATHER He loves us. Jno. 16:27. He chastens us. Heb. 12:7. He fellowships with us. 1:3. He gives us a kingdom. Lk. 12:32. 1. Jno. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
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