May, 1942
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE SS
188
3. "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil" (Isa. 5:20). We have here the perversion of morality on the p a r t of men who h a v e so “seared” the voice of conscience that they tio longer can distinguish be tween good and bad. They actually call good that which is bad, and bad that which is good. Now it is true that a mind which is blurred by alco hol may do this very thing, but the passage in Isaiah does not limit this moral perversion to drunkards. As a matter of fact, the most dangerous enemies of Christian morality today are not in the gutter but sitting in university and college chairs. They are the unbelieving . philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, who deny the existence of any absolute stand ard of good, arguing that what is right today may be wrong tomorrow. This is the precise viewpoint which has led directly to the dreadful “morality” of the dictator nations, and the men who teach it are more dangerous than all the drunkards in America. 4. "Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart" (Hos. 4:11). Two things should be n o t e d here: First, there is a direct connection be tween wjne and sexual immorality. The store that sells alcohol as a bev erage, whether the cosiier grocery or drug store, makes itself the pander for the house of prostitution. Second, alcohol takes away the “heart.” If ever America needed a strong heart, it is today. Golden Text Illustration •; P roverbs 1 :1Q We are sometimes taunted with be ing afraid of a little alcoholic drink. No . one had niore courage than did the Duke of Wellington, a man who brought more military luster on the flag of England than did any other man who has ever lived, and yet he was afraid of drink. •On one occasion, when he was marching his victorious army across the Peninsula, he halted the whole army. Why? Simply be cause news had been brought to him that an immense s t o r e of Spanish wine lay directly in his line of march! He halted the whole victorious army until he had sent on his sappers to blow every single barrel' to pieces. He was not a c o w a r d ; he was not afraid; he saw the danger; he knew the foul, fascinating power of this drug upon both mind and body, and he took measures against his soldiers’ being exposed to temptations.—Canon Wilberforce in the Christian Herald. Why We Sing Praises P roverbs 21:17; 23:31, 32; I saiah 5:20-23; E phesians 5:18, 19 MEMORY VERSE: “ I will sing unto the E o r d as l o n g as I live” (Psa. 104:33). .
III. T he W ord of the A postle (Eph. 5:18)
Sunday-school
While Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, lifts the believer to high est heights by presenting him as be ing “in Christ,” and seated “in, the heavenlies,” and “ accepted in the be loved,” he has also a practical word of command: “Be not d r u ' nk with wine, wherein is excess [R. V., ‘riot’]; but be filled with the Spirit.” To be drunk with wine means to have a false self-confidence, a false sense of power, a false wisdom, and a false sense of Values. To be filled with the Spirit means, to be lifted to a new and higher plane—a Change which only the indwelling Spirit can effect. The propagandist for strong drink has a difficult task to convince any one who is familiar with the wisdom of S o l o m o n , or the writings of the prophets, or the words of the Apostle Paul, that the riotous stimulation fur nished through strong drink is any thing but evil. On the other hand, that holy quickening which is made possible through the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the believer is an es sential to happy and fruitful Christian living. May each of us “be filled with the Spirit” !: Points and Problems 1. "He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man" (Prov. 21:17). The word for pleasure has in o t h e r passages been translated “mirth,” “ joy,” 'and “ gladness." An e x a m p l e may be found in Proverbs 14:13, “The end of that mirth is heaviness.” Mirth and gladness are not evil in themselves, but when they are made the chief end of life they become enemies of the good life. There are times when suf fering and sorrow must be the order of the day. The will of God is the supreme goal of human existence. Al though the primary meaning of this verse refers to physical poverty, it is also true in the moral and spiritual realms. “She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (1 Tim. 5:6). The “pleasure” Solomon had in mind was sensual and temporal, the "wine and oil.". 2. "At the last it biteth like a ser pent, ahd s t i n g e t h like an adder" (Prov. 23:32). Note, first, the bite of the serpent is generally stealthy and unexpected. The drunkard never expects to be a drunkard. Second, the immediate effects of the serpent’s bite do not cause great discomfort, not much more pain than that involved in the prick of a needle, »but “ at the last” the effects may be fatal. Third, the bite of the serpent must be dealt with at once, and the treatment may be more severe than the first pain of the injury. The cure of the drinker must begin at once, regardless of the discomfort it may bring.
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