chapter xi
, 31, 32, we read that his father, Terah, who served other gods (Joshua xxiv, 2), accompanied him so far as Haran. Abram tarried there until his father died, and then, taking with him Lot, his brother’s son, they came into Canaan. Did Terah hinder Abram? Might he have gone on into Canaan if he had been willing? These are not as important questions as such personal ones as the following: Am I by a lack of faith or by an unwillingness to be separate from this present evil world, hindering any dear one whose heart is longing for a closer walk with God? Am I a Terah, saying that Haran is far enough?
6, 7. And the Lord appeared unto Abram and said, “Unto thy seed will I give this land, and there builded he an altar unto the Lord who appeared unto him.” We do not read of any appearance of the Lord to Abram at Haran, for the first verse of our lesson refers to the Lord’s appearance and message in Mesopotamia (Acts vii, 2, 3), but now, Abram having obeyed fully, the Lord appears to him a second time and confirms His promise. Until we obey fully up to the light we have we cannot expect further light or revelation. This is Abram’s first altar in the land. By sacrifice he worships God in His appointed way. At this place Jacob afterward bought a piece of ground. There Joshua gathered Israel for his farewell address. There he buried the body of Joseph, and there Jesus talked with the woman at the well (Gen. xxxiii. Joshua xxiv. John iv). The land was already occupied by the Canaanites, and Abram must be content with his tent and altar and to be a pilgrim and a stranger until God’s time should come to give him the land.
8. “There he builded an altar unto the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.” This is his second altar in the land, and it is between Bethel and Hai. The margin says the Ai of Joshua vii. 2. Bethel suggests Gen. xxviii. 19, and the story of God’s gracious loving kindness to Jacob. But the principal truth and practical lesson are associated with the altar and the sacrifice. Happy is the man who, whatever be his home or dwelling place or surroundings if it be a hut or a palace, in some heathen wilderness or in some great city, never fails to have his altar unto the Lord! Redemption by the blood of Christ and constant communion with Him—these are the two greatest things that any mortal can have, and they are possible to all who have ever heard of Christ and of His redemption. He is calling all who have heard His voice to separate themselves from this present world and live wholly for Him.
9. “And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.” It is good to be always going on in the way of the Lord. We read of David that he went on and grew great (margin, going and growing), and the Lord God of hosts was with him (II Sam, v. 10). An enlarging and a winding about is not out of place, if it be “still upward, still upward, still upward, by the midst” (Ezek. xii, 7). Peter would call it growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (II Pet. iii, 18). But while on this present earth we are in an enemy’s country, for even our Lord said that the devil is the prince of this world (John xiv, 30), and we need to watch and pray lest we fall into temptation. If there is one thing that the devil seems to hate specially it is to see a believer wholly separated unto God and walking humbly with God, living for and relying upon Him alone. The rest of this chapter tells of some sad wandering and stumbling on the part of Abram, even a compact between himself and his wife to lie in order to save his life, and a consequent rebuke from a heathen king. Abram’s faith was a matter of growth, and it had not at this time reached to that implicit trust in God of later years.
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The State Sunday School Convention.
The 36th Annual Convention of the Kentucky Sunday School Association is announced for Danville, Ky., Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, August 20, 21, 22, 1901. It will bring together five or six hundred of the leading workers of the state. Each Sunday school is entitled to one delegate for each 100 or fraction thereof enrolled. These delegates should be appointed the first Sunday in August, and their names sent at once to J. S. Trisman, Danville, Ky., so entertainment can be provided. In addition to these the county is entitled to ten delegates at large. All ministers are ex-officio delegates. These delegates must secure credentials from their county officers, which entitles them to free entertainment while there. The railroads will give reduced rates to all who desire to attend the convention.
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The Best Remedy for Stomach and Bowel Troubles.
“I have been in the drug business for twenty years and have sold most all of the proprietary medicines of any note. Among the entire list I have never found anything to equal Chamberlain’s Colic. Cholera and Diarrhœa Remedy for all stomach and bowel troubles.” says O. W. Wakefield, of Columbus, Ga. “This remedy cured two severe cases of cholera morbus in my family and I have recommended and sold hundreds of bottles of it to my customers to their entire satisfaction. It affords a quick and sure cure in a pleasant form.” For sale by St. Bernard Drug Store, Earlington, Geo. King, St. Charles; Ben T. Robinson, Mortons Gap.
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Answer if You Can.
Here is a list of questions for our wide-awake boys:
You can see any day a white horse; did you ever see a white colt?
Why does a horse eat grass backward and a cow forward?
Why does a hop vine wind one way and a bean vine the other?
Where should a chimney be the larger, at the top or bottom, and why?
Can you tell why a horse, when tethered with a rope, always unravels it, while a cow always twists it into kinky knots?
How old must a grape vine be before it bears?
Can you tell why leaves turn upside down before it rains?
What wood will bear the greatest weight without breaking? Which is the most elastic?
What is the length of a horse’s head—is it as long as a flour barrel?
What animals have no upper teeth in front, and why?
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Any advertised dealer is authorized to guarantee Banner Salve, for tetter, eczema, piles, sprains, cuts, scalds, burns, ulcers and any open or old sore. John X. Taylor.
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AGUINALDO OFFERED HIM FINANCIAL AID
Mr. Bryan Says, But He Would not Consider Proposition.
Lincoln, Neb., July 19.—W. J. Bryan issued a statement to the press last evening, in which he gives his version of the story that Aguinaldo had promised him financial aid in one of his campaigns.
Bryan says in this statement that two Filipinos wanted to confer with him in New York. He refused to meet them. He sent a friend, to whom the Filipinos said that Aguinaldo was willing to surrender, in case of Bryan’s election to the presidency, and was also willing to contribute to Bryan’s campaign fund.
Bryan says he refused to consider either proposition.
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60,000 Roses in One Bed.
What sightseer at any exposition ever saw 60,000 roses blooming in one bed? It is a sight never before enjoyed by any visitor to any fair. Yet on the morning of July 4th William Scott showed to the thousands at the Rainbow City a single bed of roses covering an area of 1,500 square feet and having over 900 plants or bushes bearing over 60,000 roses, all in bloom.
The roses in this superb special show were all of one rare and exquisite variety, crimson ramblers. This is not a loose, quick-dropping rose, but a hardy, beauteous bloom that grows in clusters and flourishes gloriously.—Buffalo Express.
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The Owensboro fair will be held Aug. 13 to 17. Premiums and purses are more than double those of former years. Special attractions never before seen on a fair ground will be exhibited free of charge. The Owensboro Derby for $1,000 will be the first day. The American Band of Chicago will furnish the music during the fair. The most novel feature advertised is Neremus, the bull wrestler, who will meet and defeat the wildest of bulls every afternoon. Neremus will go into the ring without weapons of any kind, and will forfeit $10 for any bull he cannot subdue, and that without injury to the animal.
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Bumps or Bruises,
sprains or sores, burns or scalds, wounds or cuts, tetter or eczema, all quickly cured by Banner Salve, the most healing medicine in the world. Nothing else “just as good.” John X. Taylor.
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The Old Man “Treed.”
(Atlanta Constitution.)
This is a Georgia boy’s account of his father’s entrance into politics:
“Dad has took the stump. I dunno who run him up it; but he’s on it, jest the same. Dad is after a offis. One paper says he is a born liar: ’nuther one says he stole a horse, an ’nuther one says he run off with a widder. W’en ma heard all them things she said she thought she knowed him before, but is glad she’s found him out at last, an’ jest wait till she ketches him again.”
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Every woman starts out in life with an idea that her instinct will always tell her when her husband is lying. In about two years she thinks it is a safe rule to think he never tells the truth.
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Subscribe for THE BEE.
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CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR.
Topic For the Week Beginning July 28—Comment by Rev. S. H. Doyle.
TOPIC.—Missions; true philanthropy.—Gal. vi, 1-10.
Philanthropy is the practical love of mankind. It is “universal good will, readiness to do good to all men.” Philanthropy should embrace the entire man—body, mind, soul. It is usually limited to the care of the body and of the mind, but should not be so limited, because “the soul is the man, and the man is the soul.” A limited philanthropy is a defective philanthropy. True philanthropy is not limited and hence not defective. True philanthropy is nowhere so well illustrated as in Christian missions. The Christian missionary aims to elevate body, mind and soul, and therefore is the truest of all philanthropists.
Missions help the physical man. The care of the human body is of most vital importance. It is the dwelling place of the Holy Ghost and is not to be denied or dishonored. The relation that exists between the body and the mind is a most intimate one, and a sound body is a primal necessity to a sound mind. Heathenism largely ignores the body, and is usually grossly ignorant of its wants and needs. Christianity gives the care of the physical man its proper place. It does not deify the body, nor does it ignore it, but it does give it an important place in man’s nature as greatly influencing both mind and soul. Wherever the missionary goes the importance of the human body is emphasized, and the proper methods for its development, care and preservation are inaugurated, and the physically weak and infirm are cared for.
Missions help the intellectual man. Christianity is not stoicism. It does not make the cultivation of the mind the chief end of man’s existence, but it does believe in the education and development of the intellect; it does believe in and practice the care of those who are afflicted with mental infirmities. Wherever the Christian missionary goes there is renewed interest in education, in the development of the mind. The church and the school, the Bible and the spelling book, go hand in hand. Christianity is the handmaiden, not the foe, of education and of intelligence.
Missions help the spiritual man. The supreme aim of Christian missions is to care for the human soul, to have it redeemed by the blood of Christ and kept by the power of the Holy Ghost after it has been redeemed. This is the end of all missionary work. It would reveal God to man in Jesus Christ and have God reconciled to man in Christ. No philanthropic work of any other character can be compared to this. The care of the soul is of infinitely more importance than the care of body or mind. The missionary therefore in any every sense is the truest philanthropist. This fact should increase our missionary zeal. Philanthropy is greatly magnified today. If we would be the truest of philanthropists, we must be interested in and supporters of missions.
THE PRAYER MEETING.
Let the missionary committee arrange a special missionary programme.
BIBLE READINGS.
Isa. xxxv, 1-10; lii, 7: Nah. i, 15; Math. vii, 12; x, 5-8; Rom. xii, 9-13; I Cor. xiii. 1-13: xv, 58; II Thess. iii, 13; Rev. xxii, 12.
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The Light of the World.
Christ is the Light of the World. Followers of Christ are described also as lights kindled from the great central Light. In Christ’s life the love of God broke like a glorious sunrise into the darkness of the earth. We all know how Jesus lived. He was a benediction wherever He went. He blessed the people by His words, which told them of God’s compassion, love and truth. He blessed them by His life, in which the bitterest enemy could find no fault—a life full of sweetness, gentleness, sympathy, purity and whatsoever things are lovely. He blessed them by His deeds. He went about doing good, healing, comforting, helping, lifting up, cleansing lepers, opening blind eyes, scattering kindnesses everywhere. Christ has passed into heaven, but He wants us to continue His life, with all its goodness, its beauty, its sweet service. He kindles the life in me that we may shine as He did,—J.R. Miller, D.D., in United Presbyterian.
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Needed at All Times.
Faith is a daily requisite. It is more than a pair of spiritual wings, with which the soul may fly to heaven. We want it in all that we attempt to do. The work may be insignificant, but faith in its success will give it dignity and worth. Without this hopeful hopefulness no man can please God nor even himself.—Presbyterian Journal.
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Spiritual Life.
God has made everyday humanity, the common duties, the common affections, so fair, so full of tenderness, so full of claims on our love and admiration, that were we to watch for them and take their joy the path would be filled with music and our souls with grace.—Stopford A. Brooke.
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The Great Decision
The voice of my departed lord—“Go, teach all the nations”— Comes on the night air and awakes my spirit. And I will go! Henceforth for me it matters not if storm or sunshine be my future lot. Bitter or sweet my cup. I may not stop to play with shadows or pluck earthly flowers by the way Till I my work have done and rendered up account, And when I come at last to lay me down and die, Perhaps all unattended, ’neath the cocoa’s shade, It will be sweet to me to know that I have toiled For other worlds than this, And, oh, if any for whom satan has struggled as he has for me Should through my labors ever reach yon blissful shore. Through all the ages of eternal years My happy spirit never shall regret That toil and suffering once were mine below!
—Selected.
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