LESSON XXIV.—SABBATH, JUNE 16, 1894.
38. Now as they went on their way, he entered into a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at the Lord's feet, and heard his word. 40. But Martha was cumbered about much serving; and she came up to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister did leave me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41. But the Lord answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things: 42. But one thing is needful; for Mary hath chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. 1. And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, that when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples. 2. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Father, Hallowed be thy name. 3. Thy kingdom come. Give us day by day our daily bread. 4. And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive everyone that is indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation. 5. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say to him, 6. Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine is come to me from a journey; and I have nothing to set before him; 7. And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee? 8. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will arise and give him as many as he needeth. 9. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11. And of which of you that is a father shall his son ask a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent? 12. Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? 13. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? In all study of the Scriptures one thing should be carefully avoided, namely, falling into the habit of studying them as we would a lesson in history. To be sure, history should not be studied merely for the facts which may be learned, but for the lessons taught by those facts. Still, there is a vast difference between the Bible and any other book. It alone has life to bestow. There is life in the word, and the object of study should be to receive that life. "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." John 6 : 63. Nevertheless, this does not do away with the necessity of having a thorough knowledge of all the facts recorded in the Bible, but rather increases it. For since the life is in the word, it becomes very important that we have the exact word. Strive to get as close a knowledge as possible of the contents of every chapter studied, but never let your study degenerate into a mere intellectual exercise. Study always with the heart open to the influence of the Holy Spirit. Be in the position of listening to the voice of God. In this lesson we have Jesus in the house of Mary and Martha, and Martha's anxiety, the Lord's prayer, and illustrations of the readiness of God to answer prayer. 1. As Jesus was journeying, who received him into her house? 3. How were the two women occupied while Jesus was present? 4. What did Martha desire of Jesus? 5. What gentle reproof did he give her? 6. What did he say of Mary's course? 7. As Jesus ceased praying, on a certain occasion, what request did one of his disciples make? 8. Repeat the words that Jesus uttered in reply. 9. Give the first illustration that Jesus used to show the confidence that we may have that God will answer our prayers. 10. What positive assurance did he give of this? 11. Who receives? Who finds? To whom is the door opened? Is there any exception? 12. What questions did Jesus ask about a father and his son? 13. What would a man "that is a father" do in such a case? 14. What lesson is drawn concerning God's willingness to give? 15. Why is God much more ready to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him, than earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children? 1. "OUR FATHER." Although God is the great Creator, he is also our Father. "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." Ps. 103 : 13. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. . . . And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." Rom. 8 : 14-17. God is no respecter of persons, and has no special favorites among his children, for he loves us the same as he does Jesus. John 17 : 23. Therefore everything that Christ inherits, we shall share with him. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." 1 John 3 : 1. 2. "WHICH art in heaven." That means that he can do whatever he wishes. "But our God is in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." Ps. 115 : 3. "O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?" 2 Chron 20 : 6. He who begins his prayer with the words, "Our Father who art in heaven," understanding and accepting all that they mean, already has the answer. 3. "THY kingdom come." This is a petition for the appearing of Christ, for that is when the kingdom comes. 2 Tim. 4 : 1; Matt. 25 : 31; Luke 19 : 11, 12, 15. But since before the end comes the gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations (Matt. 24 : 14), the prayer for the coming of Christ and his kingdom is really a prayer for the Lord to send out laborers into the harvest; and that means, first of all, "Here am I; send me." 4. "THY will be done, as in heaven, so in earth." The will of God is his law. Rom. 2 : 17, 18. The angels "do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word." Ps. 103 : 20. Therefore, the prayer for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven is a prayer for the time to come when all on earth will do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. And that will be only when those who will not do the will of God have been cut off from the earth. And so this prayer offered in sincerity is the complete surrender and submission of ourselves to God, that in all things he may work in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 5. "GIVE us day by day our daily bread." This is an acknowledgment that we are dependent on the Lord day by day for our bread. Not only so, but it is an expression of content that we are so dependent. 6. "AND forgive us our sins." No Christian ever gets beyond the utterance of that prayer. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1 : 9. No person is ever so near to God, and so fully cleansed from sin, as when humbly acknowledging his own sinfulness to God; for only in confessing our own utter lack of righteousness can we be filled with the fullness of God's righteousness. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1 : 8. Because in that case we charge God with lying, in that he says we are sinners. But when we acknowledge the truth of God's word in every particular, then we are agreed with him; his will is ours, and, therefore, he must pronounce us righteous. But let it be remembered that God alone can truthfully declare one to be righteous. That must ever be left to him. No man may say it of himself. 7. Do NOT read Luke 11 : 5-8 as though it were an illustration of how God receives the prayers of his people. It is a comparison by contrast. The ease-loving man grants the request of his friend only in order that he may avoid being further disturbed. But God gave himself, his own life, for us, in Christ. He found joy in denying himself for us. "For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross." Heb. 12 : 2. As he gave his life for us, he lives only to save us. It is his good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Luke 12 : 32. "He delighteth in mercy." Micah 7 : 18. That is, not simply in pleasing his friends, but in blessing those who are enemies. The lesson to be learned, therefore, is that if a selfish man will arouse himself to grant a favor, how much more may we expect help from the Lord, who is listening to hear the first whisper of prayer. 8. THIS is emphasized by what follows. No one that "is a father" will ever disregard the cry of his children for food. Neither will he tantalize them, nor deceive them. The one chief thought of a man "that is a father" is that his children may be properly cared for. To this end he will toil even night and day. Now God is a Father, but he is as much better and more considerate a Father than any earthly father as he is better and greater than man. Men are by nature selfish and evil; God is perfect in goodness. He is infinitely more willing and better able to help us than earthly parents are to care for their children. Therefore, there is not the shadow of a doubt that he will give the Holy Spirit to us when we ask it, and that means the giving of all spiritual blessings. Let these truths not be received as a theory, but grasped as facts.