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* Sunday School Lesson . LESSON II. THE CHRISTIAN IN GOD'S KEEPING (Psalm 121; Book of Jude). PRINTED: TEXT--Jude 1--4, 17--25. GOLDEN TEXT--Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the - mercy of. our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.--Jude 21. The,.-Lesson In Its Setting Time--Inasmuch as the author of the 121st Psalm is not known, its date cannot be determined, Jude wrote his epistle about 65 A.D. Place--We have no way of determining determining where the 121st Psalm was written. Strange to say, we have no information of any kind that would tell us where the epistle of Jude was written. It may have been Jerusalem; Jerusalem; it may have been elsewhere. "A Song in Praise of God's Preservations," Preservations," Psalm 121: This beautiful psalm is the trustful expression of a heart rejoicing in its own safety under under the watchful eye of Him who is both the Maker of Heaven and earth and the Keeper of Israel., The Creator of the universe, the Keeper of the nation, is also the Keeper of the individual. Undoubtedly the characteristics of Jehovah revealed in the first two verses of this psalm are stated to i set Jehovah in contrast with the dead gods of the heathen nations around them, who, on the one hand, did not make the heavens and the earth, and, on the other hand, were even acknowledged (at times) by their worshippers to fall asleep and thus to forget their 'subjects. A God Who has created the universe has power enough to easily keep and protect individuals, no matter how threatening, or how powerful adverse circumstances or external antagonisms antagonisms might be. , From physical dangers, the Psal:* i- ist rises to moral dangers, assuring those to whom he Wrote that Jehovah the Creator, would actually keep his own from all evil contamination of soul, God's I - omises This exquisite psalm is, as it were, a condensation and summary of similar similar promises of God in the ages that had gone before, as, e.g., the words of God to Jacob the night he fell asleep at Bethel, after leaving his father's home in sorrow. "Behold I am with thee and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of". So, hundreds of years later, the Lord said to Moses-- "Behold "Behold I send an angel before thee to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared." prepared." "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James."--- There are six different men in the New Testament Testament who bear the name of Jude or Judas. The author of this epistle of one chapter was a brother of James who wrote an epistle, and, consequently, consequently, a brother of the Lord Jesus himself (Matt.. 13: 55; Mark 6: 3), To them that are called. That is, to those who have heard the call tif the gospel message to accept the Lord Jesus Christ, and have hearkened to it. "Beloved in God the Father."-- It is God's love which " sent the Lord Jesus Christ to die for us, and then sent that message to us through his word and through his ministers - those who are called of God truly arc the beloved of God. "And kept for Jesus Christ,"-- The word here translated "kept" occurs five times in this single chapter--herb, twice in v. 6, once in v. 13, where it is translated translated "reserved," and a final time in v. 21. The word expresses watchful care and is suggestive of present possession. possession. It is the same word three times used by our Lord in his wonderful wonderful intercessory prayer in John 17.. Jude is so confident of God's purpose to keep us that he links it inseparably inseparably with and makes it to be a very part of our calling, and the fact- of our being loved by God. We are kept day by day from those things which would harm our souls. That which alone can come between between us and God is sin. It is God alone who can deliver us from the power of either of these, and from the weakness and wicked inclinations of our own flesh. "Mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied."-- This sentence is what might truly be called an invocation,: invocation,: so common in all of Paul's epistles. "Mercy" is the unmerited Source. "Peace" and "love" are the blissful results, whether by love is meant the mutual love'of the readers, or their love to God, or God's love to them, or all three. Trouble in the Church "Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in privily, even they who were of old written of beforehand unto this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, arid denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ," -- A. terrible situation had arisen in the Christian Church at the time Jude -was writing, which was probably about 35 years after the ascent of our Lord to glory, possibly A.D. 65, or 66. Certain men had stealthily ctiMe into the church, who allowed themselves to become members of the church, but who concealed both their heretical beliefs and their impure life from other Christians, and were thus hyprocrites at the outset. They were false both in their beliefs and in their conduct. The two go together. These terrible conditions led Jude to urge his readers to earnestly contend for the very faith which these men were denying. "But ye, beloved, remember ye the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our.-jLord Jesus Christ; That they said to 'you, In the last time there shall be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts."--St. Jude reminds his readers that the apostles had often said that mockers would come and then proceed proceed to quote an apostolic document in which this saying was recorded in a particular shape. "These are they; who make separations."-- separations."-- It was characteristic of the false teachers and mockers that they drew lines of demarcation which Christ had not drawn, between themselves themselves and others, or between different different classes of believers. "Sensual, having not the Spirit."--That is, they were "men who lived only for the natural -self -- men who make the sensuous nature with its appetites and passions the law of their life." Keep in God's Love "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves yourselves on your most holy faith." -- BY HELEN WELSHIMSR S/sJq thank Thee, God, for shaded lamps at evening For crusted loaves and firelight and the rain Whose gypsy songs make music for our dreaming» On dark blue nights, against a shining' pane» For wide, green winds, and sun-bright fields of summer, Sea-light and dusk, and high, brave trees that bend (to spring back straight, and rainbows after showers, ' And homing paths with laughter at their end, ;We. thank Thee, God, for seedtime and for harvest, ; For violets asleep in mossy banks, -The-hurt we masked with gaiety iindou||e^-- Oh, most of all for bravery we give thanks! , mb™ mm ■WW -zx Mm.. "■ -M-, *"">'> W\ \ ML Probably these phrases, of which this is the first, form as perfect an illustration illustration as can he found in all of the New Testament of the words ; of the apostle Paul -- "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." The way to build ourselves up on our faith is by doing the things which Jude now admonishes. "Praying in the Holy Spirit," To pray . in the Holy Spirit is to pray in accordance with the leading of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Consequently, all prayers will be characterized by holiness holiness and by spirituality. "Keep yourselves in the love of God."--It is hot,: "Keep God loving you:" But we need to keep in the conscious enjoyment of it. We keep ourselves in the love of God primarily by doing those things which please him. "Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." --We are to continually look for our Lord to come back, at which time we know that mercy will prevail. At this time we shall come into the full apprehension of and the full realization realization of the eternal life, which, as a gift, was bestowed upon us when we accepted our Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, "And on some have mercy, who are in doubt. And some save, snatching snatching them out of the fire ; and on some • hqve mercy with fear; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."--As the Lord has been merciful merciful toward us, so should we be merciful merciful toward others, and especially must this be observed as we deal with those who have come into the darkness darkness of doubt, or have fallen into some great sin. "Now unto him that is able to guard you from stumbling."--- The concluding sentence of Jude's epistle is one of the richest, if not the richest doxology to be found at the end of any of the New Testament writings. "And to set you before the presence of .his glory without blemish,"--The glory here referred to is, of course, the glory of God, the outshining of all of his divine attributes. "In exceeding exceeding joy." This probably refers to the joy which is God's and the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ in bringing to completion completion their great task. "To the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now and for evermore. Amen." * '-ff- r By VIRGINIA DALE TINS 25$, "The Prisoner of Zenda" threatens threatens to become everybody's favorite picture. Girls love it because it is tenderly romantic, 'boys are crazy about it because it is a thrilling adventure adventure story, and the old folks ■ like the pomp and circumstance of, the court scenes. Of course, the mere fact of Ronald Colman's presence is enough to bring crowds to the box offices. He plays a dual role and the only complaint is that Madeline Carroll does not play two parts too. She is probably the most utterly charming heroine of the year---any year. --O-- Hollywood had a lot of surprises recently that sent all the girls scurrying scurrying out to buy presents. Miriam Hopkins up and eloped eloped with Anatol Litvak, the director and Alice Faye and Tony Martin rushed rushed off to Yuma, Ar- iz., and got married. Religious differences differences had caused the breaking up of their engagement several times, she being Catholic, he Jewish. To make matters more complicated both had anti-marriage clauses in their contracts with Twentieth Century-Fox, Century-Fox, The studio has forgiven them, but parents are said to be still pouting: Mr. Litvak, Miss Hopkins' new groom, has just finished directing Claudette Colbert in "Tonight's Our Night," at Warner Brothers'. No one over there will ever forget him. In a scene that took place in a market he insisted on having real geese, turkeys and chickens. The hot sun got in its deadly work and players had great <• difficulty going through their scenes, without holding holding their noses. Finally the studio had to replace the poultry every few hours, hut all attempts tq use papier in ache ones failed. Mr. Litvak detected detected imitations at' once and refused refused to work. until real ones were provided. Miriam Hopkins Claudette Colbert's good humor made a host of friends for her on the Warner lot and everyone is sorry that she was loaned to them for only one picture. One afternoon almost everyone's nerves were shattered shattered by the many repetitions of a scene. While she was talking to Charles Boyer, a dog was supposed to cofne in carrying a shoe .in its mouth. Over and over the scene was played, but the dog never came j in at just the right moment. Finally j Miss Colbert, serene and fresh as an April morning, suggested that : the director let the dog play « the ' scene with Boyer and she would come in on all fours carrying a shoe in her mouth ! ; - 0-- Ever since James Cagney walked out of the Warner studio and went to work for Grand National where he is as happy as he can be, there have been battles between the studio studio and their players. Now Joan Blondell is on strike. She thinks! she has been working too hard and refuses to start on the new picture scheduled for her. Kay Francis is trying to break her contract .... says that she signed sit only because because they promised to give her the leading role in "Tonight's Our Night." And after all, they gave.the role to Claudette Colbert. - U •- Bing Crosby's absence from his radio program still leaves a big gap 1 in Thursday night's entertainment, but at last there is a new picture of his to be seen and heard while we wait for his return to the air waves. "Double or mmmmM Nothing" is pleasant pleasant and casual and amiable, just like all Crosby pictures.' Three of the songs are real hits--"It's the Natural Thing to Do," "It's On,-- It's Off," and. "The Moon Got Into My Eyes. " Martha Bing Crosby Raye is there with her frenzied buffonery, and Mary Carlisle makes the prettiest heroine he ever had. --0-- ODDS' AND .ENDS-- Ever since Nelson Eddy joined Ida Lupino and Çharlie McCarthy in that goofy spy travesty on the Sunday evening coffee hour, radio and picture fana have been begging him to play in a motion picture comedy. . . . Phillips Lord is sending out Christmas presents presents now, because he knows he will he too busy in December with hij Gang Busters and "We, the People." He sent Mark Warnow of the Hit Parade a watch with most complicated complicated innards. Four times a day tha works whiz around, gaining hours. B came with a guarantee that it would never tell the correct time. Mrs. Marzia Laktiv, aged 26, ha* been legally married under Russian law 29 times in seven years. In that period she has had 28 divorces. B--3