News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-05-09
THE |. S. S. LESSON.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
MAY IL
Lesson Text: THE Amounting at Beth
any" Mark iv., 1-9-Golden Text:
Mark xiv, S-Comm entary.

Mark xiv, Soon
I. "After two days was the feast of tn
Passover and of unleavaned bread" TIL
more full statement of Mathew is: "And
came to pass, when Jesus had finished a
these sayings He said unto His disciples, Y
know that after two days is the feast of tn
Passover and the Son of Man is betrayed t.
be crucified." He was born that He nigh
die as our passover. the Lamb slain from tn
foundation of the world; He died that b
might rise again triumphant over death ant
the grave, an immortal man, to reign Owe
the house of Jacob forever; He assembled tina
He might return when He shall have received
the kingdom, and every step of all the way
was clear to Him from the beginning. Hi
sinless life in mortal body was nearly over
and after two days He would prove Himself
the true Passover Lamb: He saw it all anC
was unmoved, resting in the Fathers love
doing the Fathers viii, supported by the
JOY set before Him The Passover LIANT
had TO be chosen ON the tenth day of the
month and kept till the fourteenth day
that is four days: Jesus was set apart before
the foundation of the world, and now -four
days 1000 years. had passed, and He was
about to be slain. lex. xii, 3, 6; Pet. i,
19, 2O) Looking in upon a family keeping
the first Passover in Egypt, we see perfect
safety under the shed and sprinltled blood;
holiness typitied by the absence of all leaven;
fellowship in the eating of the lamb whose
/ blood gave them safety. and also life; for
while the blood gives safety, the lamb eaten
gives life, as it is written: He that eateth
Me- even he shall live by Me" John vi, So
2. Not on the feast day. lest there be an
uproar of the people" This very fear on
| their part helped to bring about the sacrifice
of Christ at the appointed time. The ser
wants of Satan are often filed with fear, even
the fear of man; the servants of God are
| taught to fear neither men nor the devil nor
sufferings nor death, but knowing that their
| lives are hid with Christ in God they are to
see Jesus only" and say: In God have I
put my trust; / will not be afraid what man
/ can do unto me-"
3. "And being in Bethany, in the house of
| Simon the leDer" In John xii, Is, we find
| that this supper and amounting at Bethany
/ took place six days before the Passover and
| before His public entry into Jerusalem. Per-
/ haps Mark introduces the incident here to
| show us the contrast between the treatment
| He receives from the rulers of the people, and
from the inmates of this humble home at
Bethany. The great question that concerns
each of us more than all other questions is:
How am in ny daily life treating Jesus?'
''As He sat ut meat John tells us that
they made Him supper, that Martha served,
and that Lazarus risen from the dead was
one of them that sat at the table with Him.
Here is love and life and resurrection i'll Him.
and on their part loving service and whole
hearted devotion.
There came a woman he wing an alabaSter
box of ointment of spikenard, very precious;
and she brake the box and poured it on His
head" John says that she also anointed His
feet and wiped them with he1. hair: and that
the house was filled with the odor of the oint-
ment
4. And there were some that had indigna-
ton within themselves, and said, Why was
this waste of the ointment made.'' That
Judas who, though treasurer of the disciples
was a thief and possessed with the devil
should say this was not strange for to talk
of anything given to or done for Jesus as
being wasted was surely 4 devilish saying;
but that any of the other disciples Matt.
XVI, s. should talk was strange indeed
8. st might have been sold for more than
three hundred pence, and had been given to
the poor. And they murInured against her"
In the parable of Matt Xxx a penny was q
days wages, SO that at that estimate this
years wages OF a iaborinS rnan. If the IneIl-
bers of any church were to be asked to give
unto the Lord Jesus for some special work
even a weeks wages, how some of them
would look and shrug their shoulders and
what a murmuring there would be against
the mover of such a resolution the instigator
of such an uHwarranted waste of precious
money.
6. Jesus said. let her alone: why trouble
ye her? She hath wrought n good work ON
Me- How precious is the Masters approval
how restful His blessed words What does it
matter who, or how many, find fault, if we
are only well pleasing unto Him? Let no
criticism or thoughtleSs remark from fellow
Christians hinder you in your devotion to
Christ o fellow laborer, but being sure
that your motive is right and that love to
Him prompts you to seek in all things His
glory, go steadfaStly forward and do all that
is in thine heart unto Him.
z. For We have the poor with you al
ways, and whatsoever We will ye may do them
good; but Me We have not always" The dis
ciples did not understand His going away
from them but thought He would continue
with them i'll person and at that time restore
the kingdom to Israel; though He had so often
spoken so plainly of His death and resurrec-
ton they had never received it, while Mary
on the contrary, who sat at His feet and
heard His word luke X, 39), seems to have
understood that His enemies would put Him
to death, and that she would therefore with
all His friends, be deprived of the privilege
Of ministering to Him at His death or burial.
As to the poor being always with them, it
was written in their law: THE Poor shall
never cease out of the land" Deut. XIV, III;
and in Prov. xix, Il: He that hath pity
Upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord, " but
such an opportunity as this bad never come
to mortal man before and never would again,
and Mary is the only one to see it. Blessed
woman!
g. ''She hath done what she could" So
many say, How / would like to do thus and
good l would do if ! had Mr.. BIS money, or
Mrs. BIS opportunities and while thus
thinking and talking about what they would
do, others like Mary are doing just what they
can, remembering that IF there be first a
willing mind it is accepted according to that
a man hath, and not according to that he
hath not I'll Cor. s, 81 We are not ex-
pected to use other peoples talents or Oppor-
tunities, but simply to do what our own
hands find to do unto Him. How much
Eaff hn fl,s f1t-
people after they are dead to decorate their
bodies or baskets, or graves were spent to do
them some good while they lived; or if the
kind words said about them after death were
said to them to encourage them while living.
y. verify L say unto you, whercSoever
the Gospel shall be preached throughout the
whole world, this also that she hath done
shall be spoken of for memorial of her" And
so it has come to pass, as He said, that in all
the wide world Merry and her amounting of
Christ Is spoken of; and how many have been
by her act and her Saviour's APP
prevail to do for Him and unto Him just what
they could, will never be known until that
lay. Grateful hearts are everywhere say
ing: Lord what wilt Thou have me to do%'
'How can show my gratitude for Thy great
love to me in redeeming my soul from death,
my life from destruction and in making me
child of God, a joint heir with Fhyself? ~
And to all such the Spirit whispers just what
He would like to have them do assuring
lneil lidJ lile lliOSb lflNidl dCJS
done unto Him will receive His approval
Mark tx, Al. But while this is true and
many loving grateful hearts are doing what
they can, how many there are vino seem to
think that they have done the Lord quite Il
favor by joining some church and by being
found in that church once or twice ON Sun
day, and by giving marvelously small por-
ton of a weeks or even days earning unto
Him, with scarcely thought of true graft
tude for His great love. Are you doing
what you can from love to Him?-LeSson /
Helper.
UNDER the law of New Hampshire a
man who takes out marriage certifi- |
rate has three days in which to sub
Stitute the name of another girl, if he |
should change his mind. That's the
sort of a State to live in
EDISON has in his workshop at .
Orange, N. Y, mass of Towering /
shrubs and spreading palms, which
show that while the inventOr'S mind .