Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1889-03-28
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
ENTERTAINING DISSERTATION ON
SERIOUS SUBJECTS.

INTRODUCTORY
There are special reasons why a mission
airy lesson. distinctively such. may be found
just now quite seasonable. for a crisis OF
missions is right upon US. But this lesson
is evangelistic as we'll; 1t represents the
universal longing for redemption. AS next
Sundays Scripture portrays the welcomed
Christ, so this presents the anticipated. the
hoped-for Christ Matthew records Jesus
as saying MANY prophets and righteous
men have desired to see those things which
We see. and have not seen them: and to
hear those things which ye hear. and have
not heard them" The lesson before us In
troduces US to these days OF hope and de-
sire. Shah they enable us to appreciate, as
live. while at the same time they stim ulate
our eXpectant souls for the days OF glory
yet to come?
LESSON PARAGRAPHS.
What OF It? Much. II Gods retributive
judgments are fulfilled then may we expect
his sentences OF mercy to reach unto gra-
eious execution. The mouth OF the Lord
hath spoken both, and here almost In the
same breath. Two Isaiahs forsoothl There
may be some grammatical occasion Tor the
theory. but no grounds In the sentiments
expressed. If Isaiah spake by the Spirit OF
God then he could not but utter both wrath
for sin and love for righteousness. me
same hand that eXalts aliases. and the same
lips that tremble with tenderness make
rocks to quake with the trumpettng OF the
divine displeasure. Surely there Is strong
reinforcement in the exordium OF the pre-
ceding chapter. which forms. at one and the
same time. q natural conclusion TO Isaiah
"a and fitting Introduction TO Isaiah 30:
Seek ye out the book Of the Lord and read;
no one of these shall fail. none shall want
her mate. for my mouth hath commanded,
and his spirit 1t hath gathered them."
And now. following right upon these words
of woe. comes one OF the sweetest chapters
of all the sacred pages. So OF old came the
stern Woe unto thee, Chorazin; woe unto
thee, Bethsaida;" and Immediately after the
soothing Come unto me all yc that labor.
Yes. and over in Revelation, right upon the
dread sentence, The second woe is past:
and behold. the third woe cometh quickly"
sound forth the great voice In heaven,
saying, The kingdoms OF this world are
become the kingdoms Of the Lord and OF
his Christ. and he shall reign for ever and
ever" And now was Jonathan Edwards
out and away from the Divine Spirit when
he sought to bring men to repentance and
the Joy Of redemption by depicting the sin
ner in the hands OF an angry God? Hear
this extract from Lyman Beecher. who had
been preaching long at East Hampton Tor
a revival For some time there was no ef-
feet to anything / could do. l could not
write any sermons that would take hold.
Finally resolved 1 would preach the doc
trine OF election. The church was start
twelfth month. Sinners, too. were stirred
up and thero was winking and sneering
| After meeting you could SEQ them walking
! about in knots, swinging their arms. talk
ing and threatening they'd never go to that
meeting again! But they did go, and the
! next time 1 gave them another. and then an
other, and another eight sermons in sue
| cession." Presently we read. The Lord
was there; and the flood was rolling all
around.
! 1t was a rolling flood of salvation and Joy.
! To such as this our lesson brings us. How
/ well it pictures the ineffabe blessedness OF
those days when the Spirit is present with
reviving power and with every moment
seems 70 come a foretaste Of heaveni The
! wilderness and the solitary place, the un-
peopled waste, leap for Joy, for that Is the
+ literal meaning OF the word glad" here.
| The desert manifests it's rejoicing with
dances OF delight. and its fruitfulness can
| only be compared with the clustered prodi-
! gality OF the rose. Blossoms. JOY. singing
! Language seems TO fail the prophet in his
enraptured outlook upon the glory OF the
Lord. and the 1ocking imagery. even the
very mixture of figures, is surprisingly
eloquent. when the eXcellency OF our
God" is upon us who has words to tell its
wondrousness? There were met up In the
State Of Maine. our friend across the way
tells us, great houseful to hear the word
preached. The glory OF the Lord" was
| there, and who could speakp The pastor
said. Let those who are ready to pray with
me for the Holy Ghost come forward" Four
hundred responded. He could not pray;
nobody could. For hours all knelt weeping
in silent prayer broken only by an occa-
| sional utterance. others coming forward
from the audience. Need we say that the
blossoming Of that revival was -as the rose.
and its fruitage like unto the glory oi
| Lebanon
Be strong then. fearful heart. Fear not.
Behold the same God who comes with ven
geance to. his enemies will come with a
recompense OF salvation to his people. He
will come and save YOU. Indeed, that
very salvation was In itself recompense
OF vengeance to the evil. 1t is God himself
as an examination OF the original will show
US. who is spoken of as both the retribu-
ton and the reward. The cloud that was
light by night unto fleeing Israel was dark
ness and confusion to the pursuing hosts
OF Egypt. 1t behooves us to get on the
right Side OF the cloud that the visitation oi
wrath may be changed for us to mercy
Rev. John Liggins, in his recent work on
the Value and Success OF Foreign Mis-.
sions." tells Of man who grossly attacked
and slandered devoted missionary OF the
Pacific islands. But the same person after
ward addressed the servant OF God whom
he had asSailed:
These newspaper articles were written
by me. The regret and shame which has
since possessed me for having written them
will lose some OF its bitterness since know
that you will rejoice that God, in the in
fnity OF hissmercy, has, during the pas
year opened to me also a door of deliver
anee and poured into the darl
prison house Of a mind previously impene.
trable to every good thought. and hardened
to all sympathy with every good work
some rays OF the light Of the everlasting
gospel which yourself and your fellow
laborers have toiled to spread abroad IL
pagan lands"
Verify. the eyes OF the blind shall b'
opened"
An hi0htoav shall be there" Where2 Ii
tho Wilderness" in the desert" ip thu
-habitation OF dragons" IL takes the ey'
of faith to descry highway amid such sur
roundings. Look at Marshall Pass I'm Col
orado. Who but the stout t-hearted, far
roadway through such formidable fast
nessesP Even now, as we look upon tn,
spiral windings OF the completed work. 1
seems like a veritable hi0h'cdv IN the al,
and we make the dizzy passage as in
dream. The Forum has said, regarding tn
slums Of our great cities. that ones frs
thought upon enteringthe reeking wretch
edness Is the utter impossibility OF anything
being done. and the second thought Is. tn
absolute necessity that something be don
Immediately lest the heavens fall Their
was a time when In the Telugu country ther
seemed naught but briar and bramble. an
only here and there was there John tn
Baptist to lift up the cry for such wilder
ness. Prepare ye the way Of the Lord.
But the highway Is there to-day. and IL |
-the way OF holiness There was Africs
Dark continent truly. Who could trace
, with ways OF life and llght2 Listen. Their
are now at work I'm that country ten Amerl
can. twelve British. and thirteen continen
tai societies. with something like 620 sta
tlons, 700 ordained missionaries. 7.5C
, native preachers. 175.000 communicate
/ and 100000 professed adherents; the annui