The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1890-01-10
SUNDAY SCHOOL
SERIOUS SUBJECTS CAREFULLY AND
ABLY CONSIDERED.

The lesson for Sunday, January IL, NAV
be found in Luke j. 46-55.
ITRoDUcToRY.
The song of Mary is at the same time
the portrait of Mary. We have no de-
scription of the appearance of Mary. the
mother of Jesus, much as some have de-
sired it. But here is the photograph of
her heart, the sufficient revelation Of her
character and inner life. The Magnifcat
comes down through the centuries as the
Virgins blessed testimony and her note
OF Identification, her inspired c%redential.
There is Christian experience in it; there
Is the evidence OF a mind saturated with
Scripture truth. The song is full of He
of the Old Testament; and just as, when
one is wrought up to the highest pitch of
interest or emotion, he drops convention
alisms and speaks the natural and famil-
lar language Of the heart, SO here Mary
declares the real passion of her soul, and
deiscioses, in no small part, what has been
her life in the past. And what an in
spring glimpse it is!
WHAT H LESSON SAYS.
Mary. Little is known of her, though
legends are plentiful; little needs to be
known further than this earnest, and we
may believe, characteristic prayer. She
was of the same lineage as Joseph, and
hence the Messianic line could be
traced back from either.-Magnify. To
esteem great, to entertain q new appre-
hension of Gods greatness. The same
word ds used Of the apostles after they
had performed certain miracles; the
people %magnifed them" i. g., held them
in new reverence (Acts S: 13).-My soul.
The mere principle of life.
My spirit. The seat of the higher nat
ure:-H Hath rejoiced. An ardent and
exultant. sense Of possession; the same
word used Of Abraham, 4Your father,
Abraham, rejoiced to see my day."
Regarded. Literally, looked upon.
(Epiblepo.)|The low estate. One word,
lowliness. It is the same word that is
somewhat infelicitously, because mis-
leadingly, translated vile body" at Phil.
3:2l.-Hadmaiden. We are reminded
here Of Hannah's prayer. Il Sam. l: H.
ALL generations. Her inspired words
of prophecy leap over all narrow bounds
of space and time.-Blessed. Or hap
py. The words SO repeatedly used in the
beatitudes. Matt. 5: 3sq.)
He that is mighty. The able one. is the
closer rendering, there being but one
word in the original.-Great things.
The inefable greatness of that which
was accomplished was only matched by
the u~nsearchable power of Him who
wrought.-Holy. Goodness with great.
ness.-Name. There was no doubt in
Mary's mind of the divine origin of the
communication.
Strength with his arm. There are many
partial quotations here from the Psalms.
Ps. SO: IL, may be referred 10 at this
point.-In the imaginatio of thei1
hearts. That is, their high estate was
merely o matter of their own imagining;
the essence of pride.
His mercy. This is counted as a part
Of Gods great purpose of grace.-Fea1
him To hold in reverence.-Genera
ton to generation. She does not limit
this visitation to herself, but sees in it
Gods mercy to the race. See Variations.
Filled the hungry. Reminding OF
Matt. 5: empty. Reminding of
that saying of Christ, They that be
whole need not q physician" etc. (Matt.
Q: l2.)
Holpen. Old English for help.-His
servant. The word for servant here is a
peculiar one, lad (pais) referring to the
attendants who waited upon kings or
great men of old.-In remembrance
Of his mercy. Literally, to remember.
Nou miuoAu1ueSs OIL us covenant with
Israel.
AS he spake. Referring to his promise
of grace.-Our fathers. Inclusive O,
what follows.-Abraham and his seed
The patriarchs, to all of whom and t.
many of their SUCCESSORS God CAV,
pledge of q coming deliverer.-Forever
Having reference to those who shout,
through all time participate in the fruit
of grace.
WHAT THE LESSON TEACHES.
My soul doth magnify the Lord. 1t i
the sentiment of lofty conservation IN,
of complete devotion. All that she wa
or hoped to be, her whole life Joined il
the exaltation of Jehovah. Here was q
meek, submissive soul, meet for the Mas.
ter's use, and all she had to give was a
his call to honor and glorify him. Whe1
the Holy Spirit thrills and controls, thu:
does he ever manifest his gracious pres,
ence. 1t was because of this full aban-
donment that Paul could say $50 nov
also Christ shall be magnifed in my BODY
whether it be by life or by DEATH"
My spirit hath rejoiced in God ID,
Savior. Here have we something Of the
sentiment of trust. As the first expires.
sion tells of self-surrender, so this
breathes of expectation and the sure Der.
suasions Of hope. By the strength of q
devout faith she laid hold upon God and
rejoicingly held him as hers. 1t seems
to be Of such a holy. happy confidence
that our Lord was speaking when to prove
his eternal existence he said TO the cavil-
ing Jews, Your father Abraham. reioiced
to see my day; and he saw it and was
glad" That is, he so thoroughly entered
into it by faiths anticipation that he
already feasted his eyes upon it. So NAV
every devout soul rejoice To-day in q COM
plete salvation, though as yet the shad-
ows come and 60.
All generations shall call me blessed.
Blessed, but nothing more. The Papal
church seems to have read much more in
to this text than it contains. Mary her
self was the recipient Of grace through
Christ, but grace only for herself as for
any other. She herself vas blessed in
Jesus; blessed in a peculiar and tender
way, but not SO as 10 give to her more of
saving grace than she needed for herself
or SO as to take from him the blessed one
ness of Saviourhood. All people look
back with a sweet and loving regard to
the mother OF Jesus not as the custodian
OF Christly favor, but as a marked re-
cipient of that grace which was his from
the foundation of the world and shall be
his and his alone through all eternity.
From generation to generation. There
is no trad tionalism of faith taught here,
grace descending by blood relationship
from father to son. Our pedo-baptist
brethren seem to understand it SO. But
mark you, in the Greek, it is not a fear
that extends from generation to genera
ton, but mercy reaching from generation
to generation. No matter how holy OF
faithful hive been The fathers the sons
must accept the Christ on the same basis
as did those who have gone before.
Christ is proclaimed anew t. each n
GRAFTON, and NJ man is relieved from the
responsibility of personal choice.
In remembrance of his mercy. Our
hope is in an unforgetting God. Minis
memory is faulty. Gods alone is never
failing. Work sometimes over-burdens
us and We grow absent-minded. We can
think of but q few things ut a time. And
yet where in all the weight of creations
mighty task-work do we see the purpose
to save fading from sight? 1t is the aim
kept ever in view. In our thronging sccu-
lar Governments we sometimes forget the
higher Governments of the soul. But
where in all the providence of God. through