Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1890-11-27
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
THOUGHTS WORTHY OF CALM
REFLECTION.
Lesson and Whore It May Bo found-A
Learned and Concise Review OF the

Lesson and Where II May No Sound--A
Learned and Concise Review OF the
Same.
The lesson for Sunday. Nov. 80, may re
found In Luke "a: LIE.
INTRODUCTORY.
| We have before US a good Sunday lesson.
Incidentally there Is story y-teaching here
the sanctity of Gods day 1t Is In the very
fact that the women so wrought upon and
so eager for their kind Offices to the dead.
should yet have tarried till the Mosaic Sab
hath was over, springing forward. then,
with the first dawning of the new morn.
Such reverent souls as these and the dis
ciples are not the ones to hastily or thought
lessly change time-honorcd custom.
There must have been something I'm the
solemn yet gracious events OF that new day
| to draw one to IL and concentrate upon IL.
as by divine tour de force, sharp and
final, all the sacredness and grandeur OF the
day just passed and with new sweetness
and blessedness all its own.
WHAT THE LESSON SAYS.
Now. Connecting this chapter very
closely with the preceding chapter, whose
last verse reads "And they returned, and
prepared spices and ointments; and restel
the Sabbath day, according to the COM
mandment.n-The first day of the week.
Adopted by the disciples the Lords day
as Il memorial of the sacred events and n
sign and token of the new kingdom that
had dawned.-Very early. 1t was then
| one InOuRnI.----CDlCcS. commonly uScu III
embalming. From this word comes our aro-
matics.-Certain odors. Omitted by
| Tischendorf.
They found. Mark realistically tells Of
| their conversation as they drew near.
| Mark 16: 3.)-The stone Usually placed
against or In the mouth OF a tomb, partly to
protect from wild beasts, exposed as the
tombs were, and I'm this case made doubly
secure. sealed and guarded for fear of the
disciples Matt 81: G5.)
| Entered in All the accounts need to DO
| read to bring the whole scene vividly before
the mind. Each OF the Evangelists pic
lures the events from different stand
point.
Afraid. 1t is difficult TO fully realize
their emotions under the thronging wonders
of the hour.-Bowed down. Both in rev.
erence and amaze.-The living. The
Margin suggests "the living one" l. O., the
everything.
Here. In the tomb.-Is risen. More
accurately, has been raised, using Christs
own word regarding himself. Matt. 20: 10.
WHAT THE LESSON TEACHES.
They came into the sepulcher, bringing
the spices. But they were not needed. Bet
ter odors were blowing from Araby the
| blest Angels had brought down on their
garments the perfumes of the throne. What
gracious disappointment that was! And
how often, indeed, In our experiences God
gives us better than we expect? We come
TO the sanctuary perhaps in mood OF duti-
|
and 10! we return with the joyful conscious
| ness that we have seen our Lord In living
majesty ana power. More than we ask or
think. David tells it OF himself: ale
asked life Of thee-thou gavcst him length
of days for ever and ever". He
got better than he prayed: He s asked K ID
the leper returning just to thank the man
who had healed him of his foul disease. one
OF ten; and there at the feet OF the Master
he discovered n new Wilderness OF soul that
| exalted him TO the heights OF blessedness.
| There was the poor thief on the cross.
"Lord, remember me when thou comcs. I'm
thy Kingdom and behold this, SThis day
with me IN PARADISE is spoken. Verify,
"they that wait upon the Lord shall renew
(change) their strength"
Why seek ye living among the dead? And
yet men have been doing 10 ever since.
| There is one phase of belief calling itself, In
| self-named distinctiveness,T The Church, that
is ever coming to tomb to find the Christ.
And there are other forms of faith not so
widely separated from the above mentioned
mode as they might be that seem ever turn
Ing to empty sepulchers of rite and cefe-
mony. When we read OF the high-church
pomp and circumstance of some places of
| Christian worship we feel like saying, "Why
seek ye the living among the dead?n In tho
wilderness of ritual and dry bones valley OF
vain creed, again the query comes, @Why
seek ye the living among the dead?r And
yet once more when men fall to exalting
humantaranism and lauding civilization
Syn syn5nymoas fis; WITH C6rstianity. how can one
help saying, "Why seek ye the living among
the dead?- Where Is he then? ale is not
| here, but is risen.r His coming will not
be from beneath. 1t must BE- descent
from above
The Son of man must be delivered. That
divine must be keeps appearing and reap
| peaii1g on the sacred page and In religious
experience. Our eye has just been resting
on that strong word In Paul's Epistle to the
Romans. closing the fourth chapter: "Who
was elivercd for because of our offenses
and was raised again for (becausc OF our
Justification Does IL mean that eternal
love put itself under such constraint OF pity
that our oTenses must needs bring Christ
down, and that the eternal decree OF God
to save and Justify all that turn unto him
must. as 1t were perforce. bring Christ up
again from the dead? Well, then, IL is all
OF grace, and that sovereign grace may be
| trusted. Only remember the unalterable
| condition here: alt we believe on him that
raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.n
And they remembered his words. We arc
so forgetful. Why is 10 that we are never
remembering Gods words OF comfort and
help to us save in days of calamity? The
Lord must needs visit us In affiiction and
loss before we realize how near and loving
| n Father he Is. Out from the midst OF our
tears at last, as it were through magnifying
glasses. we behold our friend and brother.
That God who is at all times aour refuge
and strength seems yet TO be seen by
earth's children, only, as ga very present
help In trouble.n So poor is our vision, so
near-sighted we. so absent-minded. And
yet our Lord has said OF that gracious
spirt ale shall bring all things TO your re-
membrance.n II we were oftener and deeper
I'm the Spirit, would We not always be In re-
membrance in days bright and days darkf
Is not here the secret OF happy life?
Which told these things unto IL e apostles.
Who? Why, ait was Mary Magdalene, and
| Joanna, and Mary the mother OF James, and
other women that were with them, which
! told these things unto the apostles.n q,
holy women, close up TO our Lord at tho
cross OF his suffering rs In the garden of his
resurrection, you are ever telling blessed
, news to the apostles. You have came with
. a swift, glad message regarding missions.
, You have brought us new inspiration con-
cerning temperance, you have told us
blessed news about Gods little ones. Per-
haps you have other messages 20 bring us
from your garden to the Lord. So be II.
! what once seemed to us "as idle talesn and
VIC abelieved them notn have all become
Gods own verities And the truth is large;
! we have not yet reached the end
Next Lesson-sThe Walk to Emmaus.~
Luke "a: 1927.