The true northerner., 1891-04-15
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
AN INTERESTING AND INST?UC-
TIVE LESSON.
Reflections of an Eisvating Charncter-
Wholesome Food for Thought - study
ing tho sc-iptural Lcsson Inteiiigontiy
and Profitably.

ana froutaDiys
The lesson for Sunday, April 10, may be
found In Jonah l: LII.
INTRODUCTORY.
We heard Prof. Briggs animadversions
on Jonah, and our pocket notebook has
since born this legend: "Talk about taking
"A lamb out OF the paw OF lion or bear.
Prof. Briggs takes Jonah out OF the jaw of n
whalen IL Is, perhaps, pretty generally
known that the Union Seminary professor
and his fellow critics hold this book before
Us to be fiction, story cleverly Invented
and told To enforce wholesome moral.
Against this view there stands the plain
Glbraltar-like sentence of Christ; "As
Jonah was three days and three nights In
the whales BELLY Matt. IL; 40) This
statement Is. OF course, explained away by
the higher critics on the grounds OF sort
OF higher rhetoric. Criticism, 10 tell the
truth, is to-day first of all constructive, and
after that "destructiven 1t constructs
theory, and after that says TO everything
that stands In opposition, "Out of the way
OF the house that have builded!n In this
IL very much resembles Ahab, who male
such short work OF the ancestral estate or
Naboth, which stood over against the
lordly edihce erected by him. And yet We
do not remember that the transaction was
altogether successful In the tin9l outcome,
WHAT THE LESSON SAYS.
How. Hebrew: And, The King james
versionists are quite inclined to interpret
and enlarge on the simple connective and,
as found in the Hebrew As may be OBJ
served In the Variations, the Douay version
Is prevailingly more literal here
Nineveh. The greatest city OF the times.
Situated on the Tigris, capital Of Assyria.
Cry against IL. Sometimes rendered
preach or proclaim. So at Ex. 80: 10
For their wickedness is come up. Or that
their wickedness is come up.
Jonah. The word means angel.-Flee.
iVanf 10 - hrA L Inn q ffarrf
BILE breaking away. The presence of the
Lord. Literally face See Variations. -
Joppa. Hebrew Yapha; from which the
modern name, Jaffa.-Found a ship Or
as we would say, caught a ship. Pare
Or. hire. Translated wages in the account
OF the mother OF Moses. Ex .: Q.
Send out. Literally and suggestively,
cast, The same word is used Of Saul's cast
inG javelln at David. J. Sam. Is: Like
TO be. See Variations.
Every man unto his god. Gods many. To
tighten OF them. Better, As in Revision, unto
them. Literally, from upon them The
sides. First meaning, thighs hence, inner
or remote parts.
Came To him. The original intimates
careful and deliberate approach. What
meanest thou, q sleeper? Literally and yet
more eXpressively, What meanest thou sleep
ing? Indeed, the word signifies To snore, as
IL to accentuate the seeming indifference.
God VIII think upon upon Us. Using the
name OF the one God of the Hebrews in
contradistinction TO the many gods inti-
mated in V. 8.
Lots. First meaning, pebbles, usually en-
ployed In the casting OF lots--Upon Jonah.
God making use OF mems superstitions for n
good purpose, as with the witch OF Endor,
1. Sam %; II.
WHAT THE LESSON TEACHES.
The word OF the Lord came unto Jonah.
Never mind Jonah II is the "wordn that
Il all INN mt hn ~
the clay Jonah was not a comely charac-
ter We see in him much to despise. So
doubtless the divine eye. But God was
very kind; he had "A message for man, and
so he sent by the messenger whom he could
use among men. We do always bear this
treasure in earthon vessels and all this.
that the eNcellency may be OF God and not
OF man. 1t was In accordance with this
same merciful considerateness that, i'm due
time "the word was made flesh and dwelt
among u.s.. God would not let us go. He
had something To say To men and he found
an entrance into the world visible and
tangible to man. Once 1T was by way of Il
truant son OF Amttai and the stormy sea;
and once again In very person by way OF a
Joseph and Mary and the rude cave OF
Bethlehem.
That great city. IL was the greatest city
Of the day, the representative OF the thrOng-
life OF the times. Does God speak 10 the
city to-day? IL is because the city Is the
nerve-center OF the life of the present. II
is in the city to-day that the great issues Of
the future are being formed. III we reach
the world at this time with the gospel IL
must be by way of the cities. II God has
message for men he sends IL to the city; not
for the sake OF the great city per Sc, but for
the sake of the people who are there. For
here are the people, and here the message
must be proclaimed Are we accomplish
ing this end? is the city hearing the gos-
pei? We are not speaking Of the avenues,
nor for that matter Of the alleys. The city
is more than either or both. Is municipal
life being touched? Does there fall upon the
jungle OF the forum and the market the
calming voice OF Gods prophet? y, that
great city.
Jonah rose up To fee unto Tarshish from
the presence OF the Lord. And a prophet,
too What "A travesty on the name. "Arise,
go to Nineveh.r said the voiCe-"And Jonah
rose up To fee TO Tarshishn What spoke
there but rebellion and treason? Ordered
east, he went west; hidden 20 preach. see
him crouch, and creep, and hide. There
was Jonah-there was man. Last week we
were reading OF Jehu, who did not need
much bidding. He almost ran ahead OF his
orders, "for he driveth furiously.r But how
troacherous he was. how he misreprcsented
God. Fleeing away or flying toward, these
two, Jonah and Jehu. are alike, OF the earth,
earthly. o., what wretched stuff we are
made Of what gnarled and coarse grained
material GOd mas To deal with. Brother, IL
the Lord Jehovah Is able TO do anything
with you and me, let US bow our heads In
humble alteration and give him the glory.
Now the Lord had prepared a great fish.
God was not TO bo circumvented. He was
not to be evaded. When Jonah started out
to fee "from the presence OF the Lordn he
entered upon a tremendous undertaking.
IL he thought OF being cast overheard to
escape him he shortly discovered his mis-
tals. There, too. the Lord intercepted
him. There Is many "A man who has
Stunned responsibility and burden laid on
him OF God with such intensity that death
would be welcome. But translation or sub
mergence will not give relief. The suicide.
even, cannot escape that all-seeing, pur-
suing eye. One of old cried out of the very
heart OF human experience when he eX-
claimed: "Whither shall l go from thy
spirit? or whittier shall flee from thy pres
ence? II | ascend into heaven, thou art
there; IL / make my bed i'm hell. behold.
thou art there. III l take the wings of the
morning, and dwell in the uttcrmost parts
of the sea. even there shall thy hand lead
me, and thy right hand shall hold me-"
sl.,e Al. k.,e.