Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1892-09-08

their Congregations around to a survey OF
the apostolic mode almost every time they
are called upon to discourse. Well. the
New Testament itself has very frequent
reference TO the subject IL was not count
cd unimportant by the inspired penman
nor by our Lord. And when they spoke of
IL they spoke out clearly and so that he
that will may understand. Let US breathe
a prayer here as with all Protestant Chris
tendon we open this simple scripture story;
ALord grant that thy teaching servants
syerywhere to-day be true and fair with
thy sacred word May they. with right
hearts. say. just what IL says-that and
nothing other Amen!"
WHAT THE LESSON SAYS.
The angel Of the Lord. Ratl~r. an an
gel-spoke the word OF familiar converse
The youth. Greek: the midday, L O..
the region toward the meridian-Unto the
way. Better; Upon the way. (EpL)-
| which Is desert Not necessarily a sandy
track, bnt one uninhabited. The word
| means waste There are several southern
designate the one meant, g.. the desert
road.
He arose and went. The past tense of the
words used In the verse above. And be-
hold. Now for the first time he sees a pos
Bible reason for the strange Injunction. It
was not entirely 9desert" after all A
ennuch. Greek; bed-tender The Office
| lutte enlarged Philippians. South of
Egypt For worship The participle is
used In the original worshiping.
Read Better was reading. The word
pceant originally to discern or comprehend.
(Anagignosco) The custom was to read
aloud and with much OF bodily motion. The
thought being that thus the words read
longer retained. ~ fe4
Then the spirit said. Not the same word
| as In v. 20. Probably a mental intimation.
join myself. The literal meaning is to
glue, or stick fast
Philip ran. In order to overtake the car
lavan.-bhe prophet Esaias- Isaiah. The
sentences were doubtless familiar to the
Bible-taught evangelist -Understandest
thou? There is a better Introductory par
tIcular in the Greek. not brought out in the
King James (Ara-ge) like the German Ich
bite, or the English beg your pardon, q
courteous form of speech, introducing a
conversation. The apostolic seeker of
souls observed the little amenities of social
intercourse. What thou readest 1t is
stroke of Introductory pleasantly in the
play on words In the original here (gigoscoo
anagignosco).
Guide. or be guide. teacher to me-
Desired Philip. Better. invited This
was what Philip was waiting for. good
lesson this In soul winning. Come up.
Same word used of coming up out OF the
water In v. 3s below Anabaino.
1u0 plhCcs bno ClICuAOb o. WIG
locality of Scripture. the context the chap
teE--Dumh Literally, voiceless Douay,
without voice.
In his humiliation 1t is the septuagint
version that Is being quoted. The traDsla-
ton made in Egypt Declare, or re-
count, tell In full
pray thee The language OF a deeply
interested, indeed. anxious man or
himself A good portion of Isaiah was con-
videred by the Jews to refer to the prophet
himself
Began. at the same Scripture and
preached unto him Jesus sufficient an
swer as TO the Messianic character Of this
passage
A certain water. Something like the
colloQuial expression "a piece OF water
What doth hinder5 What restraint?
believe. An early credal statement
brief but compromising much. Some
manuscripts omit this.
Went down. Balancing the verb come
up In the next verse, a form of the same
word (Kata baino, anabaino)-Both Philip
and the eunuch. The Greek Is even more
explicit than the English: both of them.
Philip and the eunuch
Out of the water. fair, straight read
ing OF this would leave no doubt as to what
Is meant DIR. ]. Rawson Lumby, OF the
Cambridge Biple (England), says on this;
eAs was the custom among the Jews. Thus
John baptized his followers In the Jordan y
Rejoicing. or JOY expressed. The common
Christian salutatfon Is the word used here.
Axotus, Ashbod -Preached To herald
the gospel Till he came to Cnsarea. -"As
ye go, preach"
WHAT THE LESSON TEACHES.
And he arose and went Like two an
swering bell strokes from opposite sides OF
the same metal come the Injunction and Its
fulhllment here. @Arise and go" is heav-
| Il. afNu Ia
earth's response Obedience is the mean
ing OF 1t. strict and full obedience. Is the
church DESTROYS of triumphs such as
crowned the efforts of those early daysi
Let it go to God for guidance as did that
early church, let 1t obey as the early
church obeyed. @Go ye into all the world
| ib Christ's command for us to-day. Arise
and go!
Join myself 20 this chariot. The word
means to fasten. hold, us IL we're; gluo your
self fast to It. his is the way to succeed.
Take hold OF given case with firm grip,
get into some ones life. fasten to him until
you have won him. The prophet put mouth
60 mouth, and eye TO eye, Joined himself to
the child that he raised to life. 1t is the
true spirit of the "win one" guild. Take
hold and hold on. Do IL, though IL be- with
much of sacrifice; the reward is great
John Paul Jones ran up with his ship, the
Bon HoTnme Richard and by means Of
cables gripped fast hold OF the British ship
@Serapis,n TO take IL or go down with It He
took II. The Spirit gives like intrepidity
and like success when his mind is diligently
followed. Take hold.
OF whom speaketh the prophet this? of
himself or of some other man7 The curious
world is asking the same question to-day.
Are the prophets speaking of themselves
and their own are, or are they looking for
ward to a Christ to come, one In whom we
may also trust? There are critics who will
toll us. perchance. that the prophet was re-
ferring to himself or to Israeli and they
will take such infinite pains to apply the
word to the time In which IL was spoken
that they leave the hungry hearts OF to-
day wholly unfed, the mind entertained.
perhaps, but the needy soul unhelped.
Criticism Is good, but III IL stop short Of the
Christ, IL has done but half its work. Sup
pose Philip had given disquisition here
on the faithful sremnant." how futile
and Intellectual his messagel But, you
say. he was a preacher not a critic Hold
There is no such distinction to be
made All preaching must be critical and
there Is no Biblical criticism that Is not be-
cause of the subject with which It deals,
preaching The true preacher halls true
criticism as his friend. Criticism is part
of the preaching process, but the criticism
that goes as far as the letter and as far as
Israel, no farther. is not Biblical criticism,
but something else far different These two
principles OF Interpretation are to run along
together. Q) We understand. on the one
hand. the prophecies only as we understand
the times In which they are written. (2)
We understand, on the other hand. the IN
spired narrative of those times and experi-
ences only as we perceive the afar-of
divine EVENT. toward which all the record
leaped forward in ardent expectancy.
Next Lesson-gThe Divinity of Christ,