Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1892-10-20
Peter mt C@sarea.

DO lOuuu III AcbS ~. Of-fcs
INTRODUCTORY.
Here Is an excellent missionary les
son. Very timely II is, just at this time
when the churches, young peoples So
cieties and Sunday schools are girding
themselves for the mighty lift that
shall give us the million dollars for for
eign missions wanted In the North.
Peter goes out on the first great mis-
sionary itineracy. Outstationed work
Is begun with the household OF Cornell
us, and well begun. II Is blessed work.
owned and sealed OF the Spirit. Let
us go on with 1t.
WHAT THE LESSON SAYS.
And Cornelius said. What lies be-
tween this and the last lesson has to do
with the preliminaries of the great proc
lamation.-Until this hour. We read
In verse three that twas the ninth hour,
|. g., 3 D. IN. Here It Is restated.-I
prayed. Better, was praying, or en-
gagged in prayer, copula and participle.
Bright. Or, shining, from the verb
to give light.
Thy prayer is heard. Not simply
heard, but hearkened to. The full form
of the verb. Had in remembrance. A
merely general statement of the COM
munication OF verse four.
Send, therefore. A little more close
than the preceding, but still sufficiently
variant from the original. verses five
and six, to indicate that he Is quoting
from memory. 1t is an interesting
study in Biblical restatement, showing
how inconsiderable, in most cases, the
variations are.-Who when he cometh
shall speak unto thee. Omitted by
Tischendorf.
A aAr 10
the spot in its makeup here.
He had gathered in his kinsmen and
near friends, v. a. Before God. The
attitude God always blesses. The model
for congregational service. - Com
manded thee OF God. Or. of the Lord.
Cornelius recognized the divine origin
of the message.
Opened his mouth. Introducing
formal discourse or deliberate speech.
II perceive. Or, l grasp, appre-
bend. OF something unexpected or
surprising. - Respecter of persons.
One word In the Greek, face-receiver.
/. e., partial. y
Accepted. Not in the sense OF saved,
for Cornelius Is not yet Christian.
The word refers to favorable reception;
he Is in condition to appear before
the king and receive his gracious gifts.
The word is also used at Luke 4: 1924.
Acceptable tpropitious) year OF the
Lord" NO prophet is accepted
in his own country"
The seed which God sent? What is
this word? reference to the Greek
will, it would seem, indicate that it is
the word Jesus In verse thirty eight,
with which, indeed, this Is grammati-
cally in opposition. the chill
dren of Israel. The gospel in the Old
The Greek
word is the one for evangel, gospel
(euaggeliZo).
that used In the verse preceding, OF
like report, tidings, with allusion to
Johns special proclamation. -Ye
know. The preaching of John had
doubtless been the talk throughout all
the coasts.
Commanded, or directed the
name of the Lord. Or. of jesus Christ
Emphatic position in the original. The
essence of their conversion was their
acceptance OF the Christ as preached by
him.
Witness. Able to render judicial
testimony. This was Christ's purpose
in having them with him. John XIV. "a.
From this word comes our martyr
Whom they slew. Better, whom they
took.
Showed him openly. Greek, Gave
him to be made manifest, or to be seen.
Chosen before. The word means to
lay the hand on.-Did eat and drink.
The evidential value of this in the di-
vine mind is apparent from Luke xiv.
4l-i3.
Preach to the people. The great
commission at last apprehended Mark
xvi. 15) To testify. Or, bear wit
ness, form Of the word rendered wit
judge Omit the italics Ito bel.
Remission OF sins. Standing first in
the Greek. Evidently Cornelius must
come in at the sinners gate with all the
rest of mankind.
Which heard the word. The same
word that is preached to-day, Jesus
Christ, as revealed in Old and New
Testament.
Poured out. strong and emphatic
word, to gush forth. The same word is
to be found at Acts ii. II.
Speak. Or, speaking. The literal
Greek Is, They we're leaving them speak
ing with tongues, etc. How could they
gainsay it?
WHAT THE LESSON TEACHES.
Thou hast we'll done that thou art
come. Has 1t not been so with you, Chris
tian' brother? You have gone, under a
spiritual impulse, to speak to friend
about his soul, possibly expecting in
difference or rebuff. But 10, you have
found him not only ready, but, as it
were, expecting you. By his manner. IL
not in word. he has said: Thou hast
done we'll that thou art come" o, let
us believe It, God prepared the way.
His Spirit prepares our hearts with the
message; His Spirit prepares another
heart to receive 1t. May God make us
sensitive and alert to the leadings Of
the Spirit How shall 1t be?' Here Is an
intimat.on. They were both praying,
both Peter and Cornelius. and above was
God listening. That seemed to complete
the circuit and establish communfca-
tion. The Welcome and the we'll
done" hinge on prayer.
All things that are commanded thee
Of God. 1t was all of God. When
Cornelius spoke to Peter he asked what
1t was God deslred and when Peter an
swered he said, Il perceive that God Is
no respecter OF persons" What God
said, what God thought. As. for Cor
nelius, he was ignorant; he was but a
man. AS for Peter he was partial and
person-respecting; he was man. But
God, he knows and he PERFORMS. The
Almighty stopped down 'front.' heav-
ems and opened that gate TO- the Gen.
tiles. Trust God.
The Holy Ghost fell on all them which
heard the word. See what God does for
faith, the faith OF Peter, the. faith of
Corn aliua He will do M oronfoualv NV