The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1892-09-07
Philip and the Ethiopian.

The lesson for Sunday, Sept IL. may be-
| found In Acts s. 26-4O
! INTRODUCTORY.
We have come back again TO "baptism,"
| the original ordinance. There are some
| preachers they say, who somehow bring
| their ngregations around 10 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
ed unimportant by the inspired penman
nor by our Lord And when they spoke OF
| 1t 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:
@Lord grant that thy teaching servants
everywhere to-day be true and fair with
thy sacred word. May they. with right
hearts say just what 1t says-that and
not hing other. Amen!"
WHAT THE LESSON SAYS
The angel of the Lord. Rather, an an
gel-spoke the word OF familiar converse.
Tho "outh. Greek: the midday, e..
the region toward the meridian-Unto the
way Better: Upon the way. (EpL)-
which is desert Not necessarily a sandy
track, but one upinhabiied The word
means waste There are several southern
routes, and this expression Is thrown in to
| designate the one meant, l. O., the desert
road.
lie 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
| sible reason for the strange injunction. 1t
| was not entirely "desertn after all. A
eunuch. Greek: bed tender. The Office
late enlarged. Philippians. South OF
Egypt. For worship The participle is
used In the original worshiping.
| Read. Better. was reading. The word
meant originally to discern or comprehend.
| (Anag ignosco.) The custom was to read
| alOud and viii N nnuch n bodily motion. The
| thought being that thus the words read
would be more readily comprehended and
| longer retained
Thon the spirit said. Not the same word
| as In v. 26. Probably mental intimation.
join myself The literal meaning Is to
glue. or stick fast.
| Philip ran. In order to overtake the car
avan-The prophet Esaias Isaiah The
| sentences were doubtless familiar to the
Bible taught evangelist -Understandest
thou? There is II better Introductory par
1 ticular in the Greek, not brought o. in the
| King James (Ara-ge) like the German Ich
bite, or the English beg your pardon,
courteous form OF speech, introducing
conversation. The apostolic seeker OF
| souls observed the little amenities OF social
intercourse. What thou readest 1t Is
difficult to escape the impression OF another
stroke OF introductory pleasantly In the
play on words In the original here (gigoscoo
anagignosco)
|
| Desired Philip. Better, invited. This
was what Philip was waiting for. A good
| lesson this in soul winning. Come up
Same word used of coming up out Of the
water in v. 80 below. Anabaino
The place Greek: the circuit; /. g., the
| locality OF Scripture, the context, the chap
ter--Dumb Literally, voice!ess. Douay.
| without voice.
In his humiliation. 1t is the septuagint
version that Is being quoted. The transla-
ton made in Egypt declare, or re-
count, tell in full
pray thee. The language OF deeply
interested, indeed, anxious man Or
himself good portion OF Isaiah was con-
sidered by the Jews to refer to the prophet
himself.
preached unto him Jesus. A sufficient an
swer as to the Messianic character of this
passage.
certain water. Something like the
colloquial expression "a piece of water. {"
What doth hinder? What restraint?
WHAT THE lie ;soN TEACHES.
| And he arose and went Like two an
swering bell strokes from opposite sides of
the same met al come the injunction and its
fulfllment here "Arise and gon Is heav-
ems command; ale arose and went" is
earth's response. Obedience Is the mean
ing OF it, strict and full obedience Is the
| church DESTROYS or trumphs such as
| crowned the efforts of those early days?
Let IL go to God for guidance as did that
early church, let IL obey as the early
church obeyed "Go we into all the vorldn
is Christ's command for us to-day. Arise
and go!
Join myself TO this chariot The word
means to faster. hold, as it were; glue your
| self fast to 1t. his Is the way 10 succeed
Take hold of "a given case with IA firm grip.
get into some ones life fasten to him until
you have won him. The prophet put mouth
to 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 it be- with
| much of sacrifice; the reward is great
John Paul Jones ran up with his ship, the
| Bon Homme Richard, and by means OF
cables gripped fast hold OF the British ship
"Serapis," to take It or go down with It, He
took It, The Spirit gives like intrepidity
end like success when his mind is diligently
| followed. Take hold.
or whom speaketh the prophet this? of
himself or of some other man? The curious
world Is asking the same question to-day.
| Are the prophets speaking OF themselves
and their own age or are they looking for
| ward to a Christ to come, one In whom we
| may also trust? There are critics who will
tell u.s. perchance. that the prophet was re-
ferring to himself or to Israel, and they
| will take such infinite pains to apply the
word to the time In which II was spoken
that they leave the hungry hearts OF to-
day wholly untSd the mind entertained
| perhaps, but needy soul unhelped.
| Criticism is good, but IL It stop short Il the
| Christ IL has done but half Its work. Sup
| pose Philip had given a disquisition here
on the faithful "remnantn how futile
and Intellectual his message! But, you
! say. he was 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 1t 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 rs the letter and far as
| Israel, no farther, Is not Biblical criticism.
| but something else far d ifferent. These two
| principles OF Interpretation are to run along
| together. UD We understand, on the ono
| hand. the prophecies only "a we understand
| the times In which they are written. (2)
| We understand, on the other hand. the in
| spired narrative OF those times and exper-
ences only as we perceive the "far-ofI
divine event" toward which all the record
| leaped forward in ardent expectancy.
Next IessOn-WThe Divinity OF Christ