Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-03-24
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON XII. FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, MARCH 25.

Text of the Lesson. Mark xvi. Is Easter
Lessonl-sIemory Verses, 6. s--Golden
Text. Cor. XIV. ae-commcntary by the
Rev. d. n. Stearns.
As last week the missionary lesson took
precedence Of the temperance lesson, il
seems very fitting that this week the Easter,
lesson should be chosen instead Of the re-
view The resurrection is set before us
nearly 80 times in the Acts of the Apostles
lat least foar times seven timesl as the
great topic which the apostles preached
and IS in the episties constantly kept be
fore us as cur hope tHis return and our
resurrection) and inspiration to patience
and faith. holiness and zeal in His service
from. viii, Is. %; Cor Nv, 81, 81. IS; Phil.
Iii. 20, 81; Col. iii. ~; | Thess. iii, 49,
blessed and holy is he that hath part in
the ilrst resurrection REV Xxx, 81.
/. And when the Sabbath was past.
Mary Magdalenc and Mary, the mother of
james, and Salome had bought sweet
spices, that they might come and anoint
Him" In Luke xiii, sc, we read that hav-
ing seen where His body was laid they re-
tnrnrd from the sepulcher, bought the
spices and rested the Sabbath day accord
ing to the commandment. We cannot but
admire their love and devotion TO Him
to whom they had so faithfully minis
tered in His life among them, and He win
give them full credit for it all. But If they
had believed His words they would not
have looked for His dead body ia the tomb
on the third day tMath. xvi u; xvii, GO,
Xxx, l9). So love without faith may do I'M.
necessary work and misspend time and
money. Mary OF Bethany, because she be
lievetl His word, had anointed His body be.
for, hand for His burial Mark xiv, s..
=. And very early in the morning, the
first day of the week, they came unto
the sepulcher at the rising of the sun"
1t had been dark Sabbath TO them, with
out any bright hopes for the morrow,
because of their lack of faith, but they
kept the day by holy resting. Sec one Of
the best pTecepts for keeping the holy day
in lsa. lviii, 10 IA. We rejoice to keep the
first day instead of the seventh, because OF
his rising on that day and appearing to the
disciples and because of all o. f. eighth
day types ana n. t. plain teaching Acts
Ky. - Those who still keep seventh day
are seeking to live in the days before His
resurrection.
s. And they said among themselves,
Who shall roll us away the stone from the
door of the sepulcherso Satan is always sug-
costing hindrances in the way Of those who
love the Lord, hindrances and discourage
ments to keep us from going forward-they
seem sometimes very real, aud sometimes
they are only imaginary. The risen Christ
at Gods right hand, having all power in
heaven and ON earth, is the one cure for all
SUCH and His promise, 80. | am with YOU
Away" our constant strength. He shall
not fail or be discouraged lisa. xiii, a.
4 And when they looked, they saw that
the stone was rolled away, for it was very
great" Difficulties vanish as we 10 for
ward. Sometimes we are tostand still and
see the salvation of the Lord tfix. xiv, 1877,
but sometimes ourfeet must actually touch
the waters before they divide tJoshua iii. Is,
l52 When He putteth forth His sheep, lie
goeth before them. The Lord He IL is that
doth 20 before thee; He will be with thee,
He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee;
fear not. neither be dismayed John X, A;
Deut. xxi, 8. He did not need the stone
rolled away that lie might rise, but it was
probably rolled away that they and Others
might see for themselves that His body was
no longer in the tomb.
s. And entering into the sepulcher, they
saw young man sitting ON the right side,
clothed in long white garment, and they
were afTriehted." Matthew says that an
angel sat on the stone and greeted the woul-
en-; Luke says that two angels stood by
them in the tomb while John says that
Mary saw two angels sitting, he one at the
head and the other at the feet where the
body Of Jesus had lain. There is no con.
tradiction, but description Of the differ
ent attitudes OF the two angels as seen by
different persons at different times. See In
the angel n young man the suggestion
Of immortal youth.
g. And he saith unto them, BE not af-
frightcd; ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which
WAS cruciiied; lie is risen; He is not here;
behold the place where they laid Him."
From Gen. XIV, |, to Rev. i, Il, one Of the
greatest words Of God and angels to the
children of men is Pear not" or BE not
afraid" Find all you can of them and hold
them fast Remember that His perfect love
to us will dispel all our fears If we only be
lieye it Il John iv. l6-lS) II We have
fears, it is because we are not abiding in
His love; therefore He says, AS the Father
hath loved Me, so have | loved you Con
tinue We in My love" Aud again it Is writ
ten, Keep yourselves IN the love Of Godn
(John XIV, 0; Jude ~. The angels doubt
less rejoiced TO tell that Christ had risen.
According to Math. xvii, G, one of them
reminded the women that He had said He
would rise, as If gently reproving them for
looking for dead Christ. How our unbe-
lief must grieye Him as well as hinder
Him from using US as He would like to-
Think Of His words. 20 ye Of little
faithl' 20 fools, and slow Of heart to be.
leve" Have faith in God"
I. "But go your way, tell His disciples
aud Peter that lie gopth before yon iato
Galilee. There shall sc sec Him as lie said
unto you" Compare Math. xviii, :, and
John Xxx, II, with this verse and hear
Christ and angels say TO you, eco, tcli!''
Father, Son and Spirit are ever saying.
Whom shall | send, and who will 20 for
u.s." But how few are saying, "Iiere am
|; send mel" How little benefit even be-
Levers seem to derive from Christ, cruel
fed, risen, assembled So little that it does
not seem TO them to be worth mentioning.
:. And they went out quickly, and fled
from the sepulcher, for they trembled and
were amazed; neither said they ANYTHING
to any man, for they were afraid" In Math.
xviii, 8, IL is written that they did run To
bring the disciples word; so it must have
been on their way to the disciples that they
said nothing to any man. They would now
think Of Ills words about rising again,
which they had not believed before: they
would think how their unbelief led them
into many mistakes; they would wonder.
what does il all mean and what next; so
with mingled feelings Of fear and Joy they
ran to tell Only a mind staid on lin can
have perfect peace, but that is our privilege
lisa. XVI, %.
L LII