Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-03-01


be found in Gen. 25: 27-34
INTRODUCTORY.
There seems to US remarkable
providence in the Arrangement OF
these lesson topics. One by one they
have come to US just at the nick OF
| time, apparently just the word for the
hour. These have been revival days
/ In many communities, and the Sunday
schools and congregations have been
| deeply stirred by the cordial appeals
OF these Old Testament lessons. Adams
SIM the food, Gods call to Abram,
Gods judgment on Sodom, the trial OF
| Abraham's faith, and now this selling
of the birthright-c could a better list
OF heart-searching topics have been
devised for times of awakening? May
God bless these messages to many souls
to-day!
POINTS IN THE LESSON. /
"The boys grew" One way or the
! other they g ow still, but which way,
| parent, teacher!
"A cunning hunter" Cunning to
hunt for things that perish, not cum
ming to seek the things that abide.
| How many like Esau, knowing the
literal of the word much; knowing
| nothing.
But the fault was not so much in the
sensuous indulgence. 1t was on the
other side in the spiritual Indifference
displayed. Not SO much that he pre-
| ferrei pottage, but that, as the
| Scriptures say, he "despised his birth
right" There was moral obtuseness.
In choosing lentiles he ignored life.
| Or rather he snatched for one sort OF
| life, low sort, and in so doing threw
away the higher and better sort-the
real goal of living. The word despise,
| here, means, first of all, to tread. Esau,
| like many another careless. happy-go-
lucky kind of a young man, walked
over his best interests, trampled them
under his feet in reaching for petty de-
! lights. Let us not say that ne was un-
| justly treated. Whatever the UNI
brotherly self-seeking of Jacob, itself
of course reprehensible, Esau here dis
| closed his unfitness for the best, be-
cause of his Interpretation of it. No
matter though he may seek it sorrow
ing he is unworthy of it; as the Prov
CRIBS say, He that despiseth his ways
shall die" 1t is the same law as ito be
carnally minded is death"
HINTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
| A lesson for young men. Apply it
| particularly to the young. Or rather
press home its appeal upon all the UNI
decided and the unrepentant What
are you doing with that precious life
of yours? What will man give in ex-
change for his soul? Many man is
selling his hope for song. his birth
| right for mess of the worlds pottage.
| May be q new and, as it seems to me, a
better application of the words: Give
not that which is holy unto the dogs,
neither cast We your pearls before
| swine" What was our Savior speak
| ing of in that Sermon on the Mount
but OF the life, its conduct, its cher
ishing, its use? Young man, which
way is your life thrown?
| It was amusing and yet pitiful-the
sight of that old maa and woman at the
Worlds Fair in Chicago hurrying away
from the sergeant's Office with their
recovered sachel Every cent they
had in the world they had taken with
them to the Windy City" and to jack
son Park locked up in mere hand
sachel, and there they had gone off
and left it on the seat of one OF the
| tram-cars. Foolish, was it not? And
| yet how much more unspeakably fool
ish is it to trifle with this life of ours
as we do! We carry about soul, more
precious than gold which per. shes, Sc
| deemed not with corruptible things
such as silver and gold, but with tho
| precious blood of Christ, as of lamb
| without spot" What are we doing
with this precious legacy? How are
we guarding it?
What do we regard as highest and
| hottest? These notes are written from
| the midst of one OF the most pious
cities, reputedly so, of the world. And
yet in such citv as this, is it the best
| that is put first, Alas, far from it.
There is great deal of the cleansing
| of sidewalks and front door-ste IS, but
| the inside of the platter, the heart,
| the "wherewithal shall young man
| cleanse his way that is another mat
ter. The writer has just teen asking
some of his friends-he has been look
ing about with q newcomers eye
where Is certain street in this
metropolis called "Shekimah avenue?".
| There Is such a place labeled and
| marked, but it is so small and obscure
| and out of the way that nobody has
seen it, save one or two of us. Look
| for it yourself when you come this
way. Better still, look about you in
your own place for the hottest. Where
have you put it?
Is it possible to get much and yet
very little out of this world? OF the
man who had much goods laid up
i
large earthly accommodations and no
spiritual treasure is in the end just. a
little more OF fool than some other
men; that is all. 1t sounds harsh, but
it is true, scripturally true, practically
true. There are no pockets in the
shroud. The farmer took the minister
out to the side of his fine country
home. Look that way as far as you can
see. All mine. Now this way, down
toward the meadow where you see the
cattle grazing. Ali mine. Now across
those cornfields, to the left All mine.
| Now back toward the timber yonder.
All mine" There was a pardonable
bit OF exultation in it. But there wa,
something else to be said, and the man
of God had the grace to say it: "Have
you anything up there?"
We were called to Pittsburg the
other day, fer an item of service in the
| Kingdom, and it gave us an opportu-
| nifty en- route to renew the scenes of
youth. There between the Youghio-
gheny and Monongahela rivers in Ros-
traver Township lay the old home-
stead, grandfather's' we used to call
1T in schc ol-boy days, and o the happy
vacations spent in and about its hos
pitable shade. Coming up the Hill
| slope toward the place the one-time
school bow was picturinu IN hinoals