St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-26
FORM BONDS OF UNION AND
( LINKS OF LOVE FOR THE
} DARK DAYS COMING.
FOR SUPPORT, STRENGTH,
TURN TO CHRIST AND RECEIVE
HIM INTO YOUR HEARTS
: AND HOMES.
SPIRITUAL STRENGTH NEEDED
ftnp Tn the Battles and Struggles of
aiuThis World of Temptation
or,f; and Strife.

le1S now some months since Rev.
@. g. Markham became the pastor
of the Emmanuel Baptist church on
West Seventh street, and he has won
for himself a very warm place in
the affections of his people. Mr.
Markham was at one time engaged
in evangelistic work in Chicago in
connection with the movement of
which D. L. Moody is the head, and
his work today bears the stamp of
the earnest, personal, practical
methods for which Mr.. Moody and
his co-workers have long been noted.
Mr.. Markham preached yesterday
morning from John, XII, IS, 1.-THE Mas
ter is come and calleth for thee
making this the basis from which he
drew many practical lessons in con-
nection with the sickness, death and
resurrection of Lazarus, of which
the following are some of the princi-
pail:
To know Christ when it is well
with us, when everything is pros
porous, is to form bonds of union
and links of love which bind us to
Him in the days of encouragement
and darkness. This has been the ex-
pefience of those who have known
Christ not only as one spok-
en- of by others, but as one
whom they have known per
sonally This home at Bethany
was very intimately connected with
the domestic life of our Savior. 1t
was thither He would turn when
wearied, to it He would go for phys
ical and spiritual support and
strength. Yes, He needed spiritual
help at times, for though He was
long suffering and patient with those
who need teaching, it must. have
been a relief and a help to commune
with those who truly loved Him
and believed in Him and His di-
vine mission. And it was in looking
back to those hours that the sisters
in their trouble found the one raw
of light which relieved the dark
cloud Which hung over them. and
so one lesson we learn from this mar
rat1Ve is that if we would have Jesus
for US to receive Him and entertain
Him in the home when things go
well with us. People. sometimes
speak of what they must give I'D if
they receive the Lord Jesus into their
hearts and homes, and there are
things which go out if He comes in;
but oh! in such an hour as came to
these sisters, did they not rejoice
that the Master, had been an henored
friend and guest, one to whom they
naturally turned for assistance. Ac-
cordingly, we see Martha and Mary
sending away to Jesus, but when
they sent the Lord did not come at
first, and they became uneasy and
could not understand why He should
delay for they felt sure that He loved
them, but still He came not. and
finally they watched the life ebb out
OF their brother, and even vet the
Lord did not come. Then they bore
their brother to the tomb, and one
day, two days, three days passed
and the Lord did not come.
UNANSWERED PRAYERS.
Their prayer had been offered and
remained unanswered and they were
hlled with questionings in their hearts.
Have not we Often pondered over pray
erS that seem to be unanswered We
nave asked for certain things. we have
demanded thsm perhaps, we have
quoted the promises, we believe that
what we have asked is according to
His Will, and some have almost become
scapt1cal because of these prayers
which seem unanswered, and are I'M
answered as far as we can see. The
troubls is that we put so high a value
upon the things for which we ask. that
we place them before the lessons which
God would teach us by the delay in the
answers to our prayers. We should
put the honor and glory of God first.
and If the thing for which we ask will
conflict with these, then we ought to
prefer not to have our prayers grant
ed. That was why the answer to Mary
and Martha'S prayer was delayed. The
Lord wept with them, for He loved
them, but His glory was paramount,
and the answer which He gave was far
more for the glory of God than if He
had listened when first they sent for
Him, and had then come to them
When He did come, the unbelieving
Jews, from Jerusalem, had come in
numbers to visit the sisters, and had
doubtless taken the opportunity to in
still into their hearts the poison of
doubt and unbelief, and had made the
most of His failure to respond to the
appeal for assistance, and had He
come when Lazarus was merely i'll, and
made him well, they could have pointed
Ito other works of healing done in
earlier times quite as remarkable as
this would have been, but when He