The record-union., 1898-01-18

| promises, such sitting before him to
hear him is a good part not only be-
cause it is a saving part, but because
it is a comforting part.
"A little talk with Jesus, how it smoothes
the rugged road;
| How II seems to help me Ownward when
/ faint beneath my load.
| When my heart is crushed with sorrow,
=, and my eyes with tears are dim,
Iheress naught can yield me comfort like
a little talk with Him.
I tell Him am weary, and fain would
/ be at rest
That I am daily. hourly. longing for a
And He answers me so sweetly. in tones OF
tendereSt love,
I am coming soon to take thee to My
! happy home above
L know the way is dreary to yonder far
off Cline
! But little talk with Jesus will while
And yet the more | know Him and all
His grace explore,
1t only sets me longing TO know Him more
ana more
Il cannot live without Him, nor would
if l could;
He is my daily portion. my medicine, my
He's altogether lovely, none can with Him
| compare,
| Inc chief among ten thousand, the falreSt
or the fair"
Mr. Spurgeon says: HE who climbs
above the cares Of the world and turns
his face to his God, has found the sun
ny side of life. The worlds side of the
hill is chill and freezing to spiritual
mind, but the Lords presence gives
warmth of joy which turns winter into
summer" And much longer ago one
1 ad ic thp r.
| eth me, watching daily at my gates,
waiting at the posts of my DOORS" 1t
is plain to be seen then from the state
ments of Scripture and from the expert
ence of Christians that Mary chose the
good part when she chose to sit at Je-
sus' feet and hear what he had to say
to her. And what was good for Mary
nineteen centuries ago is good for Mary
now, and for Mary's sister and brother.
II. At the feet Of Jesus mourning.
Some months pass before we find Je-
sus at the Bethany home again. The
occasion is the sickness and death of
Lazarus of which we spoke last Sab
| bath. The house was filled with
mourning. Many Jews had come in to
comfort the sisters concerning their
brother. The chairs and other things
in the house were doubtless upside
down as was the custom in those days
| in the time of mourning. In the midst
of this scene Of desolation sat the al
most heart broken Mary. Martha was
/ doubtless the calmer of the two for
| being of an active spirit there was more
| to take her attention from her GRIEF.
''Mary's natural temper was contempla-
tive and reserved. This had been for
nerly an advantage to her, when 1t
| placed her at Christs feet, to hear his
word, and enabled her there to attend
upon him without those distractions
with which Martha was numbered; but
now in the day of affiiction that same
| temper proved a snare to her, made her
less able to grapple with her grief, and
disposed her to melancholy" While
| Mary and Martha We're very much un-
like there was that in each which need
/ ed watching. 1t matters not how we
are constituted, while we are in the
flesh each one needs the exhortation TO
watch and pray. g Then Martha, as
soon as she heard that Jesus was com
! ing, went and met him; but Mary sat
still in the house" If we had no
further account than this we might
think that Marys grief was of a sui
| len character, that there was rebellion
! in her heart, and that she would not
go out to meet her Lord But we read
on further that Martha returned to say
! to her. THE Master is come and call
eth for thee,'' whereupon she arose
quickly and went unto him, showing
that the reason why she sat still IN the
house was that she had not heard that
he had come Reaching him she fell
down at his feet in great intensity OF
emotion and great "self-abandonmen
of anguish" Farrar says: ut may be
that her affection was too deep to per-
NIT her hope to be so sanguine as that
| of her sister; it may be that with hum
bier reverence she left all TO the LORD.
| Here, then in her sorrow we find Mary
at Jesus feet as we found her there in
the happier, brighter days when she
first listened to his teaching.
III. At the feet of Jesus giving. The
scene has changed again. Weeping
may endure for night but joy cometh
in the morning" Lazarus has been
raised from the dead. A supper is Civ
en- in honor of Jesus in Bethany at the
house of Simon the leper. Martha
served, true to her nature, busy as
usual Lazarus is with them at the
table Mary, true to her nature also.
| is still the meOlIdIlVP woman. sSIt
was not occupied like her sister in the
active ministrations of the feast, but
she sat and thought and gazed until
the fire burned. and she felt impelled to
some outward sign Of her loTe, her
gratitude her adoration.'' But her
meditation did not end In meditation.
It resulted in generous action. She
not only listened to what he was say
ing. but thought of what he had done
for her and her family and Of what she
could do for him. She thought of an
alabaster box of precious ointment
which had been kept for her own use
in the days before she knew the Lord.
She resolved now that it should be used
| to anoint the person of her Lord. She
brought the box or flask and coming
to the feet of Jesus, reclining at the
| supper according to the custom of
those days, anointed him. Mark says
she poured it on his head. John says
she anointed his feet and wiped them
/ with her hair He is the only one who
speaks Of her amounting his feet. He
seems to like to picture Mary at Jesus
feet. manifesting humility and affection.
! In Matthew we read, For in that shc
poured this ointment on my body, she
did ii for my burial" indicating that
there was sufficient ointment to anoint