The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-09-12

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Lord after He rose from the dead: the
first TO hear His voice and the first 10
hold conversation with Him. AN beiev-
| ers have not the same degree Of faith or
| hope or knowledge or courage OF wisdom,
| but 1t is certainly true that those who
| love Christ most fervcntly and ceave to
/ Him most closely will always enjoy the
most communion with Him
First-NOtiee the instruction given 70
| rs n this story concerning iOve in MS dli.
| ferent phases and elements. in Peter It
is subsection, in John 1t is objection. The
| reply of Peter 10 the Lord was 81 love
Thee" while Johns constant description
/ OF himself was, "The disciple whom Jesus
| loved" May we not learn, therefore, of
/ the apprehension of Jesus love for ms in
stead of being occupied with out poor, fit
/ full, Pickering life, for He is that which
/ will give greatest JOY TO the soul. The
/ exhortation of the Scriptures is "Keep
/ yourself in the love Of God" In Mary we
/ discover these elements properly com
bined Tracing her history we find that
Jesus bad delivered her from an awful
! bondage. Now when Jesus was risen
early the first day of the week He APP
peared first to Mary MaRdalene, out of
/ whom He had cast seven devils" Mark
/ 10: 0. Truly she might realize the words
/ of Hezekah, Isaiah -: II, "Behold for
peace ] had great bitterness, but Thou
! hast in love to my soul delivered it from
/ the pit of corruption: for Thou hast cast
/ all my sins behind Thy back" Marginal
reading, Thou hast loved up my soul
from the pit of corruption" Therefore
being so much forgiven she loved much.
| That is, Jesus love was the source and
her love was the inevitable result. There
are some elements of Mary's love which
ought to be studied here.
(a) The vision of angels did not terrify
her. In Matthew'S gospel the angels re-
assured the woman by saying Fear not,
as they were afraid, but with Mary she
was too completely filed with thoughts
of Christ to be any ways afraid Of the
| sight of angels Undoubtedly she was alb
solutelv forgetful of her physical weakness,
for she said to Him whom she supposed to
be the gardener "Sir, If Thou have borne
Him hence. tell me where Thou hast laid
Him. and l will take Him away" How
would it have been possible for her to
handle the body OF one who was dead,
and yet doubtless she would have found
way 1t is certainly true that intense de-
votion to the Lord takes away every
thought of the burden of service, and those
who have an absorbing love for Christ
may perform deeds which would be i'm.
possible under ordinary circumstances.
There are three people whom we may re-
member as representing the three graces
faith. hope and love: Mary, of Bethany
who believed that He was to be cruci6ed
and buried anonted His body for the bu-
rial, showing her faith; the penitent thief
upon the cross expected that Christ
would come in His kingdom, revealing
His hope, but this Mary Magdalene is a
beautiful representation of love.
We find again in this story an illustra-
ton Of the fact that fears and sorrows Of
believers are often quite needless. We
are told that Mary stood at the sepulcher
weeping as if nothing could comfort her.
The angels spoke to her and still she
wcpt. The Lord Himself addressed her
saying. "Why weepest thou" and the
burden of her complaint was always the
same. "Ihey have taken away my Lord
and | know not where they have laid
Him." and yet all this time her risen
Master was close to her. Her tears,
therefore, were needless, and her sorrow
was groundless. Doubtless Mary failed to
recognize Jesus.
First-Because she was not expecting
Him. and 30 we often mss our choicest
blessings for want of looking for them
and have doubtless mistaken them wher
right before us, but doubtless, also she
failed to recognize Him because of the
fact that it was hardly light in the morn
ing and she saw Him but dimly. Thus
again she is an Illustration of ourselves
as we behold Him, not so much face &c
face as we realize His presence with the
heart Blessed are the pure in heart
for they shall see Goo" and yet what
thoughtful Christian can fail to see thai
we have a picture Of many a believer,
experience. How often we are anxious
vboy, SO fcv
frequently we mourn about the absence
of things which are really within oul
grasp. TWo-thirds of the things we feal
in life never happen at all. and many O
the tears we shed are shed in vain.
Mary had found the seal of the tomb I'M
broken she might we'll have wept. TIL,
very absence of the body which made hel
weep was a token for good and a cause o
JOY for herself and for all mankind.
"Jesus saith unto her, Mary! She
turned herself and saith unto Him, Rab
bonii which is to say, Master!" The wa,
in which Mary addresses her Lord is mos
significant. 1t is a term often applied t
Him and always wisely. In Matthew %
s. we read. "For one is your Master, ever
Christ" 1t will be a happy day for TIN
church when we yield to the mastery 0
= Jesus Christ. 1t is true that men are FIRE
quently Indifferent to this claim, as, 70
example in Matthew %: %, "Then Ju
das which betrayed Him, answered an,
said, Master. is it I? He said unto him
, Thou hast sale" Many man has claimed
! to yield to the mastery Of Christ and We
has betrayed Him by an inconsistent life
} or again in Matthew 26: 40, when Juda
SAYS vet again, Hail, Master and kisse,
/ Him" There can be no baser betraya
: than that which comes from the heart of
not to be such. TO say that You belon
r to Christ and yet to deny Him with you
life is an awful thing, and shall merit on
3 day the severest condemnation of Chris
: Himself There are many places in tn
t New Testament where | find that He
' called Master, in addition to the one i
2 the text, but three of them I should Ill,
gpocin11vv 70 ,pbopigo