Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-01-26

Forty days after Jesus was born He
was carried by His mother to Jerusa-
lem, which was only a short distance
from Bethlehem, to be presented in the
temple. This was in accordance with the
law of Moses which stated at this time
that each son was to be presented to
the Lord. Because of the deliverance
of the first born of the Israelites at the
time of the passover. God claimed as
His property the first born of every
woman and every animal. The first born
sons were to be set apart as priests;
but when one tribe were set aside for
the priesthood, members of other tribes
were to redeem the first born by paying
price for him at the time of the pre-
sentation. In the cases of those who
were not able to pay more, pair of
turtle doves was the redemption price
Joseph and Mary were devout people
and made every effort to carry out the
instructions of the Mosaic law literally.
This was, although they did not know
1t, Gods way Of making the captain of
our salvation perfect, who although He
was God Himself, incarnate, was now
brought under perfect submission to the
law of Moses.
We catch some ieda also of the ex-
treme poverty of His parents. The jour
ney from Nazareth to Bethlehem was
an expensive one for him, as it took
him away from his work, and cut off
his income. They were so poor that
they had to offer the redemption price
of poor people. In this way also God
was preparing Jesus to be a Saviour
to the poorest as we'll as the richest;
for in that He Himself bath suffered,
He is able to help those who have been
tempted from the standpoint of power
ty; and God only knows how great the
temptation is to sin, and how difficult 1t
is to live a holy life, for those who
are ground beneath the heavy load of
poverty.
A SPIRIT FILLED MAN.
When Jesus was presented in the tenn
pie, there was present an old man, Sim
con by name, who came up to the moth
err as soon as he saw her bringing this
child in, took the infant in his arms,
and said to God: Lord, now lettest
Thou the servant depart in peace, &C
cording to Thy word. for mine eyes
have seen Thy salvation which Thou has
prepared before all the people; a light
to tighten the Gentiles and the glory
of my people OF Israel" This song has
become one of the hymns of the church.
But Simeon said more than this. While
Joseph and Mary wondered at those
words he spoke, he turned to Mary and
said: This child shall be for the fall
and rising again of many in Israel. A
sword shall pierce thine own heart
also.''
Possibly you may have wondered why
Simeon recognized in this infant the long
expected Messiah. Babies were present.
ed in the temple every day, and amongst
them all there was none more humble
than this mother with her infant child.
There are two reasons which may ex-
plain Simeon's action. The first and
most important is that he was a spirit
filed man. and was directed by the spir-
it to do as he did. The other is that the
visit of the shepherds had been told
throughout all the hill country. Simeon
may have heard it, and recognized
Mary as the mother Of the remarkable
child.
There are seven facts pointed out here
about Simeon which are found in the
life of every man who is filled with the
holy spirit. Let US study them that
you may test your life by them, and be
filled with the holy spirit yourself
The first one is that he was Just, and
the second that he was devout. That he
was just refers to his inward life. That
he was devout refers to his outward life.
The life which he lived was right in the.
sight of God and it was also right in
the sight of man. A man may be de-
vout and not just or righteous. Some
men are very punctiliouS in the perform
ance of religious ceremonies, but their
inward life may be reaking with I'M
righteousness. The Pharisees were de-
vout, they were most punctual to per-
form every ceremony with the greatest
care; but they were not righteous. The
man who is filled with the holy spirit
must be both righteous and devout- His
inward life as well as his outward life
must be as correct as he knows how to
make it.
The third fact was that Simeon was
waiting .Mforo the consolation of Israel;
he believed God: He believed that God
was going to send the Comforter to them
as He had promised. He believed that He
would not fail in one single thing that
He had promised, and he was patiently
waiting until Gods time would come to
give the Redeemer to Israel. Faith in
God and patient waiting for Him char
acterizes the spirit-filled man; for without
faith il is impossible to please Him. If
we would please Him we must believe
that He is the rewarder of them that
seek Him. In another sense,
the spirit-filled man must wait for the
of Israel. We are apt to
think that the saints Of old looked for
ward to the coming of Christ, and that
we must look backward to it; and In one
sense that is true. But we must also
look forward to it for not until He
comes can we here realize the fullness of
the redemption which He has purchased