The Brinkley argus., 1912-08-30
LESSON FOR SEPT. l.
DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

LESSON TEXT-Mark 6:14-29 GOLDEN TExT-"Be thou faithful unto death, and will give thee the crown or hfe"-Rev. 2:10.
 The story of Hamlet and Banquo's ghost is no more vivid or dramatlc than the story of the tragedy of John the Baptist. i,
 And King Herod heard of him y.4. Of course Herod would hear ol the rising young cousin of John "no was creating such a stir tnrougnou' Galilee. His coarse, sinful, Hceptious' heart cringed at the rebuke of such a life of purity, one that performed so many good deeds, one who was con stantiy ministering to others as con trasted with the life of Herod, wno only ministered to his own selnsn lusts. Small wonder he should ex- claim. Tt is John whom beheaded, and one can hear in fancy the rising tide of terror that surged through nls heart as he must have screamed, He Is risen from the dead!" The nrst three verses of the lesson are a V'Yia picture of how the fame of this young Galilean affected the conscience stricken and guilty y-hearted usurper upon the throne.
 Who was this Herod? In the nrst place, he was guilty of the sin of Tn. cest. for he had married the wife or his brother Philip, who was still nv ing. From verse eighteen of the les- son we learn further that the bold and courageous John had rebuked him ol this. evil and as result Herod had cast him into prison and though ne may have desired, yet he did not as yet dare to take his life. Added 10 this is the anger of sinful woman'
 John a Just Man.
 This precipitated war which re- suited in the overthrow and utter loss of the army belonging to the father of Herod's lawful wife. Why did Herod hesitate to comply with all that Herodias desired? Verse 20 tells us, because John twas a just man ana an holy" Righteousness is often a mans surest safeguard Herod was not altogether devoid of conscience as we have already seen, and this IS further evidence of that fact Verse 20 adds that when Herod heard him he was "perplexed and heard him gladly" We believe that Herod was seeking some sort of recanting upon the part of John, that he was glad (anxious) to hear from his lips some sort of statement that would justify his liberation and was perplexed over the persistence of John, who, though in prison, never for one moment low cred his standard of divine righteous ness. nor trimned his sails so as to catch the wind of Herod's popular favor. That this. was John's attitude and that it was known to Herodias Is evident from the beginning of the verse 21. "and when convenient day was come" Fcrcdias was all too ready and willing 10 seize her oppor. tunity.
 To evidence her depths of depravity and also her anxiety. note that Hero dias was willing to sacrifice the mod esty of her own daughter to gain her end. The use of the word "herselr v. p R. ", Is evidence that it was an unusual thing for this daughter of a queen thus to exhibit herself Now note the oath of the liquor end lust-drunken king. What an appalling request. What terrible consequence. What lengths men will go to "keep their word" given thoughtlessly or ut tered in the heat of passion. This is one of the blackest pictures of his tory. A lust-driven. licentious roten- tate, rebuked but vindictive queen. slave of these same passions. r Not Real Sorrow. The child of the home thrust forth before the gaze of the court to help se- cure the ends of murderous mother. A godly, fearless saint who had great message from great God, and with | out halting, hesitancy or compromise rontnued to deliver that message till stricken down in the midst of an orgy of passion. Herod's sorrow was not unto repentancev (v. 26) but rather that of guilty conscience.
 We need now to return again to the first verse of the lesson and we can well believe 1t must have been a sad wall, "He is risen' (v. 16). History tells us Herod lost his kingdom and that he and Herodias died in exile.
 Let US turn from this awful picture and look at John. How different. Thus dies he who was the greatest born of woman. Thus died one who dared to rebuke evil in high places. One who would not compromise to save his life. an \ one who was faithful unto death (see the Golden Text). Can we hesitate to believe that John received his crown?
 A suggested outline for this lesson is as follows:
 I. 4 TerrorstrIeksn conscIonee.--- V. f4f6.
 1. Jesus name spread abroad, v. 14. ?. Men sought to explain Jesus, v. 15.
 3. Herod's guilty conscience. v. 16. II. A Wicked Woman's Hatred. V. f7-2s.
 ] 1. The effect of righteous life. 2. Herod's downward steps.
 III. The End Of Faithful Preach. or. V. 2C-29.