The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1916-04-28

A1Wy
Ry r Q. eEII1EEa Actine Director Of
(copyrigAt 1915. western Newspaper Union.l
LESSON FOR APRIL 30
PETER DELIVERED FROM PRISON.
LESSON TEXT-Acts Ellis.
GOLDEN TEXT-The angel Of Jehovah
encampeth round about them that feax
him. and delivereth thsm--Psalms nj. ..
One day the sons OF Zebedee" de-
sired Jesus to grant . carte blanche
petition. Pressed further as to their
particular request. they petitioned for
the seats OF authority ON the right
and left hand OF Jesus, in glory. In
reply Jesus said that such q petitiou|
was not . proper one nor Intelligent
~ asked. but according to their in
trepid assertions Of willingness they
should be baptized with his baptisml
Of death mark 10:35-45). and that
the greatest Of his followers should
be servant of ALL" Today's lesson Isl
. fulfllment of that prophecy.
!. Peter In Prison, the Church Pray4
Ing Tvs. 1-6). Prosecutions had been
resumed (9:31) after q temporary lull.
Some people serve Christ by living
others by yielding up their lives for,
his sake. James (not the one mem
toned In chapter 15) was slain and
Peters death delayed in order not to,
nO11pYf0 tho fooct ~ tho Toxy{ch Iyo1v ~
week. Peters position was perilous.
Sixteen soldiers guarded him in a Roj
man dungeon. But his enemies had
left God out of their calculations and
the believers had linked themselves
through prayer with the source Of ALI
power. Against such a force Herod'si
cunning plan. whereby he might curry
favor with the Jews ". 81, is power
less. But it is now almost the hour
for Peters execution. Why the de-
lay? The greater to demonstrated
the power OF God. Herod and the Jews
cared not for, nor recognized, Easter,
but God cared for his servant and hon.
ored the prayers of his saints. Peters,
faith in the plans and purposes OF
God Is indicated by his slumber and
the need of being fully awakened byl
the angel. There are four things about
that vigil of prayer ". 81 offered by1
the church on Peters behalf. which,
was so wondrously answered. a. II
was directed unto Cod" Some pray1
ers are offered to audiences or the
ears Of man, but not such as are an
swered. We have heard prayers, soI
called, offered where the name of
Jesus is never mentioned. and scarce7
ly the name of God. Literally ". 5)l
this was a 'stretch-out-ed-ly' prayer.
and its earnestness was such as to-
circumvent this vile grandson OF
Herod the Great. (2) It was made
without ceasing'' ("earnestly" r. W.
There was q sincerity and an Intensity
of desire On Peters behalf which lan1
guage can scarcely express (See also
Rom. $500. The same word ie used
Of u Lords prayer In the garden|
when His sweat was as great drops
Of blood falling down to the ground
(Luke 22:44, Rom. 1880. Col. 4:12l
IL, R. W. There is little such prayer
to be found. but once found 1t is an1
swered. (3) It was "of the church.
1. g., it vas q united prayer. Such
unity is the evidence Of the Spirits
presence (Eph. 4:1-16). One shred
of hemp is not very strong, but many
united form the strong and mighty
rope. Multiply individual prayer by;
the united prayer of the church and
see the mighty works of God. (4)I
It was definite, "for him." Definite
prayers Of definite individuals for def
mite purposes will produce definite re-
suits.
u. Prayer Answered, Peter at Liberty
Tvs. IT'D. The messenger Of God
". y brought light. yet the servant
of God needed awakening, q sugges-
ton to apply to our modern church,
life. His method Of awaking Peter
suggests that it often takes sharp
blows to arouse US to our duties and
privileges. The sinner has to be
awakened before he can be ~deliveredl
Delfverance is more needed than
sleep. Neglect is more dangerous than
rebellion. Half-awake Peter neverthe-
less obeyed Gods messenger. Nor
did he seemingly stop to argue or ask
for further particulars and explana-
tons as SO many sinners do. The rec
ord of this deliverance is most graph
&c. Peter did nothing but to follow.
and as he obeyed, one after another
of the seemingly unsurmountable diff
culties which lay between him and
freedom, melted sway. even before he
had time to lay SO much as his finger
to the task. II we obey God, what
seems to man to be an absolute bar
rier, will be overcome. though fire.
Quently 1t Is not removed until we are
face to face with 1t even as Peter
stood before first one gate and then
another. Looking back many of us
can exclaim Of our ~deliverances that
we "wist not that 1t was true"
III. Joy and Amusement Tvs. 12-17)!
Peter. finding himself untrammeled
and free upon the streets Of the city
and no longer angel-accompanied. 1t
once repaired to his friends. Do We
seek the prayer meetings? It was
startling indeed for the subject Of their
prayers to knock at the door: perhaps
49,