Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1918-04-03
Lesson 1.--Second Quarter, April
7, 1918.
TIE INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Text Of the Lesson, Mark 7:24-35--
Memory Verse. Mark 7:37-Golden
Text, John 8:s6-commentary Pre-
pared by Rev. o. M stearns.

anu LHES OHe7 tiuphaSlzlue Tire DTtdu
from Heaven as the great need of all,
even himself, apart from whom there
is no life, and giving assurance that
his words are both spirit and life.
The first section of our lesson chap
ter (vss. 1-l3) deals with those who
know and have nothing real, but only
an outward form of religion, consist
ing of ceremonial washings and doc
trines of men which make the word of
God of no effect. Vain worship from
the lips only, and not from the heart
(vss. 6, 13l. They are spoken of in
the prophets as those who draw near
to God with their mouth and honor
him with their lips but their heart is
far from him. They hear the words of
the Lord, but will not do them. With
their mouth they show much love, but
their heart goeth after their eovetous-
ness lisa. % :13; Eek. 80 80.
The second section of the lesson
chapter (vss. 14-23), in which he re-
peats one of his great sayings, ''If any
man have ears to hear let him hear"
Tvs. 16), sets before us the truth that
real defilement comes not SO much
from what we eat or drink as from the
wicked heart within us ALL for, 1.-THE
heart is deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked: Who can know
it?" der. II 30. Consider our Lords
own words concerning the wicked
heart and what it is capable of in vss.
21.23. AS the age draws to close the
manifestation of the evil that is in the
heart of man will greatly increase, for
he said that at the time of his coming
again as the Son of Man, which means
his coming in glory to set up his King
dom on earth, after the marriage of
the Lamb, things will be as they were
in the days of Noah (Luke II :26). II
is written that Ia the days of Noah
God saw that the wickedness of man
was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually, for all flesh
had corrupted his way upon the earth
(Gen. So, 12).
We do not wonder that he went
away from all this hypocrisy and for
malism of the Seribes and Pharisees to
be refreshed by the faith of the Syro-
phenician woman (vss. "a 800. The
account of this incident in Matt. 1928
is little more full in some respects
than the record in our lesson; but, TAX
ing both together, we learn that this
woman of Canaan, who was a Greek,
had daughter who was grievously af-
fiieted by an unclean spirit, and hear
ing of Jesus she came and fell at his
feet, beseeching him that he would
heal her daughter. Note that she
heard of Jesus; that is the great thing
we are here for, TO make him known,
to cause people to hear OF him. Unless
people are learning of him through us
our lives are not bearing the fruit de
sired, and we are in some measure fail
ures, and may be ashamed before him
at his coming q John 2:2S). This
woman having heard of his wondrous
works believed that he could surely
heal her daughter, and with humble
persistent faith. came to him.. address
ing him first as Son of David. but to
this appeal he made no reply, perhaps
because as Son of David he could do
nothing for her. Then his disciples,
for their own comfort, asked him TO
send her away, for they said: ~She
crieth after u.s."
Her next word was, Lord help me-"
TO which he replied that it was not
meet to take the children's bread and
cast 1t to dogs. Even this did not dis
courage her, and she said: Truth,
Lord; yet the dogs eat the crumbs
which fall from their masters table"
Now she prevails and is rewarded by
his word: 70 woman, great is thy
faith, be it unto thee even as thou
wilt" From that hour her daughter
was well, and so she found her when
she went home, and lying upon the
bed. Another instance of the faith of
one prevailing for another; but oh,
such faith, the kind that takes the
lowest place. but will take no denial.
Giving him his right place, and taking
our place as sinners, but, like Jacob,
clinging In our weakness with, 81 will
not let thee go except thou bless me"
(Gen. 80 :26).
The remainder of our lesson chapter
(vss. 31-37) tells of one who was deaf
and could not speak plainly. This man
he took aside from the multitude. put
his fingers into his ears, spit and
touched his tongue, looked up to
heaven and said, BE opened" and in
stantly the man could hear. and he
spoke plainly. This healing was after
he returned from Tyre and Sidon to
the Sea of Galilee. Why he took such
different ways Of healing people can
not tell unless 1t was to deliver us
from expecting to be used or blessed
like some one else. We must hear him
say, as we are tempted to consider his
dealings with others, What Is that TO
thee, follow thou me-" Taking him
aside from the multitude reminds us
OF the blind man whom he took by
tba hand and led out of the town and