The Coolidge examiner., 1936-01-10

seen thy salvation, which thou hast
prepared before the face of all peo-
ple.-Luke 2:3O, 81.
PRIMARY TOPIC-When Simeon
Saw Jesus.
JUNIOR TOPIC-Why Simeon Re-
joiced.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR
TOPIC-What Jesus Can Do for the
World.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT
TOPIC-Jesus, the Hope of All Ma
tions.
The occasion which brought Sim
con to recognize Jesus as the Mes,
siah was his being offered to the
Lord by Mary and Joseph. Accord
ing to the Jewish custom Uev. 12) d,
at the age of eight days the male
child was circumcised and thus
made member Of the covenant ma
ton. In this case the child was
given the name "Jesus" which in
dicated his mission (vv. 22-2D.
Then at the end Of 40 days he was
offered to the Lord on the basis of
the original redemptive purpose,
which was the priesthood of the
tirst-bOrn, and not according to the
Levitical order (EXod. 13 2; cf. 30 ::
26). The offering in such case was
a lamb for such as could afford it,
but for the poor a pair of turtle
doves or pigeons was adequate. The
Savior thus came to the level of the
poor.
|. Simeon's Character (v. 25).
1. Upright. He sustained a right
relation to his fellow men. He was
Just"
2. Devout. He was of such a char
acter as to enjoy personal fellow
ship with God.
8. Waiting fer the consolation of
Israel"-Messiah. Waiting for the
fulfillment of the divine purpose in
the coming of Messiah had a blessed
effect upon his life. inducing right
eOusness and gOdliness. Waiting for
the second coming Of Christ is set
forth in the New Testament as hav-
ing a salutary effect upon believers
(I John 3 81; | Thess. g, 10).
4. Under the sway of the Holy
Spirit. One thus enabled would be
in a condition to recognize the Mes
siah. A spiritual mind is absolutely
essential in order to discern the di-
vine purpose Il Cor. 2:1N.
u. Simeon's Revelation wv. 26-2S).
| He was assured that he should
not die until he had seen the Lord s
Christ. When Christ was brought
to the temple. the Holy Spirit upon
Simeon enabled him to discern the
babe as the promised one. Happy
is the one whose character and spir-
itual experience is such that he
can discern the presence Of the
| Lord. Truly it is in him that we
| live and move and have our be
| ing. To be in this state is TO prac-
tice the presence of God So def
]
that when Mary and Joseph brought
Jesus into the temple. he took him
up in his arms and blessed God
indicating his personal and affec-
tionate appropriation of the Mes
siah as his Savior and Lord.
~. Simeon's Song wv. 29-32).
This is the song known as the
"Nunc Dimittis." so named from
the Latin words with which it be-
gins.
|. He prayS for peaceable de
parture (v. 29). Perhaps it was
more than prayer; it was praise
to God that now he is having a
blessed departure out of this life,
having seen and handled the Savior.
Truly blessed are the dead who
died in the Lord. 1t is wonderful
to live until conscious of the full
! fillment of the divine purpose in
! life and then to be released by
the sovereign Lord to appear in
his presence.
2. He praises God for a world
wide salvation (vv. 3O-32). The
"Nunc Dimittis" is the universal
song, thus widely differing from the
Magnificent" in that it is wider than
the Jewish hope. Simeon saw
Christ as the Light to reveal saliva
ton to the Gentiles. This is the
true glory of Israel. 1t is in keep
! ing with the divine purpose in call
ing and disciplining this nation to
make it the channel through which
he might bless all the peoples of
| the world (Gen. 12:1-3).
". Simeon Blessed Joseph and
Mary.
The revelation through Simeon
caused them to marvel. To have
such wonderful predictions made
/ concerning their Babe filled them
with amaZement. His blessing con-
tanned wonderful and even dark
words of prophecy.
l. This child is set for the fall
and rising again Of many in Israel
This means that Christ was to be
il touchstone-destiny would be de
tprmined by the attitude of the peO-
pie toward him. How definitely this
has been fulfilled in the experience
Of that people.
.. "A sign which shall be spoken
against" This had definite fulfill
ment in Israel and is being fulfilled