*
i
9
CHRISTIAN HHRAT.D.
think any brother has a right to
officiate at the Lords table ; but as
the elders are the leaders and in-
structQis.Qfdheflockltisbutpropoi
and natural thiat they should take’
the lead in this matter. But if there
is a passage of Scripture in the
New Testament that enjoins this
duty upon the elders of the church
to the exclusion of the evangelists,
deacons and other brethren in good
standing, we have failed to find it.
As a rule, however, we would en
courage the elders to administer
worlds goods and this man is very
rich and if we can only get him to
join us his wealth will be a great
help to us.—But J^us-wanted -not
his riches, but him. He had come
to save men, aud must honestly
tell them the truth, if it did offend,
as in the case when many of his
disciples, on account of his “ hard
sayings ” “ went back and walked
no more with him.
3. He did not become impatient
of success, as many who profess to
be his followers do. He was will-
er he had friends or foes, or wheth-
er his friends proved true or false,
he moved steadily forward, in his
geeat work, tqrntng-aeither_faid oi fer
right or to the deft. And this is
what is now needed upon the part
of overy Christian man and woman.
No matter what others may do or
how discouraging the outlook may
appear, each one .should press for
ward in his and her duty, following
the example set by the Redeemer.
G. //* did not judge his success
by the great multitudes that follow-
He converted very few during his if a preacher can draw the crowd
CHRIST AS A WORKER.
public ministry so meager were the that he is a successful preacher.
Christ was emphatically a worker. fruits of his personal ministry that But Jesus was able to look into the
He went about doing good. And in when he came to the last great hearts of people and thus know the
strugglo.tharn was not one f riwulXo. jnotiyes that actuated t.Luun 2= ; and
bix-ir
by him. All forsook him. he very well knew that the crowd
example of industry. He intended
that the world should be saved by But he looked beyond, and saw tlio often followed him through some
work ; and in every thing that con- “ travail of his soul,” and believed impure motive, for the loaves and
ouidos-ity-f and
the «cod he waa
^slifulcra.
has set us an example. Let us look would spring up in the ages to come hence we find his teaching such,
for a few minutes at Christ as a and bear fruit. He wants all to sometimes, that it even cut off many
learn the important lesson that he of his disciples so that they “ went
t worker.
1. His highest aim was to please aimed to teach, that there is a lime back and walked no more with
him.” The day of judgement will
God. His will was entirely merged to sow and a time to reap.
4. He was an unselfish worker. decide who has been the successful
Unto his Father s will. “ I came not
workers in this world. I have not
to do mine own will but the will of To save lost man he laid aside the
the least doubt but that many an
him that sent me,” was character glory which he had with the Father
obscure worker who has labored
istic of him all throucdi his life. He before the world was, and left tile
nere simply witn a view to saving
said of the law of Moses that one "courts of glory Tor a Tife ofTumiTia-
souls and honoring God,will be more
jot or tittle of it should not pass tion and sorrow here with sinful
honored in that day than' many
away untiH aH should be fulfilled. man, that he might be able to save
~who Eave been"far ahead of them
And he fulfilled.it to the letter. He him from his ruined condition. His
in the estimation of their brethren
kept every moral precept in it, great and loving heart was so un
while they were in this world.
while living>-and in his wonderful selfish that he willingly bore all the
M.
death He became the ante-type of shame and ignominy that His ene
all the types that related to him as mies could heap upon him, and at
DAVID AT HEBRON.
last
gave
himself
to
the
shameful
the lamb of God that was to take
After Saul’s death, we find Da
away the sin of tho world. He death of the cross, that he might
came over sixty miles on foot, to save even those who treated him vid anointed king at tlebron, where
he ruled for seven years and a half,
submit to the institution of baptism, thus.
5. He was a steady"worker. He waxing greater and greater, for the
that was binding upon him as well
as others, saying “ thus it becometh did not become tired or discouraged, Lord was with him. How many
us to fulfill all righteousness.” He, and give up, or turn aside for a socred memories cluster around this
in one word, carried out the declar- moment from the purpose he had ancient city, that has been held in
ation of the prophet, that “ to obey in view. The combined opposition turn by giants of a lost race, by the
of earth and hell was not able to Israelites, by the Edomites, devas
was better than sacrifice.
tated by the Romans, ruled by the
2. He did not seek to please men make him swerve for a moment
He honestly told them the truth, if from his great purpose. Many Moslems or conquered by the cru
it did sometimes offend. When the Christian people fail, simply be saders, who gave way again to the
victorious followers of Mohammed
rich young man came to him asking cause their purpose is not fixed.
Two thousand years before Christ
what good thing he must do to in They are so fickle-minded that you^
and ’a thousand years before David
herit eternal life, there would have cannot get them to stick to any
began his reign, the pathetic story
been a temptation for some, if they Christian work long enough to
is told of Abraham buying a burial
had been in his place, to keep back make it a success. Some of them
place of the sons of Heth, for his
the rugged points in their teaching, need to be converted about every
wife Sarah who had died in a land
or to soften down’ something a year. And some people go by fits
of strangers. Abraham had taken
little; but he didncither, He frankly and starts, in church work. They
no thought of a place to bury his
told the young man that there was are sometimes so zealous that you
kindred before, but now in the
only one course for him to pursue ; have to hold them back, and at
oriental style of obsequious words
and that was to go and sell all his other times you can’t get them to
he buys the first burial place on re
property and give it to the poor, do anything. Now the kind of
cord, the cave of Ma^pelah at He
and then come and take up his cross work that will always tell is the
bron. There were buried Sarah,
and follow him. . Some would have steady, constant kind of woik that
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Rebekah
1(i4soned thus: We are poor in this the Savior did. No matter wheth-
ani.4« as
■
f
»
»
I.
and Leah. The little group of.
graves lies low in the picturesque»
valley of Eschol among the moun-
n.<nkl»i) lini t.I l f t j
.w ♦ *
* m» » l - m .-,
Hebron was built. Now we step
forward, for the name of that fruit
ful valley recalls the searching of
the land by the spies sent out from,
the wilderness of Paran. It was a
goodly country; they bore back
with them great bunches of grapes,
pomegranates and figs: but their
faces fell when they remembered
the walled cities and the giant sons
afraid. They murmured and for
forty years more the city of He
bron was the home of the Anakims
till Joshua conquered the land of
Canaan. In the allotment it...ba-
came a Levite city, the 'lnhentance
of Caleb, “ who wholly followed the
Lord God of Israel.” In the com-
BiHud of the Lord to
to ap-
point six cities of refuge, Hebron,
was one of the three chosen west
of the Jordan in the tribe of Judah.
Into it he who took another’s life
by accident fled for protection from
those who would become avengers
of the blood unwittingly shed.
Here David established his house
hold and began his prosperous
V^fairJu^..
the first, but a civil war arose with
the house of Saul which lasted for
two years. Abner the captain of —
Saul’s hosts was the leading spirit
in the insurrection, making Ishbos-
heth the son of Saul king, with
whom he soon quarrelled, howexer^
and went over unconditionally to the
enemy. Ishbosheth was slain and
his head brought to DavidatHebron,
after which all the tribes of Is
rael came swearing allegiance to
the king who grew stronger and
stronger as the house of Saul grew
weaker, till the elders came making
a league with him in Hebron be
fore the Lord. The Jebusites were
soon conquered and David with his
retinue left Hebron to enter the
gates of the “Stronghold of Zion,”
there for more than thirty years
to rule the entire Hebrew nation.
Hebron was no longer a capital, but -
the “ city of David ” perhaps twen
ty mileg away grew rich and beau
tiful, till the eyes of the world cen
tered upon it and the walled city
of the Jebusites became Jerusalem ,
the golden, the synonym of that
heavenly city where the tree of life
is growing.
We come to be skillful doers
through the bungling, yet earnest,
efforts of the beginning.