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Words and Works of Jesus According to Jestfs. F i r st Matthew tells, in chapter i, How ma ny generations r un F r om Ab r a h am to David's Son; In ii how wise men f r om a f ar Followed t he rising of t he S t a r; How Herod, being "mo c k e d" by t h em, Slew all the babes of Bethlehem. In iv Christ met temptations t h r ee And t h en withdrew to Galilee. He t a u g ht and w r o u g ht and spread His fame. In chapter v and vi and vii, The Sermon on the Mount is given. Ten miracles in viii and ix Proclaim Him LORD and Christ divine, And He, with solemn charge, in x, Sent f o r t h, with power, twelve chosen men. J o h n, in xi, sends to k n ow " A rt Thou t he Christ to come, or n o ? " And Christ's response sufficed to doom Chorazin and Capernaum. Xii tells us why the Sabbath's given, And wa r ns of sin that's never shriven. A sin so d a rk t h at they could not tell T h e Lord of glory f r om t he prince of hell. Denies a "sign," and shows how bad The man who seven demons had. Owns t h em, t he F a t h e r 's will who do His mother, brother, sister too. We have in chapter x plus iii The P a r a b l es beside t he Sea. Herodias d ema n ds the head Of J o h n; the Lord five thousand f e d; And in t he mo r n i ng watch was seen Upon t he wave—so reads xiv. Of washing h a n ds before we eat, And giving dogs t he children's me a t; How seven loaves and fishes small Fed thousands four, and with them all Their wives and children, on t he green, All this is told us in xv. Think now of chapter x plus vi; Its crises in your memory fix. F or all t he signs, so manifest, Yet David's heir was unconfessed, But now t he few whom they sufficed, Th r o u gh P e t er said, " Th ou a rt t he Christ'!" And " He f r om t h at time f o r th began To s h ow" t h at He mu st die for man. The Lord in chapter xvii In glory on t he Mount is seen, And in t he shadowy vale below A wa nt of faith, a f a t h e r 's woe, And now in chapter x plus viii We learn who is in heaven g r e a t; And hand or foot to cast away R a t h er t h an Whole to b u rn f or aye. And of t he sheep t h at we nt astray. Here, too, t he pardoned debtor note
ing gold and frankinscence and myrrli to t he Lord. Millions more, multiplied millions, ma ke holiday if not holy day, a nd salute one a n o t h er with t he Christ- mas peace; o t h er millions make it an opportunity to indulge their lusts; b ut on just a nd u n j u st the Day pours out its good. 3. It is Ch r i s t ma s—a nd millions a re still in bondage; ipillions in poverty; millions in bitter toil and weariness; the "Cry of t he Children" rends the h e a r t; ma n 's cruelty and avarice ma ke countless millions mo u r n; Dives feasts in purple and fine linen, while Lazarus nurses his sores on t h e doorsteps; ten t h o u s a nd are mu r d e r ed f r om Christmas to Christmas in these enlightened States; eighteen h u n d r ed millions are spent in strong drink f r om Christmas to Christmas; billions on navies and armies and implements of war, to slaughter their b r e t h r en f r om Christmas to Christmas; fifteen millions in a sin- gle city on "wh i te slaves" f r om Christ- mas to Christmas; Africa, China, India a re still in heathen darkness, and South America. 4. It is Ch r i s t ma s—a nd those who know its meaning, a comparatively "lit- t le flock," glorify its Christ by giving gold, toil, life itself to uplift the fallen, relieve the oppressed, loose the pris- oner, give childhood to children, Christ to t he Christless, and the Christmas Gospel, crimsoned by Calvary, glorious by Pentecost, to the world without God and without hope. Sh ame f ul Christmas present! Glorious Christmas P r e s e n t! IV. CHRISTMAS PROSPECT IVE. " H e shall appear t he second time w i t h o ut sin u n to salvation" (Heb. 9: 2 8), "All Israel shall be saved" (Rom. 1 1 : 2 6 ), " T he residue of men shall seek t h e Lord, and all the Gentiles on whom My n ame is called, saith t he Lord, who d o e th all these t h i n g s "; all t he promise shall be fulfilled, nothing shall want its ma te (Isa. 3 4 : 1 6 ). " T he zeal of t he Lo rd of hosts will p e r f o rm t h i s" ( 9 : 7 ). Glorious Christmas to come!
REV I EW Lesson x n i . December 29.
As a novel review of t he year's stud- ies in the life of J e s us we print t he following, covering t he account as given by Matthew. One of the pupils might commit and recite it, and a general questioning follow.
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