(Luke 2:11). F or four thousand years an expectant people had waited for this event. To Ad am and E ve in the garden, when they stood, sin-stricken and with bowed heads in the presence of an offended but loving God, He had said, "The seed of the womaai Ishall bruise the serpent's head" (Gen. 3:15), and now this prophecy is ful- filled. All of the Old T e s t ame nt prophecy was focalized upon the mighty event. Who is H e then t h at is born? The anointed Lord. Wh e re was H e born? In Bethle- hem, the city of David. Wh e n ce did He come? Heaven itself, where H e left His robes of royalty. Of whom was H e born ? Of a woman. H e is the Word, made flesh; Immanuel, God with us; the Son of God; Lesson IV. Because mine eyes have seen the salva- tion which Thou h a st made ready in the sight of all nations (Luke 2:30-31). The golden text projects us into the midst of a memorable scene. An old saint stands with a little six-weeks-old child in his arms. He was ipeculiar, in t h at he had set his heart upon seeing the Messiah. The Holy Spirit had borne in upon him the conviction t h at his eyes, before they closed in death, should behold t he Lord Christ. Now he holds the Child of promise in his a r ms and his eyes are fixed upon Him" ,and his heart's desire was gratified. Simeon is presented to us like u n to a sentinel whom his ï a a s t er had stationed upon an elevated place to watch for the appearance of a certain star and to give notice to thé world of its arrival. He sees the wished-for star, announces t h at it has arisen, a nd a s ks to be set free from the post, he has occupied so long. It. is thus t h at in the opening of the Agamennon of Aeschylus, the sentinel, stationed to w a t ch for the signal fire t h at would de- clare the fall of Troy, wh en he at 1 last beholds the long expected blaze, celebrates in verse both the victory and his own re- lease. The difference between Simeon and others of his day was this : H e looked and longed for the Lord. God gave him the desire of
the Holy One. For w h at was H e born? T h at H e might be a Saviour, a deliverer for ruined men. "Unto us a child is b o r n" (human), " Un to IUS a Son is given" (Di- vine). Isa. 9:6. God manifested in the flesh. F r om His birth springs a new dating of time. H e is the living fountain, built of the Holy Spirit on earth, from which sal- vation in living waters was to flow out to some of t he thirsty children of ^nen. He became the Divine Center f r om which God was to move in all of His operations relat- ing to men. The Message is a personal one—TO YOU all of the riches of grace and glory of God are included in this won- derful message. L et us rejoice in it; let us pass it on. January 28. his heart. To many, Jesus, who hung upon the cross, was a mere m a n; to others, un- der t he guidance ' of the Holy Spirit, He is the Saviour for all nations. Blessed is the m an who comes to the. place when in his spiritual experience he' discries in the Man of Galilee the promised One, and who can say, "Mine eyes have seen." There m ay be some living who shall yet tarry in the flesh until He shall come the second time, who shall see H im and be transformed into His image. This story is no myth—who ever heard of a hero in one sentence pronounced im- maculately holy and in the next presented according to the law for ceremonial puri- fication? The ceremony was very simple. "I have brought this our first born son," said t he f a t h er to the priest, "to be dedi- cated to the service of God." "Will you give h im up to t h at service?" asked the priest, "or will you redeem him?" "I will redeem him," said the f a t h e r; "here are thy five shekels ($2.50) for his redemption." As he handed the money to the priest he said, "Blessed art Thou O Lord our God, King of this universe, Wh o hast sanctified us with T hy commandment and c omma n d- ed us to perform the redemption of our first born son."
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In house to house visitation the need of personal ioueh is demonstrated and there is utter absence of conviction of sin, and absolute ignorance of the Word of God. Our beloved president, Mr. Lyman Stew- art, is greatly improved in health and look- ing forward to the coveted privilege of active service again. Every Bible class held multiplies cases fcfr personal work, and we are assured that the class work, through the power of the Holy Spirit, creates a hunger for the truth, which is in Christ Jesus alone.
" L a st week was one of victory.!'. We have the crowd, the Holy Spirit is doing close work. Three—two women and one man—who resigned their membership in the card and dancing club here on the hill, made a start for Christ. Folks are friend- ly—conviction is working. Liberty in the message — expectancy in God's doing things. Lawrence is a jewei and is wint ning with his voice. I thank God for him. "We finished our work here tonight. Bight joined the Church as a result of week's work; two baptized."
WILLIAM SLOAN,. Oil Field Evangelist, South Taft, Calif.
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