334
July 1929
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
CUMI (pronounced Tallitha koomee)—“My little darling, rise!” Note the,accent of love; Christ loved the children and loves them still; cannot we trust them to Him ? The words were also em blematic of His love for dead souls, of whom this maiden was a type. Note also the self-assertive command; other men always raised the dead with prayer. Who was He that He should thus command the dead? Could He be other than the Lord of Life? Surely not for :— 42— THE DAMSEL AROSE—-Death was compelled to obey His voice (cf. Rev. 1:18), for He was the Life; therefore it was impossible for Him to be holden of death (cf. Acts 2:24). Could all this be true of a mere human carpenter? THEY WERE AMAZED—They believed that He could heal, but not that He could raise; so we limit His possibilities in our narrow faith (cf. Eph. 3:20). 43— TO GIVE HER TO EAT—Note the thoughtfulness of Christ and His care for our comfort—in their ecstasy they would be apt to forget her need. “Down from the sublime to the commonplace” ? NO!—All life is sublime from His point of view, and should be so from ours; we err when we divide it into the “sacred” and the “secular.” This miracle is typical of the raising of dead souls to life, and the direction to give her to eat is to remind us that our spiritual life needs nourishment as well as o u r' physical. T HE Holy Spirit guides us much through the varied nature of Scripture. Isaiah 6 was not the whole of the prophet’s life, but it was an important event in it. The apostle wrote only one Romans 7, but we should be much poorer without that vivid, inspired autobiography. Sometimes a believer finds it hard to say how much of a certain experience is his Lord’s chastisement for some definite failure, and how much is His gracious pre serving from future failure, with rich results, that we may help others aright. And it is well that we do not know, so long as we are “EXERCISED THEREBY,” and, humbled. God does not command us to spend time analyzing His dealings: we must not DESPISE them, we must not FAINT under them, we must seek PROFIT and PARTAKING of holiness thereby. “Analysis” often is mental: the true attitude is spiritual. Sometimes one part of truth is impressed with unexpected power. We realize the intercession of the Lord Jesus, and His Judgment Seat. ’Tis not a question of grasping truth, truth grasps us. When some other part of His doctrine begins to affect us more remarkably, it may be that the former portion of truth becomes less vivid than it should be through our failure (and we own this in all), but it is also true that God has some fresh lesson to teach, that we may increase in heavenly knowledge and love. It is so With trials. God does not permit us to be ever in the same class. Nor does He put all His people in the same class together. The differences of experiences in one life are still more different in many, to prevent hastiness of judgment, and to help love. He removes one problem, and permits another; not capri ciously, but for our good, and that we may grow up into Christ in ALL things. The believer should never be an earthly pessimist, but it is well for him sometimes that the failure of self should be felt much more keenly than usual, though our Father will not leave us, nor forsake us, and He grants more than gleams of grace even at such a time. Yet, on another occasion, He may grant a mountain top, and an almost unclouded view, it seems, of the riches of grace. Ah, even then we see in a mirror darkly. The beauty and glory of Christ ever transcend our highest realiza tion. But the VARIED experiences are used, as we have seen, to teach us to bear with one another, and to learn our own need, and to trust Him more for His unvaried grace .—The Student of Scripture.
d subscriber from Alabama writes: “I don’t want to miss an installment of Rev. Wilfred Hopkins’ Exposition on St. Mark.” Pastors and teachers will appreciate knowing about this series of expository studies. Subscrip tions may start with the first article of this series if requested.
34— THY FAITH HATH SAVED THEE—True! And yet only half the truth—it was He, to whom faith brought her, who was the source of the salvation. Our faith, to be effectual, must be exercised aright. GO INTO PEACE—The peace had not yet come; salvation and peace are not always simultaneous; she was still trembling. Contact with Christ ultimately brings not only healing, but peace. BE THOU WHOLE—i.e., con tinue to be whole; she was whole already: it was assurance for the future—He who heals can keep. 35— THY DAUGHTER IS DEAD—A confirmation of the fact that she was in extremis at the time that the father came to Christ. WHY WORRIEST THOU?—How little men know of Christ by nature; they neither realize His power nor under stand that He is never “worried” by the supplications of them that seek Him. 36— SAITH STRAIGHTWAY, FEAR NOT, ONLY BE LIEVE—He knew the agony of the father’s heart and would allow no time for faith to falter nor for the pain to grip. There is at once sympathy and help; He is saying the same thing to us in our sorrows today. 37— SUFFERED NO MAN TO FOLLOW—In mercy to the bereaved; they did not want a gaping crowd, or even the twelve apostles—how thoughtful He always is for the objects of His care! SAVE PETER, etc.—As witnesses to the world of the miracle (cf. Deut. 19:15; 2 Cor. 13:1). Peter, James, and John were the chosen three, but concerning them see chapter 9. 38— BEHOLDETH THE UPROAR, PEOPLE WEEP ING AND WAILING GREATLY—These were hired mourn ers (cf. Jer. 9:17, 18), paid to make lamentation. 39— NOT DEAD, BUT SLEEPETH—Physically she was dead (cf. Jno. 11:11-14). Yet death, after all, is but the sleep of the soul, which will awake on the resurrection morning (cf. Acts 7:60; 1 Thess. 4:14). [Note1—-Psa. 127:2 should not be quoted as referring to death at all. It simply states that we should not worry ourselves, since God provides for us while we sleep.] 40— LAUGHED HIM TO SCORN1—The unbeliever still laughs Him to scorn and is still wiser in his own eyes than He. Would that men would learn that He is The Truth, and trust His every word accordingly. CASTING THEM ALL OUT— (1) There could be no miracle where there was unreality; there never can; we must be real if He is to work wonders in us or for us. (2) There could be none where there was unbelief; according to our faith it shall be done unto and by us. (3) There could be none in the midst of uproar; God is not the God of confusion, and His greatest works are all done in silence. (Note that the unreal and the unbeliever shall be finally cast out at the last day; this outcasting was a type of that.) TAKETH THE FATHER AND MOTHER, etc.—Those whose grief and whose faith were real. 41— LAID FIRM HOLD OF THE HAND—The touch was not necessary; Lazarus and the widow’s son were raised without it. It was to aid the faith of the father and mother. Yet note that when He lays hold He does it firmly: only sin or unbelief can unclasp those fingers (cf. Jno. 10:28, 29). TALITHA
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker