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May 1927
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fused, scattered, contradictory; yet, O Cornelius! prayer to God, one prayer, one request— “One thing I of the Lord desired, And will seek to obtain.” Was it not Mercy that sent the angel, and the assurance that thy prayer and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God? “Why art thou cast down, my soul? What should discourage thee? And why with vexing thoughts art thou Disquieted in me ? “Still trust in God] for Him to praise Good cause I yet shall have: He of my count’nance, is the health,'.::.. My God, that doth me save.” 'â§> Peter Tells A Foreigner About Jesus Acts 10:1-11, 18 Memory Verse : “Make disciples of all nations.”. Matt. 28 :19. Approach: Some of the New York City streets are closed off as play-grounds for children. You ought to visit one to see the various nationalities represented! kind? Our prisons today are much more ¡comfortable than the prisons of years ago. Can you tell us of a brave man who was put in prison for telling people about Jesus? (Review, emphasizing the need of telling others of Jesus, even though we are made fun of and treated cruelly.) We are having such a pleasant time getting acquainted with Peter, who once denied the Lord, but now he is brave and true and willing to suffer and even be put in prison for the sake of Jesus. Peter learn ed many things when he was willing to let Jesus have full charge of his life. Peter had always preached to his own people, the Jews, who thought because God had chosen them for his people, that they were better than other nations, and that Jesus came to save them alone, The Jews called other nations unclean, and did not want to preach the Gospel to them. I wonder how God is going to teach Peter that all people are to be saved. Our story tells us how God taught this lesson to Peter. The houses in those days in the country where Peter lived had flat roofs,’ and steps so people could go up on the roof and be alone. One day Peter went upon the roof to pray, and as he prayed he grew very hungry and wanted to eat; then Peter . had a dream or vision. He saw the sky above him open, and something like a great sheet, held up at the four corners, let down before him; In this sheet were all kinds of wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. At the same time there came a voice, saying: “Rise, Peter, sfe Some of these have recently come from Italy, Russia, Aus tria, P o l a n d , etc. They are called for eigners. A r n o 1d ’s Practical Com. L e s s o n Story: How many of you boys and girls ever saw inside of a jail or prison of any
ing desire in the roused and quickened soul. What is it? To see God’s glory. To see Christ’s beauty.. To hear the Fa ther’s forgiveness. To be freed from the burden. To quench the burning thirst. There are so many ways of expressing it, it has so many aspects, it is myriad-sided —and yet one thing— “One thing I of the Lord desired, And will seek to obtain.” It is that glorious, precious pearl of great price. It is a forgiving, loying God, re vealing Himself, and giving Himself to the soul. It is God in Christ, made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sancti fication and redemption. Knowest thou this one thing? One thing is needful. Hast thou chosen that good part which cannot be taken from thee? The angel is sent to announce to Cor nelius that his prayer is heard; but the angel is not to preach the Gospel of Christ. God, in His love and compassion, has ordained it that men, saved them selves from sin, death and hell, and ani mated by the constraining love qf Christ, should be His ambassadors, and declare, with all authority and certainty, and yet with tender sympathy and pity, the salva tion which is in Christ. The chosen mes senger of peace, the angel informs Cor nelius, is one “Simon, whose surname is Peter; he lodgeth with one Simon a tan ner, whose house is by the sea-side.”' Cor nelius may have been astonished at this direction. The teacher is not a Pharisee or Scribe, not one of the priests or Levites —but one Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is to send, not to Jerusalem and its temple, not to the synagogue, not to Ga maliel or one of his disciples-=-but to Joppa, to a man lodging with a tanner. What beautiful circumstantiality ! What poet would have dared to put such minute local directions into the mouth of an an gel? And why not p ; Because poets do not dare to be as poetical as God’s ways, and truths are in reality. For it is the highest poetry, and, blessed be God, the truest fact, that God knows, and sees, and remembers all; that the house where Mary dwelt, and Martha, and Lazarus— the homes of all His people, however poor and obscure they may be, are well known to Him : the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous; He sends peace and light into their dwellings. And as God’s angel departed, Cornelius immediately obeyed; and, having declared all these things unto his faithful attendants, he sent them to Joppa, to hear further what God the Lord will speak unto him. Will it be peace? “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.” This has been the at titude of Cornelius for many days. And now the Lord is about to speak; what message will He send? Will it be Mercy? Was it not Mercy which sought you and brought you to the knowledge of God’s existence and holiness, oi His kingship and glory, of His truth and justice, of your duty to Him as your Father and Master? Was it not Mercy which touched your heart, and filled it with love and rev erence, with fear and trembling—which roused your conscience, which led you to seek God? Was it not Mercy which built your family altar, and which brought you into, your closet, there to pray unto Him that seeth in secret? Was it not Mercy which enabled you to pray? Broken, im perfect, feeble, sin-polluted prayers—con
said, they are worldly and forget God, and train not their children in the knowl edge and fear of God, and treat their ser vants as if they had no souls, and give scarcely anything to help the poor or ad vance God’s cause, and do not pray in secret and at all t i me s . Alas,: that there are such! And, doubtless, a man like Cornelius would be thought by many as too strict, and austere, and gloomy—an extreme man—no doubt meaning well—A! but whose intellect is not in such vigorous exercise as his feelings and sentiments. While others, and they form the greatest numbers, say, What more do you want or require of a man? Is he not as perfect as it is possible for man to be? If he and such as he are not fit for heaven, who is ? Surely, a more religious man we can not imagine. But ask himself and he will tell you that he is not at rest, and why. ® I pray but I have not yet obtained; I seek, but I have not yet found; I knock, but the gate is not yet opened. I seek God, for what am I without Him? But is He mine, and am I His—with my sins, of which I see daily more in my life and conduct,' in my thoughts and imagina tions—with my selfishness and impurity, which His own Word reveals to me so clearly? Tell me not to be at peace; I have no peace. Tell me not to be sat isfied and to hope the best; G°d will surely not allow me to remain in such vague uncertainty, and amidst such tor menting doubts and misgivings. He wilji show me what to do, He will reveal to me that one thing which I am seeking, and which will bring peace to my soul !” Yes, he did lack one thing. To fear and rev erence God, to try to obey His command ments, to be kind and helpful to our fel- lowmen, to meditate on God’s truth, and lift up our hearts unto Him in prayer— all these are goodly pearls; but the soul feels they are not the one precious pearl of which the possession is all-satisfying. Seeking God is not the Saviour; the Sav iour is no act of ours—no frame of mind, no virtuous exertion—He is a living Per son, He gives Himself, and the soul has rest. One thing he lacked—for it is pos sible for a man to speak with the tongues of men and of angels, to have the gift of prophecy, and to understand all mysteries and all knowledge, to bestow all his goods to feed the poor, and give his body to be burned—and yet, for the lack of one thing, to be as sounding brass and a tink ling cymbal, and to be profited nothing in the sight of God, and on that day. Oh, that shallow and hypocritical advice, that a man is to be satisfied with praying, and doing his bestl—as if prayer was not means to an end—as if the man who really prays did not look for the answer—clear ly and unmistakably God’s answer—to whom he has cried. That man who is satisfied with praying, has never prayed aright; the man whom God teaches to pray cannot rest until he has God. T he O ne R equest The prayer was heard. He had offered up many petitions, he had prayed for many blessings, and yet was it only one prayer— one request. (Compare v. 30). “One thing I of the Lord desired, And will seek to obtain.” The soul may not be able to interpret its longings and desires—they may appear to be many and various; but there is one leading, central, all-pervading, all-absorb
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