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The Commoner
10
VOL; 22, No. 10
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tho hopo that this long oxpoctod Messiah might
i como through their family lino. Each child con
1 tinucd tho 'lino and, therefore, made the bless-
ing possible. Zajjhurlas was overjoyed at the
1 infoxniation given him by tho angel. The de
scription of tho promised son was all that could
be desired.
JOHN'S MISSION . '
His father would have joy and gladness and
many would bo rojoicod at his bfrth.
Ho was to bo groat in the sight of the Lord ,
and would drink noithor wine tfor strong drink.
Ho was to be filled with .tho Holy Ghost oven
from his mother's wGmb.
I-fo was to- call ba'ck niariy o( the Children of
Israel to tho Lord their Qolf.
Ho was to have the spirit- and power Of Elijah
and "to make ready a people prepared for the
Lord" tho coming Mossiah.
Zacharias and his wife were so advanced in
yoars that ho could hardly believe tho promise
real. "Whereby shall I know this?" he inquired.
Gabriel, after declaring his namo and rank
arid tho purpose of his visit "to shew thee
those glad tidings" answered:
"Behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to
speak, until tho day that these things shall be.
performed." N
This was, the penally imposed upon Zacharias
for his lack of faith; he went out .speechless,
making signs to tho people who had wondered
at his prolonged stay in tho temple. Ho could
not. speak again until the child was born, when
ho. announced tho nam'o John, given by tho angel.
GOD CALLS HIS, MESSENGERS
This was tho boginning of a now dispensation.
Tho 'messenger who .was to prepare the way and
call tho people to repentance had something of
tho rugged character of Elijah. His was not the
pleasant task of intimate association and quiet
work; his- duty was to call the World to repen
tance to startle the Chijdron of Israel with the.
announcement that the day for which they
waited was at hand. ,
Two thoughts suggest themselves; first, God
calls Hfs messengers and prepares them for His
work.
As tho Holy, Ghost was in John from his
mother's womb, so when God needs an agent to
do His work he fills him with the purpose nes
essary for the task. We find in this conclusive
proof that man has in him, not the blood of the
bruto( but the breath of tho Almighty.
Martyr blood has been necessary to civiliza
tion; history turns oji the uncompromising char- .
actors to whom truth is revealed. What though
they pay for their courage with their lives? Life
is of little worth if it must be purchased by tho
suppression of a sense of duty by the surrend
er of a profound conviction.
THE NEED OF A GODLY HOME
And the child called to a great work needs a
home environment to prepare it for its task.
There were many homes in Israel to which
a Johntho Baptist might have been born, but
there was no home that had been borne that had
been more purified by piety or invhich a man
with a vision of God could find more congenial
companionship.
John inherited traits that aided him in his
work and was brought up in a sympathetic en
vironment. Tho prophetic spark which glowed
within his heart was fed, by the faith of his par
ents while they lived.
The estimates of the world are superficial
we are prone to measure people by the influ
ence which they seem to exert in business in -society
and in politics. God's records are mora
trustworthy. A father or mother unknown to
fame may, in the final account, have credit for
training a world-child, one of whom mankind"
becomes a debtor.
J few years ago the English edition of the
- Review of Reviews told of an incident in a
prayer meeting. A little girl arose and with
trembling voice said:
'Tf no one else will spealfc, I must say that I
love the Lord Jesus with all my heart "
Her words touched those who heard her and
one after another added their testimony. From
that prayer meeting went out an influence thif
spread all over Wales and resulted in the con
version of tons df thousands. Back of the littln
Spl Wai? Jnot,h?,p, r.a f ather or botn wb spoke
through the child to succeeding generations
"Who can, nieasure such service? u,
NURSERIES FOR GOD'S AMBASSADORS
No visible Gabriel stands by the altar todav
no audible voice announces God's plan but out
. of families innumerable have come the children
if prayer. Fathers have seen in their children
i ttBwers to supplications; mothers have wel
comed them as children born for a purpose
Such children have from youth been dedicated
to God. and retained for service, often undefined
but none tho loss expected.
Thoro is no new Saviour to be announced, for
Chr.'st is tho final word in salvation, but much
must yet be done before tho teachings of Christ
are fully applied for the regeneration of the
world. Any home, however humble, may be
come a nursery of one of God's ambassadors,
but it must be a home that furnishes a fitting
environment such as the home which Zacharias
and Elisabeth provided for John the Baptist.
THE NEED OF THE GODLY HOME
By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
REVIEW LESSON FOR SEPTEMBER 24
Since fche first of the year we havo boen
studying lessons in every-day living from the
Old Testament. The remainder of the year- vo
shall devote to the New Testament, but before
we begin, let us glance backward along the won
derful path we have come.
The high lights on the history and prophecy
of Israel have been presented to us. Great char
acters of the Old Testament have passed in re-
view, and each character, I hope, has left his
impress upon us.
These characters have been real and natural:
their weaknesses havo not been concealed and
their strength has not been exaggerated." From
the beginning to end one note runs through the
lessons their virtues and their weaknesses have .
brought before us: Obey and we will be happy; .
disobey and punishment is sure.
Men and women have been conspicuous ac
cording to their faith. They have been weak
and vacillating as they trusted themselves and
failed to lean on God.
Wo began with the foolish sen of a wise man;
he taught tho very important lesson that intel
ligence does not ruh in the blood. Neither learn
ing nor riches in a parent not even when that
parent is Solomon can insure a sense of virtue
in a child, as tho life of Rehoboam shows. The
heart is the center of life and the source of the
wisdom that directs the footsteps aright.
"Blessed are the pure in heart."
THE SUBLIMITY OF GOD'S SPOKESMAN
In Elijah w catch a glimpse of the sublimity
of man when he is thd'spokesman of God: the
kingly power of a wicked ruler like Ahab is
made to appear, ridiculous when matched against
the personality of the Tugged Tishbite.
Then comes Elisha, a farmer summoned from
his plow to work wonders by the power of the
God who called Jiim. He immortalized Naaman,
the leper, conferred enduring fame on the
Shuuamite woman, and revealed to mortal eye
the hosts invisible which came within striking
distance of every great moral battlefield.
Jonah, the first of fhe missionaries, appears
for a moment; first a craven fleeing from duty,
then as bold a messenger as ever, called a peor
ple to repentance, and finally he steps from the
stage in a fit of petulance. "
In Amos we have a shepherd leaving his
flocks to rebuke the worshippers of tho god of
ease as they endanger a nation by their indol
ence, drunkenness and gluttony. Asa's upright
ness glows like a beacon light. The love of the
boy Joash for the house of God teaches every
parent that the heart is capable of being turned
to -God in its tender years. Uzziah's career il
lustrates anew the world-old lesson that false
pride invariably leads to punishment.
DRAMATIC OLD TESTAMENT CHAPTERS
Wo hear the dramatic call made to Isaiah to
be about the Lord's business; we behold his
splendid vision of peace; his lofty prophetic ut
terances ring in our ears.
We rejoice with the godly of ancient days
when Hilkiah discovers the long-lost. Book of
Law and restores the Word of God to a nation-
we listen eagerly as Jeremiah pleads with his
people to heed the Word of God; and our hearts
leap with joy as we are told how tho marvel
ous memory of Jeremiah confounded Jehoia
kim's attempt to destroy that Word
fThe,? 5zoWeJi th,e watdiman of Israel, defines
for all time the law of responsibility. Then
comes the wonderful Daniel, with his stern
JSSSi consecrated courage and his inter
pretation of prophecy. And following him are
Zerubbabel, leader of the first return from
exile; Ezra, the priest scribe; diligent and re
sourceful Nohemiah, a very captain of industry
for God: Esther, willing to sacrifice her comfort
even life itself, for the common good: Malach
God? and many others; each bringing-before
"t
the m!ndand imnfessfneunriTi' thn ;, ,
of continuing importance and incainiiinKi "in8j
I have heard many express themselves as h? '1
,ui wx x-u.i oyiumm ueveiopment in th'
study of these lessons a statement in whirl, f
heartily join. , l
THE NEW BUILT ON THE. OLD
And how important it is that we should know
tho Old Testament; for the Old Twtjimn
the foundation upon which the New Testament
is built. The writers of the Gospels do not re
write the books of the law and the prophets
they assume a knowledge of all that hno u'2
written. Christ not only took it for granted
that the OldTestament was understood but
specifically and .unqualifiedly endorsed it' Ho
quoted many passages with approval, and it w
Ho who said: " as
"Search the scriptures ; . . they are they wnlpii
testify of me." . ' -' ca
Some four" hundred years elapse between the J
wni'ugs 01 luaiacm, wnicn close the Old Testa
ment, and tho boginning of the Christian era
There seems to have been no event of impor
tance to report during these years. The Chil
dren of Israel passed from under the rule of one
king to the rule of another, preserving their race
blood, their race characteristics and the religion
of the race in spite of changes in temporal sov
ereigns. -
Then, the silence o&p.ur centuries was brok
en by the events we $r;o about to study. Out
of tho Jowish races came the Messiah so long
waited for. The stage .was set for the greatest
event in history and a new group of characters
absorb attention. The k'istorv about tn im (.
ten is linked indissolubly to the old, but it is 1
anvo witn a quickened spirit.
A SHARE IN THE GLORY OF JESUS
Modern Jewish thought puts the accent on the
fact that Jesus was a Jew; some writers of the
present day claim for the Children of Israel a
share in the glory with which the world has
crowned Jesus. H. G. Enelow, in his book en
titled, "A Jewish View of Jesus," says:
"Who can compute all that Jesus has meant
to humanity? The love He has inspired, the
solace He has given, the good He has engen
dered, the hope and joy He has kindled all that
is unequalled in human, history.
"Among the great and good that the human '
jaee nas produced, none has even approached
Jesus in universality of appfcal and sway. He
has become the most fascinating figure in his
tory. In Him is .combined what is best and
most enchanting and most mysterious in Israel
the eternal people whose child He was.
"The Jew cannot help glorying in what Jesns
thus has meant to the worB; nor can he help
hoping that Jesus may yet serve as a bond of
union between Jew and Christian, once His
teaching is better known and the bane of misun
derstanding is at last 'removed from His words
and His ideal."
This is as complimentary a view as one of the
Jewish faith could be expected to take of one
whose Messiahship they do not concede.
THE GROWING FIGURE OF ALL TIME
When in Jerusalem, I visited the walls of the
Temple of Solomon to witness the wailing of
the Jews that takes place there periodically. It
was inspiring to note the evidences of sincere
devotion, and yet pathetic to see the mourners
forgetful of the vital part that their people had
played in bringing Christianity into the world.
The influence of the Old Testament is no longer
confined to a chosen people; it is the heritage
of all Christendom. A child of Abraham a son
of David, tracing his lineage through Mary. His
virgin mother has become the great fact of
history and the growing figure of all time.
In succeeding Talks we shall gather the fruits
that the new dispensation has produced, but we
shall gather them from a tree whose roots drew
nourishment from Old Testament soil,
And as we gather these fruits we can say with
the full heart of the Psalmist: .
"The Lord hath done great, things for us,
whereof we are glad."
One of the best known musicians makes the
claim that the popular song writers steal thoir
stuff from the composors of tho classics and are
able to get away with it because so few of tho
general public know anything about classical
music. No music, as we understand it, is entitled
to be called classical until after its composer has
been dead fifty years, a situation that makes it
impossible for a classical composer to got as mad
as he would have just cause. , foir being when
charged with responsibility for the jazz of today.
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