Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

ecord."Clause? He'd better stay out of town.Three Songs of The Nativity are assigned for our study today; The Annunciation to Mary; The Magnificat ofMary, and The Nunc Dimitus of Simeon.A Fourth, Gloria in Excelsis, Luke 2:14,by the Angel Choir, is not included inthis lesson, but is closely associated withit. There is much in and around thestory of The Nativity that furnishes richmaterial for hours of reverent study.The Annunciation by GabrielTo Mary. Luke 1:32, 33Gabriel is one of the two Angels thatare named in the Bible. His name means,"Man of God." The name of the other,Michiel, means "Who is like God." Gabriel reveals four things about Christ :1. He should be given the Throne ofDavid. Not the Throne in Jerusalem.That had been vacant for half a millennium, but the everlasting Throne thatwas to be occupied by David's seed forever.2. His Deity. "He shall be great, andshall be called the Son of the MostHigh."It was foretold of John,"Heshall be great in the eyes of the Lord."Great, as compared with men. ButChrist's greatness takes Him out of thefield of comparison, into a place alone;He is the Son of God.3. He was to reign over the House ofJacob. Jacob,a Prince with God, represented Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, withwhom God had covenanted for the perpetual establishment of His Kingdom.4. His Kingdom shall have no end. Heis indeed of the Seed of David. If wecould follow a perfect genealogy, wemight find that He was the CrownPrince, legally, through each of twolines, Joseph and Mary. For many generations there was reason why revealingthe Royal line would put life in jeopardy.The really essential thing is that Mary,as the Mother of Christ, was the representative of Sainted Womanhood, andin a broader sense of Sainted Humanity.Yet since it is made so clear that Christwas to be born of the Seed Royal, of theline of David, would it notseem appropriate for him to bethe Seed Royalthe Crown Prince? Orperhaps it was otherwise, that we mightput emphasis on the spiritual, ratherthan on the temporal side of Christ'sKingdom.The Magnificat of MaryLuke 1:46-50These songs are named by the firstword in the Latin version. We are impressed by the humility of Mary whenshe knew the wondrous honor that wasplaced on her,December 7, 1955above all women.Realiz-ing the magnitude of her task, she sawnothing in herself to commend her forthis honor. She was but God's handmaid,in low estate. God had looked on her inher lowliness, and all generations wouldcall her blessed. This was not for hergeneration alone, but for all time, fromgeneration to generation, on them thatfear Him. The rest of Mary's song, notincluded in the lesson, shows the breadthof the vision that swept her soul. Itbreathes the fulfillment of Jewish hope,yea, the Hope of the World."Mary does not offer a wish in thelatter part of this verse. (48) She offersa prophecy. There is in this verse nowarrant for the blasphemous titleswhich Rome has given to Mary. Herblessedness was because of the greatmercy of God, just as it is of any otherperson whom God takes into His service."The Nunc Dimitis of Simeon.Luke 2:29-32.Nearing the end of a long life of faith,this aged servant, anxious to see Christ'sKingdom revealed to the world, had received the assurance that he would seethe Messiah on earth before he died. Itwas not for himself that he wanted tosee this, for he knew that in a shorttime he would be forever in the presenceof his Saviour.He wished to see itin the world, for the world; Before theface of all peoples; a light to lighten theGentiles (often translated 'Nations'), aglory to those who received it in faith.But why think of Simeon's Song as asubmission to death? The shepherds sawthe Holy Babe, and they were probablyyoung men. The wise men saw, and returned to their own lands rejoicing.Have we not seen? If not, we are notfully prepared for either death or life.We should be getting a new, deepervision of His Presence every day.We speak not of any calendar day orseason, for we do not know the day ofChrist's birth, but of any time in whichthe birth of Christ is commemorated,the event commemorated makes thetime sacred. It should be kept free fromanything that does not belong at sucha time. Of course children should beamused, entertained and given their fun.But surely such lawful things shouldnot be introduced among the worshipingshepherds and the Holy Family in theBethlehem stable. What about profanethings that are not lawful on any day?With the hope that the SabbathSchool hour through the year has been tous all an enjoyable and blessed one, wecome to the end of the Sabbath SchoolYear.Thank you, Mr. McBurney, for theyear of helpful, faithful instruction.PRAYER MEETING TOPICDecember 28, 1955THE AMENS OF JESUS (No. 12)LEFE OUT OF DEATHComments byPsalmsJohn 12:2463:1-3, 6, page 153126 :l-4, page 32172:9-12,23:1-5,page 175page 52Rev. John O. EdgarReferences: I Cor. 15:35-37; 15:42-44;15:51-55; Heb. 2:9, 10; Rev. 7:13; Matt.10:39; Heb. 11:35; Acts 21:13 John 12:32, 33.In the passage before us Jesus is stating a profound truth: Life comes out ofdeath. At first it seems contrary to factan impossibility, but upon closer examination we discover that this is afundamental law of life. It is to be seenin the chrysalis, in the seed scatteredupon the land, in the bulb planted in theground, and the body buried in theearth.Jesus was nearing the cross. He hadbeen called to Bethany because of thedeath of Lazarus. It is significant thatone of his last miracles was the raisingof Lazarus. Doubtless it was designedto prepare the minds of the people forHis own resurrection from, the dead.Immediately after this miracle came thetriumphal entry when the people shoutedtheir "hosannas." It was the raising ofLazarus that prompted this acclaim.John says, (12:17) "The people therefore that was with him when he calledLazarus out of his grave, and raised himfrom the dead,bareIn verses 20-22 of chapter 12 we havethe story of the Greeks who came to thefeast to worship, and said to Philip, "Sir,we would see Jesus." Philip told Andrewand Andrew told Jesus. In answer Jesus said, "The hour is come that theSon of Man should be glorified. Verily,verily, (Truly, truly) (I say unto youmost emphatically)except a corn ofwheat fall into the ground and die, itabideth alone; but if it die it bringethforth much fruit." There can be nodoubt that He was referringdeath and resurrection.to His/. The Declaration of Jesus Is Found toBe True in the Natural WorldEveryone who has planted seed infield or garden, and has seen it springforth and grow, knows that it is true.So long as the seed remains in the granary it is preserved without the powerof reproducing itself. It is necessarythat it be cast into the earth, that itscovering should be decomposed in order that it might live again and bringforth a multitude of seeds like itself.There are three uses to which seed381