divided into f ur parts, to every soldier a part. The under garment was woven, not sewed; for this they cast lots, and one received it. Thus the 22d Psalm was fulfiled: "They parted my garments among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots." The third hour, 9 o'clock in the morning, according to the Jewish reckoning, from 6 o'clock or sunrise. John says (19: 14), it was already the sixth hour when Pilate made his last attempt to set Jesus free; that is, according to the Roman mode of reckoning, from midnight, as we also do. Thus the two accounts agree. They crucified Him. "When all de half bushels gits de same size, you may look out for the millenicum 46 Folks ought to talk about de neighbors like de tombstones does." "De old cow dat jumps de drawbars too much is practersin' for de tanyard. "De safety o' de turnup patch depends mo' on de size ob de turnips dan on de tallness ob de fence. "Lots o' hens los' deir eggs by braggin' on 'em too loud." "A man's raisin"' (bringing up) The upright"will show itself in de dark. beam was only high enough to raise the sufferer from the ground. Midway upon it was a little projection upon which the victim sat, that the whole weight of the body might not fall upon the arms, and they be thus torn from the spikes. The head was not fastened; the arms were sometimes tied. The feet, it is said by some, were not always nailed; but it is safe to infer that the feet of Jesus were nailed. See Luke 24: 39, 40. "Death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain and death can have of horrible and ghastly-dizziness, cramp, thir-t, starvation, sleeplessness, publicity of shame, long continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of untended wounds-all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all, but all stopping just short of the po nt which would give to the sufferer the relief of unconsciousness. The unnatural position made every movement painful; the lacerated veins and crushed tendons throbbed with incessant arguish; the wounds, inflamed by exposure, gradually gangrened; the arteries-especially of the head and stomach-became swollen and oppressed with surcharged blood; and while each. variety of misery went on gradually increasing, there was added to them the intolerable pang of a burning aud raging thirst. Such was the death to which Christ was doomed."—Farrar. The superscription-the "title" conferred upon Him. Written in three languages, that all men might be able to read it. Those three languages were the first vehicles in which the King of the Jews was for centuries proclaimed to the world. "Some folks medger distance by deir own roomatiz." "Eben a mud turtle kin clam a pine tree after de tree done feil on de groun'."-The Century. NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP. Golden head, so lowly bending, Little feet so white and bare; Well she knows when she is saying, Half asleep, and murmuring faintly, O the rapture, sweet, unbroken, Of this soul who wrote the prayer! If, of all that has been written, --Putnam's. Make a firm built fence of trust, And within it stay. Look not through the shelering bars, LESSON IX. FIRST SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT. JESUS' DEATH ON THE CROSS. MARK 15: 27-37. 27. And with him they crucified two thieves; the 28. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days. 30 Save thyself and come down from the cross. 31. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved other; himself he cannot save. 32. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And, they that were crucified with im revile nim. 33. And when the sixth hour was come, Nov. 26, 1882. there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me! 35. And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. 36. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. 37. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. GOLDEN TEXT: “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree." 1 Peter 2: 24. INSTRUCTION. Verses 27-28. Two thieves-robbers; "He was numbered with the transgressors." (Isaiah 53: 12). 29. Railed on Him, railed and mocked Him. Thou that destroyest, &c., the false charge brought up again. 30. Save Thyself; but He had come to save others. Come downthis He could have done; but what would then have become of us? 31. Chief priests mocking-they should have been above anything so mean. He saved others; even His enemies admitted that; no one could then deny it. This is the great truth of the gospel. 32. See, and believe; but we walk by faith, not by sight." They that were crucified with Him reviled Him. (Luke 23: 39-43) says only one of them did this. (See Quarterly Notes). 33. Sixth hour-12 o'clock. Darkness, not an ordinary eclipse, but a miraculous sign of God's wrath. "Well might the sun in darkness hide." Until the ninth hour—3 o'clock. Three terrible hours of agony and gloom. 34. My God, &c. First words of Palm 22. Forsaken Me; He felt forsaken. 35. Elias-the prophet Elijah. This they said in scorn. 36. Vinegar-sour wine. 37. Jesus cried: His words were "it is finished." It was His last word. Gave up the ghost-He breathed out His spirit; expired. CATECHISM. Ques. 48. But if His human nature is not incomprehensible and omnipresent, it must present wherever His Godhead is, are then necessarily follow that the same is not limited these two natures in Christ separate from one with the human nature He assumed, and yet remains personally united to it. another? Ans. Not at all; for since the Godhead is QUESTIONS. Verses 27-28. Who were on the right and | What took place then? Was this a natural left of Jesus? How did this show contempt event? Or an ordinary eclipse? With Whom for Him? What scripture was thus fulfilled? did Nature thus sympathize? What was Christ's prayer for His crucifiers? (Luke 23: 34). 29-30. What feeling was shown by those at the cross? What old charge was renewed? What did they tell Him to do? Could He have done so ? 34-36. How long did the darkness continue? With what cry did Jesus break the silence? Was He forsaken in fact? Did He feel forsaken? What ridiculous meaning did certain ones attach to His cry? What did they offer Him? Was He thirsty? (See John 19: 28). 31-32. Who disgraced themselves by hooting at a dying Man? What great truth did 37. What words did Jesus ut'er during they testify to? Did they intend it? Did this loud cry? (John 19: 30), What was they wish to see first, or believe first? By finished? Did He voluntarily yield up His what do we walk? Is it likely that both male- spirit? What were His last words? (Luke factors joined in reviling Christ? (See Luke 23: 46). What did He do for us on the cross, 23: 39-43). according to Golden Text? 33. What time of day was the sixth hour? LESSON HYMNS: { "When I survey the wondrous cross,” "Alas! and did my Saviour bleed !" LESSON IX. Nov. 26, 1882. "He could not do so, and save others. Sunday before Advent. At length we have reached the tragic Let Christ the King of Israel descend. end of the Redeemer's earthly life. We This was a ridiculing of His claim to have seen Him in power and glory; being a King, and a d-nal of His pownow we behold Him suffering and dying. er. We may see and believe. "A true And what a death! He became sub-index to their religious ideas! If they ject unto death-even the death of the cross! I. THE REVILERS. With Him they crucify two thieves; of these we know very little. They may have been companions of Barabbas men who rose in rev lt against heathen rule. If they had succeeded in expelling the Romans, these men would have been called patriots, deliverers of their country. As they failed, they were condemned as malefactors and thieves. One on His right, &c. Jesus was placed between the two criminals owing to the malice of the priests, perhaps; though the soldiers may have done it in mockery of His claim of kingship. Pilate allowed it, as he did all else, simply to get through his annual Easter executions and empty his prisons. The Scripture was fulfilled. Isaiah 53:12. He was counted a transgressor, treated like one, and died with them. This teaches the great doctrine-namely, that He was our Substitute, and made vicarious atonement for the sins of the guilty. They that passed by-the multitude of spectators mocked Him, wagging their heads in derision. They reiterated the false old charge: Thou that destroyest the temple. They taunt Him: save Thyself. saw Him with their bodily eyes by a miracle come down from the cross, they would believe! Their religion rested on their five senses!"-Geikie. 66 They that were crucified with Him reviled Him. It is not certain whether both of the malefactors reviled Him, or but one; Matthew and Mark speak of both; Luke of but one. According to some, both joined at first in the general derision; but, beholding the godlike patience and forbearance of Jesus, and knowing on what ground He was condemned, one repents, and begins to reprove his more wicked companion. The obvious objection to this is, however, that the first act of one so converted could scarcely be to reprove in another what he had but a few moments before been guilty of himself. This, perhaps, is more plausible than sound. Most, after Augustine, suppose that Matthew and Mark speak in general terms of them as a class of persons that joined in deriding Jesus, but without meaning to say that both actually derided Him." S. J. Andrews. Luke may have been more fully informed by Mary, who stood near the cross, and witnessed all the particulars. II. THE DARKNESS. The sixth hour there was darkness, i. e., at noon. (1). "This was no eclipse of the sun, for it was full moon at the time; (2) nor any partial obscuration of the sun such as sometimes takes place before an earthquake-for it is clear that no earthquake in the ordinary sense of the word is here intended. Those whose belief leads them to reflect Who was then suffering, wil have no difficulty in accounting for these signs of sympathy in nature, nor in seeing their applicability."-Alford. The three Evangelists assert the fact of the darkness; and the early Fathers appeal to the testimony of heathen authors for its truth. The chief priests disgraced themselves by joinin in the mockery at so solemn a time Their sense of decency and of official dignity should have kept them from anything so low. The Scribes were no better. All together took up the cry: He saved others; Himself He cannot save! They thus publicly admitted, what no one could deny: He saved others, as when He healed the sick, and raised the dead to life. But the latter clause, "He cannot save Himself," was a cruel taunt. It was both a falsehood and a truth: He could have rescued Himself from His enemies at any time, even Over the whole land. Does this mean when hanging on the cross. But He the whole earth, or the whole Jewish land and countries adjacent? It may mean only the latter; but there is no way of determining how far the darkness extended. The darkness signified, (1). God's displeasure on account of the awful crime then being committed against His beloved Son. (2). It also typified the gross darkness which sin has brought into the world, and which then settled down upon the pure soul of our Substitute. (3). That darkness was also an outward expression of the horror which the human soul of Jesus felt whilst passing through "the valley of the shadow of death." During those three long and weary hours there was silence; not a word was uttered by our Suffering High-priest. He was then in the darkened Holy of Holies, sprinkling the mercy seat with His own blood. The Light of the world eclipsed, but for the last time! III. THE END.-At the ninth hour, 3 o'clock in the afternoon-"either a little before the cessation of darkness, or just after it."-Eloi, Eloi-My God. "The language we have heard from our mother's lips, and have spoken in childhood, may be laid aside in after years for another, to meet the requirements of life; and Jesus, doubtless, in these last years, had often had to use the Greek of city communities instead of His own simple Galilean. But now the sounds. of infancy, always nearest the heart, and sure to come to the lips in our deepest emotion, returned in His anguish, and in words which He had learned at His mother's knee, His heart uttered its last wail."-Geikie. My God, My God. He here applies the 22d Psalm to Himself as prophetic. These "words are expressive of the Divine abandonment, of the departure of the Divine presence, as part of His atonement endurance. They are uttered by Him to show that He is enduring an intolerable agony, deeper than any external infliction."- Whedon. We must not ascribe all His sufferings to bodily pain, however sharp; His human soul loathed sin, and was now in contact with death, "the wages of sin." "The conflict in Gethsemane was here renewed." -Alford. But notice, Jesus still called God His God. Why forsake Me-Thy well He was then beloved, sinless Son. drinking the very dregs of bitterness, but knew that a Futher's hand was holding the cup! His cry was utterly misunderstood, or else perverted, by the hearers. They mockingly said, He is calling Elias. They then gave Him vinegar; perhaps, because He said: "I thirst." (See John 19: 28). Jesus cried with a loud voice: the words are recorded by John (19: 30), and Luke (23: 46). (See Quarterly for seven last sayings of Jesus). Gave up the ghost-this is a substitute for the words, He died. It was an act of His own will, (John 10: 18) And that death was life to the world! TRUST AND DISTRUST. Distrust thyself, but trust His grace; In every trial thou shalt trace Distrust thyself, but trust His strength; Distrust thyself, but trust His love; Distrust thyself, but trust alone; In HIM, for all-forever! -Frances Ridley Havergal. ON SCANDAL.-There is a depraved appetite for scandal. It pays to print the stuff. Village gossip, more than half a lie, and the more it is a lie, is swift-footed and will call at every house in a day. In the city the newspaper supplies the lovers of slanderous reports, if the editor is merceuary or mean enough to print such items. Like death, slander "loves a shining mark." The better the man, the more honorable aud useful his career, the higher his position, the more attractive is scandal relating to him. The more one-sided and unfair the slanderous assault, the more it is relished. The market for such ware is large, active, and coustant.-Chr. Intelligencer. The Guardian. VOL. XXXIII. DECEMBER, 1882. NO. 12. OUR MISSION. Our Sunday-school Department has, of late vears, increased in importance. Many Sunday-schools have subscribed for the Magazine for the double purpose of furnishing superior reading matter for the teachers, and of providing them with necessary assistance for the study of the lessons. The publication of the Scholars' Quarterly has slightly affected the circulation of the GUARDIAN, but not as much as was anticipated at the beginning of the year. The Quarterly, it should be remembered, is intended for scholars, while the GUARDIAN aims to assist teachers in their work. During the coming year the comments in THE GUARDIAN will be greatly extended, thus gratifying the wishes of many of our patrons. matters are strictly excluded. We cannot refrain from returning our thanks When Dr. Harbaugh founded the to contributors who, during the year of GUARDIAN, nearly thirty-three years our service, have assisted us with many ago, he did it under the conviction that interesting articles. Nothing, we venit was his duty to provide healthy read-ture to say, has afforded us so much ing for young men and women. "The pleasure as the uniform excellence of light reading." he said, which so easi- these contributions, and we heartily inly falls into the hands of the young by vite their authors to continue to assist means of many of our city publications, us in our labor of love. gives a false coloring to life, turns its earnest realities into romance, and leaves blight, morbidness, and disappointment in its fearful wake." If this danger existed so long ago it has certainly since then assumed fearful proportions. Periodicals, devoted to light Îiterature, have increased ten-fold, and their readers are at least ten times as numerous. In those days there were no weeklies full of foul and corrupting tales of theft and murder intended solely for circulation among boys and girls. One of the worst of these papers, we are told, has one hundred and fifty thousand subscribers, and no one can read a single one of its slimy pages without taint and corruption. These are the days of Dime Novels which glorify crime, and are the fruitful It would be an excellent plan for source of temporal and eternal ruin. every school to provide a sufficient Parents often fail to appreciate the number of THE GUARDIAN for the use danger which threatens their children of its teachers. This would not only from this direction, until it is to late. aid them in their work, but would serve If there ever was a time when Chris- as an affectionate reminder of their oblitians were bound to provide the proper gations to the school. It would cost no kind of reading for their households more than a few additional volumes in that time is now, and we believe it to the library, and would be likely to do be our mission to labor in this blessed much more good. Let teachers be encause. The GUARDIAN is, however, couraged to preserve the numbers and not merely a juvenile publication. It to have the successive volumes bound. for aims to be a Household Magazine for future reading. An excellent Elder reyoung and old. The articles are sim-cently said: "I have taken THE GUARple in style, but at the same time em- DIAN from the beginning and the back ploy such language as will elevate the volumes are read with more pleasure by literary taste of the reader. The whole my family than any other books in my has a religious tone, but controversial possession." |