i .
MOMTIOML
Four Great
Facts
OL
Lesson
(By K. O. SELLERS, Director of ' Even
ing Department The Moody Bible In
stitute of Chicago.)
By REV. PARLEY E. 2ARTMANN. D.D..
Secretary of Exlrauoa Deputmest.
Moody B3W bulitate. Chicago
LESSON FOR MARCH 23
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eloquent messages from home. But
despite its unassuming manner the
primrose has linked with its his
tory a tale of political honors. It is
an . heraldic flower giving name to a
coble Scottish house on whose shield
it is graven with a motto that, trans
lated, reads: "Early youth is charm
ing." Besides this, it was taken as
the symbol of a political career more
bold, brilliant and strange than any
other of its time. The statesman was
Lord Beaconsfield, and in connection
with him there was established in
England a new festival called Primrose Day.
Mythology as well as history claims the hum
ble little flower, and tells a tale of its origin. The
atory is that a beautiful youth namer Paralisos
died of grief over the loss of his love, and was
metamorphosed into the primrose, which in its
early days bore his name.
The fair spring blossoms which Mother Earth
ent forth to herald the coming of Easter have
been gossiping about each other. The tales they
tell about the tulip, that bright favorite of Orlen-.
tal lands, besides being highly romantic, yerge
on the sensational. Its notorious career has been
freely discussed among the less brilliant flowers,
some of which, in spite of their sweet, gentle
dispositions, resent the tulip's regal bearing and
courtly airs. Few people have ever heard the
stories they tell. In this busy, hustling age only
poets and occasionally other unpractical folk find
time to "trace the family trees" and history of
flowers. 1
But the tulip, as well as the other blossoms
that are talked about, will probably be welcomed
even more cordially than of old into the churches
and the homes of the best families after its
strange and wonderful past becomes known. The
ay-petaled blossom gets its name from a simi
larity to the Turkish headdress, and one of the
chief national festivals in the Sultan's land is
known as the feast of tulips. But the proud flow
er has done something more than please the
Turks with its beauty.
Once upon a time it held just as great an in
fluence over the financial affairs .of some families
as Wall street has had over those of others. This
all happened something over 300 years ago, when
the tulip was first taken to western Europe.
It was immediately enthroned as czar in the
floral kingdom, and so great was the rage for it
In Holland and France that many families famed
for wealth were bankrupted by it. The new
comer's beauty made even the wise, staid Dutch
florists mad, and speculation ,in costly bulbs be
came a terrible gambling mania among them. A
rare specimen often won a prize as high as that
paid for a high-stepping race horse or a fine
diamond. Fortunes changed hands daily in bets
over the finai outcome of almost priceless seed
ling bulbs. The gambling reached such a height
that the government finally had to' issue a proc
lamation to suppress it. During three years
tulips yielded to the city of Haarlem the snug
little sum of $50,000,000. The finest bulbs are
still brought from that Holland town, and are'
descendants of those famous tulips.
While this financial career of the tulip is most
Interesting in speculating circles, the poets love
best the tale that tells how the young Persan
always makes :t the emblem of his declaration of
. ?ove. The turbaned swain sends to the lady of
hia dreams the most brilliant tulip he can find.
The message bears ts that like the flower his
coontenance is all on fire and his heart has been
reduced to a coal by the intense warmth of his
Jove.
The well beloved violet Is another gentle little
flower that has been a prominent figure In his
tory. When the first Napoleon was In exile it
t a? adopted as his emblem by his followers. A
bunch of violets worn by a Frenchman, or seen
inlhis home, was a secret message that he was
loyal to the exiled chieftain's cause.
Ion was the name bestowed upon the violet by
the imaginative Greek who loved to people the
petals of every blossom and the ripples f every
rill with fair creations of their fanes. According
to mythology the name was derived from la, the
daughter of Midas and the betrothed of Atys. The
story runs that Diana, desiring to conceal the
maid from Apollo, transformed her into a violet.
Another myth about the birth of the flower says
that Jupiter caused the first violets to spring
from the earth as food for the persecuted la
while she was hiding in the form of . a white
heifer from the fury of Juno. ,
The verse makers have a special fondness for
the tiny flower, and love to translate the message
it is trying to tell to the rest of creation.
It is a singular fact that some flowers suggest
pensiveness and even melancholy, while in form,
color and bearing others speak only of gladness.
While the personality of the flower may be some
what responsible for its effect on the human
moods, more, perhaps, is due to the strain of
poets' moods. Most of the Easter flowers seem
to be message bearers of joy and hope, lifting
their faces to the blue skies in happy worship
rather than in sadness. It seems to be natural
for poets to give names and human attributes
to plants, but the beauty loving Greeks went
farther along the path of fancy. They invented
human originals for their favorite flowers, and
made beautiful legends to account for the trans
formation. The lovely narcissus, according to
their lore, was once a handsome young god who
became so lost in admiration of his own shadow
that he cruelly slighted the affections of the fai
Echo. As a punishment for this crime he was
changed into a narcissus, the flower of self love.
Shakespeare alludes to another romantic
legend in his "Winter Tale." The narcissus was
said to have been the flower that the daughter
of Ceres was gathering when she was carried
off by Pluto of infernal region fame. The night
goddesses also chose it for their ancient coronet,
and it wasa highly, important factor in the cus
toms of Greek life. The Chinese, too, have a
great fancy for this flower. They use it in many
of their sacred ceremonies, and every family in
the Mikado's realm takes great pride in having a
plant in full bloom at the New Year.
Love and jealousy played leading parts In tho
story of the birth of the hyacinth, another Orien
tal favorite. There was a youth, Hyacinthus by
name, who was much beloved by Apollo and
Zephyr. He preferred the warm, steady affection
of the sun to the fitful love of the wind. This
made the pasionate Zephyr wildly jealous and
caused the plotting of a terrible revenge. While
Apollo and Hyacinthus were playing quoits, which
was a favorite game with the gods. Zephyr saw
his awaited opportunity. He made his rival the
slayer of Hyacinthus by blowing the god"s quoit
toward the head of the youth. But while the
dying boy was held in the arms of Apollo be was
transformed into the fair, fragrant hyacinth. The
flower ha3 always meant game or play because
of this tale.
Rverv tradition associated
that Easter flower, the iris, makes
it a beauty of richest promise. It
signifies a message, and, because it
grows in every part of the world, it
is a universal message. The Greek9
named it for the rainbow, but the
Egyptians lay special claim to the
flower.
It is the plant spoken of in Exodus
as being the hiding place of the in
fant Moses when he lay in the cra
dle of -the rushes on the. river's bo
som. It may be that the flowers
whispered to him then that his des
tiny was to lead his people to the
promised land. The ancient Egyp
tians placed the iris on the brow of
the sphinx and on the scepters of
their monarchs, and among all the
eastern nations it has ever been the
symbol of power. Another land that
highly honors it is France, for it is
the veritable fleur-de-lis that figures
on the arms of this country. But
there is a most beautiful legend that
makes the iris a sacred flower as
well as a national emblem. The
story tells that it was a trembling,
agonized witness of the crucifixion.
When it heard the anguished cry,
"My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me?" it sobbed out the
vow, ' Henceforth I will perpetually
mourn, and. lest man should ever
lose sight of this solemn hour, above
my golden chalice I will carry a
veil of violet."
Ancient and important Is the his
tory of the lily, which was also high
in favor with the old Egyptians, for
it appears prominently in their
hieroglyphics. According to a pret
ty legend, when lilies first grew on
the earth they were none of them
pure white, but all of a lovely yellow
hue. Seaborn Aphrodite in her-happy wander
ings suddenly appealed before them wondrously
fair rK bright and white as the foam of the
v.vs from which she sprang. The lilies trern
fcied before her beauty, and grew so pale with
jealousy that ever after they blossomed white.
First the goddess Juno chose it as her favorite
flower, and, then passing to the Virgin Mary, it
was dedicated to the early Christian church.
Besides being the chosen flower of the church,
it is also an imperial blossom. Away back In the
days of 1048 Garcius IV, king of Navarre, estab
lished the Order of the Knights of St. Mary of
the Lily, and another Order of the Lily was
founded by Ferdinand of Aragon. Dundee carries
liiles argent on its arms and beautiful Florence
claims the queenly flowers as its emblem.
"The sweet forget-me-not that blooms for hap
py lovers," has more beautiful legends clinging
to its name than any other flower.
According to one beautiful tale, the Lord called
the plants in the Garden of Eden before him to
e;ive them their names and color. As he spoke
to one after another, a tiny flower thought itself
unnoticed and fearful of being quite overlooked,
it timidly pleaded, "Dear Lord, forget me not."
The great Creator turned sternly toward the lit
tle plant that had dared to interrupt him, then
seeing how sorely afraid it was, he gently smiled
upon it, gave it for its color the heavens' own
blue, and called It Forget-me-not, as a reminder
that it had once been so foolish as to doubt him
It is the Persians who' have fashioned a beauti
ful legend to tell how it is that these flowers are
scattered over the earth as the stars are spread
over the sky. According to them, one morning
of glory when the world was new, an angel stood
weeping outside the closed gate of Paradise. He
had fallen, in that he had loved a fair daughter
of Earth. When his eyes had rested on her as
she sat on a river's bank weaving forget-me-nots
in her hair, heaven and his mission to earth were
alike forgotten. Now he might no more enter
in until his beloved had sown all over the earth
the forget-me-not. He returned to her and hand
in hand they wandered, planting everywhere the
sweet azure flowers. When at last there remain
ed on earth no spot barren of these blossoms,
they turned again to the gate and found it open.
Together they entered in, for the angel's great
love, had lifted the womau to Paradise.
Some authorities there are who do not hark
back to the days of the Garden of Eden, but tell
a pathetic tale of the Danube as the origin of the
forget-me-not's name. The blue waves of the
river washed the foundation walls of a brave
knight's ancestral castle. He had but just come
home from the wars and laid his honors at the
feet of his lady love. His bride and he were
wandering along the river's bank when he ex
claimed. "Look yonder; there, upon that islet;
see those star-like blossoms blue as thine eyes,"
Instantly he sprang into the river and swan
toward the flowers. In safety tie reached the isle
and grasped the fragile prize, but when he tried
to return with them to the shore his heavy army
made him helpless in the current. Tossing the
flowers to his frantic bride with the agonizing
cry Forget-me-not," he sank from sight.
THE EMPTY TOMB.
LESSON TEXT Mark 16:1-11.
' OOLDEN TEXT "Now hath' Christ
been ralsi'd from the dead, the first fruits
of them that are rlcep." I Cor. 15-20.
Some teachers may prefer the study
of the lesson of Israel and Rebekah,
Gem, 24, but because of its relative
value and its relation to the day we
celebrate we prefer to consider the
Easter lesson. : '
There are five main points In the
evidence St. Mark presents to show
us that Jesus was the True Son of
God, (1) the testimony of John the
Daptiser, 1:2-8; (2) the baptism of
Jesus, 1:9-11; (o) the transfiguration,
9:2-8; (4) the testimony of the cen
turian at his crucifixion, 15:39, and
(5) the testimony of the resurrection
of Jesus. Of the ten' different ap
pearances of our Lord, Mark records
four, (a) to Mary, 16-9; (b) on the
way to EmmauB, 16:12, 13; (c) In the
upper room, 16:14, and (d) the ascen- '
sion, 16:19.
Purchased Spices.
Today we are to consider the first
of these appearances. From a care
ful" reading of this and the parallel
accounts it is evident that as soon as
the Sabbath day had closed and the
shops were opened these friends of
Jesus purchased spices that early the
next morning they might annoint his
dead body. Matthew 2S:1 R. V. would
indicate a possible earlier visit on
Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
I. "In the morning of the flr6t day
of the week." vv. 1-8. Starting while
it was yet dark (John 20:1) these
faithful friends hurried on their way
to the tomb. It was Mary Magdalene
who first reached the tomb, Matt.
28:1, John 20:1, she who had received
much (Luke 8:2) loved much. Nor
was it the Virgin Mary that had the
privilege of first beholding him (v. 9).
It was the love of these women (v. 1)
that brought them to the tomb of him,
"which should have redeemed Israel"
(Luke 24:21). That all the followers
were shaken in faith the records clear
ly suggest, yet love remained, hence
this desire to annoint his body., This
service though unnecessary (Matt.
16:21, 20:19) was, however, rewarded
by the revelation of the angelic mes
sengers. ;
Serious Question Raised.
Pursuing their way a very serious
question was raised (v. 3), but God
had already removed the difllculty (v.
4), so, too, if we will but be "looking
up" (v. 4 R. V.), God will give us all
necessary knowledge, (Jas. 1:5), and
will enable us to overcome all difficul
ties. The empty tomb is the standing
rebuke for all skeptics. If he be not
risen let his 'enemies tell us where
and what became of his body. The
true basis cf Christianity is in the
risen Christ, see I Cor. 15:1-18.
Had the friends pondered well the
words of Christ they would not have
wasted their time and money seeking
to annoint a dead body. That was the
reason why they did not know and
that is why we do not know many
things we ought to know about our
Lord. It is noticeable that none of
the men were at the tomb.
Entering the tomb they found, not
his body, but a young man, and later
two in dazzling apparel (Luke 23:4)
stood beside them. When Mary re
turned from the city, having told the
news, the two angels were sitting one
at the head and one at the feet of
where the body had lain. John notes
that the disciples found the napkin
which had bound his head lying fold
ed in its original folds In a place by
itself (John 20:7).
In the midst of all their perplexity
as to what had become of the body of
him whom they loved they failed to
recall , his words (Luke 9:22) and
hence could offer no solution of the
difficulty. But the God of mercy sup
plied their need (Phil. 4:19) and
hence the glad triumphant message
,of the angel, "He is risen; he is not
here; behold the place where they
(enemies and friends) laid him," v. 6.
Cf. Matt. 28:6. Then, as though, to
make their, knowledge of service to
others, he commands them to go and
tell the disciples' "and Peter" and that
they are no more to look for him
there for "He goeth before you Into
Galilee," v. 7.
II. "And they went out quickly,"
vv. 8-11. It is well to reverence holy
places and to remember sacred asso
ciations, but God is a spirit and can
not be localized. Of course the
women would' like to dwell at that
place in meditation, but having had
revealed to them the fact, their duty
was to publish it sbroad. A definite
knowledge imposes a definite obliga
tion of testimony.
Out of death came forth life. The
seeming defeat of Jesus was the
prelude to the world's greatest vic
tory its most astounding miracle.
Living unto self means claiming your
self for yourself. Living "unto him"
means that in your mind your spirit,
your body, you show forth the risen,
victorious, triumphant life.
This Easter day is the day of all
days to remember such words as
these: '
Just as I am, young, strong and free,
To be the best that I can be,
For truth, and righteousness and thee,
Lord of ray life. I fim" T rmA
TEXT But now Is Christ risen from
She dead. I. Cor. 15:20.
r -
The blustering
winds of March
remind one of
the phenomena of
spring; the trees
bursting into bud
and leaf and
bloom; the lawns
putting on their
coats of .green;
the birds rejoic
ing in the tri
umph of the sun;
the warmth of
a new life pul
sating in nature;
spring is a fact.
These natural
phenomena lead one's mind up to
that more profound event the
day on which we will fling our al
lelulias, for our Christ is risen from
the dead. "Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
jvhich according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a
lively hope by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead." And as
sit and think of the glorious heritage
to which the church has attained by
the resurrection of the Christ, four
great facts impress themselves upon
m.e. Let us meditate on them.
I. He is risen. "Vain the stone, the (
watch, the seal." What a jubilant
3hout was that as the once terrified
disciples now greeted each other, "He
is risen." Put to flight is every fear,
rekindled is their hope for the gospel,
and henceforth they go forth in the
animation of this fact preaching the
power of his resurrection. That Christ
is risen is a monumental fact, it is
the foundation of all Christianity. No,
let me rather say that it is the key
stone of Christianity; for without it
the beautiful arch would go to pieces -and
the entire fabric would be in ir
retrievable ruin. What an awful con
dition we are in, if Christ be not ris
en; (1 Cor. 15:14-19). Life Is fruit
less, faith is rootless, hope Is wretch
edness, sin is without atonement,
night without promise of day, death
without assurance of resurrection,
aarth without promise of heaven, hu
manity without redemption, no Sa
vior, no Lord, no King, no life eternal ;
aothing but waste and woe and wretch
edness. What a dismal picture! But,
blessed be God, Christ is risen from
the dead, and that fact changes every
thing, drives away the darkness and
gives promise and guarantee of eter
nal day and eternal joy.
II. He lives. "Lives again our glor
ious King." The angels said to those -early
seekers at the . tomb: "Why
seek ye the living among the dead;
he Is not here." No dead Christ for
as; no speculative basis for our creed
and no dead principle for our life, but, '
a risen and a living Christ, a Christ j
alive forevermore, a living God who
has promised to be with us even unto
the end. Oh, what a joy to have the
Easter life pulsing in us! What in
spiration to know his promise is true,
"Because I live ye shall live also."
'God hath quickened us together with
Christ." '
III. He reigns. Once he was hold
en of death (and the powers of dark
ness were ..jubilant over destruction
of Jesus), but it was only that hiB
triumph might be more glorious and
complete, and that he might make us
heirs of his glory. And now he is vic
tor and conqueror and king. He has
led captivity captive. Jesus reigns."
lie is now king oh, may he soon be
king of kings. He is In our hearts
the only Potentate. Is this Easter
Christ your lord and king? Give him
the throne of your heart, the service
3f your life, that you may have the
victory over yourself and may know
the fullness of joy of the life ruled
by Jesus. "Bring forth the royal di
adem, and crown him Lord of all."
IV. He intercedes. What a climax
in all the precious truths of this Eas
ter time! Our risen, living, reigning ,
Lord "ever liveth to make Interces
sion for us." We were without
strength, we were ungodly, aliens
from God and enemies of hia
kingdom; and until Jesus went to the
right hand of the father as our advo
cate we had closed to. ourselves the
way of approach to forgiveness and
blessing, and peace. But Jesus Christ
is "able to save for evermore them
that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession
for them." Therefore, we can rejoic
ingly shout that nothing ehall be able
to separate us from the love of God
as it Is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Note the rest of that intercessory
prayer, "Father I will that they alsc
whom thou hast given me may be
with me where I am." Could infinite
love do more th&n this? and can I dc
less than accept this wonderful gift
of God's grace to be with him.
"Fur from a world of grief and sin,
With God eternally shut in."
And tbls makes Easter in the soul and
crowns the life with Easter flowers
a.. . fills the world with Easter per
fumes. Tremendous thought Jesus
ever liveth to make intercession foi
us Hence, for me the seal is brok
en I am risen from the dreadful and
rayless spulcher of my old self, J
live the Hfa of Jesus Christ,