_The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see._ RESPONSIBILITIES We can see how appropriate is the word “burden” used by the prophets to describe their gift and duty. The obligation laid on them often involved strain and danger. And yet it was a glorious privilege to be commissioned by God, to ac... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Lord! how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear?_ THE CRISIS OF PRAYER The question to be answered is this: How long will God suffer His people to pray, and still neglect to hear? Answer-- 1. Till they see the plague of their own hearts--till each one sees his own individual iniquities, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you._ THE DOOM OF A NATION OF CONVENTIONAL RELIGIONISTS The Jews were such a nation. They prided themselves in the orthodoxy of their faith, in the ceremonials of their worship, in the polity of their Church. The doom t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One?_ we shall not die. THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPTION OF IMMORTALITY We know” that this prophet was inspired, from the profound moral insight and far-reaching spiritual vision revealed in his utterance. His words are his only credentials, but the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look upon iniquity._ THE HOLINESS OF GOD There is in our Maker a purity of nature, and an essential sort of holiness which render Him incapable of enduring sin in any person, or under any circumstances. I believe this is the very foundatio... [ Continue Reading ]
_And makest men as the fishes of the sea _ RAPACIOUS SELFISHNESS IN POWER Illustrated in Nebuchadnezzar. Selfishness is the root and essence of sin. All unregenerate men are therefore more or less selfish, and rapacity is an instinct of selfishness. Selfishness hungers for the things of others. I... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense to their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous._ SELF-WORSHIP Nebuchadnezzar is here represented as gathering the people into his net, and then, forgetting that he was only an instrument, doing homage to his... [ Continue Reading ]