_Set thy trumpet to thy mouth._ THE GOSPEL TRUMPET 1. By sounding the Gospel trumpet the mind of God can alone be communicated to man. The voice of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost must be heard from the Scriptures. To the whole Christian priesthood the command is given, “Preach the Word.” 2. It is th... [ Continue Reading ]
_My God, we know Thee._ AGNOSTICISM An agnostic is not one who knows nothing, for some men who are embraced by this term are men of unusual mental attainments and ability. He is one who neither denies nor affirms. The term is applied to those who hold that there are matters pertaining to religion... [ Continue Reading ]
_Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him._ THE CHASTENING OF THEM THAT FORSAKE GOD In this short sentence we have at once the sin of Israel and his punishment. Consider the various ways in which Israel may be said to have “cast off the thing that is good.” I. By th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cut thee off; or, Thy calf, O Samaria, hath kicked thee off._ KICKING CALVES The words of the text have a quaint sound. They suggest a ludicrous figure. There is something ludicrous in the notion of a boy trying to drive a calf, and getting kicked by it. When you understa... [ Continue Reading ]
_The workman made it; therefore it is not God._ THE RELIGION OF HUMANITY Humanitarianism has become the creed of the earnest and thoughtful who have found for themselves the awful truth regarding their fellow-men in the depths, and with that ever pressing upon them, have forsaken all else to grappl... [ Continue Reading ]
_For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind._ THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN Misery is attached to sin as its inevitable consequence; but the connection does not always appear to a superficial observer. Transgression sometimes appears to be productive of happiness, and obedience to be... [ Continue Reading ]
_A wild ass alone by himself._ THE SCRIPTURE FIGURE OF THE WILD ASS What a figure of the untamed soul which refuses the easy yoke of the blessed Redeemer. Man’s untamed spirit spurns the adorable Lord’s love. You cannot conceive a truer picture of the altogether untractable than this. The wild ass... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ephraim hath made many altars to sin._ PERVERSION OF WORSHIP Israel was to have only one altar. Ephraim had built a number of altars in different places. Men have perverted worship, not only by making false gods, but by making false altars for the true God. I. False worship is a great sin. 1. I... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have written to him the great things of My law, but they were counted a strange thing._ A GRAVE MISCALCULATION What God complains of is that whilst He has made known to Israel the loftiest truths of righteousness and grace, Israel has treated those truths as matters altogether foreign, with whi... [ Continue Reading ]
_For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities._ NEITHER THE RELIGION NOR SECURITY OF A NATION TO BE JUDGED BY APPEARANCES The temples are the idolatrous temples built after the models from Syrophoenicia. Fenced cities are fortified places erect... [ Continue Reading ]