_They came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads._ THE DROUGHT OF NATURE, THE RAIN OF GRACE, AND THE LESSON THEREFROM I. First, consider that man is a very dependent creature. He is, in some respects, the... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do Thou it for Thy name’s sake._ THE PRAYER OF CONTRITE ISRAEL I. A mournful fact acknowledged. 1. Even in the case of God’s own people, sin does not pass away and die after it is committed, no, nor even after it is pardoned. 2. The sins of God’... [ Continue Reading ]
_O the Hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble._ GOD AND TROUBLED HUMANITY I. What God always is to troubled humanity. 1. The Hope. (1) The Inspirer of all true hope. (2) The Sustainer. (3) The Realiser. 2. The Saviour. (1) The redemption system He has given to the world attes... [ Continue Reading ]
_Why shouldst Thou be. .. as a mighty man that cannot save?_ GOD RENDERED POWERLESS BY MAN A strong man may be rendered powerless by a reel of cotton being wound around him. Each thread so brittle, yet all together is irresistible. So a large number of inconsistencies and insincerities may make Go... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet; therefore the Lord doth net accept them._ JEHOVAH’S REFUSAL TO ALLOW INTERCESSION TO PREVAIL I. The Lord’s answer to the prophet’s prayer. 1. He points to the backsliding of the people, for which He now punishes them. 2. He ref... [ Continue Reading ]
_When they fast, I will not hear their cry._ PASTING RENDERED OFFENSIVE I. Pious demeanour is not what God desires, but faith. 1. God abominates a double and false heart; and the greater the fervour hypocrites display in external rites, the more they provoke Him. 2. Fasting is observed as giving... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will give you assured peace._ ASSURED PEACE I. Human life wants it. 1. Uncertainty troubles our life. 2. Delusions embitter our heart. 3. Misgivings weary our soul. II. God alone can give it. 1. Peace is not a human commodity, but a Divine boon. 2. Peace comes only to Divinely-prepared he... [ Continue Reading ]
_We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness._ FRANK ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GUILT Next to the merit of not sinning is confessing sin. A learned man has said, “The three hardest words in the English language are--‘I was mistaken.’” Frederick the Great wrote to the Senate: “I have just lost a great battle, an... [ Continue Reading ]
_Do not abhor us._ MARKS OF A PEOPLE IN DANGER OF THE DIVINE ABHORRENCE I. The leading indications of a people exposed to that alarming condition which the prophet here so pathetically deprecates. 1. Unfruitfulness under the means of religious and moral improvement (Luke 13:6). When the recipients... [ Continue Reading ]
_Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain?_ IMPOTENCE OF IDOLS Remember it was a time of dearth. The question turned upon the presence of grass; there was no grass, and therefore the hind calved in the field and forsook its own offspring, that it might abate its own hung... [ Continue Reading ]