_And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the Word of God_ THE GOSPEL AND THE MASSES What could have been the wonderful secret power by which the great Prophet of Galilee drew all men after Him? 1. One simple and very intelligent element in it was the way in which he reco... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the Word of God_ THE GOSPEL AND THE MASSES What could have been the wonderful secret power by which the great Prophet of Galilee drew all men after Him? 1. One simple and very intelligent element in it was the way in which he reco... [ Continue Reading ]
_Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught_ OUT OF THE DEEP I. RECALL THE HISTORIC EVENT. 1. It is not work that tries men and women, half as much as it is the disappointment which unsuccess brings. 2. The best and only real recreation which any soul can find is that which c... [ Continue Reading ]
_Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless, at Thy word--_ OBEDIENCE TO THE WORD OF CHRIST How very much may simple obedience partake of the sublime l Peter here appeals, quite naturally, to one of the grandest principles which rule among intelligent beings, and to... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when they had thus done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and the net brake_ THE DESPONDING ENCOURAGED I. IS DISCHARGING THE DUTIES OF LIFE OUR BEST ENDEAVOURS MAY APPEAR FRUITLESS. Always discouraging to toil without success: in learning, business, religion. Our failures often aris... [ Continue Reading ]
_When Simon Peter saw it he fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me_ WHAT IT WAS THAT PETER SAW To understand the action and the words of Simon Peter, we must know what it was that he saw. The place was the shore of the Lake of Galilee, and the time was early in the first year of the ministry... [ Continue Reading ]
_Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men_ FISHING FOR MEN To be good fishermen we must be-- I. ARDENTLY ENAMOURED OF THE FISHING. II. INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH THE FISHES. In following the analogy, we may observe that, because of his acquaintance with the fishes, the fisherman knows-- 1.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when they had thus done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and the net brake_ THE DESPONDING ENCOURAGED I. IS DISCHARGING THE DUTIES OF LIFE OUR BEST ENDEAVOURS MAY APPEAR FRUITLESS. Always discouraging to toil without success: in learning, business, religion. Our failures often aris... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold a man full of leprosy_ THE LEPER CLEANSED I. LEPROSY AFFORDS A STRIKING REPRESENTATION OF THE CHARACTER AND CONSEQUENCE OF SIN. 1. This spiritual leprosy has rendered all our race unclean in the sight of God and in the judgment of His holy law. (1) It shuts us out from His presence, (2)... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold a man full of leprosy_ THE LEPER CLEANSED I. LEPROSY AFFORDS A STRIKING REPRESENTATION OF THE CHARACTER AND CONSEQUENCE OF SIN. 1. This spiritual leprosy has rendered all our race unclean in the sight of God and in the judgment of His holy law. (1) It shuts us out from His presence, (2)... [ Continue Reading ]
_And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness and prayed_ JESUS PRAYING What were the special reasons which led our Lord at this time to go away for prayer. I. THE NEED OF INWARD REFRESHMENT OF WHICH HE MUST HAVE BEEN CONSCIOUS. 1. Christ was full of the truest, tenderest sympathy. 2. His sympat... [ Continue Reading ]
_A man which was taken with a palsy_ CARRIED BY FOUR I. THERE ARE CASES WHICH WILL NEED THE AID OF A LITTLE BAND OF WORKERS BEFORE THEY WILL BE FULLY SAVED. Yonder is a householder as yet unsaved: his wife has prayed for him long; her prayers are yet unanswered. Good wife, God has blessed thee with... [ Continue Reading ]
_And saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom_ A PUBLICAN Publican was the name given to an _employe _of low degree, whose duty it was to get in the tribute money. He was the agent of the farmers-general, great personages who lived by their depredations, after the publicans th... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Levi made Him a great feast in his own house_ LEVI’S FEAST Text shows our Lord a guest at a great feast at which a company of publicans and others sat down with Him. Our Lord’s example applicable to us all. That which Christ did always, His servants cannot be justified if they never do--the... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the scribes and Pharisees murmur_ THE FRIEND OF SINNERS We cannot wonder at the scribes and Pharisees asking this question. I think that we should most of us ask it now, if we saw the Lord Jesus going out of His way to eat and drink with publicans and sinners. Make merry with them He could no... [ Continue Reading ]
_They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick_ THE SOUL’S MALADY AND CURE The occasion of the words is set down in the context; Levi was called from the receipt of custom (he was a customhouse man), but Christ called him, and there went out power with the word, “he left all, ro... [ Continue Reading ]
_I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance_ THE SIN HEALER This conduct of Christ was not official or symbolic. It was His feeling as very God that led Him to this course. It opened to the world the very Divine nature. A disposition to heal men of sin is a greater manifestation... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they said unto Him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers?_ CHRISTIAN MUTUAL TOLERANCE The whole passage illustrates the breadth and tolerance of our Lord’s teaching. He is claiming for His disciples that their spiritual life be left to unfold itself naturally, that they be... [ Continue Reading ]
_No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old_ THE PATCHED GARMENT We appreciate easily the offensiveness of what is incongruous. It is fatal alike to beauty, to symmetry, and to effectiveness. A sparrow is not as beautiful as a bird of Paradise, yet the little brown bird is a pleasant sigh... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them_ DUTIES ARE NOT TO BE PRESSED INDISCRIMINATELY ON ALL PERSONS AND AT ALL TIMES Our Lord makes fasting a duty, but, nevertheless, He excuses the children of the bridechamber while the bridegroom was with them, and then gives,... [ Continue Reading ]