_And it came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first, that He went through the corn-fields_ THE SECOND-FIRST SABBATH This is a very difficult phrase, and all explanations of it must be conjectural, as there is apparently no Sabbath designated by this name in any Rabbinical writing. One of t... [ Continue Reading ]
_That the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath_ A SPIRITUAL MAN LORD OF THE SABBATH When is a son of man lord of the Sabbath-day? To whom may the Sabbath safely become a shadow? I reply, he that has the mind of Christ may exercise discretionary lordship over the Sabbath-day. He who is in possess... [ Continue Reading ]
_And there was a man whose right hand was withered_ THE ABILITY OF CHRIST TO HEAL THE WITHERED ENERGIES OF THE HUMAN SOUL The miracle is a picture of sublime moral instruction. I. THE BEST ENERGIES OF THE SOUL ARE IN A WITHERED CONDITION. 1. Man’s intellectual nature withered, and cannot attain... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him_ THE WILY WATCHERS OF THE GOOD I. THEY ARE EVER ON THE OUTLOOK FOB AN APPARENT BREACH OF SOME CONVENTIONAL LAW. 1. These men are cunning. 2. They are diligent. 3. They are malicious. II. THEIR GREAT DESIRE IS TO SLANDER THOSE WHOM THEY WATCH. III. TH... [ Continue Reading ]
_And continued all night in prayer to God_ SPECIAL PROTRACTED PRAYER If any man of woman born might bare lived without prayer it was surely the Lord Jesus. In some parts of prayer He could take no share, _e.g., _confession of sin. Then again, He had no need for self-examination each night, and no... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when it was day, He called unto Him His disciples: and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles_ THE CALL OF THE TWELVE Up till this time it can hardly be said that the kingdom of God was set up. At the hour of His widest popularity, yet at a crisis of gathering peril, in face of... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the whole multitude sought to touch Him: for there went virtue out of Him, and healed them all_ CHRIST THE FOUNTAIN OF HEALTH The subject will be found to involve two considerations; what is the virtue which proceeds out of Christ? by what means is it appropriated to men? I. We begin by obse... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the whole multitude sought to touch Him: for there went virtue out of Him, and healed them all_ CHRIST THE FOUNTAIN OF HEALTH The subject will be found to involve two considerations; what is the virtue which proceeds out of Christ? by what means is it appropriated to men? I. We begin by obse... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessed be ye poor: for yours Is the kingdom of God_ BLESSEDNESS, RATHER THAN HAPPINESS, THE WANT OF MAN It is not merely happiness, whatever our shallow moralists may say, that is “the aim and end of our being. ” Happiness implies merely the undisturbed enjoyment of the man. It may belong to th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessed are ye that hunger now; for ye shall be fllled_ HUNGER AND THIRST Consider how much is conveyed in this figure. 1. Hunger and thirst are real things. We need no argument to prove this; we have all felt them for ourselves, even though it may have been in a very slight degree. Ay, how real... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil_ THE NECESSITY OF PERSECUTION Persecution is no accident in Christian life. It is simply inevitable from the collision with evil of Christian righte... [ Continue Reading ]
_But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation_ THE DANGER OF RICHES Unless we were accustomed to read the New Testament from our childhood, I think we should be very much struck with the warnings it contains, not only against the love of riches, but the very possession of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you_ THE DANGERS OF PRAISE _“ _Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you. ” 1. First of all, it is more than probable that, if they do so, their judgment of you is fallacious; you do not deserve it. “In the like manner did their fathers unt... [ Continue Reading ]
_But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies_ THE IDEAL OF CHRISTIANITY This passage is in earnest. You are to do this. Why? In order that you may come into the family of God. Here is not simply an additional moral maxim, but it is a critical turning thing. Whereas nature says, “Use all your... [ Continue Reading ]
_And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise._ WHAT WOULD WE THAT MEN SHOULD DO UNTO US? 1. That they should deal with us honestly. 2. That they should treat us generously. 3. That they should deal with us faithfully; warning us of any danger into which we are liable t... [ Continue Reading ]
_For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye?_ THE HEROIC IN CHRISTIANITY Our Master, evidently, from the verses before us, did not come into the world to teach us to conform to the ways of our fellow-men; but He would have us go far beyond the ordinary conduct of our fellows. If I were... [ Continue Reading ]
_And ye shall be the children of the Highest_ THE CHRISTIAN AIM AND MOTIVE 1st. The Christian aim--perfection. 2nd. The Christian motive--because it is right and Godlike to be perfect. I. THE CHRISTIAN AIM IS THIS--to be perfect. “Be ye therefore perfect.” Now distinguish this, I pray you, from m... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful_ THE BLESSING OF MERCY “Mercy” is the one great cry of human nature. We dare not ask for justice, we can only plead for mercy. We, who want so much mercy from God, must learn to show mercy to our fellow-men. How can we look to Him for mer... [ Continue Reading ]
_Judge not, and ye shall not be judged_ JUDGE NOT No man, avers Sir Thomas Browne, can justly censure or condemn another, because, in fact, no man truly knows another. “This I perceive in myself; for I am in the dark to all the world, and my nearest friends behold me but in a cloud.”… Further, no... [ Continue Reading ]
_Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down_ ON CHRISTIAN GIVING I. GET, GATHER. Are there not many persona of a very careless and prodigal disposition? II. GIVE. Begin to give as soon as you begin to get. That will prevent the danger of a growing covetousness. III. THE GIV... [ Continue Reading ]
_Can the blind lead the blind?_ Shall they not both fall into the ditch? The suggestive supposition is made by Dr. Reid (“Inquiry into the human mind”) that it had been as uncommon to be born with the power of sight as it is now to be born incapable of it, in which case “the few who had this rare... [ Continue Reading ]
_The disciple is not above his Master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his Master_ THE DISCIPLE NOT ABOVE HIS MASTER This saying was already a proverb in the time of our Lord, or He made it a proverb by His frequent use of it Matthew 10:24; John 13:12; John 15:20). On the occasion referr... [ Continue Reading ]
_And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?_ THE TRUE AND THE FALSE REFORMER CONTRASTED Now, as no age has been without its abominations, so none has been without its reformers. We read of them alike in sacred and in secular h... [ Continue Reading ]
_For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither a corrupt tree bringeth forth good fruit_ GOOD WORKS THE EVIDENCE OF NEW CREATION We cannot perform any good works, unless we are created unto them in Christ Jesus; and hence that creation in Christ Jesus cannot be anywise the effect or co... [ Continue Reading ]
_A good man out of the good treasure of his heart_ RELIGION SEATED IN THE HEART 1_._ Christ referred true religion to the heart as the seat of its vitality. 2. Nor is it in essence alone that religion is thus intensely spiritual and inward; religious acts, to have reality and value, must proceed... [ Continue Reading ]
_And why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?_ RELIGION, THE DOING OF GOD’S WILL I. In the first place, LET US BE WARNED AGAINST MAKING OUR RELIGION A MATTER MERELY OF OPINION. Said William Law to John Wesley, “The bead can as easily amuse itself with a living and justifying f... [ Continue Reading ]
_Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like_ THE SIMILITUDE OF HEARING CHRIST’S SAYINGS I. WHAT IS MEANT BY THE SAYINGS OF CHRIST. 1. The doctrine of faith and repentance. 2. The doctrine of regeneration. 3. The doctrine of self-denial. 4... [ Continue Reading ]