_The burden of the Word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi._ A DIVINE BURDEN Some burdens are self-imposed; some laid upon us by our fellow-men; some by God. The prophets felt that the Word of God was a burden upon their souls. I. It was a burden of Divine revelation. Words reveal. A true word is a... [ Continue Reading ]
_was not Esau Jacob’s brother?_ saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. JACOB From the fate of the hunter Esau, we learn the peril of life’s low ideals; the power of life’s crucial moments; the continuit... [ Continue Reading ]
_They shall build, but I will throw down._ FOOLISH BUILDERS To separate our lives from God is folly; to live in opposition to Him is madness. Many not only disregard Him, but also oppose Him. I. Who are these foolish builders? 1. Those who seek to build up a reputation with deceits. 2. Those wh... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord will be magnified from (or upon) the border of Israel._ EACH NATION HAD ITS GOD The deities were made to rival each other in the protection and blessing which they afforded to the nations that worshipped them. I. This prophetic utterance. Evils abounded when the prophet lived. The sins... [ Continue Reading ]
_A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master._ CHRISTIAN REVERENCE There is a sin common among us, which we may be unwilling to recognise, the sin of irreverence; a want of respect for the presence, power, and majesty of God, arising from thoughtlessness or practical unbelief. We need not... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye offer polluted bread upon Mine altar._ THE SACRAMENT POLLUTED What closeness of attention, what concentration of thought does it not require of us, if we consider the great and comprehensive views, which animated the Saviour of the world when He instituted the sacrament of the Supper! Behold Hi... [ Continue Reading ]
_If ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?_ IMPERFECT SACRIFICE The old law demanded that God should be honoured with the sacrifice of a man’s best. Every oblation was to be free from spot or blemish. Such laws had their symbolic and spiritual meaning. They asserted God’s right as first... [ Continue Reading ]
_This hath been by your means._ A SOLEMN CHARGE Irreligion is the cause of social chaos and national ruin. Calamities frequently arise from spiritual conditions. Outward circumstances are often very closely linked with the inner life. I. Men have power to bring evils upon themselves and others. M... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought?_ WRONG WORSHIP 1. Wrong worship is worse than no worship at all. 2. Wrong worship will one day be practically repudiated. 3. Wrong worship is sometimes rendered even by the religious teachers of mankind. These priests made worshi... [ Continue Reading ]
_My name shall be great among the Gentiles._ GOD’S NAME SHALL BE GREAT Prophecy has a double sense--or rather, an inferior and a higher designation: not only to keep the faith and the hope of the Church in exercise by the presentation of a grand consummation, but to edify, to warn to comfort, and t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Should I accept this of your hand?_ saith the Lord. VAIN OBLATIONS (taken with Isaiah 1:13):--Each age has its characteristic. No two are just alike; and though history repeats itself, yet there is progress. Its processes are those of a spiral. I. In the age of Isaiah the Jews were full of reli... [ Continue Reading ]
_But cursed be the deceiver._ A CURSED ONE Curses are the echoes that sin awakens. All deceivers are cursed. I. The deceiver. He may be a self-deceiver, or a deceiver of others, or both. Some may unconsciously deceive; others intentionally. It is the intentional deceiver that is cursed; he who ai... [ Continue Reading ]