_Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight._ THE LORD TEACHING US TO FIGHT I do not know what that “Book of the Wars of the Lord” was which is referred to once or twice in the Old Testament; but I apprehend the Book of Psalms was such a Book to the Isr... [ Continue Reading ]
_Lord, what is man, that Thou takest knowledge of him! _ THE VANITY OF MAN; AND CHRISTIANITY ITS ANTIDOTE We must take care, in denouncing human depravity, and declaiming on human misery, not to decry human nature; for that would be a procedure of a plainly immoral and irreligious tendency, instea... [ Continue Reading ]
_His days are as a shadow._ HUMAN LIFE A SHADOW I. A shadow is compounded of light and darkness; for when no object intercepts the light of the sun, or when the light of the sun is withdrawn, no shadow is produced. In like manner, the state of man in the present world is made up of joy and sorrow;... [ Continue Reading ]
_Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke._ THE KINDLING OF THE HEART It must be striking indeed to any one living in the neighbourhood of a chain of volcanoes to see those mountains which have long lain dormant suddenly tremble and throw up smoke. It must seem to them as though God laid His finge... [ Continue Reading ]
_It is He that giveth salvation unto kings._ THE CARE OF PROVIDENCE IN DEFENCE OF KINGS God in the government of the world exercises a peculiar and extraordinary providence over the persons and lives of princes. I. Upon what account any act of God’s providence may be said to be peculiar and extra... [ Continue Reading ]
_Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children._ A WISE, PATRIOTIC PRAYER I. The cultivation of moral worth amongst young people is of vast importance to a state. The moral character which the patriot here desiderates for the young people of his country is presented in two ways. 1. By... [ Continue Reading ]
_That there be no complaining in our streets._ ENGLISH PAUPERISM English pauperism is a peculiar product of this island. You see nothing like it anywhere else. Those who have heard me speak on this topic know what an essential difference I draw between pauperism and poverty. Poverty is a relative t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Happy is that people whose God is the Lord._ A HAPPY PEOPLE I. Examine what is comprehended in the relation referred to. This may refer-- 1. To God as the object of religious worship. 2. To Him as the author of every blessing. 3. To the covenant relation in which He condescends to stand to His... [ Continue Reading ]