PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Lord's Coming. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. II
Mackintosh, Charles Henry, 1820-1896 · 117,606 words · 174 reading sections
Part 1
Transcriber's note: Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals. Variations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained except in obvious cases of typographical error.…
45 wordsSECTION 2MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS
of C.H.M. The Lord's Coming _Miscellaneous Writings of_ C. H. MACKINTOSH _Volume II_ LOIZEAUX BROTHERS _New York_…
19 wordsSECTION 3LOIZEAUX BROTHERS, INC., PUBLISHERS
_A Nonprofit Organization, Devoted to the Lord's Work and to the Spread of His Truth_…
15 wordsSECTION 4CONTENTS
Pages…
1 wordsSECTION 5"GOD FOR US" 1-23
"WHO LOVED ME"--_Poem_…
4 wordsSECTION 6GIDEON AND HIS COMPANIONS 3-56
MY BELOVED--_Poem_…
2 wordsSECTION 7PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING 3-111
_The original numbering of these writings has been retained. Many of the above may be had separately in pamphlet form._…
21 wordsSECTION 8(ROMANS VIII. 31.)
How much is wrapped up in these few words, "God for us!" They form one of those marvelous chains of three links so frequently found in Scripture. We have "God" linked on to "us" by that precious little word "for." This secures every thing, for time and eternity. There is not a single thing within the entire range of a …
310 wordsSECTION 9THE GIFT OF HIS SON.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John iii. 16.) Now, we are glad, for various reasons, to commence our series of proofs with these memorable words. In the first place, they meet a difficulty which may sugges…
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Now, it is with the activities of the divine nature and the outgoings of divine love that the preacher of the gospel has specially to do. He is not to be cramped, crippled, or confined in his blessed work, by any reference to God's secret decrees or purposes, though fully aware of the existence of such. His mission is …
872 wordsSECTION 11THE DEATH OF HIS SON.
And, for our present purpose, it is only necessary for us to take up one feature in the atoning death of Christ, but that one feature is a cardinal one. We refer to the marvellous fact set forth by the Holy Ghost in the prophet Isaiah, "It pleased Jehovah to bruise Him. He hath put Him to grief." (Chapter liii.) Our b…
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We have said that, for our present purpose, we shall merely refer to one special point in the death of Christ, and that is the fact that it pleased Jehovah to bruise Him. Herein lies the striking and soul-subduing proof that God is for us. "He spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all." He not merely _gav…
664 wordsSECTION 13THE RAISING OF HIS SON.
And in speaking of the glorious fact of resurrection, we must confine ourselves to the one point therein, namely, the proof which it furnishes of God's being friendly to us. A passage or two of Scripture will suffice to unfold and establish this special point. In Romans iv., the inspired apostle introduces God to our …
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Here lies the gist, marrow, and substance of this magnificent argument of Romans iv. If the Man who was delivered for our offences is now in heaven,--in heaven, too, by the hand and act of God Himself; then, most surely, our offences are all gone, and we stand justified from all things, as free from every charge of gui…
371 wordsSECTION 15THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST.
Here, too, we must confine ourselves to one point in that most glorious event, and that is the form in which that august witness, the eternal Spirit, descended. Let the reader turn to the second chapter of the Acts. "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly…
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Thus, then, in our series of proofs--our golden chain of evidence, we have traveled from the bosom of God to the cross of Christ, and from that precious cross back to the throne--we have marked the giving, the bruising, and the raising of the Son; we have seen the very heart of God told out in deep and marvelous love, …
145 wordsSECTION 17THE POSSESSION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
It may perhaps be said that our fifth proof is involved in our fourth, inasmuch as the fact of my possessing a copy of the Bible in my mother tongue is, in reality, the Holy Ghost speaking to me in the language in which I was born. True; but still, so far as the reader is concerned, the fact that God has put into his …
877 wordsSECTION 18"WHO LOVED ME"
=Galatians ii. 20.= Three little sunbeams, gilding all I see. Three little chords, each full of melody. Three little leaves, balm for my agony.…
24 wordsSECTION 19="WHO"=
_He_ loved me, the Father's only Son. He gave Himself, the precious, spotless One. He shed His blood, and thus the work was done.…
24 wordsSECTION 20="LOVED"=
He _loved_--not merely pitied. Here I rest. Sorrow may come, I to His heart am pressed. What should I fear while sheltered in His breast?…
25 wordsSECTION 21="ME"=
Wonder of wonders, Jesus loved _me_; A wretch--lost--ruined--sunk in misery. He sought me, found me, raised me, set me free. My soul the order of the words approve: _Christ first, me last, nothing between_ but LOVE. Lord keep _me_ always _down, Thyself above_. Trusting to Thee, not struggling restlessly, So shall I g…
63 wordsSECTION 22GEN CHAPTER XII
In a day of such widely extended profession as the present, it is specially important that Christians should be deeply impressed with the necessity of realizing _personally the call of God_, without which there can be no permanency or steadiness in the Christian course. It is a comparatively easy thing to make a profe…
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In the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, we are taught the same truth. There were other persons with him when he was struck to the ground by the lustre of the glory of the Lord Jesus; these persons "saw indeed the light"--they witnessed many of the external circumstances which had arrested the furious zealot; but as he him…
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There is nothing in Egypt for Abram to feed upon as a spiritual man; it might, and doubtless did, afford abundance for him as a natural man, but that was all. Egypt would give nothing to Abram unless he sacrificed his character both as a stranger and as a worshiper of God. It is needless to observe that it is exactly s…
338 wordsSECTION 25CHAPTER XIII.
This beautiful chapter shows us the man of faith recovering himself, through the faithfulness and loving-kindness of God, who never allows such to wander far, or tarry long away. The gold and silver, the flocks and herds of Egypt, could not long prove a satisfying portion for Abram, while deprived of his tent and his a…
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The moment Abram emerged from Egypt, he appeared in a special manner to move under a new responsibility, namely, responsibility to his brother to walk with him in harmony. While in Egypt, this responsibility stood quite in the shade. The institutions--laws-- habits--luxury and ease of Egypt, would in an eminent degree …
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What then did Lot do? "_He lifted up his eyes._" This is ever our mode of acting when not under the direct power of faith. Whenever we lift up our eyes without divine direction, we are sure to go wrong. I say, without divine direction, for we find the Lord afterwards directing Abram to lift up his eyes, but then that w…
590 wordsSECTION 28CHAPTER XIV.
Here we have a very minute account of a battle fought by "four kings with five," and we may ask, What connection had this strife between "the potsherds of the earth," with the history of the people of God? With Abram indeed none, in one sense, for _he_ was outside it all. _His tent_ marked him as a stranger to all thes…
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But the victory obtained by Abram, was not owing to any power in himself. He had, as I have observed, a heart to value the things which the enemy had to give him; and, therefore, if he triumphed, it was through the operation of a power outside himself. In all this transaction, the One who had watched over His dear serv…
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And surely, we may say, it was only thus that Abram could triumph; and let no one who moves not, in some measure, in the same sphere, affect to despise the world--nothing can be more truly vain. There must be the experimental acquaintance with _the_ better thing--the fondly cherished hope of "_good things to come_"--er…
326 wordsSECTION 31CHAPTER XV.
In the opening verse of this chapter, we have a principle fraught with comfort and encouragement to us--a principle eminently calculated to call out into full exercise a spirit of true devotedness to the Lord. We observe here, the Lord's grace in acknowledging and accepting the sacrifice laid upon His altar--the willin…
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But let us observe with what accuracy Abram lays hold of the great principle afterwards brought out by the Spirit in Romans viii. "_If children, then heirs._" Abram felt that sonship and heirship were inseparably connected, so much so, that without the former the latter could not be. This is the meaning of his question…
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Now, the Lord was constantly reminding the children of Israel of the above truth. He says to them, "But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the _iron furnace_." (Deut. iv. 20; 1 Kings viii. 51.) Again, "Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers, in t…
508 wordsSECTION 34CHAPTERS XVI., XVII.
These two chapters give us an account of Abram's effort to obtain the promised seed by hearkening to the voice of his wife, and also of God's mode of teaching him the unprofitableness of such an appeal to the mere energy of nature as that which his effort involved. At the very opening of Abram's course we find his fai…
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The promises, therefore, with which this chapter abounds are just such as we might have expected. "I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting …
741 wordsSECTION 36CHAPTERS XVIII., XIX.
I class these two chapters together because, like those we have just been considering, they furnish us with a contrast--a contrast most marked and striking between the position occupied by Abraham in chapter xviii., and that occupied by Lot in chapter xix. The Lord Jesus when asked by Judas, not Iscariot, "how is it t…
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How then does Abraham make use of his favored position? Does he use it to strengthen more fully, and place on a firmer basis, the future interests of his house? Surely the natural heart would at once have prompted him to make such a use of his present advantage in the matter of nearness to Jehovah. Does he use it thus?…
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Now, it strikes me, that we have in the circumstance presented to us in the opening of chapter xix. the full evidence of Lot's fallen condition. The Lord Himself does not appear at all. He remains at a distance from the unholy place, and merely sends _His angels_ to execute His commission upon the devoted city of Sodom…
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But this escape of Lot's only served to put fresh honor upon Abraham, for we read that "when God destroyed the cities of the plain, _he remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow_" (ver. 29). Thus, as Abraham's sword had delivered Lot in the time of the conquest of Sodom, his prayer delivered him…
813 wordsSECTION 40CHAPTERS XX., XXI.
Lot has now passed off the scene--his sun has gone down amid thick clouds and a gloomy atmosphere; it now remains for us to pursue, for a few moments longer, the narrative of Abraham's ways, and God's dealings with him. There was one point involved in chapter xii. which I left untouched, knowing that it would come bef…
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In chapter xx., then, we find Abraham again, after the lapse of many years, falling into the old error, a suppression of truth, for which he has to suffer a rebuke from a mere man of the world. The man of the world, in this scene, seemed, for the moment, to possess a more refined moral sense than the man of God. "Said …
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But, in addition to the point upon which we have been dwelling, there was yet another question to be settled ere Abraham could reach the most elevated point of his course as a man of faith. The bondwoman and her son were yet in the house. He must put forth these from _his house_ as he had put forth the evil from _his h…
698 wordsSECTION 43CHAPTER XXII.
The circumstances through which Abraham passed in chapters twenty and twenty-one were most important indeed. An evil which had long been harbored in his heart had been put away; the bondwoman and her son, who had so long retained quiet possession of his house, were cast out, and he now stands forth as "a vessel sanctif…
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Behold, then, this man of faith as he ascends the mount, taking with him his "well-beloved!" What a scene of breathless interest![7] How must the angelic hosts have watched this illustrious father from stage to stage of his wondrous journey, until at last they beheld his hand stretched forth for the knife to slay his s…
878 wordsSECTION 45"THOU AND THY HOUSE."
There are two houses which occupy a very prominent place on the page of inspiration, and these are, the house of God and the house of God's servant. God attaches immense importance to His house; and justly so, because it is His. His truth, His honor, His character, His glory, are all involved in the character of His ho…
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The next passage to which I shall refer occurs in the life of Abraham. "And the Lord said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?... For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon…
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We now turn to the opening chapters of the book of Exodus, where we find that one of Pharaoh's four objections to the full deliverance and separation of Israel had specific reference to "the little ones." "And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them, 'Go, serve the Lord your God; but who …
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But what shall my child say to me if I tell him that I am earnestly seeking Christ and heaven for him, while at the same time I am educating him for the world? Which will he believe? Which will exert the more powerful practical influence on his heart and life--my words, or my acts? Let conscience reply; and oh, let it …
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In the book of Numbers, "the little ones" are again introduced to our notice. We have just seen that the real purpose of a soul in communion with God was to go up with the little ones out of Egypt. They must be brought forth from thence at all cost; but neither faith nor faithfulness will rest here. We must not only co…
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But let us remember that the way to prove our entrance into the blessing is by fulfilling the responsibility. To say that I am counting upon God to bring my children to Canaan, and yet all the while educating them for Egypt, is a deadly delusion. My conduct proves my profession to be a lie, and I am not to wonder if, i…
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But how many parents have since trodden in Eli's footsteps! Through an utterly false idea in reference to the entire basis and character of parental relationship, they have allowed their children, from infancy to boyhood, and from boyhood to manhood, in the unrestrained indulgence of the will. Not having faith to take …
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But let us turn to the New Testament and see if we cannot find in its sacred pages ample proof of our thesis. Does the Holy Ghost, in this grand section of His book, exclude a man's house from the privileges and responsibilities attached thereto in the Old Testament? We shall see very plainly that He does no such thing…
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Some may shake their heads and say, This is all very fine, but where will you get it? I only ask, Does the Word of God teach a Christian man so to rule his house? If so, woe be to me if I refuse or fail to do so. That there has been the most grievous failure in the management of our houses every honest conscience must …
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But, let me ask, how did we get rank in life? or, in what life is it? If it be in this life, then we are liars whenever we talk of being "crucified with Christ"--"dead with Christ"--"buried with Christ"--"risen with Christ"--"outside the camp with Christ"--"not in the flesh"--"not of the world which fadeth away." All t…
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This is a solemn and searching truth, in the light of which we may clearly see the evil of urging our children along a path upon which we profess to have forever turned our backs, as believing firmly that it terminates in hell fire. We profess to count the world's literature, its honors, its riches, its distinctions, i…
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This I feel to be a startling inquiry; yet it is one which we are bound to follow up to the uttermost. What has called into existence, in many cases, that awful profanity, that disposition to scoff at sacred things, that utter distaste for the Scriptures, and for meetings where the Scriptures are brought forward, that …
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However, it is not merely in reference to the object set forth in our children's education that we have failed, and so marred the testimony; but also in the matter of keeping them in general subjection to parental authority. On this point there has been great deficiency amongst Christian parents. The spirit of the pres…
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In this, as in every thing else, our place is to obey, and leave results with God. The moral condition of the soul may be tested by the command; but where there is the disposition to obey, the power to do so will surely accompany the command, and the fruits of obedience will follow "_in due season, if we faint not_." …
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[15] It was nature in Barnabas that led him to wish for the company of one who "departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work." It was amiable nature, yet it was nature, and it triumphed, for he took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, his native country, where, in the freshness of his Christian course, …
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[16] The epistles of Peter develop the doctrine of God's moral government. He it is who asks the question, "Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?" Now, some may find a difficulty in reconciling this inquiry with Paul's statement, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer p…
754 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.