PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Horae Homileticae — Volume 5 of 21
Simeon, Charles, 1759-1836 · 242,250 words · 497 reading sections
()01.] Following After God. 459
said to God, " Thou hast delivered my soul from death," he adds, " Wilt thou not keep mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling, that I may walk before the Lord in the light of the living'^?" This was a legitimate inference from the premises which he had stated: and St. Paul drew the same inference with a yet…
468 wordsSECTION 422Consolation In God.
Give him, then, the glory of all that your either are or have ; and live dependent on him even to the end ; for it is he, and he alone, who can uphold you: and as " he is able to keep you from falling, so he will present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy ^."] 1 Jude, ver. 24. Ps. I…
331 wordsSECTION 423602.J Consolation In God. 4G1
but he had within him a principle of evil as well as of good ; " the flesh lusting' against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, so that he could not do the things that he would '^." He was in the same predicament with the Apostle Paul ; who, though he delighted in the Law of God after the inward man, " f…
503 wordsSECTION 4244G2 Psalms, Lxv. 3. [602.
is to take his holy Law as the standard whereby to try our habits and attainments. How far are any of us from loving God with all our heart, and all our mind, and all our soul, and all our strength ; and our neighbour as ourselves ! Only let us notice the frame of our souls through the day, yea even in the exercis…
456 wordsSECTION 425602.]] Consolation In God. 4G3
transgression, and sin"." See also his marvellous displays of this attribute towards the children of men : to what an extent it could reach P, and with what rapidity it could fly to the dis- charge of its delightful office i. Hear the language in which God " reasons'" with sinners: (O, blessed reasoning ! I pray Go…
458 wordsSECTION 426464 Psalms, Lxv. 3. [602.
be "blameless''"). We must search our hearts, if we would know ourselves aright ; yea, and " beg of God also to search and try us," if we would attain that kind of self-knowledge which alone will be sufficient to humble our proud spirits'^. Mark, then, I pray you, your thoughts, your desires, your motives, your pr…
421 wordsSECTION 427The Blessedness Of Waiting Upon God.
Ps. Ixv. 4. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and cansest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied loith the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. THE connexion between duty and happiness, though not seen by the generahty of men, is certain. It may not presently…
366 wordsSECTION 4284G6 Psa.Lms, Lxv. 4. [603.
and what God said to Eli may, in a spiritual sense, be applied to them ; " Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt, in Pharaoh's house ? and did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me ? an…
493 wordsSECTION 429603.] The Blessedness Of Waiting Upon God. 4-G7
this is the sustenance which, in a spiritual sense, is provided for them. Mark the wonderful correspondence between the Prophet Jeremiah, ichen describing the times of the Gospel, and Moses, in the fore-cited passage, declaring the ordinances of the Law : " They shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall…
461 wordsSECTION 430Dciv.
god's works of providence and grace. Ps. Ixv. 9 — 13. Thou visitest the earth, and ivaterest it : thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, ivhich is full of water : thou preparest them corn, lohen thou hast so provided for it. Thou ivaterest the ridges thereof abundantly : thou settlest the furrows thereof…
790 wordsSECTION 431470 Psalms, Lxv. 9—13. [604.
heavens and the earth depends altogether upon God, who, when he sees fit, " makes the heavens as brass," and the earth as iron. In a climate like ours, where the rains are frequent and occasional, God's agency is but little seen : but in coun- tries where the rains are periodical, the want of them is so severely f…
839 wordsSECTION 432472 Psalms, Lxv. 9—18. [604.
2. Upon the souls of individual believers — <= Deut. xxxii. 2. ^ Isai. xxxii. 15. [What were any of us in our vmconverted state, but, like a barren heath, bringing forth briars and thorns, without any of those fruits of righteousness in which God delights? As for humiliation before God, and a simple life of fiiith…
781 wordsSECTION 433Stability The Gift Of God.
f Ps. Ixiii. 1. g Isai. xliv. 3, 4. i' Hos. xiv. 4 — 7. Ps. Ixvi. 8, 9. O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to he heard; which lioldeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to he moved. THE blessings of Providence, when uninter- ruptedly continued, are scarcely noticed : it is only…
494 wordsSECTION 434G05.J Stability The Gift Of God. 475
how many then were seduced by error "^ — or disheartened by the fear of man '^ — or turned aside by the love of the world ^ — or overthrown by unbridled passions'^. What reason then have we to adore the grace that has preserved us /] 3. What would be the probable consequence of our falling — [Some who have fallen…
671 wordsSECTION 435(505.] Stability The Gift Of God. 477
It is in this way that we should endeavour at least, as much as in us lies, to " render unto the Lord according to the bene- fits" he has conferred upon us.] 3. Walk humbly and carefully before him — [We must not presume upon the kindness of our God, or imagine, that, because we have been upheld hitherto, we are i…
655 wordsSECTION 436(505.] Stability The Gift Of God. 477
e Luke xvii. 32. Heb. iv. 11. f 1 Sam. ii. 9. s 1 Pet. iv. 19. ''2 Chron. xx. 20. i Ps. xvii. 5. k Ps. cxix. 117. ' Ps. Ivi. 13. m 2 Cor. i. 10. " 2 Cor. V. 17. IKlUHlSnui' , 'vi-^*. ,-<^;::~ ^TT "ann: .— 3nr jj-^r-TT- -. ami iie id!»niiit jUL a«irft«aMiiI5ialrtiSf- ^UL ^_^ ^^^ olft^ 3r with David: he crnnrna…
452 wordsSECTION 437480 Psalms, Lxvi. 16. [606.
have received mercy, let us devoutly glorify our God for it as a benefit vs^hich no w^ords can ever adequately express.] 2. A manifestation of that pardon to his soul — [David had prayed earnestly to God, and had obtained an answer to his prayer. How this answer was conveyed to his mind, we are not informed : but …
457 wordsSECTION 438606. J Answers To Prayer Acknowledged. 481
[Nothing is more gratifying to the saints than to see or hear what God has done for others. To them therefore David addresses himself. He speaks not to the ungodly ; for that would be to " cast pearls before swine : " but to the godly he knew that the recital of his experience would be a rich source of comfort and…
434 wordsSECTION 439482 Psalms, Lxvi. 16. [606.
festations which are professedly derived from such sources. We may also say, that nothing certain can be known from any direct impressions of the Spirit of God upon the mind. We are far from affirming that no such impressions are ever made : for there can be no doubt but that God " sheds abroad his love in the he…
416 wordsSECTION 440606.1 Answers To Prayer Acknowledged. 483
2. The mortification of all sin — [Da^dd says, " If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear mei." To fancy therefore that we have received answers to prayer, whilst there is any sinful temper or dis- position harboured in the heart, is a fatal delusion. . Even the ungodly Jews, who set themselves in …
462 wordsSECTION 441484 Psalms, Lxvi. 16. [606.
by things which pertain to this life, shall they have no scope for exercise in the things which relate to eternity? Call them by the name of Christian experience, or by any other name, they must have place in our souls ; and if they have not, we are altogether dead in trespasses and sins. Let every one then take n…
512 wordsSECTION 442Sin A Preventive To The Acceptance Of Our Prayers.
highly inexpedient : it is a fruitful source of pride, discourage- ment, and hypocrisy. But in the confidence of friendship we may unbosom ourselves one to another, and declare, to the abundant edification both of ourselves and others, what God has done for our souls. In seasons of temptation and spiritual trouble…
354 wordsSECTION 443486 Psalms, Lxvi. 18—20. [607.
though he tolerates it in the world, he will sooner or later manifest his indignation against it. But in none does he abhor it more, than in those who profess them- selves his people : according to what is written, " You only have I known of all the families of the earth : therefore I will punish you for all your …
465 wordsSECTION 444607.1 Sin A Preventive To Acceptance Of Prayers. 487
spirits." Indeed, hypocrisy is not a whit less hateful to him than open sin. Let us hear the testimony of holy Job : " What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him"?" Even the most uninstructed of men, who had been born …
450 wordsSECTION 445488 Psalms, Lxvi. 18—20. [607.
from them :" on the contrary, " he will blot out their iniquities as a morning cloud," and " cast all their sins irrecoverably into the very depths of the sea" ] 2. That he will be gracious to their prayers — ■ [There is no want so great, but he will supply it; no concern so small, but he will take the charge of i…
475 wordsSECTION 446607.] Sin A Preventive To Acceptance Of Prayers. 489
[A throne of grace is now open to us; and "we may ask what we will, and it shall be done unto us." God assumes to himself the very title of "a God that heareth prayer," And he bids us to open our mouths wide, that he may hll them. Moreover, " we have an Advocate with the Father, even the Lord Jesus Christ himself,…
535 wordsSECTION 447Calling Of The Gentiles Prayed For,
Ps. Ixrii. 1 — 7. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us : that thy way may be knoirn upon earth, thy soring health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God ; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad, and sing for Joy : for thou shalt judge the peopl…
376 wordsSECTION 448608.]] Calling Of The Gentiles Prayed For. 491
the immediate exhibition of Christ to the Jews was desired, in order to his ulterior manifestation to the Gentile world, whom he longed to see partakers of all the privileges which he either enjoyed, or hoped for. He longed to see them brought into " the way" of tiTith and " salvation," and subjected to the "righ…
428 wordsSECTION 449492 Psalms, Lxvii. 1—7. [608.
It further shews us, II. What an union there is between piety and phi- lanthropy— [The Jews were represented by their enemies as haters of mankind. But this was in no respect apphcable to the godly among them. What could exceed the love of David towards the Gentile world ? We cannot conceive greater earnestness …
599 wordsSECTION 450Dcix.
THE END OF CHRISt's ASCENSION. Ps. Ixviii. 18. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led cap- tivity captive : thou hast received gifts for men ; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. WHILE some give an unbounded scope to their fancy, and view Christ in almost every passage of th…
252 wordsSECTION 451494 Psalms, Lxviii. 18. [609.
enemies, to his fixed abode in heaven ; and, having received gifts as the fruits of his victories, gave them unto men, and provided that God should have a stated residence in his Church ^ With this inspired comment, we may proceed with confidence to consider, I. The manner of Christ's ascension — Christ, having …
818 wordsSECTION 452496 Psalms, Lxviii. 19, 20. [610.
2. The remote end — [It was the privilege of the Jewish Church to have the symbols of God's presence in their temple. But it is our privilege to have God himself both with us, and in us. He e Heb. ii. 14. f Col. ii. 15. e John xvi. 7. '^ Acts ii. 33. will make our hearts his habitation ; he will dwell in us, and …
426 wordsSECTION 453Gio.J Gratitude To God For His Benefits. 497
Ps. Ixviii. 19,20. Blessed he the Lord, who daily loadeth us with henejits, even the God of our salvation ! He that is our God is the God of salvation ; and unto God the Lord helony the issues from death. THE service of God is beneficial to the soul, not merely as bringing clown a divine' blessing upon us, but in…
392 wordsSECTION 454498 Psalms, Lxviii. 19, 20. [610.
Christy till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of tlie stature of the fulness of Christ." And is this benefit confined to the apostolic age ? If we have not Prophets and Apostles, have we not pastors and teachers ? And if we see not …
492 wordsSECTION 455610.J Ouatitudf, To Ood For His Benefits. 409
4, The hope of his glory — [By the Gospel which ye hear, not only are life and immor- tality brought to light, but they are brought home to your souls as actually attained in Christ Jesus. He is your Forerunner; he is gone to prepare a place for you ; and, if only you truly believe in him, you may survey all the g…
468 wordsSECTION 456500 Psalms, Lxviil 19, 20. [610.
the utmost possible extent of our necessities. In truth, the benefits we do receive are only the emanations of love from him, even as the rays of light which every moment proceed from the sun : and if any possess them not, it is not owing to any want of liberality in God, but because they foolishly and wickedly ba…
462 wordsSECTION 457The Character Of God.
those who are the authors of them. But how much sweeter employment have you, my Brethren ! You are surveying your blessings, and almost groaning under the load with which your grateful mind is overwhelmed and oppressed : and, at the same time, you are adoring your Benefactor, and giving him the glory due unto his …
370 wordsSECTION 458502 Psalms, Lxviil 35. [611.
1. Most glorious — [It imports, in the first place, that God does give strength and power to his people : and this is proved by all the sacred annals ; yea, by daily experience. He has enabled his people of old to resist the greatest temptations^, to perform the hardest duties'^, to endure the heaviest afflictions…
474 wordsSECTION 459(511.] The Character Of God. 508
as he can possibly do from the visible creation ; because he feels himself to be a living witness of themJ] In order to call forth the practical ends of this description, let us consider, II. The sentiments it should excite in us — If the concluding words of our text be understood as referring to the past, they a…
427 wordsSECTION 460Sorrows And Sufferings Of Christ.
and willing too, to assist you ? And if you will not seek his assistance, does not the blame rest wholly with yourselves? Know that, however you may justify yourselves now, there is a day coming when you will stand speechless before him.] 2. How little ground is there for the fears of the desponding ? [We are but…
371 wordsSECTION 461612.J Sorrows And Sufferings Of Christ. 505
but in other parts he speaks so entirely in the person of the Messiah whom he typified, that we can scarcely apply the words to any other. Nor whilst we assert this are we in any danger of erring ; because our blessed Lord himself, and the Evangelists who wrote his life, and St. Paul also, all concur in putting th…
381 wordsSECTION 462506 Psalms, Lxix. 1—4. [612.
he had come into the world for the express purpose of suffermg all that was due to our sms''. In the garden of Gethsemane his sorrows came yet more heavily upon him, so that he cried, " My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death'." On this occasion he cried repeatedly, " O my Father, if it be possible, let th…
514 wordsSECTION 463612.] Sorrows And Sufferings Of Christ. 507
became a source of still more aggravated woe. Pilate hoped, that, by scourging him, he should pacify those who sought his life : and, the order being given, " the ploughers ploughed upon his back and made long their furrows^ :" but " the whole mul- titude with insatiate fury cried out, Crucify him, crucify him M" …
470 wordsSECTION 464508 Psalms, Lxix. 1—4. [612.
ordinary extent. But a greater than David is here. That glorious person whose sufferings we have been contemplating, suffered not for himself, but for us : " He was cut off, but not for himself"'" 1. It was not for his own sins — [He was pure and perfect. His very examinations proved that in this respect he was f…
483 wordsSECTION 465G12.] Sorrows And Sufferings Of Christ. 500
mine account : I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it"^." Thus did the Lord Jesus Christ, while yet he was in the bosom of his Father, undertake for us ; and thus in due time he " laid down his own life a ransom for us."] What an instructive mystery is this ! We see in it, 1. The proper ground …
490 wordsSECTION 466Humble Souls Encouraged.
same violent assaults. From God himself too must we occa- sionally experience the hidings of his face, and the chastisements of his rod: for, " What son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?" But in our troubles we must imitate our blessed Lord, and spread them before our heavenly Father " with strong crying and t…
385 wordsSECTION 467613.J Humble Souls Encouraged. 511
not being straitened in our petitions ; but " opening- our mouths wide, in order that they may be filled.") And now mark the success of his prayer : behold, without the delay of a moment, he is enabled to add, *' I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving." (Such is the suc- …
417 wordsSECTION 468512 Psalms, Lxix. 32, 33. [613.
" your heart shall live." This expression deserves peculiar notice. The heart of an unavvakened man is dead, and sense- less as the nether millstone. The Gospel, with all its alluring promises, may be proclaimed ; but he feels it not : it has no allurements for him ; nor do its denunciations of judgment excite ala…
495 wordsSECTION 469613.] Humble Souls Encouraged. 513
Even though a person should feel himself like a prisoner under actual sentence of death, let him not despond — [It is in hell only that men are prisoners of despair : whilst they are in this world, the worst amongst them is only a " pi-isoncr of hope ; and to such there is a special promise from God himself: " Tu…
467 wordsSECTION 470Dcxiv.
THE christian's FRAME OF MIND. Ps. Ixx. 4, 5. Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and he glad in Thee : and let such as love thy salvation say continually , Let God he magnified. But I am poor and needy : make haste unto me, 0 God : Thou art my help and my deliverer : O Lord, make no tarrying. THIS psalm is enti…
838 wordsSECTION 471516 Psalms, Lxx. 4, 5. [614.
' L l2 forth the praises " of God and of the Lamb." They are filled, indeed, with a sense of the benefits which they enjoy : but they are lost in wonder whilst beholding with unveiled face the glories of their God. Such is the fi'anie which the saints are privileged to enjoy on earth : they should " rejoice and b…
650 wordsSECTION 472518 Psalms, Lxxi. 3. [615.
\. See that the Christian's character. Brethren, be yours — [Here is an easy test whereby to try yourselves : Are you indeed seeking after God ? and are you truly lovers of his sal- vation? Nothing is easier to ascertain than this. The lovers of pleasure, of riches, and of honour, plainly manifest their character…
476 wordsSECTION 473615.] God A Habitation For His People. 519
Ps. Ixxi. 3. Be thou my strong habitation, tvhereimto 1 7nay continually resort. NO one can enter into the spirit of David's psalms, unless he himself have been sorely persecuted and severely tried. A very great number of the Psalms Y^exe written under circumstances of deep affliction ; and record either the pray…
580 wordsSECTION 474520 Psalms, Lxxi. 3. [615.
had not announced it to us. And this is the very view in which David himself speaks of it in another psahn : " Blessed be the Lord, my strength, my goodness, and my fortress ; my high tower and deliverer; my shield, and He in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me. Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowle…
437 wordsSECTION 475615.] God A Habitation For His People. 521
it not be madness to neglect it ? Should we not rather *' resort to it continually," yea, and abide in it, that we may enjoy the safety which is thus provided for us ? If, indeed, there were any other means of safety, an option would be left us : but not all the powers of heaven and earth can save us, if we turn o…
477 wordsSECTION 476Dcxvi.
High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee'*." Truly, " his name is a strong tower, to which you may run at all times, and be safe':" and whatever your cuxumstances may be, " he -will be to you as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shad…
654 wordsSECTION 477524 Psalms, Lxxi. 15. [617.
of Heaven Hence he prayed that God would " not cast him off in his old age, nor forsake him when his strength failed him."] Such is the import of the passage. Let us now, II. Accommodate it to the circumstances of this day — Well may we at this time acknowledge the mer- cies of God to us — [Our king may truly be…
556 wordsSECTION 478617. J Salvation A Ground Of Joy. 525
Ps. Ixxi. 15. My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day ; for I know not the numbers thereof. PERHAPS, of all mankind, no one person ever experienced more signal deliverances than David. In his early life he was exposed to the most imminent dangers from Saul. During his whole reign …
405 wordsSECTION 479526 Psalms, Lxxl 15. [617.
[All of them are the fruits of sovereign grace ; and all are bestowed on the very chief of sinners ; yea, and bestovt^ed, not only unmerited by us, but unsought and unsolicited. In the first instance, they were given to man when he was risen up in rebellion against his Maker : and even still are they con- ferred o…
657 wordsSECTION 480528 Psalms, Lxxii. 6—11. [618.
3. What a resemblance to heaven is the saint's Ufe on earth ! [Let us suppose a saint resembling David, and uttering from his inmost soul the expressions in my text ; and you will immediately be reminded of the heavenly host, who " rest not day and night," ascribing, without a moment's intermission, and with all …
705 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical edition (1832-33); scan/OCR from Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.