PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Horae Homileticae — Volume 9 of 21
Simeon, Charles, 1759-1836 · 243,747 words · 533 reading sections
382 Ezekiel, Xvi. 62, 63. [1105.
was perfect through my comeliness which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God. But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown." All manner of corruptions at length overspread the land, and provoked God, who was jealous for his own honour, to give them up to the desolation…
496 wordsSECTION 3621105.] God'S Mercy On The Renewed Soul. 383
II. The exceeding riches of God's grace — Vile as the Jews had been, he promises in our text to restore them to his favour — [That the same persons are addressed as have been de- scribed in all the preceding context, is evident from the two verses before our text. The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin having follo…
467 wordsSECTION 363384 Ezekiel, Xvi. 62, 63. [1105.
is declared in the Epistle to the Hebrews c The very distinction is there made between the Jewish covenant that was made on Mount Sinai, and the covenant of grace which was made four hundred and thirty years before with Abraham : and the knowledge of the Lord will be universally diffused, not in theory only, but i…
417 wordsSECTION 3641105.1 God'S Mercy On The Renewed Soul. 385
[" Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed :" yea, " I will establish with thee my covenant, that thou may est (what ? be lifted up with pride ? No : that thou mayest) re- member, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou …
464 wordsSECTION 365Mcvi.
Lord, and may cause his very name to be glorified in you. In the world that is approaching, when the Lamb will publicly take home his Bride, you will be clothed in fine white linen, suited to the occasion. Be preparing those robes, whilst yet you are here ; and by the richest unctions of Divine grace be daily beco…
393 wordsSECTION 366Hog. 3 Parable Of The Twig Of A Cedar. 387
named Zedekiah) king in the place of Jeconiah his uncle, and suffered him to enjoy all the rights and honours of royalty, on the express condition of his holding them, not as an independent sovereign, but as tributary to the king of Babylon. All this was quite a gratuitous act ; and it lay Zedekiah under the stro…
365 wordsSECTION 367383 Ezekiel, Xvii. 22—24. [1106.
We propose to consider this prophecy, I. As already accomplished — The Church, though low in its origin, is become exceeding great — [The Lord Jesus Christ, the Founder of it, was brought into the world when the family of David was reduced to a very low and abject state. He is fitly called " A rod out of the ste…
482 wordsSECTION 3681106.] Parable Of The Twig Of A Cedar. 389
midst of all the difficulties and trials he has had to contend with ? Must it not be said of all, " He that hath wrought us to the self-same thing is God?" Yes, in every tree of right- eousness which is the planting of the Lord, God, and God alone, must be glorified'1. If St. Paul himself was constrained to say, "…
470 wordsSECTION 369Conclusion,
Viewing now the Lord Jesus Christ, or rather his holy religion, as this goodly cedar, let us, in 1. Come and rest under his shadow — [Verily there is no rest for us any where else : we are like " the dove which Noah sent forth from the ark, and which could find no rest for the sole of her foot but in the ark itsel…
305 wordsSECTION 3701107.] Equity Of God In His Judgments. 391
Ezek. xviii. 25 — 30. Ye say, the ivay of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, 0 house of Israel ; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? When a righteous man turneth aivay from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wick…
485 wordsSECTION 371392 Ezekiel, Xviii. 25—30. [1107.
the different characters of mankind, is stated, vindi- cated, and improved. It is, I. Stated — If the righteous man turn away from his righteous- ness, and die in his sins, he shall perish — [This is a solemn truth, which men strive by every possible method to evade. When Christian principles are insisted on, th…
460 wordsSECTION 3721107.] Equity Of God In His Judgments. 393
[Delightful reflection! Hear it, ye sinners of every de- scription : it is the declaration of the Most High God. You must turn indeed from your iniquities, and especially from your besetting sin, mourning over it, fighting against it, bringing it into subjection. You must also be doing all that God requires of you…
470 wordsSECTION 373394 Ezekiel, Xviii. 25—30. [1107.
of a few days or years bear to the everlasting torments of hell ? He cannot believe that God will ever be so unmerciful and unjust as to execute on men the threatenings of his word. The proud formalist thinks it strange indeed that he is to perish. What ! must he, who has been so sober, so moral, so regular, so ob…
514 wordsSECTION 3741107.] Equity Of God In His Judgments. 395
well with him ; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings : but woe unto the wicked ! it shall be ill with him ; for the reward of his hand shall be given hime." This is what in God's name we are authorized and commanded to declare. Respect indeed will be had to the means and opportunities which different per- …
441 wordsSECTION 375396 Ezekiel, Xviil 25—30. [1107.
which we will not cut off. The profane sinner must abandon all his evil ways, and turn unto God with his whole heart. The proud formalist must renounce all his self-dependence, and must live a life of faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, and a life of entire devotedness of heart to God. The inconsistent •professor also…
489 wordsSECTION 376Conversion, In Its Commencement And Progress.
Ezek. xx. 37. I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. THE precise import of these words is not clear at first sight. If we take them in connexion with the preceding context, they must be considered as a continuation of the threatening denounced against the Jews …
342 wordsSECTION 377398 Ezekiel, Xx. 37. [1108.
this day, to make their flocks pass under their pas- toral rod, in order that he might number them, or separate some from the rest6. In this way God pro- mises to make Israel pass before him, in order to select from them a people unto himself, and to bring them into the bonds of his everlasting covenant. And, in …
408 wordsSECTION 3781108.] Progress Of Conversion. 390
2. By the conversion of some pious friend — [We see not, in general, any thing remarkable in an accidental interview with a pious person ; whilst yet it may, perhaps, have been as particularly ordained of God for a special end, as the meeting of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. God especially directed Philip to jo…
473 wordsSECTION 379400 Ezekiel, Xx. 37. [1108.
are not confined to means or instruments of any kind : yet, in his operations, he always deals with us as rational creatures ; drawing us, not by force, as inanimated beings, but " with the cords of a man, and with the bands of lovem."] This, then, is the preparatory work, whereby " God causes us to pass under the…
438 wordsSECTION 3801108.] Progress Of Conversion. 401
souls is then, in our estimation, " the one thing needful :" and, without any wish to stipulate for ourselves, we cry, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Then, as the man-slayer sought a city of refuge, and. fled, to it with all earnestness from the pursuer of blood, so do we most thankfully lay hold on this c…
465 wordsSECTION 381402 Ezekiel, Xx. 37. [1108.
Isaiah, God says of his Church, " For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him : I hid me, and was wroth ; and yet he went on frowardly in the way of his heart." Now, what might we expect to follow this ? What, but some heavy denunciation of his wrath ? Yet, behold, he adds, " I have seen his wa…
558 wordsSECTION 382Mcix.
restoration of the jews, and the conversion of a soul, compared. Ezek. xx. 40 — 44. In mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me : there ivill I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and th…
347 wordsSECTION 383404 Ezekiel, Xx. 40—44. [1109.
a view to illustrate from them the conversion of our souls to God. Let me, then, point out, I. The effect which the restoration of the Jews will hereafter produce on them — They shall assuredly be restored to God, and to their own land, in due season — [" From all the countries, whither they have been driven, s…
664 wordsSECTION 384406 Ezekiel, Xx. 49. [1110.
glory of his salvation to God alone The one subject of thanksgiving amongst the heavenly hosts is the continued subject of his song on earthh ] Let me, then, urge you all to seek this conversion : 1. It is that by which God is to be glorified on earth — [To the Jews, God says, " I will be sanctified in you be- f…
547 wordsSECTION 3851110.1 Men'S Treatment Of The Gospel. 407
men's treatment of the gospel. Ezek. xx. 49. Then said I, Ah Lord God ! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables ? THE word of God, by whomsoever spoken, should be received with reverence and godly fear. Great care indeed should be taken to examine whether the word which is spoken in his name be agreeable to th…
445 wordsSECTION 386408 Ezekiel, Xx. 49. [1110.
appellation0. His Apostles met with precisely the same reception. St. Paul was accounted a babbler; and when speaking most unquestionably " the words of truth and sober ness," was thus reviled ; " Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning hath made thee mad d." And is it not thus at the present day ? Is not eve…
787 wordsSECTION 387410 Ezekiel, Xx. 49. [1110.
3. An inveterate aversion to holiness — [To a formal and external righteousness many are not at all averse; they rather love it, as a substitute for spiritual obedience. But bring to their view the requisitions of God's law, and they cry out against them, as unreasonably severe, yea, as utterly impracticable and a…
519 wordsSECTION 3881111.] Ministers' Office And Responsibility. 411
" Ah ! Lord God," we come with a painful report : we would have rejoiced to have told thee, that thy word had had " a free course, and been glorified amongst them ;" but we are con- strained to declare, that, if not in word, yet at least in spirit, they say of us, " Doth he not speak parables ? " Some do really th…
432 wordsSECTION 389412 Ezekiel, Xxxiii. 8. [11 11.
Ezek. xxxiii. 8. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die! if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that ivicked man shall die in his iniquity ; but his blood will I require at thy hand. THE office of a minister is the most important and most difficult of any that we can be ca…
684 wordsSECTION 390414 Ezekiel, Xxxiii. 8. [1111.
1. The person whom he neglects to warn, will perish — [If through the sloth or treachery of the sentinels a camp be surprised at midnight, nothing but confusion and ruin can ensue. Thus, if a person appointed to warn the wicked, neg- lect to do so, the wicked will continue regardless of their im- pending doom, ti…
580 wordsSECTION 391God Expostulating With Sinners.
fountain of the Redeemer's blood: ye all need to " turn from your transgressions, that so iniquity may not be your ruin." O that God may enable you to accept this warning with all thankfulness ! We have striven, as it became us, to " deliver our own souls : " the Lord grant that, in thus endeavouring to " save our…
336 wordsSECTION 39241G Ezekiel, Xxxiii. 11. [1112.
I. A solemn oath — " Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord speaketh," yea, sweareth ; and, " because he can swear by no greater, he swears by himself," even by his own life and immortal perfections. But what is it which Jehovah condescends to confirm in this solemn manner ? 1. That he hath no plea…
417 wordsSECTION 393U12.1 G0D Expostulating With Sinners. 417
by an oath. Had he " sworn in his wrath that we should not enter into his rest," we might easily have accounted for it ; because, however merited such a judgment might be, he is never brought, but with extreme reluctance, to execute it.c But to establish his character for mercy in such a way, was altogether superf…
415 wordsSECTION 394418 Ezekiel, Xxxiii. 11. [1112.
" Why zvill ye die ?" Is death, eternal death so light a matter, that ye will subject yourselves to it for the fleeting gratifica- tions of sin ? Is it a light thing " to fall into the hands of the living God," and to have " both body and soul cast into hell" for ever ? Or is a life of godliness so painful, that th…
485 wordsSECTION 395The Self-Deception Of Covetous Professors.
told indeed, in the very chapter before us, that the blood of those who perish, shall be required at the hands of negligent and unfaithful ministers d : but, even though your blood were to be required at the hands of your minister, it would be no alleviation of your misery, since you also would die in your iniquit…
373 wordsSECTION 396420 Ezekiel, Xxxiii. 31, 32. [1113.
[If we look at their profession only, all is well: they unite themselves to the Lord's people, and account themselves to be of their number. They pay great attention to the ordi- nances; they feel peculiar delight in the ministration of the word ; they express a very high regard for those who labour in the word an…
445 wordsSECTION 3971113.] Self-Deception Of Covetous Professors. 421
acknowledge the directions to be exceeding proper ; but they scarcely ever feel their own conduct condemned by them. They are eagle-eyed in spying out the faults of others ; but they are almost utter strangers to their own. Their zeal for the Gospel, and their attachment to those who preach or profess it, is to th…
463 wordsSECTION 398Mcxiv.
any one imagine that the naming the name of Christ is suf- ficient to constitute us Christians. The tree must be judged of by its fruits : and according to our works will be the sen- tence that shall be upon us in the last day.] 2. What need have the professors of religion to examine well their own hearts ! [Love…
705 wordsSECTION 399404 Ezekiel Xxxiv. 16. [1114.
As for those who are already in his fold, he will administer to all their wants, " binding up " the broken-hearted1, and " renewing the strength" of those who are ready to faint™. By the efficacy of his word, and the consolations of his Spirit, he will turn their sorrows into joy n : and his grace shall be c John …
541 wordsSECTION 400David A Type Of Christ.
Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24. I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them ; I the Lord have spoken it. THERE is nothing so comforting to an afflicted soul,…
364 wordsSECTION 401426 Ezekiel, Xxxiv. 23, 24. [1115.
the Messiah himself. Many parts of his heavenly compositions, though apparently intended respecting himself, have indeed no reference to himself at all, except as he was a type of Christ, in whom the very things predicted were literally fulfilled b. And so exact was the correspondence between the type and antitype…
478 wordsSECTION 40211 15. ^ David A Type Of Christ. 427
and was forced to seek an asylum in a heathen land". On many occasions he escaped only by a miraculous exertion of his own almighty power0. When his time was come, he was be- trayed by one of his own disciples, who, like David's treacherous friend, speedily went and hanged himself p. But, infinitely beyond David, …
445 wordsSECTION 403428 Ezekiel, Xxxiv. 23, 24. [1115.
Messiah. Nor is the time far distant when it shall be fulfilled in all its glorious extent1 The Lord Jesus will gather his people from every quarter of the globe u He will feed them in green pastures, and rule over them in Zionx And God will manifest himself to be " their God," with such displays of his glory, as …
476 wordsSECTION 404Christ The Plant Of Renown.
Ezek. xxxiv. 29. I will raise up for them a plant of renown. THE names by which our blessed Lord is desig- nated in the Scriptures are exceeding various. Every- one of them illustrates some part of his character, and leads us, as it were, one step towards the know- ledge of him ; though, as the light of all the st…
327 wordsSECTION 405430 Ezekiel, Xxxiv. 29. [1116.
[Never did such a plant as this exist before. Never could the highest archangel have conceived it possible that such a plant should exist, unless God had expressly revealed it to him. Nothing in the whole creation has any resemblance to it, or could convey the smallest idea of it. This plant has two perfectly dist…
476 wordsSECTION 4061116.1 Christ The Plant Of Renown. 431
tell you how he is regarded by man ?" By those who know him not, "he is despised and rejected:" but "to them that know him, he is precious p." What joy was excited in Abra- ham's heart, when he only got a glimpse of him, two thousand years before his incarnation i ! With what ecstatic fervour did the prophets call…
465 wordsSECTION 407432 Ezekiel, Xxxiv. 29. [1116.
the Church of old, who " sat under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet unto her taste c."] 2. Live upon his fruits — [We have before observed, that every kind of fruit is to be found in him : wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, peace, and whatever else we can desire, are to be obtained from h…
475 wordsSECTION 408Out-Pouring Of The Spirit On The Jews.
could not forbear going to acquaint their famished countrymen with the good tidings p : and shall we be backward to inform our neighbours respecting this tree, whereby all their diseases may be healed, and all their wants supplied ? The moment that Andrew and Philip had discovered it, they endeavoured to bring the…
415 wordsSECTION 409434 Ezekiel, Xxxvi. 24—28. [1117.
delivered to the Jews in their present dispersed state : and it provides for them all the blessings which they stand in need of, both in this world and in the world to come. Let us consider these promises, I. As delivered more immediately to the Jewish people — Whatever reference these promises might have to th…
371 wordsSECTION 4101117.1 Out-Pouring Of The Spirit On The Jews. 485
[This is indisputably promised to them in the words of my text. And it is surprising how universally this view of the passage has been overlooked by the Christian world. There are few passages of Holy Scripture that are more frequently cited by the preachers of the everlasting Gospel than this: but, as though we w…
505 wordsSECTION 411436 Ezekiel, Xxxvi. 24—28. [1117.
to himself as his peculiar people. He will, by the atoning blood of Christ, and by the influence of his Holy Spirit, cleanse them from all their filthiness, and from all their idols : he will altogether renew them, also, in the spirit of their minds, and cause them to walk as holily as any of their most eminent an…
411 wordsSECTION 4121117.] Out-Pouring Of The Spirit On The Jews. 437
Christ to the soul, and enables us to apply to ourselves his precious blood. And, in fact, it is by implanting in our hearts the principle of faith, that he renews and sanctifies us after the Divine image : " He purines our hearts by faith k. " To what an extent we need his gracious influences, it is scarcely in t…
497 wordsSECTION 413438 Ezekiel, Xxxvi. 24—28. [1117.
abominations0?" And shall not such be the effects wrought on our souls, if the Spirit of God be truly poured forth upon us ? Our hearts shall be altogether renewed ; so that we shall be, as it were, " a new creation :" " old things shall pass away, and all things become new." Our dark understanding shall be enligh…
462 wordsSECTION 4141117."] Out-Pouring Of The Spirit On The Jews. 439
[You see how freely, and with what sovereign grace, God makes these promises unto you : for, if they are made to the Jews under their present state of degradation and wickedness, there is no one so debased or sinful, but that he may well appropriate them to himself, and seek an interest in them. You will take espe…
491 wordsSECTION 415The Duty Of Self-Lothing.
say, perhaps, That is God's work, and may also be left to him. But it was not thus that the Apostles judged, in reference to Us Gentiles. They could not, by any power of their own, convert a single soul: but did they therefore decline to use the means which God himself had appointed? No: they preached Christ to al…
380 wordsSECTION 4161118.1 The Duty Of Self-Loti-Iing. 441
enabled to walk in God's statutes :" even to them is the injunction given, to " lothe themselves for their abominations." We shall consider, I. The duty enjoined — Repentance, though an universally acknowledged duty, is but little understood. It implies, 1. A calling of our evil ways to remembrance — [However t…
422 wordsSECTION 417442 Ezekiel, Xxxvi. 31. [1118.
The Scriptures illustrate sin by " a dog returning to his own vomit," " and a sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire d." It must be confessed that the former of these metaphors is most disgusting: but the more disgusting it is, the more suited is it to the occasion; since the conduct of the sinner, like t…
445 wordsSECTION 4181118.] The Duty Of Self-Lothing. 443
God, who has not only loaded us with temporal blessings, but has given his only dear Son to die for us, and his Holy Spirit to instruct us ; yea, and has followed us all our days with in- treaties, expostulations, promises, seeking nothing so much as our eternal welfare ! This is the view of sin which conversion g…
443 wordsSECTION 419Mcxix.
2. How dear must Christ be to every true pe- nitent ! [A certain kind and degree of repentance may arise from fear : but that which is spiritual and saving, partakes richly of love. Nothing advances it so much as a sight of the love of Christ in dying for usm. Now exactly as a sense of the Sa- viour's love causes…
672 wordsSECTION 42044G Ezekiel, Xxxvi. 32. [1119.
The text goes yet further, and shews that, II. There is in us nothing which is not a ground rather for shame and confusion — Doubtless the Jews were a peculiarly " stiff-necked people :" yet, if we have not the same sins to deplore, we have enough to justify the application of this pas- sage to ourselves. The si…
522 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical edition (1832-33); scan/OCR from Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.