PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Horae Homileticae — Volume 10 of 21
Simeon, Charles, 1759-1836 · 271,947 words · 591 reading sections
190 Amos, Ii. 13. [1185.
b Ezek. xvi. 43. c Ps. lxxviii. 40. a Isai. lxiii. 10. e Ezek. vi. 9. f 2 Pet. ii. 8. " Isai. v. 1 8. with Bishop Lowth's note upon it. h Isai. xliii. 24. ' ver. 9 — 11. 1185. J god's complaint against us. 191 he endued us with an immortal soul, capable of knowing, serv- ing, and enjoying God to all eternity ! Ho…
523 wordsSECTION 182192 Amos, Ii. 13. [1185.
they present to God, provoke him to say, " Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth ; they are a trouble unto me ; I am weary to bear themp?" Is not such a con- tempt of his Gospel most painful to him, and most destructive to usi? See then the grounds of complaint which God has against us ; and say…
784 wordsSECTION 183194- Amos, Ii. 13. [1185.
Should not such declarations as these appal us? Should they not convince us what " a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God ?"] 3. The time for retribution is fast approaching — [When the cart is already overladen with corn, the heap- ing of sheaves upon it must quickly cease. And when our Go…
602 wordsSECTION 184Requisites For Friendship With God.
find that he was sinking under the weight of your iniquities, and if He was thus overwhelmed with the load, what must become of us, if we, after all, should have to bear the curse due to our sins ? Let every eye be fixed on him with humble, grateful adoration. Let every one look to his vicarious sacri- fice for pa…
363 wordsSECTION 185196 Amos, Iii. 3. [1186.
real friendship between persons (whether they be of the same family or not), if in their general views and habits there be no agreement ? You may call your- selves the Lord's people, if you will ; but, " if you walk contrary to him, he will walk contrary to you0:" and this he has both authorized and commanded me …
381 wordsSECTION 1861186. J Requisites For Friendship With God. 197
persons who have no taste for these occupations we shall feel, comparatively, but little attraction. Those who are immersed in the study of arts and sciences will not very much affect the society of those who have no taste but for trifling amusements ; nor will the votaries of pleasure desire an habitual intercours…
467 wordsSECTION 187198 Amos, Iii. 3. [1186.
Here, then, the point is clear. The services of God and Mammon are incompatible with each other f. Whichever we most affect in our minds, his servants we areg: and friendship with either precludes a possibility of union with the other.] Nor is a resemblance to God less necessary for an enjoyment of him, II. In th…
463 wordsSECTION 1881186.] Requisites For Friendship With God. 199
Well then, may this teach us, 1. The necessity of true conversion — [" The carnal mind," says the Apostle, that is, the mind of every man by nature, " is enmity against God : for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can bek." " A new heart, therefore, must be given us, and a new spirit must be put …
485 wordsSECTION 189200 Amos, Iii. 6. [1187.
We must " not be conformed to this world, but be trans- formed in the renewing of our minds, if ever we would prove, to the satisfaction of our God, what is his good and acceptable and perfect wills."] 3. The happiness of real piety — [Where the soul is really in accordance with the revealed will of God, there wi…
287 wordsSECTION 1901187.1 God The Source And Cause Of All Things. 201
Amos iii. 6. Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it ? IT is a generally acknowledged truth, that every thing proceeds from God ; and we have the authority of God himself for affirming it : "I form the light, and create darkness : I make peace, and create evil : I the Lord do all these things…
539 wordsSECTION 191202 Amos, Iii. G. [1187.
and to harden in like manner the hearts of all whom he is pleased thus to give up to the unrestrained indulgence of their own lusts e. Above all, in the crucifixion of our blessed Lord, where shall we find human depravity so active and so combined as in that tremendous scene ? And can we trace any part of that to …
484 wordsSECTION 1921187. J God The Source And Cause Of All Things. 203
bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Amnion, and sent them against Judah to destroy it. Surely at the command- ment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight1:" so entirely are men, even when following most freely the dict…
450 wordsSECTION 193204 Amos, Iii. 6. [1187.
[David was informed, that, notwithstanding his heinous sin was forgiven, it should yet be visited in this world with evils in his own family, which should embitter all his remaining days. In the conduct of Amnon and of Absalom, we see how God marked David's sin in its punishment. These sons only followed the dicta…
471 wordsSECTION 194Learn,
life, and " proved him to be indeed the Son of God with power, by his resurrection from the deadu." This was in strict accord- ance with what David had foretold : " The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed ; saying, Let us break their b…
475 wordsSECTION 19520G Amos, Iii. 8. [1188.
more perfectly. We should, therefore, go to God under our trials, and ask him " wherefore he contendeth with ush." " In the day of adversity we should consider1;" and be more anxious to derive benefit from the affliction, than to obtain a premature deliverance from its pressure. If we may but be purged from our dr…
314 wordsSECTION 1961188.] God'S Voice To Sinners. W7
god's voice to sinners. Amos iii. 8. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, ivho can but prophesy ? THERE is not any thing more strange and unrea- sonable than that utter disregard which is shewn to the word of God. If we see appearances in the sky, we can form some judgment of the wea…
492 wordsSECTION 197208 Amos, Iii. 8. [1188.
shall be admitted into heaven before them*. Is not this a just ground of fear to those, whose hearts are not broken with a sense of sin ? But more dreadful still are the threatenings denounced against hypocritical prof essors of religion. Their doom is cha- racterized as the most severe of anyg: and the wrath whic…
487 wordsSECTION 19811 89. J Incorrigibleness Reproved. 209
What is there that can justify any man in casting off the fear of God ? Can we deny that he hath roared as a lion ? or are we stronger than he, that we dare to provoke him to jea- lousyq? Or can we elude his search, when he shall summon us to his judgment-seat r ? Or have we any reason to doubt whether he will exe…
369 wordsSECTION 199210 Amos, Iv. 11, 12. [1189.
Amos iv. 11, 12. Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. Therefore thus will I do unto thee, 0 Israel : and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, 0 Israel. vol. x. p THE various dispensations of providence are in- tended to awaken our concern for our best interests, and to bring us…
397 wordsSECTION 2001189.1 Incorrigibleness Reproved. 211
has it reached our shores, and is spreading widely both in Britain and Ireland0, and carrying oft' multitudes with fearful rapidity into the eternal world.] But in the midst of all we have continued impeni- tent— [We can see nothing of national reformation. Fasts in- deed have been appointed from time to time dur…
408 wordsSECTION 201212 Amos, Iv. 11, 12. [1189.
[What God has already inflicted on us, is nothing in com- parison of what we may expect at his hands, if we continue to provoke him. "Go to Shiloh, and see what he did to it for the wickedness of his people Israele." Look at the Jews at this day, whom he has dealt with " as a man who wipeth a dish, and turneth it …
471 wordsSECTION 2021190. J God'S Condescension And Grace. 213
2. If you return to God, you will find him ever ready to receive you — [As, on the one hand, no one ever found mercy without repentance, so neither, on the other hand, was any true peni- tent ever rejected. Search the Scriptures ; not a syllable will be found to discourage a sinner's return to God. Nations have a…
328 wordsSECTION 203214 Amos, V. 8,9. [1190.
god's condescension and grace. Amos v. 8, 9. Tlie Lord is his name ; that strengthened the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. IN our public addresses, we feel peculiar satisfaction in entering upon subjects which admit of no dispute, and on which all considerate perso…
801 wordsSECTION 204216 Amos, V. 8,9. [1190.
If, on the other hand, we suppose this exercise of God's power to be mentioned with a view to awe the Israelites into submission, it may well be interpreted in that view. The whole nation, both of Israel and Judah, placed an undue reliance on their relation to God, and could not conceive that their enemies should …
582 wordsSECTION 2051190.] God'S Condescension And Grace- 217
power and of terrible majesty ;" and when he riseth up, who then can resist him1? or who can stand in his sight when he is angry s? Verily, " He is a consuming fire1." Who then would set briers and thorns against him in battle ? He would go through them, and burn them up together. " Seek ye, then, his face :" seek…
510 wordsSECTION 206God Knows Our Sins.
go forward. Though seas of difficulty be before you, I say to you, as God did to Moses, " Wherefore criest thou unto me? Say unto the children of Israel, that they go forward0." Do you doubt whether success shall attend your efforts ? Look at the example of David : see his triumphs, and his acknowledg- ments d and…
336 wordsSECTION 2071191.1 God Knows Our Sins. 219
child of man : for all are corrupt and abominable in their doings ; " all of which are naked and opened before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Let us consider, I. The information here given us — Men conceive of God as not noticing their sins : " They say in their hearts, The thick clouds are a covering…
424 wordsSECTION 208220 Amos, V. 12. [1191.
from a life so spent, when, in fact, " every imagination of the thoughts of our hearts is evil, only evil, continually ! " Of omission, too, as well as of commission, does he behold our sins. He tries us by the standard of his perfect law, which requires that we should love him with all our heart and mind and soul…
498 wordsSECTION 2091191.1 God Knows Our Sins. 221
some progress in religion, and given to our friends hopes that we would really turn unto our God : but we have been drawn aside by temptation, and have " turned back with the dog to his vomit, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." Above all, we have sinned against all the mercies and the judg…
469 wordsSECTION 210222 Amos, V. 12. [1191.
2. We should entreat him to humble us in the dust before him — [It is God alone who can " give repentance : " he alone can take away the heart of stone, and give us a heart of flesh. Who was it that made the difference between Lydia and the other hearers of St. Paul ? It was " the Lord, who opened her heart to at…
479 wordsSECTION 211Carnal Ease And Security Reproved.
in its full extent, and endeavour to fulfil it ; attending to it in all its parts, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Let it henceforth be the one labour of our lives to " keep a conscience void of offence before God," if by any means we may approve ourselves to him, and " stand perfect and complete in all t…
325 wordsSECTION 212224 Amos, Vi. 1. [1192.
day" from themselves15, as though the cup of bitterness should never be put into their hands. But the pro- phet denounces against them the heavy judgments of God : " Woe to them that are at ease in Zion ! " It is my intention from these words, to shew you, I. The evil which is here reproved — We are not to suppos…
398 wordsSECTION 2131192.1 Carnal Ease And Security Reproved. 225
fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones ; the syca- mores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars f." In their outward relation to God, also, they trusted ; as the reproof administered to them shews: " Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple…
501 wordsSECTION 214226 Amos, Vi. 1. [1192.
Let it not however be imagined that this woe attaches only to the opulent: for the lower classes of society are equally obnoxious to the same condemnation ; whilst, with less refine- ment indeed, but not an atom less of sensuality, they gratify themselves with those indulgences which every public-house supplies. I…
483 wordsSECTION 2151192. J Carnal Ease And Security Reproved. 227
whoever they may be, " we have great heaviness and continual sorrow in our heart*."] That we may not think lightly of this evil, I will proceed to shew, II. The equity of the judgments denounced against it— We are ready to think that nothing but gross and flagrant immorality deserves God's wrath. But the habit …
423 wordsSECTION 216228 Amos, Vi. 1. [1192.
from seeking his glory, as my text implies, it is in vain to hope that we shall have any part with him in the world above.] 2. An utter insensibility to all the wonders of Redemption — [Among the ends for which our blessed Lord came into the world, one of prime importance was, " that we should not henceforth live…
624 wordsSECTION 217Mcxciii.
god's condescension to prayer. Amos vii. 2, 3. Then I said, 0 Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee : by whom shall Jacob arise ? for he is small. The Lord repotted for this : It shall not be, saith the Lord. IT is very instructive to see, amongst all the ser- vants of Jehovah, whether Prophets or Apostles, how love …
256 wordsSECTION 218230 Amos, Vii. 2, 3. [1193.
thousand talents of silver; and that of Tiglath-pileser, who took several cities, and carried away the inhabi- tants captives to Assyria f. But, without entering into the history of these events, I wish to fix your attention on the repeated intercessions of the prophet, (for the repetition of them in the same word…
403 wordsSECTION 2191193.] God'S Condescension To Prayer. 231
What ! you clean ! you whiter than snow ? Yes, /, even 7. Hear how particularly he himself notices the speed with which his prayer was answered. " When I kept silence (and refrained from prayer), my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me : my moisture is t…
496 wordsSECTION 220232 Amos, Vii. 2, 3. [1193.
pardon," and multiply his pardons above all the multitude of their sins1.] My text leads me to notice another most important truth ; namely, II. That the weakness we feel may be urged by us as a plea — The state of Israel at that time seemed indeed to be very desperate : for " God had already begun to cut them …
429 wordsSECTION 2211193.] God'S Condescension To Prayer. 233
flesh." Thrice he cried to the Lord to remove it: and by his repeated entreaties he obtained this answer ; " My grace is sufficient for thee : for my strength is made perfect in weak- ness." And what was the effect ? His fears are dissipated ; his sorrows are dispelled ; and instantly he bursts forth into these tr…
488 wordsSECTION 222234 Amos, Vii. 2, 3. [1193.
present dispersion, and see. You may put far from you the evil day ; but it will come at last ; and with augmented terror, in proportion as it has been despised. I call upon you, then, yea, on every one amongst you, to turn unto the Lord, and to cry, " O Lord God, forgive, I beseech theec!" For where is there one …
456 wordsSECTION 223Mcxciv.
THE SECURITY OF ALL GOd's PEOPLE. Amos ix. 9. Lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve ; . yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. THOUGH God does not see fit to preserve his people wholly from national calamities, yet he inter- poses,…
357 wordsSECTION 224236 Amos, Ix. 9. [1194.
we are apt to grow careless, and to relax our diligence in seek- ing " the rest that remaineth for us." God therefore causes us to be " emptied from vessel to vessel, that we may not be settled on our leesa."] 2. By inward temptations — [By far the sorest trials which Christians experience, are, for the most part…
425 wordsSECTION 2251194. J The Security Of All God'S People. 237
the thoughts and intents of the heart: he weighs the very- spirits of men no less than their actions : " he needs not that any should testify of man, for he knows what is in man :" he will discover sincerity under the most unfavourable circum- stances, and hypocrisy under the most artful disguise. Abijah alone of …
470 wordsSECTION 226238 Amos, Ix. 11, 12. [1195.
whole hearts, that we may " have confidence before him at his coming."] 2. How may we welcome afflictions, provided we be truly upright ! [What are afflictions but the sieve in our Father's hand, whereby he takes us from among the ungodly, and " purifies us unto himself a peculiar people?" And shall we distrust …
262 wordsSECTION 2271195. J Conversion Of The Jews And Gentiles. 239
Amos ix. 11, 12. In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old : that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doet…
487 wordsSECTION 228240 Amos, Ix. 11, 12. [1195.
God had, many ages before, decreed the reception of the Gen- tiles into his Church, without subjecting them to the rite of circumcision : and if that Apostle had imposed a sense upon the passage foreign to its real and received meaning, the Jews would doubtless have objected to his interpretation of itb. Here then…
438 wordsSECTION 2291196.] The Millennial State. 241
poor fishermen, can at any time reclaim the prodigal, convert a Saul, or restore a David Let none then despair of themselves, as though they were beyond the reach of mercy; nor of others, as though God could not subdue them to the obedience of faith. Though they are " dry bones, very dry, the Spirit may yet enter …
279 wordsSECTION 230242 Amos, Ix. 13. [1196.
Amos ix. 13. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. IT is gratifying to see what a harmony there is in all the prophets, in their descriptions of the gl…
471 wordsSECTION 2311196.3 The Millennial State. 243
await them in that day ; for that period shall be distinguished by, I. Frequent ordinances — At the first establishment of the Christian Church, the people " continued daily in the temple with one accord, and brake bread together from house to house, eating their meat with gladness and singleness of heart." Thus…
434 wordsSECTION 232244 Amos, Ix. 13. [1196.
II. Numerous converts — \Noiv ministers may fish all the day, and take scarcely any thing ; but then the Lord will direct them where and how to cast their nets ; which they shall scarcely be able to drag to land, by reason of the numbers that they shall catch. The days of Pentecost shall be revived. From a small h…
471 wordsSECTION 2331196.] The Millennial State. 245
Zion ; he will comfort all her waste places ; he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord: joy and gladness will be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody m." The world at this time is only a vale of tears : but then " there will be new heavens and a new earth : …
436 wordsSECTION 2341197. J Gospel Effects In The Latter Days. 217
Obad. 17. Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness ; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. IT is curious to observe throughout the prophetic writings, that the richest promises relating to the Christian Church follow, and, I had almost said, arise out of, denunciations o…
659 wordsSECTION 235248 Obadiah, 17. [1197.
then shall " the prince of this world be utterly cast out." Then shall Dagon fall before the ark in every quarter of the universe : and all the slaves of sin and Satan be brought " into the glorious liberty of the sons of God." Then shall the jubilee trumpet sound in everyplace: " the preaching of deli- verance to…
431 wordsSECTION 2361197.] Gospel Effects In The Latter Days. 219
greater, and of a lesser magnitude; but in all it is manifest, both from the uniformity and continuance of their splendour, that they are upheld in their orbits by the power of God, and irradiated with the beams of the Sun of Righteousness : in a word, holiness is an essential part of the deliverance itself; and t…
436 wordsSECTION 237250 Obadiah, 17. [1197.
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it."] But the full possession of it is reserved for another world — [There is an inheritance prepared for them from the foun- dation of the world : and in due time they shall enjoy it in all its fulness. The believer may now look …
460 wordsSECTION 2381197.] Gospel Effects In The Latter Days. 251
especially the treatment they have shewn to his Church and people : and then they will find, that it would have been " better to have had a millstone tied round about their necks, and to have been cast into the sea, than to have offended one of his little ones." The Lord grant, that men may no longer make Christ a…
321 wordsSECTION 239Jonah Reproved By The Mariners.
Jonah i. 6. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper ? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. PERHAPS in all the sacred records there is not to be found a more strange and inconsistent character than the Prophet Jonah. That he was o…
290 wordsSECTION 2401198.1 Jonah Reproved By The Mariners. 253
the sides of the ship. In this situation he was when the shipmaster came to him, and administered the re- proof which we have just heard. Let us consider this reproof, I. As addressed to Jonah — The occasion of the reproof you have already heard in few words. But there are two things which call for more particul…
472 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical edition (1832-33); scan/OCR from Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.