PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Horae Homileticae — Volume 17 of 21
Simeon, Charles, 1759-1836 · 215,167 words · 500 reading sections
The Exalted Privileges Of True Christians.
Eph. ii. 19 — 22. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but felloiv-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone ; in whom all the building fitly framed together grouieth unt…
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[Bodies that are incorporated, whether in cities, boroughs, or societies of any kind, have their peculiar privileges, to which others who belong not to them are not entitled. Thus it is with the saints, who are formed into one body in Christ, and have the most distinguished privileges confirmed to them by a charte…
441 wordsSECTION 303314 Ephesians, Ii. 19—22. [2102.
is the import of what our Saviour said to Peter ; " Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build my Church:" he did not mean, that he would build it on the person of Peter, but on the testimony of Peter just before delivered, namely, that " Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living Godd." Of the Church Christ i…
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Spirit of God dwelling in him1. " In his heart Christ dwells by faith k :" and, through the effectual operation of the Holy Spirit, " he grows continually, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Yes, this honour has the Church at large ; and this honour have all the saints of every successive a…
449 wordsSECTION 305Angels Made Wiser By The Gospel.
ungodly men ' and from all hateful and polluting passions m And in us must be offered up continually the sacrifices of prayer and praise" ; from which " God will smell a sweet odour," and by which he will eternally be glorified. Surely " holiness becomes God's house for ever;" and " this is the law of the house," …
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Apostle Paul, that, in the contemplation of it, he exclaimed, " O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out"1!" It is upon that subject primarily that the Apostle is speaking in the whole preceding context. He de- clares him…
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and open a way for the exercise of mercy, in perfect con- sistency with every other perfection of the Deity. A surety shall be found ; a substitute for sinful man ; one, by whose obedience the law should be honoured ; by whose sufferings, also, justice shall have its claims fully satisfied; by executing the penalt…
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be communicated are also precisely such as his necessities re- quire : he has nothing to do, but simply to look to Christ by faith ; and all these blessings shall flow down into his soul pre- cisely^ health did into the bodies of the dying Israelites, the very instant they looked to the brazen serpent. The only di…
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did not plead this very execution of God's judgments as the reason for their being averted from himself. May we not, in the review of these things, adopt the lan- guage of the Apostle, and say, " O the depths ! " Verily this "wisdom is manifold;" and in this salvation are " hid all the treasures of wisdom and know…
422 wordsSECTION 3102103.1 Angels Made Wiser By The Gospel. 321
should devise such means for the exercise of mercy, and be capable of carrying those means into effect, they could never have imagined. Yet, in the provisions of the Gospel they beheld all this, not only contemplated, but carried into effect. We wonder not, that, on attaining such views of the Deity, they sang, " …
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cherubim upon the mercy-seat, bending down, in order to search into the mysteries contained in it0. The great mystery there shadowed forth was, the Lord Jesus Christ (the true Ark), containing in himself, and having fulfilled for us, the law: and God the Father, extending mercy to all (for the mercy-seat was of ex…
452 wordsSECTION 3122103.] Angels Made Wiser By The Gospel. -V2S
and more enlarged, till the " mystery itself be finished," and every redeemed sonl be perfected in bliss.] From this wonderful subject we may see, 1. What guilt they contract who pervert the Gospel of Christ — [A blending of any thing with the merits of Christ is, as St. Paul informs us, a substitution of " anoth…
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and research. But it is not to be regarded by any one in that light : it is not a subject to occupy the meditations of a theorist, but to engage the devoutest affections of the soul. It is our very life : it is that in which the eternal welfare of our souls is bound ups. It prescribes the only possible way of acce…
471 wordsSECTION 314Prayer The Means Of The Richest Blessings.
Eph. iii. 14 — 19. For this cause I boiv my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man ; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by fa…
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he needs an increase of strength, are many and urgent. He has many trials to endure ; many temptations to withstand ; many duties to perform : and in himself he is insufficient for any one of these things. But " God will give his Holy Spirit unto them that ask him." He will " strengthen us in our inner man," so th…
484 wordsSECTION 3162104. J Prayer Brings The Richest Blessings. 321
it is "comprehended by all the saints." Men's capacity to comprehend it, is proportioned to their growth and stature in the Church of Christ : those who are but infants, have only narrow and contracted views of it ; while those who are advanced to manhood, stand amazed at its immeasurable dimensions. But in order…
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Reflections — 1. How much do the saints in general live below their privileges ! [Who that is conversant with the religious world, would imagine that such things as are mentioned in the text were ever to be attained ? One is complaining of his weakness and insufficiency; another, of his darkness and distance from…
332 wordsSECTION 318Mmcv.
See Sermons on 1 Tim. i. 11. where it forms the fourth 2105.] god's power to bless kis people. 329 god's power to bless his people. Eph. iii. 20, 21. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the poiver that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the Church by …
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what we "think;" he will do it " all" and "above" all, and " abundantly" above all, yea, "exceeding" abundantly above all that we can ask or think. What a glorious view does this give us of the power and goodness of our God !] The works which he has already wrought in us, are a specimen and pledge of what he will…
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We must also, under the most trying circumstances, main- tain an unshaken confidence in him, as able and willing to save. It was by this that Abraham " gave glory to God :" " He staggered not at the promises through unbelief, but was strong in faith1," believing, that if he should reduce his beloved Isaac to ashes…
602 wordsSECTION 3212106. J A Consistent Walk Enjoined. 33S
Eph. iv. 1 — 3. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation whereivith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. THE end of all true religion is p…
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conformed to Christ in this respect, " reckoning himself dead unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ*." By his very calling he is " turned from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto Godg;" and engages to be " holy, even as God himself is holyh" Once the believer was a " child of wrath, e…
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But that we may come more closely to the point, we will call your attention to, II. The particular duties he inculcates — In order to adorn our Christian profession, we must especially keep in view, I. The cultivation of holy tempers in ourselves — [Without this, nothing can ever prosper in our souls. "Lowliness…
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cause these trials arise, we should shew forbearance towards the offender, from a principle of love ; not being offended with him, not imputing evil intention to him, not suffering our regards towards him to be diminished ; but bearing with his infirmities, as we desire that God should bear with ours. Now it is in…
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And now, let me, like the Apostle, make this the subject of my most earnest and affectionate entreaty. Consider, " I beseech you," 1. Its aspect on your own happiness — [It is the consistent Christian only that can be happy. If there be pride, anger, or any hateful passion indulged, " it will eat as doth a canker…
432 wordsSECTION 326Christian Unity.
4. Its aspect on your eternal welfare — [In all the most essential things, all the members of Christ's mystical body are of necessity united : there is " one body," of which you are members : " one Spirit," by which you are animated ; one inheritance, which is the " one hope of your calling;" "one Lord," Jesus Chr…
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were, into its very mould : and those who affect not a conformity to its doctrines, will deny the doctrines themselves ; having no alternative, but to set aside the requirements, or to condemn themselves for their disobedience to them. But between real Christians there is, on all the fundamental points of religion…
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and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." And of all there is one God and Father, " who is ahove all," by his almighty power ; " and through all," by his superintending provi- dence ; " and in all," by the constant operation of his Spirit and grace.] All this may well serve as a foundation for unity, amongst those …
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every child of God : " Mark them who cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them : for they that are such serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly" and corrupt appetites'5.] 2. Of affection — [Love is the grace which most adorns the true Christian : it i…
449 wordsSECTION 330The Ascension Of Christ.
All surrounded the tabernacle, as the first object of their unvaried solicitude ; and all looked forward to Canaan, as the crown and recompence of all their labours. So should it be with us. To advance the cause of God in this world, and to reach the promised land, should be the objects nearest to all our hearts. …
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and there are diversities of administrations, but the same Lord: and there are diversities of operations ; but it is the same God who worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal : for to one is given, by the Spirit, the word of wisdom; to another, the word of know…
361 wordsSECTION 332841- Ephesians, Iv. 7,8. [2108.
in reference to gifts, there were graces bestowed indiscriminately on all, though in different degrees, according to the will and pleasure of the Giver of them all, the Lord Jesus Christ. And thus it is at this time : There is amongst men a great diversity both of gifts and graces — [Some are endowed with richer…
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him to believe." Have you any measure of holiness ? this also has come from Him, " who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working." Yet we must not suppose that no guilt attaches to us for the want of these graces: we are bound to repent, and believe the Gospel, and to obey the commands of God ; and shall b…
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[Our blessed Saviour had now vanquished all his ene- mies upon the cross : " by death he bad overcome death, and him that had the power of it, that is, the devil ;" and " having spoiled principalities and powers, he triumphed over them openly upon the crosse." In his ascension, like a mighty con- queror, he "led t…
469 wordsSECTION 335The Use Of A Stated Ministry.
be enriched " out of his fulness, receiving grace" upon grace, and grace corresponding with the grace which there was in him.] 2. What rich measures of grace we are authorized to aspire after — [Though we all ought to be thankful for the smallest measure of grace, we should never be satisfied till we have attain…
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mind, we shall never be able to do the will of God aright ; nor will Christ ever be glorified by us as he ought to be. Hence the Apostle, after exhorting the Ephesian converts to walk worthy the vocation wherewith they had been called, reminds them, that, so far as they had been enabled to do this, they had done …
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children ; that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born ; who should arise and declare them to their children*." So under the Christian dispensation, care is taken, that there never shall be wanting a succession of persons duly qualified and authorized to transmit to every su…
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weak they are to strengthen and establish ; the wandering they are to bring back ; and over every member are they so to watch, that all may be progressively fitted for the discharge of their respective offices, and that God may be glorified in all.] But as the ministry can be effectual only through the medium of o…
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Christ." We are not to continue " as children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine :" we are to be aware of the devices of our enemies : we are to get a deeper insight into the great mystery of godliness : we are to become daily more and more established in the truth as it is in Jesus, …
529 wordsSECTION 340Education And Walk Of Christians.
the good of the whole. Nor are they to consider only that part of the body with which they are in more immediate con- tact, but the whole without exception; assured, that the hap- piness of the whole is bound up in the welfare of every part ; and that all being connected by one common interest, all must labour tog…
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from all our spiritual enemies. He was, at the time he wrote this epistle, imprisoned at Rome : yet what did he desire of the Ephesian Church ? Did he re- quest them to interest themselves in his behalf, that he might be restored to liberty ? No ; the thought did not so much as enter into his mind : the welfare o…
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same ; since, whether it be the Father or the Son who instructs us, it is always by the agency of the Holy Spirit. To say exactly how Christ instructs us, is beyond our power : it is not by visions, or by voices, or by dreams, as in the days of old ; but by opening to us the Scriptures, and giving us a spiritual p…
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which God would approve : they have no disposition but towards the vanities of this polluted world ; nor, when they transgress what even their own consciences would dictate, do they feel that compunction of heart that would become them. The unenlightened amongst ourselves do not indeed resemble the Gentiles in som…
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redemption ; all that he has done and suffered ; all that he is now doing ; all that he has engaged to do ; all that can be known of him, is there set forth ; and there may we behold all the glory of the Godhead shining in his face. This, then, is what we have to learn : the knowledge of Christ is all and in all. …
416 wordsSECTION 3452111.1 The Old Man, And The New. 357
Eph. iv. 22 — 24. That ye put off concerning the former con- versation, the old man, which is corrupt, according to the deceitful lusts ; and be reneived in the spirit of your mind ; and that ye put on the new man, ivhich after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. CHRISTIANITY is universally professe…
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[It is indeed no easy matter to effect this work ; yet in dependence on God's aid we may, and must, accomplish it. We must suppress its actings. It will break forth, if not resisted, into all manner of evilb: but we must fight against it, and " bring it into subjection0." Our eternal life and salva- tion depend on…
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[As the prodigal was not merely pardoned, but clothed in robes suitable to his new condition, so are the children of God to be adorned with virtues suited to the relation which they bear to their heavenly Father. We must be " renewed," not in our outward actions only, but, " in the spirit of our minds :" the great…
471 wordsSECTION 348Grieving The Spirit.
[Many are ready to despond because of the severe con- flicts which they experience between the spiritual and the carnal principle in their souls. They say, If I were a child of God, how could it be thus ? We answer, This is rather an evidence that such persons are partakers of a divine nature : if they were not, t…
370 wordsSECTION 3492112. J Grieving The Spirit. 361
time he informs them, that the Holy Spirit had sealed them, as the Lord's property, unto the day of re- demption, when he would claim them as his own. The advocates of human systems love not such appa- rent contrarieties : they would rather say, if they be sealed unto the day of redemption, how can they be in any…
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first chapter of this epistle, where he says that the Ephesian converts, " after they had believed in Christ, had been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, as the earnest of their inheritance until the redemp- tion of the purchased possession0." This office he executes upon all true believers ; 1. By an eternal …
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2. By the sanctification of their hearts and lives — [This, if I may so speak, is the broad seal of heaven : " By their fruits ye shall know them:" " He that hath my com- mandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me."' By this seal the Thessalonian converts were so distinguished, that St. Paul did not hesit…
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the second, we are discoverable to those around us : by the last, an assurance of our happiness is imparted to our own souls. And though the impression of the two last is not at all times equally clear and strong, yet is it the privilege of all to possess them ; and in proportion only as these last exist, will the…
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alone y" By retaining in constant exercise this humble and childlike spirit, we shall obtain frequent tokens of God's favourable acceptance : but by departing from it, we shall provoke him to hide his face from us.] 2. By dishonouring it in our practice — [To this more especially does the Apostle refer, both in t…
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and beg that your whole souls may be so melted and poured into its mould, as to assume its every feature, and be formed into the perfect image of your God.] 2. Those who rest in a mere formal compliance with it — [You cannot deceive that blessed Spirit whose province it is to search the heart and try the reins. H…
388 wordsSECTION 355Forgiveness Of Sins.
367 Eph. iv. 32. God, for Christ 's sake, hath forgiven you. IF a minister of Christ is bound to preach the Gospel with all plainness and fidelity, he is no less bound to guard it against abuse, and to inculcate on the professors of it the strictest conformity to the commands of God. St. Paul was careful to insis…
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him in this view, as " a God delighting in mercy," and as accounting "judgment a strange act," to which he was utterly averse. The whole of the Scripture declarations may be comprised in that saying of the prophet, " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts : and let him return unto the…
471 wordsSECTION 3572113.] Forgiveness Of Sins. 869
Many will not admit that any one can know his sins forgiven. And I readily acknowledge, that it is a point on which a man may easily deceive his own soul, especially if he judge of it by any other criterion than that which God himself has proposed. If the life and conversation bear witness to us that we are the L…
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you for the sake of Christ u." And to the whole Ephesian Church it was proclaimed, " God, for Christ's sake, hath for- given you."] But it is not merely as comforting the soul that I insist on this, but chiefly and principally, III. As operating in the life — A sense of God's pardoning love should operate on us …
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a 2 Cor. iii. 2, 3. b Phil. ii. 5. c John xiii. 34. Christ's love a pattern for ours. Eph. v. 2. Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour. TO restore us to the Divine image is one great end of all that the Lord Jesus C…
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1. Disinterested — [It is not possible for us to add any thing to him : we cannot make him more happy or more glorious by any thing that we can do : " our goodness extendeth not to him ;" " nor can we by any means profit him :" yet did he in this astonish- ing manner display his love to us. Thus in the exercise of…
253 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical edition (1832-33); scan/OCR from Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.