PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Horae Homileticae — Volume 19 of 21
Simeon, Charles, 1759-1836 · 235,702 words · 486 reading sections
God To Be Served With Reverential Fear.
Heb. xii. 28, 29. Wherefore we receiving a Jcingdom lohich cannot he moved, let us have grace, zvherehy ive may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear : for our God is a consuming fire. THE Christian world are little aw^are how^ much we are indebted to the holy Apostles, or rather to God, by whose ins…
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let US see the explanation of it which the Apostle has given us : He first somewliat alters the words, in order to make them express more fully the mind of God in them ; and then he gives us this interpre- tation of them : " This word. Yet once more, sig- nifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as o…
359 wordsSECTION 423486 Hebrews, Xii. 28, 29. [2341.
have had dominion over us ; but by thee only will we make mention of thy narne^" Into the name of Christ they have been baptized ; and to his service have they willingly devoted themselves ; engaging to fulfil his will, and even to lay down their lives, if need be, for his sake.] 2. As that which they are to inher…
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[Privilege and duty are so connected, that they can never under any circumstances be sepai'ated from each other; and any attempt to separate them will infallibly issue in our ruin. A kingdom has been given us, it is true: and " the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." But ye must " serve God," and ser…
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such a measure as may enable us to serve him, and to " serve him acceptably" to the latest hour of our lives. Especially must we seek a meekness of spirit, an humility of mind, a ten- derness of conscience, a purity of heart, an hatred of sin, an abhorrence of ourselves on account of sin, a holy desire to please G…
470 wordsSECTION 4262342.] Of Compassion To The Distressed. 489
to consider the justice, and holiness, and majesty of our God, we should know no bounds to our gratitude for the work of redemption : our every thought would be thankfulness ; and our every word be praise ] 2. To preserve upon your minds a holy dread of sin — [Still must it be said, as in the days of old, " The L…
289 wordsSECTION 427490 Hebrews, Xiii. 3. [2342.
Heb. xiii. 3. Remember them, that are in bonds, as bound ivith them ; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. IN the first ages of Christianity persecution raged to a degree that we at this time have little conception of: bonds and imprisonment were no uncommon lot, especially among…
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feelings may be supposed to be so acute as not to be capable of being transfused into the bosom of one who is not exposed to such perils, conceive of persons immured in dungeons, or racked with pains and destitute of all needful succour ; or contemplate the widow bereaved of all that she held dear in this world, a…
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they can speak : and what they cannot administer in their own persons, they may procure through the instrumentahty of others '^ At all events, if it be only a cup of cold water that we can bestow, it should be given with a zeal and tenderness that shall evince the strength of an internal prin- ciple, and the wish …
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2. That what measure we mete to others, we may expect to have meted to ourselves — [Mankmd at large feel a far greater disposition to exert themselves in behalf of a man of active benevolence, than they do for one whose regards have terminated on himself alone. But it is not on the good dispositions of men that we…
486 wordsSECTION 431494 Hebrews, Xiii. 5, 6. [2343.
in such offices ; and you will never be satisfied till you attain this heavenly disposition, nor ever think that you can exercise it too much.] 2. Do not overvalue it — [If you put your own benevolence in the place of Christ, and rely on that to purchase the remission of your sins, you will then indeed build on a…
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god's promised presence an encouragement to duty. Heb. xiii. 5, 6. Let your conversation be withotit covetous- ness ; and he content tvith such things as ye have : for he hath said, I ivill never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do u…
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despair; and may be ready to say with the Church of old, " The Lord hath forsaken and forgotten US'*:" but he will ere long force us to acknowledge that such fears were the fruit only of " our own infirmity'^;" and that the very things which we complained of as " against us," were no other than his appointed means…
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2. All anxious fears — [The ungodly imagine that they can prevail against the Lord's people : but they are no more than an axe or saw in the hands of him that useth it : they can do more than our God and Father is pleased to do by them". Now who will tremble at a sword that is in his father's hands ? If indeed our…
666 wordsSECTION 4352344. J The Glory Of Christ. 499
8 Isai. viii. 12—14. * Ps. Ivi. 1—4, 9—11. " 2 Cor. vii. 1. X 2 Pet. i. 4. y Gen. xxviii. 15. with xxxii. 12. z 2 Cor. i. 20. ^ See the Greek. »> Matt. xxiv. 35. no refuge from the cares and fears which agitate the ungodly world ! But faith in God is a perfect antidote to them all. It assures us of a God ever nigh…
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Heb. xiii. 8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever^. IN this present state, wherein the affairs both of individuals and of nations are liable to continual 'T This was preached on occasion of the death of the Hon. and Rev. William Bromley Cadogan, late Vicar of St. Giles', Reading, on Jan. 29,…
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such was the state of the Hebrews, when this epistle was written to them : and the Apostle, studious to fortify them against the impending danger, exhorts them to remember their deceased pastors, following their faith, and considering the blessed way in which they had terminated their career. Moreover, as the mos…
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residue of the Spirit," and can send forth ten thou- sand such labourers into his vineyard, whensoever it shall please him. Though the creature, on whose lips you have so often hung with profit and delight, is now no more, yet the Creator, the Redeemer, the Saviour of the world is still the same ; Jesus Christ is…
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themselves, he said, " Before Abraham was, I AM." And when he appeared to John in a vision, he said, " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty^." Behold then the dignity of our Lord and Saviour! " His goings forth have been from everlasting^:…
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life," under the shadow of which you sat witli great dehght, and the fruit whereof was sweet unto your taste, now Hes silent in the tomb. Our departed friend has experienced that change, which sooner or later awaits us all : he will ere long experience a still further change, when ** his corruptible shall put on …
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had an essential, and unalienable right to exercise universal dominion. Though, as man, he acknow- ledged subjection to his Father, and, as mediator, spake and acted in his Father's name, yet, in all his miracles, he put forth a virtue inherent in himself; he made his own will the rule and measure of his conduct,…
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" receive out of your Redeemer's fulness grace for grace." Yea, who can tell? That same almighty arm that raised him up to be a faithful witness for the truth, that enabled him to despise the pleasures and honours of the world, and to devote himself wholly to the great work of the ministry, can do the same for hi…
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sacrifices, they had no vaUie whatsoever, but as they typified that " one offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." When we see the high-priest and the elders of Israel putting their hands upon the scape-goat, and transferring to him all the sins of the whole congregation of Israel, that they might be c…
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been insisting on this favourite topic, and " Christ has been set forth crucified, as it were, before your eyes !" How many of you, while lying at Bethesda's pool, have embraced the opportunity afforded you, and plunged beneath that water to the healing of your souls ! Some others perhaps among you have been long…
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IV. It will be a further consolation to us to reflect that Jesus Christ is the same i/i the tenderness of his cojnpassion — It was Christ who led the people of Israel through the wilderness, and who directed them by his servant Moses. This appears from the express declaration of St. Paul. We are told that the Isr…
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idea to the mind ? Can any image whatever more forcibly impress us with admiring thoughts of Christ's tenderness and compassion ? Such was Jesus in the days of old : and is he not the same at this day ? Will he not still " carry the lambs in his bosom, and gently lead them that are with young ?" Can we produce in…
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your fearful hearts. Be strong, fear not, your God will come and save you ! " Ye, " afflicted and tossed with tempest, and not comforted," whatever your distresses were, surely ye have lost a brother, " a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." But though his benevolent heart can no more expand towards you, …
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none of them is lost." He promised to his discon- solate disciples, that he would pour out his Spirit upon them ; and that the Comforter, whom he would send, should far more than compensate for the loss of his bodily presence : and how speedily did he per- form his promise ! Thus, in every succeeding age, have hi…
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expectations too high : he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever : you may rely on him, for body and for soul, for time and for eternity : he will be to you a " sun and a shield ; he will give you both grace and glory ; nor will he withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly." If he see it necessa…
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their generous and constant benefactor. Many of the children too, I trust, whom he so dehghted to instruct, will remember him to the latest period of their lives. Above all, the people, who looked up to him as their spiritual father, to whom they owed their own souls, will bear him in remembrance. They will never…
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same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. It was this which made his ministry so acceptable unto you : it was this which God rendered useful to the conversion and consolation of multitudes amongst you. By the faith of Christ he lived, and in the faith of Christ he died. Almost the last words he uttered were these, " …
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considered obedience to the powers that be, as an essential part of his duty to God : he looked upon earthly governors as ministers ordained of God ; and inculcated obedience to them as a duty, " not merely for wrath, but also for conscience sake." As then ye have been followers of his faith and practice while li…
385 wordsSECTION 453Caution Against False Doctrines.
loud and as melodious as any saint in heaven, sing- ing, " Salvation to God and to the Lamb." Is there so much as one of you that can think of this, and not exclaim, *' Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his ! " Let the thought of these things, my brethren, encourage you to perse- …
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of it great intellectual powers are not necessary : nor is general erudition necessary. All that is want- ing is, a humble, teachable spirit, that will seek instruction from God, and receive with child-like simplicity all that God has spoken in his word. Such an one, provided he seek with diligence, and with a de…
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was to shew, that the rites and ceremonies, on which the Jews laid so great a stress, were abrogated, and superseded by a better dispensation. And the strange doctrines hinted at in the text are put in immediate connexion with " meats, (such as were enjoined or prohibited under the Mosaic dispensation,) which had …
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would judge both whoremongers and adulterers" with the utmost severity^. Many indeed would plead for such in- dulgences ; as we see in the Ephesian Church : but St. Paul, warning the Ephesian converts, says, " Let no man deceive you with vain words : for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the chi…
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militate against their favourite scheme. The truth is, that the way of salvation, if we will only submit to be taught of God, is very plain and simple : it is all comprehended in these few words, " Faith working by love." But if, instead of taking the plain declarations of Scripture for our guide, we will refine u…
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body, and of the suitablenesss of food to recruit his strength. Hence, as a security against their being beguiled by enticing . words, the Apostle says to the Colossian Church, " As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith as ye have been t…
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kind, are for the most part strangers to peace. They are distracted and disquieted, and not unfrequently " filled with envy, and strife, and railings, and evil surmisings," and all manner of unhallowed dispositions y. Their very contentions are for the most part not so much for truth, as for victory. But the man w…
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that much human learning is not necessary for this : on the contrary, human learning, if unsancfified, is rather an impedi- ment to this, especially if it be relied upon, as it too often is, as a sufficient instructor, and a safe guide\ There is no safe guide but the Holy Spirit: and " he often reveals unto babes …
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THE christian's ALTAR. Heb. xiii. 10. JVe have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. CHRISTIANITY itself is simple ; comprising two points, our fall in Adam, and our recovery by Christ. Yet it admits of an endless diversity of statement and illustration. The Mosaic institutions e…
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further than they looked through those sacrifices to Christ. How then can they derive any benefit from Christ, whom they pertinaciously reject ? Conceive, for a moment, what they who partook of the Jewish altar professed. They professed, that they were sinners, deserving of God's righteous indignation : that they …
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3. Let us invite the whole world to a participation ofit— [There is no bar to our admission to it, but unbelief. The very murderers of our Lord were invited to accept the benefits of our Lord's sacrifice. It matters not whether we have been Jews or Gentiles ; if only we come to Christ, we shall find acceptance th…
654 wordsSECTION 464The Burnt-Sacrifices Typical Of Christ.
b Lev. xiv. 22, 30—32. '^ Lev. vii. 13. ^ Lev. xxii. 21 — 23. ^ Nmnb. viii. 7, 8, 21. first lay hold on his promises of mercy, and then " cleanse yourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God*^." Nevertheless, I still ask, have you not found God ever ready to hear …
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which were procured by their sacrifices, he tells them, that this was by no means the case ; yea, that, on the contrary, they were partakers of a better altar, to which the adherents to Judaism had no access ; and that the very ordinances, in which the Jews trusted, pointed out this truth in a clear and convincin…
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by the fire of his wrath, who should not be intei-ested in this atonement. But the words before us reflect a hght on this ordinance, whicli it is of great importance to observe. The burning of the lohole of these sacrifices shewed that no legal services whatever could entitle a person to partake of them : not even…
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II. The conformity which Christians also are to bear, both to the law and to him who fulfilled it — Doubtless, every thing which Christ has done for us, entails on us an obligation to conform ourselves to his mind and will. But the circumstances before considered, suggest to us some appropriate and important duti…
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of the world which lieth in wickedness : we must be " crucified to the world, and the world must be crucified to us''." " All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," must be abandoned as objects of indif- ference, as objects of abhorrence. The things that are deares…
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THE christian's PORTION. Heb. xiii. 14. Here have we no continuing city ; but tve seek one to come. ACCUSTOMED as we are to expect a future state of existence, we scarcely ever reflect on the source from which we have attained the knowledge of such a state. It was not from reason that we derived it ; for the wis…
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To this he constantly directs his steps — [He is careful to inquire his way thither, and to prosecute his journey towards it every day he lives. Like the Patriarchs, he considers himself as a pilgrim and sojourner here : and, like them, whatever difficulties he meets with in the way, he presses forward, determinin…
477 wordsSECTION 471The Sacrifices To Be Offered By Christians.
Heb. xiii. 15, 16. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good, and to com- municate, forget not : for with such sacrifices God is ivell pleased. THE Jewish yoke was very heavy ; and the ob- servance of the Mosa…
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even to the last drop'^. But of our sacrifice, we both eat the flesh and drink the blood : and it is only by so doing that we can obtain eternal life. Indeed on that body and blood we are to feed continually : it is the daily feast of our souls : as our Lord has said, " My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is dri…
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acceptance before God : for, as the Jews were not at liberty to offer sacrifice any where but upon the altar in Jerusalem'", so neither can we present to God any sacrifice but on this altar, the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone can sanctify our gifts, and render them in any respect worthy of God's acceptance". Of this…
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do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God and the Father by hira^."] But that which in one view is our duty, in another view is, II. Our privilege — In this view the injunction in our text is intro- duced : *' We have an altar, of which the Jews, whilst so continuing, have no right to eat :" "…
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2. We may be perfectly assured of God's accept- ance of them — [There is an excellency in our sacrifices which there was not in those which were offered by the Jewish priests : theirs were of no value at all, but as " shadows of good tilings to come :" in themselves they were " carnal ordinances," deserving of no…
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with joyful lips P." Do we ofFer our mite for the relief of his indigent and distressed people ? hear how he speaks of it : " If thou deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor that are cast out to thy house ; if, when thou seest the naked, thou cover him, and hide not thyself from thine own flesh; then shal…
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deliver your soul, or say, Is there not a lie in my right hand"?" And do you suppose, that, whilst you are partaking thus of the world's altar, you can partake of the Lord's also ? Assuredly not : " Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils : ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the …
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THE DUTY OF PEOPLE, AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MINISTERS. Heb. xiii. 17. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves : for they toatch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief : for that is unprofitable for you. MAN, as a social being, has du…
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Now then we hesitate not to declare, that all which we preach unto you respecting your fallen state, and the necessity of your believing in Christ as the appointed Saviour of the world, and of your giving up yourselves to him " in body, soul, and spirit, to be sanctified wholly" to his service, is the very truth o…
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Now then I ask, Is nothing due from you to such friends and benefactors ? When they, from love to your souls, and from an ardent desire to impart unto you the blessings of salvation, make " themselves your servants for Christ's sake°," renouncing all worldly cares, pleasures, and advantages, and consecrating all t…
326 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical edition (1833); scan/OCR from Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.