PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Horae Homileticae — Volume 21 of 21
Simeon, Charles, 1759-1836 · 271,014 words · 572 reading sections
1291.] The Reward Of Mercifulness. 63
of grace''." He would even account himself " unjust," if he did not do so ^ He considers himself as our debtor for every thing that we do, provided we do it from a sense of gratitude to him, and of zeal for his glory ; and " he will repay us*-" Not even " a cup of cold water, given for his sake," shall pass without…
476 wordsSECTION 6264 Matthew, V. 8. [1292.
to God, but we cannot possess it, if we delight not in every act and exercise of love^. We may give good words to our indi- gent neighbour ; but, if we do not administer relief at the same time, he will be no better for us : and as our pretences to love will be of no benefit to him, so neither will our pretences to…
433 wordsSECTION 631292.] Purity Of Heart. 65
Matt. V. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God. THERE is nothing in which mankind more ge- nerally imagine happiness to consist than in the uncontrolled indulgence of their passions. It is probable that among those who looked for the esta- blishment of the Messiah's kingdom, many pleased them…
374 wordsSECTION 646G Matthew, V. 8. [1292.
But purity may also be understood in opposition to uncleanness : and, if we suppose that our Lord designed to condemn the sensuahty of those who expected the Messiah as a temporal Prince, we must of course annex that meaning to his words. Perhaps the more enlarged sense of the text, as comprehend- ing both ideas,…
447 wordsSECTION 651292. J Purity Of Heart. 67
3. Avoids the occasions of evil — [Many who have a regard for their character, will yet make no scruple of reading books, or hearing songs, or at- tending scenes, which tend to vitiate the mind. They will even court occasions of evil, dehghting in that company and conversation which they know by experience to prod…
476 wordsSECTION 6668 Matthew, V. 8. [1292.
his love, his mercy, his faithfubiess, are ever before their eyes. They have such views of him and his perfections as worcis cannot describe ; and such fellowship with him as a carnal man has no idea of^ The impure may mourn and even " howl upon their beds ;" but the pure, like Moses of old, have near access to Go…
441 wordsSECTION 671292.] Purity Of Heart. 69
affords some lamentable proof of the influence of unsubdued lusts. A religious person first conceives a thought ; and that thought is suffered to dwell upon his mind. The mind inflamed, yields to the impulse of desire so far as to court familiarity with the alluring object: conscience reproves; but the deceitful h…
486 wordsSECTION 68The Peace-Makers.
God's own heart became a monument of human frailty and de- pravity. Nor is even marriage itself sufficient to extinguish the unhallowed flame. You may have, if I may so say, whole flocks at your connnand, and yet it will not keep you from coveting your neighbour's ewe-lamb™. It is grace, and grace alone, that will…
383 wordsSECTION 691293.1 The Peace-Makers. 71
we may be well assured that it deserves from us the most attentive consideration. Let us then, as on former occasions, consider, I. The character here spoken of — The term which we translate *' peace-makers," may be understood, like those which have preceded it, as marking only a pacific temper and conduct\ But i…
419 wordsSECTION 7072 Matthew, V. 9. [1293.
receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations'^'' The peace- iTiakers, on the contrary, will " bear the infirmities of the weak'';" will deny themselves many lawful things, rather than wound a tender conscience'; and will " become all things to all men™:" in short, they will do any thing, or forbear any thing, that…
471 wordsSECTION 711293.3 '^^^ Peace-Makers. 73
meet with from the obstinacy of those whom they attempt to reconcile. The more blameworthy of the two will usually be found the more unreasonable and perverse^: but they Avill patiently bear with much opposition, if by any means they may attain the great object of their wishes.] In the exercise of this benevolent …
445 wordsSECTION 7274 Matthew, V. 9. [1293.
[It is true, that the world at large are not very ready to acknowledge the excellencies of believers, or to allow their claims of relationship to God. But there is something m_ a peaceful spirit, which carries its own evidence along with it, and constrains the beholder to do it homage. St. Paul parti- cularly noti…
468 wordsSECTION 73Persecution For Righteousness' Sake.
Lastly, consider tohat a recompence awaits you in the eternal world. There shall this promise be fulfilled to you in its utmost extent. Cultivate then this amiable disposition, that you may be " sons of God, without rebuke, and shine as lights in a be- nighted world'."] i Phil. ii. 14, 15. Matt. V. 10 — \2. Bles…
305 wordsSECTION 7476 Matthew, V. 10—12. [1294.
Our blessed Lord evidently supposes that his people will be persecuted for righteousness' sake. But, This, it must be confessed, is a very improbable case — \_The very character of his jjeople seems to preclude the idea. Were the disciples of Christ the very reverse of what they are, we might well expect them to …
451 wordsSECTION 751294.J Persecution For Righteousness' Sake. 77
sanctity of his character was the true ground of their opposition to him. Precisely thus must we expect persecution, ostensibly as evil-doers, but really as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.] And experience proves that it does exist — [Look at the holy men of old: where will ye find one who was not persecuted fo…
448 wordsSECTION 7678 Matthew, V. 10—12. [1294.
that he is indeed a faithful servant of his Lord. St. Paul, speaking of sufferings for Christ's sake, represents them as a special gift of God, an honour bestowed upon us for Christ's sake" : and in this light all the Apostles regarded them : for when they had been imprisoned and scourged for their fidelity to the…
487 wordsSECTION 771295.] Christians The Salt Of The Earth. 79
[Our blessed Lord, in reference to those who are perse- cuted for righteousness' sake, says, " Blessed are ye ;" and he calls upon them to " rejoice, and be exceeding glad." To the same effect also his Apostles speak ; congratulating every per- secuted saint, and encouraging him to " glory in all his tribu- lation…
397 wordsSECTION 7880 Matthew, V. 13. [1295.
Matt. V. 13. Ye are the salt of the earth: hut if the salt have lost his savour, tcherevith shall it he salted ? it is thenceforth goodj for nothing, hut to he cast out, and to he trodden under foot of meiu LITTLE do the world think how much they are indebted to those very saints whom they " revile and persecute …
417 wordsSECTION 791295. J Christians The Salt Of The Earth. Si
conversion of thousands and of millions ; all of whom in their respective spheres endeavoured to disseminate the same princi- ples, and to spread " the savour of the knowledge of Christ" wherever they went. Take only one man, the Apostle Paul ; and who shall say how much corruption he was the means of preventing i…
439 wordsSECTION 8082 Matthew, V. 18. [1295.
1. Their personal recovery — " [Salt that has lost its savour, cannot by any means be restored to its former pungency. And thus it is with those who, after some experience of the power of godliness, have made shipwreck of their faith and of a good conscience. Doubtless, " with God all things are possible ;" and th…
751 wordsSECTION 8184 Matthew, V. 13. [1295.
3. Their final acceptance — [Even here they are rejected both by God and man. Those who walk consistently, are hated and despised by the ungodly world ; but those who walk inconsistently, are despised a thousand times more ; and this God has ordained as a just punishment for their treachery?. As for his own abhorr…
610 wordsSECTION 82Christians The Light Of The World.
Matt. V. 14 — 16, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick ; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good toorks, and glorify your…
343 wordsSECTION 8386 Matthew, V. 14— Ig. [1296.
his people to fulfil that office in the moral, which the sun performs in the natural world. 1. He has qualified them for it — [There is a light in their minds, which reason and philo- sophy cannot impart, and which no man can possess, unless it have been given from above '^. " God has shined into their hearts to …
474 wordsSECTION 841296.] Christians The Light Of The World. 87
and confine themselves to " the narrow way that leadeth unto life," how can it be that they should escape notice? Their whole spirit and temper and conduct differ from the world, as much as light from darkness. We will suppose, their light is but small ; and if exhibited before the meridian sun, it might easily be…
482 wordsSECTION 8588 Matthew, V. 14—16. [1296.
them. But what we do has a very powerful efiect : it will often " put to silence the ignorance of foolish men"," and make them ashamed who falsely accuse our good conversation in Christ"" Next, it maij lead them to embrace the Gospel. The Apostle speaks of husbands, who never would have attended to the written or…
458 wordsSECTION 86The Law And The Prophets Confirmed By Christ.
2. What we should do if we have already attained that honour — [Remember that the eyes of all are upon you, and that God's glory in the world is very greatly affected by your con- duct. Any fault in you will soon be noticed by the world. They who pay little regard to the stars that shine in their orbits, will yet…
353 wordsSECTION 8790 ' Matthew, V. 17, 18. [1297.
says he, '' that I am come to destroy the law and tlie prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." By " the law and the prophets," I understand, that system of religion which the moral law inculcated, and all the prophets enforced. To establish and confirm these was the great end of our Saviour's advent.…
449 wordsSECTION 881297.] Christ Confirms The Law And Prophets. 91
of Daniel, who says, that Christ should " finish transgression, make an end of sin, and bring in an everlasting righteousness." In a word, " To him," says the Apostle, "give all the Prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins^ :" and again, " The righteous- ne…
398 wordsSECTION 8992 Matthew, V. 17, 18. [1297.
is not comprehended in one of those two commandments, that of " loving God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength," and that of loving our neighbour as ourselves. On the other hand, he has bound upon us these duties in the most solemn manner ; and told us, that he will estimate our character, not by the…
461 wordsSECTION 901297.1 Christ Confirms The Law And Prophets. 93
accepted, instead of perfect obedience : and that the defects of our obedience will be made up by the merits of Jesus Christ. To such persons I would say, Read the words of our text. Christ says he did welcome to destroy the law; and you afhrm that he did ; that he has softened its rigours, and dispensed with thos…
512 wordsSECTION 91The Danger Of Little Sins.
deemed too strict by any real Christian, that there is not a true Christian in the world that would wish any one of the command- ments to require less than it does. A spiritual man does not complain of the strictness of the law, but of the wickedness of his own heart : and his desire is, not to have the commandment…
352 wordsSECTION 921298.] The Danger Of Little Sins. 95
It is certain that some commandments are of more importance than others — [There can be no doubt but that the moral precepts, which are founded in our relation to God and to each other, are of more importance than the positive institutions, which are founded only in the sovereign will of God. Our Lord himself, co…
481 wordsSECTION 9396 Matthew, V. 19. [1298.
It is intimated that some will both "do and teach" them : which leads us to observe, II. That an mireserved respect for all of them is characteristic of the true Christian — Ungodly men have but little reverence for the divine commands — [The Pharisees of old laid a far greater stress on ceremo- nial than on mor…
425 wordsSECTION 941298.] The Danger Of Little Sins. 97
Nothing less than this will suffice to prove our sincerity — [It is allowed, without any great difficulty, that heinous violations of God's law will affect our eternal state : but smaller transgressions are considered as of but little consequence. But this does not accord with our Lord's assertions in the text. T…
415 wordsSECTION 95Evangelic And Pharisaic Righteousness Compared.
prophesy deceits"." But to what purpose would it be to comply with their wishes? In what could such ministrations end? " If the blind lead the blind, must they not both fall into the ditch ?" On the contrary, if we " do" the whole revealed will of God, as far as we are enabled, " and teach" it faithfully unto othe…
386 wordsSECTION 961299.] Evangelic And Pharisaic Righteousness. 99
be passed by all who would be numbered amongst his true disciples. There were certain characters, very numerous among the Jews, characters much contemplated and much admired ; these, he tells us, must be surpassed. To equal the most exalted among them will not suffice : our righteousness must exceed theirs, if ev…
337 wordsSECTION 97100 Matthew, V. 20. [1299.
peculiar importance; for, as a comparison is insti- tuted between their righteousness and ours, we are concerned to have the clearest knowledge of that by which our estimate must be formed. Their character was a mixture of good and evil. They had much which might be considered as righteousness; and at the same ti…
355 wordsSECTION 981299. J Evangelic And Phakisaic Righteousness. 101
garden, had been withheld from God : *' he paid tithes of all that he possessed"." From other parts of Scripture we learn, that the Pharisees were peculiarly jealous of the sacred rest of the Sabbath ; insomuch that they were filled with indignation against any one, who, even by an act of the greatest necessity o…
361 wordsSECTION 99102 Matthew, V. 20. [1299,
and others in another branch. St. Paul himself was of that sect, as his parents also had been before him ; and he was as fair a specimen of them, as any that can be found in all the records of antiquity. He was, "as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the Church, (whom he considered as enem…
372 wordsSECTION 1001299. J Evangelic And Pharisaic Righteousness. 103
From what has been already spoken, it sufficiently appears, that the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees was for the most part external and cere- monial ; or, where it seemed to partake of that which was internal and moral, it was merely of a negative kind, and extremely partial in its operation. Now the C…
367 wordsSECTION 101104 Matthew, V. 20. [1299.
must differ from them. We should shim ostentation and vain-glory, as much as we would the most enor- mous crimes. We should bear in mind, that any thing done with a view to man's applause, is alto- gether worthless in the sight of God : whatever it be, we have in the applause of men the reward we seek after, and …
378 wordsSECTION 1021299.] Evangelic And Pharisaic Righteousness. 105
midst of their most strenuous exertions to serve and honour God, renouncing all dependence on them- selves, and '' glorying only in the cross of Christ :" the one, a compound of pride, unbelief, and hypo- crisy; the other, of humility, and faith, and heavenly- mindedness. Whatever may be thought by those who know…
363 wordsSECTION 103106 Matthew, V. 20. [1299.
ever the Pharisees of old were ; we may, hke them, be quite indignant to have our wisdom and goodness called in question; "Are we bhnd also?" "in so saying, thou condemnest us :" But all this will not make us Christians. A sepulchre may be whitened and rendered beautiful in its outward appearance ; but it will be…
387 wordsSECTION 1041299.] Evangelic And Pharisaic Righteousness. 107
of Christ in this way: for our Lord declared to him in the most solemn manner, that, " unless he should be [thus] born again, he could not enter into the kins^dom of God." The same is true in relation to the kingdom of glory. Whilst we are in this world, the tares and the wheat, which grow together, may so resemb…
495 wordsSECTION 105108 Matthew, V. 20. [1299.
however specious we may be in our outward appear- ance, he will discern our character through the thickest veil ; " he searcheth the hearts, and trieth the reins ;" or, as it is yet more strongly expressed, " he weigheth the spirits:" he knows exactly the qualities of which every action is compounded, and can sep…
367 wordsSECTION 1061299.1 Evangelic And Pharisaic Righteousness. 109
our subject is peculiarly applicable, and for whose benefit we are desirous to improve it, is that class of hearers who come short of the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. Many there are, it is to be feared, who, so far from " not being as other men are," cannot at all be distin- guished from the genera…
378 wordsSECTION 107110 Matthew, V. 20. [1299.
people to righteousness, they have used all their influence to deter men from it. What shall we say then to these characters ? Shall we encourage them with the hopes of heaven ? Must we not rather adopt the Apostle's reasoning, " If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" …
667 wordsSECTION 108112 Matthew, V. 20. [1299.
But take care that " you give no just occasion to the enemy to speak reproachfully." The world, and 1 Luke xvi. 15. ^ By this expression is meant, Those who professing, like the Pharisees, to reverence the Scriptures as the word of God, expound them as they did, and make use of them to discourage, rather than pro…
454 wordsSECTION 109Mccc.
Christ's exposition of the sixth commandment. Matt. V. 21, 22. Ye have heard that it was said hy^ them of old time, Thou shalt not Jcill; and ivhosoever shall kill shall he in danger of the judgment : hut I say unto you, that whosoever is angry ivith his hrother without a cause shall he in danger of the judgment :…
326 wordsSECTION 110114- Matthew, V. 21,22. [1300.
together, as though they had been one and the same commandment : " Thou shalt not kill ; and whoso- ever shall kill, shall be in danger of the judgment." The effect of this union was, that, first, the imjwrt of the commandment was thereby hmited to actual murder ; and, next, the sanction, with which it was enforc…
410 wordsSECTION 1111300.]] Christ On The Sixth Commandment. 115
Galatians :" " are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh ^?" St. James makes use of a similar expression ; " Wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead ? " Our blessed Lord spake occasionally with far greater severity: " O fools, and blind;" " ye hypocrit…
478 wordsSECTION 112I 2
116 MATTHEW, V. 21, 22. [l300. stoning was a more lingering death than beheading, and burning was still worse than stoning. A similar kind of gra- dation there will be in the punishments inflicted in the eternal world. Death, eternal death, will be the portion of all who die in their sins: but some will have a lig…
448 wordsSECTION 1131300.] Christ On The Sixth Commandment. 117
cognizance and controul; and, consequently, that he had violated it in ten thousand instances. This is the account which he himself gives us of his own experience: *' I was alive without the law once ; but, when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died';" that is, ' Before I understood the law, I thought I ha…
502 wordsSECTION 114118 Matthew, V. 21, 22. [1300.
ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in himP;" and again, " If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain i." Hear ye then, ye " dealers in proud wrath ;" hear what God himself speaks concerning you ! Think it not a li…
505 wordsSECTION 115The Necessity Of Seeking Reconciliation With Men.
It is the full view of this subject that animates the heavenly hosts to sing, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing :" therefore, " blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto …
354 wordsSECTION 116120 Matthew, V. 23, 24. [130L
have, and what tempers exist in others, and what frequent occasions of interference with each other must of necessity arise, it would be a miracle if any of us had so conducted himself on all occasions, that no brother should on any account "have ought against him." We apprehend that no one who knows any thing of…
439 wordsSECTION 1171301.] Necessity Of Reconciliation With Men. 121
first of all ask forgiveness from their injured friends Thus must we do : it is an act of justice which we owe to man ; and an act of obedience which we owe to God.] 3. We should be desirous to make reparation for it — [This was expressly required under the law'' : and it was practised under the Gospel. No sooner …
410 wordsSECTION 118122 Matthew, V. 23, 24. [1301.
altar ; leave thy gift there, that it may be ready for thee to offer when thou art reconciled to thy brother : but do not for a moment think of approaching me with acceptance, whilst thy brother's rights are overlooked. " The prayer of the up- right is doubtless God's dehght :" but, when presented by one who " reg…
494 wordsSECTION 1191302.] Reconciliation With God. 123
of sin, or discouraged in the ways of piety and virtue ? And, whilst we are careful to wash away our stains in the Fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness, let us be no less careful to obtain forgiveness of man, and to remedy the evils which we are unable to recall.] 2. The necessity of cultivating a humble sp…
325 wordsSECTION 120124 Matthew, V. 25, 26. [1302.
Matt. v. 25, 26. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him ; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou he cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, thou shall hy no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the utter…
479 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical edition (1832-33); scan/OCR from Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.