PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Great Texts of the Bible — Volume 16
James Hastings · 185,008 words · 189 reading sections
Section 121
314 THE APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION It was not the words they cared about, but the meaning that lay behind the words ; and this meaning could, even by very imperfect speech, be conveyed to others who had been brought into the same experience as themselves. They could express the nature of God in terms of their own heart's e…
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* Delavan L. Pierson, Arthur T. Pier$cn, 87. 3i6 THE APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION It is in " the grace that is in Christ Jesus " that we find our strength, and we are assured of its sufficiency for endurance as well as for service, " My grace is sufficient for thee." We are commanded to " grow in the grace and knowledge of …
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2. The Apostle invokes the love, not of the Father but of God. He is contemplated in the completeness of His Being, and the Name is used which includes all relationships. The Christian revelation concerning Him is that He is Love. From everlasting to everlasting God is Love. Does not the fact of Eternal Love involve pe…
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(2) Something more, therefore, must be meant when it is said " The love of God be with you." What is it ? There is no better explanation than that given by the Master Himself, speaking to His disciples. It is given in St. John's Gospel. He says : " Hence- forth I call you not servants ; for the servant knoweth not what…
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2 COR. XIII. 14 323 unity, membership or fellowship, which it is the peculiar work of the Holy Spirit to preserve in the Christian Church.^ 1. What is Communion? It is partnership, the having some- thing in common with another. It may be chiefly an outward thing, the sharing of a common business, or a common position…
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^ Is it not a great thing to know that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost cry to us for help from Heaven as they look down upon the masses in London ? " Whom shall We send, and who will go for Us ? " And then the great cry of humanity is : " Whom wilt Thou send, and who will come to us ? " It is an awf…
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^ The smile which ever beams from the face of Christ, the eternal love which fills the heart of God, and the Holy Spirit who fills the hearts of the children of God with consciousness of His eternal love, are to be our companions along the pilgrimage of life. And, if so, the sunshine of Christ's smile, the unchanging l…
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St. Paul is vindicating the Divine origin and authority of his apostleship against those who had questioned his title to occupy an apostle's place. He claims that the words he speaks were given to him by the direct communication of Heaven, without the interposition of any human or intermediate agency : he bases his rig…
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^ A. Taylor Innes, Chapters of Eeminiseenee, 172. 334 THE INNER REVELATION of the heavenly bodies, or indeed by the same laws ; keeping its appointed place, and serving its appointed use. Every odour exhales in the nicest conformity with its appointed place and law. Even the viewless and mysterious heat, stealing thr…
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> Bolton KiBg, Mazttini, 240. * W. Bumio. 336 THE INNER REVELATION ^ All the good impressions I ever received came through reading. When I was about nine, some one gave me a copy of Baxter's Call, which I read through with great interest and earnestness ; then Alleine's Alarm. Then I got hold of a copy of Doddridge's…
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This thought of the essentially private and individual character of spiritual processes in the human heart deepens our responsi- bility and makes the spiritual life altogether a more solemn thing Somehow the ordinary views of the Christian life often leave ua too easily satisfied. When we take it as involving the posse…
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^ As there is an external call and an internal — the former universal, but often ineffectual ; the latter personal, but always efficient — so there is an outward revelation of Christ and an internal, of which the understanding and the heart are the seat. Hence it is, with the utmost propriety, said to be a revelation "…
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^ As a Methodist I have never dealt much with the favourite GAL. I. 15, 16 343 Keswick doctrine of the sinner's identification with Christ in His death and resurrection. But on Good Friday I preached upon it — " One died for all, therefore all died," etc. As I was meditating on the subject, afttr I had preached, I sa…
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But he came to learn that not as a privileged Jew, but as a sinful man, had Divine grace found him out. The righteousness of God was revealed to him on terms which brought it within the reach of every human being. The Son of God whom he now beheld was a personage vastly greater than his national Messiah, the " Christ a…
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I have been crucified with Christ ; yet I live ; and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me : and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. — Gal. ii. 20. Martin Luther, commenting on the paragraph from which this text is …
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3. Yet there must be points of contact between the cross of Christ and the cross which every follower of His has to carry. Unique in its redeeming efficacy, it is yet common in its ethical demand. Without this community of interest we should certainly feel more solitary and alone than ever He did in His agony. ^ Don't…
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He is not describing a merely inward spiritual experience when he says : " I have been crucified with Christ." He is describing his attitude of evangelical fidelity ; he has consecrated himself to have fellowship with Christ's sufferings — to die as Christ died. He is not indulging in poetical sentiments concerning suf…
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2, St. Paul clearly makes the indwelling of Christ a matter of definite experience after the first knowledge of Christ, Witness his petition on behalf of the Church at Ephesus, " that Christ * Thomaa 0. Upham, Life of Madame Guyon, 492, GAL. II. 20 357 may dwell in your hearts by faith," based upon the petition that…
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1 D. C. A. Agnew, The Theology of Consolation, 62. GAL. II. 20 359 to Him ! The heart sickens when one thinks how far one comes short, but then we are dead to sin and self, i.e. as regards guilt and freedom from condemnation. And we are commanded to "reckon" ourselves so, and "alive unto God through Jesus Christ our …
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2. The most frequent form under which the great fact of the 363 364 THE MISSION OF THE SON Incarnation is represented in Scripture is that of our text — " God sent his Son." It is familiar on the lips of Jesus, but He also says that " God gave his Son." One can feel a shade of difference in the two modes of expressi…
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Now, our Lord's arrival on the scene of human history corresponds with the general law so far as this, that He came when a course of preparation, conducted through previous ages, was complete. But He was not the product of His own or of any preceding age. What is true of great men who are only great men is not true of …
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Christ came to die for us. If He had come a hundred years earlier, the Roman State would have had no authority in Judaea, the world-power would have had no part in His condemnation, and the manner of His death would not have been that foretold. If He had come a hundred years later, the consenting of the Jewish religiou…
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1. The Divine and the human. — The sending of the Son took effect in the birth of Jesus, and the Apostle puts it under two forms, both of which are plainly designed to present Christ's manhood as His full identification of Himself with us. The Son of God became the son of a woman ; from His mother He drew a true and co…
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3. The veiled glory. — Christ was the revelation of God in the sphere of time and sense. The splendour of Jehovah was veiled by the seamless robe ; under the mechanism of frail flesh throbbed the energy which built the world ; the gentle tones of the voice unheard in the streets disguised the accents of the thunder; an…
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How different is the view of the possibilities of human natm-e presented by St. Paul, who tells how the Son of God assumes our human nature, takes to Himself perfect manhood, which He exalts and glorifies, through which He manifests the life of God, showing that Divine works may be wrought in it, that God can be perfec…
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I say the acknowledgment of God in Christ, Accepted by the reason, solves for thee All questions in the earth or out of it. That is to say, if this is true then is life a great thing, with a Divine meaning in it and a Divine end for it. The horizon of our nature lifts, and spreads out and takes in heaven itself within…
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In the text St. Paul tells us (1) what is the non-essential, and (2) what is the essential of true religion, and we shall deal with it under these two headings. I. The Non-Essential. "In Christ Jesns neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision." 1. The great controversy which embittered so much of St…
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^ When the zeal of a Christian doth leave the internals of religion, and fly to ceremonials, externals, or inferior things, the soul must needs consume and languish : yea, though you were sure your opinions were true, yet when the chiefest of your zeal is turned thither, and the chiefest of your conference there laid o…
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^ In the dusty room in the Interpreter's House described by Bunyan in the Pilgrim's Progress, we again have the Law and the Gospel, but this time under a new aspect and with a lighter touch. Formerly the Law kills, here it only irritates, producing that condition of confusion, turmoil, darkness, dirtiness, which is jus…
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2. Faith working through love. — Faith is the first act, or state, of the new creation. It is the new creature come to the conscious- ness of himself, of his relations to his Maker, of his surroundings and of his meaning. Certainly he must know and believe that there is a God ; and he must understand His character, as …
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To become like Christ is to be one who keeps the command- ments of God. For the Man Christ Jesus not only obeyed the Law in all its precepts, negative and positive; He was one in whom the full meaning of the Law, its higher and more ultimate purpose, obtained a glorious realization. The law marked out boundaries, defin…
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2. And yet this fruit must grow from something that is within the man. It must be a genuine product of human life. " Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; . . . 1 say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Why not ? He was certainly larger, and he probably had more …
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GAL. V. 22, 23 401 ^ Sometimes, when I read books in which perfection is put before us with the goal obstructed by a thousand obstacles, my poor little head is quickly fatigued. I close the learned treatise, which tires my brain and dries up my heart, and I turn to the Sacred Scriptures. Then all becomes clear and lig…
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GAL. V. 22, 23 403 (1) LoTigsuj^ering. — How striking that this should come next ! After dwelling upon the great dispositions of love in God, joy in God, peace in God, it is almost startling to be encountered by this sober grace, longsuffering. It is as though, when we turn to the Word, the first great necessity is th…
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* J. G. Lockhart, Life of Sir Walter Scott, ch. xliv. Gal. v. 22, 23 405 live with him who know how good he is." The daughterly tribute was the simple truth. It has happened before now that a man has been, in the strong line of the poet, A household devil and a causeway saint. Never was there any such contradiction…
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* E. 0. Trench, Justin Martyr. GAL. V. 22, 23 407 III. The Culture of the Feuit. 1. The production of this fruit is the end to be aimed at. The " fruit " is the climax of the tree's operations. For this it braves the blasts of many a wild and stormy night ; for this it endures biting frosts of winter, and presents …
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Mr. E. K. Simpson sends the following: "At an inquiry meeting in the Assembly Hall I spoke to a bright looking young man, and found that he had decided for Christ. On my asking him what led him to decision, the striking answer was, ' It was the way Mr. Drummond laid his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the face tha…
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Thompson (J. R.), Burden Bearing, 7. Thomson (W.), Life in the Light of God's Word, 299. Tomory (A.), in Alexander Tomory, Indian Missionary, 109. Trench (R. C.), Sermons New and Old, 50. Vaughan (J,), Simons (Brighton Pulpit), vi. (1869), No. 631. British Congregationalist, Oct. 4, 1906 (J. H. Jowett). Christian…
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^ Perhaps the most prominent Secession divine in Aberdeen who was a contemporary of Dr. Kidd was James Templeton, minister of what is now Belmont Street U.P. Church. He was a man of quiet power and singular shrewdness of observation. His mother wit, spiritual fervour, homely illustration, and unabashed vernacular gave …
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^ Sin is often described by active and aggressive metaphors — it is a deceiver, a destroyer, an enemy, etc. This passive one is more dreadful, for it tells simply of the dead weight of fact. Facts are " chieis that winna ding." Sin is, to Paul, " this dead > Edith H. Divall, A Believer's Rest, 78. 2 COR, & GAL. — …
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^ Dr. Bell's desire for sympathy, and his appreciation of it was touchingly intense, and yet he had a way of looking and speaking with almost flippant unconcern when feeling most deeply. This was at times when he knew that any display of emotion would " upset everything." Thus many people who knew him well saw little o…
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More and more there grew on him a deepening sense of the good- ness of God. No one had ever suffered more from the Eclipse of Faith, no one had ever been more honest in dealing with himself and with his difficulties. The change that came over his mental attitude may seem almost incredible to those who knew him only as …
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^ Frederick Temple, Archhishoji of Canterbury, i. 238. GAL. VI. 2, 5 425 2. The bearing of our own burden in a Christian spirit prepares UB for lifting the load of other people. Every experience carries with it the power of bearing a burden. Have you never passed through times when your own religious faith was at sta…
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^ In the Pilgrim's Progress, coming to the Cross is the last incident in the man's salvation. The Cross, which used to be the emblem of slavery, now becomes the means of liberty and light- ening. The point to notice here is that we are saved by what we see. The sinful man loses his burden upon realizing a fact, and the…
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We scatter seeds with careless hand, And dream we ne'er shall see them more: But for a thousand years Their fruit appears In weeds that mar the land, Or healthful store. The deeds we do, the words we say, — Into still air they seem to fleet. We count them ever past; But they shall last. In the dread judgment they …
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1 J. E. B. Mayor. GAL. VI. 7 435 that which is shed from folly will spring up into folly, and that which is sown of truth bear fruit of truth, according to the ground it is cast on, some thirtyfold, some sixty, some an hundred.^ ^ The story of Adam Bede is a tragedy arising from the inexorable consequences of human …
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' The Life of Henry Dmmmond, 477. GAL. VI. 7 437 him, he thus addressed his country congregation : — " You all know that to-morrow I leave this to go to Edinburgh, and to stand my trial before the General Assembly. And the result I know will be that I shall be turned out of my parish, and that this is the last time I…
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Not ours to finish tasks or seek the sight Of precious increase and the praise of man. But just to scatter seed in nature's night And leave with God the issue of His plan; He will complete what He in Grace began. And order even thine errors all aright. Thou wert well paid, whatever clouds do come. If thou hast helped o…
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^ In this God's-world, with its wild-whirling eddies, and mad foam-oceans, where men and nations perish as if without law, and judgment for an unjustly thing is sternly delayed, dost thou think that there is therefore no justice ? It is what the fool hath said in his heart. It is what the wise, in all times, were wise …
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Christian World Pulpit, xliii. 83 (D. Burns) ; xlvii. 3 (Q. G. Bradley) ; Iv. 265 (C. Gore) ; Iviii. 250 (A. H. M. Sime) ; Ixviii. 329 (H. H. Henson). Churchman's Pulpit : St. Mark, St. Philip, and St. James, xiv. 393 (H. F. R. Compston). Weariness in Well-Doing, And let us not be weary in well-doing : for in due …
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^ No one should think that sensitivenese to fear debars him from the grace and helpfulness of courage, or that a sanguine readiness to take things easily is any safeguard against cowardice. For this ittXia, or cowardice, like faith, its great antagonist, is not ultimately evinced in feeling one way or another, but in a…
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(1) A religious man feels that he is where he is, and he is what he is, not for his own sake so much as for the sake of others. He is here to help and bless the world. The great discovery of Christianity was this, that human life might be made better, sweeter, more wholesome; in the words of Scripture, that the world m…
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% At the Interpreter's House, the fourth »c«ne is the fire at the wall. Here life is seen in a new aspect, chosen in order to bring out the spiritual forces of good and evil which are at work upon it. The scientific definition of life aa the " sum total of the functions which resist death " is strikingly applicable her…
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^ Two men met upon a steamer during a Scotch excursion and they talked with interest of many things, among others of Sunday schools. " To tell the truth," said one, " I am not very enthusiastic about that kind of work. I was a teacher for many years, and after all I seem to have done no good." " Well, I do believe in S…
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(4) The ingratitude of those we strive to help is a common cause of weariness. Ingratitude is as common as it is detestable. Almost all nations have voiced their sense of the sin of ingratitude in striking proverbs. " Eat the present, and break the dish," says the Arabic proverb. The Spanish says, " Bring up a raven, a…
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^ In the church at Somerville, New Jersey, where I was after- wards pastor, John Vredenburgh preached for a great many years. He felt that his ministry was a failure, and others felt so, although he was a faithful minister preaching the gospel all the time. He died, and died amid some discouragements, and went home to …
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^ Of course the world is growing better ; the Lord reigns ; our old planet is wheeling siowly into full«r li^t I despair of 1 J. A. Hutton, The Few of Things, 184. ' R. a Trench, Pomis, 147. 462 WEARINESS IN WELL-DOING nothing good. All will come in due time that is really needed. All we have to do is to work — and …
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* A, H. Moncur Sime. 464 WEARINESS IN WELL-DOING these in their work, how much more is it essential with well-doers in theirs ! ^ 2. The time of reaping. — In due season we shall gain our victory and His, and we shall reap our harvest. The months before the ingathering may often seem long and wearisome, and verily b…
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1 J. R. Miller. « E. T. Cook, The Life of Euskin, i. 81. Glorying in the Cross. 467 Literature, AitcWson (J.), The Cross of Christ, 193. Alcorn (J.), ITie Sure Foundation, 316. Barry (A.), The Atonement of Christ, 93. ♦ Benson (E. W.), Boy-Life, 295. Bonar (H.), Short Sermons for Family Beading, 138, 148. Burr…
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^ The very Eev. old Ebenezer Brown I have twice heard preach, and a most interesting exhibition it is ; he is a specimen of old Presbyterian eloquence and style. There is something very dignified in his energetic yet subdued manner ; his old broad Scotch, his deep sonorous voice, rendered very inarticulate now from old…
924 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical edition (1910); OCR text from Internet Archive. OCR may contain scanning/transcription errors. Verify quotations against page images when precision matters.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.