PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Great Texts of the Bible — Volume 9
James Hastings · 191,666 words · 197 reading sections
Section 121
ST. MARK 313 like union, the love grows fond, intense, eternal It is entire love. The love itself is part of God. The love rests. Our whole being gathers itself up to one focus, and the demand becomes possible, and the duty becomes a necessity : " Hear, 0 Israel : the Lord our God is one Lord : and thou shalt love the…
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3i6 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE answers, but enthusiastically perceiving with delight the eX' cellence of the truth at which they point, recognising its appropriate task in their solution ; and so loving in its dis- tinctive way the nature out of which they spring. "H It is possible to love God with the heart and no…
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^ We are certain that the minds of the great theologians, from Paul to Maurice, loved their truths. We are sure that Shakespeare's intellect had an affection for its wonderful creations. The highest glory of the great students of natural science to-day is in the glowing love of which their minds are full for Nature and…
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II Unless this second commandment is held in the closest dependence upon the first, it will prove a very imperfect guide to the wise discharge of our brotherly duties. For until we know and love God, we can love ourselves only with a blind instinct ; we know not where our real blessedness is, and in loving others even …
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1 T. G. Selby. ST. MARK 323 myself to my church, and to my work as a minister. Then God has come to rebuke me, and has said to me, " Is not everything which is for the good of your fellows your true and proper work as a Christian ? " There is nothing the man of God should not touch. And everything he touches should b…
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ST. MARK 325 neighbours who are silly, selfish, bad-tempered, void of fine scruples, vicious. It is like telling us to scale a citadel on whose smooth, steep walls there is not a crumb of foothold. But if we first love God with all our hearts, we shall find the earlier com- mandment become a scaling ladder by which we…
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^ H. H. Henson. ' Isaac Barrow. • D. J. Burrell. ST. MARK 327 are brought into close personal connection with ourselves through any of the natural relationships of life, seem to be marked out by the finger of God as the objects of special thoughtfulness. ^ The first step in the ascent of love rises in our own dwelli…
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Therefore the law, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength, so far from having been weakened, must have become only more stringent and absolute. The Jew was commanded to love God because God had called out his race and had delivered it fr…
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j trespasses and sins. How can there be degrees of nearness i when every one is at an infinite distance ? " There is a side of truth in this. The difference between Christian and non- I Christian is one not of degree but of kind. " Once ye were ! darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord." And yet there are diffe…
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1. The office of Scribe. — The scribes combined a scientific and technical knowledge of Hebrew laws, and of Hebrew scriptures generally, with the skill of trained teachers in expounding them to the common people. They were the / teachers of their countrymen. Holding the key of knowledge, they were charged with the duty…
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^ Under the old Theocracy " the far " are either exiled Jews (Isa. Ivii. 19) or the Gentiles (Eph. ii. 13) ; distance from the new Kingdom is measured neither by miles nor by ceremonial standards, but by spiritual conditions. The man was to some 340 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE extent intellectually qualified for the…
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^ John Bright said of a certain freethinker that he was " a Christian without knowing it"; and although we cannot allow * J. Vaughan. 342 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE that a man can be a Christian without being aware of it, it yet remains possible that sincere reflection may bring a doubting thinker much nearer to t…
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yj the supreme demand of God. And Christ says so. " You are not far from the truth ; you are pretty near the mark ; there is ;not very much wrong with your views." That is what Christ /means. Certainly not that he is as hopeless as if he were ^Ci utterly astray, y' Christ meant to commend and encourage the I man. …
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^ How they rise before us ! — the sweet reproachful faces of those whom we could have loved devotedly if they had been willing to be straightforward with us; whom we have lost, not by our own will, but by that paralysis of feeling which gradually invades the heart at the discovery of small insincerities. Sin- cerity se…
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' It has made men, *■ The great men of faith were all at one time " honest doubters." Christ therefore loves the " honest doubter." / He says to him, " You are not far from the kingdom of God " ; only, remember you are not in. Your honest doubt won't save you. Men have asked, " Is doubt a sin ? " No ; doubt is not a s…
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Lewis (H. Elvet), in Women of the Bible, ii. 195. M'Neill (J.), Regent Square Pulpit, ii. 65. Maturin (B. W.), Sovie Principles and Practices of the Spiritual Life, 73. Pulsford (J.), Loyalty to Christ, 60. Purves (P. C), The Divine Cure for HeaH Trouble, 113. Sliepard (J. W.), Light and Life, 192. Christian World …
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^ I asked an art critic why he did not consider a certain painting under observation a real work of art. He answered: It lacks enthusiasm. I think the artist who painted it was not enthusiastic and not positive enough. The result shows in a painting which just misses being good.^ 4. She was simply one of a crowd, and …
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» J. H. Jowett. » V. W. H. Myers, iit. Paul. » Ibid. 358 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE 3. The extravagance of love. — It undoubtedly was an im- prudent thing for a woman to do, for perhaps at a later hour of the same day she was unable to meet the necessities of her subsistence ; but a beautiful intention we like all …
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» J. W. Shepard. 36o THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE IL Opportunity and Eesponsibility. i. The Value of Sacrifice. Christ had looked on the woman who, with her heart bowed in desolation and sorrow, had given her all to God, and He declared that, small as that was in itself, it was the truest and greatest offering that…
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Christ sees the workman's sixpence, and how much it is in relation to his weekly wages. The subscription of a thousand pounds from " many who are rich " is not, in His eyes, half so much. The offerings of the very poor make a deep impression on His heart. He specially calls the attention of the disciples to the gi-eatn…
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^ That He had always been governed by love without selfish views ; and that having resolved to make the love of God the end of all his actions, he had found good reason to be well satisfied with his method. That he was pleased, when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking Him only, and not…
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It is enough! With Him no good is lost; All has its own just value : All the cost— The sacrifice by which our work is done — Eevealed before Him stand: Already in His hand The fragments have been gathered into one.' (3) A lesson of luarniix^g. — The Jews had come to see God only in the Temple at Jerusalem. As a c…
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3. The darkness of that hour begins to creep over Him with its exceeding sorrow. He looks upon the disciples and sighs — they all are to be offended because of Him. There is Peter, who shall deny his Lord thrice. There is Judas, counting up how much he can make out of his Master. And Jesus with all His sensitiveness, s…
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Teach him how beautiful is Holiness, — I had not feared thee. But to yield my breath, Life's Purpose unfulfilled ! — This is thy sting, 0 Death ! ^ 2. " That which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." Mary had been attacked and needed defence. It was not the first time that her actions had…
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^ Do you say with a sigh, " Oh, if I had nothing to do but just to be with Christ personally, and have my duty solely as with Him, how sweet and blessed and secret and free would it be ! " Well, you may have it so ; exactly this you may do and nothing more. Come, then, to Christ, retire into the secret place of His lov…
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A service which springs from love finds many outlets. Such service may be characterised in various ways. 1. It is Spontaneous. — No service is so beautiful as the spon- taneous. We cannot subscribe to the doctrine that men are not to do good unless their heart is free to do it. Wesley called that " a doctrine of devil…
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Through miles of pallets, thickly laid With sickness in its foulest guise, And pain, in forms to have dismayed Man's science-hardened eyes, A woman, fragile, pale, and tall. Upon her saintly work doth move, Fair or not fair, who knows ? but all Follow her face with love. While I bow with reverent confession before th…
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III. The Perfected Service of the Future Life. Perfect service may be said to comprise three things : willingness, activity, and completeness. 1. Willingness. — Our Lord's words to Mary, " She hath done what she could," at once suggest the reflection that all our service here must be more or less limited. Imperfecti…
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neighbour. Give me just the strength for serving, and the golden present hour! 3. Completeness. — Here notice two things — (1) Our life here is only the beginning. In order to serve Christ acceptably we have neither to revolutionise our lot, nor to seek other conditions than those which Providence supplies. The plac…
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with the same eager hurry as is shown in our day by passengers in the restaurant of a railway station. But in our Lord's time they partook of the feast at leisure, reclining at the table upon couches. On the first occasion the lamb had been eaten only with unleavened bread and bitter herbs ; but now there was red …
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(3) Why should not Jesus sing ? He clearly foresaw the ultimate triumph of truth and goodness. " For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame." He > D. J. BarreU. 394 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE knew that, whatever rebuffs and reverses there might be, truth and righteousness were su…
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• 0. Jerdan. * D. Dariea. 396 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE Up the dark, starry skies Kolled the deep harmonies; Angels, who heard the strain, How ran the high refrain? How rose the holy song? Triumphant, clear, and strong As a glad bird uplift Over the wild sea-drift? Or was its liquid flow Eeluctant, sad, and slow,…
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(3) It meant the sacrifice of Himself on behalf of the work given Him to do. — He baa a baptism to be baptized with, and He is straitened until it be accomplished. The Master does not go forth to the agony in the garden with a cowed and trembling spirit, all bowed and crushed in the dust; He advances to the conflict li…
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' How much it meant for them ! The solace of that song, and the voice of their Lord blending with their voices, was the most tender and effectual way of comforting them. It was as the mother soothes her little one by singing. Could they fear since He sang ? For them too the words were a strength as well as a solace. T…
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I M. G. Pearw, ST. MARK 403 curtains and filled the sacred place ; so, while we sing, the doors of the sanctuary move upon their hinges and He enters whose presence brings to us fulness of life and joy. When friends are few or far away, Sing on, dear heart, sing on ! They rise to sing who kneel to pray, Sing on, d…
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^ I once heard of a young father who fought a battle with fate on this wise. He was smitten with a deadly disease; he knew it, and was told that his only chance of life was that he should suffer some one to minister to him, and for the rest of his days — short days, too — he should take things quietly and rest and wait…
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At the close of his account of the Temptation, St. Luke tells us that then the devil left our Lord for a season. Doubt- less there was no time throughout His life — which indeed was one victory over evil — in which that great adversary left Him wholly unassailed; but the words lead us to look for some special manifesta…
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(3) The true heart of a son, whereby we cry, " Abba, Father," is due to the gift of the Spirit. Look at St. Paul's argument to the Galatians. There he states two things : first, that when the fulness of time came, God sent forth His Son into the world ; second, that because we are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His…
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4i6 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE the Divine Man are veiled in impenetrable darkness, and form a subject which must be approached with deepest awe. The man who boldly speculates on this has lost all reverence, while he who stands before it in reverential love will be able partly to comprehend its mystery. (2) The seco…
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*[| Whence did the martyrs draw their fortitude ? Where did they find their strength to meet death so bravely ? Why could they look the great enemy in the face without flinching, even when he wore his grimmest aspect ? They were " strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." His example was before them, His spir…
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^ This is a grief which strikes deeply and keenly into the soul, in proportion to its own elevation and purity. Such souls care not for the opposition and for the obloquy of the stranger, or the worldly, or of those from whom nothing better can be expected. But the real keen and piercing grief of noble minds is when th…
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It affords us, also, a new revelation of God, showing Him in the glory of His grace. We can understand charity and self- denying beneficence meeting the results of evil in this world — the poverty, misery, and suffering it has caused — with their bounty and all the services and forms of self-sacrifice possible to them;…
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When out of the woods He came.^ * Bishop Barry. * Sidney Lanier. ST. MARK 425 III. His Acceptance of the Fathee's Will. "Howbeit not what I will, but what thou wilt." 1. Not what I will. — It was His meat and drink, as He Himself has told us, to do His Father's will and to finish His work. We can understand Him d…
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ST. MARK 427 present them wrapped in an " if it be possible," and followed by a "nevertheless." The meaning of prayer is not to force our wills on God's, but to bend our wills to His ; and that prayer is really answered of which the issue is our calm readiness for all that He lays upon us.^ 3. It is best so. The cup …
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the Christian life becomes the stern struggle to subdue the will of natural inclination and to bring it a captive to our Lord. This is the sacrifice we have to offer Him, a feeble counterpart in our small way, of the heroic self-sacrifice He offered that day in Gethsemane.^ I know, 0 Jesus, in the bitter hour Of huma…
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{d) Try it by its results. If we think that answered prayer is a proof of grace, we shall be unreasonably depressed and unreasonably elated — depressed when we do not get what we wish, elated when we do ; besides, we shall judge uncharitably of other men. Two farmers pray, the one whose farm is on light land, for rain …
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How sad the Saviour's heart was under the olive trees the disciples could not know ; but the sadness was deepened when, coming back to them for a moment, He found them so little like Himself as to be all asleep. A sin of infirmity, no doubt; but what a revelation of the infinite distance separating them from Him ! This…
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^ I suppose all you boys have read Baxter's Second Innings. In that fascinating little book every boy is represented as a batsman who is being bowled at with various sorts of bowling — " swifts," •* slows," and " screws." The object is, of course, to find out where is his weak point, to get past his defence, and lay lo…
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(1) It is a fact of experience, if anything is, that while there are many temptations which beset us all, there is generally one which our own individual nature is specially inclined to; which, if we give way to it, seems, as it were, to swallow up all other temptations. At least, if we examine the other tempta- tions,…
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(3) Again, experience has taught us to be especially watchful when any special effort has been made, or any victory won by the power of God in us, when we have felt i A. L. Moore. " P. S. Moxom. » 0. R. Koss. ST. MARK 443 God's nearness, and been for the moment lifted up above the ordinary life of conflict. Our grea…
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^ One dark night I had to cross the Irish Sea. As the steamer drove along over the waves I walked the deck talking to the seamen and looking out across the dark water. One of the men told me of the great care taken to prevent accident, and he said, " At the present moment there are nine men on the look out on this vess…
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(2) The second advantage is a direct answer to prayer. In response to our request God sends us spiritual forces, for He is aware we may fall before the allurements of sin. He who walks the highway of righteousness must have Divine support. Spiritual leaders insist that too great stress cannot be placed on prayer during…
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^ Prayer without watching is hypocrisy, and watching with- out prayer is presumption.^ •jl He who watches constantly looTcs out for danger, and avoids the way that leads to it. He who prays looks up for higher help and strength.^ ^ A man who had been a missionary in Asia once told me this incident. One day, while tra…
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456 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE minded men to whom the truth was dearer than their lives. There is nothing more marked than the contrast between their rapid, and sometimes bare, mention of facts and the string of legends, piled up with miraculous events, of other writers. Here, at this tragic stage of the progress to…
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3. Imagination helps us to fill in what tradition tells us about this victim of brutal power who was compelled to take part in the crucifixion of the Saviour. He may have been a proselyte who had come all the way from Africa to observe the Feast of the Passover at Jerusalem. He had, perhaps, never previously heard of J…
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^ If Simon had started from the little village where he lived five minutes earlier or later, if he had walked a little faster or slower, if he had happened to be lodging on the other side of Jerusalem, or if the whim had taken him to go in at another gate, or if the centurion's eye had not chanced to alight on him in t…
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ST. MARK 463 the Cyrenian to carry the cross of Christ for Him, is the same word as was borrowed from the old postal service of Persia. The Eomans, who too readily made their own any instrument of oppression which they foimd among foreign nations, were familiar with the word, which crept into their own language, and w…
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' R. F. Horton. ST. MARK 465 should have been no one to befriend Him in His day of sorest need, no one to spare Him a single indignity, no one to bear His cross for Him, even for a little, but this Simon who had to be compelled. ^ Where was that other Simon ? Had he not said, " I will go with thee both into prison a…
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ii. The Suffering Saviour. When we speak of " the Cross " we do not mean only the cross which Christ bore to Calvary and on which He suffered ; we mean the very sufferings of Christ Himself. But do we really think of what we mean when we speak of the sufferings of Christ, the Sin-bearer of the world ? Christ, we know,…
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^ A successful business man kept above his desk the motto, "Do the hard thing first," knowing, as every sincere person knows, that we are apt to shirk, procrastinate, and delay the most vital issues of life. Now, the Christian must do the " hard thing first." The way of life, the path leading to eternal day, is difficu…
917 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.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.