Matthew 24:6 The Storm and Strife of Life. I. It was with the clearest prevision of the course of the development of Christendom that the Saviour uttered this dark prediction. He knew that strife would sunder, and famine would waste, and sword would slay with a tenfold force and fierceness; and in... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:13 Final Perseverance not Inevitable. When our Lord says that none can pluck from the Father's hand those who are His, He does not say that they who are His may not themselves break or fall away from Him. What else is the meaning of that terrible question: "Have not I chosen you twelve,... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:14 I. The King is our Lord Jesus Christ. II. The seat of His kingdom is the soul. III. The spirit of His kingdom is wise and beneficent and holy. Every kingdom has its peculiar character. IV. The progress of His kingdom is unostentatious. It is irresistible, yet noiseless, like many o... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:28 The Law of Divine Judgment. I. When a wild beast falls in the desert, or a beast of burden on the highway, there is no stir in the heavens for a time. But, far above human ken, the vulture is floating poised on his wings; and looking downwards his eye soon distinguishes the motionless... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:35 The Immutability of the Divine Word. When the words of the text were uttered the eye of the Saviour was resting on scenes whose stability promised to be of world-long life. The hills round about Jerusalem looked like Nature's thrown-up fortress to guard from desolation or from the to... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:39 The Moral of Accidents. I. They who search those common Scriptures, the newspapers, will find many things that will trouble their hearts too much, if these hearts be susceptible and sympathising, unless they also search the Holy Scriptures. If we find God in the Holy Scriptures, then... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:42 Who are they that watch? What are the marks, it may be asked, that we are awake, and, according to our duty, looking out always for the coming of Christ, and of death as his messenger? I. To this question there is one plain answer; no man can be said to be watching, no man has any rea... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:43 The Uncertainty of Life the Great Reason for Holiness. I. With all our consciousness that there is great mercy in the concealment of the future, we cannot question that there would be far more preparation for death under an arrangement which gave notice when life would terminate, than... [ Continue Reading ]