_And ye shall be tilled and sown._ A VISION OF THE FIELD I. Man’s heart by nature is like a waste field. 1. He brings forth no fruit unto God. Leave him alone and he will live unto himself. He will live and he will die a strange monstrosity in the world--a creature that has lived without his Crea... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings._ HOPE FOR YOUR FUTURE I. What is there, then, so good in our beginnings? 1. One choice enjoyment was our vivid sense of pardon. Taken out of the bonds of iniquity, our hearts danced at the very sound o... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, son of man._ THE MESSENGER Having scattered over an open field the bones of the human body, bring an anatomist to the scene. Observe how he fits bone to bone and part to part, till from those disjointed members he constructs a framework, which,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wherefore I poured My fury upon them._ MAN SUFFERING I. God is slow to punish. He does punish; He shall punish; with reverent be it spoken, He must punish. Yet no hand of clock goes so slowly as His hand of vengeance. He does pour out His fury; but His indignation is the volcano that groans loud a... [ Continue Reading ]
_They profaned My holy name._ HOW GOD’S NAME IS PROFANED Men sanctify Jehovah when they recognise that which He is, or ascribe to Him His true nature. On the other hand, when the iniquities of His people constrain Him to act in such a way as to disguise any of His great attributes, such as His pow... [ Continue Reading ]
_I had pity for Mine holy name._ GOD’S MOTIVE IN SALVATION There is a land lying beneath a burning sky where the fields are seldom screened by a cloud, and almost never refreshed by a shower; and yet Egypt--for it is of it I speak--is as remarkable for the fertile character of its soil as for the h... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will sanctify My great name._ GOD GLORIFIED IN REDEMPTION Passing over the special application of these words to the Jews, and looking at them in their prophetical connection with the scheme of redemption, I remark-- I. That God might have vindicated His honour and sanctified His name in our de... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will take you from among the heathen._ THE BENEFITS FLOWING FROM REDEMPTION I. In carrying out the work of redemption God will call His people out of the world. “I will take you from among the heathen.” By nature His people are no better than other people. They were no better till grace made the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you._ THE NEW HEART All God’s bestowal of good must begin with cleansing. The black barrier of sin lies across the stream, and before His full goodness can reach us it must be broken and swept away. Experience teaches us that not only is sin the direct cause o... [ Continue Reading ]
_A new heart also will I give you._ THE NECESSITY OF A NEW HEART I. The work which is here promised. 1. A work of spiritual purification. The gains of business, the pleasures and enjoyments of the world, the vanities and follies of time; of these we may, and of these many do, make a God. Now when... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will put My Spirit within you._ THE GIFT OF PENTECOST I. The agent in this change. God Himself. 1. Nothing less than this will suffice. Outward morality not enough, does not produce true obedience. Importance of motives. 2. Failure of all else to regenerate mankind. (1) Failure of nature (Ge... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye shall dwell in the land. .. and ye shall be My people._ THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS I. The abundance of the blessings of grace. A newborn infant is the most helpless of all creatures. In its nakedness, weakness, dumbness, how dependent on a mother’s love; yet not more so than God’s people are... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then shall ye remember your own evil ways. .. and shall loathe yourselves._ TRUE CONVERSION Israel had fallen from God, had gone after idols, and had sunk into the grossest moral corruptions. Then came the Chaldeans and crushed the nation, and removed it into captivity. However, God promised rest... [ Continue Reading ]
_Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded._ FREE GRACE There are two sins of man that are bred in the bone, and that continually come out in the flesh. One is self-dependence and the other is self-exaltation. It is very hard, even for the bes... [ Continue Reading ]
_I the Lord build the ruined places._ THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER I. The text announces a most important truth. When we look at our text, we feel, in reference to the sad event of Eden, much as Martha did when she fixed her weeping eyes on Jesus. Would His presence have preserved the life of Lazar... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them._ THE PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH REQUIRED FOR THE CONVERSION OF SOULS This chapter is full of “exceeding great and precious promises.” The text is associated with all these prophecies. Though God promi... [ Continue Reading ]