_Do no wrong._ WRONG The meaning of the word “wrong” is, something that is twisted from the straight line. Do you say you have not done wrong? When you set yourself up as a pattern of goodness, and at the same time turn up your nose at your erring acquaintance, it leads one to think that your angel... [ Continue Reading ]
_Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him._ THE PROPHET AND THE EXILE I. “The dead,” probably Josiah, for whom a long mourning was kept (2 Chronicles 35:24; Zechariah 12:11). Shallum is Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:33). II. The chapter, even the text, suggests the picture of the disappointment of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Did not thy father eat and drink._ GOD’S EXPOSTULATION WITH JEHOIAKIM I. God remembereth the piety and usefulness of our ancestors, and observeth how far we resemble them. The Eternal Mind cannot possibly forget anything. All things past, as well as present, are naked and open before His eyes. He... [ Continue Reading ]
_With the burial of an ass._ DISHONOURED IN DEATH Jehoiakim was king, and yet not one word of thanks do we find, nor one word of love, nor one word of regret expressed concerning his fate. We should learn from this how possible it is to pass through the world without leaving behind us one sacred or... [ Continue Reading ]
_I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear._ INFLUENCE OF PROSPERITY In heaven, the more abundantly God’s bounties are dispensed, the more is He loved and adored; but on earth, the richer His gifts, the more will He be neglected and disobeyed. A striking proof of our de... [ Continue Reading ]
_O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars._ THE NEST IN THE CEDARS The inhabitant of Lebanon, that maketh his nest in the cedars, is an illustration of all those who, in the pride and security of the present, are blind to the uncertainties of the future. I. Why is it that God’s... [ Continue Reading ]
_Though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence._ PUNISHMENT OF THE IMPENITENT INEVITABLE AND JUSTIFIABLE I. Mention some awful instances in which God has verified this declaration. 1. The apostate angels. 2. Our first parents.... [ Continue Reading ]
_O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord._ THE TREBLE URGENCY OF THE GOSPEL CALL I. The Gospel call may well be pressed with threefold emphasis, when we consider the limitation it implies as respects the parties addressed: it is addressed to men and not to angels--it is addressed to “earth... [ Continue Reading ]