_Lord, teach us to pray_
THE CHRISTIAN TAUGHT TO PRAY
I. WHAT THE REQUEST IMPLIES.
1. A conviction of the importance of prayer. This, in this ease, seems
to have had its origin in the habits and example of Christ. He prayed
often and much; in sorrow, and in joy; alone, and with His disciples.
2.... [ Continue Reading ]
_When ye pray, say_
SERMONIC HINTS ON THE LORD’S PRAYER
1.
Not a prescription of words. A great merit in prayer is that it most
naturally expresses the feeling of him who offers it. A child’s
prattle is more acceptable to a parent than stately utterances put
into his mouth. In Raphael’s cartoon t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Give us day by day our daily bread_
THE PETITION FOR DAILY BREAD
Human nature is made up of two parts, soul and body, and the Lord’s
prayer is so framed as to have direct reference to the wants of both.
The petition for “daily bread,” while, apparently, it is one of
the smallest, is really one o... [ Continue Reading ]
_And forgive us our sins_
ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN
I. THAT OUR SINS ARE OUR DEBTS.
1. HOW we come to be in debt to God, how this debt is contracted, and
what is the ground of the action. That I may keep to the comparison,
not forcing it, but fairly following it, you shall see that we fairly
run... [ Continue Reading ]
_Which of you shall have a friend_
IMPORTUNITY IN PRAYER
I. A CASE SUPPOSED. If reluctant and hard-hearted men thus yield to
the influence of importunity, how much more will the blessed God, who
delights in bestowing benefits upon the needy, grant the requests of
those who call upon Him!
II. AN E... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ask, and it shall be given you_
THE LAW OF PRAYER
This familiar text is usually quoted, and rightly so, as being one of
the most precious promises and encouragements to prayer which the
Bible contains; but if you look at the text, it is far more than a
promise encouraging prayer.
It is a declarat... [ Continue Reading ]
_How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit_
THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
I. WHAT IS MEANT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
1. He is a person, and may be grieved.
2. He intercedes for believers.
3. He guides, hears, speaks, and shows things to come.
4. He is a Divine person, and truly God... [ Continue Reading ]
_A sign from heaven_
WISHING A SIGN FROM HEAVEN
I. “The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and tempting desired Him that
He would show them a sign from heaven.” They did not take what we
would account a miracle on the human body as a sufficient sign, but in
the presence of many great and marvellous work... [ Continue Reading ]
_Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation_
THE POWER OF THE KING OVER THE ARCH-ENEMY
I. THE CONDITION OF THE SINNER. What a condition it is! It is summed
up in that twenty-first verse, “When the strong man armed keepeth
his palace his goods are in peace.” I will ask you to not... [ Continue Reading ]
_A strong man armed_
THE STRONG ONE DRIVEN OUT BY A STRONGER ONE
I. A PICTURE OF MAN IN HIS SINFUL STATE. Observe, that although
man’s hear, was intended to be the throne of God, it is now become
the palace of Satan. It is said of this strong man, moreover, that he
is armed. Truly the prince of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that Is not with Me is against Me_
NEUTRALITY IN RELIGION IMPOSSIBLE
There is no device by which the god of this world more fatally
deceives the souls of unwary men, than by leading them to suppose that
they can take neutral ground in regard to the character and cause of
Christ.
Now, in proof... [ Continue Reading ]
_When the unclean spirit is gone out_
THE DANGER OF LOSING CONVICTIONS OF CONSCIENCE
I. THE MISERABLE CONDITION OF AN IMPENITENT SINNER, BEFORE HE LIE
AWAKENED TO A SERIOUS CONVICTION OF HIS GUILT.
II. CONVICTIONS OF SIN CONSTITUTE, IN THE EYE OF GOD, AN IMPORTANT
CHANGE IN THE STATE OF MAN.
III... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it_
BLESSEDNESS FROM THE DIVINE POINT OF VIEW
I. THE WOMAN’S EXCLAMATION.
1. Implying, in an indirect yet very strong manner, the blessedness of
our Lord Himself; the idea being that from Him a blessedness was
reflected on His mother. In this... [ Continue Reading ]
_The sign, of Jonas the prophet--_
THE SIGN OF THE PROPHET JONAS
There is a peculiarity here which you ought carefully to consider.
A sign was asked by an evil generation, that if Jesus were truly the
Christ, they might receive Him as their King, and give Him their
allegiance; but the sign which i... [ Continue Reading ]
_A greater than Solomon is here_
CHRIST’S SUPERIORITY TO SOLOMON
The superiority of Christ to Solomon may be traced in the following
particulars.
1. In His origin. Solomon was indeed of honourable descent, being of
the princely tribe of Judah, and of the family of David, who was one
of the most i... [ Continue Reading ]
_The light of the body is the eye_
THE SINGLE EYE
The eye is evil when the vision is incorrect, double; is single when
it lays hold of one object with clearness and firmness.
Shut the eye, or if the eye is diseased so as not to be able to see
any one object distinctly, and we have the body full o... [ Continue Reading ]
_A certain Pharisee besought Him to dine with him._
THE PHARISEES REPROVED
I. THE INVITATION.
1. The prominence with which the Pharisees figure in our Lord’s life
is noticeable.
(1) In view of their profession of preeminent piety.
(2) In view of their scrupulous conformity to all the outward fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Give alms of such things as ye have_
CHRISTIAN CHARITY
In the Revised Version the translation is--“Give for alms those
things that are within,” and this preserves the point of the saying,
which is obscured in the rendering of the Authorized Version.
Our Lord had been invited to dinner by a certa... [ Continue Reading ]
_These ought ye to have done_
SPURIOUS HOLINESS
Rabbi Shammai, the narrow-minded rival of Hillel, was so scrupulous
that he nearly starved his little son on the Day of Atonement, and
made a sort of booth of his daughter-in-law’s bed that his little
grandson, just born, might keep the Feast of Tabe... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou reproachest us also_
DISPUTES REVIEWED
I. WE MUST ALL EXPECT TO BE CALLED TO AN ACCOUNT BY THE LORD JESUS.
1. We are all now in “the way”--travellers--following Christ in
consort.
2. There will be a review of what passes in “the way.”
3. The accounts in the great day must be given up to o... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye build the sepulchres of the prophets_
BUILDING THE TOMBS OF THE PROPHETS
The Jews, whilst honouring the prophets and reproaching their fathers,
were flattering themselves that they could never have done the like.
Would they not indeed? were they not at the very moment thirsting for
the blood o... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye have taken away the key of knowledge_
THE SIN OF PERVERTING SCRIPTURE
The last woe pronounced by our Saviour against the Scribes and
Pharisees, is for perverting the Holy Scriptures, and keeping the true
sense and knowledge of them from the people: this St.
Luke here calls, “the taking away t... [ Continue Reading ]