_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 ]