_John the Baptist._ I. The special mission of the Baptist. 1. He wag the herald of the Messiah. 2. He belonged, properly, neither to the Mosaic nor to the Christian dispensation. His was a transition ministry. 3. He was appointed to prepare for, as well as to announce, the introduction of the Go... [ Continue Reading ]
_Repent ye._ THE FORERUNNER of Jesus was distinguished as a prophet. I. The preacher. Powerful and faithful. II. The duty enforced. “Repentance.’ III. The plea by which it is enforced. The kingdom of heaven is nigh. (_T. Heath._) PREPARING FOR CHRIST I. A general view of the character, office... [ Continue Reading ]
_Prepare ye the way._ PREPARING THE WAY When the Pacha of Magnesia went to take possession of his new appointment at Aleppo, he was attended by a large retinue of horse and foot soldiers, and other attendants, to the number of 2,000 persons. The road had been recently repaired for the passage of t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Raiment of camel’s hair._ -We read of John the Baptist “having his raiment of camel’s hair,” and many have supposed that the dress of Elijah was similar. The hair of the camel, especially the coarser woolly tufts about the hump and back, is in some places torn off, but more generally, as I have ob... [ Continue Reading ]
_All the region round about Jordan._ This would include the whole length of the river valley, and would therefore take in parts of the Peraea, Samaria, Galilee, and Gaulonitis. (_Revelation E. H. Plumtre, D. D._) THE JORDAN VALLEY is not only the most remarkable feature of Palestine, but one of th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Baptized of Him._ I. In baptism we are admitted to the kingdom of Christ. 1. Presented unto Him. 2. Consigned with His Sacrament. 3. Witnessing a good confession. 4. Undertaking a holy life. II. In baptism we (1) give our names to Christ; (2) are matriculated and adopted into our Father’s h... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wrath to come._ I. The meaning wrapt up in John’s message. 1. Danger. Future retribution has become to many a kind of figment. 2. The importance of confession. 3. The necessity of a renewal of heart. “Behold the Lamb of God!” II. The baptist’s astonishment at his own success. What was the secr... [ Continue Reading ]
_Fruits meet for repentance._ REPENTANCE A FRUCTIFYING ENERGY. FRUITS FOR REPENTANCE Hear a story, or a parable. In a delightful bit of country, early one summer morning, I walked out to be refreshed by the pure sweet air, the sight of fields and woods, grasses and flowers, beasts and birds, when,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Abraham to our father._ TREES MARKED FOR FALLING I. That God’s test of all moral life is practical, not theoretic, nor circumstantial. His demand is for fruitfulness. Jews could boast:- 1. Their national lineage. The true element in this: (1) great moral influence descends from a pious progenit... [ Continue Reading ]
_Axe is laid._ THE AXE LYING AT THE ROOT I. The kind of fruit which God requires from us-“good fruit.” II. The means which God employs to render us productive of this kind of fruit, and which show how reasonable it is that He should expect it from us. 1. God has endowed you with a capacity to pr... [ Continue Reading ]
_And with fire._ THE FIERY BAPTISM I. The Holy Ghost is fire. Baptism with the Holy Ghost is not one thing and baptism with fire another, but the former is the reality of which the latter is the symbol. II. Christ plunges us into this fire. What a grand ideals conveyed by the metaphor of the comp... [ Continue Reading ]
_Whose fan._ CHRIST A SIFTER Humanity yields its twofold crop, its wheat and chaff, and keeps its terrible capacity of mixing chaff and wheat together, making them look alike. A SIFTER NEEDED Something, then, is watered to lift the cover, to unveil the reality, to expose the things that we do an... [ Continue Reading ]
_Baptized of him._ THE BAPTISM OF OUR SAVIOUR I. The circumstance of title. 1. Seasonable. Men were at this time being baptized and confessing their sins. People were expecting the Christ (John 1:19). Let man be diminished, but let God arise. The truth is revealed that the servant may not rob the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then he suffered Him._ -When the pilot of a ship will not turn his sail to the winds, nor observe how to let a turbulent wave pass by him, he splits his vessel; therefore the conclusion of the point shall be with Solomon, A haughty spirit goes before a fall; and it savours much more of a Christian... [ Continue Reading ]
_Heavens were opened unto Him._ THIS GREAT SIGHT 1. Great in the Object. 2. Great in the Person. 3. Great in the Mysteries. TRINITY SUNDAY I. The three persons in the holy trinity. 1. Jesus of Nazareth. 2. The Holy Ghost miraculously exhibited. 3. The Holy Father. II. A vivid representatio... [ Continue Reading ]