Biblical Illustrator The burden of the Word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. Some burdens are self-imposed; some laid upon us by our fellow-men; some by God. The prophets felt that the Word of God was a burden upon their souls.I. IT WAS A BURDEN OF DIVINE REVELATION. Words reveal. A true word is a manifestation of the soul. God was known by the utterances of these inspired men. His Word is now His choicest revelation. His Word is true, faithful, precious, enlightening, saving, eternal. II. IT IS A BURDEN BORNE BY THE HOLIEST OF MEN. God speaks through men. Many holy men now feel that the Word of God is in them. This burden should be borne by these holy men, humbly, prayerfully, thankfully, and conscientiously. III. IT IS A BURDEN BORNE FOR THE WORLD. God's Word must not be hidden. Truth heard in the inner sanctuary of the soul must be proclaimed upon the housetops. God's Word is for all nations. Whoever has it, has this burden for the world, He must carry it fearfully, distinctly, honestly, and unadulteratedly. Let the churches pray much for those who bear the burden of the Word. Often they are oppressed with their responsibilities. (W. Osborne Lilley.) I. WHY IS THE WORD OF THE LORD A BURDEN TO HIM THAT SPEAKETH IT? It is a burden because it is the Word of the Lord. 1. The Word of the Lord becomes a burden in the reception of it. No man can preach the Gospel aright until he has had it borne into his own soul with overwhelming energy. True preaching is artesian, it wells up from the great depths of the soul. 2. The Word of God is a burden in the delivery of it. He that finds it easy to preach, will find it hard work to give an account of his preaching at the last great day. To speak aright, God's Word beneath the Divine influence is, in the speaking as well as in the getting of the message, the burden of the Lord. 3. When we have preached, the Gospel becomes a burden in after consideration. If God sends any of us to do good to our fellow-men, and to speak in His name, the souls of men will be a perpetual burden to us. II. IT IS A BURDEN BECAUSE OF WHAT IT IS. What is it that the true servant of God has to bear and preach? 1. It is the rebuke of sin. If a man bears the burden of the Word of the Lord, he speaks most to his people upon the evil of which they are most guilty. Every true preacher must be careless of man's esteem, and speak faithfully; but this is a burden to one of a tender spirit. 2. The Word of the Lord gives a rebuff to human pride. The doctrines of the Gospel seem shaped on purpose, among other objects, to bring into contempt all human glory. So human nature does not like our message. And such preaching becomes the burden of the Lord. 3. The true preacher has to come into contact with the vanity of human intellect. The things of God are hidden from the wise and prudent, but revealed unto babes; and the wise and prudent are indignant at this act of Divine sovereignty. To face false science with the "polishness of preaching," and to set up the Cross in the teeth of learned self-sufficiency, is a burden from the Lord. 4. The most heavy burden is that which concerns the future. We are heavy at heart for the many who will not turn to God, but persist in destroying their own souls for ever. III. IT IS A BURDEN BECAUSE OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR BEARING IT TO YOU. Suppose that we do not preach the Gospel, and warn the wicked man, so that he turn not from his iniquity, what then? "He shall perish, but his blood will I require at thy hand." What will my Lord say to me if I am unfaithful to you? Then it becomes a great burden to me to preach the Gospel when I think of what those lose who will not have it. IV. IT IS OFTEN THE BURDEN OF THE LORD, BECAUSE OF THE WAY IN WHICH MEN TREAT THE WORD OF GOD. Some trifle with it. The preoccupation of human minds makes it such a burden when we are in earnest to reach the heart and win the soul. Quite a number hear with considerable attention, but forget all that they hear. The sermon is all done with when they have done hearing it. There are even some that hear to ridicule. The preacher is in anguish to save a soul, and they are thinking about how he pronounces a word. V. IT IS A BURDEN WHEN THE PREACHER REMEMBERS THAT HE WILL HAVE TO GIVE AN ACCOUNT. There will come a time when it will be said, "Preacher, give an account of your stewardship." Remember the great Lord of all true Gospel preachers bore a far heavier burden than we. Since it is a burden in itself, I ask you not to make it any heavier. You add to my burden, if you do not aid me in the Lord's work. But the greatest increase of my burden comes from those who do not receive the Gospel at all. ( C. H. Spurgeon.)
was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his From the fate of the hunter Esau, we learn the peril of life's low ideals; the power of life's crucial moments; the continuity of life's irrevocable retributions; the anguish of life's fruitless tears. The fortunes of Jacob are indeed too eventful, his character too complex, to allow any attempt at exhaustive analysis. But we may learn something which will aid us in our daily difficult endeavour to choose the good and not the evil, and to give our hearts and lives to God.1. "I loved Jacob, and hated Esau." Does not our first instinct almost rebel against this appeal? Do we not incline to prefer the elder, for all his frank earthliness, to the younger, with his mean servilities and subterranean shifts? Yet there the sentence stands; and all Scripture, and the long centuries of human history, set the seal of confirmation to the sacred verdict. The Aryan has prevailed in war and civilisation, but in all other things the Semite conquered his conqueror. More than any other nation, the Hebrew realised the intense grandeur and infinite supremacy of the moral law, and saw that the greatest and most awful aim for human life is not culture, but conduct. Let us see why Jacob, who seems to concentrate all the worst faults which we associate with the lowest type of Jewish character, is yet preferred to his more gallant and manly brother. 2. Let me reject at once two solutions of it. Some would settle it on the broad grounds of predestinated election and arbitrary decree, and would confuse our understanding with reasonings high of freedom and foreknowledge, will and fate. Others think it sufficient to silence us with the triumphant assertion, that we are but clay in the hands of the potter, that God may treat us as He wills. Others, again, argue that we must not judge Jacob's sins as though they were sinful, because Scripture records them without distinct condemnation, and because he may have been acting under Divine directions. I do not only reject all such solutions, I declare the first to be blasphemous, and the second deplorable. God is no arbitrary tyrant, but a merciful, loving, righteous Father. And the moral law, in its inviolable majesty, infinitely transcends the wretched "idols of the theatre" which men have called theories of inspiration. If God chose Jacob, it was because the true nature of Jacob was intrinsically worthy of that choice. 3. According to the Hebrew idiom, the strong antithesis of the text connotes less than it asserts, being but a more intense way of saying that, in comparison with his brother, Esau neither deserved nor received the approval of God. A second abatement — though not removal — of the difficulty lies in the fact that Jacob seems worse to us because his faults were essentially those of an Oriental, and are therefore peculiarly offensive to the heart of a true Englishman. And long may falseness and meanness be utterly abhorrent to our Northern character! But our special national scorn of Jacob's deceitfulness does not make it one whit more contemptible than Esau's animalism. 4. Herein lies the first great moral of these two lives. That which is holy is not to be cast to the dogs. Esau lost the blessing because he reeked not of it. Jacob gained it, because his whole soul yearned for its loftiest hopes. Men, on the whole, do win what they will: they do achieve that at which they resolutely aim. This is perfectly true in worldly things. But there is one ambition which is worth the absorbing devotion of a human being. It is the ambition of holiness, the treasure of eternity, the object of seeing the face of God. 5. What a difference is made by different ideals. Each of these twin-brothers lost and gained much more beside their immediate wish. Esau the rough becomes by scornful memorial Edom the red; Jacob the supplanter becomes Israel the prince with God. 6. Another lesson is, that however lofty be our aims, we must not, in order to hasten them, deflect, were it but one hair's breadth, from the path of perfect rectitude. Jacob inherited the blessing because his faith yearned for its spiritual promises; but because he compassed its immediate achievement by a crime, therefore, with the blessing there fell on him a retribution so heavy, so unremitted, as made his look back over life a bitter pain. 7. In spite of all which stained his life, Jacob was still a patriarch and a saint. You must not judge of him as a whole by the instances, so faithfully recorded, of his guilty plottings. In two main respects Jacob was certainly greater, better, and worthier than Esau. The sins of Esau's life were, so to speak, the very narrative; the sins of Jacob's life were but the episode of his career. 8. There is this further difference. There is not the faintest sign that Esau ever repented of his sin. But in Jacob's life there was many a moment when he would have forfeited the very blessing to purchase back the innocence by which it had been gained. Learn lastly, that the continuity of godliness is the choicest gift of all, and innocence is better than repentance. And we see in the case of Esau's red pottage and ravenous hour, that one failure under sudden temptation may be alike the ruin and epitome of a man's career, because the impulse of the hour is nothing less than the momentum of the life. (Dean Farrar.)
Homilist. 1. Some men on this earth seem to be more favoured by providence than others, yet they are often unconscious of it. This is true of individuals, and of nations.2. This difference in the privileges of men is to be ascribed to the sovereignty of God. That sovereignty does not imply either partiality on His part, or irresponsibleness on man's part. 3. Those whom the sovereignty of God does not favour are left in a secularly unenviable condition. They will — (1) (2) (3) (Homilist.)
1. The chief and principal study of the visible Church, and the godly in it, ought to be the love of God manifested toward them, as being that which God will not allow to be suspected, and which ought to oblige them to Him; that which will be the sad ground of a process when it is forgotten and undervalued; and that which, being looked on when God reproves, will encourage and strengthen to take with it, and make use of it. Therefore doth He begin this doctrine, and the sad challenges with this, "I have loved you, saith the Lord," that is, all of you in general have tasted of respects suitable, and beseeming My Bride and the visible Church; and particularly the elect among you have tasted of My special love. 2. God's love to His Church is often met with great ingratitude, in not being seen and acknowledged as becomes, especially under cross dispensations, in undervaluing the effects of it, when they fit not our mould, and in deeds denying it, while thoughts of it do not beget love to Him again; for "yet ye say, wherein hast Thou loved us?" 3. Election unto eternal life is a sufficient testimony of God's love, to be acknowledged and commended, although all things else went cross, and seemed to speak disrespect: for in this — "The Lord loved Jacob, and hated Esau," as is exponed (Romans 9:13); and this is sufficient to answer their quarrelling. 4. To be chosen and selected to be the Lord's Church and people, speaks so much respect from God unto a nation, as may counterbalance many other hard lots. 5. The Lord's love will not be so clearly seen and acknowledged, when we compare some dispensations with the privileges bestowed upon us, but when we consider our own original, and wherein we are dealt favourably with beyond others, as good as ourselves, if not better: for however Israel, looking on their many privileges, could not see God's love in their low condition, yet it would better appear when they looked back that "Esau was Jacob's brother" (and the elder too), yet "I loved Jacob and hated Esau." 6. The grace of God is not dispensed differently in the world, upon any difference in the point of worth among men: but grace itself makes the difference in choosing out one, and leaving another, as good in himself, to his own ways, according to His pleasure, who hath mercy on whom He will have mercy, for Jacob and Esau are equal, till love makes the difference. 7. However, no man can know love or hatred by outward dispensations, simply considered in themselves, yet afflictions are to wicked men real testimonies of God's displeasure, and God's people, being at peace with Him, may look on external mercies as speaking special love; for Esau's hilly land, and the desolation thereof, speaks "hating of Esau," not only as rejection from Canaan was a type of the rejection from the Church and heaven, but as it was a judgment inflicted on a nation unreconciled, whereas (at least) the godly in Israel might look otherwise on their land and restitution. (George Hutcheson.)
(T.V. Moore, D. D.)
II. THE THREAT. There should, in consequence, be the rejection of their prayers, the rejection of their persons, and the rejection of their services, and a transfer of their privileges to others. III. PRACTICAL LESSONS. 1. God's service is a real service, not a nominal service. Formality is not enough. 2. It is a sure sign of want of grace in your hearts, when God's service is a weariness. 3. Confidence in God is a necessary part of acceptable prayer and acceptable service. (Montagu Villiers, M. A.)
(Geo. Adam Smith, D. D.)
(W. B. Selbie, M. A.)
I. THESE DRAGONS. They are besetting sins, turbulent passions, sinful customs, fascinating vices, evil spirits, etc. II. WHERE THEY DWELL. The wilderness. The world, though beautiful, is yet cursed by sin. To the saintly heart it is often a wilderness — 1. For its loneliness. 2. For its barrenness. 3. For its dangers.Dragons lurk there. They may pour forth their fire and fury upon us there at any time. Application. Be watchful. Seek the help of the great dragon-slayer — Christ. In all legends of the slaying of dragons it was one hero that did it — Hercules, Perseus, Siegfried, St. Michael, St. George — these slew the dragons, and delivered the people. (W. Osborne Lilley.)
I. WHO ARE THESE FOOLISH BUILDERS? 1. Those who seek to build up a reputation with deceits. 2. Those who build up the fortunes of their houses with unrighteousness. 3. Those who build up a religious life without faith in Christ, the only foundation. 4. Those who build up their characters with evil principles and deeds. 5. Those who build up high positions by treachery and tyranny. II. CONSIDER THE CERTAINTY OF THEIR OVERTHROW. Woe be to the work that has God against it. It cannot stand. Think of His power, knowledge, and absolute control of all things. Everything that He does not smile upon must perish. History confirms this. Kingdoms created with great magnificence and might, but built in defiance of His laws, have, like Edom, fallen. Theological systems, and ecclesiastical despotisms that have been built up in opposition to Him, have been overthrown. Biography also confirms this. No life that has been spent in opposition to Him, however apparently influential, but has crumbled away like a falling tower. When God says, "I will throw down," none can save. Experience also confirms it. Learn not to lay a stone in life without God. We should enter upon no work without first securing His aid and blessing. We can only erect a structure that will stand for ever, as we build in God's way, and under the influence of the Spirit of Jesus. (W. Osborne Lilley.)
I. THIS PROPHETIC UTTERANCE. Evils abounded when the prophet lived. The sins of the people were eclipsing God's glory; but the prophet knew that it would shine forth as the sun. It is therefore an utterance — (1) (2) (3) 1. For the furtherance of His purposes. 2. For the vindication of His righteousness. 3. For the good of the universe. II. HOW THIS UTTERANCE WAS, AND MAY BE FULFILLED. The history of the Israelites abounds with confirmations of the prophet's words. His faith would be strengthened as he remembered past dispensations. Though God's ancient people were dispersed, the spiritual Israel remains. He has been magnified. 1. In the redemption of the cross. 2. In the interposition of providence in behalf of His Church. 3. In the holy lives and sufferings of His people. 4. In the missionary enterprises of His Church. III. WHERE THIS SHOULD BE FULFILLED. In "the border of Israel." The spiritual Israel must ever magnify God. This is the duty of the Church. 1. The Church should interpret all events so as to do this. 2. It should do it under all circumstances. 3. It should seek this first in all its organisations and evangelistic efforts.Application. Let this be our aim continually — to magnify God. We often seek to magnify ourselves. Our truest greatness is in making Him great. (W. Osborne Lilley.)
(F. E. Paget, M. A.)
I. WHENCE THE CLAIM OF GOD UPON THE YOUNG ARISES. From His character as Father. The reason why the Most High is thus represented is, because from His creative will and power men derive their being, and because by His providential arrangements and care their being is supplied and preserved. Hence His paternal character is extensive as the world and permanent as time. It is designed to be recognised by us as involving the two great attributes of authority and kindness — authority which is supreme and unimpeachable, kindness which is unfailing and unbounded. II. WHAT THE CLAIM OF GOD UPON YOU INVOLVES. He claims a Father's right to be honoured. The mode of address here implies. the guilt omission of men to render to God what is His due. "Where Is Mine honour?" A vast proportion of the human family have attempted to banish God as an alien from the universe He has made. 1. The honour which your Father requires is your adoring reverence of His perfections. 2. Your practical obedience of His law. 3. Your zealous devotedness to His cause. III. HOW IS THE CLAIM OF GOD UPON YOU COMMENDED? He whom you are summoned to honour possesses an absolute right to you. 1. Your compliance with the claim of God as your Father will secure your dignity. 2. It will secure your usefulness. 3. It will secure your happiness.Your consciences will be perturbed by no agitations. Your happiness will be that arising from gratitude and from benevolence. The knowledge that you have imparted happiness to others will be delightful. (James Parsons.)
(Canon Wilberforce, D. D.)
I. CONSIDER THE TRUTH ASSUMED. "If then I be a Father." God's Fatherhood has been generally recognised. He has always acted as a Father towards men — 1. In bringing them into existence. 2. In stamping upon them His own image. 3. In providing for their needs in the bounties of nature. 4. In redeeming them from sin. 5. In adopting them into His heavenly family. 6. In arranging life so as to discipline them. II. GOD'S APPEAL IN VIEW OF THIS TRUTH. "Where is Mine honour?" This appeal is just and right. It is our duty to render honour to God. This involves — 1. Reverence toward Him. Always to speak of Him with respect and love; revering His ordinances; worshipping in His sanctuary. 2. Obedience to His commandments. Making them the rule of our lives, and delighting in them as the expression of His will. 3. Trust in His goodness. Believing that He will never err in the arrangements of His providence, but that all things will work together for our good. 4. Submission to His chastisements. Bearing affliction as from His hand. 5. By revealing His image. Showing in our dispositions and deeds that we are His children. III. HOW THIS APPEAL SHOULD BE RESPONDED TO. 1. By serious reflection. 2. By true repentance. 3. By earnest prayer for the possession of the spirit of sonship promised in Christ. 4. By constant efforts to honour God in the future. (W. Osborne Lilley.)
I. HOW TRULY GOD IS THE FATHER, AND THE MASTER OF MANKIND. 1. The Father. God gave being to the world and all things in it. St. Paul styles Him "the Father, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named," the Head of the rational system, the Father both of angels and men, who all derive their being from Him, and in the constitution of their nature bear some features and resemblances of the great original from whence they sprung. God created man in His own image. It is evident from our consciousness and experience, that we have such powers of perception and understanding, such a sense of good and evil, right and wrong, and such principles of honesty and goodness in our nature as ally and unite us to the Father of spirits, and give us a striking resemblance of Him, in some of His most glorious attributes and qualities. God is also to be considered the Father of mankind, as He has made an ample provision for the improvement and happiness of the excellent nature which He has given them. 2. The Master. As God hath all power in Himself, and as by this alone the universe subsists, all creatures whatsoever are necessarily in a state of subjection to Him. There is something implied in the notion of God's being the Master of men, more than His merely exercising an uncontrollable dominion over them. But God is a perfectly holy, righteous, and good Potentate, governing rational agents according to the dictates of the highest sanctity and justice, and consulting their happiness in all His administrations towards them. That He is the righteous Governor of men is evident from His having laid us under the law of righteousness in the constitution of our being. The foundation of God's moral government over men is firmly laid in His own nature and in ours. A just order is plainly prevalent in the conduct of human affairs, notwithstanding the irregularities and confusions which are to be observed in them. II. WHAT IS THAT DUTY WHICH WE OWE TO GOD AS FATHER AND MASTER? Expressed in the terms honour and fear. 1. Honour. No sentiments are made universal and better known to the mind than those of respect, duty, and submission, which children entertain for their parents in this world. If this be the temper which becomes us with respect to the fathers of our flesh, how much more must we cultivate the same temper towards the Father of our spirits. Surely the devotion of our minds towards Him must rise into a perfect adoration of His goodness, accompanied with the sincerest gratitude and love, the firmest affiance in Him, the most absolute resignation to His will, and the most earnest endeavours to obey His laws and to imitate His purity and benignity in our whole conversation. 2. Fear. As the masters of this world are of different tempers and characters, so the fear of their subjects or servants in regard to them is of very different kinds. God has nothing in His nature resembling the qualities of the arbitrary or oppressive masters and rulers of this world. His government is founded on the maxims of perfect wisdom, goodness, and righteousness, therefore a slavish fear of Him can be no part of thee homage which His worshippers and servants are to pay to Him. The only fear of God which it becomes us to entertain, is a mixed affection of mind, made up of a high reverence of His perfections, particularly His wisdom, justice, purity, goodness, and power; an affectionate esteem of His laws, an earnest solicitude to obey those laws, and a great dread of transgressing them, from a sense of the baseness and odiousness of trampling upon the authority of our rightful and most gracious Lord and Saviour. The cultivation of these principles, the honour and fear of God, should be earnestly commended. Let us not, upon any pretences, excuse ourselves from the cultivation of a becoming temper towards the Deity, but cheerfully pay Him all that honour and love, that obedience and submission which, as our most compassionate and indulgent Father, and our most gracious and righteous King and Lawgiver, He claims and demands from us. (J. Orr, D. D.)
(J. Johnston.)
I. CONTEMPLATE THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD, AND SEE IF WE CAN DISCOVER HIM DEALING WITH ALL HIS RATIONAL CREATURES AS A FATHER AND A MASTER. 1. As a Father and Master He protects them. This the son and servant expect. God keeps His eye on all His intelligent creatures, and puts underneath them His arm of mercy. 2. He provides for all His creatures. No man could make his seed vegetate, or render his fields fertile, or ensure success in trade independently of his Maker. 3. He makes us know His will. We have some lessons from the broad sheet of nature; but in His Word He has opened all His heart; has made every duty plain, and placed it in the power of every son and servant of His to do His pleasure. 4. He has made our duties light. The service He requires is pleasant and easy. 5. He provides for our future happiness. II. HOW WILL A KIND AND DUTIFUL SON OR SERVANT TREAT A FATHER OR MASTER? 1. The son loves his father, and the good servant his master. If we have any love to God, we must love His whole character, and must learn His character from the Bible. The question is, do that class of men who speak so highly of their Maker, love the whole of the Divine character? They are pleased with only a part of the Divine character. Hence they will deny such doctrines as clash with their views of God. If they loved God they would believe what He says. 2. The good child loves the society of his father; and the faithful servant loves to be with his master. 3. A good son and a faithful servant will be cheerfully obedient. A dutiful temper is indispensable in either of these stations. Will the class of men addressed in the text stand this test? Are they uniform in regard to their duty? Have they a tender conscience which fears to do wrong, fears to neglect a duty, fears to violate an obligation, dreads the least deviation from the most perfect rectitude? 4. The son and servant will each be attached to his father s or his master's family. Do these people attach themselves to the family of Christ? Do they love His disciples and choose them as their intimates? 5. The servant and son are very jealous of the honour of their father and master. But do we discover this delicacy of feeling in that class of men who would be esteemed religious, but who have no pretensions to a change of heart? 6. The kind son and the dutiful servant will wish to have others acquainted with their father and their master. (D. A. Clark.)
(S. S. Chronicle.)
(Christian Age.)
(J. Parker, D. D.)
(James Saurin.)
(James Saurin.)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (Homilist.)
1. The appeal of the text may be addressed to all whose service does not include the sacrifice of the heart. Many give their souls to the world, — to what remains God is welcome. They are found in God's house, but though they are present there they do not render any spiritual worship. What is this but offering the blind and lame and sick for sacrifice; and is it not evil? Can it be that it is thus God is content to be served? Not thus would even man be satisfied. It is God only whom we expect to please by a service that lacks every element of thorough heartiness, and is nothing more than a piece of mechanism. Yet is there no other whom it is so utterly hopeless to deceive. He asks the heart, and He knows that, despite all the beauty of our outward rites, the heart is what we absolutely refuse. But such religion is no religion at all 2. The language may be applied to those who purpose to render to God the service of their last hours. They will take thought for the present life, and the soul, with all its immortal interests, they will leave to the uncertain contingencies of a future which may never be theirs. This is bringing the blind, the lame, the sick for sacrifice; and is it not evil? We need not deny the possibility of death-bed repentance; we may not limit the grace of God. But if not impossible, it is in every way improbable that the sacrifice of life's last hour is what God will accept. 3. These words may be addressed to the secret disciple. You will do just so much as is necessary to ensure your salvation, but beyond this nothing more, — there is no love to Jesus constraining devotion, making you rejoice even in the cross which you bear for Him, teaching you, as with a holy ingenuity, to find out modes in which you may glorify Him. And is not this evil? 4. The question may be directed to the half-hearted professor. There are many sharing in our worship who are lacking in all heartiness and fervour. They do not disgrace their profession: they observe with a certain regularity the ordinances; but in all generous, noble, devoted consecration they are found wanting. Let me address myself earnestly to you. Does not the text describe your sacrifice? Everywhere else, if the heart is interested at all, you are full of intense zeal. In religion you are cold and indifferent. Review your own service; compare it with what you do for other lords, and say, does it not correspond with the description of the text? (J. G. Rogers, B. A.)
1. To the dictates of conscience. 2. To the usages of human life. II. THE LESSONS THE APPEAL SUGGESTS. 1. We have all failed in the discharge of our duty to God. 2. Our failure in the discharge of our duty to God is incapable of defence. 3. We need a Saviour. 4. Our services can be accepted by God only through the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. (G. Brooks.)
I. MEN OFTEN ACT TOWARDS GOD AS THEY WOULD NOT ACT TOWARDS AN EARTHLY RULER. Men generally respect human authorities. If gifts are presented to them they are of the best. They humble themselves before human majesty, and fear to insult it. But men act differently towards God. 1. How many stand in His presence and profane His name. Let them offer that to their governor. 2. How men treat His authority and disregard His commands. 3. How many pretend to make sacrifices for His cause, and yet give only that which is worthless, or what they think will bring the man equivalent in temporal good. 4. How many render heartless homage and selfish service. Men act in these ways sometimes through (1) (2) (3) (4) II. OUR CONDUCT TOWARDS GOD MAY BE TESTED BY THE WAY IN WHICH IT WOULD BE RECEIVED BY AN EARTHLY RULER. Such rulers are not always just. This is a test that is — 1. Easily applied. 2. One that the humblest can comprehend. 3. One that may reveal much. 4. One that should be applied honestly. III. THE DISPLEASURE OF AN EARTHLY GOVERNOR MAY REFLECT THE DISPLEASURE OF GOD. This is not always the case. Rulers have been displeased with and persecuted the most holy. But the honest displeasure of a ruler against hypocritical pretensions and deceitful gifts is a reflection of the Divine displeasure. Would thy "governor" be "pleased with thee"? If not, there is — 1. Just cause to fear. 2. Need of reformation. 3. And of a truer consecration of yourselves and your property to God.Learn — Our holiest acts need examination. Our sacrifices may be worthless. It is a great sin to act niggardly towards God. (W. Osborne Lilley.)
I. THE CHRISTIAN SACRIFICE. Times have changed, but circumstances have not. God does not demand expiatory sacrifice, but He requires spiritual. We are to render Him certain services, and these services are the New Testament sacrifices. 1. There is the heart — penitent, repentant, soft. 2. There is the body — a living sacrifice; for use, for work. 3. Worship. 4. Alms. II. THE IMPERFECTIONS BY WHICH THESE SERVICES ARE BLEMISHED. 1. Spiritless worship. The form without the spirit. 2. Blind sacrifice. How many crimes have been committed in the name of zeal. 3. Lame offerings. Professors of religion who live in conformity to the world. 4. Sick gifts.Half-hearted prayers, languid attendance at His house, the hand working without the heart, songs without melody. There are preachers who preach ill and sickly sermons. There are Sunday school teachers who offer sickly lessons. It is a terrible thing to offer to God that which is diseased. (W. R. F.)
1. "If ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?" They had plenty of cattle without blemish to offer to the Lord. But they wanted these for themselves. The Christian has a body given him which he may present a living sacrifice unto the Lord, without blemish of sight. In it he has an eye to read the Word of God, an understanding to receive it: an eye to lift up to heaven in prayer, an understanding to offer prayer and praise in the name of the Lord. The eye should be withdrawn from all unholy sights; it should be single and pure. Instead of this, to what service is the eye and understanding commonly devoted! The true and living sacrifice of the body in this particular is the growing in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Never forget that growth in grace and growth in knowledge go together. Instead of using their eye and understanding in the spiritual service of the Lord, men waste their light in the pursuit of vanity and sin, until at last there comes the appointed hour of their departure from earth. Then at length — and often in vain — they turn their eye and their thoughts unto God. 2. If ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?" The Christian is compared to a runner, and his life to a course. He is to run well, so that he may obtain. But when do men generally begin to set themselves to this race? Just as their course in this world is finishing; when their strength has been wasted in running for earthly prizes. Is not health the season for serving the Lord on every account? Yet many think they have nothing to do with the Lord but in the day of sickness. 3. "Offer it now to thy governor." Men will treat God, their heavenly Sovereign, as they dare not treat man, their earthly sovereign. Some go through life with a fixed purpose of giving to the Lord only the refuse. The man who bows to the ground, and anxiously seeks favour in the sight of his sovereign, and keeps himself continually in his view by doing something which may please, and make his person accepted, will think it a great thing if he kneel in the house of God for a short time once a week. Men who are most particular in wording a petition to be delivered at the throne of their sovereign, and endeavour to turn and polish every sentence, these very men will not trouble themselves to prepare a prayer to be delivered at the footstool of the throne of heaven. Let us all be wise in this, that we fully recognise the high claims of God, and loyally, lovingly, worthily try to meet them. (R. W. Evans, B. D.)
I. MEN HAVE POWER TO BRING EVILS UPON THEMSELVES AND OTHERS. Man is a centre of causation. Deeds do not end in the doing of them. We may meet them in the results of after years. More than half the evils that afflict men are self-wrought. God seldom interferes with the sequences that follow our action. Man is not the creature of circumstances, but the creator of them. He is treated as being responsible for his own happiness or misery. Man cannot keep the results of his actions from affecting others. One man has ruined thousands. Godless parents ruin families; hypocritical pastors destroy their flocks; depraved senators overthrow a nation. II. EVIL-DOERS SELDOM ADMIT THIS POINTED CHARGE. There is a disposition in men to look for the cause of their afflictions anywhere rather than in themselves. They have come from fate, from misfortune, from accident, from the errors of others, from the vindictive anger of God. Honest confession is rare. Not to admit this charge is — 1. Unwise. 2. It will only increase our guilt. 3. It will hinder our reception of mercy. (W. Osborne Lilley.)
2. Wrong worship will one day be practically repudiated. 3. Wrong worship is sometimes rendered even by the religious teachers of mankind. These priests made worship appear contemptible and burdensome. 4. Wrong worship evermore incurs the just displeasure of heaven. (Homilist.)
II. It is GOD-DISPLEASING. "I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand." It is displeasing to Him — 1. Because it is repugnant to love. Something like this a noble father would say to his son who paid him attention only for what he could get, a true husband would say to the wife who did the same. Genuine love sickens at such service, disdains and refutes it. Pure love in man is the same as pure love in God. It is displeasing to Him — 2. Because it is opposed to happiness. It is an eternal law of mind, that it can never be happy in self-seeking. He who searches for happiness as an end will never find it. It will always be to him a mirage; as he thinks i.e. approaches it, it will vanish into thin air. God's great law in His spiritual universe is this — that souls shall only get happiness as they pursue goodness. When goodness is pursued as an end, full happiness gushes up at every step in the march. (Homilist.)
I. THE PROPHECY EMBRACED THE REVELATION OF GOD'S NAME AMONGST THE GENTILES. God cannot be magnified or revered or worshipped unless He is known. God can only be known as He is pleased to reveal Himself. He has given us a revelation of Himself, clear and full, so that we may know God. The name of God denotes Himself, His nature, His moral character, and all that can be made known of Him to the mind of man. 1. It denotes His self-existence. That existence is absolutely eternal, immortal, invisible. As He thus exists, He exists independently. All existence, however varied and modified, must be an emanation from Himself. And thus He appears to us, arrayed in the awful attributes of the Creator and Governor of all things. He is the parent of all; and on Him all depends. 2. It denotes the spirituality of His nature. This would follow from the infinite perfection of His nature. God is capable, as Spirit, of occupying immensity without displacing matter. A real Christian carries about with him a solemn sense of the spiritual presence of God; and he connects with that the presence of all His attributes — of power and purity and love. Wherever we go we have a present God. 3. It denotes the mysterious existence of the Trinity in the unity of the godhead. 4. It denotes the harmony of His attributes. II. THE MAJESTY OF GOD'S GOVERNMENT. "My name shall be great among the Gentiles." It shall be magnified — it shall be a name of weight, of authority; before it every name shall bow. Wherever the name of Jesus is published, that name becomes dominant. The majesty of the Redeemer's kingdom is demonstrated by its interior and intellectual design. Human beings under no other government are ruled by truth, by interior influences, which bring the mind and the affections to God. And the Lord's government is demonstrated by the silent but irresistible agency employed. III. THE CELEBRATION OF HIS WORSHIP. The worship will be spiritual, but it will be offered "in every place." Spiritual worship is enlightened: it is the result of knowledge; it perceives its object, and rejoined in its object; it takes hold of a promise, or fixes on a precept; it must be the result of faith, for faith sees the great Invisible; it must be the kindling of the Holy Spirit. There will be living offerings: it will not be a cold, irrational service, but the service of a warm heart; each man will offer himself to God, and each man will be a holy and a purified oblation, kindled by the fire of God. And thus myriads of spirits everywhere, all over the world, shall be ascending in flames of pure devotion to God. (Theophilus Lessey.)
"Let the echo fly The spacious earth around."
1. Sometimes it signifies God Himself. Praising or blessing the name of God is praising God Himself. By His name being "great" is meant their acknowledging or professing Him to be the true God, and their adhering to the worship of Him only, in opposition to all idolatry and false religions. 2. Sometimes it is used to signify His true religion and worship. "The place which the Lord your God shall choose,... to put His name there," means the place where He shall appoint His servants to appear before Him with the external tokens of their homage and worship. 3. In other places of Scripture the "name" expresses those adorable perfections or attributes which are, as it were, the proper denomination and character of the Divine nature. See Exodus 34:5. 4. Once more, the "name" signifies the authority of God, or His Divine commission. II. THE EVENT PREDICTED. In it is evidently contained — 1. To the Jews, something comminatory. 2. In relation to the Gentiles, a particular promise; joined with a general declaration concerning the state and condition of the universal Church in the future and latter ages of the world. Whatever be the true meaning of these and the like prophecies; whether there be a time still to come, wherein they shall be accomplished literally, or whether they are intended only to express the natural tendency of the universal and sincere practice of Christianity in the present world, and the real effect which shall be obtained by it in the world to come, we must not be too curious about particular times and seasons. Learn —(1) Our duty to promote the knowledge of God, and interest of true virtue among men.(2) To justify to ourselves the various methods in which the wisdom of God has chosen to reveal itself to the world.(3) If we, under the clearer light of the everlasting Gospel, still live corruptly, how much heavier must be our punishment than that of the Jews. (S. Clarke, D. D.)
1. It is the prerogative of an infinite Being to be deliberate and slow, whereas haste and precipitation are the characteristics of s limited nature. 2. Much may be going forward by secret and unnoticed processes, conducive and preparatory to the development of Messiah's kingdom. 3. God has consulted His own glory in thus far contracting the supply of His Spirit; since He has thereby made apparent the insufficiency of moral means, and the strongest objective inducements, although accompanied with common grace, to overcome the repugnance of the human heart to the humbling doctrines and self-denying precepts of the Gospel. 4. Contrasted with the stage of thick darkness or glimmering twilight between which the world has been so long divided, the glory of that unclouded day will be the more conspicuous, when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." But the prophecies have a special virtue, reviving our drooping faith. This text contains a sublime annunciation of that triumphant era when Messiah "shall have dominion from sea to sea." It is usual with the prophets to describe the dispensation of the Gospel by terms and analogies taken from the Mosaic ritual. I. THE PREDICTION THAT "INCENSE SHALL BE OFFERED UNTO THE NAME" OF JEHOVAH. The "incense" denotes primarily the intercession of the Saviour. He hath given Himself for us, "an offering of a sweet-smelling savour." The Word is, in the original, the past participle of a verb which means to fume, and may properly denote any sacrifice which, being consumed by fire, was carried up in smoke. Its spiritual meaning should not be restricted to proper acts of worship, but should be held to comprise all those holy works which are the produce of a spiritual nature — those "sacrifices of righteousness" with which God is well-pleased. Then translate the passage, "In every place whatever is fumed shall be brought near unto Thy name," — then what else is represented to the mind save the universal reign of evangelical righteousness? What is meant by the phrase, "offered unto Thy name"? There is strong presumptive evidence for believing that this denomination of Jehovah is no meagre expletive, but carries a direct and explicit allusion to Christ the Mediator. This appellation of God is strictly associated with the character He sustains in redemption. The elder patriarchs appear to have understood the "name" as a sacramental term, by which Jehovah exhibited Himself conversing with guilty men through the promised Intercessor, the Word made flesh. II. THE PREDICTION THAT A PURE OFFERING SHOULD BE EVERYWHERE PRESENTED TO JEHOVAH. We have considered the offering of incense to imply the benign effect of our Lord's pacification, in rendering the worship and service of mankind acceptable to Jehovah, and surely the "pure offering" will express the sanctification of the Church, and of each individual believer, and the consequent purity of those offerings which are brought near to Jehovah by His spiritual household. In this pure "offering" see — 1. The extraordinary extension and purity of the Church. Contemplate the entire extermination of the lewd and sanguinary rites of paganism, and the abolition of all bloody sacrifices, through the oblation of one great victim, who by actually putting away sin has annulled all symbolical immolations. Henceforth we are to render only unbloody offerings — the sacrifice of thanksgivings. We are warranted to contemplate the Catholic Church as one magnificent offering to Immanuel. The Church, indeed, teems with nominal Christians, self-deceivers, and hypocritical pretenders. But from this it shall hereafter, even in its visible pale, be wholly or extensively purged. Another thing constituting the adult Church "a pure offering " will be this — that its worship will be no longer debased with fiction and mummery. The doctrines of transubstantiation, indulgences, masses, penances, purgatory, and supererogation will fall to the ground, and with them will expire the adoration of images, saints, and angels. And the universal Church will be free from sectarian distinctions. We may also anticipate a considerable abridgment of ecclesiastical ordinances. 2. The religious worship of that brilliant age will have a peculiar purity, owing to the improved character of the individual Christians. They will have attained a much higher illumination. The conscience will then be thoroughly pure and undefiled. There will be none of that double-mindedness and self-delusion with which the purest minds of this silver age are more or less alloyed. We are even led to expect a state of perfect exemption from the dross of earthliness. The kingdom of Christ will be developed in their bosoms in all its purity and fulness; and to them it will be not less easy than delightful to have "their conversation in heaven." The promise of the text is most encouraging. What manner of persons, then, ought we to be? If the blessed Trinity is incessantly employed in this work of regeneration, shall we not help it forward as humble but zealous instruments, with the best faculties that we have? (J. N. Pearson, M. A.)
II. THIS DIVINE TIME OF GENERAL HAPPINESS INCLUDES MILLENNIAL GLORY FOR THE WORLD. The second image employed indicates the glorious season of true religion possessing the hearts of men in all its Divine purity and hallowed devotions. The contrast is lovely between the two figures used. Light, the most beautiful element in nature; perfume, the sweetest of elements; the incense of most precious odours represents the purity of soul-worship presented to God, whether in public devotions or from private hearts. We need not enter on the question, whether this Divine time shall be before or after the second advent in glory. The sweet incense and pure offering which Jehovah now demands and loves are spiritual devotions, true prayers, praise, obedience, love, and charity. These are to be found "in every place." The coming glory of Christ in the conversion of the world is the earnest prayer of faith now; it is the glowing object of Divine hope now; it is often the warm pulse and action of Christian love and charity. III. OUR IMPERATIVE DUTY TO EXTEND THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IN ALL LANDS. 1. This is the Christian's duty of obligation. 2. Efforts for the conversion of the heathen always bring down rich blessings on the soul. (J. Angley, M. A.)
II. THE EXALTATION OF THE NAME OF JEHOVAH. In Scripture the one prominent object the Lord has in view everywhere is the glory of His own name. The honour of Jehovah's name is to be constantly eyed, in doctrines received, in experience enjoyed, and in practice manifested; and the interests of the living Church are involved therein. (Joseph Irons.)
I. THE SCRIPTURE TESTIMONY TO THE ULTIMATE UNIVERSAL SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL. This testimony is full, clear, and decisive. It is given alive under patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian dispensations. II. THE SAME TRUTH IS EVIDENT FROM THE NATURE OF THE CASE. 1. The need of redemption is universal. All false religions bear testimony to the need. And to their own insufficiency to satisfy this need. 2. The Gospel alone can satisfy this craving of mankind. It proclaims the one oblation by which Christ hath for ever perfected, etc. It shows the chains of evil broken by the great Deliverer. 3. The Gospel is fitted for universal diffusion. All other religions are adapted only for local influence; even the Jewish religion was suited only to Palestine. But the Gospel is at home under every clime, and with every race of man. 4. The Gospel implants the instinct of universal diffusion. It produces hatred of sin, and love to God and man. It impels the Christian to say to his brother, "Know the Lord." It finds a brother where the Samaritan found a neighbour. It brings us to our knees to pray, "Thy kingdom come." 5. The kingdoms of providence and grace are united under the same sceptre. The revolutions of nations ultimately further the Gospel. III. THE VOICE OF HISTORY CONFIRMS THE CONCLUSIONS. Here we have God's works confirming His words. The witness of history is to the point, whether we consider — 1. The importance of the conquests hitherto won by the Gospel. Christianity has conquered every religion with which it fairly came in contact — Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Persian, Scandinavian, Celtic, Phoenician, Polynesian. 2. The proved weakness of the only weapons with which it can be assailed. Persecution, false philosophy, and priestcraft. Then — (1) (2) (3) (4) (Evangelical Preacher.)
I. THE DUTY SUGGESTED. From the earliest ages the custom of presenting offerings to God has prevailed. It might have arisen from instructions given to our first parents, or from the natural instinct of gratitude or of fear. The first family presented their offerings. Christianity does not remove from us this obligation, though Christ has offered Himself without spot for us. He offered Himself that we may be able to offer ourselves through Him. Ourselves are the best offerings we can give. If we had no sense of possession in ourselves we could not consecrate ourselves to God. Every sacrifice, sincerely made for the world's advancement, is an offering presented to God. II. WHAT A PURE OFFERING IS. Many offerings are not pure. Men defile their offerings by their own impurity. How can man present an offering that shall be pure in God's sight? 1. It must come from a purified heart. Men's hearts may be purified and yearn after God. Holy love may prompt the gift. Cleansing fountains abound on this polluted earth. Angelic ministries, the sanctifying spirit, the purging flame of God's truth, the fountain of forgiving love opened at the Cross, are all ours to take away our guilt, as we seek to present our offerings to God. 2. It must proceed from a penitent and obedient spirit. The disposition of the offerer will be regarded more than the offering. Gifts separated from the inner life are of no value to God. 3. It must emanate from a spirit of entire consecration to God. Entire consecration purifies. To devote ourselves to God is to separate ourselves from sinful defilements. Offerings ever derive their value from the devoted spirit of the offerer. Entire consecration is difficult to our depraved hearts. All lingering covetousness must be conquered. III. HOW IT SHOULD BE PRESENTED. We should seek not to mar our offering by the way in which we present it. It should be — 1. In faith. Which will lay hold of God's willingness to accept our gifts, however lowly and insignificant they may be. Faith will lead us away from the altar, rejoicing in the assurance that God has accepted our offerings. 2. By Jesus Christ. He is the High Priest of humanity. He presents prayers, praises, works for us. He presents the saints themselves as an offering without blemish to God. 3. With sincerity. God looks into the heart of the offerer. Some offerings are presented only for the eves of men. 4. With grateful eagerness. All lukewarmness should be banished. Grateful love should animate us. IV. BLESSINGS ATTEND THE PRESENTATION OF A PURE OFFERING. We have a consciousness of Divine approval. Every time we present ourselves as a pure offering to God we receive ourselves back again from His hands with every spiritual power quickened and enlarged. (W. Osborne Lilley.)
1. That this Christian service is an oblation. 2. That it is an oblation of thanksgiving and prayer. 3. An oblation through Jesus Christ commemorated in the creatures of bread and wine. 4. This commemoration of Christ is also a sacrifice. 5. The body and blood of Christ, in this mystical service, was made of bread and wine which had been first offered unto God, to agnize Him the Lord of the creature. 6. This sacrifice was placed in commemoration only of Christ's sacrifice upon the Cross, and not in a real offering of His body and blood anew. The sacrifice of Christians is nothing but that one sacrifice of Christ once offered upon the Cross again and again commemorated. (Joseph Mede, B. D.)
I. In the age of Isaiah the Jews were full of religiosity. Sacrifices were not neglected — a multitude were offered. They brought the best of all kinds, not as in the days of Malachi, the lean and the poor, but abundantly they brought the blood of bullocks, of lambs, and of he-goats. Clouds of incense arose; they carefully kept the new moons, the Sabbaths, the assemblies, and the solemn meeting, not only all appointed feasts, but even others they observed in an intense devotion to the forms of religion. Why were their oblations vain? Why were they not regarded in their sacrifices and accepted in their persons? 1. As in the days of the Saviour, so now, whilst they were careful to tithe, mint, anise and cummin, they omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. 2. They were offered without faith. This whole chapter shows such to be the case. This was just what made the difference between Abel's sacrifice and Cain's offering. 3. Their offerings were unaccompanied with repentance; for repentance implies confession of sin, the forsaking it, and the reformation of life. II. THIS POSITIVE SINFULNESS IS CLEARLY MADE OUT. 1. They were laden with iniquity. 2. There was no soundness in them, from the sole of the foot even unto the head. 3. Their rulers were like the princes of Sodom, and themselves like the men of Gomorrah. 4. Their hands were full of blood. The rulers did not punish the people, and reciprocally the people abetted their rulers in their blood-guiltiness. 5. The times were full of evils, unredressed and unavenged. Their princes had become companions of thieves and bribe-takers. III. On the other hand, GOD STILL REMEMBERS GRACE AND MERCY. 1. There was still a remnant left (ver. 9). 2. All are called to repentance (vers. 16, 17). 3. Those that repent shall obtain mercy, but the contumacious shall not be spared (vers. 18-24). 4. And still further, God holds up the gracious promise to send times of reformation and refreshing (vers. 25-27).Reflections — 1. Do we preach and pray, and is there no answering fruit — no conversions, and no increase of piety? 2. Can the reason be found in devotion to the forms of religion and the neglect of its spirit? 3. Are our people characterised by an absorbing devotion to the world? 4. Then to us as to Israel is the call to repentance; to us as to them, the hope of forgiveness; to us as to them, the promise of revival upon repentance and reformation. God forbid that we should merely possess the forms of religion and be destitute of its life-giving power. (L. O. Thomson.)
I. THE CRIMINAL CHARGE HE FIXES ON THIS PROFESSING COMMUNITY. It is aggravated by three things. 1. By the salutary discipline to which they had recently been subjected for their backslidings and rebellions against God. 2. By the fact that they thus sinned against the clearest knowledge. 3. By the majesty of the object against whom their offence was directed. We censure and condemn the Jews, but "are we better than they"? II. THE USES TO BE MADE OF THIS REMONSTRANCE. 1. Here are materials for your deepest humiliation and penitence. 2. How incompetent are all the rites and ceremonies of religion to save the soul! 3. See the fallacy of pharisaism. 4. How welcome, then, is the evangelical intelligence which is brought to us, to awaken a hope of the acceptance of our persons and services in the sight of a holy God. (J. Clayton.)
I. THE DECEIVER. He may be a self-deceiver, or a deceiver of others, or both. Some may unconsciously deceive; others intentionally. It is the intentional deceiver that is cursed; he who aims to deceive others. These abound in — 1. Religious communities. The wily priest, the glib teacher of error, the hypocrite. 2. In the social circle. The liar, the seducer, the false friend. 3. In commerce. The unreliable employee, the concocter of lying prospectuses, the swindling merchant. 4. In political movements. The bribing agent, the self-seeking adventurer, the unscrupulous statesman. Men sometimes turn themselves into incarnate falsehoods for the sake of worldly success. The advantages gained are only seeming, not real. The deceiver is —(1) Foolish. He injures himself for the sake of uncertain good.(2) Despicable. Society treats the exposed deceiver with contempt. All honest men shun him.(3) Treacherous. He is like a splintered staff, a rotten cable, a sandy foundation, a spider's web, a wrecker's beacon, a flower-covered bog, a desert mirage, etc.(4) Mischievous. He lays traps for the innocent. He destroys social confidence.(5) Diabolical. Like Lucifer, he "sins in wily guise." He is a true son of the father of lies. II. HIS CURSE. This may be suspicion, discredit, fear of discovery, exposure, stings of conscience, spiritual .blindness, the execrations of his victims; the contempt of all good men; the displeasure of the Almighty, hell-fires, etc. His curse is certain. In a universe where a God of truth and righteousness reigns, the deceiver is sure to be punished. The curse is terrible and eternal. Application — 1. Let us guard ourselves against all deceivers. 2. Let us beware of deceit. 3. Better be deceived than deceive. (W. Osborne Lilley.)
I. THE SERVICE OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. 1. It is profane service whenever it is not intelligent, whenever it is not founded on a right understanding of the object of worship. You, who have watched the movements or the torpidity of your minds at the time of supposed prayer, will bear me witness how often you have failed to recognise the simple being of the God before whom you bow down. 2. No offering of worship is acceptable which is not also solemn and reverential. This it could not fail to be if we were possessed by a just sense of the transcendent greatness of Him to whom prayer is presented. His majesty is infinite and ineffable, and therefore we stand at an immeasurable distance from Him. And yet to such a Being we address ourselves in prayer. Do any of us detect in ourselves the vacant gaze, the roving thought? 3. Acceptable worship must be spiritual. Why so? "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." They must so worship Him, because it is not possible that He should receive any other. Do you assert that "God is a Spirit," then you contract Him into the narrow dimensions of your own being if you give Him no more than the devotions of the body, if you give Him not the ardent services of your soul. 4. If our worship be genuine, it will be marked by intentness of mind. Languor and laxness of the spirit are sure tokens that it" is not a glad offering, but an irksome task. In all these cases what is the sin which we charge home but that very sin for which the prophet utters his rebuke? They have a better offering which they might offer. They are capable of a worship more worthy of God. Instead, they bring the lame, and the sick, and the torn, they "sacrifice unto the Lord a corrupt thing." II. THE HABITUAL SERVICE OF THE LIFE. Here too the service of God admits of nothing short of the most perfect offering that can be presented. Our baptismal covenant, made for us in our unconscious infancy, when our own reason was not privy to the engagement, is sealed and confirmed in maturer age; and then it is that we deliberately and personally "vow" to give the choice thing in our flock. But where is he to be found that fully recognises and performs the baptismal oath? The baptised man, the communicant, and the parent for his child, and he who is in near danger, has vowed, deliberately, unto God, the male that is in his flock; but he leaves off with sacrificing unto the Lord "a corrupt thing." (R. Eden, M. A.)
I. JEHOVAH IS A KING. A king is the political head or supreme ruler of a kingdom. There are kings by right, and kings in fact. The king by right has claim to the throne, though he may not possess it. The king in fact actually possesses the throne, though he may have no right to it. He alone who has both the right and the possession can properly be called a king. And such a king is Jehovah. His kingdom is the whole created universe, and of this kingdom He is in actual and full possession. And He is the rightful sovereign of the universe. All men were born into the dominions of Jehovah. Men cannot cease to be His subjects without ceasing to exist. He possesses all the insignia of royalty. He has a throne, a crown, royal robes, etc. II. JEHOVAH IS A GREAT KING. Great is the Lord, and His greatness is unsearchable. See the greatness, duration, and stability of His empire. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. 1. If God is a king, He is under obligations to make laws for His subjects. When He assumes any office He binds Himself to perform all the duties of that office. The first and most indispensable duty of an absolute sovereign is to make laws for his subjects. It is as much his duty to make laws, as it is their duty to obey them when made. 2. He is under obligations to make the wisest and best laws possible. It was incumbent on him to consult, not the private wishes and inclinations of individuals, but the great interests of his whole kingdom. 3. He is under obligations to annex some penalty to every violation of his law. A law without a penalty annexed is not a law, that is, it cannot answer the purpose of a law. 4. He is bound to enforce his laws, and to inflict the threatened punishment on all who transgress them. He must not bear the sword in vain, but be a terror to evil-doers. Justice in a sovereign ruler consists in treating his subjects according to their deserts. He may be guilty of injustice by treating them better than they deserve, as well as by treating them worse than they deserve. But God cannot act unjustly. 5. We may learn the necessity of an atonement for sin. Something which shall maintain the authority of God's law, secure the great interests of His kingdom, and answer all the ends of government, no less effectually than the infliction of merited punishment upon transgressors. Without such an atonement God cannot consistently with justice, or His obligations as a sovereign, pardon a single offender. 6. If Jehovah is king, sin is treason and rebellion, and every impenitent sinner is a traitor and a rebel. 7. If Jehovah is king, it is requisite that He should have ambassadors, in order that His will should be communicated to His subjects. God's inspired messengers, the prophets and apostles, were ambassadors extraordinary. His ministers are His ambassadors to-day. (E. Payson, D. D.)
I. THIS DECLARATION WHICH JEHOVAH MAKES RESPECTING HIMSELF. God places Himself towards us in various aspects. He is a king. He has in Himself all the qualities of kingly greatness. Kings should be the greatest of men. He has all the attributes of a great king. His power, authority, majesty, etc. His dominions are great. His kingdom is eternal. II. WHAT LESSONS MAY BE LEARNT FROM THIS DECLARATION. Learn — 1. To reverence Him. 2. The importance of securing His favour. He has shown us the way to secure it — by repentance, faith, and obedience. 3. To trust implicitly in His overruling providence. 4. To submit ourselves to His government. 5. To expect great blessings from His hands. Great expectancy in His creatures pleases Him. Great expectations from Him are never disappointed. (W. Osborne Lilley.)
(C. Kingsley.) The Biblical Illustrator, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006, 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. BibleSoft.com Bible Hub |