Malachi 3:17 And they shall be mine, said the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them… The Lord makes up His jewels — 1. By the word and ordinances of His grace. The word of inspiration is the grand instrument which the Lord uses for hewing His jewels out of the rock of corrupt nature, and bringing them from the dark mine of misery to the light of everlasting felicity. It is an instrument of great power. It commands holiness, supplies motives, and presents encouragements to the mind. The exercises of praise and prayer are admirably adapted to refine and polish the soul in the beauties of holiness, 2. By the operations and dispensations of His providence. Looking at providence on a comprehensive scale, redemption is its most striking and grand display. The darkest as well as the brightest aspects of providence are necessary to the making up of God's jewels. God's own saints are often the better for being afflicted. Trials are necessary to purify the Church from corruptions, to cleanse the heart, and rectify the life of individuals, and to beautify them both severally and collectively in time, and make their character shine in the light of eternity. 3. By the work and influences of His Spirit. The word and ordinances of grace, aided by the operation and dispensations of providence, can do nothing to convert or sanctify a single soul, unless the Spirit accompany them with His blessing. Just as the hammer, or the chisel, or the saw, or the file, without the hand of the mechanic, cannot hew a single jewel out of the quarry of nature, or polish it into beauty, so without the agency of the Holy Spirit, ordinances and providences, powerful instruments though they are, cannot convince a sinner of sin, or lead him from the paths of error into the way of God. The Holy Spirit dwells in the heart s of believers to polish and fit them for shining as jewels in the mediatorial crown of glory. Let all Christians then, make a right improvement, both for their own and their brethren's sake, of God's dealings. The more faith Christians exercise, the more godly will they become; and the more godly they are here, the brighter shall they shine hereafter in that world where everlasting peace reigns, and grace never declines, where the sun of glory never sets, and where the sky of blessedness is never overcast with clouds. (John Shoolbraid.) Parallel Verses KJV: And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. |
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