Therefore be ye also ready. The one point which our Lord seeks to impress on his disciples is the uncertainty of the time of the great testing day, and of all testing days. The fact that a reckoning day for the Lord's servants must come has to be fully accepted. If there is any sense in which we are now in trust during our Lord's absence, it is certain that his absence can only be temporary. We can never cease to be servants in charge. We can never get a personal right in the things of which we are set in charge. Purposely our Lord withholds from his disciples of every age the date of his return. It is truest kindness to do so. It is moral training to do so. His disciples always go wrong when they try to fix dates. Christ distinctly refuses to allow any data on which such fixtures can be made. Prophets of the "second coming," and of the "end of the world," are wise above what is written, and let their imaginations run riot over Bible figures of speech.

I. THE MORAL INFLUENCE OF FEELING THAT THE MASTER MAY COME AT ANY TIME.

1. It keeps the thought of the Master close, near to us at all times. So it takes us out of ourselves.

2. It keeps us thinking what the Master would like to see when he comes. So it makes us ever busy about our work.

3. It sets us upon thinking what pleasant surprises we can give our Master when he comes. So it lifts our work high above the drudgery of service.

4. It keeps in our hearts the ever-cheering confidence of the Master's smile, if he sees all has been right and is right in his home. Add that all this filling of our souls with the thought of our Master provides the healthiest deliverance from all self-centred sentimentalism. Illustrate from our Lord's picture of the good servant, who was found "watching," in the sense of being busy about his work.

II. THE MORAL INFLUENCE OF FEELING THAT THE MASTER IS DELAYING HIS COMING. This represents the most striking contrast. The thought of the Master is lifted away, and self rises to fill the vacant space. No need to hurry preparations; it will be soon enough when he sends notice. Meanwhile there can be self-enjoyment. There is no fear of being taken at unawares. See the picture of the unworthy servant. Whether men think they can, or think they cannot, fix the time of Christ's coming, the fact for them all will be that he will come to them at unawares, and find them out. - R.T.

I. To speak of DEATH.

1. At death, the body is dissolved into dust.

2. At death, the soul and body separate.

3. At death, the soul appears before God.

II. WHO ARE READY FOR DEATH?

1. All who are prepared to die see their lost state by nature.

2. All who love God.

3. All who have God.

III. REASONS WHY WE SHOULD BE PREPARED TO DIE.

1. Death is sure.

2. The time is uncertain.

3. This is the only world where you can be prepared to die.

4. Now is the time God has given you to prepare to die.

5. He is a wise man who prepares to die.

6. He is a fool who refuses to prepare to die.

(A. Fletcher, M. A.)

I. THE ADMONITION. To be ready for the coming of Christ ought to be the great end of life.

1. To be ready for death, is to have obtained the pardon of all sins.

2. It is to possess renewed natures.

3. It is to have all the graces of the Spirit in vigorous exercise.

II. THE MOTIVE AND ARGUMENT EMPLOYED.

1. The uncertainty of the event in question. '2. Death may come when, according to human calculation, there is the least Prospect of it.

3. It may call us when our earthly concerns may make it most inconvenient for us to depart.

4. It may approach when we are least ready for its approach.

(T. Brown, D. D.)

I. THE SCRIPTURAL ACCOUNT OF THE UNCERTAINTY OF HUMAN LIFE.

II. INQUIRE HOW THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE SO SELDOM LEADS MEN PREPARE FOR LEAVING IT.

1. Want of consideration.

2. Love of this world and its enjoyments.

3. A vague impression that death is a distant event.

III. SOME OF THE COMFORTS AND ADVANTAGES OF BEING PREPARED FOR DEATH.

1. It secures the testimony of a good conscience, connected with the favour of God, and the happiness that results from both.

2. Preparation for death alleviates the afflictions of life, and affords much consolation under them.

3. It frees from slavish fear of that event.

(A. Grant, D. D.)

I. THE EVENT PREDICTED.

1. His coming at the day of judgment.

2. At the hour of death.

II. THE DUTY ENJOINED.

1. It is an evangelical readiness.

2. It is a gracious readiness.

3. It is an habitual readiness.

(T. Hitchin.)

I. WHAT IS REVEALED concerning our Lord's character and appearance?

1. Preparation made.

2. His first coming was in weakness; His second, in illimitable power. His first, in humiliation; His second, in glory.

II. The EFFECT of His coming.

1. Renovation.

2. Dissolution.

3. Manifestation.

(E. Fisk, LL. B.)

A ship in a port, with all its provisions and sails and men on board, is in one sense of the word, "ready" — ready for sea; but it may not be "ready " in the sense this text enjoins. Its sails must be in their places, its anchor must be up, every man must be at his post: then it is actually ready for the ocean and its storms. Let the command come, and in a minute or two it is disengaged from the fastenings that held it, lies down to the breeze, and without hurry or alarm is gone. And this is the readiness our Lord has here in His mind — a state of actual readiness, preparedness of mind and heart.

(C. Bradley.)

I. A CALL TO A STATE OF PREPARATION. The readiness to which we are called is a state that will give us admission to Paradise. The qualification for such a distinction and privilege is —

1. The possession of Christian acceptance and holiness.

2. A faithful and assiduous fulfilment of trust. Trusts of the most important kind are committed to man, for which he is accountable and responsible.

3. Habitual watchfulness.

II. OUR LORD ENFORCES THIS CALL BY THE DECLARATION OF AN IMPRESSIVE FACT.

1. The coming of the Son of Man.

2. The purposes of His coming.

3. Man's ignorance of the period of His coming.

(J. Rattenbury.)

I. THE EVENT FOR WHICH WE ARE TO BE READY.

1. At death, the body turns to its original dust.

2. At death, the soul and body separate.

3. At death, the soul appears before God.

II. WHAT IS IMPLIED IN BEING READY? Great events require suitable preparation. Preparation for death implies —

1. A perception of unfitness for death, without an interest in the favour of God.

2. Faith in Christ, which is instrumental in obtaining pardon of sin, etc.

3. Holiness.

4. Diligence in the use of the public and private means of grace.

III. MOTIVES TO URGE US TO BE READY.

1. Death is sure to come.

2. The time of death's approach is uncertain.

3. Abundant provision is made to induce this preparation.

4. The present life is the only period in which we can prepare for death.

5. To be ready indicates true wisdom, and gives peace.

(W. N.)

I. WHAT ARE WE TO BE READY FOR? To be ready to leave all that is about us and all that belongs to us, however cherished.

1. To be ready to leave this world, with all its cares, its troubles, and anxieties, for a better.

2. To be willing to be rid of many things that now burden us, and that every Christian more or less feebly desires to be rid of: sin, sorrow, sickness, appetites, disquiet, etc.

3. To be ready to stand at the judgment-seat of Christ. How do you expect to appear there?

II. WHY WE ARE TO BE READY.

1. It is Christ's command. Surely that is enough.

2. He who commands is competent to say what the readiness consists in. It is not what we think, nor what the minister prescribes, nor what custom says; but what Christ has inspired in His own holy word. Faith in Christ, etc.

3. He has promised to make us ready. He is the author first, and the finisher next, of our faith.

4. Why is it so important to be ready? We are to see the Son of God, etc.

5. Such readiness will not interfere with the duties of this world.

(J. Cumming, D. D.)

"Mamma," said a child, "my Sunday-school teacher tells me that this world is only a place in which God lets us live a little while, that we may prepare for a better world; but, mother, I do not See anybody preparing. I see you preparing to go into the country, and Aunt Eliza is preparing to come here; but I do not see any one preparing to go to heaven. If everybody wants to go there, why don't they try to get ready?"

Sir Colin Campbell, when summoned to go to India to quell the rebellion, was asked, "How long would it take him to get ready?" He replied promptly, "Half-an-hour." As a good soldier he lived in constant readiness for the call of duty. What a lesson for Christian soldiers! Suetonius tells us that it was a piece of Julius Caesar's policy never to fore-acquaint his soldiers of any set time of removal or onset, that he might ever have them in readiness to draw forth whithersoever he would. Christ, in like manner, who is called the "Captain of our salvation" (Hebrews 2:10). Our enemy is always ready to annoy us; should we not therefore look to our stand, and be vigilant? Solomon's wisdom, Lot's integrity, and Noah's sobriety, felt the smart of the serpent's sting. The first was seduced, the second stumbled, and the third fell, while the eye of watchfulness was fallen asleep.

(John Trapp.)

Every judgment, coming of Christ, is as the springing of a mine. There is a moment of deep suspense after the match has been applied to the fuse which is to fire the train. Men stand at a distance, and hold their breath. There is nothing seen but a thin, small column of white smoke, rising fainter and fainter, till it seems to die away. Then men breathe again; and the inexperienced soldier would approach the place, thinking that the thing has been a failure. It is only faith in the experience of the commander, or the veterans, which keeps men from hurrying to the spot again — till just when expectation has begun to die away, the low, deep thunder sends up the column of earth majestically to heaven, and all that was on it comes crushing down again in its far circle, shattered and blackened with the blast. It is so with the world. By God's Word the world is doomed. The moment of suspense is past: the first centuries in which men expected the convulsion to take place at once — for even Apostles were looking for it in their lifetime. We have fallen upon days of scepticism. There are no signs of ruin yet. We tread upon it like a solid thing fortified by its adamantine hills for ever. There is nothing against that, but a few words in a printed book. But the world is mined; and the spark has fallen; and just at the moment when serenity is at its height, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the feet of the Avenger shall stand on the earth.

(F. W. Robertson, M. A.)

I. The SOLEMN EVENTS for which we ought always to be ready.

1. Death.

2. Judgment.

3. Eternity.

II. In WHAT THIS READINESS CONSISTS, and how it is to be obtained. It consists in a proper arrangement of all our temporal and spiritual concerns. The preparation of the heart for the worship of God on earth and in heaven is from the Lord, and includes —

1. Divine illumination.

2. There must be faith.

3. A life of faith must be evidenced by a life of holiness.

4. We must live a life of prayer.

III. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ALWAYS READY, Reasons —

1. It is certain the Son of Man will come.

2. It is uncertain when the Son of Man will appear.

(Essex Remembrancer.)

Why do men refuse to heed the caution, and shrink from contemplations on their latter end.

1. The love of life is a powerful instinct. As men shrink from death by this vital instinct, so the thoughts of it are disagreeable.

2. The sentiments and symbols of men respecting death which have a painful and mischievous effect upon the imagination and feelings.

3. There are reasons which act powerfully from out of the affections, to make men slow to think of death. The mother could think of death except as a separation from her child.

4. Do you fear to come to God because of sin. Christ removes this. The pain of dying is small. We shall enter upon another life divested of the hindrances of this. Why is it not as easy to think of death as a golden gate, as to think of it as a murky gate?

(H. W. Beecher.)

I remark, then, in view of this subject thus far opened, that a proper Christian watchfulness and forethoughtfulness in regard to death and the future life will not abstract us from this world, but return us back to it better fitted to perform our part here than ever before. You are, after a long, weary summer's day, suffocated with heat, grimed with dust, covered with perspiration, and fretted of skin; and you are permitted to go down to the shore of the ocean, and bathe in its translucent waters; and your body is cleansed and cooled, and reinvigorated; and you return along the shadow of the evening, grateful, and stronger than you went. Now, God's ocean of eternity is so near, that the soul, moiled with trouble, may cast itself in, and bathe its troubles away, and return to its life again, bright, clear, inspired, strong. If you think of death as a slave, looking upon it as going into servitude under a hard master, then it may weaken you, and take away the comfort that you have; but if you think of it, as every child of God has a right to think of it, as going to your Father's house, where a rich banquet is prepared for you, and where you shall enjoy the companionship of saints and angels, it will be a source of comfort and strength to you. We can afford to take trouble here for the sake of gaining such an inheritance. What would I care for being poor, if I knew that at the end of one year I should have ten millions of dollars? Men would toil hard, and unremittingly, and without complaint, if they could be assured that the boundary of their toil was within their computation, and that all beyond was to be enjoyment and the amplest wealth. Men do endure everything in the hope of securing wealth and enjoyment. How will they pursue laborious industry in the chilling regions of the North, or how will they plunge into the heat of the tropics, encountering sickness, and the malaria of every delta that has commerce in it, in the hope that they may return to their father's house, or the village or neighbourhood of their birth, and spend the few closing days of their life in pleasure and comfort. And if such is the strength of the hope of a short period of earthly peace and rest, how much greater must be the strength of that man's hope who expects, after a few years (he cares not how few, so that God's will is done) he shall rise out of this world of trouble, and care, and vicissitudes, into the land of glory; God's land of freedom, of nobility, of purity, of truth?

(H. W. Beecher.)

It was s wish that Christ, when He came, might find him either praying or preaching. It was Latimers wish (and he had it) that he might shed his heart-blood for Christ. It was Jewel's wish that he might die preaching, and he did so, for presently, after his last sermon at Lacock, in Wiltshire, he was, by reason of sickness, forced to his bed, from whence he never came off till his translation to glory. I have heard the like of Mr. Lancaster, a precious man of God, some time pastor of Bloxham, in Oxfordshire, a man very famous for his living by faith. Cushamerns, a Dutch divine, and one of the first preachers of the gospel at Erfurt, in Germany, had his pulpit poisoned by the malicious Papists there, and so took his death in God's work. "What l would you that the Lord, when He comes, should find me idle?" said Calvin to his friends, who wished him to forbear studying awhile for his health's sake. And such a like answer made Dr. Reynolds to his physician upon the like occasion. Elijah was going on and talking with Elisha (about heavenly things, no doubt) when the chariot of heaven came to fetch him. There can be no better posture or state for the messenger of our dissolution to find-us in than in a diligent prosecution of our general or particular calling.

(John Trapp.)

Mr. Wesley was once asked by a lady, "Suppose you knew you were to die at twelve o'clock to-morrow night, how would you spend the intervening time?" "How, madam?" he replied; "why, just as I intend to spend it now. I should preach this night at Gloucester, and again at five to-morrow morning. After that I should ride to Tewkesbury, preach in the afternoon, and meet the societies in the evening. I should then repair to friend Martin's house, who expects to entertain me, converse and pray with the family as usual, retire to my room at ten o'clock, commend myself to my heavenly Father, lie down to rest, and wake up in glory."

I. What Christ's ministers are entrusted with?

1. The gospel.

2. The ordinances.

3. The care of the Church.

4. The souls of the members.

II. What ministers may be said to be stewards and rulers; teachers and preachers; elders or pastors?

III. Who are wise, faithful servants of Jesus Christ?

1. Such as serve Christ because they love Him.

2. Such as serve Christ in all humility.

3. Such as serve Him with a perfect heart.

4. Such as feed the Master's household with all that food the Master hath provided or appointed for them.

5. Such as feeds the whole household.

6. Such as seeks the honour of Christ in all he does, not his own gain.

7. Such as cares for the weak babes, or little children, of his Master's family.

(Benjamin Keach.)

Daniel, Jesus, Noah, NoeJerusalem, Judea, Mount of OlivesExpect, Hour, Ready, Reason, Wherefore1. Jesus foretells the destruction of the temple;
3. what and how great calamities shall be before it;
29. the signs of his coming to judgment.
36. And because that day and hour are unknown,
42. we ought to watch like good servants, expecting our Master's coming.

Matthew 24:44

     2221   Christ, Son of Man
     2357   Christ, parables
     5840   eagerness
     5962   surprises
     9105   last things

Matthew 24:36-44

     2309   Christ, as judge
     6182   ignorance, human situation

Matthew 24:40-44

     2565   Christ, second coming

Matthew 24:42-44

     2377   kingdom of God, entry into
     5555   stealing
     8493   watchfulness, believers

Matthew 24:42-51

     5340   house
     8329   readiness

Matthew 24:43-44

     5534   sleep, spiritual

The Carrion and the Vultures
'Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.'--MATT. xxiv. 28. This grim parable has, of course, a strong Eastern colouring. It is best appreciated by dwellers in those lands. They tell us that no sooner is some sickly animal dead, or some piece of carrion thrown out by the way, than the vultures--for the eagle does not prey upon carrion--appear. There may not have been one visible a moment before in the hot blue sky, but, taught by scent or by sight that their banquet …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Two Forms of one Saying
'He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.' --Matt. xxiv. 13, R.V. 'In your patience possess ye your souls.'--Luke xxi. 19. These two sayings, different as they sound in our Version, are probably divergent representations of one original. The reasons for so supposing are manifold and obvious on a little consideration. In the first place, the two sayings occur in the Evangelists' reports of the same prophecy and at the same point therein. In the second place, the verbal resemblance is …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Watching for the King
'Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh. 45. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season! 46. Blessed is that servant, whom his lord …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

March the Twentieth the Lord is at Hand!
"Ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." --MATTHEW xxiv. 42-51. Then let me always live as though my Lord were at the gate! Let me arrange my affairs on the assumption that the next to lift the latch will be the King. When I am out with my friend, walking and talking, let me assume that just round the corner I may meet the Lord. And so let me practise meeting Him! Said a mother to me one day concerning her long-absent boy: "I lay a place for him at every meal! His seat is always ready!" May …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

What Lasts, and what Passes Away.
25th Sunday after Trinity. S. Matthew xxiv., 35. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not pass away." INTRODUCTION.--Yes! all will pass away! This beautiful world and all that is on it. Our houses, our churches, our cities, will crumble away; the very earth with its mountains and rivers, and plains, and seas, will pass away. The stars will fall from heaven, the sun will have exhausted its fires, the moon will sink into night. But the words of Christ will last. SUBJECT.--Incessant …
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

"And Watch unto Prayer. "
1 Pet. iv. 7.--"And watch unto prayer." "Watch." A Christian should watch. A Christian is a watchman by office. This duty of watchfulness is frequently commanded and commended in scripture, Matt. xxiv. 42, Mark xiii. 33, 1 Cor. xvi. 13, Eph. vi. 18, 1 Pet. v. 8, Col. iv. 2; Luke xii. 37. David did wait as they that did watch for the morning light. The ministers of the gospel are styled watchmen in scripture and every Christian should be to himself as a minister is to his flock, he should watch over …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Of Meditation Upon Death
Very quickly will there be an end of thee here; take heed therefore how it will be with thee in another world. To-day man is, and to-morrow he will be seen no more. And being removed out of sight, quickly also he is out of mind. O the dulness and hardness of man's heart, which thinketh only of the present, and looketh not forward to the future. Thou oughtest in every deed and thought so to order thyself, as if thou wert to die this day. If thou hadst a good conscience thou wouldst not greatly …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Warning.
"Take heed that no man deceive you."--Matt. xxiv: 4. "Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."--Col. i: 27, 28. To give a warning is a sign of love. Who warns like a mother, and who loves like a mother? Your mother, perhaps, is gone, and your father is gone. Let me take the place of those who have departed, and lift up a warning voice. With Paul I would say: "I write not these …
Dwight L. Moody—Sowing and Reaping

Destruction of Jerusalem Foretold.
^A Matt. XXIV. 1-28; ^B Mark XIII. 1-23; ^C Luke XXI. 5-24. ^a 1 And Jesus went out from the temple [leaving it to return no more], and was going on his way; and his disciples came to him ^b as he went forth ^a to show him the buildings of the temple. ^b one of his disciples saith unto him, Teacher, behold, what manner of stones and what manner of buildings! ^c 5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and offerings, he said [The strength and wealth of the temple roused …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Second Coming of Christ.
^A Matt. XXIV. 29-51; ^B Mark XIII. 24-37; ^C Luke XXI. 25-36. ^b 24 But in those days, ^a immediately after the { ^b that} ^a tribulation of those days. [Since the coming of Christ did not follow close upon the destruction of Jerusalem, the word "immediately" used by Matthew is somewhat puzzling. There are, however, three ways in which it may be explained: 1. That Jesus reckons the time after his own divine, and not after our human, fashion. Viewing the word in this light, the passage at II. Pet. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Christian Conception of Life Has Already Arisen in Our Society, and Will Infallibly Put an End to the Present Organization of Our Life Based On
The Condition and Organization of our Society are Terrible, but they Rest only on Public Opinion, and can be Destroyed by it-- Already Violence is Regarded from a Different Point of View; the Number of those who are Ready to Serve the Government is Diminishing; and even the Servants of Government are Ashamed of their Position, and so often Do Not Perform their Duties--These Facts are all Signs of the Rise of a Public Opinion, which Continually Growing will Lead to No One being Willing to Enter Government …
Leo Tolstoy—The Kingdom of God is within you

The Evening of the Third Day in Passion-Week - on the Mount of Olives: Discoures to the Disciples Concerning the Last Things.
THE last and most solemn denunciation of Jerusalem had been uttered, the last and most terrible prediction of judgment upon the Temple spoken, and Jesus was suiting the action to the word. It was as if He had cast the dust of His Shoes against the House' that was to be left desolate.' And so He quitted for ever the Temple and them that held office in it. They had left the Sanctuary and the City, had crossed black Kidron, and were slowly climbing the Mount of Olives. A sudden turn in the road, and …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

A Key to the Knowledge of Church History
A KEY TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHURCH HISTORY [Ancient] Edited by JOHN HENRY BLUNT, M.A. Editor of "The Dictionary of Theology," "The Annotated Book of Common Prayer;" Author of "Household Theology," Etc. Etc. "This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations."--St. Matt. xxiv. 14 Rivingtons Waterloo Place, London Oxford, and Cambridge MDCCCLXXVII [New Edition] …
John Henry Blunt—A Key to the Knowledge of Church History

Our Lord's Olivet Discourse Shows that There is no Universal Triumph of the Gospel Before his Second Advent.
The Olivet Discourse of our Lord is recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. We cannot now attempt a detailed exposition of these highly interesting and important chapters, but would simply single our from them a few things which throw light upon our present inquiry. At the beginning of Matt. 24 we find that three of His disciples asked our Lord, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the age?" (vs. 3). What then was the answer which …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Third Sunday Before Lent
Text: First Corinthians 9, 24-27; 10, 1-5. 24 Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. 25 And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

The vineyard and Its Keepers
'Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: 34. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. 35. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. 36. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Watching the Horizon
"Thy Kingdom Come." "Thou art coming! We are waiting With a hope that cannot fail; Asking not the day or hour, Resting on Thy word of power, Anchored safe within the veil. Time appointed may be long, But the vision must be sure: Certainty shall make us strong, Joyful patience must endure. "O the joy to see Thee reigning, Thee, my own beloved Lord! Every tongue Thy name confessing, Worship, honour, glory, blessing, Brought to Thee with glad accord! Thee, my Master and my Friend, Vindicated and enthroned! …
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation

Another Shorter Evening Prayer.
O eternal God and heavenly Father, if I were not taught and assured by the promises of thy gospel, and the examples of Peter, Mary Magdalene, the publican, the prodigal child, and many other penitent sinners, that thou art so full of compassion, and so ready to forgive the greatest sinners, who are heaviest laden with sin, at what time soever they return unto thee with penitent hearts, lamenting their sins, and imploring thy grace, I should despair for mine own sins, and be utterly discouraged from …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

There is a Blessedness in Reversion
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Matthew 5:3 Having done with the occasion, I come now to the sermon itself. Blessed are the poor in spirit'. Christ does not begin his Sermon on the Mount as the Law was delivered on the mount, with commands and threatenings, the trumpet sounding, the fire flaming, the earth quaking, and the hearts of the Israelites too for fear; but our Saviour (whose lips dropped as the honeycomb') begins with promises and blessings. So sweet and ravishing was the doctrine of this …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

An Analysis of Augustin's Writings against the Donatists.
The object of this chapter is to present a rudimentary outline and summary of all that Augustin penned or spoke against those traditional North African Christians whom he was pleased to regard as schismatics. It will be arranged, so far as may be, in chronological order, following the dates suggested by the Benedictine edition. The necessary brevity precludes anything but a very meagre treatment of so considerable a theme. The writer takes no responsibility for the ecclesiological tenets of the …
St. Augustine—writings in connection with the donatist controversy.

The Completion of Our Saviour's Prophecies Confirmed Pagans in their Belief of the Gospel.
I. The completion of our Saviour's Prophecies confirmed Pagans in their belief of the gospel. II. Origen's observation on our Saviour's disciples being brought before kings and governors; III. On their being persecuted for their religion; IV. On their preaching the gospel to all nations. V. On the destruction of Jerusalem, and ruin of the Jewish oeconomy. VI. These arguments strengthened by what has happened since Origen's time. I. THE second of these extraordinary means, of great use to the learned …
Joseph Addison—The Evidences of the Christian Religion, with Additional Discourses

Dogmatic.
I. (i) Against Eunomius. The work under this title comprises five books, the first three generally accepted as genuine, the last two sometimes regarded as doubtful. Gregory of Nazianzus, [303] Jerome, [304] and Theodoret [305] all testify to Basil's having written against Eunomius, but do not specify the number of books. Books IV. and V. are accepted by Bellarmine, Du Pin, Tillemont, and Ceillier, mainly on the authority of the edict of Justinian against the Three Chapters (Mansi ix., 552), …
Basil—Basil: Letters and Select Works

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