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| 1. | 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 |
| It was a happier task for the apostle to write to the Thessalonian saints on the subject of the resurrection than to the Corinthians. The need at Corinth arose from the speculative, free, reasoning intellect of a Greek. The Corinthians opposed difficulties to the mystery of the resurrection, very much |
| 2. | Acts of the Apostles, Meditations on the |
| WE come to the examination of the history itself. Moreover, this begins with the great truth of which we have spoken. The disciples should have been waiting at Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We will find, besides, the proof of another precious truth. The Lord, after His |
| 3. | Acts of the Apostles, Meditations on the |
| But the great subject of which we have spoken, now comes before our view: the immense fact of the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell with the disciples of Jesus, in each, and in the midst of all together. Thus in 1 Cor. 3:16 16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16), the Church, as a |
| 4. | Appeal*, An |
| Feeling most deeply and truly the solemnity of the present moment, and at this the commencement of another year, in which, or even within the next moment of time, we know not what may come to pass, I would earnestly, and most solemnly and prayerfully, in the name of the |
| 5. | Be Patient, for His Coming Draweth Nigh |
| Oh! let those words be graven in our heart, |
| 6. | Characteristic Features of the Missionary Travels of St. Paul |
| Of the New Testament there are five books which may be termed historical, viz., the four Gospels and the Acts, and one which is prophetical, the Revelations or Apocalypse. So far the New Testament has features in common with the Old. The remaining twenty-one books, however, are of a character |
| 7. | Church, The |
| People say (and that there is moral ground for such a word, and reasonableness in it to all our first impressions I deny not), that others have been more devoted to Christ, and suffered more for him, than many whom we put specially into the Church or Body of Christ; |
| 8. | Day of the Lord, The |
| In the course of his instructions for the saints at Thessalonica, the apostle speaks of the coming and of the day of the Lord. |
| 9. | Daysman, The |
| In the Book of Job we find the trials which God sent Job for his good; and the way in which his patience broke down under them. He is celebrated for patience, but he cursed the day that he was born. It teaches us how good is not to be |
| 10. | Epistle of Paul to the Romans, Meditations on the |
| The apostle has shown in the two previous chapters the effect of the death and resurrection of Christ with regard to justification (chapter 5.) and practical life (chapter 6). In chapter 5 we are delivered from the guilt of sin, and in chapter 6 from the power of |
| 11. | Extracts From Letters of Interest |
| 1. |
| 12. | Extracts From Letters of Interest |
| " You have observed, perhaps, how the Lord in John's Gospel acts on the ground of this, that the world had not known Him; and Israel had not received Him-according to ch. 1:10, 11. |
| 13. | Fragment |
| There was a time when there was no scripture but the Word; now there is no word apart from Scripture. |
| 14. | Fragment |
| The unity of the body is so great a truth, and is connected collaterally with so many other truths of deep and vital moment, that we need not wonder (in a day of so much ignorance of Scripture, and worldliness, as at present) if the enemy should succeed in leading |
| 15. | Fragment |
| God would not have us always occupied with the manifestation of His grace to us in salvation-blessed as that is. He would have us able to receive communications of what He Himself is. Many things hinder this. Not perhaps sinful things. It may be even activity for |
| 16. | Fragment on Romans 4, A |
| The Apostle had spoken (chapters 2-3.) of the two grounds of responsibility-natural conscience, and the law; now he takes up another point—the promises of God; they had to do neither with natural conscience nor with law; the Jews claimed a special place as heirs to the promises of God. But |
| 17. | Gleanings |
| "If I wake in the night I am still with Him. I have liberty to pour out my awed thoughts to Him in still and fearless reverence, and my gentle thoughts in confidential love, and my troubled thoughts in prayer, and my gladsome thoughts in the songs of the Spirit. |
| 18. | Grace With Salt |
| "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." |
| 19. | I Want Thee Here, Lord Jesus |
| I want Thee here, Lord Jesus, |
| 20. | Jesus Christ as Lord |
| There are two senses in which the expression "last days" is used in the New Testament. In the opening of the Epistle to the Hebrews there is mention of "these last days." There it is intended to designate this present dispensation. But the expression is also applied to |
| 21. | John 10:1-19, On |
| " He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep." Door there is God's appointed way, through humiliation and death. He entered in by the door into the fold, that He might lead His own sheep out. Christ entered into the fold by God's appointed |
| 22. | Jonathan and David |
| The Old Testament does not give us the history of the man, but the faithfulness of the servant, so far as it was typical of Christ who was to come. Thus the faithful servant represented in his faithfulness the Christ who was to come-the faithful servant now represents Christ |
| 23. | Judicial and Moral Cleansing |
| The scene in the early part of John 13 is more or less familiar to many; it contains the account of the Lord washing His disciples' feet, just before He went away; an action typical of His present service for " His own which are in the world." |
| 24. | Leah's Sons |
| Israel, who were not only the sheep of His pasture, but the betrothed of Jehovah ("Thy maker is thine husband"), fair through the comeliness that He had put upon her, proves herself barren and without fruit to God, and is practically set aside: "Lo ammi" written upon her. This is |
| 25. | Letters of Interest |
| Your letter, of May 5, came to hand safely. Your interesting question involves a very lovely feature of John 17; not only in v. 24, but in the whole chapter. It is a wonderful portion of the word of God. There is a holy solemnity about it that deters |
| 26. | Lord's Host, The: Chapter 10 |
| Gilgal: The Passover on the Plans of Jericho. |
| 27. | Lord's Host, The: Chapter 11 |
| Gilgal: " The Old Corn of the Land." |
| 28. | Lord's Host, The: Chapter 5 |
| Praise: The Song of Grace and Glory. |
| 29. | Lord's Host, The: Chapter 6 |
| "Heavenly Places." |
| 30. | Lord's Host, The: Chapter 6 Continued |
| " Heavenly Places." |
| 31. | Lord's Host, The: Chapter 7 |
| Canaan first; then the Lessons of the Wilderness. |
| 32. | Lord's Host, The: Chapter 8 |
| Gilgal: The Stones of Memorial in the Jordan and at Gilgal. |
| 33. | Lord's Host, The: Chapter 9 |
| Gilgal: Circumcision, Positional and Practical. |
| 34. | Lord's Host, The: Judgment Announced and the Way of Escape: the Bunch of Hyssop |
| I pass over all the signs and wonders wrought in the land of Ham; and also over the compromises proposed by the enemy under the pressure of God's hand, until the moment when the final message was sent by Moses to Pharaoh. This we find in the eleventh chapter of |
| 35. | Lord's Host, The: Redemption |
| To possess the forgiveness of his sins is the portion of every child of God. An unforgiven child of God is unknown in Scripture. False theology may, and has darkened the souls of His people; or they may never have known the light. Still forgiveness is their portion, and they |
| 36. | Lord's Host, The: The Seal of the Holy Spirit on the Forgiveness of Sins |
| On receiving the forgiveness of our sins, there results a most important matter for our souls. I allude to the sealing of the Spirit of God. The sealing of the Spirit takes place at once when we receive this forgiveness-when we believe in Christ. This is quite different from |
| 37. | Matthew 1 |
| Those who were used of God to group the books of the New Testament have done wisely in placing Matthew's the first of the four gospels, because it is more intimately connected with the Old Testament than any other. To him it was given to draw the portrait of Christ |
| 38. | Matthew 16:21-28 |
| The Lord addresses Himself to His journey to Jerusalem, in the full recognition of this-that He has there to meet the enmity of man: here He does not look towards that city with the thought of His being made there the offering for sin under the hand of |
| 39. | Matthew 2 |
| The previous chapter has shown us that the One of whom it speaks was everything that their own Scriptures could lead a Jew to expect. He was at once the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, Jehovah the Savior, and Emmanuel Himself. |
| 40. | Matthew 3 |
| The prominent features of this chapter are the mission of John the Baptist, and the entrance upon the scene by the Lord Himself. |
| 41. | Matthew 4 |
| From the commencement of this chapter we may learn this simple principle, that God will not lead His own into circumstances of trial without first amply preparing them for those circumstances. He had anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, and He now leads Him by |
| 42. | Others Which Have No Hope |
| "Ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope" (1 Thess. 4:13 13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13)). These words have struck me this morning forcibly; not so much with regard to those to whom the apostle writes, but to those to whom he refers, in the words, "Others which have no hope." How |
| 43. | Paul - the Prisoner of Jesus Christ |
| Well had the Holy Ghost prophesied (chap. 20:23), that "bonds and afflictions awaited Paul." Ordained as the apostle of the Gentiles, with the promise of deliverance from them (chap. 26:17), he was now, through his own self-will, "the prisoner of Jesus Christ for them" (Eph. 3:1 1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, (Ephesians 3:1)). It was the |
| 44. | Paul - the Prisoner of Jesus Christ: Continued |
| We now come to his fourth arraignment-that before the new governor of the province, Porcius Festus-and it is remarkable to notice the undeviating hatred of the Jews against him. The moment the new governor came up from the seat of government to the capital city of his new province, the |
| 45. | Paul's Prayer to the Father |
| In speaking of the Apostle's prayer in the end of Ephesians 3, it would be well to explain a little the earlier part of the epistle, as it is important, and will help to explain the prayer. You find in the end of chap. 2 certain great principles that |
| 46. | Precious Blood of Christ, The |
| "Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5). These words link the story of His blessed work of salvation by blood-shedding on His cross, with the shedding of the blood of the Paschal Lamb in Egypt. Let us look for a moment at what this blood-shedding has |
| 47. | Remnant of the Last Days, The |
| A Remnant, which answers to the mind of God at any moment, is always the living link between that -which has failed, and of which it is a Remnant, and with what that which it represents will be in glory. |
| 48. | Romans, Meditations on Paul's Epistle to the |
| The apostle has now removed all objections against the perfect justification of the sinner and its practical consequences, and in this chapter he places the condition of the delivered Christian before us, whose deliverance is founded upon the work of Christ only, whose joy is a consequence of partaking of |
| 49. | Romans, Meditations on Paul's Epistle to the: Chapter 8 Continued |
| In that which follows we have a further unfolding of those absolute privileges and blessings which are the portion of the saints. In verses 15 and 16 we have first the character, and then the action of the Spirit that dwells in the believer. "For ye have not |
| 50. | Salvation of the Lord, The |
| The Book of Leviticus is the book of worship; it gives us the principles of worship, and that which the worshipper was to pass through in order to be fitted for worship. In the case of the leper (chap. 13), it was not simply a question of forgiveness of sins |
| 51. | Scripture Queries |
| "J.R.-"Will you define to me Matt. 11:12 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12)-"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force"? |
| 52. | Seen of Angels |
| Angels in beholding Him, had treasured up what He had said (Luke 24:9, 22 9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. (Luke 24:9)
22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; (Luke 24:22)), which had not been done by His disciples. |
| 53. | Sin Put Away |
| "I received the gospel as Christ gave it, simply to my heart, from Him who taught me that He had put away sin' by the sacrifice of Himself. I saw that all my seeking to serve God and be acceptable to Him, without knowing how to submit myself to the |
| 54. | What Is Man, That Thou Art Mindful of Him? |
| "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?" is an inquiry from Psa. 8, founded upon what man is in himself, looked at as a fallen creature down here; but it brings out, in answer, what is Christ! |
| 55. | Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? |
| The cry in this psalm is pre-eminently the cry of one forsaken of God. In this the psalm stands alone. Not, indeed, that we do not find other sufferings of our Lord in this psalm, but, that which gives it its distinctness from all other psalms is this cry of |
| 56. | Wondrous Is Thy Love Lord Jesus |
| Wondrous is Thy love Lord Jesus! |