Expositions of Holy Scripture Novel Chapters
List of most recent chapters published for the Expositions of Holy Scripture novel. A total of 204 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024
Latest Release: Chapter 1 : Expositions of Holy Scripture.by Alexander Maclaren.THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL CHAMBERS OF IMAG
Expositions of Holy Scripture.by Alexander Maclaren.THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL CHAMBERS OF IMAGERY 'Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery!'--EZ
- 1 Expositions of Holy Scripture.by Alexander Maclaren.THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL CHAMBERS OF IMAGERY 'Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery!'--EZ
- 2 Still further, another thought that may be suggested in connection with the source of this river is, that that which is to bless the world must necessarily take its rise above the world. Ezekiel has sketched, in the last portion of his prophecy, an entire
- 3 It 'shall not be left to other people.' By that, seems to be meant that this kingdom will not be like those of human origin, in which dominion pa.s.ses from one race to another, but that Israel shall ever be the happy subjects and the dominant r
- 4 The inscription, as given in verse 25, is simply 'Numbered, numbered, weighed and breakings.' The variation in verse 28 (Peres) is the singular of the noun used in the plural in verse 25, with the omission of 'U,' which is merely the c
- 5 Such a belief was quite natural, but it does not mean that Darius was prepared to accept Daniel's G.o.d as his G.o.d. His religion was probably elastic and hospitable enough to admit that other nations might have other G.o.ds. But his thoughts about this
- 6 But the promise, like all G.o.d's promises, has its well-defined conditions. Achan has to be killed and put safe out of the way first, or no s.h.i.+ning Hope will stand out against the black walls of the defile.The tastes which knit us to the perishable
- 7 The prophecy of this chapter has two themes--Israel's sin, and its punishment. These recur again and again. Reiteration, not progress of thought, characterises Hosea's fiery stream of inspired eloquence.Conviction of sin and prediction of judgment are h
- 8 The blessings consequent on the gift of G.o.d's love are described in lovely imagery, drawn, like Hosea's other abundant similes, from nature, and especially from trees and flowers. The source of all fruitfulness is a divine influence, which comes silen
- 9 Similarly, many a Christian, quite unconsciously, has something or other in his habits, or in his conduct, or in his affections, which would reveal itself to him, if he would look, as being wrong, because it blots out G.o.d.Let us remember that very littl
- 10 But the darkest hue in the dark picture has yet to be added: 'They are not grieved for the affliction (literally, the 'breach' or 'wound') of Joseph.' The tribe of Ephraim, Joseph's son, being the princ.i.p.al tribe of the Northern Kingdom, Joseph
- 11 The phrase in our text is a quotation, slightly altered, from Psalm x.x.xi. 6: 'I hate them that regard lying vanities; but I trust in the Lord.' The alteration in the form of the verb as it occurs in Jonah expresses the intensity of regard, and gives t
- 12 Take another question. Do the relations of modern Christians and their churches to one another attest the presence of a unifying Spirit? 'We have all been made to drink into one Spirit,' said Paul. Alas, alas!does it seem as if we had? Look round profes
- 13 'A DEW FROM THE LORD''The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.'--MICAH v. 7.The simple natural science of the Hebrews saw a mystery in the production
- 14 Think of the difference which the conception of G.o.d as giving makes to the spirit in which we work. No longer, like the Israelites in Egypt, do we try to make bricks without straw, and break our hearts over our failures, or desperately abandon the attem
- 15 This wisdom of theirs turned out folly, as it generally does. There came, as we learn from this prophet, a season of distress, in which the harvest, for which they had sacrificed their duties and their calling, failed: and in spite of their prudent dilige
- 16 II. Let us note the abiding Word, which these transient generations of hearers and speakers have had to do with.It is maddening to think of the sure decay and dissolution of all human strength, beauty, wisdom, unless that thought brings with it immediatel
- 17 Note that Joshua's guilt as the representative of the people is not denied, but tacitly admitted and actually spoken of in verse 4. Why, then, does not the accuser have his way? For two reasons. G.o.d has chosen Jerusalem. His great purpose, the fruit of
- 18 The completion of the work is to be the token that the 'angel who spake with me' was G.o.d's messenger. We can know that before the fulfilment, but we cannot but know it after. Better to be sure that the message is from G.o.d while yet the certainty is
- 19 Christ builds the temple. By faith, the individual soul becomes the abode of G.o.d, and into our desecrated spirits there comes the King of Glory. 'Know ye not that ye are the temples of G.o.d?' By faith, the whole body of believing men 'are builded to
- 20 Brethren! we all need to revise our scale of giving, especially in regard to missionary operations. And if we will do that at the foot of the Cross, then we shall join the chorus, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive _riches_,' and we shall com
- 21 G.o.d's purposes and promises change not, therefore our faith may rest on Him, notwithstanding our own sins and fluctuations. It is this aspect of the divine immutability which is the thought of our text. G.o.d does not turn from His love, nor cancel His
- 22 III. Now, still further, let me ask you to consider, lastly, the alternative which these texts open for us.I believe that the order in which they stand in Scripture is the order in which men generally come to believe them, and to feel them. I am old-fas.h
- 23 The strongest thing is love, armed with celestial armour. 'Truth and meekness and righteousness' are our keenest-edged weapons--this is true for _Christian morals_; and for _politics_ in a measure which the world has not yet learned.'Put up thy sword i
- 24 III. Then followed the council of the theologians, with its solemn ill.u.s.tration of the difference between orthodoxy and life, and of the utter hollowness of mere knowledge, however accurate, of the letter of Scripture. The questions as to the compositi
- 25 THE BAPTISM IN FIRE 'He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.'--MATT.iii. 11 There is no more pathetic figure in Scripture than that of the forerunner of our Lord. Lonely and ascetic, charged to light against all the social order of whic
- 26 Well, then, taking that point of view, the next question that arises is as to the purpose of this descent of the Spirit. Plainly, as I have said, it was the coronation and anointing of the Monarch. But a man is king before he is crowned. Coronation is the
- 27 John was silenced, and that moved Jesus to go back to Galilee and take up His ministry there. His reason has been thought to have been the wish to avoid a similar fate, but He was safer from Herod in Jerusalem than in Capernaum, within reach of the tyrant
- 28 This, the first of them, is dead in the teeth of flesh and sense, a paradox to the men who judge good and evil by things external and visible, but deeply, everlastingly, unconditionally, and inwardly true.All that the world commends and pats on the back,
- 29 So, dear friends, be sure of this, that the one thing which ought to move a man to sadness is his own character. For all other causes of grief are instruments for good. And be sure of this, too, that the one thing which can ensure consolation adequate to
- 30 'They shall be filled,' says our Lord. Now all these promises appended to the Beat.i.tudes have a double reference--to the certainty of the present, and to the perfection of the future. That there is such a double reference may be made very obvious if w
- 31 Dear brethren, we come back to the old truth--all a man's hope of, and effort after, reformation and self-improvement must begin with the consciousness of sin, the lament over it, the longing for divine goodness, the opening of the heart for the receptio
- 32 There are but two ways of ending that antagonism: either by bringing the world up to Christian character, or letting Christian character down to the world.2. The certain and uniform result is opposition and dislike--persecution in its reality.Darkness hat
- 33 Now, it is not merely because we are the bearers of a truth that will do all this that we are thus spoken of, but we Christian men are to do it by the influence of conduct and character.There are two or three thoughts suggested by this metaphor. The chief
- 34 That experience works most mightily in regard to Christian truth, as the highest. What shall we say, then, of the condition of Christian men and women if they have not such an instinctive need of utterance? Do you ever feel this in your heart:--'Thy word
- 35 The last of the five instances of our Lord's extending and deepening and spiritualising the old law is also the climax of them. We may either call it the highest or the deepest, according to our point of view. His transfiguring touch invests all the comm
- 36 Note, too, the sequence in each of these halves. In the first we may say that we begin from above and come down, or from within and come outwards. In the second, the process is the opposite. We begin on the lowest level with our external needs, and go upw
- 37 And this is the only possible basis for true fraternity among men.Opinion? Men are not thinking machines.Interest? Men are not ruled by calculations, and such union is the destruction of true unity.Common aims?--shallow.Nation or race?--artificial and not
- 38 'THY KINGDOM COME''Thy kingdom come.--MATT. vi. 10.'The Lord reigneth, let the earth be glad'; 'The Lord reigneth, let the people tremble,' was the burden of Jewish psalmist and prophet from the first to the last. They have no doubt of His present
- 39 3. That its scope and direction are to be determined by His name. All these thoughts are included in this, that it is the will of a loving, good G.o.d, the will of a Father.How that destroys all harsh, awful ideas such as those of a stony fate, or a cold
- 40 The reason why any natural substance has properties is by reason of present will of G.o.d; they reside not in itself, but in Him.All this we say that we believe when we pray this prayer.How much it conflicts with our modern habit of putting G.o.d as far a
- 41 '_As_ we forgive.' Is, then, our poor forgiveness the measure or condition of G.o.d's? At first sight that addition seems to impose a limit on His pardon which might well plunge us into despair. But reflection on the words brings to light more comforti
- 42 But seeing that we have to do with a prayer, we have also to do with a prophecy. We know that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us, and therefore the sadder the want which is expressed, the fuller of hope is the prayer. This pet.i.tion
- 43 Notice, then-- I. The meaning of the doxology.Kingdom, power, and glory correspond to kingdom, will, and hallowing in the first part. The order is not the same, but it is still substantially identical.'Thine the kingdom.' All earthly things, the whole f
- 44 If it is, what will happen when the man is no longer on earth? 'What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?'HEARTS AND TREASURES 'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'--MATT. vi. 21.'Your treasur
- 45 And what does your anxiety do? It does not empty to-morrow, brother, of its sorrows; but, ah! it empties to-day of its strength. It does not enable you to escape the evil, it makes you unfit to cope with it when it comes. It does not bless to-morrow, but
- 46 THE TWO PATHS 'Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there b
- 47 And so I remind you, not only that there are other 'sayings of Mine' to be kept than it, but also that there is no keeping of it without keeping other sayings first. For the highest of Christ's commandments is 'Believe also in Me,' and you have to ta
- 48 THE TOUCH THAT CLEANSES 'When He was come down from the mountain, great mult.i.tudes followed Him. 1. And, behold, there came a leper and wors.h.i.+pped Him, saying, Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. 3. And Jesus put forth His hand, and touch
- 49 II. The time.After His long day's toil--the unwearied mercy. On the Sabbath--the Lord of the Sabbath.III. The person.The woman. How Christianity embodies the true emanc.i.p.ation of women.They are partic.i.p.ants in an equal gift, honoured by admission t
- 50 But then, beyond that, there is a deeper lesson here. 'The Son of Man'on our Lord's lips not only expressed His dignity as Messiah, but His relation to the whole race of men; and declared that He was what we nowadays call ideal manhood. And that is the
- 51 Possibly the last clause goes as far to explain some critics'non-recognition of demoniacal possession as the first does to explain the demoniacs' recognition of Jesus!To the demonic nature Christ's coming brought torture, as the sunbeam, which gives li
- 52 Expositions of Holy Scripture.by Alexander Maclaren.THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY G.o.d'S FAITHFULNESS 'Know therefore that the Lord thy G.o.d, He is G.o.d, the faithful G.o.d, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him.'--DEUT. vii.9.'Faithfu
- 53 The contrast between the one and the many--a king or an ochlocracy. The contrast of the loving Lord and the hostile sins.II. A service which is honour or a service which is degradation.G.o.d alone is worthy of our absolute submission and service. How low
- 54 And the very height and sublimity of that truth is found in the Christian fact which the Apostle points to here. We need not depart from human a.n.a.logies here either. Christ gave Himself to us that He might acquire us for Himself. Absolute possession of
- 55 There is no need for us to exaggerate, for the naked reality is sad enough. If G.o.d is not our best Good, we have no solid good. Every other 'rock' crumbles into sand. Else why this restless change, why this disquiet, why the constant repet.i.tion, gen
- 56 The image is the same as in chap. i. already referred to. It recurs also in Isaiah (xlvi. 3, 4), 'Even to h.o.a.r hairs will I carry you, and I have made and I will bear, yea, I will carry, and will deliver'; and in Hosea (xi. 3), 'I taught Ephraim to
- 57 'So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. 6. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, ... but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.'--DEUT. x.x.xiv.5, 6.A fitting end to such
- 58 This is the central portion of the charge given to the successor of Moses. Joshua was a very small man in comparison with his predecessor.He was no prophet nor constructive genius; he was not capable of the heights of communion and revelation which the lo
- 59 'THE WATERS SAW THEE; THEY WERE AFRAID''And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. 6. And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pa.s.s over before the peo
- 60 When the parents of Samson were apprised of the coming birth of the hero, it was 'the Angel of the Lord' that appeared to them, accepted their sacrifice, declared the divine will, and disappeared in a flame of fire from the altar. A psalm speaks of 'th
- 61 The point of interest is her being, notwithstanding her previous position and history, one of the few instances in which heathen were brought into Israel. The _Epistle to the Hebrews_ and _James_ both refer to her. We now consider her story as embodying f
- 62 Again, we learn the power of one man to infect a whole community and to inflict disaster on it. One sick sheep taints a flock. The effects of the individual's sin are not confined to the doer. We have got a fine new modern word to express this solemn law
- 63 II. The confident reckoning on complete possession.Joshua's conquest was very partial. He subdued part of the central mountain nucleus, but the low-lying stretch of country on the coast, Philistia and the maritime plain up to Tyre and Sidon and other out
- 64 We too have a 'strong city' to which we may 'continually resort.' The Israelite had right to enter only if his act had been inadvertent, but we have the right to hide ourselves in Christ just because we have sinned wilfully. The hurried, eager flight
- 65 Again, G.o.d punishes our making truce with our spiritual foes by letting the effects of the truce work themselves out. He said to Israel, in effect: 'If you make alliances with the people of the land, you shall no longer have power to cast them out. The
- 66 These two poetical fragments present the same truth on opposite sides.The first of them comes from Deborah's triumphant chant. The singer identifies G.o.d with the cause of Israel, and declares that heaven itself fought against those who fought against G
- 67 III. That brings me to the last thought, which pa.s.ses beyond the limits of the prophetess' vision. Here is a prophecy of which the utterer was unaware.There is a contrast drawn in the words of our text and in those immediately preceding. "So," says D
- 68 'Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2. And the Lord said unto
- 69 Wearied with his humiliating exertions, the blind captive begs the boy who guided him to let him lean, till he can breathe again, on the pillars that held up the light roof. We need not discuss the probable architecture of Dagon's temple, of which we kno
- 70 The sad prophecy which is committed to such apparently incongruous lips reiterates a former message by 'a man of G.o.d.' Eli was a kindly, and, in his way, good man, but wanting in firmness, and acquiescent in evil, partly, perhaps, from lack of moral c
- 71 15. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 16. And he will take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your goodliest young men, and your a.s.ses, and put them to his work. 17
- 72 The portion of Samuel's address included in this pa.s.sage has three main sections: his n.o.ble and dignified a.s.sertion of his official purity, his summary of the past history, and his solemn declaration of the conditions of future wellbeing for the na
- 73 'And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt them mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel! fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided Me a king among his sons. 2. And S
- 74 'And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? 2. And he said unto him, G.o.d forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father
- 75 II. The gathering clouds.The acts recorded as darkening the fair dawn of Saul's reign may seem too trivial to deserve the stern retribution that followed them, but small acts may be great sins. The first of them was his offering sacrifices without author
- 76 It is not by accident, nor is it a mere piece of tautology, that we read 'the Lord _his_ G.o.d.' For, if you will remember, the very keynote of the psalms which are ascribed to David is just that expression, 'My G.o.d,' 'My G.o.d.' So far as the ver
- 77 3. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers. .h.i.t him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. 4. Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncirc.u.msised come and thrust me through,
- 78 II. Another side of David's character comes beautifully out in his treatment of the men of Jabesh-gilead. That town owed much to Saul (1 Samuel xi.), and its grat.i.tude lasted, and dared much for him. It was a brave dash that they made across Jordan to
- 79 He was not afraid to receive the ark. There were no idols, no irreverent curiosity, no rash presumption in his house. He feared and served the G.o.d of the ark, and so the Presence, which had been a source of disaster to the unworthy, was a source of unbr
- 80 G.o.d's promise by Nathan of the perpetuity of the kingdom in David's house made an era in the progress of revelation. A new element was thereby added to devout hope, and a new object presented to faith. The prophecy of the Messiah entered upon a new st
- 81 Apparently his bold strategy led to the abandonment of the attack on Medeba, and to the hurried march of its besiegers to relieve Rabbath.Probably the Syrian allies had been before Medeba, and suddenly appeared in Joab's rear. Their advance led the besie
- 82 And, again, David was not a hypocrite because he thus fell. All sin is inconsistent with devotion; but, thank G.o.d, we cannot say how much or how dark the sin must be which is incompatible with devotion, nor how much evil there may still lurk and linger
- 83 That is to say, forgiveness and the obliteration of the consequences of a man's sin, and his restoration to the blessed nearness to G.o.d, which is life, are by no means such easy and simple matters as people sometimes suppose them to be. The whole drift
- 84 ITTAI OF GATH 'And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.'--2 SAMUEL xv. 21.It was the darkest
- 85 BARZILLAI 'And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem? 35. I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil! can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can
- 86 44. Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, Thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me. 45. Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me. 46
- 87 Nor need we forget how, from that root of fear of G.o.d, there has come that wondrous patience and faithfulness to duty, the form of 'Justice'which is possible for a const.i.tutional monarch. We have little notion of how pressing and numerous and contin
- 88 DAVID APPOINTING SOLOMON 'Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king. 29. And the king sware, and said, As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, 30.
- 89 Practical wisdom, which had its field In doing justice between his subjects; shrewd observation of life, with wit to discern resemblances and to put wisdom into homely, short sayings; poetic sensibility and the gift of melodious speech; and, added to thes
- 90 (_c_) We may be sure that the prepared stones will be brought to the Temple site and built into it. There lie gigantic half-hewn pillars in abandoned quarries in Syria and Egypt. But no one will ever say of the divine Temple-Builder: He began to build and
- 91 The successful end of a great work is often the beginning of a great reaction. When the tension is slackened, the whole nature of the worker is relaxed, and the temptation to slothful self-indulgence is strong.G.o.d knows our frame, and mercifully times H
- 92 If a young Christian man or woman enters on such a union with one who is not a Christian, it is a great deal more probable that, in the end, there will be two unbelievers than that there will be two Christians.We have nothing to do with p.r.o.nouncing on
- 93 That roar from a thousand voices meant a good deal more than the cowed king's vain threats did. The angry men who raised it, and were the tools of a crafty conspirator, the frightened courtiers and king who heard it, were alike in their entire oblivion o
- 94 The incident has a further bearing, as an instance of a divine benediction resting on heathendom. The synagogue at Nazareth pointed that lesson for us. Elijah and the widow both learned that the G.o.d of Israel is the G.o.d of all the earth, and that His
- 95 THE TRIAL BY FIRE 'And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose yon one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your G.o.ds, but put no fire under. 26. And they took the bullock which was given them, and
- 96 Ahab, King of Israel, was but a poor creature, and, like most weak characters, he turned out a wicked one, because he found that there were more temptations to do wrong than inducements to do right. Like other weak people, too, he was torn asunder by the
- 97 The New Testament, you remember, speaks of the 'power of Elias.' The outward appearance of the man corresponds to his function and his character. Gaunt and sinewy, dwelling in the desert, feeding on locusts and wild honey, with a girdle of camel's skin
- 98 'And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might enquire of him? 8. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for
- 99 What a different set of a.s.sociations cl.u.s.ter round the place of Christ's Ascension--'Bethany,' or, as it is more particularly specified in the Acts, 'Olivet'! In the very heart of the land, close by and yet out of sight of the great city, in no
- 100 Still further, another cognate application of these great words is that one which is more directly suggested by their quotation by Joash. It does not matter in what way the end of life comes. The reality is the same to all devout men; though one be swept