“The barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.” 1 Kings 17:16See the faithfulness of divine love. You observe that this woman had daily necessities. She had herself and her son to feed in a time of famine; and now, in a
“My expectation is from him.” Psalm 62:5It is the believer’s privilege to use this language. If he is looking for aught from the world, it is a poor “expectation” indeed. But if he looks to God for the supply of his wants, whether in temporal or spiritual blessings, his “expectation” will not be a v
“Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” Micah 5:2The Lord Jesus had goings forth for his people as their representative before the throne, long before they appeared upon the stage of time. It was “from everlasting” that he signed the compact with his Father, that he would pay bl
“Thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation.” Psalm 91:9The Israelites in the wilderness were continually exposed to change. Whenever the pillar stayed its motion, the tents were pitched; but tomorrow, ere the morning sun had risen, the trumpet sounded, the ark w
“Behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague.” Leviticus 13:13Strange enough this regulation appears, yet there was wisdom in it, for the throwing out of the disease proved that the constitution was sound. This evening it may be well for us to
“Salvation is of the Lord.” John 2:9Salvation is the work of God. It is he alone who quickens the soul “dead in trespasses and sins,” and it is he also who maintains the soul in its spiritual life. He is both “Alpha and Omega.” “Salvation is of the Lord.” If I am prayerful, God makes me prayerful; i
“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa.” John 1:3Instead of going to Nineveh to preach the Word, as God bade him, Jonah disliked the work, and went down to Joppa to escape from it. There are occasions when God’s servants shrink from duty. But w
“The wrath to come.” Matthew 3:7It is pleasant to pass over a country after a storm has spent itself; to smell the freshness of the herbs after the rain has passed away, and to note the drops while they glisten like purest diamonds in the sunlight. That is the position of a Christian. He is going th
“O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy upon Jerusalem? … And the Lord answered the angel … with good words and comfortable words.” Zechariah 1:12,13What a sweet answer to an anxious enquiry! This night let us rejoice in it. O Zion, there are good things in store for thee; thy time of tr
“I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.” Ezekiel 34:26Here is sovereign mercy-”I will give them the shower in its season.” Is it not sovereign, divine mercy?-for who can say, “I will give them showers,” except God? There is only one voice which can sp
“Take up the cross, and follow me.” March 10:21You have not the making of your own cross, although unbelief is a master carpenter at cross-making; neither are you permitted to choose your own cross, although self-will would fain be lord and master; but your cross is prepared and appointed for you by
“I will never leave thee.” Hebrews 13:5No promise is of private interpretation. Whatever God has said to any one saint, he has said to all. When he opens a well for one, it is that all may drink. When he openeth a granary- door to give out food, there may be some one starving man who is the occasion
“The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power.” Nahum 1:3Jehovah “is slow to anger.” When mercy cometh into the world she driveth winged steeds; the axles of her chariot-wheels are red hot with speed; but when wrath goeth forth, it toileth on with tardy footsteps, for God taketh no pleasure in the
“His bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.” Genesis 49:24That strength which God gives to his Josephs is real strength; it is not a boasted valour, a fiction, a thing of which men talk, but which ends in smoke; it is true-divine st
“Understandest thou what thou readest?” Acts 8:30We should be abler teachers of others, and less liable to be carried about by every wind of doctrine, if we sought to have a more intelligent understanding of the Word of God. As the Holy Ghost, the Author of the Scriptures is he who alone can enlight
