INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
CHAPTER 40
"...it is through Christ that we have both acquaintance with & access to the benefits & privileges of God's house." "What we see of the works of God, & what we hear of the word of God , will do us no good unless we set our hearts upon it, as those that reckon ourselves nearly concerned in it, & expect advantage to our souls by it." "Those who are to preach God's word to others ought to study it well themselves & set their hearts upon it." "Some draw nearer to God than others & have a more intimate acquaintance with divine things; but to a child of God a day in any of his courts is better than a thousand elsewhere." "Those that do the work of his (God's) house shall enjoy the comforts of it." "Christ is both our altar & our sacrifice, to whom we must look with an eye of faith in all our approaches to God, & he is salvation in the midst of the church (Psalms 74:12), to be looked unto from all quarters." CHAPTER 41 "The higher we build up ourselves in our most holy faith the more should our hearts, those living temples, be enlarged." "...the living temples are adorned, not with gold, or silver, or costly array, but with the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible." CHAPTER 42 "We must not only worship in the courts of God's house, but must, both before & after our attendance there, enter into our chambers, enter into our closets, & read & meditate, & pray to our Father in secret; & a great deal of comfort the people of God have found in their communion with God in solitude." "Those that have public work to do for God & the souls of men have need to be much in private, to fit themselves for it. Ministers should spend much time in their chambers, in reading, meditation & prayer, that their profiting may appear" "A difference is to be put between common & sacred things, between God's name & other names, between his day & other days, his book & other books, his institutions & other observances" CHAPTER 43 "The idols of the heathen have no glory but what they owe to the goldsmith or the painter" "Christ's gospel, in the glory of which he shines, as to be proclaimed aloud, the report of it to be heard far: to some it is a savour of life, to others of death, according as they are." "...God's glory filled the house as it had filled the tabernacle which Moses set up & the temple of Solomon, Exodus 40:34; I Kings 8:10." "Here is no mention of a cloud filling the house as formerly, for we now with open face behold the glory of the Lord, in the face of Christ, & not as of old through the cloud of types." "See what an indignity sinners do to God, setting up their walls in opposition to his, & thrusting him out from what is his right; & see what injury they do to themselves, for the nearer any come to God with their sins the further they set him at a distance from them." "Those that pollute God's holy name fall under his just displeasure." "The goodness of God to us should lead us to repentance, especially to a penitential shame." "...with the privileges of God's house we must acquaint ourselves with the rules of it." "Therefore we are made to know our duty, that we may do it, & be blessed in our deed." "God secures to us his good-will by confirming in us his good work. If we do not defile his name, we may be sure that he will not depart from us." "Neither our persons nor our performances can be acceptable to God unless sin be taken away, & they cannot be taken away but by the blood of Christ" "Before we minister to the Lord in holy things we must consecrate ourselves by getting our hands & hearts filled with those things." "...if God now accept our works, if our services be pleasing to him, it is enough, we need no more. Those that give themselves to God shall be accepted of God, their persons first & then their performances, through the Mediator." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 980 - 994.
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CHAPTER 36
"There are some who are noted for talkers, that have something to say of every body, but cannot find in their hearts to speak well of any body" "Increasing wealth, by right or wrong, is all the joy of a worldly heart" "The righteous God, to whom vengeance belongs, will render shame for shame. Those that put contempt & reproach upon God's people will, sooner or later, have it turned upon themselves" "It is a blessing to the earth, to be made serviceable to men, especially to good men, that will serve God with cheerfulness in the use of those good things which the earth serves up to them." "Their own sin had unsettled them, but now God's favour shall resettle them." "When God returns in mercy to a people that return to him in duty, all their grievances will be soon redressed & their honour retrieved." "The sin of a people defiles their land, renders it abominable to God, & uncomfortable to themselves" "Sin is that abominable thing which the Lord hates, & which he cannot endure to look upon." "God will magnify his name as a holy name, for he will sanctify it: I will sanctify my name which you have profaned. When God performs that which he has sworn by his holiness, then he sanctifies his name." "The heathen shall know that I am the Lord when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes & yours." "We cannot sanctify God's name unless he sanctify our hearts, nor live to his glory, but by his grace." "All that have an interest in the new covenant, & a title to the new Jerusalem, have a new heart & a new spirit, & these are necessary in order to their walking in newness of life." "God does not force men to walk in his statutes by external violence, but causes them to walk in his statutes by an internal principle." "God's promises must drive us to his precepts as our rule, & then his precepts must send us back to his promises for strength, for without his grace we can do nothing." "Even promised mercies must be laboured for; for the promise is not to supersede, but to quicken & encourage our industry & endeavour." "Self-love is at the bottom of sin, which we cannot but blush to see the absurdity of" "The goodness of God should overcome our badness & lead us to repentance. The more we see of God's readiness to receive us unto favour upon our repentance the more reason we shall see to be ashamed of ourselves that we could ever sin against so much love." "They must own that the mercies they receive from God are not only not merited, but that they are a thousand times forfeited; & therefore they must be so far from boasting of their good works that they must be ashamed & confounded for their evil ways, & then they are best prepared for mercy." "What is the matter of God's promises must be the matter of our prayers." "Our communion with God must be kept up by the word & prayer in all the operations of his providence concerning us & in both he must be enquired of." CHAPTER 37 "God is perfectly acquainted with his own power & his own purposes, & will have us to refer all to them, & to see & own that his wondrous works are such as could not be effected by any counsel or power but his own." "Ezekiel... ...[1.] He must preach, & he did so; & the dead bones lived by a power that went along with the word of God which he preached. [2.] He must pray, & he did so; & the dead bones were made to live in answer to prayer; for a spirit of life entered into them. See the efficacy of the word & prayer, & the necessity of both, for the raising of dead souls." "...we must discharge our trust, must prophesy as we are commanded, in the name of him who raises the dead & is the fountain of life." "...the spirit of life is from God; he at first in the creation breathed into man the breath of life, & so he will at last in the resurrection." "With God nothing is impossible. He can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham & out of dead & dry bones levy an exceedingly great army to fight his battles & plead his cause." "God can bring his people up from the depths of the earth, Psalms 71:20." "Then God puts spirit in us to good purpose, & so that we shall indeed live, when he puts his Spirit in us." "Those are best united that are one in God's hand whose union with each other results from their union with Christ & their communion with God through him. Ephesians 1:10." "All believers unite in one Lord, one faith, & one baptism." "It is our wisdom to avoid the places where we have been overcome by temptations to sin, not to remain in them, or return to them, but to save ourselves out of them, as we would out of infected places; see Zechariah 2:7; Revelation 18:4." "Those whom God has cleansed he will keep clean." "God's covenant with them shall be an everlasting covenant; so the covenant of grace is, for it secures to us an everlasting happiness." "God designs the sanctification of those among whom he sets up his sanctuary. And blessed & holy are those who, enjoying the privileges of the sanctuary, give such proofs & evidences of their sanctification that the heathen may know it is no less than the almighty grace of God that sanctifies them." CHAPTER 38 "God does not only see those that are now the enemies of his church & set himself against them, but he foresees those that will be so & lets them know by his word that he is against them too, & yet is pleased to make use of them to serve his own purposes, for the glory of his own name; surely their wrath shall praise him, & the remainder thereof he will restrain. Psalms 76:10." "All the mischief men do, & particularly the mischief they do to the church of God, arises from evil thoughts that come into their mind, ambitious thoughts, covetous thoughts, spiteful thoughts against those that are good, for the sake of their goodness." "God brings his people into danger & distress that he may have the honour of bringing about their deliverance, & suffers the enemies of his church to prevail awhile, though they profane his name by their sin, that he may have the honour of prevailing at last & sanctifying his own name in their ruin." "There is an amiable admirable harmony & agreement between the Lord's prophets, though they lived in several ages, for they were all guided by one & the same Spirit." "God can, & often does, make the destroyers of his people to be their own destroyers & the destroyers of one another." "In the destruction of sinners, God makes it to appear that he is a great & holy God, & he will do so to eternity. And, if men do not magnify & sanctify him as they ought, he will magnify himself, & sanctify himself; & this we should desire & pray for daily, Father, glorify thy own name." CHAPTER 39 "Those that cast in their lot among wicked people (Proverbs 1:14), that they may have one purse with them, must expect to take their lot with them, & fare as they fare, taking the worse with the better." "Those who invade other people's rights justly lose their own. 4. God will by all this advance the honour of his own name." "Those that rightly know God's holy name will not dare to profane it; for it is through ignorance of it that men make light of it & make bold with it." "Every one should contribute the utmost he can in his place towards the cleansing of the land from the pollutions of it, & from every thing that is a reproach to it. Sin is a common enemy, which every man should take up arms against." "When good work is to be done every one should lend a hand to further it" "If God evidence to us that he is our God he assures us that he will never leave us. This God is our God for ever and ever." "...God punishes sin even in his own people, because he hates it most in those that are nearest & dearest to him, Amos 3:2." "When sinners repent, & take shame to themselves, God will be reconciled & put honour upon them." "The providences of God concerning his people, that are designed for their good, have the grace of God going along with them to teach them to eye God as the Lord, & their God, in all; & then they do them good. They shall eye him as the Lord & their God." "The indwelling of the Spirit is an infallible pledge of the continuance of God's favour. He will hide his face no more from those on whom he has poured out his Spirit. When therefore we pray that God would never cast us away from his presence we must as earnestly pray that, in order to that, he would never take his Holy Spirit away from us, Psalms 51:11." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 957 - 980. CHAPTER 32
"Ministers that would affect others with the things of God must make it appear that they are themselves affected with the miseries which sinners bring upon themselves by their sins. It becomes us to weep & tremble for those that will not weep & tremble for themselves." "A great deal of disquiet is often given to the world by the restless ambition & implacable resentments of proud princes." "He that has troubled others must expect to be himself troubled; for the Lord is righteous, Joshua 7:25." "Those that admire with complacency the pomp of this world will admire with consternation the ruin of that pomp." "When the sword of God's justice is drawn against some, to cut them off, it is thereby brandished before others, to give them warning." "In renouncing the pomps of this world, we did ourselves a great kindness, for they are things that are soon spoiled & that cheat their admirers." "Those, Christ's enemies, that would not have him to reign over them, shall be brought forth & slain before him, though they be as pompous, though they be as numerous as Pharaoh & all his multitude." CHAPTER 33 "...the watchman ...His business is (1.) To discover the approaches & advances of the enemy; & therefore he must not be blind nor asleep, for then he cannot see the sword coming. (2.) To give notice of them immediately by sound of trumpet, or, as sentinels among us, by the discharge of a gun, as a signal of danger." "...if the watchman do his part, & the people do theirs, all is well; both he that gives warning, & he that takes warning have delivered their souls." "His business as a watchman is to give warning to sinners of their misery & danger by reason of sin." "The blind leader shall fall with the blind follower into the ditch." "It is very common for those that have been hardened with presumption when they were warned against sin to sink into despair when they are called to repent, & to conclude there is no hope of life for them." "He (God) would rather sinners should turn & live than go on & die." "It is certain that God is sincere & in earnest in the calls he gives sinners to repent; Turn you, turn you, from your evil way." "If righteous men turn to iniquity, & return not to their righteousness, they shall certainly perish in their iniquity, & all the righteousness they have formerly done, all their prayers, & all their alms, shall be forgotten." "How can those expect the inheritance of Isaac (as these did) who are of Ishmael's disposition, that had his hand against every man (Genesis 16:12)." "Those cannot expect to possess the land, nor to enjoy any true comfort or happiness here or hereafter, who live in rebellion against the Lord." "...God takes notice of all that is said against his ministers" "Hypocrites mock God & mock his prophets." "Covetousness is the ruining sin of multitudes that make a great profession of (faith); it is the love of the world that secretly eats the love of God out of their hearts." "There are many who take pleasure in hearing the word, but make no conscience of doing it; & so they build upon the sand, & deceive themselves." CHAPTER 34 "...the shepherds ...God's controversy with them; ...1. That all their care was to advance & enrich themselves & to make themselves great." "2. That they took no care for the benefit & welfare of those that were committed to their charge; You feed not the flock." "Those that do not do the work of shepherds are unworthy of the name." "It is ill with the patient when his physician is his worst disease, ill with the flock when the shepherds drive them away & disperse them, by ruining them with force." "Those that will not hear the word of the Lord giving them their direction shall be made to hear the word of the Lord reading them their doom." "Those will have a great deal to answer for in the judgment-day who take upon them the care of souls & yet take no care of them. Ministers must watch & work as those that must give account, Hebrews 13:17." "It is just with God to take out of men's hands that power which they have abused & that trust which have betrayed." "The under-shepherds may prove careless, but the Chief Shepherd neither slumbers nor sleeps. They may be false, but God abides faithful." "If ministers, who should speak peace to those who are of a sorrowful spirit, neglect their duty, yet the Holy Ghost the Comforter will be faithful to his office." "It is a barbarous thing to add affliction to the afflicted." "If we take God to be our God, he will take us to be his people." "Those may lay down & sleep securely, sleep at ease, that have Christ for their prince; for he will be their protector, & make them to dwell in safety." "Those that are the blessed of the Lord must study to make themselves blessings to the world." CHAPTER 35 "Children will be more apt to imitate the vices than the virtues of their parents..." "Parents should therefore be careful not to set their children any bad example..." "Those that do not keep up a rooted hatred of sin, when a temptation to it is very strong, will be in danger of yielding to it." "Those that have a perpetual enmity to God & his people, as carnal mind has, can expect no other than to be made a perpetual desolation." "Those who, instead of weeping with the mourners, make a jest of their grievances, may justly be made to weep like the mourners, & themselves to feel the weight, to feel the smart of those grievances which they set so light by." "Those that are glad at the death & fall of others may expect that others will be glad of their death, of their fall." "The Lord is & will be known by the judgments which he executes." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 933 - 957. CHAPTER 28 "Tyrus... God resists the proud." "He thought himself to have as much wisdom & strength as God himself, & as incontestable an authority, & that his prerogatives were as absolute & his word as much a law as the word of God." "Men must be made to know that they are but men. Psalms 9:20." "Jesus Christ was both God & man." "It was the ruin of our first parents, & ours in them, that they would be as gods. Genesis 3:5." "Knowledge puffeth up: it is hard to know much & not to know it too well & to be elevated with it." "Those therefore that are knowing must study to be humble & to evidence that they are so." "It is just with God that our enemies should make that their prey which we have made our pride." "Many expositors have suggested that besides the literal sense of this lamentation there is an allegory in it, & that it is an allusion to the fall of the angels that sinned, who undid themselves by their pride." "Those that have much to do in the world are in great danger of doing much amiss" "All God's judgments upon sinners take rise from themselves; they are devoured by a fire of their own kindling." "When God is sanctified he is glorified, for his holiness is his glory; & those whom he is not sanctified & glorified by he will be sanctified & glorified upon, by executing judgments upon them, which declare him a just avenger of his own & his people's injured honour." "It is God that judges, & he will overcome." "God will be glorified in the restoration of his people to their former safety & prosperity." "...God will now both cure them of their sins & ease them of their iniquities & so will be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, will recover the honour of his holiness, to the satisfaction of all the world." "...the full accomplishment of this promise is reserved for the heavenly Canaan, when all the saints shall be gathered together, & every thing that offends shall be removed, & all griefs & fears for ever banished." CHAPTER 29 "How high soever the princes & potentates of the earth are, there is a higher than they (Ecclesiastes 5:8), a God above them, that can control them, &, if they be tyrannical & oppressive, a God against them, that will be free to reckon with them." "Worldly carnal minds please themselves with, & pride themselves in, their property, forgetting that whatever we have we only have the use of it, the property is in God. We ourselves are not our own, but his." "He only that is the great Creator can say of this world, & of everything in it, I have made it for myself." "Self is the great idol that all the world worships, in contempt of God & his sovereignty." "Those who abuse their power will justly be stripped of it: & God, as King of nations, will find out a way to maintain the injured rights & liberties, not only of his own, but of other nations." "Even great men & bad men are tools that God makes use of & are working for him even when they are pursuing their own covetous & ambitious designs; so wonderfully does God overrule all to his own glory." "It bodes well to a people when God enlarges the liberties of his ministers & they are countenanced & encouraged in their work." CHAPTER 30 "What can protect a provoking people when the righteous God comes forth to contend with them?" "Those that deceive others are commonly paid in their own coin; they are themselves deceived." "When he pours out his fury upon a place, when he sets fire to it, (v. 15, 16), neither its strength nor its multitude can stand it in any stead." "God can strike a terror upon those that are most secure; fearfulness shall, when he pleases, surprise the most presumptuous hypocrites." "The Lord is known by the judgments which he executes." "If less judgments do not prevail to humble & reform sinners, God will send greater." CHAPTER 31 "The falls of others, both into sin & ruin, are intended as admonitions to us not to be secure or high-minded, nor to think we stand out of danger." "Those who have power ought to use it for the protection & comfort of those whom they have power over; for to that end, they are entrusted with power." "When men's outward condition rises their minds commonly rise with it; & it is very rare to find a humble spirit in the midst of great advancements." "God is the judge, who puts down one, & sets up another (Psalms 75:7)" "When great men fall, a great many fall with them, as a great many in like manner have fallen before them." "The fall of proud presumptuous men is intended for warning to others to keep humble. It would have been well for Nebuchadnezzar, who was himself active in bringing down the Assyrian, if he had taken the admonition." "Great men & great multitudes, with the great figure & great noise they make in the world, when God comes to contend with them, will soon become little, less than nothing, like Pharaoh & all his multitude." Matthew Henry's Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi, Mac Donald, pgs. 915 - 932. |
AuthorCross Preaching Pentecostal Pastor. Husband to Tonia, Father to 3 beautiful girls, Monica, Zoe & Briana, & Grandfather to Wesley & Elliott Archives
September 2023
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