James Mccosh
MORNING WORSHIP.
Have mercy on us, O God, for we are miserable offenders. Forgive our
enmity to Thee; our irreverent sense of Thy presence; our unbelief in
Thy love, Thy will, and Thy word; our contempt for Thine authority; our
breach of all Thy commandments; our envy, malice, and uncharitableness;
the innumerable sins of our tongue; our covetousness, pride, and vanity;
our sinful procrastination, idleness, and neglect of many talents; our
sins of temper and of speech, in private and in public; the evil we have
done and the good left undone to those who are living and to those who
have gone to their account. Father, forgive us for the sake of Him who
was a propitiation for the sins of the world. Amen.
HYMN, or Psalm cxlvii. 1-7.
Ye humble souls, approach your God
With songs of sacred praise;
For He is good, supremely good,
And kind are all his ways.
All nature owns his guardian care;
In Him we live and move:
But nobler benefits declare
The wonders of his love.
He gave his Son, his only Son,
To ransom rebel worms;
’Tis here he makes his goodness known
In its diviner forms.
To this sure refuge, Lord, we come,
’Tis here our hope relies;
A safe defence, a peaceful home,
When storms and troubles rise.
Thine eye beholds, with kind regard,
The souls who trust in Thee;
Their humble hope Thou wilt reward
With bliss divinely free.
Great God, to Thy unchanging love
What honours shall we raise?
Not all the raptured songs above
Can render equal praise.
EXODUS II. 1-10.
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter
of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw
him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 3. And when
she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and
daubed it with slime and pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid
it in the flags by the river’s brink. 4. And his sister stood afar off,
to wit what would be done to him. 5. And the daughter of Pharaoh came
down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the
river’s side: and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her
maid to fetch it. 6. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and,
behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is
one of the Hebrews’ children. 7. Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s
daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that
she may nurse the child for thee? 8. And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her,
go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother. 9. And Pharaoh’s
daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and
I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child and nursed
it. 10. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter,
and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said,
Because I drew him out of the water.
HEBREWS XI. 23-29.
By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents,
because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the
king’s commandment. 24. By faith Moses, when he was come to years,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 25. Choosing rather
to suffer afflictions with the people of God, than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a season; 26. Esteeming the reproach of Christ
greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the
recompence of the reward. 27. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing
the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
28. Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood,
lest he that destroyed the first-born should touch them. 29. By faith
they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land; which the Egyptians
assaying to do were drowned.
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Prayer.
GREAT art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be revered. Good art Thou also,
and much to be loved and trusted. We bless Thee for bringing us to the
light of a new day, even a new day of the Son of Man. In everything we
would give thanks. We praise Thee for thy goodness to us the whole of
our past lives. The blessings received have been altogether unmerited
on our part: and as to any crosses and disappointments with which we
have been visited, we acknowledge that they are less than we deserve--in
the midst of deserved wrath the Lord hath remembered mercy. We thank
Thee specially for thy mercies towards us during the past week. Every
week, every day, has been bringing us new tokens of thy love: O that it
were adding to our gratitude and affection. Every week, every day, that
passes away is bringing us so much nearer to that awful moment when we
must leave this world: O that we were growing in grace as we grow in
days and in years. We would remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy:
may it be a day of spiritual improvement, and of rest to our souls.
Draw nigh to us while we draw nigh to Thee. Meet with us as now
gathered around the family altar; meet with us in our private devotions
and meditations; meet with us in the worshipping assembly of thy people;
and bless the word, read and heard, to us and to others. Keep us from
worldly thoughts; turn away our eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken
Thou us in thy way. Fill our hearts with love to Thee and love to all
mankind. We acknowledge that we ought to love Thee. We confess our
past sins and present unworthiness, and we mourn over the alienation of
our minds from Thee. O Lord, let us not remain at a distance from
Thee. Draw us nigh, and keep us nigh, by the peace-speaking blood of
Thine own Son. May thy Spirit be dealing with our spirits so as to draw
and incline our hearts to Thee and thy statutes. Give us a view of the
King in his beauty to allure and ravish and fix our hearts, so that we
may be enabled to say, “My heart is fixed, my heart is fixed;” “whom
have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire
besides Thee.” O that we could love Thee as we ought to love Thee. O
that we could love Thee in some measure corresponding to thy love to
us. O that we could love Thee with all our hearts. Thou art Light and
the Fountain of Lights: may the light that is in Thee shine upon us.
Wherein we are in darkness do Thou enlighten us; wherein we err do Thou
show us the truth; wherein we are backsliding do Thou rebuke us; wherein
we have sinned in time past we would do so no more. All that we ask is
for Christ’s sake. Amen.
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THE CHURCH
IN THE HOUSE.
O THOU whose power is omnipotent, whose grace never faileth, and who
hast compassion upon all who seek Thee, grant in Thine infinite mercy
that we who are by nature children of disobedience and wrath may never
presume on Thy goodness, nor distrust Thy love, nor rely on ourselves,
nor grieve Thy Spirit, but by holy resolution, believing prayer, and
constant endeavour, make our calling and election sure, and that, living
to the Spirit, we may in bliss reap perfect holiness and everlasting
life, through Jesus Christ, our only Saviour. Amen.
HYMN, or Psalm cxlvi. 1-6.
JOIN, all who love the Saviour’s name,
To sing his everlasting fame:
Great God! Prepare each heart and voice,
In Him for ever to rejoice.
What wondrous things of him are told!
In him what glories I behold!
All things for him I gladly leave;
To him, my soul, for ever cleave.
In him my treasure’s all contain’d;
By him my feeble soul’s sustain’d;
From him what favours I receive!
Through him I shall for ever live.
Bless him, my soul, from day to day;
Trust him to lead thee on thy way;
Take him for strength and righteousness,
Make him thy refuge in distress.
To him commit thy every care,
All anxious doubting thoughts forbear;
Love him above all earthly bliss,
And him in all thy ways confess.
To him your highest praise belongs,
Praise him in cheerful grateful songs:
Thus for the work of heaven prepare;
For Him you’ll sing for ever there.
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LUKE XVIII. 9-14.
And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that
they were righteous, and despised others. 10. Two men went up into the
temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11. The
Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I
am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as
this publican. 12. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I
possess. 13. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so
much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be
merciful to me a sinner. 14. I tell you, this man went down to his house
justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself
shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
ACTS IX. 1-20.
AND Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the
disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2. And desired of him
letters to Damascus to the synagogue, that if he found any of this way,
whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto
Jerusalem. 3. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly
there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4. And he fell to the
earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? 5. And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am
Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the
pricks. 6. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou
have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city,
and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 7. And the men which
journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
8. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw
no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9.
And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. 10.
And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him
said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here,
Lord. 11. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street
which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one
called Saul of Tarsus: for behold, he prayeth, 12. And hath seen in a
vision a man named Ananias coming, and putting his hand on him, that he
might receive his sight. 13. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard
by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at
Jerusalem; 14. And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind
all that call on thy name. 15. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way:
for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles,
and kings, and the children of Israel. 16. For I will shew him how great
things he must suffer for my name’s sake. 17. And Ananias went his way,
and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him, said, Brother
Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou
camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be
filled with the Holy Ghost. 18. And immediately there fell from his eyes
as it had been scales; and he received sight forthwith, and arose and
was baptized. 19. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened.
Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
20. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the
Son of God.
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SERMON XI.
“UNTO ME WHO AM LESS THAN THE LEAST OF ALL SAINTS.”
-- Eph. iii. 8.
PAUL is acknowledged on all hands to be one of the greatest of all
saints. How then does he come to speak of himself -- “I am the least of
the apostles, and not worthy to be called an apostle,” and “I am less
than the least of all saints?” The inquiry is worthy of being
prosecuted, with the view not only of exhibiting the character of the
apostle, but more especially of illustrating some of the lowest, and yet
the highest graces, of the Christian character. We must take into
account --
I. The Apostle remembered his past sin. -- Wherever there
is a quickened conscience it will prompt the possessor to think of his
past sins, and this even when he has reason to believe that they have
been forgiven. The apostle continued to remember the natural and deeply
seated pride and self-righteousness which he had so long cherished.
Allusion is made to the circumstances of his once having been an enemy
of the cross of Christ and a persecutor, in every one of his public
apologies, and a number of his Epistles. In a letter to Timothy,
written thirty years after his conversion, he speaks of his acts of
enmity against the cause of God, as if they had been committed the day
before, so fresh are they in his memory: “I thank Jesus Christ our Lord,
who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting into the
ministry, who was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious.”
Let us try ourselves by this test. When our minds wander back
among the scenes and incidents of our past life, what are the
recollections which we seek to bring up and delight to cherish? Do we
think on our ingratitude for favours conferred by God, on our
selfishness and ungodliness? Or do we rather call up our imagined
virtues, our supposed achievements? Do we fondly dwell on the
compliments which have been paid us, and the honours which have been
heaped upon us, and all to enable us to feed our self-esteem, and to
raise a hymn of praise to our own virtues? If such be our spirit and
habit, it is all too certain that we have not acquired the temper to
which Paul was brought when his pride was cast down on the road to
Damascus, and which he ever afterwards entertained.
It is for the benefit of the believer to remember his past
sinfulness. The recollection of his infirmities, may enable him to
guard against their recurrence. Our sins, even when past and forgiven,
are apt to leave a prejudicial influence behind. The habits that have
been formed will be apt to impel us in our old ways. Passions and lusts
which have been fondled will seek to regain their former ascendancy.
Even when these effects do not follow, there is the scandal of the
offence in the eyes of man. Our sins are like wounds, which even when
cured and closed, leave a scar behind. It is most meet and becoming,
and in every respect for his own profit and the advantage of the church
and world, that the sinner, and more particularly the man whose sin has
been known, should walk humbly before God and his fellow-man all the
days of his life.
Nor let it be forgotten that the remembrance of past sin is one
of the motives impelling the Christian to be “zealously affected in a
good thing.” “Simon,” said our Lord to a Pharisee, “I have somewhat to
say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain
creditor which had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence and the
other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them
both. Tell me therefore which of them will love him most? Simon
answered and said, I suppose he to whom he forgave most. And he said
unto him, thou hast rightly judged.” Now the principle which our Lord
thus drew from the mouth of the unconverted Pharisee, was one on which
Paul had acted since his conversion. He loved much, since much had been
forgiven him. The remembrance of the injury he had done to the church,
stimulated him to make greater endeavours to benefit it; the
persecutions which he had inflicted on others made him more steadfast in
bearing the sufferings to which he was now exposed. According to the
account handed down from the early church, the apostle had to suffer a
violent death in the reign of Nero, when Christians were covered with
pitch and burned as torches, or clothed with the skin of wild beasts,
and dogs let loose upon them. We can conceive that as he saw the
terrible preparations for putting him to death, his memory would go back
a period of thirty years, and he would remember how he himself had stood
by and consented to the death of the holy martyr Stephen; and he would
feel himself thereby the more strengthened to endure what the Lord was
now pleased to lay upon him.
II. The Apostle mourned over the sin yet cleaving to him.
-- He had not only a recollection of past sin, he had a sense of
present sin: “I see another law in my members warring against the law
of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who shall
deliver me from the body of this death?”
The discovery of remaining sin is a mark of the true believer.
The statement may sound paradoxical, but the believer grieves far more
over his lesser infirmities than others do over their greater. Nor is
it difficult to account for this. The Spirit of God in renewing the
soul has quickened the conscience, which more clearly discovers the
remaining evil in the heart and conduct, and is more disposed to tremble
at God’s word. Thus sin is far more frequently observed, and is
immeasurably more abhorred, by one who is striving after holiness, than
by the man who is allowing himself in iniquity; the hatred of sin, and
the power of discerning sin, increase with the Christian’s spiritual
excellence; and thus it is that in growing in other graces he grows in
the grace of humility also, resembling the tree which, in proportion as
it shoots out branches and leaves towards heaven, sends down deeper
roots into the soil to keep it stable in the midst of the storms that
beat upon it. While the man of this world is commonly disposed to
justify and commend himself, the genuine disciple is prepared to
acknowledge that he is less than the least of all saints.
This sense of indwelling sin is one of the elements that conduce
to the onward progress of the believer. Why is it that so many
professing Christians, ay and too many true Christians, are not
advancing in the spiritual life? are the same this sabbath as they were
the previous sabbath, the same this year as they were the last year? and
to all appearance and unless God arouse them, will be the same next year
as they are this? It is because they are contented with themselves and
with their condition; they have reached a state of self-complacency --
they have “settled on their lees,” and they do not wish to be disturbed
by so much as an allusion to their sin. Very difficult was the temper
of the apostle. Conscious of the sin that still adhered to him, he
longed to have it completely exterminated, and sought the heavenly aid
which might enable him to reach that after which he was always striving
-- “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ.”
III. The Apostle acknowledged God to be the author of all the
gifts and graces possessed by him. Paul on more than one occasion
found it necessary to speak of his gifts. He felt himself called to do
so, in a special maneer, in writing the second Epistle to the
Corinthians. There were individuals in that church who had disparaged
the office of the apostle; and he found it proper in these circumstances
to vindicate the powers which had been committed to him. But in doing
so he feels as if he were going out of his usual way, and as if he had
to proffer an excuse -- “Would to God,” says he, “ye could bear with me
a little in my folly” (2 Cor. xi. 1). And when he follows his train of
reflection, he arrests himself to explain that his faults are his own,
and to ascribe the glory of his gifs to God -- “If I must needs glory, I
will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities:” “He that
glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”
There may be circumstances requiring us to speak of our
attainments in the spiritual life; but there can be no excuse for our
thinking of them, or alluding to them, in a spirit of complacency. Of
all pride, spiritual pride is the most hateful, and the most lamentably
inconsistent. It is absurd enough to be proud of the rank, or wealth,
or abilities, which God has given; but it is still more foolish and
sinful to boast of spiritual gifts which God bestowed at first, and
which would instantly vanish if God did not sustain them. As pride
rises, the grace of God departs. The two cannot dwell in one heart, any
more than Dagon the god of the Philistines and the ark of the covenant
could have a place in one temple. When we have become proud of them,
the graces have already vanished. The graces are no longer graces when
they are boasted of. They are so delicate in their nature, that if we
but look upon them with an eye of vanity they instantly disappear.
How often does it happen that when persons are suddenly raised
to places of honour, they see nothing but their own merits, their own
talent, skill, or good management. Elevation of rank thus leads, in too
many cases, to an increase of pride and vanity. This is painfully
illustrated in the history of Saul, the son of Kish. Setting out in
search of his father’s asses, he received before he returned a kingdom,
for the discharge of the offices of which he had many qualifications.
But his rise seems to have fostered the morbid vanity of his mind; and
when this was not fed by constant incense -- when the Israelites cried,
Saul hath slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands -- it led
to envy and revenge which goaded him onto deeds of utter infatuation.
How different with Saul of Tarsus! At every step of his elevation in
the church he saw the finger of God, and was the more impressed with his
own unworthiness. He recognized in every talent possessed by him the
gift of God. Does he speak of his apostleship? He explains, that he is
called “through the will of God:” Of his labours? “Not I, but the grace
of God which was with me:” Of his perseverance? “I can do all things
through Christ who strengtheneth me:” Of his success? “God gave the
increase:” Of his general character? “By the grace of God I am what I
am.”
IV. The Apostle took a high standard of excellence. He
took as his model the law of God, and the character of Jesus.
Others take a lower standard, and hence their inferiority. They
are contented with themselves when they give to God the mere outward
obeisance of the body, or because they pay a general respect to one of
the tables of the law, to the neglect of the other. Or they are
satisfied with themselves, because they are as reputable as other
professing Christians, or as this particular individual who stands high
in the church or in the world. “They, measuring themselves by
themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
Having taken some low standard, and having reached it, they regard
themselves with the most perfect satisfaction. Some seem to be
positively afraid, lest they should appear to be more concerned about
the salvation of their souls or devoted to Christ than their neighbours
O! How sad to think that believers, when they look to one another,
should do so, with the view of discovering something which may allow
them to continue in their present low state of attainment, and that they
should join hand in hand not to raise each other, but rather -- like
drowning men -- to drag each other down to even a lower level.
All actual excellence, whether earthly or spiritual, has been
attained by the mind keeping before it, and dwelling upon the ideas of
the great, the good, the beautiful, the grand, the perfect. The
tradesman and the mechanic reach the highest eminence by never allowing
themselves to rest till they can produce the most finished specimens of
their particular craft. The painter and sculptor travel to distant
lands, that they may see, and, as it were, fill their eye and mind with
the sight of, the most beautiful models of their arts. Poets have had
their yet undiscovered genius wakened into life as they contemplated
some of the grandest of nature’s scenes; or as they listened to the
strains of other poets, the spirit of poetry has descended upon them --
as the spirit of inspiration came upon Elisha while the minstrel played
before him. The soldier’s spirit has been aroused, more than even by
the stirring sound of the war trumpet, by the record of the heroism of
other warriors. The fervour of one patriot has been created as he
listened to the burning words of another patriot, and many a martyr’s
zeal has been kindled at the funeral pile of other martyrs. In this way
fathers have handed down their virtues to their children, and those who
could leave their offspring no other, have in their example left them
the very richest legacy; and the deeds of those who perform great
achievements live far longer than those who do them, and go down from
one generation to another.
Now the believer has such a model set before him in the law of
the Lord, which is “perfect,” which is “holy, just, and good:” and lest
he should complain that the law is rather fitted to dazzle him by its
excessive rightness, he has a model set before him in the character of
Jesus, which, as it were, embodies the law, and exhibits it in the most
attractive and encouraging light. “Be ye followers of me,” says Paul,
but adds this most important qualification, “even as I also am of
Christ.” We may copy others in some things -- we should copy Christ in
all. It is pleasant to see the path in which we walk trodden by the
footsteps of the flock, but we are to follow the flock only so far as
they follow the Shepherd. It is when the believer is looking to Jesus,
that by grace he becomes assimilated to Him. It is when looking full
into the face of Jesus, that His likeness is impressed unto the soul, as
we have seen the image of heaven reflected on the bosom of a tranquil
lake spread out beneath it. “We all, with open face beholding as in a
glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory
to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Learn (1) The nature of true humility. -- We are not to
understand by it the bashfulness so becoming in youth, which blushes at
the recital of its own praise, and wins our confidence when a bolder and
more presuming address could not command it. We are not even to
understand by it that modesty which shrinks from the very appearance of
what is unseemly, and would rather be deprived of its rights than give
occasion of offence or disturb the peace of any. These are lovely
natural graces which may adorn other and higher principles -- as leaves
do the fruit -- or conceal the absence of them. But they do not,
severally nor together, amount to the spiritual grace of humility.
Underneath the bashful look and the modest demeanour, there may be the
intensest carnal enmity to God. True humility is a Christian grace and
one of the fruits of the Spirit, originating in a deep consciousness of
sin past and present, and leading us to discover our nothingness in the
view of God, our insufficiency for any thing that is good, and prompting
us, as we feel our infirmities, to strive after higher and yet higher
attainments.
Learn (2) The advantages of humility. -- How much nobler
and more exalted than pride, though pride is often recommended by the
men of the world as the grand means of prompting to great and noble
deeds. Pride looks down on that which is beneath, and being contented,
reckons all further exertion unnecessary. Humility, on the other hand,
looks up to that which is above, and discovering how far it falls
beneath, strives to reach up to it. Pride looks back upon its past
deeds, and calculating with nicety what it has done, it commits itself
to rest; whereas humility looks to that which is before, and discovering
how much ground remains to be trodden, it is active and vigilant. When
pride stops, humility proceeds. Having gained one height, pride looks
down with complacency on that which is beneath it; humility looks up to
a higher and yet higher elevation. The one keeps us on this earth,
which is congenial to its nature; the other directs our eye, and tends
to lift us up, to heaven.
-- James M’Cosh, D.D.
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THE CHILDREN’S SERVICE.
OF A
KING’S DREAMS, AND HOW JOSEPH’S CAME TRUE AT LAST.
FOR two years after the chief butler had been taken back to his
situation in the house of Pharaoh, he allowed Joseph to remain in
prison, without speaking a word for him. That was a long time, and you
will be ready to think that Joseph must have been very unhappy. But
people can be happy even in jail, when they have a good conscience with
them, like Paul or Silas, or when, like old Mannasseh, they repent, and
find God there. For this reason I do not think that Joseph was unhappy,
after all. He had a clear conscience, he had also duties to do, and
busy hands make the heart light. Then God was with him, and many a
time, when Joseph was ready to get weary, he would speak to God and be
comforted. And though the chief butler forgot him, his heavenly Father
was remembering him, and preparing his deliverance.
So when God’s hour was come, King Pharaoh had, in one night, two
very curious dreams. In the first, he thought he was standing on the
bank of the river Nile -- on the river, on the overflowing of which,
yearly, depended the harvests of Egypt; for no rain falls in egypt, and
the fields can only be watered by the swelling and spreading of the
river. Standing, then, in his dream by the brink of the Nile, King
Pharaoh thought he saw seven cows come up out of the water, fat, sleek,
and well to do, and they went into a meadow near by, and began to feed
on the grass. Then there came up out of the river as many cattle more;
but this last seven were lean, ugly, starved creatures, and following
the first fat drove into the meadow, they ate them up. But what seemed
strangest of all, after the lean cattle had swallowed the fat ones, they
looked as thin, and lank, and miserable as ever. Wondering at this,
Pharaoh awoke. Then he fell asleep again, and had another dream. This
time he thought he saw a stalk of corn grow up, with seven ears of grain
on it, plump and ripe, and heavy. After that another stalk, with the
same number of ears, grew up -- but such ears! So thin, withered, and
chaff-like, as if the east winds had been pinching them all their life.
Then, just like the lean cattle in the first dream, the thin ears
gobbled up the full ones. Whereupon the king awoke.
You cannot wonder that having had two such peculiar dreams,
Pharaoh was troubled in the morning. Now in Egypt, in those times,
there were persons who professed to be very wise, and to be able to
explain dreams and strange occurrences, and to tell what was to happen
from them. So the king sent for all of them that were about the city,
where the court was; and having told them his dreams, he asked them to
tell him what they meant. But not a man of them all was able to say a
word about them. One is apt to wonder that they did not trump up some
interpretation or other, but, I suppose, the hand of God was on them for
his own wise end, and they were not allowed to frame any lies on the
matter. When all, therefore, were at a loss, and the whole court was in
commotion, the chief butler stept forward and said to the king, I am
brought in mind of my faults this day. Then he went on to tell how when
he and the chief baker were in prison, they dreamed each a dream in one
night, and how a good Hebrew youth that was there told them the meaning
in the morning, and how, just as he said, everything came to pass. Send
for him at once, said the king; and in a very little space of time
Joseph was brought from the dungeon, and when he had saved and changed
his dress, he came in before the court.
I think this Pharaoh must have been a just, kind, sensible man. For he
did not despise Joseph because he was but a slave, and a foreigner, and
a prisoner as well. He spoke quite respectfully to him, as one that had
great knowledge and skill. He said, I have dreamed a dream, and nobody
can tell me what it means, and I have heard that you are wise in such
matters. And Joseph said, It is not in me; it is from God: God shall
give the king a happy answer. So the king told his dreams and Joseph
said to him, that the double dream meant one thing, only it was double
to show that it was both sure and near. The meaning was this: -- There
seven years of great plenty, of rich full harvests and hand. But after
these would come seven years of drought and scarcity, and a very
grievous famine would spread over all the land, so that all the previous
abundance would be forgotten. Then Joseph gave the king wise advice, to
appoint officers to go through all the country in the plentiful years,
and buy up and store all the corn that was not needed, and keep it for
the years of dearth. The king was greatly pleased, and all the
courtiers agreed with him in thinking the counsel very wise. And
Pharaoh said, Who can be so fit as Joseph himself to manage the
business? So he at once set Joseph over all his house, and over the
whole country, and bade him rule everything as he liked best. In sign
of all this he took the ring from his finger, and put it on Joseph’s,
and clothed him grandly, and put a gold chain round his neck, and gave
him his second best coach to ride in; and runners went before him,
crying to the people, “Bow the knee!” And this was the youth sold by his
brothers, put in prison by his master, and only that very day taken from
the dungeon; and now there was no one in all Egypt greater than himself,
except the king. How strangely had God wrought!
I need not stay to tell you how wisely Joseph managed in gathering and
storing the corn of the rich harvests, nor how he dealt with the people
when the dearth came. It is enough to say, that his wise measures saved
a great may lives, and that both king and people safely trusted in him.
But I must tell you particularly how, through this famine, and Joseph’s
appointment to be the king’s prime minister in Egypt, the dreams which
gave such offence to Jacob’s other sons came true at last.
The way it happened was this. The famine was not confined to Egypt, but
spread into all the countries round. Now, as there had not been raised
up in those lands a wise man like Joseph to foretell the dearth, and to
store corn for the people’s wants, there soon began to great distress
everywhere. Among other places, the famine was sore where Jacob and his
family were living. They had heard, however, that there was plenty of
grain in Egypt, and the father sent his ten sons down to buy for the
food of the household. So they came into the city where Joseph the
governor was, and went to him to ask him to sell them some corn. They
did not know about what had happened to their brother in Egypt, and when
they saw him they did not know him. He would be very much changed of
course; and then they could have no expectation of seeing him in so
grand a situation. It soon came out, however, that they had not
altogether forgotten that they had sold their brother to go into Egypt,
and I believe they would rather had gone to some other country, because
a place connected with past sin is painful to visit. But see how
exactly Joseph’s dream was made good. His ten brethren, when they came
into his presence, bowed themselves down to the ground before him, as to
the greatest man in Egypt next the king. Joseph knew them at once, and
resolved to try them, and somewhat correct them. He put on a severe
look, used a harsh voice, professed to take them for spies, and threw
them into prison for three days. After that he brought them out, and
said, One of you must be kept here till you come back again, but let the
rest go home, and take food for your families. It was at this time that
it appeared their consciences had not forgotten their cruel behaviour to
their younger brother. For standing a little off, they said in their
own speech, This has happened to us because we would not hearken to our
brother when he cried to us to spare him, and let him go home to his
father. Joseph heard them, and understood them, though he did not talk
Hebrew with them, but used an interpreter; and he was so touched that he
had to go away, to keep them from seeing his tears. When he came in
again, he took Simeon from the rest, and had him bound, and then sent
them away very kindly. He put their money all back into the mouth of
their corn sacks, and gave them bread and other provisions for their
journey. So, when they got home, they were very full of the story, and
made their father wonder, as well as themselves, when they told him all
that happened to them. But how they went back a second time to Egypt,
and what then occurred, must be told in another story. I have told
enough to show that Joseph’s dreams were from God. And surely you
admire the wise, strange way in which God brought the meaning about.
God has not given up working in wonderful ways, though he may send no
prophetic dreams. He is bringing strange and beautiful things about
constantly. Watch, and see if he does not so in your own lives. Trust
him, ask him to guide you, and mark with care how strikingly he will
answer your prayers. There is no one who plans, and works, and leads
like God.
----------------
QUESTIONS ON THE BIBLE STORY.
1. There were twice seven cows in Pharaoh’s dream; where do we
read else where of fourteen cattle?
2. Do you remember a remarkable story about two cows?
3. Where do we read of wise men, not Egyptians, that gave proof
of God being their teacher?
4. Can you name some other very famous occasions when there was
famine in Canaan?
ANSWERS to the foregoing will be found by turning to Gen. vii.; 1
Sam. vi.; Matt. ii; 2 Sam. xxi.; 1 Kings xviii., and 2 Kings vi.
----------------
Prayer.
O THOU only wise God, we adore Thee in the deep, strange, but glorious
working of Thy providence. Thou dost indeed lead the blind in ways they
know not. Thou dost wonderfully make darkness light before Thy people.
Thou art now near to lead us, and show us wonders of mercy in our
lives. We desire to have our hearts brought steadfastly to trust in
Thee, that when things look dark we may wait for Thy light. O keep us
from going away from Thee, and from doing things which will come up to
sting us in after years. Lead us, Lord, and make us to follow. Draw
us, and we will run after Thee. This we ask for Christ’s sake.
Amen.
----------------
EVENING
WORSHIP.
O GOD most wise and loving, who hath made us, soul and body, for Thy
service and our own well-being, so let Thy holy Spirit govern all our
desires and actions that, whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do,
all may be to Thy glory. May our affections be pure, our conscience
well informed, our understanding enlarged, the sins of the flesh
mortified, and all our powers and faculties to be regulated according to
the beautiful and graceful order of Thy holy, wise, and loving laws.
Amen.
THE DEPARTURE OF THE ISRAELITES FROM EGYPT. from a painting by David
Roberts, engraved by William Greatbach.
HYMN, or Psalm lxxi. 14-17.
COME, weary souls, with sins distress’d,
Come, and accept the promised rest;
The Saviour’s gracious call obey,
And cast your gloomy fears away.
Oppress’d with guilt, a painful load,
O come, and spread your woes abroad;
Divine compassion, mighty love,
Will all the painful load remove.
Here mercy’s boundless ocean flows,
To cleanse your guilt, and heal your woes,
Pardon, and life, and endless peace;
How rich the gift, how free the grace!
Lord, we accept, with thankful heart,
The hope Thy gracious words impart;
We come: believing, we rejoice,
And bless the kind inviting voice.
Dear Saviour! let Thy powerful love
Confirm our faith, our fears remove;
And sweetly influence every breast,
And guide us to eternal rest.
EXODUS XII. 21-33.
THEN Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw
out, and take you a lamb, according to your families, and kill the
passover. 22. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the
blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts
with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the
door of his house until the morning. 23. For the Lord will pass through
to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and
on the two side-posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not
suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 24. And
ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for
ever. 25. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which
the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, and ye shall keep
this service. 26. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall
say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 27. That ye shall say, It is
the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, who passed over the houses of
children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered
our houses. And the people bowed the head, and worshipped. 28. And the
children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses
and Aaron, so did they. 29. And it came to pass, that at midnight the
Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born
of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the first-born of the captive
that was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of cattle. 30. And
Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the
Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt: for there was not a house
where there was not one dead. 31. And he called for Moses and Aaron by
night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both
ye and the children of Israel; and go serve the Lord, as ye have said.
32. Also take your flocks and your heards, as ye have said, and be gone:
and bless me also. 33. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people,
that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, we be
all dead men.
LUKE XXII. 14-20.
AND when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with
him. 15. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this
passover with you before I suffer: 16. For I say unto you, I will not
any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 17.
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it
among yourselves: 18. For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit
of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come, &c.
----------------
Prayer.
O LORD, our sins would come between us and Thee like a cloud, looking up
and beholding thy face: do Thou blot out our sins like a cloud, and then
we will look up and see thy countenance smiling upon us. We confess the
sins of the past day, the sins which have mingled with the services
which we have been paying to Thee. We feel that we need to come anew
and anew, once and again, to the precious blood of Christ, that it may
be sprinkled on our consciences and our hearts, and that we may anew
have peace with God in the blood of his Son. We confess the sins of our
past lives; the sins of our youth, and the sins of our riper years; the
sins of our thoughts and the sins of our tempers; the sins of our
conversation and the sins of our conduct; the sins of which we have been
guilty in solitude and in secrecy; the guilt we have contracted in the
discharge of the business of life and in the intercourse with our
fellow-men; the sins that have intruded into our religious exercises --
for the sins of our holy things are sufficient to condemn us. We would
lay all these our sins on Jesus, as the Lamb of God which taketh away
the sins of the world, that He may remove them from us; and far as the
east is distant from the west, so far will He remove all our
transgressions from us. O Lord, we have nothing of our own to plead: we
plead thine everlasting mercies, we plead thy promises, we plead the
gift of thy Son. We plead his righteousness, and we plead his
sufferings; we plead his death, and we plead his resurrection; we plead
the atonement which He made on earth, and we plead his all-prevailing
intercession in heaven; and as we plead these, we look and wait for
blessings. Lord, how much precious seed has this day been scattered in
the families and in the worshipping assemblies of thy people, and in the
Sunday schools! O let it not return unto Thee void. May we enjoy
refreshing sleep this night; let no evil come nigh us or our dwelling;
and when we awake may we be satisfied with thy likeness, and still be
with Thee. The Lord knoweth what we have been in time past, what we now
are, and what is before us in the future. What Thou seest that we need,
in our present circumstances, and to prepare us for what is in the
riches of thy grace, and by the power of thy Spirit. O Lord, we know
not what is before us, as we pass through this world of change and of
death: we know not what may be awaiting us, whether prosperity or
adversity, whether lengthened life or a speedy death. The future is to
us dark and unknown. But with Thee as our friend we will fear no evil.
Go where we go, abide where we abide, lodge where we lodge. In the time
of health and prosperity give us grateful as well as joyful hearts; and
when our sorrows abound, grant that our joys may much more abound. Be
with us now, henceforth, and for ever more. Amen.
----------------
MORNING
AND EVENING MEDITATIONS.
MONDAY.
Morning.
Lord, we have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee;
deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
The will of the Lord be done.
Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou
hast done right, but we have done wickedly.
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name
of the Lord.
Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?
Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment
of his sins?
Judges x. 15. Acts xxi. 14. Neh. ix. 33. Job i. 30. Lam. iii.
38, 39.
Evening.
Submit yourselves therefore to God.
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it.
Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his
beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity.
Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at
my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my
fathers were.
O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no
more.
James iv. 7. Ps. xxxix. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.
TUESDAY.
Morning.
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!
Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any
longer?
They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel;
But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it
not?
Isa. xlv. 9. 2 Kings vi. 33. Ps. cvi. 13, 14, 15. Lam. iii.
37.
Evening.
Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.
Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
We have transgressed, and have rebelled: thou has not pardoned.
Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast
slain, and hast not pitied.
Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should
not pass through.
Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any
intermission,
Till the Lord look down, and behold from heaven.
Lam. iii. 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 49, 50.
WEDNESDAY.
Morning.
Help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee.
Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old
paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest
for your souls.
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he
shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of
destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their
days; but I will trust in thee.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that
he may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
2 Chron. xiv. 11. Jer. vi. 16. Ps. lv. 22, 23. 1 Peter v. 6,
7.
Evening.
I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.
Say not thou, I will recompense evil: but wait on the Lord, and
he shall save thee.
And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the
house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted
us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their
children.
And let the beauty of the Lord or God be upon us; and establish
thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish
thou it.
Gen. xlix. 18. Prov. xx. 22. Isa. viii. 17. Ps. xc.
15, 16, 17.
THURSDAY.
Morning.
I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.
Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me
all the day.
My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.
He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and
travail.
He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.
Lam. iii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Evening.
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his
compassions fail not.
They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in
him.
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that
seeketh him.
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
Lam. iii. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27.
FRIDAY.
Morning.
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now.
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of
the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know
not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the
Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the
will of God.
Rom. viii. 22, 23, 26, 27.
Evening.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Ye have not resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
And ye have forgotten the exhortation, which speaketh unto you
as children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor
faint when thou art rebuked of him.
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected
us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Rom. viii. 28. Heb. xii. 4, 5, 9.
SATURDAY.
Morning.
O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou
their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.
He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth
the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes,
that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from
seeing evil;
He shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the
munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him, his waters shall be sure.
Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold
the land that is very far off.
Isa. xxxiii. 2, 15, 16, 17.
Evening.
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with
our house which is from heaven:
If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who
also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are
at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body,
and to be present with the Lord.
2 Cor. v. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7.
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