Isaiah 54:2-3 Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations: spare not, lengthen your cords… William Carey's sermon on this text, preached at Nottingham, marked an epoch in the history of Christianity, for it aroused the Church of Christ to a sense of its responsibility for the conversion of the heathen and the evangelization of the world. The interest awakened by that sermon led to the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society, and to the ushering in of the Evanglistic era, which has already brought a great revenue of glory to Christ, and priceless blessings to every branch of His Church. From this remarkable text Carey deduced and enforced two important practical principles, which were afterwards embodied in the motto of the Baptist Mission — "Attempt great things for God." "Enlarge," "stretch forth," "lengthen," "strengthen." "Expect great things from God (ver. 4). If Carey had done nothing but shape this formula for evangelistic work, he would have achieved much for the cause he loved so dearly. It is easily remembered. Rather, it is not easily forgotten. (J. T. McGaw, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; |
    |