May there be an abundance of grain in the land; may it sway atop the hills. May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon, and its people like the grass of the field. Sermons
If it may be said of the twenty-second psalm that it lets us see Christ on the cross, it may be said of this that it shows us Christ on the throne. Instead of humiliation, there is exaltation; instead of the mockery of "the purple robe," there is the homage of angels; instead of the wicked cries of envious priests and a deluded people, "Crucify him!" there is the joyful song of the redeemed, "Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!" The saints on earth, as well as the saints in heaven, are partakers of this joy; they know whom they have believed, and they have had experience of his benign and righteous rule. We learn here - I. THAT WHERE CHRIST REIGNS THERE IS LIFE. He is the Source and the Giver of life. Where the waters that Ezekiel saw came, there was life; and so where the gospel of Christ comes, there is life. The mind that before was dark has the life of truth; the conscience that before was dormant has the life of righteousness; the heart that before was dead in sins is quickened to the new life of love and holiness. Christ's rule ever tends to the well being of his people. II. THAT WHERE THERE IS LIFE THERE WILL BE PRAYER. The first sign of infant life is breathing; and the first sign of the soul's life is the breathing of prayer to God. The life within expresses itself in accordance with its nature and needs. The mind that has light cries for more light; the conscience, awakened to a sense of sin, seeks deliverance; the heart that has been touched with the love of God yearns for more love and nearer fellowship. So it was with Paul. "Behold, he prayeth!" and so onward, through all the toils and struggles of his noble life, he continued instant in prayer. III. THAT WHERE THERE IS PRAYER THE SUPREME DESIRE WILL BE THE GLORY OF CHRIST. Self will be lost in love. Concern about ourselves will be merged in concern for the glory of Christ our Lord. "Prayer shall be made for him." 1. For his cause. What interests him will interest us; what lies nearest his heart will be nearest ours. There is unity of life. 2. For his people. He identifies himself with them. He regards what is done to them as done to himself. When "prayer was made of the Church" for Peter, they were, in a sense, making prayer for Christ. Our sympathies should be as broad as the sympathies of Christ. 3. For his second coming. His first coming was the hope of Israel; his second coming is the hope of the Church of the gospel (Revelation 22:20; Titus 2:13). "Prayer for Christ" increases our love to him, binds us in closer union with the brethren, and enables us to transmit the blessed hope to future generations. Think of the prayers made every Lord's day! What cause for thankfulness and joy! Yea, "daily" prayer shall be made till prayer is consummated in praise. - W.F. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon. I. OFFER SOME EXPOSITORY REMARKS. 1. The handful of corn. This tells of the few disciples who at the first preached the Gospel. As Isaac was offered on Mount Moriah, so our Lord on the summit of the same mount was offered up. He was the seed corn. 2. The fruit. This all the result of our Lord's death. And it shall be abundant like the forests of Lebanon. 3. They of the city. The apostles went forth from Jerusalem after they were endued with power. II. THE EXPRESSIVENESS OF THE SIMILE — the corn of wheat. 1. It possesses a kind of immortality. 2. Life springs from its death. 3. Propagates its own likeness. 4. Has unlimited power of multiplication. III. THE IMPORT OF THE SHAKING HERE TOLD OF (Hebrews 12:25-29). The religious systems of the earth are doomed, and the political likewise. () I. THE INSIGNIFICANCE OF THE GOSPEL IN ITS ORIGIN. 1. In its introduction into the world. 2. In its structure as a religious system. 3. In its operation in the heart. II. THE IMPROBABILITY OF ITS SUCCESS. 1. The agency was feeble. 2. The opposition Was powerful. III. ITS STUPENDOUS RESULTS. 1. The number of its followers. 2. Their influence on the world. () I. ITS INSIGNIFICANT COMMENCEMENT. A handful of corn, and that sown, of all places, on the top of the mountains. How this sets forth the unlikelihood of success according to all human judgment. II. THE GLORIOUS CONSUMMATION THE GOSPEL IS DESTINED TO ATTAIN. This metaphorical representation conveys to us the idea of fertility; a fertility so great, that from a handful of corn, and that sown on the most barren spot, the top of a mountain, should issue a crop so strong and thick that it would shake and wave in the wind like the woods of Lebanon, while in the City of Zion the inhabitants would become numerous as the blades of grass in a field which the Lord hath blessed. It is thus beautifully intimated that in proportion to the smallness of its beginning shall be the greatness of the final increase of the Gospel. In various parts of Holy Writ we have abundant testimony to this fact. The metaphorical representation of the psalmist suggests also that the diffusion of the Gospel in the latter day will be characterized by great and extraordinary rapidity "They of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth." Grass is, in Eastern countries, remarkably speedy in its growth; so will it be with the triumphs which the Gospel is destined universally to accomplish. This metaphorical announcement intimates further that the propagation of the Gospel shall be productive of happiness and joy to the world. "The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon." Just such a change as, in the physical world, is made when the sterile mountain top is converted into the garden of the Lord, will be that which shall be made in the moral world by the agency of the Gospel, when it shall be felt in its legitimate power. III. THE MANNER IN WHICH IT HAS ALREADY BEEN FULFILLED IS FITTED TO STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH IN THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE GOSPEL. IV. This prophecy furnishes us also with an ENCOURAGEMENT TO PERSEVERE IN OUR EXERTIONS FOR THE UNIVERSAL PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL. Although it may be with us a "day of small things" — although the means we employ may be feeble and small, and the obstacles we have to encounter be numerous and formidable, yet let us not give way to unbelieving doubts or fears. () How precious is the Bible to men; it is the source of all our hope, the inspiration of all our work. In that we have —I. A HAPPY DESCRIPTION OF THE GOSPEL. It is a handful of corn. 1. For its excellency. 2. For its insignificance, in appearance, extent, instrumentality. II. THE PLACES WHERE IT IS TO BE SOWN: "on the top of the mountains," the most barren and inaccessible places. There are many hearts like this, but there we are to sow the seed. And in the most populous places — "the city." So did our Lord, and so should we. How great the need. III. THE BLESSED RESULTS WHICH WILL FOLLOW. 1. Abundant fruitfulness. 2. Rapid growth — like grass. 3. A beauteous scene. 4. Ample recompense.Conclusion. 1. Bless God if the seed of the Gospel has taken root in your heart. 2. How deeply guilty are they in whom no fruit is found. 3. Pity those who are without the Gospel seed. () 1. Let us think of where the corn comes from. It does not come like anything else in the world. In the woods you may sometimes find a tree growing with a little round black fruit, hard and sour. It does not seem to be worth much by the side of the luscious plum from the garden. But that sloe, as it is called, is the plum in its wild state. The gardener takes it and cultivates it until it comes to be a larger and finer tree. So it is with the crab-tree and its little bitter fruit — that is, the wild apple. And so with the strawberry, and all the fruits and plants in our garden. They were found in a wild state, and they had to be cultivated before they were worth anything. But nobody ever found corn growing wild. Unlike everything else, corn is the special and peculiar gift of God, which He put into man's hand just as it is. And how like Jesus it is in this!2. Corn will grow all over the world. And is not that like our blessed Jesus? No home but may have Him in it; no heart but Jesus will dwell there; no land under heaven but there men may find the Bread of Life. 3. Think again of what the corn is worth. A very little thing to talk about, this — "a handful of corn!" Corn is worth more than gold. Everybody wants bread. And so, all need Jesus. 4. Corn has life in it — yielding abundant increase. And so Jesus is like the handful of corn upon the top of the mountains: the prophet tells us that we "esteemed Him not," and "hid as it were our faces from Him"; there was no appearance of greatness in Him, or of power. But in Him is life. He comes into our hearts, and we are made like Him, and from us others catch a grain of the good seed, and the life spreads from heart to heart and from soul to soul, until "the whole earth shall be filled with His glory." 5. And yet though there is all this that is wonderful about the corn, let us remember that it is of no good except it be sown. A handful of corn is indeed a poor thing without that. They have found some mummies in Egypt thousands of years old, and in their hands they have found some tiny grains of corn. If they had been sown, by this time they would have grown into enough to feed the world. And so the glory of Jesus grows only when we have Jesus in our heart. 6. Before the corn does us any good, it dies. Think how much this is like Jesus. He lays down His life for us. He dies that we may live. He is beaten, and scourged, and broken, that we may have strength and everlasting life. ()
People David, Jesse, Psalmist, Seba, Solomon, TarshishPlaces JerusalemTopics Abound, Abundance, Bloom, Blossom, Cedars, Cities, Corn, Cornfield, Field, Fields, Flourish, Forth, Fruit, Full, Grain, Grass, Handful, Herb, Hills, Lebanon, Mountains, Rich, Rustle, Shake, Shaking, Stems, Sway, Sways, Thereof, Thrive, Thriving, Throughout, Tops, Unnumbered, Vegetation, Wave, Wide-stretchingOutline 1. David, praying for Solomon, shows the goodness and glory of God's kingdom
18. He blessed God
Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 72:16 4245 hills
4428 corn
4456 grain
4460 grass Psalm 72:1-19 5857 fame Library The Eternal Name
It is pleasant, then, to find that there is one thing which is to last for ever. Concerning that one thing we hope to speak to-night, if God will enable me to preach, and you to hear. "His name shall endure for ever." First, the religion sanctified by his name shall endure for ever; secondly, the honor of his name shall endure for ever; and thirdly, the saving, comforting power of his name shall endure for ever. I. First, the religion of the name of Jesus is to endure for ever. When impostors forged …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855The Poor Man's Friend
Turning to our text without further preface, we shall note in it the special objects of great grace. "He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper;" then, the special blessings which are allotted to them. Here it is said that he shall deliver them, but all through the psalms there are scattered promises full of instruction and consolation all meant for them. And, lastly, the special season which God has appointed for the dispensing of these favors. "He shall …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 18: 1872 David's Dying Prayer
In one sense this prayer is still unnecessary, for in a certain sense the whole earth is filled with God's glory. "All thy works praise thee, O God," is as true now as it was in paradise. The stars still sing their Maker's praise; no sin hath stopped their voice, no discord hath made a jarring note among the harmonies of the spheres. The earth itself still praiseth its Maker, the exhalations, as they arise with morn, are still a pure offfering, acceptable to their Maker. The lowing of the cattle, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857 Jesus --"All Blessing and all Blest"
THERE are many famous names in human history; but many of them are connected with deeds which have brought no blessing upon mankind. To bless, and to be blessed, is the noblest sort of fame; and yet how few have thought it worth the seeking! Full many a name in the roll of fame has been written there with a finger dipped in blood. It would seem as if men loved those most who have killed the most of them. They call those greatest who have been the greatest cutthroats. They make their greatest illuminations …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891 Abandonment a Pledge of Predestination.
The state of abandonment contains in itself pure faith, hope, and charity. The state of abandonment is a certain mixture of faith, hope, and charity in one single act, which unites the soul to God and to His action. United, these three virtues together form but one in a single act, the raising of the heart to God, and abandonment to His action. But how can this divine mingling, this spiritual oneness be explained? How can a name be found to convey an idea of its nature, and to make the unity of this …
Jean-Pierre de Caussade—Abandonment to Divine Providence The Song of Solomon.
An important link in the chain of the Messianic hopes is formed by the Song of Solomon. It is intimately associated with Ps. lxxii., which was written by Solomon, and represents the Messiah as the Prince of Peace, imperfectly prefigured by Solomon as His type. As in this Psalm, so also in the Song of Solomon, the coming of the Messiah forms the subject throughout, and He is introduced there under the name of Solomon, the Peaceful One. His coming shall be preceded by severe afflictions, represented …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Prayer and Missions
"One day, about this time, I heard an unusual bleating amongst my few remaining goats, as if they were being killed or tortured. I rushed to the goat-house and found myself instantly surrounded by a band of armed men. The snare had caught me, their weapons were raised, and I expected the next moment to die. But God moved me to talk to them firmly and kindly; I warned them of their sin and its punishment; I showed them that only my love and pity led me to remain there seeking their good, and that …
Edward M. Bounds—The Essentials of Prayer Translators' Preface.
THE work, of which an English version is presented in this volume, appeared originally in 1837. It has already passed through four editions, from the last of which [2] this translation has been made. It is well known that Dr. NEANDER has been engaged for many years in writing a "General History of the Christian Religion and Church," and that he has published separately an account of the "Planting and Training of the Early Christian Church by the Apostles." He would doubtless have felt himself constrained, …
Augustus Neander—The Life of Jesus Christ in Its Historical Connexion All Nations Shall Serve Him. --Ps. Lxxii. 11
All nations shall serve Him.--Ps. lxxii. 11. Fall down ye nations, and adore Jehovah on His mercy-seat, Like prostrate seas on every shore, That cast their billows at your feet. Let hallelujahs to the skies, With ocean's everlasting sound, (The voice of many waters) rise, Day without night, as time goes round. Come from the east,--with gifts, ye kings, Gold, frankincense, and myrrh; Where'er the morning spreads her wings, Let man to God his vows prefer. Come from the west,--the bond, the free, …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns The Reign of Christ on Earth. --Ps. Lxxii.
The Reign of Christ on Earth.--Ps. lxxii. Hail to the Lord's Anointed! Great David's greater Son; Hail in the time appointed, His reign on earth begun! He comes to break oppression, To set the captive free; To take away transgression, And rule in equity. He comes with succour speedy, To those who suffer wrong; To help the poor and needy, And bid the weak be strong; To give them songs for sighing, Their darkness turn to light; Whose souls, condemn'd and dying, Were precious in His sight. By such …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns Jesus the Bread of Life.
JOHN vi. 1-59. In this chapter John follows the same method as in the last. He first relates the sign, and then gives our Lord's interpretation of it. As to the Samaritan woman, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so now to the Galileans, Jesus manifests Himself as sent to communicate to man life eternal. The sign by means of which He now manifests Himself is, however, so new that many fresh aspects of His own person and work are disclosed.[21] The occasion for the miracle arose, as usual, quite …
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I The Millennium in Relation to Sin.
In spite of the fact that Satan will have been removed from the earth, and that Christ reigns in person over it, yet conditions here will not be perfect even in the Millennium. Unregenerate human nature will remain unchanged. Sin will still be present, though much of its outward manifestation will be restrained. Discontent and wickedness will not be eradicated from the hearts of men, but will be kept beneath the surface by means of the Iron Rod. Multitudes will yield to Christ nothing but a "feigned …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return The Millennium in Relation to the World.
The Millennium will be the time, when, instead of Satan being the world's "Prince," the Christ of God shall be its King. The form of His government will be theocratic not democratic--"And the Lord shall be King over all the earth" (Zech. 14:9). The scope or range of His government will be world-wide. All nations will be subject to His rule, and the uttermost parts of the earth shall be possessed by Him. "He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return Prayer for and with Each Other.
"Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."--James v. 16. Let our last article touch once more the key of love wherein the article preceding that of prayer was set. To speak of the Spirit's work in our prayers, omitting the intercession of the saints, betrays a lack of understanding concerning the Spirit of all grace. Prayer for others is quite different from prayer for ourselves. The latter …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit Epistle cxxi. To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville).
To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville). Gregory to Leander, Bishop of Spain. I have the epistle of thy Holiness, written with the pen of charity alone. For what the tongue transferred to the paper had got its tincture from the heart. Good and wise men were present when it was read, and at once their bowels were stirred with emotion. Everyone began to seize thee in his heart with the hand of love, for that in that epistle the sweetness of thy disposition was not to be heard, but seen. All severally …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great Question Lxxxii of Devotion
I. Is Devotion a Special Kind of Act? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Meaning of the Term "Devotion" S. Augustine, Confessions, XIII. viii. 2 II. Is Devotion an Act of the Virtue of Religion? III. Is Contemplation, that is Meditation, the Cause of Devotion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Causes of Devotion " " On the Devotion of Women IV. Is Joy an Effect of Devotion? Cardinal Cajetan, On Melancholy S. Augustine, Confessions, II. x. I Is Devotion a Special Kind of Act? It is by our acts that we merit. But …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life The Great Crisis in Popular Feeling - the Last Discourses in the Synagogue of Capernaum - Christ the Bread of Life - Will Ye Also Go
THE narrative now returns to those who, on the previous evening, had, after the miraculous meal, been sent away' to their homes. We remember, that this had been after an abortive attempt on their part to take Jesus by force and make Him their Messiah-King. We can understand that the effectual resistance of Jesus to their purpose not only weakened, but in great measure neutralised, the effect of the miracle which they had witnessed. In fact, we look upon this check as the first turning of the tide …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Kinsman-Redeemer
'Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of Hosts is His name: He shall thoroughly plead their cause.'--JER. l. 34. Among the remarkable provisions of the Mosaic law there were some very peculiar ones affecting the next-of-kin. The nearest living blood relation to a man had certain obligations and offices to discharge, under certain contingencies, in respect of which he received a special name; which is sometimes translated in the Old Testament 'Redeemer,' and sometimes 'Avenger' of blood. What the etymological …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture His Future Work
The Lord Jesus Christ, who finished the work on earth the Father gave Him to do, who is now bodily present in the highest heaven, occupying the Father's throne and exercising His priesthood in behalf of His people, is also King. To Him belongeth a Kingdom and a kingly Glory. He has therefore a kingly work to do. While His past work was foretold by the Spirit of God and His priestly work foreshadowed in the Old Testament, His work as King and His glorious Kingdom to come are likewise the subjects …
A. C. Gaebelein—The Work Of Christ What Messiah did the Jews Expect?
1. The most important point here is to keep in mind the organic unity of the Old Testament. Its predictions are not isolated, but features of one grand prophetic picture; its ritual and institutions parts of one great system; its history, not loosely connected events, but an organic development tending towards a definite end. Viewed in its innermost substance, the history of the Old Testament is not different from its typical institutions, nor yet these two from its predictions. The idea, underlying …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Poetical Books (Including Also Ecclesiastes and Canticles).
1. The Hebrews reckon but three books as poetical, namely: Job, Psalms, and Proverbs, which are distinguished from the rest by a stricter rhythm--the rhythm not of feet, but of clauses (see below, No. 3)--and a peculiar system of accentuation. It is obvious to every reader that the poetry of the Old Testament, in the usual sense of the word, is not restricted to these three books. But they are called poetical in a special and technical sense. In any natural classification of the books of the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible The Security of Contemplatives Lies in their not Ascending to High Things if Our Lord Does not Raise Them. The Sacred Humanity must be the Road
1. There is one thing I should like to say--I think it important: and if you, my father, approve, it will serve for a lesson that possibly may be necessary; for in some books on prayer the writers say that the soul, though it cannot in its own strength attain to this state,--because it is altogether a supernatural work wrought in it by our Lord,--may nevertheless succeed, by lifting up the spirit above all created things, and raising it upwards in humility, after some years spent in a purgative life, …
Teresa of Avila—The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers. …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament The Debt of Irenæus to Justin Martyr
If we are to proceed with safety in forming a judgment as to the relation between Justin and Irenæus in respect of the matter which they have in common, it will be necessary not merely to consider a number of selected parallels, but also to examine the treatment of a particular theme in the two writers. Let us set side by side, for example, c. 32 of Justin's First Apology with c. 57 of the Demonstration. Justin has been explaining to his Roman readers who the Jewish prophets were, and then …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching Links Psalm 72:16 NIV
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