Homilist Isaiah 22:23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. The fastening force of Christ upon the soul of humanity is seen — I. IN HIS HOLD UPON THE GENERAL MIND OF THE WORLD. Who, throughout the history of the ages, have laid such a firm grip upon mankind as Christ has? It is true that Buddha, Zoroaster, Confucius, Mohammed, have had — and still have — a firm hold on millions of souls. Some of them have a far wider influence than that of Christ, but they are not fastened so firmly. 1. Philosophy shows this. Their systems — if systems they can be called — only appeal to certain faculties in human nature; Christ grasps the entire man — intellect, imagination, conscience, hope, fear, love. 2. History shows this. Heathenism does not encroach upon Christianity. Christians are not converted to Zoroaster, Confucius, etc., but their followers are converted to Christianity every day. Heathendom is contracting, Christendom is extending on all hands. Its language, its literature, its institutions, are pushing themselves everywhere. The "nail" is made so fast, that to extract it would be to tear the world to pieces. II. IN HIS HOLD UPON THE CONSECRATED MIND OF HIS DISCIPLES. His hold here is far firmer than His hold on the general mind. He goes deeper into humanity, He takes hold of the entire soul, and makes it captive. Or, to change the figure, He strikes His roots into every faculty of the soul. He becomes to the human spirit in this case what the sap is to the tree. You must tear the soul to pieces — nay, you must annihilate it — before you can extract his "nail." (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. |
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