| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Joshua Chapter
Thirteen
Joshua 13
Chapter Contents
Bounds of the land not yet conquered. (1-6) Inheritance
of Reuben. (7-33)
Commentary on Joshua 13:1-6
(Read Joshua 13:1-6)
At this chapter begins the account of the dividing of the
land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel by lot; a narrative showing the
performance of the promise made to the fathers, that this land should be given
to the seed of Jacob. We are not to pass over these chapters of hard names as
useless. Where God has a mouth to speak, and a hand to write, we should find an
ear to hear, and an eye to read; and may God give us a heart to profit! Joshua
is supposed to have been about one hundred years old at this time. It is good
for those who are old and stricken in years to be put in remembrance of their
being so. God considers the frame of his people, and would not have them
burdened with work above their strength. And all people, especially old people,
should set to do that quickly which must be done before they die, lest death
prevent them, Ecclesiastes 9:10. God promise that he would
make the Israelites masters of all the countries yet unsubdued, through Joshua
was old, and not able to do it; old, and not likely to live to see it done.
Whatever becomes of us, and however we may be laid aside as despised, broken
vessels, God will do his own work in his own time. We must work out our
salvation, then God will work in us, and work with us; we must resist our
spiritual enemies, then God will tread them under our feet; we must go forth to
our Christian work and warfare, then God will go forth before us.
Commentary on Joshua 13:7-33
(Read Joshua 13:7-33)
The land must be divided among the tribes. It is the will
of God that every man should know his own, and not take that which is
another's. The world must be governed, not by force, but right. Wherever our
habitation is placed, and in whatever honest way our portion is assigned, we
should consider them as allotted of God; we should be thankful for, and use
them as such, while every prudent method should be used to prevent disputes
about property, both at present and in future. Joshua must be herein a type of
Christ, who has not only conquered the gates of hell for us, but has opened to
us the gates of heaven, and having purchased the eternal inheritance for all
believers, will put them in possession of it. Here is a general description of
the country given to the two tribes and a half, by Moses. Israel must know
their own, and keep to it; and may not, under pretence of their being God's
peculiar people, encroach on their neighbours. Twice in this chapter it is
noticed, that to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance: see Numbers 18:20. Their maintenance must be brought
out of all the tribes. The ministers of the Lord should show themselves
indifferent about worldly interests, and the people should take care they want
nothing suitable. And happy are those who have the Lord God of Israel for their
inheritance, though little of this world falls to their lot. His providences
will supply their wants, his consolations will support their souls, till they
gain heavenly joy and everlasting pleasures.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Joshua》
Joshua 13
Verse 1
[1] Now
Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old
and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.
Thou art old —
Therefore delay not to do the work which I have commanded thee to do. It is
good for those that are stricken in years, to be remembered that they are so:
that they may be quickened to do the work of life, and prepare for death which
is coming on apace.
Verse 2
[2] This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines,
and all Geshuri,
Remaineth —
Unconquered by thee, and to be conquered by the Israelites, if they behave
themselves aright.
All Geshuri — A
people in the northeast of Canaan, as the Philistines are on the southwest.
Verse 3
[3] From
Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which
is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and
the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the
Avites:
Counted to the Canaanites — That is, which though now possessed by the Philistines, who drove out
the Canaanites the old inhabitants of it, Deuteronomy 2:23; Amos 9:7, yet is a part of the land of Canaan,
and therefore belongs to the Israelites.
The Avites —
Or, the Avims, as they are called, Deuteronomy 2:23, who though they were expelled
out of their ancient seat, and most of them destroyed by the Caphtorims or
Philistines, as is there said, yet many of them escaped, and planted themselves
not very far from the former.
Verse 4
[4] From
the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the
Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites:
From the south —
That is, from those southern parts of the sea-coast, now possessed by the
Philistines, all the more northern parts of the sea-coast being yet inhibited
by the Canaanites, almost as far as Sidon.
The Amorites —
The Amorites were a very strong and numerous people, and we find them dispersed
in several parts, some within Jordan, and some without it, some in the south
and others in the north, of whom he speaks here.
Verse 6
[6] All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephothmaim,
and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of
Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I
have commanded thee.
Will I drive out —
Whatever becomes of us, however we may be laid aside as broken vessels, God
will do his work in his own time. I will do it by my word; so the Chaldee here,
as in many other places: by the eternal word, the captain of my host. But the
promise of driving them out from before the children of Israel, supposes that
the Israelites must use their own endeavours, must go up against them. If
Israel, thro' sloth or cowardice let them alone, they are not likely to be
driven out. We must go forth on our Christian warfare, and then God will go
before us.
Verse 8
[8] With
whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which
Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD
gave them;
Which Moses gave them — By my command, and therefore do not thou disturb them in their
possessions, but proceed to divide the other possessions to the rest.
Verse 9
[9] From
Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the
midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon;
Medeba unto Dibon —
Two cities anciently belonging to the Moabites, and taken from them by the
Amorites, Numbers 21:30, and from them by the Israelites;
and after the Israelites were gone into captivity, recovered by the first
possessors, the Moabites.
Verse 11
[11] And
Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount
Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah;
And Maacathites —
Whose land God had given to the Israelites without Jordan, though they had not
yet used the gift of God, nor taken possession of it, as is noted, verse 13.
Verse 12
[12] All
the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who
remained of the remnant of the giants: for these did Moses smite, and cast them
out.
These did Moses smite — Not all now mentioned, but Sihon and Og, and their people, and the
generality of them.
Verse 14
[14] Only
unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God
of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them.
He gave —
That is, Moses.
None inheritance —
Namely, in the land beyond Jordan, where yet a considerable part of the Levites
were to have their settled abode. This is mentioned as the reason both why
Moses gave all that land to the Reubenites and Gadites and Manassites; and why
Joshua should divide the land only into nine parts and an half, as was said,
verse 7, because Levi was otherwise provided for.
Made by fire —
Which are here put for all the sacrifices and oblations, including first-fruits
and tithes, that were assigned to the Levites; and this passage is repeated, to
prevent those calumnies and injuries which God foresaw the Levites were likely
to meet with, from the malice, envy and covetousness of their brethren.
Verse 15
[15] And
Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to
their families.
According to their families — Dividing the inheritance into as many parts as they had families; but
this is only spoken of the greater families; for the lesser distributions to
the several small families was done by inferior officers, according to the
rules which Moses gave them.
Verse 19
[19] And
Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zarethshahar in the mount of the valley,
In the mount of the valley — In the mountain bordering upon that valley, which then was famous among
the Israelites; whether that where Moses was buried, which was near to
Beth-peor, Deuteronomy 34:1,6, or some other. And this
clause is thought to belong to all the cities now mentioned.
Verse 21
[21] And
all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites,
which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and
Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the
country.
Cities of the plain —
Opposed to the cities of the mountain of the valley.
All the kingdom of Sihon — A great part of it; in which sense we read of all Judea, and all the
region round about Jordan, Matthew 3:5, and all Galilee, Matthew 4:23.
Whom Moses smote —
Not in the same time or battle, as appears by comparing Numbers 21:23,24, with Numbers 31:8, but in the same manner. And they
are here mentioned, partly because they were slain not long after, and upon the
same occasion, even their enmity against Israel; and partly because of their
relation and subjection to Sihon.
Dukes of Sihon —
But how could they be so, when they were kings of Midian? Numbers 31:8. There were divers petty kings in
those parts, who were subject to greater kings; and such these were, but are
here called dukes or princes of Sihon, because they were subject and
tributaries to him, and therefore did one way or other assist Sihon in this
war, though they were not killed at this time. It is probable, that when Sihon
destroyed those Moabites which dwelt in these parts, he frighted the rest of
them, and with them their neighbours and confederates, the Midianites, into
some kind of homage, which they were willing to pay him.
Dwelling in the country — Heb. inhabiting that land, namely Midian, last mentioned; whereby he
signifies, that tho' they were subject to Sihon, yet they did not dwell in his
land, but in another.
Verse 22
[22]
Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay
with the sword among them that were slain by them.
Were slain by them —
This was recorded before, Numbers 31:8, and is here repeated, because the
defeating of Balaam's purpose to curse Israel, and the turning that curse into
a blessing, was such an instance of the power and goodness of God, as was fit
to be had in everlasting remembrance.
Verse 23
[23] And
the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border thereof. This
was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities
and the villages thereof.
The border thereof —
That is, those cities or places which bordered upon Jordan.
Verse 25
[25] And
their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the
children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah;
The cities of Gilead — That is, all the cities of eminency; all the cities properly so called,
which lay in that part of Gilead; and so this may well agree with verse 31, where half the country of Gilead is said to
be given to the Manassites; but there is no mention of any cities there.
The land of the children of Ammon — Not of that which was now theirs, for that they were forbidden to meddle
with, but of that which was anciently theirs, 'till taken from them by the
Amorites, from whom the Israelites took it.
Aroer —
The border between them and Moab.
Rabbah —
The chief city of the Ammonites.
Verse 26
[26] And
from Heshbon unto Ramathmizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border
of Debir;
Ramath-mizpeh —
Called Ramoth-Gilead, or Ramoth in Gilead.
Mahanaim —
Exclusively; for Mahanaim was in the portion of Manasseh, beyond Jabbok, which
was the border of Gad and Manasseh.
Verse 27
[27] And
in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of
the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge
of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.
The rest of the kingdom — The northern part of his kingdom.
Verse 29
[29] And
Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh: and this was the
possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families.
Of Manasseh —
Not that thou desired it, as Reuben and Gad did, Numbers 32:1, but partly as a recompence to
Machir the Manassite, for his valiant acts against Og; and partly for the
better defence of the other two tribes, by so considerable an accession to
them, which also was without any inconvenience to them, because the country was
too large for the two tribes of Reuben and Gad.
Verse 30
[30] And
their coast was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of
Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities:
Of Jair —
Who, though of the tribe of Judah, by the father, 1 Chronicles 2:21,22, yet is called the son of
Manasseh, Numbers 32:41, because he married a daughter of
Manasseh, and wholly associated himself with those valiant Manassites; and with
their help took sixty cities or great towns, Deuteronomy 3:4,14, which thence were called the
towns of Jair.
Verse 31
[31] And
half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan,
were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the
one half of the children of Machir by their families.
Children of Machir —
Whom before he called the children of Manasseh, he now calls the children of
Machir, because Machir was the most eminent, and as it may seem, the only
surviving son of Manasseh, Numbers 26:29; 1 Chronicles 7:14-16.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Joshua》
13 Chapter 13
Verses 1-33
Thou art old and stricken in years.
Joshua’s old age
“The Lord said unto Joshua, Thou art old and stricken in years.”
To many men and women this would not be a welcome announcement. They do not
like to think that they are old. They do not like to think that the bright,
joyous, playful part of life is over, and that they are arrived at the sombre
years when they must say, “There is no pleasure in them.” Then, again, there
are some who really find it hard to believe that they are old. Life has flown
past so swiftly that before they thought it was well begun it has gone. But
however much men may like to be young, and however much some may retain in old
age of the feeling of youth, it is certain that the period of strength has its
limit, and the period of life also, To Joshua the announcement that he was old
and stricken in years does not appear to have brought any painful or regretful
feeling. Perhaps he had aged somewhat suddenly; his energies may have failed
consciously and rapidly, after his long course of active and anxious military
service. He may have been glad to hear God utter the word; he may have been
feeling it himself, and wondering how he should be able to go through the campaigns
yet necessary to put the children of Israel in full possession of the land. So
Joshua finds that he is now to be relieved by his considerate Master of
laborious and anxious service. Not of all service, but of exhausting service,
unsuited to his advancing years. Joshua had been a right faithful servant; few
men have ever done their work so well. He has led a most useful and loyal life,
which there is some satisfaction in looking back on. No doubt he is well aware
of unnumbered failings: “Who can understand his errors?” But he has the rare
satisfaction--oh! Who would not wish to share it?--of looking back on a
well-spent life, habitually and earnestly regulated amid many infirmities by
regard to the will of God. Yet Joshua was not to complete that work to which he
had contributed so much: “there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.”
At one time, no doubt, he thought otherwise, and he desired otherwise. When the
tide of victory was setting in for him so steadily, and region after region of
the land was falling into his hands, it was natural to expect that before he
ended he would sweep all the enemies of Israel before him, and open every door
for them throughout the land, even to its utmost borders. Why not make hay when
the sun shone? When God had found so apt an instrument for His great design,
why did He not employ him to the end? If the natural term of Joshua’s strength
had come, why did not that God who had supernaturally lengthened out the day
for completing the victory of Bethhoron lengthen out Joshua’s day, that the
whole land of Canaan might be secured? Here comes in a great mystery of
Providence. Instead of lengthening out the period of Joshua’s strength, God
seems to have cut it short. We can easily understand the lesson for Joshua
himself. Joshua must be made to feel--perhaps he needs this--that this
enterprise is not his, but God’s. And God is not limited to one instrument, or to
one age, or to one plan. Never does Providence appear to us so strange as when
a noble worker is cut down in the very midst of his work. A young missionary
has just shown his splendid capacity for service, when fever strikes him low,
and in a few days all that remains of him is rotting in the ground. “What can
God mean?” we sometimes ask impatiently. “Does He not know the rare value and
the extreme scarcity of such men, that He sets them up apparently just to throw
them down?” But “God reigneth, let the people tremble.” All that bears on the
Christian good of the world is in God’s plan, and it is very dear to God, and
“precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” But He is not
limited to single agents. (W. G. Blaikie, D. D.)
God takes note of our ,failing strength
He says, concerning this man and that, Grey hairs are here and
there upon him, and he knoweth it not. About some supposedly strong men, He
says, They are wearing out; they are old at forty; at fifty they will be
patriarchal, so far as the exhaustion of strength is concerned; they will die
young in years, but old in service. God’s work does take much out of a man, if
the man is faithful. A man may pray himself into a withered old age in one
night: in one little day a man may add years to his labour. We can work
off-handedly: the work need not take much out of us; but if we think about it,
ponder it, execute it with both hands--if it is the one thought of the soul,
who can tell how soon the strongest man may be run out, and the youngest become
a white-haired patriarch? But blessed is it to be worked out in this service. A
quaint minister of the last century said, “It is better to rub out than to rust
out.” How many are content to “rust out”! They know nothing about friction,
sacrifice, self-slaughter, martyrdom. (J. Parker, D.D.)
There remaineth yet very
much land to be possessed.
Unconquered territory
I. Revealed truth
yet to be learned. We have not yet secured all the sacred knowledge which God
has made possible, and which it would be profitable for us to acquire. Here is
this book set out before us, the great region of revealed religion. May we not
say that “there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed”? Who among us is
familiar with all its histories, is acquainted with all its facts, knows all
its truths, has seen all its beauties, or learned all its lessons? Some of you
have been through the pass of Llanberis--perhaps twenty times. Did you ever see
it twice alike? Always the same thing; and yet a different appearance, because
seen under different circumstances. If you were to go through it twenty times
twenty times, it would never appear twice alike. The light would be falling on
it at different angles, and thus make a difference. On a cloudy day you would
see something you did not see on a bright day, and on a rainy day you would see
something you did not see on a fine day. It is thus with this book. You say
that you read the Bible through last year, and you ask, “What is to be gained
by reading it through again this year?” Have you the same hopes? the same joys?
the same sorrows? the same aspirations? the same motives? and the same experiences?
I care not how often you have read it, you have never read it as you feel now,
with your present experience and in your present circumstances.
II. A holy
character to be acquired. There remaineth much of that to be possessed. Men in
ancient times had not a Divine standard to measure themselves by, or a Divine
pattern to contrast themselves with, and learn how deficient they were and full
of blemishes. We have had a perfect pattern set before us. In the life of our
Lord Jesus Christ we have the map of the good land; see it in its length and
breadth, and realise how true it is that there are glorious portions of it over
which our flag has not floated, provinces which we have not made our own.
III. Christian
usefulness. I am not going to slander the Christian Church, and tell you that
former times were better than these. There is nothing gained by telling lies
for God. If you want to quicken God’s people you must not talk as if the Church
were more sleepy now than it ever was before. I do not believe it. As I read
ecclesiastical history, I cannot find many periods when the Church, as a whole,
was more vigorous and devoted than now. Let us not ignore what God has done for
us, and enabled us to do. “Not unto us, but unto Him be the praise and glory.”
But when we take into account all that has been done and all that has been
attempted against the world’s ignorance, vice, and ungodliness, may we not
still say, “There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed”? It is not the
season for slothfulness, selfishness, or prayerlessness; the call is urgent and
great. “There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” Why did God keep
His people to that struggle? He gave the people the land, and then they had to
fight for it. They crossed the Jordan with the best title-deeds man ever
possessed; they came from heaven, they were given by Him to whom all the earth
belongs. The title-deed of the people said, “The land is yours”; and after God
had given it to them they had to buckle on the sword, sharpen the spear, and go
and win every acre of it. This is God’s way--He gives it to you, and yet He
says, “Get it; work it out with fear and trembling.” Why does He treat us so? I
cannot tell; but this I know, that if we cease to work the powers of evil never
will. (Charles Vince.)
The Christian’s work
Canaan, though commonly used as a type of heaven, is, in some of
its aspects, a type rather of a state of grace than of a state of glory. And
taking this view of it, I remark that--
I. Canaan, as the
Israelites found it, represents the state of man’s heart when the grace of God
enters it. Think of a soul like thine, made at first in the image of God; a
being such as thou art, once occupying a rank in creation next to and but a
little lower than that of angels; a heart like thine which, though blighted by
sin, still retains some traces of departed glory, alienated from the true God,
held captive of the devil, ruled by unholy passions, full of corruptions as
difficult to root out as were these sons of Anak who, in Goliath and his giant
race, disturbed the peace of Israel and defied the armies of the living God
many long years after the land was, in a sense, both conquered and possessed.
The Hebrews did not enter Canaan to find an empty land, which they had nothing
to do but to occupy; nor does Jesus, when He enters our heart by His Spirit and
saving grace. It is in possession of His enemies. They are there to dispute His
rights, and resist His entrance--sons of Anak, indeed; more formidable still;
for giant sins are less easily conquered than giant men.
II. The blessings
of the kingdom of grace, like those of Canaan, have to be fought for. Bring out
every sin before the Lord, and let it be condemned to death; pass the sword of
the Spirit through and through it, till it has breathed out its cursed life,
and has no more dominion over you. As the apostle says, “Let him that nameth
the name of Christ depart from alliniquity.” Beware how you leave innate
corruption and old sinful habits to draw down on you the anger of a holy God
and the afflictions threatened on Israel (Numbers 33:55).
III. The most
advanced Christian has much to do in the way of sanctification. How truly may
it be said to the most experienced, aged, honoured Christian, as the Lord said
to Joshua, “Thou art old and well stricken in years, and yet there is much land
to be possessed. Sin still has more or less power over you, and it should have
none; your corruptions are wounded, dying of mortal wounds, but they are not
yet dead; your affections are set on heaven, yet how much are they still
entangled with earthly things; your heart, like the needle of a sailor’s
compass to its pole, points to Christ, but how easily is it disturbed, how
tremblingly and unsteadily does it often point to Him; your spirit has wings,
but how short are its flights, and how often, like a half-fledged eaglet, has
it to seek the nest, and come back to rest on the Rock of Ages; your soul is a
garden in which, when north and south winds blow to call out its spices, Christ
delights to walk, but with many a beautiful flower, how many vile weeds are
there--ready to spring up, and ill to keep down; requiring constant care and
watching.” Indeed, so many impurities and imperfections cleave to the best of
us, that it seems to me a change must take place at death only second to what
took place at conversion. How that is done is a mystery which we cannot fathom;
but it would seem as if grace, like that species of cereus which opens its gorgeous flower only
at midnight burst out into fullest beauty amid the darkness of a dying hour. (T.
Guthrie, D. D.)
The uncompleted work
There is much land to be possessed in--
I. The knowledge
of God. Columbus was not content to pick up a few shells on the beach of the
new world--he explored the continent; alas! we are too soon satisfied with
coasting for a little on that great continent of the Divine nature.
II. The study of
the bible. Christians are too prone to keep to the beaten tracks; they do not
make excursions into less familiar paths; some pages well thumbed, others clean
and uncut.
III. Christian
character. Canaan was occupied by seven nations of ugly names; but our hearts
and lives are cursed by still uglier things. We must not be content until all
these are brought under obedience to Christ.
IV. The heathen
world. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
On progress in religion
Christians, God has assigned you a glorious portion. Opening
before you the discoveries of revelation, He said, “Make all this your own;
advance; leave nothing unpossessed.” At first you were filled with spiritual
ardour, “laying aside every weight,” &c. But, alas! your love has waxen cold.
I. Yes,
Christians, there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed--many cities and strongholds, many
fine plains, and “springs of water,” many beautiful valleys, and very “fruitful
hills”--or, to speak less in figure, much of your religion is unattained,
unoccupied, unenjoyed; you are far from its boundaries. Very little of it
indeed do some of you possess; you command only a small, inconsiderable corner,
scarcely affording you a subsistence.
1. Consider your knowledge. After so many years of hearing, what
additions have you made to your stores? Are you filled with holy prudence to
ponder “the path of your feet,” to “look well to your goings,” and to discern
snares where there is no appearance-of danger? Do you “walk circumspectly; not
as fools, but as wise”?
2. Observe your holiness. For the knowledge of persons may surpass
their experience; and a growth in gifts is very distinguishable from a growth
in grace. Review, then, your sanctification; and suffer me to ask, Have you no
remaining corruptions to subdue? Is your obedience universal, unvarying,
cheerful? Have you fully imbibed the tempers of your religion? Are there no
deficiencies perceivable in every grace, in every duty?
3. Think of your privileges. It is the privilege of Christians to be
“careful for nothing.” It is the privilege of Christians to “enter into rest.”
It is the privilege of Christians to “have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ.” It is the privilege of Christians to “count it all joy when they
fall into divers temptations; and to glory in tribulation also.” And all this
has been exemplified. Men have “received the gospel in much affliction, with
joy of the Holy Ghost: they have taken pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches,
in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake”; they have
“taken joyfully the spoiling of their goods”; they have approached the flames
with rapture; they have loved and longed for “His appearing”--but where are
you? Always in darkness and alarms, &c. Do you belong to the same company?
II. Whence is this?
Why will you suffer all this remaining religion to be unpossessed? How shall I
awaken you from your negligence, and convince you of the propriety and
necessity of making fresh and continual advances?
1. I place before you the commands of God. You are forbidden to draw
back; you are forbidden to be stationary. Something more is necessary than languid,
partial, occasional, temporary progression. You are required to be “steadfast,
unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord”; to “add to your faith,
virtue,” &c.
2. I surround you with all the images employed by the sacred writers
when they would describe the nature of a religious life. For which of them does
not imply progress, and remind us of the importance of undiminished ardour and
increasing exertion? Light. Growing grain. Mustard seed. Leaven.
3. I call forth examples in your presence; they teach you the same
truth. Who said, “I beseech thee, show me Thy glory “? A man who had “seen God
face to face.” Who prayed, “Teach me Thy statutes: open Thou mine eyes, that I
may behold wondrous things out of Thy law”? A man who had “more understanding
than all his teachers,” a man who “understood more than the ancients.”
4. I hold up to view the advantages of progressive religion.
III. Some
admonitions with regard to your future efforts.
1. Shake off indolence. Nothing is more injurious to our progress;
and, alas! nothing is more common. Man loves indulgence; he needs a stimulus,
to make him arise from the bed of sloth, to exert his faculties, and to employ
the means of which he is possessed. And one would naturally conclude that in
religion he would find it. As he sits at ease revelation draws back the veil,
and shows him the most astonishing realities--an eternal world; whatever can
sting with motive; whatever can alarm with fear; whatever can animate with
hope. What a Being to please, on whom it depends to save or to destroy! What a
state of misery is there to escape! What an infinite happiness to secure!
2. Beware of diversion. Discharge yourself as much as possible from
superfluous cares. Distinguish between diligence in lawful business and “entangling
yourselves in the affairs of this life.” There are not only diversions from
religion, but diversions in it; and of these also you are to beware. Here,
finding you are unsuspicious of danger, the enemy often succeeds; for his end
is frequently answered by things good in themselves. He is satisfied if he can
draw off your attention from great things, and engross it with little ones; if
he can make you prefer opinions to practice, and controversy to devotion.
3. Guard against despondency. There are indeed many things which,
when viewed alone, have a tendency to discourage the mind. We know your
weakness, and we know the difficulties and dangers to which you are exposed.
But you have the promise of a faithful God.
4. Be afraid of presumption. Our dependence upon God is absolute and
universal. “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” His agency is more
indispensable in spiritual things than in natural; sin has rendered us
peculiarly weak, helpless, and disaffected.
5. It would be profitable for you to “call to remembrance the former
days,” and especially to review the beginning of your religious course.
6. It will not be less profitable for you to look forward, and
survey the close of all. Christians! “it is high time to awake out of sleep;
for now is your salvation nearer.” Would you slumber on the verge of heaven?
The stream increases as it approximates the sea; motion accelerates as it
approaches the centre. (W. Jay.)
Territory yet to be taken by the Church
Who in the sketch of the inheritance given by God, the
outline of the borders assigned to them in the grant of heaven, and sealed by
covenant oath, could, in this seat of plenty and portion of the Church, behold
with satisfaction and content so much of what mercy had made their own, still
retained under the dominion of darkness, and occupied to the keeping out of
their full right the true heirs of promise? Who, whatever his achievements in
conquest and attainments in grace, but in this view feels the confined results
of all his operations, and sees on every hand very much land yet to be
possessed? Notwithstanding all that has been achieved by the Church of God, the
spiritual inclosures of grace, and those precious plants of righteousness,
where once grew the thorn and the briar, none whose contemplations seldom reach
beyond such beauteous spots of mercy, such flourishing vineyards of grace, can
possibly conceive of the melancholy darkness which still broods over by far the
greater part of the land, those moral wastes of ignorance and corruption which
everywhere meet the eye and distress the heart of the Christian traveller. Ah!
what extensive wastes of sin everywhere meet the eye, for the cultivation of
which but few hands are found! Vast multitudes in the possession of
intelligence, and bearing the stamp of immortality, are living without the fear
of God, or any hope of futurity, as indifferent to all the momentous concerns
of eternity as they are ignorant of all the affecting realities of the gospel.
The worldly-mindedness, profligacy, and pride of the rich, and their prevailing
disregard of all that is serious and devout, demonstrate that they are equally
without God and without hope in the world, and, till renewed by grace, or
removed by death, are the pollution and burden of the place where they live.
These are the Anakims, a people tall and strong, and as the sons of Anak, a
gigantic race, who in their power and influence contract the inheritance of the
saints, and hold them from a more enlarged possession, till the powers of
heaven subdue or destroy. But with the promise of an inheritance wide as the
world, and stretched in its extent to the remotest boundaries of the earth, how
much, very much land yet remaineth to be possessed! (W. Seaton.)
More beyond
Spain inscribed on her coins the picture of the pillars of
Hercules, which stood on either side of the Straits of Gibraltar, the extreme
boundary of her empire, with only an unexplored ocean beyond; and on the scroll
over there was written, “Ne plus ultra”--nothing beyond. But afterwards,
when Columbus had discovered America, Spain struck out the negative and left
the inscription, “Plus ultra”--more beyond.
──《The Biblical Illustrator》