“And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” — Exodus 17:12 So mighty was the prayer of Moses, that all depended upon it. The petitions of Moses discomfited the enemy more than the fighting of Joshua. Yet both were needed. No, in the soul’s conflict, force and fervour, decision and devotion, […]

“The precious blood of Christ.” — 1 Peter 1:19 Standing at the foot of the cross, we see hands, and feet, and side, all distilling crimson streams of precious blood. It is “precious” because of its redeeming and atoning efficacy. By it the sins of Christ’s people are atoned for; they are redeemed from under […]

“Lift them up for ever.” — Psalm 28:9 God’s people need lifting up. They are very heavy by nature. They have no wings, or, if they have, they are like the dove of old which lay among the pots; and they need divine grace to make them mount on wings covered with silver, and with […]

“My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” — Psalm 22:1 We here behold the Saviour in the depth of His sorrows. No other place so well shows the griefs of Christ as Calvary, and no other moment at Calvary is so full of agony as that in which His cry rends the air […]

“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him.” — Isaiah 3:10 It is well with the righteous ALWAYS. If it had said, “Say ye to the righteous, that it is well with him in his prosperity,” we must have been thankful for so great a boon, for prosperity is an hour […]

“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head.” — Psalm 22:7 Mockery was a great ingredient in our Lord’s woe. Judas mocked Him in the garden; the chief priests and scribes laughed Him to scorn; Herod set Him at nought; the servants and the soldiers […]

“And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.” — Leviticus 1:4 Our Lord’s being made “sin for us” is set forth here by the very significant transfer of sin to the bullock, which was made by the elders of […]

“A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.” — Song of Solomon 1:13 Myrrh may well be chosen as the type of Jesus on account of its preciousness, its perfume, its pleasantness, its healing, preserving, disinfecting qualities, and its connection with sacrifice. But why is He compared to “a bundle of myrrh”? First, for […]

“The king’s garden.” — Nehemiah 3:15 Mention of the king’s garden by Nehemiah brings to mind the paradise which the King of kings prepared for Adam. Sin has utterly ruined that fair abode of all delights, and driven forth the children of men to till the ground, which yields thorns and briers unto them. My […]

“My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.” — Psalm 22:14 Our blessed Lord experienced a terrible sinking and melting of soul. “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?” Deep depression of spirit is the most grievous of all trials; […]

“Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.” — Psalm 25:18 It is well for us when prayers about our sorrows are linked with pleas concerning our sins — when, being under God’s hand, we are not wholly taken up with our pain, but remember our offences against God. It is […]

“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.” — Psalm 22:14 Did earth or heaven ever behold a sadder spectacle of woe! In soul and body, our Lord felt Himself to be weak as water poured upon the ground. The placing of the cross in its socket had shaken […]

“For there stood by me this night the angel of God.” — Acts 27:23 Tempest and long darkness, coupled with imminent risk of shipwreck, had brought the crew of the vessel into a sad case; one man alone among them remained perfectly calm, and by his word the rest were reassured. Paul was the only […]

“The place which is called Calvary.” — Luke 23:33 The hill of comfort is the hill of Calvary; the house of consolation is built with the wood of the cross; the temple of heavenly blessing is founded upon the riven rock — riven by the spear which pierced His side. No scene in sacred history […]

“Thy gentleness hath made me great.” — Psalm 18:35 The words are capable of being translated, “Thy goodness hath made me great.” David gratefully ascribed all his greatness not to his own goodness, but the goodness of God. “Thy providence,” is another reading; and providence is nothing more than goodness in action. Goodness is the […]

“And there followed Him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented Him.” — Luke 23:27 Amid the rabble rout which hounded the Redeemer to His doom, there were some gracious souls whose bitter anguish sought vent in wailing and lamentations — fit music to accompany that march of woe. […]

“I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.” — Psalm 23:4 Behold, how independent of outward circumstances the Holy Ghost can make the Christian! What a bright light may shine within us when it is all dark without! How firm, how happy, how calm, how peaceful we may be, when the world shakes […]

“If they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?”— Luke 23:31 Among other interpretations of this suggestive question, the following is full of teaching: “If the innocent substitute for sinners, suffer thus, what will be done when the sinner himself — the dry tree — shall fall into […]

“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness.” — Psalm 51:14 In this SOLEMN CONFESSION, it is pleasing to observe that David plainly names his sin. He does not call it manslaughter, nor speak of it as an imprudence by which an unfortunate […]

“O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame?” — Psalm 4:2 An instructive writer has made a mournful list of the honours which the blinded people of Israel awarded to their long-expected King. (1.) They gave Him a procession of honour, in which Roman legionaries, Jewish priests, men and […]