3 SEPTEMBER
A well of salvation
‘Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ Hebrews 13:20–21
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: John 4:4–14
There is an analogy between the works and the Word of God. If we consider the creation, the vastness of the whole and the unsuitableness and violation of the several parts strike us with an impression of his immensity and his manifold wisdom. At the same time his hand is seen and acknowledged by an attentive mind in the smallest of his works. The more we examine them, the more we discover of the finger of God. Not only the glory of the sun, but the structure of a plant or an insect bear the impression of divine power and wisdom which may well fill us with astonishment and reverence. So his wisdom is displayed not only in the whole compass and connection of the Scripture, but there is a fullness and a beauty often in a single text, which the application of our utmost industry to the end of our lives, could not fully discover if we were to attend to nothing else. It is our duty and great advantage to aim at a comprehensive knowledge of the whole. At the same time he has favoured us with many summaries of the gospel doctrine, which in a few verses, sometimes in a few words, comprise the substance of all that we are taught more largely elsewhere—as it were, in miniature. This is a condescension to our weakness and should be a spur to our meditation. Of this kind is the prayer in my text, which shows us not only the fullness of the Apostle’s heart, but the fullness of the Scripture phrase. A close examination of these two verses might lead us to speak of everything relative to the faith, experience and practice of a Christian, and furnish a minister with subjects to the end of his life. I do not mean to treat it in such an extensive view, but neither shall I be able to confine what I may offer from it within the compass of a single sermon. I may say this is one of the wells of salvation; may the Lord open it for us, enable us to drink of the water of life freely.
FOR MEDITATION: ‘… Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ (Colossians 2:2–3).
SERMON SERIES: HEBREWS 13:20–21, NO. 1 [1/3]
Milo 