12<\/strong>. And it shall come to pass<\/em> ] Clearly Obadiah regards Elijah’s concealment as only possible, amid such a thorough inquiry, by reason of divine aid. This may be exercised again, and he be taken away and concealed, before Ahab can be brought to him.<\/p>\n the spirit of the Lord shall carry thee<\/em> ] So Act 8:39<\/span>, of the supernatural removal of Philip. Cf. likewise 2Ki 2:16<\/span>.<\/p>\n fear the Lord from my youth<\/em> ] The true worshippers of Jehovah had not all perished out of Israel through Jeroboam’s sin. Not only in special bodies, as the sons of the prophets, but also in positions of secular employment, we find some who still hold to the pure religion of Jehovah, and teach their children the same. The Hebrew, literally is ‘but thy servant feareth the Lord from my youth,’ which accounts for the italic ‘ I<\/em> ’ of A.V.<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:12<\/span><\/p>\n I thy servant real the Lord from my youth.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Fearing the Lord from ones youth<\/strong><\/p>\n There are two valuable lessons we are to carry away from these words of Obadiah.<\/p>\n The fear of the Lord, as illustrated in the character of Obadiah<\/strong><\/p>\n Verse 12<\/span>. The Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee<\/B><\/I>] Obadiah supposed that the Spirit of the Lord had carried him to some strange country during the three years and a half of the drought; and as he had reason to think that Ahab would slay Elijah if he found him, and that the God of the prophet would not suffer his servant to fall into such murderous hands, he took for granted that as soon as he should come into danger, so soon would the Spirit of the Lord carry him away, or direct him to some hiding place.<\/P> <\/p>\n The Spirit of the Lord; <\/B>the Holy Ghost, to whom the inspiration and conduct of the prophets is commonly ascribed in Holy Scripture, as Isa 48:16<\/span>; 61:1<\/span>; Mat 4:1<\/span>; Act 16:6<\/span>,7<\/span>, who might do this either immediately by his own power, or by an angel, or by a strong wind. <\/P> Shall carry thee whither I know not; <\/B>such transportations of the prophets having doubtless been usual before this time, as they were after it. See 2Ki 2:16<\/span>; Eze 3:12<\/span>,14<\/span>; Mt 4:1<\/span>; Act 8:39<\/span>. <\/P> He will slay me; <\/B>either as a cursed impostor that hath deluded him with vain hopes; or rather, because I did not forthwith seize upon thee, and bring thee to him to receive punishment. <\/P> I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth:<\/B> he speaks not these nor the following words in way of vain boasting, but only for his own necessary vindication and preservation, that he might move the prophet to pity and spare him, and not put him upon that hazardous action; which yet he was resolved to do, if the prophet peremptorily required it. <\/P> <\/p>\n And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not<\/strong>,…. This he supposed might possibly, and very probably, be the case, since small raptures might have been already, and known to Obadiah, as there were afterwards, see 2Ki 2:16<\/span>, and then he should not know where he was, nor be able to direct his master where to find him:<\/p>\n and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me<\/strong>; for telling him a lie, and deceiving and mocking him; or for not seizing on Elijah, and bringing him, when he knew he was so desirous of getting him into his hands:<\/p>\n but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth<\/strong>; and therefore did not deserve to be treated after this manner, having been an early and conscientious worshipper of the true God.<\/p>\n (12) The Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee.<\/strong>In this phrase there is perhaps a survival of the original physical sense of the word Spiritthe whirlwind which is the breath of the Lord. (Comp. 2Ki. 2:16<\/span>; Act. 8:39<\/span>.) To Obadiah it seemed that only by such miraculous agency could Elijah have been removed from the persecution for so long a time, and that, having emerged for a moment, he will be swept away into his hidden refuge again.<\/p>\n 12<\/strong>. <\/strong> The Spirit carry thee whither I know not <\/strong> An allusion, perhaps, to the sudden disappearance of Elijah after his announcement of the drought to Ahab. 1Ki 17:1<\/span>. There seems to have been so much of the weird and solemn about Elijah as even to inspire the pious Obadiah with a fear of him.<\/p>\n DISCOURSE: 344 1Ki 18:12<\/span>. I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth.<\/em><\/p>\n IT is comfortable to reflect, that in the worst of times there are some who fear God, and that the state of religion is rarely so bad as it appears. The days of Ahab were peculiarly unfavourable to the existence of real piety in Israel: for, in addition to that kings personal aversion to every thing that was good, he was stirred up by Jezebel his wife to destroy every prophet in the land: and so bitter was he against Elijah in particular, that he sought him in all the adjacent countries, and even exacted an oath of their governors that they could not find him. But in the midst of all this wickedness, there was one even of Ahabs household, and he the governor of his house, who retained his integrity, and used all his influence to protect the servants of the Lord. This man, constrained in vindication of his own character to bear testimony to himself, was enabled to declare to the Prophet Elijah, I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. I.<\/p>\n Wherein it should consist<\/p>\n [We would not on any account disparage devotional feelings: but we must entertain some jealousy respecting them as a criterion of early piety. We know their immense value; but we know also how susceptible of strong impressions the youthful mind is, on whatever subject it is occupied and that the characteristic mark of a very numerous set of unprofitable hearers is, that anon they receive the word with joy. We must therefore look for some better and safer test of piety than this. That we may be led to cultivate piety in early life, let us consider,<\/p>\n II.<\/p>\n The great advantages of it<\/p>\n Godliness has the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come: and the earlier it is acquired, the more will its inestimable value appear. Consider its use,<\/p>\n 1.<\/p>\n To the person who possesses it<\/p>\n [When religion has acquired a just ascendant over a young person, it will determine his connexions;<\/em> (he will not be unequally yoked with unbelievers as friends, and much less in that relation of life which death only can dissolve:) it will also form his habits<\/em>, leading him to the study of the Holy Scriptures, to constant prayer, to holy watchfulness and self-denial, and to a conscientious regard for God in every thing that he does It will also facilitate his attainments:<\/em> it is scarcely to be conceived what difficulties they have to struggle with through life, who have spent their early days in sensual indulgences: but those who have been early trained in the exercise of self-denial are enabled with comparative ease to restrain forbidden appetites, and to mortify unhallowed affections. Not that a life of holiness is easy to any one: it is a constant warfare, as long as we continue in the body: but the more we exercise ourselves in it, the more effectual will our efforts be, and the more certain our victory.]<\/p>\n 2.<\/p>\n To the world around us<\/p>\n [Early piety attracts particular attention, and produces great effects, in encouraging the young, and in putting to shame the old. Only compare the benefits which the world receives from one who has the fear of God in his heart, with the evils it derives from one who lives, as it were, without God: how many are instructed, and comforted, and edified by the one, whilst multitudes have reason to curse the day that ever they beheld the other! It is truly said by Solomon, that one sinner destroyeth much good. Yes, one sinner encourages and hardens many others in their iniquities, and places a stumbling-block in the way of all who desire to return to God: and, if he afterward have repentance given him from the Lord, he would in vain attempt to undo a thousandth part of the evil that he has done: many of his former associates in iniquity cannot be found; many are gone into the eternal world beyond a possibility of redemption; and if he were to warn all those to whom he could get access, the greater part of them would only laugh at him, and think him mad. All these distressing consequences of iniquity are avoided by him who devotes his early years to the service of his God: and perhaps, instead of having to reflect on the ruin that he has brought on others, he will find many in the day of judgment to whom his words and his example have been a source of good. Address, Those who are fearing God in their youth<\/p>\n [We rejoice that there are many Obadiahs amongst us, and perhaps some Timothys also, who even from their childhood have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make them wise unto salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus. Happy people, and greatly to be envied, in thus consecrating to the Lord the first-fruits of your days! Regard not then the scoffs and ridicule of those who have no fear of God before their eyes. The day is coming when they will reproach themselves more than ever they reproached you, and applaud your choice far more than ever they condemned it [Note: Wisd. 5:36.].]<\/p>\n 2.<\/p>\n Those who have lost their youth without having yet obtained the fear of God<\/p>\n [Ah! what have you lost! But blessed be God that you have not yet been given up to final condemnation. O listen to the voice of God, who says to you, To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Learn to improve the present hour, for you know not how soon your day of grace may terminate, and all possibility of salvation be cut off for ever.]<\/p>\n<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:12 And it shall come to pass, [as soon as] I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and [so] when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.<\/p>\n Ver. 12. But I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth.<\/strong> ] This he saith not of vain glory; but upon necessity for his own safety, and that the prophet might not be mistaken in him, thus making excuse.<\/p>\n 1 Kings<\/p>\n OBADIAH To the Young<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:12 <\/strong><\/em> .<\/p>\n This Obadiah is one of the obscurer figures in the Old Testament. We never hear of him again, for there is no reason to accept the Jewish tradition which alleges that he was Obadiah the prophet. And yet how distinctly he stands out from the canvas, though he is only sketched with a few bold outlines! He is the ‘governor over Ahab’s house,’ a kind of mayor of the palace, and probably the second man in the kingdom. But though thus high in that idolatrous and self-willed court, he has bravely kept true to the ancient faith. Neither Jezebel’s flatteries nor her frowns have moved him. But there, amid apostasy and idolatry he stands, probably all alone in the court, a worshipper of Jehovah. His name is his character, for it means ‘servant of Jehovah.’ It was not a light thing to be a worshipper of the God of Israel in Ahab’s court. The feminine rage of the fierce Sidonian woman, whom Ahab obeyed in most things, burned hot against the enemies of her father’s gods, and hotter, perhaps, against any one who thwarted her imperious will. Obadiah did both, in that audacious piece of benevolence when he sheltered the Lord’s prophets-one hundred of them-and saved them from her cruel search. The writer of the book very rightly marks this brave antagonism to the outburst of the queen’s wrath as a signal proof of a more than ordinary devotion to the worship and fear of Jehovah. His firmness and his religion did not prevent his retaining his place of honour and dignity. That says something for Ahab, and more perhaps for Obadiah.<\/p>\n Most of you believe that you ought to ‘fear the Lord’: but you are apt to put off, and so I wish to urge on you that you should give your hearts to Jesus Christ at once.<\/p>\n I. The blessedness of youthful religion.<\/p>\n <\/strong>a It guards from many temptations, and keeps a character innocent of much transgression.<\/p>\n \n Think of the dangers that lie thick in the streets of every great city, and of a lad coming up from a country home of godliness, where he was surrounded by a mother’s love and an atmosphere of purity, and launched into some lonely lodging, or some factory or warehouse with many tempters. Nothing will be such a help to resistance and victory as to be able to say, ‘So did not I because of the fear of the Lord.’<\/p>\n \n b<\/em> It will save from remorse. Even if a man ‘sobers down’ after ‘sowing his wild oats,’ which is a very problematical ‘if,’ what bitter memories of wasted days, what polluting memories of filthy ones, will haunt him! And if he does not sober down, what then?<\/p>\n \n It is folly to begin life on a wrong tack, in regard to which the best that you can say is that you do not mean to continue it. If you do not, then the wise thing is to get at once on to the road on which you do mean to continue, and to save the weary work of retracing steps and the painful consciousness of having made a false start. Are you so sure that you will wish, or that it will be possible, to face right about and get on to a new line? Fishermen catch lobsters and the like by means of baskets with one opening, the withes of which are so set that the entrance is easy, but that a ring of sharp points oppose all attempts at turning back and getting out. The world lays ‘pots’ of that sort, and many a young man and woman glides smoothly in, and finds it impossible to get out.<\/p>\n \n c<\/em> It usually leads to a deeper and more peaceful and harmonious religion than is attained by those who have given the world the better part of their days, and have only the last fragment of them to give to God. Obadiah had feared God from his youth, and that had a good deal to do with his brave stand against Jezebel. It is a grand thing to enlist habit on the side of godliness.<\/p>\n \n II. The foes of youthful religion.<\/p>\n <\/strong> There are foes within . . .. the strong self-reliance and bounding life proper to youth, without which at the opening of the flower, the bloom would be poor and the fruit little, . . . the power of appeals to the unjaded and physically strong senses, . . . the difficulty at such a stage of life of looking forward and soberly regarding the end.<\/p>\n There are foes without . . ..the crowds of tempters of both sexes, men and women who take a devilish pleasure in polluting innocent minds, . . . the companions whose jeers are worse to face than a battery, . . . the inconsistencies of so-called Christians, the anti-Christian literature which is peculiarly fascinating to the young, with its brave show of breaking with mouldy tradition and enthroning reason and emancipating from rusty fetters.<\/p>\n III. The too probable alternative to youthful religion.<\/p>\n <\/strong> It is but too likely that, if a man does not ‘fear the Lord’ from ‘his youth,’ he will never fear Him. Thank God, there is no time nor condition of life in which the wicked man cannot ‘forsake his way,’ or ‘the unrighteous man his thoughts,’ and ‘turn to the Lord’ with the assurance that ‘He will abundantly pardon.’ But it is sadly too plain to observation, and to the experience of some of us, that obstacles grow with years, that habits and associations grip with increasing power, that in all things our natures become less flexible, the supple sapling becoming gnarled and tough, that a middle-aged or old man is more inextricably ‘tied and bound by the cords of his sins,’ than a young one is.<\/p>\n Sin lies to us by first saying, ‘It is too soon to be religious,’ and then it lies to us by saying, ‘It is too late.’<\/p>\n The inclination diminishes.<\/p>\n The Gospel long heard and long put aside, loses power.<\/p>\n Contrast the beauty of a course of life, begun on the same lines as those on which it ends, and being like ‘the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the meridian of the day,’ with one which gave the greater part of its years to ‘the world, the flesh, and the devil,’ or at least to one’s godless self, and the dregs of it only to God.<\/p>\n Spirit. Hebrew. ruach. App-9. <\/p>\n the Spirit of the Lord: 2Ki 2:11, 2Ki 2:16, Eze 3:12-14, Eze 8:3, Eze 11:24, Eze 37:1, Eze 40:1, Eze 40:2, Mat 4:1, Act 8:39, 2Co 12:2, 2Co 12:3 <\/p>\n he shall slay me: 1Sa 22:11-19, Dan 2:5-13, Mat 2:16, Act 12:19 <\/p>\n from my youth: 1Sa 2:18, 1Sa 2:26, 1Sa 3:19, 1Sa 3:20, 2Ch 34:3, Psa 71:17, Psa 71:18, Pro 8:13, Ecc 7:18, Isa 50:10, Luk 1:15, 2Ti 3:15 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Exo 18:21 – such as 1Ki 18:3 – feared the Lord 1Ki 18:9 – What have I sinned Neh 7:2 – feared God Psa 19:9 – The fear Ecc 11:9 – in thy youth Ecc 12:1 – Remember Eze 11:1 – the spirit Eze 43:5 – the spirit Mal 3:16 – that feared Mat 20:2 – he sent Luk 4:1 – and was 1Th 4:17 – caught Rev 17:3 – he carried Rev 21:10 – he carried<\/p>\n A STEADFAST LIFE<\/p>\n I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth.<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:12<\/p>\n I. All we know of Obadiah is contained in this chapter, and yet he was a great man in his day.He was, it seems, King Ahabs vizier, or prime minister, the first man in the country after the king. Of all his wealth and glory the Bible does not say one word. His wealth and power did not follow him to the grave, but by his good deed he lives in the pages of the Bible; he lives in our minds and memories; and, more than all, by that good deed he lives for ever in Gods sight. In the day when Elijah met him, Obadiah found that his prayers and alms had gone up before God, and were safe with God, and not to be forgotten for ever.<\/p>\n II. The lesson for us is to persevere in well-doing, for in due time we shall reap if we faint not.Cast, therefore, thy bread upon the waters, and thou shalt find it after many days. Do thy diligence to give of what thou hast, for so gatherest thou to thyself in the day of necessity, in which with what measure we have measured to others God will measure to us again.<\/p>\n III. A doubt comes in herewhat are our works at best.What have we that is fit to offer to God? Bad in quality our good works are, and bad in quantity, too. How shall we have courage to carry them in our hand to that God who charges His very angels with folly, and the heavens are not clean in His sight? Too true if we had to offer our own works to God. But there is One who offers them for usJesus Christ the Lord. He cleanses our works from sin by the merit of His death and suffering, so that nothing may be left in them but what is the fruit of Gods own Spirit, and that God may see in them only the good which He Himself put into them.<\/p>\n Canon Kingsley.<\/p>\n Illustrations<\/p>\n (1) The story of Obadiah is full of useful and practical lessons. In spite of his environment, he presented a noble character and did a splendid work. People often cast the blame of their failures upon their circumstances. When inclined to do so, think of this noble hero of faith, and like him walk in the path of duty with firm step, in spite of all hindrances. The promise will be fulfilled in the experience of every one who earnestly resolves to live a high-toned and useful life. My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Let us then be strong, and rise above opposing forces, and stand fast on the side of virtue and religion.<\/p>\n (2) We are astonished to find Obadiah in such a family. We do not know the history of his spiritual development further than this, that he feared the Lord from his youth. He was probably trained by a pious mother, who impressed her boys mind with the knowledge of the true God, and imprinted on his heart impressions that never were effaced. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. What an encouragement, both in the family and in the school, to imprint upon the plastic minds of children the truths of religion!<\/p>\n (3) The poor man must often have been in a great strait to reconcile his duty to Jehovah with his duty to his other master, Ahab. And Elijah shrewdly hinted at it, when he said, Go, tell thy lord, behold Elijah is here! Imagine a courtier of Oliver Cromwell trying to be true to the Commonwealth and to the cause of the exiled Stuarts! The life of policy and expediency is a species of rope-walking; it needs considerable practice in the art of balancing.<\/p>\n (4) Obadiah was in a very anomalous position, but we must not judge him too harshly for being in Ahabs house, unless he was there at the expense of his testimony. Our loyalty to God does not involve leaving the service of men like Ahab, unless we are called upon to violate our conscience. The Apostle said distinctly that we were to abide in the calling in which we were when we became Christians.<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:12. The Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not Shall snatch thee away from hence, so that thou shalt not be found; instances of such sudden transportations of the prophets, by an invisible power, to places far distant from those where they were, having undoubtedly occurred before this time, as we know they did after. See the margin. He shall slay me Either as an impostor that has deluded him with vain hopes, or rather, because I did not seize upon thee forthwith, and bring thee to him. But I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth He speaks not these or the following words in a way of boasting; but only for his own necessary vindication and preservation, that he might move the prophet to spare him, and not put him upon that hazardous action; which yet, it appears, he was resolved to perform, if Elijah peremptorily required it.<\/p>\n 18:12 And it shall come to pass, [as soon as] I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and [so] when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant {d} fear the LORD from my youth.<\/p>\n (d) I am not of the wicked persecutors that you should procure to me such displeasure, but serve God and favour his children.<\/p>\n And it shall come to pass, [as soon as] I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and [so] when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth. 12. … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 18:12”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9365\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I. <\/strong>The importance of early decision for God. It was a favourite idea, a hobby in short, of that singular and austere sage Thomas Carlyle, that a select few of our race are to be set up for the admiration and imitation of the rest: and though, no doubt, the Chelsea philosopher pushed it too far (as he was in the habit of doing with most ideas that possessed him), the notion is a sound and scriptural one. The Bible teaches as much by example as by precept, and it seems to me that the grand lesson of Obadiahs life–and it is hub a very brief biography we have–is the unspeakable value to a man, all through his career, of starting with fixed religious principles, and sticking to them at all hazards. I quite believe, if you will allow me to say so, that some of you, who would hardly venture to call yourselves real Christians, are most favourably inclined towards religion, only you will not come up to the point of a full and absolute decision. But this is just where your danger lies: for these half-religious feelings are apt to satisfy you, whilst, until you have actually given your hand to Christ, you are as absolutely unsaved as if you were a railing infidel.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>The importance of courage in openly avowing our religious decision. The first thing is to have sound principles; and the second thing is not to be ashamed of them. It was a remarkable saying of the Duke of Wellington, that in war the moral is to the physical as ten to one. That is to say, that, if the soldiers know and feel in their conscience that right is on their side, they are ten times as brave as when they are not very sure about it. Well, when you know you are standing on sure ground, you can afford to despise the shots that are fired at you by godless men. Nay, more, the fact is, it is a great help to you, if your faith is genuine, to meet with a little opposition at times. A man is none the worse a Christian for having occasionally to stand up for his principles. It makes your religion more real, and gives you greater confidence in its power. You want a new principle within you, and that is faith in Christ as your Saviour. (J. T. Davidson, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>The great principle of action in the life of Obadiah, viz., the fear of the Lord.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>The necessity for an early inculcation of this fear in the mind–I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. (H. C. Cherry, M. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
OBADIAHS EARLY PIETY<\/strong><\/p>\n
In considering the subject of early piety, we shall notice,<\/p>\n
Nor would we by any means undervalue a clear knowledge of the Gospel. A view of ourselves as sinful creatures, altogether helpless and hopeless in ourselves, and a view of Christ as the only and all-sufficient Saviour of the world, and an habitual consciousness that we must receive every thing out of his fulness, all this, I say, is absolutely essential to the Christian character but then it may all exist in the mind as a theory, without entering into the heart as a principle of life. Not only do the thorny-ground hearers evince this melancholy truth, but daily observation and experience compel us to acknowledge it
There is however a test which is subject to no such uncertainties, namely, the fear of God. By this we mean a reverential awe of the Divine Majesty, a dread of offending him, and a determination through grace to obey every one of his commandments This must be an abiding principle in the soul, operating as forcibly upon us in our most secret actions, as the presence of a fellow-creature would in reference to any thing which would expose us to universal execration.
Let it not however be supposed that we are now speaking of a slavish fear, arising from an apprehension of Gods judgments: we speak of a filial fear, which is excited as much by a sense of his goodness, as by a dread of his displeasure. And it is remarkable, that, when the Prophet Hosea foretold the piety that should reign under the gospel dispensation, and in the millennial period, he characterized it in the very way that we have now done: They shall seek the Lord, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness<\/em> in the latter days [Note: Hos 3:5<\/span>.].]<\/p>\n
What may be done by a single person even under the most unfavourable circumstances, we see in Obadiah: no less than an hundred of the Lords prophets did he conceal and nourish at his own expense, and at the risk of his own life; when, without his interposition, they would all have been put to death. And though we may never be in a capacity to render such a public service to the Church of God, we may be the means of keeping many from destruction, and of saving their souls alive.]<\/p>\n
1.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\nFuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"