Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession?Who is she who looks out as the morning, beautiful as the moon, clear as the sun, and awesome as an army with banners?Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, Terrible as an army with banners?
3 sermons cite this verse
Besides, if a man for a while brings forth the fruits of righteousness and then bears the fruits of iniquity, he casts a slur upon all his former goodness. Suppose I saw a fig tree bearing olives and its owner assured me that it bore figs last year? I would say, "Well, I should not think the figs were worth much to judge from the look of those olives." So, when a man is in a passion and makes use of very strong language, perhaps even cursing and swearing as Peter did, one naturally asks, "Can that man ever have been a Christian?" "Well," says someone who knows him, "he used to speak very kindly and lovingly, and seemed to be a sincere Christian." That may have been the case with him, but it is a poor sort of Christianity that can even occasionally produce such iniquity! May God save all of us from bearing two kinds of fruit in this unnatural and dishonoring fashion! Suppose the whole Church of God should act thus and at one time be eminent for holiness and at another time be notorious for sin—what would be the consequence? Suppose, for instance, that certain people were very particular about their attendance at public worship and yet were known to frequent the theater? Would it not be a strange state of things? Should we judge them to be Christians or worldlings? If a man is sometimes a sinner and sometimes a saint, we would need to have an almanac to tell us which he was likely to be, or a tide-table to let us know whether, like the tides of the sea, he was ebbing or flowing! Think, too, what the consequences would be to such a man if he were to die—or if the Lord were to come just when he was bearing the fruits of unrighteousness! …
I should like to see more of this virtue than we see nowadays. We live in an age which needs to have a large infusion of the heroic martyr spirit which enabled our forefathers to go boldly to the block or to the stake for Christ's sake. We may well blush as we see how many professors are ashamed of the religion which they are supposed to have received. If they are called to do some work for Christ, how often do they stop and parley, and question, and hesitate and, at last, when they have summoned up enough courage to come forward, it is only with an apology upon their lips for daring to do something for Jesus! I heard one say of a certain preacher, "I greatly admired him, for he commenced his sermon by saying, 'Permit a young man to address you.'" I said, "That is not the way God's servants ought to talk. If God has given them anything to say for Him, they have not to ask anybody's permission to say it, nor should they apologize to anybody for saying it as God enables them to say it." Apologies are out of place in the pulpit! The man whom God sends to speak for Him is God's ambassador—he has no right to apologize for delivering his Lord's message! He who professes to be sent of God either is or is not God's ambassador. If he is not, let him at once take himself off the pulpit! If he is his Master's accredited representative, he needs no excuse and should make none. …
But whatever may be our opinion respecting the Jews and their position, this I know—though they ought not to be fettered and oppressed, though they ought to have a vote in Parliament, though they ought to be freed from civil disabilities, yet they never can amalgamate with other nations. The time will come when they shall leave their sordid ideas in the pursuit of gain to secure the treasures of Paradise. They are now a scattered people and must be till the last times. Then suddenly they shall rise, touched by the influence of the Spirit of God, again to be His people. Their temple shall again resound with the worship of God and old Zion will be again built! Then may we truly expect the latter-day Glory shall come. Certainly, if I read my Bible aright, I must believe that the downtrodden, despised Jew shall again be glad and poor old Judea, that has been the scoff and scorn of mankind, shall again be lifted up and restored—and shall shine forth "fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners!" If it is so, mark you, the blind Jew and the lame Jew will as surely go to Jerusalem as any of the rest of the Jews! They will all go—the blind, the lame, the woman travailing with child will all meet in God's holy Temple. …