Expositions of Holy Scripture: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and First Book of Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, and Second Kings chapters I to VII — John Shaqi
Expositions of Holy Scripture: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and First Book of Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, and Second Kings chapters I to VIIMaclaren, Alexander
Religion
Expositions of Holy Scripture: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and First Book of Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, and Second Kings chapters I to VII
Being in God's hand means also submission. Loyola said to his black
army, 'Be like a stick in a man's hand.' That meant utter submission
and abnegation of self, the willingness to be put anywhere, and used
anyhow, and done anything with. And if I by my reception of, and
response to, that timeless love, am a saint belonging to God, then not
only shall I be secure, but I must be submissive. 'All His saints are
in Thy hand.' Do not try to get out of it; be content to let it guide
you as the steersman's hand turns the spokes of the wheel and directs
the ship.
Now, there is a last thought here. I have spoken of the foundation of
all as being divine love, of the security and guardian care of the
saints, and there follows one thought more:--
III. The docile obedience of those that are thus guarded.
As the words stand in our Bible, they are as follow:--'They sat down at
Thy feet; every one shall receive of Thy words.' These two clauses make
up one picture, and one easily understands what it is. It represents a
group of docile scholars, sitting at the Master's feet. He is teaching
them, and they listen open-mouthed and open-eared to what he says, and
will take his words into their lives, like Mary sitting at Christ's
feet, whilst Martha was bustling about His meal. But, beautiful as that
picture is, there has been suggested a little variation in the words
which gives another one that strikes me as being even more beautiful.
There are some difficulties of language with which I need not trouble
you. But the general result is this, that perhaps instead of 'sitting
down at Thy feet' we should read 'followed at Thy feet.' That suggests
the familiar metaphor of a guide and those led by him who, without him,
know not their road. As a dog follows his master, as the sheep their
shepherd, so, this singer felt, will saints follow the God whom they
love. Religion is imitation of God. That was a deep thought for such a
stage of revelation, and it in part anticipates Christ's tender words:
'He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His
voice.' They follow at His feet. That is the blessedness and the power
of Christian morality, that it is keeping close at Christ's heels, and
that instead of its being said to us, 'Go,' He says, 'Come,' and
instead of our being bid to hew out for ourselves a path of duty, He
says to us, 'He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall
have the light of life.' They follow at His feet, as the dog at his
master's, as the sheep at their shepherd's.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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