Notes on the Book of GenesisMackintosh, Charles Henry
Religion
Notes on the Book of Genesis
Mackintosh, Charles Henry
Bible. Genesis -- Commentaries
Now, nothing can be more truly blessed than the position of hanging in
child-like dependence upon God, and being entirely content to wait for
his time. True it will involve trial; but the renewed mind learns some
of its deepest lessons, and enjoys some of its sweetest experiences,
while waiting on the Lord; and the more pressing the temptation to
take ourselves out of his hands, the richer will be the blessing of
leaving ourselves there. It is so exceedingly sweet to find ourselves
wholly dependent upon one who finds infinite joy in blessing us. It is
only those who have tasted in any little measure the reality of this
wondrous position that can at all appreciate it. The only one who ever
occupied it perfectly and uninterruptedly was the Lord Jesus himself.
He was over dependent upon God, and utterly rejected every proposal of
the enemy to be any thing else. His language was, "In thee do I put my
trust;" and again, "I was cast upon thee from the womb." Hence, when
tempted by the devil to make an effort to satisfy his hunger, his reply
was, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." When tempted to cast
himself from the pinnacle of the temple, his reply was, "It is written
again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." When tempted to take the
kingdoms of the world from the hand of another than God, and by doing
homage to another than him, his reply was, "It is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." In a word,
nothing could allure the perfect man from the place of absolute
dependence upon God. True, it was God's purpose to sustain his Son; it
was his purpose that he should suddenly come to his temple; it was his
purpose to give him the kingdoms of this world; but this was the very
reason why the Lord Jesus would simply and uninterruptedly wait on God
for the accomplishment of his purpose, in his own time and in his own
way. He did not set about accomplishing his own ends. He left himself
thoroughly at God's disposal. He would only eat when God gave him
bread; he would only enter the temple when sent of God; he will ascend
the throne when God appoints the time. "Sit thou at my right hand,
_until I make_ thine enemies thy footstool." (Ps. cx.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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