Israel and prophecy

1. Prayer: Elijah, Brevity, and the Lord’s PrayerNo. 17 · 1 February 1870 · 33 min read aloud · Read: Philemon

   Starting from Paul’s references to prayer in Philemon, the speaker argues that acceptable prayer is brief, intelligent and reverent, citing Elijah’s short prayer at Mount Carmel against the long cries of the prophets of Baal.

2. Watching for God’s three great interventionsNo. 27 · 1 May 1871 · 21 min read aloud

   The speaker reviews three occasions when God intervened in human affairs while most people noticed nothing: the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, the coming of Christ, and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

3. Waiting for Christ: Delay, Patience and ComfortNo. 57 · 1 August 1874 · 17 min read aloud · Read: Psalm 10

   Argues that Christ’s allusions to his second coming presuppose a period of waiting, and that the apparent delay is no delay from the Lord’s point of view but a matter of our expectations, since the end and the time of the end are different things.

4. God Exalted: Confidence from Psalm 46No. 64 · 1 April 1875 · 21 min read aloud · Read: Psalm 46

   Takes two points from Psalm 46: the confidence in God that sustains believers in trouble (verse 1) and the declaration ‘I will be exalted’ (verse 10).

5. Psalm 72: Christ’s Reign and Present TribulationNo. 70 · 1 October 1875 · 25 min read aloud · Read: Psalm 72, Luke 24

   Takes Psalm 72 and Luke 24 to show the double application of God’s promises, in which David’s covenant and Solomon’s reign foreshadow the greater reign of Christ, who will deliver the needy as no mortal ruler can, helped by immortal fellow kings and priests.

6. Israel’s Empty Worship and Salt Without SavourNo. 77 · 1 August 1876 · 22 min read aloud · Read: Isaiah 58

   Taking the apostolic call to behold the goodness and severity of God, the speaker says Israel’s sacrifices and feasts were rejected because they lacked love to God and care for neighbour, and that believers who rely on knowledge, baptism and breaking of bread without these may fall into the same position.

7. One God Speaking: Rejoice, Bear Fruit, Glorify GodNo. 78 · 1 November 1876 · 27 min read aloud · Read: Ezekiel 20

   Starting from the readings in Ezekiel and from Jesus, the exhortation says that the same God speaks by the prophets and by his Son, with the same aim of bringing men to obedience, and that Gentile believers, grafted into Israel’s olive tree, are exhorted to rejoice.

8. Russia’s War on Turkey and the Coming ChristNo. 85 · 1 June 1877 · 24 min read aloud

   Taking notice of Russia’s declaration of war against Turkey, the speaker says it is the event long looked for from Daniel, Ezekiel and John, and contrasts the situation with that of 1854, when Papal power, France, Turkey and the state of the Holy Land and of believers made the time not yet ripe.

9. The Enduring Word, Damascus and Spiritual WorshipNo. 86 · 1 July 1877 · 29 min read aloud · Read: Isaiah 17

   Taking the statement that “the word of the Lord endureth for ever”, the exhortation says it assures the stability of the universe and, more importantly, the certainty of what God has said to individuals.

10. A Rebellious House: Understanding and WitnessingNo. 89 · 1 November 1877 · 21 min read aloud · Read: Ezekiel 12

    Starting from the reading of the prophets, the exhortation says believers now understand what Israel and the churches around us do not, and that this shows them, like Ezekiel, living in the midst of a rebellious house whose ways, not only its opinions, are contrary to the Scriptures.

11. Remembering Christ Together with the FatherNo. 95 · 1 May 1878 · 23 min read aloud

    At the breaking of bread we are to remember Christ in all his aspects, including as the manifestation of the Father, who dwelt in him and whose love Christ himself declared.

12. The Day of the Lord Comes as a ThiefNo. 97 · 1 July 1878 · 24 min read aloud · Read: 1 Thessalonians 5

    From Paul’s words to the Thessalonians, the speaker explains that the day of the Lord will come as a thief and a snare upon the unwatchful world, but not upon the brethren who watch and know the signs.

13. Zion’s Dawn: Cyprus Protectorate and WatchfulnessNo. 99 · 1 September 1878 · 21 min read aloud · Read: Jeremiah 4

    Beginning from the heavy tidings against Zion in the portion of Jeremiah read that morning, the speaker turns to the promises of her comfort and restoration, and says the time of Jerusalem’s desolation is now past.

14. Gentile Believers Stand Conditionally: Israel’s WarningNo. 104 · 1 February 1879 · 25 min read aloud

    Beginning with the privilege and present comfort of knowing the truth in a time of gathering tribulation, the exhortation recalls that the Gentiles were called when Israel declined the invitation.

15. Paul’s Antioch Address and Israel’s HopeNo. 108 · 1 June 1879 · 22 min read aloud · Read: Acts 13 Robert Ashcroft

    Taking up Paul’s address at Antioch (Acts 13), the speaker says popular religion neglects the history of Israel, whereas the hope of believers rests on those histories being true.

16. Israel’s Restoration and the Believer’s FightNo. 110 · 1 August 1879 · 32 min read aloud · Read: Isaiah 43, Revelation 2, Revelation 3

    Beginning with the privilege of hearing God’s voice in the readings, the speaker says Isaiah shows that Israel’s calamities were God’s doing and not merely human prowess, and that the next chapter promises restoration.

17. Growing in Christ’s Priesthood and the HopeNo. 115 · 1 January 1880 · 25 min read aloud · Read: Hebrews 3

    Starting from the reading in Hebrews 3, the speaker urges believers to grow in the truth, saying growth depends on daily companionship with the word and the avoidance of worldly company.

18. The Golden Candlestick: Light-Bearing EcclesiasNo. 116 · 1 February 1880 · 25 min read aloud · Read: Zechariah 4

    Taking the vision of the olive-fed golden lampstand in Zechariah 4, the speaker says its message, “Not by might nor by power, but by My spirit”, points to the future work of God through Christ and the saints drawn from Jew and Gentile, the two olive trees, by tried faith.

19. God-Centred Wisdom: Proverbs, Moses and ChristNo. 118 · 1 April 1880 · 22 min read aloud · Read: Proverbs 1, John 14

    With no appointed readings, the speaker takes Proverbs 1 and John 14, saying that Proverbs is a book of revelation whose wisdom differs from Gentile philosophy in being centred on God.

20. Election Signs, Christ’s Coming, Fruits of the SpiritNo. 119 · 1 May 1880 · 22 min read aloud · Read: Galatians 5

    Takes the 1880 general election as a sign of the times and says that the Liberal victory must serve the purpose of God, as Joseph’s sale into Egypt did, so that believers can only watch the developing latter-day situation.

21. Israel’s Destiny and the Patience Needed MeanwhileNo. 121 · 1 July 1880 · 23 min read aloud

    Begins from Israel as a nation ‘terrible from their beginning hitherto’, arguing that Israel’s conquest of Canaan and survival as a people can be explained only by God’s work with them, as part of a plan to make His name known and prepare the earth.

22. Not All Israel: Children of the PromiseNo. 123 · 1 September 1880 · 24 min read aloud · Read: Romans 9

    Takes up Paul’s sorrow in Romans 9 over Israel’s estrangement from Christ, and compares the lot of believers among a nominally Christian community that disregards the truth, urging patience and separation.

23. Salvation Is of the Jews: Israel RestoredNo. 125 · 1 November 1880 · 29 min read aloud · Read: Ezekiel 36

    Takes Christ’s words ‘Salvation is of the Jews’ to argue that there is no hope in natural directions, only in Christ, and that the Christ of the Bible cannot be separated from Israel’s history and land.

24. Daniel’s Prayer: God’s Greatness, Seventy WeeksNo. 126 · 1 December 1880 · 33 min read aloud · Read: Daniel 9

    Taking the Daniel 9 reading, notes that Babylon’s fall shows God’s purpose standing sure and that reading the Scriptures together relieves the feeling that present evils must last.

25. Facts, Fulfilled Prophecy and the Apostles’ WitnessNo. 127 · 1 January 1881 · 27 min read aloud

    Taking Christ’s words ‘If ye believe not me, believe the works,’ the speaker argues that God’s appeal to man has always rested on facts, and that believers today stand on a long record of fulfilled prophecy, including the prophecy that prophecy would cease for a time.

26. The Truth, the Hope of Israel, and ComfortNo. 132 · 1 August 1881 · 23 min read aloud · Read: 2 John, 3 John, Isaiah 43

    Asked what is meant by ‘the truth,’ the speaker shows from John’s epistles and Paul’s words that it is the truth of the gospel, which is the hope of Israel, so linking John to the Isaiah chapter read that morning.

27. Right Views of Life: Tyre, Britain, PaulNo. 135 · 1 November 1881 · 29 min read aloud · Read: 1 Chronicles 15, Ezekiel 27, Ezekiel 28, Galatians 1

    The exhortation argues that right views of life are of great consequence, since human life and history look aimless without the testimony of Scripture.

28. Appeal for Relief of Persecuted Russian JewsNo. 138 · 1 April 1882 · 24 min read aloud

    The exhortation proposes a collection that morning for the Jews suffering persecution in the Russian empire, on the ground of the general command to do good to all men and, above all, because they are Abraham’s descendants, the nation to whom the promises belong.

29. Trusting God’s Promises Against Feeling and AppearanceNo. 140 · 1 June 1882 · 28 min read aloud · Read: Galatians 1

    Taking the opening of Galatians 1 as an antidote to the suspicion that the hope of the Gospel is too good to be true, the speaker argues that it rests on God and not on man.

30. Ezekiel 20: God Acts for His Name’s SakeNo. 144 · 1 November 1882 · 30 min read aloud · Read: Ezekiel 20

    Taking Ezekiel 20 as God’s own review of Israel’s history, the exhortation says the elders who came to enquire of Ezekiel were rebuffed because they approached without reverence, and that God repeatedly spared a rebellious Israel for His Name’s sake.

31. Brethren of the Prophets: Bearing Their TestimonyNo. 149 · 1 October 1883 · 22 min read aloud

    Starting from James’s appeal to the prophets as examples of affliction and patience, the speaker says they were not men free from distress, and cites Ezekiel, sent to a rebellious house and told to eat a roll of lamentation and woe.

32. Prophecy’s Delay and the Parable of the SowerNo. 150 · 1 November 1883 · 23 min read aloud · Read: Ezekiel 12

    Taking Peter’s call to desire the sincere milk of the word, the speaker turns to Ezekiel 12, where the proverb ‘the days are prolonged and every vision faileth’ was rebuked, and compares it with the scorn now met at the delay of Christ’s coming.

33. The Jews God’s Monument: Helping IsraelNo. 152 · 1 January 1884 · 26 min read aloud

    The speaker says the ecclesia has the honour of uniting that morning to do good to Israel after the flesh, and that God’s friends must not add to the affliction of a people scattered as foretold.

34. Ezekiel’s Coming Glory and Abiding in ChristNo. 156 · 1 May 1884 · 24 min read aloud · Read: John 15

    Joins the morning’s two readings: Ezekiel’s vision of the restored land, temple and city, which is the ‘heavenly country’ and ‘city having foundations’ Abraham looked for, and Christ’s discourse in John about the vine and the branches.

35. Jerusalem and Rome: Their Present State and FutureNo. 159 · 1 August 1884 · 28 min read aloud · Read: Isaiah 54, Revelation 17, Revelation 18

    Taking the readings from Isaiah 54 and Revelation 17 and 18, the speaker contrasts two cities: Jerusalem, now desolate because God has forsaken her for a time, and Rome, which has long ruled the nations as the harlot of the Apocalypse.

36. Why Do We Break Bread? Remembrance and HopeNo. 161 · 1 October 1884 · 25 min read aloud · Read: 2 Kings 5, Lamentations 1, Lamentations 2, 1 Corinthians 14

    Imagining a stranger who asks why the ecclesia meets to break bread, the speaker explains who Christ was, why he died and why he is remembered, and says the weekly meeting renews faith against the passing things of this world.

37. The Nearness of Death and the Lord’s ComingNo. 176 · 1 March 1887 · 29 min read aloud · Read: Psalm 53, Psalm 54, Psalm 55, Romans 7, Romans 8

    The speaker defends the commanded meeting and urges that its order and exhortation aim at edification, then argues that the Lord’s coming is nearer than supposed, since death, as with a young brother lately dead at 27, would bring it for any of us in a moment.

38. Three Windows: Israel’s Camp, Proverbs, ZaccheusNo. 178 · 1 May 1887 · 26 min read aloud · Read: Luke 19

    Beginning from the refreshing sameness of the things of God and the commanded means of preparation (breaking of bread, prayer, reading), the speaker treats the day’s three readings as windows on the divine work.

39. Isaiah 40: Comfort for God’s PeopleNo. 181 · 1 August 1887 · 28 min read aloud · Read: Isaiah 40

    Taking the morning’s reading of Isaiah 40, the exhortation argues that the comfort addressed to Jerusalem is for believers, who as Gentiles taken out for his name are now God’s people through believing and obeying the gospel.

40. Jeremiah 14: Forgetting God and False ProphetsNo. 182 · 1 September 1887 · 27 min read aloud · Read: Jeremiah 14

    From the drought described in Jeremiah 14, the exhortation says Israel’s calamities came because they forgot God and neglected His law, and that this is written for our learning, so that the world’s forgetfulness of God and the risk of drifting with it are warned against.

41. Ezekiel’s Three Visions of God’s GloryNo. 183 · 1 October 1887 · 26 min read aloud

    Taking the book of Ezekiel read that morning, the exhortation says it has a beginning, middle and end, in each of which the prophet witnesses the glory of the Lord: first in the vision by the river Chebar, then in the glory’s departure from Jerusalem, and finally in its return to the future temple.

42. Why the Prophets Condemn and Judgment ApproachesNo. 184 · 1 November 1887 · 24 min read aloud · Read: Ezekiel 20, Luke 18

    The exhortation asks why the prophets, unlike other national writers, are full of condemnation of Israel, and answers that they spoke by divine impulse because Israel had set God aside, and that it is reasonable for God’s will to be law since all things are of Him.

43. Daniel 8, Rome and the Coming ChristNo. 185 · 1 December 1887 · 22 min read aloud · Read: Acts 8, Daniel 8

    Beginning from Philip preaching Jesus to the eunuch out of Isaiah, the exhortation takes the eighth chapter of Daniel and shows its connection with Christ: the ram, the he-goat and the little horn are explained as Persia, Greece and Rome, and Rome is said to complete the prophecy by standing up against the Prince of Princes at Christ’s coming.

44. Obadiah’s Vision and God’s Judgment of NationsNo. 249 · 1 January 1894 · 25 min read aloud · Read: Obadiah

    Taking the short prophecy of Obadiah against Edom, the exhortation says it is the vision that matters rather than the prophet, and explains why Esau was hated and Jacob loved and why the world hates those who love God.

45. The Return of Christ Rooted in ScriptureNo. 251 · 1 March 1894 · 25 min read aloud

    Beginning from the command to break bread “until he come”, the speaker imagines a stranger reading Revelation’s “Surely I come quickly” and tracing who Jesus is back through the New Testament to the Old: the promises to Abraham, Israel and the law, and the prophets’ foretelling of a son of David.

46. Looking Up: Signs of Christ’s ReturnNo. 253 · 1 May 1894 · 22 min read aloud

    Answering the charge that believers live in the past or future, the speaker says the table of the Lord links the first century to the present, and urges reading the New Testament as true eye-witness record.

47. Isaiah 17 and Britain’s Place in ProphecyNo. 255 · 1 July 1894 · 22 min read aloud · Read: Isaiah 17

    Taking Isaiah 17, the speaker says forgetfulness of God is the ultimate cause of human ruin, and that the desolation foretold of Damascus, Aroer and Ephraim is seen in Israel’s present state.

48. Christ’s Rest for the Weary and ForgivenNo. 256 · 1 August 1894 · 23 min read aloud

    Beginning with the breaking of bread, the speaker says the ordinance keeps Christ in remembrance and shows, in his death, the condemnation of sin and the majesty of God.

49. Fulfilled Prophecy of Tyre and the Overcoming LifeNo. 259 · 1 November 1894 · 22 min read aloud · Read: Ezekiel 25, Ezekiel 26, Ezekiel 27, Ezekiel 28

    The speaker says believers stand between the old man and the new, and that God alone can make all things new, which is why His words are to be trusted as true.

50. Isaiah’s Song of the Redeemed Righteous NationNo. 304 · 1 January 1899 · 23 min read aloud · Read: Isaiah 26, Hebrews 10 Printed after his death

    Beginning from the fact that the Scriptures are God’s word and not man’s, the speaker takes the song of Isaiah 26 and shows from Isaiah 25 and 1 Corinthians 15 that it is to be sung in the day of Christ’s return and the resurrection.

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