Jesus himself, if duly invited, would be present at thems excess And be rendered subservient to the welfare of our souls-] 2. Wherever Jesus comes he will contribute much to our happiness [No doubt his conversation was edifying and instructive— And the want, occasioned by his presence, was richly supplied What a season of holy joy must that company have expe rienced! Thus, he never fails to instruct and comfort those who seek him He turns our most common blessings into the richest dainties The very bread we eat, or air we breathe, are made doubly sweet The more we know of him, the more delight shall we find in him The comforts which the world gives, though sweet at first, are at last embittered But Jesus always gives us the best wine last How true shall we find this when we sit down at His marriage supper!h Let us then seek communion with him as our chief joy-] 3. If we leave our concerns to Jesus, he will surely glorify himself at last [We are too apt to dictate to him as to the time and mode of our relief— But such presumption will ever meet with a rebuke He both knows all our wants, and the fittest time to supply them He will regulate his dispensations towards us with consummate wisdom And order every event for his own glory, and our greatest good Let us then commit our every concern to him And our very straits shall redound to his honour and our eternal happiness-] 8 Matt. xviii. 20. h Rev. xix. 9. CCLXXIX. THE DRIVING OF THE BUYERS AND SELLERS OUT OF THE TEMPLE. John ii. 17. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. WE are apt to think that we receive no benefit from what we read or hear, unless it produce an immediate effect upon us But the word, like the seed, often springs up long after it has been sown God often brings it to our minds by some great and singular occurrence— And then we see a beauty and importance in it which we never saw before The apostles themselves forgat many things which were spoken to them by our Lord, till the Holy Spirit brought them to their remembrance They had often heard the Psalms read in their synagogues But probably never reflected on the passage before us, till our Lord's conduct suggested it to their minds, and reflected the true light upon it We shall consider I. The circumstances which brought these words to their remembrance Our Lord, for the first time after his entrance on his public character, went up to Jerusalem at the passoverThere he found that the temple of God was scandalously profaned— And he immediately set himself to rectify the abuses that were there tolerated [The outer court of the temple was appropriated to the use of the Gentiles But many dize of the Jews had rendered it a place of merchan There they exposed for sale the cattle that were proper to be offered in sacrifice And stationed themselves with tables of money for the accommodation of the strangers who might want to exchange their foreign coina Thus they insulted the Gentiles and greatly dishonoured God To correct this evil, our Lord exerted his divine authority He drove out the cattle, and ordered the doves to be removed He overturned the tables of money, and commanded all the traders to depart Nor did any of the people dare to oppose his sovereign command-]A This act of his could not fail of attracting, universal notice It discovered 1. His holy indignation against sin sin [Such a profanation of the temple was indeed a grievous Nor could his righteous soul behold it without the utmost abhorrence His anger was justly excited by the indignity offered to his Father 1 To have felt it less, would have been a crime; and to have refrained from manifesting it, a mark of cowardice We indeed are not called to manifest our displeasure in the same authoritative way But we should never behold sin but with pain and griefNor can our indignation be ever sinful, provided it be directed against sin as its object, and be felt only in proportion to the malignity of the offence committed We can never err, if we follow the example of those eminent saints 2. His courageous zeal for God [The priests themselves were accessory to the dishonour done to God If they did not encourage it for gain, they at least promoted it by connivance Thus they, no less than the traders, were interested in maintaining the abuseJane bd A And, no doubt, would be forward to uphold it with all their power But Jesus feared not the face of men, though all should combine against him Every one had occasion for an half shekel for the service of the temple, Exod. xxx. 13—16. b Ps. cxix. 53, 136, 158. Jer. ix. 1. . He resolutely determined to suppress these gross abominations And, without any regard to consequences, set himself to perform his duty Thus should we move undaunted in the way of dutyNor ever be deterred from it by the dictates of carnal po licy-] 3. A miraculous power over the minds of men [What but this could prevent their rising against him?— He detected their hypocrisy, removed their impiety, mortified their pride, opposed their interests, and loaded them with disgrace He did this singly, unarmed, unsupported, and in opposition to the existing authorities Yet, behold, they were all constrained to yield submission to his will We cannot doubt but that he miraculously oyerawed their minds Nor was this a less exertion of omnipotence than any other of the miracles which he wrought-] The sight of these things particularly affected his im mediate followers And brought to their recollection a portion of scripture which they had never before noticed II. The words themselves The words were justly quoted in reference to Christ [In their primary sense indeed they had their accomplishment in David David elsewhere expresses in very strong terms his zeal for Godd Nor can we forget how he manifested it when he danced before the arke But David in Ps. lxix. confessedly personates the MessiahSome parts are applicable to himself, and some to Christ, alonef " The words before us may very properly be applied to bothIndeed the strength of the terms would almost lead us to confine them to Christ His holy soul was inflamed with incessant zeal for God's honour. Lagu Ga qu © Jer. i. 17 d Ps. ci. 3-8. e2 Sam. vi. 14. f Ver. 5. cannot well be applied to any but David; nor can ver. 21. to any but Christ. It is thus that the literal and prophetical parts of scripture are continually intermixed. Nor did he ever suffer one opportunity of promoting his glory to pass unimproved→→ The occasion now before us called forth the strongest exertions of his zeal And manifested the full accomplishment of this prophecy in his person-] They are also replete with useful instruction to usThey reprove the shameful want of zeal amongst his followers. [God is greatly dishonoured by men on every sideHis name is blasphemed, his word despised, his authority rejected Does it become his people to behold these things with indifference? Should they not resemble Paul when he beheld the idolaters at Athens? Should they not imitate John, and adopt the words of Jeremiah? Should they not reprove sin in others as well as abstain from it themselves?k But how miserably defective are even good people in this particular! How often do fear or shame restrain them from bearing their testimony for God! Alas! what a sad contrast does our conduct form with that of our Lord! Have we not reason then to be ashamed, and mourn for our neglect? But many, so far from rebuking sin in others, indulge in it themselves Even in the very house of God they harbour worldly and carnal thoughts Nor are at all concerned to have their hearts purified from vile affections Surely this cannot but be most offensive to the heart-searching God Let us remember the solemn caution given us by the apos tle1 With respect to others, let us never presume to use the petulant language of CainTM But rather endeavour to obey the injunction which God has given us" And, with respect to ourselves, let us seek in all things that conformity to Christ which is required of us°— |