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279 illustrations
The Second Person appeared in human flesh; the Third Person descended as a dove; the First Person testified through voice alone, honoring the principle given to Israel: "Ye saw no shape, but ye heard a voice." The dove symbolizes Christ's...
Upon this eternal, self-existent fidelity we can repose with safety.
This desire for healing transcends centuries and cultures.
When danger surrounds us, our fear knows no bounds—we sense the full weight of our peril.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock.—The Guest of the heart. I. THE STRANGER-GUEST WANTING TO COME IN. When a stranger comes to your door, it matters greatly whether he be mean or great. Who is this Visitor? He...
You cannot bring forth the best in someone if you do not believe the best exists within him.
Joseph Exell's 1887 exposition reveals three vital truths about the present moment.
The Lord expects to hear from you before you can expect to hear from Him.
First comes the temporal: "Afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh" (Joel 2:28).
Yahweh pleads the justice and equity of His cause through three arguments: attestation of creation itself (Verse 1), appeal to Israel's own memory, and commemoration of manifold blessings bestowed upon them.
The Apostle compares gospel ministers to earthen vessels—common, fragile, ordinary clay—yet holding within them the supreme treasure of Elohim's redemptive truth.
Exell, in his 1887 *Biblical Illustrator*, unpacks this summons with Victorian precision: we must arouse the bodily powers first.
The term *mysterion* (mystery), used twice in this passage and frequently throughout Philippians, does not denote what is essentially incomprehensible to human understanding.
First comes the hopeful resolve: "I will keep thy statutes." The believer plants his feet firmly, determined to walk in obedience to Yahweh's ordinances.
These are few, extraordinary, and universal in scope.
Just as the ancients displayed their wealth by suspending gold and silver vessels, armor, and ancestral heirlooms upon spikes along their walls, so Eliakim's elevation becomes the support structure for his entire household.
First comes the ascription of blessing: "Blessed art thou, O LORD." Here the psalmist recognizes Yahweh's infinite perfection, His majesty, and His absolute worthiness of praise.
Like the mythological Twins of Love, *eros* and *anteros*, Truth and Mercy weep together, smile together, sicken together, and recover jointly.
Just as Isaac's birth defied natural law—Sarah was barren, Abraham aged—so Christian conversion transcends fleshly effort.
The prophet first compares the Lord to a mother-bird hovering over her nest, wings spread protectively over helpless fledglings.
The previous verse (Proverbs 16:14) describes a king's anger as *messengers of death* — swift, certain, and irreversible.
First, it serves as a humbling remembrance—deepening his sense of guilt, illustrating Yahweh's greatness in mercy, and inspiring courage for future ministry.
Romans 8:29-30 presents three critical truths about this chain.
The psalmist cries, "Let thy mercies come unto me"—he opens the door of his heart and welcomes divine comfort as one would receive honored guests.