| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index |
Obeying
the Word of God
KEEPING CHRIST’S WORDS.
John
14:15
21
23.
To
keep Christ’s words is to evidence our love to Him. We should keep His words
and commands and observe His directions—
Ⅰ.
Faithfully
as Adam was to keep the
Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15).
Ⅱ.
Constantly
as the eyelid does the
eye (Psalm 17:8).
Ⅲ.
Wholly
as the Levites kept the
charge of the tabernacle (Numbers 3:7; 31:30
47).
Ⅳ.
Diligently
as Jonathan did in
looking out for David’s enemies (1. Sam.19:2).
Ⅴ.
Vigilantly
as Saul’s messengers
watched for David (1. Samuel 19:11).
Ⅵ.
Attentively
as we mark the example
of a godly man and follow it (Psalm 37:37).
Ⅶ.
Carefully
as God did Israel in
bringing them to Canaan (Joshua 24:17).
── F.E. Marsh《Five Hundred Bible Readings》
KEEPING GOD’S WORD.
The
good ground hearer
according to Luke
hears the Word God and keeps it
and
brings forth fruit (Luke 8:15). Thomas Watson
in his terse and telling way
says
“ If you would hear the Word aright
be not only attentive but retentive.
Lay the Word up in your memories and hearts. The seed on the good ground are
they who
having heard the Word
keep it.” The Greek word for “ keep” signifies
“ to hold the word fast
that it does not run away from us.” If the seed be not
kept in the ground
but is presently washed away
it is sown to little purpose;
so
if the Word preached be not kept in our memories and in our hearts
it is
preached in vain. Many people have memories like leaky vessels—the Word goes
out as fast as it comes in : how
then
can it profit? If a treasure be put in
a chest
and the chest be not locked
it may easily be taken away: a bad memory
is like a chest without a lock—the devil can easily take out all the treasure.
Ⅰ.
Keep the Word carefully as a treasure locked in the heart of warm love
as
Jeremiah did
when he said
“ Thy words were found
and I did eat them
and Thy
word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart” (Jer.15:16).
Ⅱ.
Keep the Word as a preventative
as when the housewife puts the camphor among
the clothes to keep the moth away (Psalm 119:11).
Ⅲ.
Keep the Word as the fire is kept in the grate
then it will burn up the things
not of God (Jer.23:29).
Ⅳ.
Keep the Word as the miller keeps the water running over the mill-wheel
then
it shall keep us going (Isaiah 48:18).
Ⅴ.
Keep the Word as the mother keeps the milk to nourish her child (1. Peter 2:2).
Ⅵ.
Keep the Word as the priest kept the oil to make the lamps in the tabernacle
burn (Lev.24:2).
Ⅶ.
Keep the Word as the man keeps the title-deeds to his house
for in the Word
are found the title-deeds of our inheritance (1. Peter 1:3
4).
── F.E. Marsh《Five Hundred Bible Readings》