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The essence of Christianity is to have faith. A blind faith, some would say, but Horatius Bonar takes this far away from the otherwise negative context it is used in. He illustrates how all the miracles, as performed by prophets such as Moses, were so great because of this unyielding faith being able to receive God’s full power.

What armor would we wear when considered in a biblical sense of the glorious war? None of ornate metal but one that has a more spiritual defense. Bonar reflects further on the resolve, mental strength, and faith needed in order to build up a defense against sin and against evil.

If there is one tactile gesture that has immense metaphorical value in the bible, it is the kiss. The most famous kiss was one of betrayal, but others would be for good. Bonar further interprets the kiss Oprah gives her mother-in-law in great detail and shows how truly complex this symbol can be.

Balaam looks around at the Israelis who have suffered and wandered, but are now so close to glory. Horatius Bonar describes a man overlooking the encampment and feeling a certain conflict rise within himself. We see, along with him, the weary Israelis on one side and on the other, the land of milk and honey within their grasp.

Ninteenth-century Scottish churchman and poet Horatius Bonar muses on the biblical journey from sin to sentence. Mainly remembered as a highly skilled hymnist, Bonar starts by describing a world created similar to the heavens, with perfection and beauty shaping its every detail. Once tainted by sin, the celestial path leads down and Bonar’s sermon focuses more on the darkness humanity finds itself in after falling from grace.

If we ask ourselves what it means to disobey God, we can recall many references to his cruelty and relentlessness in punishing those who refuse his word. These punishments go very deep and Bonar takes this biblical theme as a launching pad for discussing the frivolous nature of the so called human remedies. How we are a race of diversions and entertainments, façade and masquerades, in short, creators of a superficial and temporary solace.

Sharing his analysis of the phrase ‘go and possess the land’, Horatius Bonar reads deeply into the meaning of ownership. In some ways this entails a reflection on the biblical sense of nationalism. The Israelis, first wanderers and to some extend forced nomads, are told to settle and identify with this one place, one land, one city.

One of the first biblical stories we are told as children is the one of David and Goliath. We learn about the small, weak man slaying the giant with nothing but a rock. In this, Bonar compares the carnal weapons, Goliath being great of stature and physically superior, to the spiritual cloak David wears by being on the side of God.

The way of Cain, Horatius Bonar explains, leads to a barren world marked by the way of blood. Bonar details the haunted life lead by Cain once he had poisoned it with the murder of his brother. How despair, banishment, and fruitfulness would enter the lives of those who reject the right choices, as defined by the Bible, first given to them.

Horatius Bonar shows himself as a very passionate hymnist in this sermon focusing on the Fig-Leaves Adam and Eve use to cover themselves after acquiring the knowledge of shame. He shares his views on how a fig-leaf, a pure and beautiful form of vegetation, can’t possibly shield Man from his loss of innocence. In Bonar’s mind, the one thing that can save us from the anger and wrath of God, is the rituals we now associate closely with the Catholic faith.

Horatius Bonar allows us to learn more about his interpretations of God as a father to all the people. The phrase ‘Oh that they were wise’ laments humanity and its inability to choose a path of constructiveness and righteousness. Bonar reflects further on these characteristics that shapes human nature in a manner that is, in his mind, unteachable.

If you ask, He will give you living water! That is all you have to do – ask. How real, how true, how free – yet how simple! This is grace. He loves us not because we are rich in goodness, but because He is rich in mercy; not because we are worthy of His favor, but because He delights in lovingkindness. His welcome to us comes from His own graciousness, not from our lovableness. Christ invites the weary. It is this weariness that fits you for Him and Him for you.

God speaks to us through the Bible. That book embodies his words. Creation itself is the visible embodiment of his power and wisdom. It is the result of his words. This book of his is, in a different way, the effect of his speaking. It is his written wisdom and power. There is his voice to us. The thunder and tempest are his loud voice of grandeur. The sunshine and the gentle breeze are his still small voice. But deeper, clearer, keener, softer, and still more penetrating than all of these is his written word to us.

Your "turning" or "conversion" is only a beginning, and no more. It is not the whole journey; it is merely the first step. You are a disciple, that is, one who is under teaching; but your teaching, your discipleship, has only just begun. Your life is a book; it may be a bigger or smaller volume, but conversion is only the title page or the preface. The book itself remains to be written, and your years, weeks, and days are its chapters, pages, and lines. It is a book written for eternity; make sure that it is written well.

It was God’s purpose from the beginning not merely to redeem sinners from His condemnation but also to bring those people into a special relationship with Himself. It is His desire to draw mankind closer to Himself than any other of His creatures and to establish a most special link between His people and Himself. Trials, then, have a purpose. They awaken us to a sense of our self-pleasing ways and to our indifference to the condition of the world we live in–not only as being a world of sin but thoroughly, and all over, a world of misery.

The morning! That is our watchword. Our evening prayers and songs are filled with hope. The morning adds hue to life, imparting color to that which is colorless, and freshening that which is faded. It is the essence of our hopes and dreams. Stars may help to make the sky less gloomy, but they are not the sun – and besides, clouds have now covered them so they are no longer visible. Torches and beacon lights do not help. Our own lights make no impression upon the darkness; it is so deep, so real, so unmistakable.