Showing results by author "Horatius Bonar" in All Categories

Balaam, son of Beor, is known to us as a non-Israeli prophet who, despite his initial refusal to curse the Israelis, was eventually overcome by wickedness. Horatius Bonar explores in depth the nature of this duality. He details the fate and torments of anyone who allows themselves to be guided by a divided heart.

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.

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.

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.