See pp. If He gives comforting grace, He will also give converting grace; if He makes the trumpet blow for the bankrupt sinner, He will also make it sound a shout of joy for the sinner that is pardoned and forgiven. (See Psalm 15.)2. We should be encouraged, from the receipt of common mercies, to expect special blessings from God.5. The blessing God gives is suitable, sweet, sufficient, free, and lasting. saying, 4 What man of you [man is emphatic; it is made so to convey the meaning that if man would so act, how much more would God so act], having an hundred sheep [a large flock], and having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness [the place of pasture, and hence the proper place to leave J. All kinds of blessings God will send. nay, I will ask further, can you calculate the number of drops of which each shower is composed? "(1) God makes His people a blessing by helping them. ^d 1 Verily, verily, I say to you [unto the parties whom he was addressing in the last section], He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. "I will make them a blessing." Spurgeon. 1. Is it to be blessed? Providence is like a piece of machinery, the wheels of which are to our view perplexing, and which we cannot understand.4. Naomi Campbell took to her Instagram to post her message, which reads "HAPPY TURN AROUND THE SUN TO MY LIL BROTHER !! In the hour of return. [In this section Jesus proceeds to contrast his own care for humanity with that manifested by the Pharisees, who had just cast out the beggar. The more intently we look upon Jesus, the more powerfully J. Burns, D. D.)The hill of ZionE. Prophets From of old this has been the noble prerogative of the people of God. There shall be showers of blessing: Oh, that today they might fall, Now as to God we're confessing, Now as on Jesus we call! 3. It points upward to the skies.3. "There shall be showers of blessing." Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding. For this cause we shall consider those four things: 1. 6. [1] The internal causes, The ruler should be, through humility, a companion of good livers, and, through the zeal of righteousness, rigid against the vices of evil-doers; so that in nothing he prefer himself to the good, and yet, when the fault of the bad requires it, he be at once conscious of the power of his priority; to the end that, while among his subordinates who live well he waives his rank and accounts them as his equals, he may not fear to execute the laws of rectitude towards the perverse. God sends showers of blessings. to be made a blessing! Contemplate the tardiness with which true religion is now advancing among men. American Standard Version And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing. THE DIFFUSIVENESS OF GOD'S BLESSING. No, it is to be so filled with these that the vessel runs over, and all that are round about get the benefit. THE BACKSLIDER.1. It is not only an essence which can sweeten and enhance all the elements of life, but it is in itself so valuable that he who possesses it is rich though he be stripped of all the other possessions which are the accepted badges of happiness. How gently our temporal blessings come to us, how softly the light streams over the earth to gladden our eyes, and how gently the tide of health flows into our system, to make us strong and fit for our ever-recurring toils of life. (Psalm 107.)4. . Here is a varied blessing. I care not what you are; you have somewhat to do. ALL TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS, LIKE SHOWERS, DESCEND FROM ABOVE.1. Their origin, and the glory and the grace of their author (James 1:17; Ephesians 1:3).2. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. The blessings bestowed on God's people are all THE RESULT OF DIVINE AGENCY.1. In the hour of penitence. No doubt our text refers, in the first place, to this temporal blessing, but it has also a wider scope; blessing of every kind may be said to come in its season. Complaining about challenges and problems will not solve them. From of old this has been the noble prerogative of the people of God. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. "I will give thee showers of blessing." 29.) W. McGarveyThe Four-Fold GospelThe Good Shepherd' and his one Flock' - Last Discourse at the Feast of Tabernacles. In the same way when, in the morning, we ask God to bless the work of our hands during the day, as in Scripture He often promises to do to those who ask Him, it is an acknowledgment that, along with our skilful planning, and our conscientious performance, there is necessary a something else which we cannot define but which we refer to God, to give us good success. 1-21. I have not got it, and I get angry; ten minutes after I am ever so patient; but I have not had grace in its season.5. Is it a season of great heaviness and black clouds? range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed "I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing." Is it not recorded that "God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble"? Minor Prophets Are you expecting a blessing today? Especially is this true of spiritual blessings.5. I think they are, first, our agencies; secondly, our neighbourhood; thirdly, the churches adjacent to us. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. W. McGarveyThe Four-Fold GospelEzekielTo a modern taste, Ezekiel does not appeal anything like so powerfully as Isaiah or Jeremiah. There shall be showers of blessing: And the Discourse which followed, ere He once more left Jerusalem, is of the same character. )The Church of ChristI. We cannot do without saturating showers of grace.5. Is it not sovereign, Divine mercy? Who but the blessed God could have devised that wondrous plan of grace, by which the blessings of the everlasting covenant are secured to His people? 2. The obstacle which hinders is in ourselves. God's people are not only to be a blessing, BUT THEY ARE TO BE BLESSED.1. Again, it is seasonable grace. )Application 1. The personality of the blessing. Temple.I. ALL TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS, LIKE SHOWERS, DESCEND FROM ABOVE.1. "There shall be showers of blessing."III. Old Testament prophecies were full of declarations that false shepherds would arise to J. So it is with grace. Has the sound of the Gospel not only reached us, but sounded out from us, as a testimony which has arrested and awakened others? "I will make each member of the Church a blessing." "Showers of blessings." The promise of God has also defined its extent. ( C. H. What an honour! In the hour of thoughtfulness. Spurgeon. (Deuteronomy 33:29.)3. Our Lord here appropriates to Himself the title under which He had been foretold by the Prophets. Is it not sovereign, Divine mercy, for who can say "I will give them showers" except God? Ezekiel 34:26 Sermons: I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing. CHRIST'S CHURCH IS TO BE A BLESSING. The, South Korea's president vowed Monday to "completely overhaul" the country's approach to extreme weather from climate change, after at least 40 people were killed by recent flooding and landslides during monsoon rains, Fishermen at work. Who sanctifies them? Its extent. He shines abroad, and even "rides upon heaven for help" when we cannot crawl on earth to ask for it. A blessing is added strength.2. )There shall be showers of blessing.Showers of blessingJ. It is this something extra, this little more, that makes everything exceptional and excellent. What can we do without God's help? (Bethany Beyond Jordan, Spring a.d. AN ENCOURAGING PROMISE.1. The promise is general. Yet this is not the best result of the blessing of God that those on whom it falls are themselves blessed. When the prodigal son returned, the tears which bedewed the cheeks of reconciled father and repentant son were indeed showers of blessing.III. See pp. (Philippians 1:6; Revelation 3:21. In Christianity this element has come to the very front. What can we do without God's help? There are some also who investigate spiritual precepts with cunning care, but what they penetrate with their understanding they trample on in their lives: all at once they teach the things which not by practice but by study they have learnt; and what in words they preach by their manners they impugn. And the blessings that refresh our spirits and revive our faith, they fall gently upon us while we pray and praise, and nestle upon our hearts while we engage in Christian work and worship.II. It points upward to the skies.3. There is no other which can suffuse the mind with deeper peace, yet multitudes live and die without ever seeing this great sight once; and the average man does not see it a score of times in a lifetime. So is the Church; it stands not in a valley, but on a hill, visible, and calculated to excite attention. "It seldom rains, but it pours." "I will make them a blessing." The Church must seek for this communication by the cultivation of union and fraternal love.3. "Showers" are gratuitous; they come down freely from the clouds, without money and without price. The wickedest of men may yet be blessed of God (Isaiah 55:1-3).(A. 4970seasons, of year4971seasons, of life, That None Should Enter on a Place of Government who Practise not in Life what they have Learnt by Study. In prayer there is no petition which a Christian man so naturally offers for himself as that God should bless him, and when he is thinking affectionately of others, he naturally asks God to bless them. The blessings are to be seasonable. 1. Believers are raised up together with Christ, and made to sit together with Him in heavenly places. No, it is to be so filled with these that the vessel runs over, and all that are round about get the benefit. xxxii. 21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. To God alone we should ascribe the glory and praise of all our blessings (Psalm 115:1).4. Is it the season of drought? The promise includes abundance. xxxii. [1] The internal causes Thomas WatsonThe Ten CommandmentsThat the Ruler Should Be, through Humility, a Companion of Good Livers, But, through the Zeal of Righteousness, Rigid against the vices of Evildoers. There are those who never prepare before embarking on any venture. Spurgeon. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me."--JER. "It seldom rains, but it pours." 4. Minor Prophets This is a text to try our Christianity by. Hence it is that the Lord through the prophet complains of the contemptible knowledge, (Jerusalem, December, a.d. Take the simplest case of all that to which I have just alluded. The personality of the blessing. "Songs in the night," but blessings for the morning. "It seldom rains, but it pours." Subdivision B. But for the showers we plead. is it to be filled with the peace, the joy, the life, the power of God? "Showers of blessings." Is it not recorded that "God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble"? Then it is plenteous grace. Cries to God.4. )Application . Poetical Books Let them be joyful, etc.3. TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS, LIKE SHOWERS, REQUIRE THE COOPERATION OF MAN; OR THE DESIGN WITH WHICH THEY DESCEND FROM ABOVE WILL BE FRUSTRATED.