MADE STRONG BY THE HANDS OF THE MIGHTY GOD
"His
bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by
the hands of the mighty God of Jacob." -GENESIS
49:24 [KJV]
Our
ancestors, you know, were celebrated bowmen. Victories were won at
Cressy and Agincourt by the English yeomanry, who were skilled in the
use of the bow. Latimer says, in a sermon preached before the king,
that no man could be a good archer who did not learn from his
boyhood; and the custom he tells us was for the father to put his
hands upon the son's hands, to teach him how to shoot, and throw the
whole strength of his body into the bow. When the boy drew the bow,
it was not the strength of his own arm that drew the string, nor was
it the keenness of his eye that directed the arrow to the mark. The
child appeared to draw the bow and to direct the arrow; but the hand
of the father was upon the hand of the child, and the eye of the
father was guiding the eye of the child; thus though the child seemed
to draw the bow, it was the strength of the father that really pulled
the string.
So
in the case of Joseph to whom our text refers, "the
arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of
Jacob."
God put His
hands upon the hands of Joseph, drew the bow for him, directed the
arrow, and hit effectually the mark. Apply this to your experience.
When you pray effectually, it is not you that pray; it is the Spirit
of God that prays in you; for He
helpeth our infirmities, and intercedeth for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered. When you believe, it is the Spirit of God that
works faith in you; when you hope, it is the Spirit of God that
produces hope in you; when you love, it is the Spirit of God that
sheds abroad love in you; it is the arms of His
hands that are put upon your hands, and they are made strong by the
hands of the mighty God of Jacob.
-Gospel
report by preacher J.C. Philpot (1802-1869 A.D.)
March
22nd, EARS FROM HARVESTED SHEAVES
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