Key Verse: "But his bow abode in
strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the
mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of
Israel:)"
- Genesis 49:24 KJV
Our ancestors, you know, were celebrated bowmen.
Victories were won at Cressy and Agincourt by the English cavalry, 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 who
prays in you; for he helps our infirmities, and intercedes 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.
Are you Saved?
