The Crown and Glory of Christianity

All the sins of the saints

"We know that all things work together for good,
to those who love God, to those who are called
according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

All the afflictions, and
all the temptations, and
all the desertions, and
all the oppressions, and
all the oppositions, and
all the persecutions—
which befall a godly man,
shall work for his good.

Every cross, and
every loss, and
every disease—
which befall the holy man,
shall work for his good.

Every device,
every snare,
every deceit,
every depth,
every stratagem,
and every enterprise of Satan against
the holy man, shall work for his good.

They shall all help to make him . . .
more humble,
more holy,
more heavenly,
more spiritual,
more faithful,
more fruitful,
more watchful.

Every prosperity and every adversity;
every storm and every calm;
every bitter and every sweet;
every cross and every comfort—
shall work for the holy man's good.

When God gives a mercy—
that shall work for his good.
When God takes away a mercy—
that shall work for his good.

Yes, even all the falls and all the sins of
the saints shall work for their good. Oh . . .
the care,
the fear,
the watchfulness,
the tenderness,
the zeal—
which God raises in the souls of His saints by their
very falls! Oh the hatred, the indignation, and the
detestation—which God raises in the hearts of His
children against sin—by their very falling into sin!

Oh what love to Christ,
what thankfulness for Christ,
what admiration of Christ,
what cleaving to Christ,
what exalting of Christ,
what drawings from Christ's grace—
are saints led to, by their very falls!

It is the glory of God's holiness, that . . .
He can turn spiritual diseases—into holy remedies!
He can turn soul poisons—into heavenly cordials!
He can prevent sin by sin, and cure falling by falling!

O Christian! What though friends and relations frown upon you,
what though enemies are plotting and conspiring against you,
what though needs, like armed men, are breaking in upon you,
what though men rage, and devils roar against you,
what though sickness is devastating your family,
what though death stands every day at your elbow—
yet there is no reason for you to fear nor faint, because
all these things shall work for your good! Yes, there is
wonderful cause of joy and rejoicing in all the afflictions
and tribulations which come upon you—considering that
they shall all work for your good.

O Christians! I am afraid, I am afraid—that you do not
run so often as you should—to the breasts of this promise,
nor draw that sweetness and comfort from it, that it would
yield, and that your several cases may require. "We know
that all things work together for good, to those who love
God, to those who are called according to His purpose." I
have been the longer upon this verse, because the condition
of God's people calls for the strongest cordials, and the
choicest and the sweetest comforts.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I am not the man that I was!

All true holiness is the immediate fruit of genuine
union with Christ. Christ is made not only wisdom,
righteousness, and redemption—but He is also made
sanctification to us, 1 Cor. 1:30. He who is in Christ
is a new creature. He has . . .
a new head,
a new heart,
a new lip,
a new life,
a new spirit,
new principles,
new ends.
He can truly say, "I am not the man that I was!
I was a lion—yet holiness has made me a lamb!
I was a wolf—yet holiness has made me a sheep!
I was a raven—yet holiness has made me a dove!"

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pleasure, delight, contentment and satisfaction in God

There are no people under heaven, who take any real
pleasure, delight, contentment and satisfaction
in God—but those who are genuinely holy.

"How is your Beloved better than others, most beautiful
of women? How is your Beloved better than others, that
you charge us so?" Song of Songs 5:9

The covetous man takes pleasure and delight in his money-bags.

The ambitious man takes pleasure and delight in his honors.

The voluptuous man takes pleasure and delight in his lusts.

The malicious man takes pleasure and delight in his revenge.

The envious man takes pleasure in the harms which befall others.

The drunkard takes pleasure and delight in his cups.

The adulterer takes pleasure and delight in his harlots.

The gamester takes pleasure and delight in his shifts and tricks.

The worldling takes pleasure in his fopperies and fooleries.

It is only the holy man who takes pleasure and delight in God.
To delight and take pleasure in God, is a work too high, too
hard, too spiritual, and too noble—for any but holy people!

"My Beloved is dark and dazzling, better than ten thousand
others! Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and
this is my Friend!" Song of Songs 5:10, 16

"I delight greatly in the Lord! My soul rejoices in my God!"
    Isaiah 61:10

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Oh stand and wonder!

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!" 1 John 3:1

O sirs! what matter of admiration is this—that the
great and glorious God, who has many millions of
glorious angels attending Him—that He should . . .
look upon all holy people as His sons, and
love them as His sons, and
delight in them as His sons, and
clothe them as His sons, and
feed them as His sons, and
protect them as His sons!

What great love is this—that those who have . . .
so highly provoked God,
walked so cross and contrary to God,
were so exceeding unlike God,
preferred every lust, and every toy and vanity before God,
fought many years under Satan's banner against God,
refused all the kind offers of mercy from God;
that those who have deserved to be . . .
reprobated by God,
damned by God, and
to be thrown to hell by God—
that these should be made the sons of God!

Oh stand and wonder! Oh stand and admire the
freeness of His grace, and the riches of His grace!

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!" 1 John 3:1

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So blind, so deaf, so dumb, so lame, so dead

The holy Christian is the greatest miracle.

He can tell you that he was so blind—but now God
has given him eyes to see sin to be the greatest evil;
and Christ to be the choicest good.

He can tell you that once he was so deaf—that though
God called very often and very loudly to him—by His
word and by His works, by His rods at home and by
His judgments abroad, and by his Spirit and conscience,
which were still a-preaching in his bosom—sometimes life,
sometimes death, sometimes heaven, and sometimes hell
—yet he could not hear! But now God has given him a
hearing ear, so that now he can with delight hear the
sweet music of the promises on the one hand; and
with a holy trembling listen to the voice of divine
threatenings on the other hand.

He can tell you that once he was so dumb—that if he
might have had the whole world, he could not have
spoken a good word for God, nor for His ways, nor for
His people, nor for any of His concernments. Oh! but
now his tongue is as the pen of a ready writer—and
he is never better, than when he is a-speaking either
of God, or for God and His concerns. Now he can
contend for the faith, and speak for saints. And though
in some cases he may lack power to act for God—yet he
never lacks a tongue to speak for God. The spouse's lips
drop honeycombs in Canticles 4:11. Yes, his tongue now
becomes a tree of life, whose leaves are medicinal.

He can tell you that once he was so lame—that he was
not able to move one foot heaven-wards, nor Christ-wards,
nor holiness-wards, etc. But now his feet delight, not only
to go—but to run in all the ways of God's commands!

Yes, he can tell you that once he was so dead—as to all
his soul-concerns. But now he is alive, and the life that
he leads in the flesh, is by faith in the Son of God, who
has loved him and given Himself for him, Gal. 2:20.

It was by a miracle that the Red Sea was driven back;
and it is no less a miracle—to see a sinner who was
accustomed to do evil—now habituated to do good.

That the tide of sin, which before did run so strong
—should be so easily turned; that the sinner who, a
little before was sailing hellward, and lacked neither
wind nor tide to carry him there—should now suddenly
alter his course, and tack about for heaven—what a
miracle is this! To see . . .
an earthly man become heavenly,
a carnal man become spiritual,
a loose man become precise,
a proud man become humble,
a covetous man become liberal, and
a harsh man become meek, etc.,
is to behold the greatest of miracles!

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Worse than sodomy!

"If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words,
shake the dust off your feet when you leave that house
or town. I assure you: It will be more tolerable on the
day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah
than for that town." Matthew 10:14-15

Sodom and Gomorrah shall have an easier and cooler
hell than such shall have—who have despised the offers
of His grace, and the offers of His mercy. Contempt of
Christ and His gospel—is worse than sodomy!

"Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from
the heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah!" Genesis 19:24

The punishments of Sodom and Gomorrah, are but scratches
on the hand, and flea-bitings—compared to those dreadful and
astonishing judgments which God, in the great day of account,
will inflict upon all Christ-refusers and gospel-despisers!

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever
rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on
him." John 3:36

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Holy, holy, holy

"Who is like You, glorious in holiness?" Exodus 15:11

God is . . .
infinitely holy,
transcendently holy,
superlatively holy,
constantly holy,
unchangeably holy,
exemplary holy,
gloriously holy.

All the holiness that is in the best and choicest
Christians is but a mixed holiness, a weak and
imperfect holiness. Their unholiness is always
more than their holiness.
Ah, what a great deal . . .
of pride is mixed with a little humility,
of unbelief is mixed with a little faith,
of peevishness is mixed with a little meekness,
of earthliness is mixed with a little heavenliness,
of carnality is mixed with a little spirituality,
of harshness is mixed with a little tenderness!

Oh, but the holiness of God is a pure holiness, it is
a holiness without mixture; there is not the least
drop or the least dreg of unholiness in God! "God
is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5

In God there is . . .
all wisdom without any folly,
all truth without any falsehood,
all light without any darkness, and
all holiness without any sinfulness.

God is universally holy.
He is holy in all His ways,
and holy in all His works.
His precepts are holy precepts,
His promises are holy promises,
His threatenings are holy threatenings,
His love is a holy love,
His anger is a holy anger,
His hatred is a holy hatred, etc.

His nature is holy,
His attributes are holy,
His actions are all holy.

He is holy in sparing;
and holy in punishing.
He is holy in justifying of some;
and holy in condemning of others.
He is holy in bringing some to heaven;
and holy in throwing others to hell.

God is holy . . .
in all His sayings,
in all His doings,
in whatever He puts His hand to,
in whatever He sets His heart to.
His frowns are holy,
His smiles are holy.
When He gives, His givings are holy giving;
when He takes away, His takings are holy takings, etc.

"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty!" Isaiah 6:3

God is eminently holy.
He is transcendently holy.
He is superlatively holy.
He is glorious in holiness.

There is no fathoming,
there is no measuring,
there is no comprehending,
there is no searching, of that
infinite sea of holiness, which is in God.
O sirs! you shall as soon . . .
stop the sun in its course, and
change the day into night, and
raise the dead,
and make a world, and
count the stars of heaven, and
empty the sea with a cockle-shell,
as you shall be able either to conceive or express
that transcendent holiness which is in God!

God's holiness is infinite.
It can neither be . . .
limited, nor
lessened, nor
increased.

God is the spring of all holiness and purity. All that
holiness which is in angels and men flows from God,
as the streams from the fountain,
as the beams from the sun,
as the branches from the root,
as the effect from the cause.
Ministers may pray that their people may be holy,
parents may pray that their children may be holy;
but they cannot give holiness, nor communicate
holiness to their nearest and dearest relations.
God alone is the giver and the author of all holiness.
It is only the Holy One who can cause holiness to flow
into sinners' hearts; it is only He who can form, and
frame, and infuse holiness into the souls of men.
A man shall sooner make make a world—than he shall
make another holy. It is only a holy God, who can . . .
enlighten the mind, and
bow the will, and
melt the heart, and
raise the affections, and
purge the conscience, and
reform the life, and
put the whole man into a holy gracious temper.

God is exemplary holy. He is the rule, example, and
pattern of holiness. "Be holy, as I am holy." 1 Pet. 1:15.
God's holiness is the copy which we must always have in
our eye, and endeavor most exactly to write after.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The best means to mortify sin

"Therefore, put to death whatever in you is worldly:
sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and
greed, which is idolatry." Colossians 3:5

While a darling sin lives and keeps the throne in the heart,
grace and holiness will be kept exceeding weak and low. But
when your darling sin is dethroned and slain by the power
and the sword of the Spirit—grace and holiness will quickly
grow stronger and stronger, and rise higher and higher.

When a man has eaten poison, nothing will make him thrive,
until he has vomited up the poison. Beloved sins—they are
the poison of the soul, and until these are vomited up, and
cast out by sound repentance, and the exercise of faith in the
blood of Christ, the soul will never thrive in grace and holiness!

If ever you would attain to higher degrees of holiness,
then fall with all your might, upon subduing and crucifying
your most raging corruptions, and your most daring lusts!

Oh do not think that your golden and your silver idols will
lay down their weapons, and yield the battle, and lie at your
feet, and let you trample them to death—without striking a
blow! Oh remember that besetting-sins will do all they can
to keep their ground, and therefore you must arise with all
your strength against them, and crush them to powder,
and burn them to ashes!

Oh deal with your most enraged lusts, as the Philistines
dealt with Samson—pluck out their eyes, and force them
to grind in the mill of mortification, until their strength is
utterly consumed and wasted.

I have read of five men, who being asked what was
the best means to mortify sin, gave these answers.

Said the first, "The best means to mortify sin,
is to meditate on death."

Said the second, "The best means to mortify sin,
is to meditate on the judgment-day."

Said the third, "The best means to mortify sin,
is to meditate on the joys of heaven."

Said the fourth, "The best means to mortify sin,
is to meditate on the torments of hell."

Said the fifth, "The best means to mortify sin, is to
meditate on the death and sufferings of Christ."

Doubtless the last man hit the nail on the head!

The daily sight of a bleeding, groaning, dying
Savior—is the only thing which will subdue and
mortify darling sins!

O friends! Never leave looking up to a crucified Christ,
until virtue flows from Him to the crucifying of those
special besetting sins which do most obstruct and
hinder the growth and increase of holiness.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yellow and white guts and garbage

"You cannot serve both God and Money." Luke 16:13

Riches are the great god of the world, and are rather a
hindrance, than a help to heaven and happiness. Gold
and silver, which are but the yellow and white guts
and garbage of the earth, is fitly called by the prophet,
"thick clay," which will sooner break a man's back than
satisfy his heart! Oh, what folly and madness is it for a
man to be still a-loading of himself with the clay of this
world!

The horse is loaded with rich treasure all the
day long—yet when night comes he is turned into the
dark stinking stable, with an empty belly, and with
his back full of galls, sores, and bruises.

Just so, though vain muckworms are loaded with the
treasures of this world during the day of their life—
yet when the night of death comes, then they shall
be turned into a dark stinking hell, with consciences
full of guilt and galls, and with souls full of sores and
bruises; and then what good will all their treasures
do them?

"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and
a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that
plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love
of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people,
eager for money, have wandered from the faith and
pierced themselves with many griefs." 1 Tim. 6:9-10

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A sea of grace—or but a drop of grace

"Those He predestined, He also called; and those
He called, He also justified; and those He justified,
He also glorified." Romans 8:30

God's love is equal to all His saints, whether they
are rich or poor, high or low, slave or free; whether they
have a sea of grace—or but a drop of grace. God's
love runs as much out to the weakest Christian, as it
does to the strongest; as much to a babe in grace as
to a giant in grace.

All saints are equally ELECTED. God never chose one
man to be more a vessel of glory than another; the
weakest saint is as much elected as the strongest.

All saints are equally REDEEMED by Jesus Christ.
Christ bled as much for one saint as another, and
He sweat as much for one saint as another, and
He sighed and groaned as much for one saint as
another, and He trod the wine-press of His Father's
wrath as much for one saint as another. Christ paid
as great a price for His lambs—as for His sheep.
Christ paid as great a price for Lazarus in his
rags—as for David in his royal robes.

All saints are equally EFFECTUALLY CALLED.
One saint is as much called out of the kingdom
of darkness as another; and one saint is as much
called to Jesus Christ as another. In effectual
calling, God looks with as favorable an eye
upon one, as He does upon another.

All saints are equally JUSTIFIED. Though one saint
may be more sanctified than another—yet no saint
is more justified than another. The weakest believer
is as much justified and pardoned before the throne
of God as the strongest is. That pure, perfect,
matchless, and spotless righteousness of Christ,
is as much imputed to one saint as it is to another.

All saints are equally ADOPTED. The weakest believer
is as much an adopted son of God, as the strongest
believer in the world is. God is no more a father to
one than He is to another. In human families, the
babe in the mother's arms is as much a son—as he
who is of riper years.

Thus you see that God's love is equal to all His saints.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The foolish Indians

The foolish Indians preferred every toy and trifle,
before their mines of gold. Just so, many foolish
professors prefer the trifling vanities of this world,
before the glorious treasures and endless pleasures
which are at God's right hand. Witness that high
price which they set upon . . .
the toys,
the trifles,
the vanities,
the empty honors,
the fading riches, and
the fleeting pleasures of this world!

How severely are they to be censured—who prefer
the poor, base, empty nothings of this world—before
all the glory and happiness of the eternal world!

Were there but more holiness in your hearts—all
the mirthful and gallant things of this world, would be
more contemptible in your eyes.

"Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with
the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
I have discarded everything else, counting it all as
garbage, so that I may have Christ." Philippians 3:8

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A self-loather

True repentance is a daily turning of the soul further
and further from sin—and a daily turning of the soul
nearer and nearer to God.

True repentance includes . . .
a true sense of sin,
a deep sorrow for sin,
a hearty loathing of sin, and
a holy shame and blushing for sin.

To repent is to make . . .
a clean head and a clean heart;
a clean lip and a clean life.

To repent is for a man to loathe himself, as well as his sin.
Is this easy for man, who is so great a self-lover, and so
great a self-exalter, and so great a self-admirer—to
become a self-loather? To repent is to cross sinful self,
it is to walk contrary to sinful self, yes, it is to revenge
a man's self upon himself.

True repentance lies in a daily dying to sin, and in a
daily living to Him who lives forever.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hell would be the place of greatest pleasure

"They delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the
perverseness of evil." Proverbs 2:14

Unsanctified people . . .
take pleasure in unrighteousness,
rejoice to do evil,
make a sport of sin,
delight to dishonor God,
damn their own immortal souls.

Holiness only debars men from the sinful
joys, delights, and pleasures of life.

What a mercy it is, to be taken off from that carnal
mirth which ends in mourning—and from those vain
delights which end in unspeakable torments—and from
that foolish jollity which leads to everlasting misery!

Ah, what folly and madness it is, for men to run the
hazard of losing the kingdom of heaven, and the
eternal pleasures which are at God's right hand—for
those short-lived pleasures which are like the early
dew which soon passes away! Ah, who would
endure an ocean of torture—for a drop of
sensual pleasure?

All sensual pleasures . . .
defile the soul,
debase the soul,
debauch the soul,
take off the heart from God,
deaden the heart towards God.

Sensual pleasures and delights cannot satisfy the
soul of man; they are but frothy and flashy. They
only wet the mouth—they never warm the heart.
Sensual pleasures seem substantial in the pursuit
—but are mere clouds in the enjoyment.

There is nothing in carnal delights, but imagination
and expectation. For they can neither fill the heart,
nor satisfy the heart.

O sirs, there is no real pleasure in sin! All the
pleasures of sin are counterfeit pleasures; they are
but the shapes and shadows of pleasure. They are
the seeds of future grief; they are but a pledge laid
down for sorrow or ruin. Certainly if there were the
least real delight in sin—hell could never be hell.
Yes, then it would follow that hell would be the
place of greatest pleasure—for doubtless hell
is the place of greatest sin.

Oh, don't deceive your own souls! There can be no real
joy in sensual pleasures. What real delight or pleasure
can there be in fooling and staggering in an ale-house
or tavern; in swaggering and swearing; in dicing and
carding; in dancing, partying, and whoring; in pursuing
after lying vanities? Surely none! As for those seeming
pleasures which attend the ways of sin—ah, how soon
do they vanish and leave a sting behind them!

Look! all the pleasures which manhood takes a person
off from—are babyish and toyish pleasures; such as from
delighting in a rattle, a doll, a feather, a hobby-horse, a
wooden sword, etc. Just so, all the pleasures and delights
which holiness takes a man off from—they are babyish
and foolish; yes, they are vile, dangerous, and devilish!

Holiness is only an exchange . . .
of sinful delights—for those which are holy;
of carnal delights—for those which are spiritual;
of earthly delights—for those which are heavenly.

He who delights in sensual pleasures shall find at
last—that his greatest pleasures will become his
bitterest pains!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Head, hand, heart, lip, and life

True holiness is diffusive. It extends, diffuses,
and spreads itself all over the whole person . . .
the head and the heart;
the lip and the life;
the inside and the outside.
The understanding is nourished on holiness,
the mind is adorned with holiness,
the will is bowed to holiness, and
all the affections are sprinkled,
yes, clothed with holiness—
love is holy love,
grief is holy grief,
joy is holy joy,
sorrow is holy sorrow,
fear is holy fear,
care is holy care,
zeal is holy zeal.

Real holiness spreads itself over
head, hand, heart, lip, and life.

"May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you
through and through. May your whole spirit, soul
and body be kept blameless at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The plague of unsatisfiedness

"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of
covetousness; a man's life does not consist in
the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:15

Covetousness is . . .
a very great and grievous sin;
a mother-sin;
a breeding sin;
a sin which has all sin in its womb;
a very vile and heinous sin;
the root of all evil.

Covetousness makes the soul earthly
—which should be celestial.

Covetousness is an evil which subjects
men to the basest and vilest evils.

Covetousness makes a man a fool! "You fool!
This very night your life will be demanded
from you. Then who will get what you have
prepared for yourself?" Luke 12:20

Covetousness robs a man of all true peace,
comfort, contentment and quiet.

Covetousness brings men into snares which
drown their souls in perdition.

Covetousness renders men unsatisfied under all
their outward enjoyments. Though a covetous
wretch has enough to sink him—yet he can never
have enough to satisfy him. First he wishes for a
bag full, and then a chest full, and then a room
full, and then a house full, etc.

The plague of unsatisfiedness—is the great
plague which covetous men are under. Certainly
you shall as soon fill a triangle with a circle, and
a chest with grace—as you shall be able to fill
and satisfy a covetous mind with money.

A covetous man is like a swine—which is good for
nothing while it lives. The horse is good to carry,
the ox is good to draw, the sheep is good for cloth,
the cow is good to give milk, and the dog is good
to guard the house—but the hog is good for nothing
while he lives! Just so, a covetous man is only
serviceable when he is dead. That scripture often
proves true, "the riches of a sinner are laid up
for the just." Job 27:17

No sin lays men under greater woes!

"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and
a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that
plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of
money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager
for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced
themselves with many griefs." 1 Timothy 6:9-10

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tears have a voice

"The Lord has heard the voice of my weeping."
Psalm 6:8

Tears have a voice. God has an eye as well upon
a man's tears—as upon his prayers. Penitent tears
are divine ambassadors, which never return from
the throne of grace without answers of grace. Peter
said nothing, but went out and wept bitterly—and
obtained mercy. Tears are a kind of silent prayers,
which will at last prevail for mercy.

"I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears."
Isaiah 38:5

A sinner's face never shines so beautiful, as
when it is bedewed with penitential tears.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

God's love-letter

The Scripture is God's love-letter to men. Here the
lamb may wade—and here the elephant may swim!

The blessed Scriptures are of infinite worth
and value! Here you may find . . .
a remedy for every disease,
balm for every wound,
a plaster for every sore,
milk for babes,
meat for strong men,
comfort for the afflicted,
support for the tempted,
solace for the distressed,
ease for the wearied,
a staff to support the feeble,
a sword to defend the weak.

The holy Scriptures are . . .
the map of God's mercy—and man's misery,
the touchstone of truth,
the shop of remedies against all maladies,
the hammer of vices,
the treasury of virtues,
the exposer of all sensual and worldly vanities,
the balance of equity,
the most perfect rule of all justice and honesty.

Ah, friends, no book befits your hands like the Bible!

The Bible is the best preacher. This book,
this preacher will preach to you . . .
in your shops,
in your chambers,
in your closets,
yes, in your own bosoms!
This book will preach to you at home and abroad;
it will preach to you in all companies; and it will
preach to you in all conditions.

By this book you shall be saved—or
by this book you shall be damned!
By this book you must live.
By this book you must die.
By this book you shall be judged in the great day!

Oh, therefore . . .
love this book above all other books,
prize this book above all other books,
read this book before all other books,
study this book more than all other books!
For he who reads much—and understands nothing,
is like him who hunts much—and catches nothing.

"Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all
day long!" Psalm 119:97

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Spit out the sweet morsels of sin

"When He comes, He will convict the world about sin."
John 16:8

A man never comes . . .
to see his sins, nor
to be sick of his sins, nor
to loathe his sins, nor
to arraign his sins, nor
to condemn his sins, nor
to judge himself for his sins—
until he comes to be possessed by the Holy Spirit.

A man never comes . . .
to spit out the sweet morsels of sin,
to make a sacrifice of his only Isaac,
to hack his trembling Agag in pieces,
to strangle his Delilah,
and in good earnest to set upon an utter extirpation
of his most cherished sins—until the Spirit of holiness
comes upon him. Until the Holy Spirit falls upon the
hearts of sinners, they will never be turned out of . . .
their pride,
their formality,
their carnality,
their sensuality,
their security.

To make a man holy—is greater than to create a world;
it can be done by none but by the Holy Spirit. It is the
great work of the Spirit—to shape and form holiness,
in all the vessels of glory.

The Spirit sweetly and strongly moves His people . . .
to mind holiness,
to fall in love with holiness,
to press after holiness;
to leave off their sins,
to turn to God,
to embrace Christ,
to tremble at threatenings,
to embrace promises.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Murder all his hearers at once!

"The leaders of the people have led them down the
path of destruction." Isaiah 9:16

Take heed of settling yourselves under an unholy minister
—of one whose life gives the lie to his doctrine. An unholy
preacher is the greatest destroyer of the souls of men! He
who preaches well—but lives bad—does what he can, to
murder all his hearers at once! There is no greater
bar to holiness, than ministers' unholy lives. An unholy
life mars the soundest and the sweetest doctrine. The
sins of teachers are the teachers of sins!

An unholy minister is the greatest pest, the worst
plague, and the greatest mischief—that can be to
a people; for his enormities, his wickednesses, will
have the strongest influences upon the souls and
lives of men—to make them eternally miserable.
His falls will be the fall and ruin of many; for
people are prone to . . .
live more by examples—than by precepts;
mind more what the minister does—than what he says;
eye more how he walks—than how he talks.

Let a minister be ever so learned, solid, quaint, elegant,
zealous, judicious, sententious, etc.—yet if he is carnal,
covetous, worldly, vain, and loose in his life and walk,
his hearers will rather slight and abhor the holy things
of God.

When the preacher departs out of the way of holiness,
the people will quickly wander from all that is good. He
whose life is not a standing reproof to sin, will, by his
life, encourage sinners more and more in a way of sin.
There is nothing which keeps men so off from the love
of holiness, and from the pursuing after holiness—than
the unholy lives of their ministers.

"Watch your life and doctrine closely." 1 Timothy 4:16

"Set an example for the believers in speech, in life,
in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

"In everything set them an example by doing what
is good." Titus 2:7

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Those who hunt after it are dogs!

Though of all losses, the loss of the soul is the greatest, the
saddest, the sorest, the heaviest, and the most intolerable,
inconceivable, and irrecoverable loss—yet a man bewitched
with the world will run the hazard of losing his eternal soul,
of damning it—to enjoy the world.

Men who are bewitched with this world in these days, oh, how
do they prefer their sensual delights, their brutish contentments,
and their carnal enjoyments—before the beauties of holiness, and
before heavenly glory, where holiness sparkles and shines in all
its refulgence, and where their souls might be abundantly satisfied
and delighted with the most ravishing joys, the most surpassing
delights, and the most transcendent pleasures which are at God's
right hand!

The Arabic proverb says that "the world is a carcass—and
those who hunt after it are dogs!" If this proverb is true,
what a multitude of professors will be found to be dogs—
who hunt more after earth—than heaven;
who hunt more after terrestrial things—than celestial things;
who hunt more after worldly nothingnesses and emptinesses
—than they do after those fullnesses and sweetnesses which
are in God, Christ, heaven, and holiness!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Painted holiness

"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make
long prayers; therefore you shall receive the greater
damnation." Matthew 23:14

Who had a greater name for holiness, and who made a
greater show of holiness, and who did more despise and
insult other men for the lack of holiness—than the Scribes
and Pharisees? And who so miserable now—as they?

Pretended holiness will double-damn souls at last!

None have so large a portion in hell as hypocrites have.
No man at last will be found so miserable, as he who has
the name of a saint upon him—but not the divine nature
in him; who has a profession of holiness upon him—but no
principles of holiness in him; who has a form of godliness
—but not the power; who can cry up godliness—but in
practice denies it; who is a professor outwardly—but
an atheist, a pagan, a devil inwardly.

Artificial sanctity is double iniquity. He who professes
piety without being pious, and godliness without being
godly; he who makes counterfeit holiness a cloak to
impiety, and a midwife to iniquity; he who is . . .
a Jacob without—and an Esau within,
a David without—and a Saul within,
a John without—and a Judas within,
a saint without—and a Satan within,
an angel without—and a devil within,
is ripened for the worst of torments!

Sirs, do not deceive your own souls!
A painted sword shall as soon defend a man, and
a painted mint shall as soon enrich a man, and
a painted fire shall as soon warm a man, and
a painted friend shall as soon counsel a man, and
a painted horse shall as soon carry a man, and
a painted feast shall as soon nourish a man, and
a painted house shall as soon shelter a man—as
a painted holiness shall save a man! He who
now thinks to put off God with a painted holiness,
shall not fare so well at last—as to be put off with
a painted happiness. The lowest, the hottest, and
the darkest habitation in hell will be his portion,
whose religion lies all in shows and shadows.

Well, spiritual counterfeits, remember this—it will
not be long before Christ will unmask you; before
He will uncloak you; before He will disrobe you;
before He will take off your masks, your cloaks,
and turn your rotten insides outward—to your
eternal shame and reproach before all the world!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

These Gergesites had rather lose
Christ, than lose their porkers

"When they saw Him, they pleaded with Him to leave
their region." Matthew 8:34

A man bewitched with the world will prefer the most base
and contemptible things, before the Lord Jesus Christ. He will,
with the Gergesenes, prefer his swine before a Savior,
Matthew 8:28-34. When they saw what a sad market their
hogs were brought to, they desired Christ to depart out of
their country. These Gergesites had rather lose Christ,
than lose their porkers. They had rather that the devil
should possess their souls—than that Jesus should drown
their pigs. They prefer their swine, before their salvation!
They present a wretched petition for their own damnation;
they pleaded with Him to leave their region. Though there is
no misery, no plague, no curse, no wrath, no hell—compared
to Christ's departure from a people; yet men bewitched with
the world will desire this. "When they saw Him, they pleaded
with Him to leave their region." Matthew 8:34

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Turned into beasts, birds, stones, trees, or air

"Our God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:29

Chaff and stubble cannot stand before that God, who is
a consuming fire. Oh, how will the ungodly tremble and
quake when the whole frame of heaven and earth shall
break in pieces, and be set in a flame about their ears!
Oh, what trouble of mind,
what horror and terror of conscience,
what weeping and wailing,
what crying and roaring,
what wringing of hands,
what tearing of hair, and
what gnashing of teeth,
will there be among the ungodly in this day—when
they shall see their sins charged upon them on the one
side—and divine justice terrifying them on the other
side! When they shall look upward, and there see an
angry God frowning upon them; and look downward,
and there see hell gaping ready to receive them; and
look inward, and there find conscience accusing and
gnawing of them! When they shall look on their right
hand, and there behold the holy angels standing with
so many flaming swords to keep them out of heaven;
and look on their left hand, and there behold the devil
and his demons ready to drag them down to the lowest
hell! Oh, now how will they wish for the rocks to fall
upon them, and the mountains to cover them! How
will they wish that they had never been born; or that
they might now be unborn! How will they now wish
that their immortal souls were mortal; or that they
might be turned into beasts, birds, stones, trees,
or air—or anything rather than what they are!

Alas! what heart is able to conceive, or what tongue
is able to express—the fear and dread, the horror and
terror, the astonishment and amazement, which will
fall upon all ungodly people in that day!

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to
receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Thessalonians 5:9

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The dregs of old age!

"Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my
end be like theirs!" Numbers 23:10

Many desire to repent when old age comes—when . . .
their wits are cracked,
their souls distracted,
their senses stupefied,
their hearts astonished,
their minds darkened, and
their bodies diseased and distempered.
Oh, then they think that they will be able to leap into
heaven, with a "Lord have mercy upon me" in their
mouths. Even though they have lived like devils
—yet they hope they shall die like saints!

Do you think, O vain man—that after you have spent your
time, and wasted your strength, and exhausted your energies
in the work of Satan, and in the service of your lusts—that
God will receive you to His grace and favor? If you do thus
flatter yourself—it is ten thousand to one—that you will
deceive yourself! Though true repentance is never too
late—yet late repentance is seldom true. Ah, how many
millions are now in hell—who have thought, and resolved, and
said that they would repent hereafter—but that hereafter
never came!

You say "Tomorrow, tomorrow I will repent," when you know
not what a tomorrow will bring forth. Alas! how many thousand
ways may death surprise you before tomorrow comes! Though
there is but one way to come into the world—yet there are a
thousand thousand ways to be sent out of the world. Oh, the
diseases, the hazards, the dangers, the accidents, the deaths
—which daily—which hourly attend the life of man!

Ah friends! it is a dangerous thing to make repentance to be
the task of old age. The longer any man defers his repentance,
the more difficult it will be for him to repent:
his heart will every day grow more and more hard, and
his will more and more perverse, and
his judgment more and more corrupted, and
his affections more and more disordered, and
his conscience more and more benumbed or enraged, and
his whole life more and more defiled and debauched.

Friends, do not deceive yourselves! Old age is but a tottering
and sinking foundation for you to build your eternal hopes
and happiness upon—your eternal making or marring upon!
Are the dog-days of old age—are the trembling hands, the
wrinkled face, the failing eyes, the gasping lungs, the fainting
heart, the feeble knees, and the broken down legs—are these
a sacrifice worthy of a majestic God? Is a body full of sores,
aches, and diseases—and a soul full of sin—an offering worthy
of a holy God? Surely not!

Oh, what madness, what wickedness is this—to serve Satan,
your lusts, and this world with full dishes—and to put off God
with scraps! To serve Satan, your lusts, and this world in the
flower, in the prime and primrose of your days—and to put
off God with the dregs of old age! Oh, do not let Satan
deceive you, do not let your own hearts delude you!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The beauty and glory of a Christian

Holiness will render you most beautiful and amiable. As
holiness is the beauty of God, and the beauty of angels
—so it is the beauty and glory of a Christian also.
Holiness casts such a beauty upon man, as makes him
very amiable and desirable.

The redness of the rose, the whiteness of the lily, and all
the beauties of the natural universe—are but deformities,
compared to that beauty which holiness puts upon us. If
all natural beauty were contracted into one beauty—yet
it would be but an obscure and an unlovely beauty,
compared to that beauty which holiness puts upon us!

Holiness is lovely, yes—loveliness itself. Purity is a Christian's
splendor and glory. There is no beauty compared to that of
sanctity; nothing beautifies and bespangles a man like holiness.
Holiness is so attractive and so lovely a thing—that it draws all
eyes and hearts to an admiration of it. Holiness is so great a
beauty—that it puts a beauty upon all other excellencies in a
man. That holiness is a very beautiful thing, and that it makes
all those beautiful who have it—is a truth that no devil can deny!

"Demetrius," says Plutarch, "was so lovely of face, that no
painter was able to draw him." Just so, holiness puts so rare
a beauty upon man—that no painter under heaven is able to
draw him! Scipio Africanus was so lovely a person, that the
Spaniards stood amazed at his loveliness. Holiness puts such
a loveliness, and such an amiableness upon a person—that
many admire it, and stand amazed at it.

O sirs, as ever you would be amiable and desirable—be holy!

As ever you would be attractive and lovely—be holy!

As ever you would outshine the sun in splendor and
glory—labor to be holy!

Many have ventured their names, their estates, their liberties,
their lives, yes, their very souls—to enjoy a lovely Bathsheba,
an attractive Helena, a beautiful Diana, a lovely Cleopatra, etc.,
whose beauties have been but clay, well-colored. Oh, how
much more, then, should you be provoked to labor and venture
your all for holiness—which will imprint upon you that most
excellent and most exquisite beauty—which will go to the grave
and to glory with you; yes, which will render you not only amiable
and excellent in the eyes of men—but also lovely in the eyes of God!

Unholy souls are . . .
foul souls,
ugly souls,
deformed souls,
withered souls,
wrinkled souls,
altogether unlovely souls.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The richest man in the world

"Having nothing—and yet possessing all things." 2 Corinthians 6:10

This is a riddle the world cannot understand. A holy man
cannot be a poor man. A holy man is always the richest
man. The riches of a Christian have no bottom. All a
saint's bags, are bottomless bags.

Experience tells us that unholy men's bags, purses, coffers,
and mints—may be drawn dry. But the treasury, the riches
of a saint—can never be exhausted, for he possesses all
things in Christ and with Christ! The Christian has the
God of all—he has Him who has all.

Though he has nothing in hand—yet he has all things
in hope. A holy man is the richest man in the world,
for he has the great and glorious God engaged by many
thousand promises to own him, to bless him, to stand
by him, to give grace and glory to him, and to withhold
nothing from him that may be good for him.

When wicked men brag of their great possessions and
riches, a holy man may make his boast of God, and say,
"God is mine! God is mine! He is my great all; He is my
all in all; and therefore I am richer and a greater possessor
than any wicked man in the world—yes, than all wicked
men in the world put together!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Without holiness

"Without holiness no one will see the Lord." Heb. 12:14

To 'see' implies both vision and fruition. Without holiness, no
man—be he high or low, noble or ignoble, rich or poor, etc.,
shall ever come to a blessed acquaintance with God here, or
to a glorious fruition and enjoyment of God hereafter.

Oh, how great a misery,
how great a punishment,
how great an affliction,
how great a trouble and torment,
how great a tribulation,
how great a hell
—will it be for all unholy people to be forever and ever
banished the court of heaven, and to be shut out from
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His
power—and to be everlastingly confined to the prison
of hell, and to the society and company of that damned
crew who will be still a-cursing and a-blaspheming God,
and adding to one another's torments!

Ah, friends! without holiness all is lost . . .
your soul is lost,
Christ is lost,
God is lost,
heaven is lost,
glory is lost!
What are all other losses, compared to these losses?

Well, sirs, if none of these arguments can prevail
with you to labor after holiness, I must conclude . . .
that divine justice has hardened you,
that Satan has blinded you,
that your lusts have besotted you,
that this world has bewitched you,
and that it would have been ten thousand thousand
times better for you, to have never been born, than
to live without holiness, and
to die without holiness, and
to be everlastingly damned for lack of holiness.

"Without holiness no one will see the Lord." Heb. 12:14

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You should follow in His steps

"He who says he abides in Him, ought himself also
to walk even as He walked." 1 John 2:6

Christians are to set all Christ's moral actions before them
as a pattern for their imitation. In Christ's life, a Christian
may behold the picture or lineaments of all virtues—and
accordingly he ought to order his life in this world.

To walk as Christ walked is to walk . . .
humbly,
holily,
justly,
meekly,
lovingly,
fruitfully,
faithfully,
uprightly.

To walk as Christ walked is to . . .
slight the world,
despise the world,
make a footstool of the world,
to live above the world, and
to triumph over the world as Christ did.

To walk as Christ walked is . . .
to love those who hate us,
to pray for those who persecute us,
to bless those who curse us, and
to do good to those who do evil to us.

To walk as Christ walked is to be patient, and silent,
and submissive, and thankful, under the vilest reproaches,
the heaviest afflictions, and the greatest sufferings.

"Leaving you an example, that you should follow
in His steps." 1 Peter 2:21

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

An outlet and an inlet

"Death has been swallowed up in victory!"
    1 Corinthians 15:54

DEATH is an outlet and an inlet to a holy man.

Death is an eternal outlet . . .
to all sins,
to all sorrows,
to all shame,
to all sufferings,
to all afflictions,
to all temptations,
to all oppressions,
to all confusions, and
to all vexations.

Death is an eternal inlet into . . .
the clear, full, and constant enjoyment of God,
the sweetest pleasures,
the purest joys,
the highest delights,
the strongest comforts, and
the most satisfying contentments.

Death is the funeral of all a holy man's sins and miseries—and
the perfection of all his joys, graces, and spiritual excellencies.

Death is not the death of the man—but the death of his sin.

Death is a Christian's discharge from all trouble and misery!

Death came in by sin—and sin goes out by death.

Death cures all diseases—the aching head and the unbelieving
heart; the diseased body and the defiled soul. Death will cure
the holy man of all natural and spiritual distempers.

Death is God's gentle usher to conduct us to heaven.

Death to a holy man, is nothing but the changing of . . .
his grace—into glory,
his faith—into vision,
his hope—into fruition, and
his love—into eternal rapture!

Oh, who would not go through death . . .
to heaven!
to eternal life!
to immortality and glory!

Death, to a Christian, is . . .
a welcome guest,
a happy friend,
a joyful messenger!

"Death has been swallowed up in victory!" 1 Cor. 15:54

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Such guilty, filthy, and polluted souls!

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom
of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor
slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
     1 Corinthians 6:9-10

What a sad roster of vile people! These monstrous sinners and
prodigious sins were enough to have brought another flood upon
the world; or to have provoked the Lord to rain hell out of heaven
upon them—as once he did upon Sodom and Gomorrah; or to have
caused the ground to open and swallow them up—as once it did
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!

And yet behold! some of these are changed and sanctified!
"And that is what some of you were! But you were washed,
you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." verse 11.

Oh, the infinite goodness!

Oh, the infinite grace!

Oh, the infinite wisdom and power of God—which has
pardoned, washed, sanctified, and cleansed such guilty,
filthy, and polluted souls! The worst of sinners should
never despair of being made saints—considering what
notorious sinners have been made holy. There is no
heart so wicked—but grace can make it holy.

Well! sinners, remember this—it is possible that those . . .
proud hearts of yours may be humbled;
hard hearts of yours may be softened;
unclean hearts of yours may be sanctified;
blind minds of yours may be enlightened;
stubborn wills of yours may be tamed;
disordered affections of yours may be regulated;
defiled consciences of yours may be awakened and purged;
vile and polluted natures of yours may be changed and purified.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other men's sins

By other men's sins, a holy man is put in mind of the
badness of his own heart. Bernard makes mention of an
old man, who, when he saw any man sin, lamented and
wept for him; and being asked why he grieved so, for
other men's sins, answered, "He fell today—and I may
fall tomorrow!" The falls of others puts a holy man in
mind of the roots of sinfulness which are in himself.
Other men's actual sins are as so many glasses, through
which a holy man comes to see the manifold seeds of sin
which are in his own heart—and such a sight as this
cannot but melt him and break him.

A holy heart knows that the best way to keep himself
pure from other men's sins, is to mourn for other men's
sins. He who makes conscience of weeping over other
men's sins—will rarely be defiled with other men's sins.

A holy heart looks upon other men's sins as their bonds
and chains—and this makes him mourn. Ah, how can
tears but trickle down a Christian's cheeks, when he sees
multitudes, fast bound with the cords of their iniquity,
trooping to hell? Who can look upon a sinner as a bound
prisoner to the prince of darkness—and not bemoan him?

If holy people thus mourn for the wickedness of others,
then certainly those who take pleasure in the wickedness
of others—who laugh and joy, who can make a sport of
other men's sins—are rather monsters than men! There
are none so nearly allied to Satan as these—nor any so
resemble Satan as much as these! (The devil always joys
most—when sinners sin most!) To applaud them, and take
pleasure in those who take pleasure in sin—is the highest
degree of ungodliness!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The diamond in that ring!

The whole Scripture is but one entire love-letter, all
written in golden letters, dispatched from the Lord
Christ to His beloved spouse on earth. In it, there
is so much to be read of . . .
the love of Christ,
the heart of Christ,
the kindness of Christ,
the grace of Christ, and
the glory of Christ,
that a holy heart cannot but love, and embrace,
and endeavor to conform to every line.

The whole word of God is a field—and Christ
is the treasure which is hidden in that field!

The whole word of God is a ring of gold—
and Christ is the diamond in that ring!

"The Scriptures point to Me!" John 5:39

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A silver vein of sanctity

"In that day shall there be upon the bridles of the horses,
Holiness unto the Lord. Yes, every pot in Jerusalem
and in Judah shall be Holiness unto the Lord Almighty."
Zechariah 14:20-21

Here is holiness written upon the bridles of the horses they
ride on, and upon the cups and pots they drink with. A holy
heart will be holy in the use of common things. Every
piece of his life shall savor of sanctity; and in all the parts of
his every-day life, you shall be able to discern something of
the power of true religion.

He who is truly holy—will be holy in the use of earthly and
common things, as well as in the use of spiritual and heavenly
things. He will be spiritual in the use of mundane things; and
heavenly in the use of earthly things. There is a silver vein
of sanctity which runs through all his worldly concernments.
If you look upon him in his eating and drinking—you shall find
him holy. If you look upon him in his buying and selling—you
shall find him holy. He is holy in his commerce, and holy in his
converse. Holiness is written upon his dealings with others, and
upon his behavior towards his family and friends. Whatever he
puts his hand to in his home—has holiness written upon it.

A holy man makes a Jacob's ladder of all his earthly enjoyments.
All the comforts in his home, lead him on in a way of holiness,
and lead him up to a holy God. Look upon a holy man in his
vocation—and you shall find him holy. Look upon him in the
use of earthly things—and you shall find him holy. Look upon
him in his recreations—and you shall find him holy. The habitual
frame and bent of his heart is to be holy in every earthly thing
which he puts his hand unto. A spirit of holiness runs and shines
in all the common actions of his life.

But for the false professor—all his religion, all his holiness, lies in
a few religious duties! Take him out of these, and you shall find
him as carnal, as vain, as foolish, as filthy and as frothy, as light
and as slight—as those who have not so much as a cloak of
holiness upon them!

Look! as an unholy heart is carnal in spiritual things, and earthly
in heavenly things, and unholy in holy things—just so, a man who
is truly holy—he is as well holy in the ordinary affairs and actions
of this life, as he is holy in any of the exercises of piety.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do—do it
all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Heaven would be a very hell

"Yet they say to God—Leave us alone! We have no
desire to know Your ways." Job 21:14

Heaven would be a very hell to an unholy heart.
If now—the presence of God in His servants, and the
presence of God in His ordinances—is such a hell to
unholy souls; ah, what a hell would the presence of
God in heaven be—to unholy hearts!

It is true, an unholy heart may desire heaven—as
it is a place of freedom from troubles, afflictions,
oppressions, vexations, etc., and as it is a place of
peace, rest, ease, safety, etc. But this is the least
and lowest part of heaven.

To desire heaven as it is . . .
a place of purity,
a place of grace,
a place of holiness,
a place of enjoying God, etc.
—is above the reach of an unholy heart.

The company of heaven are all holy,
the employments of heaven are all holy,
the enjoyments of heaven are all holy—
therefore heaven would be a most undesirable
thing to unholy hearts.

An unholy heart is no way desirous nor ambitious
of such a heaven . . .
as will rid him of his darling sins,
as will make him conformable to a holy God,
as will everlastingly divorce him from his precious lusts,
as will link him forever to those gracious souls whom
he has scorned, despised, and persecuted in this world.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Holy hatred

"I hate every false way." Psalm 119:104

Where there is real holiness, there is a holy
hatred, detestation, and indignation—against
all ungodliness and wickedness.

A holy man knows that all sin strikes . . .
at the holiness of God,
at the glory of God,
at the nature of God,
at the being of God,
at the law of God—
and therefore his heart rises against all sin.

He looks upon every sin as a grieving of the Spirit,
as a vexing of the Spirit, and as a quenching of the
Spirit; and so nothing will satisfy him but the ruin
of them all. He looks upon every sin—
as a dishonor to God,
as an enemy to Christ,
as a wound to the Spirit,
as a reproach to the gospel,
as a moth to his holiness—and therefore
his heart and his hand are against every sin.

He looks upon every sin . . .
as that Judas who betrayed Christ;
as that Pilate who condemned Christ;
as those soldiers who scourged Christ;
as those spears which pierced Christ.
He looks upon every sin as having a hand in the
death of his Savior—and therefore he cries out,
"Crucify them all, crucify them all!"

Look! as every lion has his den, every dog his kennel,
every swine his sty, and every crow his nest—just so,
every unholy person has one sin or another, to which
his heart is engaged and married; and that sin will
undo him forever!

As Lysimachus lost his earthly kingdom by drinking
one draught of water—just so, many lose a heavenly
kingdom by indulging some one sin or another.
One flaw spoils the diamond,
one treason makes a traitor,
one wrong turn brings a man quite out of the way,
one leak sinks the ship,
one wound strikes Goliath dead,
one Delilah betrays Samson,
one broken wheel spoils the whole clock,
one dead fly spoils the whole box of ointment.

And as one bastard son destroyed Gideon's seventy sons,
(Judges 8,)—just so, one predominant sin is enough to
destroy the soul forever. As by taking one nap Samson
lost his strength, and by eating one apple Adam lost his
paradise—just so, many men, by favoring one sin—lose
God, heaven, and their souls forever! He who favors any
sin, though he frowns upon many—does but as Benhadad
—recover of one disease and die of another; yes, he takes
pains to go to hell. Sin favored—always ends tragically.

Sometimes you shall have an unholy person
angry with sin, because it has . . .
cracked his credit, or
clouded his honor, or
hindered his profit, or
embittered his pleasure, or
enraged his conscience, or
exposed him to shame here and hell hereafter;
but never because . . .
a righteous law is transgressed,
a holy God is dishonored,
a loving Savior is afresh crucified,
or the blessed Spirit grieved.

A holy heart rises against sin because of its defiling nature.
An unholy heart rises against sin because of its damning nature.

A holy man is most afflicted with the evil which is in sin.
An unholy heart is most afflicted with the punishment which is due to sin.

A holy person hates sin because it pollutes his soul.
An unholy person hates it because it destroys his soul.

A holy person loathes sin because it makes against God's holiness.
An unholy person loathes it because it provokes God's justice.

A holy person detests sin because of the hell which is in sin.
An unholy person detests sin because of the hell which follows sin.

A holy heart abhors all sin.
An unholy heart is still in league with some sin.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many divine miracles

"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

In every saved person, there are many divine
miracles; there is . . .
a dead man—restored to life,
a dumb man—restored to speech,
a blind man—restored to sight,
a deaf man—restored to hearing,
a lame man—restored to walking,
a man possessed with devils—possessed with grace,
a heart of stone—turned into a heart of flesh, and
a life of wickedness—turned into a life of holiness.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Genuine assurance

Genuine holiness will yield you a heaven hereafter; but
genuine assurance will yield you a heaven here. He
who has holiness and knows it, shall have two heavens
—a heaven of joy, comfort, peace, contentment, and
assurance here—and a heaven of happiness and
blessedness hereafter.

Genuine assurance will be a spring of joy and comfort
in you. It will make heavy afflictions light, long afflictions
short, and bitter afflictions sweet. It will make you frequent,
fervent, constant, and abundant in the work of the Lord. It
will strengthen your faith, raise your hope, inflame your love,
increase your patience, and brighten your zeal. It will make
every mercy sweet, every duty sweet, every ordinance sweet,
and every providence sweet. It will rid you of all your sinful
fears and cares. It will give you ease under every burden,
and make death more desirable than life. It will make you
more strong to resist temptation, more victorious over
opposition, and more silent in every difficult condition.

Genuine assurance will turn . . .
every winter night into a summer's day,
every cross into a crown, and
every wilderness into a paradise.

Genuine assurance will be . . .
a sword to defend you,
a staff to support you,
a cordial to strengthen you,
a medicine to heal you, and
a star to lead you.

Well, remember this—next to a man's being saved, it is the
greatest mercy in this world—to know that he is saved.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A cooler hell

"God, I thank You that I'm not like other people—greedy,
unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get."
Luke 18:11-12

Many please and satisfy themselves with mere civility and
common morality. They bless themselves that they are not
swearers, nor drunkards, nor extortioners, nor adulterers,
etc. Their behavior is civil, sincere, harmless, and blameless.

But civility is not sanctity. Civility rested in—is but a beautiful
abomination—a smooth way to hell and destruction.

Civility is very often . . .
the nurse of impiety,
the mother of flattery, and
an enemy to real sanctity.
There are those who are so blinded with the fair shows of
civility—that they can neither see the necessity nor beauty
of sanctity. There are those who now bless themselves in
their common morality, whom at last God will scorn and
cast off for lack of real holiness and purity.

A moral man may be an utter stranger . . .
to God,
to Christ,
to Scripture,
to the filthiness of sin,
to the depths and devices of Satan,
to their own hearts,
to the new birth,
to the great concerns of eternity,
to communion with Christ,
to the secret and inward ways and workings of the Spirit.

Well, sirs, remember this—though the moral man is good for
many things—yet he is not good enough to go to heaven! He
who rises to no higher pitch than civility and morality—shall
never have communion with God in glory. The most moral
man in the world, may be both Christless and graceless.

Morality is not sufficient to keep a man out of eternal misery.
All morality can do, is to help a man to one of the best rooms
and easiest beds which hell affords! For, as the moral man's
sins are not so great as others—so his punishments shall not
be so great as others. This is all the comfort that can be given
to a moral man—that he shall have a cooler hell than
others have. But this is but cold comfort.

Morality without piety is as a body without a soul. Will
God ever accept of such a stinking sacrifice? Surely not!

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even
look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have
mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than
the other, went home justified before God." Luke 18:13-14

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A house of fools!

"The heart of fools is in the house of pleasure."
Ecclesiastes 7:4

A fool prefers toys and trifles—above things of greatest
worth. Just so, wicked and ungodly men prefer their lusts
before the Lord. Upon choice, they prefer the honors, the
riches and glory of the world—above their own souls and
the great concerns of eternity.

I have read of the foolish people of Ceylon, who preferred
a consecrated ape's tooth—above an incredible mass of
treasure. Such fools are all unholy people, who prefer the
toys, the trifles of this world—above the pleasures and
treasures which are at God's right hand. The world is
full of such fools.

Says one—"If you behold the lives of men, you will judge
the whole world to be a house of fools!" Ah, friends!
What folly can be compared to that of men's spending
their time, their strength, their lives, their souls—in getting
the great things of this world, and neglecting that one thing
necessary—the salvation of their souls! Oh, what vanity is
it to prefer . . .
a smoke of honor,
a blast of fame,
a dream of pleasure,
a wedge of gold,
a Babylonish garment,
and such like transitory trifles and trash
—before a blessed eternity!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

No dirty dogs shall ever trample upon that golden pavement

Throughout the Scriptures, unholy people are branded, to their
everlasting contempt—with the worst appellations. They are the
most dangerous, and the most harmful beings in the world, and
therefore are emblemized . . .
by lions—for they are cruel, Psalm 22:21;
by bears—for they are savage, Isaiah 11:7;
by dragons—for they are hideous, Ezek. 29:3;
by wolves—for they are ravenous, Ezek. 22:27;
by dogs—for they are snarling, Rev. 22:15;
by vipers and scorpions—for they are stinging, Mat. 12:34, Ezek. 2:6;
by spiders and cockatrices—for they are poisoning, Isaiah 59:5;
by swine—for they are intemperate, Mat. 7:6.

Remember this—that all these stinging expressions and
appellations which disgrace and vilify unholy people, were
inspired by the Holy Spirit, and published in His holy Word.

The glutton is depicted as a swine;
the fraudulent person is depicted as a fox;
the lustful person is depicted as a goat;
the backbiter is depicted as a barking cur;
the slanderer is depicted as an asp;
the oppressor is depicted as a wolf;
the persecutor is depicted as a tiger;
the seducer is depicted as a serpent.

Do you think that God will admit such vermin as unholy people
are—to eternally inhabit His holy heaven? Surely not! God
has long since resolved upon it—that no unclean beasts shall
enter into heaven—that no dirty dogs shall ever trample
upon that golden pavement. Certainly God will not allow
such beasts and toads and snakes and serpents—to forever
live with Him! Heaven is a too holy place to admit such
vermin to inhabit!

"Nothing impure will ever enter it." Revelation 21:27

"Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the
sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone
who loves and practices falsehood." Revelation 22:15

All in heaven are holy: the angels holy, the saints holy—but
the Lord Himself above all, is most glorious in holiness. Now
certainly it would be a hell to these holy ones to have
unholy wretches to be their eternal companions! When the
holy angels fell from their holiness—heaven was so holy that
it spewed them out! Certainly there will be no room in heaven
for such filthy beasts as unholy people are! 'Jerusalem above'
is too glorious a habitation for beasts—or for men of beastly
spirits, or beastly principles, or beastly practices. The city of
the great God was never built for beasts. A wilderness and
not a paradise—is fittest for beasts.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

An ignorant, profane, and soul-flattering clergy

A preacher's life should be a commentary upon his
doctrine; his practice should be the counterpart of his
sermons. Heavenly doctrines should always be adorned
with a heavenly life.

An ignorant, profane, and soul-flattering clergy, are
the greatest pest, plague, affliction and judgment, which
can befall a people! There is no rank nor order of men on
earth, who have so enriched hell, who have been such
benefactors to hell—as the ignorant and profane clergy!
How many are there in these days, who are more ready
and willing to make a sacrifice of the gospel—
for profit's sake,
and preferment's sake,
and honor's sake,
and lust's sake!

Where there is no serious, sincere, faithful, and powerful
preaching—there the people grow abominably wicked, and
will certainly perish, and go tumbling to hell.

Pastors! Either preach as the ministers of Jesus
Christ ought to preach—
plainly,
spiritually,
powerfully,
feelingly,
fervently,
frequently;
and live as the ministers of Jesus Christ ought to live—
heavenly,
graciously,
holily,
humbly,
righteously,
harmlessly,
exemplary
—or else lay down your names of being the ministers of
Jesus Christ. Do not any longer cheat upon yourselves,
nor upon the people—by making them believe that you
are ministers of Jesus Christ, when you have
nothing of the spirit of Christ,
nor of the anointings of Christ,
nor of the grace of Christ,
nor of the life of Christ in you.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The fool's bauble, the fool's fiddle

"The wicked freely strut about, when what is vile is
honored among men." Psalm 12:8

"They love to indulge in evil pleasures." 2 Peter 2:13.

"Their souls delight in their abominations." Isaiah 66:3

Proverbs 10:23, "A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct."
Evil conduct is the fool's bauble, the fool's fiddle.
Fools take great delight and pleasure in doing evil.
Sin and wickedness are a sport or recreation to a fool.
It is a great pleasure and merriment to a fool—to do
wickedness.

Proverbs 14:9, "Fools make a mock of sin." They make a
jeer of sin—which they should fear more than hell itself!
They make a sport of sin—which will prove a matter of
damnation to them. They make a pastime, a game of
sin—which will make them miserable to all eternity. They
make a mock of sin on earth—for which the devil will mock
and flout them forever in hell.

Justice will at last turn over such fools to Satan, who will
be sure to return mock for mock, jeer for jeer, and flout
for flout. Those who love such kind of pastime, shall have
enough of it in hell. All unbelievers are such fools—for
they delight and take pleasure in sin, which is the most
corrupting and dangerous thing in the world. "And so that
all will be condemned who have not believed the truth, but
have delighted in wickedness." 2 Thessalonians 2:12

Well, sirs! Sin is the poison of the soul, the nakedness of
the soul, the disease of the soul, the burden of the soul—
and if God in mercy does not prevent it—sin will prove the
eternal bane of the soul. Oh, then, how great is their folly,
who delight in sin, and who make a sport of it!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Righteousness exalts a nation

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a
disgrace to any people." Proverbs 14:34

It is not valor in war—but righteousness;
it is not policy in government—but righteousness;
it is not wittiness of invention—but righteousness;
it is not civility in behavior—but righteousness;
it is not antiquity of laws—but righteousness;
it is not largeness of dominion—but righteousness;
it is not greatness of command—but righteousness
—which is the honor and the safety, the renown
and the security of a nation.

It is not rich mines of gold and silver, nor armies,
nor councils, nor fleets, nor forts—but justice and
righteousness which exalts a nation; and which will
make a lowly people to become a great, a glorious,
and a famous people in the world. That nation which
exalts righteousness—that nation shall be certainly
exalted by righteousness.

Ah! England, England! If injustice shall grow rampant,
and you shall brandish the sword of protection to the
desperate swearer, and to the cruel oppressor, and to
the roaring drunkard, and to the cursing monster; and
shall be a devouring sword to the upright and godly
in the land—divine vengeance will dig your grave, and
divine justice will tumble you into it!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well, Ladies and Gentlemen

"Without holiness no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14

Well, Ladies and Gentlemen—Do you think that it is good to
be going to hell—that it is good to be dwelling with everlasting
burnings—that it is good to be forever separated from the
glorious presence of God? Do you think that it is good to forever
lie a-sweltering under the wrath of an infinitely just God, and to
abide forever and ever under those pains and torments which
are endless, easeless, hopeless, and remediless? Do you think
that it is good to be fettered with devils and damned spirits for
all eternity?

"Oh no! this cannot be good! for the very thoughts of these
things are enough to raise a hell on this side hell—in our hearts!"

Oh then, with all your might press after holiness, and pursue hard
after holiness—as after the one thing necessary; for without holiness
you shall as certainly go to hell—as holy people shall certainly go to
heaven! Oh that you would forever remember this—that without all
question, you shall never be saved, unless you are sanctified; you
shall never be truly and eternally happy, unless you are truly holy!

"Without holiness no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Oh stand and wonder!

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon
us—that we should be called the sons of God." 1 John 3:1

It is an infinite condescension in God, to honor us with the
title of sons, and therefore we should never think of it, nor
ever speak of it—but with much admiration. O sirs! what
matter of admiration is this—that the great and glorious
God, who has many millions of glorious angels attending
Him—that He should . . .
look upon all holy people as His sons,
and love them as His sons,
and delight in them as His sons,
and clothe them as His sons,
and feed them as His sons,
and protect them as His sons,
and stand by them as His sons,
and lay up for them as His sons,
and lay out Himself for them as His sons;
that those who have not deserved . . .
a smile from God,
a good word from God,
a bit of bread from God,
or a good look from God,
should be made the sons of God!

What manner of love is this—that those who have . . .
so highly provoked God,
walked so cross and contrary to God,
were so exceedingly unlike God,
preferred every lust, and every toy and vanity before God,
fought many years under Satan's banner against God,
refused all the offers of mercy that have been made by God,
—that those who have deserved to be reprobated by God,
damned by God, and to be thrown to hell by God—that
these should be made the sons of God!

Oh stand and wonder! Oh stand and admire the
freeness of His grace, and the riches of His grace!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Splendida peccata