03 The Beatitudes (choice excerpts) cont'd
The Beatitudes (choice excerpts) cont’d
"The Father of mercies and the God of all comfort." 2 Corinthians 1:3
Christians should look upon God under this notion—the Father of all mercy, sitting upon a throne of grace. We should
We should run to our Father with our sins, as that sick child who, as soon as he found himself ill—he ran to his father to help him, "My head! My head!" 2 Kings 4:19 So in case of sin—run to God and say: "My heart! My heart! O this dead heart—Father, quicken it! This hard heart—Father, soften it! Father, my heart, my heart!"
We should run to our Father with our temptations. A child, when another strikes him, runs to his father. So when the devil strikes us with his temptations, let us run to our Father: "Father, Satan assaults and hurls in his fiery darts at me! Father, it is Your child who is
assaulted by this red dragon! Father, take off the tempter!"
"Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares about you!" 1 Peter 5:7. What a sweet privilege is this! When any burden lies upon our hearts—we may go to our Father and unload all our cares and griefs into His loving bosom! "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will support you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken!" Psalms 55:22
"I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin." John 8:34
"You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires!"John 8:44
It is the sad misery of an unregenerate person, that he is in a state of vassalage. He is under the tyranny of sin. "It is the greatest slavery in the world for a man to be a slave to his own passions!"
A wicked man is as much a slave—as he who works in the galley! Look into his heart—and there are legions of lusts ruling him! He must do what sin will have him to do. A slave is at the service of a usurping tyrant. If he bids him dig in the mine, or hew in the quarries, or tug at the oar—he must do it. Thus every wicked man must do what corrupt nature, inspired by the devil, bids him to do. If sin bids him to be drunk, or to be unchaste—he is at the command of sin, as the donkey is at the command of the driver.
"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." Romans 6:22
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Sin lays a heavy yoke upon men. The commands of sin are burdensome. Let a man be under the power and rage of any lust (whether it be covetousness or ambition), how he tires and excruciates himself! What hazards does he run, even to the endangering of his health and soul, that he may satisfy his lust!
"Virtue is easier than vice." Temperance is easier than drunkenness. Doing justice is less burdensome than crime. There is more difficulty and perplexity in the contrivement and pursuit of wicked ends—than in obeying the sweet and gentle precepts of Christ.
Hence it is, that a wicked man is said to ’pregnant with evil and conceives trouble’ (Psalms 7:14), to show what anxious pain and trouble he has in bringing about his wickedness! Many have gone with more pain to hell—than others have to heaven!
"Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are Mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:1-3
He has as much love in His heart to pity us, and as much strength in His arm to help us!
"To you who believe,
See the preciousness in Christ.
His name is precious; it is as ointment poured forth. His blood is precious; it is as balm poured forth. His love is precious; it is as wine poured forth.
Jesus Christ is made up of all sweets and delights. He Himself is all that is desirable. He is . . .light to the eye, honey to the taste, joy to the heart.
"Yes, He is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!" Song of Solomon 5:16
We truly love Christ, when we love Him for His loveliness, namely—that infinite and superlative beauty which shines in Him.
"Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her!" Ephesians 5:25
Love made our dear Lord suffer for us. The pelican out of her love to her young ones, when they are bitten by serpents, feeds them with her own blood to recover them. Just so,
"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it!" Ephesians 3:19
"In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the
flaming arrows of the evil one!" Ephesians 6:16
"Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the
world—even our faith." 1 John 5:4
Why is faith
Faith unites the soul to Christ, and that blessed Head sends forth grace into the members. "I can do all things through Christ, who give me strength!" Php 4:13. Faith goes to Christ—and fetches His strength into the soul.
Faith works a contempt of the world into the heart. Faith gives a true map of the world, "When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve—everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun!" Ecclesiastes 2:11
Faith shows the world in its night-dress, having all its jewels pulled off. Faith makes the world appear in its true state. Faith shows the soul better things than the world. It gives a sight of Christ and eternal glory. It gives a prospect of heaven. Faith climbs up above sense
and reason, into heaven and sees Christ—and the soul, having once viewed His superlative excellencies, becomes crucified to the world. Says the Christian, "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!" Php 3:8
Faith gets strength from God’s promises. Faith lives upon the promises. Take the fish out of the water—and it dies. Take faith out of a promise—and it cannot live. The promises are breasts of consolation. The child by sucking the breast, gets strength. Faith gets strength by sucking the breast of a promise. When faith begins to be weak and is ready to faint in the day of battle, then the promises muster their forces together, and all come in for faith’s relief—and now it is able to hold out in the fiery trial.
Faith gives the soul a right notion of suffering. Faith draws the true picture of sufferings. What is suffering? Faith says, "it is but the suffering of the body—which must shortly by
the course of nature, drop into the dust." Thus faith gives the soul a just measure of sufferings—which enables a Christian to prostrate his life at the feet of Christ.
Faith picks sweetness out of suffering. The bee gathers the sweetest honey from the bitterest herb. So faith gathers the sweetest comforts, from the sharpest trials. Faith looks upon suffering as God’s love-token! "Afflictions are sharp arrows—but they are shot from the hand of a loving Father!" Faith can taste honey at the end of the afflicting rod. Faith fetches joy out of suffering, "Your sorrow will turn to joy!" John 16:20. Faith gets honey from the belly of the lion. Faith finds a jewel under the cross! "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
"Be clothed with humility." 1 Peter 5:5
Humility is
"I will spare them as a father spares an obedient and dutiful child." Malachi 3:17
God will bear with many infirmities in His children. A father bears much with a child he loves. We often grieve the Spirit, and abuse His kindness. God will pass by much disobedience in His children.
"He has not seen iniquity in Jacob." Numbers 23:21 God’s love does not make Him blind. He sees sin in His people—but not with an eye of revenge. He see their sins with an eye of pity. He sees sin in His children as a physician sees a disease in his patient. He has not seen iniquity in Jacob, so as to destroy him. God may use the rod (2 Samuel 7:14), not the scorpion. O how much is God willing to pass by in His children—because they are His children!
God takes notice of the good that is in His children—and passes by the infirmity. God does quite contrary to us. We often take notice of the evil that is in others and overlook the good. Our eye is upon the flaws of others. But God takes notice of the good that is in His children.
God sees their faith—and winks at their failings! "Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord." The Holy Spirit does not mention her unbelief and laughing at the promise—but takes notice of the good in her. God puts his finger upon
How much did God wink at, in Israel His firstborn! Israel often provoked Him with their murmurings—but God answered their murmurings with mercies. He spared them—as a father spares his son.
They godly often spot themselves with sin.
Though sin is in itself deadly—but being tempered with repentance and mixed with
Those who are God’s children, are of a more noble and celestial spirit than men of the world. They "set their minds on things above, not on earthly things"(Colossians 3:2). ’Whoever is born of God, overcomes the world’ (1 John 5:4). The children of God live in a higher region. They are compared to eagles (Isaiah 40:31) in regard of their sublimeness and heavenly mindedness. Their souls are fled aloft. Christ is in their heart (Colossians 1:27) and the world is under their feet (Revelation 12:1).
Men of the world are ever tumbling in thick clay. They are ’sons of earth’.
"You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." Colossians 3:9-10
The child resembles the father. God’s children are like their heavenly Father. They bear His very image and impress.
Wicked men say they are the children of God—but there is too great an unlikeness. The Jews bragged that they were Abraham’s children—but Christ disproves them by this argument, because they were not like Him. "You are determined to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do uch things!" (John 8:40). "You—Abraham’s children, and go about to kill Me! You are more like Satan, than Abraham!" "You are of your father the devil!" (verse 44). Such as are proud, earthly, and malicious may truly say, "
the wax—so does God stamp the print and image of His own beauty upon His children.
All mankind are divided into two ranks—either they are the children of God, or the children of the devil.
The first sign of heavenly sonship, is tenderness of heart. "Because your heart was tender" (2 Chronicles 34:27). A childlike heart is a tender heart. He who before had a flinty heart—has now a fleshy heart. A tender heart is like melting wax to God. He may set whatever seal He will upon it. This tenderness of heart shows itself three ways.
[1] A tender heart grieves for sin. A child weeps for offending his father. Peter showed a tender heart when Christ looked upon him and he remembered his sin, and wept like a child. It is reported that Peter never heard a rooster crow, but he wept. The least hair makes the eye weep. The least sin makes the heart smite.
[2] A tender heart melts under mercy. The heart is never so kindly dissolved, as under the sunbeams of God’s mercy. See how David’s heart was melted with God’s kindness: "Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far?" (2 Samuel 7:18)
There was a gracious thaw upon his heart. So says a child of God, "Lord, who am I—a piece of dust and sin kneaded together—that the orient beams of free grace should shine upon me? Who am I, that You should pity me when I lay in my blood—and spread the golden wings of mercy over me!" The soul is overcome with God’s goodness—the tears drop, and the love flames. God’s mercy has a melting influence upon the soul.
[3] A tender heart trembles under God’s threatenings. "My flesh trembles in fear of You!" (Psalms 119:120). If the father is angry—the child trembles. When ministers denounce
the threats of God against sin—tender souls sit in a trembling posture. This trembling frame of heart, God delights in. "To this man will I look, even to him who trembles at Your word!"
(Isaiah 66:2). A wicked man, like the Leviathan, ’is made without fear’ (Job 41:33). He neither believes God’s promises—nor dreads God’s threatenings. Let judgment be denounced against sin—he laughs. He thinks that
"You are of purer eyes than to behold evil." Habakkuk 1:13
God is holy. Purity is the chief robe with which God adorns Himself. Will this holy God endure to have an impure heart come near Him? Will a man lay a viper in his bosom! God’s image consists in holiness. To those who do not have this image and superscription
upon them, He will say "I never knew you!" God delights in no heart, but where He may see His own likeness. Love is founded upon likeness. God loves the pure in heart.
The holy God and the unrepentant sinner—cannot dwell together. None can dwell together but friends—but there is no friendship between God and the sinner, both of them being of a contrary judgment and disposition. An impure heart is
Heaven is a pure place. It is an "undefiled inheritance" 1 Peter 1:4. No unclean beasts shall come intothe heavenly ark! "Nothing evil will be allowed to enter!" Revelation 21:27
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8. Purity of heart is the jewel which is hung only upon the elect! Chastity distinguishes a virtuous woman from a harlot. Just so, the true Christian is distinguished from the hypocrite—by his heart-purity.
"Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are defiled." Titus 1:15
Until the heart is pure—all our holy things (that is—our religious duties) are polluted. They are but splendid sins!
Under the law, whatever a leper touched was unclean. If he had touched the altar or sacrifice, the altar would not cleanse him—but he would defile the altar.
A filthy hand defiles the purest water. Just so, an impure heart defiles all religious duties—he drops poison upon them all.
A pure stream running through muddy ground, is polluted. Just so, the holiest duties, running through an impure heart, are polluted. A sinner’s works are called "dead works" (Hebrews 6:1) And those works which are dead, cannot please God.
"Covetousness which is idolatry." Colossians 3:5
Covetousness is the root of idolatry. The covetous person bows down to the image of gold. His money is his god—for he puts his trust in it.
Money is his creator. When he has abundance of wealth, then he thinks he is ’made’.
Money is his redeemer. If he is in any trouble, he flies to his money and that must redeem him.
Money is his comforter. When he is sad he counts over his money, and with this golden harp he drives away the evil spirit.
When you see a covetous man, you may say, "There goes an idolater!"
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An unbelieving heart is evil in the highest degree. It is full of the poison of hell. Unbelief is the foul medley of all sins—the root and receptacle of sin.
Unbelief is a God-affronting sin. It calls in question God’s power, mercy and truth. "The one who does not believe God, is actually calling God a liar!" Can a greater affront be cast upon the God of glory!
Unbelief hardens the heart. These two sins are linked together—"He upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart" (Mark 16:14). Unbelief breeds the stone of the heart. He who does not believe God’s threatenings—will never fear Him. He who does not believe God’s promises—will never love Him. What is said of the Leviathan, is true of the unbeliever. "Its heart is as hard as rock, as hard as a millstone!" (Job 41:24). Unbelief first pollutes the heart—and then hardens it!
Holiness is the angels’ glory. They are pure virgin-spirits. Take away purity from an angel—and he is but a devil!
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8
The heart must especially be kept pure, because the heart is the chief seat or place of God’s residence. God dwells in the heart. He takes up the heart for His own lodging, therefore it must be pure and holy.
A king’s palace must be kept from defilement, and especially his throne. How holy ought that to be! If the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the heart is the holy of holies! Oh take heed of defiling the room where God chiefly dwells! Let that room be washed with holy tears!
The heart must especially be pure, because it is the heart which sanctifies all that we do. If the heart is holy, all is holy—our affections holy, our duties holy.
Purity of heart is that which beautifies a soul in God’s eye. You are but a spiritual leper—until you are pure in heart. God is in love with the pure heart, for He sees His own picture drawn there. The pure in heart, have the embroidery and workmanship of the Holy Spirit upon them.
The pure heart is God’s paradise where He delights to walk. It is God’s lesser heaven. The dove delights in the purest air. The Holy Spirit who descended in the likeness of a dove, delights in the purest soul. God says of the pure in heart, as of Zion, "This is My rest forever, here will I dwell" (Psalms 132:14).
God loves the loveliest complexion. The pure in heart is Christ’s bride, decked and bespangled with the jewels of holiness. "You have ravished My heart with one of your eyes!" (Song of Solomon 4:9). Your eyes, that is, your graces; these as a chain of diamonds, have drawn My heart to you.
Of all hearts, God loves the pure heart best. You who dress yourself by the looking-glass of the Word and adorn ’the hidden person of your heart’, are most precious in God’s eyes, though you may be as bleary eyed as Leah, or as lame as Barzillai. Yet being ’pure in heart’, you are the mirror of beauty and may say "Yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord!"
(Isaiah 49:5). How may this raise the esteem of purity!
Before conversion, the sinner is compared . . .to a stone for his hardness of heart (Zechariah 7:12), to a wolf for his savageness (Matthew 7:15) to a lion for his fierceness (Isaiah 11:6),
to a bee for his sting (Psalms 118:12), to an adder for his poison (Psalms 140:3).
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Matthew 5:6
Here is the excellency of righteousness above all other things. A man may hunger after the world and not be filled. The world is
A man may be filled and not satisfied. A sinner may take his fill of sin—but that is a sad filling. It is far from satisfaction. He shall have his belly full of sin; he shall have enough of it—but this is not a filling to satisfaction. This is such a filling that the damned in hell have! They shall be full of the fury of the Lord!
The love of sin makes sin taste sweet, and this sweetness in sin bewitches the heart.
It is worse to love sin than to commit it. A man may be overtaken with sin (Galatians 6:1). He
who has stumbled upon sin unawares will weep—but the love of sin hardens the heart and keeps the devil in possession. In true mourning there must be a grieving for sin. But how can a man grieve for that sin which his heart is in love with?
"I will have peace even though I follow my own stubborn heart." Deuteronomy 29:19
How many, spider-like,
leads to presumption.
O sinner, do not hope yourself into hell. Take heed of being damned upon a presumption! You say "God is merciful"—and therefore you go on securely in sin. But who is mercy for—the unrepentant sinner or the mourning sinner? ’Let the wicked forsake his way, and return to the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him’ (Isaiah 55:7). No mercy without forsaking sin!
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Millions of people mistake both the nature of happiness, and the way there. Some of the learned have noted
How do men thirst after the world—as if the pearl of happiness hung upon an earthly crown! "Oh," says one, "if I had but such an estate—then I would be happy! Had I but such a comfort—then I would sit down satisfied!" Well, God gives him that comfort and lets him suck the very juice out of it—but, alas, it falls short of his expectation. It cannot fill the emptiness and longing of his soul!
Happiness does not lie in the acquisition of worldly things. Happiness cannot by any chemistry—be extracted from the world. Christ does not say, ’Happy are the rich,’ or ’Happy are the noble.’ Yet too many idolize these things. How ready is man to terminate his happiness in external worldly things! If they have but worldly accommodations, they are ready to say with that brutish fool in the gospel, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years, take your ease—eat, drink and be merry!"
But alas! The tree of happiness does not grow in an earthly paradise. Has not God ’cursed the ground’ because of sin? Yet many are digging for happiness here—as if they would fetch a blessing out of a curse! A man may as well think to extract oil out of a stone, or fire out of water—as happiness out of earthly things!
King Solomon had more worldly things than any man. His crown was hung full of jewels. He had treasuries of gold. He had the flower and quintessence of all delights—sumptuous fare, stately edifices, vineyards, lands, all sorts of music to enchant and ravish the senses with joy. If there were any rarity—it was present in king Solomon’s court. Thus did he bathe in the perfumed waters of pleasure.
Never did the world cast a more smiling aspect upon any man! Yet when he comes to give his impartial verdict, he tells us that the world has ’vanity’ written upon its frontispiece; and all those golden delights he enjoyed, were but a painted felicity—a glorious misery! "Behold! All was vanity!" Happiness is too noble and delicate a plant, to grow in this world’s soil. Worldly joys are but sugared lies—pleasant deceits—which have not one grain of true happiness! Nothing on earth can satisfy the soul’s desires!
"The world passes away!" (1 John 2:17). Worldly delights are winged. They may be compared to a flock of birds in the garden—which stay a little while—but when you come near to them—they take their flight and are gone! Just so, "riches make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven!" They are like a meteor which blazes—but soon burns out. They are like a castle made of snow—lying under the fiery beams of the sun. Worldly comforts are like tennis balls—which are bandied up and down from one to another. They are like a bouquet of flowers—which withers while you are smelling it. They are like ice—which melts away while it is in your hand.
Those things which do more vex than comfort—cannot make a man truly happy. As riches are compared to wind—to show their vanity; so they are compared to thorns—to show their vexation. Thorns are not more apt to tear our garments—than riches to tear our hearts! They are thorns in the gathering—and they prick with anxious care. They pierce the head with care of getting, so they wound the heart with fear of losing. Happiness is not to be fetched out of the earth! Worldly comforts cannot make you happy. You might live rich—and die cursed! You might treasure up an estate—and God might treasure up wrath!
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A righteous person breathes after holiness (Psalms 119:5). Though sin cleaves to his heart—yet his heart does not cleave to sin. "I do the very thing I hate!" (Romans 7:15).
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"Behold! How great is the love the Father has lavished on us—that we should be called children of God!" 1 John 3:1
God showed power in making us His creatures—but love in making us His sons. Plato gave God thanks that He had made him a man and not a beast—but what cause have they to adore God’s love—who has made them His children! That we may the better behold God’s love in making us His children, consider three things.
1. We were deformed—so did not DESERVE to be made God’s children. God did not adopt us when we were clothed with the robe of innocence in paradise, when we were hung with the jewels of holiness; but when we were in our blood and had our leprous spots upon us! The time of our loathing—was the time of God’s loving!
2. As we did not deserve to be made God’s children, so neither did we DESIRE it. No rich man will force another to become his heir against his will. If a king should go to adopt
a beggar and make him heir of the crown, if the beggar should refuse the king’s favor and say, ’I had rather be a beggar still—I do not want your riches’; the king would take it in high
contempt of his favor, and would not adopt him against his will. Thus it was with us. We had no willingness to be made God’s children. We desired to be beggars still—but God out
of his infinite mercy and indulgence, not only offers to make us children—but makes us willing to embrace the offer (Psalms 110:3). What stupendous love was this!
3. It is the wonder of love that God should adopt us for His children, when we were ENEMIES. No man would adopt an enemy to be his heir. But that God should make
us Hs children—when we were His enemies; that He should make us heirs to the crown—when we were traitors to the crown—oh amazing, astonishing love!
We had done God all the injury and spite we could, defaced His image, violated His law, trampled upon His mercies—but when we had angered Him, He adopted us! What stupendous love was this! Such love was never shown to the angels! When they fell, God did not make them children—but prisoners. They were heirs only to ’the treasures of wrath’! (Romans 2:5).
Let us admire His wondrous love. When we were breathing forth enmity against God—He conquered our stubbornness with kindness, and not only pardoned—but adopted us! It is
hard to say which is greater—the mystery, or the mercy. This is such amazing love as we shall be searching into and adoring to all eternity! The bottom of it cannot be fathomed by any angel in heaven. God’s love in making us His children is a rich love. It is love in God to feed us—but it is rich love to adopt us! It is love to give us a crumb—but it is rich love to make us heirs to a crown!
It is a distinguishing love, that when God has passed by so many millions, He should cast a favorable aspect upon you! Most are made vessels of wrath, and fuel for hell. And that God should say to you, ’You are My son!’—here is
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"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8
If the heart is not pure, we differ nothing from a
"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers
of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven!" Matthew 5:20
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"When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong." (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
God forbears punishing—therefore men forbear repenting. He does not smite upon their back by correction—therefore they do not smite upon their thigh by humiliation (Jeremiah 31:19). The sinner thinks thus: "God has spared me all this while; surely He will not punish me." "He says to himself—God has forgotten; He covers His face and never sees!" (Psalms 10:11).
In infinite patience God sometimes adjourns His judgments a while longer. He is not willing to punish (2 Peter 3:9). God is like the bee, which naturally gives honey—but stings only when it is provoked. But alas, how is His patience abused! God’s patience hardens most. Because God stops the vial of His wrath—sinners stop the conduit of tears!
To be hardened under God’s patience, makes our condition far worse. Incensed justice will revenge abused patience! God was patient towards Sodom—but when they did not repent, He made the fire and brimstone flame about their ears! Sodom, which was once the wonder of God’s patience—is now a standing monument of God’s severity. Long forbearance is no forgiveness. God may keep off the stroke awhile—but His justice is not dead—but only
sleeps. God has leaden feet but iron hands. The longer God is taking His blow—the sorer it will be when it comes. The longer a stone is falling—the heavier it will be at last. The longer God is whetting his sword—the sharper it cuts!
How dreadful will their condition be—who sin because God is patient with them.
with a sinner—the more interest he is sure to pay in hell.
"Blessed are those who mourn." Matthew 5:4
Gospel-mourning is joined with self-loathing. The sinner admires himself—the penitent loathes himself. "You shall loath yourselves in your own sight for all your evils." Ezekiel 20:43 A true penitent is troubled not only for the shameful consequence of sin—but for the loathsome nature of sin; not only the sting of sin—but the deformed face of sin. The true mourner cries out, "O these impure eyes! O this heart which is a conclave of wickedness!" He not only leaves sin—but loathes sin.
Gospel-mourning must be purifying. Our tears must make us more holy. We must so weep for sin, as to weep out sin. Our tears must drown our sins. We must not only mourn—but turn. "Turn to me with weeping" (Joel 2:12). What good is it, to have
wherein Naaman washed and was cleansed of his leprosy. Though our sins be as scarlet—yet by washing in this river of repentance, they become white as snow.
Gospel-mourning must be joined with hatred of sin. We must not only abstain from sin—but abhor sin. The dove hates the least feather of the hawk. A true mourner hates the least motion to sin. A true mourner is a sin-hater. He looks upon sin as the most deadly evil—as the essence of all evil. Sin looks more ghastly than death or hell. A true mourner is implacably incensed against sin. He will never admit of any terms of peace. Anger may be reconciled—hatred cannot. True mourning begins in the love of God—and ends in the hatred of sin.
There is that in the best Christian, which is contrary to God. There is that in him, which deserves hell—and shall he not mourn? A ship that is always leaking must have the water continually pumped out. While the soul leaks by sin, we must be still pumping at the leak by repentance. The washing of our souls daily in the brinish waters of repentance, is the best way both to prevent and cure the falling into relapses.
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He who has a heavenly spirit—shall go to the heavenly kingdom. Do you live above the world? The eagle does not catch flies—she soars aloft in the air. Do you pant after glory and immortality? Do you abhor that which is sordid and carnal? Can you trample upon all sublunary things? Is heaven in your eye—and Christ in your heart—and the world under your feet