02.07. Holiness
HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness The Necessity, Excellency, Rarity, and Beauty of Holiness Thomas Brooks, 1662
CHOICE QUOTES
"We know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Rom 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
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.
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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, 1Co 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, "
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There are no people under heaven, who take any real
"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 Solomon 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 Solomon 5:10, Song of Solomon 5:16
"I delight greatly in the Lord! My soul rejoices in my God!" Isa 61:10
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"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" 1Jn 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!
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" 1Jn 3:1
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The holy Christian is the greatest miracle.
He can tell you that he was so
He can tell you that once he was so
He can tell you that once he was so
He can tell you that once he was so
Yes, he can tell you that once he was so
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!
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"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." Mat 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
"Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah!" Gen 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
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"Who is like You, glorious in holiness?" Exo 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." 1Jn 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.
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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." 1Pe 1:15. God’s holiness is the copy which we must always have in our eye, and endeavor most exactly to write after.
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"Therefore, put to death whatever in you is worldly: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry." Col 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
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.
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"You cannot serve both God and Money." Luk 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
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 thetreasures 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." 1Ti 6:9-10
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"Those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified." Rom 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
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.
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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." Php 3:8
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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
True repentance lies in a daily dying to sin, and in a daily living to Him who lives forever.
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"They delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil." Pro 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
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!
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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
"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." 1Th 5:23
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"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of covetousness; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luk 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?" Luk 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.
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." 1Ti 6:9-10
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"The Lord has heard the voice of my weeping." Psa 6:8
"I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears." Isa 38:5
A sinner’s face never shines so beautiful, as when it is bedewed with penitential tears.
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The Scripture is
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!" Psa 119:97
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"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
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.
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"The leaders of the people have led them down the path of destruction." Isa 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
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." 1Ti 4:16
"Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1Ti 4:12
"In everything set them an example by doing what is good." Tit 2:7
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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
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"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." Mat 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
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." Mat 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, Mat 8:28-34. When they saw what a sad market their
hogs were brought to, they desired Christ to depart out of their country.
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"Our God is a consuming fire." Heb 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
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." 1Th 5:9
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"Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs!" Num 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
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Holiness will render you most beautiful and amiable. As holiness is the beauty of God, and the beauty of angels—so it is
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.
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"Having nothing—and yet possessing all things." 2Co 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
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 "
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.
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"He who says he abides in Him, ought himself also to walk even as He walked." 1Jn 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
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"Death has been swallowed up in victory!" 1Co 15:54
DEATH is
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!" 1Co 15:54
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"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 homosexualoffenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1Co 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." 1Co 6:11.
Oh, the infinite goodness!
Oh, the infinite grace!
Oh, the infinite wisdom and power of God—which has pardoned, washed, sanctified, and cleansed
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.
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By
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!
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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
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"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." Zec 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 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." 1Co 10:31
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"Yet they say to God—Leave us alone! We have no desire to know Your ways." Job 21:14
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.
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"I hate every false way." Psa 119:104
Where there is real holiness, there is a
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, (Jdg 8:1-35,)—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.
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"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new!" 2Co 5:17
In every saved person, there are
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Genuine holiness will yield you a heaven hereafter; but
Well, remember this—next to a man’s being saved, it is the greatest mercy in this world—to know that he is saved.
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"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." Luk 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
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." Luk 18:13-14
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