September 23

The thought of foolishness is sin.—Proverbs 24:9.

DO I realize that God looks not only to the outward conduct, but to the heart—to the motives, the feelings, the affections; and that in his sight the thought, or intent of sin, is as truly chargeable with guilt as the actual perpetration itself? Do I, then, watch against the first risings of sinful thought in my heart, and strive to keep it from gaining ground and so leading on to outward transgression, knowing that it is offensive to God, and is to be repented of as truly as visible sinfulness?

As the heart is, so will the life be in the sight of God, for to him our thoughts, desires and dispositions are the clear evidence of character.—T. SCOTT.

The guilty deed is often but the dark shadow of the guilty thought; and this it is on which God frowns. It is this which in the silence of midnight, or in the solitude of the desert, or even amid the outward devotions of the sanctuary, may pollute the soul with stains and guilt which we are prone to think are only chargeable to the outward act. But God judges by what the heart is.

With self-accusing voice within,

The conscience tells of many a sin,

In thought, and word, and deed;

Cleanse thou that conscience from each stain,

The penitent restore again,

From every burden freed!