Love (Ii)
The sermon emphasizes the importance of desiring God's love and allowing it to consume our lesser desires.
George Herbert preaches about the transformative power of God's love and the need for our hearts to be kindled with true desires that consume our worldly lusts. He emphasizes the surrender of our inventions and praises to God, allowing His fire to ignite within us. Through this surrender, our eyes are opened to see God's glory, and all will eventually bow before Him and praise the One who restores and heals us.
Text
Immortal Heat, O let thy greater flame Attract the lesser to it: let those fires, Which shall consume the world, first make it tame; And kindle in our hearts such true desires, As may consume our lusts, and make thee way. Then shall our hearts pant thee; then shall our brain All her invention on thine Altar lay, And there in hymns send back thy fire again: Our eyes shall see thee, which before saw dust; Dust blown by wit, till that they both were blind: Thou shalt recover all thy goods in kind, Who wert disseized by usurping lust: All knees shall bow to thee; all wits shall rise, And praise him who did make and mend our eyes.
Sermon Outline
- The Call to Desire
- The Heart's Response
- The Result of True Desire
- Seeing God, not dust
- Recovery of goods taken by lust
- Universal praise for God's work
Key Quotes
“Immortal Heat, O let thy greater flame Attract the lesser to it: let those fires, Which shall consume the world, first make it tame;” — George Herbert
“Then shall our hearts pant thee; then shall our brain All her invention on thine Altar lay,” — George Herbert
Application Points
- We should desire God's love and allow it to consume our lesser desires.
- When we pant for God, we should lay all our invention and praise at His altar.
- Seeing God, not dust, leads to the recovery of goods taken by lust and universal praise for God's work.