Those Who Hunt After It Are Dogs!
The sermon warns against prioritizing the world over heaven, emphasizing the consequences of such a choice.
Thomas Brooks emphasizes the grave danger of prioritizing worldly pleasures over the eternal soul, warning that many are so captivated by earthly delights that they risk losing their spiritual essence. He illustrates this peril with the Arabic proverb that likens those who chase after worldly gains to dogs, highlighting the folly of valuing transient, carnal satisfaction over the eternal joys found in holiness and communion with God. Brooks calls for a reevaluation of priorities, urging believers to seek the true treasures of heaven rather than the empty pursuits of this life.
Text
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!
Sermon Outline
- The Loss of the Soul
- The World's Allure
- The Consequences of Prioritizing the World
- Professors who prioritize the world over heaven are dogs
- They hunt after earthly things rather than celestial things
Key Quotes
“The world is a carcass--and those who hunt after it are dogs!” — Thomas Brooks
“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,” — Thomas Brooks
Application Points
- Prioritize your relationship with God over worldly desires.
- Recognize the emptiness and nothingness of worldly things compared to the fullness and sweetness of God, Christ, heaven, and holiness.
- Seek to delight in the beauties of holiness and heavenly glory rather than sensual delights.