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33 - Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse XIII - Sermons on Several Occasions · Sacred Texts Archive

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Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount Discourse thirteen. Not every one that saith
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unto me, Lord Lord, shall enter it in the Kingdom of heaven.
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But he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven.
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Many will say to me in that day, Lord Lord, have we not
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prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And
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in thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them
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I never knew you, depart from me ye that work iniquity. Therefore,
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whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto
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a wise man which built his house upon a rock, And the rain descended,
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and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house,
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and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock. And every
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one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto
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a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended,
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and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house,
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and it fell, And great was the fall of it. Matthew seven,
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Verses twenty one twenty seven. Our divine Teacher, having declared the whole
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counsel of God with regard to the way of Salvation, and observed the chief
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hindrances of those who desire to walk therein, now closes the whole with these
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weighty words, thereby, as it were, setting his seal to his prophecy,
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and impressing his whole authority on what he had delivered, that it might
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stand firm to all generations. For thus set the Lord, that none may
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ever conceive there is any other way than this. Not everyone that saith unto
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me, Lord Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. But he
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that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. Many will
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say to me in that day, Lord Lord, have we not prophesied in
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thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy
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name done many wonderful works? And then, while I profess unto them,
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I never knew you depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore,
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everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto
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a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended,
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and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house,
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and it fell, and great was the fall of it. I design
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in the following discourse first to consider the case of him who thus builds his
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house of Fama's hand. Secondly to show the wisdom of him who builds upon
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a rock, and thirdly to conclude with a practical application. And first I
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am to consider the case of him who builds his house a Fama's hand.
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It is concerning him, our Lord, saith not everyone that saith unto me,
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Lord Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And this is
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a decree which cannot pass, which standeth fast forever and ever. It therefore
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imports us, in the highest degree thoroughly to understand the force of these words.
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Now, what are we to understand by that expression that saith unto me,
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Lord Lord? It undoubtedly means that thinks of going to Heaven by any
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other way than that which I have now described. It therefore implies to begin
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at the lowest point, all good words, all verbal religion. It includes
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whatever creeds we may rehearse, whatever professions of faith we make, whatever number
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of prayers we may repeat, whatever thanksgivings we read or say to God.
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We may speak good of his name and declare his loving kindness to the children
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of men. We may be talking of all his mighty acts and telling of
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his salvation from day to day. By comparing spiritual things with spiritual we may
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show the meaning of the oracles of God. We may explain the mysteries of
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His kingdom which have been hid from the beginning of the world. We may
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speak with the tongues of angels rather than men, concerning the deep things of
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God. We may proclaim to sinners, behold the lamb of God who taketh
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away the sin of the world. Yeay, we may do this with such
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a measure of the power of God and such demonstration of his spirit as to
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save many souls from death and hide a multitude of sins. And yet it
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is very possible all this may be no more than saying, Lord Lord,
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After I have thus successfully preached to others, still I myself may be a
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castaway. I may, in the hand of God snatch many souls from hell,
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and yet drop into it when I have done. I may bring many
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others to the Kingdom of Heaven, and yet myself never enter there. Reader,
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if God hath ever blessed my word to thy soul, pray that he
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may be merciful to me a sinner. The saying Lord Lord may secondly imply
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the doing no harm. We may abstain from every presumptuous sin, from every
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kind of outward wickedness. We may refrain from all those ways of acting or
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speaking which are forbidden in Holy writ. We may be able to say to
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all those among whom we live, which of you convinceth me of sin?
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We may have a conscious void of any external offense towards God and towards man.
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We may be clear of all uncleanness, ungodliness, and unrighteousness as to
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the outward act or, as the apostle testifies concerning himself touching the righteousness of
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the law, that is outward righteousness blameless. But yet we are not hereby
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justified. Still, this is no more than saying, Lord Lord. And
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if we go no farther than this, we shall never enter into the Kingdom
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of Heaven. The saying Lord Lord may imply. Thirdly, many of what
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are usually styled good works. A man may attend the Supper of the Lord,
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may hear abundance of excellent sermons and omit no opportunity of partaking all the
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other ordinances of God. I may do good to my neighbor, deal my
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bread to the hungry, and cover the naked with a garment. I may
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be so zealous of good works as even to give all my goods to feed
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the poor. Yea. And I may do all this with a desire to
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please God, and a real belief that I do please Him thereby, which
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is undeniably the case of those our Lord introduces saying unto him, Lord Lord.
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And still I may have no part in the glory which shall be revealed.
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If any man marvels at this, let him acknowledge he is a stranger
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to the whole religion of Jesus Christ, and in particular to that perfect portraiture
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thereof which he has set before us in this discourse. For how far short
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is all this of that righteousness and true holiness which he has described therein,
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How widely distant from that inward kingdom of Heaven which is now opened in the
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believing soul, which is first sown in the heart as a grain of mustard
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seed, but afterwards putteth forth great branches on which grow all the fruits of
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righteousness, every good temper, and word and work. Yet as clearly as
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he had declared this, as frequently as he had repeated that none who have
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not this Kingdom of God within them shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven,
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our Lord well knew that many would not receive this saying, and therefore confirms
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it yet again many saith He not one, not a few. Only it
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is not a rare or an uncommon case shall say unto me in that day.
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Not only we have said many prayers, we have spoken thy praise,
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We have refrained from evil. We have exercised ourselves in doing good. But
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what is abundantly more than this, we have prophesied in thy name. In
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thy name have we cast out devils in thy name, done many wonderful works.
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We have prophesied. We have declared thy will to mankind. We have
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shown sinners the way to peace and glory. And we have done this in
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thy name, according to the truth of thy gospel. Yea, and by
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thy authority, who didst confirm the word with the holy ghosts sent down from
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heaven. For in or by thy name, by the power of thy word
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and of thy spirit, have we cast out devils out of the souls which
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they have long claimed as their own, and whereof they had full and quiet
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possession. And in thy name, by thy power, not our own,
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have we done many wonderful works, insomuch that even the dead heard the voice
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of the Son of God speaking by us, and lived. And then will
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I profess even unto them, I never knew you, know not then when
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you were casting out devils in my name. Even then I did not know
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you as my own. For your heart was not right toward God. Ye
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were not yourselves meek and lowly. Ye were not lovers of God and of
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all mankind. Ye were not renewed in the image of God. Ye were
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not holy as I am holy. Depart from me, ye who, notwithstanding
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all this, are workers of iniquity and emiah, Ye are transgressors of My
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law, my law of holy and perfect love. It is to put this
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beyond all possibility of contradiction, that our Lord confirms it by that opposite comparison.
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Everyone said, he who heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not,
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shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand.
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And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew
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and beat upon that house, as they will surely do sooner or later upon
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every soul of man, even the floods of outward affliction or inward temptation,
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the storms of pride, anger, fear, or desire. And it fell,
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And great was the fall of it, so that it perished forever and
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ever. Such must be the portion of all who rest in anything short of
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that religion which is above described, And the greater will therefore be. Because
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they heard those sayings, and yet did them not. I am secondly to
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show the wisdom of him that doeth them that buildeth his house upon our rock.
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He indeed is wise, who doeth the will of my Father, which
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is in heaven. He is truly wise, whose righteousness exceeds the righteousness of
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the scribes and Pharisees. He is poor in spirit, knowing himself even as
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also he is known. He sees and feels all his sin and all his
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guilt, till it is washed away by the atoning blood. He is conscious
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of his lost estate, of the wrath of God abiding on him, and
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of his utter inability to help himself, till he is filled with peace and
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joy in the Holy Ghost. He is meek and gentle, patient toward all
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men, never returning evil for evil, or railing for railing, but contrariwise
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blessing till he overcomes evil with good. His soul is a thirst for nothing
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on earth, but only for God, the Living God. He has bowels
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of love for all man kind, and is ready to lay down his life
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for his enemies. He loves the Lord his God with all his heart,
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and with all his mind and soul and strength. He alone shall enter into
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the Kingdom of Heaven, who in this spirit doeth good unto all men,
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and who, being for this cause despised and rejected of men, being hated,
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reproached and persecuted, rejoices and is exceeding glad, knowing in whom he
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hath believed, and being assured these light, momentary afflictions will work out for
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him in eternal weight of glory. How truly wise is this man. He
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knows himself an everlasting spirit, which came forth from God and was sent down
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into an house of clay, not to do his own will, but the
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will of Him that sent him. He knows the world the place in which
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he is to pass a few days or years, not as in an inhabitant,
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but as a stranger and sojourner in his way to the everlasting habitations.
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And accordingly he uses the world as not amusing it, and as knowing the
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fashion of it passes away. He knows God, his father and his friend,
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the parent of all good, the center of the spirits of all flesh,
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the sole happiness of all intelligent beings. He sees clearer than the light
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of the noonday sun, that this is the end of man, to glorify
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Him who made him for himself, and do love and enjoy Him forever.
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And with equal clearness, he sees the means to that end, to the
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enjoyment of God and glory even now, to know, to love, to
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imitate God, and to believe in Jesus Christ, whom he hath said he
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is a wise man, even in God's account, For he buildeth his house
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upon a rock, upon the rock of Ages, the everlasting rock, the
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Lord Jesus Christ. Fitly is he so cold, or he changeth not.
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He is the same yesterday and today and forever to him. Both the Man
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of God of old and the Apostle, citing his words, bear witness thou
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Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the
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heavens are the works of Thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest,
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and they all shall wax old as death a garment, and as a
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vesture. Shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed. But
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thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail Hebrews One, Verses
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ten through twelve. Wise, therefore is the man who buildeth on him who
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layeth him for his only foundation, who builds only upon his blood and righteousness,
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upon what he hath done and suffered for us. On this cornerstone,
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he fixes his faith and rests the whole weight of his soul upon it.
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He is taught of God God to say, Lord, I have sinned.
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I deserve the nethermost hell. But I am justified freely by Thy grace through
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the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. And the life I now live.
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I live by faith in Him who loved me and gave himself for me.
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The life I now live namely a divine, heavenly life, a life which
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is hid with Christ. In God. I now live, even in the
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flesh, a life of love, of pure love, both to God,
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and then a life of holiness and happiness, praising God and doing all things
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to his glory. Yet let not such an one think that he shall not
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see war anymore, that he is now out of the reach of temptation.
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It still remains for God to prove the grace he hath given. He shall
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be tried as gold in the fire. He shall be tempted not less than
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they who know not God, perhaps abundantly more, for Satan will not fail
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to try to the uttermost those whom he is not able to destroy. Accordingly,
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the rain will impetuously descend only at such times and in such a manner
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as seems good, not to the prince of the power of the heir,
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but to him whose kingdom ruleth over all. The floods or torrents will come.
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They will lift up their waves and rage horribly. But to them also,
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the Lord that sitteth above the water floods, that remaineth a king forever,
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will say, hitherto shall ye come, And no farther here shall your
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proud waves be stayed. The winds will blow and beat upon that house,
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as though they would tear it up from the foundation, But they cannot prevail,
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it falleth not, for it is founded upon a rock. He buildeth
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on Christ by faith and love. Therefore he shall not be cast down.
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He shall not fear them. Though the earth bee moved, and though the
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hills be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof rage
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and swell, and the mountains shake at the tempest of the same, Still
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he dwelleth under the defense of the most High, and is safe under the
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shadow of the Almighty. How nearly, then, does it concern every child
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of man practically to apply these things to himself diligently to examine on what foundation
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he builds, whether on a rock or on the sand. How deeply are
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you concerned to inquire, what is the foundation of my hope? Whereon do
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I build my expectation of entering into the Kingdom of Heaven? Is it not
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built on the sand? Upon my orthodoxy or right opinions, which, by
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a gross abuse of words, I have called faith, upon my having a
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set of notions suppose more rational or scriptural than others have alas, what madness
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is this? Surely this is building on the sand, or rather on the
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froth of the sea. Say I am convinced of this, am I not
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again building my hope on what is equally unable to support it? Perhaps on
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my belonging to so excellent a church reformed after the true scripture model, blessed
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with the purest doctrine, the most primitive liturgy, the most apostolical form of
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government. These are doubtless so many reasons for praising God, as they may
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be so many helps to holiness, But they are not holiness itself. And
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if they are separate from it, they will profit me nothing. Nay,
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they will leave me the more without excuse and exposed to the greater damnation.
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Therefore, if I build my hope upon this foundation, I am still building
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upon the sand. You cannot, You dare not rest here upon What next?
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Will you build your hope of salvation, upon your innocence, upon your
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doing no harm. You're not wronging or hurting anyone. Well, allow this
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plea to be true. You are just in all your dealings. You are
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a downright honest man. You pay every man his own, You neither cheat
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nor extort. You act fairly with all mankind, and you have a conscience
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towards God. You do not live in any known sin thus far is well,
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But still it is not the thing. You may go thus far and
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yet never come to heaven. When all this harmlessness flows from a right principle,
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it is the least part of the religion of Christ. But in you
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it does not flow from a right principle, and therefore is no part at
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all of religion. So that in grounding your hope of salvation on this you
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are still building upon the sand. Do you go farther? Yet do you
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add to the doing no harm, the attending all the ordinances of God?
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Do you, at all opportunities partake of the Lord's supper, use public and
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private prayer, fast often, hear, in search the scriptures, and meditate
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thereon These things likewise ought you to have done from the time you first set
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your face towards heaven. Yet these things also are nothing, being alone,
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they are nothing without the weightier matters of the law, and those you have
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forgotten. At least you experience them, not faith, mercy and love of
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God, holiness of heart, heaven opened in the soul. Still, therefore
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you build upon the sand Over and above all this? Are you zealous of
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good works? Do you, as you have time, do good to all
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men. Do you feed the hungry, and clothe the naked, and visit
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the fatherless and widow in their affliction? Do you visit those that are sick,
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relieve them that are in prison? Is any a stranger and you take
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him in? Friend? Come up higher? Do you prophesy in the name
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of Christ? Do you preach the truth as it is in Jesus? And
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does the influence of His spirit attend your word and maketh the power of God
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unto salvation? Does he enable you to bring sinners from darkness to light,
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from the power of Satan unto God? Then go and learn what thou hast
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so often taught by grace. Ye are saved through faith, not by works
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of righteousness, which we have done, but of his own mercy. He
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saveth us. Learn to hang naked upon the cross of Christ, counting all
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thou hast done but dung and draws. Apply to him just in the spirit
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of the dying thief of the Harlot with her seven devils. Else thou art
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still on the sand, and after saving others, thou wilt lose thy own
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soul. Lord, increase my faith if I now believe. Else give me
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faith, though, but as a grain of mustard seed. But what does
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it profit If a man say he have faith and have not works, Can
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that faith save him? Oh? No, that faith which hath not works,
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which does not produce both inward and outward holiness, which does not stamp
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the whole image of God on the heart and purify us as He is pure.
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That faith which does not produce the whole of the religion described in the
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foregoing chapters, is not the faith of the Gospel, not the Christian faith,
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not the faith which leads to glory. Oh, beware of this above
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all other snares of the devil, of resting on unholy, unsaving faith.
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If thou layest stress on this, thou art lass forever thou still buildest thy
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upon the sand. When the rain descends and the floods come, it will
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surely fall, and great will be the fall of it. Now, therefore,
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build thou upon a rock, by the grace of God. Know thyself,
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Know and feel that thou wast shapen in wickedness and in sin, that
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thy mother conceive thee, and that thou thyself hast been heaping sin upon sin
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ever since thou couldst discerned good from evil. Own thyself guilty of eternal death,
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and renounce all hope of ever being able to save thyself. Be it
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all thy hope to be washed in His blood and purified by His Spirit,
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who himself bore all thy sins in his own body upon the tree. And
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if thou knowest he hath taken away thy sins, so much the more abase
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thyself before him, in a continual sense of thy total dependence on Him for
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every good thought and word and work, and of thy utter inability to all
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good unless He water thee every moment. Now weep for your sins and mourn
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after God till He turns your heaviness into joy. And even then weep with
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them that weep, and for them that weep, not for themselves, mourn
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for the sins and miseries of mankind. And see but just before your eyes
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the immense ocean of eternity without a bottom or a shore, which has already
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swallowed up millions and millions of men, and is gaping to devour them that
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yet remain. See here the House of God eternal in the heavens. There
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hell and destruction without a covering. And thence learned the importance of every moment,
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which just appears and has gone forever. Now add to your seriousness,
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meekness of wisdom. Hold an even scale as to all your passions, but
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in parta as to anger, sorrow, and fear, calmly acquiesce in whatsoever
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is the will of God. Learn in every state wherein you are therewith to
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be content, Be mild to the good, Be gentle toward all men,
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but especially toward the evil and the unthankful. Beware not only of outward expressions
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of anger, such as calling thy brother raca or thou fool, but of
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every inward emotion contrary to love, though it go no farther than the heart.
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Be angry at sin as an affront offered to the majesty of Heaven.
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But love the sinner still. Like our Lord, who looked round about upon
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the Pharisees with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he
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was grieved at the sinners angry at sin. Thus be angry and sin.
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Not Now do thou hunger and thirst not for the meat that perisheth, but
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for that which is endureth into everlasting life. Trample underfoot the world and the
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things of the world. All these riches, honors, pleasures. What is
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the world to thee? Let the dead, bury the dead, but follow
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thou after the image of God, and beware of quenching that blessed thirst,
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if it is already excited in thy soul by what is vulgarly called religion,
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a poor, dull force, a religion of form of outside show, which
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leaves the heart still cleaving to the dust, as earthly and sensual as ever,
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Let nothing satisfy THEE but the power of Godliness. But a religion that
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is spirit and life, the dwelling in God and God in thee, the
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being an inhabitant of eternity, the entering in by the blood of sprinkling within
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the veil, and sitting in heavenly places with Christ Jesus now seeing thou canst
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do all things through Christ, strengthening THEE. Mercy as thy Father in Heaven,
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is merciful, love thy neighbor as thyself, love friends and enemies as
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thy own soul. And let thy love be long, suffering and patient towards
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all men. Let it be kind, soft, benign, inspiring THEE with
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the most amiable sweetness and the most fervent and tender affection. Let it rejoice
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in the truth wheresoever it is found, the truth that is after Godliness.
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Enjoy whatsoever brings glory to God and promotes peace and good will among men.
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In love, Cover all things of the dead and the absence, speaking nothing
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but good. Believe all things which may any way tend to clear your neighbor's
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character. Hope all things in His favor, and endure all things, triumphing
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over all opposition for true love. Never faileth in time or in eternity.
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Now be thou pure in heart, purified through faith, faith from every unholy
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affection, cleansing thyself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and perfecting holiness
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in the fear of God, being through the power of His grace. Purified
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from pride by deep poverty of spirit, from anger, from every unkind or
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turbulent passion, by meekness and mercifulness, from every desire. But to please
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and enjoy God by hunger and thirst after righteousness. Now love the Lord,
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thy God with all thy heart and with all thy strength. In a word,
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let thy religion be the religion of the heart. Let it lie deep
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in Thy inmost soul. Be thou little and base, and mean and vile,
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beyond what words can express in thy own eyes, amazed and humbled to
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the dust by the love of God which is in Christ Jesus be serious.
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Let the whole stream of thy thoughts, words, and actions flow from the
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deepest conviction that thou standest on the edge of the great gulf, Thou and
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all the children of men, just ready to drop in, either into everlasting
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glory or everlasting burnings. Let thy soul be filled with mildness, gentleness,
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patience, long suffering towards all men, at the same time that all which
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is in thee is a thirst for God, the Living God, longing to
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awake up after His likeness and to be satisfied with it. Be thou a
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lover of God and of all mankind. In this spirit, do and suffer
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all things. Thus show thy faith by thy works, Thus do the will
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of thy Father, which is in Heaven. And as sure as thou now
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wokest with God on earth, thou shalt also reign with Him in glory.
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End of section thirty three.