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

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Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount Discourse nine. No man can serve two
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masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or
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else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve
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God and Mammon. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your
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life what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink. Nor yet for
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your body what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat,
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and the body than raiment. Behold the fowls of the air, for
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they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns. Yet your
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Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of
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you, by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why
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take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
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grow, they toil, not neither do they spin. And yet I say
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unto you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like
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one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field,
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which to day is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He
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not much more clothe you, O, ye of little faith. Therefore,
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take no thought saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink?
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Or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the
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gentiles seek for Your heavenly Father, knoweth that ye have need of all these
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things. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
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all these things shall be added. Unto you take therefore no thought for the
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morrow, For the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself sufficient.
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Unto the day is the evil thereof Matthew Chapter six, verses twenty four to
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thirty four. It is recorded of the nations whom the King of Assyria,
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after he had carried Israel away into captivity, placed in the cities of Samaria,
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that they feared the Lord and served their own gods. These nations saith,
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the inspired writer, feared the Lord, performed an outward service to him,
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a plain proof that they had a fear of God, though not according
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to knowledge, and served their graven images, both their children and their children's
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children, as did their fathers. So do they unto this day. Second
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Kings, Chapter seventeen, verse thirty three. How nearly does the practice of
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most modern Christians resemble this of the ancient Heathens. They fear the Lord,
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they also perform an outward service to him, and hereby show they have some
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fear of God. But they likewise serve their own gods. There are those
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who teach them, as there were who taught the Assyrians the manner of the
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God of the land, the God whose name the country bears to this day,
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and who was once worshiped there with an holy worship. Albeit they do
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not serve him alone. They do not fear him enough for this. But
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every nation maketh gods of their own, every nation in the cities wherein they
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dwell, these nations fear the Lord. They have not laid aside the outward
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form of worshiping him. But they serve their graven images, silver and gold,
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the work of men's hands, money, pleasure, and praise the gods
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of this world more than divide their service with the God of Israel. This
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is the manner both of their children and their children's children, as did their
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fathers, So do they unto this day. But although speaking in a loose
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way after the common manner of men, those poor Heathens were said to fear
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the Lord, Yet we may observe the Holy Ghost immediately adds, speaking according
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to the truth and real nature of things, they fear not the Lord,
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neither do after the law and the commandment which the Lord commanded the children of
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Jacob, with whom the Lord made a covenant and charged them, saying,
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ye shall not fear other gods, nor serve them. But the Lord your
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God, ye shall fear, and he shall deliver you out of the hand
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of all your enemies. The same judgment is passed by the unerring spirit of
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God, and indeed by all the eyes of whose understanding he hath opened to
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discern the things of God. Upon these poor Christians, commonly so called.
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If we speak according to the truth and real nature of things, they fear
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not the Lord, neither do they serve him, for they do not after
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the covenant the Lord hath made with them, neither after the law and commandment
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which he hath commanded them, saying, thou shalt worship the Lord, thy
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God, and him only shalt thou serve. They serve other gods unto this
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day, and no man can serve two masters. How vain is it for
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any man to aim at this, to attempt the serving of two masters?
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Is it not easy to foresee what must be the unavoidable consequence of such an
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attempt, either he will hate the one and love the other, or else
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he will hold to the one and despise the other. The two parts of
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this sentence, although separately proposed, are to be understood in connection with each
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other. For the latter part is a consequence of the former. He will
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naturally hold to him whom he loves. He will so cleave to him as
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to perform to him a willing, faithful, and diligent service. And in
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the meantime he will so far at least despise the master he hates, as
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to have little regard to his commands, and to obey them, if at
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all, in a slight and careless manner. Therefore, whatsoever the wise men
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of the world may suppose, ye cannot serve God and Mammon. Mammon was
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the name of one of the Heathen gods who was supposed to preside over riches.
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It is here understood of riches themselves, gold and silver, or in
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general money, and by a common figure of speech, of all that may
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be purchased thereby, such as ease, honor, and sensual pleasure. But
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what are we here to understand by serving God and what by serving Mammon.
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We cannot serve God unless we believe in him. This is the only true
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foundation of serving Him. Therefore, believing in God as reconciling the world to
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himself through Christ Jesus, the believing in Him as a loving, pardoning God
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is the first great branch of his service. And thus to believe in God
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implies to trust in Him as our strength, without whom we can do none
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thing, who every moment induce us with power from on high, without which
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it is impossible to please Him, As our help, our only help in
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time of trouble, who compasseth us about with songs of deliverance, as our
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shield, our defender, and the lifter up of our head above all our
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enemies that are round about us. It implies to trust in God as our
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happiness, as the center of our spirits, the only rest of our souls,
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the only good, who is adequate to all our capacities, and sufficient
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to satisfy all the desires He hath given us. It implies what is nearly
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allied to the other, to trust in God as our end, to have
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an i to Him in all things, to use all things only as a
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means of enjoying Him wheresoever we are, or whatsoever we do, to see
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Him that is invisible looking on us, well pleased, and to refer all
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things to Him in Christ Jesus. Thus, to believe is the first thing
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we are to understand by serving God. The second is to love him.
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Now, to love God in the manner the Scripture describes, in the manner
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God himself requires of us, and by requiring engages to work in us.
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Is to love Him as the one God that is with all our heart,
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and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all
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our strength. It is to desire God alone for his own sake, and
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nothing else but with reference to him. To rejoice in God, to delight
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in the Lord, not only to seek but find happiness in him. To
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enjoy God as the chiefest among ten thousand, to rest in Him as our
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God and our all. In a word, to have such a possession of
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God as makes us always happy. A third thing we are to understand by
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serving God is to resemble or imitate him. So the ancient Father Optimus day
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cultus emitari quamcoli. It is the best worship or service of God to imitate
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him you worship. We here speak of imitating or resembling Him in the spirit
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of our minds. For here the true Christian imitation of God begins. God
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is a spirit, and they that imitate or resemble Him must do it in
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spirit and in truth. Now God is love. Therefore they who resemble Him
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in the spirit of their minds are transformed into the same image. They are
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merciful, even as He is merciful. Their soul is all love. They
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are kind, benevolent, compassionate, tender hearted, and not only to the
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good and gentle, but also to the froward. Yea, they are like
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Him, loving unto every man, and their mercy extends to all His works.
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One thing more we are to understand by serving God, and that is
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the obeying Him, the glorifying Him with our bodies as well as with our
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spirits, the keeping his outward commandments, the zealously doing whatever he hath enjoined,
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the carefully avoiding whatever he hath forbidden, the performing all the ordinary actions
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of life with a single eye and a pure heart, offering them all in
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holy, fervent love as sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. Let us consider
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now what we are to understand, on the other hand, by serving mammon.
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And first it implies the trusting in riches, in money, or the
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things purchasable thereby as our strength, the means whereby we shall perform whatever cause
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we have in hand, the trusting in them as our help by which we
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look to be comforted in or delivered out of trouble. It implies the trusting
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in the world for happiness, the supposing that a man's life, the comfort
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of his life consisteth in the abundance of the things which he possesseth, the
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looking for rest in the things that are seen, for content in outward plenty,
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the expecting that satisfaction in the things of the world which can never be
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found out of God. And if we do this, we cannot but make
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the world our end, the ultimate end, if not of all, at
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least of many of ours, undertakings, many of our actions and designs,
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in which we shall aim only at an increase of wealth, at the obtaining
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pleasure or praise, at the gaining a larger measure of temporal things, without
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any reference to things eternal. The serving mammon implies secondly, loving the world,
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desiring it for its own sake, the placing our joy in the things
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thereof, and setting our hearts upon them, the seeking what indeed it is
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impossible, we should find our happiness therein the resting with the whole weight of
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our souls upon the staff of this broken reed, although daily experience shows it
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cannot support, but will only enter into our hand and pierce it to resemble.
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To be conformed to the world is a third thing we are to understand
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by serving Mammon. To have not only designs, but desires, tempers,
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affections suitable to those of the world. To be of an earthly, sensual
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mind, chained down to the things of earth. To be self willed,
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in ordinate lovers of ourselves, to think highly of our own attainments, To
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desire and delight in the praise of man, to fear, shun and abhor
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reproach, To be impatient of reproof, easy to be provoked, and swift
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to return evil for evil. To serve Mammon is lastly, to obey the
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world by outwardly conforming to its maxims and customs. To walk as other men
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walk in the common road, in the broad, smooth, beaten path,
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To be in the fashion to follow a multitude to do, like the rest
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of our neighbors, that is, to do the will of the flesh and
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the mind, to gratify our appetites and inclinations, to sacrifice to ourselves,
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aim at our own ease and pleasure in the general course both of our words
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and actions. Now, what can be more undeniably clear than that we cannot
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thus serve God and Mammon. Does not every man see that he cannot comfortably
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serve both, That to trim between God and the world is the sure way
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to be disappointed in both, and to have no rest either in one or
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the other. How uncomfortable a condition must he be in who having the fear
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but not the love of God, who serving him but not with all his
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heart, has only the toils and not the joys of religion. He has
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religion enough to make him miserable, but not enough to make him happy.
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His religion will not let him enjoy the world, and the world will not
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let him enjoy God, so that by halting between both, he loses both
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and has no peace either in God or the world. Does not every man
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see that he cannot serve both consistently with himself? What more glaring inconsistency can
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be conceived than must continually appear in his whole behavior. Who is endeavoring to
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obey both these masters, striving to serve God and Mammon. He is indeed
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a sinner that goeth two ways, one step forward and another backward. He
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is continually building up with one hand and pulling down with the other. He
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loves sin, and he hates it. He is always seeking, and yet
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always fleeing from God. He would and he would not. He is not
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the same man for one day, no, not for an hour together.
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He is a motley mixture of all sorts of contrarie, a heap of contradictions
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jumbled in one. Oh, be consistent with thyself one way or the other.
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Turn to the right hand or to the left. If Mammon be God,
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serve thou him. If the Lord, then serve him. But never
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think of serving either at all, unless it be with thy whole heart.
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Does not every reasonable, every thinking man see that he cannot possibly serve God
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and Mammon, because there is the most absolute contrariety, the most irreconcilable enmity
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between them, the contrariety between the most opposite things on earth, between fire
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and water, darkness, and life. Night vanishes into nothing when compared to
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the contrariety between God and Mammon, so that in whatsoever respect you serve the
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one, you necessarily renounce the other. Do you believe in God through Christ?
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Do you trust in Him as your strength, your help, your shield,
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and your exceeding great reward, as your happiness, your end in all
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above all things. Then you cannot trust in riches. It is absolutely impossible
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you should so long as you have this faith in God. Do you thus
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trust in riches, then you have denied the faith. You do not trust
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in the Living God. Do you love God? Do you seek and find
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happiness in Him? Then you cannot love the world, neither the things of
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the world. You are crucified to the world, and the world crucified to
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you. Do you love the world? Are your affections set on things beneath?
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Do you seek happiness in earthly things? Then it is impossible you should
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love God? Then the love of the Father is not in you. Do
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you resemble God? Are you merciful as your Father is merciful? Are you
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transformed by the renewal of your mind into the image of Him that created you?
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Then you cannot be conformed to the present world. You have renounced all
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its affections and lusts. Are you conformed to the world. Does your soul
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still bear the image of the earthly? Then you are not renewed in the
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spirit of your mind. You do not bear the image of the heavenly.
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Do you obey God? Are you zealous to do his will on earth as
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the angels do in heaven? Then it is impossible you should obey Mammon.
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Then you set the world at open defiance. You trample its customs and maxims
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under foot, and will neither follow nor be led by them. Do you
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follow the world? Do you live like other men? Do you please men?
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Do you please yourself? Then you cannot be a servant of God.
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You are of your master and father, the devil. Therefore, thou shalt
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worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Thou
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shalt lay aside all thoughts of obeying two masters, of serving God and Mammon.
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Thou shalt propose to thyself no end, no help, no happiness,
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but God. Thou shalt seek nothing in Earth or Heaven but Him. Thou
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shalt aim at nothing but to know, to love and enjoy Him. And
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because this is all your business below, the only view you can reasonably have,
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the one design you are to pursue in all things. Therefore, I
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say unto you, as our Lord continues his discourse, take no thought for
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your life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, nor yet for
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your body what ye shall put on a deep and weighty direction, which it
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imports us well to consider and thoroughly to understand. Our Lord does not here
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require that we should be utterly without thought, even touching the concerns of this
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life. A giddy, careless temper is at the farthest remove from the whole
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religion of Jesus Christ. Neither does he require us to be slothful in business,
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to be slack and dilatory therein this likewise is contrary to the whole spirit
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and genius of his religion. A Christian abhorse sloth as much as drunkenness,
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and flees from idleness as he does from adultery. He well knows that there
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is one kind of thought and care with which God is well pleased, which
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is absolutely needful for the due performance of those outward works, unto which the
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providence of God has called him. It is the will of God that every
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man should labor to eat his own bread, yea, and that every man
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should provide for his own for them of his own household. It is likewise
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his will that we should owe no man anything but provide things honest in the
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sight of all men. But this cannot be done without taking some thought,
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without having some care upon our minds, yea. Often not without long and
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serious thought, not without much and earnest care. Consequently, this care to
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provide for ourselves and our household, this thought how to render to all their
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dues. Our blessed Lord does not condemn, yea. It is good and
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acceptable in the side of God, our Savior. It is good and acceptable
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to God that we should so take thought concerning whatever we have in hand,
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as to have a clear comprehension of what we are about to do, and
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to plan our business before we enter upon it. And it is right that
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we should carefully consider from time to time what steps we are to take therein,
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as well as that we should prepare all things beforehand for the carrying it
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on in the most effectual manner. This care termed by some the care of
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the head. It was by no means our Lord's design to condemn. What
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he here condemns is the care of the heart, the anxious, uneasy care,
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the care that hath torment all such care as does hurt either to the
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soul or body. What he forbids is that care which sad experience shows,
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wastes the blood and drinks up the spirits, which anticipates all the misery it
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fears, and comes to torment us before the time. He forbids only that
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care which poisons the blessings of to day by fear of what may be tomorrow,
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which cannot enjoy the present plenty through apprehensions of future want. This care
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is not only a sore disease, a grievous sickness of soul, but also
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and hainous offense against God, a sin of the deepest dye. It is
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a high affront to the gracious governor and wise disposer of all things, necessarily
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implying that the great Judge does not do right, that he does not order
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all things well. It plainly implies that he is wanting, either in wisdom
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if he does not know what things we stand in need of, or in
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goodness if he does not provide those things for all who put their trust in
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Him. Beware therefore, that you take not thought in this sense. Be
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ye anxiously careful, for nothing, Take no uneasy thought. This is a
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plain sure rule. Uneasy care is unlawful. With a single eye to God,
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do all that in you lies to provide things honest in the sight of
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all men, and then give up all into better hands, leave the whole
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event to God. Take no thought of this kind, no uneasy thought.
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Even for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink,
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Nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the
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life more than meat, and the body than raiment. If then God gave
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you life the greater gift, will he not give you food to sustain it?
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If He hath given you the body, how can ye doubt? But
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he will give you raiment to cover it more, especially if you give yourselves
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up to Him and serve Him with your whole heart. Behold, see before
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your eyes the fowls of the air. For they sow not, neither do
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they reap nor gather into barns. And yet they lack nothing. Yet your
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heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they ye, that
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are creatures capable of God? Are ye not of more account in the eyes
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of God? Of a higher rank in the scale of beings? And which
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of you, by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature? What
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profit have you then, from this anxious thought? It is every way fruitless
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and unavailing. And why take ye thought for raiment? Have ye not a
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daily reproof? Wherever you turn your eyes. Consider the lilies of the field,
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how they grow, they toil, not neither do they spin? And
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yet I say unto you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was
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not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass
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of the field, which to day is and tomorrow is cast into the oven
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is cut down, burned up, and seen no more, shall He not
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much more clothe you, o, ye of little faith, you whom He
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made to endure forever and ever to be pictures of his own eternity. Ye
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are indeed of little faith, Otherwise ye could not doubt of His love and
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care no not for a moment. Therefore, take no thought saying what shall
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we eat if we lay up no treasure upon earth? What shall we drink?
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If we serve God with all our strength, if our eye be singly
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fixed on Him, wherewithal shall we be clothed if we are not conformed to
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the world, if we disoblige those by whom we might be profited. For
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after all these things do the gentiles seek the heathens who know not God.
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But ye are sensible. Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all
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these things, and he hath pointed out to you an infallible way of being
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constantly supplied therewith. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
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and all these things shall be added unto you. Seek ye first the Kingdom
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of God. Before ye give place to any other thought or care. Let
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it be your concern that the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
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who gave his only begotten son, to the end that believing in Him
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ye might not perish, but have everlasting life, may reign in your heart,
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may manifest himself in your soul and dwell and rule there, that He
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may cast down every high thing which exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
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and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Let God have
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the sole dominion over you. Let him reign without a rival. Let him
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possess all your heart and rule alone. Let him be your one desire,
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your joy, your love, so that all that is within you may continually
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cry out the Lord, God, omnipotent reigneth seek the Kingdom of God and
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his righteousness. Righteousness is the fruit of God's reigning in the heart. And
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what is righteousness but love, the love of God and of all mankind,
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flowing from faith in Jesus Christ, and producing humbleness of mind, meekness,
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gentleness, long suffering, patience, deadness to the world, and every right
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disposition of heart toward God and toward man. And by these it produces all
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holy action, whatsoever are lovely or of good report, whatsoever works of faith
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and labor of love are acceptable to God and profitable to man. His righteousness,
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this is all his righteousness. Still it is his own free gift to
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us for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Righteous, through whom alone it
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is purchased for us. And it is his work. It is He alone
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that worketh it in us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the
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well observing this may give light to some other scriptures which we have not always
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so clearly understood Saint Paul, speaking in his Epistle to the Romans concerning the
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unbelieving Jews, saith, they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about
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to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
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I believe this may be one sense of the words. They were ignorant
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of God's righteousness, not only of the righteousness of Christ imputed to every believer,
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whereby all his sins are blotted out and he is reconciled to the favor
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of God, but which seems here to be more immediately understood. They were
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ignorant of that inward righteousness, of that holiness of heart, which is with
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the utmost propriety termed God's righteousness, as being both his own free gift through
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Christ and his own work by his almighty Spirit. And because they were ignorant
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of this, they went about to establish their own righteousness. They labored to
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establish that outside righteousness, which might very properly be termed their own, for
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neither was it wrought by the Spirit of God, nor was it owned or
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accepted of Him. They might work this themselves by their own natural strength.
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And when they had done. It was a stink in his nostrils. And
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yet trusting in this, they would not submit themselves under the righteousness of God.
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Yea, they hardened themselves against that faith, whereby alone it was possible
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to attain it. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
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every one that believeth. Christ, when he said it is finished, put
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an end to that law, to the law of external rites and ceremonies,
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that He might bring in a better righteousness through his blood by that one oblation
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of himself, once offered even the image of God into the inmost soul of
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every one that believeth. Nearly related to these are those words of the Apostle
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in his Epistle to the Philippians. I count all things but dung, that
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I may win Christ an entrance into His everlasting kingdom, and be found in
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him, believing in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of
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the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
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which is of God by faith, not having my own righteousness, which is
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of the law, a barely external righteousness, the outside religion I formerly had
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when I hoped to be accepted of God, because I was touching the righteousness
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which is of the law blameless, but that which is through the faith of
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Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Philippians, Chapter three,
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verses eight to nine. That holiness of heart, that renewal of the
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soul in all its desires, tempers, and affections, which is of God.
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It is the work of God and not of man, by faith,
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through the faith of Christ, through the revelation of Jesus Christ in us,
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and by faith in His bloud, whereby alone we obtain the remission of our
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sins and an inheritance among those that are sanctified. Seek ye first this Kingdom
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of God in your hearts, this righteousness, which is the gift and work
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of God, the image of God renewed in your souls. And all these
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things shall be added unto you, all things needful for the body, such
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a measure of all, as God sees most for the advancement of His kingdom,
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these shall be added. They shall be thrown in over and above.
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In seeking the peace and the love of God, you shall not only find
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what you more immediately seek, even the kingdom that cannot be moved, but
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also what you seek, not not at all for its own sake, but
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only in reference to the other. You shall find in your way to the
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Kingdom all outward things, so far as they are expedient for you. This
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care God hath taken upon himself. Cast you all your care upon him.
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He knoweth your wants, and whatsoever is lacking he will not fail to supply.
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Therefore, take no thought for the morrow. Not only take ye no
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thought how to lay up treasures on earth, how to increase in worldly substance.
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Take no thought how to procure more food than you can eat, or
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more raiment than you can put on, or more money than is required from
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day to day for the plain reasonable purposes of life. But take no uneasy
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thought even can concerning those things which are absolutely needful for the body. Do
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not trouble yourself now with thinking what you shall do at a season which is
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yet afar off. Perhaps that season will never come, or it will be
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no concern of yours. Before then you will have passed through all the waves
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and be landed in eternity. All those distant views do not belong to you,
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who are but a creature of a day. Nay, what have you
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to do with the morrow? More strictly speaking, why should you perplex yourself
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without need, God provides for you to day what is needful to sustain the
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life which He hath given you. It is enough give yourself up into his
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hands. If you live another day, he will provide for that. Also.
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Above all, do not make the care of future things a pretense for
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neglecting present duty. This is the most fatal way of taking thought for the
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morrow. And how common is it among men. Many if we exhort them
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to keep a conscious void of offense, to abstain from what they are convinced
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is evil, do not scruple to reply, how then, must we live?
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Must we not take care of ourselves and of our families? And this
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they imagine to be a sufficient reason for continuing in known wilful sin. They
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say, and perhaps think, they would serve God now, were it not
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that they should by and buy lose their bread, they would prepare for eternity.
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But they are afraid of wanting the necessaries of life, So they serve
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the devil for a morsel of bread. They rush into hell for fear of
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want. They throw away their poor souls lest they should some time or other
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fall short of what is needful for their bodies. It is not strange that
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they who thus take the matter out of God's hand should be so often disappointed
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of the very things they seek, that, while they throw away heaven to
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secure the things of earth, they lose the one, but do not gain
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the other. The jealous God, in the wise course of his providence,
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frequently suffers this, so that they who will not cast their care on God,
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who taking thought for temporal things, have little concern for things eternal,
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lose the very portion which they have chosen. There is a visible blast on
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all their undertakings. Whatsoever they do, it doth not prosper insomuch that after
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they have forsaken God for the world, they lose what they sought as well
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as what they sought. Not they fall short of the Kingdom of God and
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his righteousness, Nor yet are other things added unto them. There is another
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way of taking thought for the morrow, which is equally forbidden. In these
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words, it is possible to take thought in a wrong manner, even with
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regard to spiritual things, to be so careful about what may be by and
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by as to neglect what is now required at our hands. How insensibly do
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we slide into this? If we are not continually watching unto prayer. How
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easily are we carried away in a kind of waking dream, projecting distant schemes
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and drawing fine scenes in our own imagination. We think, what good we
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will do when we are in such a place, or when such a time
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is come, How useful we will be, how plenteous in good works when
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we are easier in our circumstances, How earnestly we will serve God when once
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such an hindrance is out of the way. Or perhaps you are now in
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heaviness of soul, God, as it were, hides his face from you.
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You see little of the life light of his countenance. You cannot taste
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his redeeming love in such a temper of mind. How natural is it to
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say, O, how I will praise God when the light of His countenance
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shall be again lifted up upon my soul? How will I exhort others to
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praise Him when His love is again shed abroad in my heart? Then I
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will do thus, And thus I will speak for God in all places.
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I will not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Then I will redeem
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the time I will use to the uttermost every talent I have received. Do
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not believe thyself, thou wilt not do it then, unless thou doest it.
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Now, He that is faithful in that which is little, of whatsoever
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kind it be, whether it be worldly substance, or the fear or love
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of God, will be faithful in that which is much. But if thou
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now hidest one talent in the earth, thou wilt then hide five. That
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is, if ever they are given. But there is small reason to expect
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they ever will. Indeed, unto him that hath that is uses what he
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hath shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly. But from him
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that hath not that is uses, not the grace which he hath already received,
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whether in a larger or smaller degree, shall be taken away, even
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that which he hath. And take no thought for the temp temptations of tomorrow.
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This also is a dangerous snare. Think not when such a temptation comes?
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What shall I do? How shall I stand? I feel I have
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not power to resist. I am not able to conquer that enemy. Most
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true, you have not now the power which you do not now stand in
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need of. You are not able at this time to conquer that enemy,
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And at this time he does not assault you with the grace you have.
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Now you could not withstand the temptations which you have not. But when the
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temptation comes, the grace will come. In greater trials, you will have
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greater strength. When sufferings abound, the consolations of God will in the same
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proportion abound also, so that in every situation the grace of God will be
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sufficient for you. He doth not suffer you to be tempted to day,
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above that ye are able to bear. And in every temptation He will make
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a way to escape as thy days, so thy strength shall be let the
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morrow. Therefore, take thought for the things of itself. That is,
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when the morrow comes, then think of it. Live thou to day,
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be it thy earnest, care to improve the present hour. This is your
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own, and it is your all. The past is as nothing, as
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though it had never been. The future is nothing to you. It is
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not yours, perhaps it never will be. There is no depending on what
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is yet to come, for you know not what a day may bring forth.
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Therefore, live to day, lose not an hour. Use this moment,
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for it is your portion. Who knoweth the things which have been before
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him, or which shall be after him under the sun. The generations that
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were from the beginning of the world, where are they now? Fled away?
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Forgotten they were? They lived their day, They were shook off of
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the earth as leaves off of their trees. They moldered away into common dust.
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Another and another race succeeded. Then they followed the generation of their fathers,
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and shall never more see the light. Now is thy turn upon the
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earth. Rejoice, o young man, in the days of thy youth.
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Enjoy the very very now by enjoying him whose years fail not. Now let
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thine eye be singly fixed on him, in whom is no variableness, neither
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shadow of turning. Now give him thy heart. Now stay thyself on him.
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Now be thou holy as He is holy. Now lay hold on the
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blessed opportunity of doing His acceptable and perfect will. Now rejoice to suffer the
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loss of all things, so thou mayest win Christ gladly suffer today for his
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name's sake, whatsoever He permits this day to come upon thee. But look
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not at the sufferings of tomorrow. Sufficient unto the day is the evil.
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Thereof evil. It is speaking after the manner of men, whether it be
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reproach or want, pain or sickness. But in the language of God,
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all is blessing. It is a precious balm, prepared by the wisdom of
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God, and variously dispensed among his children according to the various sicknesses of their
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souls. And He gives in one day sufficient for that day, proportioned to
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the want and strength of the patient. If therefore thou snatchest today what belongs
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to the morrow. If thou addest this to what is given Thee already,
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it will be more than thou canst bear. This is the way, not
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to heal, but to destroy thy own soul. Take. Therefore, just
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as much as He gives THEE today today do and suffer his will. Today,
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give up thyself, thy body, soul, and spirit to God through
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Christ Jesus, desiring nothing but that God may be glorified in all thou art,
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all thou doest, all thou sufferest, seeking nothing but to know God
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and his son Jesus Christ through the eternal Spirit, pursuing nothing but to love
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Him, to serve him, and to enjoy Him. At this hour and
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to all eternity now unto God, the Father who hath made me and all
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the world unto God, the Sun, who hath redeemed me and all mankind
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unto God, the Holy Ghost who sanctifieth Me, and all the elect people
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of God, Be honor and praise, majesty and Dominion, forever and ever.
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Amen. End of Section twenty nine.