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034 - Upon our Lords Sermon on the Mount Discourse XIII · Sermons on Several Occasions, First Series

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Speaker 1: Section thirty three of Sermons on Several Occasions First Series.
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Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Florence Short. Sermons on
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Speaker 1: Several Occasions, First series by John Wesley Upon Our Lord's
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Speaker 1: Sermon on the Mount, Discourse thirteen. Not every one that
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Speaker 1: saith unto me, Lord Lord, shall enter it at the
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Speaker 1: Kingdom of Heaven. But he that doeth the will of
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Speaker 1: my Father, which is in heaven. Many will say to
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Speaker 1: me in that day, Lord Lord, have we not prophesied
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Speaker 1: in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils?
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Speaker 1: And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then
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Speaker 1: I will profess unto them I never knew you, depart
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Speaker 1: from me ye that work iniquity. Therefore, whosoever heareth these
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Speaker 1: sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him
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Speaker 1: unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock,
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Speaker 1: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
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Speaker 1: winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell
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Speaker 1: not for it was founded upon a rock. And every
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Speaker 1: one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them
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Speaker 1: not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built
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Speaker 1: his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and
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Speaker 1: the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon
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Speaker 1: that house, and it fell, and great was the fall
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Speaker 1: of it. Matthew seven, Verses twenty one through twenty seven.
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Speaker 1: Our Divine Teacher, having declared the whole council of God
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Speaker 1: with regard to the way of salvation, and observed the
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Speaker 1: chief hindrances of those who desire to walk therein, now
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Speaker 1: closes the hole with these weighty words, thereby, as it were,
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Speaker 1: setting his seal to his prophecy, and impressing his whole
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Speaker 1: authority on what he had delivered, that it might stand
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Speaker 1: firm to all generations. For thus set the Lord, that
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Speaker 1: none may ever conceive there is any other way than this.
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Speaker 1: Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord Lord, shall enter
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Speaker 1: into the Kingdom of Heaven. But he that doeth the
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Speaker 1: will of my Father, which is in heaven. Many will
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Speaker 1: say to me in that day, Lord Lord, have we
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Speaker 1: not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have
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Speaker 1: cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works.
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Speaker 1: And then while I profess unto them, I never knew
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Speaker 1: you depart from me ye that work iniquity. Therefore, everyone
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Speaker 1: that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not,
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Speaker 1: shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his
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Speaker 1: house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the
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Speaker 1: floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house,
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Speaker 1: and it fell, And great was the fall of it.
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Speaker 1: I design in the following disc course, first to consider
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Speaker 1: the case of him who thus builds his house of
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Speaker 1: Fama's hand. Secondly to show the wisdom of him who
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Speaker 1: builds upon a rock, and thirdly to conclude with a
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Speaker 1: practical application. And first I am to consider the case
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Speaker 1: of him who builds his house of Fama's hand. It
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Speaker 1: is concerning him, our Lord, saith not. Everyone that saith
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Speaker 1: unto me, Lord Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Speaker 1: And this is a decree which cannot pass, which standeth
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Speaker 1: fast forever and ever. It therefore imports us, in the
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Speaker 1: highest degree thoroughly to understand the force of these words. Now,
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Speaker 1: what are we to understand by that expression that saith
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Speaker 1: unto me, Lord Lord? It undoubtedly means that thinks of
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Speaker 1: going to Heaven by any other way than that which
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Speaker 1: I have now described. It therefore implies to begin at
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Speaker 1: the lowest point, all good words, all verbal religion. It
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Speaker 1: includes whatever creeds we may rehearse, whatever professions of faith
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Speaker 1: we make, whatever number of prayers we may repeat, whatever
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Speaker 1: thanksgivings we read or say to God. We may speak
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Speaker 1: good of his name and declare his loving kindness to
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Speaker 1: the children of men. We may be talking of all
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Speaker 1: his mighty acts and telling of his salvation from day
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Speaker 1: to day. By comparing spiritual things with spiritual we may
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Speaker 1: show the meaning of the oracles of God. We may
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Speaker 1: explain the mysteries of His kingdom which have been hid
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Speaker 1: from the beginning of the world. We may speak with
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Speaker 1: the tongues of angels rather than men, concerning the deep
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Speaker 1: things of God. We may proclaim to sinners, behold the
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Speaker 1: lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the
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Speaker 1: world yeat. We may do this with such a measure
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Speaker 1: of the power of God and such demonstration of his
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Speaker 1: spirit as to save many souls from death and hide
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Speaker 1: a multitude of sins. And yet it is very possible
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Speaker 1: all this may be no more than saying, Lord, Lord Lord.
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Speaker 1: After I have thus successfully preached to others, still I
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Speaker 1: myself may be a castaway. I may, in the hand
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Speaker 1: of God snatch many souls from hell, and yet drop
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Speaker 1: into it when I have done. I may bring many
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Speaker 1: others to the Kingdom of Heaven, and yet myself never
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Speaker 1: enter there. Reader, if God hath ever blessed my word
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Speaker 1: to thy soul, pray that he may be merciful to me,
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Speaker 1: a sinner. The saying Lord Lord. May secondly imply the
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Speaker 1: doing no harm. We may abstain from every presumptuous sin,
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Speaker 1: from every kind of outward wickedness. We may refrain from
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Speaker 1: all those ways of acting or speaking which are forbidden
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Speaker 1: in Holy writ. We may be able to say to
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Speaker 1: all those among whom we live, which of you convinceth
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Speaker 1: me of sin? We may have a conscious void of
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Speaker 1: any external offense towards God and towards man. We may
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Speaker 1: be clear of all uncleanness, ungodliness, and unrighteousness as to
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Speaker 1: the outward act or, as the apostle testifies concerning himself
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Speaker 1: touching the righteousness of the law, that is outward righteousness blameless.
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Speaker 1: But yet we are not hereby justified. Still this is
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Speaker 1: no more than saying, Lord Lord. And if we go
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Speaker 1: no farther than this, we shall never enter into the
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Speaker 1: Kingdom of heaven. The saying Lord Lord may imply. Thirdly,
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Speaker 1: many of what are usually styled good works. A man
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Speaker 1: may attend the supper of the Lord, may hear abundance
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Speaker 1: of excellent sermons, and omit no opportunity of partaking all
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Speaker 1: the other ordinances of God. I may do good to
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Speaker 1: my neighbor, deal my bread to the hungry, and cover
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Speaker 1: the naked with a garment. I may be so zealous
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Speaker 1: of good works as even to give all my goods
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Speaker 1: to feed the poor. Yea. And I may do all
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Speaker 1: this with a desire to please God, and a real
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Speaker 1: belief that I do please Him thereby, which is undeniably
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Speaker 1: the case of those our Lord introduces saying unto him,
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Speaker 1: Lord Lord. And still I may have no part in
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Speaker 1: the glory which shall be revealed. If any man marvels
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Speaker 1: at this, let him acknowledge he is a stranger to
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Speaker 1: the whole religion of Jesus Christ, and in particular to
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Speaker 1: that perfect portraiture thereof which He has set before us
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Speaker 1: in this discourse. For how far short is all this
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Speaker 1: of that righteousness and true holiness which he has described therein,
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Speaker 1: how widely distant from that inward kingdom of Heaven which
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Speaker 1: is now opened in the believing soul, which is first
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Speaker 1: sown in the heart as a grain of mustard seed,
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Speaker 1: but afterwards putteth forth great branches on which grow all
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Speaker 1: the fruits of righteousness, every good temper, and world, word
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Speaker 1: and work. Yet as clearly as he had declared this,
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Speaker 1: as frequently as he had repeated that none who have
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Speaker 1: not this Kingdom of God within them shall enter into
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Speaker 1: the Kingdom of Heaven, our Lord well knew that many
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Speaker 1: would not receive this saying, and therefore confirms it. Yet
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Speaker 1: again many saith he not one, not a few. Only
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Speaker 1: it is not a rare or an uncommon case, shall
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Speaker 1: say unto me in that day. Not only we have
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Speaker 1: said many prayers, we have spoken thy praise, we have
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Speaker 1: refrained from evil, We have exercised ourselves in doing good.
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Speaker 1: But what is abundantly more than this. We have prophesied
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Speaker 1: in thy name. In thy name, have we cast out
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Speaker 1: devils in thy name, done many wonderful works we have prophesied.
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Speaker 1: We have declared Thy will to mankind. We have shown
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Speaker 1: sinners the way to peace and glory. And we have
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Speaker 1: this in thy name, according to the truth of thy gospel. Yea,
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Speaker 1: and by thy authority, who didst confirm the word with
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Speaker 1: the holy ghosts sent down from heaven. For in or
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Speaker 1: by thy name, by the power of thy word and
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Speaker 1: of thy spirit, have we cast out devils out of
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Speaker 1: the souls which they have long claimed as their own,
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Speaker 1: and whereof they had full and quiet possession. And in
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Speaker 1: thy name, by thy power, not our own, have we
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Speaker 1: done many wonderful works, insomuch that even the dead heard
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Speaker 1: the voice of the Son of God speaking by us,
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Speaker 1: and lived. And then will I profess even unto them.
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Speaker 1: I never knew you, no, not then when you were
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Speaker 1: casting out devils in my name. Even then I did
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Speaker 1: not know you as my own. For your heart was
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Speaker 1: not right toward God. Ye were not yourselves meek and lowly.
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Speaker 1: Ye were not loved of God and of all mankind.
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Speaker 1: Ye were not renewed in the image of God. Ye
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Speaker 1: were not holy as I am. Holy. Depart from me, Ye, who,
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Speaker 1: notwithstanding all this, are workers of iniquity and emiah. Ye
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Speaker 1: are transgressors of my law, my law of holy and
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Speaker 1: perfect love. It is to put this beyond all possibility
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Speaker 1: of contradiction, that our Lord confirms it by that apposite comparison.
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Speaker 1: Everyone said, Hee, who heareth these sayings of mine and
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Speaker 1: doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man
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Speaker 1: which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended,
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Speaker 1: and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat
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Speaker 1: upon that house, as they will surely do sooner or
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Speaker 1: later upon every soul of man, even the floods of
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Speaker 1: outward affliction or inward temptation, the storms of pride, anger, fear,
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Speaker 1: or desire. And it fell, and great was the fall
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Speaker 1: of it, so that it perished forever and ever. Such
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Speaker 1: must be the portion of all who rest in anything
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Speaker 1: short of that religion which is above described. And the
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Speaker 1: greater will therefore be. Because they heard those sayings and
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Speaker 1: yet did them not. I am secondly to show the
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Speaker 1: wisdom of him that doeth them, that buildeth his house
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Speaker 1: upon a rock. He indeed is wise, who doeth the
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Speaker 1: will of my Father, which is in heaven. He is
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Speaker 1: truly wise, whose righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes
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Speaker 1: and Pharisees. He is poor in spirit knowing himself, even
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Speaker 1: as also he is known. He sees and feels all
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Speaker 1: his sin and all his guilt, till it is washed
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Speaker 1: away by the atoning blood. He is conscious of his
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Speaker 1: lost estate, of the wrath of God abiding on him,
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Speaker 1: and of his utter inability to help himself till he
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Speaker 1: is filled with peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
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Speaker 1: He is meek and gentle, patient toward all men, never
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Speaker 1: returning evil for evil, or railing for railing, but contrariwise
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Speaker 1: blessing till he overcomes evil with good. His soul is
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Speaker 1: a thirst for nothing on earth, but only for God,
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Speaker 1: the Living God. He has bowels of love for all mankind,
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Speaker 1: and is ready to lay down his life for his enemies.
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Speaker 1: He loves the Lord his God with all his heart,
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Speaker 1: and with all his mind and soul and strength. He
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Speaker 1: alone shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Who in
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Speaker 1: this spirit doeth good unto all men, and who, being
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Speaker 1: for this cause despised and rejected of men, being hated,
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Speaker 1: reproached and persecuted, rejoices and is exceeding glad, knowing in
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Speaker 1: whom he hath believed, and being assured these light, momentary
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Speaker 1: afflictions will work out for him in eternal weight of glory.
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Speaker 1: How truly wise is this man. He knows himself an
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Speaker 1: everlasting spirit, which came forth from God and was sent
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Speaker 1: down into an house of clay, not to do his
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Speaker 1: own will, but the will of Him that sent him.
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Speaker 1: He knows the world the place in which he is
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Speaker 1: to pass a few days or years, not as an inhabitant,
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Speaker 1: but as a stranger and sojourner in his way to
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Speaker 1: the everlasting habitations. And accordingly he uses the world as
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Speaker 1: not amusing it, and as knowing the fashion of it
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Speaker 1: passes away. He knows God, his father and his friend,
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Speaker 1: the parent of all good, the center of the spirits
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Speaker 1: of all flesh, the sole happiness of all intelligent beings.
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Speaker 1: He sees, clearer than the light of the noonday sun,
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Speaker 1: that this is the end of man, to glorify Him
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Speaker 1: who made him for himself, and do love and enjoy him. Liever,
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Speaker 1: and with equal clearness he sees the means to that end,
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Speaker 1: to the enjoyment of God in glory, even now, to
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Speaker 1: know to love, to imitate God, and to believe in
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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, whom he hath said he is a wise man,
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Speaker 1: even in God's account for he buildeth his house upon
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Speaker 1: a rock, upon the rock of Ages, the everlasting rock,
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Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus Christ. Fitly is he so called, for
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Speaker 1: he changeth not. He is the same, yesterday and today
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Speaker 1: and forever to him. Both the Man of God of
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Speaker 1: old and the Apostle, citing his words, bear witness Thou Lord,
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Speaker 1: in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth,
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Speaker 1: and the heavens are the works of thine hands. They
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Speaker 1: shall perish, but thou remainest, and they all shall wax
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Speaker 1: old as death a garment, and as a vesture. Shalt
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Speaker 1: thou fold them up, and they shall be changed. But
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Speaker 1: Thou art the same same, and thy years shall not
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Speaker 1: fail Hebrews One, Verses ten through twelve. Wise, therefore is
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Speaker 1: the man who buildeth on him who layeth him for
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Speaker 1: his only foundation, who builds only upon his blood and righteousness,
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Speaker 1: upon what he hath done and suffered for us. On
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Speaker 1: this cornerstone he fixes his faith and rests the whole
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Speaker 1: weight of his soul upon it. He is taught of
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Speaker 1: God to say, Lord, I have sinned. I deserve the
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Speaker 1: nethermost hell, but I am justified freely by Thy grace
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Speaker 1: through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, and the
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Speaker 1: life I now live. I live by faith in Him
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Speaker 1: who loved me and gave himself for me. The life
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Speaker 1: I now live, namely, a divine, heavenly life, a life
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Speaker 1: which is hid with Christ. In God, I now live,
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Speaker 1: even in the flesh, a life of love, of pure
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Speaker 1: love both the God and Man, a life of holiness
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Speaker 1: and happiness, praising God and doing all things to his glory.
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Speaker 1: Yet let not such an one think that he shall
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Speaker 1: not see war any more, that he is now out
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Speaker 1: of the reach of temptation. It still remains for God
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Speaker 1: to prove the grace he hath given. He shall be
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Speaker 1: tried as gold in the fire. He shall be tempted,
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Speaker 1: not less than they who know not God, perhaps abundantly more,
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Speaker 1: for Satan will not fail to try to the uttermost
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Speaker 1: those whom he is not able to destroy. Accordingly, the
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Speaker 1: rain will impetuously descend only at such times and in
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Speaker 1: such a manner as seems good, not to the prince
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Speaker 1: of the power of the heir, but to him whose
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Speaker 1: kingdom ruleth over all. The floods or torrents will come.
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Speaker 1: They will lift up their waves and rage horribly, But
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Speaker 1: to them. Also, the Lord that sitteth above the water floods,
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Speaker 1: that remaineth a king forever, will say, hitherto shall ye come,
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Speaker 1: And no farther here shall your proud waves be stayed.
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Speaker 1: The winds will blow and beat upon that house, as
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Speaker 1: though they would tear it up from the foundation, But
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Speaker 1: they cannot prevail it foleth not, for it is founded
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Speaker 1: upon a rock. He buildeth on Christ by faith and love.
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Speaker 1: Therefore he shall not be cast down. He shall not fear,
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Speaker 1: though the earth bee moved, and though the hills be
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Speaker 1: carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters
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Speaker 1: thereof rage and swell, and the mountains shake at the
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Speaker 1: tempest of the same, Still he dwelleth under the defense
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Speaker 1: of the most High, and is safe under the shadow
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Speaker 1: of the Almighty. How nearly then, does it concern every
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Speaker 1: child of man practically to apply these things to himself diligently,
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Speaker 1: to examine on what foundation he builds, whether on a
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Speaker 1: rock or on the sand. How deeply are you can
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Speaker 1: to inquire, what is the foundation of my hope? Whereon
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Speaker 1: do I build my expectation of entering into the Kingdom
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Speaker 1: of Heaven? Is it not built on the sand, upon
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Speaker 1: my orthodoxy or right opinions, which, by a gross abuse
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Speaker 1: of words, I have called faith, upon my having a
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Speaker 1: set of notions suppose more rational or scriptural than others
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Speaker 1: have Alas, what madness is this? Surely this is building
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Speaker 1: on the sand, or rather on the froth of the sea.
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Speaker 1: Say I am convinced of this? Am I not again
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Speaker 1: building my hope on what is equally unable to support it?
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Speaker 1: Perhaps on my belonging to so excellent a church reformed
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Speaker 1: after the true scripture model, blessed with the purest doctrine,
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Speaker 1: the most primitive liturgy, the most apostolical form of government.
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Speaker 1: These are doubtless so many reasons for praising God. As
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Speaker 1: they may be so many help to holiness. But they
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Speaker 1: are not holiness itself. And if they are separate from it,
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Speaker 1: they will profit me nothing. Nay, they will leave me
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Speaker 1: the more without excuse, and expose to the greater damnation. Therefore,
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Speaker 1: if I build my hope upon this foundation, I am
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Speaker 1: still building upon the sand. You cannot you dare not
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Speaker 1: rest here? Upon? What next? Will you build your hope
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Speaker 1: of salvation upon your innocence, upon your doing no harm?
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Speaker 1: You're not wronging or hurting anyone. Well, allow this plea
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Speaker 1: to be true. You are just in all your dealings.
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Speaker 1: You are a downright honest man. You pay every man
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Speaker 1: his own. You neither cheat nor extort. You act fairly
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Speaker 1: with all mankind. And you have a conscience towards God.
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Speaker 1: You do not live in any known sin. Thus far
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Speaker 1: is well, But still it is not the thing. You
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Speaker 1: may go thus far and yet never come to heaven.
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Speaker 1: When all this harmlessness flows from a right principle, it
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Speaker 1: is the least part of the religion of Christ. But
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Speaker 1: in you it does not flow from a right principle,
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Speaker 1: and therefore is no part at all of religion. So
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Speaker 1: that in grounding your hope of salvation on this you
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Speaker 1: are still building upon the sand. Do you go farther? Yet,
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Speaker 1: do you add to the doing no harm, the attending
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Speaker 1: all the ordinances of God? Do you, at all opportunities
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Speaker 1: partake of the Lord's supper, use public and private prayer,
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Speaker 1: fast often, hear in search the scriptures, and meditate thereon.
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Speaker 1: These things likewise ought you to have done from the
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Speaker 1: time you first set your face towards heaven. Yet these
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Speaker 1: things also are nothing being alone, They are nothing without
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Speaker 1: the weightier matters of the law, and those you have forgotten,
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Speaker 1: at least you experire xperience them, not faith, mercy and
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Speaker 1: love of God, holiness of heart, heaven opened in the soul. Still,
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Speaker 1: therefore you build upon the sand over and above all this?
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Speaker 1: Are you zealous of good works? Do you, as you
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Speaker 1: have time do good to all men? Do you feed
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Speaker 1: the hungry, and clothe the naked? And visit the fatherless
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Speaker 1: and widow in their affliction? Do you visit those that
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Speaker 1: are sick? Relieve them that are in prison? Is any
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Speaker 1: a stranger and you take him in? Friend? Come up higher?
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Speaker 1: Do you prophesy in the name of Christ? Do you
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Speaker 1: preach the truth as it is in Jesus? And does
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Speaker 1: the influence of His spirit attend your word and make
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Speaker 1: it the power of God unto salvation? Does He enable
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Speaker 1: you to bring sinners from darkness to light, from the
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Speaker 1: power of satan unto God? Then go and learn what
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Speaker 1: thou hast so often taught by grace. Ye save through faith,
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Speaker 1: not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but
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Speaker 1: of his own mercy. He saveth us. Learn to hang
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Speaker 1: naked upon the cross of Christ, counting all thou hast
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Speaker 1: done but dung and dross apply to him, just in
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Speaker 1: the spirit of the dying thief of the Harlot with
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Speaker 1: her seven devils. Else, thou art still on the sand,
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Speaker 1: and after saving others, thou wilt lose thy own soul. Lord,
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Speaker 1: increase my faith if I now believe. Else give me faith, though,
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Speaker 1: but as a grain of mustard seed. But what does
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Speaker 1: it profit if a man say he have faith and
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Speaker 1: have not works? Can that faith save him? Oh? No,
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Speaker 1: that faith which hath not works, which does not produce
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Speaker 1: both inward and outward holiness, which does not stamp the
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Speaker 1: whole image of God on the heart and purify us
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Speaker 1: as He is pure. That faith which does not produce
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Speaker 1: the whole of the religion described in the foregoing chapters,
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Speaker 1: is not the faith of the Gospel, not the Christian faith,
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Speaker 1: not the faith which leads to glory. Oh, beware of
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Speaker 1: this above all other snares of the devil of resting
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Speaker 1: on unholy, unsaving faith. If thou layest stress on this,
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Speaker 1: thou art lass. Forever thou still buildest thy house upon
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Speaker 1: the sand. When the rain descends and the floods come,
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Speaker 1: it will surely fall, and great will be the fall
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Speaker 1: of it. Now. Therefore, build thou upon a rock by
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Speaker 1: the grace of God. Know thyself, know and feel that
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Speaker 1: thou hast shapen in wickedness and in sin, that thy
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Speaker 1: mother conceive thee, and that thou thyself hast been heaping
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Speaker 1: sin upon sin ever since thou couldst discern good from evil,
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Speaker 1: own thyself guilty of eternal death, and renounce all hope
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Speaker 1: of never being able to save thyself. Be it all
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Speaker 1: thy hope to be washed in His blood and purified
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Speaker 1: by His Spirit, who himself bore all thy sins in
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Speaker 1: his own body upon the tree. And if thou knowest
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Speaker 1: he hath taken away thy sins so much, the more
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Speaker 1: abase thyself before him, in a continual sense of thy
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Speaker 1: total dependence on Him for every good thought and word
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Speaker 1: and work, and of thy utter inability to all good
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Speaker 1: unless He water thee every moment. Now weep for your
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Speaker 1: sins and mourn after God till He turns your heaviness
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Speaker 1: into joy. And even then weep with them that weep,
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Speaker 1: and for them that weep not for themselves, mourn for
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Speaker 1: the sins and miseries of mankind. And see but just
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Speaker 1: before your eyes the immense ocean of eternity without a
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Speaker 1: bottom or a shore, which has already swallowed up me
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Speaker 1: and millions of men, and is gaping to devour them
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Speaker 1: that yet remain. See here the House of God eternal
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Speaker 1: in the heavens, there hell and destruction without a covering.
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Speaker 1: And thence learn the importance of every moment, which just
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Speaker 1: appears and is gone forever. Now add to your seriousness,
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Speaker 1: meekness of wisdom, hold an even scale as to all
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Speaker 1: your passions, but in particular as to anger, sorrow, and fear.
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Speaker 1: Calmly acquiesce in whatsoever is the will of God. Learn
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Speaker 1: in every state wherein you are therewith to be content,
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Speaker 1: be mild to the good, Be gentle toward all men,
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Speaker 1: but especially toward the evil and the unthankful. Beware not
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Speaker 1: only of outward expressions of anger, such as calling thy
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Speaker 1: brother raca or thou fool, but of every inward emotion
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Speaker 1: contrary to love, though it go no farther than the heart.
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Speaker 1: Be angry at sin as an affront offered to the
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Speaker 1: majesty of heaven. But love the sinner still, like our Lord,
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Speaker 1: who looked round about upon the Pharisees with anger, being
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Speaker 1: grieved for the hardness of their hearts. He was grieved
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Speaker 1: at the sinners, angry at sin. Thus be angry and
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Speaker 1: sin not. Now do thou hunger and thirst, not for
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Speaker 1: the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth into
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Speaker 1: everlasting life. Trample underfoot the world and the things of
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Speaker 1: the world. All these riches, honors, pleasures. What is the
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Speaker 1: world to thee? Let the dead, bury the dead, But
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Speaker 1: follow thou after the image of God, and beware of
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Speaker 1: quenching that blessed thirst, if it is already excited in
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Speaker 1: thy soul by what is vulgarly called religion, a poor,
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Speaker 1: dull force, a religion of form of outside show, which
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Speaker 1: leaves the heart still cleaving to the dust, as earthly
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Speaker 1: and sane, victual as ever. Let nothing satisfy THEE but
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Speaker 1: the power of Godliness. But a religion that is spirit
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Speaker 1: and life, the dwelling in God and God in thee,
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Speaker 1: the being an inhabitant of eternity, the entering in by
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Speaker 1: the blood of sprinkling within the veil, and sitting in
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Speaker 1: heavenly places with Christ Jesus. Now seeing thou canst do
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Speaker 1: all things through Christ, strengthening thee, be merciful as thy
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Speaker 1: Father in heaven. Is merciful love thy neighbor as thyself,
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Speaker 1: love friends and enemies as thy own soul. And let
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Speaker 1: thy love be long suffering and patient towards all men.
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Speaker 1: Let it be kind, soft, benign, inspiring thee with the
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Speaker 1: most amiable sweetness and the most fervent and tender affection.
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Speaker 1: Let it rejoice in the truth wheresoever it is found,
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Speaker 1: the truth that is after Godliness. Enjoy whatsoever brings glory
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Speaker 1: to God and promotes peace and good will among men.
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Speaker 1: In love, cover all things of the dead and the absence,
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Speaker 1: speaking nothing but good. Believe all things which may any
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Speaker 1: way tend to clear your neighbour's character. Hope all things
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Speaker 1: in His favor, and endure all things, triumphing over all
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Speaker 1: opposition for true love. Never faileth in time or in eternity.
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Speaker 1: Now be thou pure in heart, purified through faith from
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Speaker 1: every unholy affection, cleansing thyself from all filthiness of flesh
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Speaker 1: and spirit, and perfecting holiness in the fear of God,
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Speaker 1: being through the power of His grace, Purified from pride
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Speaker 1: by deep poverty of spirit, from anger, from every unkind
28:43
Speaker 1: or turbulent passion, by meekness and mercifulness, from every desire,
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Speaker 1: but to please and enjoy God by hunger and thirst
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Speaker 1: after righteousness. Now love the Lord, thy God, with all
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Speaker 1: thy heart and with all thy strength. In a word,
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Speaker 1: let thy religion be the religion of the heart. Let
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Speaker 1: it lie deep in thy inmost soul. Be thou little
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Speaker 1: and base and mean and vile, beyond what words can
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Speaker 1: express in thy own eyes, amazed and humbled to the
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Speaker 1: dust by the love of God which is in Christ
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Speaker 1: Jesus be serious. Let the whole stream of thy thoughts, words,
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Speaker 1: and actions flow from the deepest conviction that thou standest
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Speaker 1: on the edge of the great gulf, Thou and all
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Speaker 1: the children of men just ready to drop in, either
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Speaker 1: into everlasting glory or everlasting burnings. Let thy soul be
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Speaker 1: filled with mildness, gentleness, patience, long suffering towards all men,
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Speaker 1: at the same time that all which is in thee
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Speaker 1: is a thirst for God, the Living God, longing to
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Speaker 1: awake up after His likeness and to be satisfied with it.
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Speaker 1: Be thou a lover of God of all mankind. In
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Speaker 1: this spirit, do and suffer all things. Thus show thy
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Speaker 1: faith by thy works. Thus do the will of thy Father,
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Speaker 1: which is in heaven. And as sure as thou now
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Speaker 1: wokest with God on earth, thou shalt also reign with
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Speaker 1: Him in glory. End of section thirty three.