NOT Ourselves BUT Christ Jesus The LORD!

Your Christian Influence, your Reputation as a worker for God, and your Standing among your brethren, may be an Idol to which you Must Die, Before you can be Free to Live for Him Alone.

If you have ever noticed the type on a printed page, you must have seen that the little "i" has always a dot over it, and it is that dot that Elevates it Above the other letters in the line.

Now, each of us is a little i, and over every one of us there is a little dot of Self-Importance, Self-Will, Self-Interest, Self-Confidence, Self-Complacency, or something to which we Cling and for which we Contend, which just as surely reveals Self-Life as if it were a Mountain of Real Importance.

This Is a Rival of Jesus Christ...

And the Enemy of the Holy Ghost and of Our Peace and Life...

And therefore God has Decreed its Death...

And the Holy Spirit, with His flaming sword is waiting to Destroy it, that we may be able to enter through the gates and come to the Tree of Life. 

Lord, crowd me out by Thy Fulness even as the Glory of the Lord left no room for Moses in the Tabernacle.

~A. B. Simpson

But The Choice Is In Better Hands!

Exo 33:14  And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

Moses asked to be shown the way. The way is not shown.

But better than this, God says, "Trust Me, I will go with you!"

Afflicted one! Hear this wilderness promise which God speaks to His spiritual Israel still. 

He who led His people of old "like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron," will manifest towards you the same Shepherd love.

The way may be very Different from what we would have Wished; and what we would have Chosen. 

But the Choice is in better hands! 

God had His own wise and righteous ends, in every erratic turning in the wilderness wanderings.

Just so, who can look back on the past leadings of God, without gratitude and thankfulness? 

When His sheep have been conducted to the rougher parts of the wilderness-He, their Shepherd, has been with them. 

When their fleece was torn, and they were footsore and weary, He has borne them in His arms. 

His presence has lightened every cross, and sweetened every care.

Let us trust Him for an unknown and checkered future!

With Him for our portion, take what He will away-we must be happy. 

We can rise above the loss of the earthly gift, in the consciousness of the nobler possession which we enjoy in the Great Bestower.

He may have seen fit to level 'clay idols'- that He, the "All Satisfying One" might reign paramount and supreme.

He will not allow us to raise havens on earth, and to write upon them: "This is my rest."

But "Fear not," He seems to say, "You are not left without a friend or without solace on the way home. 

Pilgrim in a pilgrim land! 

My presence shall go with you...

In all your dark and cloudy days...

In your hours of faintness and depression...

In all your sickness and sadness...

In life and in death!

When the journey is ended, I will give you Eternal Rest with Me!"

The pledge of Grace will be followed with the fruition of Glory!

Exo 33:14  And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

~John Macduff

TOO TIMID To TELL The TRUTH

The Contemporary Moral climate does not favor a Faith as Tough and Fibrous as that taught by our Lord and His apostles.

The Delicate, Brittle saints being produced in our Religious Hothouses today are hardly to be compared with the Committed, Expendable believers who once gave their witness among men.

 

And the fault lies with our leaders. 

 

They are too Timid to tell the people All the Truth.

 

They are now asking men to give to God that which Costs Them Nothing.

Our churches these days are filled (or one-quarter filled) with a Soft breed of Christian that must be Fed on a diet of Harmless Fun to keep them Interested.

 

About theology they know little.

 

Scarcely any of them have read even one of the great Christian classics, but most of them are familiar with religious fiction and spinetingling films. 

 

No wonder their moral and spiritual constitution is so frail. 

 

Such can only be called weak adherents of a faith they never really understood.

When will Christians learn that to Love Righteousness it is Necessary to Hate Sin? 

 

That to Accept Christ it is Necessary to Reject Self? 

 

That to Follow the Good Way we must Flee from evil?

 

That a Friend of the World is an Enemy of God?...

 

~A. W. Tozer

The Evil Of Not Fearing!

Now we pass over to the other side - the evil of not fearing. 

But this is another kind of fear, fear of the Lord, walking in the fear of the Lord, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of the Lord. 

"Great fear came upon the church" - with what result? 

It lost heart, it became afraid, it was paralyzed? No! - the Name of the Lord Jesus was glorified and the Church multiplied. 

Oh, this then, must be another kind of fear. 

It operates in exactly the opposite way from that of which we have been speaking.

What is this fear? 

Well, it is the fear of devotion to the Lord. 

It is that fear which, in the first place, has all questions of relationship with the Lord settled, has the whole matter of acceptance by the Lord settled, the sin question is got out of the way through the righteousness which is of faith. 

Then the fear of the Lord means recognition of His glory, recognition of His greatness, recognition of His holiness, His majesty, and a humble submission to Him in the fear that would not in any way work against Him and His honor. 

It is another kind of fear, the fear of devotion to the Lord, and the chief characteristic of this fear is meekness. 

And that is where the sin of not fearing is found in the Word of God.

If you go through the Word and you find those various instances where God came out in judgment because this fear was not there, you will find that it was that those instances represented something like this. 

In Numbers 16 you have Dathan and Abiram and their company. What are they doing? 

To Moses, the meekest of men, the anointed servant of the Lord, they say, "You take too much on yourself. You are not the only one through whom the Lord speaks. We are as much the children of God as you are!" 

That is how they speak, and they fear not to put their hand upon that which is anointed.

It is not that Moses is anything, but it is the anointing. 

It is something anointed of God and they were guilty of the sin of spiritual assumption; it was due to a lack of meekness. 

The Lord came out in terrible judgment, showing for all time that when the Lord anoints anyone or anything, that anointing is not something that constitutes that person a special office or officer. 

The anointing is the Lord, the Lord Himself. 

The Lord is on that, the Lord Himself is in that, the Lord is there, and when you touch that, you touch the Lord; you touch that in word, you touch the Lord, you touch that in deed, you touch the Lord. 

"He reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not Mine anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm" (Psa. 105:14-15).

If you and I ever have the slightest reason to conclude that the Lord is anywhere or with any person or with anything or with any people, we touch that to our peril if it is touching it other than in the fear of the Lord.

It is a tremendous check. We read that little bit from 1 Samuel. 

Yes, David was anointed, David was God's chosen one, but Saul had been anointed and Saul was not yet dead. 

Saul was not yet set aside finally, although potentially. 

David got an opportunity and cut off the skirt of Saul's garment and then it says, "David's heart smote him". 

David's heart smote him. 

We in New Testament times in whom the Spirit dwells would say, "The Lord rebuked me, smote me in my heart, in my spirit". 

Again and again this comes up - exactly what happens in the case of the bringing up of the ark. 

When Uzzah died before the Lord, what was the reason? 

It was a lack of the fear of the Lord of the right kind. 

It was an assumption. 

It was a putting forth of a hand to touch holy things. 

That is terrible. 

The evil of not fearing, you see. 

It comes from an insufficient apprehension of the sacredness of what is of God.

But this fear is a holy fear. 

Let no one think for a moment that this fear of the Lord is death, bondage, useless and crushing. Not at all. 

Wherever you find this fear of the Lord you find joy, love, peace and liberty. 

People are not afraid of the Lord. 

But they are careful not to grieve the Lord.

They do not take liberties with the Lord. 

They do not think of spiritual liberty as spiritual license. 

They do not cast off restraint, they do not ride rough-shod over all sacred things, calling it liberty. 

No, there is holy fear which restrains and in restraining keeps things pure and keeps things clear and makes a straight way for the Lord. 

The true fear of the Lord is not dread. 

It is a very blessed and precious thing.

Now you notice these passages in the New Testament show us that it was at such times when this kind of fear came in a special way that there was something to the glory of God. 

You know, if you get into the book of the Acts and you begin to see things happening, getting to the realm of "things doing" as we say, the expression and manifestation of divine power there is your peril. 

That was so in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. 

Things were happening. 

What a peril when the Lord is doing something, for the flesh to just step in and begin to sport itself in what God is doing, to take advantage, to exploit the situation for its improvement, and the Lord had to step in to save the situation. 

What did He do? 

Well, what He did in the issue was to recover a wholesome fear, a fear that would keep things pure and "fear fell upon all". 

That kept things pure. 

It did not arrest the Lord. 

It did not mean that things had got to come under bondage again. 

No, it just kept things pure, and so that was repeated from time to time. "Great fear came upon all... the Name of the Lord was glorified and the Church multiplied."

What I want to say is this, that a right kind of fear, a fear of the Lord, is something which gives the Lord a very clear way to do what He wants.

"To this one will I look..." - and oh, what a lot is bound up with that phrase. 

It does not just mean that the Lord takes a look at us, looks in our direction. 

When the Lord looks to us, well, there is everything we want. 

All that we want is in the light of His countenance.

If the Lord looks upon us, it is like the sun looking out with all the beneficent rays of warmth and light and energy. 

"To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembles at My word" (Isa. 66:2). 

Do you want, do I want, spiritual increase in understanding, in knowledge, in revelation? 

Do we want spiritual increase in strength from the Lord? 

Do we want fullness? 

Let me say that this is going to come to the humble man, the weak, meek one in the eyes of the Lord, the one who trembles at His word, who does not assume.

Oh, let us ask the Lord that there may be found in us that true holy fear which is love, not the fear which is contrary to love, but the true holy fear which is love. 

The Lord will be able to go on and lead us into all His fullness if He has that quality in us, that in us which simply means that we honor Him, we recognize Him, we trust Him, we have perfect confidence in Him, and that we are very reserved either by word of criticism, or judgment, or by any other way, to put a hand upon what is sacred to the Lord, even a child of God. 

If it is a child of God, then the Lord is in that one and we must be very careful. 

That is what it means, and this matter of the blessing of the Lord which makes rich, this matter of the light of His countenance, is a very practical matter. 

It may all hang upon some matter of our attitude towards another child of God. 

The whole of the fullness of Christ may be held up and suspended for us because of some injurious way in which we talk about what is precious to God, if we criticize it, judge it, think that we can improve it. 

The Lord may stand back.

Let us ask the Lord to put into our hearts His fear while on the other hand He is seeking to root out of us that evil which is so much to His dishonor. 

I simply bring this to you and urge upon you further prayerful reflection. 

Ask the Lord about this. 

Do not forget the enemy's drive along the line of fear...

But do not forget that freedom from the enemy's kind of fear does not make us those fire-eaters who care for nothing and simply trample all sacred things down under foot because we are very bold. 

No, there is a right boldness and a wrong boldness, a right fear and a wrong fear. 

The Lord teach us the meaning of that! 

T. Austin Sparks

DON'T Make A Vow And NOT Keep It!

                                                                           
Ecc 5:5  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Mind The Checks!

1Ki 19:12  And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

A soul, who made rapid progress in her understanding of the Lord, was once asked the secret of her easy advancement. She replied tersely, "Mind the checks."

And the reason that many of us do not know and better understand Him is, we do not give heed to His gentle checks, His delicate restraints and constraints. 

His is a still, small voice. A still voice can hardly be heard. It must be felt. 

A steady, gentle pressure upon the heart and mind like the touch of a morning zephyr to your face. 

A small voice, quietly, almost timidly spoken in your heart, but if heeded growing noiselessly clearer to your inner ear.

His voice is for the ear of love, and love is intent upon hearing even faintest whispers. 

There comes a time also when love ceases to speak if not responded to, or believed in. 

He is love, and if you would know Him and His voice, give constant ear to His gentle touches. 

In conversation, when about to utter some word, give heed to that gentle voice, mind the check and refrain from speech.

When about to pursue some course that seems all clear and right and there comes quietly to your spirit a suggestion that has in it the force almost of a conviction, give heed, even if changed plans seem highest folly from standpoint of human wisdom.

Learn also to wait on God for the unfolding of His will. 

Let God form your plans about everything in your mind and heart and then let Him execute them. 

Do not possess any wisdom of your own. 

For many times His execution will seem so contradictory to the plan He gave. 

He will seem to work against Himself. 

Simply listen, obey and trust God even when it seems highest folly so to do. 

He will in the end make "all things work together," but so many times in the first appearance of the outworking of His plans...

In His own world He is content To play a losing game.

So if you would know His voice, never consider results or possible effects. 

Obey even when He asks you to move in the dark. 

He Himself will be gloriously light in you. 

And there will spring up rapidly in your heart an acquaintanceship and a fellowship with God which will be overpowering in itself to hold you and Him together, even in severest testings and under most terrible pressures. 

~Way of Faith

The Secret Of Joy Is Not To Wait Until You Feel Happy...

 

The Secret of joy is not to wait until you Feel happy...

But to rise, by an act of Faith, out of the depression which is dragging you down...

And begin to praise God as an act of choice.

This is the meaning of such passages as these: "Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice"!

I do rejoice; yes, and I will rejoice.

Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.

In all these cases there is an evident struggle with sadness and then the triumphs of faith and praise.
      
Now, this is what is meant in part, at least by the sacrifice of praise.

A sacrifice is that which costs us something.

And when a man or woman has some cherished grudge or wrong...

And is Harboring it, Nursing it, Dwelling on it, rolling it as a sweet morsel under the tongue...

And quite determined to enjoy a miserable time in selfish morbidness and grumbling...

It costs us no little sacrifice to throw off the morbid spell...

To refuse the suggestions of injury, neglect and the remembrance of unkindness...

To rise out of the mood of Self-Pity in wholesome and holy determination, and say...

I will rejoice in the Lord and I will count it all joy.

~A. B Simpson

There Is A Limit To Affliction!

There is a limit to affliction. 

God sends it, and God removes it. 

Do you sigh and say, "When will the end be?" 

Remember that our griefs will surely and finally end when this poor earthly life is over...

Let us quietly wait and patiently endure the will of the LORD till He cometh. 

Meanwhile, our Father in heaven takes away the rod when His design in using it is fully served. 

When He has whipped away our folly, there will be no more strokes. 

Or, if the affliction is sent for testing us, that our graces may glorify God, it will end when the LORD has made us bear witness to His praise. 

We would not wish the affliction to depart till God has gotten out of us all the honor which we can possibly yield Him. 

There may today be "a great calm." 

Who knows how soon those raging billows will give place to a sea of glass, and the sea birds sit on the gentle waves?

After long tribulation the Rail is hung up, and the wheat rests in the garner. 

We may, before many hours are past, be just as happy as now we are sorrowful. 

It is not hard for the LORD to turn night into day. 

He that sends the clouds can as easily clear the skies. 

Let us be of good cheer. 

It is better on before. 

Let us sing hallelujah by anticipation. 

~Charles Spurgeon

He Will Be Silent In His Love

Mat 15:23  But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

Zep 3:17  The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

It may be a child of God is reading these words who has had some great crushing sorrow, some bitter disappointment, some heart-breaking blow from a totally unexpected quarter. 

You are longing for your Master's voice bidding you "Be of good cheer," but only silence and a sense of mystery and misery meet you -"He answered her not a word."

God's tender heart must often ache listening to all the sad, complaining cries which arise from our weak, impatient hearts...

Because we do not see that for our own sakes He answers not at all or otherwise than seems best to our tear-blinded, short-sighted eyes. 

The silences of Jesus are as eloquent as His speech and may be a sign, not of His disapproval, but of His approval and of a deep purpose of blessing for you.

Why art thou cast down, O… soul?

Thou shalt yet praise Him, yes, even for His silence. 

Listen to an old and beautiful story of how one Christian dreamed that she saw three others at prayer. 

As they knelt the Master drew near to them.

As He approached the first of the three, He bent over her in tenderness and grace, with smiles full of radiant love and spoke to her in accents of purest, sweetest music. 

Leaving her, He came to the next, but only placed His hand upon her bowed bead, and gave her one look of loving approval. 

The third woman He passed almost abruptly without stopping for a word or glance.

The woman in her dream said to herself, "How greatly He must love the first one, to the second He gave His approval, but none of the special demonstrations of love He gave the first...

And the third must have grieved Him deeply, for He gave her no word at all and not even a passing look.

I wonder what she has done, and why He made so much difference between them?

As she tried to account for the action of her Lord, He Himself stood by her and said: "O woman! how wrongly hast thou interpreted Me. 

The first kneeling woman needs all the weight of My tenderness and care to keep her feet in My narrow way. 

She needs My love, thought and help every moment of the day. 

Without it she would fail and fall.

The second has stronger faith and deeper love, and I can trust her to trust Me however things may go and whatever people do. 

The third, whom I seemed not to notice, and even to neglect, has faith and love of the finest quality...

And her I am training by quick and drastic processes for the highest and holiest service.

She knows Me so intimately, and trusts Me so utterly, that she is independent of words or looks or any outward intimation of My approval. 

She is not dismayed nor discouraged by any circumstances through which I arrange that she shall pass; 

She trusts Me when sense and reason and every finer instinct of the natural heart would rebel...

Because she knows that I am working in her for eternity, and that what I do, though she knows not the explanation now, she will understand hereafter.

I am silent in My love because I love beyond the power of words to express, or of human hearts to understand...

And also for your sakes that you may learn to love and trust Me in Spirit-taught, spontaneous response to My love, without the spur of anything outward to call it forth.

He "will do marvels" if you will learn the mystery of His silence, and praise Him, for every time He withdraws His gifts that you may better know and love the Giver. 

~Selected

The Devil's Jackals!

2Sa 11:2  And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

At that hour David saw Bathsheba.  

We are never out of the reach of temptation!  

Both at home and abroad we are liable to meet with allurements to evil. 

The morning opens with peril, and the shadows of evening find us still in jeopardy.

They are well kept, whom God keeps! 

But woe unto those who go forth into the world, or even dare to walk their own house, Unarmed. 

Those who think themselves secure, are more exposed to danger than any others. 

The armor-bearer of sin, is Self-Confidence.

David should have been engaged in fighting the Lord's battles, instead of which he tarried at Jerusalem, and gave himself up to luxurious repose--for he arose from his bed in the evening.

Idleness and luxury are the devil's jackals, and find him abundant prey.

In stagnant waters, noxious creatures swarm.

Neglected soil, soon yields a dense tangle of weeds and briers.

Oh for the constraining love of Jesus to keep us active and useful!

When I see the King of Israel sluggishly leaving his couch at the close of the day and falling at once into temptation, let me Take Warning, and Set Holy Watchfulness to Guard the door!

Is it possible that the king had mounted his housetop for prayer and devotion? 

If so, what a caution is given us to count no place, however secret--a sanctuary from sin!

While our hearts are so like a tinder-box, and sparks so plentiful--we had need use all diligence in all places, to prevent a blaze.

Satan can climb housetops, and enter prayer-closets!

And even if we could shut out that foul fiend, our own corruptions are enough to work our ruin--unless God's grace prevents it.

Reader, beware of evening temptations. 

Be not secure. The sun is down--but sin is up. 

We need a watchman for the night, as well as a guardian for the day.

O lessed Spirit, keep us from all evil this night. Amen.

~Charles Spurgeon

Fret Not Over Evil-Doers!

Psalm 37:1  A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

Do not get into a perilous heat about things. 

If ever heat were justified, it was surely justified in the circumstances outlined in the Psalm. 

Evil-doers were moving about clothed in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day. 

Workers of iniquity were climbing into the supreme places of power, and were tyrannizing their less fortunate brethren.

Sinful men and women were stalking through the land in the pride of life and basking in the light and comfort of great prosperity, and good men were becoming heated and fretful.

Fret not thyself. Do not get unduly heated! Keep cool! 

Even in a good cause, fretfulness is not a wise help-meet. 

Fretting only heats the bearings; it does not generate the steam. 

It is no help to a train for the axles to get hot; their heat is only a hindrance. 

When the axles get heated, it is because of unnecessary friction; dry surfaces are grinding together, which ought to be kept in smooth co-operation by a delicate cushion of oil.

And is it not a suggestive fact that this word "fret" is closely akin to the word "friction," and is an indication of absence of the anointing oil of the grace of God?

In fretfulness, a little bit of grit gets into the bearings-some slight disappointment, some ingratitude, some discourtesy-and the smooth working of the life is checked. 

Friction begets heat; and with the heat, most dangerous conditions are created.

Do not let thy bearings get hot. Let the oil of the Lord keep thee cool, lest by reason of an unholy heat thou be reckoned among the evil-doers.

 ~The Silver Lining

Dear restless heart, be still; don't fret and worry so; God has a thousand ways His love and help to show;

Just trust, and trust, and trust, until His will you know.

Dear restless heart, be still, for peace is God's own smile, His love can every wrong and sorrow reconcile;

Just love, and love, and love, and calmly wait awhile.

Dear restless heart, be brave; don't moan and sorrow so, He hath a meaning kind in chilly winds that blow;

Just hope, and hope, and hope, until you braver grow.

Dear restless heart, repose upon His breast this hour, His grace is strength and life, His love is bloom and flower;

Just rest, and rest, and rest, within His tender power.

Dear restless heart, be still! Don't struggle to be free; God's life is in your life, from Him you may not flee;

Just pray, and pray, and pray, till you have faith to see.

~Edith Willis Linn

GOD'S Multiplication Table

Works for the LORD often begin on a small scale, and they are none the worse for this. 

Feebleness Educates Faith, brings God near, and Wins Glory for His Name. 

Prize promises of increase! 

Mustard seed is the smallest among seeds, and yet it becomes a treelike plant, with branches which lodge the birds of heaven. 

We may begin with one, and that "a little one," and yet it will "become a thousand." 

The LORD is great at the multiplication table. 

How often did He say to His lone servant, "I will multiply thee!" 

Trust in the LORD, ye ones and twos...

For He Will Be in the midst of you If you are gathered In His Name. 

A small one. What can be more despicable in the eyes of those who count heads and weigh forces! 

Yet This Is The Nucleus Of A Great Nation. 

Only one star shines out at first in the evening, but soon the sky is crowded with Countless lights. 

Nor need we think the prospect of increase to be remote, for the promise is, "I Jehovah Will Hasten It In His Time."

There will be No Premature Haste, like that which we see at excited meetings...

It Will Be All In Due Time, But Yet There Will Be No Delay. 

When The LORD Hastens, His Speed Is Glorious.

~Charles Spurgeon

Deliverance From Dust And Chaff

Amos 9:9  For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

The Sifting Process Is Going On Still. 

Wherever we go, we are Still being Winnowed and Sifted. 

In all countries God's people are being Tried "like as corn is sifted in a sieve." 

Sometimes the devil holds the sieve and tosses us up and down at a great rate, with the earnest desire to get rid of us forever.

Unbelief is not slow to Agitate our heart and mind with its Restless Fears. 

The world lends a willing hand at the same process and shakes us to the right and to the left with great vigor. 

Worst of all, the church, so largely Apostate as it is, comes in to give a more Furious Force to the sifting process. 

Well, well! Let it go on. 

Thus is the Chaff Severed from the Wheat. 

Thus Is The Wheat Delivered From Dust And Chaff.

And how great is the Mercy which comes to us in the text, "Yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth"! 

All shall be Preserved that is Good, True, Gracious. 

Not one of the least of believers lose anything worth calling a loss. 

We shall be So Kept in the Sifting that it shall be a Real Gain to us Through Christ Jesus.

~Charles Spurgeon

 

How Long Will You Love Vanity?

Psalm 4:2  O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.

The Lord is often represented in His word as reasoning with us.

He manifests the deepest interest, shows intense pity, and uses many means to draw us back from the vortex of ruin.

But man, thoughtless man, silly man rushes on his way, trifles with his soul, and plays on the brink of the most dreadful precipice!

He is in love with his sin...

And therefore in love with his own destruction! 

But God does not abandon him to despair-but touchingly, tenderly, lovingly, He reasons with him and asks, "How long will you love vanity?"

Man by nature sets his heart upon what is vain and worthless-that which is not suited to, or required by, his immortal nature. 

Vanity represents that which is light, Changeable, and of Brief duration.  

Man displays his love of vanity by preferring human friendship, to God's friendship...

By thinking much more of the creature, than the Creator..

By preferring earthly riches, to heavenly riches...

By preferring carnal pleasures, to spiritual delights!

Nor only so, but he manifests his foolishness by indulging in sin, the worst of vanities!

Look at the profane swearer, the drunkard, the glutton, the proud, the lover of pleasure. 

They are in love with vanity! 

They imagine that they shall have pleasure and enjoy happiness...

But they never ponder the questions...

What shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 

God asks the lover of vanity, "How Long!" 

How long will you love vanity?

You have been doing so for years. 

Some for twenty, some for forty, and some for sixty years! 

You have manifested love to vanity...

Though warned...

Though convinced you were doing wrong...

Though you have often promised to reform. 

You are still loving vanity though mortality is at work within you, though death is very near to you, though eternity is within a step of you, though Hell is ready to receive you!

You persevere in loving vanity...

While a pardon is presented to you...

While peace with God may be enjoyed by you...

While holiness may be obtained by you...

And while Heaven is within your reach! 

How long will you love vanity?

Until some affliction unfits you to seek the world?

Until God's Spirit no longer strives with you?

Until Satan fills your heart?

Until God laughs at your calamity?

Until some sudden stroke takes you away to Hell?

How long?

Let your past foolishness suffice...

And now, while the door of mercy is open, enter!

Now, while the way of escape is clear, Flee for your life!

No one ever came too soon, thousands have Delayed too long!

No one ever regretted that he was saved too early...

Millions have Cursed their folly that they were not saved at all!

Myriads wish that they had never been born, because they persevered in such folly. 

Beware then, Beware-lest you Bitterly Regret your folly too late! 

Love Vanity No Longer!

~James Smith