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Faithfulness in littles

(John Colwell, "Little Foxes; The Little Sins That Mar the Christian Character" 1882)

"Catch the foxes--the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes!" Song of Songs 2:15

The little things of life are most important. Those who affect to despise the importance of little things, are in danger of becoming little people. Certainly no great man will ever do so. He will the rather prove his greatness by a hearty recognition of the truth of the wise saying, "He who despises little things, shall fall little by little."

The Great Teacher drew some of His most beautiful and important lessons from little things--such as little flowers, little birds, little dew-drops, little children. He insisted on faithfulness in littles.

My friend, life is great because it is the aggregation of littles.

As the coral reefs which rear themselves high above the crawling sea beneath, are all made up of minute skeletons of microscopic animalcules; so life, mighty and solemn as having eternal consequences; life that hangs over the sea of eternity--is made up of these minute incidents, of these trifling duties, of these small tasks. Only those who are faithful in the least are, or can be, faithful in the whole.

Little things make either . . .
  the joy--or the sorrow,
  the success--or the ruin,
  the safety--or the danger,
  the grandeur--or the smallness
--of human life.

Illustrations of this principle abound:

     Little neglects lead to great ruin.

     Little precautions lead to great safety.

     Little wastings make great losses.

     Little savings make great gains.

     Little troubles make us miserable.

     Little virtues make us godly.

     Little vices make us wicked.

Therefore, says inspired Wisdom, "Catch the foxes--the little foxes that spoil the vines," which is equivalent to saying, "I know you will keep out the more hateful and destructive full-grown foxes, by stopping up all the large holes in the vineyard fence. Your danger lies in overlooking the smaller gaps by which the little foxes may enter, and thus spoil your vines by robbing them of the tender grapes."

How forcibly may this advice be urged upon Christian people! They will be almost certain to secure their character against the intrusion of shameful vices, destructive sins, and great scandals. But are they always so careful to stop the smaller breaches in the fence of their Christian character against the little foxes, lesser sins, smaller vices, and trifling moral blemishes which, nevertheless, spoil the loveliness and nobility of their lives? Judging from observation and experience, I fear not.

In this book, we will point out some "little foxes" that do much damage in the Christian vineyard, and invite our readers to hunt them down!

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Vegetating in selfishness?

(Octavius Winslow, "The Sensitiveness of Christ to Suffering")

Every believer, however limited and veiled from human eye his sphere of life--will create a public sentiment respecting himself. His relations, his friends, his neighbors--will form their opinion of his character, doings and life.

Few pass through life incognito to eternity!

Few slide through society unseen, unnoticed, unfelt.

Each individual Christian should especially live for an object. He should so live as to make his talents, influence, and example count upon the present and eternal well-being of all with whom He comes in contact.

"No man lives to himself."

As a "light"--He is to shine!

As "salt"--He is to influence!

As a "witness"--He is to testify for Christ.

In a world like this, where there is . . .
  so much evil to correct,
  so much temptation to resist,
  so much sorrow to soothe,
  so much need to supply,
  so much misery to counteract,
  so much ignorance to instruct,
  so much good to be done--
none need be idle, dreaming away existence, vegetating in selfishness--not living for man, or laboring for God.

Oh, be an earnest, active Christian!

Be up and doing!

Life is too momentous, too solemn, too responsible--for sluggishness, inactivity, and selfishness!

We are gliding down the stream onward to eternity! Shall we spend our fleeting moments in grasping at the floating straw--when for every moment and act of our present course, we shall soon be cited at Christ's bar for scrutiny and judgment?

Souls are perishing!

Ignorance of the gospel is prevailing!

Iniquity is abounding!

Satan is unslumbering!

Death plies its scythe, and the grave yawns each moment! An eternity of bliss or of woe is gathering deathless beings to its bosom, at every stroke of the pendulum!

Shall we not, then, be active and earnest in a world like this?

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Romans 12:11

"Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

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True excellency!

(Jonathan Edwards)

Worldly men imagine that there is true excellency and true happiness in those things which they are pursuing. They think that if they could but obtain them, that they would be happy. But when they obtain them, and cannot find happiness--then they look for happiness in something else, and are still upon the futile pursuit.

There is a transcendent glory, and an ineffable sweetness in Christ.

Jesus Christ has true excellency, and so great an excellency, that when you come to truly see Him, you look no further, but your mind rests there.

You see that you had been pursuing shadows, but now you have found the substance.

You realize that you had been seeking happiness in the stream, but now you have found the ocean.

The excellency of Christ is an object adequate to the natural cravings of the soul, and is sufficient to fill its capacity.

Christ has an infinite excellency, such as the mind desires, in which it can find no bounds.
The more the mind contemplates Him, the more excellent does He appear.

Each new discovery of Christ makes His beauty appear more ravishing, and the mind can see no end to His excellency. There is room enough for the mind to go deeper and deeper, and never come to the bottom.

Christ's excellency is always fresh and new, and will as much delight us after we have beheld Him a thousand, or ten thousand years--as when we have seen Him the first moment.

The soul is exceedingly ravished when it first looks on the beauty of Christ. It is never weary of Him.

"His mouth is most sweet, Yes, He is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!" Song of Songs 5:16

"Put the beauty of ten thousand worlds of paradises, like the Garden of Eden in one; put all trees, all flowers, all fragrances, all colors, all tastes, all joys, all loveliness, all sweetness in one. O what a lovely and excellent thing would that be! And yet it would be less compared to our dearest well-beloved Christ--than one drop of rain compared to the whole seas, rivers, and lakes of ten thousand earths." Samuel Rutherford

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Though it is less bestial--yet is it more diabolical!

(Matthew Mead, 1629-1699)

"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless, who takes His name in vain!" Exodus 20:7

Another provoking sin which is widespread among us, is using the most holy name of the majestic God in vain.

This is a sin less excusable than debauchery, because I do not know any sense which is gratified with it. Though it is less bestial--yet is it more diabolical! O the horrid blasphemies which are daily belched out by the black-mouthed sons of Belial! A person is so likely to hear the name of God blasphemed, that he cannot walk the streets of the city without stopping his ears. The life, the blood, the wounds of our dear and precious Lord, are tossed to and fro by the mouths of wretched swearers. Truly, their tongues are set on fire by Hell! We wonder that they do not set our whole nation on flame!

The polluted breath of these wretches, has infected the very air we breathe! When men shall set themselves purposely to swear, and devise new blasphemies--what possible excuse do they have for this?

They are not ashamed to own themselves as the devil's vassals, and they dance in his chains while others hear their damnable cackling. What other design can these swaggering sinners have in such vile behavior--but audaciously to affront the great Majesty of Heaven and earth, in the vilest manner they are capable of!

Ah, besotted wretches--can your mind find no other way to vent your malice on any other object? Do you have no other or cheaper way to eternally condemn yourselves? Are you afraid that you will miss entering Hell? What did you mean by your blasphemies--to dare God to His face? Would you force Him to give you a convincing evidence of His wrath? If so, I hope you are satisfied by this time--but if not, you shall be shortly.

Were you resolved to see how far His patience would extend? Did you fear that He is so merciful, that you would never feel His wrath? Or were you in such haste to be with your everlasting companions, the devils and the damned--that you thought your judgment lingered, and damnation slumbered, and would therefore do your best to hasten it? Or were you so fully bent on the satisfaction of your lusts--that you were resolved to pursue them, even to the burning Lake of Fire?

Are you resolute to do all that you can before-hand--to outrage that God, who will treat you so severely in Hell? Or are you now getting used to the language of Hell, that you might not have to learn it when you are thrown there?

Shall we wonder when such rebels have risen up against the Lord--if He grows jealous for His great Name--and rises, and vindicates His glory and power from the contemptuous affronts of insolent mortals!

Yes, how many roaring swearers have we got, who, as if they were already entered into familiarity with devils, make nothing of it to curse themselves to the pit of Hell in their common discourse! They can scarcely speak a sentence without their abominable blasphemies. Were their tongues plucked out by the roots--it would be a small punishment in no way suited to the heinousness of their crimes!

Let them stay a while longer in their contempt of God and His threatenings. They shall too soon find to their sorrow--that all their accursed curses are accomplished! The devil, whom they have so often wished to fetch them, shall very shortly have that commission which he eagerly waits for! Then let them say whether the dreadful God is to be jested with and blasphemed!

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What a treasure!

(Thomas Reade)

"His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night!" Psalm 1:2

What a treasure is the Word of God!

Here we have:
  Light, to dissipate our darkness.
  Truth, to guide us amid the mazes of error.
  Consolations, to gladden us in a world of misery.

The Bible is . . .
  the Revelation of our Father's love;
  the Expression of Jehovah's grace to sinners;
  the Depository of heavenly blessings;
  the Charter of our highest privileges;
  the Religion of true Christians;
  the Glory of our churches;
  the poor man's Friend.

Everything sublime in conception, and tender in expression--is to be found in the sacred Scriptures.

The Eternal Jehovah has there revealed Himself as . . .
  clothed with majesty and honor;
  glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders;
  of purer eyes than to behold iniquity;
  in whose sight the heavens are not clean.

In the sacred Scriptures, He has manifested His glory--as mighty to save, forgiving iniquity transgression and sin.

In that blessed volume, Mercy is seen to arrest the arm of Justice--and all the tenderness of the Father is displayed in the person of the adorable Son.

Love breathes throughout its sacred pages!

"Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long!" Psalm 119:97

"When your Words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight!" Jeremiah 15:16

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When He strikes us--as well as when He strokes us!

(Abraham Wright, 1611-1690)

"You have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He disciplines everyone He accepts as a son." Hebrews 12:5-6

We may feel God's hand as a Father upon us, when He strikes us--as well as when He strokes us!

What fools are we, then, to frown upon our afflictions! These, however difficult, are our best friends.

They are not indeed for our pleasure--they are for our profit. I am . . .
  mended by my sickness,
  enriched by my poverty, and
  strengthened by my weakness!

"God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:10-11

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When God sent him to school to the swine-trough!

(Thomas Case, "The Rod and the Word, A Treatise on Afflictions" 1653)

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied--then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." Deuteronomy 8:10-14

In the school of affliction, God teaches us how to prize our outward mercies and comforts more--and yet to dote upon them less. We are taught to be more thankful for them--and yet  less ensnared by them.

Naturally we are very prone either to slight or to surfeit God's blessings. And yet (sad to consider) we can often do both at once! We can undervalue our mercies--even while we glut ourselves with them! We can despise them--even when we are surfeiting upon them.

Behold while men fill themselves with the mercies of God--they can neglect the God of their mercies! When God is most liberal in remembering us--then we are most ungrateful to forget Him. Therefore that we may know how to put a due estimate upon mercies--God may cut them off, that we may learn to prize by the lack of mercies, that which our foolish unthankful hearts slighted in the enjoyment of them.

Now this ungrateful distemper, God many times cures by the sharp corrosive of affliction!

Thus the prodigal, who while yet at home could despise the rich and well furnished table of his father; when God sent him to school to the swine-trough--would have gladly filled his belly with the pods which he was feeding to the swine!

When months and years of God's mercies and blessings are passed through--we scarcely take one grateful view of them; we seldom send up one thankful prayer to God for them. We pass by our mercies as common things, scarcely worth the owning. Whereas in times of famine--the lees and dregs of those mercies will be precious, which while the vessel ran full and fresh, we could hardly relish. In famine the very gleanings of our comforts are better than the whole vintage in the years of plenty!

In the withdrawing of common mercies--God will teach us their inestimable worth.

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The family disease!

(J.C. Ryle)

"He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves, that they were righteous." Luke 18:9

The sin which our Lord here denounces, is "self-righteousness."

We are all naturally self-righteous. It is the family disease of all the children of Adam. From the highest to the lowest--we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. We secretly flatter ourselves that we are not as bad as some, and that we have something to merit the favor of God.

We forget the plain testimony of Scripture:
  "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins."
  "What is man, that he could be pure; or one born of woman, that he could be righteous?"
  "There is no one righteous, not even one!"

The true cure for self-righteousness, is self-knowledge. Once let the eyes of our understanding be opened by the Spirit--and we shall talk no more of our own goodness. Once let us see what sin there is in our own hearts, and what the holy law of God requires--and self-conceit will die. We shall lay our hand on our mouths, and cry with the leper, "Unclean, unclean!" Leviticus  13:45

"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:32

"Christ died for the ungodly!" Romans 5:6

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We would be forever contented with the garlic and flesh-pots of Egypt!

(Thomas Case, "The Rod and the Word, A Treatise on Afflictions" 1653)

One lesson which God teaches us in the school of affliction, is how to prize and long for Heaven. In our prosperity, "when we wash our steps in butter, and the rock pours us out rivers of oil" (Job 29:6)--we could sit down with the present world, and say, "It is good for us to be here; let us build dwellings here."

While life is sweet--then death is bitter.

Heaven itself is no enticement--while the world gives us her alluring baits.

But when poverty and imprisonment, reproach and persecution, sickness and sore diseases--pinch and vex our hearts with a variety of afflictions--then we are not so fond of the creature, and are pleased to parley with death, and take Heaven into our consideration.

God by putting us into the school of affliction, takes off our hearts by degrees from this present world, and makes us look homeward. Being burdened, we groan--and with the dove we return to the ark, when the world is sinking round about us.

We would be forever contented with the garlic and flesh-pots of Egypt--if God did not set cruel taskmasters over us to double our burdens. And when God thus lessens our esteem of the world--He reveals to us the excellency of heavenly comforts, and draws out the desires of the soul to Himself:
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" Psalm 42:1-2
"Even so, come Lord Jesus!" Revelation 22:20

Afflictions make Heaven appear as Heaven indeed!

To the weary, Heaven is rest;
to the banished, it is home;
to the scorned and reproached, it is glory;
to the captive, it is liberty;
to the soldier, it is victory;
to the hungry, it is hidden manna;
to the thirsty, it is the fountain of life;
to the grieved, it is fullness of joy; and
to the mourner, it is pleasures forevermore.
In a word, to those who have lain upon the dunghill of affliction, and walked in holiness--Heaven is the throne on which they shall sit and reign with Christ forever and ever!

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That Man of sorrows, is the Savior of the world!

(Gardiner Spring)

O! Who was it that suffered?  What did He suffer?  For whom did He suffer?

Think of Him--the Father's fellow, and the church's Beloved.

Think of the Garden and the Cross, and see how they demonstrate on the one hand, the enormity of our guilt; and on the other, the force of His almighty love.

Think of the debased and abject character of those for whom He died--depraved men, and the enemies of God!

That Man of sorrows, is the Savior of the world!

That naked, bleeding victim--is the mighty Conqueror of death and Hell!

O what triumphs of love and of holiness were there, when . . .
  the earth trembled;
  and the sun grew dark;
  and the veil of the temple was rent in twain;
  and the rocks broke asunder;
  and the graves gave up their dead;
  and Hell itself was moved with terror;
  and the Great Redeemer exclaimed, "It is finished!"

Christ is precious to all who believe!

Abraham "rejoiced to see Christ's day, and he saw it and was glad."

Moses esteemed Him more precious than all the treasures of Egypt.

David esteemed Him "fairer than the children of men."

The Church in her divine songs speaks of Him . . .
  as the "rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys;"
  as "the chief among ten thousand and the altogether lovely One;"
  and as the One whom "her soul loves."

The wise men of the East adored Him.

Simeon took Him up in his arms, and said, "Now Lord, let you your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation!"

And to holy men wherever found, Jesus is precious!
"The upright love You!"
"Whom having not seen, you love."
"To you who believe, He is precious!"

In all your duties and trials--He will be precious.

When the world loses its charms--He will become more glorious and lovely than ever.

When death invades--He will become its mighty conqueror.

When you sleep beneath the clods of the valley--He will be the resurrection and the life.

When the books shall be opened, and small and great shall stand before God, and the precious Savior shall come in the clouds, and you shall go to be forever with the Lord--He shall be doubly precious, and more and more precious through interminable ages!

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Revelation 5:12

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They hope that they shall not have two Hells!

(Thomas Case, "The Rod and the Word, A Treatise on Afflictions" 1653)

Because men suffer in this world--they assume they shall be freed from sufferings in the world to come.
Because they have a Hell here--they imagine that they shall escape Hell hereafter.

They hope that they shall not have two Hells!

Poor, deluded soul! You may and must have two Hells. Cain, and Judas, and millions of reprobate men and women, have two Hells--one in this life, in torments of body--and another in the life to come, in unquenchable fire.

You may have a prison on earth--and a dungeon in Hell.
You may now lack a crumb of bread--and hereafter lack a drop of water.
You may now be the reproach of men--and hereafter the scorn of God Himself.

Affliction alone is not enough to evidence a man to be a saved man. Blows may sooner break the neck, than the heart! Afflictions are in themselves, the fruit of divine wrath--and therefore cannot possibly of themselves make the least argument of God's love to the soul.

God forbid that a man should take that for his security from Hell--which may be but the foretaste of Hell! Present afflictions, may be the pledge of endless misery.

In many cases it is to be feared that the cup of affliction, is a vial of wrath--and that the plagues of this life, are but some drops of that coming storm of fire and brimstone, wherein impenitent sinners shall be scorched and tormented forever!

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Rich in meditation--rich in grace!

(Thomas Case, "The Rod and the Word, A Treatise on Afflictions" 1653)

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night." Psalm 1:1-2

Take heed of feeding your heart's corruption with thoughts of the sweetness that is in sin.

Take heed also, of starving grace by withdrawing from it suitable nourishment.

Meditate much upon . . .
  the sinfulness of sin,
  the vanity of the creature,
  the fullness of Christ,
  the exquisiteness of His sufferings,
  the finality of the judgment,
  the torments of Hell,
  the joys of Heaven,
  the infinite perfections of the divine nature,
  and the solemnity of eternity!

Rich in meditation--rich in grace!

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Joshua 1:8

   ~  ~  ~  ~

"When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches." Psalm 63:6

"I will meditate on all Your works and consider all Your mighty deeds." Psalm 77:12

"I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways." Psalm 119:15

"Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long." Psalm 119:97

"My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on Your promises." Psalm 119:148

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His discipline is sharp--but the end is sweet!

(Thomas Case, "The Rod and the Word, A Treatise on Afflictions" 1653)

"No chastening seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

"Whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." Hebrews 12:6

God will rather fetch blood--than lose one of His sons!

See and admire the wisdom, power and goodness of God--who can make His people better by their sufferings!

Behold, I show you a gospel mystery! God can . . .
  extract gold, out of clay;
  draw the richest wine, out of gall and wormwood;
  turn the greatest misery of the body, into the greatest good of the soul;
  turn the chastening itself, into a blessing;
  make the withered rod of affliction, to bud into a harvest of righteousness and peace!

The almond tree is said to be made fruitful by driving nails into it, thereby letting out a noxious gum which hinders its fruitfulness. In the same way, God never intends more good to his children, than when He seems to deal most severely with them! His discipline is sharp--but the end is sweet!

O that the children of God in affliction, or entering upon sufferings--would sit down and dwell upon the fruit and advantage which God knows how to bring out of all their sorrows.

"Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty." Job 5:17

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your Word." Psalm 119:67

"It was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn Your decrees." Psalm 119:71

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Five sharp stings!

(Thomas Watson, "A Divine Cordial" 1663)

Many love sin, more than God. "They are haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful, inventors of evil." Romans 1:30

What is there in sin--that any should love it?

Sin is a debt. "Forgive us our debts." Matthew 6:12
Sin is a debt which binds over to the wrath of God!
And will you love sin? Does any man love to be in debt?

Sin is a disease. "Your whole head is injured, your whole heart is sick. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness--only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil." Isaiah 1:5-6. And will you love sin? Will any man hug a disease? Will he love his plague sores?

Sin is a pollution. The apostle calls it "filthiness." James 1:21. It is compared to leprosy and to poison of asps!

Sin is a hideous monster. Lust makes a man brutish--and malice makes him devilish! What is in sin to be loved? Shall we love deformity?

God's heart rises against sinners. "My soul loathed them!" Zechariah 11:8

Sin is an enemy. It is compared to a "serpent". Sin has five sharp stings:
  shame,
  guilt,
  horror,
  death,
  damnation!

Will a man love that which seeks his death? Surely then it is better to love God than sin.

God will save you--but sin will damn you! Is he not a fool--who loves damnation!

But love to God will never let sin thrive in the heart. The love of God withers sin. The flower of love kills the weed of sin! How should we labor for that grace of love to God--which is the only corrosive to destroy sin!

[nChrist]

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I hate buttermilk!

One Sunday morning at a small southern church, the new pastor called on one of his older deacons to lead in the opening prayer. The deacon stood up, bowed his head and said, "Lord, I hate buttermilk." The pastor opened one eye and wondered where this was going.

The deacon continued, "Lord, I hate lard." Now the pastor was totally perplexed.

The deacon continued, "Lord, I ain't too crazy about plain flour. But after You mix 'em all together and bake 'em in a hot oven, I just love biscuits. Lord, help us to realize when life gets hard, when things come up that we don't like, whenever we don't understand what You are doing--that we need to wait and see what You are making. After You get through mixing and baking, it'll be something even better than biscuits. Amen."

"Jesus replied: You do not understand now what I am doing, but later you will understand." John 13:7


"Help me, O Lord, to make a blessed use of all the disappointments and calamities of life, in such a way that they may unite my heart more closely with You. Cause my disappointments to separate my affections from worldly things, and inspire my soul with more vigor in the pursuit of true happiness. Amen." Susanna Wesley (1669-1742), mother of John and Charles Wesley and 17 other children.

"We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28