dominion over me. Psa 119:133
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Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:
remove thy foot from evil. Pro 4:26-27
I. That a holy life is a masterpiece of order. Holiness rejoices in symmetry, proportion, harmony, order. That--
1. Of conformity to rule. We have the rule given us in living characters in the incarnate Word. I fear me there are hundreds of Christians who do not scruple to do things without once pausing to use the plumb-line of Christ’s example to see whether their actions are upright. But the truly Christian heart will ever seek to proceed according to the Divine mind.
2. That which is arithmetical. Things are never in order when the second is before the first, and order in life consists very much in seeking first the kingdom of God. Oh, it is well with the Christian when he has learned his notation table well, and gives the first thing the first place.
3. That which is geometrical. There should be progress in Christian life, and if the advance be by a constant multiple, how greatly will a man increase. He who did a little for Christ when but a babe in grace should do more as a young man, and most of all as a father.
4. The order proportional. All Christians should endeavour so to balance their lives that there shall not be an excess of one virtue and a deficiency in another. Courage some will have till they are rude. Modesty in otters will sink into cowardice. It is only in the life of Jesus that you see this order most of all: it shall perplex you to discover what virtues shine with purest radiance.
5. That of relation. We stand not alone; we are all the centers of circles, and innumerable lines intersect each other in the region of our hearts. Now, we should seek for right relationship with God and with all men and things: with the Church and our own families.
6. There is an order of period: the order of the celestial Almanack: duties done at due time. Holiness consists not in the rushing of intense resolve, which, like Kishen, sweeps everything before it, and then subsides, but in the constant flow of Silvah’s still waters, which perpetually make glad the city of God. The tree that God commendeth bringeth forth its fruit in its season. It is the fault of numbers that their virtues are always too late.
7. The order of suitability. What would be right enough for one man is not so for another. What is suitable to She worldling is not She measure of the Christian’s service. “What do ye more than others?” is a very pertinent question to all of us.
II. The rule of this order. “In Thy Word,” not according to my wishes, which would be mere self-will. Nor according to profit of this world: nor according to the rule of pleasure: nor according to impressions, but “in Thy Word.”
III. The director whom David had chosen. God Himself. Much will depend upon the model that a man takes, and the captain under whom a man serves. A commanding officer, last week at Aldershot, was obeyed by his soldiers with that prompt discipline which is peculiar to the British soldier; but through some mistake he managed to dash together two parties of dragoons, so that one or two were injured and one man killed outright. When God orders us no harm can come then. David’s prayer is for a loving heart, an illumined mind, guidance of the Spirit, to have the love of holiness; to be not tempted above what he is able—this prayer means all these things. Christians, seek holiness would you extend the Church’s power; would you enjoy peace in your own souls. And you whose steps are not ordered in God’s words—some of you are halting. Decide now. Others of you are hypocrites. How will you bear the judgment of God? Trust in Jesus now. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
I. Because your feet are pressing toward an end by which your whole previous path in life is to find final test. Thomas Carlyle says, “It is the conclusion that crowns the work; much more the irreversible conclusion wherein all is concluded; thus is there no life so mean but a death will make it memorable.” As you are going now what will that final test of the end declare?
II. Because this moment you are choosing your path. You should ask yourself whether it be the right one.
III. Because the longer you walk in the wrong path the harder it will Be to get out of it into the right, The awful law of habit; the binding power of bad companionships. (Homiletic Magazine.)
The importance of keeping the heart. “Out of it are the issues of life.” The physical heart of man is well defended by nature, because it is the spring of our bodily life. From it, as from a well, issues life-blood, which flows into every part of the body, and without which a man ceases to live. The strong ribs and the inner coverings of the heart which so well defend it show the necessity there is that it should be free to do its work without let or hindrance. “A sound heart is the life of the flesh,” says Solomon (chap. Pro_14:30). If the heart is healthy, the benefit is felt to the extremities of the body; if it is diseased, the whole physical frame suffers. Out of it are the issues of animal life. A man who has charge of a well of water is bound to keep it covered and secured against the entrance of anything that might poison or even defile it. Upon its safe keeping depends, perhaps, not only the health of himself and his household, but that of an entire district. It is a centre of health if pure, of disease if impure. So upon the condition of the inner man depends the character of the outward life. It is a well-spring of life in the sense that it determines the character of the life. The streams which issue from it are the actions of man, actions repeated are habits, and habits form character; and character influences other lives. What a man is blesses or curses those around him, and entails blessing or curse upon generations to come. A good man in a neighborhood is like a well of living water, he diffuses and preserves moral health all around him.
(Preacher's Homiletical)