O Christian, never take hold of sin, except with a gauntlet on thy hand; never go to it with the kid-glove of friendship; never talk delicately of it; but always hate it in every shape. If it comes to thee as a little fox, take heed of it, for it will spoil the grapes. Whether it bounds towards thee as a roaring lion, seeking whom it may devour, or makes advances in an attractive form, with graceful mien, seeking by a pretended affection to entice thee into sin—beware; for its hug is death, and its clasp destruction. Sin of every kind thou art to war with—of lip, of hand, of heart. However gilded with profit; however varnished with the seemliness of morality; however complimented by the great, or however popular with the multitude, thou art to hate sin everywhere, in all its disguises, at every time, and in every place. Not one sin is to be spared, but against the whole is to be proclaimed an utter and entire war of extermination.
How to Read the Bible.
You may read the Bible continuously, and yet never learn anything by it, unless it is illuminated by the Spirit; and then the words shine forth like stars. The book seems made of gold leaf; every single letter glitters like a diamond. O! it is a blessed thing to read an illuminated Bible lit up by the radiance of the Holy Ghost. Hast thou read the Bible, and yet have thine eyes been unenlightened? Go and say, "O Lord, illuminate it; shine upon it; for I cannot read it to profit, unless Thou enlightenest me." Blind men may read the Bible with their fingers, but blind souls cannot. We want a light to read the Bible by; there is no reading it in the dark.
A View of Christ.
A view of Christ is always beneficial to a Christian—too much of Christ we cannot have—there can be no tautology where His name is mentioned. Give us Christ always, Christ ever. The monotony of Christ is sweet variety; and even the unity of Christ hath in it all the elements of harmony. Christ on His cross and on His throne, in the manger and in the tomb—Christ everywhere is sweet to us. We love His name, we adore His person, we delight to hear of His works—the theme is ever new.
There are some who complain that their love to the Saviour is faint and cold. But this would not be if they were more with Jesus. The closer you live to Christ, and the more you know Him, the better you will love Him. Do not try to produce in yourself a certain degree of love to Christ by some extraordinary means; but go into His presence, meditate upon Him continually, picture to yourself His sufferings for you, and then you will love Him—it will become easy to you, for He will draw your poor heart closer to himself, as you thus think about Him; and your love to Him will grow just in proportion as you realize His love to you.