Chapter 21. How Spiritual Mindedness Is Life And Peace.
CHAPTER 21. HOW SPIRITUAL MINDEDNESS IS LIFE
AND PEACE.
HAVING declared in what this duty of being "spiritually minded" consists, what remains, in compliance with the text from where the whole is educed, is to manifest how it is "life and peace," which is affirmed by the apostle.146 This will be done with all brevity, having passed through what was principally designed.
And there are two things we inquire into:
I. What is meant by "life and peace."
II. In what sense to be "spiritually minded" is both of them.
I. What is meant by "life and peace."
1. That spiritual life of which we are made partakers in this world is threefold, or there are three gospel privileges or graces so expressed:
(1.) There is the life of justification. The just shall live in it by faith, freed from the condemnatory sentence of the law. So "the righteousness of one comes" to all who believe "unto justification of life," Rom 5.18. It gives believers a right and title to life; for "those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Christ Jesus," verse 17. This is not the life here that is intended, for this life depends solely on the sovereign grace of God by Jesus Christ, and the imputation of his righteousness to us, unto pardon, the right to life, and salvation.
(2.) There is a life of sanctification. As life in the foregoing sense is opposed to spiritual death, as to the guilt of it and the condemnatory sentence of death which accompanied it, so in this sense, it is opposed to it as to its internal power on and efficacy in the soul — to keep it impotent as to all acts of spiritual life, indeed, in enmity against them. This is that life with which we are
"quickened" with Christ Jesus, when before we were "dead in trespasses and sins," Eph 2.1-5. The apostle directly addresses this life in Romans 8. For in the first four verses of the chapter, having declared the life of justification in its nature and causes, in the following verses he contrasts spiritual death in sin, with the life of sanctification, by which we are freed from it.
To be spiritually minded, is this life of sanctification in a double sense:
[1.] It is the principal effect and fruit of that life. The life itself consists in the infusion and communication of a principle of life — that is, of faith and obedience — into all the faculties and powers of our soul, enabling us to live to God. To be spiritually minded cannot be this life formally. For it is a grace to which many duties concur, not only as to the actings of all grace in them, but as to the degree of their exercises. Rather, it is that in which the power of this principle of life exerts itself in the first and chief place. All actings of grace, all duties of obedience, both internal and external, proceed from this spring and fountain. Nothing of that kind is acceptable to God, except what is influenced by it, and is an effect of it. But it principally exerts its virtue and efficacy in rendering our minds spiritual. If it doesn't effect this, it doesn't work at all — that is, we are utterly destitute of it. The next and immediate work of the principle of life in our sanctification, is to renew the mind: to make it spiritual, and then to gradually carry it on to that degree which is called being spiritually minded.
[2.] It is the proper adjunct and evidence of sanctification. How would anyone know whether he is spiritually alive to God, with the life of sanctification and holiness? The communication of this life to him is by an almighty act of creating power, Eph 2.10.147
Thus, it is not easily discernible, so as to help us make a right judgment about it from its essence or form. But where things are indiscernible of themselves, we may know them from their proper and inseparable adjuncts. They are therefore called by the essence or the form itself. Such is "being spiritually minded" with respect to the life of sanctification. It is an inseparable property and adjunct of it, by which it infallibly evidences itself to those in whom it is [infused].
In these two respects, it is the life of sanctification.
(3.) "Life" is taken for the comforts and refreshments of life. So the apostle says in 1The 3.8, "Now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord;" — In other words, "Now our life will do us good; we have the comforts, the refreshments, and the joys of it." "Non est vivere, sed valere vita." The comforts and satisfactions of life are more life, than life itself. It is "life;" that is, that which makes life to be so — bringing in that satisfaction, and those refreshments for it, which make it pleasant and desirable. And I suppose this is what is
principally intended in the words of the apostle. It is "life," a cheerful joyous life, a life worth the living. In explication and confirmation of this, it is added that it is "peace" also.
2. "Peace" is twofold:
(1.) It is general and absolute; that is, peace with God through Jesus Christ, which is celebrated in the Scripture, and which is the only original spring and fountain of all consolation for believers. It contains in it virtually everything that is good, useful, or desirable to them. But it is not what is precisely intended here. It is not the immediate ground and cause of it, which is our justification, not our sanctification: Rom 5.1, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God." So Christ alone is "our peace," as the one who has "made peace through the blood of his cross," Eph 2.14,15, Col 1.20. Our being spiritually minded is in no way the cause or reason for this; it is only an evidence and pledge of it, as we will see. Nor is it the formal nature of it. Peace with God through the blood of Christ is one thing, and peace in our minds through a holy frame in them is another. The former is communicated to us by an immediate act of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, Rom 5.5; the latter is an effect on our minds, begun and gradually carried on by the duties we declared at large before. The immediate actings of the Holy Spirit, in sealing us, witnessing to our adoption, and being an earnest of glory, are required for the former; our own sedulity and diligence in duties, and in the exercise of all grace, are required for the latter.
(2.) "Peace" is taken for a particular fruit of the Spirit, consisting in a gracious quietness and composure of mind in the midst of difficulties, temptations, troubles, and other things which are apt to fill us with fears, despondencies, and disquietudes. This peace is what keeps the soul in its own power, free from transports by fears or passions, on all the abiding grounds of gospel consolation. For although this is a peculiar especial grace, it is that which is influenced and kept alive by the consideration of all the love of God in Christ, and all the fruits of it.
And whereas "peace" includes, in the first notion of it, an inward freedom from oppositions and troubles, which those in whom it exists are outwardly exposed to, there are two things from which we
are secured by this peace, which is an effect of being spiritually minded:
[1.] The first is offenses. There is nothing of whose danger we are more warned in the gospel than of offenses. "Woe to the world," says the Savior, "because of offenses!" Mat 18.7 All ages, all times and seasons, are filled with them, and they prove pernicious and destructive to the souls of many. Such are the scandalous divisions among Christians. The endless differences of opinions and diversity of practices in religion and the worship of God; the falls and sins of professors, the fearful end of some of them; the reproaches that are cast on all who engage into any peculiar way of holiness and strictness of life; with other things of a like nature
— by which the souls of innumerable persons are disquieted, subverted, or infected — are to be reckoned under this head. We are secured by this peace, against any hurtful or noxious influence on our minds from these things, against disquietudes, dejections of spirit, and disconsolations. So the psalmist assures us: Psa
119.165, "Great peace have those who love Your law: and nothing shall offend them."
The law, or the word of God, is the only way of the revelation of God and His will to us, and it is the only outward way and rule of our converse and communion with him. Therefore, to love the law is the principal part of being heavenly minded, and virtually that which comprehends the whole. To those who do so, nothing — none of those things mentioned before, nor anything of a like nature — will be an offense, a stumbling-block, or a cause of falling into sin. And the reason is because they have such an experience of the truth, power, efficacy, and holiness of the gospel, that the miscarriages of men under a profession of it, will never be an occasion of falling for them, nor of being offended at Christ. I look at it as a sign of a very evil frame of heart, when men are concerned in the miscarriages of some who have made a profession, by which they are perhaps damaged in their outward concerns, such that they are surprised into negative reflections on that religion which they profess, professing the same themselves.
[2.] The second is afflictions, persecutions, and sufferings of all sorts. It is known by all (it would be better if not so well known) what disquietudes, dejections, and disconsolations, these things
are apt to fill the minds of men with — what fears, troubles, and sorrows, they reflect upon them. This intended peace gives us security against all these effects. It makes us preserve a peaceable, indeed, a joyous life in our conflict with them. See Joh 16.33.148
Both these, as joined together here, "life and peace," comprise a holy frame of heart and mind, in which the souls of believers find rest, quietness, refreshment, and satisfaction in God, in the midst of temptations, afflictions, offenses, and sufferings. It is the soul's composure of itself in God, in his love in Christ Jesus, so as to not be greatly put out of order, nor cast down with anything that may befall it; but it affords men cheerfulness and satisfaction, though they sometimes walk in the valley of the shadow of death. Such persons have abiding in them, that which will give them life and peace under all occurrences.
II. Our next inquiry is, how this "spiritual mindedness" is "life and peace," or what it contributes to these, how it produces the frame of heart and mind so expressed. It does this in several ways:
1. It is the only means on our part of retaining a sense of divine love.
The love of God, in a gracious sense of it, as shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, is the first and only foundation of all durable comforts that will support and refresh us under all oppositions and distresses — that is, of retaining life and peace in our souls, in any condition. God communicates this by an act of sovereign grace, for the most part without any preparation for it in ourselves: "He creates the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace." Isa 57.19 But although divine love is in itself unchangeable and always the same, this sense of it may be lost, as it was in David, when he prayed that God would "restore to him the joy of His salvation," Psa 51.12; and so many others have found it by woeful experience. To insist upon all that is required on our part, so that we may retain a gracious, refreshing sense of divine love once it is granted to us, doesn't belong to my present purpose. But I say this, that there is nothing in which we are more concerned to be careful and diligent, than what belongs to that end. For men who, by a mere act of sovereign grace, have tasted of the goodness of God in this, who have had the consolation and joys of it, to then be negligent in keeping and preserving it in their souls, is a provocation they will be sensible of at one time or
other. Nothing more grieves the Holy Spirit than to have his especial work, by which He seals us unto the day of redemption, neglected or despised. And it argues for a mighty prevalence of some corruption or temptation that causes men to willingly, and by their own sloth, forfeit so inestimable a grace, mercy, and privilege. And few of us have no reason to bewail our folly in doing so. Every intimation of divine love is an inestimable jewel which, if safely treasured up in our hearts, adds to our spiritual riches. And being lost, it will at one time or another affect us with sorrow.
I am afraid that many of us are very negligent in this, to the great prejudice of our souls and spiritual state. Many such intimations are given to us by the Holy Ghost through the word, which we take little notice of. Either we don't know the voice of Christ in them, or we don't hearken to him in a due manner, or we refuse compliance with him, when we cannot help but know that He speaks to us. See Song
5.2,3.149 Or if we receive any impressions of a gracious sense of divine love in them, we quickly lose them, not knowing how much the life of our souls is concerned in them, and what use we may have of them in our subsequent temptations, trials, and duties.
Now, the great means of retaining a sense of the love of God, which is the only spring of life and peace to our souls, is this grace and duty of being spiritually minded. This is evident from the very nature of the duty. For, (1.) It is the soul's preserving of itself in a frame fit to receive and retain this sense of God's love. What other way can there be on our part, but that our minds, which are to receive and retain it, are spiritual and heavenly, always prepared for that holy converse and communion with Himself which he is pleased to grant us through Jesus Christ. And — (2.) It will fix our thoughts and affections upon the grace and love of God, in communicating such an inestimable mercy to us as a sense of his love; this is the only means for the preservation of a relish of it in our hearts. Whoever is in this frame of mind will remember, cull over, and ruminate upon, all such gracious pledges of divine favor, as David often remembered and culled over what he received in such places as in the "land of the Hermonites and at the
hill Mizar," Psa 42.6. This is the great way by which this treasure may be preserved.
(3.) A person who is so minded, and he alone, will have a due valuation of such intimations and pledges of divine love. Those who are full of other things, whose affections cling to them, never esteem heavenly mercies and privileges as they should. "The full soul loathes a honey-comb." God is as well pleased when a high valuation is put upon his kindness, as he is greatly provoked by the contrary frame which, indeed, nothing but infinite patience could bear with. It is a high provocation of God, when men are regardless of and unthankful for outward, temporal mercies — when they receive them and use them as if they were their own; as if they were lords of them, at least that these things are due them. He is much more provoked with our disregard of the least of those mercies which are the peculiar purchase of the blood of his Son, and the effects of his eternal love and grace. He alone who is spiritually minded, will value, prize, and store up these inestimable jewels in a due manner.
(4.) Such persons alone know how to use and improve all communications of a sense of divine love. These things are not granted to us to lie beside us unused. They are gracious provisions which we are furnished with, to enable us for all our other duties, conflicts, and trials. On all occasions, they are to be culled over for our spiritual relief and encouragement. By this they are safely retained. For in their due improvement, they grow brighter in our minds every day, and are ready for use; in which posture they are safely preserved. But these things will be further manifested in the instances that ensue.
2. This frame of mind casts out all principles and causes of trouble and disquietude, which are inconsistent with life and peace. There are principles of contrariety and opposition to spiritual life and peace, that are in us by nature, with sundry things whose abode and prevalence in us is inconsistent with them. I will give only one or two instances of it:
(1.) Spiritual mindedness will cast out all "filthiness and overflow of naughtiness" from our minds. Without this, we can receive no benefit by the means of grace, nor perform any duty in a right
manner, Jas 1.27.150 This filthiness stands in direct, immediate opposition and contrariety to our being spiritually minded, such that they cannot consistently reside in the same person; they expel one another like heat and cold. And where there is this "filthiness and overflow of naughtiness," there is neither life nor peace.
Unclean lusts of the flesh or of the spirit, working, creating tumult, acting in the minds of men, will not allow either the life of holiness to flourish in them, or any solid peace to abide with them. The soul is weakened by them as to all spiritual actings, and made like "the troubled sea, that cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt."
Where they are absolutely predominant, there is a hell within of darkness, confusion, and enmity against God, preparing men for a hell of punishment without, unto eternity. And to the extent they remain or have any prevalence in us, spiritual life and peace are impaired and obstructed by them. Now, the very nature of this grace and its universal exercise, is suited to casting out all the relics of this "filthiness and overflow of naughtiness." It brings a principle into the mind that is directly contrary to that from which they proceed. All its actings which we have described, lie in direct tendency to the extirpation of these causes of filthiness which ruin life and peace; nor will they be cast out by any other way. If the mind is not spiritual, it will be carnal; if it doesn't mind things above, it will fix itself inordinately on things below.
(2.) That disorder which is in the affections and passions of the mind by nature, which is directly opposite to spiritual life and peace, is cast out or cured by this. It is a blessed promise of the times of the New Testament, of the kingdom and rule of Christ, that through the efficacy of gospel grace, "the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid," Isa 11:6. Persons of the most intemperate and outrageous passions will be made meek and lowly. Where this is not effected in some measure, according to the degrees of the prevalence of such passions in us, we haven't been made partakers of evangelical grace. It would be an easy task to demonstrate how the disorder of our affections and passions is destructive of spiritual life and peace. The contrariety that is in them, and their contradiction to one another — their violence, impetuousness, and restlessness, their readiness to receive and take in provocations on all occasions, and frequently
upon no provocation at all except what imagination presents to them — are sufficient evidences of it.
Can we think that life and peace inhabit that soul in which anger, wrath, envy, excessive love for earthly things, dwell and exert themselves on all occasions — where there is continual tumult, fighting, and rebellion, as there is where the passions of the mind are not under the conduct of reason or of grace?
The nature and principal effect of this spiritual mindedness is to bring all the affections and passions of our minds into that holy order in which they were created. This was that uprightness in which God made us — namely, the whole blessed order of all the powers, faculties, and affections of our souls, in all their operations, in order for living to God. And this is restored to us by this grace, by this duty of being spiritually minded. And where it falls short of that perfection which we had originally (for the remainders of that disorder which befell us by sin will still continue in part), it is recompensed by the actings of that new principle of gospel grace which is exercised in it. For every act of our affections towards God in the power of grace, exceeds and is of another nature, above what we could do or attain in the state of uncorrupted nature. By this, life and peace are brought into our souls, and preserved in them.
3. It is that by which our hearts and minds are taken off the world, and all inordinate love for it. Where this [love of the world] exists in a prevalent degree, there is neither life nor peace. Every excess in it, both weakens spiritual life and disturbs, even destroys, all solid spiritual peace. I have occasionally spoken of this before, and also of the way by which minding things above in a due manner, delivers and preserves our souls from its snares. If we diligently examine ourselves, we will find that our inordinate affections, and clinging to these things, are the principal causes why we don't thrive more in the power of spiritual life, and why we meet with so many disquietudes and dejections of spirit, to the disturbance of our peace and rest in God. For there is no grace which isn't impaired by this love in its nature, or not obstructed by it in its exercise. Therefore, "to be spiritually minded is life and peace," because it subdues and expels that inordinate love for present things which is destructive of them both, and inconsistent with them.
4. It preserves the mind in a due and holy frame in the performance of all other duties. This also is indispensably required for the preservation of life and peace, especially for their improvement. They will not abide, much less thrive and flourish, in any persons who are negligent in holy duties, or who don't perform them in a due manner.
And there are four things which impede or hinder us from such an attendance to holy duties that may be advantageous to our souls, and against all of which we have relief by being spiritually minded: —
Distractions; Despondencies; Weariness; and Unreadiness to exercise grace.
(1.) Distraction of mind and thoughts has this evil effect. Many complain of it, but few take the right way of deliverance from it. For this evil will not be cured by attendance to any particular directions, without a change of the whole frame of our minds.
Nothing can give us relief in this but a prevalent delight in being exercised about things spiritual and heavenly; for all our distractions arise from this. The lack of fixing our minds on spiritual things with delight, makes us liable to be diverted from them on all occasions, or even to seek occasions for such diversions,
It is this frame alone — namely, of spiritual mindedness — that will give us this delight. For the soul is transformed by this into the likeness of spiritual things, such that they are suited to it and pleasant to our affections. The mind and the things themselves are thereby so fitted for each other, that on every occasion they are ready for mutual embraces, and not easily drawn away by any cause or means of the distractions complained of. Indeed, they will all be prevented by it.
(2.) Despondencies in duties arise from the frequent incursions of the guilt of sin. The remembrance of this guilt frequently solicits the minds of persons upon their first entrance into duty — unless they are under especial actings of grace, stirring them up to earnestness and fervency in what they undertake. At other seasons, it renders men lifeless and heartless, such that they don't know whether it's best to pray or not, when duty and opportunity call them to it. We have shown in many instances, that being spiritually minded is the great preservative against these disheartening incursions of sin. It is the soul's watch and guard against them, from wherever they arise or proceed. No lust or corruption can be
prevalent in a spiritual mind; and this is the principal cause of such incursions of sin that affect the soul with a disheartening sense of guilt. No affections can abide in any sinful disorder where the mind is so affected. This also gives sin an entrance to a distracting sense of guilt. But the sole cure for it lies in this grace and duty. The same may be said of all other ways, means, and occasions of such incursions of sin.
(3.) Weariness in, and weariness of spiritual duties abates their tendency to improve life and peace in us. This evil arises from the same cause as that of distraction, mentioned before. And it is oftentimes increased by the weakness and indispositions of the flesh, or of the outward man. Sometimes the spirit is willing, but through the weakness of the flesh, it is disappointed. The principal cure for this lies in that delight which spiritual mindedness gives the soul in spiritual things. For where there is a constant delight in anything, there will be no weariness, at least not such that it will hinder anyone from clinging firmly to the things in which he delights. Therefore, while we are exercised in a delight in spiritual things, weariness cannot prevalently assault the mind. It is the only relief against that weariness which proceeds from the indispositions of the outward man. For it will preserve the mind from attending too much to their solicitations, crying, "Spare yourself," by filling and possessing the thoughts with other things. And so it will offer holy violence to the complaints of the flesh, silencing them with a sense of, and a delight in holy duties.
(4.) Unreadiness for the due and proper exercise of grace is another thing which denies us the benefit of holy duties. The seasons for these duties have come, and a sense of duty carries men to attend to them and their performance. But when they should enter upon them, those graces of faith, love, fear, and delight — in which the soul and their being consist — are out of the way, unready for due exercise. Men must then take up and satisfy themselves with the mere outward performance of them. The heart and mind have been taken up with other things; due preparation has been lacking; men come to them reeking with thoughts of earthly occasions. It is no easy matter in such a frame, or directly out of such a frame, to stir up grace to a due exercise. But the very life of being spiritually minded lies in this. The nature of it consists
in keeping and preserving all grace in a readiness for its exercise as occasions require. And this is an effectual way by which this grace comes to be "life and peace;" for they cannot be attained, they cannot be preserved, without that constancy and spirituality in all holy duties, which we will never arrive at unless we are spiritually minded.
Lastly, This frame of mind brings the soul to, and keeps it at its nearest approaches to heaven and blessedness, in which lie the eternal springs of life and peace. According to the degrees of this grace in us, such are those degrees of our approaches to God.
Nearness to Him gives us our initial conformity to him, by the renovation of his image in us; just as our presence with Him will give us perfection in this. For when we see him, we shall be like him. 1Joh
3.2 He alone, therefore, as he is in Christ, being the fountain of life and peace, by our drawing near to him and by our likeness of him,
[these eternal springs] will thrive and flourish in our souls.
Notes [←1] Conversant: closely familiar; current; having frequent interaction.
[←2] Professors: believers; those who profess their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
[←3] Converse: here it means public interaction with others, in both words and deeds.
[←4] Contrivance: the faculty of devising a plan; an inventive skill. – WHG
[←5] Design: as Owen often uses this word, it is to intend or mean; – WHG
[←6] Ratiocination: logical and methodical (rational) reasoning
[←7] Complacency, as Owen uses it, means self-satisfaction, or contentment, rather than indifference or apathy. – WHG
[←8] Zoar, the little city to which Lot fled at Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction, rather than to the hills. Gen 19.20.
[←9] Eze 33:31 So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain.
[←10] Mat 5:28 "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
[←11] Pro 23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly;
[←12] Pro 23:33-35 Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. 34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: 35 "They have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?"
[←13] 2Tim 3.5.
[←14] 1Pet 4.7.
[←15] Joh 3:12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
[←16] Eph 1:15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.
[←17] 2Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified.
[←18] Touchstone: a basis for comparison; a standard of authenticity against which other things can be evaluated.
[←19] Isa 58:2 Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God. 3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?' "In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. 4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. 5
Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the LORD? 6 "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
[←20] Isa 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our
God, You people of Gomorrah: 11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats. 12 "When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts? 13 Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New
Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. 14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
[←21] Psa 78:34 When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God. 35 Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most
High God their Redeemer.
[←22] Eph 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Heb
10:19-22 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh; ... 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith;
[←23] Crisis here means a crucial stage or turning point in the course of something, as when a fever breaks. – WHG
[←24] Jer 4:14 O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, That you may be saved.
How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
[←25] Stated: planned and scheduled; set aside for a purpose.
[←26] Psa 16:7 I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. 8 I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Psa 92:2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night; Deu 6:7 "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
[←27] Originally, "call over;" but the sense is to "cull over," to sift through and gather such remembrances of His love. It seemed to be a typo (perhaps misreading Owen's handwriting). It occurs again in chapter 21. We may call these things to mind (Lam
3.21), but we don't normally "call them over." – WHG
[←28] Owen doesn't enumerate a Christian's "spiritual duties," but in chapter 3 he associates them with spiritual gifts: "the exercise of spiritual gifts in their duties." That would include teaching, preaching, administration, etc. In chapter 4, he associates them with prayer and our special callings, which include employment or parenting, as well as the ministry. Ordinarily these duties encompass the Christian disciplines: prayer, bible study, meditation, fellowship, charity (alms), fasting, hearing or preaching the word, evangelism, etc. We are to be spiritually minded in all of them. – WHG
[←29] Pro 1:24 Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded. Isa 65:12 Therefore I will number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; Because, when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight." Isa 66:4 So will I choose their delusions, And bring their fears on them;
Because, when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear; But they did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight."
[←30] 2The 1:6 Taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[←31] Pro 23:34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: 35 "They have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?"
[←32] Jos 7:21 "When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it." Pro 23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly;
[←33] Job 31:1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?
[←34] mille nocendi artes – sin is crafty in a thousand ways, like the wily serpent in the Garden. Satan never causes us to sin; he leads us to sin, by inflaming our innate desire for what is forbidden (Jas 1.14). – WHG
[←35] 2Cor 12:1 It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord, etc.
[←36] Rom 5:2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
[←37] Sheet anchor: a large strong anchor carried in the waist of a ship, and used as a spare in an emergency.
[←38] In 1681, the Ottoman Empire held most of the land around the Mediterranean. It stretched from the Sinai Peninsula east across the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; south to Medina and Mecca; north to the far side of the Baltic Sea, including Crimea and Ukraine, nearly to Kiev; west across Egypt, and along the northern shores of Africa almost to the Iberian Peninsula. It held most of eastern Europe (Hungary, SerboCroatia, Bulgaria, etc.) nearly to Vienna. It occupied Greece, Macedonia, Cyprus,
Turkey and Asia Minor, thus controlling the Aegean Sea. – WHG
[←39] 1Joh 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
[←40] 1Joh 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
[←41] Isa 30:33 For Tophet was established of old, Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; Its pyre is fire with much wood; The breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it. Jer 7:32 "Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "when it will no more be called Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Tophet until there is no room.
[←42] Rom 8:23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. 26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit
Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
[←43] See Meditations on the Glory of Christ, volume 1. — ED.
[←44] See the author's treatise on the Person of Christ, volume 1, p. 252. — ED.
[←45] 2Cor 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
[←46] Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?
[←47] Canticles: that is, the Song of Solomon.
[←48] Owen is perhaps referring to himself here, as alluded to in his preface. – WHG
[←49] Phi 1:29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.
[←50] That is, Protestant or Catholic, Presbyterian or Baptist, Lutheran or Anglican, etc. –
WHG
[←51] 1Pet 4:14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part
He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
[←52] Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
[←53] 1Pet 1:21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave
Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
[←54] Psa 14:1, 53.1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."
[←55] Originally, "decocted and wasted."
[←56] Job 33:19 "Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with strong pain in many of his bones, 20 So that his life abhors bread, And his soul succulent food. 21 His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones stick out which once were not seen. 22
Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners. 23 "If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness, 24 Then He is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom'; 25 His flesh shall be young like a child's, He shall return to the days of his youth.
[←57] 2Pet 2:21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
[←58] Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
[←59] Eze 33:31 "So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. 32 "Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.
[←60] Psa 50:21 These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes.
[←61] Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
[←62] Heb 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
[←63] i.e., if troubling thoughts no longer trouble us, because of their constant refrain, we can lose our fear of God. – WHG
[←64] Rom 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34 "For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?" 35 "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?" 36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
[←65] Cipher: a person with no influence.
[←66] 2Cor 5:14 For the love of Christ compels us...
[←67] 1Cor 3:12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
[←68] That is, moderation in satisfying our basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. –
WHG
[←69] Mope: someone who wastes time; meaning here, "so heavenly minded that they're of no earthly good."
[←70] Mat 19:21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
[←71] For example, the Desert Fathers, early Christian hermits, ascetics, and monks who lived in the Scetes or Nitrian desert of Egypt in the third century, such as Anthony the Great. – WHG
[←72] i.e., the Sabbath, Exo 31.17 "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed."
[←73] Pro 1:24 "Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, 25 Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity;" etc.
[←74] 1Joh 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world.
[←75] 2Cor 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
[←76] Ignatius, 3rd bishop of Antioch (d. 110), walking towards his martyrdom. "Now I begin to be a disciple … Let fire and cross, flocks of beasts, broken bones, dismemberment … come upon me, so long as I attain to Jesus Christ." – WHG
[←77] Elagabalus or Antoninus (c. 203–222), Roman Emperor (218). Named after the Arab sun god Elagabalus, whom he decadently served as high priest. He offended everyone with his various perversions, and was shortly assassinated.
[←78] e.g., Ecc 2:10-11 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor. 11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.
[←79] Mat 25.34ff "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; etc.
[←80] Luk 14:12 Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. 13 "But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 "And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."
[←81] Job 36:8 And if they are bound in fetters, Held in the cords of affliction, 9 Then He tells them their work and their transgressions-- That they have acted defiantly.
[←82] Luk 16:1 He also said to His disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2
"So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'
[←83] Gal 6:14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
[←84] Mendicant monks begged for a living, receiving money for prayers, funerals, and other religious "services." – WHG
[←85] Tit 3:3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
Rom 8:7 the carnal mind is enmity against God; Jam 4:4 friendship with the world is enmity with God.
[←86] Rom 7:8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire.
[←87] Gen 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
[←88] Rom 6:13 do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin;
Col 3:5 put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
[←89] Job 24:13 There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths.
[←90] Rom 1:26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
[←91] Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
[←92] Cockatrice: a legendary monster hatched by a reptile from a rooster's egg; able to kill with a glance. The word is now translated cobra or serpent. – WHG
[←93] Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Eph 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
[←94] Psa 18:23 I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.
[←95] Rom 6:17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
[←96] The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (1572) led to mob violence, and the deaths of perhaps 10,000 Huguenots.
[←97] Eze 33:31 "So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. 32 "Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.
[←98] Referring to the Catholic mass, conducted in Latin, a language unknown to the average believer. – WHG
[←99] That is, Augustine of Hippo (354-430).
[←100] That is, "I feel guilty that I don't pray often enough; I will therefore pray." It's about the duty of prayer, not the means of prayer; it makes prayer an end in itself, an idol, rather than an entrance to God through Christ. – WHG
[←101] Rom 9:31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
"Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
[←102] Isa 1:11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD.
"I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats. 12 "When you come to appear before Me,
Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts? 13 Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me, etc. Mic 6:6 With what shall I come before the LORD, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? 7 ... 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
[←103] A play on Luk 11.31.
[←104] Originally, supererogating.
[←105] Jer 7:22 "For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. 23 "But this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.' Isa 1:12 "When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts? 13 Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies – I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. 14 Your New
Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.
[←106] Rev 3:1 I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
[←107] Isa 29:13 these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men;
[←108] Isa 1:11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" etc.
[←109] Synecdoche: a figure of speech; substituting a more inclusive term for a less inclusive one or vice versa.
[←110] Ecc 5:1 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.
[←111] Foppery: dress or speech that showy and ostentatious; designed to impress; overly ornate.
[←112] Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
[←113] Mal 1:13 You also say, 'Oh, what a weariness!' And you sneer at it," Says the LORD of hosts. "And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus you bring an offering!
Should I accept this from your hand?" Says the LORD. Mal 3:14 You have said, 'It is useless to serve God; What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, And that we have walked as mourners Before the LORD of hosts?'
[←114] Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Mat 6:22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
[←115] 2Cor 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
[←116] Isa 11:6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.
[←117] Rom 5:2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
[←118] 2Pet 1:5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
[←119] Psa 92:13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, 15 To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Isa 40:28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
[←120] Phi 3:12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren,
I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
[←121] Heb 5:14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
[←122] Rev 3:15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
[←123] Rev 2:5 "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place-unless you repent. Rev 3:3 "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
[←124] Joh 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
[←125] Jas 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder."
Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
[←126] 1Tim 5:24 Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later.
[←127] 1Joh 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
[←128] Heb 3:12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;
[←129] Hos 2:7 She will chase her lovers, But not overtake them; Yes, she will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go and return to my first husband, For then it was better for me than now.'
[←130] Jer 2:2 "Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown.
[←131] Jer 31:18 "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: 'You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, For You are the LORD my God. 19 Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed,
I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth.' 20 Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though
I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD.
[←132] Psa 42:9 I will say to God my Rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?"
[←133] As in chapter 7, and in his preface, Owen is perhaps referring to himself here. – WHG
[←134] Isa 57:18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, And restore comforts to him And to his mourners. 19 "I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near," Says the LORD, "And I will heal him."
[←135] 2Cor 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
[←136] Pro 27:7 A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
[←137] 1Joh 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
[←138] Hos 3:5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.
[←139] Zec 9:16 The LORD their God will save them in that day, As the flock of His people.
For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, Lifted like a banner over His land – 17 For how great is its goodness And how great its beauty!
[←140] 1Cor 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory; Eph 3:10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places; Eph 1:8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself;
[←141] 1Cor 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
[←142] 2Cor 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
[←143] Psa 86:11 Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.
[←144] Rom 6:13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Rom 6:19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
[←145] Col 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
[←146] Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
[←147] Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works;
[←148] Joh 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
[←149] Song 5:2 THE SHULAMITE I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, "Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night." 3 I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I defile them?
[←150] Jas 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.