Something either to dissatisfy or nauseate
(Thomas Watson, "A Treatise Concerning Meditation")
Meditate upon the vanity of the creature.
When you have sifted out the finest flour that the creature
can give, you will find something either to dissatisfy or
nauseate. The best wine has its froth, the sweetest rose
has its prickles, and the purest comforts have their dregs.
The creature cannot be said to be full—unless we say that
it is full of vanity. The world is like a broken mirror—which
shows a false beauty.
Meditation on worldly vanity would be like the digging
about the roots of a tree, to loosen it from the earth.
Let a Christian think thus with himself, "Why am I so
serious about such a worthless vanity? If the whole
earth were changed into a globe of gold—it could not
fill my heart!" This would much loosen our hearts from
the world, and be an excellent preservative against
the love of earthly things.
Meditation on the creature's vanity would make us look
after more solid comforts—the favor of God, the blood
of Christ, the influences of the Spirit. When I see that
the life which I fetch from the cistern is vain—I will go
the more to the ocean! In Christ there is an inexhaustible
treasury! When a man finds the bough begin to break,
he lets go of the bough, and catches hold on the tree.
Just so, when we find the creature to be but a rotten
bough, then by faith we shall catch hold on Christ, the
tree of life! Rev. 2:7. The creature is but a shaking
reed; God is the immovable rock of ages!
(Thomas Watson, "A Treatise Concerning Meditation")
Meditate upon the vanity of the creature.
When you have sifted out the finest flour that the creature
can give, you will find something either to dissatisfy or
nauseate. The best wine has its froth, the sweetest rose
has its prickles, and the purest comforts have their dregs.
The creature cannot be said to be full—unless we say that
it is full of vanity. The world is like a broken mirror—which
shows a false beauty.
Meditation on worldly vanity would be like the digging
about the roots of a tree, to loosen it from the earth.
Let a Christian think thus with himself, "Why am I so
serious about such a worthless vanity? If the whole
earth were changed into a globe of gold—it could not
fill my heart!" This would much loosen our hearts from
the world, and be an excellent preservative against
the love of earthly things.
Meditation on the creature's vanity would make us look
after more solid comforts—the favor of God, the blood
of Christ, the influences of the Spirit. When I see that
the life which I fetch from the cistern is vain—I will go
the more to the ocean! In Christ there is an inexhaustible
treasury! When a man finds the bough begin to break,
he lets go of the bough, and catches hold on the tree.
Just so, when we find the creature to be but a rotten
bough, then by faith we shall catch hold on Christ, the
tree of life! Rev. 2:7. The creature is but a shaking
reed; God is the immovable rock of ages!
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