No. 3257
A Sermon Published on Thursday, July 6, 1911,
Delivered by C.H. Spurgeon, At The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.
“The fruit of their thoughts.”-Jeremiah 6:19.
Do you observe here, my brethren, how God declares that he would not only punish Israel far gross overt acts of sin, but that he would also bring upon the, nation terrible chastisements for their thoughts? -a solemn warning, full of instruction to us.
It has almost passed into a proverb, that “thought is free.” Whether this is true! or false, an axiom or a solecism, must depend on the sphere in which thought moves. It is true in the sense of thought being free before men, since none of us can judge our neighbour’s thoughts, not have we any right to attempt the task. Religious opinion, for instance, is not, a thing of which the law can justly take cognizance. As far as the civil government is concerned, whether a man’s sentiments be those of a Christian or an idolater, a Catholic, a Protestant, or a Mormonite, he is entitled to all civil rights. Be he who he may, he is oppressed if he be deprived of his liberty, or of any privilege, because of his thoughts. Be he who he may, he is injured if any one sect be rendered dominant, or be supported by a forced taxation drawn from the whole. Thought must be free, and it shall be acknowledged, by God’s help, perfectly free as between man and man. Whatever tyrants may decree, they have never yet been able to stop the progress of opinion. When they have used all their prisons and their racks, their dungeons and their blazing faggots, they have never been able to turn a sound man from a truth which he has embraced, nor, I may add, have they been able to confirm a wavering man in the falsehood which they have tried to thrust upon him. Thought, in that sense, is free by natural right.
Yet there is another side to the same question, by reason of which we are bound to maker this solemn protest,-thought is not free before God. I have not more authority to think of God as I please than I have to act before him as I please; in either case, the charge of licentiousness would lie against me; for the God who is supreme over the outward actions of my body is likewise the only Lord and Governor of the inward motions of my spirit. All the provinces of the little isle of man’s soul belong to God, the great Governor. Over body, soul, and spirit he is Legislator and Lord.
That thought in this sense is not free is to be proved very clearly, for some of these commandments of God contained in the Decalogue particularly relate to thought; such, for instance, especially as, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt, not covet thy neighbour’s wife,” and so on. That command is clearly, particularly, and peculiarly one relating to thought; God’s law therefore takes cognizance of thought. Moreover, we know that God has told us, as we read in the one hundred and thirty-ninth Psalm, that he is constantly watching our thoughts. He knows them before they are known to us: “Thou understandest my thought afar off.” To what end, think ye, does God watch our thoughts but with this view, to bring us into judgment at the last great day for every idle word, and for every idle imagination and thought of our hearts? And, my brethren, we have it upon record that God not only puts the law to work on our thoughts, and watches our thoughts, but that he is also angry on account of evil thoughts. Remember what we read in Genesis 6:5, 6: “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that ever imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man, on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” Do not, therefore, make light of evil thoughts. If your conscience be awakened, truly awakened, you never will. A steeled and seared conscience may look upon them with indifference; those whose hearts are not right toward God may sneer at the, idea of any evil consequences coming from what they simply turn over in their minds; but if you have a, tender heart, if God has been pleased to takes the horniness and the callousness from, off your conscience, and to make it sensitive, you will say at, once! “Oh, save, my soul from base and wicked thoughts!”
That thoughts are of the utmost importance may likewise be inferred from the fact that God makes them here the ground of punishing his people. He speaks of “the fruit off their thoughts.” The thought in itself may not be a, very great bluing, hut what will it come to, It may be even, a very little thing, but what will be the end thereof. Thoughts of evil are in themselves evil thoughts. It is questionable whether we can even read the report of our neighbour’s sin without producing some sinful thoughts in ourselves. It is debatable whether a person can have much to do with speaking or hearing of the offenses of others without in some degree defiling himself; for as pitch sticks, and soot and things black and dirty defile one by the slightest contact, so doth sin in any shape passing over the mind. Touched by the hand, it might scarcely leave any discernible mark behind; but there is a distinct impression left upon the mind, say that every picture of evil which passes through the soul remains there to do that soul injury. The thought of evil is in itself sin.
And, what is more, the thought of evil paralyzes the finer faculties of the soul. The more we think of sin, and become familiar with it, the less terrible does it become to our apprehension. I am sure this is the result where men habituate their reveries with any for of evil. Could the minds of men who have become murderers to analyzed, I doubt not it would be found that they had been a long time in schooling themselves to the commission of the horrible crime. They have thought upon it, meditated and deliberated about it, until at last it has seemed to them but, a mere trifle, and then they have gone forth to do it without misgiving. I do not believe that a man becomes a villain all at once. He puts his soul to school, his thoughts are his teachers; or, rather, they are the school-books in which his soul reads; and at last, he, becomes capable of transacting the deeds; of a scoundrel. If you think long upon any sin, the probability is that, as soon as the, temptation to that, sin comers, you will commit it.
I have known persons produce a, monomania by constant, brooding. I knew a, man once who was constantly apprehensive that he was being poisoned by people; and I always stood in trepidation for that, man lest, he should poison himself. If you will harbor the evil thought,-if you will ruminate on any sin, turn it over, and advise with it on your pillow, your familiarity will disarm your fear; and the traitor you have harbored will betray you before your suspicions are aroused. Beware, then, of all thoughts of sin. If you show a thief all the locks, and bolts, and bars in your house, and tell him how the cellar-window could be opened, or the back-door lock be made to give way, do not be surprised if, one of these nights, you should find all your goods stolen. If you will do this have, and introduce these evil things, into your habitation, you cannot wonder at the consequence, however startled your friends may be at the detection.
It is certain that thoughts are the eggs of sin. These are the embryo out of which sins spring,-the spawn from which every form of iniquity is developed. We hear sometimes of fever lairs and of pest-dens; evil thoughts are just like these. They are the jungles while the monsters of sin fatten and grow. Thoughts of sin are the dark woods that harbor all sorts of evil; they are the evil birds of prey that destroy all sorts of good.
Therefore, as God takes cognizance of our thoughts, let us be mindful of the responsibility they entail upon us. Let us no longer despise them, but look into the nursery where they are reared, and begin to search our hearts, and to judge ourselves as in the sight of him who searcheth all hearts.
I. Bad Thoughts And Their Fruit Exhibit A Very Large Variety. I shall, however, but refer you to the 20th chapter of the Book of Exodus, where the ten commandments will help us to a list of thoughts, all of which are horribly mischievous.
The first command which God gives to us is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” That is, in fact, “Thou shalt have no other god but me,” since God is everywhere. This precept is easily broken in our thoughts. If I say to myself, “This is God’s law, but the contrary action will be most to my profit,” then I make myself, or my money, my god. If on any occasion I say within myself, “I clearly perceive that I ought not to indulge in that sin, but then it will give me great pleasure,” should I indulge in it, then I make my pleasure, that is to say, myself, my god, I worship myself instead of God. This is a sin the essence of which must lie in the thoughts, in the judgment, in the, affections. You need not make an image of gold, or of wood, and bow down before it; you can become a thorough-paced idolater in the temple of your heart by offering homage to your own self-will.
The second commandment contains a further prohibition, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,” and so on. That is, “Thou shalt not worship God under any symbol; thou shalt not worship God through any symbol,” or, in spirit, “Thou shalt not worship God in any way which God has not commanded;” “Thou shalt not invent to thyself methods and modes of worship, but thou shalt do as God commands thee.” Now, we can very easily, in our thoughts, fabricate an image. This is what we most of us do. We say and think that God is altogether such an one as; we are; and, having formed to ourselves an idea of God, we bow down before it, and say, “These be thy gods, O Israel!” Brethren, you may be idolaters as much by worshipping a god whom your fancy has made as by worshipping a block of stone. That incomprehensible One, who has proclaimed himself in Scripture according to the mysterious attributes of his being, and has further revealed himself so sweetly and gloriously in the prison of the Lord Jesus,-this is the God we must, worship. We must not make a god, but take the God whom the Scripture reveals. We are not to fashion in our thoughts a god such as we should like him to be,-a, god who is pure benevolence, but who has no justice; but we must take the God of Scripture,-grandly stern, severely dreadful in his wrath, while he is unbounded in, his compassion, and is ever gracious and full of mercy. We must acknowledge the God of the Bible, and not make a, deity to ourselves, or else in our thoughts we have broken the divine law, and the fruit of that thought will be, that we shall be idolaters, and sin will be laid at our door.
The third command, as you will clearly perceive, can be broken without saying a word: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” Light thoughts of God, irreverence of soul towards him, is a violation of the solemn interdict. You have but to think lightly of his name, and you have blasphemed it. Before your mouth has been opened to utter the rash expression, the rebellious thought is a profanation of the Most High.
As for the law of the Sabbath in the fourth command, which binds our race, that is readily enough violated by us all. Do not suppose that you are a keeper of the Sabbath because you do no work with your hands; you am just as guilty if you work with your brain. You are to rest on that day from all your own works. Do as much as you please for God on that day, but your mind should lay aside its care. You must not bring your shop here; you might almost as well stop at home, and carry on your trade. You must not bring your burden is here! Nay, my brethren, leave that at the door, and ask God’s grace that you may rise this day from all these things, and give your heart and mind entirely to the worship of him who has sanctified blessed day unto himself. You see, then, that this command may readily be broken without any overt act, and the breach destroys the validity of the Sabbath to you. It yields you no comfortable rest while your mind is toiling, and tugging, and straining about a thousand troubles and difficulties; but if you kept the command in your spirit, it would be a sweet and blessed rest to you.
We turn now to the second table, the commands which relate to men. “Honor thy father and thy mother.” Ah! when we were children, and since then, unkind and unhallowed thoughts of our parents have been quite, sufficient to convict us of offenses against the law. Without a disobedient action, without a rebellious word, the child may in thought be a, rebel to his parents.
“Thou shalt not kill;” but Christ tells us that he that is angry with his brother without a cause is virtually a murderer; so that thought can slay and kill, and, indeed, it is the angry thought that lays the foundation of the deadly stroke. There would be no murdering and slaying if there were no enmity. Men would not march to slay each other, surely, or waylay their hapless victims, and do desperate deeds of violence, unless first of all their souls were set, on fire of hell.
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” little will I say on this command, but here is our Lord’s own exposition of it, “Whosoever looketh on a woman to, lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Fornication may thus abound in us to our defilement, and our souls’ ruin, even though we may still be kept back by fear, mayhap, from the commission of the evil deed. Beware, then, thou who canst gloat over evil, thou who canst suck the forbidden sweet, behind the door; thou who, canst roll the sweet morsel under thy tongue; beware let thou shalt have thy portion with those who fall into the sin. I say not that the thought of the sin is as bad as the sin itself; it cannot be so, certainly, in its result to others; but still it is a sin, and a sin to be answered for in that tremendous day, when the Judge of all the earth shall allot their portions unto men.
“Thou shalt not steal.” Every envious thought of another man, every desire to press myself of what is not mine; everything of this sort, in which I would grasp that which does not, belong to me, is a, constructive theft. The thief does not so much steal when he puts out his hand to take his neighbour’s purse, as in the thought which led him to do it, far the had may sometimes take the purse without chance,-it may be to protect the property of one, who is disabled, and incapable of guarding it himself. Such a thing is supposable, that one man might take another’s purse legitimately, and have a right so to do. It is not the act, but the motive when he deliberately ventures to take, that which is not his own, and would possess himself of his neighbour’s goods to his neighbour’s injury, this constitutes the very virus and soul of the theft.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” If I think hardly of my neighbour without a cause; if I conceive an unjust prejudice, against him; if I look coldly upon him when he really does not deserve it; if I make up my mind out of some, whim or fancy that he is a bad fellow, and shrug my shoulders, and I know not what, besides, though I have never said a word, yet still in thought I have injured my neighbour. Above all things, brethren, do avoid that shoulder-shrugging; it is an abomination! We sometimes see it in company. Ah! they will not dare to say what it means,-the cowards! You might, suppose that the man against whom it is directed had killed his mother if you liked, for you are sure to suppose the worst. Do be brave enough, if it must be spoken, to speak it; and if it must not be spoken, well then, do not say it in that mysterious language which may ruin a man in the estimation of others. Avoid any false witnessing in your thoughts, and you will not, bear it in your words.
To the last precept of the catalogue I have already referred; it is especially a thought-command: “Thou shalt not covet.” All greedy desires which make us wish to get our neighbour’s goods to the injury of others are sins, and the fruits of such thoughts are guilt, punishment, and the wrath to come.
Let me now conduct you, a step further to another set of evil thoughts, which could not be very easily comprised in the Decalogue.
There are self-righteous thoughts,-the supposition that we are not so sinful as God says we are, the conceit that we may, perhaps, work ourselves out of our difficulties, and force our way to heaven. Now, the fruit of such a thought as this will be amazement in the day when God will strip us of our self-righteousness, and make us stand naked, to our eternal shame. Beware of self-righteous thoughts, my hearers! They are the Tarpeian rock from which Satan has hurled thousands of souls. It were better for you that a mill-stone were fasten about your neck, and that you were cast into the midst of the sea, than that you should thank God that you are not as other men, when after all you are as corrupt as other men, and will perish as they do. Self-righteousness keeps you from coming to Christ, and certainly it excludes you from eternal life, and will close, the gates of heaven against you. God deliver us from the fruit of such thoughts!
Then, again, proud, boastful, vain-glorious self-seeking thoughts are alike obnoxious. How highly some, people do think of themselves! You can see it in their gait, and their speech bewrayeth them. Yet their wine is all froth, and their gold in all counterfeit. Their speech, when they begin to tell of what they have, and what they can do, and what they did do upon such-and-such occasion- all this is an abomination to honest men; but their thoughts must be very abominable to God. It is one of the things which he, says he hath,-a proud look. God grant us grace to be rid of every proud thought, for we have nothing to be, proud of! A proud man is nothing but a wind-bag, and when either the ills of life, or the crisis of death shall put a pin into it, what a collapse there will be, how the haughty one, will discover himself to be nothing but emptiness and vanity! Get rid of proud thoughts, for, oh! what will they do? Pride dragged an angel from heaven, and made a devil of him, and pride would drag any of us down to the level of the devil if we fall into its snare.
Another set of thoughts, more common still, and not much decried, are murmuring thoughts. Ah, me, how full some people are of these! They can hardly speak but what they have something to grumble about. Trade with them is always bad. Ever since I have been in London, trade has been bad, but it is even worse now. It never was so bad as it is now, except that it was just as bad last year; and, as far as I know, has always been at the worst. Farmers never have, to the best; of my recollection, had more than “an average crop”, and most years there has been a failure. If the wheat has been good, the turnips have always gone bad, or something. I notice murmuring to be a very common thing with many people, and you no sooner sit down in the cottage that, instead of telling you that someone has been there to help them a little, and give them some assistance, they say they have only the parish allowance,-a miserable pittance! So it is; but they forget the mercies that they have. Why should I be always telling how often I have rheumatic pains, and; how many times I find that there is something wrong with my constitution? Why should I make it my constant habit to compel everybody to be miserable wherever I go? “Well,” says one, “but you know we cannot help it!” My dear friend, then, if you do not help it, I will tell you what will be the fruit of it, you will make yourself incorrigibly miserable. You will bring yourself into a desperate state, in which nothing will comfort you. I do believe that, in this respect, we are very much our own masters. Not all bounties of providence can make us happy if we have a thankless ungrateful heart. You may have all that the world can give you, and yet be wretched; or you may be very, very poor, and yet be cheerful. A thankful heart is the thing we need; and, oh, may God be pleased to give us that thankful heart! But what I want you to remember is, that murmuring is a great sin. They murmured against God in the wilderness, and he sent fiery serpents amongst them. God thinks much of our complaints against his providential dealings with us; let us not think so little of the sin of provoking him with our thoughts.
How prone we are likewise to cherish unbelieving thoughts! Oh, that we were all rid of these; but I suppose, if I went round these galleries, I should find in every pew somebody who has unbelieving thoughts. We fancy that God will forsake us, that providence will turn against us. We get like old Jacob when he said, “Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me;” whereas everything its working for us, only we; cannot issue it. Be gone, unbelief, for the, fruit of unbelieving thoughts is weakness, sorrow, rebellion against God, and I know not what ease of rashness and presumption. God save us from these thoughts!
Procrastinating thoughts have been the fruitful source of mischief to full many of you. You have good thoughts and good resolves, but you always put things off, and think that better times will come for Leaving off your sins and seeking Christ; albeit the least evil would be a fearful waste of time, worse than which you run a perilous risk, and it is yet to be dreaded that your souls will be lost, at the last.
Others of us have to complain, of wandering thoughts wen we are worshipping God, and the fruit of there is to spoil the golden seasons, which, well used, might yield great profit. Oftentimes, when the service has been fitted enough to minister refreshment and instruction, and others have been nourished by the Word, some poor soul goes out, and says, “I have not enjoyed it at all.” Why, have course not, for your thoughts to have been elsewhere. These are the birds that come down upon the sacrifice. If, like Abraham, we drive them away, we shall be able to worship in peace; but if not, the fruit of wandering thoughts in the house of God is that the service is spoiled. So too in the closet, whether ostensibly engaged in private devotion, or the reading of Scripture, unless the thoughts be centered upon the subject in hand, there can be no spiritual gain in drawing near unto God.
II. For a few minutes now let us think of brighter things, while I mention A FEW GOOD THOUGHTS AND THEIR FRUIT.
“Of which,” says an apostle, “we cannot now speak particularly,” when he had a, long list and a short space; so I must say now. If you would have good faith in your soul, cultivate humble thoughts. No man was ever injured by saying too lowly a view of himself. The best definition of humility I ever heard was this, “to think light of ourselves.” To think of ourselves as below the standard is meanness; to think of ourselves as above the standard, is pride; but to form a right estimation of ourselves is true humility. Avoid the counterfeit which is in the world; that is mock humility. Be truly humble. Have low thoughts of yourselves, especially before God; penitent thoughts of sin, humble views with regard to divine grace, and a close account of your own responsibility are indispensable; so, you will find that humility will sweep out the chamber of your soul, and prepare it, for the incoming of the great Prince.
Cultivate very much forgiving thoughts towards your fellow-men. Never be hard to be persuaded to pardon an offense. He that taketh his brother by the throat will be sure to, be taken by the throat himself. Evil for evil, it is said, is beast-like; good for good is man-like; evil for good is devil-like; but good for evil is God-like. Try to do it, and if anything can make the bells ring in your heart, it will be to forgive one who has very greatly and wantonly injured you. The worse the, offense, if you can overlook it, the greater will be your own joy, and the better proof will you have that, you are a child of God.
Go to bed each, night, and wake up each morning, with admiring thoughts of God’s goodness, and with adoring thoughts towards God’s greatness. You will find these thoughts to be like bees, that will come home to you laden, with honey. Let your soul be a hive of them. Worship the Lord. Think much of him. Let every blessing you receive make you think of him. Do not sit at the table, and offer what we call “grace” because it is the custom to do so; but let your soul really see God’s hand in the gift of everything that is on the table. We need not fear worldly thoughts if we were to sanctify those worldly thoughts. Said one, “The road on which I tread makes, me think of Christ-the way. The door through which I pass makes me think of Christ-the door. I cannot handle money but what I think that I am not my own, but am bought with a price. I do not, receipt a bill without recollecting that he, has blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against me. I cannot, talk to my fellow-man, and receive his answer, without thinking how I talk with God, and how he answers me.” In such manner, with many thoughts of God, you will find the fruit of heavenly-mindedness in your spirit. Angels will come and go to and fro between you and the courts of the Most High, if you have many of these admiring and adoring thoughts of God.
Thankful thoughts are well deserving your high encouragement. Get a cage full of these birds of paradise, and: let them fly about, in the groves of your soul, and sing there at all times. Oh! there is no better companion, than cheerful gratitude. If a man can but see the mercy of God in everything, instead of looking always at the black side of the picture, he will be happy indeed. The fruit of thankful thoughts will be summer in his soul, even when it is the depth of winter outside. Cultivate thankful thoughts as you cultivate sweet flowers in your garden.
Yet again, dear friends, get many and abundant believing thoughts. When thou canst not see thy way, still trust in thy Lord. Believe in him. Though everything should give the lie to the promise, still believe the promise to be true.
Abound much in thoughts of submission to God. Every morning exercise such thoughts. Put thy soul into God’s hands that he may deal with thee according to his will all the day; and each night, when thou reviewest the day, thank God for it all, whatever it may have been, knowing that it must be good, nay, must be best if God has ordered it.
I will finally say, seek, believer, to have many longing thoughts after Christ. Have longing thoughts to be with him where he is. Let Christ have the best thoughts,-the cream of them. Let him have the, first growth of your spirit. Be with him, in walking. Say to him in the evening, “Abide with us, for the day is far spent.” And if you lie awake at night, still seek to have some precious thought of Christ, like a wafer made with honey, to put, under your tongue. Oh! we can bring heaven down to earth if we can take our thoughts up to heaven. If thoughts be the wings, and the Spirit be the wind, we will fly away to the celestial paradise.
Be much, then, in such thoughts as these, and may the fruit of your thoughts be such as God himself may delight in, to Jesus Christ’s praise! Amen.