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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadJohn Macduff Collection: MacDuff, John - The Footsteps of Jesus: 13 Purity of Heart—Nominal Profession
TOPIC: MacDuff, John - The Footsteps of Jesus (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 13 Purity of Heart—Nominal Profession
Other Subjects in this Topic:
"My dear Redeemer and my Lord,
I read my duty in Your Word;
But in Your life the law appears
Drawn out in living characters.
O be my pattern, make me bear
More of Your gracious image here;
Then God the Judge shall own my name,
Among the followers of the Lamb."
"Not everyone who says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Mat_7:21.
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." Heb_12:14.
The character given of our great High Priest is, that He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." By spotless, stainless purity, was He distinguished. In Him no spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing was found. As "the man Christ Jesus," the divine law was in His heart, and by His whole career, from the manger to the cross, did He magnify it and make it honorable. To all its requirements, He rendered uninterrupted and complete obedience. How ardently were His affections fixed upon His Heavenly Father; He had no other God before Him. No idol of wealth, or ambition, or vanity, had any ascendancy over Him. How exalted were His conceptions of the nature of God; the worship He paid Him was spiritual worship; He did not make any graven image, nor the likeness of anything in heaven above or the earth beneath. How did He reverence the name of God; it was a name dearer to Him than all other names; and the dishonor cast upon it by an ungodly world vexed His righteous soul, and filled it with holy indignation. How did He sanctify the day of sacred rest, delighting in its services, and consecrating its hours and moments to works of love and mercy. How did He honor His earthly parents as well as His Heavenly Father. Notwithstanding His exalted character, He cheerfully submitted Himself to them; and when in the agonies of death, He recognized and hallowed the earliest and dearest of nature's ties, and committed His mother to the charge of the beloved disciple. How full was His heart of love and tenderness to every human being! No one ever had so many enemies to encounter—but He never conceived a single purpose of hatred or ill-will against them. Although they were for killing Him, yet for their cruelty He returned nothing but kindness. How free was He from everything licentious, both in practice and in thought. No Bathsheba's beauty ever kindled an unchaste desire in Him. From the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes—He was entirely free. And as with the other precepts of the law—between Him and all injustice, and all falsehood, and all desires after the possessions of others, there was the farthest remove. Upon the tablet of His heart the whole of the ten commandments were engraved, and all were embodied, in their spirit and in their letter, in His outward conduct.
As the Great Teacher come from God, He preached to the people the gospel of the kingdom; setting forth with matchless eloquence, the doctrines they were to believe, and the virtues they were to manifest. His life was a living commentary upon the truths which He taught. Every virtue that He preached—He practiced. Did He preach separation from the world? O how separate was He from it Himself. He lived above the world. Its forms and fashions, its pomps and pleasures had no influence over him. Did He preach humility? Never was one so humble as He. They were sincere words which He uttered, when He said, "I am meek and lowly in heart." Did he preach patience and forbearance? "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent—so He opened not His mouth." "When He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not—but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously." Did He preach devotedness and zeal? It was His food and drink to do the will of His Father who was in Heaven. He went about—not for purposes of ease and enjoyment, not to admire the wonders of creation, or the treasures of art—but for the single object of doing good. Did He preach the necessity and importance of devotion?
"Cold mountains and the midnight air
Witnessed the fervor of His prayer."
After spending the day with men in uninterrupted labors for their temporal and spiritual well-being, He often spent the night with God, seeking His face, and imploring His blessing. Did He preach love? Greater love than His was never shown. His tears, His agonies, His bloody sweat, His cross and passion, His life and death—all proclaim, "Behold how He loved us!" In every particular there was the fullest harmony between His precepts on the one hand, and His practice on the other.
Child of God! we call upon you to turn aside and see this great sight. A marvelous thing it is to see One in our nature "who did no sin, neither was any deceit found in His mouth." Gaze, then, with adoring wonder, upon Him. By the eye of faith behold Him as the Lamb of God—a Lamb without blemish and without spot.
"Looking unto Jesus" is one of the most important exhortations contained in the Word of God. And there are two aspects in which we are to regard Him, while so doing. We are, first, to look to Him as our substitute dying in our stead, giving Himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. And we are to look to Him, secondly, as our great exemplar, for He left us an example that we should follow His steps. But it is especially in His purity that we are to aspire after conformity to Him. Those who have hope in Him as their surety, are to purify themselves even as He is pure.
To be in Christ by a mere outward name will avail us nothing. We may carry the lamp of an outward profession—but if destitute of the oil of grace we shall never enter in to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Those only are savingly in Him—whose chief aim and object is to walk as He walked. If we are united to Him by a living faith, there is now, and there will be to us on the great day, no condemnation; but the practical proof that this blessedness is ours consists in walking, not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
What then, reader, should be your petition, and what should be your request? It should be, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." It should be, "Sanctify me wholly, and let my whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless, unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ." It is said of the King's highway, that it shall be called the way of holiness; and the truth cannot be too frequently reiterated, that we receive the grace of God in vain, unless we are made inwardly and outwardly holy.
All the truths and doctrines of the gospel have immediate reference to this great object. Think of those ancient purposes which were formed in the solitudes of eternity before men or angels were created. In many respects they transcend our loftiest conceptions; but, however mysterious in their nature, in their design they are exceedingly clear. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." With the purposes of God connect the gracious call of God: "For as He which has called you is holy, so be you holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy."
With the promises of God it is so likewise. They are given that we may thereby "perfect holiness in the fear of God." And so with the afflictive dispensations of His providence. It is by affliction that God separates the sin which He hates—from the soul which He loves! He chastens us for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. And with the preceding particulars we are especially to connect the death and sacrifice of the Redeemer. "He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Thus all God's dispensations, both in providence and grace, have direct reference to the purification of His people.
"The desire of happiness" it has been said, "is natural; but the desire of holiness is supernatural"—it is not what man's carnal mind will aspire after. Have you, reader, any desires after holiness? If you have, cherish them more and more. Then existence is to be regarded as a token for good. We would say, for the encouragement of the weak and doubtful, that there may be holiness—even in the desire of holiness; that there may be grace—in the desire of grace; as, doubtless, there is sin in the desire of sin.
How delightful is the thought that heaven is a land of perfect holiness. The good work, begun in the day of conviction, will then be complete. The mournful cry, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death," will not be heard there; for over all the principles of indwelling corruption a final victory will be gained. To one, in the days of His flesh, and she a guilty one, the Savior said, "Go, and sin no more." But what will be His language to His people as they are received in through the gates into the eternal city? He will say, not "go, and sin no more"—but "come, and sin no more!" O blessed prospect! O transporting thought!—to sin no more—to be done forever with it—done with it in all its deceitful forms, and in all its woeful consequences!
"There we shall see His face,
And never, never sin;
There from the rivers of His grace,
Drink endless pleasures in!"
I read my duty in Your Word;
But in Your life the law appears
Drawn out in living characters.
O be my pattern, make me bear
More of Your gracious image here;
Then God the Judge shall own my name,
Among the followers of the Lamb."
"Not everyone who says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Mat_7:21.
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." Heb_12:14.
The character given of our great High Priest is, that He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." By spotless, stainless purity, was He distinguished. In Him no spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing was found. As "the man Christ Jesus," the divine law was in His heart, and by His whole career, from the manger to the cross, did He magnify it and make it honorable. To all its requirements, He rendered uninterrupted and complete obedience. How ardently were His affections fixed upon His Heavenly Father; He had no other God before Him. No idol of wealth, or ambition, or vanity, had any ascendancy over Him. How exalted were His conceptions of the nature of God; the worship He paid Him was spiritual worship; He did not make any graven image, nor the likeness of anything in heaven above or the earth beneath. How did He reverence the name of God; it was a name dearer to Him than all other names; and the dishonor cast upon it by an ungodly world vexed His righteous soul, and filled it with holy indignation. How did He sanctify the day of sacred rest, delighting in its services, and consecrating its hours and moments to works of love and mercy. How did He honor His earthly parents as well as His Heavenly Father. Notwithstanding His exalted character, He cheerfully submitted Himself to them; and when in the agonies of death, He recognized and hallowed the earliest and dearest of nature's ties, and committed His mother to the charge of the beloved disciple. How full was His heart of love and tenderness to every human being! No one ever had so many enemies to encounter—but He never conceived a single purpose of hatred or ill-will against them. Although they were for killing Him, yet for their cruelty He returned nothing but kindness. How free was He from everything licentious, both in practice and in thought. No Bathsheba's beauty ever kindled an unchaste desire in Him. From the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes—He was entirely free. And as with the other precepts of the law—between Him and all injustice, and all falsehood, and all desires after the possessions of others, there was the farthest remove. Upon the tablet of His heart the whole of the ten commandments were engraved, and all were embodied, in their spirit and in their letter, in His outward conduct.
As the Great Teacher come from God, He preached to the people the gospel of the kingdom; setting forth with matchless eloquence, the doctrines they were to believe, and the virtues they were to manifest. His life was a living commentary upon the truths which He taught. Every virtue that He preached—He practiced. Did He preach separation from the world? O how separate was He from it Himself. He lived above the world. Its forms and fashions, its pomps and pleasures had no influence over him. Did He preach humility? Never was one so humble as He. They were sincere words which He uttered, when He said, "I am meek and lowly in heart." Did he preach patience and forbearance? "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent—so He opened not His mouth." "When He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not—but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously." Did He preach devotedness and zeal? It was His food and drink to do the will of His Father who was in Heaven. He went about—not for purposes of ease and enjoyment, not to admire the wonders of creation, or the treasures of art—but for the single object of doing good. Did He preach the necessity and importance of devotion?
"Cold mountains and the midnight air
Witnessed the fervor of His prayer."
After spending the day with men in uninterrupted labors for their temporal and spiritual well-being, He often spent the night with God, seeking His face, and imploring His blessing. Did He preach love? Greater love than His was never shown. His tears, His agonies, His bloody sweat, His cross and passion, His life and death—all proclaim, "Behold how He loved us!" In every particular there was the fullest harmony between His precepts on the one hand, and His practice on the other.
Child of God! we call upon you to turn aside and see this great sight. A marvelous thing it is to see One in our nature "who did no sin, neither was any deceit found in His mouth." Gaze, then, with adoring wonder, upon Him. By the eye of faith behold Him as the Lamb of God—a Lamb without blemish and without spot.
"Looking unto Jesus" is one of the most important exhortations contained in the Word of God. And there are two aspects in which we are to regard Him, while so doing. We are, first, to look to Him as our substitute dying in our stead, giving Himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. And we are to look to Him, secondly, as our great exemplar, for He left us an example that we should follow His steps. But it is especially in His purity that we are to aspire after conformity to Him. Those who have hope in Him as their surety, are to purify themselves even as He is pure.
To be in Christ by a mere outward name will avail us nothing. We may carry the lamp of an outward profession—but if destitute of the oil of grace we shall never enter in to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Those only are savingly in Him—whose chief aim and object is to walk as He walked. If we are united to Him by a living faith, there is now, and there will be to us on the great day, no condemnation; but the practical proof that this blessedness is ours consists in walking, not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
What then, reader, should be your petition, and what should be your request? It should be, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." It should be, "Sanctify me wholly, and let my whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless, unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ." It is said of the King's highway, that it shall be called the way of holiness; and the truth cannot be too frequently reiterated, that we receive the grace of God in vain, unless we are made inwardly and outwardly holy.
All the truths and doctrines of the gospel have immediate reference to this great object. Think of those ancient purposes which were formed in the solitudes of eternity before men or angels were created. In many respects they transcend our loftiest conceptions; but, however mysterious in their nature, in their design they are exceedingly clear. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." With the purposes of God connect the gracious call of God: "For as He which has called you is holy, so be you holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy."
With the promises of God it is so likewise. They are given that we may thereby "perfect holiness in the fear of God." And so with the afflictive dispensations of His providence. It is by affliction that God separates the sin which He hates—from the soul which He loves! He chastens us for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. And with the preceding particulars we are especially to connect the death and sacrifice of the Redeemer. "He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Thus all God's dispensations, both in providence and grace, have direct reference to the purification of His people.
"The desire of happiness" it has been said, "is natural; but the desire of holiness is supernatural"—it is not what man's carnal mind will aspire after. Have you, reader, any desires after holiness? If you have, cherish them more and more. Then existence is to be regarded as a token for good. We would say, for the encouragement of the weak and doubtful, that there may be holiness—even in the desire of holiness; that there may be grace—in the desire of grace; as, doubtless, there is sin in the desire of sin.
How delightful is the thought that heaven is a land of perfect holiness. The good work, begun in the day of conviction, will then be complete. The mournful cry, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death," will not be heard there; for over all the principles of indwelling corruption a final victory will be gained. To one, in the days of His flesh, and she a guilty one, the Savior said, "Go, and sin no more." But what will be His language to His people as they are received in through the gates into the eternal city? He will say, not "go, and sin no more"—but "come, and sin no more!" O blessed prospect! O transporting thought!—to sin no more—to be done forever with it—done with it in all its deceitful forms, and in all its woeful consequences!
"There we shall see His face,
And never, never sin;
There from the rivers of His grace,
Drink endless pleasures in!"