(c)Pleasures (Psalm 16:11). But our interests here have claims that must be allowed.1. (b)Upon Christ (Luke 22:11-19). But what will you do for pleasure when these are gone? There are several affections, but all are ministers of love. THE FOLLY OF SETTING OUR AFFECTIONS ON THINGS ON THE EARTH.1. If he suffers in goods or body does he feel that he would far rather suffer so than in soul, and does he feel a strong overbalancing consolation from above.5. Some play us false; the truest leave us. Then they would always carry these things about with them in their minds.5. "O yes, sir," he replied, "I cannot see it, but I can feel it pull." (3)What do you spend most time about? Do you not think of that? Those who enjoy them with moderation and contentment, when the whisk of death approaches, not having their hearts filled with the love of them, can with ease escape its snare; while all who, like the .foolish flies, have given themselves wholly to their sweetness will meet with destruction. They destroy while they please. Under its enchanting spell bolt after bolt of good resolution, clamp after clamp of Christian obligation, are stealthily drawn out. Yes, ye may desire them, and grieve at the loss of them, and both desire and grief are affections. (2)What are you most loath to part with? )The heavenly inheritance preferredW. If I hate a thing I shun it or am angry with it.II. So if a man choose the earthly he can gain none of the heavenly; whereas if he choose the heavenly, besides securing it, he gains the best of the earthly. (1) But not for themselves, only in deference to Christ and in subordination to God. So our converse with heaven should affect our attitude in looking at the things of earth.(T. 7. Silently Sinbad's vessel was attracted towards it; silently the bolts were drawn out of the ship's side, one by one, through the subtle attraction of that magnetic rock. "O yes, sir," he replied, "I cannot see it, but I can feel it pull." And further, this is the only way of finding satisfaction in earthly things, and without that satisfaction they are worthless.2. (a)Upon God (Psalm 10:4; Psalm 139:18). But how sad it is that the relations of the present are all which many recognize. What madness would be charged. Both alike are guilty of the same fundamental error; both alike concentrate their thoughts on material, mundane things. Silently Sinbad's vessel was attracted towards it; silently the bolts were drawn out of the ship's side, one by one, through the subtle attraction of that magnetic rock. "Birds," says Manton, "are seldom taken in their flight; the more we are upon the wing of heavenly thoughts the more we escape snares." And so out of this dark world, and amid this blindness of sin, we feel something drawing us heavenwards; and though we cannot see the thrones, and the joy, and the coronation, blessed be God, we can feel them pull.(T. Why? 4. We call the dove silly to be deceived by a picture, however cleverly painted, but what epithet shall we apply to those who are duped by the transparently false allurements of the world!(C. Up from the weedy ditches and briery hedges of the world into the clear atmosphere of heaven. (6)This will make you willing to die (Philippians 1:23). The man said, "Is it any satisfaction to you, my lad, to fly that kite, when you cannot see it?" H. If he suffers in goods or body does he feel that he would far rather suffer so than in soul, and does he feel a strong overbalancing consolation from above.5. Immediately a swarm of flies settled, as was their wont, upon the honey; some upon the edge of the dish, but the greater number in the middle. AFFECTION IS THE GOING OUT OF THE SOUL TOWARD OBJECTS WITHIN ITS VIEW.1. The confectioner then took up s whisk to drive them off, when those upon the side flew away with ease, but the others were prevented from rising, the honey clinging to their wings, and were involved in ruin. (4) We shall never press much after the knowledge and enjoyment of heavenly things. Having broken her wings by the blow, she fell to the ground, and was killed by one of the bystanders." H. WHAT, THEN, MAY BE TAKEN AS PROOFS THAT WE HAVE THE REQUIRED PREPONDERANCE OF AFFECTION FOR THINGS ABOVE. We should aspire to have therefore more than a preponderance.IV. )Attractions of the worldCuyler.Nearly all can recall that favourite fiction of their childhood, the voyage of Sinbad the sailor into the Indian Sea. By one we follow what is good and the other shun what is evil. )Love of the worldFrom the Hindustani.— A dervish once went into a confectioner's shop. Baxter.As it is but foolish childishness that makes children so delight in baubles that they would not leave them for all your lands, so it is but foolish worldliness, and fleshliness, and wickedness, that makes you so much delight in your houses, and lands, and meat, and drink, and ease, and honour, as that you would not part with them for heavenly delights. II. How happy it were if affection might go just at its own pleasure and all be right and safe, i.e., that an infallible perception accompanied it with which the moral taste strictly agreed. Its intrinsic value would outweigh all adverse considerations. (3)See the easiness of charity. How is it with you now with your large house of twenty rooms sumptuously furnished; are you any happier than when you had only two? But where is the worldling after every earthly gratification then?(W. Why? TRANSFER, THEN, YOUR AFFECTIONS TO THINGS ABOVE.1. Think how much care is necessary to avoid the ills of life, and that we may have the most benefit of its relations. There are several affections, but all are ministers of love. What then should be the comparative state of the affections as towards the former and the latter? H. Spurgeon.— AEsop's fable says: — "A pigeon oppressed by excessive thirst, saw a goblet of water painted on a sign-board. And when the Jews were affected against Paul they "were moved with envy.2. How many dollars is Croesus worth now? )Affections rightly placedW. "This light affliction."(T. Is he more pleased to give earnest application to higher things than to inferior, and that he would sacrifice more for one than for the other?6. Fleeting and unconstant (Proverbs 23. (7)And fit you for the enjoyment of God after death. Earthly things are only at best a temporary convenience; but without the heavenly a man perishes for ever. "Nothing but heaven," was the reply.Not on things on the earthE. Those who are spiritually free, thanks to their faith in Christ, should not live in … )Earthly and heavenly thingsR. They are unsatisfactory. )The death of MelancthonIs there anything else you want?" The apostle had such an idea of heaven that it made the troubles of life seem insignificant. Ardent love is required for faithful testimony, and those who are ashamed of Christ, of them will He be ashamed. Baxter.)Earthly-mindednessJ. (4) We shall never press much after the knowledge and enjoyment of heavenly things. On the second occasion the sum was still larger, but this also he declined, and afterwards he wrote home: — "I do not want anything, either money or honours, from either the Chinese Government or our own. Spence.It is storied of Henry the Fourth of France, asking the Duke of Alva if he had observed the eclipses happening in that year, he answered, that he had so much business on earth, that he had no leisure to look up to heaven. )The supreme attachment due to spiritual objectsJohn Foster.I. What matters it how long or how fair has been the man's profession of religion, or how flauntingly the flag of his orthodoxy floats from the masthead? (1)In the most intense degree (Luke 14:26).(2)Constantly. (1)There is nothing else worthy of them (1 John 2:15). Examination. I know I shall leave China as poor as I entered it, but with the knowledge that through my weak instrumentality upwards of eighty to one hundred thousand lives have been spared."(E. (1) Take riches; there is no harm in preferring them to poverty; but thousands are destroyed by the pleasure of their accumulation, bodily, spiritually, and eternally. Now that is a lesson for us. So they are the movings of the soul whereby the heart is sensibly carried out upon what is good or evil.3. (8)You have better things to mind (Matthew 6:33; Colossians 3:1).V. D.)The vital transferenceT. On the first occasion ten thousand taels were actually brought into his room, but he drove out the bearers of the treasure, and would not even look at it. (1)How sin hath debased and infatuated mankind. How? Exhortation. (1) Our nature, composed of two kinds of being, places us in strict relation to two different economies. They will remember that magnetic rock that rose from the surface of the placid waters. I know I shall leave China as poor as I entered it, but with the knowledge that through my weak instrumentality upwards of eighty to one hundred thousand lives have been spared."(E. (2) You will never own Him. The confectioner then took up s whisk to drive them off, when those upon the side flew away with ease, but the others were prevented from rising, the honey clinging to their wings, and were involved in ruin. Reflect, then, what skilfulness, scheming, racing, anxiety, sleeplessness are required for gaining and retaining earthly things. But the happiness of him that seeks the things above is independent of these, and is assured not only now, but for ever.3. They would be most indulgent and tender of them.8. 5; 2 Samuel 19:43, 21.; Belshazzar; Luke 12:19, 20). "Birds," says Manton, "are seldom taken in their flight; the more we are upon the wing of heavenly thoughts the more we escape snares." Spurgeon. And when the fated vessel drew so near that every bolt and clamp was unloosed, the whole structure of bulwark, mast, and spars tumbled into ruin on the sea, and the sleeping sailors awoke to their drowning agonies. D.I. )Affections the wings of the soulJ. Extremes meet. As for the honours, I do not value them at all. )Affections rightly placedW. How is it with you now with your large house of twenty rooms sumptuously furnished; are you any happier than when you had only two? Bridge, M. (7)And fit you for the enjoyment of God after death. When your pleasures end in horror, and go out like a taper, the pleasures of the saints are then at their best.(R. Here the apostle points the antithesis between earthly and heavenly things to controvert a Gnostic asceticism: in the Philippian letter he uses the same contrast to denounce an Epicurean sensualism. Wisdom will prefer that which requires less labour. Besides, if they had all that they profess, we cannot keep them. The snow is melted by the warm beams of the sun, and the more your hearts are warmed with love to Christ, the easier will earthly affections fall away. (3) Our affections will never be drawn from things beneath. Philippians 3:19, 20.) D.I. Earthly things are only at best a temporary convenience; but without the heavenly a man perishes for ever. What matters it how long or how fair has been the man's profession of religion, or how flauntingly the flag of his orthodoxy floats from the masthead? Do not think I am ill-tempered, but I do not care one jot about my promotion, or what people may say. (1) But not for themselves, only in deference to Christ and in subordination to God. A child if he have no affection for his book will never make a scholar. You have not got so far as that? (2)What are you most loath to part with? Its attraction is subtle, silent, slow, but fearfully powerful on every soul that floats within its range. Therefore there is great difficulty in apportioning the regards towards these in due proportion. )Love of the worldFrom the Hindustani.— A dervish once went into a confectioner's shop. (Bishop Reynolds. And so out of this dark world, and amid this blindness of sin, we feel something drawing us heavenwards; and though we cannot see the thrones, and the joy, and the coronation, blessed be God, we can feel them pull.(T. Troublesome and vexatious (Matthew 13:22).5. But how sad it is that the relations of the present are all which many recognize. Bridge, M. A.I. If he suffers in goods or body does he feel that he would far rather suffer so than in soul, and does he feel a strong overbalancing consolation from above.5. A. In pursuing one of them we can only gain itself, but in pursuing the other we gain it and a large share of its competitor — who could hesitate about making an election? We shall be wise if we prefer that which we are sure of attaining, and resist that of which it is doubtful if we ever gain it. 3. If I hate a thing I shun it or am angry with it.II. (5) We shall never be zealous for God, for zeal is the heat of Divine love. (1) Where is the man who has been made happy by temporal success. So if a man choose the earthly he can gain none of the heavenly; whereas if he choose the heavenly, besides securing it, he gains the best of the earthly. We need to be much taken up with Divine things, rising in thought above these temporal matters, or else the world will entangle us, and we shall be like birds held with limed twigs, or encompassed in a net. And when the fated vessel drew so near that every bolt and clamp was unloosed, the whole structure of bulwark, mast, and spars tumbled into ruin on the sea, and the sleeping sailors awoke to their drowning agonies. And, therefore, we may in measure desire the pleasing, and be anxious to avoid the painful.2. H. (Cf. )The affections to be habitually heavenwardT. Spurgeon. That woman is not fit to be married to a man whose affections are not knit to him. )Attractions of the worldCuyler.Nearly all can recall that favourite fiction of their childhood, the voyage of Sinbad the sailor into the Indian Sea. (Bishop Beveridge. The motions of the reasonable soul. A sad thing it is for men to be so bent, and their hearts so set on the things of this world, as not to cast up a look to the things that are in heaven; nay, not to regard though God brings heaven down to them in His Word and sacraments. (3) We cannot build on domestic enjoyments, pure and holy though they be.II. A good name is, of course, an immense power for good: but thousands have gone down under worldly applause. Anderson, LL. There, were the dews of grace are born, and the Sun of Righteousness is Lord paramount, and the blessed wind of the Spirit blows from the everlasting hills, thou wilt find rest on the wing, and sing for joy where thine enemies cannot even see thee.(C. But where is the worldling after every earthly gratification then?(W. How? )The death of MelancthonIs there anything else you want?" Here we are immersed in the cares and business of the world; but let us keep the wings of our soul, our faith and our love, out of the world, that with these unclogged we may be ready to take our flight to heaven.(J. Some play us false; the truest leave us. "O yes, sir," he replied, "I cannot see it, but I can feel it pull." Hake. "This light affliction."(T. On the first occasion ten thousand taels were actually brought into his room, but he drove out the bearers of the treasure, and would not even look at it. I love a thing and, if absent, desire it; if present, delight in it. Bridge, M. A.I. )Earthly and heavenly thingsR. (1) The answer can but be that there must be, at the lowest, a decided preponderance in favour of the spiritual and the eternal. (1) Our nature, composed of two kinds of being, places us in strict relation to two different economies. (c)Brethren (Hebrews 2:11; Romans 8:29). Both alike are guilty of the same fundamental error; both alike concentrate their thoughts on material, mundane things. Surely our Creator does not desire the pleasure denied or the pain endured more than is inevitable, or disciplinary. Yet so it is: most men are of this Spanish general's mind; witness the oxen, the farms, the pleasures, the profits and preferments, that men are so fast glued unto, that they have hardly leisure to entertain a thought of any goodness.(J. And, therefore, we may in measure desire the pleasing, and be anxious to avoid the painful.2. I love a thing and, if absent, desire it; if present, delight in it. A. And further, this is the only way of finding satisfaction in earthly things, and without that satisfaction they are worthless.2. He cannot hold together in a tempest of trial, he cannot go out on any cruise of Christian service, because he is no longer held together by a Divine principle within. (1) The answer can but be that there must be, at the lowest, a decided preponderance in favour of the spiritual and the eternal. )The heavenly inheritance preferredW. (2) You will never own Him. "Set your affections," etc. They will remember that magnetic rock that rose from the surface of the placid waters. III. And further, this is the only way of finding satisfaction in earthly things, and without that satisfaction they are worthless.2. Reflect, then, what skilfulness, scheming, racing, anxiety, sleeplessness are required for gaining and retaining earthly things. (4)Hope (Romans 5:2). Immediately a swarm of flies settled, as was their wont, upon the honey; some upon the edge of the dish, but the greater number in the middle. So stands the magnetic rock of worldliness athwart the Christian's path. The reason for David's great gift was his affection (1 Chronicles 29:3). When he is greatly pleased with something, and his thoughts suddenly turn to higher objects, is he then more pleased?3. (7)And fit you for the enjoyment of God after death. Again, if a man be of a cultivated intellect and taste, he cannot help being affected by the beauties of nature and the great works and discoveries of men.3. I love a thing and, if absent, desire it; if present, delight in it. "(2) In comparison with spiritual things your affection for them is to be as no affection. The Chinese Government twice offered him a fortune. Immediately a swarm of flies settled, as was their wont, upon the honey; some upon the edge of the dish, but the greater number in the middle. )Earthly and heavenly thingsR. Having broken her wings by the blow, she fell to the ground, and was killed by one of the bystanders." We should aspire to have therefore more than a preponderance.IV. Men demean themselves, defraud, and lie for money, and think of nothing else. They would be often speaking of them, and would love to hear others (Psalm 45:1).7. Extremes meet. Those who enjoy them with moderation and contentment, when the whisk of death approaches, not having their hearts filled with the love of them, can with ease escape its snare; while all who, like the .foolish flies, have given themselves wholly to their sweetness will meet with destruction. (3)See the easiness of charity. Up, then, my heart. Colossians 3:1-11 English Standard Version (ESV) Put On the New Self. Let sudden temptation smite the unbolted professor, and in an hour he is a wreck. Do heavenly things grow increasingly attractive the nearer he gets to them? Anderson, LL. )LinksColossians 3:2 NIVColossians 3:2 NLTColossians 3:2 ESVColossians 3:2 NASBColossians 3:2 KJVColossians 3:2 Bible AppsColossians 3:2 ParallelColossians 3:2 Biblia ParalelaColossians 3:2 Chinese BibleColossians 3:2 French BibleColossians 3:2 German BibleColossians 3:2 CommentariesBible Hub, (4)What little cause men have to be troubled for the want of such things. They would be often speaking of them, and would love to hear others (Psalm 45:1).7. (3) We cannot build on domestic enjoyments, pure and holy though they be.II. If he suffers in goods or body does he feel that he would far rather suffer so than in soul, and does he feel a strong overbalancing consolation from above.5. Here we are immersed in the cares and business of the world; but let us keep the wings of our soul, our faith and our love, out of the world, that with these unclogged we may be ready to take our flight to heaven.(J. But this is not so. A. By the nobler part of our nature we are placed in solemn relations with another economy comporting with its immortality — to God, the one infinite Being; to the Redeemer, the Lord of the new economy; to an unseen state of holy companionships and endless felicity. (2) We cannot depend on friend ships. The snow is melted by the warm beams of the sun, and the more your hearts are warmed with love to Christ, the easier will earthly affections fall away. They would not be put off with any slight evidence of their interest in them.(W. Psalm 62:10 ).1 your portion ( Psalm 10:4 ; Psalm 139:18 ). T! Make a living, then a superfluity, then he wants more, seemingly opposing forces controlling humanity and other! Man wants to make the doctrine of Divine grace welcome temporary convenience ; but without the a. Psalm 17:14 ). ( 2 ) we shall not be so in. Gambler 's work you make of the placid waters these things about with them in their colossians 3:2 sermon ( Proverbs ). 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