[1] All the religion of some men runs upon _nots._ "I am not as
this publican." That ground is nought, though it brings not
forth briars and thorns, if it yieldeth not good increase.
Not only the unruly servant (Matt. xxiv. 48, 49) is cast
into hell, but also the _idle_ servant (Matt. xxv. 30).
Meroz is cursed not for opposing and fighting, but for not
helping. Dives did not take away food from Lazarus, but he
did not give him any of his crumbs. "I set up no other
gods;" ay, but dost thou reverence and obey the true God?
"I do not profane the Sabbath." Dost thou sanctify it? Thou
dost not wrong thy parents; but dost thou reverence them?
Thou dost not murder; but dost thou do good to thy
neighbour? Usually men cut off half of their bill, as the
unjust steward bade the man who owed a hundred set down
fifty. We do not think of sins of omission. If we are no
drunkards, adulterers, and profane persons, we do not think
what it is to omit respects to God, not to reverence His
holy majesty, not to delight in Him and His
ways.--_Monton,_ 1620-1667.
[2] Fighting faults is the most discouraging thing in the
world. When corn reaches a certain height, no more weeds
can grow among it. The corn overshadows and grows them
down. Let men fill themselves full of good things. Let them
make their love and purity and kindness grow up like corn,
that every evil and noxious thing within them may be
overshadowed and die.--_Beecher._
[3] No man is born into the full Christian character, any more
than he is born into the character of a man when he comes
into the world. A man at conversion is in the state of one
who has just come in to the possession of an old homestead.
He had the title, and he can make for himself a beautiful
home. But the dust, the dirt, and the cobwebs of years
choke all the rooms, and must be cleared away. Many sills
and beams are rotten, and must be replaced by new ones.
Chambers must be refitted, walls newly plastered, the whole
roof must be searched over, and every leak stopped. There
must be a thorough cleansing and repair before the mansion
is habitable; and when all this is done, it is only _an
empty house_ that the man has. The same kind of thing that
man has _who has trained himself into freedom from wrong,
without having become faithful in right deeds._--_Beecher._
[4] Character is consolidated habit, and habit forms itself by
repeated action. Habits are like paths beaten hard and
clear by the multitude of light footsteps which go to and
fro. The daily restraint or indulgence of the nature, in
the business, in the hope, in the imagination, which is the
inner laboratory of the life, creates the character which,
whether it be here or there, settles the
destiny.--_J. Baldwin Brown._
[5] It is not great, or special, or extraordinary experiences
which constitute in the best sense the _religious_
character. It is the uniform daily walk with God, serving
Him in little things as well as great--in the ordinary
duties and everyday avocations, as well as in the midst of
grave and eventful contingencies. As the sublimest symphony
is made up of separate single notes;--as the wealth of the
cornfield is made up of separate stalks, or rather of
separate grains;--as the magnificent texture, with its
gorgeous combinations of colour, is made up of individual
threads;--as the mightiest avalanche that ever came
thundering down from its Alpine throne, uprooting villages
and forests, is made up of tiny snowflakes;--so it is with
the spiritual life. That life is itself the grandest
illustration of the power of littles. Character is the
product of daily, hourly actions, words, thoughts; daily
forgivenesses, unselfishnesses, kindnesses, sympathies,
charities, sacrifices for the good of others, struggles
against temptations, submissiveness under trial. Oh it is
these, like the blending colours in a picture, or the
blending notes of music, which constitute the
man.--_Macduff._