For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.
— Job 11:11-12
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
— Psalm 2:1
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
— Colossians 2:8
The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
— Psalm 94:11
The Vanity of Thoughts, Being an Instance of Abounding Sinfulness in One Faculty of the Soul, by Thomas Goodwin. The following was updated to modern English.
How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
— Jeremiah 4:14 d
Introduction
In these words, the comparison is made between the heart and a popular gathering place, resembling a house with numerous spacious rooms designed to accommodate and host a multitude of guests. Prior to conversion, all the futile, frivolous, lascivious, irreverent, and dissipated thoughts that traverse the world, much like your own thoughts, freely and openly enter this heart, which graciously and gladly welcomes and entertains them. It accompanies them, traversing the entire world in search of the most delightful pleasures to indulge them with. It lodges and shelters them, and there they, like unruly gentlemen and revelers, stay and revel day and night, defiling the rooms they occupy with their repugnant filth and vomit. “How long,” asks the Lord,”shall they stay there,” while I, with my Spirit, my Son, and my train of graces,”stand at the door and knock” (Revelation 3:20), unable to gain entry? All of this filthiness, and so on, must be cleansed from the heart, this house. “Wash your heart from wickedness.” It must be washed, not merely swept of gross evils, as in Matthew 12:43, where the house that the unclean spirit re-enters is said to be swept of loose and superficial evils, but washed and purified from those defilements that cling more closely and become ingrained within the spirit. And those vain and unruly guests must be evicted without any warning. They have stayed there long enough, too long. “How long?” And “the time that has passed is sufficient,” as the Apostle says. They must no longer lodge there. The house, the soul, is not to be demolished through conversion, but only these guests are to be expelled. Although they cannot be kept out entirely, as they will still enter while we inhabit these mortal bodies, they must not be allowed to stay. If thoughts of anger and revenge arise in the morning or during the day, they must be expelled before nightfall. “Do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26), as doing so may result in allowing an even worse guest to lodge in your heart alongside them. “Do not give a foothold to the devil,” for it follows that he will “bring seven worse with him.” If impure thoughts attempt to join you in bed when you lie down, do not allow them to lodge with you. In conclusion, it is not the nature of the thoughts that reside in your hearts and pass through them, but rather the lodging they find, that distinguishes your repentance. Many righteous thoughts and inclinations may transiently pass through the heart of a wicked person, just as countless frivolous thoughts may use a believer’s heart as a thoroughfare, causing disturbances in their righteous duties through interruptions and intrusions. However, they do not lodge there; they are not nurtured or harbored.
My aim in our usual discourse is to uncover the inherent wickedness and emptiness of the human heart. Currently, we are only exploring its superficial aspects, such as the understanding and its impurities, which need to be cleansed. In my fragmented approach, the next impurity I intend to address is the one specified here: THE VANITY OF YOUR THOUGHTS. I selected this text as my foundation solely for the purpose of uncovering this aspect. It is the main focus of my discussion, a topic that, I admit, encompasses a vast expanse. To meticulously examine the vanities in our thoughts, to traverse the entire creation, and to assess and report on the abundance of vanity present in all creatures—this was the task undertaken by the wisest of men, Solomon. It represented the pinnacle of his studies and efforts. However, the multiplicities of vanity within our thoughts are far greater; this little world contains more variations of vanity than the larger one. Our thoughts have subjected the “creatures to vanity” (Romans 8:20), thus making themselves even more susceptible to vanity. In addressing this, I will demonstrate the following: 1. The meaning of thoughts. 2. The concept of vanity. 3. That our thoughts are indeed vain. 4. The nature of this vanity, both in general terms and specific instances.
https://takeupcross.com
takeupcross
Take Up the Cross 