Foreword:
The following exerpt is taken from The Ten
Commandments by Arthur W. Pink
(BAKER BOOK HOUSE, 1994 GRAND RAPIDS, MI)
In this blog series I will work through this very
important article a paragraph at a time – asking my reader comprehension style
questions at the end. I have been much convicted by the writings of Pink and I
pray your walk will also be strengthened meditating on his teaching of
scripture …
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT PART VIII
Rules and Helps far Avoiding Such Sins
(1) Cultivate a habitual sense of the Divine presence,
realizing that "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the
evil and the good" (Prov. 15:3). (2) Keep a strict watch over the senses,
for these are the avenues which instead of letting in pleasant streams to
refresh, only too often let in mud and mire to pollute the soul. Make a
covenant with your eyes (Job 31:1). Stop your ears against all filthy
conversation. Read nothing which defiles. Watch your thoughts, and labor
promptly to expel evil ones. (3) Practice sobriety and temperance (1 Cor.
9:27). Those who indulge in gluttony and drunkenness generally find that their
excesses froth and foam into lust. (4) Exercise yourself in honest and lawful
employment; idleness proves as fatal to many as intemperance to others. Avoid
the company of the wicked. (5) Be much in earnest prayer, begging God to
cleanse your heart (Psa. 119:37).
"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God?" (James 4:4). This refers to
the sin of spiritual adultery: it is love of the world estranging the heart
from God, carnal lusts enticing the soul and drawing it away from Him. There is
more than enough in God Himself to satisfy, but there is still that in the believer
which desires to find his happiness in the creature. There are degrees of this
sin, as of the natural. As there may be physical adultery in thought and
longing that terminates not in the overt act, so the Christian may secretly
hanker after the world though he become not an utter worldling. We must check
such inclinations when our hearts are unduly drawn forth to material comforts
and contentments. God is a jealous God, and nothing provokes Him more than that
we should prefer base things before Himself, or give to others that affection
or esteem which belongs alone to Him. Leave not your "first love"
(Rev. 2:4), nor forsake Him to whom you are "espoused" (2 Cor. 11:2).
1) Look up and medeitate on the meaning of the phrase “Corem
Deo”.
2) We cannot help the first glance but are certainly guilty
of the lingering second glance. Practice keeping your eyes forward – what else
can you do to keep a strict watch over your senses (in terms of TV, film,
music, books, jokes, the internet and fnatasy)?
3) What qualities of gluttony and drunkeness might lead to
the commission of adultery? Also consider leisure and boredom (idle hands are
the …)?
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