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SermonIndex.net : Christian Books : APRIL The Eighteenth MECHANICAL PIETY

My Daily Meditation For The Circling Year by John Henry Jowett

APRIL The Eighteenth MECHANICAL PIETY

PHILEMON 10-18.

The Apostle Paul declares that benefits may be given in one of two ways -- |of necessity| and |willingly.| One is mechanical, the other is spontaneous. I once saw a little table-fountain playing in a drawing-room, but I heard the click of its machinery, and the charm was gone! It had to be wound up before it would play, and at frequent periods it |ran down.| A little later I saw another fountain playing on a green lawn, and it was fed from the deep secret resources of the hills!

There is a generosity which is like the drawing-room fountain. If you listen you can hear the mechanical click, and a sound of friction, arising from murmuring and complaint. And there is a generosity which is like the fountain that is the child of the hills. It is clear, and sweet, and musical, and flows on through every season! One is |of necessity|; the other is |willingly.| And |God loveth a cheerful giver.|

And prayer can be of the same two contrary orders. One prayer is mechanical, it is hard, formal, metallic. The other is spontaneous, forceful, and irresistible. Listen to the Pharisee -- |Lord, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are.| It is the click of the machine! Listen to the publican -- |God be merciful to me, a sinner!| It is the voice of the deeps.

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