07 The Godly Man's Picture
The Godly Man’s Picture, Drawn with a Scripture Pencil, or, Some Characteristic Marks of a Man who is Going to Heaven By Thomas Watson
CHOICE EXCERPTS
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." Matthew 23:27-28
Here is a sharp rebuke to such as are "glittering dross" Christians, who only make a show of godliness. These our Savior calls whitewashed tombs. Their beauty is all paint! Many are painted over with a religious profession, whose seeming luster dazzles the eyes of beholders; but within there is nothing but putrefaction!
Hypocrites are like the swan, which has
The hypocrite deceives others while he lives—but deceives himself when he dies! What good will it do a man when he is in hell—that others think he has gone to heaven? Oh, beware of this!
Counterfeit piety is double iniquity. What is this but to abuse God to His face, and to serve the devil in Christ’s livery?
To have only a pretense of godliness will yield no comfort after death. Will painted gold enrich a man? Will painted wine refresh him who is thirsty? He who has only a painted holiness shall have only a painted happiness! Let us take heed of this pious pageantry and devout stage-play!
"Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!" 1 Peter 2:7
There is nothing in Christ, but what is precious. His name is precious, His virtues are precious, His blood is precious—more precious than the world. The Rose of Sharon is always sweet!
We cannot prize Christ at too high a rate. We may prize other things above their value. That is our sin. We commonly overrate the creature; we think there is more in it than there is; therefore God withers our gourd, because we over-prize it.
But we cannot raise our esteem of Christ high enough. He is beyond all value! There is no ruby or diamond, but the jeweler can set a fair price on it. But Christ’s worth can never be fully known. No seraphim can set a due value on Him. His riches are unsearchable! Ephesians 3:8. Christ is more precious than heaven!
True Christians prize Christ, as most precious. He is their chief treasure and delight. This reason why millions perish, is because they do not prize Christ.
The ungodly choose things of no value, before Christ! "
Give a baby a rattle—and it will not want gold. Give a worldling his lusts—and he will be content enough without Christ.
We value Christ above honor and riches. This Pearl of Great Price lies nearest our heart. He who prizes Christ esteems the gleanings of Christ—better than the world’s vintage. He counts the worst things of Christ—better than the best things of the world. Moses "regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt." Hebrews 11:26
If we are the prizers of Christ, we cannot live without Him. A man may live without music, but not without food.A child of God can lack health and friends—but he cannot lack Christ. "Give me children," said Rachel, "or else I die!" Genesis 30:1. So the soul says, "Give me Christ—or else I
shall die! Give me one drop of the water of life to quench my thirst."
If we are prizers of Christ, then we shall not complain at any pains to get Him. He who prizes gold, will dig for it in the mine. "My soul follows hard after God!" Psalms 63:8. He in whose eye Christ is precious, never rests until he has gained Him: "I sought Him whom my soul loves; I held Him, and would not let Him go!" Song of Solomon 3:1; Song of Solomon 3:4
If we are prizers of Christ, then we take great pleasure in Christ. What joy a man takes, in that which he counts his treasure! He who prizes Christ makes Him his greatest joy. He can delight in Christ, when earthly delights are gone. Though a flower in a man’s garden dies, he can still delight in his money and jewels. He who esteems Christ, can solace himself in Christ, when there is a dearth of all other comforts.
If we are prizers of Christ, then we will part with our dearest pleasures for Him. He who esteems Christ, will pull out that lust which is as precious as his right eye! He who sets a high value on Christ, will set his feet on the neck of his sins!
How can they be said to prize Christ—who will not leave a vanity for Him; or who prefer a damning pleasure before a saving Christ!
"Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!"
"Your boasting is not good!" 1 Corinthians 5:6
Pride is the greatest sacrilege; it robs God of His glory. What a horrid sin is pride! Chrysostom calls
it "the mother of hell." Pride encompasses all vice. Pride is a spiritual drunkenness; it flies up like wine into the brain and intoxicates it. Pride is idolatry; a proud man is a self-worshiper. How odious is this sin to God! "Everyone who is proud in heart, is an abomination to the Lord!" Proverbs 16:5. "I hate pride and arrogance!" Proverbs 8:13.
Those who look at themselves in the magnifying mirror of self-love, appear better in their own eyes
than they are. There is no idol like self; the proud man bows down to this idol.
Many are proud of their riches. Their hearts swell with their estates. Pride is the rich man’s cousin.
"Your heart has become proud because of your wealth." Ezekiel 28:5.
Many are proud of their apparel. They dress in such fashions, as to make the devil fall in love with them! Painted faces, gaudy attire, naked breasts—what are these, but the banners which sinful pride displays?
Many are proud of their beauty. The body is but dust and blood kneaded together. Solomon says, "Beauty is vain." Proverbs 31:30. Yet some are so vain—as to be proud of vanity! Shall dust exalt itself?
Many are proud of their gifts and abilities. These trappings and ornaments do not approve them in God’s eyes. An angel is a creature of great abilities; but take away humility from an angel—and he is a devil! God loves a humble soul. It is not our high birth; but our humble hearts, which God delights in.
Oh, let us search if there is any of this leaven of pride in us! Man is naturally a proud piece of flesh. This sin of pride runs in the blood. There are the seeds of this sin of pride in the best of Christians—but the godly do not allow themselves in it. They strive to kill this weed, by mortification.
But certainly where this sin of pride reigns and prevails, it cannot stand with grace. You may as well call him who lacks wisdom, a prudent man; as him who lacks humility, a godly man. "Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace
to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5. Put humility on, as an embroidered robe. It is better to lack anything, rather than humility.
The more value any man has, the more humble he is. Feathers fly up—but gold descends! The golden saint descends in humility. Look at a humble Savior—and let the plumes of pride fall off!
A humble heart is
"He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob." Numbers 23:21
"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart." Hebrews 10:22
If the heart is sincere, God will wink at many failings. God’s love does not make Him blind; He can see our infirmities. But how does God look at a believer’s sins? Not with an eye of revenge—but of pity, as a physician sees a disease in his patient—so as to heal him. God does not see iniquity in Jacob—so as to destroy him; but to heal him!
How much pride, vanity, passion, does the Lord pass by in His sincere ones! He sees the integrity—and pardons the infirmity. We esteem a picture, though it is not drawn full length. Just so, the graces of God’s people are not drawn to their full length.
"Your Word is completely pure, and Your servant loves it." Psalms 119:140
Do we love the holiness of the Word? The Word is preached—to beat down sin, and advance holiness. Do we love it for its spirituality and purity? Many love the Preached Word only for its eloquence and notion. They come to a sermon as to a performance, Ezekiel 33:31-32, or as to a garden to pick flowers; but not to have their lusts subdued or their hearts purified. These are like a foolish woman who paints her face—but neglects her health!
Do we love the convictions of the Word? Do we love the Word when it comes home to our conscience and shoots its arrows of reproof at our sins? It is the minister’s duty sometimes to reprove. He who can speak smooth words in the pulpit—but does not know how to reprove, is like a sword with a fine handle, but without an edge! "Rebuke them sharply!" Titus 2:15. Dip the nail in oil—reprove in love—but strike the nail home!
Now Christian, when the Word touches on your sin and says, "You are the man!" do you love the reproof? Can you bless God that "the sword of the Spirit" has divided between you and your lusts? This is indeed a sign of grace, and shows that you are a lover of the Word.
A corrupt heart loves the comforts of the Word—but not the reproofs: "You hate the one who reproves...and despise him who tells the truth!" Amos 5:10. "Their eyes flash with fire!" Like venomous creatures that at the least touch, spit poison! "When they heard these things, they were enraged in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at him!" Acts 7:54. When Stephen touched their sins, they were furious and could not endure it.
How shall we know that we love the reproofs of the Word?
When we desire to sit under a heart-searching ministry. Who cares for medicines that will not work? A godly man does not choose to sit under a ministry that will not work upon his conscience.
When we pray that the Word may meet with our sins. If there is any traitorous lust in our heart—we would have it found out, and executed. We do not want sin covered; but cured! We can open our heart to the sword of the Word and say,
When we are thankful for a reproof. "Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it." Psalms 141:5.
David was glad for a reproof.
Suppose a man were in the mouth of a lion, and another should shoot the lion and save the man; would he not be thankful? So, when we are in the mouth of sin, as of a lion, and the minister by a reproof shoots this sin to death—shall we not be thankful?
A gracious soul rejoices, when the sharp lance of the Word has pierced his abscess of sin! He wears a reproof like a jewel on his ear: "Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear." Proverbs 25:12.
To conclude, it is convincing preaching which must do the soul good. A nipping reproof prepares for comfort—as a nipping frost prepares for the sweet flowers of spring.
If you wish to be thankful, get a heart deeply humbled with the sense of your own vileness. A broken heart is the best pipe to sound forth God’s praise. He who studies his sins, wonders that he has anything, and that God should shine on such a dunghill: "I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man—but I was shown mercy!" 1 Timothy 1:13. How thankful Paul was! How he trumpeted forth free grace!
A proud man will never be thankful. He looks on all his mercies as either of his own procuring or
deserving. If he has an estate, this he got by his wits and industry; not considering that scripture, "Always remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you power to become rich" Deuteronomy 8:18.
Pride stops the current of gratitude. O Christian, think of your unworthiness; see yourself as the
least of saints, and the chief of sinners—and
Gain is
with Christ: "All these things will I give You!" But Christ saw the hook under the bait! Many who have escaped gross sins, are still caught in a golden net!
A godly man dare not travel for riches, along the devil’s highway. Those are sad gains, which make
a man lose heaven at last!
"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" Matthew 16:26
A godly man does not indulge himself in any sin.
Though sin lives in him—yet he does not live in sin. A godly man may step into sin through infirmity—but he does not keep on that road.
What is it to indulge sin? To indulge sin is to give the breast to it and feed it. To indulge sin is to commit it with delight. The ungodly "delight in wickedness," 2 Thessalonians 2:12. In this sense, a godly man does not indulge sin. Though sin is in him—he is troubled at it and would gladly get rid of it.
There is as much difference between sin in the wicked, and sin in the godly—as between poison
being in a serpent, and poison being in a man. Poison in a serpent is in its natural place and is delightful—but poison in a man’s body is harmful and he uses antidotes to expel it. So sin in a wicked man is delightful, being in its natural place—but sin in a child of God is burdensome and he uses all means to expel it.
A godly man will not allow himself in secret sins. Some are more modest than to commit open gross sin. That would be a stain on their reputation. All will not sin on a balcony—but perhaps they will sin behind the curtain!
But a godly man dare not sin secretly, for he knows that God can neither be deceived by our subtlety, nor excluded by our secrecy. He knows that secret sins are in some sense worse than others. They reveal more deceit and atheism. "He knows the secrets of every heart," Psalms 44:21.
But
A godly man knows that secret sins shall not escape God’s justice. A judge on the bench cannot punish the treason of the heart. But the sins of the heart are as visible to God, as if they were written upon the forehead! As God will reward secret duties; so He will revenge secret sins!
A godly man enters his protest against sin: "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me
from this life that is dominated by sin?" Romans 7:24 A child of God, while he commits sin, hates
the sin he commits!
"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1
There is usually one sin that is the favorite—the sin which the heart is most fond of. A godly man will not indulge his darling sin: "I kept myself from my iniquity." Psalms 18:23. "I will not indulge the sin to which the bias of my heart more naturally inclines."
"Fight neither with small nor great—but only with the king." 1 Kings 22:31. A godly man fights this king sin. If we would have peace in our souls, we must maintain a war against our favorite sin, and never leave off until it is subdued.
Question: How shall we know what our beloved sin is?
Answer 1: The sin which a man does not love to have reproved—is the darling sin. Herod could not endure having his incest spoken against. If the prophet meddles with that sin—it shall cost him his head! "Do not touch my Herodias!" Men can be content to have other sins reproved—but if the minister puts his finger on the sore, and touches this sin—their hearts begin to burn in malice against him!
Answer 2: The sin on which the thoughts run most, is the darling sin. Whichever way the thoughts go, the heart goes. He who is in love with a person cannot keep his thoughts off that person. Examine what sin runs most in your mind, what sin is first in your thoughts and greets you in the morning—that is your predominant sin.
Answer 3: The sin which has most power over us, and most easily leads us captive—is the one beloved by the soul. There are some sins which a man can better resist. If they come for entertainment, he can more easily put them off. But the bosom sin comes as a suitor, and he
cannot deny it—but is overcome by it. The young man in the Gospel had repulsed many sins—but there was one sin which soiled him, and that was covetousness.
Mark what sin you are most readily led captive by—that is
Answer 4: The sin which men most defend, is the beloved sin. He who has a jewel in his bosom, will defend it to his death. The sin we advocate and dispute for, is the besetting sin. The sin which we plead for, and perhaps wrest Scripture to justify it—that is the sin which lies nearest the heart.
Answer 5: The sin which a man finds most difficulty in giving up, is the endeared sin. Of all his sons, Jacob found most difficulty in parting with Benjamin. So the sinner says, "This and that sin I have parted with—but must Benjamin go! Must I part with this delightful sin? That pierces my heart!" A man may allow some of his sins to be demolished—but when it comes to one sin, that is the taking of the castle; he will never agree to part with that! That is the master sin for sure.
The besetting sin is, of all others, most dangerous. As Samson’s strength lay in his hair—so the strength of sin, lies in this beloved sin. This is like a poison striking the heart, which brings death. A godly man will lay the axe of repentance to this sin and hew it down! He will sacrifice this Isaac; he will pluck out this right eye—so that he may see better to go to heaven.
A godly man considers the mischief which
1. One sin lived in, gives Satan as much advantage against you as more sins. The fowler can hold a bird by one wing. Satan held Judas fast by one sin.
2. One sin lived in, proves that the heart is not sound. He who hides one rebel in his house is a traitor to the crown. The person who indulges one sin is a traitorous hypocrite!
3. One sin lived in, will make way for more—as a little thief can open the door to more. Sins are linked and chained together. One sin will draw on more. David’s adultery made way for murder. One sin never goes alone! If there is only one nest egg—the devil can brood on it!
4. One sin lived in, is as much a breach of God’s law as more sins. "Whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all" James 2:10. The king may make a law against felony, treason and murder. If a man is guilty of only one of these—he is a transgressor.
5. One sin lived in, prevents Christ from entering. One stone in the pipe keeps out the water. One sin indulged in, obstructs the soul and keeps the streams of Christ’s blood from running into it!
6. One sin lived in, will spoil all your good duties. One dead fly will spoil the whole box of precious ointment. A drop of poison will spoil a glass of wine. Abimelech, a bastard-son, destroyed seventy of his brethren, Judges 9:5 One bastard-sin will destroy seventy prayers.
7. One sin lived in will be a cankerworm to eat out the peace of conscience. "Alas! What a scorpion lies within!" (Seneca). One sin is a pirate—to rob a Christian of his comfort. One jarring string puts all the music out of tune. One sin lived in—will spoil the music of conscience.
8. One sin lived in, will damn as well as more sins. One disease is enough to kill. If a fence is made ever so strong, and only one gap is left open; the wild beast may enter and tread down the corn. If only one sin is allowed in the soul, you leave open a gap for the devil to enter! A soldier may have only one gap in his armor—and the bullet may enter there. He may as well be shot there—as if he had no armor on at all. So if you favor only one sin, you leave a part of your soul unprotected—and the bullet of God’s wrath may enter there—and shoot you! One sin lived in, may shut you out of heaven! What difference is there, between being shut out of heaven for one sin—or for many sins? One millstone will sink a man into the sea—as well as a hundred!
Therefore, beware of cherishing one sin! Give a certificate of divorce to every sin. Kill the Goliath sin! "Let not sin reign over you." Romans 6:12. In the original it is "Let not sin king it over you." Grace and sin may be together—but grace and the love of sin cannot. Therefore parley with sin no longer—but with the spear of mortification, spill the heart-blood of every sin!
"For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you throughthe Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live." Romans 8:13.
"So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you." Colossians 3:5
"He will not break a bruised reed." Matthew 12:20
Will Christ not break a bruised reed? See, then, the gracious disposition of Jesus Christ—He is full of mercy and sympathy. Though He may bruise the soul for sin, He will not break it. The surgeon may lance the body and make it bleed—but he will bind up the wound.
As Christ has beams of majesty, so He has a heart of mercy. Christ has both the lion and the lamb in His escutcheon: the lion—in respect of his fierceness to the wicked (Psalms 50:22), and the lamb—in respect of His mildness to His people. His name is Jesus—a Savior; and His office is a healer (Malachi 4:2). Christ made a plaster of His own blood—to heal a broken heart!
Christ is the quintessence of love. Someone said, "If the sweetness of all flowers were in one flower, how sweet that flower would be!" Christ is that flower! How full of mercy is Christ, in whom all mercy meets! Christ has a skillful hand and a tender heart. "He will not break a bruised reed."
This text is a spiritual honeycomb, dropping consolation into all bruised hearts. This text is comforting to a poor soul who sits with Job among the ashes, and is dejected at the sense of its unworthiness. "Ah!" says the soul, "I am unworthy of mercy; what am I, that ever God should
look on me? Alas! I am unworthy." Does your unworthiness trouble you? What more unworthy than a bruised reed? Though you are despicable in your own eyes—just a poor shattered reed—yet you may be glorious in the eyes of the Lord. Do not let your unworthiness discourage you. If you see yourself as vile and Christ as precious—this promise is yours! Christ will not break you—but will bind up your wounds. "He will not break a bruised reed."
But how shall I know that I am savingly bruised?
When your spirit is so troubled that you are willing to let go those lusts which brought in the greatest income of pleasure and delight. When not only is sin discarded but you are disgusted with it—then you have been bruised enough. The medicine is strong enough, when it has purged out the disease. The soul is bruised enough, when the love of sin is purged out.
Did God ever bring you to your knees? Has your proud heart been humbled? Did you ever see yourself as a sinner and nothing but a sinner? Did you ever, with a weeping eye, look on Christ? (Zechariah 12:10) And did those tears drop from the eye of faith? (Mark 9:24) This is
"If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23
Self-ease, self-ends, self-love, whatever comes in competition with (or stands in opposition to)
Christ’s glory and interest—must be denied!
Self is the great snare! The rich young man in the Gospel might have followed Christ—but something of self hindered him.
"Redeeming the time." Ephesians 5:16
How you spend your time, is a matter of great importance. Many people fool away their time—
some in idle visits, others in recreations and pleasures which secretly bewitch the heart, and take it away from better things. What are our golden hours for—but to attend to our souls? Time misspent is not time lived—but time lost!
Time is a precious commodity. As salvation is to be worked out in it, and a conveyance of heaven
depends on using it well—
Think of your short stay in the world. "We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a shadow—gone so soon without a trace!" 1 Chronicles 29:15
There is only a span between the cradle and the grave! Solomon says there is "a time to be born and a time to die"—but mentions no time of living—as if that were so short, it was not worth naming!
Time, when it has once gone, can never be recalled.
"My life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away, filled with tragedy. It disappears like a swift boat, like an eagle that swoops down on its prey." Job 9:25-26
This Scripture compares time to a flying eagle. Yet time differs from the eagle in this: the eagle flies forward and then back again—but time has wings only to fly forward—it never returns! "Time flies irrevocably."
The serious thoughts of our short stay here in this world, would be a great means of promoting godliness. Whoever considers how flitting and winged his life is—will hasten his repentance.
"Godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6
It is like digging in a gold mine. Godliness makes God Himself our portion! "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance" Psalms 16:5. If God is our portion—all our estate lies in jewels! Where God gives Himself—He gives everything else. Whoever has the castle, has all the royalties belonging to it. God is a portion that can be neither spent nor lost. "God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!" Psalms 73:26.
Godliness is "profitable for all things." 1 Timothy 4:8. What else is profitable, besides godliness? Food will not give a man wisdom; gold will not give him health; honor will not give him beauty. But godliness is profitable for all things: it fences off all troubles; it supplies all needs; it makes soul and body completely happy.
Consider how vain and contemptible other things are, which people void of godliness, busy themselves about. Men are taken up with the things of this life, and "what profit has he who has labored for the wind?" Can the wind fill? What is gold but dust, which will sooner choke than satisfy!
Godliness is an enduring substance. All worldly delights have a death’s-head set on them. They
are only shadows and they are fleeting. Earthly comforts bring a man to his grave—and then
take their farewell. But godliness is a possession which we cannot be robbed of. It runs parallel
with eternity. Force cannot weaken it; age cannot wither it. It outbraves sufferings; it outlives death.
Death may pluck the stalk of the body—but the flower of grace is not hurt.
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." Galatians 6:7
This way of sin seems pleasant—but the end is damnable. The ungodly man treads on the
precipice of the bottomless pit; and when death gives him a jog—he tumbles in!
"You fool! You will die this very night!" Luke 12:20
"For those who are after the flesh—do mind the things of the flesh; but those who are after the
Spirit—the things of the Spirit." Romans 8:5
The ungodly walk according to the flesh. If a drunken or unclean lust calls—they gratify it! Lust is the compass they sail by!
"For if you live after the flesh—you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of
the body—you shall live." Romans 8:13
"The God who fed me all my life long unto this day." Genesis 48:15
What temporal favors we have received! Every day we see a new tide of mercy coming in. The wings of mercy have covered us; the breast of mercy has fed us! What snares laid for us have been broken! What fears have blown over! He has taken such care of us, as if he had no one else to take care of. Never was the cloud of providence so black—but we might see a rainbow of love in the cloud. We have been made to
That which may put another string into the instrument of our praise, and make it sound louder—is to consider what spiritual blessings God has conferred on us. He has opened the wardrobe of heaven and fetched us out a better garment than any of the angels wear! He has given us the best robe, and put on us the ring of faith, by which we are married to Him. These are mercies of the first magnitude, which deserve to have an asterisk put on them! More—God keeps the best wine until last! Here on earth, He gives us temporal mercies only in small quantities; but the greatest things are laid up in heaven! Here on earth, there are some honey drops and foretastes of God’s love; the rivers of pleasure are reserved for paradise! Well may we take the harp and violin and triumph in God’s praise. Who can tread on these hot coals of God’s love—and his heart not burn in thankfulness!