p. 1 | GOD WEIGHS OUR THOUGHTS by Dudley Marvin Canright

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 25, 1879

GOD WEIGHS OUR THOUGHTS.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

BY ELD. D. M. CANRIGHT.

TEXT: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Prov. 4:23.

THE language of this text relates to the thoughts and purposes of our hearts. It is not simply the outward man, the way we appear to others, that determines whether we are Christians; but it is the heart, the inward man. “Keep thy heart with all diligence.” This intimates that it is a difficult task, that it will require a great struggle to keep it,—that we will have to guard it as nothing else; “for out of it are the issues of life.”

In Gen. 16:13, I read like this: “And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me.” Go back to the record, and you will find that Hagar had become discouraged, and that the Lord spoke to her with an audible voice when she least expected it. She was so surprised that she broke out in the exclamation, “Thou God seest me.” Then she gave the reason: “Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?” Hagar believed that the Lord heard and knew all that was said, but she did not realize it until he spoke to her. She was then forcibly impressed with the thought, “Thou God seest me.” Not a sparrow falls to the ground without his notice. Jesus says the very hairs of our heads are numbered. This seems incredible; but when we think that he is an infinite God, we can realize that it is not impossible.

When the Christian withdraws from the busy world to hold secret communion with God in prayer, how comforting the thought that his eye is ever upon us, and that his ear is open to our cries. We are thus instructed in his blessed word: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Matt. 6:6.

He not only sees us and hears us, but he knows the very intents of the heart. In 1 Sam. 16:7, we read “that the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

We see a stranger passing along. He is well dressed, comely, attractive, and gentlemanly in his manners. Yet in his heart he may be fearfully corrupt. God does not judge by the outward appearance; he looks into the deepest recesses of the heart. Yes, every thought of my heart, every thought of your heart, is laid open before God. We have before us a machine. The man who made it knows everything about it. If the machinery is out of order, he can take it apart and immediately point out the difficulty. We could not do that. We can judge of the inside works only by the outward appearance. The Lord, having created us, knows all about us.

In 1 Chron. 28:9, we read: “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts.” This is the language of David to his son, and very solemn words they are. I have observed with regard to myself, that, however careful of my thoughts, I sometimes find them running away just like a machine without a balance wheel, imagining this or that, laying this plan, forming that scheme,—musings that I would not dare to utter aloud. God understandeth all the imaginations,—God knows every one of these loose, random thoughts that crowd themselves upon our minds.

Jesus himself knew the hearts of men while on earth. Matt. 9:4, says, “And Jesus knowing their thoughts said,” etc. You remember the case. A man sick with the palsy was brought to him, and Jesus said, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” When the people saw this, they said within themselves, “This man blasphemeth.” Although their lips did not move, Christ discerned their thoughts, and said, “Why think ye evil in your hearts?” This was the very thing that convinced them that he was Christ. My brother, the same Jesus that was on earth then lives to-night, and he knows all our hearts.

In Psalm 139 this thought is also expressed. “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afar off.” Dear friends, these are solemn words. May God help us to lay them to heart. When you sit down to the table, and when you lie down at night, think of it. “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising.” When you rise in the morning, remember that God’s eye is upon you. “Thou understandest my thought afar off.” The thoughts of to-day, the thoughts you had yesterday, God understands them all. “Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Call up the words you spoke yesterday; God knows every one of them. “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” Ps. 139:1–12.

If even some great and good man like John Wesley were continually with us and knew all we said, would we not be more careful than we are of our words? But the great God not only sees us and hears the words we utter, but he understands the secret motives of every heart. It is not simply to cease wrangling, swearing, drinking, and smoking, that constitutes a Christian. No, no. God hates all unholy, corrupt thoughts, and hence he requires us to put them all away as we endeavor to live a Christian life. We watch the hands of a clock, and tell by their movements whether all within is right. The hands are only the outward manifestations of what is on the inside. Just so with our words and actions. They are the blossoms, the fruit, the thoroughly ripe grain that is borne from the root out of sight.

Let me read the words of our Saviour. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders.” Mark 7:21. How do we judge of this or that brother? By his actions, his outward appearance. But God looks back of these, down into the fountain from which they spring. “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.” Brethren, a man may have his heart full of evil thoughts, yet he may hide them in a measure from his neighbors, and even from his own family. Some of you may say, “Well, if I do not speak out what I think, if I do not act out my thoughts, it is not so bad.” If a respected friend were near you, would you dare to act out these thoughts? By no means. But remember that the Lord regards the thought and the action alike sinful. “For from within, out of the heart, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders.” Thought comes first, action follows. The thought is just as criminal in the sight of God as the action. Take the case of the murderer. He does not commit the deed without premeditation. A man has a grudge against his neighbor; he thinks of it, turns it over and over, dreams of it, becomes excited, and finally so exasperated that in an unguarded moment the murder is committed. John says that “he that hateth his brother is a murderer.” So in regard to stealing. First, the person sees something that he desires to possess. He thinks it a terrible thing to steal; but he indulges in covetous thoughts until this conviction of wrong doing wears away, and he commits the theft. The thought is first, the outward act second. “Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:20–23.

We see pride, foolishness, and other corrupting influences coming among our own people. A love of show is displayed among the sisters, on their hats, their fingers, and their dress generally. What does all this mean? It is the outward sign of pride growing in the heart. One may make a profession as high as heaven, but when we see these things we know the conversion is not genuine. We need enough good religion to take all this vanity out of our hearts, and to put it far from us.

Jude says, of a corrupt class that should exist in the last days: “Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” There are those who have cherished such low, vulgar, lascivious thoughts that their very dreams are corrupted. They retire to sleep at night, yet so corrupt are their hearts that their dreams are defiled. There needs to be something done in such a case more than an outward work. Nothing but the Spirit of God can cleanse the sin-polluted soul.

Once more, in Prov. 24:9 we read that “the thought of foolishness is sin.” We have no right to indulge in these low, vulgar thoughts, because they lead to corresponding actions. Here is another text: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” In Gen. 6:5, we read, of the antediluvians, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” It was not simply the words and actions of the people that condemned the world and caused its destruction by a flood; but it was their wicked thoughts also.

These things demand our serious consideration. Young friend, what are your thoughts? What are your imaginations? Do you allow your minds to entertain corrupt thoughts? It was such sins, as I said before, that brought the deluge upon the old world.

In Jer. 6:19 we read: “Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.” “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” Ps. 10:4. How is it with us? Is God in all our thoughts? Again, we read that “the thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord; but the words of the pure are pleasant words.” Prov. 15:26. What are our thoughts? Have our minds been accustomed to dwell upon low, vulgar, foolish things, or have they been upon God, and Christ, and Heaven, and the law of God?

In the first Psalm the Lord describes a righteous man thus: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

What is it to be converted? It is not simply to stop swearing, stop cheating your neighbor, refrain from the outward act of adultery; but it is to put away the very desire of these things. And the man who has not done this is not a converted man.

In Isa. 55:7 it is said: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Unless this is done,—unless the wicked forsakes his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, he will never get into the kingdom of God. The fountain must be pure, or what springs from it cannot be pure. The heart and thoughts must be pure.

I read again, from 2 Cor. 10:5: “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” I tell you, dear friends, it is a great thing to be a Christian, to be born again and have the Spirit of God begotten in us. When that comes in and takes full possession of the heart, all foolish, selfish, wicked thoughts and imaginations will be driven from the mind.

Now, dear brethren, you who are seeking God, will you not let Jesus come in? In Rev. 3:20 we read: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Do you wonder why the Spirit of God does not take up its abode in your heart? My brother, pause and consider what you are cherishing there. The blessed God will never send his Spirit into a heart that is full of foolishness and corruption. The rubbish must all be cleared away from the door, and the heart must be emptied, swept and garnished before the Lord will come in. The Spirit of God is holy, undefiled and pure; it hates sin, and can make no compromise with unrighteousness. You may pray and plead unceasingly; but the Spirit of God can never enter your hearts as long as these things are there. If any of you find yourselves weak, and unable to banish these internal foes, let me say from experience that the only way to successfully accomplish the work is to seek the Lord earnestly for his especial help, and become thoroughly converted to him. He will never turn away indifferent to your entreaties, but will enter your hearts and abide there if you will only prepare the way for him.

God knows every word that comes from our lips. “For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether

.” Ps. 139:4.

When I was once lecturing in Michigan, I went one day to call on a man who had become much interested in the meetings. He was out hitching up his team, and I came near to him before he saw me. He was swearing furiously, and seemed very angry at his horses. Finally he looked around and saw me. What did he do? He stuttered, and stammered, and blushed, and began to make an apology for his rough talking. Why? A minister of God was there. He stopped short, and did not speak another angry word all the time I was there. He never once thought that God had been hearing him. But God did hear, and recorded those wicked words against him.

When I was out West I saw one of Mr. Edison’s wonderful phonographs. We tried it. There is a cylinder with a little tin-foil upon it. You speak into a tube, and the sound produces the vibration of a small needle which makes indentations on this tin-foil. The cylinder is turned back from where it started, a crank is turned, and the former sound is reproduced. Every modification of the voice, every intonation, whether it be loud or soft, is faithfully reproduced. Some one whistled into it, and the whistle came out just as it went in. Others sang into it, and the same sound was reproduced. Well, thought I, if man can invent a machine that can reproduce the very identical words that are spoken into it, what can the infinite God do? Surely he has means by which every thought, word, action, and deed can be faithfully reproduced before us in the Judgment. I said, then and there, God helping me I will guard my words and actions more carefully than ever before.

You know that Christ says that for every idle word a man utters he will have to give an account. David says, in Ps. 19:14: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” Dear young friends, are your thoughts acceptable in the sight of God? Are your words and meditations such as will exalt God in your mind and bring peace into your heart?

Peter says, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.” 2 Peter 3:11. Brethren, is your conversation holy? When you are at the table with your family, out in the field with your boys, in company with those wicked, ungodly men, is your conversation what it should be? Do you laugh and jest, or do you talk of the truth, and God’s love for a fallen world? Oh, how the Spirit of God must be grieved when we indulge in foolish, vulgar conversation. Then, again, the angels of God are constantly watching over us to guard us. Who are these angels? They are pure and holy beings. When a pious young lady comes into the society of wicked men, how soon profanity and vulgarity are put away. But, my friends, the angels of God are clothed in spotless purity, far exceeding any earthly being. Oh, how it must grieve them when an unholy word is spoken.

In Eph. 5:3, 4, the Spirit of God says: “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient; but rather giving of thanks.” My friends, how can you indulge in this low, chaffy talk and jesting? When you do this and then get down upon your knees and pray, “O God, bless me and come into my heart,” it is no wonder that Heaven seems far away, that your hearts are empty and you have no light from God. Again, we have no time for such idle conversation. Time is too short for this. God will require an account of the time we have squandered away in this manner.

When you go into the field to work, wherever you are, remember that you are redeemed by the blood of Christ; remember that the stamp of Heaven is upon you; remember that Heaven is the home you are seeking; remember that God says, “Be ye holy.”

Now I quote my last text: “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of Judgment.” Matt. 12:36. These are most solemn words. Oh, what an account some men will have to render in the day of God. I feel very anxious to see a reformation in this church; for I am thoroughly satisfied that there are men in this neighborhood, members of this church, who, unless they turn square about and seek God, will surely be lost. We have long enough been dabbling with sin, parleying with the devil. This we must stop if we ever gain an entrance into the kingdom of God. There must be something done to strike at the very root of this matter. We want to see a reformation in regard to dress. Our people are becoming too much like the world. Then we want to see a reformation in the tables; we want to see the unwholesome articles of food discarded forever. God cannot help you as long as these things are in the way. God has said that though our sins be as scarlet they shall be made as white as snow; but it will do no good to wish and wait for this. Go to work in earnest; agonize with God; repent of your sins; and God will come in and give you such a blessing that there will not be room to receive it.

There is many a man who would like to be a Christian. He certainly does not expect to be damned; but he does not work. If a few tears shed, a little effort to get out to meetings, a little sacrificing, would get him to Heaven, he would go there; but it takes more than that. Heaven is worth more than that. A home in the kingdom of God will cost something.

Oh, brethren, will you not make an effort to secure such a prize for yourselves and others? Oh! that the blessed God would roll a burden of souls upon your hearts. Let us be Bible Christians. Let us have Bible religion, a religion that gets hold of a man’s soul and penetrates the deep recesses of his heart. May the Lord God help us, guide us, and finally save us in his kingdom. Amen.

GOD WEIGHS OUR THOUGHTS.*

GOD WEIGHS OUR THOUGHTS.