But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. – James 1:14.
“Temptation were no temptation, if our hearts were not wicked hearts. Nay, many of us are ready to tempt temptations, to provoke the devil to temptations; we cast ourselves open to temptations. Temptations find lust within, and lust within is the mother to conceive sin, if temptation be the father.
Times do not bring evils along with them, they do but discover what was hid before. All the evils and corruptions you now see among us, where were they in the day of our first love, when we were as a loving and beloved child? Have all these risen up of late? No certainly, all that you have seen and found were before, though they did not appear; before they were in the root, now you see the fruit.
All the apostacy and profanity that hath been vented in these days, was all shut up within the corners of men’s hearts at the beginning. Time and temptation hath but uncovered the heart, and made the inside out, hath but opened a sluice to let out this sea of corruption. It is not bred since, but seen since.”
Hugh Binning, Heart Humiliation
HT: Hail and Fire
This was a great quote and oh so true! Thank you for sharing this. I loved your interview with Simonetta Carr. It was wonderful!
Thank you Barbara! The Simonetta Carr interview was a lot of fun and I believe a great encouragement. Her work is a real blessing to the body.
Well! Isn’t that an ugly truth to consider!
What? Did I suppose all truths to be sweet and loverly? To tickle my ears?
No, these things must come out– within us are cesspools of corruption and degradation, and our Lord’s sanctifying work yet takes a lifetime to manifest the cleansing which was effected in His finished work on Calvary.
Thank God that His mercy, His steadfast love, endureth forever, for our human patience would have long since worn thin and been utterly frustrated. But He has forsworn Himself to complete that great, holy, righteous and just work which He has begun in us, at which we on our own could never succeed, and He can never fail.
Thank God, too, for such reflections as this of Mr. Binning and for such faithful posts by Mrs. Langella.
Thank you so much brother, Al! Yes, it is most certainly an ugly truth to consider! Yet, it’s the only way we will ever understand the great grace that is ours in Christ. How can we understand His mercy without grasping our total depravity? Thank you, as always, for your feedback. Your comments always do my soul good!