“As a man of holiness believes for more holiness, so a man of holiness hopes for more holiness. (1 John 3:2–4) In every ordinance he hopes for more holiness, and under every providence he hopes for more holiness, and under every mutation and change of his condition he hopes for more holiness. (2 Pet. 3:14)
When he is in prosperity, he hopes that God will make him more zealous, thankful, cheerful, fruitful, and useful. And when he is in adversity, he hopes that God will inflame his love, and raise his faith, and increase his patience, and strengthen his submission, and quiet his heart in a gracious resignation of himself to God.
I dare boldly say that that man was never truly holy, who endeavours not to get up to the highest pitches of holiness. True holiness knows no restrictions nor limitation.
But now counterfeit holiness is either like Hezekiah’s sun, which went backward; or like Joshua’s sun, which stood still; or like Ephraim’s morning cloud, which soon passed away. No rung but the highest rung in Jacob’s ladder will satisfy a holy soul.
True holiness makes a man divinely covetous. Look, as the victorious man can never make conquests enough, nor the ambitious man can never have honour enough, nor the voluptuous man pleasure enough, nor the worldling mammon enough, nor the wanton vain embraces enough, no more can a man of holiness have ever holiness enough in this world.
As the grave and the barren womb are never satisfied, they never say it is enough. (Prov. 30:15, 16). So a holy man, whilst he is this side eternity, he is never satisfied, he can never say that he hath holiness enough.
Where there is real holiness, there is a holy hatred, detestation, and indignation against all ungodliness and wickedness, and that upon holy accounts: ‘I have refrained my feet from every evil way.’ But why? ‘That I may keep Thy word.’ (Ps. 119:101)
‘Through Thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.’ (Ps. 119:104) The good that he got by divine precepts stirred up his hatred against every false way.
‘Therefore I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.’ (Ps. 119:128) His high esteem of every precept raised up in him a holy indignation against every evil way.
A holy man knows that all sin strikes at the holiness of God, the glory of God, the nature of God, the being of God, and the law of God, and therefore his heart rises against all.
He looks upon every sin, as the Scribes and Pharisees that accused Christ, and as that Judas that betrayed Christ, and that Pilate that condemned Christ, and those soldiers that scourged Christ, and as those spears that pierced Christ, and therefore his heart cries out for justice upon all.
He looks upon every sin as having a hand in the death of his Saviour, and therefore he cries out, ‘Crucify them all, crucify them all!’
He looks upon every sin as a grieving of the Spirit, as a vexing of the Spirit, and as a quenching of the Spirit, and so nothing will satisfy him but the ruin of them all.
He looks upon every sin as a dishonour to God, as an enemy to Christ, as a wound to the Spirit, as a reproach to the gospel, and as a moth to his holiness, and therefore his heart and his hand is against every sin.”
–Thomas Brooks, The Works of Thomas Brooks, Volume 4, Ed. Alexander Balloch Grosart (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1666/2001), 4: 108-109.
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