2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God… I. THE POWER OF THOUGHT. The greatest on earth is man, the greatest in man is mind, the great function of mind is to think. 1. The ability to think is man's great distinction. By this, man seems to be distanced from every other creature by an impassable gulf; for, if other creatures have built the way which leads up to man, it is one they have not been able to follow. 2. Thought is the instrument of all man's work. Within creaturely limits it is a power of creation. Consider what it has already accomplished, what is still being done by it, and what prophecies of work continue ceaselessly to proceed from man's busy brain. 3. Thought is also the great material with which we work. All work is the working out and working up of thought. We sometimes hear men talk of being used-up. He only can be used-up who has not learned to use himself. 4. Thought gives value to everything. (1) Works of skill are costly. Skilled labour commands the highest market price. And as the world completes its history thought will be more and more in demand. In all great crises the man of thought will come to the front. (2) The value of thought, too, is seen in its power — when wisely directed — of control over the inferior powers. A man of rightly-directed thought cannot well be a low, bad man. Earnest and well-chosen engagement of mind disengages the body from every excess, and disqualifies it for low pursuits. II. FOR OUR THOUGHTS TO HAVE THIS VALUE, WE MUST LEARN TO LEAD THEM. 1. Thought unled, like an unbroken animal, will be drawn hither and thither by the allurements of the senses; or left, passively subject to external influences and circumstances, to vegetate but not to bear fruit; for there is no order in the thought of an undisciplined mind, consequently no harvest — no accumulation of thought and its results. 2. If a man does not lead his thoughts, some other power will, the world, the flesh, or the devil, or all these powers combined. Now, the central character of the power of our thoughts makes it a first necessity that we should lead them, if we are to remain in possession of ourselves. Thought determines the man. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." It arrests the attention, awakens feeling, inflames the passions, subdues the will, and commands action. Thoughts, therefore, unled will be to a man what winds and waves are to a ship under canvas but without a rudder, or what steam is to an engine without the guiding rail — a driving and destructive power. 3. What is so important, then, as that we should have power over our thoughts, that we should be able to choose them, to select those we wish to retain, and to dismiss those we would banish; that we should be able to hold and fix arrested thoughts, infuse them with our will, and work in and by them our good pleasure. III. IF WE WOULD LEAD OUR THOUGHTS, WE MUST KNOW HOW TO MAKE THEM INTERESTING. The mind readily places itself at the service of the heart. To master the details of any subject in which we are not truly interested is an irksome task. But when we take to a subject, with what eagerness we pursue it! The mind readily labours for what interests the heart. The heart lives with its treasure, and surrounds it with habitual thought. These thoughts repeat themselves so frequently that they soon become established. We should mark those thoughts which come unbidden, and ascertain their right to the place they seek to occupy. And we cannot do this too soon, for thoughts which occupy the heart become impassioned, and are difficult to dismiss, though they may be such as it ill becomes us to cherish; and, if not at once dismissed, become habitual. IV. HOW MAY WE LEAD OUR THOUGHTS INTO CAPTIVITY? Thought cannot be forced. To lead it we must observe the nature of the mind, which is susceptible of influence, but not of force. Our leading, therefore, must not be arbitrary, but in accordance with law and order — truth and justice. There is nothing more repugnant to the mind than the tyranny of wilfulness; but the appeal of law and order accords with its nature, and awakens their own deep-laid echoes in answering assent. To lead our thoughts, then, we must simply ask for obedience to an authority which, though it speaks without, appeals to its own "Amen" within us. But to what authority? 1. To that of conscience. Paul only sought to enforce that which "commended itself to the conscience in the sight of God." Man's conscience is endowed with that power of judgment which makes him responsible for an obedience according to the light. Our thoughts must be led by our consciences. 2. The Divine Word. This has its correspondence in the conscience, as the light has its corresponding faculty in the eye which witnesses of the designed agreement between them. The Word of God, by awakening the conscience, awakens a power to whose judgment it submits the claims of its authority. But it is a higher authority than conscience. Conscience is corruptible, and has been corrupted. The Word is "incorruptible," and "liveth and abideth for ever." It faithfully represents the judgment of God, and enables the spirit, which is given to every man, when once awakened, to see things in His light — even the deep things of God. The spirit in the child has an ear which knows the Father's voice, and an eye which discerns His light, and is the child's capacity for being taught of God. Under the inherited corruption that is in the flesh, and the influence of the vain pageantry of "the course of this world," the conscience is dead, and needs to be quickened and enlightened by "the Word, which is quick and powerful," etc. 3. He who speaks in the Word. He is the last authority because, without the Word which addresses the conscience through the ear, we should be ignorant of Him. With light everywhere, men know not God. "How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?" whose minds "the god of this world hath blinded" lest "the light of God should shine unto them." It is through "the foolishness of preaching" that He is revealed to us as a God of attractive goodness and mercy. In Jesus Christ "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory," etc. In Him we have, though last, our highest authority for the obedience of our thoughts. And when He is once seen, like the risen sun, He accounts for and claims as His all the light that preceded Him. He is the centre and source of every attraction. With His reign set up in the heart, submission becomes a devotion, obedience a worship, and the whole life moves in charmed circles of rectitude and peace. The powers of His life, His light, His love are, therefore, "the weapons of a warfare" which are "mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strongholds," etc. How blessed it is to know that there is a way for our thoughts, a way having all the authority of law, the satisfaction of truth, the charm of goodness, the promise of stability, and the certainty of perpetual progress! A right, royal, central way, which conducts to the centre of all blessedness! How blessed it is to know that this way is His, whose "counsel standeth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations," who can cleanse the thoughts of our heart by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and who has undertaken to do so as "the Captain of our salvation." Admit Him to our hearts, and He will lead our thoughts captive, not by force, but by the love He inspires. But, in order thus to lead our thoughts, He draws us not merely "with cords of love" but also by "the bands of a man" — by influences in harmony with the laws of our nature. He knows we are amenable to reason, that we carry an echo truth can awaken, that we respond to goodness and yield to mercy. By appealing, therefore, to our several powers in accordance with their own freedom of action, we are made willing in the day of His power, and yield ourselves up to His sway. (W. Pulsford, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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; |
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