Jeremiah 5:1-9 Run you to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man… Philosophers in all ages have complained that human creatures are plentiful, but men are scarce. But philosophers made their ideal too high, their conception of what man ought to be too lofty. I have no sympathy with the cynic of whom history informs us, that, being ordered to summon the good men of the city before the Roman censor, proceeded immediately to the graveyard, called to the dead below, saying he knew not where to find a good man alive; or that gloomy sage, that prince of grumblers, Thomas Carlyle, who described the population of his country as consisting of so many millions, "mostly fools," and who could speak in praise of no one but himself and Mrs. Carlyle, the latter deserving all the praise she got for enduring him. When anyone complains, as Diogenes did, that he has to hunt the streets with candles at noonday to find an honest man, we are apt to think that his nearest neighbour would have quite as much difficulty as himself in making the discovery. If you think there is not a ,true man living, you had better, for appearance, put off saying it until you are dead yourself. In looking for a man, look for a man with a conscience — a man who, like Longfellow's honest blacksmith, can "look the whole world in the face, and fear not any man." Look for a being that has a heart. A warm, loving nature is true manliness. In looking for a man, look for a magnanimous man; a broad mind, that not only observes what passes in the limited range of its own sphere, but is not afraid to look abroad; is far-sighted and not afraid of excellence in others. In your search for "a man," look for a being that has a soul — the capability of solemn thought. Thousands today worship Bacchus and Venus. Their hearts are set on "having a good time." Others apply themselves so intensely to their business that they find pleasure only in worshipping the mighty dollar. The man who so inordinately loves money for its own sake, and becomes insensible to all refined enjoyments, after a while ceases to be a man. Faith in Jesus Christ makes manly men. He is our model — a model containing all the elements of true manhood; a model of sympathy and love; a model of purity and uprightness. Christ-men are wanted. (M. C. Peters.) Parallel Verses KJV: Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it. |
    |