Homilist Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made every thing beautiful in his time: also he has set the world in their heart… I. THE WORLD IS IN EVERY MAN'S HEART AS A MENTAL IMAGE. The men of the world whom we have known; the villages, towns, cities, which we have visited; the landscapes we have observed — in truth, all outside of us that have ever come under our notice have stamped their image on the heart. The photographs of all are within. Thus we carry within us all those parts and phases of the world that have ever come within the sweep of our observation. II. THE WORLD IS IN EVERY MAN'S HEART AS A NECESSARY INFLUENCE. So many and so close are the ties with which the Creator has bound us to this world, that it comes into us as a mighty and constantly acting force. There are many affections planted in the heart that must bring the world into it as an active power. There is self-preservation. Our very subsistence so depends upon the cultivation of the fields, the exploration of the minerals, the navigating of the seas, the transactions of the market, and in working, in some way or other, in the outward world, that it necessarily absorbs such an amount of our attention, as to bring it into us as a most powerful force of action. There is social affection. There are boys and girls, men and women, on whom our affections are set — brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, father, mother, friends who are so near to our sympathies, that, without figure, we bring them into us. They live in us, and exert no small amount of influence upon the activities of our life. Had we the philanthropy of Christ, we should bear, as He did, the whole human world upon our hearts. There is the love of beauty. Man's instinct for the beautiful is deep and strong. This instinct not only brings the world near to him, but into him. The craving of the soul for the beautiful in form and colour and the grand in aspect gives this world, which abounds with the beautiful and sublime, a mighty power in the soul. III. THE WORLD IS IN EVERY MAN'S HEART AS A GREAT REALITY. The world is to every man according to the state of his soul; great or small, according to his conceptions; overspread with sadness or radiant with joy, according to his feelings; a scene of temptation to contaminate, or of discipline to refine, according to the ruling principles of the heart. 1. The character of the material world is to a man what he makes it. The world of the untutored rustic is very different from that of the man of science. What has made the difference — the difference in the state of intellect? The man of science has read and thought and investigated; and as he has done so, the world has grown in magnitude — m splendour, and in interest. Moreover, what a difference there is between the world of a cheerful and that of a gloomy man! 2. The character of the human world is to man what he makes of it. To the selfish all men are selfish; to the dishonest all men are dishonest; to the false all men are false; to the generous all men are generous. 3. The character of the God of the world is to man what he makes it. Polytheism is not confined to heathen lands where idols are made and worshipped. There is a certain kind of polytheism everywhere. The God the man worships is the God he has imaged to himself, and men have different images, according to the state of their own hearts. Hence, even in Christian theology, what different views we have of God! All go to the New Testament for arguments to support their views, and they succeed in getting them, for we can get from that Holy Book what we bring to it. Thus, even the God of the world is according to our hearts. "To the pure Thou wilt show Thyself pure; and with the froward Thou wilt show Thyself froward."Lessons: — 1. The greatness of the human soul. It has the capacity to receive, retain, reflect all outward things. 2. The duty of mental modesty. No man has absolute truths in him. All that he has are opinions formed by himself concerning those truths. 3. The necessity of soul culture. If you want a bright and lovely world — a world that you will enjoy as a paradise, you must endeavour to make the heart right. 4. The nature of the millennial glory. Change the world's heart, fill it with truth, and love, and God, and it will have a new heaven and new earth — a new universe to live in. 5. The need of Divine influence. Who shall make these hearts right? Who shall repair and clean this beclouded mirror? Ah, who? We cannot do it ourselves. Nor can our fellow-men do it for us. This is God's work. It is He who gives a new heart and a new spirit, and with that a new universe. (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. |
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