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The largest slice of the well-sugared cake
(J. C. Philpot)
"They confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth." Hebrews 11:13
Many profess that they are strangers and pilgrims here
below. But they take care to have as much of this world's
comforts as they can scrape together by hook and by crook.
They talk about being 'strangers', yet can be in close
friendship with men of the world. And could you see them
at the exchange, at the market, behind the counter, or at
home with their families—you would not find one mark
to distinguish them from the ungodly!
Yet they come to chapel—and if called upon to pray, they
will tell the people they are "poor strangers and pilgrims in
a valley of tears"—while all the time their hearts are in the
world—and their eyes stand out with fatness—and they are
as light and trifling as a comic actor—and have no concerns
except to get the largest slice of the well-sugared
cake
that the world sets before them!
It is not the 'mere profession of the lips'—but 'grace in
the heart', that makes a man a stranger and a pilgrim.
God's people are strangers and sojourners—the world is not
their home—nor can they take pleasure in it. Sin is often a
burden to them—guilt often lies as a heavy weight upon
their conscience—a thousand troubles harass their minds
—a thousand perplexities oppress their souls. They cannot
bury their minds in business and derive all their happiness
from their successes, for they feel that this earth is not their
home. They are often cast down and exercised, because they
have to live with such an ungodly heart in such an ungodly
world.
"They confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth." Hebrews 11:13
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