the most deceitful of all things. By Charles Simeon. The human
heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 9. The deceitfulness of the human
heart is seen in misrepresenting the nature of spiritual realities. But where shall we begin our
illustration of this point? If we look up to God, there is
not a perfection or attribute of His nature which the unenlightened
mind views aright. And as for those perfections
which He exercises as the moral governor of the universe, they
are even held in abhorrence by the carnal mind. His absolute
sovereignty is denied, as though the exercise of it were an injustice
to man. His holiness and justice are
imagined to be incapable of judging men for their sins. His veracity
is impeached so as to save those who continue in rebellion against
him. Some are so foolish and deceived
as to say, there is no God. And of those who acknowledge
His existence, there is not one, unless he has been previously
converted by divine grace, who entertains worthy conceptions
of Him in his heart. If we turn our thoughts to the
world around us, what is there that the heart of man views in
its proper light? Its pleasures? Its riches? Its honors? All these, instead
of being regarded as snares and worthless vanities, are perfectly
idolized and are sought after as constituting the chief happiness
of man. Do we look at morals? How erroneous
are men's conceptions even of the plainest realities? Pride,
anger, and revenge are held forth as noble and honorable principles. while the virtues of humility,
meekness, forbearance, and forgiveness are despised as indications of
a weak and cowardly character. As formerly, neither the Greeks
nor Romans had a word in their language whereby to express the
true notion of humility. So now the very idea of humility,
as enjoined in the Scriptures, never enters into the mind of
an unconverted man, unless it is to load it with ridicule and
contempt. Look at the gospel that is considered
as consisting in a profession of certain religious beliefs
and an observance of certain religious forms. Entire devotion
of the soul to God is deemed to be a foolish and improper
excess, the effect of needless fears or of wild enthusiasm. Harsh and offensive names are
used to characterize all true piety, while every sin is given
soft names and plausible excuses. In a word, the Scripture describes
the heart of man in this precise view, as calling evil good and
good evil, as putting darkness for light and light for darkness,
as putting bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Isaiah chapter
5, verse 20. Yes, the human heart is the most
deceitful of all things.