Excerpt from Thomas Brooks ~THE PRIVY KEY OF HEAVEN

The cockatrice must be crushed

"Lust having conceived, brings forth sin." James 1:15

First, sin has its conception—which is its delight;
and then sin has its birth—which is its action;
and then sin has its growth—which is its custom;
and then sin has its end—which is its damnation!

The very thought of sin, if but meditated on,
will break forth into action; action into custom;
custom into habit; and then both body and soul
are irrecoverably lost to all eternity!

If the subtle Serpent can but wriggle in his tail
by a sinful thought, he will soon get in his head
by a worse action!

The cockatrice must be crushed in the egg,
else it will soon become a serpent!

PaulWest wrote:

In the flower pot, with water and sunlight, a living action suddenly beings that grows into a habit, then a gradual custom, and finally the vine itself. Brethren, the fruit is not far away after this...

That's encouraging thanks for sharing that.

The secret kisses

When a Christian is in a wilderness, which is a very
solitary place, then God delights to speak friendly
and comfortably to him: Hosea 2:14, "Behold, I will
allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and
speak friendly or comfortably to her," or as the
Hebrew has it, "I will speak to her heart."

"When I have her alone," says God, "in a solitary
wilderness, I will speak such things to her heart,
as shall exceedingly cheer her, and comfort her,
and even make her heart leap and dance within
her." Certainly the soul usually enjoys most
communion with God in secret.

A husband imparts his mind most freely and fully
to his wife when she is alone; and so does Christ
to the believing soul. Oh . . .
the secret kisses,
the secret embraces,
the secret visits,
the secret whispers,
the secret cheerings,
the secret sealings,
the secret discoveries,
which God gives to His people when in secret prayer.

Oh remember

Oh remember that at such a time you went into your prayer closets with hard hearts, and dry eyes; but before you came out of your closets, ah, how sweetly, how graciously, how powerfully were you melted, and humbled before the Lord!

Oh remember how that at another time you went into your closets clouded and benighted—but came out of your closets with as glorious a shine of God upon your souls, as Moses had upon his face, when he came down from the mount from communing with God!

Oh remember how often you have gone into your closets with cold, frozen spirits—but before you came out of your closets, what a fire has God kindled in your souls, what a spirit of burning have you found in your hearts!

Oh remember how often you have gone into your closets straitened and shut up—but before you have come out, how have your souls been aflame!

Oh remember what power God has given you against corruptions in your closets, and what strength God has given you against temptations in your closets!

Oh remember the sweet discoveries of divine love that you have had when in your closets! Oh remember the secret visits, the secret kisses, the secret embraces, the secret whispers, the secret love-tokens, that Christ has given you in your closets!

Oh seriously ponder upon these things, and then closet duties will be sweet unto you!

All Christians have their secret sins. Secret not only
from other men—but from himself! It is but natural for
every man to err, and then to be ignorant of his errors.
Every man's sins are beyond his understanding. There
is not the best, the wisest, nor the holiest man in the
world—who can give a full and entire list of his sins.

"Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from
secret faults." Psalm 19:12

"Who can understand his errors?" This interrogation has
the force of an affirmation: "Who can?" No man! No, not
the most perfect and innocent man in the world!

O friends! who can reckon up . . .
the secret sinful imaginations,
the secret sinful inclinations,
the secret pride,
the secret blasphemies,
the secret hypocrisies,
the secret atheistical risings,
the secret murmurings,
the secret repinings,
the secret discontents,
the secret insolencies,
the secret filthinesses,
the secret unbelievings,
which God might every day charge upon his soul?

Should the best and holiest man on earth have but
his secret sins written on his forehead, it would not
only put him to a crimson blush—but it would
make him pull his hat over his eyes, or cover
his face with a double scarf!

"Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from
secret faults." Psalm 19:12

The outward dress and garb of religion

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you
have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice,
mercy and faithfulness." Matthew 23:23

Take heed of spending too much of your precious time about
circumstantials, about the minor things of religion, as "mint,
dill, and cummin," or in searching into the circumstances of
worship, or in standing stoutly for this or that ceremony, or
about inquiring what fruit it was which Adam ate in paradise,
or in inquiring after things which God in His infinite wisdom
has concealed.

It is one of Satan's great designs to hinder men in the great
and weighty duties of religion, by busying them most about
the lowest and least matters of religion. Satan is never better
pleased, than when he sees Christians puzzled and perplexed
about those things in religion, which are of no great consequence
or importance. Such as are more busied about ceremonies than
substances, about the form of godliness than the power. Such are
more taken up with the outward dress and garb of religion,
than they are with the spirit, power, and life of religion.

There cannot be a surer nor a greater character of a hypocrite,
than to make a great deal of stir about little things in religion, and
in the meantime neglect the great and main things in religion.