6. EARTH NOT OUR HOME.
6. EARTH NOT OUR HOME.
Why am I so fond of this land wherein I am a stranger, of the place of my exile? The decease of all my ancestors proves this; not one of them is this day alive, and I shall shortly follow them.
O to get this world under my feet, that it may not be a dead weight on me in my journey! This is the land of idols, and every image dares compete with eternal realities for my affections. Time is as often in my thoughts as eternity. Earth engrosses as much of my concern as heaven.
The expectant of glory will not own his home beneath the sun; for it is but a wilderness where sin and Satan reign; where God is seldom seen; and where the Christian is often weeping.
But, O blessed inhabitants! who dwell where the Lord God and the Lamb are the temple, the Lord God and the Lamb are the light, and the joy of the whole land.
You not only dwell in heaven, but heaven dwells in you—while earth and hell struggle hard for room in my heart, and, alas too, too often prevail. Compassionate Redeemer! when shall your traveler arrive at these realms of day, join the sinless throng that worship at your throne, and never, never, sin?