Secret Faults and Little Foxes

This transcript was generated automatically. Its accuracy may vary

Short Summary
The discourse emphasizes the importance of recognizing and seeking divine help to identify and cleanse secret faults—hidden, often unrecognized imperfections—that hinder spiritual growth. It highlights the dangers of presumptuous sins, which arise from pride and self-will, and warns against self-defense mechanisms like denial or justification when faults are revealed. The message urges humility, honest self-examination, patience with others’ faults, and reliance on God’s grace to overcome these spiritual challenges, using the metaphor of little foxes damaging a vineyard to illustrate how small sins can harm one’s spiritual fruitfulness if left unchecked.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary and Key Points of the Discourse on Secret Faults and Little Foxes

Introduction and Purpose
– The lesson topic is inspired by the Lord’s direction to address a subject needing help.
– The discourse aims to be a blessing and preparation for the memorial, with intentional repetition to approach the subject from different angles.

Psalm 19 as Foundation
– Psalm 19, a special Psalm of David, is foundational to this discussion.
– David’s experience as a shepherd and his reflection on the heavens inspired awe for God’s creation.
– Psalm 19:1-6 emphasizes the glory of God revealed through creation:
*“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork… There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”*
– The perfection of creation leads David to reflect on the perfection of God’s law (Psalm 19:7-11):
*“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul… sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”*
– This reflection causes David to self-examine his own faults (Psalm 19:12-14):
*“Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults… Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”*

Definition and Classifications of Secret Faults
– Secret faults: hidden or concealed imperfections in character.
– Two types (per Brother Russell, Reprint 2248):
1. Unrecognized by ourselves but often seen by others — unintentional blemishes requiring forgiveness.
– Luke 12:48 teaches fewer stripes for those who sin unknowingly:
*“…he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes.”*
2. Faults recognized by ourselves but hidden or concealed (sometimes appropriate, sometimes not). The lesson focuses mainly on the first type.

Need for Divine Cleansing
– Since secret faults are unseen by us, we cannot correct them without God’s help.
– We are encouraged to pray for God to reveal these faults (Psalm 19:14).
– Asking God to reveal secret faults is a prayer assured to be answered, despite possible reluctance.
– Philippians 3:15 supports seeking clarity from God on matters of spiritual maturity:
*“…if in any respect you think differently, that also God will make clear to you.”*

Parallels with Sacrifice and Overcomers
– Two classes of overcomers (little flock and great company) both make sacrifices.
– The little flock sacrifices willingly; the great company sacrifices unwillingly.
– Both are sanctified by sacrifice, but results and rewards differ.
– Revealing secret faults is necessary for spiritual progress and sanctification.

Proper Reaction to Revealed Faults
– Responses to discovering secret faults:
Gratitude: Thank God for revealing faults to help us grow.
Avoid self-defense: The flesh may dismiss, deny, justify, or blame others (example of Saul in 1 Samuel 15:13-15).
Honesty of heart: Strive for honesty in prayer and self-examination (Luke 8:15).
Avoid discouragement and self-pity: Recognize our worthlessness apart from Christ but rejoice in God’s grace (Galatians 3:3; Ephesians 2:8).
– Proverbs 24:16 encourages persistence:
*“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.”*

Dealing with Faults of Others
– We often see faults in others easily, but must remember Matthew 7:1-5:
*“Judge not, that ye be not judged… first cast out the beam out of thine own eye.”*
– This humility should prevent us from harsh judgment.
– We must imitate God’s patience and forbearance with others, as Jesus did with His disciples.
– 1 Corinthians 13:5 reminds us:
*“Love thinketh no evil.”*
– We should give brethren the benefit of the doubt and avoid evil speaking (James 3:5-8).

Presumptuous Sins
– Defined as taking for granted or asserting as true what God has not revealed.
– Often stem from pride, ambition, or self-confidence.
– Examples include:
– Presuming to instruct God or decide His plans without scriptural authority.
– Rejecting the ransom of Christ and relying on self-righteousness (Isaiah 64:6; Hebrews 10:29).
– The only safety is meekness, humility, and adherence to God’s Word.
– Prayer is encouraged to be kept from presumptuous sins to avoid the great transgression.

Little Foxes and Their Danger
– From Song of Solomon 2:14-15:
*“Catch us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines…”*
– Foxes symbolize small sins—cunning, seemingly harmless but destructive.
– Foxes damage the “vineyard,” symbolizing the fruits of the Spirit and Christian character.
– These “little foxes” are often overlooked yet can cause great spiritual harm.
– The “vineyard” is tender and vulnerable, especially the immature believers.
– We need God’s help to “catch the foxes,” just as we need His help to reveal secret faults.
– Ephesians 5:4 warns against foolish talk and jesting that harm the Lord’s work.

Practical Application
– Reflect on what “little foxes” (small sins or faults) we have become comfortable with.
– Guard our conduct and words, especially around less mature believers.
– Abide in Christ (John 15:1-8), relying on Him to bear fruit and overcome faults.
– Recognize that Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15).
– Cooperate with God in sanctification, asking for cleansing and strength.

Conclusion
– Let us earnestly pray for cleansing from secret faults and protection from presumptuous sins.
– Aim for uprightness and innocence before God, with words and heart acceptable to Him.
– Trust in the Lord’s strength and redemption (Psalm 19:14).
– Be patient and forgiving with others, imitating God’s character.
– Use revealed faults as opportunities for growth rather than occasions for discouragement or self-justification.
– Remember that sanctification is a cooperative process with God, requiring humility, honesty, and perseverance.

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Key Bible Verses Mentioned:

– Psalm 19:1-14 (especially verses 1-6, 7-11, 12-14)
– Luke 12:48 – “…he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes…”
– Philippians 3:15 – “…God will make clear to you.”
– Matthew 26:41 – “Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation… the flesh is weak.”
– Ephesians 5:5 – “See then that ye walk circumspectly…”
– Luke 8:15 – “…in an honest and good heart… keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.”
– 1 Samuel 15:13-15 – Saul blaming others for his sin.
– Galatians 3:3 – “Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”
– Ephesians 2:8 – “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
– Proverbs 24:16 – “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…”
– Matthew 7:1-5 – “Judge not… first cast out the beam out of thine own eye…”
– 1 Corinthians 13:5 – “Love thinketh no evil.”
– Isaiah 64:6 – “…all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…”
– Hebrews 10:29 – “…trodden under foot the Son of God…”
– Song of Solomon 2:14-15 – “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes…”
– John 15:1-8 – “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman…”
– 2 Corinthians 7:1 – “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness… perfecting holiness…”
– Philippians 3:13-14 – “…forgetting those things which are behind… I press toward the mark of the prize…”

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This discourse deeply explores the spiritual necessity of recognizing, confessing, and cooperating with God to overcome hidden faults and small sins (“little foxes”) that can undermine Christian character and growth. It stresses humility, honesty, prayer, and imitation of Christ’s patience and love, both toward ourselves and others, warning against pride, self-justification, and harsh judgment. The ultimate goal is sanctification and spiritual fruitfulness under God’s grace and strength.

Transcript

Subjects come to mind for a lesson because the Lord directs a subject that I need help with.

So we hope by the Lord’s blessing and consideration of this subject that it might be a blessing to you as well as a blessing in preparation for the memorial. It is intentional in this lesson that there is some repetition of points. Just want to let you know that off the top we kind of go at things at different angles.

Secret faults and little foxes. So we’re going to go back to Psalms again, and we’ll begin with Psalms chapter 19, a special Psalm of David. David had blessed opportunities and a productive upbringing that trained him for his future position. That the Lord saw f for him, his privilege as a shepherd, spending nights with the flocks inspired him. If you have ever been in the mountains, away from the city lights at night, gazing up in the heavens, you can understand how the psalmist felt.

This picture taken from the space station gives us an idea of the immensity of God’s creation beyond the earth.

Psalms 19:1 6 to the Chief musician A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth. Day unto day utter a speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of earth, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. As David gazed at the heavens, these thoughts filled his grandeur, perfection, harmony, and immense power. Reflecting on this perfection, what came next to his mind?

Verses 7 through 11 the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.

The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward.

The grandeur and perfection of God’s creation drew his mind to the perfection of the precepts of God’s laws. This led his mind to a self examination of his ways, a looking inward.

Now the 12th through the 14th who can understand his errors. Cleanse thou me from secret faults keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins let them not have dominion over me. Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Looking inward, he saw his errors that he needed cleansing from secret faults and presumptuous sins.

He wanted to be upright and innocent from the great transgression. He wanted his words and heart to be acceptable in God’s sight. Observing the perfection of creation and the Lord’s law helped him realize his own undone condition. He needed help Secret Faults as we consider these words of the psalmist, lets define our terms A secret fault is a hidden or concealed imperfection of character.

In reprint 2248 Brother Russell suggests there are two kinds of secret faults. There are two ways in which a hidden or secret imperfection of character can be hidden or concealed. The first classification are those that we do not see ourselves. They are hidden to us, unseen by us, and therefore would constitute those unintentional blemishes. Now, though they are unseen by us, they are usually easily seen by others around us, which we will consider later.

Even though we do not see them in even though we do not recognize them and they are unintentional, they still require forgiveness, the same as any other sin.

In Luke 12:48 we understand that the punishment for this first classification of sins is fewer stripes than those with greater culpability. Luke 12:48 we’ll read it but he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whosoever much is given of him, much should be required and to whom men have committed much of him, they will ask the more.

The second classification of secret faults are also hidden or concealed imperfections of character. Rather than being hidden to us so we do not see them. They are a classification of imperfections that we do see that we recognize, but that we hide or conceal. Sometimes this is proper, sometimes it is not. We are not going to primarily concern ourselves with this second classification for this lesson.

We are going to concern ourselves with those that we do not see, those that we are unaware of. We need to be on guard against the classification that we do see. But there are instances in which it is better that certain failings of ours remain between us and the Lord. We always want to have the attitude that we would be willing to reveal these if it were the Lord’s will. There is a proper time, and there are proper things that we should reveal and proper things that we should keep between ourselves and the Lord.

But we would want to be on guard against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees that led them to hide their faults. They were one thing on the outside and something else altogether on the inside. This we do not wish to be guilty of.

Again, the secret faults will focus on those we don’t recognize. Let’s consider cleansing from these David said, who can understand his errors?

Cleanse me from secret faults. He knew he needed cleansing but couldn’t do it himself. These are unintentional weaknesses we can’t see or recognize, so we can’t correct them. We need to pray and ask the Lord to cleanse us from our secret faults. Because we can’t recognize these errors, we need him to reveal them to us.

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

There’s a lot in here. We must recognize that we need our Redeemer in order to be acceptable to God. This recognition is also important concerning our secret faults. It is vital in our relationship with our Savior and with our God. In order to correct our secret faults, in order to be cleansed from them, we need God’s help.

We must have God’s help in order to do this. He must show us our secret faults in order for them to be corrected, and therefore, from this standpoint, we can see and appreciate that God is pleased if we offer to him this prayer, if we ask him to reveal to us our secret faults also, and I kind of cringe when I think about this, but it is a prayer that we can be assured will be answered.

If you ask the Lord to reveal your secret faults, he will show them to you. Naturally, there would be some reluctance, perhaps, because it is not easy for one to receive something uncomplimentary about themselves.

We usually never wish to find out that there is something wrong with us. But we must offer this prayer.

If we fail to offer it, does that mean the Lord isn’t going to reveal our secret faults to us?

No, of course not. But we should ask. We are told here to ask. Philippians 3:15 Weymouth Therefore, let all of us who are mature believers cherish these thoughts, and if in any respect you think differently, that also God will make clear to you.

We believe there is a parallel in this subject to the subject of sacrifice and its relation to the two classes of overcomers. The two classes of overcomers being the little flock and a great company. Both of them are sacrifices. Both of them are overcomers. In one instance, however, the little flock sacrifices willingly.

They enter into the work of sacrifice, the great company. We believe that one of their failings is that their sacrifice is an unwilling sacrifice. They are ultimately faithful, and the sacrifice is accomplished in either case because it is necessary as a matter of justice. That is what the great high priest has been pledged to do, is to sacrifice them unto death. But the one class sacrifices willingly, the other sacrifices unwillingly.

The same things are accomplished, but the results and reward are quite different.

Revealing our secret faults is necessary for our continued progress. If we don’t ask the Lord and participate in this progress, we’ll lose the blessings associated with it. The Lord may resort to harsher methods, like with the scapegoat class, to bring our failings to our attention. We must guard against discouragement, recognizing our weakness and our earthen vessel. We may be reluctant to ask the Lord to reveal our secret things, but we must exercise faith and trust that he will reveal them as we can handle them.

The Lord veils our eyes, revealing our faults at the right time. Our Lord also provides corresponding blessings. We shouldn’t be afraid to ask this prayer. When he reveals something, it does indicate our capability to address it.

Now, how should we react? This is crucial. How should we react if our prayer is answered?

Such revelations are answers to prayer. If we participate properly, they are essential for our development. God gives us this information to educate us and help us by revealing our faults. So what should our reaction be? It should be a cause for gratitude.

We should thank God for revealing this to us. Without it, we couldn’t make our calling and election. Sure, that is the ideal. But the flesh doesn’t cooperate.

Matthew 26:41 watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. The flesh has many reactions and we must control it. Some common reactions pose a great danger to us as the Lord’s people. I’ll consider a couple of them.

My experience they fall into two categories. You can think of probably many others, but the first is self defense. The flesh doesn’t like to be told it’s wrong, so it sets up a defense. We’ll look at a couple ways this might manifest itself. One way is for the flesh to try to dismiss or take it lightly, saying, oh, this isn’t such a terrible thing.

What’s the antidote for such a situation? If the Lord reveals A secret fault. We must recognize it and use that information. If the flesh tries to downplay it, we should remember scriptures that urge us to watch, pray, be careful, and walk circumspectly.

Ephesians 5:5 See then, that ye walk circumspectly not as fools, but as wise.

If the taking lightly approach doesn’t work, Satan has other ways to try to do that. One way is to just refuse to admit the wrong, almost an opposite reaction. The other is to deny doing it, and the flesh loves to do that.

Luke 8:15 but that on the good ground are they which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience. When the Lord reveals secret faults, we should strive for for honesty of heart. The best way to do that is through a strong and frequent prayer relationship with our Heavenly Father. We should be honest with him in prayer, sharing anything on our hearts. Cultivating such honesty will enable us to be more honest with ourselves and less prone to refusing to admit our wrongdoings.

If the flesh refuses to admit it’s wrong, it may try to justify itself. If it can’t be careless or refuse to admit it, it may try this middle course. I did it, but I had a good reason.

We’ve all experienced this. The antidote is honesty of heart, striving to develop this important character quality. If we’re truly honest, we realize we cannot justify ourselves.

If all else fails, there’s another one. At least one more. The blame game what happened when someone’s secret fault was revealed?

One example we’ll Give is in 1 Samuel 15:13 15 and Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said unto him, blessed be thou of the Lord, I have performed the commandment of the Lord.

And Samuel said, what meaneth then? This bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear, and Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites. For the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

Saul immediately tried to blame someone else. The people we must continue. The first step we took recognizing our imperfections, our sins, and our inability to justly blame anyone else. Self defense styled as various forms of selfishness must be striven against. Self pity or discouragement, distinct from self defense is also vital.

Now we recognize that discouragement is a key tool of the adversary. Those with self pity or discouragement take matters seriously. However, this can be done improperly.

When discouraged or self pitying we often grieve our worthlessness or wrongdoings, wishing we hadn’t. This is a proper reaction, but how does the flesh react? It seeks value, wishing to not be guilty of character flaws, striving to find something valuable within itself.

We considered this in our last lesson as well. Galatians 3:3 Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Now discouragement often leads us to search for something valuable within ourselves, to cling to believing we can overcome it. However, this is the snare of the adversary. If we examine our flesh honestly, as Paul did, we realize there’s nothing good there. Therefore, seeking value within ourselves is futile. We are worthless, but we should rejoice in the fact that God the great Creator, deals with us as worthless as we are.

This should be a cause for rejoicing, not discouragement. We have something to offer, though not entirely of our own value. We are precious in God’s sight because we’ve given him our only valuable thing. We mentioned this last time, our will. That’s what we had of value, and we gave it to him.

Yet all we have comes from God through Christ. We cannot justify ourselves. We are justified by Christ’s blood.

This has been up many times during this weekend. This Next text Ephesians 2:8 for by grace are ye saved through faith and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God.

We can’t justify ourselves by our merits or character. It’s all by God’s grace. Our only justification is through Christ. It’s good to try to correct our wrongs, but we must understand that it’s not to justify us or make us acceptable to God. We’re only acceptable in his sight through Christ.

The exercise of correcting our faults is to cooperate with God in our sanctification. This is God’s will for us, even our sanctification.

We are imperfect and incapable of justifying ourselves. Let’s fight against these reactions and not let them ruin a blessed experience. If we cooperate with the Lord in recognizing our secret faults, we can actively participate in sanctification and spiritual growth. When God shows us a fault, we must take it seriously, look at it honestly, and act on the Lord’s intention. Remember the prayer to pray that these faults be revealed.

When revealed, recognize the value and act on it. If we simply lie down when we fall, we won’t be overcomers.

Proverbs chapter 24, verse 16 For a just man falls seven times and riseth up again. But the wicked shall fall into mischief. We must continue to rise. We must not mourn over our faults. Our repentant attitude is good, but morning alone won’t correct them.

We must get up and use the information to work on the problem.

Pretending the faults don’t exist won’t correct them either. Of course, discouragement or self justification, if persisted in, can lead to disastrous results and consequences.

It can lead to spiritual disease and even spiritual death.

What are the proper reactions then? Knowing that it is hard to receive uncomplimentary feedback, we have this treasure in an earthen vessel and must deal with it. Overcoming these reactions requires removing self from the picture and objectively looking at ourselves. Selfishness distorts our perception. The more we remove ourselves, the more honestly we can view ourselves and address the problem.

Let’s use our energies properly. I’ve spent a lot of time in self defense when my flesh reacted.

If I had redirected that energy, it would have helped solve the problem. Correcting a wrong reaction sooner allows us to channel our energies into working on the problem and cooperating with the Lord. Philippians 3:13 14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press down toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. If we have a proper reaction or change from an improper one, we’ll achieve the desired results. If the problem is a secret fault, the goal is to correct it.

We’re imperfect and may carry some of these faults to our grave, but we should see progress by cooperating with the Lord. We’ll grow and develop as new creatures.

Now, kind of another angle. We don’t only have to deal with our own faults. It’s difficult enough, isn’t it?

But not only do we have to deal with our own faults, but we also have to deal with the failings of others. We would like to direct our attention towards this area for just a few minutes now, reviewing our original premise. A secret fault, for the purposes of our discussion, is something that we do not see. It’s hidden to us. We’re incapable of seeing it because of our imperfections.

But remember one of those things that was mentioned. Even though we cannot see it, they are easily seen by others, and we know this from experience, because sometimes we can see the failings of others easily. But try to keep this in mind. When you recognize the failing of someone else and it’s so obvious to you, try to Remember Matthew chapter 7.

Try to remember the fact that that brother or sister who seems to have such a glaring imperfection in your mind probably sees something in you which is just as glaring and maybe you don’t even recognize it yet.

That should be a source of humbling to us. It should help us. It should help us if we dwell upon that, and it should help us to keep from finding fault with one another. It’s a very important scriptural principle, one that we should try to remember frequently.

Judge not that ye. Excuse me. Judge not that ye be not judged. For with the judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considereth not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thine eye, and behold, a beam is in thine own eye. Thou hypocrites, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou shalt see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. We have plenty of our own faults to work on. We should picture on our minds this huge log that’s in our own eyes.

And there’s a little speck of dust that’s in our brother’s eye. This really kind of puts it in perspective, doesn’t it? So not only when we see a failing of someone else, we should recognize that they see ours. But let’s try to keep this log versus spec ratio in mind.

Maybe the fault we’re seeing that seems so glaring to us is just a little speck because of our perception and our imperfections. It seems so large to us, but yet the thing that we don’t see may be proportionately much greater, a much more serious feeling. These things, as we said, should keep us humble. It should help us to cultivate a proper attitude when we consider the faults and failings of others.

Now we should strive in this, as in all things, to try diligently to imitate our Heavenly Father. That is what the plan of God is all about. Man was separated from fellowship with God and lost sight of the Creator. To a large extent. The process of the plan of salvation is to bring them back to that condition.

And the means whereby it is accomplished is educating them, educating them in the character of God. I believe that is the primary lesson of this period of time. The permission of evil, the doctrine of the atonement, all the major doctrines of present truth. All, I believe, are a revealment of God’s character. We who have the privilege of seeing his character through his plans and purposes should strive the more diligently to copy it.

How does God deal with secret faults? How does he deal with our failings? When we consider the patience, when we consider the forbearance that our Heavenly Father has had towards us, this should help us. It should motivate us. It should make us zealous to try to imitate him and to have the same attitude towards the faults of others, to have patience and forbearance with them.

These kind of circumstances provide a very, very strong test, do they not? We believe it is one of the most important tests for the Church, not just the development of character. We must offer the prayer. That’s our first responsibility, reveal my secret faults, cooperate with the Lord in the development of our character. But the manner in which we react to the failing of others, we believe is also of vital importance.

And it will certainly test our love and our endeavors to copy our Heavenly Father, to copy the Master. Consider Jesus. Consider the patience that he has with us and had with those that were around him. Consider his life, the gentle way, the loving way in which he dealt with the failings of the apostles and with the disciples, something to emulate. The further along that he went in his ministry, we believe that he expected more and more from himself and less and less from others.

This should be the same with us now. The further along we grow, the more we should expect from ourselves and the less that we should expect from others. First Corinthians 13:5 gives us a little additional thought in respect to the failing of others. Love thinketh no evil.

That’s a hard thing, right? Love thinketh no evil. So when someone cuts across right in front of your car and you have to slam on your brakes and swerve, and everything else, love thinketh no evil.

We should endeavor to have an attitude that would give benefit of the doubt to our brethren. The Scriptures are very strong and very condemning in speaking against evil, surmising, and especially against evil speaking.

Job gives the thought that it is as easy to sin as it is for sparks to fly upward, and of course, we recognize that we are constantly failing along these lines. From James 3, 5, 8, we get the thought that no imperfection of man can. No imperfect man can control his tongue.

But we must strive against it, just as we strive against all other sin. We must have an attitude of forgiveness towards those who are guilty of secret faults. They may not recognize it. We need to have an attitude of patience and forbearance for them. If we can try to dismiss the wrong and try to follow this principle of love thinketh no evil, that is well.

But if there is a case where they do not recognize a fault and they are guilty, we must further than this try to go to the step of forgiveness where they have exhibited a repentant attitude, and try to help them in this work of correcting their secret faults. It can be a cooperative effort.

Now we’re going to kind of switch subject for a little bit from secret faults to the portion that are presumptuous sins.

What are they?

Well, to presume signifies to take granted without authority or proof. A presumptuous sin would therefore be taking for granted and asserting as truth something which God has not revealed, or the perversion of what he is revealed to claim and hold tenaciously as part of God’s plan. Any doctrine merely on the ground of fallible human reason and without divine authority, would therefore be a presumptuous sin.

The words Here in Psalms 19 seem to refer directly to some particular error into which there is a danger of drifting. Then shall I be innocent from the great transgression, evidently the sin unto death. Such a sin would be that of presuming upon the love of God to bring us salvation, even though willfully refusing it through the channel which he has appointed the precious blood of Christ shed for our Redeemer.

Sins of presumption are such as result from undue self confidence, ambition, or pride. Many are guilty of them without seemingly being aware of it. Some presume in prayer to direct the Lord, or attempt to instruct him. Others presume to decide what God intends to do aside from what His Word authorizes, and they tend to pass lightly over doctrines. Such presumptuous sins bring natural consequences.

The presumptuous lose respect for that which they can do without, or can twist and turn to their own convenience.

Our respect for the exactness of the Bible and for the messages provided through the seventh messenger is lost.

The presumption naturally increases and finds more pronounced expression in their self assertiveness. The sin of presumption is one into which many who have been enlightened by a knowledge of the plan of God are inclined to fall.

Instead of carefully noting and thoughtfully considering the Scriptures as opened to us by the returned Lord through our Pastor, they ignore him and presumptuously lean on their own understanding. They proceed to reason according to their own wills.

The presumptuous ones, if not careful, will grow more and more arrogant and self assertive, and take the further step of denying the necessity of the ransom, claiming that the death of Christ did not redeem us from the first death, that we were not bought with a price that they had formerly made a mistake in thinking so and and that their imitation of Christ’s life is all that divine justice can demand of them, or of any man. We’ve all heard this from the nominal systems.

Thus they do despise the spirit of grace manifested by Jehovah in the gift of his only begotten Son, our Redeemer, and presume to stand in the filthy rags of their own righteousness.

Isaiah chapter 64, verse 6. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Thus presumptuous sins pervert the judgment, making void the scriptures, and lead to the great transgression of counting the blood of the covenant wherewith we were sanctified, a common thing.

Now in Hebrews 10:29, we read of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified and unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.

In view of some such temptations and tendencies, let the consecrated ever bear in mind that their only safety is in meekness and humility, clinging close to the word of the Lord, and meditating on the precepts, and pondering over all their solemn and momentous import. Well indeed we may pray, and strive to be kept back from presumptuous sins, sins of pride, or of arrogant self will, which does not meekly submit to the will of God. Let us, beloved, be aware of the slightest tendency toward pride and self will, or the disposition to be wise above what is written, or to take for granted what God does not clearly promise.

And from the January 27th manna, keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it is the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 it is not sufficient that we acknowledge sin and its various forms to be evil, and that we resolve that we must strive against it, because it is under the Lord’s ban. In addition to this, we are to root out of our hearts every longing, every desire for everything not thoroughly approved by the Lord. Oh, what a cleansing this would mean in the hearts, in the hearts and lives, and especially in the thoughts of many who have named the name of Christ, many who fail to note this point find themselves continually beset by temptations, because while outwardly avoiding gross immoralities, they secretly harbor sympathies for things condemned, desiring that they might have them if only they were not forbidden.

And from 2 Corinthians, chapter 7, verse 1, having Therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. We must cleanse ourselves with the Lord’s help so that we do not progress to. To presumptuous sins.

Now running a little behind. So we’re going to have to go a little quick through some of this. But here we have four scriptures, and I mean three scriptures, and they all use different words for this. Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verse 15.

Some are take, some are catch, some are seize. Now we’re supposed to seize these foxes and we’d like to leave with you. Second Timothy, chapter three, verses one through five. Know these scriptures, but men shall be lovers of their own selves, and this is just a perfect description of the world we live in today.

Just goes through everything. We bring this up because these are the things we must be on guard for. On guard for evil influences that could divert us from the path of righteousness.

First, we’re going to consider some general thoughts on foxes. Foxes have followed humans worldwide. Their lifestyle makes them hard to spot in the wild or city. There are 21 species of foxes found from the Arctic to city centers. They live in towns, woods all over.

Foxes have characteristics of both dogs and cats. They have vertical slit eyes, sharp claws, a light body, and a stocking, pouncing hunting style. They’re also good tree climbers. They’re generally loners and opportunists. They live in large territories, except in towns where they occupy smaller ones and accept other foxes.

Their survival in both the wild and in the towns is due to their being omnivores. They rely on stealth, surprise and hunting, taking only prey smaller than themselves. They’re not fast enough to chase most animals and can’t catch adult rabbits unless they’re sick or old. So they like easy to catch prey. Mice, voles, earthworms, birds, squirrels, carrion.

Foxes locate food with their sensitive ears and pounce on it. They hide food in small holes if they don’t eat it immediately. They eat vegetables and love berries and grapes. They can live up to 14 years, but few meet that age in the harsh wild. Foxes prefer areas with coverage, hiding spots and protection.

They’re shy and flee if they detect humans. Foxes are adept at befriending cats and dogs, claiming them to the point where they’re allowed to eat from the same dish. This behavior is documented worldwide in urban fox populations. The only proof is an actual sighting because they don’t overeat, so it’s not noticed. They avoid noisy situations, prefer quiet, regular paths.

They sense discovery. They vanish quickly into the shadows.

Now we’d like to consider the grapevine.

We read of a grapevine in John 15:1 8. I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me ye can do nothing.

If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered, and men gather and cast them in the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my father, glorified. That ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples.

The tender grape represents the fruits of Christian character, fruits of the Holy Spirit, especially the immature, tender, and not fully developed fruits. Again we read the Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verses 14 and 15, this time from the young’s Literal Translation. My dove in the clefts of the rock, in a secret place of ascent. Cause me to see thine appearance. Cause me to hear thy voice, for thy voice is sweet and thy appearance comely.

Seize ye for us, little foxes, destroyers of vineyards, vineyards, even our sweet smelling vineyard.

In this text, of course, seize means to catch, help us to catch the foxes, especially the little ones. Foxes are cunning, but docile, not fierce, yet they cause harm. Their harmless appearance makes them dangerous. Young foxes, like all young dogs, are destructive.

They look innocent. King Solomon seems to be describing our fallen nature’s depravities, which aren’t as extreme as some, but still harmful. They’re deceitful and likely to escape our notice, so we need to watch them closely. The text seems to be the bridegroom’s language. To his bride.

He emphasizes little foxes and and implies they’ll be destructive if we apply this term. To our sins.

We find that small sins can be more dangerous than big ones, because we’re less likely to be on guard against them. Everyone fears lions, bears and big things. Those little foxes, they seem harmless.

In this illustration, the wise man mentions that foxes have a special predilection for grapes, symbolizing the fruits of the Holy Spirit. As foxes tear the vine with their claws and gnaw the roots with their teeth, small sins damage the spiritual vine, endangering its life.

Well, who does the catching or seizing? Not us. The verse reads, seize ye for us. This is similar to praying for our secret faults, is it not? We need help with our Master, and our Master provides that help to us.

He helps us catch the foxes.

They destroy the precious grapes, which are very tender. Grapes during the formative period are small, easy, and the branches are small, easy to be damaged. How careful should those be who have been longer in the heavenly way, to guard their words and conduct in the presence of younger, less mature ones, the lambs of the flock. Unloving criticism of the brethren before beginners or others may do untold harm, and is a manifestation of the lack of love and Christian maturity.

Every child of God should be especially on guard against the little things, the things that seem like jokes, which sometimes do more harm in the church than things which appear great. Ephesians 5:4. Neither filthiness nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks, jesting of spiritual manners, turning scriptural passages into jests, little acts of selfishness. We need to be careful that we do not damage the Lord’s vine.

So we need to be strive to more and more careful catch these little foxes. Let us pray that we do not by thought or word, or act hidden, or lessen our own fruit bearing or that of our brethren.

Well, we’d just like to remember that he that is faithful least is also faithful in much. We see there is a work to be done. What little foxes are we living with that are carefully staying out of our sight? What is there that we have become comfortable with? What of the old nature has befriended us to the point that we are sharing our nourishment?

We need to spot these things.

If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit.

So shall ye be my disciples. Seek his help.

He is working all things for our good. We have not an high priest that cannot be touched with our filling of infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Brethren, let us consider the works and the words of our God. Let us keep the way set before us in them to the end that we shall receive the great reward, asking in all honesty and full assurance of the faith for the Lord to cleanse us from secret faults and keep us back from presumptuous sins, that they not have dominion over us. That we may remain upright and innocent of the great transgression.

And let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in the sight of the Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. May the Lord add his blessing and forgive anything set amiss. Sorry, I ran a little long, Brother John.

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