Beautiful abominations – Thomas Brooks

Let a man’s profession be ever so glorious, let him be ever so abundant in the performance of duties, let his desires after this and that holy thing be ever so strong yet if his ends and aims are wrong, all his pretensions and performances are but beautiful abominations.

Did David pray three times a day? So did the pharisees. Did David and Daniel fast? So did the pharisees and that twice in the week. Did Cornelius give alms? So did the pharisees. Did Abraham pay tithes? So did the pharisees; they tithed their very mint and rue. But their ends and aims being wrong their time was lost, and their pains were lost, and their duties were lost, and their alms were lost, and their souls were lost and that forever. God writes a zero upon all those services
wherein men’s ends are not right.