Poison to the Soul

But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good. 
                            Romans 2:10

1. There is Light in this pleasure.
.....the peace of a godly man, is a peace that arises from light; when he
sees things most as they are, then he has most peace; and the distress
and trouble which he sometimes feels, arise from clouds and darkness.....

2. There is Rest in this pleasure.
.....But the pleasures of the godly afford rest in the enjoyment, and rest
and sweetness in the reflection; it oftentimes calms and refreshes the soul
to look on past comforts.....

3. There is Life in it.
.....The pleasures of the wicked are poison to the soul, they tend to enfeeble
it, to consume it; and kill it.  But the pleasures of the godly feed the soul,
and do not consume it; they strengthen, and do not weaken it; they exalt,
and do not debase it; they enrich, and do not impoverish it.....

4. There is Substance in it.
.....Worldly pleasures are easily overthrown.....But the joys of the saints are
such as the changes of time cannot overthrow.....

5. There is Holiness in it.
.....these pleasures make the soul more excellent, and more divine, as well
as more happy.....

6. There is sometimes Glory in it.
.....God sometimes unvails his face, and lets in light more plentifully.  This is a
delight and joy, the excellency, and sweetness, and admirableness of which
cannot be expressed.  It is a kind of glory that fills the soul.  So excellent is its
nature, that the sweetest earthly delight vanishes into nothing, and appears as
base and vile as dross and dirt, or as the mere mire of the street.  It is bright
above all that is earthly, as the sun is brighter than the glowworm.....
                                                                            Jonathan Edwards