The New Way of Spiritual Life
The New Way of Spiritual Life
Romans 8:1-17 November 4, 2001
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:1-17 by Patricia Jones
Introduction:
Englishman John Bunyan is the well-known author of the classic work, The Pilgrim's Progress. But many people don't know the circumstances surrounding its origin. In 1651 Bunyan, the son of a poor tinker, came into contact with an independent congregation meeting at Bedford. For several years Bunyan despaired over his spiritual state. Finally he came to faith in Christ and experienced an amazing touch of God's grace. He joined the Bedford congregation and soon began to preach -- but his bold proclamation of the gospel led to his imprisonment in the Bedford jail. Bunyan spent much of the period from 1660 to 1672 as a prisoner and was jailed again around 1676. It was during these years of imprisonment that his writings began to appear -- to the blessing of God's people for more than 300 years!
He exclaimed in discovery, "I never knew all there was in the Bible until I spent those years in jail. I was constantly finding new treasures."
But no doubt his extended period of time in jail also led to intense introspection and conviction in his desire to serve God as he came upon this treasure of truth realized;
He that is down needs fear no fall;
He that is low, no pride;
He that is humble, ever shall
Have God to be his guide.
In his spiritual autobiography John Bunyan modeled the repentant lifestyle with these comments:
I find to this day 7 abominations in my heart:
1) tendencies toward unbelief;
2) suddenly to forget the love and mercy that Christ manifests;
3) a leaning to the works of the law;
4) wanderings and coldness in prayer;
5) to forget to watch for what I pray for;
6) apt to murmur because I have no more, and yet ready to abuse what I have;
7) I can do none of these things which God commands me, but my corruptions will thrust themselves in; when I do good, evil is present with me.
Sin and corruption would bubble up out of my heart as
naturally as water bubbles up out of a fountain. I thought
now that everyone had a better heart than I had. I would have
changed hearts with anybody. I thought none but the devil
himself could equal me for inward wickedness and pollution
of mind. I fell, therefore, at the sight of my own vileness,
deeply into despair, for I concluded that this condition
which I was in could not stand with a life of grace. Sure,
thought I, I am forsaken of God; sure I am given up to the
devil, and to a reprobate mind.
I believe that John Bunyan was finding his way toward the inner sanctuary of the Christian faith that enabled him to write The Pilgrims Progress.
Indeed, this is the same avenue toward an emboldened and confident faith that we find uttered in the words of Paul as he speaks to us from the agonizing and heartfelt words of Romans 7 on his way to the overwhelming realization and proclamation of Romans 8 (S. 7:14, 24).
Indeed, Romans 8 has often been called "the inner sanctuary within the cathedral of Christian faith."
Do you ever get down on yourself for the spiritual condition you find yourself in, even as a self-proclaimed person of God?
Do you really want personal change but have grown weary of ever seeing it to the degree that you would like?
Are you struggling for some ray of hope in the darkness of the godless depression that sometimes comes over you when circumstances weigh you down?
Have you questioned the walk you have chosen, thinking that your life has not made the difference you would like with those you love most, and you may have made a mistake in the direction you have gone.
Then you need to come, like Paul, to "the inner sanctuary within the cathedral of Christian faith" that we find in our passage this morning in Romans 8 for renewed hope as a "pilgrim in progress."
Perhaps we will discover like John Bunyan who also wrote these words, "Let dissolution come when it will, it can do the Christian no harm, for it will be but a passage out of a prison into a palace; out of a sea of troubles into a haven of rest; out of a crowd of enemies into an innumerable company of true, loving and faithful friends; out of shame, reproach and contempt, into exceeding great and eternal glory."
This happened to me a little over a week ago when it seemed to me that so many of our children were having problems.
It just seemed like everything converged and I was absolutely devastated by the situation, and it got to me, it got me down.
But then God graciously allowed me to be reaffirmed through you and other certain people and events, and I knew I had to take to heart my own messages from the Spirit of God about his grace.
I knew I had to seek the Holy Spirit once again and he still confirmed his presence with me, and I praise him to the utmost heights.
In today's passage we will find hope in the best news yet about how the good news of the gospel actually works.
The key word in Romans 8 is "Spirit" that occurs 21 times; all but 2 of those times refer to the Holy Spirit.
In this section, Paul reaffirms our new life in Christ and gives the Holy Spirit the key role in mediating to us the blessings of our new life.
Indeed, it is through the Holy Spirit that the greatest realization of truth comes.
John Bunyan wrote the immortal allegory of Pilgrim's Progress after mastering the Scriptures and sensing that God had spoken to him again and again through its pages. He said, "Although you may have no commentaries at hand, continue to read the Word and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal received from a man. Too many are content to listen to what comes from men's mouths, without searching and kneeling before God to know the real truth. That which we receive directly from the Lord through the study of His Word is from the 'minting house' itself. Even old truths are new if they come to us with the smell of heaven upon them."
It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will speak to you today in the inner sanctuary of your own soul to affirm your walk with God in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Big Question:
How does God rescue us from our self-condemnation in being unable to follow his law in our own strength?
I. Cycle One
A. Narrative (vv. 1-4)
B. Implication
God saves us from self-condemnation by giving us a new law of life in the Spirit.
(new authority and power in Christ)
Our new law of life in the Spirit becomes effective only by faith in Christ.
Our new law of life in the Spirit sets us free from the old law of sin and death.
Our new law of life in the Spirit validates the old law by meeting its requirements.
C. Illustration
In A Forgiving God in an Unforgiving World, Ron Lee Davis retells the true story of a priest in the Philippines, a much-loved man of God who carried the burden of a secret sin he had committed many years before. He had repented but still had no peace, no sense of God's forgiveness.
In his parish was a woman who deeply loved God and who claimed to have visions in which she spoke with Christ and he with her. The priest, however, was skeptical. To test her he said, "The next time you speak with Christ, I want you to ask him what sin your priest committed while he was in seminary." The woman agreed.
A few days later the priest asked, "Well, did Christ visit you in your dreams?"
"Yes, he did," she replied.
"And did you ask him what sin I committed in seminary?"
"Yes."
"Well, what did he say?"
"He said, 'I don't remember.'"
What God forgives, he forgets.
-- David H. Bolton, Anaheim, California. Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 3.
See: Ro 8:1; Mic 7:18; Ps 103:12
(There is therefore now no condemnation from the old law of sin and death.)
Eating lunch at a small cafe, Mark Reed of Camarillo, California, saw a sparrow hop through the open door and peck at the crumbs near his table. When the crumbs were gone, the sparrow hopped to the window ledge, spread its wings, and took flight. Brief flight. It crashed against the window pane and fell to the floor.
The bird quickly recovered and tried again. Crash. And again. Crash.
Mark got up and attempted to shoo the sparrow out the door, but the closer he got, the harder it threw itself against the pane. He nudged it with his hand. That sent the sparrow fluttering along the ledge, hammering its beak at the glass.
Finally, Mark reached out and gently caught the bird, folding his fingers around its wings and body. It weighed almost nothing. He thought of how powerless and vulnerable the sparrow must have felt. At the door he released it, and the sparrow sailed away.
As Mark did with the sparrow, God takes us captive only to set us free.
-- Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership.
See: Isa 61:1; Jn 8:32; Ro 8:2; 2 Co 3:17.
(We are condemned by the law only to be set free by the grace of God from the law – but we are set free to live by a new law of the Spirit received by faith in Christ.)
D. Application
II. Cycle Two
A. Narrative (vv. 5-8)
B. Implication
God saves us from self-condemnation by giving us a new nature of life in the Spirit. (new mindset and will in obedience)
Our new nature of life in the Spirit gives us a new desire.
Our new nature of life in the Spirit gives us a new means of control.
Our new nature of life in the Spirit gives us a new ability to please God.
C. Illustration
The famous cuckoo bird never builds its own nest. It flies around until it sees another nest with eggs in it and no mother bird around. The cuckoo quickly lands, lays its eggs there, and flies away. The thrush, whose nest has been invaded, comes back. Not being very good at arithmetic, she gets to work hatching the eggs.
What happens? Four little thrushes hatch, but one large cuckoo hatches. The cuckoo is two or three times the size of the thrushes. When Mrs. Thrush brings to the nest one large, juicy worm, she finds four petite thrush mouths, one cavernous cuckoo mouth. Guess who gets the worm? A full-sized thrush ends up feeding a baby cuckoo that is three times as big as it is.
Over time, the bigger cuckoo gets bigger and bigger, and the smaller thrushes get smaller and smaller. If you looked, you could always find a baby cuckoo's nest. You walked along a hedgerow until you found dead little thrushes, which the cuckoo throws out one at a time. Paul teaches in Romans 8:5-8 that spiritually speaking, you've got two natures in one nest. The nature that you go on feeding will grow, and the nature that you go on starving will diminish.
-- Stuart Briscoe, Waukesha, Wisconsin. Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 1.
(When you go cuckoo over sin then you are feeding the wrong nature. It is the wrong bird in the nest. It is alien to who you really are and will end up defeating you. But if you recognize the cuckoo and don't feed it, you will save yourself. God has given us the Holy Spirit to recognize the cuckoo and starve it to death. It will grow weaker and weaker until it is thrown out of the nest by our newfound strength and power over it.)
According to John MacArthur, some years ago, the Mayo Clinic stated that statistically 80 percent to 85 percent of their total case load were ill either in reality or artificially due directly to mental stress. Also according to MacArthur, not too long ago, there appeared an article in a leading medical journal entitled, "Is Stress the Cause of All Disease?" The author of the article says that at the beginning of the century, bacteria were considered to be the center of attention. Today, mental stress has replaced bacteria.
See: Isa 26:3; Rom 8:6
(You have been given a new mind of spiritual control leading to life and peace. The Holy Spirit keeps your cuckoo from getting out of control.)
D. Application
III. Cycle Three
A. Narrative (vv. 9-11)
B. Implication
God saves us from self-condemnation by giving us a new assurance of life in the Spirit. (new hope and confidence in resurrection)
Our new assurance of life in the Spirit gives us a new sense of belonging.
Our new assurance of life in the Spirit gives us a new sense of righteousness.
Our new assurance of life in the Spirit gives us a new expectation of life.
C. Illustration
A man who drank heavily was converted to Christ and lived victoriously for several weeks. One day as he passed the open door of a tavern, the pungent odor drifting out aroused his old appetite for liquor. Just then he saw this sign in the window of a nearby cafe: "All the buttermilk you can drink -- 25 cents!" Dashing inside, he ordered one glass, then another, and still another. After finishing the third he walked past the saloon and was no longer tempted. He was so full of buttermilk that he had no room for that which would be injurious to him. The lesson is clear: to be victorious over our evil desires, we must leave no opportunity for them to repossess us.
Dwight L. Moody once demonstrated the principle like this: "Tell me," he said to his audience, "how can I get the air out of the tumbler I have in my hand?" One man said, "Suck it out with a pump." But the evangelist replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter it." Finally after many suggestions, moody picked up a pitcher and quietly filled the glass with water. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then explained that victory for the child of God does not come by working hard to eliminate sinful habits, but rather by allowing the Holy Spirit to take full possession.
See: Matt 12:43-45; Rom 8:9; Eph 5:18
(If the Holy Spirit has possession of us then there is precious little room for anything else. But we must seek constantly to be filled with his presence, that is, to be mindful of him. He then is our righteousness that assures us of divine difference.)
After the Crusades, Western Europe received a number of supposed holy relics, including a tooth of Goliath, a tip of the devil's tail, and a bottle that held the breath of Christ. Of course, no one today takes such relics seriously. If we did have the breath of Christ in a bottle, what would it mean? Nothing. It is the spiritual presence of Christ in the life of a believer that counts.
-- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
See: John 14:23; 15:4-7; 17:24-26; Rom 8:10; Col 1:27; Rev 3:20
(The divine difference is not the breath of Christ in a bottle, it is the breath of his Spirit in our souls.)
London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior. As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage. "Forget about the repairs," the buyer said. "When I buy this place, I'm going to build something completely different. I don't want the building; I want the site."
Compared with the renovation God has in mind, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a warehouse slated for the wrecking ball. When we become God's, the old life is over (2 Cor. 5:17). He makes all things new.
-- Ian L. Wilson, Barrie, Ontario. Leadership, Vol. 4, no. 3.
See: Eph 4:24; Ro 8:11
(And if the breath of Christ's Spirit is in your soul, then your soul shall surely live as he lives.)
Let me put it to you with the story of a simple, illiterate man who was converted through the work of the Salvation Army. He went regularly to the Salvation Army citadel. One day he came home rather disconsolate.
His wife said, "What's the matter?"
He said, "I've just noticed that all the people in the Salvation Army wear red sweaters, and I don't have a red sweater."
She said, "I'll knit one." So she knitted him a red sweater.
The next Sunday after he went to the citadel, he still wasn't happy.
His wife said, "What's wrong this time?"
He said, "I just noticed all their red sweaters have yellow writing."
They were both illiterate, but she said, "Don't worry about it. I'll embroider some writing on for you."
She had no idea what the yellow writing on the red sweater of a Salvation Army man said--Any of you know what it is? They have a yellow circle, and in it, BLOOD AND FIRE. That s their motto. (Unbutton the jacket of a Salvation Army man when he's ringing his little bells sometime; tell him you're just checking.)
The man's wife had no idea what the letters said, and she couldn't read anyway. So copying a sign from a store window opposite their home, she embroidered the words of that store sign onto his red sweater.
When he came back the next Sunday, she said, "Did they like your sweater?"
"They loved my sweater. Some of them said they liked my sweater better than their sweater."
What neither of them knew was that the sign on the store window she had copied read, THIS BUSINESS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT.
That's what it means to get saved. That's what it means to get converted. That's what it means for the Holy Ghost to come upon you: this business under new management.
-- Stuart Briscoe, "Christmas 365 Days a Year," Preaching Today, Tape 135.
See: Ro 8:11; Jn 16:13; Eze 36:26; 2 Co 5:17
(In the power of the blood of Christ that gives you the fire of the Holy Spirit you have been reclaimed and refinanced and you will ultimately be relocated to the home office.)
D. Application
IV. Cycle Four
A. Narrative (vv. 12-17)
The difference between the indicative of what God gives us and the imperative of what we must do comes to a head here.
The juxtaposition of verses 1 and 13 is jarring.
How can both be true? It there truly is no condemnation for believers, then how can we warn believers that they may die if they live the wrong way?
What is important is to maintain a careful balance between what God gives us in Christ and what we must do in response to that gift.
We have two theological traditions that focus on different sides of the truth that Paul presents in these two verses.
The Calvinist does full justice to verse 1 with its ringing promise of no condemnation; the Arminian does full justice to the warning of verse 13.
Both words need to be heard if we are to maintain a balance in our Christian walk.
Security without responsibility breeds passivity; but responsibility without security leads to anxiety.
We need to preserve security and responsibility in balance.
Paul seems to lean toward the Calvinist interpretation in the strength of assurances he gives to justified believers in this part of Romans. No true believer can ever suffer condemnation.
But as Calvinist, John Murray, once said, "The believer's once-for-all death to the law of sin does not free him from the necessity of mortifying sin in his members; it makes it (both) necessary and possible for him to do so."
The Spirit does not do his work apart from our response. "By the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body."
B. Implication
God saves us from self-condemnation by giving us a new relationship of life in the Spirit. (new devotion and enablement in belonging)
Our new relationship of life in the Spirit gives us a new obligation as sons of God.
Our new relationship of life in the Spirit gives us a new freedom from fear as sons of God.
Our new relationship of life in the Spirit gives us a new inheritance in Christ as sons of God.
C. Illustration
A pilot was flying his small plane one day, when he heard a noise which he recognized as the gnawing of a rat. Wondering what its sharp teeth were cutting through, he suddenly realized with horror that it might be an electric wire. Then he remembered that rodents can't survive at high altitudes. Immediately he began climbing until finally he had to put on his oxygen mask. Soon the gnawing sound ceased, and when he landed he found the rat -- dead.
Do you want to destroy the power of evil in your life? Then read the Bible regularly, meditate upon its truths, and actively do God's will. Sinful appetites can't survive in such spiritual heights. Listen to the Heavenly Father as He calls, "Children, come up higher!"
See: Psa 119:11; Rom 8:13; Col 3:5; Col 3:15-16
(If we listen, the Spirit will help us to sense the rats. It is up to us to fly higher toward him in order to snuff them out. We have an obligation.)
I spent much of my ninth summer on a bicycle. About a mile from our house the road went down a steep hill and turned sharply at the bottom. Coasting down the hill one morning, I felt my gathering speed to be ecstatic. To give up this ecstasy by applying breaks seemed an absurd self-punishment. So I resolved to simultaneously retain my speed and negotiate the corner.
My ecstasy ended seconds later when I was propelled a dozen feet off the road into the woods. I was badly scratched and bleeding, and the front wheel of my new bike was twisted beyond use from its impact against a tree. I had been unwilling to suffer the pain of giving up my ecstatic speed in the interest of maintaining my balance around the corner. I learned, however, that the loss of balance is ultimately more painful than the giving up required to maintain balance. It is a lesson I have continually had to re-learn. As must everyone, for as we negotiate the curves and corners of our lives, we must continually give up parts of ourselves.
-- Condensed from The Road Less Traveled, By M. Scott Peck. Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 2.
See: Ro 8:13; 2 Pe 2:13
(It is easy to pick up speed going downhill. It is much harder to accelerate going uphill. But that is the benefit of training. The balance is in knowing how to keep up your speed on the hills as well as knowing how to apply the brakes in the valleys of life. The Spirit is our Trainer to help us maintain balance. But we have to show up for practice.)
It is said that a certain guide lived in the deserts of Arabia who never lost his way. He carried with him a homing pigeon with a very fine cord attached to one of its legs. When in doubt as to which path to take, he threw the bird into the air. The pigeon quickly strained at the cord to fly in the direction of home, and thus led the guide accurately to his goal. Because of this unique practice he was known as "the dove man." So, too, the Holy Spirit, the heavenly Dove, is willing and able to direct us in the narrow way that leads to the more abundant life if in humble self-denial we submit to His unerring supervision.
See: Rom 8:13-14; Gal 5:16-18
(Speed without direction is dangerous. Here too we must seek the Spirit if we are to be sons of God.)
When our children were small, we played a game. I'd take some coins in my fist. They'd sit on my lap and work to get my fingers open. According to the international rules of finger opening, once the finger was open, it couldn't be closed again. They would work at it, until they got the pennies in my hand. They would jump down and run away, filled with glee and delight. Just kids. Just a game.
Sometimes when we come to God, we come for the pennies in his hand.
"Lord, I need a passing grade. Help me to study."
"Lord, I need a job."
"Lord, my mother is ill."
We reach for the pennies. When God grants the request, we push the hand away.
More important than the pennies in God's hand is the hand of God himself. That's what prayer is about. When you go to God in prayer, the name that should come easily to your lips is Father.
-- Haddon Robinson, "The Disciple's Prayer," Preaching Today, Tape No. 117.
See: Mt 6:9-13; Mt 7:11; Ro 8:15
(You've heard the expression, "A penny for your thoughts?" We want all we can get from God by way of blessings, freedom from fear, and confidence to proceed. We pry those pennies from God's hand, but do we really want his thoughts? When we come to him we must listen. The way he speaks is through his Spirit. And the Spirit will affirm that we are God's children, the greatest blessing of all.)
In The Whisper Test, Mary Ann Bird writes: I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it. I was born with a cleft palate, and when I started school, my classmates made it clear to me how I looked to others: a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech.
When schoolmates asked, "What happened to your lip?" I'd tell them I'd fallen and cut it on a piece of glass. Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident than to have been born different. I was convinced that no one outside my family could love me.
There was, however, a teacher in the second grade whom we all adored--Mrs. Leonard by name. She was short, round, happy--a sparkling lady. Annually we had a hearing test. ... Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class, and finally it was my turn. I knew from past years that as we stood against the door and covered one ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something, and we would have to repeat it back--things like "The sky is blue" or "Do you have new shoes?"
I waited there for those words that God must have put into her mouth, those seven words that changed my life. Mrs. Leonard said, in her whisper, "I wish you were my little girl." God says to every person deformed by sin, "I wish you were my son" or "I wish you were my daughter."
-- Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 1.
See: Ps 68:5; Mt 7:11; Ro 8:15.
(When we strive with God in the Spirit we will not be condemned but confirmed.)
Our Sunday school superintendent had two new boys in Sunday school. In order to register them she had to ask their ages and birthdays. The bolder of the two said, "We're both seven. My birthday is April 8, 1976, and my brother's is April 20, 1976." "But that's impossible!" answered the superintendent. "No, it's not," answered the quieter brother. "One of us is adopted." "Which one?" asked the superintendent before she could curb her tongue. The boys looked at each other and smiled, and the bolder one said to the superintendent, "We asked Dad awhile ago, but he just said he loved us both, and he couldn't remember any more which one was adopted."
In Romans 8:17, Paul writes: "Now if we are [God's] children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ..." (NIV) Paul's comparison is to adoption. By our faith in Christ we become his adopted brothers and sisters--adopted sons and daughters of God. As fully adopted and accepted children, we share the same inheritance as the begotten Son, Jesus. No wonder all creation waits eagerly for the full revealing and adoption to happen!
--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 250-251.
(And we are confirmed as equals before a God who loves all his children in the Holy Spirit. None will be condemned.)
D. Application
Conclusion:
Big Answer:
How does God rescue us from our self-condemnation in being unable to follow his law in our own strength?
God saves us from self-condemnation by giving us a new law of life in the Spirit. (vv. 1-4)
Our new law of life in the Spirit becomes effective only by faith in Christ.
Our new law of life in the Spirit sets us free from the old law of sin and death.
Our new law of life in the Spirit validates the old law by meeting its requirements.
God saves us from self-condemnation by giving us a new nature of life in the Spirit. (vv. 5-8)
Our new nature of life in the Spirit gives us a new desire.
Our new nature of life in the Spirit gives us a new means of control.
Our new nature of life in the Spirit gives us a new ability to please God.
God saves us from self-condemnation by giving us a new assurance of life in the Spirit. (vv. 9-11)
Our new assurance of life in the Spirit gives us a new sense of belonging.
Our new assurance of life in the Spirit gives us a new sense of righteousness.
Our new assurance of life in the Spirit gives us a new expectation of life.
God saves us from self-condemnation by giving us a new relationship of life in the Spirit. (vv. 12-17)
Our new relationship of life in the Spirit gives us a new obligation as sons of God.
Our new relationship of life in the Spirit gives us a new freedom from fear as sons of God.
Our new relationship of life in the Spirit gives us a new inheritance in Christ as sons of God.
Timeless Truth:
The best news yet is how the good news actually works in giving us a new life by giving us a new power.
It is a new power through a new proposal, a new persuasion, a new peace, a new presence.
God rescues us from our self-condemnation by giving us a new spirit of life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
May your pilgrimage of faith lead you to the inner sanctuary of Christian truth, that there is a new way of life as a pilgrim in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is what John Bunyan discovered when he wrote the words of this poem in Part II of The Pilgrim's Progress that have been transposed into The Pilgrim Hymn: He Who Would Valiant Be.
He who would valiant be
'Ginst all disaster,
Let him in constancy
Follow the Master.
There's no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.
Who so beset him round
With dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound,
His strength the more is.
No foes shall stay his might
Though he with giants fight;
He will make good his right
To be a pilgrim.
Since, Lord, Thou dost defend
Us with Thy Spirit,
We know we at the end
Shall life inherit.
Then fancies flee away!
I'll fear not what men say,
I'll labor night and day
To be a pilgrim.