when he keeps out of the reach of Christian counsel, and justifies himself when affectionately reproved; when he comes to regard the watchfulness of others over him as an unwelcome and irksome thing; [when he charges you with having a spirit of faultfinding, of having no charity, but that you only discourage and press him down when you try to show him his lack of spiritual life],—­it is clear that he exhibits no more the fruits of the Holy Spirit’s influence on his soul.  His piety has declined; he no longer lives in intimacy with God and in the atmosphere of heaven.  His light is dim.  His glory has departed.

The last indication of religious declension that we shall now speak of is a careless indifference to the danger arising from temptation.  A Christian whose piety is warm and vigorous has great tenderness of conscience.  He dreads the least approach of evil.  Even the suggestions of sin to the mind are painful.  He therefore prays earnestly and daily, “Lead me not into temptation,” and carefully avoids placing himself in dangerous circumstances.  Sometimes, however, you will see professing Christians who seem to want this instinctive sense of danger.  They often place themselves in circumstances when they might easily have foreseen their strength of principle would be liable to be put to the severest test.  They keep company in which it is nearly impossible that their moral feelings should not be defiled.  They allow themselves to assort with the idle, the frivolous, with those who are given to foolish talking and jesting; they indulge idle thoughts, repeat amusing stories, read hooks and papers that do not gender to piety, etc.  But he who is willing to go as far toward evil as he can with safety, has lost one of the greatest safe-guards of virtue.  He who is ready to tamper with temptation is on dangerous ground and in a sad state of declension.  O reader, turn ye about, shake loose from the world, draw nigh to God, let the deep breathings waft your soul upward and upward to greater heights in God’s joy and love, and this world will only be a dim specter in the distance.

DILIGENCE.

“O for a closer walk with God!” This is the inward pleading of many a precious blood-washed soul.  I beg leave to tell you that that fulness of God, that deep and perfect satisfaction of soul, that sweet feeling of deep reverence, that hushed and sacred feeling of awe, that close walk with God, is obtained and retained only by the utmost diligence.  Slothfulness in the Christian life is a sure source of degeneration.  Too frequently when saints reach “fair Canaan’s happy land” they think they have nothing now to do but to sing and shout and praise God and go to heaven “on flowery beds of ease.”  To every newly arrived Christian in Canaan is given the command, “Go forward and possess the land.”  To do this battles must be fought, giant foes must be defeated, and the greatest diligence must be practised.  God promised ancient Israel to drive out all the nations of Canaan from before them, and that every place whereon the soles of their feet should tread should be theirs, if they would diligently keep all the commandments that the Lord commanded them, to love the Lord, to walk in his ways, and to cleave unto him.  See Deut. 11:22-24.