Condition of the Church

Now, for the condition of the Church, know sin to be the great obstruct or of its peace, making Him to withdraw His hand, and hide His face, and to turn away His ear from our prayers, and loath our fasts: as Isa. i. 15, and Her. xiv. 12. The quarrel stands; sin not repented of and removed. The wall is still standing; oaths, and Sabbath-breaking, and pride, and oppression, and heart-burnings still remaining. Oh, what a noise of religion and reformation! All sides are for the name of it, and how little of the thing! The Gospel itself is despised, grown stale, as trivial doctrine. Oh, my beloved, if I could speak many hours without intermission, all my cry would be, Repent and pray. Let us search and try our ways, and turn unto the Lord our God. Oh, what walls of every one's sin are set to it! Dig diligently to bring down thine own; and for those huge walls of public national guiltinesses, if thou canst do nothing to them more, compass them about as Jericho, and look up to Heaven for their downfall. Cry, Lord, these we ourselves have reared, but without Thee who can bring them down? Lord, throw them down for us. A touch of Thy hand, a word of Thy mouth, will make them fall.—Were we less busied in impertinences, and more in this most needful work, it might do some good. Who knows but the Lord might make His own way clear, and return and visit us, and make His face to shine, that we might be saved! Robert Leighton

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