A Goodly Heritage

“I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles  had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.”—Proverbs 24:30-32 Whether the present age be worse than others that have preceded it, I shall not determine. But this is manifest: it abounds not only in infidelity and profligacy,but also with great numbers of loose characters among professing Christians. It is true, there are some eminently zealous and spiritual, perhaps as much so as at almost any former period: the disinterested concern, which has appeared for the diffusion of evangelical religion, is doubtless a hopeful feature of our times. Yet it is no less evident that others are in a sad degree conformed to this world instead of being transformed by the renewing of their minds. Even of those who retain...

Injurious Effects of Backsliding First, it will necessarily deprive us of all true enjoyment in religion, and by consequence of all that preservation to the heart and mind, which such enjoyment affords. The principal sources of enjoyment, to a Christian that walketh spiritually, are communion with God and His people. But to him that is out of the way, these streams are dried up; or, which is the same thing in effect to him, they are so impeded as not to reach him. Guilt, shame, darkness, and defilement have taken possession of the soul. Love is quenched, hope clouded, joy fled, prayer restrained, and every other grace enervated. It becomes the holiness of God to frown upon us in such a state of mind by withholding the light of His countenance; and, if it were otherwise, we have no manner of desire after it. Such was the state of David after he had sinned and before he had repented: the joys of God’s salvation were far from him. The thirty-second and thirty-eighth Psalms appear t...