Your ShelfYour Projects

Review and Herald, Vol. 12, No. 17.

THE DANGER OF SELF-DECEPTION

Review and Herald

Sep 9, 1858

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 9, 1858

THE DANGER OF SELF-DECEPTION.

In the former chapter we pointed out some of the innumerable methods of self-deception; in the present we purpose to show our extreme liability to the evil.
1. We are liable to self-deception from the state of our own hearts.
These are "deceitful above all things." There is no knowledge of more importance, and yet none more difficult to acquire, than the knowledge of ourselves. The greatest obstacle to its attainment lies in the natural pride and treachery of the heart. We are prone to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think, to regard our character with complacency, and to put the most favorable construction upon our conduct. The very idea of being under the wrath of God is so exceedingly repulsive to all our feelings, that it is admitted with extreme reluctance, and not until the evidence of the fact can no longer be resisted. If we own that our condition is bad, we suppose it might be worse. Whatever may be our blemishes, we fancy they are more than made up by our virtues.
The depravity of the heart blinds the understanding so that we call evil good, and good evil, light darkness, and darkness light. We are naturally averse to self-examination, and when we attempt it we are disposed to judge ourselves by a wrong standard. Many things are taken for evidences of piety which are not such in reality. While we carefully seize upon every thing which presents itself in our favor, our deficiencies are overlooked, or regarded as of little moment. "The way of the wicked is as darkness, they know not at what they stumble."
2. We are not only liable to self-deception from the depravity of the heart, Satan, too, exerts a powerful influence in promoting the same object.
"As a roaring lion he walketh about seeking whom he may devour." And it is evident that the means which he employs to accomplish his designs are characterized by the profoundest artifice. Hence we read of his "wiles"—his "snares"—his "devices." He "blinds the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." 2 Cor. iv, 4. He even "transforms himself into an angel of light," representing truth as error, and error as truth, holiness as sin, and sin as holiness. He has temptations adapted to every mind, and to every condition. If one means fail, he can employ another. If one form of self-deception will not answer his purpose, a thousand more are at hand.
First of all, perhaps, he diverts the attention of the sinner altogether from the subject of religion, prejudices him against its claims, occupies him with the world, or tempts him to presume on future repentance. But if, in spite of such efforts, conscience becomes alarmed, the next step may be to lead the inquirer to the indulgence of a false hope. By suggesting some promise of the Bible, by misrepresenting the character of God, or by counterfeiting the evidences of piety, the great adversary often succeeds in quieting every fear, and lulling the soul into a sleep more profound than that from which it had been aroused. He "taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first." Matt. xii, 45.
3. The danger of self-deception will also appear from the frequent distinction which the Bible makes between true and false religion.
Is there a "love which is the fulfilling of the law?" there is also a love entirely selfish, and which in times of temptation "waxes cold." Is there a "godly sorrow which worketh repentance unto salvation?" there is also a "sorrow of the world, which worketh death." Is there a faith which "worketh by love" and "overcometh the world?" there is also a faith dead and inoperative. Is there a filial fear which is "the beginning of wisdom?" there is also a slavish fear, which often agitates the wicked on earth. It is said of the Samaritans that "they feared the Lord and served their own gods." 2 Kings xvii, 33; Zeph. i, 5. Is there a submission which results from enlightened views of the divine government and a cordial appreciation of the divine dispensations? there is also a submission feigned and forced. "Through the greatness of thy power," says the Psalmist, "shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee." Ps. lxvi, 3. Is there a good hope through grace which purifies the heart, and proves as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast? there is also a hope which maketh ashamed—the hope of the hypocrite, which shall be as the giving up of the ghost. Is there a joy which is sown for the righteous, and which is the fruit of the Spirit? there is also the joy of the stony-ground hearers, who having no root in them, soon wither under the influence of persecution and trial.
Thus it appears that every Christian grace has its counterfeits. The question, then, is not simply whether we have love to God, sorrow for sin, faith in Christ, submission, fear, hope and joy—but what is the nature of these exercises? Are they such as God requires—such as are peculiar to the saints—such as will be approved in the great day of final retribution?
The admonitions and warnings of the Bible afford another evidence of the danger of self-deception.
"Let no man deceive himself." 1 Cor. iii, 18. "Let every man prove his own work." Gal. vi, 4. "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves." 2 Cor. xiii, 5. "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." James i, 22. "Let us fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." Heb. iv, 1. "Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God." Heb. xii, 15.
Now consider to whom these injunctions were originally directed. They were addressed to professors of religion, who had exhibited credible evidence of piety, and who had endured the severest trials in their adherence to the truth. And if such needed to be cautioned against self-delusion, then let none, at the present day, flatter themselves that they are secure. The highest attainments in the divine life are consistent with the closest self-examination, and the most incessant watchfulness over our own hearts. While we stand we have need to take heed lest we fall. "Search me," said the Psalmist, "O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Ps. cxxxix, 23, 24. "I keep under my body," says Paul, "and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away." 1 Cor. ix, 27.
5. The Scriptures not only teach us that men may be deceived, but that many actually are deceived.Instances of this kind abound in the word of God for the instruction and warning of others in every subsequent age. We read of those, who, when they hear the words of the curse, bless themselves in their heart, saying, "I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of mine heart;" Deut. xxix, 19; of those who "flatter themselves in their own eyes until their iniquity be found to be hateful;" Ps. xxxvi, 2; of those who are "pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness;" Prov. xxx, 12; of those who cry "Peace and safety" when "sudden destruction" awaits them; 1 Thess. v, 3; of those who say that they are "rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and know not that they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Rev. iii, 17. As a nation, the Jews in the days of Christ were under the influence of the most fatal self-delusion. While they boasted of their pious ancestry, and of their distinguished privileges, and regarded themselves as the exclusive objects of divine favor, the Saviour, who saw through every disguise, declared that the love of God was not in them. John v, 42.
Even in the christian church there were some, who, while they professed to know God, "in works denied him"—who called themselves the friends of Christ, but walked as the enemies of his cross—who maintained the form of godliness but denied its power. What characters are denoted by the five foolish virgins but members of the visible church, bearing indeed the lamp of profession but utterly void of divine grace. Who is the man without a "wedding garment," but one who finds his way within the pale of the church, and takes his place at the communion-table, and yet, instead of being clothed with the "garment of salvation," appears in the "filthy rags" of his own righteousness. Among the twelve apostles there was a traitor. Among the thousands numbered as converts during the great revival which commenced on the day of Pentecost, there were an Ananias and a Sapphira.
And if cases of self-deception existed in the primitive church, to which none were admitted who did not afford credible evidence of evangelical repentance and faith, what must be the state of the church where a profession of vital godliness is not regarded as essential to membership? If the tares grow among the wheat when special pains were taken to prevent their introduction, what may we not look for where the two are knowingly mingled together? Notwithstanding the utmost precaution in the reception of persons to sealing ordinances, individuals will still creep in unawares, who, instead of belonging to the household of faith, belong to the world.
In almost every church, however pure, are perhaps some whom a deceived heart hath turned aside. Such professors may maintain a good and regular standing for years; their attendance on the ordinances of God's house may be constant and punctual, and their piety beyond all suspicion, and yet when weighed in the balances they may be found wanting. Legh Richmond, according to his own testimony, had not only been a member of the church, but had also entered upon the Christian ministry before he became savingly acquainted with the truth as it is in Jesus.
Religious biography furnishes us with numerous instances in which persons have experienced great changes in their views and feelings, while they have remained ignorant of that one great change which the Scriptures declare to be essential to salvation.
"President Edwards, when a small boy, was greatly excited about his salvation; had very clear views of his lost and guilty state; wept and prayed much with deep feeling; obtained, as he thought, pardon for his sins, and felt very happy and joyful afterwards. For a time he loved to pray and talk about religion, and he united with other boys and held a youth's prayer-meeting. After a while all these feelings left him, and he became a thoughtless, stupid young man. Again he was awakened, deeply convicted for sin, and again obtained peace and joy; but he describes this second experience as essentially different from the first, in that he obtained scriptural views of Christ and his justifying righteousness, and his views of God and holiness were entirely different. This double conversion, so to speak, qualified him with double light in the Scriptures to write with uncommon discrimination upon religious experience. Edwards on the Affections is a book that should be read carefully and frequently by professors of religion."
David Brainerd passed through a similar false experience, and really thought he had religion; but afterwards learned his mistake, and became truly converted, and lived a life of eminent piety and spirituality till his death.
The late Andrew Fuller, one of the most distinguished theological writers of the age, was the subject of conviction of sin from childhood. He was often much affected while thinking upon the doctrines of Christianity. At the age of thirteen years he rested upon a false hope, from having these words suddenly impressed upon his mind: "Sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace." Rom. vi, 15. This filled him with joy and transport; and he seemed, to use his own language, "as in a new world. It appeared to me I hated all my sins and was resolved to forsake them." But notwithstanding all this, in a few days he cast off serious impressions and went headlong into sin, and for a time he used to think himself a backsliding Christian, though in a little time, as he says, his conscience almost became seared. He was afterwards truly converted.
Here is the spot where hundreds fail. They take up with a conversion that falls infinitely short of saving faith in Jesus Christ, and when they lose their religious impressions, and live habitually in the neglect of secret and family prayer and other religious duties, they lay the flattering unction to their consciences that they are backsliding saints, and that God will bring them back in his own good time.
6. What must tend to impress our minds still more deeply with the danger of self-deception, is the fact that multitudes not only live but die deceived.
A death-bed has indeed been called a detector of the heart. Thus it has no doubt proved in numerous instances. The confidence which the deceived have cherished in health, has utterly failed on the near approach of eternity. "What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?" Job xxvii, 8.
We cannot, however, determine the safety of a person by the manner of his death. If men may live deceived, no reason can be given why they may not die deceived. It is recorded of the wicked that "there are no bands in their death." The former character of many who have departed this life in peace, furnishes fearful evidence that even in the honest hour of dissolution men may cling to a hope which will at last prove "like the spider's web." While Bunyan represents Christian and Hopeful as entering upon the river of death with hesitation and fear, the case of Ignorance (a character by no means rare) is described in the following affecting language:
"Now while I was gazing upon all these things, I turned my head to look back, and saw Ignorance come up to the river side; but he soon got over, and without half the difficulty which the other two men met with. For it happened that there was then in the place one Vain Hope, a ferryman, that with his boat helped him over; so he, as the others I saw, did ascend the hill, to come up to the gate; only he came alone; neither did any meet him with the least encouragement. When he was come up to the gate, he looked up to the writing that was above, and then began to knock supposing that entrance should have been quickly administered to him; but he was asked by the men that looked over the top of the gate, Whence came you? and what would you have? He answered, I have ate and drank in the presence of the King, and he has taught in our streets. Then they asked him for his certificate, that they might go in and show it to the King. So he fumbled in his bosom for one and found none. Then said they, Have you none? but the man answered never a word. So they told the King, but he would not come down to see him, but commanded the two shining ones, that conducted Christian and Hopeful to the city, to go out and take Ignorance, and bind him hand and foot, and have him away. Then they took him up and carried him through the air to the door that I saw in the side of the hill, and put him in there. Then I saw that there was a way to hell, even from the gate of heaven as well as from the City of Destruction."—Helfenstein.

"O THAT I HAD WINGS LIKE A DOVE."

O that to me were given Wings upon which my gladsome soul might flee, And rise with joy, a bird unchained and free, Up to the azure heaven ; How soon would I, in all my wishes blest, Leave the dull things of earth and be at rest.
At rest! O blissful word! To rest from sin, from tumult, and from care, To breathe the freshness of a purer air, And hear the tones they heard Who talked with angels upon earthly sod, And among men did daily walk with God.
It is a tiresome way That we must tread adown life's shadowy vale, When footsteps falter and our spirits fail With fainter hope each day, When the loved ones at morning by our side Have with the fading hours grown pale and died.
Lo! faith is sad and faint, Like a caged dove that in her prison sighs For the free light and beautiful blue skies, And breatheth her complaint Sadly in song, while up to heaven she fain Would rise harmonious with that mournful strain.
Grant dove-like wings to me; No more should earthly things beguile my sight, The spirit on its upward, homeward flight, Swift in its course should be; Till it might dwell amid the angel throng, And wear their wings and sing their raptured song.
I know not what I ask! The dove from its dear resting place might fly And seek a home 'neath the fair southern sky, In its sunshine might bask; Or flit with gay birds 'mid the dark leaved trees, Whose laden boughs sway softly in the breeze.
But I, like thee, O dove, Though I were free and had the wings to roam, Will still remain within my earthly home, Still cling to earthly love— Faith powerful in weakness still shall be, And as my days will strength be given me.—Sel.

The Christian’s Spiritual Arithmetic

A faithful christian practically works out the following sum in Addition. Add to faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. The answer is, fruitfulness in the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Pet. i, 5–8.
It is a question that requires more labor than any other in Addition; yet every one can get the answer. They who do not are pronounced by the Great Teacher, "blind and cannot see afar off." Chap. v, 9.
SUBTRACTION. Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us. Heb. xii, 1.
MULTIPLICATION. Sow thy seed in the morning, and in the evening withhold not thy hand. Eccl. xi, 6. The efforts made in well doing will bring forth fruit, thirty, sixty or an hundred fold.
DIVISION. Freely ye have received, freely give. Matt. x, 8. Give a portion to seven and also to eight. Eccl. xi, 2.
Loss AND GAIN. The world—its riches, honors and pleasures lost, and Christ and heaven gained. "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Phil. i, 21. If the world is gained, the soul is lost. "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mark viii, 36.
PROPORTION. If faith in Christ give present peace, what will be the result of a life devoted to the service of Christ? Answer, "The end, everlasting life." Rom. vi, 22.
INTEREST. One said, "Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds." Another said, "Thy pound hath gained five pounds." The Lord said unto them, Well, good servants, one shall have authority over ten cities, and the other over five. Another returned his pound without any gain. It was taken from him and he condemned. Luke xix, 16–27.
PERPETUAL ANNUITIES. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life. Matt. xix, 29.—Sel.

SELECTIONS.

Are there Few that be Saved?

As men have lived, so for the most part they die. When a tree is cut down, on what side does it fall? It falls on the side to which it leans. Leaning to the right, it then falls to the right; leaning to the left, it then falls to the left. These evil livers always incline to the left; and yet, when they are to be cut down, they put in a claim to fall to the right, as good men fall. No measure truly of grace would suffice to accomplish this for them, excepting one, which, like a violent hurricane, should with a miraculous force shove them to the opposite side. But who has ever been made a fit subject to receive such grace? "Scarcely one out of a hundred thousand!" Knowing therefore your present state to be such as to make it far more probable that you belong to the condemned, rather than to the elect, are you not cherishing a presumption, approaching to madness, while you still persist in following the same evil course? Even supposing that in the case of sinners, like yourselves, the majority would be saved and the minority be lost, you ought to be in a constant fear lest your lot should be among the latter. How then will you fare, if the majority shall be lost and the minority be saved?
Arnolphus, Count of Flanders, was once bowed down under the excruciating pain of the stone. His medical man proposed a surgical operation; but he wished that the experiment should be first made on some other subject. Search therefore was made, in order to find all such persons in his dominions, who were suffering from the same complaint. They found twenty such, who were all operated upon by the same surgeons, and then so successfully treated that, out of the whole number of twenty, only one of them died. All the medical men now returned in high spirits to Arnolphus, and recommended him to submit to the same operation. But he, when he heard of its having failed in one single instance, instead of taking heart, turned suddenly pale. "And who among you," he inquired, "will insure me against the fate of this unhappy man?"
And then more intimidated by the death of one than encouraged by the recovery of nineteen, he would on no account consent to undergo such a risk. Now let us suppose, out of these twenty that were operated upon, instead of nineteen being cured and one only dying, the reverse had happened; that the nineteen had died, and only one been cured. What, under these circumstances, would this prudent prince have said? Would he not have immediately driven from his presence those rash and inconsiderate medical advisers? Could any thing have induced him to run the hazard of the operation, under the hope that he must needs be the one eminently fortunate man? Ah, my dear Christians, that rashness, which seems so unaccountable in matters affecting the body, is precisely that of which you yourselves stand guilty in the care you take of your souls?
St. Jerome asserts that not out of twenty, or out of thirty, but that "out of an hundred thousand habitual sinners scarcely one is saved;" and can you then possibly be more emboldened by the happy escape of the one, than put to fear by the sad end of the ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine? Ten was the number of those brethren who went down to buy food in Egypt; yet, when they heard that one of their company must remain there as a prisoner, a feeling of anxiety pervaded them all. Twelve was the number of those disciples who sat down to supper with our Lord the night before his death; yet, when they heard that one of their company should prove a traitor, all of them without exception turned pale. But is no such misgiving raised in your minds, when you know that the majority of persons, who, like yourselves, are living in sin, must finally perish? In you is confirmed what Job spoke of the ungodly: "God gave him a space for repentance, but he abuses it to the furtherance of his pride."—Sel.

The Bible.

By Editor

The Bible is a venerable book. Most venerable. For four thousand years as a part or a whole it has been "a road through the abyss of time," upon which men have walked as if it were a solid pavement. It is the only bridge spanning the gulf, buttressed and upheld by divine veracity. Beneath it hell yawns. Faith goes up upon it singing. Rainbows of Hope and Promise hover over it. Everlasting Joy and Blessedness beckon at the end. There always is light when everywhere else is darkness; ever and anon God's smile breaking through; death itself no longer dreadful—
"Only a gray eve 'tween two shining days,"
a comma betwixt this and that, betwixt two existences yet one, betwixt time and eternity, betwixt earth and heaven. Receiving it as God's Gift-Book, Keepsake, Souvenir, how delightful to turn its pages filled with testimonies of His love, odorous with His breath, musical with His voice! How the soul leaps up to meet the paternal stoop of divine condescension when imparting to us "the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father!" Apprehensive, trembling, filled with remorse, falling into despair, how sweet to know that there is "forgiveness with God;" that He "can be just and yet the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." When tossed, tempted and afflicted, how calm and safe this anchorage! What equanimity and equipoise it gives to the soul! what fortitude; what patience; what moral strength; what elevation; what grandeur; what happiness! How it fills, satisfies and blesses! How adapted every way to the wants of man! Not light is so suited to the eye, nor sound to the ear, nor food to the taste. The evidence of its truth is within. He needs no chemist to tell him that it is sweet, wholesome, beneficent in its operation; for has he not experienced it a thousand times? How can be doubt? When the sun shines does he not know it, having eyes to see! What horror in the thought could he once imagine that the curtain thus lifted between God and man might fall again, and this awful apocalypse and revelation of Divine Mercy be shut out forever. How think you then must he feel when he sees Atheistic men madly wishing and working for this very thing? How melancholy to know that the audacious attempt will not wholly fail. In his last illness, a few days before his death, Sir Walter Scott asked Mr. Lockhart to read to him. Mr. Lockhart inquired what book he would like. "Can you ask?" said Sir Walter; "There is but ONE," and requested him to read a chapter of the gospel of John. One sun, one Bible. The place which the first holds in the natural world the last holds in the moral; blot either, and what were our state then?
"O dark, dark, dark, irrecoverably dark, Total eclipse without all hope of day."
Although no power of malice can do this, yet it can do that which is tantamount to it. There is the sight which, being
"To such a tender ball as the eye confined, Is obvious and easy to be quenched."
Who robs me of my faith puts out the eyes of my soul, exiles me from light.
"To live a life half dead, a living death, And buried; but, O yet more miserable, Myself, my sepulture, a moving grave.—"
makes me the dungeon of myself, and reserves me under chains of darkness against the judgment of the great day.—Medical and Surgical Reporter.

"Don't Forget to Pray,"

Do the trials and troubles of this life weigh heavily upon thy soul, and sometimes seem ready to crush it beneath their weight? "Cast your care on Jesus, and don't forget to pray." "Call upon him in the day of trouble and he will answer thee."
Art thou surrounded by temptations, from which thou sighest to be free, and which sometimes lead thee from the straight and narrow way into the crooked paths of sin? "Don't forget to pray." He who takes thy humble petition and presents it before the Father's throne, has been tempted, and he knows how to succor those that are tempted.
Has disease prostrated thee upon a bed of suffering, and given thee long and wearisome nights of pain? Then surely thou wilt not forget to pray. Pray that you may be enabled to bear the chastisement which is being inflicted, with Christian resignation, and that it may be sanctified to you for good.
Has some loved friend been snatched away by death, and left thy heart shrouded in gloom and sorrow? Mourning one, "don't forget to pray." Call upon God, for he is now very near thee, and his ear is ever open to the mourner's cry.
Art thou persecuted for righteousness' sake? Do the scoffs of thy companions send a chill to thy young heart? Pray for strength to bear it as Christ would have you, and pray that their attention may be arrested, even while they ridicule thee.
Art thou poor and needy; destitute of the comforts and necessaries of life? Remember thy Saviour had not where to lay his head; he, too, was poor, that we might become rich in faith and heirs to an immortal kingdom. If thou wouldest be an heir to this kingdom, don't neglect to pray for a title to it.
Dost thou enjoy health and prosperity?—Remember the Giver of these blessings. Do not forget to thank him for them, or to ask him to show thee how to appreciate them.
Christian friend, hast thou an uncovered father or mother, child or friend, out of the ark of safety,—a brother or sister who have not given their hearts to the Saviour? Don't forget, or neglect, to present their case before God, and at a throne of grace plead earnestly and long for them. He will hear thy prayer if offered in faith and love. "The prayer of the righteous availeth much."
"Don't forget to pray" at morn. A new day has been given thee; thou needest grace for each and every day; thou needest the Divine Spirit. Do not grieve it by neglecting to ask for its assistance. Thou needest the watchful care of thy Heavenly Father; thou art very needy, therefore, "don't forget to pray."
Pray at noon, when thou art surrounded by the business and cares of life. Temptation and many a snare are set about thee. Strength is needed to resist the tempter, and watchfulness is necessary if thou wouldest escape the snare. Enter into thy closet, and there while on thy bended knee, let thy prayer rise to the mercy seat, where it will be accepted.
When the shades of evening gather o'er earth, and night draws nigh—pray. Another day's labor is ended, and thou hast much to be grateful for; then bring thy thank-offering and present it to him to whom all honor and praise belong. Pray for the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom in the earth. Ask pardon for thy numerous sins, protection during the night watches, a heart to love God, and a home in heaven.—Morning Star.

Love, the Prime Grace.

The whole duty of a Christian is nothing but love, varied with the several kind acts and degrees of it, and works of mercy are the most natural and genuine offspring of love; so that from these a good man is denominated. The Scriptures therefore, frequently sum up our duty in charity; and for that reason style it the fulfilling of the law, and the bond of perfectness. Indeed, where charity is, (that is, where the blessed fruits of charity, springing from a true principle of divine love are,) there no other Christian grace or perfection can be totally wanting; and where charity is not, there may be the imperfect resemblances of other Christian graces and virtues, but not those graces and virtues themselves; for they cannot be, unless fed and invigorated and animated by a principle of universal charity. So that our Saviour, by professing to examine us on this head, brings the matter to a short issue, a single point, by which our cause may be decided as effectually as by larger inquiries.—Bishop Atterbury.

Neglecting the Great Salvation.

By Barnes

Most of the calamities of life are caused by simple neglect. By neglect of education children grow up in ignorance. By neglect a farm grows up to weeds and briars; by neglect a house goes to decay; by neglect a sowing man will have no harvest; by neglect of reaping the harvest will rot in the field. No worldly interest can prosper where there is neglect; and why may it not be so in religion? There is nothing in earthly affairs that is valuable that will not be ruined if it is not attended to, and why may it not be so with the concerns of the soul? Let no one infer, therefore, that because he is not a drunkard, or an adulterer, or a murderer, he will be saved. Such an inference would be as irrational as it would be for a man to infer that because he is not a murderer his farm will produce a harvest, or that because he is not an adulterer therefore his merchandise will take care of itself. Salvation would be worth nothing if it cost no effort—and there will be no salvation where no effort is put forth.—Barnes.

Give God His Day

Give God His Day.—Reader, do not be a robber. He that steals breaks God's eighth commandment. Above all, do not rob God. The Sabbath is God's property. Give God His day.
I do entreat you, for your soul's sake, not to profane the Sabbath, but to keep it holy. Do not buy and sell, or idle your time on the Sabbath. Let not the example of all around you, let not the invitation of companions, let none of these things move you to depart from this settled rule, that God's day shall be given to God.
The Sabbath is one of the greatest blessings which God has given to man. Do not make a bad use of this blessing. He that cannot give God his Sabbath is unfit for heaven. Oh! while you live, give God his day.
Once give over caring for the Sabbath, and in the end you will give over caring for your soul. The steps which lead to this conclusion are easy and regular. Begin with not honoring God's day and you will soon not honor God's house; cease to honor God's house, and you soon cease to honor God's book, and by-and-by you will give God no honor at all. Let a man lay the foundation of no Sabbath, and I am not surprised if he finishes with the top-stone of no God. It is a remarkable saying of Judge Hale, "Of all the persons who were convicted of capital crimes while he was upon the bench, he found only a few who would not confess, on inquiry, that you began their career of wickedness by neglect of the Sabbath."
Reader, resolve, by God's help, that you will always remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Honor it by a regular attendance at some place where the gospel is preached. Settle down under a faithful ministry, and once settled, let your place in church never be empty. Give God His day.
Continue reading: WESTERN TOUR