Grey hairs',
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"Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to
die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the
sight of my God." Revelation 3:2
The personal piety of many, there is great reason to
fear—is in a very feeble and languishing condition.
It has lost much of its hold upon their hearts and
consciences—as an elevating, purifying, and satisfying
reality. How few there are, who know what it is—to
delight in God, to rejoice in the dying love of Christ,
and to exult in a clear and unclouded prospect of
heaven! How little is there of spirituality of mind,
of mortification of sin, of habitual watchfulness, and
of wrestling prayer! There may be no gross or glaring
immorality—but in the absence of what would be
deemed publicly disgraceful in religious professors,
there is, in instances not a few, a manifest decline in
vital and experimental godliness.
There is something exceedingly insidious, pertaining
to a state of spiritual declension; and hence it is a
common thing, for those who are under its influence
—to be in a great measure unconscious of the fact.
It is said of Ephraim, "Strangers have devoured his
strength—and he knows it not! Yes, grey hairs are
here and there upon him—yet he knows it not!"
Hosea 7:10. So it is, alas! with many a professor
in the present day. Instead of his soul being in a
vigorous and thriving state, there has been a woeful
decline—yet he knows it not. Others know it; they
cannot fail to observe what an altered man he is now
when compared with what he was a few years ago.
They clearly perceive that the world has been gaining
the ascendancy over him; that the conversation and
company of the people of God are now but little
relished; and that he is far less attentive to his
pious duties than he was formerly. But while this
is so palpable to others, it is, if not altogether, yet
to a considerable extent—unknown to himself.
This may be accounted for by the fact, that declension
generally comes on in a gradual manner. Had the person
passed all at once into such a state, the transition would
have been so great that he could not fail to perceive it.
But it stole over him imperceptibly, and thus he knew it not.
Another cause of this ignorance, is the neglect of self
examination. There are very few who rigidly scrutinize
their own hearts, and it is, therefore, no wonder that
their piety should decline without their knowing it. It
is with many in spiritual things, as it is with some in
reference to their temporal affairs; they take it for
granted that all is going on well. Many a tradesman,
had he examined his books in time, might have been
preserved from bankruptcy; and many a spiritual
bankruptcy might have been avoided, had the secrecies
of the inner man been thoroughly scrutinized, with a full
determination to know how matters really were.
Reader, seek to know yourself—for all wisdom centers
there. Be honest with yourself, and do not allow plausible
appearances to impose upon you. Be continually jealous
over yourself, and that with a godly jealousy. The fruits
of self-confidence have been truly disastrous; while a
befitting dread of self-deception has produced the
happiest results. With the Royal Psalmist, then, let
your daily prayer be, "Search me, O God, and know
my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out
anything in me that offends You, and lead me along
the path of everlasting life." Psalm 139:23-24
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