Spiritual Sickness and Health

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"Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers." 3 John 2

This epistle differs from most of the other epistles of the New Testament, in being written to an individual, to "the well-beloved Gaius," of whom Paul says, "I am his guest, and the church meets here in his home." (Rom.16:23). This Gaius appears to have been a man of a very enlarged heart towards the children of God; for he was not satisfied with being the host of Paul, and entertaining him kindly, but his house and heart were both large enough to entertain the whole church of God at Corinth. To this open-hearted and affectionate Gaius, John the apostle addresses his third epistle: "The elder unto the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth."

There was a difference in the form of the letters among the ancients compared with that observed by ourselves. Their custom was, not as ours, to put the name of the writer at the end of the epistle, but they placed their name at the beginning; and, next in order, the name of the person to whom it was addressed. We have an instance of this in the Acts of the Apostles, where we have an original letter preserved, which Claudius Lysias sent to Felix. He commences thus: "Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sends greeting" (Acts 23:26). This was the form of letter customary among the ancients. Claudius Lysias was the writer; he therefore puts his own name first. "The most excellent governor Felix" was the person to whom the letter was sent; his name comes next.

But, besides this, it was the usual custom to add at the beginning a friendly greeting, the writer wishing his correspondent "health,"--what we would call something complimentary. We find the apostle Paul following this prevailing custom in all his epistles. He first puts his own name, and next that of the church or people to whom he wrote; and then offers prayers to God that he would bless them with mercy, grace, and truth. It was the custom then, at the beginning of the letter, to offer some short desire for the health of the correspondent, that being the greatest temporal blessing the writer could wish for his friend.

We find the apostle John following this custom; and being a spiritual man, and writing a spiritual letter to a spiritual friend, he gives the usual salutation a spiritual turn. He does not write as a carnal writer would do, for example as, "The elder unto beloved Gaius, health," which was the usual form; but he gives this desire for his health a spiritual turn: "Beloved I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers." It is as though he would say, "I wish you temporal health, if it be the Lord's will; but, far more, I wish you spiritual health. I wish your circumstances to prosper, and your body to be in health, as far as God sees fit to bestow; but only so far as is consistent with the health of your soul. I wish it even as your soul prospers." As though again he would say, "I cannot wish you temporal prosperity, if it be not good for your spiritual welfare. But, if your soul prospers and is in health, with this, then, I can wish you temporal prosperity and bodily health."

In looking then at the text, I shall endeavor to show what soul-prosperity is. But, as we often see things more plainly by viewing their opposites, I shall, with God's blessing,

I. Show what soul-sickness is; and, in showing soul-sickness, endeavor to show the symptoms, the causes, and the cure of that sickness.

II. If the Lord enable, show what spiritual health is, and what are its symptoms and causes. Then, if the Lord applies the word with power, and brings it into our consciences, we may be enabled to see who are in a state of sickness and who are in a state of health.

But, before I enter into the subject, it will be right to premise a remark that my meaning may not be misunderstood. There are always people glad to fix upon everything that may feed mere criticism. I shall, therefore, endeavor to lay down a few points by way of explanation, and to obviate all misconception of my meaning in speaking of soul-sickness and soul-health.

1. We must bear in mind that man is a fallen sinner, in a state of sickness and disease. The Holy Spirit has given us a picture of this, where he says that "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores" (Isa.1:5-6).

2. When the Lord would make a man whole, he does not do so by restoring the soul to its original state of health. Adam had a healthy soul in paradise; but it was a health of nature, not of grace. Soul and body were alike perfectly healthy, because free from all defect; healthy, as having come pure and innocent out of the Creator's hands. But when Adam fell, disease entered into his soul, at the same moment that sickness entered into his body. Death spiritual seized his soul; and the seeds of death temporal were planted in his body. Thus soul and body became alike subject to, and under the power of, disease.

3. When the Lord would communicate health to the soul, he does it by breathing into it a new nature, thereby implanting a divine principle, which is pure and spiritual, heavenly and holy; and which, therefore, is perfectly healthy and entirely free from the least taint of disease. And yet the old nature continues as corrupt as before.

4. I would observe that the soul, in our experience, is sickly or healthy, just in proportion as the corruptions of our fallen nature prevail over grace; or as the grace that is in the new nature prevails over corruption. When corruption prevails in the soul, it is sickly; when grace prevails, it is healthy. I have given you these explanations that you may not misunderstand my meaning.

I. Some of the causes and symptoms of SOUL-SICKNESS, and its cure. When the Lord begins a work of grace in the heart, and thus implants a principle of divine health, he teaches us painfully to feel that we are by nature--corrupt before him. The very health which the Lord communicates to the soul, by implanting in it a new and divine principle, makes us feel that we are sick; yet perhaps the soul is never so lively, so active, so vigorous, as when life is first communicated. What zeal! What earnestness! What prayerfulness! What deadness to the world! What strong cries! What longing desires! What vehement hungerings! What ardent thirstings there are in a new-born soul, the principle of life within being so vigorous and active!

But usually, after a time, in the experience of God's people, they find that this vigor, this activity, and this zeal, sensibly decline. They lose their zeal, their earnestness, their comforts, and their enjoyments; and the old corrupt nature seems once more to exert its power. Then the soul becomes feelingly sick. It is not that it becomes more diseased than before; but the revival of sin seems to cast its sickly shadow over all a man's spirit.

A. What are the SYMPTOMS of soul-sickness?

1. One symptom is coldness, deadness, hardness, a lack of life and feeling in the soul, so different from the zeal and activity that it once experienced. What a prevailing complaint, among the people of God, is their deadness, coldness, hardness, lack of feeling in the things of God! And this attended with a sense of complete inability to raise themselves out of this dead unfeeling state! They seem as if they had been struck with palsy--a withering, paralyzing stroke, which prevents them from lifting up their hands in prayer, from looking unto Jesus, from walking and talking with him as in times past.

2. Carnality and worldly mindednessis another symptom of the soul's being sick. It is a strange thing, but so it is, that when the soul is sick in the things of God, then is the time for the carnal mind, so to speak, to be in health. The more weak and enfeebled that the new nature is, the more active and vigorous is the old; and the more weak and enfeebled the old man is, the more active and vigorous is the new. It is a symptom, then, of soul-sickness, when the carnal heart is grasping after the things of time and sense. When covetousness and pride, worldly mindedness, levity, frivolity, and thoughtlessness take such strong possession of a man's heart that he seems to have scarcely any desire whatever after the things of God, he may indeed be said to be sick.

3. Another symptom is prayerlessness. When the Lord begins a work of grace on the soul, he usually communicates a spirit of grace and of supplication. How prayerful a new-born soul is! What desires are then felt! What longings after manifested mercy! What hungerings and thirstings after righteousness! What power is felt in the heart to pour out its needs before the mercy-seat! Then the soul is healthy. But when prayer becomes a burden, and the heart is utterly unable to raise itself up from earth to heaven; when all spiritual desires seem to languish and fade away; when no hungerings and thirstings, no ardent desires, no pantings after the sweet manifestations of mercy are felt within, then indeed it is a symptom that sickness is spreading over the soul.

4. To find the Word of God without savor, sweetness, or poweris another symptom of the soul being sickly. When, instead of taking down the Bible, and reading it with sweetness and pleasure, we let the dust gather on it, and allow the spider to spin its web over the cover, O, that is a sad symptom of the soul being in a sickly state! So when, in coming to chapel, the body is rather dragged there as a custom than from any real longing that the Lord would bless the Word with power to the soul, that is a symptom of the soul's being in a sickly state. When, instead of crying to the Lord that he would bless the Word, there is nothing within but sleepiness and indifference, so that we can sit asleep under the Word, and have no more care whether it comes into our heart with power, or whether it passes us by altogether, that is indeed a symptom of a sickly state of soul.

5. When we feel no affection to the people of God; when we do not desire their company; when we would rather go out of their way than meet them; when our hearts are not knit to them in the bonds of tenderness and love; when we spy out their faults, instead of covering their infirmities with a mantle of love; that is another symptom of a sickly state of soul. When backbiting and slander prevail, and we feel a devilish pleasure in feasting on the infirmities and failings of God's dear children, O, that is a sad sign of the soul having backslidden from God, and being in a sickly state.

6. When we can substitute the letter for the power, and the form for the spirit, being satisfied with a name to live, that is another symptom of the soul being in a sickly state.

7. When we can be satisfied whether we have the Lord's presence or not; when we can go for days, and weeks, and months, without craving one smile, one intimation, one word, one whisper, one token of love; when we can be as easy in the Lord's absence as if he had never made his presence known; this is another symptom of the soul being in a sickly state.

8. When the ordinances of God's house are despised, and we see no beauty or sweetness in them; when we are glad to shun them; and get away from them, and even dislike the company of God's people because we see them spiritual and heavenly-minded; that is another symptom of the soul being in a sickly state.

9. When, instead of loving the more spiritual part of God's family, and those most who have most of God's fear in their heart, we rather cleave to mere professors, and to those who have not a clear and gracious experience, that is another symptom of the soul being in a sickly state.

10. When earthly things are pursued and heavenly things neglected; when the world rises in the estimation, and Jesus and his blood and righteousness sink; when we can be comfortable with carnal people and take an interest in all the carnality of children and relations, and really feel more happy with them than with the broken, contrite people of God; when we can talk more about the business, the shop, the farm, and the railway than the real teachings of God in the soul; that is another symptom of the soul being in a sickly state.

Are there no such sickly ones here, no such diseased souls who feel certain in their minds they are not what they used to be? Now, if you are in the state I have been describing, you are in a sickly, diseased state; and you know it, too, if you are a child of God. Your conscience bears witness to it, and you sometimes cry out, "I long for the years gone by when God took care of me, when he lighted the way before me and I walked safely through the darkness." (Job 29:2,3). "I would rather," say you, "be in trouble than in this dead, lukewarm state. I read of the Laodicean church, of which the Lord said, 'So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue you out of my mouth' (Rev.3:16).

Am I a Laodicean, a deceived character, an empty professor? I, who have been slaying and back-biting at professors? What! Am I come to the same spot, as careless, as dead, and as stupid as they? O! What is the matter with my soul? Put forth your hand, and work in me, Lord. Let me rather go through a thousand hells than be deceived at last. Let me have stripe upon stripe, rod upon rod, affliction upon affliction, though my coward heart shrinks from them, rather than be at ease in Zion."

These are a few of the symptoms of the soul's being in a sickly state.

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