As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
The accustomed course resumed
Dost thou ever raise thy little dam across the streamlet, and think to dry the bed below? Hast thou accomplished thy work, and stood watching awhile thy success? Hast thou seen the water above deepen and widen, and gather strength, and at length, impatient of restraint, push through thy yielding barrier, and resume its accustomed course? But couldst thou have turned the stream into another channel thou hadst triumphed, and the former bed had been left dry. So thou hast attempted, perhaps, to confine thy sinful will by the barrier of good resolutions. Thou hast seemed for awhile to gain thy point, and sin was at a stand. Alas! thou hast found that it but gained force by restraint; ere awhile the inclination has burst through all thy well-formed resolves, and hath rushed more impetuously than ever to the forbidden object. No; the will and affections must be turned into another course--towards God and heaven, and things spiritual; and then shall they cease to flow through the tempting vanities of this evil world. “This I say, then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Gal_5:16.) (H. G. Salter.)
