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SPIRITUAL DECLENSION CONSIDERED
TO take a retrospect of our past lives is always profitable: but it is not unfrequently attended with much pain. The man that has lived as without God in the world, how can he look back upon the days that are past, without feeling the deepest anguish of mind? Nor is a review of former days less distressing to one who from a life of spiritual peace and joy has fallen into a state of darkness and of spiritual death.
The change which Job had experienced, was both outward, in all that related to the body, and inward, in what related to his soul. The circumstances attendant on that change were so peculiar, that they are but little applicable to the Church at large: and the design of God in them was also very peculiar; it being not so much to punish the sin which yet remained in his servant, as to display, confirm, and augment the grace that had been imparted to him Into these peculiarities we shall not enter; because, though they might instruct and amuse our minds, they would not come home to men’s business and bosoms, or lead us sufficiently to a contemplation of ourselves. His temporal calamities we shall altogether overlook: and his spiritual troubles we shall notice only in a general view, as affording occasion for us to take a review of our past lives, and to see whether we have not reason for a similar complaint, “O that I were as in months past!” There had been a time when, as Job says, “the candle of God had shined upon his head, so that by the light of it he had been enabled to walk through darkness,” and when “God himself was with him,” and “the secret of God was upon his tabernacle.” So it may have been with us; and yet a most painful reverse have taken place. And so important do I conceive this subject to be, that I shall endeavour to cast upon it what light I can in the compass of one short discourse. A person anxious to know the state of his soul before God, would be ready to ask, What are the usual causes and precursors of spiritual declension? Whereby shall I ascertain whether it has taken place in me? and how, if such a change has taken place, shall I regain my former happy condition? To answer these questions, I will proceed, in a brief and partial manner, to point out the sources, the evidences, and the remedies of spiritual declension.
I. The sources of it—
It is obvious that, were we to attempt a full discussion of the subject, a whole volume would scarcely suffice for the consideration of it. We must therefore of necessity confine ourselves to a few leading topics, leaving a multitude of others, of nearly equal importance, untouched.
Amongst the sources which I will specify, the first is,
1. A remissness in secret duties—
[The duties of the closet, such as reading, and meditation, and prayer, are indispensably necessary to the welfare of the soul. As well might we hope that our bodies should retain their vigour without food and exercise, as that our souls should flourish without communion with God. The vegetable creation will not thrive without light; nor will the seed of Divine grace, which has been sown in our hearts, grow without the light of God’s countenance. But this returns not unsought, like the light of day: it must be sought, and sought with care too, or else it will be withheld, and the soul will be left to languish in darkness and distress. And in this respect is that word of our Saviour verified; “To him that hath, shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that which he hath [Note: Mat_13:12.].”]
2. An indulgence of some secret lust—
[Sin, of whatever kind it be, is “a worm at the root,” which will soon make the fairest gourd in the universe to wither. It matters not what the sin be: it may be pride, or envy, or malice, or revenge, or lust, or covetousness, or discontent, or sloth, or unbelief, or vain conceit, or any other; every man has some “sin which more easily besets him:” and that, whatever it may be, will grieve the Spirit of God, and provoke God to hide his face from us. “Sin of any kind will separate between him and us,” and deprive us of all his gracious communications: “If I regard iniquity in my heart,” says David, “the Lord will not hear me.” And our blessed Lord tells us, that “a right hand, or a right eye,” not sacrificed and abandoned, will plunge us, both body and soul, “into hell-fire [Note: Mar_9:43-48.].” No wonder then that any man declines in spiritual health, whilst some unsubdued sin lurks within him, and, “like a canker, eats up” all his strength [Note: 2Ti_2:17.].]
3. An undue and unnecessary entangling of ourselves in the affairs of this life—
[All have of necessity some worldly engagements, which it is their bounden duty diligently to perform. And many have a very great portion of their time necessarily occupied with worldly pursuits: nor are they at liberty to withdraw from a post which, though painful and difficult, God has evidently assigned them. But when we needlessly multiply our temporal concerns, we must expect to suffer loss in those which are spiritual. Our Saviour, in the parable of the sower, tells us, that the cause of vast multitudes not bringing forth fruit to perfection is, that “the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word that has been sown in their hearts, and render it unfruitful.” A man who “loads his feet with thick clay,” or suffers a long garment to impede the motion of his feet, does not wonder that he makes an inadequate progress in a race: and as little can it be wondered at, if a person, encumbered, unnecessarily or beyond a due proportion, with the cares or pleasures of this life, make not his profiting to appear in the ways of God.]
Supposing a spiritual declension to have taken place in us, what may we expect to be,
II. The evidences of it—
Spiritual decay will doubtless discover itself in every exercise of the soul, even as bodily weakness does in every function of the body. But, to instance it in two or three particulars. We may be sure that a declension has taken place, if we have suffered loss,
1. In the spirituality of our minds—
[In a soul that is in full health, there is a tendency upwards, not unlike that of a vessel or balloon, filled with light and buoyant air: it is fastened, as it were, by cords to the earth; but it discovers its proper tendency by repeated and continued efforts to ascend: and, as different cords are loosened, its efforts are more and more visible: and, when the last cord is cut asunder, it mounts to the heavens, as the regions it most affects. Thus the soul, in proportion as it is “filled with the Spirit,” aspires heavenward. But, if the vessel before referred to lose its buoyant powers, it ceases its a ë rial flight, and descends upon the earth: and from the effect no one is at a loss to infer the cause.
I will grant, that a pressure of worldly engagements may operate unfavourably in appearance, whilst there is no cause for self-condemnation in reality. The way to form an accurate judgment is, not so much to inquire, Whether the flights of the soul heavenward are less frequent than they were under different circumstances? as, What the tendencies of the soul are, when it is left at liberty to pursue the course it most affects? And, if in these seasons it evinces a heaviness and an indisposition to ascend, then may it be clearly seen, that the soul has suffered loss; and in proportion as it ceases to dwell in God by faith and love, God will cease to dwell in it by the vital energies of his Spirit: and then “its root will soon be as rottenness; and its blossom will go up as dust [Note: Isa_5:24.].”
2. In the tenderness of our conscience—
[The effect of grace in to make the conscience tender as the apple of the eye; to make us dread sin, and flee temptation, and use all possible means for the preserving of the soul pure before God. In one who is walking close with God, even a mote will not be suffered willingly to retain the place it has invaded; but will be wept out with tears of penitence and shame. But, if the conscience have lost its sensibility, so that it can now endure without emotion a fecling which would once have filled it with the acutest anguish, what shall we say? Can that soul be in a flourishing condition?
We must distinguish doubtless between a scrupulous and a tender conscience: for increasing light may have lessened its scrupulosity about indifferent matters, whilst yet its tenderness is undiminished in reference to every acknowledged duty. But, if the smaller commissions of sin or neglects of duty pass with less grief and indignation against them than formerly, the authority of God is weakened in the soul, the hatred of sin diminished; and, if a remedy be not speedily applied, “the last state of that soul will be worse than its beginning.”]
3. In the vigour of our exertions for God—
[A man that is right with God will always be saying, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me?” No labour will be grudged, no sacrifice accounted great, if only God may be glorified in him. But if the self-denial which once appeared unworthy of a thought is now become a burthen, and the efforts which once we made in the service of our God are now relaxed, we obviously have declined in real piety. Were we right, we should never think we had attained any thing as long as any thing was left to be attained, or done any thing as long as any thing was left to be done: but, forgetting what was behind, we should reach forward to that which was before: and our grief would be, that we could not do a thousand times more for Him who has done and suffered so much for us. If we are faint and weary in well-doing, it is plain and indisputable that our spiritual health has declined.]
Such backslidings however are not incurable, if only we apply, according to God’s prescription,
III. The remedies of it—
We may regain our former state,
1. By a renewed and more solemn repentance—
[This is the remedy prescribed by our Lord himself to the angel of the Church of Ephesus, when he “had left his first love:” “Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works [Note: Rev_2:4-5.].” We must look back and search out the occasions of our departure, from God: we must then examine the instances wherein our departure has appeared. For those we must abase ourselves before God in dust and ashes: and we must again and again apply to the blood of sprinkling for the remission of them. Not content with this, we must return to those better ways which we have forsaken, and resolutely give up ourselves with all our powers to the service of our God. If our grief was deep at our first turning unto God, it ought to be tenfold deeper now, in proportion as our guilt by reason of our backslidings from God is aggravated beyond that which we contracted by our rebellions in the days of our ignorance. We should add fasting also to prayer. If, as our Lord says, “The days come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them; and then shall they fast;” how much more ought we to fast, when by our own unfaithfulness we have driven the Bridegroom from us! We need only mark the neglect into which this duty has fallen, in order to see how low the standard of religion is, which is current in the world. But, if we would recover the peace and purity that we have lost, we must return unto God with the deepest contrition, and wash us from our guilt in the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness.]
2. By getting a sense of redeeming love into the soul—
[Without this, repentance will be of little avail. That will prepare the soul; but it is a sight of Christ only that will perfect it. That casts down; but this will raise us up. There is nothing that will effectually constrain the soul, but a sense of the love of Christ shed abroad in the heart. That regained, all else will be easy. And that is to be regained, not by slavish exertions, but by the simple exercise of faith. As in the first instance we come to him, not seeking to heal ourselves first, and then applying to him as the Physician, but by a simple dependence on his blood and righteousness; so we must do at all times and under all circumstances, trusting in him only as “our Righteousness and strength.” This reliance on his promises will alone cleanse us; and this view of his glory will alone change us into his image from glory to glory by the Spirit of our God.]
3. By keeping the nearness of eternity in view—
[This also is prescribed by our blessed Lord, as the means of augmented watchfulness, and of a more entire preparation for death and judgment. We know not at what hour our Lord will come. For aught that we know to the contrary, this very night our souls may be required of us. Now, if we bore this in mind, should we rest in a cold or lukewarm state? Should we not endeavour to have our loins girded and our lamps trimmed, and ourselves as those who wait for the coming of their Lord? Could we but, like the Apostle, learn to “die daily,” we should make no account either of labours or of sufferings, “if by any means we might attain unto the resurrection of the dead [Note: Php_3:10-11.].”]
Address—
1. Those who are conscious that they have occasion for this heart-rending complaint—
[Truly, Brethren, it is a painful thing to look back upon times and seasons, when, in comparison with the present, you had the enjoyment of God in your souls. What self-reproach do you feel in the retrospect, and what misgivings in the prospect of the eternity that awaits you! We are told that persons in your situation have “a certain fearful looking-for of judgment [Note: Heb_10:26-27.].” Be thankful, however, that it is not yet too late to regain your former peace; yea, you may have it yet increased and multiplied an hundred-fold. God has indeed said, that “the backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways [Note: Pro_14:14.]:” but he has also said, “Return unto me, ye backsliding children; and I will heal your backslidings, and love you freely; and mine anger shall be turned away from you. [Note: Jer_3:22. Hos_14:1-2; Hos_14:4.]” Return then in dependence on his promised mercy: then shall it be with you as in the months that are past; yea, and your last days shall be your best.]
2. Those who are making a progress in the divine life—
[Thrice happy souls! “To you to live is Christ; and to die it shall be gain.” How sweet is it to have the testimony of our conscience that we are living nigh to God, and walking daily in the light of his countenance! This is the way to be truly happy. This is the way to secure peace in a dying hour. “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.” Go on then; but not in your own strength, nor with unhallowed confidence. “Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” Yet let not this consideration fill you with slavish fear, but only make you watchful and dependent on God. God is able to keep you; and he will keep the feet of his saints; and, if only you commit your way entirely to him, he will “preserve you blameless unto his heavenly kingdom.”
“Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen [Note: Jude, ver. 24, 25.].”]