Bible Commentaries

DISCOURSE: 478

SPIRITUAL DECLENSION CONSIDERED

Job 29:2. O that I were as in months past!

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: Matthew 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: Mark 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: 2 Timothy 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 λrial 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: Isaiah 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: Revelation 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: Philippians 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: Hebrews 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: Proverbs 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: Jeremiah 3:22. Hosea 14:1-2; Hosea 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.].”]

DISCOURSE: 479

JOB’S CHARACTER

Job 29:11-16. When the ear heard me, then it blessed me: and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me; because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not, I searched out.

TO boast of one’s own goodness is a sure mark of vanity and folly: of vanity, because it betrays an undue desire of man’s applause; and of folly, because it defeats its own end, and injures the reputation which it is intended to exalt. Nevertheless there are occasions on which we may, without any impropriety, declare facts, notwithstanding the mention of them does tend to proclaim our own praise. If, for instance, we have been calumniated, we may vindicate ourselves; and, if false charges have been adduced against us, we may refute them, by a candid and explicit statement of the truth. It was in this way that Job was led to speak of himself as he does in the passage before us. His friends had not only concluded from his extraordinary sufferings that he must have been peculiarly wicked, but they had undertaken even to specify crimes of which he had been guilty, and for which this afflictive dispensation had been sent [Note: Job 22:5-10.]. It was in answer to these unfounded charges that he delivered, what appears like an eulogium upon himself, but what was indeed nothing more than an appeal to facts for the establishment of his own innocence.

To us it is a singular benefit that such a statement was ever made; because it shews us, not only what our character ought to be, but what has actually been attained.

In order to make a suitable improvement of the passage, we propose to shew,

I. The excellence of this character—

From the particulars which are here enumerated we may distinctly notice,

1. The character itself—

[The first thing that attracts our notice is, Job’s diffusive benevolence. Misery, wherever it could be found, was the object of his tender compassion and assiduous regard: and the greater that misery was, the more imperious did he consider his call to relieve it. Were they poor, or blind, or lame, or widows, or fatherless, or friendless, he felt as a father towards them, and laboured to supply their every want. In the exercise of that benevolence he shewed the most active zeal. He did not stay till his interposition was sought for: but went to the most frequented parts of the city, and “prepared his seat in the street [Note: ver. 7.],” in order that all might have me readiest access to him, and be encouraged to spread their wants before him. Cases of considerable difficulty often occurred; but he spared no pains to inform himself of whatever might throw light upon the question, and to search to the bottom the truth or falsehood of every assertion, the force or nullity of every claim. No labour was accounted great, when it might tend to the relief of trouble or the confirmation of right. To this he added unblemished integrity. Nothing could for a moment bias his judgment, or induce him to swerve from the path of equity. It sometimes happened that he had to deal with powerful oppressors; but he was unawed by power, as well as unmoved by wealth: yea, the more power he found on the side of injustice, the more determinately he set himself to reduce it within its proper bounds: “he brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth:” and the effecting of this he accounted more honourable than any ornaments, either of magisterial robes, or of an imperial diadem [Note: ver. 14.].]

2. The excellence of it—

[See what was thought of it by all who beheld it in Job: “When the car heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me.” And we ask, Where is the man in the whole universe that must not admire it? What part of it is there that is not worthy of our imitation? That such a character will not be censured, we by no means affirm: but no man will censure benevolence, or zeal, or integrity, as such; they must first put a wrong construction upon it, before they will venture to utter one word against it.

From viewing it in itself, let us contemplate it in its aspect on society. What incalculable good must not arise from it! See but a single magistrate possessed of wisdom, of integrity, of power: see him laying out all his time, his strength, his influence in the composing of differences and in the relieving of every species of distress: see him doing this with disinterested zeal and unwearied diligence: will not such an one be esteemed as the “father of the poor?” and will he not “make many a widow’s heart to sing for joy?” See a minister of such a description, devoting himself with equal zeal to the administering of temporal comforts to the poor, and superadding a similar attention to their spiritual necessities: to how many will he be made a source of good, becoming “eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame!” Surely in many instances “the blessing of him that was ready to perish” will come on such a minister, and the eyes and ears of multitudes will bear witness to him. The same is equally true of all that are in private life, according to the extent of their sphere and the steadiness of their exertions. And if once such were to become the general character of society, it would go far to banish evil, moral as well as temporal, from the world.]

The excellence of this character being established, we will proceed to mark,

II. The importance of cultivating it in ourselves, and of encouraging it in others—

1. Of cultivating it in ourselves—

[Were there nothing more than the acquiring of such intrinsic worth, and the being so assimilated to Jesus, “who went about doing good,” it were most desirable that we should be imitators of this holy man. But a resemblance to him is not merely desirable; it is necessary; for by our conformity to his character we must judge of our state before God; and by it we shall be judged in the last day.

The highest attainments, whether of knowledge or of faith, are nothing in God’s estimation, without an active, constant, self-denying exercise of love [Note: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.]. This is the test by which we are to try our religion. We are told expressly, “that pure and undefiled religion is, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction [Note: James 1:27.]:” and that by “bearing one another’s burthens we fulfil the law of Christ [Note: Galatians 6:2.].” Without this, our faith is no better than the faith of devils [Note: James 2:14-19.], and all our professions of love to God are mere hypocrisy. God himself repeatedly appeals to us on this very subject, as though he were willing to abide by the testimony of our own consciences [Note: 1 John 3:17; 1 John 4:20.]. To have any just evidence therefore that we belong to Christ, we must tread in the steps of holy Job. This is the rule prescribed by that loving and beloved disciple, John: “My little children, let us love, not in word and in tongue, but in deed and in truth: for hereby know we that we are of the truth; and shall assure our hearts before him [Note: 1 John 3:18-19.].” These are “the things that accompany salvation [Note: Hebrews 6:9-10.];” and by abounding in them we shall obtain a full assurance of hope [Note: Hebrews 6:11.], and an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord [Note: 2 Peter 1:7; 2 Peter 1:10-11.].

But these habits are also necessary, because by our proficiency in them we shall be judged in the last day. Who can read the account of the day of judgment as given us by Christ himself, and not wish that he had cultivated more the dispositions of Job? Who that lives for himself, does not see cause to tremble? Let us deeply consider and diligently weigh the declarations of Christ [Note: Matthew 25:34-36; Matthew 25:41-43.], and we shall need no further arguments to prove the importance of cultivating love — — —]

2. Of encouraging it in others—

[It is thought by many, that it is better to distribute their alms themselves, than to do good through the medium of others. We grant that all may find proper objects of charity within their own immediate neighbourhood; and that, if every one would exert himself within his own circle, there would be little comparative need of persons to dispense our alms for us. But we know that some want time, some inclination, some ability, to seek out the poor, and to impart to them spiritual instruction with temporal relief. Though therefore we certainly admit that it is well to reserve a portion of our alms for our own personal distribution, yet we cannot but say that it is of peculiar importance to encourage the activity of others; for by that, more extensive good is done—more grace is called forth into exercise—and more honour is brought to religion.

More extensive good is done.—Numberless are the cases wherein the poor require more assistance than it would be possible for an individual to afford them. It is on this account that hospitals and other public charities have been so universally established. For the same reason a society for relieving the poor must be of the greatest utility, because that can be done out of a public fund which cannot be done out of a private purse. Moreover, where persons who have some degree of leisure and ability devote themselves to the various offices of charity, it must be supposed that they will acquire a greater fitness for the work, and consequently will perform it to more advantage. Besides, many, however fit for the work, and well disposed towards it, have not time to spare; and consequently much good must be left undone, if those who have time be not encouraged and enabled to improve it in this way.

More grace also is called forth into exercise.—We will suppose that in either case the same degree of grace is exercised both by the donor and the receiver of the alms: still the employing of the services of others has greatly the advantage; because it calls forth their graces, and strengthens in them a habit of benevolence. Methinks, it is like the training of soldiers for war; which gives them a martial spirit, and renders them more efficient in their work. Many there are, possessed of wisdom and piety, who yet, on account of the narrowness of their own circumstances, are unable to visit the poor; because they cannot shew their sympathy in such a way as to render it acceptable to the poor themselves. But, if they be employed as the dispensers of the charity of others, they have scope for all the finer feelings of their souls, and are enabled to “rejoice with them that rejoice, as well as to weep with them that weep.”

We may add further, that more honour also is brought to religion.—It is said by the enemies of the Gospel, that the doctrine of salvation by faith alone leads to a neglect and contempt of good works. But, with Job, we will appeal to facts: Who are they that most abound in good works; those who talk about them, and profess to make them the ground of their hopes? or those who build all their hopes of salvation on Christ alone? Amongst which of these two classes shall we find those, who, not having funds of their own, are willing to become the almoners of others, that they may exert themselves with more effect in every office of love both to the bodies and the souls of men? The matter is too notorious to admit a doubt. And does not this tend to the honour of religion? and do not they consult the interests of religion, who encourage such societies? Yes: and our answer to all who decry our faith is, “Outdo us in good works [Note: Here the excellence of any particular charity may be stated, with a suitable exhortation to support it.].”]