We
often meet with those who complain of dryness and deadness
in their worship. They are very unlike the Psalmist's
picture of the "blessed man." "He shall be
like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth
forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not
wither." This is a true picture of the Christian
life. The soul should be as a watered garden—fresh and
green and sparkling. It should be a springtime. You have
seen a garden in the spring or one that is well-watered.
All is beauty, freshness, and vigor. Such a garden is used
by the prophet to symbolize the Spirit-filled soul. He
says, "And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and
satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and
thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of
water, whose waters fail not." Isa. 58:11.
In order to have such a happy
experience, however, the children of God must meet certain
conditions. The context says, "If thou draw out thy
soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul."
If our souls are not drawn out in pity for the hungry and
we fail to do what we can to relieve them, we need not
expect anything other than a spiritual drought in our own
cases.
Spiritual dryness is sometimes the
result of attachment to the world. "Set your
affections on things above and not on things on the
earth." Unless we live by the Bible, we can not be
spiritual. A little affection for the things of earth robs
the soul of spiritual life. In this matter Satan is an
excellent reasoner. He will suggest that your desires are
only for the glory of God; that you have no affection for
the worldly object, but desire it only for God's glory. A
young lady to whom I gave warning said that her desires
were pure and that she had no affection for the object,
but sought only to please the Lord. Very soon, however,
she came to the realization that her soul was a desert
place, and all because she had believed the falsehood of
Satan. Beware how you desire earthly things for God's
glory. Underneath may be a desire for self-gratification,
ease, or luxury. If you are troubled by a lack of sensible
devotion in worship, examine your affections. Possibly you
may find some tiny roots twining around something of this
world.
Spiritual dryness may be the result
of sloth. "Slothfulness casteth into a deep
sleep." Prov. 19:15. Spiritual idleness soon results
in spiritual dryness. That sophism of Satan's, "No
time for prayer," is very dangerous. Any neglect of
spiritual devotion must result in lukewarmness. Oh, how
unreasonable is man and how easily the desires of the
flesh deceive! If you neglected to water your garden, you
would not wonder for a moment why it was drying up. Then,
when you are neglecting to water the soul in vigorous,
spiritual exercises, why do you wonder at your being so
spiritually dull? "Awake, thou that sleepest!"
Up and away to the hill of the Lord. Be the frequent
witness of a sunrise scene from the mount of prayer.
The San Jose scale works
imperceptibly at first. Oftentimes its presence will be
detected only by the experienced. Its presence will
perhaps be known first by the fruit. If your spiritual
fruit is not as beautiful, well flavored, and fully
developed as it should be, look for the presence of sloth
in the soul. The poison of sloth will get into the soul
little by little. First there will be a momentary delay of
spiritual duties. Satan is too wise to suggest an entire
abandonment of them, but he will suggest a little
postponement. One delay will soon be followed by another
and then by another. These delays are an opiate that dulls
the spiritual senses, and thus they will yield more
readily to postponements and finally find pleasure in
them.
Let me make this still more simple,
for some may need it made very easy to understand. When
the soul is like a watered garden, it will be drawn to God
in prayer in the early morning. Any delay will cause
uneasiness and restlessness. The soul longs to hasten away
to the presence of God. But one little delay after another
brings on a morbid condition. The soul loses its keen
relish; its senses become deadened, so that there is no
uneasiness; while the senses of the self-life will find
pleasure in sloth.
When the soul once gets into the
habit of idleness, it experiences no little difficulty in
getting out. On becoming aware of his state, the
individual may acknowledge his inactivity and make
half formed resolves to be more earnest and diligent,
only very soon to relapse into the same former
sluggishness. This virus of sloth inoculates the entire
spiritual being, poisoning the will and making spiritual
activity most disagreeable. Not only does it destroy the
will of the soul, but it also blindfolds the eyes so that
the individual can see no necessity for great fervency in
spirit or for diligence in spiritual exercise. In a
half-dazed manner he acknowledges that the "watchings
often" and "fastings often" and
"praying always" of the apostle Paul were very
consistent in him, but does not realize that such would be
as desirable in his own Christian profession. He wonders
why he is not healed as people were in the days of Paul.
Why wonder? He does not wonder why the flowers wither when
it does not rain. It is the fervent, earnest prayer that
God hears.
Nothing but the greatest diligence
and determination and strong laying hold upon God will
ever put spiritual sloth to death. In this respect it is
like the South American animal called the sloth. Though
one species of the sloth is only the size of a cat, and is
extremely slow on the ground, its highest rate of speed
there being not more than ten feet an hour, yet it is
difficult to exterminate.
One reason why so many are slothful
is that they do not realize the true worth of prayer. Oh,
I would to God that men rightly valued communion with God
or a few thoughts of him! The lifting of the heart to God
in praise or adoration is of greater value than the wealth
of worlds. It is not enough to know much about the
doctrine of the Bible, to be acquainted with this present
reform, and to live a fair outward life; we must be filled
with the Spirit. We must be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water, whose leaf does not wither. Take plenty
of time to gain heaven. Take time to be spiritual. A home
in heaven is worth laboring for. Work out your salvation
with fear and trembling. Spiritual dryness is the result
of spiritual indolence. Be active and you will not be
unfruitful.
