March - the Free Presbyterian church of Scotland

70The Free Presbyterian MagazineThe exhortation in the text implies that Christians are liable to lose thefervour of their first love. They are indeed prone to declension. The courseof the Christian is like that of a man rowing up the stream; if he is remiss forone moment he loses some part of the distance already gained. All the tendenciesof nature within him are downward, and all the influence from theworld is in the same direction. There is need therefore of constant exertion.We must not be slothful or grow weary in well-doing.In what follows, (1) some directions will be given to believers for keepingthemselves in the love of God; and (2) some motives will be presented tostimulate them to engage heartily in this work.1. Some directions. (1) Shun carefully all those circumstances and thingswhich are known to have a tendency to dampen the fervour of love or toextinguish this holy fire. Here a large field opens, but we do not have timeto occupy it. Only a few things out of many can be noticed. Above all, avoidevery sinful indulgence. Known, allowed sins of every kind are as water tothe fire. The love of God cannot live in the heart, where any sin is indulged.Fleshly lusts war against this holy principle. Flee youthful lusts. The love ofthe world is a common and insidious foe. Greed may be indulged to a greatextent, and yet no overt act committed which will alarm the conscience. Weshould remember that solemn warning: “If any man love the world, the loveof the Father is not in him”. “Love not the world nor the things that are in theworld.” Desire for the good opinion of men often leads even Christians toundue conformity to the world. “How can ye believe,” asks our Lord, “whichreceive honour one of another?”The neglect, or careless performance, of the duties of the closet, cannotbut have the effect of cooling the ardour of piety in the soul – especially theneglect of reading the Word of God, which is calculated to furnish fuel tothe fire of divine love. Avoid also contention and strife, as exceedingly hostileto the peaceful spirit of piety. “As much as lieth in you, live peaceablywith all men.” Every species of pride and vain glory, tends to extinguish theholy fervour of divine love. In short, whatever thought, feeling, desire, imagination,word or action has a tendency to grieve the Holy Spirit should beearnestly avoided.(2) We should often meditate on the superlative moral excellence ofGod’s character, as displayed in His works and Word. The habit of associatingthe idea of God with every object of nature is one of the happiest whichcan be formed. It brings God near to us wherever we are or whatever wemay be doing. In all our blessings and enjoyments, we should gratefullyacknowledge God as the Creator, “the Father of lights”, from whom comesdown “every good and every perfect gift”.