Isaiah 57:14 And shall say, Cast you up, cast you up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling block out of the way of my people. 1. The want of a true and large ideal of Christian life, as an inward, spiritual and Divine disposition, and the attempt to live in mere conformity to rules, and with a vague impression that if one conforms to the Church he shall in some way, he knows scarcely how, be saved, is itself one of the causes of perpetual stumbling. The attempt to live merely for the fulfilment of social moralities; the attempt to live so that all the rules which are prescribed by all those who are governing in the Lord, shall be obeyed; the attempt to live upon any such low conception as that of regulations, conventions, observances, is sure to make the Christian life poor, and the travel uncertain. For "a new creature in Christ Jesus" is the apostolic definition of a Christian. Our aspiration and effort will be in proportion to the dignity and the ideality, if I may, so say, of our conception of what religion is. If we suppose it to be simply not doing evil, we shall put forth but very little exertion, and we shall receive but very little stimulus. 2. The attempt to live the Christian life with a low tone of feeling is a reason why men do not make greater progress. In all the writings of the New Testament you will find that fervour, intensity is required in every feeling. We not only need to have moralities, but we need to have Christian graces, which are, as it were, orchids, epiphytes, and fed upon higher and purer things — light, and moisture, and other elements that the air contains. Now, none of these can thrive in our temperate climate. A temperate climate is good for temperate things; but for intensities it is not good. And many dominant and characteristic traits of Christian character are such as never can be brought out without fervour. 3. Lack of deep and continuous devotion. This is either from the want of a sense of the great spirit-world on whose border we live perpetually, or it is the result of excessive occupation, over-occupation, which crowds all the time, and prevents one from ripening in a true Christian devotion. 4. Another hindrance which men find on the road of progress in their Christian life, is their ignorance as to the effect of outward activity in developing inward fervour, and the effect of inward fervour in developing outward activity — as to the effect of the reciprocal action of the inward and the outward life. Men arc accustomed to separate these qualities, which should never be disjoined. Men should be active that they may be emotive; and they should be emotive, that emotion may work into activity. 5. A very common hindrance to Christian development is the attempt of men to perform their Christian work outside of their appropriate spheres. Wherever you are, there begin the battle; there subdue everything that stands in conflict with the law of conscience, and the law of love, and the law of purity, and the law of truth. Begin the fight wherever God sounds the trumpet, and He will give you grace that as your day is, so your strength shall be. But until we cease dividing our life into two parts — secular and religious — we never shall be very eminent and consistent as Christians; we never shall make any very great progress in the Christian life. 6. Too much companion. ship is not good. 7. This stands closely connected with another social hindrance to the development of true Christian life, and that is, the addiction of men to pleasure. I mean not indulgence in wasting and disallowable pleasures, but an excessive addiction to recreation of any kind. We are bound to grow in grace. If we do not, grow, we are bound to know the reason why. (H. W. Beecher.) Parallel Verses KJV: And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people. |
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