verted children, and be a missionary to them. Think of your physician, perhaps, who is laying himself out to save your body, while he is losing his own soul, and you receive his kindness and never make him the greatest return in your power. It is necessary that the church should take hold of her young converts at the outset, and set them to work, and set them to work right. The hope of the church is in the young converts. 4. We see what a responsibility rests on ministers, and elders, and all who have opportunity to assist in training young converts. How distressing is the picture which often forces itself upon the mind, where multitudes are converted, and yet so little pains taken with the young converts, that in a single year you cannot tell the young converts from the rest of the church. And then to see the old church members turn round and complain of these young converts, and perhaps slandering them, when in truth these old professors themselves are most to blame. O, it is too bad. This reaction that people talk so much about after a revival, as if reaction was the necessary effect of a revival, it would never come, young converts never would backslide as they do, if the church were prompt and faithful in attending to their instruction. If they are truly converted, they can be made thorough and energetic Christians. And if they are not such, Jesus Christ will require it at the hands of the church. LECTURE XXI. BACKSLIDERS. TEXT.-"The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways."--Proverbs xiv. 14. In remarking on this text I shall inquire, I. Who are backsliders? II. Mention some of the causes of backsliding. And I. Who are backsliders? 1. The term backslide means to go back from a point. In its widest signification when applied to religion, it may mean the declension of any class of persons who profess religion, whether they possess it or not. If they have professed religion, and have at any time conformed their lives to its rules so far as to appear to be religious, and if they then go back from even the appearance of religion, they are called backsliders, although their profession may have been a mere form. So it is equally customary to call them backsliders, whether they apostatize wholly from all religion, or change to another religion. In this sense it is often used under the Old Testament dispensation. God's people used to be spoken of as backsliders, when they went off to idolatry, as well as when they grew lax and unprincipled in the duties of religion. In the sense in which I use the term to-night, I mean by a backslider to denote a person who is truly converted and is a Christian, but has left his first love. His zeal has grown cold. The ardor of his feelings and the depth of his piety are abated. Such a person is a "backslider in heart." He may keep up all the forms of religion, attend to worship, public and private, and read his Bible, and go through all these exercises regularly, but the spirit of it is gone-al the fine edge of pious feelings is blunted. He is a backslider in heart. Probably this applies to some of you who hear me to-night. God knows whether it does or not. Your own consciences will tell you, if you will let them speak. Have you less ardor of feeling, less fixedness of purpose, less faithfulness in duty? If you have, then I mean you. God means you. He calls you backslider. That is your name-you, elder in the church; or you minister, if there be any such here; you woman-no matter what is your standing in the church, if that is the description of your character, then you are a backslider. And so you stand entered on the book of God. 2. The backslider is any one who was once converted, but who does not enjoy secret prayer, and hold daily communion with God. A man may keep up the form of prayer, he may be on his knees a great deal, and yet have no communion with God-not feel that God is present with him. He may pray ever so much, in form, and yet have no spirit of prayer. If in your secret prayer you do not actually draw near to God, you are either a backslider in heart or a hypocrite. No matter to what church you belong, or what office you hold, or what character you may bear in the sight of men; God regards you as a backslider, if you do not enjoy the spirit of prayer. 3. If you do not enjoy the word of God, you are a backslider in heart. If you do not habitually form your practical views from it, you are a backslider. If you do not delight in the Bible more than in any other book, if you find you can relish reading any commentary as well as you do the naked text itself, you have begun to backslide. I do not hesitate to say, that the man who finds he can relish the best commentary that ever was written, as well as he does the simple word of God, has begun to backslide. If he has gone still farther, and thinks he has read the Bible about enough, and that now he will take up other things and study, he is far gone. TAKE CARE, professor! If you find that when you read a chapter it is dark and uninteresting, your name before God is Backslider. 4. If you are worldly minded, you are a backslider. If you find the things of the world are uppermost in your mind, and occupy your first thoughts in the morning, or press spontaneously upon your attention as soon as you are alone, if your associations and thoughts and feelings are earthly, you are a backslider in heart. 5. If you do not feel your heart drawn out in painful anxiety and prayer in view of the state of the church, it is because you are a backslider. If you can look at the state of the churches in this city without pain, and grief of heart, and deep anxiety, you must be a backslider in heart. 6. If you are insensible how low the state of religion is, you are a backslider. Many people, when they see congregations as large as usual, and when there are no dissensions among them, will say, "There is a very pleasant state of things among that people; it is a very prosperous parish; how quiet and peaceful every thing is there; it is delightful." And all this, notwithstanding there may be no conversions there, no souls saved. A person who can call that a pleasant and prosperous state for a congregation, must be either a backslider or a hypocrite. If he was not, he would never rest in such a state of things, he would never be satisfied until he knew that sinners were turning from their sins. The man that can rest satisfied with any thing short of this, must have, to say the least, but a very superficial piety. 7. When the wickedness of sinners does not distress and grieve you, it is a sign of backsliding. If any one can hear sinners profane the name of God, and see them break the Sabbath, or do other abominations, and not groan and sigh and pray and grieve for them, he must be a backslider. How little you feel Like the Psalmist, when he says in regard to the wicked, “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law." "Horror hath taken hold upon me, because of the wicked, that forsake thy law." "I beheld the transgressors and was grieved, because they kept not thy word." So does every Christian, who is not a backslider, grieve at the transgressions of the wicked. 8. A person may be known as a backslider, when his secret prayers are short, and far between. Persons who enjoy prayer, pray very frequently. If you pray but seldom, or if you do not pray as often as you eat, or do not spend as much time in communion with God as you do in gratifying your appetite, it is a sign you have backslidden. You did not do so when you enjoyed your first love. Then you had rather pray than eat. Your feeling was, that if you must cut short one, you would say, Let the body fast, but my soul must be fed. It is to be feared that very many in the church do not pray as much as they eat. They are not so frequent, nor so regular, and do not spend as much time. Let them take care. Depend upon it, if they do so, their table will prove a snare and a trap to them. He is a glutton, or worse, who spends more time in eating, than he spends with God in prayer. 9. When you can perform secret prayer in a slight manner. If a person can go to his closet end pray slightly, without any honest fervency of soul before God, or any wrestling with God for a blessing, it is proof that he is a backslider. 10. When you suffer trifling excuses to prevent your praying, either in secret, or in public. Point me to a man who absents himself from his closet for trifling reasons, or who is kept from the house of God by frivolous excuses, that man's name is backslider. If not, he would make eating and every thing else give way to his regular hours of devotion; and the reason would be, that he enjoyed more in prayer and the word of God, than in his daily food. Job says, "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." If you find that a slight indisposition or inconvenience will keep you from the house of God, and lead you to set aside private duties, you are a backslider. Perhaps I ought here to ask each one of you who hear me tonight, whether this is your case. Have I mentioned facts that apply to you, and that you know refer to you? Beloved, do any of you do these things? If you do, let the truth reach your hearts. Do not apply it to your neighbor, do not give it away, but take it home to yourself. You need it, it will do you good, if you will let it. If these things belong to you, just be honest with yourself, and write your name "Backslider," and act accordingly. II. I am to mention some of the principal causes of backsliding. 1. Ill will towards any person. If ill will is harbored towards any being that God has made, you cannot continue to enjoy the presence of God. No matter how wicked that being may be, or how worthless, if you hate that being, you are the same as a murderer in the sight of God, and the spirit of God cannot dwell with you. You must be a backslider. Sometimes persons who are perhaps really injured, will let it fester in their minds, and. rankle there, till it eats out all their piety. You cannot pray, when ill will towards any. I defy you to pray have you with such a spirit in you. God will not hear your prayer. If you think you pray, you are deceived. You cannot have the spirit of prayer, nor hold communion with God, in such a state. "When ye stand praying, FORGIVE, if ye have aught against any, that your Father, also, which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses." any 2. Another fruitful source of backsliding is having too much worldly business. If you have so much worldly business as to absorb your thoughts, and take up too much of your time, you will backslide. You ought not to have so much business that you cannot pray. And you need not. God does not require it. He does not wish his clerks to have so much work to do that they cannot get time to confer with him, to tell him their situation and progress, and ask his direction. If you accumulate so much business that you cannot attend on God, it is evident that you have not right views of business. If you really considered it as God's business, you would not think that this was the best way |