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Page 62
It is only, indeed, in their hours of relaxation that they select as
their favourite companions those who are professedly engaged in a
different service from their own--those whom they know to be devoted
heart and soul to the love and service of that "world which lieth in
wickedness."[95] Are not, however, their hours of relaxation also their
hours of danger--those in which they are more likely to be surprised and
overcome by temptation than in hours of study or of business? All this
is surely very perplexing to the young and inexperienced, however
personally safe and prudent it may be for those from whom a better
example might have been justly expected. It is deeply to be regretted
that there is not more unity of action and opinion among those who "love
the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity," more especially in cases where such
unity of action is only interfered with by dislike to the important and
eminent Christian duty of self-denial.
I am inclined to apply terms of stronger and more general condemnation
than any I have hitherto used to those amusements which are more
especially termed "public."
You should carefully examine, with prayer to be guided aright, whether a
voluntary attendance at the theatre or the race-course is not in a
degree exposed to the solemn denunciation uttered by the Saviour against
those who cause others to offend.[96] Can that relaxation be a part of
the education to fit us for our eternal home which is regardless of
danger to the spiritual interests of others, and acts upon the spirit of
the haughty remonstrance of Cain--"Am I my brother's keeper?"[97] For
all the details of this argument, I refer you to Wilberforce's
"Practical View of Christianity." Many other writers besides have
treated this subject ably and convincingly; but none other has ever been
so satisfactory to my own mind: I think it will be so to yours. I am
aware that much may be said in defence of the expediency of the
amusements to which I refer; and as there is a certainty that both of
them, or others of a similar nature, will meet with general support
until "the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of the Lord and of
his Christ,"[98] it is a compensatory satisfaction that they are neither
of them without their advantages to the general welfare of the country;
that good is mixed with their evil, as well as brought out of their
evil. This does not, however, serve as an excuse for those who, having
their mind and judgment enlightened to see the dangers to others and the
temptations to themselves of attending such amusements, should still
disfigure lives, it may be, in other respects, of excellence and
usefulness, by giving their time, their money, and their example to
countenance and support them. Wo to those who venture to lay their
sinful human hands upon the complicated machinery of God's providence,
by countenancing the slightest shade of moral evil, because there may be
some accompanying good! We cannot look forward to a certain result from
any action: the most virtuous one may produce effects entirely different
from those which we had anticipated; and we can then only fearlessly
leave the consequences in the hands of God, when we are sure that we
have acted in strict accordance with His will. Does it become the
servant of God voluntarily to expose herself to hear contempt and
blasphemy attached to the Holy Name and the holy things which she loves;
to see on the stage an awful mockery of prayer itself, on the
race-course the despair of the ruined gambler and the debasement of the
drunkard? The choice of the scenes you frequent now, of the company you
keep now, is of an importance involved in the very nature of things,
and not dependent alone on the expressed will of God. It is only the
pure in heart who can see God.[99] It is only those who have here
acquired a meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light[100] who
can enjoy its possession.
It is almost entirely in this point of view that I have urged upon you
the close consideration of the permanent influences of every present
action. At your age, and with your inexperience, I know that there is an
especial aptness to deceive one's-self by considering the case of those
who, after leading a gay life for many years, have afterwards become the
most zealous and devoted servants of God. That such cases are to be met
with, is to the glory of the free grace of God: but what reason have you
to hope that you should be among this small number? Having once wilfully
chosen the pleasures of this life as your portion, on what promise do
you depend ever again to be awakened to a sense of the awful alternative
of fulfilling your baptismal vows, by renouncing the pomps and vanities
of the world, or becoming a withered branch of the vine into which you
were once grafted--a branch whose end is to be burned?
Without urging further upon you this hackneyed, though still awful
warning, let me return once more to the peculiar point of view in which
I have, all along, considered the subject; namely, that each present act
and feeling, however momentary may be its indulgence, is an inevitable
preparation for eternity, by becoming a part of our never-dying moral
nature. You must deeply feel how much this consideration adds to the
improbability of your having any desires whatever to become the servant
of God some years hence, and how much it must increase in future every
difficulty and every unwillingness which you at present experience.
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