ASLEEP!

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 4, 1869

THERE is a state of indifference to religion so closely resembling the bodily condition called sleep, that it is appropriately called by the same name. The phenomena connected with it are similar to those associated with slumber. In the latter condition, men cease from their labor. The hands which, during the day, were busily employed, are now idle, save a few convulsive, unmeaning motions. So, in this soul-slumber, there is idleness. Religious duties are neglected; the Saviour is not sought; the church is not visited; prayer is not offered. These duties are vastly more important than those of a worldly kind; yet, while men are wide awake to the latter, they neglect the former. Once in a while conscience arouses the man, and he seems to put forth efforts for a new life; but these have so little heart and earnestness in them as to remind us of the spasmodic and unmeaning motions of the sleeper.

This indifference to religious interests is also represented by the unconsciousness of the sleeper. One by one his senses are closed to the external world. First the heavy eyelids fall, and he sees not; then the sense of smell is blunted; next the hearing becomes dull, and, last of all, he is insensible to touch. He now presents the strange spectacle of a living man, in fullness of health and strength, and yet totally unconscious of everything around him. Place before his eyes the most beautiful paintings, or the most brilliant gems; he sees them not. Bring to him a bunch of sweetest flowers, or an alabaster vase of richest perfume; he perceives not the fragrance which loads the air. Speak to him; tell him of danger—fire, famine, war, pestilence—or tell him of a rich inheritance bequeathed to him, and in evidence read to him his father's will. No impression is made; he heeds not. Touch him gently, and he does not awaken; he must be shaken before he can be aroused. So strongly locked are his senses by sleep that one might almost as well address himself to a log as to the sleeper.

The condition of the man who is indifferent to his religious state is precisely like this. Bring before him a vivid picture of his sins or of his Saviour, and he sees neither. Tell him that he is in danger of hell, but that if he will repent, and believe on Christ, he may be an heir of Heaven. He does not heed such godly admonitions, nor is he attracted by the prospect of such a heavenly inheritance. There are thousands of unconverted people who hear preaching every Sunday and are not affected by it. They become accustomed to the sound, as one may get used to the clangor of an alarm-bell, and sleep unconscious through it all. They daily transgress God's law, and have neither feeling nor care about it. They think themselves safe, just as the sleeper dreams of safety. They even consider sometimes the probability of reaching Heaven, and enjoying its raptures, just as the slumberer often dreams of wealth and joy which, alas! he is never to possess in reality.

The saddest fact in connection with this state of indifference is its danger. There are many subjects about which we may be perfectly indifferent, but religion is not one of these. The issues involved in it are of such importance that our hearts should be thoroughly aroused to their consideration. This consideration cannot safely be delayed; for while we delay, our opportunities for moral improvement pass on and may soon be out of reach. While the sleeper dreams in fancied security, the robber may be at work at his strong-box, or the hateful incendiary may apply the torch to his dwelling, or the stealthy assassin may stand

over him with a drawn dagger. So, while the ungodly man carelessly takes his ease, never thinking about his religious obligations, indifferent to all the pressing claims of God upon him, dreaming of heavenly happiness, Satan is setting snares and digging pitfalls in his path, and seeking in every way to destroy him.

Men who have been aroused from this sleep are surprised that they continued in it so long, and are amazed that others persistently maintain a careless spirit in spite of all the efforts made to awaken them. These careless persons are not by any means confined to the baser sort of men who neglect church, and engage in all manner of open wickedness. They are to be found, likewise, among respectable church-going citizens, who never think of making to their own hearts a personal application of the truths they hear. It is often easier to arouse the conscience of the hardened sinner than to arrest the attention of such. Many wicked men spend most of their lives outside the circle of church influences; and it is no rare occurrence to find them awakened by casually hearing a sermon for the first time, it may be, in many years. But these steady church-goers become so accustomed to the sound of preaching that they forget there is any meaning in it for them. How to reach them is a question which has painfully agitated many a pastor's heart. Once aroused and converted, and they make useful members of the church; but in their habitual state of indifference they fail to be useful, and are unconsciously sliding down to confirmed hardness of heart.—Methodist.