Jottings on Resisting Evil, Truth, and Temptation
By Jos. Clarke
To resist evil once, gives courage to resist the same again. So to yield once makes it easy to yield at the next occasion of temptation. To feel that the realization of a truth or doctrine, in your own experience, has helped you on in your way to God, makes that truth a living reality. That truth or doctrine is to you brighter and more precious than the most fine gold, or the most precious of jewels. Without a living experience sacred truth is only a barren theory. Some minds are changeable. One moment may suffice to change them from a state of self-complacency and pride, to one of despondency and gloom. This may be remedied by avoiding both extremes; by living near to God; by cultivating a habit of watchfulness and prayer, and evenness and steadiness of purpose; by temperance, purity, and health; by industry, regularity, and thrift. “I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,” (see Mal. 3:11) is a promise for the last days, to God’s people. Farmers troubled with the Protean form which the devourer takes, the grasshopper, the weevil, the caterpillar, the potato-bug, the miller, the chintz-bug, the curculio, and a score of devourers, threatening almost every grain, and fruit, and vegetable, and even the mighty oaks of the forest,—we say that farmers, and all concerned in husbandry, should so live that they may claim this promise for themselves. Verily the ravages of worms, bugs, and flies of every variety, ever heard of, and new developments yearly, remind one of the plagues of Egypt. Naturalists are puzzled to account for the number, and variety, and hatefulness, and destructiveness of the armies of devourers, which are annually developed. To escape from temptation, is not yielding to it, and then obtaining pardon; nor is it running around it; but it is a victory, given in answer to prayer, in some unexpected way, bringing light and peace. See 1 Cor. 10:13. If your watch is out of order, you do not undertake its repair yourself, but place it in the hands of a skillful mechanic. Now if the heart is out of order, we should proceed on the same principle. Go to God to have it set right. Perhaps there is some radical defect; the mainspring may be out of order; you can keep your heart with all diligence, by the grace and help of God, but it must be set in order first, in good running order, and it must have a good regular motion. See John 3:1-21. The command to “keep the heart with all diligence,” is given to Christians. The unregenerated heart cannot apply this command to itself. The unconverted man should apply to himself another class of texts, such as this: “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, &c.” Matt. 11:28. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, &c.” Isa. 55:1. Also Isa. 1:18: “Though your sins be red like crimson” &c. An unskillful application of scripture, is the great mistake of the present day. Souls are fatally misled, entrapped, bewildered, lost, by giving the wrong text, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. Who is sufficient for these things? Let us all pray for the eyesight, or spiritual sight, by which we may discern how to apply scripture: not only the prophecies, but the vast variety of scripture relating to Christian experience, and that relating to sinners, in all states of mind; some to alarm, some to heal, some to comfort, some to humble, some to encourage; when, how, and where.