with God and in the atmosphere of heaven. His
light is dim. His glory has departed.

The last indication of religious declension that we shall now speak of
is a careless indifference to the danger arising from temptation. A
Christian whose piety is warm and vigorous has great tenderness of
conscience. He dreads the least approach of evil. Even the suggestions
of sin to the mind are painful. He therefore prays earnestly and daily,
"Lead me not into temptation," and carefully avoids placing himself in
dangerous circumstances. Sometimes, however, you will see professing
Christians who seem to want this instinctive sense of danger. They often
place themselves in circumstances when they might easily have foreseen
their strength of principle would be liable to be put to the severest
test. They keep company in which it is nearly impossible that their
moral feelings should not be defiled. They allow themselves to assort
with the idle, the frivolous, with those who are given to foolish
talking and jesting; they indulge idle thoughts, repeat amusing stories,
read hooks and papers that do not gender to piety, etc. But he who is
willing to go as far toward evil as he can with safety, has lost one of
the greatest safe-guards of virtue. He who is ready to tamper with
temptation is on dangerous ground and in a sad state of declension. O
reader, turn ye about, shake loose from the world, draw nigh to God, let
the deep breathings waft your soul upward and upward to greater heights
in God's joy and love, and this world will only be a dim specter in the
distance.

DILIGENCE.

"O for a closer walk with God!" This is the inward pleading of many a
precious blood-washed soul. I beg leave to tell you that that fulness of
God, that deep and perfect satisfaction of soul, that sweet feeling of
deep reverence, that hushed and sacred feeling of awe, that close walk
with God, is _obtained_ and _retained_ only by the _utmost_ diligence.
Slothfulness in the Christian life is a sure source of degeneration.
Too frequently when saints reach "fair Canaan's happy land" they think
they have nothing now to do but to sing and shout and praise God and go
to heaven "on flowery beds of ease." To every newly arrived Christian in
Canaan is given the command, "Go forward and possess the land." To do
this battles must be fought, giant foes must be defeated, and the
greatest diligence must be practised. God promised ancient Israel to
drive out all the nat