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"Let the people renew their strength." - Isaiah
41:1
All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continueth by itself.
"Thou renewest the face of the year," was the Psalmist's utterance. Even the
trees, which wear not themselves with care, nor shorten their lives with labour,
must drink of the rain of heaven and suck from the hidden treasures of the soil.
The cedars of Lebanon, which God has planted, only live because day by day they
are full of sap fresh drawn from the earth. Neither can man's life be sustained
without renewal from God. As it is necessary to repair the waste of the body by
the frequent meal, so we must repair the waste of the soul by feeding upon the
Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word, or by the soul-fattening
table of the ordinances. How depressed are our graces when means are neglected!
What poor starvelings some saints are who live without the diligent use of the
Word of God and secret prayer! If our piety can live without God it is not of
divine creating; it is but a dream; for if God had begotten it, it would wait
upon him as the flowers wait upon the dew. Without constant restoration we are
not ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, or the stern afflictions of
heaven, or even for the strifes within. When the whirlwind shall be loosed, woe
to the tree that hath not sucked up fresh sap, and grasped the rock with many
intertwisted roots. When tempests arise, woe to the mariners that have not
strengthened their mast, nor cast their anchor, nor sought the haven. If we
suffer the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and
struggle desperately for the mastery over us; and so, perhaps, a painful
desolation, and a lamentable disgrace may follow. Let us draw near to the
footstool of divine mercy in humble entreaty, and we shall realize the
fulfilment of the promise, "They that wait on the Lord shall renew their
strength. "
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