New England Religious Herald

A Healthy Soul.

BY REV. JONATHAN BRACE.

A healthy soul! Yes. If there are healthy bodies, there are healthy souls. And the second are of more value than the first. Bodily distempers are but temporal, whereas soul disorders may be eternal. It is to be desired, much desired, that we be well as respects the flesh, but more so, infinitely more so, that we be well as respects the spirit. And yet how little is this thought of! How little care is taken, how little solicitude is manifested for the sin-sick soul!

The interrogatory is often put by one individual to another—"How do you do?" referring to his bodily health merely. But we are complete beings, with a soul and body; why not then ask, How does your soul do? There surely ought to be nothing strange in such an inquiry, and we now put it to our readers. And that they may be enabled intelligently and truly to answer it, we mention some signs of a healthy soul.

The healthy soul has in it a principle of divine life. Evidently there can be no health where there is no life; and this is the sad condition of all unrenewed men; they are dead. "Dead in trespasses and sins." Not that they have not a rational nature and a moral constitution, and are free, accountable agents; but that they are totally destitute of holiness—have no spiritual vitality. This is the state of all unregenerate men in relation to spiritual exercise. They are dead. As a corpse is insensible—sees not, hears not, and feels not; has no eye for the charms of creation, no ear for its music, and is unaffected by what passes in the world; so with unrenewed men in reference to divine and eternal things. They see no beauty in religion and gospel truth, no loveliness in Christ, hear not the calls of God, and are unmindful of the claims of their Creator. They have indeed a living intellect and moral power, but these are so perverted in their action as respects spiritual things, that they are as if they were not. They are by nature dead in sin. Hence the absolute necessity of the Spirit's influence. Where this influence is savingly sent, the persons upon whom it is sent, are said to be regenerated, born again, born of God, made alive. The healthy soul knows what it is to have been quickened by grace, to have been made alive unto God. He remembers the time when he was alienated from the life of God; when a sinner, he was "dead in trespasses and sins;" when he was a "child of wrath," when he saw no beauty in Christ, and cared not for the welfare of his imperishable spirit. And he remembers also the time when he was regenerated, raised from this death of sin to the life of religion, by the agency of the Spirit of God on his heart. He who knows nothing of this, has no spiritual health, no life of piety within him.

The healthy soul is pervaded by a conscious sense of the divine presence. It is the criminal and unhappy condition of all our fallen race, till the inspired command, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee life," has been practically obeyed by them, and the truth of the promise felt by them; that they have no sense of the surrounding presence of their Creator. "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God, but say unto the Almighty, depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways." Though encompassed with the perfections of the Infinite; though traces of his skill and goodness shine everywhere conspicuous—appear upon the blue arch above us, and the round earth upon which we tread; though he is the author of our being and our benignant bountiful parent, who feeds, clothes and crowns us with favors, and whom every generous and noble principle and feeling calls us to love and glorify; yet to men in their natural state he is without comeliness, uncongenial to their views and tastes, and is expelled from their thoughts! But with those who have been quickened by the regenerating Spirit, those whom "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made free from the law of sin and death," it is otherwise. They are conscious of his presence, and rejoice in it. They love to think that he is near, and that his eye is ever on them; and are carried up by the beauty and grandeur of his works, to the venerated One who sits upon the throne. "How precious," says one of this number—"how precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God." My heart is filled with joy and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips, when I think of thee upon my bed, and meditate upon thee in the night watches." This sense, too, of the surrounding presence of the Eternal, is restraining in its influence, weakens the force of temptation, and deadens the power of sin in the soul. "How shall I do this great wickedness," said Joseph, "and sin against God!" God near him, occupying his thoughts, and engrossing his affections, on that majestic and excellent Being, his dearest wishes and fondest hopes centered, and in the enjoyment of his love, was he satisfied. So is it with every healthy soul. It cherishes the remembrance, and bows to the supremacy of a present God. It dwells upon him in thought, and has an interest in him, sacred and tender beyond expression.

The healthy soul has an appetite and taste for divine and heavenly things. The man in life and health, has an appetite, and not only craves food, but has also a proper taste for it. His taste is not feverish and vitiated, but is good and perfect. So the healthy soul has an appetite, and must be fed; has a taste, a new spiritual taste, which relishes what is spiritual and gracious. Nor is such a soul without food. As the Creator has provided food for all animals, and all flesh, even in their very infancy, so he has provided food for the new-born soul. And the first indication of grace—the first indication of this new life is, that the subject of it seeks and enjoys that food which God has provided. Hence if a soul is a healthy soul, it will relish what conduces to health—what imparts spiritual vigor—what is appropriate fuel to the inward flame which the spirit has kindled—what will cause piety to flourish in the inner man of the heart. Consequently he will love prayer; for this is the appointed medium by which the Father of mercies conveys mercies—the golden conduit by which "light and strength and pardoning grace and glory" flow down into the heart! Consequently he will love religious conversation—converse with his brethren in Christ on themes of holy truth—for hereby are the sensibilities kindled, the spirit refreshed, and growth in grace secured. Consequently he will love the sanctuary; the place where God's honor dwelleth—where his praises are sung and his ordinances administered, and where is gathered every motive calculated to rouse a dormant immortality. All these, and whatever else is calculated to enlighten the understanding, enliven the affections, feed faith, and confirm the soul in purposes of good; is the healthy soul fond of, and longs for!

Show me the man who rarely reads his Bible, giving papers and other books the preference to this book of books; show me a man who is rarely upon his knees, holding communion with high heaven through the consecrated channel of prayer; show me a man who avoids, rather than courts Christian, edifying conversation, with his brethren and sisters in Christ: show me a man who is irregular and late in his attendance upon the courts of the Lord, or is habitually listless and dull in the sacred temple, and I will show you one, who, whatever else he may be, is not a healthy soul—one, who, however he may prosper in other matters, wants soul prosperity! He has not the animation, he has not the appetite, he has not the taste of a living thriving disciple of Jesus. He may have the name, he may have the profession, but he hath not the thing. There may be the form, perhaps, of godliness—the empty, unsubstantial shadow, but there is not the substance, not the power!—N. Y. Evang.