Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-09-24
(Original.l
DESPONDENCY.

Gods children are not at all times filled
with comfort. Sometimes the most devoutly
pious are the subjects of gloomy dependency.
Some have been brought near to the regions
of despair. They have concluded that they
either never had any grace, or if they ever
were the subjects of Gods regenerating spirit,
the work has ceased, and they are again dead
in trespasses and sins. Cases are on record
of such individuals, desiring to have their
names struck off the church book, lest the
church might be deceived, and they, by suf-
fering their names to remain on the records,
might bring disgrace upon the church of the
Redeemer. Surely such state of mind Is
very undesirable, and the individual who is
so afflicted, is an object of Christian pity and
sympathy That such an individual is in an
unhappy state of mind must be admitted but
that his soul is in a dangerous condition, is
by no means clear. The man who is in the
most dangerous condition is generally the
man who thinks that he is decidedly SAFE
At night he throws himself down upon his
bed and never thinks about the condition Of
his SOUL In the morning he wakes up and his
thoughts are engrossed, but not upon his eter-
nal destiny
The main cause of dependency in the true
Christian is want of faith. Not so much
want of faith in its existence, as in its exer-
else. During these periods Of dependency,
the believer looks away from Jesus and looks
at himself. His mind has been enlightened
by Gods word and by Gods spirit, and he
has correct views of human depravity and of
human inability. He sees his lost and ruined
condition, and feels his inability to do any
thing to extricate himself from the filth and
pollution of sin. His mind is filled with
gloom, and must 50 remain until he looks
away from himself and fixes his attention by
faith upon the atonement made by Jesus
Christ. So soon as this takes place, the spell
is broken and light is poured into the mind,
and joy into the soul.
Dependency is the work of Satan. He
leaves no means untried that he may draw
away the attention from the Saviour. All
that malignant hate can devise is resorted to
in order to keep the sinner from looking to
Jesus, and after he has looked, no stratagem
is left untried to turn away his attention from
the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin
of the world. Sometimes despondency is
brought on by sickness, by the loss of proper
ty, or by some other similar circumstances.
These circumstances, whatever they may be,
are the work of Satan. God, in his wisdom,
permits Satan to do many and grievous things.
He was permitted to tempt the Saviour, to
distress the patriarch Job, to take possession
of the bodies of various individuals, to make
some sick and others raving maniacs. Why
Satan is thus permitted to distress the people
of God, no one knows The fact is beyond
controversy. In that form of prayer which
Christ has given us, one petition is, "lead US
not into temptation" The meaning OF this
petition is, permit us not to be tempted. The
constant use of this petition, in flith, is the
only sure preventive against dependency.
The cure is the succeeding petition, "deliver
US from evil" He who will offer up contln-
ualy these two petitions, and looking up, ex-
pecting an answer, will be kept from despon-
dency, or bell Gods own good time, delivered
from it. The cures that are sometimes pre-
scribed for dependency, are as foolish as they
are Intellectual The sufferer is advised to in
dulge in the pleasures of gay society. If
young, the advice given, often, is to 60 to the
pleasure party, the ballroom and the glddy
dance. Such advice is exceedingly pleasing
to Satan. In other words, the cure which is
often prescribed for dependency, is is to be-
come dissipated. Such cure kills both soul
and body. Let the desponding 60 to Cod
let them trust in loving Saviour.
By Difficulties are whetstones sent to sharp
cn 0ur forttudes