"_The Lord hath spoken this word._" --ISAIAH xxiv. 1-12.
"The Lord hath spoken this word," and it is a word of judgment. It unveils some of the terrible issues of sin.
See the effects of sin upon the spirit of man. "_The merry-hearted do sigh._" Life loses its wings and its song. The buoyancy and the optimism die out of the soul. The days move with heavy feet, and duty becomes very stale and unwelcome. If only our ears were keen enough we should hear many a place of hollow laughter moaning with troubled and restless sighs. The soul cannot sing when God is defied.
But see another effect of sin. "_The earth moaneth._" That is a frequent note in Bible teaching. The forces of nature are mysteriously conditioned by the character of man. When man is degraded, nature is despoiled. The beauty of the garden is checked when man has lost his crown. "The whole creation groaneth in pain," waiting for the manifestation of the children of God.
Sin spreads desolation everywhere. When I sin, I become the centre of demoralizing forces which influence the universe. And so let me ever pray, "Deliver me from evil."
JUNE The Twenty-sixth
"_Arm yourselves likewise with the same mind._" --1 PETER iv. 1-8.
Let not the body be dominant, but the soul. Let me study the example and counsel of the Apostle Paul.
"_I keep my body under._" Literally, I pummel it! If it is obtrusive and aggressive, its appetites clamouring for supremacy, I pummel it! Paul was not afraid of severe measures where carnality was concerned. He would fast a whole day in order to put the flesh in its place. And so should it be with all the Lord's children. We are too self-indulgent. It is well at times to put the body on the cross, and crucify its cravings.
"_Give no occasion to the flesh._" Do not give it a chance of mastery! And, therefore, do not feed it with illicit thought. Turn the mind away from the subjects in which the body will find exciting stimulant. It is thought which awakes passion, and thought can do much to destroy it. "Set your mind on things which are above." Keep the mind pure, and the swine will never enter the holy place.
JUNE The Twenty-seventh