{"id":24841,"date":"2025-05-04T23:25:40","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T23:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/?p=24841"},"modified":"2025-05-04T23:25:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T23:25:40","slug":"observation-is-a-good-teacher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/2025\/05\/observation-is-a-good-teacher\/","title":{"rendered":"Observation Is A Good Teacher\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201dThen I saw and considered it well: and received instruction.\u201d\u2014Proverbs 24:32<\/strong><\/p>\n

Observation is the life of understanding, experience is the joy of faith, learning good from others harms is true wisdom. Can we look around us, among the circle of our professing acquaintance, and not see the awful effects of slothfulness in the ways of God. What supine indolence in the cause of Jesus, and careless indifference as to the health and prosperity of the soul, do we behold! A very affecting description of this the Spirit of wisdom here presents to our view: \u2018I went by the field of the slothful,\u2019 the once seemingly growing and shining professor, and lo, it was all grown over with thorns; the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches have choked the word.\u2019 Matt. 13:22; \u2018and nettles have covered the face thereof;\u2019 the rank weeds of corrupt lusts, sensual gratifications, carnal pleasures and delights overspread the life and conduct;\u2018the stone wall of the vineyard is broken down;\u2019 the soul lying open and unfenced against the incursion of the beasts of prey, Satan, the men of this world, carnal company; senseless of its danger, and slothful to all means of deliverance, the poor soul composes itself with \u2018yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.\u2019 Is not this a striking, though awful likeness? Do we not almost daily behold its original? How melancholy the sight, how alarming the conduct, how dreadful the sentence! \u2018So shall thy poverty come as one that travaileth, and thy want as an armed man;\u2019 being without power thou canst not withstand it. See this, oh soul; remember thy calling is to diligence. \u2018Consider it well,\u2019 what sad effects spiritual sloth produce. \u2018Look upon it\u2019 as a frame and temper of soul to be constantly dreaded, and earnestly prayed against, \u2018and receive instruction:\u2019 \u2018For whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning.\u2019 To what end? To show what has happened to others. They are \u2018ensamples to us, and for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.\u2019 1 Cor. 10:11, 12. The apostle speaks of \u2018things that accompany salvation.\u2019 Heb. 6:9. Diligence in the ways of God is one of these things; without this we cannot enjoy the full assurance of hope, that we are \u2018followers of them who, through faith and patience, do now inherit the promises.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I love the volumes of thy word;<\/p>\n

What light and joy those leaves afford<\/p>\n

To souls benighted and distrest!<\/p>\n

Thy precepts guide my doubtful way.<\/p>\n

Thy fear forbids my feet to stray,<\/p>\n

Thy promise leads my heart to rest.<\/p>\n

Thy threat\u2019nings wake my slumb\u2019ring eyes.<\/p>\n

And warn me where my danger lies:<\/p>\n

But \u2019tis thy blessed gospel, Lord,<\/p>\n

That makes my guilty conscience clean.<\/p>\n

Converts my soul, subdues my sin.<\/p>\n

And gives a free but large reward.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Observation is the life of understanding, experience is the joy of faith, learning good from others harms is true wisdom. Can we look around us, among the circle of our professing acquaintance, and not see the awful effects of slothfulness in the ways of God. What supine indolence in the cause of Jesus, and careless indifference as to the health and prosperity of the soul, do we behold! A very affecting description of this the Spirit of wisdom here presents to our view:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":325,"featured_media":20656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1571],"tags":[1197],"class_list":["post-24841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-william-mason","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24841"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24858,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24841\/revisions\/24858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}