258. Soul-health.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. - 3 John 2.

THE gospel made a marvelous change in John. Once he could call fire from heaven on opposers; now, having received the Holy Ghost, he is full of love and kind desires.

The gospel makes the morose cheerful, the gay serious, the revengeful loving. Coming to such a one as John, it made him the mirror of love.

A man's private letters often let you into the secrets of his heart.

Instance Rutherford, Kirke White, Cowper, and John Newton.

In this letter, John gratefully wishes Gaius every blessing, and above all things better health.

Health is an invaluable mercy; it is never properly valued till lost.

But John puts soul-prosperity side by side with it. Man has two parts; the one corporeal and earthy, the other immaterial and spiritual.

How foolish is the man who thinks of his body and forgets his soul, neglects the tenant and repairs the house, prizes the earthen vessel and yet despises the treasure!

I. WE WILL EXAMINE THE WORDS OF THE TEXT.

1. "I wish"; more correctly, as in the margin, "I pray." Prayer is a wish sanctified. Turn your wishes into prayers.

2. "That thou mayest prosper." We may ask for prosperity for our friends, especially if, like Gaius, they serve God and his cause with their substance.

3. "And be in health." This is necessary to the enjoyment of prosperity. What would all else be without it?

4. "Even as thy soul prospereth." We are startled at this wish; the spiritual health of Gaius is made the standard of his outward prosperity! Dare we pray thus for many of our friends?

Dare we pray thus for ourselves? What would be the result if such a prayer were answered? Picture our bodies made like our souls.

Some would have fever, others paralysis, others ague, etc.

Let us bless God that the body is not the invariable index of the soul.

Few would care to have their spiritual condition expressed in their external condition.

II. WE WILL MENTION THE SYMPTOMS OF ILL-HEALTH.

1. A low temperature.

· Lukewarmness is an ill sign. In business, such a man will make but little way; in religion, none at all.

· This is terrible in the case of a minister.

· This is dangerous in the case of a hearer.

2. A contracted heart.

· While some are latitudinarian, others are intolerant, and cut off all who do not utter their Shibboleth.

· If we do not love the brethren, there is something wrong with us.

3. A failing appetite as to spiritual food.

4. A difficulty in breathing.

· When prayer is an irksome duty, everything is wrong with us.

5. A general lethargy: unwillingness for holy service, want of heart, etc.

6. An ungovernable craving for unhealthy things. Some poor creatures will eat dirt, ashes, etc. Some professors are ill in a like way, for they seek groveling amusements and pursuits.

III. WE WILL SUGGEST MEANS Of RECOVERY.

We will not here dwell upon the means God uses, though he is the great Physician; but we will think of the regimen we must use for ourselves.

1. Seek good food. Hear a gospel preacher. Study the Word.

2. Breathe freely. Do not restrain prayer.

3. Exercise yourself unto godliness. Labor for God.

4. Return to your native air; breathe the atmosphere of Calvary.

5. Live by the sea. Dwell near to God's all-sufficiency.

6. If these things fail, here is an old prescription: "Carnis et Sanguinis Christi." This taken several times a day, in a draught of the tears of repentance, is a sure cure. God help you to practice the rules of the heavenly Physician!

IV. WE WILL CONCLUDE WITH AN EXHORTATION.

Brother Christian, is it a small matter to be weak and feeble? Thou needest all thy vigor. Go to Calvary, and recruit thyself.

Sinner, thou art dead, but life and health are in Christ!