_DESOLATIONS WROUGHT BY SIN_
"_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."