Isaiah 41:1

All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continues by itself. Thou renewest the face of the year, was the Psalmist’s utterance. Even the trees, which do not wear themselves out with care, nor shorten their lives with labor, must drink of the rain of heaven and suck from the hidden treasures of the soil.

The cedars of Lebanon, which God has planted, only live because day by day they are full of sap freshly drawn from the earth. Nor can human life be sustained without renewal from God. As it is necessary to repair the waste of the body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the waste of the soul by feeding upon the Book of God, by listening to the preached Word, or by the soul-fattening table of the ordinances.

How diminished our graces become when the means of grace are neglected! What poor starvelings some saints are who live without the diligent use of the Word of God and secret prayer! If our piety can live without God, it is not of divine creation; it is only a dream. For if God had begotten it, it would wait upon Him as the flowers wait upon the dew.

Without constant restoration, we are not ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, the stern afflictions of heaven, or even for the strifes within. When the whirlwind is unleashed, woe to the tree that has not drawn up fresh sap and grasped the rock with many intertwined roots.

When tempests arise, woe to the mariners who have not strengthened their mast, nor cast their anchor, nor sought the haven. If we allow the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and struggle desperately for mastery over us; and so, perhaps, a painful desolation and a lamentable disgrace may follow. Let us draw near to the footstool of divine mercy in humble entreaty, and we shall realize the fulfillment of the promise, They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.