The Decay of Discipline in the Church

From a letter written by the Welsh pastor, John Elias, to Rev. Robert Jones, March 9, 1801:

Our churches stand in great need of divine support and help. The world as such is as well as can be expected; but the church is not so! I fear from the present approach of the church to the world, that we come nearer to the world than they do to us! I fear that much of that arises from the decay of discipline; and I think that much of that decay proceeds from not watching and ruling our own spirits. We weaken ourselves exceedingly by improper indulgences, and consequently we cannot rebuke them in others, as they are in us as well.

John Elias: Life, Letters and Essays, by Edward Morgan, first published in 1844, reprinted by the Banner of Truth, 1973, pp. 260-61.