All backsliding from God originates in a departure of heart from him: herein consists the essence and the evil of it. “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know, therefore, and see, that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken THE LORD THY GOD, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord of hosts” (Jeremiah 2:19).
– Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) –
from The Backslider: His Nature, Symptoms, and Recovery