Fanny. Dear Ellen, I have another thought in my head about my baptismal vow, which I dare say you will let me tell you.

Ellen. By all means-what is it, Fanny?

Fanny. I have lately promised to 'renounce the devil and all his works,' all the vain pomp and glory of the world, all carnal devices of the flesh, and to believe what God has declared, to obey what he has commanded; and I have a mighty friend to help me—even the Lord Jesus Christ. I have a fearful enemy, even Satan, whom I have promised to renounce. I think I have not as yet sufficiently considered this ;—I mean, I have not realized that Satan is a personal enemy to me. Do you think you understand what I mean?

Ellen. Yes, dear, I have often thought the same thing myself: I think we consider our great enemy too much as an evil principle instead of an evil spirit, "walking about seeking whom he may devour." If we took this scriptural view of the subject, we should be more lively and active in our resistance of sin. A friend of mine once told me, that she had contracted a bad habit of wasting her time, by sleeping too much, and she made the common excuse to herself, that sleeping a little, more or less, did not signify, till at length she became impressed with an idea that it was a device of Satan-that every morning he tried to persuade her to rise late, that her temper might be ruffled by the hurry she would be in, or that at least her morning devotions might be curtailed. When this definite idea presented itself to her mind, she prayed that she might resist the devil, and the bad habit was soon over

come.

Fanny. I am glad you take the same view of the subject that I do. Yes; he is a powerful enemy, much

stronger than we are, but Jesus is stronger than he. Jesus has "all power in heaven and earth;" and yet, amid all the rejoicing, I feel under the protection of such a Saviour, I sometimes feel as if it were scarce possible for a sinful creature to be indeed one of the 'holy nation." I want to copy Jesus-I want to bring others to the Cross-I want to love him as Mary Magdalene loved, when she washed his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, well content, doubtless, that others should think her absurd and enthusiastic, so that she could hear her Saviour say— "thy sins are forgiven."

Ellen. It must be confessed, with shame and sorrow, my dear child, that Christians live below their privileges. The generality even of sincere Christians lead very inconsistent lives, set up a low standard of holiness, and give great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to despise a religion which produces so little fruit. And yet the salvation he gives us is a salvation from sin : those who love him must, of necessity, love what he loves, and hate what he hates. All the sublime and glorious doctrines of evangelical truth are revealed, that we may be conformed in holiness to the image of Christ. The most doctrinal Epistles of St. Paul are those which contain the strongest practical exhortations.

Fanny. The Epistle to the Romans, for instance.

Ellen. There are many seeming virtues, which are the growth of the natural heart, but they are neither so beautiful in themselves, nor are they carried to the same extent as the virtues of the renewed heart. Christians ought to be superior to worldly people, even in moral duties they ought to be more temperate, more gentle, better tempered, more cheerful and obliging, more industrious, more peaceable, more truthful, more patient

in sickness or any other adversity, more noble-minded, better altogether. I would even have the Christian to be the most refined and the most intellectual person in the world. But the comparison quite ceases when we come to Gospel virtues-faith in Jesus, love to his people, love to our enemies, and giving up our own rights; that, living wholly in and for another, which is the perfection of what is good and beautiful, and which is the secret spring of feeling and action, when the soul is born again and becomes in Christ. The natural heart knows nothing of these things; they belong to a renewed nature. And how imperfectly do they often exist even in God's people!

Fanny. Do you not think that Christians are sometimes deficient in cheerfulness?

Ellen. Yes, sometimes; but, I must say, that, as far as my own observation has gone, Christians are, in general, very much more cheerful than worldly people: it is a pity it should ever be otherwise, for it is very injurious to the cause of religion when it is so. Young people especially have often an ignorant notion, that all religious people are melancholy nothing can be a greater mistake.

Fanny. We must pray for cheerfulness and every other grace. He will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. But, Ellen, what can be the reason that God's chosen people love and serve Him so little.

Ellen. There are many reasons. Our original sinful nature, bad habits formed previous to conversion, the enmity of Satan, his fierce rage against whatever is holy, or desires to become so. Then, the practice of Christians suffers greatly, and is kept in a low condition, from their living so much below their privileges. Why, for instance, do we not pray more? Why do we not

imitate the boldness of the saints of old, and say to God, as Jacob did, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me?" Then would he say to us, “As a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”

Fanny. How astonishing is the language of Scripture? If such things were not in the Bible, what presumption we should think it to utter them!

Ellen. Yes; and many people do think them presumption, forgetting that it is, in reality, much more humble to believe the words of God, just as they are written, than to try to reduce them to our own preconceived notions of what ought to pass between God and man. You know the book of the Revelation concludes with denouncing a woe against those who take away from, as well as against those who add to the words of God.

Fanny. You have spoken of prayer: reading the Scriptures is also a blessed duty.

Ellen. It is indeed; but how seldom do we read them in an earnest spirit. I was once much struck by hearing a clergyman say to his congregation, When you would prevail with God, kneel down, and open your Bible, put your finger on the promises, and plead them with God.' Then again, what motives for holiness does the Gospel supply! To be holy, because God is holyto be conformed to the sufferings and the glory of Christ —these are motives the purest and the most exalted we can conceive.

Fanny. I feel my baptism vow is a strong motive. I am sure I shall think of it every day. Dear Ellen, I could talk to you much longer, but I must now return home it is growing late.

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Ellen. I will walk with you as far as the white gate yonder.

Fanny. Thank you. (After a pause.) I am thinking, Ellen, that, after all, the outward ceremonies of the church are but shadows. Christ is the substance; and, when we are with him, and see him as he is, we shall be quite holy, we shall be quite happy.

Ellen. Yes; it will be a happy time when, as that man of God, Baxter, says, 'We shall no more look into our cabinet, and miss our treasure-into our heart, and miss our Christ; no more seek him from ordinance to ordinance, but all be concluded in a full and blessed enjoyment.' That day is not far distant. Let us go on working, trusting, and enduring; let us not be discouraged by any manner of trial; let us continue "looking unto Jesus." "Yet a little while, and he that shall

come will come, and will not tarry."