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great day of account comes, when all, from the king to the beggar, from Adam, who lived eight hundred years, to the infant who died as soon as it was born, must stand before the judgment seat of God; then will religion be seen in its true worth. Then will it be manifest that it does indeed profit nothing to gain the world and lose the soul. Then, as in winter, you have seen the tree naked, without leaves or fruit, every bough, even every little twig exposed to view ;-so, in that terrible day, will your souls appear in the searching sight of God; every action, every motive, every thought made manifest, nothing concealed. There will then be no hiding place, no offers of mercy, no space for repentance; the Saviour will save no longer; the Holy Spirit help no longer; for time will be no more, and this fair world will be itself destroyed. There will then remain but two places of existence-heaven and hell; but two divisons, in which the whole human race will he included-the saved and the lost. Oh! let me solemnly entreat you to think of these things before it

be too late. At present Christ says, "Suffer little children to come unto me:" you are children, go to him. As yet God says, "A new heart will I give you, and a right spirit will I put within you :" you want that new heart and right spirit, ask him to bestow them. The ancient heathens pretended to know of a stream called Lethe, a draught of which enabled a person to forget the past; and some Indian tribes yet believe that there is somewhere a fountain which can renew the youth of those who drink of it. These are fables. But the Spirit of Truth tells of a river proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb, of which, whosoever drinks shall thirst no more, but shall have in his heart "a well of water springing up unto everlasting life." And not only is this revealed, but offered for our acceptance. The Spirit proclaims through the gospel: "Ho, every one that thirsteth come, and whosoever will, let him come.' Dear children, before your feet have wandered in the crooked paths of the world; before your hearts are hardened by its pleasures, your

good desires choked by its cares, say now,

even now,

Lord give us this water that we

thirst not, neither go elsewhere to draw."

Most affectionately yours.

LETTER XXIV.

MY DEAR

IF I did not both by habit and constitution belong to that class of characters who "look before and after, and pine for what is not," I might hesitate as to the degree in which I ought to encourage you to take a less sombre view of man's condition in this world. As it As it is, I feel no hesitation in writing cheerfully; and I should be very happy if I could transfuse cheerfulness into your mind. From what passed when last I saw you, from your present letter, and from what I know of your cast of mind, I gather this to be your dilemma-that it seems impossible to be very

happy on earth, and retain a strong and abiding desire of heaven; that the world is so full of sins and snares, that without being habitually wretched, it appears impossible to be spiritually minded; that for yourself, you look on life with more of dread than desire, and think the day of man's death better than the day of his birth. Now this state of feeling originates in a partial apprehension of one truth, and in total forgetfulness of another. The whole course of the world is, you say, so fearfully opposed to the law of God, so overrun with crime and the consequences of crime, that it is impossible not to turn from its contemplation with pain, and shame, and dismay. To this statement every one must assent with a sigh; and if grief for the prevalence of iniquity induce more active endeavours to counteract its influence in our own sphere and generation, the feeling, though mournful, will be salutary. Inasmuch as this result obtains, I would rejoice, not sympathize with you. If the contemplation of the good that is done, stimulates your benevolence less than the contemplation of

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