LETTER IX.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

Do not be discouraged. God, when educating a soul for himself, suffers it to be tried, tempted, cast down, and sometimes almost destroyed, because man is ever prone to ascribe that praise to himself, which belongs only to his Creator; prone continually to mistake imparted grace for inherent goodness. We see the alternations of assistance given, and assistance withdrawn or withheld; of affliction and prosperity; a prominent feature in God's dealings with his chosen people, the Jews, whose history shadows forth his dealings with Christians generally. He fed them with manna, and

he suffered them to hunger; he brought forth water out of the rock at one time, and at another obliged them to drink of an embittered fountain; now, he gave them rest beneath the green palm-trees of Elim; and again, made them traverse the great and terrible wilderness. Why these variations? Why this discipline? Why expose them to a painful pilgrimage of forty years, when as many days would have sufficed for their journey into the promised land? Why were they not placed at once in rest, wealth, and happiness? God has told us: It was, said he, addressing the Jews at the close of their wanderings," to humble thee, and prove thee, to know what was in thine heart."

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Without me," says the Saviour, "ye can do nothing." "I can do all things," says St. Paul, "through Christ, which strengtheneth me:"-here we have the same system of discipline applied to us spiritually, which to the Jews had been applied temporally. And why? That no flesh may glory in the presence of the Lord; that vain, proud, erring man, by constantly feeling the weakness of

his own strength, may constantly rely upon his Saviour's; that he may be weaned from self-righteous dependence, from ambitious hopes, from froward reasonings, and be thankful to embrace salvation as offered in the gospel, by God in the office of Saviour, to man in his character of sinner. The complaints you make of your own heart give me the greatest pleasure, and encourage sanguine hopes concerning you. If a blind man were in a dark room, what would you pronounce the first symptom of restored vision? Surely a consciousness of the surrounding darkness. So it is with the mind of man. He is by nature blind to his benighted state; but when the Spirit of Truth dawns into his soul, he becomes conscious of those evils, disorders, and miseries, of which he was before ignorant. As the light increases, he becomes increasingly conscious of his remaining darkness, and strives more anxiously, and more humbly, for yet clearer illumination. Then, he takes up the bible and feelingly understands why it is called "a lamp to our paths;" then, he rejoices to see Christ styled

the "light of the world;" then, he seeks earnestly the spiritual wisdom "which cometh down from the Father of lights ;" and then, though conscious that in himself he is but dust, yet, like the planets, he would beam by reflection, and "let his light so shine before men, that they, seeing his good deeds, may glorify"-himself? No, but the source whence he derived that light, his "Father which is in heaven." Grieve not then as though some strange thing had happened to you, as though none besides yourself were ever subject to wandering affections, unstable purposes, inadequate exertions, and vain thoughts-but I beseech you GO ON. Do not let the great enemy persuade you, that your small progress in the divine life is a proof that you ought to discontinue your efforts and make none. I give you the example of Gideon's followers: "faint, yet pursuing." I give you the glorified Saviour's charge: "thou hast a little strength, hold that fast which thou hast." I give you the exceeding great and precious promises, which the time would fail me to

enumerate.

God does not so much regard our degree of attainment, as our sincerity of desire, our reality of intention. None but "he that overcometh shall inherit all things;" but he who is conflicting is in the way to overcome; let this encourage you to conflict on. If you are not satisfied that you have yet entered into the strait gate, thank him who has given you grace to "strive to enter in,” and seek more grace that you may strive Do not set God before you as the hard master, the relentless judge, the consuming fire; but as he is in Christ, the reconciled Father, the compassionate High Priest, the God of love, ever willing to hear, ever ready to help ;—the teacher of the ignorant, if the condemner of the proud and self-willed. Many a Christian who is now a pillar of the temple of God in heaven, was on earth a bruised reed. Do not be discouraged.

on.

Even if we feel that the kingdom of God is in our hearts but as the single grain of the smallest seed even if we feel that our eyes are only sufficiently open to discern "men, as trees, walking-" we are