be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye suffer."*

Think on the approbation which Christ will express of the perfect work of patience; he will whisper to your hearts his gracious message to the church of Thyatira," I know thy works, and thy charity, and service, and thy faith, and thy patience; and thy last works to be more than the first."+ And at the day of judgment he will confess you before his Father and before the angels. He will then confess you as the possessors of passive graces, tried and perfected in suffering, peculiar in heaven to himself and you. And consider, that the time is at hand when God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes, and when Christ shall present his followers to his Father a glorious church, nor having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.

not to give vent to a querulous temper, but to solicit aid in presenting such considerations as may animate your resolution and confirm your fortitude. How sad is it when men find in their families, when they detail the losses and the indignities they have met with, auditors who encourage their fretfulness and excite their revenge, instead of softening the rancour of irritated pride and the bitterness of disappointed hope!

Search the Scriptures daily. The Bible is the word of Christ's patience. There you will see a goodly company who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises, and there the most animating motives are presented to excite you to follow them. Unless thy law had been my delight my soul had perished in mine affliction. Here patience finds the balm which she drops into the wounds of the heart, the staff by which she supports the weary pilgrim, the light by which she guides through a dark place, and the pillow which she lays beneath the aching head.

Think on the lustre which this will shed on the religion you profess. This has been one of the boasts of philosophy, that it has made men superior to the evils of life, and nothing will degrade Christianity more, in the estimation of such men, than a querulous temper in its followers. Let your conduct therefore be such, that the ministers of Christ will say of you as Paul does of the Thessalonians," We ourselves glory in you in the churches of Christ, for your patience and faith in all the tribulations and persecutions which ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may

be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye suffer."*

Think on the approbation which Christ will express of the perfect work of patience; he will whisper to your hearts his gracious message to the church of Thyatira," I know thy works, and thy charity, and service, and thy faith, and thy patience; and thy last works to be more than the first."+ And at the day of judgment he will confess you before his Father and before the angels. He will then confess you as the possessors of passive graces, tried and perfected in suffering, peculiar in heaven to himself and you. And consider, that the time is at hand when God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes, and when Christ shall present his followers to his Father a glorious church, nor having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.

* 2 Thes. i. 4, 5. † Rev. ii. 19.

not to give vent to a querulous temper, but to solicit aid in presenting such considerations as may animate your resolution and confirm your fortitude. How sad is it when men find in their families, when they detail the losses and the indignities they have met with, auditors who encourage their fretfulness and excite their revenge, instead of softening the rancour of irritated pride and the bitterness of disappointed hope!

Search the Scriptures daily. The Bible is the word of Christ's patience. There you will see a goodly company who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises, and there the most animating motives are presented to excite you to follow them. Unless thy law had been my delight my soul had perished in mine affliction. Here patience finds the balm which she drops into the wounds of the heart, the staff by which she supports the weary pilgrim, the light by which she guides through a dark place, and the pillow which she lays beneath the aching head.

Think on the lustre which this will shed on the religion you profess. This has been one of the boasts of philosophy, that it has made men superior to the evils of life, and nothing will degrade Christianity more, in the estimation of such men, than a querulous temper in its followers. Let your conduct therefore be such, that the ministers of Christ will say of you as Paul does of the Thessalonians," We ourselves glory in you in the churches of Christ, for your patience and faith in all the tribulations and persecutions which ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may

be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye suffer."*

Think on the approbation which Christ will express of the perfect work of patience; he will whisper to your hearts his gracious message to the church of Thyatira," I know thy works, and thy charity, and service, and thy faith, and thy patience; and thy last works to be more than the first."+ And at the day of judgment he will confess you before his Father and before the angels. He will then confess you as the possessors of passive graces, tried and perfected in suffering, peculiar in heaven to himself and you. And consider, that the time is at hand when God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes, and when Christ shall present his followers to his Father a glorious church, nor having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.