rather thine than mine; I resign it unreservedly to thee, merciful Father; I consent that it should be thine; or to speak more properly, I pray thee with all the ardor I can feel, that it would please thee to receive it, and in such wise to possess thyself of it, that neither the efforts of my spiritual enemies, nor its own remissness, nor its own inconstancy, shall be ever able to separate it from thee. Thou hast inspired me with thy fear and love, O my God; give me to persevere in it to the last moment of my life; give me even to advance in it; and grant that during the few moments which yet remain for me to pass upon this earth, I may gain continually new advantages over these unhappy remains of corruption which thy grace has not yet extinguished in my heart.

. Grant that the effort by which I endeavor to unite myself to thee may resemble that motion in nature which increases its rapidity in proportion as it approaches its centre! Give me for this effect new helps of thy grace: shed upon my mind new lights: excite new transports in my heart, and grant that as "the outward man decayeth, the inward man” may be « renewed day by day.”

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CHAPTER V.

THIRD ORDER OF THE SAME DUTIES.

I HAVE suggested in the two preceding chapters an idea which merits further consideration. It is, that the believer, who, on examining himself with care, has found in the course of his actions, and in the present state of his soul, the certain evidences of his adoption, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in his heart, has also there remarked various infirmities and various imperfections which greatly grieve him. In fact, the most renewed Christians are not exempt from these, and it would be a bad sign if they perceived them not. It would be an incontestible proof of a pride carried to its utmost excess, and consequently an indication, not of a perfect or imperfect renewal of the mind, but of a total subjection to sin. I am therefore persuaded, that every true believer is conscious to himself of these imperfections. There are, indeed, many that he remarks.

- There are two degrees of them; there are actual sins, and habitual and permanent dispositions. In respect

the actual sins, St. James has informed us that “ In many things we offend

all." And St. John assures us that “ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; we make God a liar, and have not his word abiding in us.”

I am well aware that there are believers who pass a considerable space of time without falling into any of those gross and notorious sins of which St. Paul tells us that "they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God:” such are murder, adultery, lewdness, lying, drunk, enness, injustice, and other sins of this sort. But besides that all cannot boast of the same thing, there are other sins less atrocious and less flagrant against the truth, but which are, notwithstanding, too considerable in themselves, yet from which the most experienced of God's children are not exempt. Such are many sins of thought, various sudden motions of concupiscence, useless discourse, severe satire, bitter words, distractions in prayer, emotions of reluctance and of vanity which the flesh excites when we have done a good and rather difficult work, together with other similar sins. We are to add various sins of ignorance, which we would have avoided if we had known them, and which we would have known if we had used the proper care to be informed of them. Above all, we are to add many sins of omission; it is for these that the

believer finds the greatest occasion of self reproach. In fact, these sins consist in not doing all that we could and ought to do, both to promote the glory of God and the good of our neighbor, as well as to labor for our own salvation.

Since, then, there is not, perhaps, a moment when we could not and ought not to do something in one or the other of these three designs, and yet very few in which we do them, it is evident that there are very few in which we do not sin in this manner. To all these actual sins we must add habitual imperfections, of which the most holy have occasion to reproach themselves, weakness of faith, declension in zeal and charity, various attachments for the creature of which we cannot entirely and perfectly divest ourselves :all this combined occasions great subject for grief and affliction, and from which none are wholly exempt. For in the first place, although even each of these failings taken by itself appears not very considerable, yet all together could not fail to be much, because, in fact, they are in great number, and a great number of small things constitute a mass which cannot be inconsiderable. Besides, these failings, however small in one sense, and when we compare them with others which are more atrocious, are nevertheless sufficiently great in themselves, especially when we consider them in respect to God, whom it is so just to serve with more care and precaution; and still further when we come to pay attention to the motives which should lead us to shun the most trifling faults. In fact, what can be pardoned in persons purchased wholly by the blood of JESUS CHRIST, and destined to the possession of all the heavenly glory? Would the purity of angels be too great for those who are actuated by such considerations? But what should make the principal impression on the soul of the believer on these occasions, is the facility with which he would have been able to avoid at least the greater part of these failings, if he had been willing to apply himself to it as he ought to have done. I allow, in fact, that he might not know how to shun them all, at least with the ordinary aids of grace. But besides that he might obtain these almost to an infinite degree by asking for them as he ought, it is certain that vigilance and application could have subdued innumerable faults, into which he might have fallen through negligence. Thus, whatever ground he may take, he will find just occasion of reproach for this description of failings; and doubtless the believer becomes very sensible of this when he sees the approach of death, and seriously reflecting upon his life past, and upon the present state of his