for him, or by a rude and uncourteous behaviour to lessen his good opinion of me, let me then forget as little, in all my deeds, in all my discourses, in all my thoughts, to observe the profound reverence for the invisible and omniscient God.

The means whereby I can attain to a permanent, true and blessed fear of God, are highly simple, and stand in the power of every one. I must daily render myself more intimate with the power, the sanctity, the inexpressible love the compassion and wisdom of God. I must strive after the knowledge of his glory, and I must acquire it from the wonders of creation, and the profusion of the beauties of nature. I must obtain it by a reflection on my own course of life, and its various, and often wonderful and unexpected changes. Then will my heart be penetrated with feelings of confidence, of submission, of gratitude and love. Such is the sanctifying fear of God, and grant, O Lord, that I may abundantly feel it, and that whether in secret or in public, I may be fully conscious that the eye of thy Providence is upon me, and that the most minute of all my actions are registered in thy everlasting records.

AUGUST XXIII.

THE EVERLASTING TRUTH OF JESUS.

In those days, when the faith of Jesus rose with youthful power above the ruins of Jerusalem and its temple, and above the fragments of the altars and kingdoms of the heathens; with what glory did it beam over the vast changes of the world? With what rapture was it received by the hearts of all the enlightened of the human race? Who would then suffer themselves to be alienated from the love of Jesus? Not chains, nor torture, nor prisons, nor lion's dens, nor scaffolds, nor flaming pyres, nor the most

horrible forms of death, could deter or repel the believing follower. Princes themselves left their palaces; threw off their crowns and purple, devoted themselves to want and misery, and set forth into the world, to preach the word of the crucified God, as his followers and disciples.

And although even at that time, the pious zeal of many believers might have led them into wrong paths, and they might have invented, maintained, taught and established much, which never entered into the mind of the founder of the faith, nevertheless, the noble enthusiasm of the combined church and its heroic virtue remained honoured and revered. Lukewarmness in religion was then a crime, against which every feeling heart revolted, and with justice. For who can without abjuring his dignity as a man be indifferent as to whether he has adopted the truth, or immersed himself in error, or sold the destination of his immortal soul for the sake of an error?

Jesus indeed invited his friends to an everlasting fidelity, that is, he encouraged them, to stand firm against all terrestrial terrors. He foresaw the rebellion of heathenism against the reverence and worship of the only and living God, and the contest of wild and unruly passions against truth. Therefore he said to his disciples, Think not I am come to send peace on earth. I come not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

He encouraged all to firmness and fidelity, but he commanded them not, for love and fidelity are not to be gained by force or commandment; it is the heart which must offer them spontaneously. He, who is once penetrated with irrefragable convictions and truth, can never be brought to relinquish them. He, who is not wholly filled with the doctrine of Jesus, and is, as it were, one with it, he who does not find his end in the highest perfection of his soul by virtue, and who does not find his bliss in the look far be

yond the days of this life into Eternity, he is no Christian, nor is worthy of being called a follower of Christ. Therefore did Jesus speak with great energy, He that loveth Father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me, and he that taketh not his Cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of

me.

He that findeth his life, shall lose it, and he that løseth his life for my sake, shall find it.

O never let me avert from me the truth of my Jesus, never let me be guilty of lukewarmness in my faith in his holy gospel. O God! never let me be deemed guilty of such a sin, of such a gross departure from my Christian duty. O God! let all the world know, that I love thee, that I worship and adore thee; let all the world know that thou Jesus, who wert sent into the world for the salvation and blessedness of my life, art my pride, my dearest joy; let all the world know that my entire life is filled with faith, hope and love. I will confess thee O God, I will confess thee O Jesus, with fulness of joy; and thereby I confess only my own dignity, my own indestructible happiness. O that I had power, to undeceive the wanderer, and bring him back to a knowledge of his own value. I will never be deficient in courage, by my example to encourage the timid, to acknowledge thee O God, and my faith in Jesus. O grant me O Father, thy blessing, fervently do I implore thee for it. I shall then be strong in the paths of righteousness, and if this be my portion, then is my portion great indeed. God my Father, hath given me indeed the mercy promised, and Jesus is and will be my mercy, and the mercy of all mercies to all Eternity.

AUGUST XXIV.

THE BLESSINGS OF CHRISTIANITY.

Is it then so difficult to become a Christian? O truly not, for Jesus says. "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."