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LIBRARY. 



Library No. <*/ f 3 ^ Shelf JVo.'^ ., 



Chicago,. 



187 



IETTEBS 



ii 



TO A' 



TOTING CHRISTIAN. 



BY A LADY. 




PUBLISHED BY THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

28 COB.NHI1L, BOSTON. 



U.nivcv.s it v of: Chicago 
libraries 




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X 



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PUBLISHERS' KOTE. 

THB letters herein contained were ad- 
dressed, by a lady of cultivation and mature 
Christian experience, to a young friend just 
entering a religious life, and were first pub- 
lished in the " Advocate and Guardian." They 
are commended to all who desire to cultivate 
an intelligent piety, which shall honor- God 
and bless their own souls. 



CONTENTS, 



I. INTRODUCTORY, . 6 

II. ENTIRE CONSECRATION 11 

III. GOD ACCEPTS YOU, 20 

IV. ENTERING ON THE LIFE OF FAITH, . 28 
V. THE HOLY SPIRIT, ...... 35 

VI. CRUCIFIXION OF THE DESIRES, . . 44 

VH. PRAYER, 53 

VIII. BE A BIBLE CHRISTIAN, .... 62 
IX. CHOOSING ASSOCIATES, .... 70 

X. MARRIAGE, . 77 

XI. CONVERSATION, 87 

XII. READING, 97 

XIII. OCCUPATIONS, 106 

XIV. SOCIAL DUTIES, 119 

XV. DRESS, 131 

XVL HEALTH, . .142 

XVII. THE DISCIPLINE OF LIFE, . . . .153 

XVHI. SERIES CONCLUDED, 164 

4 



LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 
LETTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

I EAR . You are now just starting 

in the Christian course ; you have 
taken the vows of God upon you, and 
joined yourself to his people. Hence- 
forth you will be regarded by the world as a 
Christian, and they will expect you to live 
accordingly. They have heard you sol- 
emnly promise, that, denying all ungodli- 
ness and every worldly lust, you will live 
soberly, godly, and righteously, and take 
the Lord for your portion. Many eyes 
will now be upon you ; and oh, that you 




6 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

may be enabled to walk worthy of the pro- 
fession you have made ! No doubt this is 
your desire and purpose ; perhaps a few 
words of counsel from one who has been 
longer in the way may be acceptable to 
you. 

I have been thinking it might be well to 
point out some of the difficulties and dan- 
gers which the young Christian has to 
meet, and to unfold the nature of genuine 
Christian experience. I look upon those 
who are just entering on their religious 
course with a feeling almost of sadness, be- 
cause'they have so much to learn, and will 
find so much from without and from with- 
in that may hinder their progress. It 
seems to me they do not generally receive 
from the pulpit all the specific instruction 
which they need. Most preachers are oc- 
cupied with unfolding in a general way the 
doctrines and duties of religion, and at- 
tempting to awaken the impenitent. After 



INTRODUCTION. f 

an individual is hopefully ^converted rand 
fairly within the fold, he seems to be left -to 
take care of himself. But at this poiiit he 
needs much instruction. Many questions 
of conscience arise ; doctrines, duties, and 
Christian experience present three great 
fields, which he has but just begun to ex- 
plore. He needs a guide through each. 

I can never cease to regret the time lost 
in the earlier part of my Christian life for 
want of clear ideas on these subjects. I 
gave myself with sincerity to the service of 
God, but then I had 110 one to tell me how 
much was implied in this surrender, and 
therefore I endeavored to ascertain by ob- 
serving the course of others who had taken 
the same vows. This was my first great 
mistake. "What a fruitful source of error 
and evil it proved to me ! I long to warn 
every young disciple against taking the ex- 
ample of older professors for their guide. 



8 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

Yet it is so natural that they almost inva- 
riably do it, to a greater or less extent. 

Another great difficulty with me was, 
that I had not correct ideas of what is im- 
plied in the life of faith. I understood 
very well that heaven was not to be pur- 
chased with penances, or merited by good 
works. Yet the spirit of legality lingered 
long in my heart, uuperceived. 1 used to 
think it a mark of humility for a Christian 
to have doubts and fears about the reality 
of his conversion. If I happened to hear 
one speak with confidence as to his good 
estate, I thought it savored of self-com- 
placency, and when that Christian could 
say with David, " My soul shall make her 
boast in the Lord," it seemed to me that he 
was making his boast in himself. 

You sec that by this false view I crippled 
myself completely ; for without Christ I 
could do nothing in the way of spiritual 
advancement, and yet, not venturing to 



INTRODUCTION: 9 

settle the question whether I belonged to 
Christ, I could not be certain that any of 
his offers of aid were made to me. The 
promises might be ever so large and free, 
yet, if I was not certainly converted, what 
were they to me ? As a consequence of 
this radical error, all my efforts for reli- 
gious progress were made in my own 
strength, and of course I had only a mor- 
tifying succession of defeats. My path, 
instead of shining brighter and brighter 
unto the perfect day, grew darker and 
darker, strewed all along with broken res- 
olutions. At length I lost all confidence 
in myself, without having gained any in 
God. 

I thus allude to my own experience, to 
show why I think you, and other young 
Christians, may need particular instruction 
in regard to the inward life. I fervently 
desire for your own sake, and for the sake 
of those over whom you have an influence, 



10 LETTEES TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

and for the honor of the Master in whose 
service you are now enlisted, that you may 
avoid the mistakes into which I fell. 

At another time, if the Lord permit, we 
will resume this subject. Meanwhile, I 
affectionately commend you to the care of 
the Good Shepherd, who carries the lambs 
in his bosom. Does not this convey to us 
a sweet impression of his tender interest in 
every young disciple ? 

Yours in the bonds of Christian love. 



LETTER II. 

ENTIRE CONSECRATION. 

N a former letter I told you of some 
sad mistakes which I fell into in the 
^H earlier years of my Christian life. This 
I did partly to explain my anxiety on 
your account, and partly to give you a 
clearer idea of your own dangers. 

Do not imagine that having obtained a 
hope of salvation, and having made a pro- 
fession of that hope before men, you have 
now little to do. Your parents and your 
pastor will be apt to have the feeling that 
their work for you is well-nigh done, and 
will perhaps leave you to the sunshine and 
showers of heaven. Should this be so, 

there will then be the more need that you 

11 



12 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

should look well to yourself. There are 
several points which demand your earnest 
attention. 

In the first place, you want to be a Bi- 
ble Christian. Now do not look among the 
members of the church in order to find out 
what that is ; go straight to the Bible. 
There you read, " Whosoever he be of you 
that forsaketh not all that he hath, he can 
not be my disciple." Luke xiv. 33. " If 
any man come to me, and hate not his fa- 
ther, and mother, and wife, and children, 
and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own 
life also, he can not be my disciple." 
" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and 
with all thy mind. This is the first and 
great commandment. And the second is 
like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself." Matt. xxii. 38, 39. " Be ye 
therefore perfect, even as your Father in 
heaven is perfect." Matt. v. 48. " Reckon 



ENTIRE CONSECRATION. 13 

ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto 
sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord." Eom. vi. 17. 

The 12th chapter of Romans, the 13th 
chapter of the first book of Corinthians, 
and the Sermon on the Mount, give a full- 
length portraiture of the Bible Christian. 
No doubt you have read them many times, 
but let me ask you to read them again, as 
an answer to the inquiry, " What is it to 
be a Bible Christian? " You see what you 
have undertaken to do, 'nothing less than 
to live up to these requirements. Those 
vows which you lately uttered in the house 
of God, in the presence of men and angels, 
implied all this. 

Perhaps, after reading these Scriptures 
carefully, you are ready to shrink back, and 
to say, " How can I undertake to come up 
to so high a standard ? If I take these 
passages literally, and really go about obey- 
ing them to the letter, I shall certainly be 



14 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

attempting more than the church expects 
of me." 

You certainly will, for the standard of 
piety in the church now is very low, as you 
may easily see by comparing it with the 
church as it was in the days of the apos- 
tles. She lost almost everything during 
the dark ages, and as yet has recovered 
herself but in part. Therefore it will never 
do to ask the church what you ought to he. 

You see these passages and the whole 
spirit of the Bible demand an entire conse- 
cration to the Lord of all you have and all 
you are, for time and eternity. This can 
imply nothing less than the distinct recog- 
nition at all times of the fact, that every 
power of your soul and body, every mo- 
ment of your time, every talent and gift, 
all your property, all your influence, all 
your knowledge, and all the objects of your 
affection, belong to God, and are to be held 
only as his, and for his service, with a per- 



ENTIRE VONSECRATIOIT. 15 

feet willingness on your part to relinquish 
any or all of them, whenever they shall be 
called for. It implies that you are. ready 
to suffer all the will of God, and equally 
ready to be every moment doing all bis will, 
and that you no longer allow any degree 
of self-will or any form of self-seeking, and 
that yon are actuated everywhere and at 
all times by the one great idea of pleasing 
God. 

Perhaps you admit that this is your rea- 
sonable service, but fear to venture upon- 
an act so solemn; lest you should not be 
able to live up to it. Many halt here a 
long time ; but it is not a good place ta 
stop. It was by an unconditional sur- 
render that you found pardon and peace 
at first, and if you have not backslidden, 
no difficulty will be felt, except that which 
arises from your now having a fuller per- 
ception of what is implied in consecration, 
with perhaps a greater sense of your own 



16 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

weakness, and a stronger appreciation of 
the power of your spiritual enemies. It is 
true you are weak, very, and your ene- 
mies are strong. At the period of your 
conversion you could not see either of 
these facts as you do now ; and when at 
that time you delighted to say and sing, 

" Belying on thy grace, 

With a glad heart and free, 
Myself, the remnant of my days, 
I consecrate to thee," 

you did not probably could not count 
the cost. You perhaps did not perceive 
that if you spent time, or money, or tal- 
ents simply to please yourself and others, 
it was robbing G-od ; that if you allowed 
any feeling of disappointment when your 
plans were thwarted, or felt anything dif- 
ferent from cheerful acquiescence under 
painful dispensations of Providence ; or 
allowed yourself in any little sin, or in the 
neglect of any duty ; if you failed to listen 



ENTIRE CONSECRATION. 17 

to the suggestions of the Spirit, or, hearing, 
failed to obey promptly and joyfully in all 
things ; if you indulged selfishness in any 
form, the form of the appetites, propen- 
sities, affections, or self-will; if you al- 
lowed yourself to feel that any possession, 
any earthly good, health, friends, home, 
or anything else, was essential to your 
happiness ; if you were not willing to live 
in any way and die at any time, the con- 
secration was not entire. 

But now you see this plainly, and there- 
fore shrink from a distinct renewal of it. 
But a moment's reflection will convince 
you that it will not do to stop here ; for 
how can you consistently retain the hope 
that you are a Christian, unless you live 
up to the light you have ? You entered 
the kingdom by giving up all, as far as you 
then saw ; you can continue in it only by 
giving up now all that you now see. 
Therefore necessity is laid upon you to go 



18 LETTERS TO A YOUN^, CHRISTIAN. 

forward at once in this act of renewed con- 
secration. But you say, " Hew can I un- 
dertake so much ? " Yenture forward, 
and God will meet you. "tttve all, and 
take all." Lay all upon the altar, and he 
will enable you to keep it tli3re. Be not 
afraid, only believe. Do all you can, and 
he will do the rest. That is, yield up your 
whole being to his control, and he will ac- 
cept and bless and fill it, and do everything 
in, for, and by you, exceeding t-.bundantly 
above all you can now ask or think. As 
soon as you take this important step, you 
will find yourself in a new position , no 
longer a servant, but a child. The prom- 
ises will be yours, and the Holy Ghost will 
come and abide with you. 

Think of this : the Holy Spirit taking up 
his abode in you ! How wonderful ! Too 
wonderful for us to believe, if he had not 
again and again assured us of it. Well, if 
he is really there, what may we not ex- 



ENTIRE CONSECRATION. 19 

pect? Is it too much to calculate confi- 
dently on being kept in the path of duty, 
011 being sweetly held back from every 
form of disobedience, and a way of escape 
found in every temptation ? 

Until this step is taken, nothing will be 
gained ; take it, and all is yours I 

" Vilest of the sinful race, 

Lo ! I answer to thy call ; 
Meanest vessel of thy grace, 

Grace divinely free for all, 
Lo ! I come to do thy will, 
All thy counsel to fulfill. 

" If so poor a worm as I 

May to thy great glory live, 
All my actions sanctify, 

All my -words and thoughts receive ; 
Claim me for thy service, claim 
All I have, and all I am. 

" Take my soul and body's powers ; 

Take my memory, mind, and will ; 
All my goods, and all my powers ; 

All I know, and all I feel ; 
All I think, or speak, or do ; 
Take my heart, but make it new." 




LETTER III. 

GOD ACCEPTS YOU. 

)OTJ say that entire consecration, as ex- 
plained in my last letter, appears to 
be our reasonable service, and that 
nothing less is required in the Scrip- 
ture, but you have a painful consciousness 
of not living thus. Such a state of perfect 
devotion to God looks to you beautiful and 
desirable, but hopelessly out of reach. 

You have then no confidence in your- 
self? Well, be not discouraged, but have 
faith in G-od. Observe in the very pas- 
sage, 1 Cor." vi. 17, 18, where he com- 
mands us to come out and be separate, 
and touch not the unclean thing, he adds 
the precious words, " and I will receive 

you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye 
20 



GOD ACCEPTS YOU. " 21 

shall be my sons and daughters." You 
see he anticipates your difficulties, and 
provides for them. He knew you would 
feel as if you could not come up to these 
requirements, and so he undertakes for 
you. He says, " I will put my Spirit with- 
in you ; I will write my law in your heart ; 
I will lead you, and strengthen you, and 
uphold you ; with every temptation I will 
make a way of escape : Lo, I am with you 
always ! " 

Now may we not ask triumphantly with 
the apostle, " If God be for us, who can be 
against us ? Nay, in all these things we 
are more than conquerors through Him 
that loved us." 

Perhaps you will ask, " May I, so young 
a disciple, and so unworthy, venture to 
tliiiik that these remarkable words can be 
addressed to me ? Surely I must reach a 
higher point in the divine life before I can 
without presumption appropriate to myself 



22 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 



these exceeding great and precious prom- 



ises." 



I will reply to you as a deeply experi- 
enced Christian once did to me, when I 
made the same objection : "So you think 
that after you have done a few more things 
for God he will begin to love you ? " 

This answer struck me forcibly. I saw 
at once the spirit of legality which I had 
unconsciously been cherishing. From that 
moment I began to embrace those prom- 
ises which before I had only seen afar off. 
I had been many years a church member, 
but had made no progress in the divine 
life ; how could I, and how can any one, 
while from obstinacy, or timidity, or un- 
belief, they decline the offered aid of 
Heaven ? I stood trembling before the re- 
quirements of God, exclaiming with the 
Psalmist, " Thy commandment is exceed- 
ing broad," but I did not then perceive 



GOD ACCEPTS YOU. 23 

that the promise" was as broad as the com- 
mand. 

The Saviour says that all he requires of 
us is comprised in two commandments : the 
first is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart." Now, you love 
the Lord, but not as yet with all your 
heart, for you still find something of self- 
ishness remaining. You ask, " How am I 
to meet this requirement, how shall I 
ever be rid of all self-seeking and self- 
will ? " 

Your gracious God knew that, after hav- 
ing lived to yourself so many years, it 
would seem to you an utter impossibility 
to bring the principle of self-love back into 
its right place ; and foreseeing the perplex- 
ity with which you would look at this 
first and great command, he meets you 
with a promise, couched in the very words 
of the precept, " The Lord thy God will 
circumcise thine heart, and the heart of 



24 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all 
thine heart, and with all thy soul, that 
thou mayest live." Deut. xxx. 6. That 
which you feel yourself unable to do, he 
offers to do for you. 

" These," you say, " are comfortable 
words ; but on what conditions will he do 
such great things for me ? " 

The first condition is, that you heartily 
desire it. It must be an earnest, all-absorb- 
ing desire. You must feel as David did 
when he said, " As the hart panteth after 
the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after 
thee, God." " Blessed are they that 
hunger and thirst after righteousness, for 
they shall be filled." But desire alone, 
however ardent, never makes the promises 
available. If you get no farther than de- 
sire, you will sigh and go backward. Alas, 
alas, it is just here that multitudes of the 
church get, and no farther. They wish 
they were - holy ; they wish they had more 



GOD ACCEPTS YOU. 25 

faith ; they wish they were not so selfish ; 
but year after year passes, and nothing is 
gained. They would give up their hope 
altogether, only they think so many good 
desires must have a gracious origin ; that 
they should not love good things, and have 
from time to time these devout aspirations, 
if a work of grace was not begun in their 
souls. This is a fatal mistake. Desires 
which are not strong enough to move the 
will furnish no evidence in their favor. 

2. To this fervent desire must be added 
faith. That is, you must believe the prom- 
ises, and realize that they are addressed to 
you. You must accept them, rest on them, 
and never let go of them. These two 
things, desire and faith, in connection with 
the entire consecration described in my last 
letter, form the conditions on which all the 
great and precious promises become yours. 

Perhaps at this point of your experience 
you will feel a difficulty, which many oth- 



26 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

ers have felt. You have given yourself to 
the Lord, and you desire above all things 
to love him -with your whole heart ; and 
you see here an offer on his part to come 
and meet you, as the father did his prodi- 
gal son, and afford the needful assistance, 
but you dare not accept it just now ; you 
are waiting to have some remarkable feel- 
ings. I remember that I halted here along 
time ; but at length I was obliged to believe 
that God would help me, not on account 
of anything particularly marked in my re- 
ligious feelings, but simply because lie had 
said he tvould. 

Yes, you may be sure of this, that so long 
as you live for God, and cherish an intense 
desire to love him with all your heart, 
there is, there can be, 110 presumption in 
believing that the promises are yours. Cal- 
culate as largely as you may on his aid, he 
will not be displeased ; raise your expecta- 
tions ever so high, he will never disappoint 



GOD ACCEPTS YOU. 27 

them ; for lie " is able to do exceeding 
abundantly above all that we ask or think, 
according to the power that worketh in us." 
Eph. iii. 20. 

" Lord, give me faith ! He hears : what grace is this ! 

Dry up thy tears, my soul, and cease to grieve ; 
He shows me what he did, and who he is, 
I must, I will, I can, / do believe." 




LETTER IV. 

ENTERING ON THE LIFE OF FAITK. 

AVING, as I trust, given yourself with- 
out reserve to the Lord, in the full 
belief that he accepts yoxi (not on ac- 
count of any remarkable feelings, but be- 
cause he lias said he would), and having 
taken the next step, that of throwing your- 
self on his promises, you may feel that the 
foundation of Christian experience is laid, 
a broad and beautiful foundation, Jesus 
Christ himself being the chief corner- 
stone. 

You have made a good beginning, but 
you would not stop here ? The object of 
laying a foundation is, that we may build 
upon it. You are happy in the service of 

28 



ENTERING ON THE LIFE OF FAITH. 29 

your new Master. The determination to 
please him gives you pleasure. His yoke 
is easy now, because it is fairly put on ; his 
burden is light, for he lets you lay it on 
him. You are never weary of saying, 

" I am my Lord's and he is mine." 

Yes, " Wisdom's ways are ways of pleas- 
antness, and all her paths are peace." You 
feel that all is on the altar ; but perhaps 
after a while, when you have learned to 
take broader views of duty, and have be- 
come more discriminating in regard to re- 
ligious experience, you will make some un- 
welcome discoveries. You may find that 
you have been unconsciously allowing some 
form of selfishness. In such a case, I have 
two words of counsel to offer. Some Chris- 
tians are unwilling to see anything of this 
kind, when the faithful monitor within 
would fain draw their attention to it, be- 
cause they do not like to think they have 



30 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

made any mistake in the matter of conse- 
cration. There are others, who, when they 
find anything wrong in their feelings or 
practice, seem surprised and disheartened ; 
their zeal is damped, their faith fails, and 
if they do not say it in so many words, they 
have a feeling like this : " I thought the 
Lord was going to keep me, and he has 
not." 

Now my two words of counsel are, first, 
do not be unwilling to see the worst of 
yourself ; second, do not be discouraged at 
the sight. As soon as you discover any infir- 
mity, defect, bad habit, any form of selfish- 
ness, or anything that hinders you in the 
divine life, carry it at once to the Lord Je- 
sus Christ, and ask him to take it away. 
Eemember that he has offered to " supply 
all your need," "purge away all your 
dross," and " sanctify you wholly." If you 
are honest, he is faithful, and all will be 
well. 



ENTERING ON THE LIFE OF FAITH. 31 

Never for one moment give way to dis- 
couragement. "All discouragement is of 
the nature of unbelief." Unbelief is fatal 
to every grace. Nothing seems to grieve 
the Spirit so much. The best thing you 
can do is, to be all the time trying to 
strengthen your faith. To this end, make 
the promises your study. Have them all 
in your memory and in your heart. Keep 
them bright by constant use. Dwell much 
on the assurances of God's love, with which 
the Scriptures abound. Endeavor to get 
a full, deep persuasion of his love to you, 
and let your heart triumph in the wonde.r- 
ful fact. Do not let the adversary rob you 
of this belief, that he loves you with a ten- 
derness unutterable, a love far, far be- 
yond, that of any earthly friend. Does this 
seem too much ? Look at the proofs of it 
in what he is doing for you every moment, 
in what he has been doing for you ever 
since your birth, and in what he did for 



32 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

you ages before, when every one of your 
wants was anticipated and provided for, 
when every one of your sins was antici- 
pated and atoned for. Dwell on these 
things, and then read those sweet words, 
"Thave loved thee with an everlasting love" 

I dwell on this subject the more, because 
I find in my own experience there is noth- 
ing like being fully persuaded that God 
loves me. Realizing this, I can not help 
loving him, and thus all duties are made 
easy, and all trials light. In this state of 
rniiad there is no difficulty in appropriating 
the promises ; indeed, after a while you 
will hardly need to draw upon them, for 
you will realize so fully and sweetly that the 
Promiser Jiimself is yours. They will then 
be to you as " the kisses of his mouth." 
Cant. i. 2. 

But while I speak of the happiness which 
is found in loving God and believing that 
he loves you, I ought to throw in a caution 



ENTERING ON THE LIFE OF FAITH. 33 

against making your own enjoyment an 
ultimate end. There is such a thing as 
seeking more religion for the sake of a 
higher happiness, and aspiring after holi- 
ness that we may take complacency in it, 
and desiring God's spiritual gifts rather 
than himself. These are hidden forms of 
selfishness, which escape notice for a long 
time. Frequently God is compelled to 
withdraw from his children the light of his 
countenance for a while, in order to bring 
these evils to light. 

If at any time your feelings should not 
be so lively as they now are, be not discour- 
aged. Remember that the feelings of God 
do not change with yours. Remember, too, 
that religion does not consist in joy. The 
abiding peace promised to the believer de- 
pends not upon joy, but upon faith. God 
sometimes tries his children, to see if they 
will follow him in the dark. Lean on the 
arm of your Beloved when called to walk 

3 



34 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

in the "night of faith." The question is 
not, " How have you felt to-day ? Have 
you enjoyed your mind ? " but, ll JFor whom 
are you living? Is all on the altar?" 

" Man shall not live by bread alone, but 
by every word that proceedeth out of the 
mouth of God." " The just shall live by- 
faith. " Not by joys, not by tender emo- 
tions, not by vivid perceptions of truth, not 
by dreams, visions, and manifestations ; these 
may be all good and desirable, but they are 
special indulgences ; they are not the things 
to live on. Full faith in every word which 
proceedeth out of the mouth of God is 
that alone which makes a strong, happy, 
useful Christian. 

That you, my dear , may be a Chris- 
tian of this stamp, is the fervent prayer of 
your affectionate friend. 



LETTER Y. 

THE HOLT SPIRIT. 

" The blest Redeemer, ere he breathed 

His tender last farewell, 
A Guide, a Comforter, bequeathed, 
With us to dwell. 

" And every virtue we possess, 

And every victory won, 
And every thought of holiness, 
Are his alone." 

AVING now made some trial of the 
life of faitli, you find it a good way, 
^, an easy way, a safe way. So far as 
yon trust in God, lie meets your 
faith, and you think if you trusted him per- 
fectly he would meet every want of the 
soul entirely. No doubt this is true. 

" Venture on him, venture wholly ; 
Let no other trust intrude." 

35 




36 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

There is a world of wisdom in the exhor- 
tation of Paul : " As ye have, therefore, re- 
ceived Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in 
him." You entered on the divine life by 
an act of faith and consecration ; nothing 
but continual faith and consecration can 
carry you forward. 

To this end it is important that you 
should form the habit of inward recollec- 
tion. By this I mean, that you are ever to 
bear in mind " whose you are, and whom 
you serve." While your thoughts are ne- 
cessarily occupied about other things, let 
there be a leaning of the heart on Christ, 
an attitude of the affections which says 
continually, " Hold thou me up and I shall 
be safe." You complain that you some- 
times forget to lean on him, and remark 
that you need to have a prompter ever at 
hand to remind you of your duty. You 
do indeed need such a prompter, and so 
does every Christian, young or old. Our 



THE HOLY SPIRIT. 37 

blessed Saviour knew it would be so, and 
graciously provided for this want. 

Shortly before he left his disciples, he 
told them that, sadly as they felt about his 
leaving them, they would be gainers by it, 
for the third person in the Trinity would 
come to take his place, and abide with 
them for ever. He then proceeded to tell 
them what this wonderful Guest would do : 
that he would guide them into all truth, 
and bring to remembrance those instruc- 
tions of his which they had forgotten, or 
had not understood ; that he would be a 
Comforter, and direct them at all times 
what to do and what to say. 

I suppose the disciples gazed at their 
Lord with a perplexed and troubled ex- 
pression, for they did not understand him. 
They were so much afflicted at the idea 
of his leaving them, that they probably felt 
it impossible for any one else to supply his 
place. Afterwards they understood it, and 



38 LETTERS TO. A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

often spoke of themselves and their con- 
verts as " temples of the Holy Ghost." 
This appears to me a remarkable expres- 
sion. " Will God indeed dwell on the 
earth ? " Such ho assures us is the fact ; 
and certainly from a fact so wonderful and 
glorious Christians ought to derive more 
comfort and strength than they generally 
do. Here is the Guide, the prompter, the 
ever-present, ever-watchful friend, which 
you feel that you so much need. 

Do you ask, " On what condition can I 
have this friend always with me ? " 

You recollect that in a former letter I 
stated the conditions on which the great 
and precious promises of God would be ful- 
filled to you : now the promise of the in- 
dwelling of the Spirit is the greatest and 
most precious of them all. The Saviour 
speaks of it as " the promise of the Father," 

something above and beyond all others, 

that which constitutes the distinguish- 



THE HOLT SPIRIT. 39 

ing characteristic of the gospel dispensa- 
tion. The conditions here are the same as 
in regard to the other promises ; viz., de- 
sire and faith. If you really wish to have 
the constant presence of such a glorious 
Guest, be assured he is ready to come and 
take up his abode with you. 

This willingness he has strongly ex- 
pressed in many passages of Scripture, par- 
ticularly that interesting one in Revelation, 
iii. 20, where he represents himself as 
standing at the door of the heart and 
knocking for admittance; also in that 
sweet assurance, Luke xi. 13, " If ye, then, 
being evil, know how to give good gifts 
imto your children, how much more shall 
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit 
to them that ask him ! " Throw yourself 
continually on this assurance, and as God 
is true you shall continually have the pres- 
ence of the Comforter. 
In addition to this desire for his pres- 



40 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

.ence, and this belief in it, you must form a 
habit of listening for his suggestions, and 
rendering a prompt obedience. Do not ask 
him to guide you if you intend to guide 
yourself. Do not ask him to sanctify you 
unless you are willing to renounce all your 
sin. Do not ask him to make clear the 
path of duty if you are not intending to 
walk in it. Do not ask him to work in 
you to will and to do of his good pleasure 
unless you are ready to co-operate with 
him. Do not ask him to make a way of 
escape for you in every temptation unless 
you really mean to escape. Do not ask 
him to comfort and sustain you under 
trials, arid then refuse to accept of his con- 
solations. Do not ask him to be with you 
all the day, and then immediately break 
away from him. Oh, how constantly is the 
Holy Spirit mocked and grieved by such 
prayers ! 

On the other hand, if you really desire 



THE HOLT SPIRIT. 41 

and determine to live as you pray, you will 
find him at all times ready to help. Are 
you going into company ? Ask the Spirit 
to take charge of your conversation. Are 
you called to the house of mourning ? 
Ask him to give you appropriate feelings, 
and teach you how to 'administer consola- 
tion to the afflicted. Are you called to suf- 
fering and trial ? Do not grieve the Spirit 
by refusing to accept the comfort he offers. 
Have you difficult duties to discharge, 
duties requiring more wisdom than you 
seem to possess ? Here is that gracious 
Friend, who has said, " If any man lack wis- 
dom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all 
men liberally and upbraideth not, and it 
shall be given him. But let him ask in 
faith, nothing wavering." Never forget 
his presence. You can not afford to lose 
the comfort of it, you can not safely lose 
the restraint of it. 

It should be remembered also, not only 



42 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

that God offers us this aid, but he com- 
mands us to accept it. " Be filled with the 
Spirit," is a command as binding upon us 
as any one in the decalogue, is it not ? 
Have you ever thought seriously of trying 
to obey this command ? The primitive 
Christians obeyed it, why should not we ? 
You must never rest satisfied until you are 
filled with the Spirit. Perhaps you will 
here ac-k the same question which I once 
put to an experienced Christian : " How 
shall I know when I am filled with the 
Spirit ? " The reply was, " When you 
bring forth all the fruits of the Spirit (love, 
joy, peace, long-suffering, faith, meekness, 
temperance) on their appropriate occa- 
sions." It does not necessarily imply ec- 
static joy, or high emotions of any kind, but 
a soul in such a well balanced state that 
the Saviour can manifest himself through 
it appropriately on all occasions. 

If you are wholly the Lord's, you will at- 



THE HOLT SPIEIT, 43 

tempt obedience to every requirement. 
His own gentle words are, " If ye love me, 
keep my commandments." Now, there- 
fore, be not disobedient to this most gra- 
cious, most important command, " BE 

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT." It is found in 

Eph. v. 18. The three succeeding verses 
show how a person will live who is thus 
filled. 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
the love of God, and the communion of the 
Holy Cf-host, be with you ALWAYS. 




LETTER VI. 

CRUCIFIXION OF THE DESIRES. 

JOU inquire what is meant by that pas- 
sage in Galatians, " They that are 
Christ's have crucified the flesh with 
the affections and lusts." I am glad 
your attention has been turned to this sub- 
ject, for it is a very important one. Many 
Christians, for want of clear ideas in re- 
gard to the nature and extent of that self- 
crucifixion required in this and similar 
Scriptures, go on for years without making 
any real progress in the divine life. They 
are sinfully self-indulgent without being 
fully aware of it. They experience a feel- 
ing of condemnation, are conscious some- 
thing is wrong, but do not know precisely 
what it is. They have been told in gen- 

44 



CRUCIFIXION OF THE DESIRES. 45 

eral terms that they must deny themselves 
and take up their cross, but when or where, 
they do not exactly see. 

The great Creator has endowed us all 
with certain desires; viz., the appetites, 
propensities, and affections. It is the na- 
ture of these desires to demand gratifica- 
tion, therefore there is nothing wrong in 
gratifying them up to a. certain point ; that 
point is, the attainment of the objects for 
which they were implanted. But as their, 
gratification is attended with pleasure, we, 
in our inordinate self-love, are prone to in- 
dulge them beyond that point ; it then be- 
comes sinful. 

You know very well what the appetites 
and affections are ; the propensities are 
more numerous and varied in their charac- 
teristics. Some of the principal ones are 
curiosity, or the desire of knowledge ; ac- 
quisitiveness, or the desire of possession ; 
self-love, or the desire of happiness ; soci- 



46 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

ality, or the desire of society ; desire of 
power, desire of esteem, and imitativeness. 
Inasmuch as these are original desires, 
forming a part of our constitution, they are 
all innocent, and not only innocent, but 
useful. Therefore, when the apostle speaks 
of crucifying them, he does not mean to 
annihilate, but only to put a stop to their 
inordinate activity. The first step toward 
this is to ascertain precisely what is the 
healthy action in each case. 

1. In regard to the appetites, the most 
prominent of which is the desire for food, 
drink, and sleep ; it is evident that they 
should not be indulged for the sake of the 
gratification they afford, but simply to meet 
the wants of the body. This rule com- 
mends itself to the reason of every one, yet 
many plausible excuses are invented for 
evading it. It is by no means easy to 
break up long habits of self-indulgence in 
these respects. But it must be done, or 



C&UCIFIXION Of THE DESIRES. 47 

the flesh will war against the spirit and 
bring it into captivity, and keep it in cap- 
tivity ; it must be done, otherwise there 
will be little or no progress in the divine 
life. 

2. In regard to the propensities. When 
we give ourselves to the Lord, we lay 
them all upon the altar. They are not to 
be extinguished, but completely subordi- 
nated. We can not rush heedlessly for- 
ward in the gratification of any one of 
them, as we may heretofore have done ; 
and, more than this, our own pleasure is 
never more to be the ultimate end in any- 
thing we do, great or small ; our business 
is to please God. 

For instance, you have the propensity of 
curiosity, or the desire of knowledge. You 
think this is very good, and a thing to be 
cherished; so it is, but with restrictions. 
You are not at liberty now to press eagerly 
forward in pursuit of knowledge, as per- 



48 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

haps you used to do, simply for the pleas- 
ure of the pursuit, or the advantages of its 
attainment. You can now seek only the 
kind and degree of knowledge which God 
permits, and that only to glorify him. 
So in regard to the other propensities. 
They all have an instinctive and a volun- 
tary action. So far as they are instinc- 
tive, they are without any moral character. 
Their voluntary action is good or bad ac- 
cording as they are used for God or self. 

3. In regard to the affections. Here, 
too, there must be something done in the 
way of regulation and subordination. The 
Saviour expresses it very strongly when he 
says, " If any man come to me, and hate 
not his father, and mother, and wife, and 
children, and brethren, and sisters, he can 
not be my disciple." Luke xiv. 26. That 
is, these natural affections, however amia- 
ble in themselves, must be so completely 
subordinated to the love of God, that when 



CRUCIFIXION OF THE DESIRES. 49 

the question is between pleasing our friends 
and pleasing him, we shall go contrary to 
their wishes, and thus act as if we hated 
them. It implies, moreover, that we love 
God so much better than earthly friends as 
to be willing to give them all up whenever 
he shall call for them. 

All this I suppose to be implied in the 
words of the apostle, " They that are 
Christ's have crucified the flesh with the 
affections and lusts." You will find multi- 
tudes of professors who evidently know 
nothing of this crucifixion ; but Paul would 
say, " They are not Christ's." 

Does it seem to you, my dear young 
friend, a great thing thus to have every 
thought brought into captivity to the obe- 
dience of Christ ? It is a great thing. It 
can never be done in your own unaided 
strength. But it is no matter how hard 
any work is, provided only you have help 
enough. If you call to mind what I said 
4 



50 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

in my last letter, you will see that, great as 
tlie work is, you have help enough. Only 
avail yourself of that help, and* your tri- 
umphant song will be, u Through Christ 
strengthening me I can do all things ! " 
However clamorous any appetite or pro- 
pensity may be, and however it may have 
been strengthened by long indulgence, if 
you are determined that henceforth it shall 
keep its place, and at the moment of tempta- 
tion throw yourself in simple, full-hearted 
faith on the promised aid of the indwelling 
Spirit, will that aid, think you, be wanting? 
" God is faithful, who will not suffer you to 
be tempted above that ye are able, but will 
with the temptation also make a way to es- 
cape." 1 Cor. x. 18. u In all things we 
are more than conquerors, through him 
that loved us." Bom. viii. 37. 

Perhaps you cast your eyes around 
amongst your Christian friends, and can 
scarcely find any who seem to be thus vie- 



CltUCIFIXIOX OF THE DESIRES. 51 

torious. This disheartens you. I remem- 
ber well how depressing it was to me. In 
spite of the commands and encourage- 
ments of Scripture, I felt as if it would 
savor of presumption in me to expect suc- 
cess where so many had failed. But now I 
see clearly, and feel deeply, how wrong it 
was to be drawing discouragement from 
the example of others, instead of drawing 
strength from the promises of God. I was 
commanded to be looking unto Jesus, -. 
instead of that, I kept looking at my poor 
fellow-men. 

If you have not as yet met with any case 
where grace appeared to be triumphant, do 
not too hastily conclude that there are no 
such cases. There is abundant evidence 
that in all ages, and perhaps in all churches, 
there have been instances of this kind. It 
is my happiness to know a considerable 
number who can testify that they find, and 
have for years, that the grace of God is 



52 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

sufficient for them at all times, and under 
all circumstances ; that in every temptation 
he makes a way of escape for them ; that 
he keeps them in perfect peace ; and they 
have always a blessed consciousness that 
the Holy Spirit dwells in them, and is con- 
tinually holding them back from the indul- 
gence of wrong feelings. This is their own 
testimony ; they feel it to be so, and every- 
thing in their lives goes to show that it is 
so. The strongest desire of my heart is, 
that all the dear children of God may 
reach forth the hand of faith and take what 
he is so ready to give. If they will meet 
him by consecration, faith, and the crucifix- 
ion of all inordinate desires, he on his part 
will not fail to meet them with all the bless- 
ings of his grace. Then will they be truly 
happy, and then will they be in that atti- 
tude where God can use them to his own 
glory, and to their satisfaction. 

" Die daily ; from the touch of sin recede, 
Then thou hast cr owned him, and he reigns indeed." 



LETTER VII. 

PRATER. 

)OU ask uiy views on the subject of 
, __ . prayer. I hardly feel willing to enter 
^ on this topic, for it has so many bear- 
ings and relations, that the limits of a 
letter can not do it justice. 

Much has boon said and written about 
prayer; yet no one understands it till 
taught by the Spirit. I have reason to 
think there is a great deal of concealed 
skepticism on this subject ; a skepticism so 
far concealed as to be hidden in a consider- 
able degree from those who are the subjects 
of it. They doubt the efficacy of prayer, 
at least, of their own prayers. If they 
should look into their hearts, they would 

63 



54 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

see the reason : they are acting a double 
part, asking for spiritual blessings which 
they do not really desire. No wonder such 
prayers are unheeded, no wonder they 
have so little confidence in them. 

Satan will be likely to assail you some- 
times with temptations in regard to prayer. 
At first he will try to make you think that 
such poor prayers as yours can never reach 
the ear of God. Tell him that, poor as 
they are, you have an Advocate with the 
Father, who has promised to present them. 
Here perhaps he will suggest that your pe- 
titions .are so badly interlined with wander- 
ing thoughts, that they are not fit to be 
presented at the court of heaven, and 
even the great Intercessor himself will be 
ashamed to offer them ! Tell him God for- 
gives the wanderings of the intellect, when 
he knows the heart is fixed. 

At other times the tempter may insinu- 
ate very plausibly, that, as the Almighty 



PRATER. 55 

has laid his plan, it will assuredly be car- 
ried out, and therefore there is no use in 
prayer. Tell him we might think so too, 
had not God himself assured us to the con- 
trary. True, his plans are all laid; not 
one jot or tittle of them will fail ; his in- 
strumentalities too are all chosen, and the 
prayers of the saints form an important 
part of these instrumentalities. Could any- 
thing be more kind and condescending than 
that the great Rulor of the universe should 
allow his subjects to come to him about so 
many things ? He permits them to pray 
for all men ; for kings and all that are in 
authority ; for the sick and afflicted ; for the 
church and the ministry ; for those who 
love and for those who hate them ; for the 
conversion of sinners and the sanctifica- 
tion of saints ; and even for all their own 
little wants, temporal as well as spiritual. 
Here is your permit : "In everything, by 
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, 



56 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN: 

let your requests be made known unto 
God." How pleasant it is for young Chris- 
tians to have so many errands to the throne 
of grace ; so many excuses for seeking an 
interview with God ; so many topics on 
which they may converse with him ! 

It must be confessed that at first sight 
prayer seems a strange instrumentality to 
be used in the accomplishment of the de- 
signs of God. But we see in it our Father's 
lieart. He knew that anything which 
should bring us into his presence would do 
us good, make us better and happier. He 
tells us in his holy word that we must 
pray, that prayer is the medium through 
which he conveys his favors. " Ask and 
receive, that your joy may be full." 

The adversary will perhaps assail you on 
another point. He will suggest that there 
are multitudes of prayers, put up by good 
people every day, that do not seem to be 
answered. This objection you can meet in 



PEA YER. 57 

several ways. In the first place, " Belay 
is not denial." Many of these petitions 
are already answered in the heart of God, 
but the answer is not yet made apparent. 
" The Lord is a God of judgment : blessed 
are all they that wait for him." Yes, it is 
a blessed thing to learn to wait. In the 
next place, many of these prayers are not 
offered in faith, and " whatsoever is not of 
faith is sin." Then, too, many prayers are 
not offered with entire submission to tho 
divine will. They are selfish, and God can 
not be expected to answer them. Thou, 
again, petitions offered by persons who are 
living in any allowed sin, of omission or 
commission, in thought, word, or deed, have 
no claim on the promises to prayer. The 
Psalmist says, " If I regard iniquity in my 
heart, the Lord will not hear me." 

Here perhaps the adversary will take 
another turn, and say, " Then nobody's 
prayers are heard, for no one is without 



58 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHUISTIAN. 

some iniquity in bis heart." But the 
Psalmist says in another place, " Verily, 
God hath heard me." If David, under the 
old dispensation, came into that state of 
purity that his prayers could be heard, then 
surely you, under the brighter light of the 
new, may come there. 

Is your confidence in the efficacy of 
prayer weakened by seeing so many peti- 
tions go unanswered ? Be assured that it 
is owing to the want of consecration or 
faith on the part of the petitioners. For, 
as God is true, all prayer offered by the 
soul that is wholly given up, and in the ex- 
ercise of full faith, is answered. Indeed it 
must be so, even if no promise had been 
made to prayer, for such a soul, being in 
sympathy with God, desires only what God 
desires; it must be so, for the Holy Spirit 
inspires the petition ; it must be so, for 

" Prayer is appointed to convey 
The blessings God designs to give." 



PRAYER. 59 

Do not ask for anything but what you 
want. How often have I, in the prayer of 
the morning, asked the Lord to guide me 
through the day. But I knew not what I 
asked. I had no idea of being momenta- 
rily under divine direction, and each day 
showed that I preferred to guide myself. I 
used to ask him to keep me from sin, while 
at the same time there were several forms 
of sin which I was not willing to give up. 
I used to ask him to humble me ; yet if 
anything occurred which was calculated 
to do this, the vexation and mortification 
which I allowed myself to feel abundantly 
proved that I had been asking for something 
1 did not want. 

When you have asked for what you really 
want, loait for the answer ; expect it ; cal- 
culate upon it ; and be willing to have it 
come in a different form from what you had 
anticipated. Of course if you pray aright 
you always express a paramount wish that 



60 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

the will of the Lord may be done ; to be 
consistent, then, you must be satisfied to 
have your prayer answered by having that 
will done. One thing is certain, " God 
never denies his children anything but with 
the design of giving them something bet- 
ter." 

Do not allow your prayers to be always 
in the form of petitions. Let thanksgiving, 
praise, and expressions of affectionate con- 
fidence, abound in them. You have a beau- 
tiful example in the book of Psalms, and 
you would do well to study it, as a model 
of devotional exercises. How often does 
the Psalmist begin with a lament, and end 
with a shout ! 

It is only the child who loves his Father, 
and is conscious that the great aim of his 
life is to please him, who knows what it is 
to " draw near with a true heart in full 
assurance of faith." For him there is a 
standing invitation to " come boldly unto 



PR A YKR. 61 

the tliroue of grace, that he may obtain 
mercy, and find grace to help in time of 
need." If you live right, you will pray 
right. If you keep everything on the altar, 
and are in the constant exercise of faith, 
you will, as you advance, come into all the 
mysteries of prayer. You will learn from 
your own blessed experience what is meant 
by " the prayer of faith," and what it is to 
have the Spirit helping your infirmities ; 
what it is to " pray without ceasing," and 
to obtain all you ask ; and what it is to 
have the soul " rest in the single petition, 
' Thy will be done,' as in its pleasant and 
perpetual home." 




LETTER VIII. 

BE A BIBLE CHRISTIAN. 

)OU say that the command of Scrip- 
ture is, " Come out from the world 
and be separate," but that I seem to be 
requiring you to come out from the 
church. It is true the standard of Chris- 
tian attainment I would hold up to you is 
far above that which is usually seen among 
professors of religion in the present day. 
But you and I are not Roman Catholics, 
and do not believe in the infallibility of the 
church. We can not feel bound by her 
creed or her practice, for both have varied 
much in different ages. Alas, how widely 
have we departed from the spirit and prac- 
tice, if not from the principles, of the primi- 
tive church ! Whatever might have been 

62 



BE A BIBLE CHRISTIAN. 63 

true among the early Christians, it certainly 
is not safe now for young converts to take 
the good people around them for their ex- 
ample. Even in those days of compara- 
tive purity, Paul cautioned them against 
measuring themselves by themselves, and 
comparing themselves among themselves, 
and said that such were not wise. 

When a young Christian first comes into 
the church, he is apt to look round and ob- 
serve how the members live, how far, 
and in what things, they conform to the 
world, what duties are considered impor- 
tant, and how many it will answer to omit. 
From this survey he forms a judgment as 
to how much is expected of him, and if he 
succeed in meeting these expectations, he 
is very apt to think he has done enough. 
He may not do all this deliberately, but he 
naturally and imperceptibly falls in with 
the current. Unless you are specially on 
your guard, and have the special grace of 



64 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

God, your feet will slide just here. Your 
pastor tells you not to take older Chris- 
tians for your guide ; but unless you have 
uncommon decision of character you will 
scarcely rise above so strong an influence. 

It appears to me that of all the dangers 
which beset the path of the young pilgrim 
this is the greatest. With shame and sor- 
row I must say to you, that church mem- 
bers now are generally so far below the Bi- 
ble standard and the primitive model, that 
the young convert in putting himself under 
their watch and care gains but little, and 
often loses the high aspirations and good 
resolutions with which he sets out. 

The command is, " B not conformed to 
the world ; " neither must you be conformed 
to the church when she has become like 
the world. Do not suffer yourself to be de- 
ceived by names : the true church consists 
of those only who are truly living for God ; 
the rest must be ranked with the world, what- 



BE A BIBLE CHRISTIAN. 65 

ever profession they may make. Of course^ 
then, there is no propriety in our allowing 
them to influence us. Now, without being 
uncharitable, or pretending to judge in 
doubtful cases as to whether such and such 
persons have ever been converted, we can 
not help seeing whether they are really liv- 
ing for .God, and where it is apparent they 
are not, we must come out from among 
them, and be separate, just as we would 
from the rest of the world. He that is to 
give account for himself should think for 
himself. Do not allow others to think 
for you ; they can not stand for you at the 
bar of judgment. Remember you have only 
one life to live, and if you make any mis- 
takes you can not come back to rectify 
them. 

Oh, if each young convert would take the 
Bible for his guide, resolving in the strength 
of the Lord to be a Bible Christian, with- 
out any regard whatever to the opinions 



66 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

and practices of others, in the church or 
out of it, what a gainer he would he ! How 
much the cause of Christ would gain, how 
much would God be honored ! Then would 
Zion arise from the dust and put on her 
beautiful garments. 

Now let us look into the Bible and see 
what it requires. And, first, we are met by 
this command : " Whether therefore ye eat 
or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the 
glory of God." That is, do nothing to 
please yourself, or to please others, but" iii 
everything, from the greatest to the small- 
est, seek to please and honor God. Do you 
not see that this one precept cuts you off 
entirely from doing things merely because 
others do ? To your own Master you stand 
or fall. 

But you say it is very hard for a young 
Christian to take such a decided stand ; it 
seems like setting yourself up to be better 



BE A BIBLE CHRISTIAN. 67 

and wiser than those who have been in the 
church a long time before yon. 

I know it is hard, very ; but it must be 
done, if you would keep a conscience void 
of offense. If you are commanded to hate 
father and mother, the presumption is that 
you are not to care a great deal for any- 
body else, that is, where they come in 
the way of duty. . 

Now we will take another look into the 
Bible. The next passage that meets us is 
this : " To him that esteemeth anything to 
be unclean, to him it is unclean." Ito- 
mans xiv. 14. Here again you see it won't 
do to go by other people's ideas of right 
and wrong. Suppose you are a babe in 
Christ, and the rest of the church are far 
advanced, still, if certain tilings in which 
they allow themselves seem wrong to you, 
according to this passage they would be 
wrong for you. Though you can not al- 



68 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

ways judge for others, you can and must 
always judge for yourself. 

Take another passage of Scripture : 
" Whatsoever is not of faith is sin ; " and 
another : " Let every one be fully persuaded 
in his own mind." That is, never do any- 
thing which you do not fully believe to be 
according to the mind of God. The Holy 
Spirit offers to guide you in all things ; if 
you are right, you have put yourself under 
his guidance, and now if you do anything 
which you are not satisfied he calls you to 
do, that thing is not done in faith ; it is 
sin. The moment you begin to follow oth- 
ers, that moment you desert your G-uide. 

My dear young friend, you can not be too 
much on your guard against surrounding 
influences. If you would be a consistent, 
happy Christian, if you would please God, 
if you would make any progress in the di- 
vine life, if you would make your influence 
felt on the church and the world, you must 



BE A BIBLE CIIRISTIA2T. 69 

think for yourself, read the Bible for your- 
self, judge for yourself as to its requisi- 
tions, and act up fully to your own convic- 
tions of duty. 



LETTER IX. 

CHOOSING ASSOCIATES. 




settled upon the principles 
which should regulate your life, we 
will now proceed to make some ap- 
plication of them. It is one thing to 
receive the truths of the gospel, and quite 
another to apply them. 

The first subject which naturally comes 
up is the choice of associates. This is a 
matter of very great importance. We are 
so constituted that we can not be insensi- 
ble to the pleasures of society and friend- 
ship ; they seem essential to our happiness' 
and well-being. You have perhaps hith- 
erto mingled freely in society, and chosen 
for your intimates those nearest you in age, 
and similar in respect to education, taste, 

70 



CHOOSING ASSOCIATES. 71 

and sympathies, without taking into con- 
sideration particularly their influence on 
you, or yours on them. But you are now 
in a new position ; having devoted yourself 
to the Lord, you can not choose your 
friends and associates without his permis- 
sion. In all your social intercourse now, 
you have two objects in view; viz., to do 
good, or to get good. You will not talk 
for the sake of talking, or allow the conver- 
sation to flow oil without aim or benefit, for 
you feel that your Lord's time must not be 
wasted ; moreover, I trust the love of Christ 
constraineth you to have your conversation 
always as becometh saints. 

Therefore, while you associate with those 
who feel differently, for the sake of doing 
them good, you will choose for your intimate 
friends, not persons who are most pleasing 
in a worldly point of view, but those who 
have most of the spirit of Christ. This you 
will do, in the first place, because, if your 



72 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

heart. is right, it will flow out towards such 
most warmly and tenderly ; and, second, 
because you will feel that the Saviour ap- 
proves this choice ; and, third, because they 
-, will be a great help to you in the divine 
life. 

Although it is natural for you to prefer 
the company of those of your own age, it 
would be greatly for your advantage to as- 
sociate as much as possible with older 
Christians. You may profit much by their 
experience. I have known some friend- 
ships between the old and the young that 
were mutually delightful, and to the younger 
parties eminently advantageous. Perhaps 
you feel as if one further advanced than 
yourself could not wish for a friendship 
where the benefit was likely to be all on 
one side. " Remember the words of the 
Lord Jesus, how he said, ' It is more blessed 
to give than to receive.' " Thus, if the 
younger is to be the gainer in one way, the 



CHOOSING ASSOCIATES. 73 

elder is in another. Hitherto you have not, 
perhaps, felt disposed to associate much 
with those who lacked education, refine- 
ment, and all that goes to constitute your 
idea of the agreeable. Some of the Lord's 
disciples are quite deficient in these re- 
spects, yet he loves them, and you, if in 
sympathy with him, will love them too, and 
choose their company and their friendship 
in preference to that of those who are more 
refined but less spiritual. 

These humble disciples, who have not 
had the advantages of education and inter- 
course with cultivated society, you will find, 
not unfrequently, have been taught of the 
Spirit in a remarkable degree, and can teach 
you much on the great subject of Christian 
experience. Others may tell you what they 
have read, but these can tell you what 
they feel and know. Such individuals have 
always been to me the most powerful of 
preachers. I have been more interested 



74 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

and enlightened, more encouraged and ani- 
mated, by listening to the religious experi- 
ence of some humble .disciple, than by the 
most eloquent discourses. 

I know that the matter of associates is 
not altogether under your own control ; you 
are often obliged to be on familiar if not 
intimate terms with those whose society is 
not particularly interesting or profitable. 
They may be family connections, or near 
neighbors, or in some way have a claim on 
you. In these cases you must be patient, 
regarding it as an arrangement of Provi- 
dence ; and remember, in all your inter- 
course with them, either you will do them 
good, or they will do you hurt. 

It is not best to have many intimate 
friends, lest it should take up too much of 
your time. Pleasant and profitable as your 
intercourse may be, it should not be suffered 
to trench on other things which demand at- 
tention. When called to go into company 



CHOOSING ASSOCIATES. 75 

or to receive friends, remember whose you 
are and whom you serve, and be always 
intent on your great work. Lift up your 
heart to God for his presence and blessing, 
and ask him to take charge of the conver- 
sation. Always converse as you would if 
the Lord Jesus Christ were present to your 
bodily eye, as he ever is to the eye of faith. 
May you be divinely guided, my dear 

, in this most important matter of 

choosing friends and associates. Much of 
your happiness and well-being depend upon 
it. It is an old saying, " A man is known 
by the company he keeps," and we might 
almost add, a young person is made by the 
company lie keeps. You will insensibly 
imbibe the feelings and views of those with 
whom you associate. If you are willing to 
be a worldly-minded professor, rather gay 
and fashionable, you might choose associ- 
ates of that stamp ; for, alas, there are 
plenty of them. But if you mean to be a 



76 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

whole-souled Christian, and have it the one 
great object and the one great rule of life 
to please G-od, then choose persons of this 
stamp for your friends. " Iron sharpeneth 



iron." 



Yours in the sweet bonds of the gospel. 



LETTER X. 

MARRIAGE. 

** How blest the sacred tie that binds 
In union sweet according minds ! 
How swift the heavenly course they run, 
Whose hearts and faith and hopes are one ! " 

]N my last I considered the subject of 
associates in general. This naturally 
TB leads to the consideration of the prin- 
ciples which should guide young Chris- 
tians in the choice of a companion for life. 
If it behooves them to be careful in the se- 
lection of their ordinary associates, how 
much more in regard to entering into a 
relation so intimate and permanent as that 
of marriage ! This is the last subject that 
should be treated with levity, for no move- 
ment in life is fraught with more serious 
consequences. The truly consecrated can 

77 



78 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

not speak lightly of it, but will feel that 
here, as, in everything else, all must be re- 
ferred to God. The divine guidance will 
be sought with an honest intention of fol- 
lowing it. But, alas, how many there are 
who ask the Lord to direct them, and yet 
after all intend to follow their own inclina- 
tions ! 

In my last letter I was led to remark, 
that, having devoted yourself to the Lord, 
you could not choose your friends and asso- 
ciates without his permission. If this be 
true of ordinary friends and associates, how 
much more in regard to choosing a com- 
panion for life ! You are not your own. 
This fact fully realized leaves no room for 
independent action. That Master, whose 
you are and whom you serve, must dictate 
every movement. The one great idea ever 
before your mind is to please him. While 
you need not and ought not to enter into a 
relation so intimate and endearing with one 



MARRIAGE. 79 

who is not agreeable to you, and able to 
command your warmest affections, still this 
must not be the primary consideration. 
You may and must consult your own taste 
and your own heart, but not till you have 
first inquired and satisfied yourself that you 
have the approval of your heavenly Father. 
The requirement of Scripture is that we 
marry ''only in the Lord." 

Now, if you should suffer yourself to fol- 
low the dictates of fancy or feeling, without 
honestly seeking to know the will of God 
in the matter, however worthy the object 
of your affections might be, you could not 
be said to " marry in the Lord." There 
are many professed disciples of Christ who, 
while they acknowledge their obligations to 
do everything else to the glory of God, 
seem to think that in this thing they may 
please themselves. I do not know by what 
authority they take this most important 
matter out from under his jurisdiction. If 



80 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

ever a young person needs heavenly wisdom 
and divine guidance, it is here, where there 
is so much at stake, and such a liability to 
be misled by fancy and feeling. Let us 
thank the Lord, then, that he will permit 
us to consult him. 

If the ruling desire of your heart is to 
please God, you will not allow your affec- 
tions to be placed on one who does not sym- 
pathize in this desire. For how can two 
walk together except they be agreed ? If 
the grand motive of action be with you one 
thing, and with him another, you can not 
expect to move oil comfortably together. 
Besides, with a heart full of love to God, 
you will not enjoy the society of one who 
is a stranger to that love. The subjects 
nearest your heart have no interest for 
him. I do not see how you can ever form 
an attachment to a man of the world until 
you have first become yourself a back- 
slider. Should you find your affections 



MARRIAGE. 81 

taking such a direction, it would be high 
time to inquire if you had not lost your 
first love. 

Not long since I put this question to the 
members of my Bible class : " Is it right 
for a Christian to marry an impenitent per- 
son ? " The question went round the class, 
and each one said that it did not seem to 
be right, yet no one was prepared to pro- 
nounce it absolutely wrong. I then asked 
them if they could bring any argument in 
its favor. They could think of only one, 
and that was, the possibility that it might 
result in the conversion of the impenitent 
partner. I admitted that this was some- 
times the case, but reminded them hotv 
much oftener the influence went the other 
way. 

To marry a man with the hope of con- 
verting him is a most dangerous experiment. 
The strong probability is, that he will grad- 
ually undermine your piety, draw you more 
6 



82 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

and more into conformity with the world, 
and nullify your influence in your family. 
How many a sad and weary-hearted wife I 
can think of, whose feeble hands have long 
since failed in the effort to hold up the 
standard alone! Her husband and chil- 
dren have the controlling influence, and you 
would not know that she was still trying to 
think herself a Christian if you did not 
see her now and then wending her lonely 
way to the communion table. 

Yet, supposing the probabilities were 
much stronger than they are that your good 
influence would be greater over an impeni- 
tent husband than his evil influence over 
you, still you know we must never do evil 
that good may come. If a young lady does 
not succeed in leading her friend to Christ 
before marriage, how can she expect to af- 
ter? Or rather, why not defer both en- 
gagement and marriage till their hearts 
have become one in the Lord ? 



MARRIAGE. 83 

" Be not unequally yoked together with 
unbelievers ; for what fellowship hath right- 
eousness with unrighteousness ? and what 
communion hath light with darkness ? and 
what concord hath Christ with Belial ? and 
what agreement hath the temple of God 
.with idols ? " 2 Cor. vi. 14-16. 

You will say, no doubt, as the young 
ladies of my Bible class did, that such a 
marriage does not seem right, and yet per- 
haps like them you may not be quite pre- 
pared to pronounce it wrong. There is a 
secret unwillingness in the minds of most 
young persons to commit themselves on 
this point ; but it appears to me of the ut- 
most importance that they should do so ; 
that it should be a settled matter with them, 
a fixed principle, so that they shall be be- 
yond the reach of temptation. This must 
be done before their affections are enlisted, 
for after that it will be difficult for them to 
look at the subject impartially. 



84 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

Here allow me to bring up again a prin- 
ciple of action alluded to in a previous let- 
ter. If any given course seems to you 
wrong, or even doubtful, for you it is wrong. 
" To him that thinketh a thing unclean, to 
him it is unclean." We are not at liberty 
to do anything till we are sure it is right. 
" He that doubteth is damned if he eat, 
because he eateth not of faith." " What- 
soever is not of faith is sin." Anything, 
however innocent in others, is wrong in 
you, until you are convinced in your own 
mind that it is right, and that God calls 
you to it. This important principle, if 
faithfully applied, will settle many a case 
of conscience. You perhaps wish to do 
certain things which others do, but are not 
quite sure it would be right ; then you may 
be quite sure that for you it would be 
wrong. 

Does this rule seem too strict ? It is not 
stricter than perfect love will dictate. Ask 



MARRIAGE. 85 

your own heart. You love your earthly 
father very much; it has ever been your 
study to please him ; you carefully avoid 
not only what he has positively forbidden, 
but everything that you so much as suspect 
would be disagreeable to him. You do not 
think of stopping to inquire whether your 
brothers and sisters do these doubtful 
things. Now, if you love your heavenly 
Father as you do your earthly parent, you 
will pursue the same course in regard to 
him. 

There are some Christians who will tell 
you that they don't believe it is wrong for 
pious persons to marry the impenitent. 
But ask them if they are sure it is right , 
and I think most of them would hesitate. 
Such marriages have ever been a fruitful 
source of evil. They have done much to 
lower the standard of piety in the church. 
I would earnestly say to all young Chris- 
tians, as you value your happiness for life, 



86 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

as you value your usefulness in the church 
and in the world, as you value your Chris- 
tian influence, as you value your own sanc- 
tification, as you value the approving smile 
and blessing of God, " JSe not unequally 
yoked together with unbelievers." 
Yours in the best of bonds. 



LETTER XI. 

CONVEBSA TION. 

She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue 
is the law of kindness. PRO v. yygi. 26. 




HEN we give ourselves to God we 
^_ dedicate our conversational powers to 
him. It is a question of the great- 
est interest how we may use them 
entirely for his glory. Much of life being 
necessarily spent in conversation, how im- 
portant that it be of the right stamp! 
When it is not what it should be (and, alas, 
this is too generally the case), we pervert a 
noble gift, besides wasting our Lord's time. 
Each day brings with it golden opportuni- 
ties of doing good by conversation; how 
shall the young Christian be prepared to 
improve them ? 

87 



88 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

The first and most important requisite is 
a holy heart. " For out of the abundance 
of the heart the mouth speaketh." One 
whose thoughts and feelings are occupied 
with divine things can not afford to trifle 
or gossip. One who loves God will love 
his fellow-men, and can not afford to slan- 
der or speak evil of them. Those in whose 
heart the love of God and men prevails 
will naturally, we should almost say neces- 
sarily, avoid the numerous faults which are 
observable in the intercourse of worldly 
persons. Their speech will " be always 
with grace seasoned with salt." They will 
continually look to the Lord for direction, 
and will continually receive it. Wherever 
they are, at home, abroad, by the fire- 
side and the wayside, they will be intent 
on imparting and obtaining good. They 
will stir one another up to duty, and com- 
fort one another with the comfort where- 
with they themselves .are comforted of God. 



CONVERSATION. 89 

They will admonish one another daily, will 
rebuke and reprove with all long-suffering. 
When they meet with a brother who has 
been overtaken in a fault, they will restore 
such a one in the spirit of meekness. The 
impenitent they will converse with faith- 
fully and tenderly. Many who call them- 
selves Christians feel a great reluctance to 
the performance of this duty, and on vari- 
ous pretexts excuse themselves from it. 
But those who are wholly given up to God, 
who love him with all their hearts, have no 
difficulty. The love of Christ and the love 
of souls constrain them to speak. It is not 
done from a sense of duty, but from a holy 
sympathy with the sinner and with God. 
Now, I do not like to urge it on you as a 
duty to converse faithfully with the impen- 
itent whenever and wherever opportunity is 
given, for if you attempted it on this ground 
I should not anticipate any good results. 
There is a wide difference between convers- 



90 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

ing with an impenitent person simply to 
ease your own conscience, and warning him 
out of the fullness of an affectionate heart. 
I would say to all young Christians, " Be 
filled with the Spirit," and then you can 
not help speaking. 

It is not always necessary, nor is it al- 
ways expedient, to say a great deal to un- 
converted persons. Frequently a word, ex- 
pressive of your deep and tender interest, 
anything which conveys the idea that you 
are feeling and praying for them, will suf- 
fice. It is like a nail in a sure place. You 
then become to them " a living epistle," for 
every time they see you they will think, 
"There is one who cares for my soul, 
who is earnestly desirous of my salvation ; 
ought I not to care for it too ? " Thus 
you will be preaching to them when you 
are not aware of it. Many persons excuse 
themselves from this duty on the plea of 
unfitness. They think they have no talent 



CONVERSATION. . 91 

for conversation, that they can not present 
the subject judiciously, can not meet objec- 
tions, and shall be likely to make mistakes. 
Undoubtedly some are better qualified than 
others, but let all do what they can. Gen- 
erally it is not argument that is wanted. 
Let your friend know that you. consider 
him in danger, that you feel for him and 
want to save him, and with the divine bless- 
ing it will awaken his feelings, and this is 
usually what is needed. Let his heart be- 
come softened, and he is prepared to receive 
the truth. 

Still, in order to be qualified for the high- 
est usefulness to such persons, you must 
try to become acquainted with the best 
methods of approaching their minds, and 
the proper way of meeting their objections. 
With this in view, listen attentively to your 
pastor when he addresses the unconverted, 
and read on the subject, continually keep- 
ing in use the thoughts thus gained. 



92 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHBISTIAN. 

Perhaps you will say, " I am young, and 
it seems for the present proper that I should 
retain the attitude of a learner, rather thau 
to be assuming that of a teacher." 

The adversary suggests this, because he 
knows that nothing will help you forward 
so fast as the continual effort to communi- 
cate what you learn. " Give, and it shall 
be given you ; good measure, pressed down, 
and shaken together, and running over, 
shall men give into your bosom." This is 
pre-eminently true in regard to imparting 
spiritual treasures. Use your light, and 
you shall have more ; put it under a bushel, 
and it will go out. 

When you meet with Christians, endeav- 
or to draw from them some account of their 
religious experience, and speak freely of 
your own. In this way you may do much 
to strengthen the faith of God's dear chil- 
dren. No matter if they are older than 
yourself, and have been longeron the way 1 ; 



CONVERSATION. 93 

do not on that account wait for them to 
speak first. To strengthen the faith of 
Christians, and promote holiness of heart 
and life, appears to me even more impor- 
tant than making direct efforts for the sal- 
vation of the impenitent. For when the 
church comes right, the world will follow. 
Such labors, therefore, though indirect, 
may be regarded as the most efficient means 
of saving the unconverted. 

Now, if by the grace of God you have 
learned what it is to be entirely conse- 
crated, and what it is to appropriate the 
promises, you are in that attitude where 
the Lord can use you for the good of oth- 
ers. You will find comparatively few in 
the church at present who have much ex- 
perimental knowledge of these things. 
Tell them what God has done for you, and 
it will be to them a very powerful kind of 
preaching. Nothing preaches so convinc- 
ingly and efficaciously as experience. When 



94 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

you meet with Christians who know the 
full blessedness of the life of faith, then 
hasten to draw from them the riches of 
their past and present experience, for your 
own benefit and encouragement. 

In this way will your conversation be as 
becometh saints. The Spirit will speak 
through you to others, and through them 
again to you. Every one you meet is 
either a saint or a sinner ; you have a mes- 
sage to both ; lose no time, but be about 
your Father's business. I would not, how- 
ever, be understood to say that there must 
never be any time given to ordinary top- 
ics, never anything said in a playful way, 
with a view of diffusing cheerfulness 
through the family circle, or raising the 
spirits of the careworn and depressed. All 
these things have their appropriate place, 
and the indwelling Spirit will not ' fail to 
check you when you are in danger of going 
too far. 



CONVERSATION. 95 

People generally seem to think that when 
together they must talk all the time. When- 
ever a pause occurs in the conversation, 
they hasten to fill it up -with something, 
no matter what. In this way a great deal 
is said that had much better have been left 
unsaid. Now, it appears to me that occa- 
sional pauses, even of considerable length, 
so far from being unpleasant or unsuitable, 
may be very serviceable, affording time to 
commune with God, and listen to the in- 
ward voice. If we would have the Lord 
direct the conversation, we should give him 
time to speak, or rather give ourselves 
time to hear. I do not think the time is 
lost when there is a pause in a conference 
meeting, or in a social interview, certainly 
not among spiritual persons. It would be 
well for those who so eagerly fill up every 
gap in the conversation with whatever 
comes to hand, to inquire whether a few 
moments of " inward recollection " might 
not be more profitable. 



96 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

The subject of conversation is an inter- 
esting, because a practical one ; a matter 
which conies up every day and every hour. 
It is of the utmost importance that young 
Christians should be careful here, or they 
will be continually bringing themselves into 
condemnation. May you have grace to or- 
der your conversation aright. Let your 
manner be calm and deliberate, courteous, 
gentle, and kind. Do not speak loud or 
fast. Listen attentively to others, and 
never interrupt them. " The .crowning 
grace of conversation is to listen well" 
Present the good thoughts which may be 
given you in appropriate language, and let 
there be that in all you say, both as regards 
the matter and the manner, which shall 
come up to the idea conveyed in the beau- 
tiful words of Moses, " My speech shall dis- 
til as the dew." Deut. xxxii. 2. 

Yours in the best of bonds. 





LETTER XII. 

BEADING. 

^OLOMON said, " Of making many books 
there is no end." Of the truth of this 
assertion we have abundant evidence. 
Books of all sorts, to say nothing of 
papers and periodicals, are so rapidly issu- 
ing from the press, that it would be impos- 
sible to keep up with the literature of the 
day, even if we did nothing else but read. 
As most of us have a great many other 
things to do, it becomes an important in- 
quiry, by what rules we shall be guided in 
making a selection from the mass of read- 
ing matter which presents itself. 

The books that young people read have 
perhaps as much influence in the formation 

7 97 



98 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

of their character as the companions with 
whom they associate. There are, there- 
fore, the same reasons for being careful in 
the selection, and much the same rules will 
apply in hoth cases. Let me know what 
company a young person keeps, and what 
hooks he reads, and it is easy to judge what 
he is now, and is likely to be through life. 
I know not how it may be with others, but 
I am sure that in my own case the books I 
read in early life had a far greater influence 
over me than my associates. 

In choosing your books, let me remind 
you again that you are not your own. You 
are not at liberty to read every entertain- 
ing thing that comes in your way, but you 
must first ask permission of your Divine 
Master. It will not do to waste his time in 
reading something that is merely entertain- 
ing. You have now begun to live in ear- 
nest, and I trust will do nothing great or 
small for which you can not render a rea- 



READING. 99 

son. You are now to live by the moment, 
and the continual inquiry with you is to be, 
" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 
Anything which, after making this inquiry, 
you honestly believe he would have you to 
read, read, and nothing else. Avoid every- 
thing about which you are in the least doubt- 
ful ; it may do for others, but not for you ; 
it may do for you at some future time, but 
not now. And here you have a rule which 
will enable you to decide in regard to ficti- 
tious reading. Undoubtedly most of the 
works of fiction would thus be banished 
from your table. 

In the morning of each day you ask the 
Holy Spirit to guide you in all things ; the 
language of your heart is, 

" Direct, control, suggest this day 
All I design, or do, or say." 

Now every time you turn aside to read 
a story, or do anything else simply for your 
own gratification, without stopping to ask 



100 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

whether it will be pleasing to God, that mo- 
ment you desert your Guide. 

You will find many professed disciples 
who allow themselves in light reading ; 
they will tell you they don't see any harm 
in it ; but you have given yourself ivliolly 
to God, and put yourself wholly under his 
direction, therefore the opinions and prac- 
tices of others are no rule for you. Be- 
sides, a deeply spiritual person can not en- 

* 

joy such reading, and if you should find a 
taste for it reviving, it would be time to in- 
quire whether you had not lost ground in 
the heavenly race. A Christian who is 
really hungering and thirsting after right- 
eousness delights so much in the Bible, and 
those books which breathe its spirit, that 
light literature loses its charms for him. 

While you follow the inward voice you 
will find yourself led to read those books 
only which are calculated to fit you for the 
service of God. Of course they will not 



READING. 101 

be exclusively religious, because while on 
earth you need various kinds of knowledge 
in order to be fitted for the various duties 
of life. Perhaps, too, it will sometimes be 
needful for you to read for recreation ; but 
there is even then no occasion to resort to 
fiction, for you will find plenty of works in 
which entertainment and instruction are 
happily blended. 

You will perhaps think, as most people 
do, that some fictitious reading may be al- 
lowed. As much as you please, provided 
only you have permission from the heavenly 
Guide, and are sure you have it. 

There is a class of Christians addressed 
in the eighth verse of the thirty-second 
Psalm, who walk in the light of love, and 
are easily led. God says to such in this 
verse, " I will instruct thee and teach thee 
in the way thou shalt go, I will guide thee 
with mine eye." There is another and 
quite a different class addressed in the next 



102 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

verse ; they are persons who are always 
crawling on the ground, feeling for the di- 
viding line between Christ and the world. 
The question, What is right and what is 
wrong ? means with them, " How far may 
we venture to go in the forbidden direc- 
tion ? " To such God says, " Be ye not as 
the horse or the mule, which have no un- 
derstanding ; whose mouth must be held in 
with bit and bridle." Those persons are 
legalists; they have no understanding of 
the life of faith- and the sweetly constrain- 
ing power of love ; nothing but the re- 
straints of law will hold them in. 

You must not only take heed ivhat you 
read, but also liow you read. Do not read 
too much, nor too fast. This you will be 
continually tempted to do ; but nothing is 
gained by it. Johnson says, " Whatever is 
worth reading once is worth reading twice." 
Books have multiplied so much since his 
day, that I doubt if he would have the reso- 



BEADING. 103 

lution to adhere to his own rule. I believe, 
however, that six books read twice will be 
worth more to us than twelve read once. I 
often find a third and even a fourth reading 
advantageous. Read till you make the au- 
thor's thoughts your own, and then secure 
them by putting them to use. I find, in 
reading religious writings of a practical or 
experimental kind, that the thoughts must 
not only be weighed and received, but acted 
upon, otherwise I am likely to let them 
slip. 

I hope you have no ambition to be what is 
called a great reader. Such a reputation is 
generally acquired at the expense of other 
things more important. Duties never con- 
flict. The monitor within will not call you 
to read when you should be doing some- 
thing else. Never allow yourself to read 
when in your own soul you believe you 
ought to be praying, meditating, or acting. 
So sure as you do, although it should be the 



104 LETTERS TO A TOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

best book in the world, you will bring your- 
self into condemnation, for it is certain that 
you are then seeking your own gratification 
instead of the approval of God. 

We often hear people regretting that they 
have not more time to read. This is wrong. 
God gives us all the time for that, and 
other enjoyments, which is best, and the 
Christian who is saying daily and hourly, 
" Lord, what wilt fhou have me to do ? " 
goes cheerfully forward in the way marked 
out for him, and finds no room in his heart 
for regrets. 

Perhaps you will say, " I desire to be di- 
rected by the Spirit what to read, how to 
read, and when to read, but I am not al- 
ways sure I understand the intimations of 
his will." I can at least tell you when you 
may be sure that you are not following it : 

1. When you read books, periodicals, 
and papers, which are not calculated to be 
beneficial to you. 



BEADING. 105 

2. When you read simply for your own 
gratification, or to make a display of the 
knowledge acquired. 

8. When you read too much, or too fast, 
and without suitable care to profit by what 
you read. 

4. When you read to the neglect of other 
duties. 

I can not leave this subject without ear- 
nestly commending the BIBLE to you as the 
book of all books. Do not let other read- 
ing encroach upon it. This you will be con- 
tinually tempted to do. Other books may 
be read, this must be studied. Drink deep 
into its spirit. Read it daily, not as a du- 
ty, but as a delight. Read it as you would 
a letter from a dear friend ; it is a letter 
from your dearest Friend, and it is filled 
with love. Study it faithfully, constantly, 
but never to all eternity will your mind be 
able to grasp its full, deep meaning ! 




LETTER XIII. 

OCCUPATIONS. 

JOU feel that the choice of occupations is 
a subject of great importance. It is so. 
How we shall fill up our time to the 
best advantage, is a question of much 
interest. Our time did I say ? No, not 
ours ; that time which the Lord gave, and 
which we have given back to him. When 
we gave ourselves to God, we consecrated 
all our time, and now we wish to use every 
moment for him. It will be taking that 
which is not ours, or, as the Scriptures ex- 
press it, robbing Grod, if we use any of his 
time for our own gratification merely, or 
the gratification of others, without permis- 
sion ; if we waste it in unnecessary sleep 

106 



OCCUPATIONS. 107 

or recreation, in trifling conversation or 
trifling books, or any occupation in which 
he does not call us to engage. The truly 
consecrated Christian never has any lost 
time " r he is always about his Father's busi- 
ness ; and when his thoughts are not neces- 
sarily engaged about other things, prayer, 
praise, and heavenly meditation fill up the 
intervals. 

The great rule in regard to our occupa- 
tions is, to follow the leadings of the Spirit 
and providence of God. These will always 
point the same way, and always harmonize 
with the word. Having given ourselves to 
God, we must let him have control of all 
our movements. We have no more right to 
choose our own occupations than we have 
to be idle. It is not enough that we are al- 
ways busy about something, even though it 
be a very good thing ; we are to be doing 
just that, and that only, which our Master 
calls us to do. 



108 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

There are some kinds of work which you 
like and others that you do not like. These 
likes and dislikes must not he allowed any 
weight ; the only question is, " Lord, what 
wilt thou have me to do ?" How pleasant it 
is to work for God ! The truly consecrated 
soul has no other work. The wife of Presi- 
dent Edwards, who had a remarkably deep 
and rich experience in divine things, used 
to say, " Oh, how good it is to work for God 
in the day-time, and at night to lie down 
under his smiles ! " The common or ordi- 
nary business of everyday life is dignified 
and ennobled by being brought out and 
done under his eye, at his command, to 
his glory. 

You remember Newton said that if two 
angels should be sent into this world, one 
to rule an empire, and the other to sweep a 
chimney, they would not have the least 
choice. This brings out the true idea of 



OCCUPATIONS. 109 

the way in which everything should be done, 
so fully in God and for God. 

Perhaps you say, " This is no more than 
I should expect of angels, but it is too high 
a standard for me." No higher than the 
standard of the Bible. God requires you to 
be as good as an augel. I think I hear you 
exclaim, " As good as an angel ? why, that 
is impossible!" How good is an angel? 
As good as he can be, and you are required 
to be as good as you can be. All intelligent 
beings, from the little child to the archan- 
gel, give satisfaction to their Creator when 
they love him with their whole hearts, and 
fill up their little measure of duty according 
to their several abilities. " The perfection 
of a circle," Hannah More says, " consists 
not in its dimensions, but in its complete- 



ness." 



I have often found it profitable to inquire 
how an angel would probably act if placed 
in my circumstances, and then try to do 



110 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

just that which I should expect him to do. 
Now in regard to this matter of employ- 
ments, I would have you, like the angels, do 
what the Lord gives you to do, 

" With a glad heart and free. " 

Do it because Tie gives it, rather than be- 
cause it is agreeable or important, or some- 
body expects it, or it will give others a good 
opinion of you. These inferior motives 
you would think unworthy of an angel ; 
then they are unworthy of a Christian. 

You will find many domestic duties de- 
volving upon you. Perhaps you have no 
taste for these employments, and are ready 
to call them drudgery. But no ; the view 
we have just taken raises them to a level 
with the most dignified occupations of life. 
The Saviour says, " Whether ye eat or 
drink, or whatever you do, do all to the 
glory of God." This certainly takes in the 
whole list of household duties, down to the 
smallest and most ignoble. 



OCCUPATIONS. Ill 

Seeing a great part of life is necessarily 
taken up with little things, what a comfort 

v 

and satisfaction it is to know that God and 
religion need not be shut out from one of 
them! Sweep your floor just as Newton's 
angel would sweep his chimney. He would 
do it well, he would do it cheerfully ; and 
when he got to the top, you might hear him 
singing, " Glory to God in the highest, on 
earth peace, good will to men ! " 

I believe you think sewing rather a dull 
employment, compared with study, writing, 
and many other things. I am much of 
your opinion ; and therefore we will do no 
more of it than is necessary. It is enough 
to make one's heart ache to see how much 
time is wasted in useless needle-work, trim- 
mings, embroidery, rug-work, fancy-net- 
ting, <fec. I can call it nothing but busy 
idleness. What should you think to see an 
angel doing such work ? How then can a 
Christian do it? Such employments may 



112 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

answer to airiuse invalids and children, and 
those who can do nothing better. Many 
good people will tell you there is no harm 
in such things, that they like to do them, 
and they don't believe it is wrong. I can 
only say, that we are here, as in other 
things, to follow our Guide. He will not 
call us to do anything of this kind, until 
every duty, personal and relative, is fairly 
discharged. When you have done all that 
belongs to you at home and abroad, and 
all that is desirable in regard to your own 
intellectual and spiritual improvement, if 
there is any time left, you may find yourself 
called to take up with some of these forms 
of elegant idleness. 

Much time is consumed by our young 
people in music and drawing, and often to 
little purpose. Where there is a decided 
talent for these pursuits, and the arrange- 
ments of Providence favor its cultivation, 
and the young Christian is clear in her own 



OCCUPATIONS. 113 

mind that she is called to it, and that it is 
just the appropriation of time which under 
the circumstances will be most pleasing to 
God, then she may engage in these things 
with a clear conscience, and find a blessing 
in them. 

Perhaps it will become necessary for you 
to support yourself by your own exertions. 
The spirit of entire consecration will re- 
quire and enable you to enter with cheerful- 
ness and alacrity upon any course of labor 
to which you may be called. While you 
work hard to procure food, clothing, and 
shelter, these will not be the primary ob- 
jects in your mind ; you are living for God, 
and you will attend to these things because 
he requires it, and your object will be, not 
personal comfort, but to keep yourself iu 
good working order for his service. 

Some very foolish people fancy that labor 
is degrading; but our Saviour, by saying, 
" Whatever you do, do all to the glory of 

8 



114 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN'. 

God," has for ever ennobled it. Do it to 
thy glory ? May we, can we, thus glorify 
Thee ? Then are all kinds of labor by that 
one word of thine made truly noble ! 

After you have fully met the claims of 
duty at home, there will be many demands 
upon you from other quarters. You must 
visit the poor, watch with the sick, and 
comfort the afflicted. You may also do 
much good with your pen, writing letters, 
and contributing to religious papers and 
periodicals. In this way you can impart to 
others the valuable thoughts which may be 
given to you, and thus continue to do good 
on earth long after you have gone to heaven. 
It is said of David that, " having served 
his own generation, by the will of God 
he fell on sleep." He not only " served 
his oivn generation," during a long and ac- 
tive life, but through his pen he has been 
serving every generation since. 

When you put a useful thought on paper 



OCCUPATIONS. 115 

there is no knowing how widely its good 
influence may be felt. Long after your 
tongue is silent in the grave, it may be 
said, " She being dead yet speaketh." Ma- 
dame Guyon lived and wrote two hundred 
years ago, but her work is not yet done. 
She still goes from house to house, not only 
in her native land, but in England and 
America, with a noiseless tread and a si- 
lent voice, which the heart hears ; plead- 
ing with Christians to be holy, and in her 
own example holding up to them a stand- 
ard of piety which the church has well- 
nigh lost sight of. How interesting it is to 
think of one, who has been so many years 
in heaven, still gliding about among us, re- 
peating the words of love and wisdom which 
she uttered in life ! 

Perhaps you doubt your ability to write. 
Be holy, and such thoughts shall be given 
you as God can and will use for the good 
of others. 



116 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

There is another class of duties, growing 
out of your relations to the church. You 
must aid in the Sabbath school, the prayer- 
meetings, and benevolent associations, and 
do everything which God shall permit to- 
wards fulfilling the promise you make, 
whenever a new member is added, to 
" watch over them, and seek their edifica- 
tion." You may do much in this way, es- 
pecially among the young. Then there is 
a large number of unconverted persons in 
the congregation with whom you worship. 
They arc looking to the members of the 
church to do something for their salvation. 
They have a claim on your sympathy, 
prayers, and benevolent effort. Here is a 
wide field of labor. All Christians should con- 
sider themselves called to be missionaries ; 
and if not sent to the foreign field, they are 
to labor at home. If we feel right, the 
love of Christ coustraiueth us to work as 



OCCUPATIONS. 117 

diligently and as faithfully as if we were 
under special appointment. 

Do we not hear a voice ever saying to us, 
" Go work in niy vineyard " ? Oh yes ; and 
this work, what is it ? A blessed privi- 
lege ; a refreshment to the soul ; a perpet- 
ual means of growth ; an opportunity of 
expressing our love, which the full heart 
craves ! 

Oh, let us enter eagerly into all these ways 
of serving our Lord. Instead of dragging 
ourselves along by a sense of duty, we will 
give him our time, talents, strength, pro- 
perty, all we have and all we are, in 
the same spirit that Mary poured her box 
of spikenard on his feet. Then that cold 
word duty will be forgotten, and the sweet 
word love will take its place ! 

Ever yours. 

THE ELIXIR. 

Teach me, my God and King, 
In all things thee to see ; 



118 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

And, what I do in anything, 
To do it as for thee : 

Not rudely, as a beast, 
To run into an action ; 

But still to make thee prepossessed, 
And give it his perfection. 

A man that looks on glass, 
On it may stay his eye ; 

Or, if he pleaseth, through it pass, 
And then the heaven espy. 

All may of thee partake ; 
Nothing can be so mean, 

Which with this tincture,./br thy sake, 
Will not grow bright and clean. 

A servant, with this clause, 
Makes drudgery divine ; 

Who sweeps a room, as for thy laws, 
Makes that, and the action, fine. 

This is the famous stone 
That turneth all to gold ; 

For that which God doth touch and own 
Can not for less be told. 

GEORGE HERBERT, 1630. 




LETTER XIV. 

SOCIAL DUTIES. 

addition to those duties which lie 
more immediately between your own 
soul and God, the occupations that 
tend to your spiritual and intellectual 
improvement, and those which pertain to 
the comfort and welfare of the family, there 
is another class of duties, growing out of 
your relations to society. If you should be 
so intent on your own intellectual and 
spiritual progress as to neglect family du- 
ties, it would certainly deserve no better 
name than selfishness. But those who suf- 
fer themselves to be entirely engrossed by 
their own families are equally open to the 
charge of selfishness. 



120 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

There is something so very absorbing in 
the cares devolving on a young wife and 
mother, that she needs to be on her guard, 
lest all her energies and sympathies should 
be contracted within the magic circle of 
home. Many a woman is lost to society af- 
ter she becomes the head of a family. But 
this should not be. Her family must of 
course make large demands on her time, 
thoughts, and affections, but should by no 
means be permitted to take all. 

Many seem to think that faithfully to dis- 
charge domestic duties is all that should be 
required of them, and all they can do. In 
some cases we might think so too (espe- 
cially where, as we often see, the strength 
is small and the demands upon it large), 
were it not that, let circumstances be ever 
so unfavorable, we always find a truly de- 
voted Christian woman will make her influ- 
ence felt beyond her own family circle. 
She feels for others ; and feeling for them, 



SOCIAL DUTIES. 121 

1 

she will think and act for them, to the ex- 
tent of her ability. It is matter of thank- 
fulness that while so many women, like 
Martha, are cumbered with much serving, 
careful and troubled about many things 
which are quite superfluous, there are some 
of a different stamp. While they love their 
own families, and take all needful care of 
them, they can love God's family also, and 
do good to every member of it as they have 
opportunity. 

I have in my mind now an individual 
who makes her influence felt in the church 
and neighborhood to a remarkable extent. 
She has been several years a widow, and 
earns with her own hands a subsistence for 
her children ; yet I know of no one who is 
more faithful in the discharge of social dit- 
ties. She is constant and punctual in her 
attendance on all the religious meetings 
and the Sabbath school, distributes tracts, 
watches with the sick, visits the poor and 



122 LETTERS TO. A YOUNG 'CHRISTIAN. 

afflicted, and when she can not reach the 
case herself calls in the aid of others. Yet 
her health is not remarkably vigorous, nor 
has she any uncommon abilities ; almost 
anybody else could do what she does, if 
they only had as large a heart. If any wo- 
man might be justified in spending all her 
time and energies at home, we should say 
this poor widow might : but she loves God, 
and all the human family for his sake ; and 
to do them good always presents itself to 
her mind in the light of a privilege more 
than a duty. 

You may be a good daughter and sister, 
a devoted wife and mother ; you may be 
quite self-sacrificing in these relations, and 
yet be intensely selfish. The world loves 
its own. 

Let us now take a glance at some of the 
more important social duties. 

1. TJie various social meetings have a 
claim upon your attention. There is or 



SOCIAL DUTIES. 123 

ought to be a prayer-meeting among the 
sisters of the church to which you belong. 
This is a blessed means of grace, and should 
on no account be neglected. When the 
providence of God permits, be constant and 
punctual in your attendance, and ever ready 
to bear a part in sustaining it. Be free to 
speak and pray as opportunity shall be 
given, without waiting for some one else to 
do it better. Do not talk of want of abili- 
ty; all the ability required is a heart full 
of faith and love. The reflex influence of 
these exercises on your own soul will be 
most beneficial, besides the direct good 
done to others. You will be an immense 
loser if you hang back from these duties. 
Do not wait for older Christians to go for- 
ward ; begin while you are young ; if you 
do not, the probability is that you never 
will begin. 

2. The Sabbath school opens to you an- 
other field of usefulness ; and here again 



124 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

the reflex influence will abundantly repay 
the time and strength you expend. To be 
a Sabbath-school teacher is to be a pastor 
on a small scale. You have the care of 
immortal souls ; solemn is the responsibil- 
ity, and sweet the reward connected with 
this work. Do not be satisfied with inter- 
esting and instructing your pupils ; rest not 
till they are converted ; and rest not then, 
till they are sanctified wholly. It is pleas- 
ant work, and very important work, to feed 
the lambs. 

3. Benevolent associations will claim a 
share of your attention. Do with your 
might what your hands find to do in this 
department of labor, and the blessing of 
many ready to perish shall come upon you. 
I know it often requires a great effort to 
leave the occupations at home in which you 
are interested, and go out in uncomforta- 
ble weather, it may be, and when, perhaps, 
your head aches or you are tired, to at- 



SOCIAL DUTIES. 125: 

tend this sewing circle and that Board 
meeting, or carry round a subscription pa- 
per ; but still, if you are not sure that your 
duty lies at home, you will be a gainer by 
the sacrifice ; good will be accomplished, a 
worthy example set to others, a salutary 
influence exerted, and God honored in the 
sight of the world. - 

Do not excuse yourself on the plea that 
there are others who have more leisure, or 
greater abilities ; you can never delegate 
your duty to another ; no one can do your 
work for you. Whether others do little or 
much, may you have grace so to meet all 
the responsibilities of life, that it can be 
truthfully engraven on your tomb, " She 
hath dono what she could." 

4. Visiting the poor, the sick, the aged, and 
the afflicted, stands prominent on the list of 
social duties. Carry to them such relief 
as may be within your reaSh, and especial- 
ly carry to them the consolations of the: 



126 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

gospel. Many a rich lesson will you learn 
in these visits ; and if you go with a heart 
in sympathy with them and with God, it is 
impossible to estimate the comfort and re- 
ligious benefit you may impart. Such per- 
sons are often quite secluded, and the sight 
of a friendly face does them good. They 
will be likely to encroach on your time and 
patience by going into the narration of all 
their troubles. But do not consider it a 
loss of time to attend to these unimportant 
details. It is worth a great deal to them 
to get a kind and sympathizing listener, 
and pouring out their griefs lightens the 
load. Sometimes they will not give you 
opportunity to say much ; no matter ; you 
have comforted them not a little simply by 
listening. Pray with them, if permitted, 
and give or lend appropriate tracts and 
books. 

5. Social visiting among friends and 
neighbors must come in for its share of at- 



SOCIAL DUTIES. 127 

tention. It is obvious that this affords op- 
portunity of doing much good. Alas, that 
it should be so generally perverted to fri- 
volity and worldliness! Going into com- 
pany will not hurt you, provided you go in 
the same spirit that your Master did, in- 
tent on doing good. Always ask him to go 
with you, and make the conversation profit- 
able ; cherishing at the same time a confi- 
dence that he will. If you suffer the time 
to slip away in unprofitable discourse, you 
will grieve the Spirit, and be likely to bring 
your soul into darkness and condemnation, 
besides losing a golden opportunity to bene- 
fit others. Do not let the example of older 
Christians influence you here. It is no 
rule for you. When all Christians come to 
be holy, fully given up to God, what a 
change will be manifested in our social 
gatherings! Now, they talk of everything 
but Christ; then, the language of their 
hearts will be, 



128 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

" We only wish to speak of Him 
Who lived, and died, and reigns for us." 

If you are fond of book and pen, you 
will be tempted to neglect these soeial du- 
ties. It will require no small effort for you 
to leave your favorite occupations, which 
elevate the mind and improve the heart, 
to mingle with people who seem to be ab- 
sorbed in the cares and pleasures of this 
life. If you are refined in your taste and 
feelings, intent on self-improvement, . you 
will be tempted to avoid the society of those 
who do uot sympathize with you. But this 
will never do. Wherever you go, there are 
two objects before you : to give, and to re- 
ceive. By the divine blessing you may al- 
ways do the one or the other. Therefore, 
instead of turning coldly away from the 
frivolous, the worldly, and the uninterest- 
ing, mingle freely with them, as the prov- 
idence and Spirit of God shall direct, and 



SOCIAL DUTIES. 129 

in the same temper with which the Saviour 
sat at meat with publicans and sinners. 

You would like to build a castle, as a ro- 
mantic friend of mine once said, 

" To shut out the wicked, the stupid and rude, 
And let in the witty, the wise and the good." 

But remember your high calling ; remem- 
ber our Lord Jesus, who left the glori- 
ous society of heaven to live more than 
thirty-three years among those who were 
utterly incapable of appreciating him. It 
was only here and there that he met with 
one who had any sympathy with him at 
all. Now what would you have thought, 
if, instead of going from place to place, 
teaching and healing. the multitudes, he had 
been in the habit of stealing away to Beth- 
any, and spending the principal part of 
his time in the luxury of refined, intellect- 
ual, and Christian intercourse with those 
whom he loved best, Lazarus and John, 

Martha and Mary ? " The servant is not 
9 



130 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

greater than his Lord." Mingle in the 
world, and bear with it, as he did ; labor 
for it, and bless it, as he did ; that at last 
you may be able to say with him, " I have 
finished the work which thou gavest me 
to do." 

" She who thus marks from day to day 
With generous acts her radiant way, 
Treads the same path her Saviour trod, 
The path to glory and to God." 





LETTER XV. 

DRESS. 
' Why take ye thought for raiment ? " CHRIST. 

CUSTOM or fashion seems to bear sway 
in many things, but in nothing per- 
haps more tyrannically 'than in the 
matter of dress. Manifold are the in- 
conveniences and discomforts submitted to 
under its iron rule. The children of the 
world are slaves to fashion ; but Christians 
have a right to break away from this thrall- 
dom. The Saviour says to them, " Ye are 
not of the world, but I have chosen you out 
of the world." It is their privilege now to 
unloose the bands of their neck, and be 
slaves no more. 
I trust you are not one of those who think 

131 



132 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

that dress is too small a matter to bring your 
religion to bear upon. Nothing is small or 
unimportant which can draw us into sin. 
And we know that dress is not beneath the 
notice of God, for he.has repeatedly alluded 
to it in his word. You remember that re- 
markable inventory in Isaiah iii. 18-23. 
"We see from this that the Lord takes notice 
of every article we wear. 

Individuals sometimes turn away impa- 
tiently from any admonitions on this sub- 
ject, because they say it is a matter which 
concerns no one but themselves. This is 
not true. Our mode of dress is something 
which every one can observe ; the errors 
committed here are not among our secret 
sins ; they are known and read of all men, 
and of course their influence is felt wher- 
ever we are. We are forbidden to be con- 
formed to the world ; this is well under- 
stood by the world, and disobedience to the 
injunction is readily detected by them, and 



DRESS. 133 

makes its unfavorable impression where we 
think little of it. 

Some will say it is of no use to lay down 
rules in regard to dress ; that it is a thing 
which can not be reduced to rule. There 
is perhaps some truth in this ; still, there 
are certain principles that as Christians we 
may adopt, and which, if faithfully applied, 
will regulate our conduct in this matter. It 
has been my aim, in all these letters, to keep 
clearly before your mind the two great prin- 
ciples of entire consecration and perfectfaith. 
Whatever is inconsistent with these is and 
must be sin. It is no matter by what gen- 
tle name the world calls it, God says it is 
sin. 

Now, in regard to dress, the world has 
sundry maxims which it will never do for 
the Christian to follow. The world says 
you may dress richly if you can afford it ; 
but Christ points to a world lying in wick- 
edness, which has not yet been reached by 



134 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

the gospel, and gently whispers, " The poor 
ye have always with you." The world says 
you should at least wear what is becoming 
to your rank in life ; that you need not be 
too scrupulous about ornament ; that you 
must not be singularly plain, &c. ; but Christ 
says, " Be not conformed to this world." 

Do not give any more attention to dress 
than you honestly believe comfort and pro- 
priety require. If you do more than this, 
it involves a waste of time, money, and 
thought, three things which you have 
solemnly dedicated to God, and there- 
fore have no liberty to waste. Moreover, 
it will nourish pride and vanity, weaken 
your influence as a Christian, be a bad ex- 
ample to others, and be contrary to the 
Scripture rule. See 1 Peter iii. 3 ; 1 Tim. 
ii. 9. 

Some people are conscientious about 
spending money for superfluities, but they 
take their Lord's time without any scruple. 



DRESS. 135 

They will not purchase trimmings and 
finery, but at a great expense of time and 
thought they will make these things, and 
then congratulate themselves on their econ- 
omy ! Time, thought, and money are three 
talents given us for the service of God, and 
we have no more right to waste one than 
the other. I am utterly at a loss to under- 
stand how that young lady can believe her- 
self to be a true Christian, living for God, 
when she spends hour after hour and day 
after day in embroidering and ornament- 
ing her dresses. Is this walking worthy of 
her high calling ? . What can she say in de- 
fense of such a practice ? She can say she 
is only doing as other people do. What a 
common excuse, and what a miserable one ! 
Is this the Bible standard ? Is this being a 
Bible Christian ? She says perhaps she is 
only gratifying her own taste and pleasing 
her friends. She would probably come 
nearer the truth if she said it was to gratify 



136 LETTERS TO A TO UNO CHRISTIAN. 

her own pride and vanity. But even tak- 
ing her version of it, has she not got away 
from the Bible standard, which says we are 
not to please ourselves ? And as to our 
friends, we must hate them ; that is, when- 
ever their claims conflict with the claims 
of God, we are to act as if we hated them. 
In all that we do, we should be mindful 
of the power of our example. I know an 
excellent Christian lady, who has ample 
means and ample leisure at command, but 
she will not purchase rich clothing, nor 
spend time in ornamenting her dress, be- 
cause others around her, who could not so 
well spare time or money, would be led into 
temptation by her example ; some commit- 
ting sin by imitating her, and others by re- 
pining at their inability to do so. You see 
she is acting on Paul's principle of genuine 
benevolence ; she will not eat meat if it 
shall cause others to offend. This is gen- 
erous ; this looks like loving your neighbor 



DRESS. 137 

as yourself. How all the petty excuses for 
self-indulgence quail before it ! 

A very important consideration against 
giving time, money, and thought to dress, 
is, that it weakens your influence as a Chris- 
tian. " No man liveth to himself." You 
are a living epistle, known and read of all 
men : now if the first page they read strikes 
them unfavorably, the rest will not be likely 
to have much weight. How can you expect 
to persuade any one to renounce the world 
when a glance at your fashionable apparel 
convinces them that you have not yet re- 
nounced it yourself? How can you expect 
to succeed in winning a half-hearted disci- 
ple to a life of entire consecration, when 
your outward a'dorning tells too truly that 
you have never yet laid all on the altar ? 
You may speak of the enjoyment you find 
in religion, but it will have little effect 
while your style of dress betrays the fact 



138 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

that your heart is, to say the least, divided 
between God and the world. 

In order to have your influence over oth- 
ers all that it should be, it is not enough 
that you can not be called decidedly dressy : 
you must be decidedly plain. It must be 
apparent that nothing has been sought but 
comfort and propriety. Anything beyond 
this will weaken your influence wonder- 
fully. You may be satisfied of that by ob- 
serving your own feelings in regard to oth- 
ers who err in this respect. You can cast 
the mantle of charity over them, but it is 
impossible to feel that they are dead to the 
world. Now your personal influence as a 
Christian is a thing too valuable to be thus 
lightly thrown away. 

It will not do for you to say, " It is no- 
body's business how I dress." People will 
make it their business to observe and com- 
ment upon it. You must remember that 
many persons are weak-minded, and make 



DRESS. 139 

much of trifles. Paul's rule, which indeed 
is only the working out of Christian love, 
forbids you to indulge in anything, however 
innocent, that will make one of the weak 
ones to offend, or be offended. 

You think you could go to a martyr's 
stake. I presume you could. But there 
are some things in life which require more 
courage than that ; one is, to dare to be sin- 
gular; and another is, to make thorough 
work in the matter of crucifying self. 

You inquire respecting the propriety of 
wearing jewelry. It appears to me that 
the principles we have adopted would 
hardly allow much ornament of that kind, 
at least in the present state of the world. 
Most church members in our cities and 
large towns have departed so widely, in this 
particular, from Christian simplicity, that it 
behooves those who would keep themselves 
unspotted from the world, those who. would 
raise the tone of piety in the churcji, those 



140 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

who would be holy, to take a decided stand 
against all appearance of evil here. Let it 
be evident that you are dead. . Remember 
the Saviour says to his disciples, " Ye are 
the salt of the earth." Observe, he does 
not say you ought to be, but you are. Now, 
if, by the indulgence of your taste for dress, 
even in what would generally be consid- 
ered a very moderate degree, that is, by al- 
lowing anything beyond comfort and pro- 
priety, you diminish your power over the 
minds of others, the salt has lost its savor. 

You feel that you have given yourself to 
the Lord without reserve, and now your 
great work is to persuade others, both in 
the church and out of it, to do the same. 
If there is anything in the present mode 
of dress which you have reason to think 
will weaken your influence with any of 
these minds, Christian love requires you 
to drop it at once. Are you not willing to 
go dressed very plainly, if it will help you 



DRESS. 141 

to save souls ? That it will, there can be 
no doubt. 

Let us " be clothed with humility," and 
wear always that ornament which in the 
sight of God is of great price. 

Yours affectionately. 




LETTER XVI. 

HEALTH. 

will smile, perhaps, at the caption 
of this letter, and ask me if it is one 
of the duties of a young Christian to 
be healthy. I am not sure that I 
should be far wrong if I answered in the 
anirmative. Not that you have this matter 
entirely in your own hands, but certainly 
you have to a great extent. Within a few 
years much light has been thrown on the 
laws of our physical nature, and with light 
there always comes responsibility. Our 
fathers and mothers sinned ignorantly, yet 
they were punished ; how much more shall 
we deserve to suffer if we sin willfully ! 
Health i's a thing of inestimable value as 

142 



HEALTH. 143 

it stands connected with our enjoyment 
and our usefulness. All acknowledge this, 
yet how little most people are willing to do 
to preserve it! I often notice with sur- 
prise, that while they will submit to painful 
and expensive remedies, and compass sea 
and land to recover health, when once it is 
lost, they will not submit to a little self- 
denial in obedience to physical laws in 
order to retain it. How few you find who 
are living right in regard to health ! They 
have plenty of excuses to offer for this neg- 
lect, but these excuses will not prevent 
the evil consequences. Punishment follows 
transgression, though not always immedi- 
ately. The author of " Lacon " remarks, 
" The excesses of our youth are drafts upon 
our old age, payable thirty years after 
date." But " because sentence against an 
evil work is not executed speedily, there- 
fore the heart of the sons of men is fully 
set in them to do evil." Physical laws are 



144 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

as much the ordinances of God as moral 
laws. The fact that a breach of them, even 
when committed in ignorance, is followed 
by suffering, seems to show that there is 
sin in it. 

Among medical writers there are many 
different theories in regard to the means of 
restoring health, but there is a remarkable 
unanimity of opinion as to the best way of 
preserving it. They all unite in recom- 
mending air, exercise, and temperance. 
Now if we shut ourselves up the principal 
part of the day and all night in close 
rooms, with little or no exercise, and allow 
ourselves to partake freely of unwholesome 
food, we are sinning against light. Cer- 
tainly the civilized world abounds in such 
sinners. To " come out and be separate" 
demands more courage and self-denial than 
most people possess. You know it is a 
much higher evidence of grace to keep on, 
day after day, doing exactly right in every 



HEALTH. 

little tiling, than occasionally to perform 
illustrious and magnanimous actions. 

I would not have you seek the preserva- 
tion of health chiefly for the pleasure and 
comfort of feeling well. You have a higher 
reason than this for obeying the laws of 
your nature, viz., to keep yourself in good 
working order for the service of God. If 
he weakens your strength in the way, and 
sets you aside from active employment, it 
is your duty and privilege to submit cheer- 
fully, and even to rejoice in it as an ex- 
pression of his will ; but you have no right 
to set yourself aside. 

We see many good people who appear to 
be exhausting themselves in their efforts 
to serve the Lord. They have become so 
deeply interested in some particular form 
of benevolent action that they press forward 
with the greatest ardor, and neglect to take 
proper care of their health. In this they 

are probably wrong. Sometimes, no doubt, 
10 



146 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

God calls his children to make exertions 
beyond their strength, and to sacrifice health 
and life in his cause, but certainly not as a 
general thing. If we do nothing from our 
own native impulses, but simply obey the 
inward voice, we shall generally find our 
bodily strength equal to the task im- 
posed. "When we lay out our own work, 
and are determined to drive through with 
it at all hazards, and go forward in our 
own will and way, the work may be good, 
but we have left our Guide, and shall be 
very likely to transgress some physical 
law. It appears to me, that in most of the 
cases where health has been lost through 
over-exertion, it was in this manner. " God- 
liness is profitable unto all things, having 
promise of the life that now is, and of that 
which is to come." 

Within a few years there has been in this 
country a great reform in regard to drink- 
ing, and it has operated most happily on 



HEALTH. 147 

the interests of religion. Another reform 
is now called for ; and that is in the matter 
of eating. Many articles of food are in con- 
stant use which it is well known are unfa- 
vorable to health. Our heavenly Father 
has provided us with a great variety of food 
which is simple and wholesome ; why, then, 
should we accustom ourselves to the use of 
that which is neither ? 

Many considerations of health, conven- 
ience, economy, intellectual vigor, and high- 
toned spirituality might be brought forward 
in favor of simple food, and nothing can be 
said against it. Yet every day, throughout 
Christendom, these considerations are all 
set aside merely for the gratification of an 
artificial appetite. The inspired apostle, 
if he were here now, would say to us, " For 
this cause many are weak and_sickly among 
you, and many sleep." 

There certainly must be a reform in this 
particular before the church will become 



148 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

deeply spiritual. The command is, "Loose 
thyself from the bands of thy neck, cap- 
tive daughter of Zion." One of these hands 
is the indulgence of appetite, and it must he 
loosed before she will " put on strength." 

All Christians who make high attain- 
ments in the divine life seem, at some 
period in their course, to have had their 
minds exercised on this point. Many have 
tried to think it was too small a matter to 
be treated religiously, but the Spirit with- 
stood them, and they were compelled to 
yield. 

The author of the "Interior Life" re- 
marks, in a valuable chapter on this sub- 
ject, " The life of God in the soul has a 
much closer connection witli modes of liv- 
ing than is generally supposed. If Chris- 
tians, instead of indulging and pampering 
the appetite for meats and drinks, would be 
satisfied with simple nourishment, and with 
that small quantity which is adequate to all 



HEALTH. 149 

the purposes of nature, what abundant 
blessings would infallibly result both to 
body" and mind ! Many dark hours, which 
are now the subject of sad complaints on 
the part of professed Christians, would be 
exchanged for bright ones. God would 
then reveal his face of affectionate love, 
which it is impossible for him to do to 
those who enslave themselves in this man- 



ner." 



Devout Christians in all ages have found 
fasting highly beneficial. If occasional ab- 
stinence is salutary, as giving the spiritual 
part of our nature an ascendency for the 
time over the corporeal part, is not habitual 
temperance, both in regard to the quantity 
and quality of our food, still better? Is 
there not a palpable inconsistency in occa- 
sionally fasting, and habitually feasting ? 

Here, as in the matter of dress, it is not 
easy to lay down rules ; we can only lay 
down principles. But let us not forget the 



150 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

Scripture rule, " Whether therefore ye eat 
or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to 
the g'lory of God." Does not this forbid 
the habitual use of rich and unwholesome 
food, as well as stimulating and intoxicat- 
ing drinks ? 

It is commonly remarked, that we find 
the most striking instances of piety amongst 
the poor. Perhaps one reason of this is 
that they do not dim their spiritual percep- 
tion by the indulgence of appetite. I be- 
lieve Christians have always found that if 
they would be holy, they must be abstemi- 
ous. When we surrender all to God, our 
appetites are among the things which are 
laid on the altar. Thenceforth they are to 
be regarded onl} r with reference to the ob- 
jects for which they were implanted, and 
never to be indulged simply or chiefly to 
please ourselves. True piety is eminently 
favorable to health. In the millennium 
I expect people will have perfect health, 



HEALTH. 15.1 

because all will obey the laws of their phys- 
ical nature ; and several generations having 
been" thus obedient, there will probably be 
no hereditary tendencies to disease. 

It appears to me that a Christian female, 
placed in the providence of God at the 
head of a family, if she would be consistent, 
should not only be abstemious herself, but 
avoid furnishing for her household such 
articles of food as she knows to be injurious. 
Females should be enlightened on this sub- 
ject, as it lies with them to bring about a 
reform. The command of the Saviour is, 
" Take no thought, saying, What shall we 
eat ? or, What shall we drink ? " Now, 
studying cookery books and toiling over 
cakes and pastry looks very much like a 
violation of this precept. I know that some 
plausible excuses may be offered for a com- 
pliance with custom in this respect; but 
whether they would all amount to a good 
and sufficient reason, is a question for each 



152 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

one to settle. May you always have wis- 
dom to decide what is right, and courage to 
act up to your decisions ! 
Yours affectionately. 




LETTER XYII. 

THE DISCIPLINE OF LIFE. 

have been now a long time consid- 
ering the duties of life ; let us turn 
our thoughts for a moment to its 
discipline. At your age it is natural 
to look on the sunny side, and to fancy that 
you shall find a smoother path than those 
who have gone before you. While I am 
far from desiring you to take gloomy views 
of life, or to afflict yourself with anticipa- 
tions of evil, I would wish you to look at 
things as they are, and to regard this pro- 
bationary state in the true, rational, and 
Scriptural light. You are happy now, and 
everything to your young imagination is 
bright and promising ; but it will not be 
always so : nor should you wish it. 

153 



154 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

God never designed this world for our 
home ; it is only the place where we are to be 
educated for eternity. His words to us are, 
" Arise and depart, for this is not your 
rest." But we are bent 011 making a rest 
of it, and eagerly gather around us all the 
comforts within reach, in order that it may 
be as homelike and pleasant as possible. 
This disposition of ours obliges the Lord to 
speak to us by his providences, repeating in 
a tone not to be misunderstood, " Arise and 
depart, for this is not your rest." 

At first we look up in surprise when our 
treasures are taken away, or our plans are 
overturned, as if some strange thing had 
happened to us. But the sooner we give 
up the idea of looking upon this world as 
a place of enjoyment the better. We shall 
never be able to regard the circumstances 
and events of life in their true light till we 
do. I am surprised to observe that even 
those who indulge the hope that they are 



THE .DISCIPLINE OF LIFE. 155 

Christians often reach middle life before 
the} 7 learn to see things in the light of the 
Bible. You can perceive from the man- 
ner in which most people talk, that they 
regard enjoyment as the great object of 
pursuit. But the Bible represents life as 
a race, in which we are to run for a prize ; 
as a battle-field, where many foes are 
to be encountered ; as a place where we 
are to be trained for another state of exist- 
ence. 

I often compare this life to a 'boarding- 
school. You remember your feelings when 
yon were sent away from home to attend a 
distant academy. It was painful to be for 
so long a time absent from your father's 
house ; but you submitted cheerfully to this 
and many other privations, because you 
knew it was to fit you for subsequent use- 
fulness. You had some hard lessons to 
learn, and some disagreeable regulations to 
submit to. Then your boarding-house was 



156 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

not much like the pleasant home you had 
left. But you made the best of it, knowing 
that nothing else was to be expected at 
school ; and the idea of being thus fitted to 
take your place in society, and act well 
your part, was ever before you. You did 
not fret at the difficult tasks imposed by 
the teachers ; you were willing to study 
hard, 'and submit to all the restraints and 
regulations of the school, and to all the 
inconveniences of your temporary home, 
for it was a matter of course. But how glad 
you were when the time drew near to re- 
tarn to your father's house ! How joyfully 
you packed up your books and clothes, and 
prepared for the journey ! Perhaps you 
shed some tears at parting with your school- 
mates, but the thought of home, sweet 
home, soon dried them. You returned to 
your father's house, and took the place you 
were then prepared to fill in the family cir- 
cle, with a glad heart, and with no regrets 



THE DISCIPLINE OF LIFE. 157 

on account of the hard lessons and salutary 
discipline of school. 

Such it seems to me is the true light in 
which to regard this life. We are here 
learning those lessons, and receiving that 
discipline, which are to fit us for another 
state. This is not our life ; it is only the 
preface the introduction. The grand 
arena of our enjoyments and achievements 
is in the spirit world. Our Father would 
have us live constantly with reference to 
that, gratefully receive his lessons and his 
discipline, entering into his designs and co- 
operating with him. When our education 
here is finished, let us joyfully accept the 
permission to go home. In our Father's 
house of many mansions we shall then find 
ourselves fitted to take a place. 

You often hear disappointed people say 
this is a poor world. It is so because they 
don't take it right. As a place of enjoy- 
ment it is a poor world ; but it is a good 



Io8 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

school, a good place to work for God, a 
good place in which, to glorify him by cheer- 
ful suffering, a good place in which to fit 
for heaven ; and this is all he ever meant it 
should be, at least till men become holy ; 
then, no doubt, it will present quite another 
aspect. 

Our Father says that we must through 
much tribulation enter into the kingdom of 
heaven. Why ? Not because he loves to 
trouble us ? By no means : this is not an 
arbitrary arrangement of his ; it grows out 
of the nature of the case. Sin necessarily 
involves suffering. Suffering lias in itself a 
salutary tendency, and, when sanctified, 
seems to do that for the soul which nothing 
else will. At least this is generally the 
case ; though we know that tlie Holy Spirit 
can work if he pleases without such instru- 
mentality. 

You desire to be holy, to be perfect and 
entire, wanting nothing. While endeavor- 



THE DISCIPLINE Of LIFE. 159 

ing, as I trust you are, to follow out the 
principles laid down in these letters, you 
will no doubt be daily praying that God 
would " sanctify you wholly," and that 
" your whole spirit and soul and body be 
preserved blameless." At the same time 
you will, I hope, throw yourself in full, affec- 
tionate confidence on the promise, " Faith- 
ful is he that calleth you, who also will do 
it." How will he do it? Partly, in all 
probability, through suffering. 

Perhaps you will remind me that the 
Saviour's prayer was, " Sanctify them 
through thy truth." Yes, it is through the 
truth that we are to be sanctified ; that is, 
by understanding, believing, loving, and 
obeying it. Now affliction is a great quick- 
ener to the mind in all these exercises. 
The general testimony of devout Christians 
is to this effect : " I never fully understood 
such and such things in the Bible till I was 
afflicted, and they met my case ; I never 



160 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

before so heartily believed them ; never be- 
fore were they so precious to me ; never 
before was I so impressed with the impor- 
tance of entire obedience." Accept of afflic- 
tions, then, with thanksgiving, as an answer 
to your prayer for sanctification, and en- 
deavor to derive from them the greatest pos- 
sible benefit. 

I am very desirous that you should take 
just and Scriptural views of life. The world 
calculate on getting all the enjoyment here 
they possibly can ; but this should not be 
your aim. You can afford to wait for your 
good things. I do not mean to say there is 
nothing here to enjoy ; there is a great deal : 
but it is not to be sought as the principal 
thing ; it is not to be made too much of ; it 
is not to be separated from God. When he 
sends sunshine, rejoice in it as his gift., and 
when he darkens your sky, and sends 
storms, accept them with thanksgiving ; for 
the last is as great a proof of his love as the 



THE DISCIPLINE OF LIFE. 161 

first, and therefore as much a cause for 
gratitude. 

With this view of things you see there 
are a number of words in common use for 
which you will have no occasion ; such as 
disappointment, regret, fear, and anxiety . 
If you believe that God orders all things, 
and love to have it so, there will be no oc- 
casion to make use of those common ex- 
pressions, " I am afraid this or that will 
happen;" "I am sorry it is so;" "I 
wish ; " " unfortunately," &c. The use 
of such expressions seems inconsistent with 
obedience to the command, " Rejoice ever- 
more," and incompatible with the idea of 
entire satisfaction with the divine govern- 
ment. 

What is the meaning of the word bless- 
ing ? A friend of mine defines it, " That 
which comes from Grod." An excellent defi- 
nition. If you accept it, you will perceive 
11 



162 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

that life is an unbroken series of blessings. 
Some are sweet, and others are bitter ; the 
one is food for the soul, the other medicine. 
Now the bitter blessings are even a greater 
mark of God's love to us than the sweet, 
because it pains him to send them, and be- 
cause they generally do us the most good. 
Therefore, if we take the right view, and 
cherish right feelings, it will be easy to 
thank God, on the instant, for every painful 
thing that comes to us. Indeed, if we are 
truly consecrated to him, the continual 
prayer of our hearts is, " Thy will be done,'* 
and the continual joy of our hearts will be 
that it is done. Yes, irrespective of its 
bearing on our spiritual interests, we shall 
have a constant holy joy in the thought that 
the Lord reigns, and that his glorious plan 
is daily unfolding. 

If you enter on the joys, sorrows, cares, 
and responsibilities of life with these high 



THE DISCIPLINE OF LIFE. 163 

views and feelings, you can not fail to be a 
happy and useful Christian. 
Ever yours. 

" What matter whether pain or pleasures fill 
The swelling heart one little moment here? 

From both alike how vain is every thrill, 
While an untried eternity is near ! 

Think not of rest, fond man, in life's career ; 
The joys and grief that meet thee, dash aside 

Like bubbles, and thy bark right onward steer 
Through calm and tempest, till it cross the tide, 
Shoot into port in triumph, or serenely glide." 



LETTER XVIII. 

SERIES CONCLUDED. 

T is time to bring these letters to a 
close ; but before doing so let us 
Ts briefly review the ground we have gone 

over. 

In the first place, we considered the na- 
ture of entire consecration to Crod, and found 
that it implied more than young Christians 
are generally able to comprehend. But if 
they lay all on the altar, as far as they can 
see, they are accepted. If they continue to 
be thus fully given up, their eyes will be 
opened to see the secret workings of selfish- 
ness, they will be led to renounce them as 
fast as discerned, and as fast as they discover 
and renounce any form of inordinate self- 

164 



SERIES CONCLUDED. 165 

love (which is the root of all sin), it is their 
privilege to believe that they are accepted, 
and reckon themselves dead to it, through 
our Lord Jesus Christ ; that is, calculating 
that they have nothing more to do with it, 
confidently relying on his promise of keep- 
ing them. '*' 

2. You have seen that the only way to 
advance, or even to hold on to what has 
been gained, is by venturing to appropriate 
those exceeding great and precious promises, 
which the inspired apostle says will make 
you a partaker of the divine nature, and en- 
able you to escape the corruption that is in 
tli3 world. You are to cherish an unwav- 
ering confidence that in every temptation 
God will make a way of escape ; that he 
will write his law in your heart ; that he 
will preserve you blameless, and sanctify 
you wholly. Especially are you to avail 
yourself of the crowning promise of all, 
that the Holy Spirit shall come and take up 



166 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

his abode in your heart, to regulate and con- 
trol every feeling and motive, to comfort, 
bring to remembrance, hold you back from 
sin, and guide you into truth and duty. All 
this he offers to do if you will permit him. 

3. You have seen also that there is an 
important wbrk to be done in the crucifixion 
of the desires; viz., the appetites, propen- 
sities, and affections. These are not to be 
extinguished, but regulated and brought 
under control, being made subservient to 
the ends for which they were given, and 
used only for the glory of God. This cru- 
cifixion of the desires is not so well under- 
stood by Christians generally as it ought to 
be. You must make it a subject of spe- 
cific attention, if you would be sanctified 
wholly. 

4. We have seen the importance of tak- 
ing the Bible as the only standard of faith 
and practice. I trust you have, resolved, 
whatever qthers may do, you will be a Bi- 



SERIES CONCLUDED. 167 

He Christian; that you will do what the 
Bible requires, avoid what the Bible forbids, 
and accept all the Bible promises. 

5. We have looked at prayer, and found 
it to be the sweet privilege of communion 
with our Father. Petitions should be largely 
intermingled with praises, and with expres- 
sions of affectionate confidence that he can 
do the thing that we ask, and will, if it is 
best. 

6. We have considered the divine law 
in regard to the choice of associates, and es- 
pecially in choosing a companion for life. 
The great rule here is to marry only in the 
Lord; and this in fact is the great rule for 
doing everything. 

7. The importance of ordering our con- 
versation aright has also been considered. 
We must not waste our Master's time in 
idle chit-chat, nor pervert the noble gift of 
speech to any unworthy purpose, but regard 



168 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

it ever as a most important talent to be 
used for him. 

i 

8. Our reading, too, we have seen, must 
be only that which the Spirit directs. . We 
are not at liberty to read for amusement, or 
even to gratify a thirst for knowledge, any 
farther than he permits. 

9. All our occupations must be chosen 
with reference to the divine approbation ; 
and we are to be careful that they do not 
take the form of busy idleness. 

10. Social duties must be faithfully dis- 
charged; including those which grow out 
of our relations to the family, the church, 
and the community. 

11. In regard to dress, the rule laid down 
was not to go beyond the requirements of 
comfort and propriety ; and not to allow 
ourselves in any indulgence which might 
cause a weak believer to offend or be of- 
fended. 

12. A due observance of the laws of our 



SERIES CONCLUDED. 169 

physical nature we have seen to be impor- 
tant in its bearings on health, and conse- 
quently on comfort and usefulness. The 
Scripture rule is, "Whether therefore ye 
eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to 
the glory of God." 

Finally, after taking this survey of the 
duties of life, we considered its discipline. 

"Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 

Is our destined end or way ; 
But to act, that each to-morrow 
Find us farther than to-day." 

Everything is to be received with thanks- 
giving, for all is sent in love, the bitter no 
less than the sweet. We are to .look on 
this life only as the preparatory stage of 
our existence, where we are to be educated 
for eternity. 

May you be inclined to profit by these 
hints ! Do not say the standard is placed 
too high. Certainly it is not higher than 
the Bible ; nor is it anything more than is 



170 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

implied in that act of surrender with which 
every Christian sets out in the divine life. 
All these things are involved in your church 
covenant. This is not merely a beautiful 
theory, it is what many by the grace of God 
have attained. I know the mass of Chris- 
tians now do not reach it, but the fact that 
some do settles the question of its practi- 
cability. The same grace which carried 
them to these happy nights is freely offered 
to you. 

Does not your heart burn with desire to 
be all that it is your privilege to be ? all 
that God would have you to be ? Does 
it not look to you infinitely desirable to be 
holy ? " Blessed are they that hunger and 
thirst after righteousness, for they shall be 
filled." The provisions of the gospel are 
sufficient to meet every want of the soul. 
The Saviour says, " If thou canst believe, 
all things are possible to him that believ- 
eth." The Psalmist says, " He shall pre- 



SERIES CONCLUDED. 171 

serve thee from all evil." The apostle 
says, " My God will supply all your need." 
Only put him to the test, and see how great 
things he will do for you. 

Bs not disheartened because so few find 
a present and full salvation. When one of 
the disciples said, " Lord, are there few that 
be saved ? " his answer was, " Strive to en- 
ter in at the strait gate." The way of holi- 
ness is a narrow way, and few there be that 
find it. Do you ask what is mejBnt by this 
striving ? It consists in a continual self-re- 
nunciation, and a continual effort to shake 
off old habits of unbelief. You have prob- 
ably not been accustomed to believe that 
God would do all for you which he offers to 
do for the church. So long as this unbe- 
lief continues, you make it impossible for 
him to fulfill to you his great and precious 
promises. Oh, how many souls there are 
like the city of Nazareth, where he " did 



172 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

not many mighty works, because of their 
unbelief"! 

The apostle says, " Let us labor to enter 
into this rest." What rest ? The rest of 
faith. " We that believe," he adds, " do 
enter into rest." How would he have us 
labor to enter in ? The labor consists in 
renouncing self, and breaking up the old 
habits of unbelief. There is a great deal 
of striving and laboring among conscien- 
tious Christians which has in it much of 
legality. They have followed after holiness, 
but have not attained it. Wherefore ? Be- 
cause they sought it not by faith, but as it 
were by the works of the law. They have 
been trying to make themselves better, and 
they wonder at their small success. If, in- 
stead of this, they would give themselves 
fully to God, and renounce their unbelief, 
then he would do that for them which they 
now try in vain to do for themselves. 



SERIES CONCLUDED. 173 

I speak' from experience, having tried 
both ways. For years I adopted the sys- 
tem of rules and resolutions, and made lit- 
tle or no progress. Then I saw the prom- 
ises afar off ; but since I have embraced 
them, they have been constantly fulfilled to 
me. Thus will you find it. " Venture on 
them ; venture wholly." The Lord is now 
saying, " Be it unto you according to your 
faith." If you believe for little, you shall 
have little ; believe for much, and you 
shall have much; believe for all, and you 
shall have all. 

In the bonds of Christian love, ever 
yours. 

f 

" Awake, my soul ! stretch every nerve, 

And press with vigor on ; 
A heavenly race demands thy zeal, 
A bright, immortal crown. 

" A cloud of witnesses around 
Hold thee in full survey ; 
Forget the steps already trod, 
And onward urge thy way. 



174 LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 

" Blest Saviour, introduced by thee, 

Our race have we begun, 
And, crowned with victory, at thy feet 
We'll lay our laurels down." 



THE END. 



n 



48 431 009 



A /WVAJLJ '"" 




