flesh and blood hath not
taught you this, but your Father who is in heaven: the work is his,
evidently his; and being begun, he will carry it on, and finish it
too. Commit your soul then into his hand; he 'came not to call the
righteous, but _sinners_ to repentance;' his errand to our world was
to seek and to save the _lost_. Trusting in his mercy, through
Christ, your soul is as safe as his word is true; for none perish
that trust in him.

"'Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not to thine own
understanding;' be not discouraged because of deadness, darkness,
wandering, want of love, want of spirituality, want of any kind. Who
told you of these evils and wants? the Sun of righteousness shining
into your soul has shown you many of the evils there, but the half you
know not yet. The more you learn of the holiness and purity of the
divine nature and the spirituality of his law, the more you will be
dissatisfied with every thing yours. Even a holy apostle said, 'In me,
that is, in my flesh,' or natural mind, dwelleth no good thing. The
flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; so
that the things that I would, I do not; and the things that I would
not, those I do. Yet it is not I,' not my new nature, 'but sin that
dwelleth in me; for to will is present with me, but how to perform
that which is good I find not.'

"If this was the case with the apostle, who sealed his testimony
with his life, is it strange that you and I should have hearts full of
all abominable things? These realities are cause of deep humility
before God, but none of despair or doubt. All are alike guilty and
vile, the whole head is sick, and the whole heart unsound; therefore
we need a whole Christ to atone for our sin, to cover our naked souls
with his imputed righteousness, and to be surety for us; to sanctify
us by his Spirit, and prepare us for the purchased inheritance. O try
to rest in him: believe it, you are complete in him; give up, my dear
friend, poring over and diving into your own heart and frames, and try
to trust in an almighty Saviour to save you from foes without and foes
within. Read Romaine's Walk and Life of Faith: he himself attained to
a high degree of holiness by getting out of himself, and trusting,
resting, believing from day to day, for grace, for every duty, as it
occurred. The promise runs, 'As thy days so shall thy strength be.'

"I cannot at this distance, and knowing noth