ement dawns upon us. True, we
are fickle and changeable, and subject to vicissitude; but He, our God,
is far above all these shifting scenes, and all the varying
circumstances of this mortal life are under his control, and he can turn
the hearts of men as He will; His counsel shall stand. True, we are
transgressors like our first father, partakers of his fallen nature, and
inheritors of the curse; but "where sin abounds, grace does much more
abound," and "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being
made a curse for us." For all the evils under which we groan, the Gospel
has a remedy, and we have faith that in spite of all obstacles and
difficulties, our Savior will yet present us, as individuals, faultless
before the throne. Why may not our faith take a still higher flight?
There are given to us exceeding great and precious promises. The Holy
Spirit, first of all, shall be given to all who ask. They who hunger and
thirst for righteousness shall be filled. He has never said to the seed
of Jacob, seek ye me in vain. There are on almost every page of the
sacred word, these precious promises. By them you are encouraged daily
in your onward struggle, Christian friend. What shall hinder you now
from taking them to your heart as a mother with the same faith? If God
is able to secure your soul against all evil influences, yes, even
against the arch enemy himself, and if he has made the character of your
child to depend upon your own in any degree, why may you not plead the
promises of His word with double power, when your prayers ascend not
merely for yourself, but for another immortal being whom he has so
intimately associated with you. You are accustomed daily to seek from
Him holy influences; you pray that you may grow in grace and knowledge,
and be kept from the evil that is in the world, and from dishonoring
your Savior. Can you not offer these same petitions as a mother, and beg
all these blessings in behalf of your child, who is to take character
from you? Can you not consecrate yourself in a peculiarly solemn manner
to the Lord, and viewing the thousand influences which may affect you,
pray to be kept from all which would be adverse to the best good of the
precious soul to be intrusted to you, and believe by all you know of
your Heavenly Father and of his plan of grace, that you will be accepted
and your petitions answered? And then can you not _act_ upon that faith?
Desiring your child to be a man of prayer,