hout any special instrumentality. He stated that there was
nothing sudden in his case, and that he was led to Christ through deep
and ever-abiding, but not awful or distracting, convictions. In this
we see the Lord's sovereignty. In bringing a soul to the Saviour, the
Holy Spirit invariably leads it to very deep consciousness of sin; but
then He causes this consciousness of sin to be more distressing and
intolerable to some than to others. But in one point does the
experience of all believing sinners agree in this matter, viz. their
soul presented to their view nothing but an abyss of sin, when the
grace of God that bringeth salvation appeared.

The Holy Spirit carried on his work in the subject of this Memoir, by
continuing to deepen in him the conviction of his ungodliness, and the
pollution of his whole nature. And all his life long, he viewed
_original sin_, not as an excuse for his actual sins, but as an
aggravation of them all. In this view he was of the mind of David,
taught by the unerring Spirit of Truth. See Psalm 51:4, 5.

At first light dawned slowly; so slowly, that for a considerable time
he still relished an occasional plunge into scenes of gaiety. Even
after entering the Divinity Hall, he could be persuaded to indulge in
lighter pursuits, at least during the two first years of his
attendance; but it was with growing alarm. When hurried away by such
worldly joys, I find him writing thus:--"_Sept. 14._--May there be few
such records as this in my biography." Then, "_Dec. 9._--A thorn in my
side--much torment." As the unholiness of his pleasures became more
apparent, he writes:--"_March 10, 1832._--I hope never to play cards
again." "_March 25._--Never visit on a Sunday evening again." "_April
10._--Absented myself from the dance; upbraidings ill to bear. But I
must try to bear the cross." It seems to be in reference to the
receding tide, which thus for a season repeatedly drew him back to the
world, that on July 8, 1836, he records: "This morning five years ago,
my dear brother David died, and my heart for the first time knew true
bereavement. Truly it was all well. Let me be dumb, for Thou didst it:
and it was good for me that I was afflicted. I know not that any
providence was ever more abused by man than that was by me; and yet,
Lord, what mountains Thou comest over! none was ever more blessed to
me." To us who can look at the results, it appears probable that the
Lord permitted him thus to try many br