day proved that, with every temptation,
the Lord makes a way for my escape. I have enjoyed much peace. Oh,
Lord, help me to improve my precious time, so as to overcome the
assaults and escape the snares of the adversary!

_Aug. 20th._--In all the vicissitudes of life, how clearly is the
mysterious providence and superintending care of Jehovah
manifested! how strikingly can I observe the divine interposition
of my heavenly Father, and how sensibly do I realize his
benevolence, kindness, and mercy in the whole moral and blessed
economy of his equitable and infinitely wise government! On no
object do I cast my eyes without observing an affecting instance of
a benevolent and overruling power; and, while in mental
contemplations my mind is absorbed, my admiration rises still
higher to the exalted purposes and designs of Almighty God. I
behold in the soul noble faculties, superior powers of imagination,
and capacious desires, unfilled by anything terrestrial, and wishes
unsatisfied by the widest grasp of human ambition. What is this but
immortality? Oh, that my soul may feed on food immortal!

Another week is gone, eternally gone! What account can I give to my
Almighty Judge for my conduct and opportunities? Has my improvement
kept pace with the panting steeds of unretarded time? Must I give
an account of every idle word, thought, and deed? Oh, merciful God!
if the most righteous, devoted, and holy scarcely are saved, where
stall I appear? How do my vain thoughts, and unprofitable
conversation, swell heaven's register? Where is my watchfulness!
Where are my humility, purity, and hatred of sin? Where is my zeal?
Alas! alas! they are things unpractised, unfelt, almost unknown to
me. How little do I share in the toils, the labours, or the sorrows
of the righteous, and consequently how little do I participate in
their confidence, their joys, their heavenly prospects? Oh, may
these awful considerations drive me closer to God, and incite to a
more diligent improvement of my precious time, so that I may bear
the mark of a real follower of Christ!

_Aug. 22nd.--Sabbath._--When I arose this morning I endeavoured to
dedicate myself afresh to God in prayer, with a full determination
to improve the day to his glory, and to spend it in his service.
Accordingly