is no remedy.
An eel may wriggle itself "out of the frying-pan, into the fire;" but it
cannot wriggle itself back again out of the fire, even into the
frying-pan. And so it is with us. We may wriggle ourselves out of one
little trouble, into two greater ones; but we cannot wriggle ourselves
back again out of the two greater ones, into the little one. The longer
we resist the will of God, the worse we shall fare. We had better
therefore bear the ills we have, than plunge into others that we know
not of. It is best to submit at once. If we were wise we should say with
the Redeemer, "The cup that My Father giveth me, shall I not drink it?"
God knows what is best for us, and He will never inflict on us a pang
which He does not see to be necessary to our usefulness and welfare. It
is not for His own pleasure that He afflicts us, but for our profit,
that we may be partakers of His holiness.

And sorrow is the seed of joy. And pain adds to the sweetness of our
pleasures. Hunger sweetens our food, and thirst our drink, and weariness
our moments of rest; and "our light afflictions, which are but for a
moment, work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory."

We are quite mistaken when we look at our trials as unmixed evils. They
"are blessings in disguise." The dripping clouds which hide the sun,
enrich the earth. The difficulties with which we have to contend,
increase our strength. The tail of the kite, which seems to pull it
down, helps it to rise. And the afflictions, which seem to press us to
the ground, help to raise us to heaven.

Let us take our lot with meekness then, and learn in all things to say
to our Heavenly Father, "Thy will be done."

10. Join the Church. The Church is an institution of Heaven, and
connection with it is necessary to your spiritual safety. Some think
they can stand alone; but when they make the attempt, they fall. No one
can stand, who does not use the means which God has given him for his
support; and one of those means is fellowship with the Church. Without
civil society men gradually sink into barbarism; and without religious
society Christians sink into earthliness and impiety.

Some of the sweetest and most beautiful of our flowering shrubs, and
some of the richest of our fruit-bearing trees, are unable to raise
themselves from the ground without the assistance of their stronger
kindred. This is the case with the honeysuckle, the ivy, and the grape
vine. Left to them