course is right, pursue it with decision and firmness. There are some
well-meaning people, of limited views, and excessive carefulness, who
disapprove of the best of measures, if they happen to be at variance
with their long-established customs; or, more frequently, if they were
not _consulted_ before the particular enterprise was undertaken.

4. BE MUCH IN PRAYER. Upon this will greatly depend your success in all
things. Feel that of yourself you can do nothing; but that you can do
all things through Christ strengthening you. Before undertaking
anything, pray that God would give you wisdom to direct and strength to
perform; and if it is anything in which the efforts of others will be
required, pray that he would incline their hearts to engage in the work.
Before you go out on an errand of mercy, first visit your closet, and
commit yourself to the direction of the Lord. Pray that he would give
you wisdom, courage, and discretion; and that he would keep down the
pride of your heart, and enable you to do all things for his glory.

Your affectionate Brother.

LETTER XIV.

_Dress._

"In like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest
apparel, with shame-facedness, and sobriety; not with broidered
hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array."--1 TIM. 2:9.

MY DEAR SISTER:

We are required to do _everything_ to the glory of God. Your first
inquiry, then, in relation to dress, must be, "_How can I glorify God in
my apparel?_" I know of no other way than by making it answer just the
end for which it was originally designed. In the third chapter of
Genesis, we learn that the object of dress, when first instituted, was
to provide a decent covering for our bodies. It was the shame brought
upon man by transgression which made this covering necessary. And, it is
undoubtedly in consequence of sin, that the elements have been turned
against him, so as to make clothing a necessary defence against the
hostile influence of heat and cold. The immediate discovery of their
nakedness, by our first parents, after their disobedience, is probably
intended to show the nakedness and shame which sin has brought upon
our souls; and the consequent exposure to the hostile elements
aptly represents the exposure of the naked soul to the wrath of
God. The invention of fig-leaf aprons may perhaps represent the
self-righteousness of the carnal heart. Impenitent sinners are always
seeking o