tructions have not been lost upon
you, and pray God that this your present sickness may be an instrument of
blessing in his hands to prove, humble, and sanctify you. My dear child,
you have a soul, an immortal soul to think of; you remember what I have
often said to you about the value of a soul: 'What shall it profit a man,
if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?'"
"Yes, sir, I remember well you told us, that when our bodies are put into
the grave, our souls will then go either to the good or the bad place."
"And to which of these places do you think that, as a sinner in the sight
of God, you deserve to go?"
"To the bad one, sir."
"What! to everlasting destruction!"
"Yes, sir."
"Why so?"
"Because I am a great sinner."
"And must all great sinners go to hell?"
"They all deserve it; and I am sure I do."
"But is there no way of escape? Is there no way for a great sinner to be
saved?"
"Yes, sir, Christ is the Saviour."
"And whom does he save?"
"All believers."
"And do you believe in Christ yourself?"
"I do not know, sir; I wish I did; but I feel that I love him."
"What do you love him for?"
"Because he is good to poor children's souls like mine."
"What has he done for you?"
"He died for me, sir; and what could he do more?"
"And what do you hope to gain by his death?"
"A good place when I die, if I believe in him, and love him."
"Have you felt any uneasiness on account of your soul?"
"Oh, yes, sir, a great deal. When you used to talk to us children on
Saturdays, I often felt as if I could hardly bear it, and wondered that
others could seem so careless. I thought I was not fit to die. I
thought of all the bad things I had ever done and said, and believed God
must be very angry with me; for you often told us, that God would not be
mocked; and that Christ said, if we were not converted, we could not go
to heaven. Sometimes I thought I was so young it did not signify: and
then, again, it seemed to me a great sin to think so; for I knew I was
old enough to see what was right and what was wrong; and so God had a
just right to be angry when I did wrong. Besides, I could see that my
heart was not right; and how could such a heart be fit for heaven?
Indeed, sir, I used to feel very uneasy."
"My dear Jenny, I wish I had known all this before. Why did you never
tell me about it?"
"Sir, I durst not. Indeed, I could not well say what was the matter with
me: an
|