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ences of the Spirit; but you are not in the high grace former experience.

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The love of the world in an undue measure, yielding to the force of some temptation, neglect of some duty, want of watchfulness, has laid waste your confidence. You have departed in some degree from God; your thoughts, or your affection, have been given to an improper object, you have preferred your own will to the will of God in some particular, you have let in vanity or sloth, pride or impatience, uncharitableness or selfishness; you have ceased to be entirely the Lord's; guilt has ensued, condemnation is upon you. You feel it; you are unhappy. You do not doubt your relation, but all is not right within. Humble yourself before God, confess your fault, return: wherein you have departed in thought, affection, volition, or deed, at once correct the wrong, and expect God to renew you again. There may be times and circumstances when the confession of your departure to the Church may be necessary. If it has been manifest, it will bring your profession into discredit, and violate your own sense of propriety, should you continue the profession, without an admission of your temporary departure. So soon as you return heartily to God, he will return to you: but it must be a full, hearty, entire return; not a mere desire, not a convulsive effort, not a declaration, not a semi-sincere and half-earnest thing; you must come as first you came, with an entire offering, and God will accept it. If you shall find great difficulty, as perhaps you may, it is possible even more than at first, for your reproof,-you must overcome, overcome as at first, not in your own strength, but in the strength of God, which will become yours, by the use of the means, with which you are sufficiently acquainted.

And should any who have relapsed from this blessed experience, chance to read these pages, we would say to them, Return; retrace your steps. You cannot, whatever other Christians may do, find rest in an inferior state. You know the more excellent way. Duty calls you with a ten-fold voice: do not turn away, be not overcome with discouragement, let not self-upbraidings hinder you. You now know the cause of your loss; you may succeed better-try again. Privilege invites, duty points the way, your unsatisfied heart urges, the Spirit moves,-do not delay.

Whatever be the extent of your departure, whether of long or short duration, into more grievous or less guilty backslidings; whether you have lost all, or only a part of your religious character-stop now. Go not one step further.

Turn at once to your dishonoured Saviour; bring back your heart, guilty as it may be, and become his again. Think not your case is hopeless. It may be deplorabledreadful. You may have deeply grieved the Spirit, reproached the Redeemer, insulted the Father: still, if you will return, there is no occasion for despair. See how much is involved, and, as you would not risk your undoing, make haste to find what you have unhappily forfeited.

It is high time that you awake out do must be done now. A moment,

Look before you. of sleep. What you and it may be too late. O that we might feel how much depends upon immediate and thorough action; how much and earnestly we are called to work now, and to work diligently, seeing that "the night cometh, in which no man can work!"

CHAPTER VIII.

HINDERANCES TO THE ATTAINMENT AND RETAINMENT.

WHY is not this high and desirable experience generally attained by Christians? This is a point worthy of more extended consideration than can be bestowed upon it in this connexion; yet here we may venture to suggest a few reasons. The two cardinal reasons were hinted at in the introductory chapter to this work; "a failure clearly to apprehend privilege, and consequent insensibility to obligation." But these causes of neglect and immaturity arise out of others, and produce, in their turn, a complication of other and inferior hinderances. The reason why Christians generally are not sanctified, is not because it is not their privilege; is not because they have sought for this great blessing earnestly, and have failed to attain; is not because of the insufficiency of ordinary means to bring them to its possession; not because they do not need it; not because God does not will it; not because the blood of Jesus was not shed for it; not because the Holy Spirit is not able to effect it; not because duty does not require: none of these. It is not because Christians do not, on the whole, prefer holiness; not because they would not wish to be delivered from sin; not because they are entirely without efforts in this direction. Most Christians, perhaps there are no exceptions, do have hours of deep and earnest solicitude, and crying to God; do mourn over their short comings, and have habitual aspirations, and longings after a higher statea state faintly apprehended, and fitfully sought after. But they do not succeed, in a majority of instances, until near

the close of life, perhaps in the very struggle of death, for many painful reasons, among which we may name particularly the following.

There is an obvious reason why this experience is not ordinarily attained at the same time that regenerating grace is; namely, the mind of the penitent is not turned to it distinctly at all, perhaps not one in a thousand ever think of it at that time. Their whole effort is directed to the gain of pardon and reconciliation. For this they pray and weep, and mourn. The cry of their heart is, "God be merciful to me a sinner," "Save, or I perish." Their faith is kept upon this one object. Allowing, therefore, entire sanctification to be a distinct work, as we do, and allowing that its condition is faith, it is no marvel that it is not obtained synchronically with pardon. It was not asked for, it was not believed for; it was not, of course, bestowed.

Ordinarily, perhaps we might say almost universally, the mind of the returning prodigal is engrossed with his outward actual sins, not so much with his inward corruptions. It is for this reason, presumably, that he realizes more the urgency of pardon than cleansing, the desire of forgiveness rather than the need of entire purity.

When, in answer to his earnest repentings, and prayers, and faith, he obtains pardon, and the Spirit of adoption, whereby he cries, Abba, Father, he is completely happy; more he might hardly be able to contain. The love of sin, and its motions, for the present, being dead, he has no trouble; his soul rests in perfect peace; his enemies that are not cast out are concealed, and he does not even know their existence, certainly the dread of them does not disturb him. Time passes on, temptation comes, and now he feels an inward motion-the uprising of some unholy temper.

This first motion to evil is followed by others of the same kind; and the young convert awakes to the fact, that there are lurking enemies within him, seeking to bring him again into captivity. He finds that he was pardoned, that his heart was changed, that he loves God, and is enabled to trust in him; but also, he finds that his nature is not entirely sanctified. The discovery of these inward motions to sin distresses him. He knows that it is not right to harbour them, and now begins the struggle after their extirpation, more or less earnest, as privilege is more or less discerned.

But hinderances arise! and alas, but too generally, hinderances which long keep the enemy in possession of the heart, so as to disturb its peace, and divide its empire, if not entirely to recapture it.

The first hinderance we shall name, is that of defective and unsound teaching, and, consequent upon this, confused and incoherent views; as expressed in another connexion, privilege is not apprehended, duty is not enforced. There is not sufficient plainness and simplicity in the teaching of the pulpit. The doctrine is too much taken from its connexions, and presented in such a manner as to intimidate and confuse, rather than enlighten and encourage. The subject is mystified, and made to assume the character of the marvellous and impracticable; whereas it should be placed before Christians in simple earnestness, as a part of their common privileges and calling. Many are made to believe that some sin is absolutely necessary, that entire deliverance is impossible; these, of course, reconcile themselves to their lot: others are taught that entire freedom is possible, yet such is the distortion of the doctrine, that they have no heart to seek earnestly for the experience. Thus, through improper and erroneous instruction, multitudes are

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