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But there are yet other difficulties. You say your heart is hard. Have you a right to expect other than a heart of stone, until you give yourself to the Saviour? He hath promised to take away the heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh. But you prevent him from doing this for you, because you do not resign yourself to him. You do not imagine that the Saviour needs your help in fitting that heart for his reception. Then why longer withhold, as though you were acting on this principle. He says, "I will take away the heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh." Do not let

A Tearless Conversion.

him say of you, "Ye will not come unto me that ye may have life,"

I knew a person who for hours continued in lamentation, (though without tears,) crying out, "O my hard heart- -my hard heart!" It was said to her, "Why not give that hard heart to the Saviour? He has promised to give you a new heart-a heart of flesh." Up to this moment, she, instead of looking unto Jesus, had been looking at herselfbrooding over her hard heart. Consequently, instead of rising, she had been sinking lower, and yet lower, in despair. But she now said, "I will give this heart which will not break to Jesus." At once the Saviour, true to his promise, gave her a new spirit. He took away the stony heart, and gave her, indeed, a heart of flesh. And with tears of joy she now proclaimed his love. now "go and do likewise?"

Will you not

cease to look for any "Look unto me and be earth." Keep steadily

As you do not expect that salvation will in any degree come from within, good thing from yourself. ye saved, all ye ends of the looking unto Jesus; if you take your eye off from this one point of attraction you sink. You acknowledge yourself lost. Then you are precisely the character whom Jesus came to save: "For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost." Would you ever have set out to seek him, had he not first sought you? Yes, you are now

the sought out of the Lord, and your precious Saviour will not upbraid you if you now rejoicingly sing,

"Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wand'ring from the fold of God,
He to rescue me from danger
Interposed his precious blood."

Do I not hear you with gladness of heart saying,
Saviour of sinners, thou art my Saviour? Yes!
Hallelujah to Jesus!
name together."

"Come and let us exalt his

Your devoted friend.

No. III.-TO MR. M.

Mr. M- inquires whether the power to believe not be withheld-The power to exercise faith never withheld from the truly sincere-Difficulty with one who had been seeking the Lord four years, and how removed-Man possesses the awful power of pronouncing his own blessings and curses-Five individuals converted the same day on which they were awakened-Difficulty with Mr. S.-Of one who thought it was too late.

"But,"

TO MY SIN-SICK FRIEND, MR. Myou ask, "does not the Lord in his sovereignty at times withhold the power to exercise faith from the seeking soul?" And further, "How is it that some for weeks and months, with so much sincerity and earnestness, go about as mourners in Zion, while others, perhaps, only in a few hours go through the process of awakening and conversion?"

A Four Years' Seeker.

I do not think we have any Scripture ground for the supposition, that God ever withholds the power to exercise faith from the sincere inquirer. It is true that there may be difficulties in the way of exercising faith with some who desire salvation. I once knelt beside a mourner, and said,

"How long since you first began to seek the Lord ?"

"Four years."

"Four years!" I exclaimed; "what! seeking the Lord four years, and say that you have not yet found him! Surely this must be a mistake. God hath said, 'And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.' God cannot be unfaithful, and there must have been some mistake in your manner of seeking him."

I then began to inquire whether there had not been some reservation in her mind, relative to sacrificing all for Christ. "Perhaps," said I, "you may have had your eye upon some worldly minded professor, and thought, If I could get religion, and be or do like such a one, how gladly would I enjoy it.' Your mind may have been so enlightened as to see these things inconsistent with an entire surrender, but still you have persevered in endeavoring to bring God to your terms, instead of coming yourself to his."

She frankly acknowledged that this had indeed

Converted in Five Minutes.

been precisely her case. I assured her that she might just as well give up all hope at once of ever being saved, as to continue to seek God with these reservations.

Though you might go on years longer as a professed seeker, you would come no nearer the point, But there is no probability that the Spirit of the Lord would strive with you thus long. What a mercy that your Saviour, grieved and insulted by your offers of half-hearted service, has not ceased to tender you his grace, and left you to utter hardness and impenitence! But you may be now receiving the last urgings of the Spirit; yet let me tell you, if you will now make confession of your sin, in not being willing to give up all for Christ, and will come, renouncing yourself and sin, he will now receive you. She made the resolve that she would yield; and the more powerful influences of the Spirit were immediately given to help her infirmities; and in perhaps less than five minutes she was filled with the joys of salvation.

In like manner is the faithfulness of God to the seeker ever exhibited. Though not often so clearly perceivable to the eye of man, as in the case just stated, yet in the eye of Omniscience every case is undoubtedly equally marked. I cannot believe that there is any lingering on the part of God in fulfilling his promises to the seeking soul. When we come to him in the way of his