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directly by the operation of the Spirit of the Lord, and which 

 is augmented by the consciousness of all the friendly and 

 gracious relations in which, by the effected reconciliation, 

 we stand to our heavenly Father, which, in the happiness and 

 strength it produces, surpasses all other joy, and is declared 

 to be " unspeakable and full of glory." But it must be 

 always remembered that the first and largest element of this 

 joy is the sense of reconciliation, that is, the consciousness 

 that the condition of rebellion has ceased, and that the subject 

 of the joy has been brought into a state of harmony with and 

 subjection to God. Thus this richest donation of divine 

 grace shows that a condition of actual submission to God 

 is not only perfectly proper and natural to man, but that 

 it is the highest and happiest condition to which he can 

 attain. 



This is evidently the true view of the end and purpose of 

 human responsibility, so far as our Maker himself has shown 

 it; and we cannot conceive of any other result but the most 

 perfect development of our nature in all its beauty and 

 strength, as the consequence of full acquiescence in the 

 divine purpose, by unlimited subordination. This side of the 

 question, however, is generally lost sight of, and it is discussed 

 as though the subordination was claimed by an alien authority 

 for its own selfish purposes. This course is all the more 

 strange when we remember the essential peculiarities of our 

 nature in this life, as, that we are capable of boundless know- 

 ledge, and equally of unlimited mistakes ; that we begin life 

 in total ignorance, and, to perpetuate it, are compelled to 

 consider its immediate need and supply it. So far as the life 

 of the body is concerned, we cannot go far wrong without 

 immediate check ; and, in all metaphysical speculation, 

 because of the remoteness and uncertainty of its results, a 

 mistake is not of much moment; but in the cultivation or 

 restraint of the moral side of our nature, which rules our 

 practice, and so affects others also, mistake or perverseness is 

 of most serious consequence to our own character and to the 

 happiness of others. 



There is also this peculiarity about all failure in this side of 

 our nature; as it can only take place by the determination of 

 our individual will, so there is special unwillingness to retrace 

 any false step, and thus a course of continuous deterioration 

 and mischief follows from a first step, which only diverged 

 slightly from the path of uprightness. Is it not likely, there- 

 fore, that He who has so richly endowed us in every other 

 respect will, with equal care, prompt, restrain, guide, and 

 stimulate us in the cultivation of those dispositions, and in the 



