8 THE CHRISTIAN NATURALIST. 



nearer every day. And although with our dull eyes we 

 see not the progress, so gradual is it; although we 

 mark not the precise period when he begins to 

 return, yet — 



* That breathing moment on the bridge where Time 

 Of light and darkness, forms an arch sublime,' 



has been passed, and we may thence look forwards with 

 increasing hope to the balmy breezes and brighter days 

 of the returning spring. 



Thus also is it with the faith even of the true 

 believer. Ofttimes does it wear an aspect not unlike 

 that of a January month ; a sort of intermediate state 

 between light and darkness ; between joy and despair. 

 If, indeed, the great turning point of spiritual life has 

 been past, still this world presents not unfrequently the 

 face of a wintry scene. Its cloudy and dark days 

 are many. Trials and disappointments of various 

 kinds, for the most part, still keep its hopes, like the 

 forest, bare and unpromising; and its patience only 

 rises like a flower that smiles upon a surface of snow. 

 Thus like the patriarchs and prophets of old, the 

 Christian has to wait long for the salvation of his 

 Lord ; and if he rejoices at beholding it; it often rises 



