108 JOHN ADAMS'S DREAMS. 
Holy Spirit, whose merciful design it was to give 
him a better knowledge of himself, and a sense 
of the justice and goodness of God, and to bring 
him an humble suppliant to the throne of grace, 
for the pardon of his sins, through the merits of 
a crucified Saviour? "Behold, I stand at the 
door and knock : if any man hear my voice, 
and open the door, I will come in to him, and will 
sup with him, and he with me." (Rev. iii. 20.) 
Let no one say that there is any encourage- 
ment to superstition in these remarks. That 
which is uppermost in the thoughts, though it 
may not have ripened into good resolutions, 
much less into right practice, is frequently dis- 
played, in a manner strong as reality, in those 
solemn hours when the world is shut out, and 
deep sleep falleth upon man. An idea, which 
has been presented to the mind whilst we are 
awake, often assumes, by reflection, and during 
the hours of sleep, a solemnity and importance 
which it did not before possess. And perhaps 
there are no inward admonitions more affecting, 
or more fruitful of good, than those which relate 
to our children, and to the obligations under 
which we are laid to conduct the young in 
the right way. Happy are they who are wise 
enough to make a good use of that which appears 
to have been sent to them for a good end! 
Adams had begun to read his Bible ; and who 
can tell the power given by the grace of God to 
the study of the revealed Word, with prayer, 
and to a thoughtful and candid perusal of the 
injunctions of the Saviour, to whom the young 
were objects of the tenderest regard? 
