THE LYDIAS.

Ir is an era in both the life and character of a woman, who has never heard the Gospel faithfully preached, when she is first struck by the difference between legal and evangelical doctrine, ethical and experimental sermons. She may be perplexed, even displeased, for a time, by the "strange things" then brought to her ears; they are so very strange, to one who never heard nor dreamt before that religion was any thing more than morals, worship, and taking the sacrament. But her displeasure, even if it

amount to disgust, with the doctrines of Grace,

is a revolution in her mind, which tells upon her character, in spite of herself. She cannot forget that both the facts and phrases she has heard, are in the Bible. She cannot conceal from herself, that the EVANGELISTS of Christ, as well as the Evangelicals of the churches, say more about justification by faith, and regeneration by the Spirit, than she either likes, or ever pondered over. Thus she is compelled, however reluctantly, to suspect, that she may be wrong; —that her heart is not so good as she imagined; —that more than the decencies of morality and public worship, may be needful, in order to her salvation.

The progress of a mind, thus arrested by the peculiarities of the Gospel, and then reconciled to them gradually, is worth tracing, step by step. It will show both how much, and how little, a faithful ministry can do towards the conversion of the soul. It will illustrate and justify, equally

the fact, that" faith cometh by hearing;" and the fact, that" neither he that planteth is any

thing, nor he that watereth; but God, that giveth the increase," All in All.

You will not be less interested or edified, by tracing the influence of faithful preaching on the character, even if you never heard any thing but "the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ." For, however familiar you may have been, even from your youth up, with the truth as it is in Jesus, it seemed new truth to you, when it began to touch your heart; whether its first effect was pain or pleasure, hatred or love. For something is gained, when attention is arrested, or the mind disturbed, by the Gospel : whereas, whilst neither Law nor Gospel please nor displease, but both are heard without interest or discrimination, nothing is gained. It is, indeed, very melancholy, even awful, to see the heart of a creature, otherwise amiable

and modest, rising and writhing against the truths of a Bible, which she yet calls the Word of God! She has not the hardihood to reject the volume; but she has the effrontery to despise its great doctrines, and its humbling design. This is infatuation, as well as effrontery. Still, it is teaching her, in spite of herself, knowledge of herself, and especially of her heart. It reveals her to others also, as well as to herself. For whenever a faithful ministry gives serious offence, there is an end to dead silence about religion. Out of the abundance of the mortified and galled heart," the mouth speaketh" gall and wormwood; and thus betrays its own secret, and

publishes an enmity which was not, perhaps, suspected before.

This also is not without its use.

It compels

her to do more and better, in her own way of being religious, as a set-off against what she has. said in disparagement of spiritual religion. Ac

cordingly, she tries to make up for her sneers and sarcasms against Methodism, (as she calls Evangelism,) by loud protestations of supreme regard to morality and devotion, and by a punctilious obedience to both. She feels that she has committed herself amongst her friends by speaking as she thought and felt, when she was exasperated by a sermon which proved her to be no Christian; and, therefore, she sets herself to disprove it, by becoming (as she says) "as good a Christian as any of them," in her own way!

Now, bad as all this is, it is better than that eyeless and aimless vacancy of mind, to which Law and Gospel are alike insipid, and morality and spirituality the same thing. Whilst that heartless and brainless apathy continues, no self-knowledge is acquired, and no self-control (which has any distinct reference to the glory or the will of God) is attempted. Preaching has as little effect upon such a woman, as upon

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