120 ON SOUNDNESS IN JUDGMENT, Carefully distinguish between the fe- verish heat of animal fervour, and the vital warmth of Christian feeling. Mere yOuthful energy, operating upon a newly- awakened remorse fbr a thoughtless life, will carry the mind certain lengths; but if unaccompanied with humility, repent- ance, and a continual application for a better strength than your own, this slight resource will soon fail. It is not that principle which will encourage pro- gress ; it is not that Divine support which will carry you on to the end. The Christian race is not to be run at a beat : religion is a steady, progressive course ; it gains strength by going, and eventually it gains speed also : progress quickens the pace ; for the nearer the approach to the goal, the more ardent is the desire to reach it. And though, in your further advance, you may ima- gine yourself not so near as you did when you first set out, this is not really the case ; - you have a lower opinion of your state, because you have obtained 4
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=