THE THRESHOLD OF PRIVATE DEVOTION. "As certain as piety, virtue and eternal happiness are of the most concern to man, as certain as the immortality of our nature, and relation to God are the most glorious circumstances of our nature, so certain is it, that he who dwells most in contemplation of them, whose heart is most affected with them, who sees farthest into them, who best comprehends the value and excellency of them, who judges all worldly attainments to be mere bubbles and shadows in comparison of them, proves himself to have the finest understanding, and the strongest judgment."-LAW. LONDON: RIVINGTONS, WATERLOO PLACE. 700. n. 39. ADVERTISEMENT. THE contents of the present work, intended to aid the Christian in his private meditations, are arranged under separate heads for greater convenience, but no attempt has been made to supply a system of religious instruction. May, 1862. INTRODUCTION. UPON the first view of the teaching of our blessed Lord, the unbelieving heart of man is ready to exclaim, with His disciples, "Who then can be saved ?" and to turn away from our Saviour's command to take up the cross daily, and follow His steps with undeviating strictness, as a hopeless task in the present state of the world. Human nature in its fallen condition is startled at the apparent severity and impracticable aspect of some of the most em: phatic declarations of our Lord upon the extent of the sacrifices required by those who should desire to "enter into life," and finds it hard to reconcile them with the mercy and goodness of God displayed in the visible creation, and attested by the experience of mankind in the past ages of the world. The reply of our blessed Lord to this desponding exclamation of His disciples appears to be the first step towards the removal of this perplexity: "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." The humble B |