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ticularly that which has relation to the divine will,) is obviously of the greatest consequence. And those will know most, who are the most recollected. The truth opens itself to the mind, that faithfully perseveres in the state of inward recollection, with remarkable clearness. And the reason, in part, is, because the mind, in a religiously recollected state, ceases to be agitated by the passions. "The light of God," says the writer already referred to, "shines as the sun at noon day; but our passions, like so many thick clouds opposed to it, are the reason that we cannot perceive it. Love, hatred, fear, hope, grief, joy, and other vicious passions filling our soul, blind it in such a manner that it sees nothing but what is sensible and suitable to it; refusing all that is contrary to its own inclinations; and being thus filled with itself, it is not capable of receiving the light of God."* Now there can be no question, that Inward Recollection secures the soul, in a most remarkable degree, from inordinate passions. Such passions cannot well flourish, with the eye of God distinctly looking upon them. And accordingly, under such circumstances, the illuminative suggestions of the Holy Spirit readily enter the mind, and operate in it, and reveal the divine will. So that he, who walks in recollection, may reasonably expect to walk in the light of true knowledge and of a divine guidance.

And not only this, Inward Recollection tends to concentrate, and consequently to stengthen very much the action of the intellectual powers. It does *Bourignon's Light in Darkness, p. 14.

this, in part, and indirectly, by disburdening the mind of those wandering thoughts and unnecessary cares and excitements, which with scarcely any exception overrun the minds of those, who do not live in a recollected state.

(4.)-Another favorable result, connected with the habit of inward recollection, is, that, by confining the mind to the present moment, and retaining God in the position of a present counsellor and guide, it prevents the exercise of reflex and selfish acts on the past, and also undue and selfish calculations for the future. Self, if we permit it, will either secretly or openly find nourishment every where; and every where, therefore, we are to fight against it, overcome it, slay it. When the past is gone and we are conscious that we have done our duty in it, if we would not have the life of self imbibing strength from that source, we must leave it with God in simplicity of spirit; and not suffer it to furnish food either for vanity or disheartening regrets. We should avoid also all undue and selfish calculations for the future, such as continually agitate and distract the minds of the people of the world; and indeed all thoughts and anticipations of a prospective character, which do not flow out of the facts and the relations of the present moment, and which are not sanctioned by a present divine inspection. "Happy is the man," says Fenelon, "who retains nothing in his mind, but what is necessary; and who only thinks of each thing just when it is time to think of it; so that it is rather God, who excites the perception and idea of

it, by an impression and discovery of his will which we must perform, than the mind's being at the trouble to forecast and find it."* To these important results, there can be no question, that the habit of inward recollection is exceedingly favorable.

(5.)-Again, we have good reason for supposing, that the state of mind under consideration is eminently propitious to the spirit and practice of prayer. There certainly can be no acceptable prayer without a considerable degree of recollection. And the requirement that we should "pray without ceasing," seems almost necessarily to imply, that we should always be in a recollected state. "He, who is always dissipated," says a certain writer, "like a house open to all comers and goers, is very unfit for prayer. He, that will never pray, but in the hour that calls him to it, will never do it well. But he, that would succeed in this great exercise, ought, by continual recollection, to keep himself always ready, and in an actual disposition for praying." +

FINALLY, one of the great excellencies of the state of inward recollection is, that it gives us the place of central observation and power, the KEY, if we may so express it, to the position of the religious. life; and enables us to exercise an effective control over its whole broad extent. That is to say, it places us in the most favorable position to discover and meet the attacks of our spiritual adver*Fenelon's Directions for a Holy Life.

+Letter of Instruction on Christian Perfection, by Francis de la Combe.

saries, and also to render our own movements and efforts fully available. However well disposed may be our intentions, whatever good purposes we may have formed, whatever may be the formality and solemnity of our recorded resolutions, they will ever be found in a great degree useless, without this aid. It will be in vain to think of living a life of true religion, a life in which God himself is the inspiring element, without a present, permanant, and realizing sense of his presence. It is, therefore, not without a good degree of reason, that the pious Cecil has remarked, that "RECOLLECTION is the life of religion.'

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CHAPTER THIRTIETH.

On growth in Holiness.

Ir a person is holy, how can he be more holy? If he is perfectly holy how can he increase in holiness? These are questions, which are frequently asked, and which it is desirable satisfactorily to

answer.

That a thing may be perfect in its nature, and yet be susceptible of growth or advancement in degree, is, I suppose, a matter of common observation. An oak, when it first rises above the surface of the ground, is so small and weak, that it may be easily trodden under foot; and yet it is as really and truly an oak, as when it subsequently stands forth in the strength and stature of an hundred years. A human being is in his nature as much a human being in the period of infancy, as in the subsequent expansion and growth of manhood. And so consider a man in relation to any intellectual power of the mind, or in relation to any appetite or affection of the mind, and the same view may very properly be taken. A person is a reasoner, for instance; he understands perfectly the principles and process of reasoning, and he

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