We wish to be our own providence, to dispose of our own future of our
lifetime according to those desires, instead of leaving that work to
Him from whom we have received all that we possess.
When we are assailed by regrets in the evening, and filled with
anxieties for the morrow, how can our heart rebound with joy, or our
lips wear the smile of confidence and tranquility? Behold some of the
many sources from which the fatal fiend of melancholy is fed and
strengthened. But this vile destroyer of peaceful joy springs from
another source not less fatal than those just mentioned. That is a
certain vagueness of mind and heart, which is sometimes the result of
some physical or bodily indisposition, but more frequently the
consequence of an imperfect education, or indifference in the service
of God.
That which gives to the mind its needed assurance and strength, and
to the heart its consistency and solidity, is a lively faith,
nourished and sustained by a sincere piety. Of this you are
thoroughly convinced, as you know full well that faith alone can give
a solid basis to our thoughts, a true direction to our desires, and
an eternal destiny to our hopes.
Pages:
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199