For those desires are not pure and perfect, which are tainted with love of thyself.

3. Ask not for that which is delightful and profitable to thee, but for that which is acceptable to Me, and which tendeth to My honour; for if thou judgest aright, thou oughtest to prefer and follow My appointment, rather than thine own desire, or any thing whatever that is to be desired. I know thy desire, and have heard thy groanings.

Thou longest now to enjoy the glorious liberty of the sons of God; now thou dost delight in the everlasting habitation, thy heavenly home full of joy; but that hour is not yet come; there still remaineth another time, and that a time of war, a time of labour and' of trial.

Thou desiredst to be filled with the chiefest good, but thou canst not yet attain it.

I am He; wait thou for me, saith the Lord, until the kingdom of God shall come.

4. Thou art still to be tried upon earth, and to be exercised in many things.

Comfort shall be sometimes given thee, but the abundant fulness thereof shall not be granted.

Take courage, therefore, and be valiant, as well in doing as in suffering things contrary to nature.

It is thy duty to put on the new man, and to be changed into another.

It is thy duty oftentimes to do what thou wouldst not; thy duty to leave undone what thou wouldst do.

That which pleaseth others shall go well forward; that which pleaseth thee shall not speed.

That which others say shall be heard; what thou sayest shall be accounted nothing; others shall ask and shall receive; thou shalt ask but shalt not obtain.

5. Others shall be great in the praise of men, but about thee there shall no word be.

To others this or that shall be committed, but thou shalt be accounted of no use.

At this nature will sometimes be troubled, and it is a great thing if thou bear it with silence.

In these and many such like things, the faithful servant of the Lord is wont to be tried, how far he can deny and break his will in all things.

There is scarcely any thing wherein thou hast such need to die to thyself, as in seeing and suffering those things that are contrary to thy will; especially when that is commanded to be done, which seemeth unto thee inconvenient, or useless.

And because thou being under authority darest not resist the higher power, therefore it seems hard to thee to walk at another's beck, and to give up all thine own will.

6. But consider, My son, the fruit of these labours, the end near at hand, and the reward exceeding great; and thou wilt not grudge to bear them: rather thou wilt have the strongest comfort of thy patience.

For instead of that little of thy will, which now thou so readily forsakest, thou shalt always have thy will in heaven.

There thou shalt find all that thou canst wish, all that thou shalt be able to desire.

There thou shalt have within thy reach all good, without fear of losing it.

There shall thy will be ever one with Me; it shall not covet any outward or selfish thing.

There none shall withstand thee, no man shall complain of thee, no man hinder thee, nothing come in thy way; but all things thou canst desire shall be there together present,

and shall refresh thy whole affection, and fill it up to the brim.

There I will give thee glory for the reproach which thou sufferedst here, the garment of praise for heaviness, for the lowest place a kingly throne for ever.

There shall the fruit of obedience appear, the labour of repentance shall rejoice, and humble subjection shall be gloriously crowned.

7. At present then bend thyself humbly under all, and care not who said this or commanded it.

But take especial care, that whether thy superior, or thine inferior, or thine equal, require any thing of thee, or do but insinuate their desire, thou take it all in good part, and with a sincere will endeavour to fulfil it.

Let one seek this, another that; let this man glory in this, the other in that, and be praised a thousand, thousand times; but do thou rejoice neither in this, nor in that, but in the contempt of thyself, and in the good pleasure and honour of Me alone.

This is what thou art to wish, that, whether it be by life or by death, God may be always glorified in thee.

CHAPTER L.

HOW A DESOLATE PERSON OUGHT TO PLACE HIMSELF IN THE HANDS OF GOD.

LORD God, holy Father, be Thou blessed both now and for evermore, because as Thou wilt, so is it done, and what Thou doest is good.

Let Thy servant rejoice in Thee, not in himself nor in any thing else; for Thou alone art the true gladness, Thou art my hope and my crown, Thou art my joy and my honour, O Lord.

What hath Thy servant, but what he hath received from Thee, even without any merit of his ?

Thine are all things, both what Thou hast given, and what Thou hast made.

I am poor, and in trouble, from my youth; and sometimes my soul is sorrowful even unto tears; sometimes also it is disturbed by reason of sufferings which hang over me.

2. I long after the joy of peace, the peace of Thy children I earnestly crave, who are fed by Thee in the light of Thy comfort.

If Thou give peace, if Thou pour into my heart holy joy, the soul of Thy servant shall be full of melody, and shall become devout in Thy praise.

But if Thou withdraw Thyself, he will not be able to run the way of Thy commandments; but rather he will bow his knees, and smite his breast, because it is not now with him as it was in times past, when Thy candle shined upon his

head, and under the shadow of Thy wings he was protected from the temptations which assaulted him.

3. O righteous Father, and ever to be praised, the hour is come that Thy servant is to be proved.

O beloved Father, meet and right it is that in this hour Thy servant should suffer somewhat for Thy sake.

O Father, evermore to be honoured, the hour is come, which from all eternity Thou didst foreknow should come; that for a short time Thy servant should outwardly be oppressed, but inwardly should ever live with Thee.

Thou shalt be for a little while despised and humbled, and in the sight of men should fail, and be wasted with sufferings and languors; that he might rise again with Thee in the morning dawn of the new light, and be glorified in heaven.

Holy Father, thou hast so appointed it, and so wilt have it; and that is fulfilled which Thyself hast commanded.

4. For this is a favour to thy friend, that for love of Thee he may suffer and be afflicted in the world, how often soever and by whom soever Thou permittest such trials to befall him.

Without Thy counsel and providence, and without cause, nothing cometh to pass in the earth.

It is good for me, Lord, that Thou hast humbled me, that I may learn Thy righteous judgments, and may cast away all haughtiness of heart and presumption.

It is profitable for me, that shame hath covered my face, that I may seek to Thee for consolation rather than to men.

I have learned also hereby to dread Thine unsearchable judgments, who afflictest the just with the wicked, though not without equity.

5. I give Thee thanks, for that Thou hast not spared my sins, but hast worn me down with bitter stripes, inflicting sorrows and sending anxieties upon me within and without.