us new men; it is that gift by which we are as we are, if, however, we are something before God, as the Apostle says, w By the grace of God I am what I am."
Yet, nevertheless (so strange it is), it. is this same gift which, through our stubborn ignorance, we know not of, and which, through our unbearable ingratitude, we receive every day in vain.
Alas! of what use is it to acknowledge its greatness and merit if we abuse it nearly every moment of our life.
It is for that, that our Saviour, speaking to the Samaritan woman, chided her ignorance by saying, * Ah! woman, if you had known the nature and excellence of the gift of God."
Grace triumphant must, so to speak, be subject to us. Be not shocked at this term, for it derogates nothing from the dignity of grace. It must be so subject to us as to well-nigh weary the patience of God, who waits for us for years without interfering with our free-will. It selects the place and time; it seizes the most favourable opportunity to win us; it is the first to warn us, and, far from taking something away from us by force or violence, it entreats us with prayers and mild remonstrances, it accommodates itself to our weaknesses, adjusts itself to our humour, and if at last it makes us realise the blessings of heaven and the contempt for earthly joys, it is only after having convinced us by innumerable trials of the solidity of the one and the frailty of the other.
