and thoughts, so as to be able, like the Centurion of old, to “say to this, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it?” [Matt. viii. 9.]. Rather, are you not frequently in the same situation with the Apostle, who makes the humiliating confession, that “when he would do good, evil was present with him;” and that “he saw a law in his members warring against the law of his mind?” [Rom. vii. 21, 23.]. I will suppose (indeed I believe it to be strictly true), that it is the general and uppermost purpose of your mind to do the whole will of GOD, and never to offend Him either in thought, word, or deed. But how frequently have you occasion to regret the disturbance, arising from some inward opposition to this purpose! Even in your acts of devotion, when you wish to delight and strengthen yourself by a holy intercourse with your HEAVENLY FATHER, and when every voluntary faculty of your mind is intent on securing His Divine and eternal blessing, do you not occasionally experience the inroad and interruption of involuntary thoughts and affections, intermingling their defilements with the purity of your prayers; clipping the wings of your piety; and thus retarding, if not entirely checking, your ascent from earth to heaven? I appeal then, as I said, to your own experience to decide on the truth
