To all such, who long for light, that by the light they may see to live the life, God answers, through His only-begotten Son, The Word who endureth for ever in heaven:—­

“Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.  For if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, much more will your heavenly Father give His Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”

Yes, ask for that Holy Spirit of God, that He may lead you into all truth; into all truth, that is, which is necessary for you to know, in order to see your way through the world, and through your duty in the world.  Ask for that Holy Spirit; that He may give you eyes to see things as they are, and courage to feel things as they are, and to do your work in them, and by them, whether they be pleasant or unpleasant, prosperous or adverse.  Ask Him; and He will give you true knowledge to know what a serious position you are in, what a serious thing life is, death is, judgment is, eternity is; that you may be no trifler nor idler, nor mere scraper together of gain which you must leave behind you when you die:  but a truly serious man, seriously intent on your duty; seriously intent on working God’s work in the place and station to which He has called you, before the night comes in which no man can work.

If a man is doing that; if he is earnestly trying to learn what is true, in order that he may do what is right; then he has—­I do not say a right—­but at least a reason, or a shadow of reason, when he cries to God in his trouble—­

“I am Thine, oh save me, for I have sought thy commandments.”

“I am Thine.”  Not merely God’s creature:  the very birds, and bees, and flowers are that; and do their duty far better than I—­God forgive me—­do mine.

“I am Thine.”  Not merely God’s child:  the sinners and the thoughtless are that, though—­God help them—­they care not for Him, nor for His laws, nor for themselves and their glorious inheritance as children of God.

And I too am God’s child:  but I trust that I am more.  I am God’s school-child.  O Lord Jesus Christ, I claim Thy help as my schoolmaster, as well as my Lord and Saviour.  I am the least of Thy school-children; and it may be the most ignorant and most stupid.  I do not pretend to be a scholar, a divine, a philosopher, a saint.  I am a very weak, foolish, insufficient personage; sitting on the lowest form in Thy great school-house, which is the whole world; and trying to spell out the mere letters of Thy alphabet, in hope that hereafter I may be able to make out whole words, and whole sentences, of Thy commandments, and having learnt them, do them.  For if Thou wilt but teach me Thy statutes, O Lord, then I will try to keep them to the end.  For I long to be on Thy side, and about Thy work.  I long to help—­if it be ever so little—­in making myself better, and my neighbours better.  I long to be useful, and not useless; a benefit,