You are never so happy as when you unburden and unbosom all your soul before God, and throw all your heart into every word you utter. You never can forget the hallowed moments of retirement, when you first caught the spirit of prayer, and felt what it is to commune with God, at the mercy-seat. You understand at once what Melancthon meant, when he said of Luther,—”I have overheard him in secret prayer, and he spoke as if God had been in the room with him;” you can believe this of Luther, for you have at times felt as if God were in your room. Accordingly what you want is to get back to this devotional spirit, and to continue in it. No wonder! There is however quite as much that is pleasing to God, in the broken sighs and unutterable groanings of a contrite spirit.

R. Philip