TWO CHARACTERS.
It is time that I should tell you the age of these two little girls.
Louisa was just turned of ten, and Emma was one year younger. I have
no doubt that although you know so little about them, you already like
Emma better than her sister; and the reason of this is plain. No one
could be long with Louisa without finding out that she was a selfish
child; while Emma, though she had many faults, of which carelessness
was the chief, was of a kind, good-natured disposition, always ready
to oblige. Louisa, too, was often willful, and would not give up her
own way; while Emma was humble-minded, knowing that she had much to
learn, and thankful to be taught. Both of these children were sinners,
like all who are born into this sinful world: but Louisa cared little
about the concerns of her soul; while Emma had begun to pray in secret
for pardon through Christ her Saviour, and for the new heart which is
the gift of his Holy Spirit.
Reader, you too are a sinner, and by nature far from God. Do you ever
consider what is your present state? Have you been brought near to him
by the blood of Christ, the new and living way? You may have heard of
these things before, but without giving heed to the salvation of your
own soul, or seeking to prepare for the world to come. If this has
been the case, pause now, and ask yourself whither you are going, and
what must be the end, if you do not repent and turn from sin. There
are many awful texts in the Bible concerning those who trifle with the
offers of divine mercy, and harden their hearts against the Saviour's
gracious call. O! pray that you may not be one of this unhappy number.
Seek the Lord while he may be found, before the day of grace is past.
God has said that his "Spirit shall not always strive with man," Gen.
vi, 3; and if you will not repent to-day, to-morrow may be too late.
Emma's Bible was nicely covered, and laid in her own little drawer;
and every morning she read a chapter before she went down stairs. She
prayed that God would teach her by his Holy Spirit to understand what
she read; and though her prayers were very simple, and she scarcely
knew what words to use, yet she felt sure that he would hear her,
because he has promised to do so, for the sake of his dear Son. And by
degrees, as she began to love her Bible more and more, she learned a
habit of going to their little room alone, once in each day, to read a
few verses in private, and to offer a short prayer to her "Father who
seeth in secret." Matt, vi, 6. She found a great blessing in this; and
it often happened that the thought of a text of Scripture which she
had been reading in her room alone would come into her mind when she
was afterward tempted to say or do something wrong, and thus help to
keep her from sin.
It was not so with Louisa. The Bible was often wanted in the
schoolroom--for the children had a governess who came to teach them
every day; and Louisa soon found it too much trouble to take the book
up stairs at night, and to carry it down again the next morning.
Besides this, she did not always rise from her bed in time to read a
chapter, so that it was often put off till after breakfast, and then
it commonly happened that she had other things to do, and did not read
it at all. Emma would sometimes gently remind her that her Bible
reading had been forgotten; but this made Louisa so cross that she
left off doing so at last. The truth was, that this poor child had no
real love for the Scriptures; and as she did not seek for grace to
help her, the good resolves that she had made passed away quickly from
her mind.
The difference between the sisters was seen in their outward conduct;
for Emma's reading of the Bible would have been in vain if the effects
had not been shown in her temper and daily life. I do not mean to say
that she never went wrong; for Emma had still an evil nature, and a
sinful heart, often leading her to forget the commands of God. But she
was truly sorry when this had been the case, and would ask to be
forgiven with many tears; and she also prayed for divine grace, that
she might try to be more watchful for the time to come. Louisa, on the
other hand, thought too highly of herself to be easily convinced of a
fault; and as she seldom received reproof in an humble and proper
manner, she made but little progress toward improvement.