e reading
or thinking.--What a blessed prospect to be delivered from this wretched
evil nature!

HABITS OF SLEEP.

My own experience has been, almost invariably, that if I have not the
_needful_ sleep, my spiritual enjoyment and strength is greatly affected
by it. I judge it of great moment that the believer, in travelling,
should seek as much as possible to refrain from travelling by night, or
from travelling in such a way as that he is deprived of the needful
night's rest; for if he does not, he will be unable with renewed bodily
and mental strength to give himself to prayer and meditation, and the
reading of the Holy Scriptures, and he will surely feel the pernicious
effects of this all the day long. There may occur cases when travelling
by night cannot be avoided; but, if it can, _though we should seem to
lose time by it, and though it should cost more money,_ I would most
affectionately and solemnly recommend the refraining from
night-travelling; for, in addition to our drawing beyond measure upon
our bodily strength, we must be losers spiritually. The next thing I
would advise with reference to travelling is, with all one's might to
seek morning by morning, before setting out, to take time for meditation
and prayer, and reading the word of God; for although we are always
exposed to temptation, yet we are so especially in travelling.
Travelling is one of the devil's especial opportunities for tempting us.
Think of that, dear fellow believers. Seek always to ascertain carefully
the mind of God, before you begin anything; but do so in particular
before you go on a journey, so that you may be quite sure that it is the
will of God that you should undertake that journey, lest you should
needlessly expose yourself to one of the special opportunities of the
devil to ensnare you. So far from envying those who have a carriage and
horses at their command, or an abundance of means, so that they are not
hindered from travelling for want of means, let us who are not thus
situated rather thank God that _in this particular_ we are not exposed
to the temptation of needing to be less careful in ascertaining the will
of God before we set out on a journey.

CHILDREN.

CONVERSION OF CHILDREN.

As far as my experience goes, it appears to me that believers generally
have expected far too little of present fruit upon their labours among
children. There has been a hoping that the Lord some day or other would
own the instruction whi