Page:Spiritual Reflections for Every Day in the Year - Vol 1.pdf/197

 sin committed either by us or our parents, but is rather the true order of our creation. We are thus born with dark uninformed minds, in order that the works of God may be made manifest in us (John ix. 3), and that we may finally become the children of light. When the natural mind is soft, pliant, and teachable, desirous of acquiring truth for the sake of living a holy life, it is then as the clay, with which the Lord anoints the eyes, preparatory to the opening of the understanding to the light of heavenly truth; and the command, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam," will, in the obedient mind, be followed by a clear and perfect vision. The pool of Siloam (which is by interpretation. ), is an emblem of the, for this is the Sent of God; and all its literal truths are the waters of the pool, which, if applied to our dark unopened eyes, or understandings, will cleanse us from the evils and errors of our unregenerate state, and open the mind to the truths and realities of heaven.

Go, reader, at the command of Jesus, wash in the pool of Siloam, and verily thine eyes shall be opened to a perception of all truth! To go, at the command of Jesus, is to progress in the heavenly life; therefore stand not still—loiter not on the road; for, remember, "stagnation is a universal curse—there's nothing stands still." Go, then, and wash in the pool; for it is still with us: then shall thy darkness be changed into light; and when thou shalt have a clear knowledge of all that concerns thy peace, thy former darkness, when compared with thy present light, will lead thee to exclaim with rapture, as did the blind man, "One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." (John ix. 25.)