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 the veil aside, and intimates eternity to man! As the darkness of the night gives lustre to the stars, so the night of affliction, by withdrawing the mind from earthly scenes, gives to the good man a placid resignation of soul, and a lustre to every thought.

Now, as there are no two men alike, so there are no two minds alike, and as such, no two individuals can be regenerated precisely in the same way; and hence the same kind of afflictions are not applicable to all alike. Nevertheless, in every trial or affliction, the Lord is present to bless—to cheer the afflicted, and to lighten his gloom! And the spiritual man perceives that all things in human life, whether troubles or blessings—health or sickness—prosperity or adversity, all work together for good, to those who love and serve the Lord; therefore he can feel the truth that "the Lord is good to all, and that his tender mercies are over all his works." He can perceive in affliction's night, as well as in the joyous brightness of the morning, that he is still the object of his heavenly Father's love and care; he can say

But the true advantages of affliction will appear when seen in connection with a man's spiritual life. The very word affiction, implies the enduring of that which is uncongenial to our natural inclinations and desires; and in a spiritual point of view, it denotes a state of temptation, when there is an internal struggle in the mind between the truth that we receive from heaven, and which points to purity of life,