"Well, I can't account for it; I wonder how any one who believes in the Bible, which speaks of hell and endless misery, can sleep calmly on his pillow. I suppose they must believe one part, and disbelieve the other."
"No, Sir, it is because their belief in one part inspires confidence in the love and faithfulness of God their Saviour, they can believe the other part without dread or fear."
"I presume you are a firm believer in the Bible."
"I am, Sir."
"May I be permitted to ask you what is the predominant impression it makes on your mind—terror or tranquil peace?"
"If I were to say that it never awakened an emotion of terror, I should not speak strictly correct. When I have reflected on sin, its essentially evil nature and tendency; on my own sins, their number and peculiar aggravations; on the Divine purity and justice; and on the tremendous visitations of punishment which have been, and still are inflicted on man, both in this world and in the world to come, I have felt a tumult of terror agitating my soul, of a fearful aspect. But, Sir, my faith sees one in the midst of the storm, whose eye is pity, and whose arm is power; and my prayer is, Lord save or I perish. He hears and he answers this prayer."
"But how do you know that he hears and answers your prayers?"
"Because my dark forebodings cease, and there is a calm within, as there was a great calm on the Lake of Galilee when our Lord rebuked the winds and the sea."
"Were you trained, Sir, to a belief in the Bible?"
"I once rejected the Bible as a book of fables or falsehoods."