He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters;
He restoreth my soul!”
The strains died softly away, lingering long on my charmed ear and leaving my heart in a sacred calm.
I prayed with intense earnestness:
“From self-love and the love of the world; from self-righteousness, presumption and hypocrisy; from pride, ambition and sensuality; all of which I have seen so fearfully unmasked:
“Good Lord! deliver me.”
I opened my eyes, and my father and the seraph-faced forerunner of Jesus stood before me.
The latter took my hand tenderly in his own, and said:
“All the experiences of life, both in the world of men and in the world of spirits, are given to teach us the difference between good and evil, between the true and the false; to show us the deformity of sin and the beauty of holiness; to deliver our souls from the bondage of hell, and lift them into the peace of heaven.”