The Life of God in the Soul of Man by Henry Scougal

"Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they
that be against us?"
Away then with all perplexing fears and desponding
thoughts. To undertake vigorously, and rely confidently
on the divine assistance, is more than half the conquest.
"Let us arise and be doing, and the Lord will be with us."
It is true, religion in the souls of men is the immediate
work of God, and all our natural endeavors can neither
produce it alone, nor merit those supernatural aids by
which it must be wrought. The Holy Ghost must come
upon us, and the power of the Highest must overthrow
us, before that holy thing can be begotten, and Christ be
formed in us. But yet we must not expect that this whole
work should be done without any concurring endeavors
of our own. We must not lie loitering in the ditch, and
wait till Omnipotence pull us from thence. No, no: we
must bestir ourselves, and actuate those powers which
we have already received. We must put forth ourselves to
our utmost capacities, and then we may hope that "our
labour shall not be in vain in the Lord." All the art and
industry of man cannot form the smallest herb, or make
a stalk of corn to grow in the field; it is the energy of
nature, and the influences of Heaven, which produce
this effect. It is God "who causes the grass to grow, and
herb for the service of man;" and yet nobody will say,
that the labors of the husbandman are useless or
unnecessary. So, likewise, the human soul is
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