He found, agreeably also to Scripture, nothing in his own state upon which he could depend for salvation; and, relying entirely on the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, he found peace and joy in believing. In this manner, if his conversion proceeded rapidly, it was not wanting in any of those evidences which are the unquestioned fruits of the teaching of God. His conduct is the best, and indeed the only satisfactory commentary on the whole work. A third point worthy of consideration in the history of Jolin, is, _the means_ by which it pleased God _to open this young man’s mind_; and this, I may venture to affirm, was _the Holy Scriptures_. It was the simple exhibition of the fifty-first Psalm, which at first seemed to expose his real state to him. It was the promises of the New Testament, and the types of the Old, which gave him his first clear notion of faith, and which conveyed to his mind a hope of pardon. The Scripture then became the subject of his meditation day and night. It was as a “lamp unto his feet, and a light unto his path; a treasure more to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb.” The value of Scripture arising from its clearness, authority, and its peculiar power, under God, to fasten truth on the soul, are remarkably conspicuous in the case of this guilty person. He heard, marked, learned, and inwardly digested its all-important truths, and they made him wise unto salvation. But in connexion with this, and every other means employed, is to be noticed the _influence of Divine grace_. The Almighty power and sovereignty with which this was exercised, was frequently acknowledged, and continually felt by Jolin. He perceived it in all the remarkable circumstances of his life—in his various escapes from death—in his final allotment—in the events which occurred in the prison. And whilst all this distinguishing mercy was shown towards him, he could discover nothing in himself which deserved any such remembrance at God’s hand. Why was he called, and not his father, was one of the points which first struck his attention on the visit of his friends. But to those around him some other circumstances, illustrating this influence, were perhaps more obvious than even to himself. The manner in which he was enabled to receive the truths of the gospel; the gift of spiritual understanding; the willing heart; the subdued spirit, and sanctified heart, were all circumstances to be referred only to the sovereign grace of Him who worketh in his people to will and to do of his good pleasure. “O, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”