wretched state, when he _comes to himself_, his penitence is likely to
be deep and painful, and when he is enabled to believe, his faith will
probably be quite joyful, because he realizes the depth from which he
was drawn. God's Word has acted on him _like a fire_, burning deep
down into the conscience, consuming its dross.

Another has never wandered so far away. He has all along been
more or less under divine influence. Baptized in childhood, brought up
amid Christian restraints, he has at least observed the outward
obligations of religion, though he may not in the past have yielded
himself unreservedly unto Christ. When such an one does give himself
to God, his repentance may not be so marked, or his faith be so
demonstrative, but on this account the conversion is none the less
real. God's Word, at length, _opened his heart_, as the heart of
Lydia, the seller of purple, was opened.

We notice in the next place that there are differences in the
duration of the process. With some the process lasts longer than with
others. This fact is implied indeed in the variations noted above. On
one person the Word may make but a superficial impression at first. It
may be only a slight dissatisfaction with self. But with more light
and knowledge, the feeling of penitence is deepened. Longings for
something better are awakened. Yearnings and outcryings after
deliverance arise from the heart. There is then only a first timid
trembling look to Christ. Gradually, slowly, the faith is drawn out,
until the heart is enabled to cast itself on the Saviour and rest
trustingly there. It may be weeks, months, or even years, before that
penitent comes out into the clear sunlight of assurance and peace. In
all such cases it is "_first the blade, then the ear, and then the
full corn in the ear_."