His second advent, should be marked, noted, and avoid- ed. " Let us not sleep as do others," says the apostle, " but let us watch and be sober." (1 Thess. v. 6.)
We are to pray. We are to keep up habits of regular communion and intercourse with G-od. We are to allow no strangeness to come in between us and our Father in heaven, but to speak with Him daily ; that so we may be ready at any moment to see Him face to face. More- over, we are to make special prayer about the Lord's coming, that we may be " found in peace, without spot and blameless," and that our hearts may at no time be " overcharged" with the cares of this life, and so the day come upon us unawares. (2 Peter iii. 14. Luke xxi. 34.)
Finally, we are to work. We are to realize that we are all servants of a great Master, who has given to every men his work, and expects that work to be done. We are to labor to glorify God, each in our particular sphere and relation. There is always something for every one to do. We are to strive each of us to shine as a light — to be the salt of our own times — to be faithful witnesses for our Master, and to honor Him by conscien- tiousness and consistency in our daily conversation. Our great desire must be to be found not idle and sleeping, but working and doing.'*'
Such are the simple injunctions to which our Lord would have us attend. They ought to stir up in the hearts of all professing Christians great self-examination.
* "Be doing something," says Jerome, "that the devil may always find you engaged." It was a common saying of Calvin, towards the end of his life, when his friends would have had him do less work, for his health's sake, " Would you have my Master find mo idle ?"