individual in the world, the final issue of the contest will be the same : he must prevail, and " all his enemies shall become his footstool'."]
Let us then contemplate^
III. Our duty with respect to him —
If He be " the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords/'
Our duty is, to submit to him and serve him —
[A ''holy reverential fear" becomes us in his presence: " He is greatly to be feared, and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him." Our fear of him should swallow up every other fear, and annihilate every desire that is contrary to his will. An external conformity to his laws will not suffice : he should reign in our hearts, and our " every thought should be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." Not that our fear should be of a slavish kind : it is our privilege, and even our duty, to rejoice in him'^: yea, we should rejoice in him with most exalted joy, even " a joy that is unspeakable and glorified^:" yet should our joy be tempered with humility, and our confidence with contrition. We should never so contemplate him as to forget ourselves, nor ever so triumph in him as to lose a jealousy over ourselves: we should " rejoice in the Lord always;" but still we should so temper this heavenly feeling as to " rejoice with trembling."
With this reverential fear we should also maintain towards him a devout affection. Idolaters were wont to kiss their idols, in token of their entire and affectionate devotion to them™: hence it is said, " Kiss the Son," that is, let us consecrate our- selves to his service affectionately and with our whole hearts. A constrained service is altogether unacceptable to him : obedience would lose all its worth, if we accounted his yoke heavy or " his commandments grievous." His law should be in our hearts, and a conformity to it should be our supreme desire and dehght.]
This is the duty of all, without exception —
[It is a common sentiment, that religion is only for the poor, and that the rich and learned are in a good measure exempt from its restraints. But in the sight of God all men are on a level : all are equally dependent on him ; all must give up an account to him ; and " kings or judges of the earth" are quite as much subject to the command of Christ as the meanest of the human race. O let this awful delusion be
i Matt. xxii. 44. ^ phil. iii. 3. and iv. 4.
1 1 Pet. i. 8. m 1 Kings xix. 18. Hos. xiii. 2.