inmost soul, he prays, " Hold thou me up, O Lord'!" yea, " Direct my heart into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ's future adventu!"]
But, in the midst of all his troubles, we may behold,
III. His assured encouragement —
Were he left to himself, he well knows he must perish. But " his hope is in the Lord his God."
That which is required of him, is, to be upright before God —
[God " requireth truth in the inward parts*." However defective we be in our attainments, there must be no insincerity in our desires. We must " account all God's commandments concerning all things to be right, and must hate every false wayy." In our regard to them, there must be " no partiality, no hypocrisy2:" the smallest commandment must not be con- sidered as light a, nor the greatest be deemed " grievous V " Lord, what wilt thou have me to doc?" must be his daily prayer; and to fulfil every command of God, the constant hahit of his mind.]
With this one acquisition, he has nothing to fear —
[" God will uphold the upright mand." Satan may tempt him ; his own in-dwelling corruptions may assault him ; and he may at times be so harassed, as to be almost at his wit's ende;" but " God will keep him, by his own power, through faith, unto everlasting salvation f." The weaker the Christian feels himself, the more " will God perfect his own strength in his weakness^;" nor shall " the hope that has been formed in him ever make him ashamed11:" no : " he shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation ; and shall not be ashamed or confounded, world without end1."]
Be ye then, Brethren, christians indeed —
[Get just views of your duty, both towards God and man And be like-minded with God in relation to it, desir- ing nothing but to be, and do, all that God himself requires
And know where all your help and hope is; not in
yourselves, but in the Lord your God, who alone can " guide you by his counsel, so as ultimately to bring you to his glory k" And " may the God of peace, who brought again from
t Ps. xvii. 5. u 2 Thess. iii. 5. x Ps. li. 6.
y ver. 128. * Jam. iii. 17. a Matt. v. 19.
b 1 John v. 3. c Acts ix. 6. d Ps. xxxvii. 17.
e Ps. lxxvii. 7—9. f 1 Pet. i. 5. 62 Cor. xii. 9.
h Rom. v. 5. i Isai. xlv. 17. k Ps. lxxiii. 24.