391
Ps. cxxv. 1, 2. They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people, from henceforth even for ever.
IN forming our estimate of men, we are apt to look at their actions only; and even our own characters, also, we try by that standard. But it is the habit of the mind that chiefly marks the man ; and by that we shall be estimated at the tribunal of our God. Doubt- less actions are important, as indicative of principles from whence they flow ; and by them, we, who can only see the external fruits, are constrained to judge of the quality of the root from whence they proceed. But the heart-searching God looks at the root itself; and approves or disapproves of men according to the real quality and habit of their minds.
In reading the words before us, we might estimate at a low rate the character here designated, did we not analyze the terms by which that character is described. But, if we take sufficient pains to explore the import of the words, and the true nature of the grace which they delineate, we shall see that the person " who trusts in the Lord" is a very exalted character, and that the blessedness here accorded to him is precisely such as becomes a holy God to confer upon him.
Let us consider, I. The character here described —
" Trust in the Lord" does not import a mere general acknowledgment of God as the Governor of the uni- verse : it implies incomparably more, even a deep con- viction of his special providence, and of his incessant attention to every the minutest concern of his own peculiar people. It implies, I say, this conviction,
.1. In our views —
[Let it be considered what trust is. It of necessity im- ports some engagement on the part of him in whom that trust