Having described the nature of Christian expe- rience, I shall need but few words to shew,
II. The blessedness of it —
The Psalmist strongly marks this : " How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God!" Whether we understand him as speaking of God's thoughts of him, or of his thoughts of God, it is evident that the pre- ciousness of them was felt in his own soul. Now this experience is truly blessed, because it fills the Chris- tian's soul,
1. With a sense of its obligations —
[What do the ungodly world lose, whilst they overlook the hand from whence their blessings flow ! Verily, in their richest enjoyments, they have little perception of them, wherein they are not equalled by the beasts themselves. It is the taste of God's love in them which gives to every one of them its highest zest. I hesitate not to say, that Lazarus, in the midst of his utter destitution, had, in the crumbs with which he was sustained, a sublimer gratification, than the Rich Man ever knew in all the pomp and delicacies with which he was surrounded. In truth, the discovery of God in every thing gives to the Christian a continual feast, and furnishes him with incessant
occasions of unfeigned joy Inanimate things proclaim
unwittingly the honour of their God ; but the believer sounds it forth continually with the devoutest acclamations. "All thy works praise thee," says the Psalmist ; " but thy saints bless thee."]
2. With a persuasion of its security —
[Those who know not God are at a loss where to flee, or what to do, in any great emergency. But the Christian is assured, that " God is at his right hand, and that therefore he can never be moved." He sees " God as a wall of fire round