" Hear this," secondly, for your humiliation, that you may see how grievously you have failed in your duty towards him —
[In order to form a right estimate of your character before God, you must bring yourselves to this test, and try yourselves by this commandment. But who can abide this test? Who can find any one action in his whole life that came up to the demands of this holy law ? The more we bring our lives to this standard, the more we shall see the extreme deficiency of our best deeds, and the absolute need of crying with holy Job, " Behold, I am vile : I repent and abhor myself in dust and ashes."]
" Hear this," thirdly, for the elucidating of the Gospel
salvation —
[It is a matter of offence to many, that they should be required utterly to renounce all dependence on their own righteousness, and to seek acceptance only through the right- eousness of another, even the righteousness which is of God through faith in Christ. But who that tries himself by this commandment, will find so much as one righteous act performed by him throughout his whole life? Yet, in order to salvation, we must possess a righteousness fully commensurate with the utmost demands of the whole law. But where will such a righteousness be found ? No where but in the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence then is the necessity for fleeing to him, and laying hold on him, and casting ourselves altogether upon him, and embracing him as all our salvation, and all our desire. Un- derstand this matter well, and the whole Gospel will be as clear as the meridian sun, and as acceptable as it would be to one already in hell.]
" Hear this," lastly, for the regulating of your entire conduct through life —
From the very moment that you turn to God, you must aspire after the attainment here enjoined, and be satisfied with nothing less. And, in order to this attainment, you must contemplate deeply and continually the excellencies of the Divine character, and the innumerable obligations which he has conferred upon you. Above all, you must have impressed upon your minds the wonderful love he has manifested towards you in the gift of his only dear Son to die for you. This will have a constraining influence over your whole man, and will progressively transform you into his blessed image in righteous- and true holiness,]