[Whom or what will you place in competition with him ? Perhaps you are not at present tempted in any par- ticular way to depart from him. But be assured that you will be : for there is not any true follower of Christ who does not, sooner or later, meet with trials to prove his sincerity. You may not be called to " resist unto blood :" but you cannot fail to meet with smaller persecutions, such as contempt and ridicule, and the hatred of an ungodly world, perhaps too even of your nearest friends. What, then, is the state of your minds in reference to these things ? Are you enabled, through grace, to honour Christ, and to set at defiance all your enemies ? If you see others turning back, (for what age is there which does not witness many apostasies ?) are you the more determined, through grace, to " cleave unto him with full purpose of heart?" Are you saying, as Ruth to Naomi, " Nothing but death (no, nor death itself) shall part between thee and me." You must not indeed be making resolutions, and, in dependence on your own strength, be saying, " Though all men forsake thee, yet will not I :" but your daily prayer must be, that you may be kept steadfast unto the end : for it is only by being " faithful unto death, that you can ever attain a crown of life."]
2. Will you not endeavour to bring all you can to
him ?
[Surely, if you are fully persuaded that " there is no other name under heaven but his, whereby man can be saved," you will labour according to your ability to bring men to the know- ledge of him. You cannot but pity the poor deceived world, who are going after lying vanities, whilst you have found a refuge for your souls. Go, look around you : go and see what empty cisterns men hew out to themselves, whilst your thirst is quenched at the fountain-head. Go to the places of public resort, and see what a poor vain portion the worldlings have. Verily, their best pleasures are but as the crackling of thorns under a pot ; a fire that blazes for a moment, and then expires in smoke and melancholy. Have compassion on them, and tell them of the Saviour you have found: and, whilst you labour to instruct the ignorant, exert yourselves to the utmost to confirm the wavering, and to bring back the sheep that have been driven away.
Extend your views, also, to the heathen world. Alas ! to what refuges of lies have they recourse ! Behold their idols of wood and stone, that cannot so much as move themselves, much less assist their votaries ! Behold the painful and cruel rites which they observe, in order to recommend themselves to the favour and approbation of their imaginary deities ! Can you be acquainted with the Saviour, and not wish to make him known to them ? Can you be in possession of " the words