own time and way. We have no occasion to inquire, Hoio shall he do this or that ? it is quite sufficient that he has pro- mised : and it is our privilege to know, that " what he has promised he is able also to perform ;" and that of all the good things which he has authorized us to expect, " not one shall ever fail'1" ]
3. To enlarge our charity —
[We are too apt to judge of things according as they appear to us, without considering how limited our views are, and how incompetent we are to judge aright. If we see not many who openly acknowledge God, we are ready to think the number of his worshippers much fewer than they really are. The Prophet Elijah erred in this respect: he thought that he stood alone in Israel, and that all besides himself were idolaters ; whereas God informed him that there were no less than seven thousand men in Israel who had not bowed their knee to the image of Baal. And we, if we had lived at the time of our Lord's crucifixion, should have concluded, that amongst the great council of the Jewish nation, who condemned him to death, there was not one who was not a decided enemy of the Lord Jesus. But the history shews, that there were two persons of great eminence amongst them, who were truly pious, though they had been restrained by fear from making a public profession of their sentiments. We must not be under- stood as intending to justify or excuse the fear of man ; for it is certainly a great and heinous sin ; and a man who is ashamed of Christ, and denies Christ now, has reason to fear that Christ will be ashamed of him, and deny him at the last day: but still it is comfortable to think that God has many "hidden ones" even amongst his most inveterate ene- mies, and many who will perhaps come forth at a future period with more " boldness," and to more effect, than others who have made an open profession of his truth. I say again, We mean not to extenuate the guilt of cowardice ; but still it is a fact, that many persons, whose cowardice we deplore, have opportunities of rendering services to God which they could never have rendered, if their profession of religion had been more avowed : and therefore, whilst we lament the weakness of the religious principle within them, we must neither judge them too severely, nor undervalue their real worth. We must make just allowance for those who are in high official stations, whose difficulties are thereby greatly increased. We must not despise the day of small things ; but must rather bear with the infirmities of the weak ; and rejoice in the hope, that they who are yet but "babes in Christ," will, in God's time, become men and warriors, and " valiant for the truth." Many,
h See Josh, xxiii. 14.