spirit, and not in the letter ; whose praise is not of men, but of GodV Should we not then fear, lest we deceive ourselves, just as the Jews of old did? Should we not carefully " examine ourselves, and prove our ownselves, whether we be in the faith1?" Should we not compare our character with that of the saints of old, to see whether we be " Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile™ ?" Let it be well settled in our minds, that we are not indeed children of Abraham, unless we " walk in the steps of Abraham"," and " do his works0."]
2. A humble acquiescence in reference to God —
[We are extremely prone to rise against the sovereignty of God, and to deny him the right of disposing of things accord- ing to his own will and pleasure. Yet we arrogate that right to ourselves ; and if we were called unjust for bestowing our alms on one and not on another, we should indignantly reply, " Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my ownp?" But do what we will, we cannot deny the election of God in Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob? We cannot deny that there were given to the Jews means of grace, which were withheld from all the world besides. We cannot deny the same in reference to Christians at this day : for we have in our hands the blessed Gospel, which reveals unto us the way of salvation, whilst five- sixths of the world never so much as heard of Christ. Nay, more : of those who most dispute against the doctrine of elec- tion generally, it may be doubted, whether one can be found who, when deeply convinced of his own guilt and misery, will not go to God, and implore mercy for mercy's sake, as much as the most zealous advocate of that offensive doctrine. He will scarcely venture to claim mercy on account of his own merits, whether past, present, or future. And, if he obtain a sense of God's pardoning love, I much doubt whether he will deliberately refuse to make that acknowledgment, " By the grace of God I am what I am q." That there are depths in this doctrine which we cannot comprehend, I readily admit. But, would the denial of it involve us in no depths ? or is there any other doctrine of our holy religion which we can fully fathom ? Let us know this, that whether we can comprehend God's ways or not, "the Judge of all the earth will do right1;" and whether we are pleased to acquiesce in them or not, " He will be justified in his sayings, and be clear when he is judgeds." Let us, then, not presume to sit in judgment upon God, or dare to " charge him foolishly :" but let us make our suppli- cation to him, assured that " none shall seek his face in vain ;"
k Rom. ii. 28, 29. > 2 Cor. xiii. 5. m John i. 47.
n Rom. iv. 12. o John viii. 39. p Matt. xx. 15.
i 1 Cor. xv. 10. r Gen. x viii. 2o. s Rom. iii. 4.
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and that " not one who shall come to him in his Son's name shall ever be cast out1."]
3. An adoring gratitude, if we have been made partakers of his mercy —
[We cannot but see, whether the doctrine of election be true or not, that there is an Israel within an Israel ; and that, whilst a small remnant only are truly alive to God, the great mass of the Christian world are as careless about salvation as even the Jews themselves. If, then, God has in mercy favoured us, and made us partakers of his grace, shall we " sacrifice to our own net, and burn incense to our own dragu?" God forbid. Let us rather bow with humble adoration before our God ; saying, " Why me, Lord ? Why am I taken, when so many others are left*?" In truth, this is the spirit that becomes us. Even for the favours conferred upon us in pro- vidence, it becomes us to bless and magnify our God, with a deep sense of our own unworthiness, and with a lively gratitude for such undeserved bounties. But for the blessings of his grace, O what thanks should we render unto the Lord ! Hear the Psalmist, when contemplating these things : " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name ! Bless the Lord, O my soul! and forget not all his benefits!" Let such be the state of our minds. Surely, the more we are sensible of our obligations to God, for his free, unmerited, and sovereign grace, the more profoundly we shall adore him, and the more determinately shall we serve him.]