him, " I will not have this man to reign over me8," he will ere long say respecting us, " Bring hither those that were mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, and slay them before me1."]
2. To trust in him —
[Christ comes, not only as a Lord, but as a Saviour; through whom we are to find deliverance from the wrath to come. Now it is said, that " in him shall the Gentiles trust." Our duty towards him is, to believe that he is equal to the task which he has undertaken ; that in him there is a fulness of wisdom to instruct the ignorant, of righteousness to justify the guilty, and of grace to sanctify the polluted. We should entertain no conceit of our own sufficiency, nor any doubts of his. We should renounce every kind and degree of self-confidence, and repose all our trust in him alone. Whatever be our character, this is our duty : the learned must look to him for guidance, as much as the most illiterate : the moral must look for accept- ance through his righteousness, as much as the most immoral : the strong must depend entirely on his arm, as much as the weakest person in the universe. There is one mode in which all recline upon their bed for the rest of their bodies ; and this is the mode which all must adopt in reference to Christ, in order that they may find rest unto their souls".]
3. Rejoice in him —
[To " rejoice in the Lord always2" is not merely permitted, as a privilege, but commanded, as a duty. We dishonour him when we do not rejoice in him : we evidently shew that we have a low apprehension of his excellency, and of the benefits which he confers. What they are doing in the Church above, that we should be doing in the Church below. Our obligations are the same, and so should also our occupations be. Are the glorified saints incessantly admiring and adoring him who is the Author of all their happiness y ? We also should ever be contemplating the incomprehensible wonders of his lovez, and " rejoicing in him with joy unspeakable and glorified*." Let not religion be viewed as a system of restraints, but as a foun- tain of joys ; for " all her ways are ways of pleasantness and peace." The effect of it on all who embraced it in the first ages was, to fill the soul with joyb: and such will be its effect on us, if we do not by sin and unbelief provoke the Saviour to hide his face from us.]
8 Luke xix. 14. t Luke xix. 27.
u 1 Pet. v. 7. Isai. 1. 10. x Phil. iv. 4.
y Rev. iv. 8. and v. 12. * Eph. iii. 18, 19.
a 1 Pet. i. 8. b Acts ii. 41, 46. and viii. 8, 39.