he needs an increase of strength, are many and urgent. He has many trials to endure ; many temptations to withstand ; many duties to perform : and in himself he is insufficient for any one of these things. But " God will give his Holy Spirit unto them that ask him." He will " strengthen us in our inner man," so that our wills shall be active, our affections lively, our resolutions firm, our exertions effectual. It is no small measure of " might with which he will strengthen us :" the greater our necessities, the more abundant will be his liberality towards us : he will bestow " according to the riches of his own glory :" so that, if the utmost efforts of Omni- potence were necessary for us, they should be put forth in our behalf; and God's own ability should be the measure of his communications to us.]
II. An abiding sense of Christ's presence —
[" The believer longs to enjoy the presence of God in his soul, because he finds by experience that the "joy of the Lord is his strength." Nor shall he be disappointed of his hope, if he only spread his desires in prayer before God. There is no habitation, not even heaven itself, in which Christ more de- lights to dwell, than in the heart of a believer. He has pro- mised to " come and make his abode with his people," as he did of old in the tabernacle and temple, or as he did in the flesh that he assumed. In them he will exert his power ; and to them he will reveal his glory : he will " manifest himself to them, as he does not unto the world."
But, in order to bring him into the soul, we must exercise faith. It is faith that apprehends, and pleads his promise : it is faith that brings him down from heaven : it is faith which opens the door of the heart for his admission into it : it is faith which detains him there ; and which gives us a realizing sense of his presence. It is by prayer that we must obtain this blessing, and by faith that we must enjoy it.]
III. An enlarged discovery of his love —
[The presence of Christ in the soul is desired, in order to a more lively sense of his love. Now " the love of Christ has a breadth and length, a depth and height," which are utterly unsearchable3: it extends to the remotest corners of the earth : it reaches " from everlasting to everlasting :" it descends to the very confines of hell itself, and exalts to thrones of glory those who are its favoured objects. In its full extent, it " passes the knowledge " of men or angels ; but in a measure
a Properly speaking, nothing has more than three dimensions ; length, breadth, and thickness. The Apostle divides the last into two, in order the more strongly to express his idea.