what we "think;" he will do it " all" and "above" all, and " abundantly" above all, yea, "exceeding" abundantly above all that we can ask or think.
What a glorious view does this give us of the power and goodness of our God !]
The works which he has already wrought in us, are a specimen and pledge of what he will yet do for us —
[Let us survey what he has done, and is doing, in every one of his saints. He has quickened a dead soul. This is as great a work as that which he performed in raising Christ from the dead, and setting him above all the principalities and powers of earth, of hell, of heaven ; and, in that view, it dis- plays the exceeding greatness of his power c.
He has turned the tide of our affections back again to the fountain head. They were flowing with an irresistible current towards the creature ; and God has arrested them in their course, and caused them to flow with rapidity and strength towards himself. We admire this phenomenon in rivers near the sea : but the spiritual change is an incomparably greater display of omnipotence than that ; it is nothing less than a new creation d.
He preserves a spark alive in the midst of the ocean. What is the principle of grace within us, but a spark of heavenly fire kindled in us by the Spirit of God? But, instead of finding any thing in the heart to keep it alive, it meets with every thing calculated to repress its ardour. Yet though immersed, as it were, in an ocean of corruption, it maintains its vigour, and burns brighter in proportion to the efforts made for its extinction.
He has taken " a brand out of the burning," and is fitting it for a conspicuous ornament in his temple. We are in ourselves only like branches of a vine, of which " no use can be made, not even a pin to hang any vessel thereon e:" moreover, we still bear the marks of the fire upon us : yet is God forming and polishing us, that we may be an ornament to heaven itself: so that, when we appear there, the Workman shall be both " admired in us, and glorified in usf."
These things shew " the power which now worketh in us, according to which " God will exert himself in future. What he has done, and is yet doing, is an earnest of what he will do : it is the commencement of that work which will be per- fected in glory.]
< Eph. i. IS, 19. d 2 Cor. v. 17.
e Ezek. xv. ;), 1. ''2 Thess. i. 10.
2105.] god's power to bless his people. 331
On this delightful view of the Deity the Apostle grounds,
II. His doxology —
That we may have a just and comprehensive view of this, let us consider,
1. What is that "glory" which is due to God —
[We certainly must not limit the word "glory" to the mere idea of praise. We must understand it as corresponding with the fore-mentioned character of God ; and as importing admiration, entreaty, confidence, thanksgiving.
We cannot contemplate the power and goodness of God, without being filled with admiration and love. Instead of giving him glory, we should dishonour him in the highest degree, if we did not adopt the language of the Psalmist, " Who in the heavens can be compared unto the Lord ? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord ? O Lord God of Hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thees?"
And to what purpose do we admire God's power to bless his people, if we do not present before him our entreaties ? It is in vain that we confess him able to answer and exceed our petitions, if we do not carry to him our sins to be forgiven, and our wants to be supplied. If we believe that he will fill our mouths, we cannot but open them wideh.