See then, here, what ground we have,
1. For inquiry —
[How has it been with us? What has been the state of our minds towards the Lord Jesus Christ? Have we found our own concerns swallowed up, as it were, in a concern for him and his glory? Can we adopt, even in the most qualified sense, that expression of the Psalmist, " The zeal of thine house has even consumed mem!" Remember, I pray you, that every thing should be subordinated to Christ, and be regarded only as dung and dross in comparison of him. Our blessed Lord tells us, that " if we hate not father and mother, yea, and our own life also, in comparison of him, we cannot be his disciples"." Surely, after such a declaration as this, we should examine our state with all diligence, and never rest till we can say, " Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee."]
2. For humiliation —
[Let us turn our eyes to our great Exemplar, the Lord Jesus Christ. " Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich0." To this the Apostle particularly adverts, in the preceding context : " Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus : who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God ; but made himself of no repu- tation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men ; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross p." Here, you see, is our pattern. But what resemblance do we bear to him? The leaving of all the glory of heaven, the taking of our nature with all its sinless infirmities, the dying under the weight of our sins, even of the sins of the whole world, were not too great acts of self- denial for him to perform; and that, too, even for his enemies. But we, what have we done ? What have we suffered, for the glory of Christ, and the salvation of men ? Say, whether we all have not reason to blush and be ashamed at our extreme want of conformity to him in these respects ?]
3. For watchfulness —
[Selfishness is an evil peculiarly subtle, and veils its own malignity under the most specious names and pretexts. We may see this in the persons who came to our Lord, professing
m Ps. lxix. 9. n Luke xiv. 26.
0 2 Cor. viii. 9. p ver. 4—8.