think of their excellency, that you may be stirred up to abound in them : and think of their complicated effects on the world around you, that you may make your light to shine before men, and that others, beholding it, may glorify your Father that is in heaven *.]u
1 Matt. v. 16.
u Instead of this application, the following may be profitably used : —
1. For the humbling of your souls — 2. For the endearing of the Gospel to you — 3. And for the regulating of your ivhole spirit and conduct.
1. For the humbling of your souls —
[Whence is it that there is so little humiliation and contrition amongst us ? it is because we do not try ourselves by a just standard. We look only to more flagrant transgressions ; and therefore even the worst of us only view ourselves like the sky in a cloudy night, when only a few stars are seen and at great intervals ; but if we would take the text for the ground of our estimate, the very best of us would see ourselves like the sky in the clearest night studded with stars innumerable, our whole lives being, as it were, one continuous mass of transgression and sin If we would habituate our- selves to such reviews of our conduct from day to day, we should find no difficulty in acknowledging ourselves " less than the least of all saints," yea, and " the very chief of sinners."
2. For the endearing of the Gospel to you —
[O how precious would the Saviour be to you, if you saw your- selves in your true colours ! And with what delight would you plunge into " the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness ! " But the same false estimate of ourselves which keeps us from humiliation, keeps us also from valuing the Gospel of Christ. If we would love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, we should get a deeper sense of our need of him, and of the love he has shewn us in giving himself to die for us.
It is in this way also that we must learn to prize the influences of the Holy Spirit. When we see what a holy and refined character that of the true Christian is, we shall necessarily say, " Who is suffi- cient for these things?" And, feeling our need of Divine help, we shall implore of God to " strengthen us with might by his Spirit in the inner man," and to " perfect his own strength in our weak- ness" J
3. For the regulating of your whole spirit and conduct — [Whilst you see what a lovely character the Christian is, and
how bright it shone in our blessed Lord, you will strive to follow his steps, and to " walk as he walked." Let there then be in you nothing but what is virtuous and praise-worthy. And, if you profess to have been " called with an holy calling," see that you " walk worthy of your high calling," or rather, walk worthy of him that hath called you ; that so God may be glorified in you, and you be rendered meet
for his heavenly inheritance — — ]