and the unexpected sentences that will be then awarded, and not earnestly desire, both for himself and for all who are dear to him, that the sentence which God shall pass on them may be one of approbation, and not of condemnation? I pray you, brethren, lay to heart this infinitely important subject; and never cease to pour out your souls before God, that you and yours may find acceptance before him in that day ]
In his further petitions for this object, he specifies,
II. The means by which he expected it to be accom- plished—
[He considers the work as altogether of grace, in its origin, its progress, its consummation. God, in his infinite " goodness," has ordained that his people shall possess such a measure of piety, as shall render them fully meet for the enjoyment of his presence and glory in the eternal world : and in reference both to the persons who shall possess it, and the measure in which they shall partake of it, he has exercised " his good pleasure," disposing of all according to his own inscrutable purposes, and the eternal counsel of his own willd. This good pleasure the Apostle desired might " be fulfilled in them" by the mighty working of God's power, calling forth into activity the faith he had bestowed, and giving it a more transforming efficacy upon their souls.
It is in this way, and this way alone, that the divine life is carried on and perfected. It is by the production of faith in the soul that the soul begins to live: it is by the exercise of that faith that the soul is enabled to do and suffer what God requires : and it is by the augmentation of that faith that the soul is perfected after the Divine image. It is faith which realizes the things that are invisible to mortal eyes, and gives to futurity a present existence6. It is the one principle in the soul, by which all its energies are called forth, and all its efforts are made effectual. The whole eleventh chapter to the Hebrews proves and illustrates this; and shews with what wisdom, as well as piety, the Apostle poured out his suppli- cations before God.]
We shall not wonder at his desiring this great object, if we notice,
III. The end which he foresaw was to be accom- plished by it —
Then "will the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in them" —
d Eph. i. 5, 9, 11. t. Heb. xi. 1.