will be the same, and his judgment will be in perfect corre- spondence with them. We should not therefore be inquiring, What the opinions of men are in relation to these things, but What God speaks in his word. We should study that word with care: we should bring ourselves to it as a touchstone q: we should pray over it, with an earnest desire to understand its true import, and with a full determination of heart, through grace, to follow it in every particular. We should beg of God to " write his law in our hearts," and to " cast our souls, as it were, into the very mould of his Gospel :" for, when " truth exists in our inward parts," we need not fear but that " the Lord, the righteous Judge, will confer upon us a crown of righteousness in the great day of his appearing1."]
2. We should contentedly refer ourselves to his judgment —
[Let our conduct be ever so pure, and ever so wise, it will not be possible for us to escape the reproaches of an ungodly world. Even those who profess godliness are not always candid in their judgment: on the contrary, they are very apt to put an unkind construction on the conduct of others, especially when it militates in any degree against their wishes or interests. Who would have thought that even the Apostle Paul should be traduced as a time-serving man, whose views, and aims, and habits, were altogether carnal? Yet thus was he judged, even by many who professed a great zeal for religion s. Who then can hope to escape the censures of men ? Who can hope so to walk as never to be misrepresented by those who see his actions only, but are unacquainted with his motives and prin- ciples ? It may be that even the heaviest charges may be brought against us without any foundation ; and that we may be persecuted, as David was by Saul, with unrelenting fury, when our conduct has been as discreet and blameless as the most consummate piety could inspire. Well, if such be our lot, let it not weigh too heavily on our minds : let us say with Paul, " It is a small matter with me to be judged of man's judgment;" for God will, ere long, " bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart; and then shall every man" who has deserved it, "have praise of God'." The expression here in the original is re- markable ; " It is a small matter to be judged of man's day." Man has his day: but God has his also. And man's day consists of but a few hours : but God's shall endure for ever. Therefore we may well commit our cause to God without anxiety, and wait with patience the time of his coming, when
q Johniii. 21. r 2 Tim. iv. 8.
■ 2 Cor. x. 2. l 1 Cor. iv. 3, 5.