Methinks, if Job abhorred himself, and the Prophet Isaiah complained, " Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips, and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips," a leper in the midst of a leprous population ; no humiliation can be too deep for us. Let us walk softly then, every one of us, in the re- membrance of our manifold infirmities ; and abase ourselves before God, as " less than the least of all saints," yea, " as the very chief of sinners."]
2. Watchfulness —
[Never can we tell what an hour may bring forth ; or what temptations may arise, to cause us to offend either in word or deed. We should therefore " make a covenant with our eyes," as holy Job did ; and " set a watch before the door of our lips," as did the man after God's own heart. We should mark the first risings of inclination, that they may not operate with undue force, and betray us into actual sin. We should mark with jealous care the motives and principles by which we are actuated ; remembering, that by them will the quality of our actions be determined, and that by them we shall be judged in the last day. In a word, we must " keep our hearts with all diligence, knowing that out of them are the issues of life."]
3. Dependence upon God —
[Here is our only security. If we trust in our own hearts, our folly will very soon appear. Satan can " assume the form of an angel of light," and deceive us by specious appearances : and, if we would be preserved from his wiles, our prayer should continually be to God ; " Hold thou up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not :" " Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." Then, notwithstanding our weakness and frailty, we may hope to be " preserved blameless till the day of Christ."
" Now unto him that is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, for ever and ever! Amen."