March 15

and believe now, what we shall know then—that “his work is perfect, his ways are judgment.” “He hath done all things well.”

MARCH 15.—“I have set the Lord always before me.”—Psalms 16:8.

DAVID could only set the Lord before him mentally, or as an object of contemplation; for “no man hath seen God at any time.” And when he says he had always done this, the meaning is, not that he was always actually thinking of him. This would have been impossible. Our powers are limited. We have bodies, we have connexions, we have callings; and these demand a share and a large share of our attention. And we are not to be slothful in business. And we are not to abandon society, and retire into cells to be always praying in sight of a skull and a crucifix—This is not to fight the good fight of faith, but to flee from the field: this is not serving our own generation, but deserting it: this is not letting our light shine before men, but putting it under a bushel. Yet it implies the prevalence of a fixed belief of the being and nearness of God—a frequent excitement of ourselves to take hold of God—and the regular use of the means which bring God to remembrance, such as prayer, reading the Scripture, hearing the word, and meditation. By these, under the Divine influence, a state of mind is produced, in which the spirit of devotion actuates us even in the absence of its forms, and we habitually and easily recur to God in our thoughts wherever we are, and however we are engaged—Thus we can set the Lord always before us. And there are four ways in which you should do this.

First, set the Lord always before you as your protector. This is the peculiar though not the only reference of David, and therefore he adds, “He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” The word virtue, which at first signified bravery, valour, is now used for all moral excellence: and the reason is, because it is necessary to it. You have no hold of a man who is destitute of it, either in avoiding evil or doing good. Bunyan therefore, with as much truth as genius, places all his pilgrims for the shining city under the conduct of Greatheart. Courage is not only necessary for a martyr: every Christian is called to suffer and do the will of God in a thousand cases where cowardice would fail. Perhaps there is not a simpler maxim, or one more readily and universally admitted than this, “we ought to obey God rather than men;” and yet who could fully act upon it for a day together in a world like this without moral heroism? Our religious course is a constant warfare; and when we think of our weakness, and the number and qualities of our enemies, we should tremble: but trembling unfits for action: a soldier must have courage. How is firmness and confidence to be obtained? Set the Lord in his presence and perfections and covenant-engagements always before you: and hear him saying, Fear not, for I am with thee—and out of weakness you will be made strong—and like Moses, you will endure as seeing him who is invisible.

Secondly, Set the Lord always before you as your leader. Your way is not only dangerous but perplexing: and you are not only