'SECTION L 45 hands of God, and stamped with the divine image : here is nothing but the mere outward shape and figure, shadow and ap- pearance of him, divested of his original dignities, bereft of his inward and superior glories." If such a saint as Paul, of the . first degree, could call himself the chief ofsinners and less than the least of the saints, and would frame a new word for it be- cause therewas none ready made in all the copious language of the Greeks, which was sufficiently diminutive to express his humble thoughts of himself, what new lessening names, what unknown words of abasement must we form to give ourselves our own true character, who fall so far beneath this apostle ? IL While the apostle depresses himself so much below his fellow - saints, he not only remembers his own failings, but he seems'to look upon others without their blemishes : and this is One stay whereby he comes to sink the idea of his. own character in comparison of theirs. His goodness and his love cover all their follies and keep them as it were ont of sight, while he compares himself with them : C° Charity covers a multitude of sins." I-Ie practises that great duty in his epistle to the Ephesians when he calls himself less than the least of the saints, which he recommends in his letter to the christians t Rome ; Rom. xii. IO. Be kindly affectioned one to another with ¡motherly love, in honour preferring one another. Oh when shall We arrive at this spirit and learn- this holy lesson of love ? When shall we think of our fellow- christians and leave their faults out of our ideas of them ? How ready are we to spy out their blemishes, and fix our eye first upon their little spots and the abatements of their virtue ? And then we exalt ourselves whilewe forget our own failings, and imagine that we are higher and better than all around us. Host thounot know, O my soul, more of the vices of thy nature and of the sins of thy life, than thou knowest of any of thy fellow-christians ? Why then should thy vanity tempt thee to think so much better of thyself than thou dost of them ? One would think thy own guilt and follies, which are so well known to thee, should do more to abase thee in thy own eyes, than all thy suspicions of the folly and guilt of thy neighbours should do; to sink their cha- racter in thy esteem. Remember this, that for the most part it is but a rumour and suspicion of the sins of thy brethren that lessens thy esteem of them ; but thou hast an inward consciousness and assurance of thy own frailties and thy own vileness, which might mere powerfully abase thy pride and teach thee to cry out with the apostle, less than the least of call the saints. Ill. I might add in the third place, another spring of his humility was an abiding sense of the infinite greatness and holi - ness of God, and the unsearchabie excellencies and glories of his Son Jpsus. This is a sight which stains the glory.of all flesh,
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