And can
you, my young friends, dream of safety with facts like these in view?
Again, I say, be on your guard. An easy, dreamy self-security is the
extreme of madness. Our only safety is in watchfulness and prayer. Our
only sufficiency is of God.
"O, never suffer me to sleep
Secure within the reach of hell;
But still my watchful spirit keep
In lowly awe and loving zeal:
And bless me with a godly fear,
And plant that guardian angel here."
2. The second lesson I would name is this: It is dangerous to allow bad
feeling to get into your hearts towards your Christian friends, or your
brother ministers. It is especially dangerous to allow it to remain
there. It works like the infection of the plague. Try therefore to keep
your minds in a calm and comfortable state towards all with whom you
have to do. Guard against rash judgments and groundless suspicions; or
you may take offence when no offence is meant. But even when people do
you harm on purpose, it is best to be forbearing. We never know the
force of temptation under which men act; or the misconceptions under
which they labor. We may ourselves have caused their misdoings by some
unconscious error of our own. It is well to suspect ourselves sometimes
of unknown faults, and to go on the supposition that what appears
unkindness in others towards us, may be the result of some unguarded
word or inconsiderate action on our part towards them.
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