I could not live in peace if I put the shadow of a willful sin between myself and God.
And so, in calm expectation of a blessed future and a finished work which will explain the past, in honest submission of our way to God, in supreme delight in Him who is the gladness of our joy, the secret of tranquillity will be ours.
Let not thy peace depend on the tongues of men; for whether they judge well of thee or ill, thou art not on that account other than thyself. Where are true peace and true glory? Are they not in God?
Two sorts of peace are more to be dreaded than all the troubles in the world—peace with sin, and peace in sin.
PENITENCE.
The law can never save us; and he is nearest to the forgiveness of the gospel who, with a contrite heart, discerns most clearly and feels most profoundly that perfection of the Divine statute which impeaches and condemns him.
Prostrate, dear Jesus, at Thy feet,
A guilty rebel lies;
And upwards, to Thy mercy-seat,
Presumes to lift his eyes.
Christian penitence is something more than a thought or an emotion or a tear; it is action.
