n us as to impart His character to us; and the
other is to have God so dwelling in us that we recognise His presence,
and know that we are His and He is ours. They are two things perfectly
distinct To _have_ God in us, this is salvation; to _know_ that God is
in us, this is assurance.

Lastly, we inquire as to the persons who are truly great. And these
the Holy Scripture has divided into two classes--those who are humble
and those who are contrite in heart. Or rather, it will be observed
that it is the same class of character under different circumstances.
Humbleness is the frame of mind of those who are in a state of
innocence, contrition of those who are in a state of repentant guilt.
Brethren, let not the expression innocence be misunderstood. Innocence
in its true and highest sense never existed but once upon this earth.
Innocence cannot be the religion of man now. But yet there are those
who have walked with God from youth, not quenching the spirit which He
gave them, and who are therefore _comparatively_ innocent beings. All
they have to do is to go on, whereas the guilty man has to stop and
turn back before he can go on. Repentance with them is the gentle work
of every day, not the work of one distinct and miserable part of life.
They are those whom the Lord calls just men which need no repentance,
and of whom He says, "He that is clean needeth not save to wash his
feet."

Now they are described here as the humble in heart. Two things are
required for this state of mind. One is that a man should have a true
estimate of God, and the other is that he should have a true estimate
of himself.

Vain, blind man, places himself on a little corner of this planet, a
speck upon a speck of the universe, and begins to form conclusions
from the small fraction of God's government which he can see from
thence. The astronomer looks at the laws of motion and forgets that
there must have been a First Cause to commence that motion. The
surgeon looks at the materialism of his own frame and forgets that
matter cannot organise itself into exquisite beauty. The metaphysician
buries himself in the laws of mind and forgets that there may be
spiritual influences producing all those laws. And this brethren, is
the unhumbled spirit of philosophy--intellectual pride. Men look at
Nature, but they do not look through it up to Nature's God. There is
awful ignorance of God, arising from indulged sin, which