its testing and
failure. It shows how he who was perfect, according to the measure of
his light, broke down in the fiery ordeal to which he was exposed; and
finally was forced to cry, "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the
ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee; wherefore I abhor myself and repent,
in dust and ashes."

Wouldst thou be humble, wouldst thou know thyself a worm and no man,
wouldst thou see that thou art verily undone, defiled, and helpless?
Then ask the blessed Spirit to reveal Jesus in all His matchless beauty
and holiness, eliciting the confession that thou are the least of
saints and the chief of sinners. This is no forced estimate, when we
take into account the opportunities we have missed, the gifts we have
misused, the time we have wasted, the light which we have resisted, the
love which we have requited with neglect.

_It produces strength._--See that man of God prone on the floor of his
chamber, shedding bitter tears of godly sorrow, not forgiving himself,
albeit that he knows himself forgiven; bowing his head as a bulrush,
crying that he is helpless, broken, and at the end of himself--Will he
be able to stand as a rock against the beat of temptation, and the
assault of the foe? Yes, verily, for the same presence which is a
source of humility in private, will inspire to great deeds of faith and
heroism when he is called to stand in the breach or lead the assault.

It is this vision of the present Lord that, in every age of the Church,
has made sufferers strong. "The Lord is on my right hand, I shall not
be moved," said one. "The Lord stood by me, and strengthened me," said
another. In many a dark day of suffering and persecution; in the
catacombs; in the dens and caves where Waldenses hid; on the hillsides
where the Covenanters met to pray; in the beleaguered cities of the
Netherlands; in prison and at the stake--God's saints have looked to
Him, and been lightened, and their faces have not been ashamed.
"Behold," said the first martyr, "I see the heavens opened, and the Son
of Man standing on the right hand of God."

Oh for more of the open vision of Jesus, ministered to us by the
gracious Spirit! Would that His words were oftener verified in our
experience: "Ye behold Me!" He is always with us; and if only our
eyes were not holden, we should behold Him with the quick perception of
the heart. Indeed, the race can only be rightly run by those who have
learned the blessed secret of look