present exigent. There is a power in a saint, because Christ is in him,
that overpowers all the powers of darkness without, and all the power of
indwelling corruption within, so that when the poor weak creature is
ready to despond; within sight of his duty, and say, because of
difficulty, what is my strength that I should hope? Christ saith,
despond not, my grace is sufficient for thee, and my power shall rest
upon thee, to a reviving thee, and raising thee up, and putting thee in
case to say, when I am weak, then I am strong; his strength, who
impowers me, is made perfect in my weakness, so that I will glory in my
infirmities, and be glad in being grace's debtor. But what power is
that, which raiseth the dead sinner, and carries the soul in its actings
so far without the line, and above the sphere of all natural activity,
when stretched to its utmost? O, it is an exceeding great power which is
to them-ward who believe, that must make all things, how difficult
soever, easy, when he works in them to will and to do, according to the
working of his mighty power, (or as it is upon the margin, and more
emphatic, of the might of his power,) which he wrought in Christ, when
he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand, &c.; he
that raised up the Lord Jesus from the dead, raiseth up believers also
by Jesus; and being raised and revived by him, to walk in newness of
life, the life of Jesus, in its communications of strength, is manifest
in their mortal flesh, according to that of the same apostle; "the life
that I live in the flesh," saith he, "I live by the faith of the Son of
God." Faith brings in Christ in my soul, and Christ being my life,
carries out my soul in all the acts of obedience, wherein, though I be
the formal agent, yet the efficiency and the power, by which I operate,
is from him; so that I can give no better account of it than
this,--I--not I. But who then, if not you? The grace of God, saith he,
which was with me. But this mystery to our bold, because blind
moralists, of an indwelling Christ working mightily in the soul, is