“A. D.” You ask, “What is the difference between self-judgment and the judgment of our ways'?” There is a very material difference. If self were habitually judged in the presence of God, we should not require to judge our ways.
Self-judgment is the expression of victory through the power of the Holy Ghost. The demand for judgment upon our ways proves that we have been defeated through the power of the flesh. We judge ourselves in the power of communion; we judge our ways, ofttimes, in anguish of soul. Take an example. A person has a very irritable, peevish temper; but he is enabled, by the grace of God, so to judge and subdue it, in secret., that it does not manifest itself to the view of others. Hence, those who come in contact with him in daily life, may consider him to be a man of a very placid temper. They know not his struggles in secret. “There his fervent spirit labors, there he gains fresh conquests o'er himself, compared with which the laurels which a Cæsar wore were weeds.” On the other hand, if he does not judge himself and subdue his temper in secret, it will surely exhibit itself to others, and then he will have to judge his ways in sorrow and humiliation. Instead of conquering his temper, he is conquered by it. This makes a material difference, dear friend, does it not look upon self-judgment as the judgment of the root, whereas the judgment of our ways is the judgment of the fruit. We consider self-judgment an invaluable and indispensable exercise; were it more faithfully and habitually practiced, our walk would be a different thing altogether. There is a fearful amount of laxity and unsubduedness amongst us, which, if not checked by the energy of the Holy Ghost, must produce the most disastrous results.