We do not by any means sufficiently realize the power of God to keep us from falling. There is so much levity of heart in Christians, (for I am not speaking of the unholy levity of the world,) so much lightness of thought even in our best intercourse with one another, and lightness of speech even about good things, that it keeps us from realizing what the holy power of God could and would do in us in keeping us from falling. People excuse themselves by saying, " The flesh will be in us to the end." This is true; but we are nowhere told that the flesh must work in us to the end. The flesh ought never to be allowed so to work in a saint as to get into his conscience, or to show itself before others. We ought riot to have the pain of learning the nature of the flesh by its workings, but by the workings of the Holy Ghost in us. And when we detect the flesh thus, because we are in communion with God, it never either troubles our conscience before God, or dishonors our Master before men. God is able to keep us from falling both inwardly and outwardly. A saint feels that an unholy thought is a fall, for it takes him out of God's
presence, as really a fall as an open transgression, though not so manifest to others. Indeed, where there is spirituality, an inward fall will be perceived by others. If a brother comes in when an unholy thought has weakened my spirituality, if he is in communion with God, he will feel the deficiency in me We should bear in mind that even these inward falls are not necessary-He is able to keep us from falling altogether, and if the flesh were always judged, and thoroughly judged by us in the presence of God, we should find that He would thus keep us.