Some Christians are apt to
confound these two things-special joy and abiding communion—and to suppose,
because the first is not always the case, the discontinuance of the latter is
to be taken for granted and acquiesced in. This is a great mistake. Special
visitations of joy may be afforded. Constant fellowship with God and with the
Lord Jesus is the only right state, the only one recognized in Scripture. We
are to rejoice in the Lord always.

 

The object of Christ’s love is
to take us into the enjoyment of all that He enjoys Himself.

 

As you enjoy Christ for
yourself, saints will find it out, and that will be your testimony to them.

 

"Would to God, that not
only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were . . . altogether such as I
am, except these bonds" (Acts 26:29). What happiness and what love (and in
God these two things go together) are expressed in these words! Though he be a
poor prisoner, aged and rejected, at the end of his career he is rich in God.
Blessed years that he had spent in prison! He could give himself as a model of
happiness, for it filled his heart.

 

The thing that hinders our
rejoicing is not trouble, but being half and half. If the Christian is in the
world, his conscience reproaches him; if he meets spiritual Christians, he is
unhappy there. Thus, in fact, he is happy nowhere.

 

 (Leviticus 3, 7)

 

The peculiar feature in the
peace offering is that it is that upon which God Himself feeds; it is not
merely an offering, but food of the offering. In chapter 7 we find that the
remainder of the peace offering was eaten by the worshiper, excepting the
wave-breast and heave-shoulder, which were the priests’. These three things,
then, we observe concerning the peace offering:The blood is sprinkled and the
fat burned for a sweet savor; the wave-breast is for Aaron and his sons, and
the heave-shoulder for the offering priest; the rest is for the worshiper to
feed on, as an occasion of joy and thanksgiving before Jehovah.

 

Christ is not only here
represented as the perfect burnt offering wholly given up to God in death for
His glory, but also as an offering on which we feed; not only is He God’s
delight, but He is that of which we can partake with Him. He is the subject
matter of communion. The communion is between all saints, the worshiper, the
priest, and God. Not only do we see the sacrifice offered to God opening a way
of access to Him (as in the burnt offering and others), but we find the Lord
takes delight in communion with us about it.

 

The first thing to be observed
in the peace offering is the complete and absolute acceptance of the sacrifice,
so that the Lord speaks of it as His food, that in which His holiness could
find intrinsic satisfaction. The inwards were presented for a sweet savor (as
Jesus); they are tried and examined by fire, and found to be food for God
Himself. The fat represents the spontaneous actings of the heart. The richness
of an animal is its fat; we judge of its healthy vigorous state by this.

 

As the slain one, Jesus is that
on which we must feed. He says, "The bread that I will give is My flesh,
which I will give for the life of the world. . . Whoso eateth My flesh, and
drinketh My blood, hath eternal life" (John 6:51, 54). We feed on Jesus as
having given His life unto death. And here is that which not only satisfied the
justice of God, but also is esteemed, fed on by Him as His delight.

 

In the work which He did, Jesus
was God’s delight; and in this we too have a portion. It is the common food of
those assembled as worshipers to feast on before Jehovah. But if any were
unclean who fed on this sacrifice, they should be cut off from the people (Lev.
7:20). It was only as clean persons they could meet thus with Jehovah. It can
be only as those already cleansed and accepted, that we can have this common
delight in the Lord Jesus, given as a common object of communion and enjoyment
between God and us, and with one another. In this act, our worship is not
simply as coming to inquire about our acceptance; but, having already access,
it is to rejoice with God about the sacrifice, knowing the fruits of it.

 

Often our worship has not
sufficiently this character in it. We have intercourse frequently with God
about our anxieties, our failures, our evil condition; but if this is all, we
come very far short of the privileges that belong to us. Our religion should
not be altogether a religion of regrets; but rather we are called to joy and
rejoice, through the Spirit, in the perfectness of all that Christ has done;
not merely joy because wrath has been intercepted, but there is that in Jesus
which draws out constant love and delight from the Father, and we too are
introduced into the place of communion with the Father about Him. Now, if we
are associated in this worship, we are there as being clean, for no unclean
person is able to partake of it.

 

It is most important to see that
we have no real delight of which the source and spring is not Jesus. So
satisfied is God, and so cleansed are we, that we can come thus to enjoy the
communion resulting from what Jesus has done, and as the priest, He feasts with
us now in the holy place. Where two or three are gathered together, there is He
in the midst of them, as the one who has sprinkled the blood, to feast even
now, while we are waiting for that day, when in person He shall be present with
us to eat and drink in the Father’s kingdom. He said once, "With desire I
have desired to eat this passover with you, before I suffer." He
was not content without this last memorial of His love to them and association
with Him. While the expectation was present with Him of the time when He would
drink it new in the kingdom of God, He desired them to have continual
remembrance of Him:"This do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of
Me."

 

The offering was to be eaten the
same day, or at the latest, on the second day; it was not to be kept longer.
This marks the communion to be necessarily spiritual, and only to be had in
communion with the sacrifice of Christ, not in nature. If it be the willing
state of the soul itself through grace, this may be kept up a longer time;
where it is thanksgiving for actual benefits, there is not the same power in
it. It is only in the Spirit that we can have this communion with God. If the
flesh comes in, all is spoiled; it must be burned with fire. The worshiper must
eat his portion in connection with the burnt offering and the priests’ portion.
If eaten apart from these, having, as it were, from that separation lost the
virtue communicated from the others, it becomes an abomination; and the soul
that eats must bear his iniquity. Thus we shall continually find that joy in
the Lord is apt to degenerate into that which is merely natural. For instance,
if Christians in gladness of heart come to seek the Lord in communion, the
Spirit is present; they forget all grief; the communion between their souls and
God is within the veil, and there is no sorrow there; but if they are not very
watchful, their joy degenerates. It overlasts what is spiritual, and becomes
joy in the flesh. The real test and power of this is its connection with the
sacrifice offered.

 

In believers, there will be
differences in the power of this communion. Those who rest most simply in the
sacrifice and blood of Jesus will have the most power of sustaining it.
"Ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in
the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life" (Jude 20, 21). As we walk in the
Spirit, we shall have power to continue in this holy fellowship and joy; but
the earthly vessels are not competent to bear all the glory. There is always a
tendency for the flesh to slip in. We may get full of our joy, and proud
through it, or at least lose a sense of our dependence, and this at once opens
a door to all the folly of our evil nature. After Paul had been in the third
heaven, so that he knew not whether he was in or out of the body, we find he
was in danger of being puffed up. What was the remedy? Any thing that mended
the flesh? Not at all, but a messenger from Satan to buffet him. There is no
mending the flesh; but we know this is not the place or condition in which we
shall always be, for He "shall change our vile body, that it may be
fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is
able even to subdue all things unto Himself’ (Phil. 3:21).

 

(From "On the Offerings,
and the Consecration of the Priesthood," in Collected Writings, Volume
19.)

 

There are two very important
principles presented in Revelation 3:3,11 which are profoundly interesting,
clear, simple, easily grasped, and full of power when understood— two distinct
things which characterize the overcomer. The first is the truth that has been
communicated; the second is the hope that is set before us.

 

We find these two things
illustrated in Israel’s history and in the history of the church of God—what He has given us, and what is held out before us. These two things are to form your
character and mine. We are not to be influenced by the character of things
around, or the present condition of the people of God; but we are to be
influenced by what God has given, and what He will give. We are
apt to be discouraged and disheartened by the state of things around, and to
surrender everything because of the ruin, and thus get paralyzed. But if you
get hold of these two things, or rather if they get hold of you, they will
enable you to stem the tide, and to be an overcomer. You are to remember what
you have received and heard, and cherish the hope of glory.

 

We find illustrations of this in
Old Testament times. All the great reformatory movements in Israel were characterized by this very thing. It was so in Jehoshaphat’s time and in Hezekiah’s
time. The Lord calls back His people to the original standard—to what they had
received at the first. Hezekiah goes back to Moses as his authority to maintain
the divine standard in the celebration of the passover. Many might have said,
"Oh, it is all hopeless; your national unity is gone." Even Solomon
had left abominations behind him. The devil suggests to lower the standard
because of the ruin, but Hezekiah did not listen to that. He was an overcomer.
A tide of blessing rolled in, such as had not been known since the days of
Solomon (2 Chron. 30).

 

So again in the days of Josiah:
A child was on the throne, a woman filling the prophetic office, Nebuchadnezzar
almost at the gates. What did Josiah do? The book of the law was read. Instead
of lowering the standard on account of the state of things, he acted on the
Word of God—that was his standard of action, and he kept the passover in the
first month. The result was that there had not been such a passover kept since
the days of Samuel.

 

Thus it was with Hezekiah and
Josiah; and we have a still more beautiful example of it in Ezra and Nehemiah.
In those days a feast was kept which had not been observed since the days of
Joshua the son of Nun. It was reserved for that poor little remnant to keep
that feast. They were over-comers; they went back to God and to what He had
given at the beginning.

 

Again, Daniel, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego gained a magnificent victory when they refused to eat the
king’s meat. They would not yield one hair’s breath. Were not they overcomers?
They might have said, "God in His governmental dealings has sent us into
captivity, so why should we refuse to eat?" But no, they were enabled to
hold up the standard of God in the midst of the ruin around.

 

It was the same with Daniel. He
took the loftiest ground, and gained a splendid victory. It was not to make a
show that he opened his windows and prayed toward Jerusalem, but to maintain
the truth of God. He prayed toward God’s center, and he was called the servant
of the living God. If these had surrendered, they would have lost their
victories, and God would have been dishonored.

 

All this bears upon us in a very
distinct way today. It makes the Word of God of unspeakable value to us. It is
not a question of setting up our own opinion or authority, but we are called on
to maintain the truth of God, and nothing else; and if you do not get hold of
that, you do not know where you are. It might have been said to Josiah when he
broke down the high places built by Solomon (2 Kings 23:13), "Who are you
to set yourself up against Solomon and the institutions set up by a great man
like him?" But it was not a question of Josiah versus Solomon, but
of God versus error.

 

Now, let us consider the second
great principle, namely, that our character is also to be formed by what is
before us —the coming of the Lord. But mark here, the church of Sardis, instead
of being cheered by the Church’s proper hope, the Bright and Morning Star, is
warned, "If, therefore, thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a
thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." This is
how He will come upon the world—as a thief. We belong to the region of light;
our proper hope is the Morning Star, which is only seen by those who are
watching during the night. The reason why Sardis is warned instead of cheered
by the hope of His coming is that it has sunk down to the world’s level—low,
lifeless, sapless Christianity—and it will overtake them as a thief. This is
what Christianity is threatened with, and what you are threatened with if you
let yourself go down with the stream like a dead fish. The Lord is awakening
the hearts of His people to a deeper sense of this. He is giving them to see
that nothing will do save downright reality. If we have not this, we have
nothing. It is one thing to have doctrines in the mind, and another thing
altogether to have Christ in the heart and Christ in the life.

 

He is coming for me, and I have
to watch for the Bright and Morning Star. Now let my heart rise up, and
overcome the condition of things around. If I find saints in that condition, I
seek to rouse them out of it. If you want to instruct saints, you must bring
them back to the truth you have received, what God gave at the beginning. Build
on what God has given you, and on the hope that is set before you. I find it a
great thing to say to any one, "Are you prepared to abandon everything
that will not bear the test of the Word of God—to take your stand on
that?" Hold fast the standard of the truth of God, and do not accept
anything less, even though you may be alone in it. If a regiment were cut to
pieces, and only one man left, if he holds the colors, the dignity of the
regiment is maintained. It is not a question of results, but of being true to
Christ, to be really alive in a scene which is characterized by having "a
name to live, while dead." We want something more than mere profession. We
want more power and freshness, more living devotedness to the Person of Christ.
We are called to overcome. The hearing ear is found only with the overcomer.
May our hearts be stirred up to desire it increasingly.

 

(Psalm 63)

 

David was far from sinless, but
God describes him as a "man after His own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14). He
saw something in David that called forth His divine approbation (1 Sam. 16:7).
So David’s heart should be a subject of intense interest to any who desire to
please the Lord.

 

In Psalm 63 we find the
opportunity for just such a study of David’s heart. At the outset (verses 1 and
2) we note a yearning for God in the heart of David. It is a very personal
matter; God is his God. So intense is the yearning that he seeks, he thirsts
for, he longs for God. In fact, God is first in his life:"Early will I
seek Thee." God’s interests are uppermost in his mind.

 

Next (verses 3 and 4) we observe
an attitude of praise in his heart. This man has experienced the lovingkindness
of God and finds that it is better than life itself. This is the source of his
praise.

 

God’s lovingkindness has
produced a deep sense of satisfaction in David’s heart (verse 5). It is as real
as physical satisfaction. It is very appropriately compared with the pleasure
produced by physical food. We enjoy a good meal, well prepared. But do we enjoy
the experience of fellowship with God, the sweetness of His love, the delight
of His joy, the depth of His peace? Here alone is satisfaction.

 

Meditation held a prominent
place in the heart of David (verse 6). Contemplation of God was a necessity to
this man. It was his life, and it is our life too (John 6:57).

 

One of the most precious
thoughts that came to David’s heart as he meditated was the fact of his
security in God (verse 7). God had been his help many a time. What blessed
security is the portion of the saints of God! What security is in Christ our
Saviour, who died to deliver us from the wrath of God upon our sins, and to
raise us up to a heavenly position in Himself!

 

David was running a race (verse
8). If you had looked into David’s heart, you would have found that his soul
was following hard after God. He was one of an illustrious company, which
comprised also Caleb and Joshua, who "wholly followed the Lord."

 

Finally, David’s heart was
filled with joy (verse 11). He rejoiced not only in his security and in his
privilege of praise but simply in God Himself. How prominent this thought is in
the New Testament! We are to "joy in God" and to "rejoice in the
Lord." In fact, our joy in Him whom we have not seen and yet believe is
"joy unspeakable and full of glory."

 

Are
these experiences of David’s heart actually your experiences? They can be. In
fact, they must be if you are to live to the glory of God.

The second fruit of the Spirit
mentioned in Galatians 5 is "joy." It is impressive to see the
importance which the Lord places on our joy being full and continuous. We see
it in the following Scriptures:

 

"These things have I spoken
unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be
full" (John 15:11).

 

"Ask, and ye shall receive,
that your joy may be full" (John 16:24).

 

"And now come I to Thee;
and these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in
themselves" (John 17:13).

 

"Now the God of hope fill
you with all joy and peace in believing" (Rom. 15:13).

 

"Fulfill ye my joy, that ye
be likeminded" (Phil. 2:2).

 

"Finally, my brethren,
rejoice in the Lord" (Phil. 3:1).

 

‘Rejoice in the Lord alway:and again
I say, Rejoice" (Phil. 4:4).

 

"Rejoice evermore" (1
Thess. 5:16).

 

"Greatly desiring to see
thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy" (2 Tim.
1:4).

 

"And these things write we
unto you, that your joy may be full" (1 John 1:4).

 

"I have no greater joy than
to hear that my children walk m truth" (3 John 4).

 

As to the ground and object of
our joy, we have already seen in the quotations from Phil. 3:1 and 4:4 that our
joy is to be found in the Lord. Joy comes as a result of faith (Phil. 1:25;
Rom. 15:13), of hope (Rom. 12:12), and of the joy manifested by others (Rom.
12:15).

 

What are the circumstances and
experiences which give rise to joy in the believer? From the Scriptures already
cited, we see that joy comes from honoring God in our lives and meditating upon
the person and work of Christ, as well as from finding our brethren walking so
as to please the Lord. There is another class of experiences which we would not
naturally think of as calling forth joy from us, but which does just that if we
are truly walking in the Spirit. The following Scriptures bring this out:

 

"Rejoice, and be exceeding
glad . . . for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you"
(Matt. 5:12).

 

"And they departed from the
presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer
shame for His name" (Acts 5:41).

 

"I am exceeding joyful in
all our tribulation" (2 Cor. 7:4).

 

"In a great trial of
affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the
riches of their liberality" (2 Cor. 8:2).

 

"For we rejoice when we may
be weak and ye may be powerful" (2 Cor. 13:9 JND).

 

"If I be offered upon the
sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all"
(Phil. 2:17).

 

"[I] now rejoice in my
sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of
Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake, which is the Church" (Col. 1:24).

 

"For ye … took joyfully
the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a
better and an enduring substance" (Heb. 10:34).

 

"Count it all joy when ye
fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith
worketh patience" (James 1:2, 3).

 

"Rejoice, inasmuch as ye
are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed,
ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:13).

 

From these Scriptures we see
that sorrow and trials prepare for and enlarge the capacity for joy in the
believer. Think of it! When we experience various temptations, that is, trials
from God, much more than passively accepting these trials we are to count it all
joy when they come! The reason we can—indeed, must—do this is that we can
be sure that God is using the trial to make us more like Christ, or to help us
become better able to appreciate the heavenly glories and blessings that are
ours, or to make us more dependent upon Himself, or to expand our service for
Him, or in general to give us a blessing which we might not have been ready to
receive except for the trial.

 

When the apostle Paul wrote,
"Rejoice in the Lord," he was a prisoner in Rome. Thus he was not
occupied with the circumstances he was going through, depressing though they
might have been, naturally, but he was occupied with the Lord alone, and Paul
found his joy in Him who is over all circumstances.

 

Some persons, be they Christians
or not, seem to have naturally an optimistic, enthusiastic, outgoing, joyful,
sanguine temperament. However, it is important to distinguish between the
sanguine disposition which some people seem to be born with and the joy which
the child of God finds in the Lord. In the first case, the person often has a
real problem of losing his joy and becoming discouraged and even angry when
circumstances are against him. But for the Christian who is walking in the
Spirit, continually feeding upon Christ, and communing with the Father,
whatever the natural disposition of this person may be, there is found a deep,
abiding, peaceful joy and gladness in the Lord. This person knows that whatever
the circumstances may be, Christ is going through them with him; and he knows
that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who
are the called according to His purpose."

 

One more point with respect to joy.
We should not be looking to supernatural or emotional experiences to feed and
build up our joy. The apostle Paul describes a supernatural experience he had
in which he was "caught up to the third heaven . . . and heard unspeakable
words, which it is not" lawful for a man to utter" (2 Cor. 12:2-4).
However, rather than this experience becoming a source of continuing joy for
him, the apostle was given a thorn in the flesh lest he be exalted above
measure (verse 7). The result was that Paul gloried in his infirmities that the
power of Christ might rest upon him. So his joy developed from abiding
communion with God and with the Lord Jesus day by day, and it was the special
trial, the thorn in the flesh, which served to enhance that communion and joy.
Similarly, it may be that we seek to build our joy upon listening to religious
music, or stirring testimonies, or the like. But it will often be the case that
this joy is more emotional than it is a fruit of the Spirit.

 

May it be the portion of all of
God’s children to enjoy a constant, abiding fellowship with Him, and a walk
that is led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 18), that out of this may come that
joy and rejoicing in the Lord which is stable and enduring through every
circumstance, sorrow, and trial of this.

 

 (Joshua 8:9)

 

What an encouragement the
presence of Joshua was to the people at such a time. They had beheld in the
past many displays of God’s grace and power. Past victories, however, give no
power for future conflict. Ai, where Israel had been defeated, lay before them;
with many fears and much trembling they needed Joshua’s company and his
presence near them. At this critical time it is written, "Joshua lodged .
. . among the people." He was God’s appointed leader—their captain. In his
lodging with them that night we read that lovely grace in our Lord Jesus Christ
which He expressed in these words, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the
end of the world" (Matt. 28:20). He associates Himself with us in all the
conflict and trial of the way. What cheer this is to them who make it their
great business to walk with God here. See a lovely instance in which our Lord
associates Himself with His own. Two disciples journeyed with Him to Emmaus.
They desired His company and said, "Abide with us … and He went in to
tarry with them" (Luke 24:29).

 

We know its attendant blessing.
He is now in the glory above, and yet one of His sweetest promises is, "If
a man love Me, he will keep My words:and My Father will love him, and We will
come unto him, and make our abode with him" (John 14:23). Joshua lodged
that night among the people. The Saviour abides with those who love His word
and keep it. Lord, may we love Thy name and keep Thy word, and thus enjoy Thy
company and nearness day by day.

 

All true discipline, whether
directly from the hand of the Lord upon the believer, or under the Lord’s
authority through His people, has one special object in view, namely, the
correction of the wrong that necessitated the discipline. In every case where
the wrong is judged and confessed, grace flows from the Lord immediately; there
is forgiveness, and, as a result, restoration of heart to Him. There may be yet
in the individual, while enjoying His forgiveness, a bitter sting left upon the
heart and mind for long. This will, as the person grows in nearness to God,
produce self-abasement and a careful, lowly spirit, while there is the
enjoyment of forgiveness and restoration. The Lord, in all His dealings, thus
is seen to be perfect in His HOLINESS as well as in His GRACE.

 

This principle of God’s dealings
with us, whether in holiness or grace, we need to remember and carefully
consider. If not, we may fail in maintaining the holiness of His house as a
people left here for His honor, or fail in the grace that He extends in
restoration. In our limited knowledge of God or understanding of His ways, we
are very liable to run from one extreme to the other; at times, under the plea
of holiness we may fail in the grace urged upon us; and at others, in extending
grace we may forget the sanctity of God’s house and what is due to the Lord
because of what He is.

 

In all cases, even when the
extreme act of discipline is incumbent upon an assembly, there is the deepest
need of a chastened and broken spirit in each one concerned. Would that such a
spirit were always seen at such times in those who act; then might the same be
the sooner expected in the offender.

 

A great help in possessing such
a spirit is to keep before our heart and mind the object of discipline—the restoration
of the person. Have we not failed again and again in this:lacking the
chastened spirit in the sight of God in such times? not keeping in view what
the discipline is intended to produce? "And ye have not mourned" was
the apostle’s reproach to the Corinthian saints on a similar occasion, while he
wrote to them "with many tears." Have we not too often sought to get
rid of the trouble by getting rid of the troublesome person, and thus get
through with the matter? But this is not God’s end, for the person is a brother.
When this has been the case, what exercises will be needed to return to the
place where the true path with God has been missed, that His object may be
fully attained! How good to deliver ourselves, at any cost, when we have done
wrong to His name by the misuse of what He has ordained for blessing! How
refreshing to watch every indication of recovery and restoration of heart! We
need to challenge ourselves before the Lord about these things.

 

It is a lamentable fact that in
the many cases of putting away, so little effort is put forth for the recovery
of the erring; and, accordingly, few are recovered. What voice has the Lord for
us in this? Could it be again Ezekiel’s complaint against the shepherds of
Israel:"The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed
that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither
have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that
which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they
were scattered, because there is no shepherd:and they became meat to all the
beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all
the mountains, and upon every high hill:yea, My flock was scattered upon all
the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them" (Ezek.
34:4-6).

 

If we
have lost the sense of the sanctity of God’s house, we will do well to take up
1 Corinthians 5 again, and go over every part of it with care, that we may
recover it. Or, if we have lost the true object of discipline, we will do well
to consider afresh, with the same earnest care, 2 Cor. 2:6-11. In it, we shall
see the grace of the Lord in the apostle, two years after the man was put away,
urging not only forgiveness, but also to comfort such a one. If we fail in this
grace, those yet dear to Christ, notwithstanding past failure, are made to
suffer by our indifference or hardness. (See Prov. 24:11,12.) Our Lord sits
upon a throne of grace; our dispensation is one of grace, and the
gospel we announce tells of grace flowing out to the ends of the earth.
We ourselves are daily the subjects of grace—oh, how much! Let us, then, beware
lest we fail in that grace to others.