Let no filthy speech proceed out of your mouths, but only such as is good to edify, as need shall require, that it may give grace to the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:29-30)

Saint Paul corrects a vice here that is very dangerous, yet nevertheless so common among men because they do not see at first what harm it brings, and therefore take leave all too easily to do it. For it will be said that to hold pleasant talk, while thinking no harm of anyone, is something that may be tolerated, as if it were possible to poison our neighbors' minds, and yet, for all that, it should be no harm. It is difficult to persuade men otherwise, even though the Holy Ghost has said it.

I say that when there is any light or lewd talk that tends to give liberty to evil, it is as if words were used to poison men's souls. Now then, it behooves us all the more to mark what is told to us here: for Saint Paul terms it "filthy and lewd talk," which cannot but infect. Men will deny it (as I said before), but experience sufficiently shows, as it is not without cause said in another place, that evil words corrupt good manners (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Though we were never so modest, chaste, clean-minded, and given to good, yet if we admit wanton talk, it pierces even to the bottom of the heart, and we are affected by it before we perceive it, insomuch as it utterly mars us. Indeed, if a woman gives ear to messages intended to seduce her, one could well say she is a harlot already, and the matter itself is evident enough.

It is certain, then, that all unchaste and lewd speeches are bawdy tricks, and although those who cast forth such lewd talk do not always do so with that intention, yet, whatever their intent, Satan is the author of it. And, as I said before, if such unchaste and loose talk has full scope, we must be poisoned immediately, and mischief will have its course. Therefore, not without cause does Saint Paul warn us that no unclean speech, or, as I said before, no filthy speech, should proceed out of our mouths.

On the contrary, he sets forth that we have sufficient matter to talk of with one another: namely, to edify, so that men may fare somewhat better by our communication. Even the heathen can say that it does one good to be in such a man's company. And why? Because one shall always hear some good sentence, and never leave without carrying away something beneficial. It is nature that moves them to say so.

Therefore, let us learn to abhor and shun such plague-like behavior when a man has his tongue so loose to speak words that smell of the pump (as they say), and one holds one side, and another the other, and instead of receiving good, a man feels himself stung by Satan. Indeed, when such words enter into our hearts before we are aware of them, they are stings that Satan gives us secretly and unperceived. Seeing, then, that this is so, can it be said that such a man is worthy to be heard? Should we not rather hate him as a deadly plague?

You see, then, that the first thing we must note is that our Lord has given us tongues to make one another privy to our minds, and this is to the intent that we should use them for the benefit of our neighbors. We ought to employ them wholly for that purpose. The tongue, which is the means by which we express our hearts and minds to one another, ought to guide all the rest of our faculties, having superiority over them (James 3:2).

On the other side, not without cause is the tongue termed by the name of "glory," to show how we ought to employ it and to what use, namely, to the honoring of God. Therefore, if we look carefully at the order of nature, it should be sufficiently imprinted on our hearts that our words should be necessary and directed towards the furtherance of our neighbors' welfare and profit.

The first point, then, that we have to bear in mind is that our Lord will have all parts of us serve in doing good, especially our tongues, so that the purpose of all our talk is to edify. For example, one person may need counsel, another warning, another rebuke, and another may need to be reminded of something or taught because they are utterly ignorant. Again, this extends to all things in this present life.

Indeed, the principal thing we have to focus on is teaching the ignorant and showing them the way of salvation. Besides that, if any person misbehaves and is negligent or slothful, they must be spurred forward by good exhortations. If they are unruly, they should be shamed (as much as lies within us) to bring them back to the service of God. Again, one must comfort those in heaviness and give counsel to those in distress, so they do not fall into despair. In short, we must endeavor to hold back the poor souls that might otherwise go to destruction. And of all benefits, this is the principal one.

Yet, if we see a poor person likely to be deceived, we must give them some warning of it. And when we come to that point, it is certain that we will continually devote ourselves to the benefit and welfare of our neighbors in countless ways, concerning both body and soul.

Now let us see whether we do not have sufficient ground and matter to work these things upon. We cannot take a single step without seeing how one needs to be spurred, another to be rebuked, a third to be comforted, and another to be taught. If we hold our tongues in all this and care neither for the bodies nor the souls of those who are linked to us and with whom we ought to be united as the fingers of a hand, is it not an open despising of God when we ignore the natural use of our tongue in such a way?

Therefore, let us keep from corrupting what we ought to value so highly, the means we have to glorify God by making confession of our faith, by calling upon Him, and also by serving our neighbors in so many ways as I have already shown.

Thus, the first point we must note in this context is the lawful use for which God has ordained our tongues and how they ought to be applied wholly to that end.

Now, if we ought to promote the furtherance of our neighbors' salvation, as well as their temporal benefit and welfare, what a dreadful thing it is if we seduce them by our disorder and utterly quench and put away all fear of God in them. When we serve Satan by our loose talk, laboring to deface all honesty and urging others to live a beastly life, is not such defiling of our tongues an utter perversion of the order of nature?

Let us learn, then, to occupy ourselves with good and necessary talk and to avoid defiling ourselves with wicked communication, which are like Satan's tricks to corrupt those who were well disposed to serve God. Thus, we see that every loose speech that passes in the world is like a spiritual poisoning, corrupting good manners (1 Corinthians 15:33). Although we may not believe it, it is certain that this is sufficiently proven by experience. However, let us not be as fools who will only learn through great harm; rather, let us yield to what the Holy Ghost tells us.

From this, we can also gather that it should not be thought strange that the world is nowadays given to all manner of lewdness. It seems to many that it is no evil at all to engage in jesting and scoffing talk; indeed, people would make a virtue of it and find no fault in it. Likewise, we see a great number of jesters and scoffers whose aim is to remove all shame so that people might give themselves over to shamelessness without restraint. We see this all too often, and therefore it is no wonder that we reap the fruits of that wicked and cursed licentiousness, which is too much tolerated.

We also see from this what ought to be thought of all wanton and lewd songs and of flirtations. If a young maid habitually sings foolish love songs (as is all too common), she will become a whore before she even knows what whoredom is. She will be emboldened and hardened to all shamelessness, and the devil will gain possession of her before she even knows what chastity means or how horrible it is to give herself over to such lewdness and to break the faith and troth she will have pledged when she comes to marriage.

Before a maid can even discern all this, she will be utterly ruined if she acquaints herself with lewd songs. It is a wonder that this mischief cannot be redressed, which shows that Satan labors in this matter and strains himself to the utmost, knowing that he has a great advantage over us if he can sow his cursed cockle to corrupt our good manners. Surely, if the devil were not at work in this, we might more easily rid ourselves of all these ribaldries and filthiness, which are as deadly plagues, as I have said before.

But it seems impossible. Even if there were harsher punishment for it than there is, both wives and maids would prefer to go to prison and be taken for harlots rather than correct this vice that corrupts the whole world and bridle their cursed tongues, which serve only to infect everything with filthiness. Yet, we shall have less excuse after such warning. As for those who stop their ears and harden their hearts against the Holy Ghost, they will be driven to give an account not only for offending God in so many ways but also for poisoning people's souls, which is much more heinous and horrible than if they had murdered their bodies.

Those who poison even animals are driven out of the world, and they deserve it. And what should be done to those who not only slay the body with their poisons but also assault the soul and continually corrupt all goodness, all fear of God, and all honesty (as I said before) with their lewd talk?

You see, then, that the thing we have to remember in this context is that, inasmuch as God has appointed our tongues for the use we have heard, that is, for the service of our neighbors and for their benefit both in body and soul, we must diligently employ them for that purpose. Therefore, let us, above all things, keep ourselves from infecting those who are inclined to serve God and from thrusting them out of the way by casting forth such speeches as may cool their goodness, provoke them to evil, and make them more licentious and negligent. For evil speech corrupts good manners in many ways.

There are some wicked individuals who are scorners of God. If they are warned to have any remorse for their actions, they reply, "Oh, God doesn't care much for this." Others do not go to such an extreme, but they will lessen their faults so that they consider them only venial sins. Some will cloak all things, and most others will say, "Tush, we must not be so careful. God will not have us live so seriously, for what kind of life would that be? Soon, it would not even be lawful for us to laugh." Such speech gradually buries all fear of God.

You see, then, that there are many sorts of such people, far more than necessary, who show themselves too often. They are like many reminders that lewd words are poisons to murder men's souls. Therefore, let us be on guard in this matter. First of all (as I said), let every man beware that he speaks chastely and uses only honest speech.

Furthermore, let us shun all those who jest about these matters, despite the fact that, for their mirth's sake, they are welcome to us and sometimes also fare well at our expense. "Oh," we say, "he is a good fellow; he will make everyone merry." Now, if men are eager to have such people to tickle their ears with jests, dalliances, and other such things, let us learn to shut them out of our doors.

For we would not willingly hold up our throats to a dagger when we saw it drawn, nor would we seek someone to murder our bodies. Why, then, do we so eagerly desire to have our souls murdered, which is much worse? Therefore, let us avoid those who do nothing but quench and extinguish the fear of God in us, make us shameless and hard-hearted, and rob us of all honesty and shamefacedness, for fear that God may pay us the wages we deserve for having acquaintance and familiarity with such people.

Let us do our best to ensure that such plagues do not reign among us. "Be not deceived," says Saint Paul, speaking of such scoffers, who serve only to provoke our lusts, to rob us of all remorse of conscience, to diminish the fear of God in us, and to abuse us in such a way that sin may delight us. "Beware," he says, "that none of you be deceived by lying words," for this has been a common issue in all ages (Ephesians 5:6).

Therefore, let us put Saint Paul's counsel into practice. Not only should each of us keep a good watch that he is not caught unawares, but we should also care to keep others from being corrupted in that manner. That is what we must remember here.

And we see what he says, namely, that we are weak enough, indeed, too weak, so steeped in evil that it is horrible to see. Therefore, when we covet to always learn some new lesson of lewdness and are quickened and spurred on by others, is it not as if a drunkard, having already well-stuffed and filled himself to the point of bursting, should still seek to provoke his appetite so that he might drink and ladle in wine anew?

So then, is not every man sufficiently inclined to evil of himself, even if there were no lewd songs or unwholesome talk at all? But when the devil finds any gap open and can draw us further into naughtiness by his flatteries, so that he can harden us in it, I ask you, do we not give him the upper hand over us, so that we are wholly at his pleasure, that he may drive and draw us wherever he wishes?

Now, hereupon Saint Paul adds, "Grieve not the Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). Here is yet one more declaration, which ought to touch us closely. True, the things that have been spoken ought, with good reason, to be thoroughly remembered. For what a thing it is for us to pervert the order of nature by applying our tongues to the very opposite of what God has appointed, to his honor and the benefit of our neighbors!

And again, to be guilty of infecting others with our filthiness, of perverting those who were inclined to serve God, and of provoking those persons to beastly shamelessness who had some measure of shame and honesty in them! Should this not move us sufficiently if we were not too blockish? But Saint Paul tells us of something that ought to scare us even more: "Grieve not God's Spirit," he says.

And why? "For we are marked with it," he says, "and it dwells in us, sealing the hope of our salvation in our hearts." It is also the seed of life, which we have to warrant our everlasting salvation. Now, it is certain that when we take such liberty to do evil and to speak evil, it is as if we are fighting against God's Spirit as much as in us lies. It is a choking of the light that He has kindled in us and a taking of the bridle in our teeth to do all manner of naughtiness. And that cannot be done without grieving Him.

This is what Saint Paul intended to say here.

However, let us first note that he speaks here after the common manner of the Holy Scripture. For we know there are no passions in God. It is the property of men to be sorry and grieved; God is unchangeable. Nevertheless, because we cannot conceive of the greatness that is in Him and because His majesty is so infinite that we cannot approach it, He uses that similitude for our rudeness' sake.

Therefore, when it is said that God is provoked to wrath, it is not because there is any moodiness in Him, but to make us hate evil because we fight against God in transgressing His law. It is as if we would provoke Him to anger through our spitefulness. The Scripture does not mean to make God subject to any change when it says that He is angry or sorry, but it directs us to our own doings so that our vices should displease us all the more and we should abhor them.

Here, Saint Paul speaks not only of God's anger but also says that the Holy Ghost is sorrowed or grieved. And why? We are not God's children (as he speaks of in the Epistle to the Romans, Romans 8:9- 11) unless His Holy Ghost dwells in us. Are we worthy by nature to be mustered in such an array as to be companions with the angels? We, who are but rottenness and, moreover, cursed in Adam and children of wrath? However, God, by His Holy Spirit, calls us to this inestimable honor and dignity of being His children so that we may call upon Him as our Father and have familiar access to Him (Romans 8:15).

That is done by the Holy Ghost, and for this reason, He is called the Spirit of adoption. For the inheritance of heaven does not belong to us except in respect that we are God's children. We are not so of ourselves and by nature, as I told you. Therefore, it follows that it comes of God's freely bestowed goodness. Now He seals all this in our hearts by His Holy Ghost. That is why it is said that we have a mortal body.

What is meant here is not only our feet, hands, skin, bone, and flesh, but that there is a lump of corruption in us due to the dwelling of sin, which brings nothing but death. Have we lived any time? We return to dust and ashes, and there is no one who does not see himself already besieged by a hundred deaths, considering the diseases and infirmities to which we are subject. Again, age makes us stoop, so that we perceive a long while beforehand how we are summoned to our grave. Seeing then that we perceive such a number of deaths all at once together in our bodies, and a much greater dungeon in our souls, how should we hope that God would take us up into His kingdom?

But Saint Paul says that the Spirit is life. If there is but one grain or one spark of the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ in us, let us assure ourselves that we shall be partakers of His glory. For it is said that He is raised again from the dead and has gotten the upper hand of it by His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11). After this manner, we are quickened with Him, waiting until we are delivered from all the corruptible nature that surrounds us.

Now, Saint Paul says that we are sealed by the Holy Ghost (Ephesians 1:13-14), as it is said of Him in the first chapter before this, and in other places besides, as in the second to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). This similitude is very fitting. Although God's promises ought to be of sufficient authority and to have full credit with us of themselves, yet, notwithstanding, such is our unbelief that we cannot give credit to them or rest upon them until they are confirmed and warranted to us, so that we may say, "Behold, it is even God Himself who speaks."

But what of that? On one side, we are forepossessed with distrust, and on the other side, we are always doubtful and mistrusting, and cannot rest upon the things that are told to us in God's name. As a result, His promises are always unavailing until He prints them in our hearts, which He does by His Holy Ghost. Just as a piece of evidence is made authentic by the setting of a seal, so God warrants His promises of our salvation in our hearts by signing and sealing them with His Holy Spirit.

That, then, is the reason why it is so often said that God's Spirit seals the inheritance of our salvation in our hearts. For the same reason, He is also named the earnest, or pledge, in another place (2 Corinthians 1:22). When a bargain is made, although there is no immediate payment seen, if an earnest is given, the bargain is concluded. The buyer cannot later say, "I repent of my bargain and will forsake it," nor can the seller say, "I find myself deceived and therefore will keep my goods." Rather, each is bound, the one to make the payment, and the other to deliver the goods.

Even so, it is said that God's Spirit is the earnest of the life of our souls. Why? Because, as I said, God binds Himself to us in respect of our infirmity, to which we are too much inclined. Indeed, it is not because He owes us anything, but we have so much more reason to magnify His goodness, in that He is so gracious as to bind Himself willingly to us, even though He owes us nothing. He condescends to assure us of it because He sees us so feeble and weak.

Just as when He swears, it is not because He needs to add anything to His simple word on His part, for He Himself is the truth, and what comes from Him should not be doubted. It might seem, therefore, that the oath He makes is superfluous and that He only abuses His own name. No, but He does it because He sees us weak and needing to be held up in many ways, especially because He sees us given to unbelief and, therefore, must remedy it.

So then, whenever God swears, He stoops to us in pity of our wretchedness. The sealing and ratifying of His promises in us by His Holy Spirit is because it is impossible for us to believe Him on our own. We could not be sure of the things He promises us, to call upon Him, and to overcome all the temptations of the world unless He used that means.

Therefore, we have so much more need to remember this text, where Saint Paul says that the Holy Ghost seals in our hearts.

And hereupon, we may gather a good lesson to humble ourselves with: namely, that we shall never yield God the chief honor that He requires at our hands, except He Himself draws us to it and gives us grace to discharge it withal. The thing that He requires above all others is that His Word has all authority over us, and that we yield it such reverence that He may no sooner speak than we shall immediately answer, "Amen," so that there may be a full accord between us.

That is the obedience of faith, which is the chief sacrifice that God requires. But, contrariwise, on our part, there is nothing but replying against God's Word. We are full of lusts, and although we may not seem to make utter resistance against Him or to act like madmen, as many do, we are still given to a number of wicked imaginations.

We see that some are as if they were frantic, especially when a man speaks to them of God; they will have their mouths open to spew out blasphemies and to enter into disputation and debate, showing themselves utterly unwilling to receive any good doctrine. Others do not fall into such fury and outrage, yet they let slip whatever is said to them, and what comes in at one ear goes out again at the other. In any case, neither the one nor the other gives glory to God by receiving His Word with the humility they ought to show.

Therefore, let us acknowledge our own naughtiness and be sorry for it, seeing that we provoke God's displeasure by not yielding Him the honor of believing that He is true and faithful. Indeed, we will not say in open speech that His Word is vain; we will not accuse Him of lying and deceit. Yet, does He not protest that we do Him as much wrong as that comes to if we do not credit His sayings? "How long will this people slander Me," says He, "and rob Me of My honor?" (Numbers 14:11). It is a complaint that He makes there by Moses and in many other places of the Scripture.

Surely, if Saint John's saying is true, that when we believe God, we set to our seals that He is true, that is, we uphold Him to be faithful (John 3:33), then, contrariwise, if we have not that sure foundation in our faith and God's Word does not win so much at our hands as to make us wholly betake ourselves to it without any gainsaying, it is all one as if we counted God a liar. Although we would hate and abhor to utter any such blasphemy, He still complains that we have done Him the same reproach, and not without cause.

Therefore, we see what frowardness there is in our nature until God remedies it.

Furthermore, when He says that the Holy Ghost seals His promises in our hearts in that fashion, let us understand that this is because He has vouchsafed to choose us. We have already seen that He calls us to Him and enlightens us with the truth of His Gospel according to His choosing of us before we were born, yes, even before the making of the world. Therefore, let us understand that God's Spirit is a special gift, which is not bestowed upon all men indifferently but is reserved as a treasure for His children whom He has chosen.

For that reason, we ought to bear well in mind the aforementioned title: that He is the Spirit of adoption. Also, the unbelief that is throughout the whole world gives an evident proof of God's goodness, in that it has pleased Him to engrave His Word in our hearts. It is certain that in all such as fight against God, or who are like brute beasts and so careless that His Word does not move them at all, we see what we are by nature and what we would still be if our Lord, for His mercy's sake, had not touched us with His Holy Spirit. Thus, you see what we must bear in mind.

Therefore, whenever the doctrine of our salvation is discussed, let us beware that we do not presume anything upon our own wit and policy. Let us be humble so that our Lord may enlighten us by His Holy Spirit. When we perceive that we have already received such grace, let us not bury it but give the praise to Him who deserves it.

On the contrary, since we feel many perplexities, doubts, and uneasiness, and at times are tossed like a ship ready to topple over and sink to the bottom of the sea, let us consider our own frailty. Even if we have been trained up in God's Word, there will still be no steadfastness in our hearts unless God works it there. Therefore, let us run to the remedy and pray to God to keep the seed that He has sown in us from choking and the assurance of our inheritance from ever wearing out. Although Satan may strive to the utmost to destroy what God has put into us, may it be strengthened in us from day to day, as is needful for us.

And so, you see what we must bear in mind in this, that Saint Paul says we are sealed and marked by God's Spirit.

And now he warns us that it is too heinous a crime to grieve Him, and an intolerable treachery. I have told you already that this similitude does not intend to impute any excessive passion to God's Spirit but to put us to shame and to make the hair stand up upon our heads. Behold (says Saint Paul), God's Spirit has chosen His dwelling place in us (according as it is said in another place, that not only our souls, but also our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost) and He is glad to be in us, to abide there, and to make it His continual home. Now then, if we fall to spiting Him, as though we minded to chase Him and banish Him from us, is it not too devilish a dealing?

And yet, when we seek allurements of unthriftiness, take leave to corrupt ourselves by lewd and loose talk, and labor to have other naughty means to turn us away from the fear of God and to bring our consciences asleep, it is all one as if we endeavored of set purpose to chase away and banish God's Spirit from us and to say, "We will have no more acquaintance with Him." Must we not need to be most miserable and cursed creatures when we overshoot ourselves so far? That, then, is the thing that Saint Paul had an eye unto.

Therefore, whenever we are tempted to evil, and the devil labors to make us take pleasure in it so that all remorse of conscience may be put away, let us call to mind the things that are spoken here, and say: "How now? You rejoice, and wherein? In the serving of Satan! And on the other side, you let go Him that is your life, the earnest penny of your salvation, and the foundation of the felicity which has been purchased so dearly for you by our Lord Jesus Christ." Let us think advisedly upon this.

Moreover, it is certain that every faithful person ought to feel the thing that is declared here. For if our Lord has touched us and given us the sealing that is spoken of here, it will be a grief to us when we are tempted to evil. And so, the thing that holds us in awe is the Spirit which watches and wards to withstand the enemy. If we go about to kill this benefit, that is to say, this inworking that God gives us, it is all one as if we grieved the Holy Ghost.

This, then, is a most certain experience, and such a one as shows us that the thing which the Holy Ghost has put into us is utterly against all evil, and that there must needs be a battle and strife between them. Insomuch that none of God's children can sin without being immediately stirred up to fear and saying in himself, "Alas, where shall I become? In what plight have I brought myself? What shall I do?" (2 Corinthians 7:10). And that is the sorrow that Saint Paul speaks of, which we must not shun.

But if we nevertheless go on still in evil, it is all one as if we took pleasure in driving and chasing away God's Spirit. The prophet Isaiah says we provoke God's Spirit to bitterness when we refuse the good doctrine that He sets before us (Isaiah 63:10). But Saint Paul goes further here. Indeed, it is a kind of provocation to God's wrath when we do not yield to His doctrine, which is a sure record of the care He has for our salvation and the love He bears us.

But we must come to consider each of us by himself. God has vouchsafed to engrave the belief of His Gospel in my heart so that I might be sure of my salvation. And how does He do that? By vouchsafing to choose me for His house and to dwell in me by His Holy Spirit. Now then, if I blot out this grace, it is as much as if I meant to estrange myself from God willfully. Therefore, let us beware of such extremity and let us hold ourselves in awe.

And with that, let us also note how Saint Paul adds, as his final word, that God's sealing and marking of us by His Holy Ghost is against the day of our redemption. By this, he shows us that if we want to overcome Satan's allurements, the lusts of our flesh, and all the temptations of the world, we must always keep in mind the heavenly life that is promised to us and to which we ought to strive.

Now then, God's Spirit (says Saint Paul) is not given to us to be withdrawn from us again once we have felt His grace and power, but with the intent that the seal and imprint of Him should remain with us even until the day of our redemption, that is, until we are delivered from this transitory life and from all the miseries with which we are besieged. Now, therefore, seeing that God has given us His Holy Spirit to guide and govern us both in life and in death, and with the intent that we should never be deprived and destitute of Him, let us look well to it that He may always keep the possession He has taken in us, and we also may enjoy that inestimable benefit of His continuing with us forever, that He may guide us and hold us always up by a strong hand during the entire course of our life.

The reason, then, why Saint Paul purposefully calls us back to the last day is to make us live soberly, knowing that just as we need to be guided throughout by the power of God's Spirit, if we are deprived of it, estranged from Him, and left destitute of His grace, it is to be feared that we shall fall into a reprobate mind.

Regarding the "day of our redemption," Saint Paul, by that word, understood the happiness which we hope for and which is hidden from us as yet. It is true that we were redeemed in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we do not yet enjoy that benefit. We may well say, "Jesus Christ is our Redeemer," that is to say, He has delivered us and set us free from the bondage and subjection of death and sin wherein we were, by paying our ransom and by making our atonement. You see then that we are redeemed as in respect of the Son of God, for He has performed all that was requisite for our deliverance and salvation, as He Himself avows with His own mouth (John 19:30).

But when we come to ourselves, we do not find this redemption there. And for that reason, as well in this place, as in the eighth chapter to the Romans, Saint Paul says that the last day, when Jesus Christ will appear, is the day of our salvation and deliverance (Romans 8:23). And why? We see what a number of miseries beset us round about, yes, we carry them with us, and they are enclosed in our bodies and in our souls. It behooves us, therefore, to seek a better state than that which we see here (Romans 8:24-25).

And for the same reason, it is said that our salvation lies in hope, and that we hope not for the thing that we see, but that God intends to feed our hope. And whereas He shows not the things to our eyes which He promises, and which it behooves us to wait for at His hand, it is to the end that, although we are forlorn wretches in this world, yet we should not cease to rejoice in Him, knowing that we shall not be disappointed in waiting for the heritage which He has purchased for us.

And so, you see what is meant by the word "redemption," which is set down here. Wherefore, let us learn to be so armed and fenced with God's Spirit to fight against all Satan's temptations, that he may never find us unprepared or out of order. And for that to be done, let us pray to God so to engrave His truth in us by the same Spirit, that we may gain victory by it and overcome all that is against our salvation. And that we, continuing in our vocation that God calls us to, may take courage and be patient until our Lord Jesus Christ (who is our life) appears, that our life and our full happiness may also be manifested in Him at His coming (Colossians 3:4).

And now let us fall down before the majesty of our good God, with acknowledgment of our faults, praying Him to take us to mercy, and not to impute the great number of our sins unto us, whereby we are blameworthy before Him. Rather, may He bear with our infirmities, and cleanse us of them from day to day, that we may grow and increase in all His gracious gifts, and put far from us all evil that may seduce us and thrust us out of the way. And by this means, may we draw nearer and nearer unto Him, until we are fully knit unto Him at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. May it please Him to grant this grace, not only to us, but also to all people and nations of the earth. Amen.