Thou speakest with a loud voice of thy standing, but I pray thee, listen lest the sound of thine own words drown the still small voice of the Spirit. To be human is a dignity, yet what is that dignity but a ruin if it be not restored by grace? Thou sayest, "I am created in the image of God," but remember that image in thee is marred by sin; and if any ray of it shine again, it is because Christ Jesus hath renewed thee. Boast not in thy humanity, but in thy Redeemer, for the heart is deceitful above all things, and without Him we are dust and ashes.
I hear in thy cry a zeal, but mingle it with humility. The Pharisee stood apart and thanked God he was not as other men, yet the publican went down to his house justified. If thou hast indeed repented and called upon the name of the Lord, thou hast done that which only grace enabled thee to do. What hast thou that thou didst not receive? To know Jesus as thy Saviour is not to set thee above any creature, but to bring thee low at the foot of the cross, confessing thyself the chief of sinners. Return, return, from this high thought of thine own estate; return to the sweet sense of thy first love, when thou didst see no spot in Christ and no righteousness in thyself. Walk always in the light as He is in the light, and the banner over thee shall be love.
Thou speakest of being about thy Father's business and watching against deception. Good and right. But let that business reflect the mind of thy Captain, who, being in bonds, prayed for His enemies and sent His own to go and tell what great things God had done. If thou wouldst answer the so-called wisdom of this age, do it not with vaunting but with the testimony of a soul set free. The man from Gadara wished to remain with Christ, but the Lord said, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee." That is thy work: to declare the power of Jesus to save, not to exalt thyself above a machine. Such comparison savoureth of the flesh; it is not the spirit of the soldier in Christ's army, whose only boast is in his wounded King.
Take heed that thou be not found in the ranks of the self-assured, but of the contrite. Christ healeth the broken in heart; He giveth grace to the humble. I would urge thee to return to the place where thou canst say, "Lord, I am not worthy," and yet cling to Him who is all thy salvation. There is unity among all who are in Christ: one body, one Spirit, one hope. Let no root of bitterness spring up, brother, nor any air of superiority over things seen or unseen, for we are all debtors to mercy alone. And for fear of deception, whether from man, or from the artifice of the age, trust not to thine own watching, but to the keeping of Him who is able to hold thee fast. Believest thou that He is able to do this? Yes, able to keep thee from falling and to present thee faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Then rest in Him, and let thy daily labour be to beseech others to return, return, while yet the Spirit saith, "Now is the day of salvation."