1. We must make God the subject of our daily meditation; calling to mind what he is in himself, and what he is to us, or does for us; which is to be considered as a means to preserve us from sin, and a spur, to duty, a motive to holy fear and reverence.
2. We are to honour, adore, and fear him for his greatness. Thus the Psalmist says, Who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord; who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord? God is greatly to be feared in the assemblies of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him, Psal. lxxxix. 6, 7.
3. As God is the best good, and has promised that he will be a God to us; so he is to be desired, loved, delighted, and rejoiced in, and chosen by us; as the prophet says, ‘With my soul have I desired thee in the night,’ Isa. xxvi. 9. and the church, ‘I sat down under his shadow with great delight,’ Cant. ii. 3. and the apostle, ‘Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,’ John xxi. 15.
4. As he is a God of truth, we are to believe all that he has spoken; and in particular, what he has revealed in his promises or threatnings, relating to mercies which he will bestow, or judgments which he will inflict. Thus our Saviour says, ‘If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me,’ John viii. 46. And it is said, when Israel ‘saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses,’ Exod. xiv. 31.
5. As he is able to save to the utmost, and faithful in fulfilling all his promises, we are to trust him with all we have from him, and for all those blessings which we hope to receive at his hands. Thus the prophet says, ‘Trust ye in the Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength,’ Isa. xxvi. 4. And the apostle speaks of his having committed all to him, 2 Tim. i. 11. as the consequence of what he knew him to be.
6. When the name, interest, and glory of God is opposed in the world, we are to express an holy zeal for it. Thus the prophet Elijah says, ‘I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword,’ 1 Kings xix. 10. And as to what concerns our conversation in general, we are to be ‘not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord,’ Rom. xii. 11.
7. Since he is a God hearing prayer, we are daily to call upon him, ‘O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come,’ Psal. lxv. 2.
8. As he is the God of all our mercies, we are to thank and praise him for them. Thus the Psalmist says, ‘O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever,’ Psal. cxxxvi. 1.
9. His sovereignty and dominion over us, calls for subjection and obedience, and a constant care to please him, and approve ourselves to him in all things. Thus the apostle says, ‘Submit yourselves to God,’ James iv. 7. And the Psalmist speaks of a person’s ‘cleansing his way, by taking heed thereto according to his word,’ Psal. cxix. 9.
10. As he is an holy, jealous, and sin-hating God, we are to be filled with grief and sorrow of heart when he is offended, either by ourselves or others, as Ephraim says, ‘I was ashamed, yea, even confounded; because I did bear the reproach of my youth,’ Jer. xxxi. 19. And the Psalmist, ‘Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they,’ that is, the world in general, ‘keep not thy law,’ Psal. cxxix. 136.