"
"Shall I, for fear of feeble man,
The Spirit's course in me restrain?
Awed by a mortal's frown, shall I
Conceal the word of God most high?
Shall I, to soothe the unholy throng,
Soften Thy truth, or smooth my tongue?
"How then before Thee shall I dare
To stand, or how Thine anger bear?
Yea, let men rage; since Thou wilt spread
Thy shadowing wings around my head;
Since in all pain Thy tender love
Will still my sure refreshment prove."
3. He was _without guile_. "For our exhortation was not of
deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile; but as we were allowed
of God to be put in trust with the Gospel, even so we speak; not
as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts."
He was frank and open. He spoke right out of his heart. He was
transparently simple and straightforward. Since God had honoured
him with this infinite trust of preaching the Gospel, he sought
to so preach it that he should please God regardless of men. And
yet that is the surest way to please men. People who listen to
such a man feel his honesty, and realise that he is seeking to do
them good, to save them rather than to tickle their ears and win
their applause, and in their hearts they are pleased.
But, anyway, whether or not they are pleased, he is to deliver
his message as an ambassador, and look to his home government for
his reward.
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