Now the commandments may be kept—in the letter, at least—by one in whom there is no acknowledgment of the Lord, and no sense of dependence on Him. A man may refrain from falsehood, theft, adultery, murder, etc., from purely selfish and worldly considerations;—from fear of the law, or of losing his property or reputation, or from hope of winning the good esteem of others. He may keep all the commandments of the Decalogue, in the outward form, with a heart brim full of pride and self-conceit. He may do it in the spirit of the self-righteous Pharisee, who thanked God that he was so much better than other men. Those who keep the commandments in this spirit, are deficient in one essential qualification for the kingdom of heaven. They lack humility. They lack a sense of utter dependence on the Lord for whatever good they do, or whatever power they have to shun evil. They abound in self-righteousness. All the good they do, they regard as their own, and claim merit on account of it. Some of this class have "great possessions"—large investments in meritorious deeds.
This was the spirit in which that young man had kept the commandments. "All these things," he says, "have I kept from my youth up: What lack I yet?" And what was the Lord's answer? "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come follow me. But
