is describing those "who are Israelites," etc. A distinction was always understood to exist among them, between the "Israel after the flesh," and the devout and spiritual descendants of Abraham, who also had the faith of their progenitor; between one who was called a Jew, and an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no guile; between the Jew who was "one outwardly," and the Jew who was "one inwardly between the circumcision which was "outward in the flesh," and that of "the heart in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise was not of men but of God." (Rom. ii. 19.)

Whether a man be a Jew or a Gentile, when he believes, he surnames himself by the name of Israel"; the God of Israel becomes his God, and the blessing of Abraham comes upon him. For this reason we find all believers, in the New Testament, described as the tribes of Israel, as those who have the seal of God on the forehead. (Rev. vii, 3.) They are here represented

2. By their character.

It is, however, of such importance that we should commit no error in judging of the manner in which we are regarded by Jehovah, that the Psalmist adds this characteristic of the true Israelite. Under the Old Testament dispensation, the greatest importance was assigned to the legal and personal purity of the Israelite, especially when as a priest he approached the Lord. The "divers washings" which they had to observe were designed to show the holiness of Jehovah, and the necessity of legal and moral purity in his worshippers. And it is in allusion to them that the apostle exhorts us to draw near to God, "having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." No true Israelite would venture into the divine presence without being sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice, and washed in the water of the Laver. One part of this purification was to represent the pardon of sin, the other the removal of moral defilement. To the latter kind of purity the expression in the text refers. A body washed with pure water was to show the necessity of a heart cleansed from the defilement of sin. The nature and the author of this purity are described by the apostle Paul (Tit. iii, 5, 6), when he speaks of the Lord as saving us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. The cleansing is regeneration, and the author, the Holy Spirit. It implies that the heart had been defiled by sin, and has now acquired a new nature.

It does not mean that the heart is altogether free from evil, that temptation never prevails, that sinful thoughts never arise, that perfection has been really obtained; but it does mean that the love of God as a holy God has been implanted, that strong aspirations after holiness are felt, that sin is hated not only from its consequences but from its nature, and that the heart is so sanctified as that all its powers have participated in the blessed change. This is the purity which Christ himself describes in the words of the Psalmist, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."

And if this purity of heart be really possessed there will be great sorrow and much supplication if aught has occurred to destroy it, and the mourner will cry out with the penitent David, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.' (Psa. li, 10.)

Such is the description given by the Psalmist of the people of God. Let us now notice

II. THE CONSIDERATIONS BY WHICH THEIR INTEREST IN THE DIVINE LOVE MAY BE PROVED.

They, in common with all Adam's children, share in the blessings of a wise and careful Providence; the fruits of the field and of the garden, and the cattle upon a thousand hills, are provided for them as well as for the sinner; they reap the rewards of honest industry as richly as those men who have their portion only in this life; the pleasures connected with the cultivation of intellect, and the attainment of human knowledge, they possess as fully as the men who affect to despise "the wisdom that cometh from above"; all the streams of pure pleasure which flow through this earthly scene are as accessible to them as to those who forsake the fountain of living waters. It might even be shown that the children of God enjoy the ordinary blessings of time in a higher degree than those who are without God in the world, that they hold them on a better tenure, and participate in them with a higher relish, as it is promised that "the meek shall inherit the earth." Let us, however, rather point out those blessings by which they are exalted above the rest of men, and by which it is proved that God is emphatically good to them. 1. By his Son he has saved them from hell.

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John iv, 10.)

The love of God to his people may be measured by the gift he has bestowed, and by the design with which the gift

has been imparted. "His Son-to be the propitiation." Here is the rule, but where is the mind by which it can be applied? Here is the measure, but where is the hand by which it can be grasped? The ability of man to measure and to count is vast. We are often astonished as we hear the results of those processes of calculation which we are unable to follow. Men can measure the earth and count the stars; they can tell the size of the sun, and show its distance from our world; they can bring whole systems of stars into their computations, and lay the wand of science upon the material universe; but who can give us the dimensions of the love of Christ? Its height, its depth, its length, its breadth? Where is the man who can measure the greatness of the Son of God? Who can speak of His years who was in the beginning with God, or count up the unsearchable riches of Christ? Where is he who can enumerate the blessings of the atonement-the pardon of all sins, the deliverance from all danger, the imputation of a perfect righteousness, and the approval of the great Judge? Where shall this wisdom be found? Not in man, however gifted; not in angels, however exalted.

"Archangels fail to count the mighty sum."

We will, therefore, admire that which we cannot describe. As we look down into the abyss from which the saints have been delivered, we will exclaim, "Oh the depths" which we cannot measure! As we view the ransom-treasures by which we have been delivered, we must call them "the unsearchable riches." As we muse on the love which has given them, we must be content, knowing that we think as a child to speak as a child, and say, "God so loved the world"; "Behold, how he loved them!" And thus, on the review of the whole, with a new emphasis will we say, "Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart."

2. By his Spirit he purifies them from sin.

When Nehemiah records the instances of God's goodness to Israel, he says, "Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them." (Neh. ix, 20.) And by instructing, to purify them. This he mentions, indeed, in the long list of blessings they enjoyed, and it was in reality the brightest and the best of them all. The presence of the Spirit is indispensably necessary to our sanctification. "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." If he dwell not within the heart, it will be the abode of Satan; but if he be present, our bodies become the temples of the Holy Ghost. Where he is,

there is sacred knowledge, genuine holiness, and true liberty. It is by his teaching that the truth of God is brought to the understanding and its influence conveyed to the heart, that prejudice is overcome and docility implanted, that pride is removed and the meekness of wisdom substituted in its stead. A clear view of the work of Christ, a consciousness of interest in that work, and the submission of the whole heart to its sacred design, result from the work of the Holy Spirit.

3. By his providence he guides and guards them on earth. There are occasions, indeed, when the children of God are tempted to doubt their interest in his special care. We hear the prophet Isaiah (xl, 27) reproving Israel for saying, "My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God"; and Jacob exclaiming, as he looks on his accumulating sorrows, "All these things are against me." But the truth is, that the " Eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him." (2 Chron. xvi, 9.) In which words we see that God is continually employing his vigilance in connexion with his power in the behalf of his people. His eyes guide his arm, his knowledge directs his power for their safety. "All things, therefore, shall work together for their good."

This good providence is seen in their protection from the dangers that assail them.

They have many enemies, who would gladly remove them from the face of the earth. And their fears are often awakened, but the Lord says to them, "Behold, I have created the smith, that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy," &c. (Isa. liv, 16.)

It is seen also in the guidance of which they are the subject. The Lord "keepeth the feet of his saints," and he directs them by the right way through the wilderness. He fixes the bounds of their habitation, he measures out their daily supplies, he is guiding them with unerring wisdom, when they seem "in wandering mazes lost"; and the beautiful language in which Isaiah describes the history of the ancient Israel will serve to record the history of all the church when that history shall terminate. From early infancy they are the objects of his care. Amidst the snares of youth his eye is upon them. They are often "saved that they might be saved," as John Bunyan expresses it; saved from temporal death, that they might be saved from eternal death. The

Great Jehovah guides them along the sweet waters, and through the green meadows; sometimes over the difficult mountains, but making those mountains a way, till he brings them safely to their journey's end. His angels all the while having a charge respecting them, to keep them in all their ways; for they are all "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation." •

Nor is this good providence less visible in the discipline to which they are called to submit. It may be trying and painful; for the present it may be grievous; but it worketh the peaceful fruits of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby. The denial of some of their requests is in mercy; God withholding that which would be an injury were it granted. Even a poor heathen could teach us thus much, in the fable wherein he represents Phaeton asking leave to drive for a day the chariot of the sun; his father refusing his foolish petition, he complains and says, "You do not acknowledge me as your son, you give me no proof of your fatherly love." The parent replies-"By denying your request I show my love and my care." 4. At their death he receives them to heaven.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” When they die " they die in the Lord." "Death is swallowed up in victory." The Saviour comes and receives them to himself, and as soon as they cease to look on earthly friends, they find Jesus standing, as Stephen saw him, ready to receive their spirits; they lay aside the worn-out garments of earth, and are clothed with white and celestial robes of heaven; they bid an eternal farewell to their fears and their sorrows, and the Lamb wipes away all tears from their eyes; they advance near to the throne of God, even nearer than the angels; their souls are at once matured, their graces at once reach to perfection, when the Sun of heaven shines upon them, as those buds which had been shut up during the cold of winter suddenly expand into beauty in the spring; they receive the welcome of all heaven, they obtain golden harps and glorious crowns, and they join the song of the redeemed, "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood." (Rev. i. 6.)

1st. If the goodness of God to the true Israel be thus great, how great should be their confidence in him, and the love with which they love him in return!

2nd. Let the sinner so come and share with the Israel of God in the blessing described in the text.