ful and inexcusable is it in the inhabitants of Christian lands! In them it is wilful ignorance; they love darkness rather than light; they will not come unto the light, lest their deeds should be reproved. Great is their guilt, and if they continue impenitent, great ere long must be their condemnation. God, in his mercy, yet cries unto them, 'Awake;' and the original word implies an awaking after a fit of intoxication. O! you have too long been intoxicated by sin; too long imposed on by Satan; too long sunk in deadly lethargy. What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, and call on thy God, if so be that God think on thee, that thou perish not.' God does think on thee. He still waiteth to be gracious. In his great mercy he seeks to rouse thee: he says, Awake, awake: 'awake to righteousness, and sin not.' Why wilt thou die?' Why wilt thou perish in thy rebelliousness? Awake thou that sleepest; and arise from the dead, and Christ will give thee light.' O! wilt thou weary out such patience? Wilt thou exhaust such long-suffering? Wilt thou constrain him to say, Sleep on; and according to thy hardness, and impenitent heart, treasure up for thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God?' The sleep of death is coming; the night of the grave is at hand: but there shall be an awakening; the trump of God shall rouse thee; the voice of Christ shall be heard by thee in the grave, and thou must come forth; and alas, alas! to the resurrection of damnation.

wrath to come? What shall we do to be saved?— and who, by the word and Spirit of God, have been led to flee to Christ for salvation; and have obtained not only justification through his blood, but sanctification through his Spirit; and have become new creatures in Christ Jesus. Free from sin they are not, for there is none that liveth and sinneth not; but sin has no longer the dominion over them; they live not in sin as their element; they regard it as the plague of the heart which they desire to be thoroughly healed; they are dying unto sin, and it is their desire and endeavour to live by the faith of the Son of God who loved them, and gave himself for them.

And what profit is there in this? "The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous.' In scripture, to know, often signifies to approve. "The Lord knoweth them that are his.' 'I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy; for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversity." You only have I known of all the families of the earth,' said God of old to his favoured people. 'I will not know a wicked person,', i. e. I will not approve of him. Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you,' (never approved of you, never owned you as my followers), 'depart from me, ye workers of iniquity.' But the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.' He approveth of them, and loveth them, and spareth them as a man spareth his son that serveth him.' In all their ways they acknowledge him, and he directeth their steps, and bringeth their ways to a happy issue. Even now he causeth goodness and mercy to follow them; and he leadeth them in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. And eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor heart conceived the blessedness he Richer shall be their portion of glory and holiness has laid up in store for them in a better world. Richer shall be their portion of glory and holiness than if they had been the pure and spotless descendants of the unfallen occupants of Eden; free of all original taint, and unstained by any actual transgression. In this case their portion of glory and happiness would have been great, but it would have been proportioned to the righteousness of a sinless creature. But the glory to be bestowed on the ransomed was purchased by the precious blood of the Son of God, and will be proportioned to the transcendent merits of the Lord our righteousness, in whom ‘all the fullness of the Godhead But who are the righteous? They who have dwelleth bodily.' Therefore in scripture it is debeen convinced that by nature all are unrighte-clared to be according to the riches of his glory,' ous;—that 'the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men,—and who have been led, in spiritual alarm, to cry out, How shall we escape from the

EIGHTH DAY.-MORNING.

'For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish, Psal.

i. 6.

DIVERSIFIED as the character and conduct of the children of men may appear to mortal eyes, in the sight of God the whole race is comprehended in the two classes here mentioned, the righteous, and the ungodly. At the great day, the tares shall be separated from the wheat, and the sheep from the goats. The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.'

and 'to show the exceeding riches of his glory in his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.' When the blight of Eden is far more than remedied—when the malignant venom of the serpent, though he

meant it not, has afforded occasion for the display of mercy, the loveliest attribute of Deity, and has redounded to the higher glory and happiness of the children of men, must we not exclaim, "O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!'

that which is to be endless? Who can measure the depth of woe which is unfathomable? Who knoweth the power of his anger? Who can tell the amount of misery already excruciating, which is ever increasing, and which must continue to increase while eternity rolls on?

Be wise now, therefore, ye that fear not God. Be instructed, ye sinful children of men. "Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his anger is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.'

EIGHTH DAY.-EVENING.

And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming,' 1 John ii. 28.

But 'the way of the ungodly shall perish.' Who are the ungodly? As there are but two classes, and the righteous, or the justified by Christ, are the friends of God; the ungodly must be his enemies. And yet how many are there of this class who would think it foul scorn to be ranked among the wicked. True, they say, we are not saints; and there is nothing they would be more ashamed of than being thought very religious; but as there is nothing that the world highly blames in their conduct, they regard themselves as in a state of safety. Of what consequence would it be that such persons were led to consider that the scriptures declare, that so long as How full of affection is this exhortation! How they are in a state of nature, they are ungodly; suitable, when a pious pastor is addressing his that so long as they are unrenewed, they are flock; or a kind father addressing his beloved enemies to God in their minds by wicked works! family, Little children, abide in him!' To abide Take the most favourable case of the unrenewed in Christ, we must be in him; and to be in him, man; let him be amiable, and upright in his deal- we must have faith, we must be born again. ings, and correct in his moral conduct; yet how That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that much is there lacking! He has not the fear of God which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'Except a before his eyes, he has not the love of God in his man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of heart, he seeks not to live to God's glory-the God.' It is a real and radical change: before it very name ungodly marks him as living without takes place, the soul is dead. You hath he quickGod, and without Christ in the world, without ened who were dead in trespasses and sins.' It is faith, and consequently without any well-founded passing from death to life,-to spiritual life; becomhope. How dreadful the condition of the ungodly! ing a new creature in Christ Jesus: being transHas not God declared that, 'the way of the ungodly lated from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom shall perish?' Shall perish! What is that? What of God's dear Son. How important the change! is it for a soul to perish? The inspired apostle We celebrate with joy the birth of an earthly could not tell. He says, 'Where shall the sin-prince; but here is one born an heir of God, and a ner and the ungodly appear?' 'What shall the joint heir with Christ; an heir of an inheritance end be of them who obey not the gospel of God?' which is incorruptible,—of a kingdom that cannot Ask him who is now drinking the cup of trem- be moved. Here a new branch of the true vine bling in hell what it is to perish, and he will shoots forth. Here a new temple of the Spirit is answer I cannot tell, for a lower deep is threaten- raised. Here, out of what was baser than dust, a ing to devour me; the day of judgment is coming, precious gem is formed, to be one of the jewels of when body and soul are to be again united, that Christ's crown, and to shed its bright and everas they were partners in sin, they may be partners increasing lustre through all the ages of eternity. in shame and in sorrow. Yea, were we to out- Who but the Spirit of God could accomplish this strip time, and to enter the precincts of eternity, change? The Spirit applieth to us the redempand to look through the bars of those adamantine tion purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, gates, never never to be opened, and to see one and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual who, after his final doom, had made his bed in calling.' When thus united to Christ, we are hell, and lain down in everlasting burnings; and living stones of the holiest temple; we are in to ask him what it is to perish; with a howl of Christ as members of his mystical body. despair that would make our hair stand on end, and cause our very blood to curdle, he would say to us, I cannot tell, for who can tell the end of

This is a union that cannot be broken. Scripture assures us that they who really are in Christ continue to abide in him. 'Being confident of

this very thing, that he who hath begun a good | a name to live and are dead; but true believers work in you will perform it till the day of Jesus extract not poison from so sweet a flower. They Christ.' I give unto them eternal life, and they know that much watchfulness is necessary, and shall never perish; neither shall any pluck them that true grace manifests itself in this watchfulness. out of my hand. My Father who gave them me, They know that though they cannot finally and is greater than all, and none is able to pluck them entirely fall away, they may fall into grievous out of my Father's hand.' The anointing which sins, which may prove injurious to the good cause,— ye have received of him, abideth in you,'-and which may open the mouths of scorners, and prove even as it has taught you, you shall abide in Him. stumblingblocks to those who are asking the way If we can prove then that we are now in a state of to Zion;-which may darken their own prospects, grace, we at the same time prove that we shall and bring down temporal judgments, that they may hereafter be in a state of glory; for grace and be rendered humble and contrite, and may not be glory differ not in nature but in degree. Grace condemned with the world. Believers cannot is the sweet bud; glory is the magnificent blossom expect the joy and peace arising from this docfully expanded to bloom in unfading beauty, and trine, unless they have proof that they are perin unceasing fragrance in the paradise above. severing,—giving all diligence to make their calling Grace is the precious seed; glory is the golden har- and election sure;-living near to God;—cleaving vest: grace is the dawn; glory is the splendour of to the Saviour, and growing in grace. In the wilthe perfect day: grace is the foretaste; glory is the derness through which they pass, they have to delightful banquet: grace is the armour, and the contend with the lion and the bear, the wolf and might, and the valour in the day of battle; glory the fox. The old serpent also is ever near to their is the shout of victory, the song of triumph, the path, at one time alluring them as an angel of dividing of the spoil, the crown of the warrior, light, at another time as a fierce archer, assailing the rest, and peace, and blessedness that remain for them with a flight of fiery darts. Is there not the people of God. Grace is the hidden manna, need then of the utmost vigilance and stedfastwhereof if a man eat, he shall never die. ness, when their salvation, though sure, must be more wonderful than the deliverance of Daniel from the den of lions, or of the three children from the fiery furnace, or of the people of Israel from the wrath of Pharaoh, and from the divided waters of the Red sea?

Believers persevere in a state of grace, not of any natural necessity, but by the appointment of God. Adam fell in paradise; and if believers were left to themselves, they would fall away from God. If when there was no sin in the heart the tempter prevailed, how much more would this be the case when there are traitors within the citadel, ready, if not watched and restrained, to open the gates to the foe. But it is the will and appointment of God that believers shall endure to the end, and be saved. Fear not, little flock: it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.' 'Father, I will,' saith the unfailing Intercessor, 'that they whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.' They are also sealed by the Spirit unto the day of redemption;' so that believers are safer than if they were the sinless descendants of our fallen first parents. Our first parents were pure, but their salvation was in their own keeping. Their believing descendants have remains of corruption, but their salvation is entrusted to the Shepherd of Israel: he has given grace, and he will give glory; for they are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation.' They are safe in the promises of the covenant;-and safer if possible in vital union with Christ, who cannot die, and who has declared, that because he lives they shall live also.

This doctrine may be abused by those who have

How great, however, will be the joy of that deliverance! When shame and confusion of face shall be the portion of hypocrites, and of the selfrighteous, and of the openly ungodly; when every refuge of lies shall be swept away; what holy joy and confidence shall be the portion of those, who in an evil world continued to abide in Christ, and now stand before him at last in the pure robe of his own righteousness. Much they had read, and heard, and thought of Christ; but his glory is a thousand fold greater than all that they ever read or heard, or imagined; and their blessedness in beholding him in peace, is far, far above what they had ever conceived. Their joy is now full. They have entered the haven, never again to encounter the storm. The days of their mourning are ended; the clouds return not after the rain. Their sun has risen never to go down, neither shall their moon withdraw itself, for the Lord shall be their everlasting light, and their God their glory. They have returned and come to Zion, with songs and everlasting joy on their heads; they have received joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing have for ever fled away.' Amen.