loosely, and therefore derived less comfort from and peace in believing,' and writing to the Phithem than they were fitted to impart. He was lippians, he says, 'the peace of God, which passeth the chief among the apostles. He was a chosen all understanding, shall keep your hearts and vessel to bear Christ's name before the Gentiles, minds through Christ Jesus.' Christ gives peace and kings, and the children of Israel.' Naturally to his followers, a pure and abiding peace: but distinguished by his endowments, he was most this peace is not perfect, nor is it beyond the abundantly enriched with grace, and was hon- reach of disturbance. It is peace enjoyed in ciroured to be the instrument of more spiritual cumstances of peril. It is peace, of which the good to mankind than any other, even of the course is broken by intervals of agitation and inspired servants of our Lord. His writings con- strife. The peace of the believer can never be tain the most complete and argumentative ex-perfect, till sin is finally destroyed. As long as position of the leading doctrines of the gospel; it remains, it is felt to be offensive, loathsome, and they furnish indubitable evidence, that his and degrading; and, as the believer advances in practical excellence kept pace with his specula- the divine life, this feeling becomes more painful. tive knowledge. He was a burning and shining The more spiritual he is, the more does he hate light, not only as a minister, but as a Christian. sin, shrink from its pollution, and dread its He stood forth in a singularly pure age of the power. It is a body of death. It is all corrupt, church, as not less eminent for personal worth,—all ruinous,-all destructive. than for public usefulness. No where are such lofty expressions of vigorous faith, sublime devotion, steadfast assurance, and lively hope, to be found as in his writings. His trials were most painful and varied, as well as almost incessant. If in any one we had expected to find the perfect peace of believing, most certainly it would have been in this wonderfully gifted and holy man. Yet he cries out, O wretched man that I am!' The reason of the exclamation is to be found in the existence of two opposite principles in the heart of the believer, the spiritual, and the corrupt. These at times are brought into active and keen collision; and strife necessarily follows, together with disquietude, its inseparable concomitant. The renovation, undergone by the believer, implies the overthrow, but not the entire destruction of sin. It still lurks in the heart. It is ever ready to break forth, sometimes suddenly and with remarkable effect; and when the believer, trusting to a security which has been long continued, is off his guard, it surprises him into error, or doubt, or inconsistency; his heart is turned into a scene of disorder; his peace is disturbed, and many fears start up. He had perhaps supposed, that after passing through a variety of struggles, and persevering in a course of regular duty, he had succeeded, in so effectually scotching the serpent, that it would not any more greatly trouble him. But he finds he has been mistaken; that his enemy, though silent and inert for a season, has considerable power; and that there remains a burden, which he must bear with patience, an obstacle to progress, which he inust strive to surmount. The language of the apostle has been supposed to allude to what was sometimes inflicted as a punishment in ancient times, the chaining of a dead body to a living person. This was unspeakably offensive; death and life brought into contact, corruption and health. Sin, adhering to the believer, grieves and distresses him. He would shake it off,—he would be free from it; but it is part of his discipline that he must bear it. He is in the condition of one whose tastes and dispositions are above his circumstances; who has much in himself, as well as in his connection with others, to try his temper; and who looks forward with earnest longing to a time, when he will drop the burden which now oppresses him, enter on a state in harmony with his spiritual affections and desires, and be for ever freed from what is offensive and painful in the discipline of faith. This longing becomes more earnest, as his sanctification advances; and it is accompanied, as the context shows it was in the case of the apostle, with lively gratitude for the deliverance made sure by the Saviour's work, and with delightful hopes, which embrace the full blessedness of heaven. The imprisonment of the soul, in its present state, is degrading; the burden of indwelling sin enfeebles and hinders; but he thanks God through Jesus Christ his Lord, because the day of his redemption draweth nigh, and, that day arrived, his fetters will be struck off, and his burden left behind. He will rise to the region of spiritual freedom and eternal joy; and will enter on a career of improvement, which no strife will interrupt, and no trials embitter. 6 TWENTY-FOURTH DAY.-MORNING. • If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse,' Job ix. 20. As man was originally made under the covenant of the law, and his constitution was adapted to the obedience it required; so, though he can no longer fulfil the terms of that covenant, we still find him manifesting a strong tendency to trust in works, as the ground, of his acceptance and peace. This tendency appears in all, and is only overcome by divine grace. It is what we term the self-righteous spirit, which every man brings with him into the world, and which forms one of the most formidable hinderances to the full and cordial reception of divine truth. Everywhere, and under all the different forms of government, and modes of education, which prevail in society, this spirit shows itself. Where, we may ask, is the man, who does not seek to justify himself by the good actions which he does, and who does not suppose himself capable of doing all that is necessary to please God and to secure his own happiness? Hence, when the humbling doctrines of the gospel are preached, they are felt to be offensive; they speak of a remedy, when there is no disease; they offer salvation, when there is no bondage. The sinner has need of nothing; and yet the gospel says, that Christ became poor to make him rich. The gospel commands the sinner to go and wash in the Jordan; and the sinner turns contemptuously away, exclaiming, 'Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?' The high estimate of himself, which the sinner entertains, continues, till he is humbled to the dust by the Spirit, under convictions of sin. The Spirit, as it were, takes the mirror of the law, and puts it into the sinner's hand; and when he looks into it, he is amazed and overwhelmed by the view of his own deformity and corruptions. He sees himself to be vile,-vile to an extent, which before he never dreamt of, or imagined; his character, before plausible, is now a mass of pollution; his life, before consistent and becoming, is now a tissue of acts of rebellion and ingratitude; there is not only nothing to admire in himself, but nothing to be satisfied with. What was, at one time, considered as the exaggerated language of scripture, is now felt to be appropriate and just; and he wonders at the infatuation which could ever have led him to suppose, that he was any thing but a rebel against God, and an heir of wrath. His own mouth condemns him. If, after this renewing and illuminating work of the Spirit, of sinful actions, or to judge of himself favourably, he were to attempt to extenuate the criminality he would be compelled to say, that he was in error. His conscience would reprove him. That conscience, at an earlier period, would probably have been silent, or careless; but it is one important effect of the Spirit's teaching and renewing power, that conscience knows better than before what the law requires, and is much more sensitive with regard to the violation of that law. It is true, the Spirit imparts no knowledge, but what is contained in the written word; but that knowledge, instead of being dead speculation, is carried home in living power. It is made vivid, definite, authoritative. The effect of this work of the Spirit on the mind, resembles the introduction of a man into a new world, where he sees new objects, new relations, new sources of pleasure. In one sense, the objects and relations were always there; but he did not see them; and now, as by the withdrawing of a curtain, they burst in freshness and glory upon his view. While conscience has thus an immense field opened up to its observation, the Spirit further renders it acute and active. It is no longer sluggish and dull, as it once was,-slow to decide, and reluctant to condemn; but it is prompt in its decision, vigilant in reproof, bold in censure, and compels the believer, when self-righteous thoughts arise, to condemn himself. It may seem extravagant to say, that the sinner should ever suppose himself perfect. Where is the man, who says he is perfect? This, in one sense, is true; but you will find multitudes, who suppose themselves perfect in the sense, that the law has no claims against them. They are, no doubt, ignorant reasoners; but they flatter themselves into the belief, that they are well enough, need not seek to be better, and may safely continue as they are. It is only, as we have said, when the Spirit convinces of sin, when he makes the law a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that this delusive view of our spiritual state is broken up, and can no longer be entertained. Then, there is sin in all we do, and think, and say. Then, there is not only no ground of confidence in any thing we have done, or do; but matter of condemnation crowding upon us from every scene, and every occasion. When a man is brought into this state of mind, most distressing and painful, but most important, as preliminary to the future comforting operations of grace, nothing but a sufficient refuge will comfort or soothe. It is, at this stage, that Christ bursts upon us, in all his fulness and power. He is the refuge from the storm, the covert from the wind. He has ample merit for the justification of all who believe; and, looking to him, the fearful problem of the sinner's guilt and danger is completely solved. The law has no sentence, the judgment-seat no thunders. God in Christ is love; his anger quenched; his righteousness vindicated, and his rich, overflowing grace made completely and for ever sure. What a change to the sinner! From a state of death, he is raised to one of life,-from despair, to hope,—from danger, to security, from misery, to peace and joy. TWENTY-FOURTH DAY.-EVENING. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts,' Isa. vi. 5. I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.' One of the principal sources of the mistakes into which men fall in forming an estimate of their characters, is, that their ideas of excellence are taken from the standards and examples which prevail in the world. The apostle refers to this, when he says, 'we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves; but they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.' When we look no further than the opinions and conduct of our fellow-creatures, we find it easy to accommodate the idea of excellence to our own tastes and desires; for in these we see it only in broken and indistinct portions, presenting no approach either to the entireness, or the splendour, which belongs to it, as reflected in the glass of the law. As a man, sojourning with outlaws, finds it easy to soothe his conscience, and maintain a character THE vision briefly described in the preceding for virtue, even although his daily life be stained context, is unspeakably sublime. It seems to with robbery, cruelty, extortion, and murder,— have been beheld in the temple, and to have been crimes, the least suspicion of which, would drive vouchsafed to the prophet, with a view to re-him from the least fastidious haunts of civilized assure him, in a time of abounding guilt and im-society; so fallen corrupt men, judging of thempiety, of the authority of his commission, as well as to convey a deep impression of the majesty and holiness of the divine nature. The Creator is represented as appearing with the pomp and splendour of an eastern monarch. He is seated on a throne, and the throne is high and lifted up; not merely a seat of dignity, but so elevated, as at once to excite the admiration of all who approached it. He is further described as wearing a costly and magnificent robe, of which the train filled the temple. Near him, and around him, were numerous bright attendants; each with six wings, four of which were used to express humility by covering their faces and feet, and two were kept for flight, intimating their readiness for active service. From these attendants, an anthem of praise alternately rose, brief but expressive, setting forth the infinite holiness and majesty of the Creator, and exhibiting the earth as specially filled with the effulgent manifestation of his glory. The effect of this anthem was fitted to inspire intense awe; for the very foundations of the temple were shaken; while a cloud of smoke filled the building, as if to veil the insufferable brightness. The prophet was overwhelmed by the vision, a conviction of his own utter unworthiness rushed upon him; and unable to check the expression of his feelings, he cried out, Woe is me! for I am undone: because selves by each other's conduct and rules, are satisfied with a measure of virtue, which, in the light of the divine law, is no better than polluted worthless rags,-a revolting deformity,—a heap of ruins. Just views of the divine nature show, how disfigured and defaced is the image of virtue, which men, in their ignorance and corruption, set up; and supply conceptions of holiness and rectitude, before which all human excellence is utterly dim. There is nothing so humbling, as a full and clear view of the perfections of God. The law, no doubt, is an expression of the divine will; and, as such, is perfectly righteous, and holy, and good. But in God himself, we behold the law outshone; personality giving intensity to its pure spirit; and infinitude branching its brightness out into a field of glory, from which we are in haste to turn away, as too much to be borne. From the vastness and splendour of divine excellence, the renewed mind shrinks, as if overpowered by the sense of its own unworthiness and shame. Hence we find Job, when favoured with a vision of the Almighty, exclaiming, 'I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.' The prophet was an accepted worshipper, and had, no doubt, on many former occasions, received encouraging and delightful tokens of the divine regard. It might be that so elevating had been his joy, that he had been led to exclaim with Moses, Lord, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. But on the present occasion, the holiness of God was chiefly brought before him; and the sense of his own sinfulness overpowered every other feeling. He felt himself to be so vile, that he was at a loss for words to express his shame. It is a profitable exercise to the believer to place himself occasionally, by a strong effort of faith, in the full brightness of the divine presence. There is no exercise so fitted effectually to abase, and to correct those false estimates of moral excellence, into which we are incessantly in danger of being betrayed, in our intercourse with our fellow-men. The abasement thus produced casts down to the earth; but it is always followed by peace, comfort, and joy. Grace is richly given. Abasement brings us near to Christ; and puts us into a right frame and disposition for appreciating the infinite suitableness of his office and work. It is at the moment our own vileness takes away all confidence and hope, that our need of Christ is most deeply felt; and, then too, we are best qualified to understand the wisdom and the completeness of the provision made for our guilty race. The divine presence may be said to be brought near in the person and work of our Lord. We properly enough speak of these, as most marvellously displaying the love of God to men; but the truth is, they manifest the whole of the divine perfections, the justice, truth, and holiness of God, not less than his compassion and love. The goodness of God in redemption is a goodness to be feared. A just view of Christ is a full contemplation of God, not only as our Lord is, in his own nature divine, but as in his own work the glory of the eternal Godhead most brightly shines,-holiness opposing sin, justice protecting law, truth fulfilling claims, and love shedding a softening and soothing radiance upon the whole. At the foot of the cross, the believer, beholding in it the divine holiness and justice, is often ready to cry out, Woe is me! for I am undone.' If God hate sin with such a perfect hatred, if he be so jealous of the honour of his law, and so righteously strict in its vindication, then how vile am I?' But the cross also supplies the antidote to the abasement and shame thus produced. It is the throne of love. A voice of authority says to us, when we are lying in the dust,‘Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world.' TWENTY-FIFTH DAY.-MORNING. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away, 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 10. OUR highest attainments in knowledge, and our best gifts, are comparatively imperfect here. The Christian on earth is, as it were, at school; life is his infancy and childhood; and as the thoughts and conceptions of a child are indistinct and limited compared with those of his maturer years; so the thoughts and conceptions of the Christian here are utterly poor and dim, compared with those which will fill and expand his soul in glory. His present imperfection is essential to his proper discipline; and whatever progress he may make, he can never get entirely rid of it, till he becomes an inhabitant of the eternal world. How few men possess the knowledge of divine truth which enriched and elevated the mind of Paul! Yet even he only knew in part, saw but a handbreadth of that immense field, which will be disclosed to the purified soul hereafter, and saw even that hand-breadth under shadow and cloud. In teaching others, he was felt to be a master in Israel. He imparted to the church, both by his living voice, and by his writings, the most comprehensive and sublime views of the truth as it is in Jesus; so that to his contemporaries, and indeed to all future generations, he was as one who had gazed upon heavenly realities, face to face, and had not, like themselves, a few distant and faint glimpses. But how little, after all, could he teach! He could only prophesy in part. He himself needed to be taught; and when he had communicated all he knew, he but placed the hearer, or the reader, on the outer stone of the threshold, which admitted into the magnificent temple of truth. Heaven is the region of perfection. There redemption will be complete. All the infirmities and disadvantages, by which it is now hindered, will be left behind, while, whatever is defective in the powers and acquirements of the believer, will be, at once, and for ever, supplied. Such is the view uniformly given of it in the sacred writings. Perfect knowledge will then be come. The truths which are now dimly seen, will shine out with a brightness that will astonish and overpower; others which are dark and unintelligible, will burst on the mind with a simplicity and clearness, not now to be conceived; while even those which are now considered as most elementary and plain, will be surrounded with a flood of illustration, which will add unspeakably to their interest and power. Who can tell what | crying, neither shall there be any more pain: accessions will then be made to the believer's for the former things are passed away.'' And knowledge? What new and glorious fields of thought and inquiry will be opened up to his mind! Perfect holiness will then be come. To the very last, the believer is borne down by a body of death. Sin adheres to all he thinks, and says, and does. After a long course of duty and discipline, after years of high privilege, and the utmost diligence and zeal in the use of means, he feels that he comes far short of the standard of obedience, and offends in all things. He has only to look calmly and honestly within, to see many stains; he has only to weigh his actions in the sanctuary balances, to discover many defects. But sin and suffering cease at death. The former will no longer pollute, as the latter will no longer annoy. Into heaven, nothing that defileth can enter. There will undoubtedly be a great change at death in the state of the soul. Every stain will be effaced, every defect supplied, every infirmity removed; and, shining in the splendour of a perfect conformity to the divine image, the soul will enter on a course of service, which will never more be interrupted by trial, or marred by defect. Perfect happiness will then be come. The happiness of the Christian, on earth, is mixed with much evil. It is never so complete as to fill the whole heart, leaving no void. No doubt, he has a peace and a joy, to which the world is a stranger, but along with these, he has many fears, regrets, and sorrows; not to speak of those trials and distresses, which he shares in common with all men. There are times, as we have seen, when he cries out, ' O wretched man that I am!' His joy resembles the light of a shadowy day, now brightening into splendour, then overcast, and shaded into twilight by a cloud; while it is not to be denied, that there are cases in which the life of faith advances under a sky of perpetual gloom, with few intervals of sunshine to relieve it. But in heaven, there will be nothing to hurt or to destroy. Sin, the prolific source of all evil, cannot, as we have said, enter there. The sufferings which arise from the disorders and conflicts of the heart, will all cease. The burden of the body of death will be for ever taken away. Outward troubles, disappointments, and privations will disappear with discipline. The joy of the Christian will be full. How chaste, yet expressive, are the passages of scripture, which allude to the future state of the redeemed! God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light and they shall reign for ever and ever.' When the apostle says, that which is in part will be done away,' the meaning is, that in heaven such will be the measure of knowledge and gifts, that the knowledge and gifts of the present state will be comparatively lost and forgotten. The light of the stars is lost in the glory of the rising sun, the waters of a river are lost in the immensity of the ocean; and so the attainments of the believer here will be lost in the inconceivable measure of intelligence and blessedness, to which he will be exalted in heaven. What a consummation, for poor guilty creatures, such as we are, to be raised to a condition of such transcendent felicity and honour! I go,' said our Lord to his disciples, to prepare a place for you.' Had he not prepared it, it could never have been ours. No merit of ours could ever have earned a title to it, as no skill or effort on our part could ever have qualified us to enjoy it. It is the free gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.' TWENTY-FIFTH DAY.-EVENING. grace, wherein To the praise of the glory of his he hath made us accepted in the Beloved,' Eph. i. 6. In the context, the apostle, after the customary salutation, expresses, in forcible terms, his gratitude to God for the inestimable spiritual blessings, which had been conferred both upon himself, and the members of the church at Ephesus, to whom this epistle was addressed. Among these blessings, he specifies election and adoption, two blessings, or rather, classes of blessing, which very strikingly show the love of God towards his people in Christ. In the former, God appears as choosing believers before the foundation of the world was laid, fixing his love upon them, arranging the various circumstances connected with their conversion, growth in grace, and final admission into glory, and thus surrounding their salvation with the infallible certainty of a decree. In the latter, we behold him, with infinite condescension, raising them from their fallen and wretched state, not merely distinguish |