animating hope, for 'it entereth within the vail,'of animating joy, for 'we rejoice in hope of the glory of God,' 'rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.' gratitude of the one is the gratitude of the kindnesses and mercies! Trebly precious! Prenatural man for blessings to the animal nature; cious in themselves-precious from their source— the gratitude of the other is the gratitude of the precious from their abundance and their dignity! spiritual man for blessings to the spiritual nature. -Precious in themselves. They are not only It is his spiritual nature-his soul, that he ad- the kindnesses and mercies of deliverance from dresses, when the Psalmist says, 'Who forgiveth the fears and discomforts of conscious guilt, but all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases,' &c. of settled, soothing peace, of animating hope, of To the believer the soul is the chief object of beautifying joy-of settled, soothing peace, for concern. For what is life? It is a vapour-his soul shall dwell at ease;' and it is the peace unsubstantial, evanescent. What is all time of God which passeth all understanding,'-of itself when compared unto eternity? It is but a fleeting moment. And what makes eternity to come more awful than eternity gone by? The soul-the soul lying under the curse of its iniquities. Give him deliverance from these, and every other deliverance will be very vanity in his estimation. But deliverance he has obtained --deliverance from iniquities already committed; and, as iniquities are daily committed-for every little sin has in his sight the magnitude of an iniquity-they are by faith and penitence, daily remitted. Hence the song of gratitude, Bless the Lord, O my soul: who forgiveth all thine iniquities;' who not only has forgiven, so as to accept in the Beloved, but continues to forgive, so as to bless in the Beloved. Not, however, that his iniquities, when committed, leave the soul scatheless as soon as the prayer of penitence has been uttered, and the promise of forgiveness has by faith been appropriated. They inflict painful and sometimes festering wounds upon the soul, which sicken and predispose it to farther iniquity. But there is the healing Spirit, who mollifies the wounds, and gradually restores to perfect soundness. Hence the next clause in his song: 'Who healeth all thy diseases.' 'I said, Lord, be merciful unto me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.' 'O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.' If from want of watchfulness, and from want of prayer for forgiveness and for the healing and sanctifying Spirit, the soul, as sometimes happens, has been brought to the very verge of destruction; if the wounds inflicted by sin have been allowed to fester, overspread, and eat in to the very vitals;-in such an extremity God does not desert him, but gives him reason to add this to his other ascriptions: Who redeemeth my life from destruction.' Whosoever is born of God overcometh the world; and, "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation.' 6 -Precious in their source. They are lovingkindnesses and tender-mercies—the mercies of a loving, the kindnesses of a tender heart;—not the kindnesses of the churl, which are cold as snow in winter; but the kindnesses of a father, which are as the dew upon the tender grass;-not the fitful mercies of a tyrant, like gleams of sunshine in a tempestuous day, but the tender mercies of the mother's heart, yearning with affection over her sickly babe. As the eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; so the Lord.' 6 -Precious from their plenty and their dignity: Who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies.'-The crown is the emblem of plenty: Thou crownest the year with thy goodness. Accordingly, the kindnesses and mercies of the gospel are not given with the sparing hand of the needy or the niggard. They are given as the givings of the God of harvest-outpouringly and seasonably.-The crown is the emblem of victory: He is not crowned except he strive lawfully.' The victory then, and its attendant honours, are the believer's; and the believer's from the Lord.- 'We are more than conquerors;' and, Victory is of the Lord; He giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.' Well then may the believer exclaim, in a sense infinitely higher, and with sentiments infinitely purer and more elevated than the most grateful worldling: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-forget not all his benefits. To remember all is imposssible: 'Eternity's too short to utter all thy praise.' But, O my soul forget not all his benefits. Justified freely! Justified by Immanuel's righteousness! Sanctified wholly, in body, soul, and spirit! Preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ! Glorified! Crowned! Precious privileges and glorious hopes. Bless But besides the negative blessings of deliverance from guilt, from spiritual disease, and deadly apostacy, there are positive blessings-Kindnesses and mercies. And how precious these the Lord, O my soul. 'By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin: and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. All have sinned. In what sense? In the same sense in which Adam sinned? that is, actually? No, not in every instance: 'Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression. In what sense then have all sinned? All have sinned in Adam as their federal head: 'By one man's disobedience many were made sinners;' and, By the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation.' 'In Adam all die.'-As to the extent of the penalty, it is worthy of special notice that it is called 'condemnation,'-not natural death only, but condemnation. It is not only said, 'Through the offence of one many be dead; but, The judgment was by one to condemnation.' Such is the result of our headship in Adam. But Adam is the figure of him that was to come; that is, as Adam was our federal head bringing us into condemnation, he was a figure or type of Christ our federal head, bringing us into a state of righteousness and salvation-Christ, 'the second man,' 'the last Adam.' As by one man's disobedience many were made sinners; so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.' But is the headship in both co-extensive? The text implies that it is. But in what sense? It cannot be supposed that upon every one condemned in Adam, the justification of life will so come, as that he shall be justified and saved, whatever may be his personal faith and character, whether believing or unbelieving, saint or impenitent sinner. Such a supposition would contradict the plainest dictates both of reason and scripture. The free gift,' says Calvin on this text, 'is made common to all, inasmuch as it is offered to all; not because it is actually bestowed upon all. For, although Christ suffered for the sins of the whole world, and is offered to all without distinction, yet all do not lay hold upon him.' But a more complete and consistent sense is found by keeping the federal headship in view. Through Adam condemnation has come upon all of whom he is the head. Through Christ, the free gift unto justification of life has come upon all of whom he is the head, namely, his body the Let not, however, anxiety to establish particular interpretations of controverted words or clauses in this or any text, tempt us to overlook the undoubted and apparent truth which it contains. Judgment is here declared to have come upon all men to condemnation. Sad truth! yet certain. It is judgment to condemnation by the righteous God: And shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?' And if it originally came by the offence of one; it has been a thousand times incurred and confirmed anew 'by many personal offences.' But the sadness needs not be the sadness of discontent or despair: for, 'As by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men to justification of life.' Here we have justification sufficient to meet and answer all the wants implied in condemnation,justification free and universal in offer; free, universal, and sure in effectual application to every one that believeth. If we are condemned in Adam, and on account of personal guilt, along with Adam; 'There is now no condemnation,' there is justification of life-a life-giving justification, to them that are in Christ Jesus.' 'Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.' Wonder, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!' God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.' THIRTIETH DAY.-EVENING. If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins,' John viii. 24. THE command to believe, is sometimes so understood as greatly to obscure the specific duty implied in it. Considered in itself, to believe is an act of the mind by which we embrace and rely upon as true, all that the Bible says respecting Christ. Considered in connection with its fruits, it comprehends, along with the act of the mind technically called faith, the whole of what is usually denominated obedience. In themselves, however, faith and obedience are perfectly distinct. Yet they are sometimes so confounded and lost the one in the other, that there is no correct conception of either. The result of this is, either that the command, believe, is considered and speculation, if not of positive denial. Let us a listen to his words in their specific, strictest sense, ‘If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall ahr die in your sins.' ung in and ecific as to the as being the turning our Lord put den, Believe ye and when he said Be not afraid, only had no reference to wca our Lord said to Peter, ..., wherefore dost thou doubt?' Have faith in God; for you, that whosoever shall say , Be thou removed, and be thou ake sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, cheve those things which he saith shall As he shall have whatsoever he saith ;'— was a sate of mind and heart alone which was Now, the faith which justifies and seca is as specific in its nature, and as much an act of the mind and heart alone, as was the faith by which miracles were wrought or received. When the apostle says, 'They have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God,' Rom. 3, he evidently speaks of a mental, and not of a moral act; for these words stand opposed to Agnorance of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness. And says ho elsewhere, To him that worketh not, but believeth, his faith is counted for righteousness.' Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth,'-not worketh, nor worketh and believeth taken conjunctively, but believeth taken distinctively.' Hence the prominence and importance given to faith in the word of God. It is called 'the work,' and 'God's commandment' by way of eminence. This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ.' Let us then beware of confounding what the apostle calls the 'obedience of faith,' that is, of believing-of yielding assent unto the truth, with the obedience of works. Let us not suppose that we are obedient to the truth as it is in Jesus, merely because we are doing our little utmost to be obedient to the moral law; which little utmost we may try to do, while Christ is not in all our thoughts, or there, only as a subject of doubt If any man be disposed to say that he has no power over his belief; the inveterate drunkard or libertine urges the same excuse; he says he has no power over his practice. No man can bid away his evil propensities by a mere effort of the will; and it is equally admitted, that no man can, by a mere effort of the will, bid away his unbelief. Means must be employed. Means will be effectual in both cases. And the first means is, to cease cherishing, either by thought or deed, the evil which is desired to be eradicated. Ceasing to do evil is a preparatory, and the most important step in learning to do well, in matters of speculation as well as in matters of practice. If faith in the gospel be desired—and who would not desire to have a firm faith in its sanctifying truths and glorious promises?—avoid every thing that is hostile to it, and welcome every thing that is friendly. As another preparatory means, let us examine the heart whether it be right toward God, and willing to receive truth from whatever quarter, and however humbling. The heart and not the understanding is the stronghold of unbelief. Therefore, let pride and prejudice, and above all, the love and practice of sin, be renounced; let humility, piety, love of truth, and a sacred regard to the dictates of conscience, become the cherished inmates of the breast; after, or along with this preparatory process, let the understanding be directed to the investigation of the truth of scripture, and to the study of scripture truth, under a solemn impression of the momentous importance of the inquiry, and with earnest prayer to the God of truth, that he would aid, direct, and bless our inquiries. Let these means be employed, and then let us say whether it be true that we have no power over our belief. A modification, or an entire change of our former creed, will be inevitable. We have not, it is true, such a command over our belief, as to be able to determine, beforehand, what will be its precise complexion;—and yet what a command have even sceptics over their belief, and with what facility and certainty can they mould it to their prejudices and passions, when they allow themselves to be led by these! We may not be able to determine, beforehand, what will be the precise result as to our belief; but surely we would be no more entitled, on this account, to say that we have no power over it, than the merchant would be entitled to say that he has no power over his lot in life, because he cannot | sinners. If we are sinners, and if Christ be no predict what will be the precise issue of his Saviour, we shall die in our sins, for there is speculations in business. We may not be able none other name under heaven laying claim to to determine, beforehand, the truths which our such a character. If Christ be a divinely creed will contain; but one truth we may pre- appointed Saviour, he says, "If ye believe not dict that it will contain, namely, that we are that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.' MAY. FIRST DAY.-MORNING. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified,' Gal. ii. 16. It is objected against the doctrine of justification by faith, that it is inconsistent with rational views of God's moral government. Is not God, it is asked, a God of justice, and is it not essential to his character as such, to reward virtue and punish vice? What therefore, it is concluded, but personal obedience or disobedience can be the ground of our acceptance or rejection by God? The truth of the premises is undeniable; and we proceed upon this admission to show the inadmissibility of the conclusion. God, it is said, is a God of justice, and must reward virtue and punish vice. This we admit; but so far from concluding as the objector does, we argue to the very contrary. That the argument may be the better understood let the following distinction be attended to, namely, the distinction between obedience considered in itself, and obedience as found in the person of a responsible agent. If it be asked, will not God reward obedience? We answer, most certainly. But if it be asked, will not every one in whom obedience is found be finally approven of and rewarded by God? We cannot give an immediate or unqualified answer to such a question. We must first know whether it be a complete, or only a partial and imperfect obedience. Bring before a just king a man who has been for many years a loyal and blameless subject, but during all these years has been an undetected murderer, and will it not become a question, whether his blamelessness, since the murder was committed, entitles him to the life and privileges which his life has already forfeited? not to speak of the reward to which the uniformly obedient are entitled; to that he can have no imaginable claim. Is obedience entitled to a reward? is one question. Is man's obedience entitled to a reward? is another and very different question. That God will reward the obedience of a race of innocents is certain. That he will reward the obedience of a race of sinners; that is, that he will overlook their sins, and deal with them only for their obedience, our very reason tells us is by no means certain. Nay, if reason gives us any certainty at all in the matter, it is that the sinner must be reckoned with as well for his sins as for his partial obedience, for it is as essential a part of justice to punish as to reward. The conclusion to which we are hereby driven is, that if we have already forfeited our life by sin, we cannot claim its restoration at the hand of justice, and that the inevitable result of our trial on the ground of obedience and disobedience must be our condemnation. But it will be said, that while the justice of God rewards our good deeds, the mercy of God will forgive our bad ones. In reply we observe, 1. That if it be as essential a part of justice to punish as to reward, then if mercy be extended, it comes not as a matter of right, but wholly as a matter of grace. 2. That if a man, by transgression, incur the penalty of a broken law, the utmost that his subsequent good conduct can claim at the hand of justice is a mitigation of the punishment, not its remission, far less a positive reward. But what we need, as sinners, is not a mitigation of the punishment proportioned to the number of our good deeds. That the justice of God will grant even to the finally condemned. What we need, as sinners, is the entire forgiveness of our sins, and complete restoration to the divine favour. And shall we go to justice for such a gift as this? And if we go to mercy, shall we insist on mercy bestowing as a matter of right what it can give only as a matter of favour. If we go to justice we must take what alone justice can give a complete reward for a complete Has the gospel only made provision for the forgiveness of the past, and left us to work out and merit anew the salvation of the soul? On such a supposition salvation would be impossible. For let God enter into judgment with us after our belief of such a gospel, and who could stand the scrutiny of his righteous judgment? We must inevitably be condemned and perish, just as before the proclamation of such a gospel. obedience, an unmitigated punishment for unmiti- | But in what does this salvation consist, and what gated disobedience, or a mitigated punishment, yet must we do in order to become partakers of it? still a punishment, for an imperfect obedience. If we go to mercy for remission either of an unmitigated or mitigated punishment, we must go renouncing all claim of right, and receive, as a free and unmerited favour, whatever mercy is willing to bestow. So that for a sinner to speak of personal merit as the ground of his acceptance with God, is the grossest folly, not to say impiety. To speak thus, argues a state of heart utterly unbecoming the transgressor-a state of heart But it may perhaps be thought, that while which is the essential element of impenitence. If such a gospel provides for the forgiveness of the then there must be the exercise of mercy in our sins that are past, it provides also for the relaxacceptance by God, is it any dishonour done to ing of God's severity of justice in judging for justice to consult and answer its claims in the the time to come, makes him less strict in entermethod by which the mercy is vouchsafed? Yet ing into judgment with us, nay, makes an imperthis is precisely what justification by faith does. It fect obedience meritorious If this be supposed, is a method of acceptance devised and prescribed it follows that the effect of the death of Christ by God, for the express purpose that he might has been to prove, that God must have been be a just God, and at the same time a Saviour. too strict before, and convicts him of injustice It does honour to justice, by inflicting its penalty in originally exacting from us more than an on an altogether willing and all-meritorious sub-imperfect obedience. If God has entered into stitute; and by requiring an humble and adoring acknowledgment by faith on our part, that such a vindication of the claims of justice was indispensable to our salvation. Far, therefore, from justification by faith being derogatory to the justice of God in the moral government of the world, it is the only way in which we can be saved in consistency with that attribute; and so far are we from being able to be justified by the works of the law, that we have already been condemned by them. We will never have views of the moral government of the universe consistent in themselves, honouring to God, and comforting to our souls, till we can say with the apostle, 'Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.' judgment with us on the principles of strict unbending justice, and on these principles, has declared that condemnation hath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned; and if he afterwards departs from such a strictness, lets down the demands of his law, and enters into judgment with us, and justifies us on less strict principles; then, one of two things must follow; either he was unjust to us in pronouncing condemnation in the first instance, or he was unjust to his own law in pronouncing justification in the second instance; that is, he must either be an unrighteous Governor exacting more than he can justly demand, or a fickle and inconsistent governor, beginning his government on one principle, and unable on account of its severity to carry it out, ending it with another and less stringent principle. One or other of these conclusions must be arrived at if we entertain the idea that the gospel provides for the relaxing of the strictness of God's justice in judging us for the time to come. The impiety of both conclusions should make us turn with horror from the premises. But how are these conclusions to be escaped? By being found in Christ, not having our own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Found in him,' we are able to meet the strictest demands of justice. In him we have suffered the penalty of the law, and obtain remission for the past. In him we have a perfect righteousness sufficient to meet all, even the highest demands for the future. And it |