Ephraim is a cake not turned, Hosea chapter 7 verse 8. A cake not turned is uncooked on one side and so Ephraim was in many respects untouched by divine grace. Though there was some partial obedience there was very much rebellion left.

My soul, I charge thee, see whether this be thy case. Art thou thorough in the things of God? Has grace gone through the very center of thy being, so as to be felt in its divine operations in all thy powers, thy actions, thy words, and thy thoughts? To be sanctified spirit, soul, and body should be thine aim and prayer. And although sanctification may not be perfect in thee anywhere in degree, yet it must be universal in its action. There must not be the appearance of holiness in one place and reigning sin in another, else thou too wilt be a cake not turned.

A cake, not turned, is soon burnt on the side nearest the fire. And although no man can have too much religion, there are some who seem burnt black with bigoted zeal for that part of truth which they have received, or are charred to a cinder with a vain, glorious, pharisaic ostentation of those religious performances which suit their humour. The assumed appearance of superior sanctity frequently accompanies a total absence of all vital godliness. The saint in public is a devil in private. He deals in flour by day and in soot by night. The cake which is burned on one side is dough on the other.

If it be so with me, O Lord, turn me Turn my unsanctified nature to the fire of Thy love, and let me feel the sacred glow, and let my burnt side cool a little, while I learn my own weakness and want of heat, when I am removed from Thy heavenly flame. Let me not be found a double-minded man, but one entirely under the powerful influence of reigning grace. For well I know, if I am left like a cake unturned, and am not on both sides the subject of thy grace, I must be consumed forever amid everlasting burnings.

Waiting for the adoption. Romans chapter 8 verse 23. Even in this world saints are God's children but men cannot discover them to be so except by certain moral characteristics. The adoption is not manifested. The children are not yet openly declared. Among the Romans, a man might adopt a child and keep it private for a long time. But there was a second adoption in public. When the child was brought before the constituted authorities, its former garments were taken off. And the father, who took it to be his child, gave it raiment suitable to its new condition of life.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be. We're not yet arrayed in the apparel which befits the royal family of heaven. We are wearing in this flesh and blood just what we wore as the sons of Adam. But we know that when he shall appear who is the firstborn among many brethren we shall be like him. We shall see him as he is.

But cannot you imagine that a child taken from the lowest ranks of society and adopted by a Roman senator would say to himself, I long for the day when I shall be publicly adopted. Then I shall leave off these plebeian garments and be robed as becomes my senatorial rank. Happy in what he has received for that very reason he groans to get the fullness of what is promised him So it is with us today We are waiting till we shall put on our proper garments and shall be manifested as the children of God we are young nobles and have not yet worn our coronets we are young brides and the marriage day is not yet come and by the love our spouse bears us we are led to long and sigh for the bridal morning Our very happiness makes us groan after more. Our joy, like a swollen spring, longs to well up like an Iceland geyser leaping to the skies, and it heaves and groans within our spirit for want of space and room by which to manifest itself to men. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said, Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods. Daniel chapter 3 verse 16 and 18 The narrative of manly courage and marvelous deliverance of the three holy children, or rather champions, is well calculated to excite in the minds of believers firmness and steadfastness in upholding the truth in the teeth of tyranny and in the very jaws of death. Let young Christians especially learn from their example, both in matters of faith in religion and matters of uprightness in business, never to sacrifice their consciences. Lose all, rather than lose your integrity, and when all else is gone, still hold fast a clear conscience as the rarest jewel which can adorn the bosom of a mortal. Be not guided by the will-o'-the-wisp of policy, but by the pole-star of divine authority. Follow the right at all hazards. When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honor to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle. See whether He will be your debtor. see if he doth not even in this life prove his word that godliness with contentment is great gain and that they who seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness shall have all these things added unto them. Should it happen that in the providence of God you are a loser by conscience you shall find if the Lord pays you not back in the silver of earthly prosperity he will discharge his promise in the gold of spiritual joy. Remember that a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of that which he possesseth. To wear a guileless spirit to have a heart void of offense to have the favor and smile of God is greater riches than the minds of Ophir could yield or the traffic of Tyre could win Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, Than a stalled ox and inward contention therewith. An ounce of heart's ease is worth a ton of gold. having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 4. Vanish forever all thoughts of indulging the flesh if you would live in the power of your risen Lord. It were ill that a man who is alive in Christ should dwell in the corruption of sin. Why seek ye the living among the dead? said the angel to Magdalene. Should the living dwell in the sepulchre? Should divine life be immured in the charnel house of fleshly lust? How can we partake of the cup of the Lord and yet drink the cup of Belial? Surely, believer, from open lusts and sins you are delivered. Have you escaped from the more secret and delusive lime twigs of the satanic fowler? Have you come forth from the lust of pride? Have you escaped from slothfulness? Have you clean escaped from carnal security? Are you seeking day by day to live above worldliness, the pride of life, and the ensnaring vice of avarice? Remember, it is for this that you have been enriched with the treasures of God. If you be indeed the chosen of God and beloved by him, do not suffer all the lavish treasure of grace to be wasted upon you. Follow after holiness. It is the Christian's crown and glory. An unholy church? It is useless to the world and of no esteem among men. It is an abomination. Hell's laughter, heaven's abhorrence, the worst evils which have ever come upon the world have been brought upon her by an unholy church. O Christian, the vows of God are upon you. You are God's priest. Act as such. You are God's king. Reign over your lusts. You are God's chosen. Do not associate with Belial. Heaven is your portion. Live like a heavenly spirit. So shall you prove that you have true faith in Jesus. For there cannot be faith in the heart unless there be holiness in the life. Lord I desire to live as one who bears a blood-bought name as one who fears but grieving thee and knows no other shame only he shall not go very far away. Exodus chapter 8 verse 28. This is a crafty word from the lip of the arch-tyrant Pharaoh. If the poor bondaged Israelites must needs go out of Egypt then he bargains with them that it shall not be very far away not too far for them to escape the terror of his arms and the observation of his spies. After the same fashion, the world loves not the non-conformity of non-conformity, or the dissidence of dissent. It would have us be more charitable, and not carry matters with too severe a hand. Death to the world and burial with Christ are experiences which carnal minds treat with ridicule, and hence the ordinance which sets them forth is almost universally neglected and even condemned. worldly wisdom recommends the path of compromise and talks of moderation. According to this carnal policy, purity is admitted to be very desirable, but we're warned against being too precise. Truth is of course to be followed, but error is not to be severely denounced. Yes, says the world. Be spiritually minded by all means, but do not deny yourself a little gay society, an occasional ball, and a Christmas visit to a theater. What's the good of crying down a thing when it is so fashionable and everybody does it? Multitudes of professors yield to this cunning advice, to their own eternal ruin. If we would follow the Lord wholly we must go right away into the wilderness of separation and leave the Egypt of the carnal world behind us. We must leave its maxims, its pleasures and its religion too and go far away to the place where the Lord calls his sanctified ones. When the town is on fire, our house cannot be too far from the flames. When the plague is abroad, a man cannot be too far from its haunts. The further from a viper, the better. And the further from worldly conformity, the better. To all true believers, let the trumpet call be sounded. Come ye out from among them and be ye separate. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 20 Some persons have the foolish notion that the only way in which they can live for God is by becoming ministers, missionaries or bible women. Alas, how many would be shut out from any opportunity of magnifying the Most High if this were the case? Beloved, it is not office, it is earnestness, it is not position, it is grace which will enable us to glorify God. God is most surely glorified in that cobbler's stall, where the godly worker, as he plies the oil, sings of his Saviour's love. I glorified far more than in many a pre-Bendel stall, where official righteousness performs its scanty duties. The name of Jesus is glorified by the poor unlearned carter as he drives his horse and blesses his God or speaks to his fellow laborer by the roadside as much as by the popular divine who throughout the country like Boanerges is thundering out the gospel. God is glorified by our serving Him in our proper vocations. Take care, dear reader, that you do not forsake the path of duty by leaving your occupation, and take care you do not dishonor your profession while in it. Think little of yourselves, but do not think too little of your callings. Every lawful trade may be sanctified by the gospel to noblest ends. Turn to the Bible, and you will find the most menial forms of labor connected either with the most daring deeds of faith or with persons whose lives have been illustrious for holiness. Therefore, be not discontented with your calling. Whatever God has made your position or your work, abide in that. unless you are quite sure that he calls you to something else. Let your first care be to glorify God to the utmost of your power where you are. Fill your present sphere to his praise and if he needs you in another he will show it to you. This evening lay aside vexatious ambition and embrace peaceful content. Looking unto Jesus Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2 It is ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus. But Satan's work is just the opposite of this. For he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, your sins are too great to pardon. You have no faith. You do not repent enough. You will never be able to continue to the end. You have not the joy of his children. You have such a wavering hold of Jesus. All these are thoughts about self. and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self. He tells us that we are nothing, but that Christ is all in all. Remember therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee, it is Christ. It is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee, it is Christ. It is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument. It is Christ's blood and merits. Therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ. Look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope. Look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings. It is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God it must be by looking unto Jesus. Keep thine eye simply on him. Let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession be fresh upon thy mind. When thou wakest in the morning, look to him. When thou lies down at night, look to him. Oh, let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus. Follow hard after him, and he will never fail thee. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus's blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus's name. Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 1 Thessalonians 4.14 Let us not imagine that the soul sleeps in insensibility. Today shalt thou be with me in paradise is the whisper of Christ to every dying saint. They sleep in Jesus but their souls are before the throne of God praising him day and night in his temple singing hallelujahs to him who washed them from their sins in his blood. The body sleeps in its lonely bed of earth beneath the coverlet of grass, but what is this sleep? The idea connected with sleep is rest. And that is the thought which the Spirit of God would convey to us. Sleep makes each night a Sabbath for the day. Sleep shuts fast the door of the soul and bids all intruders tarry for a while. That the life within may enter its summer garden of ease. The toil-worn believer quietly sleeps as does the weary child when it slumbers on its mother's breast. Oh, happy they who die in the Lord! They rest from their labors and their works do follow them. Their quiet repose shall never be broken until God shall rouse them to give them their full reward. Guarded by angel watchers, curtained by eternal mysteries, they sleep on the inheritors of glory till the fullness of time shall bring the fullness of redemption. What an awakening shall be theirs! They were laid in their last resting place, weary and worn, but such they shall not rise. They went to their rest with the furrowed brow and the wasted features, but they wake up in beauty and glory. The shriveled seed, so destitute of form and comeliness, rises from the dust a beauteous flower. The winter of the grave gives way to the spring of redemption and the summer of glory. Blessed is death since it through the divine power disrobes us of this workday garment to clothe us with the wedding garment of incorruption. Blessed are those who sleep in Jesus. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them. John chapter 17 verse 22 Behold the superlative liberality of the Lord Jesus, for he hath given us his all. Although a tithe of his possessions would have made a universe of angels rich beyond all thought, yet was he not content until he had given us all that he had. It would have been surprising grace if he had allowed us to eat the crumbs of his bounty beneath the table of his mercy. But he will do nothing by halves. He makes us sit with him and share the feast. Had he given us some small pension from his royal coffers we would have had cause to love him eternally. But no, he will have his bride. as rich as himself and he will not have a glory or a grace in which he shall not share. He has not been content with less than making us joint heirs with himself so that we might have equal possessions. He has emptied all his estate into the coffers of the church and hath all things common with his redeemed. There is not one room in his house the key of which he will withhold from his people. He gives them full liberty to take all that he hath to be their own. He loves them to make free with his treasure and appropriate as much as they can possibly carry. The boundless fullness of his all-sufficiency is as free to the believer as the air he breathes. Christ hath put the flagon of his love and grace to the believer's lip and bidden him drink on forever for could he drain it he is welcome to do so and as he cannot exhaust it he is bidden to drink abundantly for it is all his own what truer proof of fellowship can heaven or earth afford When I stand before the throne, Dressed in beauty not my own, When I see thee as thou art, Love thee with unsinning heart, Then, Lord, shall I fully know, Not till then, how much I owe. Our Lord God behold thou has made the heaven and earth by thy great power and stretched out arm and there is nothing too hard for thee. Jeremiah chapter 32 verse 17 At the very time when the Chaldeans surrounded Jerusalem, and when the sword, famine, and pestilence had desolated the land, Jeremiah was commanded by God to purchase a field and have the deed of transfer legally sealed and witnessed. This was a strange purchase for a rational man to make. Prudence could not justify it, for it was buying with scarcely a probability that the person purchasing could ever enjoy the possession. But it was enough for Jeremiah that his God had bidden him. For well he knew that God will be justified of all his children. He reasoned thus, Ah, Lord God, thou canst make this plot of ground of use to me. Thou canst rid this land of these oppressors. Thou can make me yet sit under my vine and my fig tree in the heritage which I have bought. For thou didst make the heavens and the earth and there is nothing too hard for thee.

This gave a majesty to the early saints that they dared to do at God's command things which carnal reason would condemn. Whether it be a Noah who was to build a ship on dry land an Abraham who is to offer up his only son or a Moses who is to despise the treasures of Egypt or a Joshua who is to besiege Jericho seven days using no weapons but the blasts of ram's horns. They all acted upon God's command contrary to the dictates of carnal reason and the Lord gives them a rich reward as the result of their obedient faith.

Would to God we had in the religion of these modern times a more potent infusion of this heroic faith in God. If we would venture more upon the naked promise of God we should enter a world of wonders to which as yet we are strangers let Jeremiah's place of confidence be ours nothing is too hard for the God that created the heavens and the earth Our heart shall rejoice in him.

Psalm 33 verse 21. Blessed is the fact that Christians can rejoice even in the deepest distress. Although trouble may surround them they still sing and like many birds they sing best in their cages. The waves may roll over them but their souls soon rise to the surface and see the light of God's countenance. They have a buoyancy about them which keeps their head always above the water and helps them to sing amid the tempest, God is with me still.

To whom shall the glory be given? Oh, to Jesus. It is all by Jesus. Trouble does not necessarily bring consolation with it to the believer but the presence of the Son of God in the fiery furnace with him fills his heart with joy. He is sick and suffering, but Jesus visits him and makes his bed for him. He is dying and the cold chilly waters of Jordan are gathering about him up to the neck. But Jesus puts his arms around him and cries, fear not beloved, to die is to be blessed.

the waters of death have their fountainhead in heaven they are not bitter they are sweet as nectar for they flow from the throne of God as the departing saint wades through the stream and the billows gather around him and heart and flesh fail him the same voice sounds in his ears fear not I am with thee be not dismayed I am thy God As he nears the border of the infinite unknown and is almost affrighted to enter the realm of shades Jesus says, fear not it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Thus, strengthened and consoled, the believer is not afraid to die. Nay, he is even willing to depart, for since he has seen Jesus as the morning star, he longs to gaze upon him as the sun in his strength. Truly the presence of Jesus is all the heaven we desire. He is at once the glory of our brightest days, the comfort of our nights.

Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock, be not silent to me. lest if thou be silent to me I become like them that go down into the pit Psalm 28 verse 1

A cry is the natural expression of sorrow and a suitable utterance when all other modes of appeal fail us but the cry must be alone directed to the Lord for to cry to man is to waste our entreaties upon the air When we consider the readiness of the Lord to hear and his ability to aid we shall see good reason for directing all our appeals at once to the God of our salvation. It will be in vain to call to the rocks in the day of judgment but our rock attends to our cries.

Be not silent to me Mere formalists may be content without answers to their prayers but genuine suppliants cannot. They're not satisfied with the results of prayer itself in calming the mind and subduing the will. They must go further and obtain actual replies from heaven or they cannot rest. And those replies they long to receive at once. They dread even a little of God's silence. God's voice is often so terrible that it shakes the wilderness, but his silence is equally full of awe to an eager suppliant. When God seems to close his ear, we must not therefore close our mouths, but rather cry with more earnestness, for when our note grows shrill with eagerness and grief, he will not long deny us a hearing.

What a dreadful case should we be in if the Lord should become forever silent to our prayers. Lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Deprived of the God who answers prayer, we should be in a more pitiable plight than the dead in the grave, and should soon sink to the same level as the lost in hell. We must have answers to prayer. Ours is an urgent case of dire necessity. Surely the Lord will speak peace to our agitated minds. For he can never find it in his heart to permit his own elect to perish. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. Second Timothy chapter 2 verse 12.

We must not imagine that we are suffering for Christ and with Christ if we're not in Christ. Beloved friend, are you trusting to Jesus only? If not, whatever you may have to mourn over on earth, you're not suffering with Christ and have no hope of reigning with him in heaven.

Neither are we to conclude that all a Christian's sufferings are sufferings with Christ, for it is essential that he be called by God to suffer. If we are rash and imprudent and run into positions for which neither providence nor grace has fitted us, We ought to question whether we are not rather sinning than communing with Jesus. If we let passion take the place of judgment and self-will reign instead of scriptural authority we shall fight the Lord's battles with the devil's weapons and if we cut our own fingers we must not be surprised.

Again in troubles which come upon us as the result of sin we must not dream that we're suffering with Christ. When Miriam spoke evil of Moses and the leprosy polluted her, she was not suffering for God. Moreover, suffering which God accepts must have God's glory as its end. If I suffer that I may earn a name or win applause I shall get no other reward than that of the Pharisee. It is requisite also that love to Jesus and love to his elect be ever the mainspring of all our patience. We must manifest the spirit of Christ in meekness, gentleness, and forgiveness.

Let us search and see if we truly suffer with Jesus. And if we do thus suffer, what is our light affliction compared with reigning with him? Oh, it is so blessed to be in the furnace with Christ and such an honor to stand in the pillory with him that if there were no future reward we might count ourselves happy in present honor. But when the recompense is so eternal so infinitely more than we had any right to expect Shall we not take up the cross with alacrity and go on our way rejoicing?

He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. Psalm 24 verse 4

Outward practical holiness is a very precious mark of grace. It is to be feared that many professors have perverted the doctrine of justification by faith in such a way as to treat good works with contempt. If so, they will receive everlasting contempt at the last great day. If our hands are not clean, let us wash them in Jesus's precious blood and so let us lift up pure hands unto God.

But clean hands will not suffice unless they are connected with a pure heart. True religion is heart work. We may wash the outside of the cup and the platter as long as we please, but if the inward parts be filthy, we are filthy altogether in the sight of God. For our hearts are more truly ourselves than our hands are. The very life of our being lies in the inner nature, and hence the imperative need of purity within. The pure in heart shall see God. All others are but blind bats.

The man who is born for heaven hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity. All men have their joys by which their souls are lifted up. The worldling lifts up his soul in carnal delights which are mere empty vanities. But the saint loves more substantial things. Like Jehoshaphat, he is lifted up in the ways of the Lord. He who is content with husks will be reckoned with the swine. Does the world satisfy thee? Then thou hast thy reward and portion in this life. Make much of it, for thou shalt know no other joy.

Nor sworn deceitfully. The saints are men of honor still. The Christian man's word is his only oath, but that is as good as twenty oaths of other men. False speaking will shut any man out of heaven for a liar shall not enter into God's house whatever may be his professions or doings.

Reader, does the text before us condemn thee? Or does thou hope to ascend into the hill of the Lord?

called to be saints. Romans chapter 1 verse 7.

We are very apt to regard the apostolic saints as if they were saints in a more special manner than the other children of God. All are saints whom God has called by his grace and sanctified by his Spirit. But we are apt to look upon the apostles as extraordinary beings scarcely subject to the same weaknesses and temptations as ourselves. Yet in so doing, we are forgetful of this truth. That the nearer a man lives to God, the more intensely has he to mourn over his own evil heart. And the more his master honors him in his service, the more also doth the evil of the flesh vex and tease him day by day.

The fact is, if we'd seen the Apostle Paul, we should have thought him remarkably like the rest of the chosen family. And if we talked with him, we should have said, we find that his experience and ours are much the same. He is more faithful, more holy, and more deeply taught than we are. But he has the self-same trials to endure. Nay, in some respects, he's more sorely tried than ourselves.

Do not then look upon the ancient saints as being exempt either from infirmities or sins. And do not regard them with that mystic reverence which will almost make us idolaters. Their holiness is attainable, even by us. We are called to be saints by that same voice which constrained them to their high vocation. It is a Christian's duty to force his way into the inner circle of saintship. And if these saints were superior to us in their attainments, as they certainly were, Let us follow them. Let us emulate their ardor and holiness. We have the same light that they had. The same grace is accessible to us. And why should we rest satisfied until we have equaled them in heavenly character?

They lived with Jesus, they lived for Jesus and therefore they grew like Jesus. Let us live by the same spirit as they did looking unto Jesus and our saintship will soon be apparent.

trust ye in the Lord forever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength Isaiah chapter 26 verse 4

Seeing that we have such a God to trust to, let us rest upon him with all our weight. Let us resolutely drive out all unbelief and endeavor to get rid of doubts and fears which so much mar our comfort, since there is no excuse for fear where God is the foundation of our trust. A loving parent would be sorely grieved if his child could not trust him. And how ungenerous, how unkind is our conduct when we put so little confidence in our heavenly father who has never failed us and who never will. It were well if doubting were banished from the household of God.

But it is to be feared that old unbelief is as nimble nowadays as when the psalmist asked, Is his mercy clean gone forever? Will he be favorable no more? David had not made any very lengthy trial of the mighty sword of the giant, Goliath. And yet he said, there is none like it. He had tried it once in the hour of his youthful victory. And it had proved itself to be of the right metal. And therefore he praised it ever afterwards. Even so should we speak well of our God. There is none like unto him in the heaven above or the earth beneath. To whom then will he liken me, or shall I be equal, saith the Holy One? There is no rock like unto the rock of Jacob. Our enemies themselves being judges.

So far from suffering doubts to live in our hearts we will take the whole detestable crew as Elijah did the prophets of Baal and slay them over the brook and for a stream to kill them at we will select the sacred torrent which wells forth from our Savior's wounded side. We have been in many trials, but we've never yet been cast where we could not find in our God all that we needed. Let us then be encouraged to trust in the Lord forever. Assured that his everlasting strength will be as it has been our succor and stay.

Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil. Proverbs chapter 1 verse 33

Divine love is rendered conspicuous when it shines in the midst of judgments. Fair is that lone star which smiles through the rifts of the thunderclouds. Bright is the oasis which blooms in the wilderness of sand. So fair and so bright is love in the midst of wrath. When the Israelites provoked the Most High by their continued idolatry he punished them by withholding both dew and rain so that their land was visited by a sore famine. But while he did this he took care that his own chosen ones should be secure. If all other brooks are dry, yet shall there be one reserved for Elijah. And when that fails, God shall still preserve for him a place of sustenance. Nay, not only so, the Lord had not simply one Elijah, but he had a remnant according to the election of grace who were hidden by fifties in a cave. And though the whole land was subject to famine, Yet these fifties in the cave were fed and fed from Ahab's table too by his faithful God-fearing steward Obadiah.

Let us from this draw the inference that come what may God's people are safe. Let convulsions shake the solid earth. Let the skies themselves be rent in twain. Yet amid the wreck of worlds the believer shall be as secure as in the calmest hour of rest. If God cannot save his people under heaven, he will save them in heaven. If the world becomes too hot to hold them, then heaven shall be the place of their reception and their safety.

Be ye then confident when ye hear of wars and rumors of wars. Let no agitation distress you, but be quiet from fear of evil. Whatsoever cometh upon the earth, you beneath the broad wings of Jehovah shall be secure. Stay yourself upon his promise, rest in his faithfulness, and bid defiance to the blackest future, for there is nothing in it direful for you.

Your sole concern should be to show forth to the world the blessedness of hearkening to the voice of wisdom.

How many are mine iniquities and sins? Job chapter 13 verse 23. Have you ever really weighed and considered how great the sin of God's people is? Think how heinous is your own transgression and you will find that not only does a sin here and there tower up like an alp but that your iniquities are heaped upon each other as in the old fable of the giants who piled pelion upon osir mountain upon mountain

What an aggregate of sin there is in the life of one of the most sanctified of God's children. Attempt to multiply this, the sin of one only, by the multitude of the redeemed a number which no man can number and you have some conception of the great mass of the guilt of the people for whom Jesus shed his blood.

But we arrive at a more adequate idea of the magnitude of sin by the greatness of the remedy provided. It is the blood of Jesus Christ. God's only and well-beloved son. God's son. Angels cast their crowns before him. All the choral symphonies of heaven surround his glorious throne. God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

And yet he takes upon himself the form of a servant, and is scourged and pierced, bruised and torn, and at last slain. since nothing but the blood of the incarnate Son of God could make atonement for our offenses. No human mind can adequately estimate the infinite value of the divine sacrifice.

For great as is the sin of God's people the atonement which takes it away is immeasurably greater. Therefore the believer, even when sin rolls like a black flood, and the remembrance of the past is bitter, can yet stand before the blazing throne of the great and holy God and cry, Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that hath risen again.

While the recollection of his sin fills him with shame and sorrow, he at the same time makes it a foil to show the brightness of mercy. Dilt is the dark night in which the fair star of divine love shines with serene splendor.

When I passed by thee, I said unto thee, Live. Ezekiel 16.6 Saved one, consider gratefully this mandate of mercy. Note that this fiat of God is majestic. In our text, we perceive a sinner with nothing in him but sin expecting nothing but wrath. But the eternal Lord passes by in his glory. He looks, he pauses, and he pronounces the solitary but royal word, live. There speaks a God who but he could venture thus to deal with life and dispense it with a single syllable.

Again, this fiat is manifold. When he saith, Live, it includes many things. Here is judicial life. The sinner is ready to be condemned, but the Mighty One saith, Live, and he rises pardoned and absolved. It is spiritual life. We knew not Jesus. Our eyes could not see Christ. Our ears could not hear his voice. Jehovah said, live, and we were quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.

Moreover, it includes glory life, which is the perfection of spiritual life. I said unto thee live and that word rolls on through all the years of time till death comes. And in the midst of the shadows of death the Lord's voice is still heard live. In the morning of the resurrection it is that self-same voice which is echoed by the Archangel. Live! And as Holy Spirits rise to heaven to be blessed forever in the glory of their God it is in the power of that same word. Live!

Note again that it is an irresistible mandate. Saul of Tarsus is on the road to Damascus to arrest the saints of the living God. A voice is heard from heaven and a light is seen above the brightness of the sun. And Saul is crying out, Lord, what would you have me to do?

This mandate is a mandate of free grace. When sinners are saved, it is only and solely because God will do it to magnify his free, unpurchased, unsought grace. Christians, see your position. Debtors to grace. Show your gratitude by earnest Christ-like lives. And as God has bidden you live, see to it that you live in earnest. Forget not all his benefits. Psalm 103 verse 2.

It is a delightful and profitable occupation to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints and to observe his goodness in delivering them, his mercy in pardoning them, and his faithfulness in keeping his covenant with them. But would it not be more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God as full of his goodness and of his truth as much a proof of his faithfulness and veracity as the lives of any of the saints who have gone before?

We do our Lord an injustice when we suppose that he wrought all his mighty acts and showed himself strong for those in the early time but does not perform wonders or lay bare his arm for the saints who are now upon the earth. Let us review our own lives. Surely in these we may discover some happy incidents refreshing to ourselves and glorifying to our God.

Have you had no deliverances? Have you passed through no rivers supported by the divine presence? Have you walked through no fires unharmed? Have you had no manifestations? Have you had no choice favors? The God who gave Solomon the desire of his heart, hath he never listened to you and answered your requests? That God of lavish bounty, of whom David sang, Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, Hath he never satiated you with fatness? Have you never been made to lie down in green pastures? Have you never been led by the still waters?

Surely the goodness of God has been the same to us as to the saints of old. Let us then weave his mercies into a song. Let us take the pure gold of thankfulness and the jewels of praise and make them into another crown for the head of Jesus. Let our souls give forth music as sweet and as exhilarating as came from David's harp while we praise the Lord whose mercy endureth forever. Fellow citizens with the saints. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19.

What is meant by our being citizens in heaven? It means that we are under heaven's government. Christ, the King of Heaven, reigns in our hearts. Our daily prayer is, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The proclamations issued from the throne of glory are freely received by us. The decrees of the great King we cheerfully obey.

Then, as citizens of the New Jerusalem, we share heaven's honors. The glory which belongs to beatified saints belongs to us, for we are already sons of God, already princes of the blood imperial. Already we wear the spotless robe of Jesus's righteousness. Already we have angels for our servitors, saints for our companions, Christ for our brother, God for our father, and a crown of immortality for our reward. We share the honors of citizenship, for we have come to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.

As citizens, we have common rights to all the property of heaven. Ours are its gates of pearl and walls of chrysolite. Ours the azure light of the city that needs no candle nor light of the sun. Ours the river of the water of life and the twelve manna of fruits which grow on the trees planted on the banks thereof. There is naught in heaven that belongeth not to us. Things present or things to come, all are ours.

Also, as citizens of heaven, we enjoy its delights. Do they there rejoice over sinners that repent? Prodigals that have returned? So do we. Do they chant the glories of triumphant grace? We do the same. Do they cast their crowns at Jesus' feet? Such honors as we have, we cast there too. Are they charmed with his smile? It is not less sweet to us who dwell below. Do they look forward, waiting for his second advent? We also look and long for his appearing.

If then, we are thus citizens of heaven. Let our walk and actions be consistent with our high dignity.

After that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5, verse 10.

You have seen the arch of heaven as it spans the plain. Glorious are its colors and rare its hues. It is beautiful, but alas, it passes away, and lo, it is not. The fair colors give way to the fleecy clouds, and the sky is no longer brilliant with the tints of heaven. It is not established. How can it be? A glorious show made up of transitory sunbeams and passing raindrops. How can it abide?

The graces of the Christian character must not resemble the rainbow in its transitory beauty, but on the contrary must be established, settled, abiding. Seek, O believer, that every good thing you have may be an abiding thing. May your character not be a writing upon the sand, but an inscription upon the rock. May your faith be no baseless fabric of a vision, but may it be builded of material able to endure that awful fire which shall consume the wood, hay, and stubble of the hypocrite. May you be rooted and grounded in love. May your convictions be deep, your love real, your desires earnest. May your whole life be so settled and established that all the blasts of hell and all the storms of earth shall never be able to remove you.

But notice how this blessing of being established in the faith is gained. The Apostle's words point us to suffering as the means employed after that he has suffered a while. It is of no use to hope that we shall be well rooted if no rough winds pass over us. Those old gnarlings on the root of the oak tree and those strange twistings of the branches all tell of the many storms that have swept over it. And they are also indicators of the depth into which the roots have forced their way. So the Christian is made strong and firmly rooted by all the trials and storms of life. Shrink not then from the tempestuous winds of trial, but take comfort believing that by their rough discipline God is fulfilling his benediction to you.