FORGIVENESS OF SIN. 115 ment for sin, but no condemnation : it is irrevocable. He remembers sin no more. Once forgiven, they may be sought, but they will not be found. "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed.” The ground of this pardon.-"For mine own sake." For mine own character. God is love, God is merciful; and all his attributes are seen in beautiful harmony in the death of the cross. For my Son's sake. Without the shedding of his blood, there could have been no remission; but now, "through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." For his own glory. How greatly is God glorified when a David, a Peter, or a Paul is forgiven. Such monuments of pardoning mercy make the divine glory so illustrious, that it may well attract every eye, and inflame every heart. MARCH 11. Religion rewarded. "Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed."-Psalm xxxvii. 3. THE path of duty is the only path of safety and comfort. If we believe that we are in the way of duty, we ought to banish all anxiety about the future, whether it regards body or soul, time or eternity. Here we have a twofold duty and a twofold promise. The twofold duty.-"Trust in the Lord, and do good." The object of our trust is "the Lord." He is God in Christ, and whilst the soul cannot be satisfied with riches, honours, power, and fame, he can satisfy it, and fill it so as to leave no void. The nature of our "trust" is confidence and reliance upon God as our God in Christ and 116 RELIGION REWARDED. in covenant. We should trust in him now, wholly and constantly. Shall we trust in man, and shall we not trust in God? All are warranted to trust in him; and those who neglect or delay are in jeopardy every hour. But religion is practical as well as doctrinal. We must "do good." The principle of doing good is love. Neither slavish fear, nor ostentation, nor self-interest, but love to God, should impel us to do good. The parties whose good we should seek are not believers only, but all to whom we have access. As every man is our neighbour, we ought to seek the good of every man. The poor and the friendless have especially a strong claim on our benevolence. Unless we "do good" as we have opportunity, we can have no satisfactory evidence that we trust in the Lord, or that we possess genuine religion. "By their fruits ye shall know them." The twofold promise.- -"Thou shalt dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." A dwelling-place is here secured to us. God's judgments may desolate, foreign foes may plot our overthrow, false friends may betray us; but we shall dwell in the land. Our Saviour had no home on earth secured to him, but we have one; and when we cease to need one on earth, we shall have one in heaven. He who makes the bosom of Christ the home of his soul, shall have a home in time and a home through eternity. Abundant provision is also secured to us. He hears the ravens when they cry, and the lions when they roar, and he feedeth them; and shall he not much rather feed us? We shall have spiritual provision. The fulness of Christ, and all things with him, shall satisfy our souls; and if we were but half as anxious for the golden glories of the better land, as multitudes are for the glittering dust of earth, we would have fewer misgivings about a dwelling on earth and a home in the skies, and fewer cares about food for the body and food for the soul. CERTAINTY OF DEATH. 117 MARCH 12. Certainty of Death. "For I know that thou wilt bring me to death."-Job, xxx. 23. What is death ?—It is a separation of the soul from the body; a dissolution of that mysterious union formed. between them when we were born. The body was formed of dust, and death reduces it to dust again. It is a separation of both soul and body from all our dear friends on earth. When setting out to a foreign country, how affecting to part with friends; how difficult to tear heart from heart; but how much more affecting to bid them a final farewell! It is a separation from all earthly objects and possessions. It parts the man of business and of science from his pursuits, the rich man from his fine mansion, the miser from his gold, and all men from their fondly cherished earthly enjoyments. What is its cause?-It is the desert of sin. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Sin is the cause, death is the effect, and God hath connected these by an unalterable decree. "It is appointed unto men once to die." "The soul that sinneth, it shall die," was a just threatening; and the sentence which carries it into effect is a just sentence, for "the wages of sin is death." How do I know that I shall die?-I know it from the word of God. "We must needs die," and "are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again." I know it from my own experience. "We have the sentence of death in ourselves." "Our life contains a thousand springs, And dies if one be gone; Strange! that a harp of thousand strings 118 CERTAINTY OF DEATH. I know it from facts. Where are many of those that began with me the journey of life? So many, many are already dead, that if I were not to form new acquaintances, I should quickly feel desolate. Why should Christians die ?—They require to be kept humble and dependent-they require to keep all their graces in lively exercise-they require to take possession of their promised inheritance; and as flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, they must be unclothed, or rather clothed upon, that mortality may be swallowed up of life. Though Christians die as well as others, yet they have no need to fear death. Death is to them a vanquished foe; his sting is gone; and hence the dying Christian is less put about than the weeping friends that surround his bed. Why should the Christian fear death, when it terminates all his afflictions, and introduces him to heaven and all its blessedness? "When I touch the blessed shore, Back the closing waves shall roll; MARCH 13. The Grabe. "The grave is mine house."-Job, xvii. 13. THE grave is an appointed house-it is the house of all living-it is a house of corruption-it is a house of restand it is a house of hope. The grave is an appointed house.-"I know that thou wilt bring me to the house appointed." The divine decree regarding fallen man is, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return ;" and this decree cannot be set aside or eluded. Death cannot be bribed, nor the grave escaped. However ambitious man may be, six feet by two will hold him at last. When Severus the Roman emperor was dying, he ordered the urn to be brought which was to hold his ashes after his body should be burned; and being brought, he said, "Little urn, thou shalt contain one for whom the world was too little." It is the house of all living.-"The living know that they shall die." All must say, "The grave is mine house." From infancy onward, every one approaches the grave; and every step we take brings us a step nearer it. Except Enoch and Elijah, every one must say, "My life draweth nigh to the grave." "O grave, where is thy victory?" What a leveller! Rich and poor, good and bad, servants, masters, small and great are there. It is a house of corruption." I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; to the worm, thou art my mother and my sister." Death completely changes the countenance; the dead body is full of poison to the living, and we are glad to bury our dead out of our sight. But the dust of the righteous is dear to Christ, and safe in his keeping. "Dear is the spot where Christians sleep, And sweet the strains their spirits pour; Oh, why should we in anguish weep? They are not lost, but gone before." It is a house of rest.-"There the weary be at rest; there the prisoners rest together. The small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master." The rest of the righteous is called "sleep ;" and though the sleep may seem long to us, yet to the happy spirits in eternity, with whom one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, it will seem short; the night will soon be spent, and the happy day will soon dawn. Oh, the sweetness of repose, after the labours and anxieties of a long day! Oh, the refreshing rest of the body after the fatigue and anguish of dying! |