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language of ardent desire. "Turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die?" "Incline your ear and come unto me; hear and your soul shall live." And it is the language of parental earnestness. The divine arms, and the divine bosom are open, ready to embrace all men. "How shall I give thee up?" "Can a woman forget her sucking child? She may forget, yet will I not forget thee."

APRIL 7.

Salbation in Christ alone.

"Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."-Acts, iv. 12.

Ir is here implied that there is salvation for all men--this salvation is in Christ Jesus-and there is salvation in no other.

"It is under heaven and Our sins, our

salvation.

We stand in jeopardy thunderbolts of divine

There is salvation for all men. among men." All men need miseries, our dangers prove it. every hour. In a moment the indignation may overwhelm us. The salvation which all need includes deliverance from all evil, as sin, death, wrath, hell; and the enjoyment of all good, as peace, pardon, hope, heaven, and the everlasting blessedness of the upper sanctuary. This salvation is presented and offered to all in the gospel. It is not a phantom, but a reality. "To you is the word of this salvation sent." "Come, for all things are now ready." "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?"

This salvation is in Christ Jesus.-As it is not in any other, and as no other name is given whereby we must be saved, it must be in him. Out of Christ, every sinner is ready to perish; in Christ, every believer is complete.

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Salvation is in Christ, because he is the author of it. He is "the Captain of salvation," "the author of eternal salvation." When we were ready to perish, he undertook our cause: "Lo, I come;" "I am ready to be offered up." He is the procurer of salvation. Ere any sinner could be pardoned or saved, he must suffer and die; he must shed his blood to satisfy all the claims of justice. O my soul, to procure thy salvation, Jesus must die. What a price! what a salvation! Believe in Jesus and it is thine, for ever thine. He is the bestower of salvation. By his word and spirit he leads sinners to himself, and all that come are saved from sin. "Look unto me, and be ye saved." Reader, wilt thou resist his word and spirit? Oh, make this moment thy starting-point for heaven.

There is salvation in no other.-There is no other given or appointed Saviour under heaven among men. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son;" but he has never given any other to be the Saviour of the world. No pope, king, priest, prophet, no angel or man, can possibly save. Jesus is mighty to save; he is able to save to the uttermost; salvation is his sole prerogative, and there is no other Saviour. How daring and blasphemous to ascribe salvation to reason, to the Virgin, to saints, to angels, to baptism, or to human works!" Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." One Saviour, without the help of other saviours, is enough. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me."

APRIL 8.

Affliction improbed.

"This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me."Psalm cxix. 50.

My affliction-my comfort-and the influence of the

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word, demand my attention. Affliction is the unavoidable lot of man, but it is only insupportable when there is no comfort and no strong consolation. It is the Christian's thorn in the flesh to humble him, the Christian's refiner to purify him, and the Christian's schoolmaster to instruct and correct him.

What is my affliction ?-Perhaps I am weighed down with sickness, and trembling in the balance between life and death. Perhaps I have long been a prisoner in my bed or my apartment, and know that protracted disease or frailty is sure to end in death at last. Perhaps my mind is agonized by the misconduct of those who should aid and protect me. Perhaps some dear friend or beloved child has been taken from me. I am afflicted; how shall I be comforted? I am in deep water; how shall I get out? I am smitten; how shall I bear the stroke? I am hedged round with thorns; how shall I escape? Whatever my affliction may be, I shall go to God's word.

What is my comfort ?—The word of God comforts me when all other refuge fails. It tells me of the sufferings and death of Jesus. He wandered without a home, and had not where to lay his head, that I might have every comfort. His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground, and shall I not bear the chastening rod of my Father? He got gall and vinegar to drink when he was athirst, and shall I not receive the cup of sorrow from my Father's hand? He had no sympathizing friend when he was expiring under the agonies of crucifixion; and shall not his sympathy, and the sympathy of friends, bring comfort to me? Shall he weep that I might smile? Shall he die that I might live? and shall I not under every affliction repair to his death for comfort? It tells me of the promises of Christ. "As thy day is, so shall thy strength be." "In all thy afflictions I am afflicted." "I went through fire and through water,

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but thou broughtest me out into a wealthy place." It tells me of the good hope of heaven. In my Father's house are many mansions, and Jesus promises to take me there. Let me mount on the wings of hope to the better land, and all my doubts and shadows shall flee away. Thus if afflictions abound, consolations much more abound.

Influence of God's word.-It quickens me in all my duties to myself, to my family, to the church, and to the world. It quickens me in the exercise of my graces, my faith, my hope, my love. It quickens me in my preparations for that blessed world, where there is no more affliction, no more sorrow, no more pain, and no more death.

APRIL 9.

The Ransomed of the Lord.

"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."-Isa. xxxv. 10.

HERE are the strange travellers-their pleasant journeyand its happy termination.

The strange travellers.-"The ransomed of the Lord." They were once captives like the Jews in Babylon-the captives of Satan, bound by the iron fetters of sin, and held as the prisoners of justice. This is the sad condition of all; and what is sadder still, they cannot ransom themselves. They have no price which they can pay for their liberty, and they have no power to shake off the chains by which they are bound. But Jesus ransoms them; he pays down for them the price of his own blood, and they trust to it and plead it. He sends down his Holy Spirit in answer to prayer, and the prey is taken from the mighty, and the bound one set free. Once free, they are no longer

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their own; Jesus enters into a covenant with them, and they become his.

Their pleasant journey.-"They return, and come to Zion with songs." Think of its commencement. They return by repentance, and come by faith in Christ. They discover their sins in the dreadful sufferings and cruel death of the Saviour, and they look to him whom they have pierced, and mourn. They receive the crucified Jesus as their Saviour, and thus penitent, and thus believing, the bitterness of sin and the bitterness of death are past. Think of its progress: "with songs." Songs of confidence in their Saviour, songs of praise for daily mercies, and songs of triumph over their enemies, cheer them on, and keep their spirits from failing. O how many Christians mourn in silence, when they should sing aloud the songs of Zion and of the Lamb! Think of their destination: it is to heaven, the Zion above. The Christian life is a journey, a constant effort to make progress. There are difficulties and dangers, but these are overcome by faith in Christ; and when the journey is long and fatiguing, the strong arm of Christ supports them.

Its happy termination.-"Everlasting joy," &c. This is high honour, and supposes a crown. Despised on earth, Christians are honoured in heaven. It is a crown of joy. They are happy, and no one can make them less so. It is an unfading crown. Their joy no man taketh from them, for it is everlasting. This is great felicity, "joy and gladness." They shall have enlarged capacities, the unclouded vision of Christ, happy associates, and elevating enjoyments. This secures the absence of all sorrow. "Sorrow and sighing shall flee away." How grand is the happiness of heaven! It is sunshine without a cloud, gold without alloy, and smiles without tears.