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THE FAITHFUL SAYING.

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JUNE 9.

The Faithful Saying.

**This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.-1 Tim. i. 15.

THE great truth here asserted-and the credit which it demands, are worthy of our attention.

The great truth asserted. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Think of the Author of salvation. He is called " "Christ," because he was anointed or set apart to be the true Messiah, a Prophet, a Priest, and a King. He is called "Jesus," because he saves his people from their sins. He is a Saviour for all, because "the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." The objects of salvation are sinners, even the chief. "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” He came to seek and to save them that are lost. He died for us as sinners. He died for the ungodly. He hath received gifts for the rebellious. Oh that all saw and felt that they are sinners, and as such ready to perish! The work of salvation is included in this: He came to save. He existed before he came : "I was set up from everlasting." He came not in the angelic but in human nature, so that the most daring reprobate may claim him as a brother and kinsman Redeemer. His obedience to the divine law, his miracles of mercy and kindness, his own statements, and his atoning death, all prove that he came to save. By his death on the cross, all the demands of justice have been met, so that he is as able as he is willing to save sinners. As the liberty of the subject is secured in Britain by Magna Charta, so this great truth, that Christ came to save sinners, is the Magna Charta of the lost and perishing, and secures access to Christ, and salvation to all without exception. Reader, what is thy name? It is sinner, and Christ came to save thee.

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The credit which it demands. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation." The saying is true, and ought to be believed. The object of faith here is the great truth that "Christ came to save sinners," a truth which I must believe, and a truth on which I may repose my hopes for eternity. Reader, wilt thou not take God at his word? Wilt thou receive the witness of men, and wilt thou not receive the witness of God, which is greater than that of men? It is not only true that "Christ came to save sinners," but it is a truth so valuable and important that every one ought to receive and appropriate it. Faith without appropriation is nothing but opinion or speculation; hence the truth is not only to be believed, but the Saviour revealed in it is to be received and claimed. Jesus says to the unbeliever: "Be not faithless but believing;" and the unbeliever, now no longer one, replies: "My Lord and my God." He who says he has faith, and yet has got nothing, is deceiving himself. Faith receives Christ and salvation, and holds them fast in spite of all opposition.

JUNE 10.

God Pleading with Men.

"How shall I give thee up?"-Hos. xi. 8.

God loves sinners; hence he pleads, and pleads earnestly with them. We naturally hate and shun God, and have nothing to call forth his love; yet he loves us, and loves us freely. His love to us is so great that there is nothing like it among men. His justice might have frowned us away; but his love smiles upon us, and welcomes us. And his love is persevering. He might have given us up long ago, but he perseveres notwithstanding our coldness and opposition. Sabbath after Sabbath, trial after trial, and

GOD PLEADING WITH MEN.

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year after year, he urges his appeal: "How shall I give thee up?"

God can save sinners.-In consequence of Christ's obedience unto death, all the claims of divine justice are satisfied, mercy and truth meet together, all obstacles out of man are now removed, and God is seen to be just, and the justifier of the ungodly; hence, there is a free channel for the exercise of his love to us, and a sure ground for forbearance and pardon. All the satisfaction needed has been given, love and mercy flow freely down to our world, and all the divine attributes appear in harmony, when Christ is set forth a propitiation through faith in his blood. Returning sinner, God declares: "I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done."

God is most anxious to save sinners. He pleads with them by his providence. Sometimes the winds of adversity blow in their face, when, like the prodigal, they come to themselves, and return to their Father's house. Sometimes affliction brings them to the gates of eternity, when they cry unto God in their distress, and he heareth them. He pleads with them by his word. It is a sword to pierce, a hammer to break, a fire to purify, and a light to guide in the way to heaven. "As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?" He pleads by his Spirit. Now he strives by the word read, preached, exemplified. Now he strives to convince, enlighten,

"The

renew, and sanctify; but he will not always strive. Holy Ghost saith, To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts."

If any are given up, the fault is their own.-God pleads and deals with us as rational and moral beings. He persuades and wins, but he does not force us to become religious. We have the power of choice, and are responsible

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GOD PLEADING WITH MEN.

for the salvation or loss of our souls, for the improvement or misimprovement of our privileges; and if we resist or neglect his earnest calls and entreaties, death may take us by surprise, our condemnation will be just, but the fault will be our own. "It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

JUNE 11.

The Changed Prodigal.

"He came to himself."-Luke, xv. 17.

THE sinner's madness-his discovery of it—and his return to God, claim our attention.

His

Like

The sinner's madness.-He forsakes God, and will not have God to reign over him. His own way seems most inviting, and promises great happiness, and he is determined to have it. His love of sin and self hurries him into the ways of death. Sinful pleasures are the chief good, while he never thinks that they cannot last. own way, or his own belly, is his presiding deity. the rich fool, his creed is, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." His madness lasts, it may be, till he come to poverty. Affliction and hunger bring him to the dust, and when his resources are gone, he begins to think. It is well God gives him time to think. He thinks of himself; he thinks of God; he thinks of a day of reckoning. "He comes to himself."

His discovery of it.-Blessed discovery, which first makes him feel his misery! He is astonished at his folly. His enjoyments seem nothing but dreams. He is overwhelmed at his sins. The terrors of death take hold on him. The bitterness of his soul finds vent in his confession, "Father,

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I have sinned against heaven, and before thee." The happiness of others, contrasted with his own misery, makes him reproach himself: "How many hired servants of my Father's have bread enough and to spare? God provides for all his servants, and they are satisfied; while the poor sinner is starving, and ready to perish. What is he then to do? Why, he must confess his sins, and retrace his steps. "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." "I will arise, and go to my Father." In this way the prodigal becomes a changed man, and sees as he never saw before, and feels as he never felt before.

His return to God.-As soon as he comes to himself, and retraces his steps, divine love burns to receive him. God saw him from afar he compassionated his case, he met him, he embraced him.

Wondrous love! Truly, down to man through the He shews kindness to the

God is love; and his love flows channel of Christ's mediation. long-lost wanderer. He clothes him, he adorns him, he feeds him; yea, he ordains a festival in heaven to celebrate his return. On his account there is joy among the angels, and there is joy among the saints of heaven, and his own bosom must swell with joy. Surely, when a sinner repents, a spring-tide of bliss fills the bosoms of angels, and a loftier note comes from their golden harps. "It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad brother was dead, and is alive again; he was found."

for this thy lost, and is

JUNE 12.

Adberse Probidences.

"In the day of adversity consider."-Eccles. vii. 14.

A dark period.-"The day of adversity." Affliction is a

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