the righteous is desirable for our posterity, as well as ourselves. If God has given us children, let us sow the seeds of righteousness in their hearts.

AUGUST 24.

Boast not of To-morrow.

"Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."-Prov. xxvii. 1.

The exhortation.

"Boast not thyself of to-morrow." Boast not that you will be living to-morrow. Man appears on the earth, as a cloud appears in the sky, which floats about for a little, and then vanishes. Like a swift ship, like a flying eagle, like the rapid wind, man passes away. And so uncertain is life, that the moment we begin to live we are liable to die. Boast not of the enjoyments of to-morrow. "Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy, and sell, and get gain whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow." We may dream of coming money, pleasures, and friends; but ere to-morrow dawn we may be separated from them, and they from us. Boast not of the actions of to-morrow. Haman erected a gallows, and said he would hang Mordecai thereon; but he was hanged thereon himself. The rich fool exulted in himself, saying, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;" but that night his soul was required of him. Boast not of conversion to-morrow. Conversion is necessary to salvation. The call to turn to the Lord is "now;" his time is now, and delays are dangerous. Think not of a convenient season, for it may never come. Sinner, God is pledged to receive you now; but he is under no obligations to-morrow. The exhortation enforced.-"For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." The present moment only is ours,

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and we are accountable to God for it, but not for future time. What an interesting moment to our souls is that moment when we believe in Jesus, and give ourselves to him! If we have not felt it, why delay longer? To-morrow is God's: he may withhold it from us if he pleases. He may require our souls to-night. We would not risk our property on the continuance of a strong man's life till to-morrow, without prospect of gain; and shall we risk the salvation of our souls on the continuance of our own life, where there must be loss, and where the loss may be irretrievable? "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." We are ignorant of what will be on the morrow. We may form conjectures about it, but we can go no further than conjectures. Who would be so infatu

ated as to venture his soul on a conjecture, when he has at the present moment a sure refuge, an imperishable rock, and a pressing invitation? Jesus is ready to save us, and none but Jesus can do us any good. Events may be, on the morrow, of awful interest to us. Death may be near and sudden; and death no sooner comes than judgment and eternity follow. Reader, thy death, thy judgment, and thy eternal doom, may be crowded into a moment of time. Art thou ready? Is the Judge thy friend?

AUGUST 25.

The Excellency of the Righteous.

"The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour."-Prov. xii. 26.

There is nothing against him in the court of heaven.—He is justified by faith, on the ground of Christ's righteousness; and that righteousness is a covering to him and every believer from wrath revealed against transgression. The righteousness of Jesus is brought nigh him in the gospel he gladly receives it, and reads in it his title to

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heaven; whereas his unbelieving neighbour has all his sins standing against him, is every moment exposed to the indignation of the Almighty, and has a future full of darkness and gloom.

He is of a better and nobler family.-God is his Father, and he is God's son by adoption; all good men are his brethren, and heaven is his inheritance. Well may the righteous man say, "I am of noble blood; God is my Father, Christ is my elder brother, and all the righteous are my brothers and sisters." But the unrighteous are of their father the devil, wicked men are their chosen companions, and hell will be their everlasting portion. "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God."

He is a much happier man.-The Christian life is a warfare, a struggle, and a race, but all is safe; whereas the life of the sinner is a more fearful struggle, and nothing is safe. The Christian wars only against sin, but the sinner wars against God, and conscience, and all good men. The Christian has trials, but he has comfort and support; whereas, when the sinner is tried, all refuge fails him. The Christian has faith, hope, love, all his passions under control, and no terror of God, or sin, or death; but how different is it with his wicked neighbour! Everything he has is perishable, the future is alarming gloom, and death is the king of terror.

He is more useful to others.-He commends Christ to all, he prays for their salvation, he labours to do them good, his warm heart beats with love to all, and when he falls in with the destitute, his open hand helps them. Thus he makes his light shine before all men, to point out to them the way to heaven. On the other hand, his ungodly neighbour is bad himself, he trains up bad children, by his bad example he teaches others to sin, and he has no sympathy and no help for the destitute.

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He is an eternal excellency.-Saved with an everlasting salvation himself, his heart is full of love; and that love spreads to other hearts, and leavens many generations. His memory is blessed by the poor and needy, because he lessened the heap of misery in the world, and increased the heap of happiness. On earth as well as in heaven, he shall be held in everlasting remembrance. How different his ungodly neighbour! His name perishes, his property perishes, and his soul perishes.

AUGUST 26.

Salbation a Prize.

"I press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."-Phil. iii. 14.

EVERY Christian, however high his attainments, and extensive his labours, must cultivate personal religion, and make progress in the divine life. For this end, like Paul, he must keep before his mind the plan of salvation-the path of salvation-the prize of salvation-the post to be reached-and the pressing necessary.

The plan of salvation. This is expressed in these words: "God in Christ Jesus." Salvation originated with God, the God of love. Love is the mainspring of religion, the fountain-head of every blessing. Christ is the channel along which this love flows to us. God is a God of justice as well as love; and in Christ we see justice satisfied, and a way opened to the holiest of all by his own blood. then, I am ever saved, I must reach the God of love through Christ. He is the way from the finite to the infinite, from earth to heaven.

If,

The path of salvation is here called "the high calling." I am at a distance from God by sin; but he calls to me from heaven: "Unto you, O men, I call!" He calls to me by

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his word, by his Spirit, and by the example of others, to forsake the foolish and live. Shall this high calling be heard by me in vain? Shall God shew me a pathway to heaven, and shall I not enter on it, and persevere ? Shall his love pursue me through months and years, and shall I not yield to its claims?

The prize of salvation.-This prize is heaven and all its blessedness, and is set before me as a strong inducement to exertion. Earth's riches and glories are trivial, temporary, and unsatisfactory; but heaven's joys are incalculable, satisfying, and eternal. A crown of glory, an everlasting inheritance, pleasures for evermore, constitute a prize for which I should run, and wrestle, and fight. Paul reckoned all the gains of earth but loss, that he might reach and win this prize, and shall not I?

The post to be reached.-This is the winning-post, the distinguishing mark. What can this be but holiness? What can it mean, but meetness for the prize, meetness for heaven? Every evil desire in me must be restrained; every darling sin must be abandoned; every divine command must be obeyed; every temptation must be resisted and overcome. For this end, my eye must be fixed on Jesus, and my soul must follow hard after him.

The pressing necessary." I press." In a race there is not a moment to be lost. I press eagerly toward the mark. I press, relying on divine aid. I press, without turning to the right hand or to the left. I press with all my efforts, and all my might. I press with perseverance, till the victory and the prize are mine.