DIVINE COMPASSION.

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wardrobe, and he nourishes their souls with the bread of heaven. A father corrects his children. When they are disobedient, and leave the path of duty, he brings them back, and chastens them. So God chastens his children, and refines them in the fire, as gold and silver are refined. A father comforts his children. They meet with many falls and injuries, and they are liable to so many afflictions, that his kind and soothing words are needed. So God comforts us, in all our afflictions, with rich promises and bright hopes of heaven.

SEPTEMBER 3.

The Great Separation.

"Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable."-Luke, iii. 17.

HERE we have the church-the sifting process-the preservation of the wheat-and the destruction of the chaff.

The church of the Jews is here called Christ's floor, and upon that floor there is a mixture of wheat and chaff. The grain upon the floor is in a place of safety, where there is no danger from the elements; so the church is gathered from the world, under the special protection of Christ, and all her true members are free from danger. The barn floor is a place of activity, where much work must be done; so there is much to be done in the church to reform abuses, and strengthen and confirm true disciples. In the church there is a mixture of good and bad. However careful the rulers of the church, persons get in who are mere professors, and these are tares among the wheat. True Christians are like wheat-substantial, valuable, and useful to others. Mere professors are like chaff-light, worthless, and driven about by every wind.

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THE GREAT SEPARATION.

The sifting process. "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge." Jesus, as John here intimates, was about to purge the Jewish church by setting up his own church in the midst of it. He still carries on the sifting process in his church, by the faithful preaching of the word, by fatherly chastisements, and by salutary discipline. These help to separate and distinguish the wheat from the chaff. But the grand separation will be at the last day, when through the instrumentality of angels, he shall separate the righteous and the wicked, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.

The preservation of the wheat.-"He will gather the wheat into his garner." Every grain shall be gathered, and not one shall be overlooked or wanting; and all shall form together a united and valuable society, who shall love and serve the great owner. They shall all be safe in the garner of Christ. This garner may well signify heaven, where all the children of Christ shall be gathered together, where there shall be no more tares or chaff, where there shall be no more danger from the pollutions of the world, and where there shall be eternal safety.

The destruction of the chaff-At the last day, the wicked, represented as chaff, shall be driven away they shall be consumed with fire; and the unquenchable fire refers to the eternity of their suffering in hell. Their destruction is so certain, that nothing can save them; and so dreadful, that it will be without mitigation and without end.

SEPTEMBER 4.

Reward of the Righteous.

"Verily there is a reward for the righteous."-Psalm lviii. 11.

HERE we have the righteous-the reward of the righteous -and the certainty of it.

REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS./

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The righteous. They are not naturally righteous, neither are they so by their own good deeds or acquirements. "There is none righteous; no, not one." All are "stouthearted, and far from righteousness." They are righteous through faith in the righteousness of Christ. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous." "Noah became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." The righteous prove that they are so, not by professions merely, but by conduct. They are just in all their transactions, they regulate their conduct by the word. of God, and they follow the example of Christ. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and hath not works?

The reward of the righteous.- -"There is a reward." It is a gracious reward. Money cannot purchase it, and works cannot merit it, yet it is not the less certain that it is of grace. It is a reward that shall be enjoyed chiefly beyond this life. Here the righteous have great tribulation, but yonder all their woes are past. What knowledge, what love, what bliss! What society, what enjoyments, what employments! It shall be proportionate to worth. The vessels of mercy and glory will be of different capacities, but every vessel will be full. The conversion of a sinner from the error of his way will meet with a great reward. 66 They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever." In like manner, a cup of cold water given to a disciple in the name of Christ will not lose its reward. It shall be eternal. The reward of the righteous will never come to an end. Though every moment of his life in time should count a thousand years in eternity, they shall by no means exhaust his reward.

The certainty of it.-"Verily." That the righteous will be rewarded, is manifest from the character of God. He is faithful and true, just and righteous; and shall not

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REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

he who always does what is right reward the righteous? It is certain from the testimony of Scripture: "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." "Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life." It is certain from reason. Since the righteous are generally more troubled in this life than the wicked, reason tells us that they must expect their reward in a better world.

SEPTEMBER 5.

Absence from Ordinances.

"But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came."-John, xx. 24.

HERE we have Christ's visit to his disciples-the absence of Thomas-and what he lost by being absent.

Christ's visit to his disciples." Jesus came." He came to give evidence to his disciples of his resurrection. His resurrection is a fundamental doctrine, as well as a grand fact; and it was necessary that the evidence of it should be complete. Hence the frequent visits of Christ to his disciples after he rose from the dead. He came also to comfort them in their distress. Their Master had been taken from them, and sorrow filled their heart. Jesus felt for them, and gladdened them with his presence. He came to prepare their minds for the reception of the Holy Spirit, whom he had promised; and he came to give them instructions concerning his church and kingdom, to be erected in the world. With such important ends in view, who would not be glad to receive a visit from Christ?

The absence of Thomas.-"Thomas was not with them." Perhaps he was ill; if so, this was a good reason for

absence.

ABSENCE FROM ORDINANCES.

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Few have so good a reason for being absent from ordinances. Others are often strangely ill on Sabbath, while they are well on the other days of the week. Perhaps the cares of the world had got the better of Thomas, as of many still. Perhaps he was afraid of the Jewish rulers, and for a time valued his safety more than the cause of Christ. Perhaps his absence was wilful and sinful. He ought to have been with the ten, waiting for further light and instruction. He ought to have believed that Jesus would rise again, and to have been on the outlook for him. But he did not so believe; hence his absence was wilful and sinful. Alas! how many are equally blameable in being absent from ordinances !

What he lost by being absent.-He lost the good news which Mary brought. Jesus honoured her with his first appearance, and sent by her an important message to his disciples; but the absent Thomas lost the gladdening news. He lost a sight of the risen Jesus, while the other disciples had a delightful interview. He lost the blessed salutation of peace, and the comforting breathing of the Holy Ghost, which the others enjoyed. He lost the happiness which a sight of Christ was so well fitted to inspire. He lost a good opportunity which might never have returned, and which might have proved his ruin, had it not been for the kindness and forbearance of Christ. How much do they lose who are away from ordinances, and away from duty?

SEPTEMBER 6.

Dibine Lobe.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."-John, iii. 16.

HERE is divine love in its magnitude-its manifestationits claims-and its blessed effects.