CHRIST AT THE DOOR. 541 NOVEMBER 25. Christ at the Door. "Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."Rev. iii. 20. LET us mark where Christ is what he requires-and what he promises. Mark where Christ is.-"Behold I stand at the door and knock." Reader, he is at the door of thy heart knocking, and how long and how often he has knocked there thou knowest well. He has knocked by his word read, heard, and preached. You have admitted sin, you have admitted vain thoughts, you have admitted the world; and will you keep Christ on the outside, and deny him admittance? He has knocked by his mercies. Thou art fed from his table; thou art clothed from his wardrobe; thou art lodged in the house he has provided; thou art surrounded by the friends he has spared. Thou hast the Bible, the ordinances of religion, and the promise of the Spirit; by all these he knocks, and shall he knock in vain? He knocks by afflictions. Personal sickness, relative distresses, the loss of dear friends, the loss of property, the misconduct of those whom we expected to be a blessing to us rather than a curse; these are afflictions by which he knocks, and seeks admission into thy heart, and wilt thou longer resist his importunity? Thou mayest resist, but "this night thy soul may be required of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?" Mark what he requires.-" If any man hear my voice, and open the door." He demands a hearing. Every one is able to give him this, yet how many refuse? You ought to hear with deep and earnest attention; you ought to hear with self-application, as if Jesus were speaking alone to you; and you ought to hear with faith and 542 CHRIST AT THE DOOR. resolutions to practise. Shall common politeness make you listen to all others, and shall you not listen to Christ? He demands an opening. Your heart is shut by sin and insensibility; and have you allowed evil to enter, and will you not allow good? Without excuse, and without delay, open your heart to Christ. He demands it of every one: "If any man." This includes all, and excludes none; and when Christ includes you, will you exclude yourself? "Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." Mark what he promises.-He promises entrance: "I will come in." What condescension! Christ in me, to guide me in the right way, to guard me from danger, to comfort me in sorrow, and to give me the hope and the foretaste of eternal glory. If I have Christ in me, I have all, and abound. Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; abide in me. He promises provision: "I will sup." There will be a feast for the soul, which will satisfy it in a way it never was satisfied before. If I am rich, I shall enjoy Christ in all things; and if I am poor, I shall enjoy all things in Christ. I shall never want the necessaries of life, and I shall never want a home and kind friends to make it happy. He promises fellowship: "I will sup with him, and he with me." Christ will be a guest at my table, and I will be a guest at his. He will look upon me as a brother, and I shall find him a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. He will admit me to terms of friendship and equality, and angels have no higher honour than this. NOVEMBER 26. Reign of Sin and Grace. "As sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."-Rom. v. 21. Ir sin is a disease, grace is the remedy; if sin is a poison, REIGN OF SIN AND GRACE. 543 grace is a sure and adequate antidote. Let us think of the reign of sin-and the reign of grace. The reign of sin." As sin hath reigned unto death." Sin is in the world, and sways the sceptre over the greater portion of our race. History proves it; for the history of sin is a record of blood. Observation proves it; for human misery is seen on every side, and her wail of distress all may hear. Our own consciousness proves it; for we find a law in our members warring against the law of our minds. Scripture proves it; for it concludes all under sin "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not." Death is in the world. From the days of Adam till now, death hath swept off individuals, families, nations; and we tread on the dust of a thousand generations. He spares neither rich nor poor, neither young nor old, neither useful nor useless. Both sin and death came by Adam: "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death hath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Adam was the original transgressor. He was a bad tree, and could not produce good fruit; he was an impure fountain, and could not send forth clear water. His sin reigns over infants unto death, even though they never sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression. What misery! what desolation! How dreadful are the ravages of sin and death! The reign of grace.-"Even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." Grace is in the world : "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." Because of grace, we enjoy temporal blessings, we have space to repent of our sins; and all spiritual blessings are brought within our reach. Grace speaks to the sinner, and pleads with him, saying, "How will I give thee up." This grace reigns through righteousness. The obedience and death of Christ formed a channel along which divine grace might flow, 544 REIGN OF SIN AND GRACE. like a mighty river, throughout our world. The righteousness of Christ is ours by faith; for Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. In like manner, if we believe in Jesus, he becomes "the Lord our righteousness." "In the Lord have I righteousness and strength." We have eternal life in prospect. Eternal life is the end of our faith, and the completion of our happiness. It is happiness begun on earth, but consummated in heaven; begun in time, but enjoyed through eternity; and begun during life, but consummated at death. Sin defiles us, but grace through righteousness purifies us; sin condemns us to death, but grace delivers us from this dreadful penalty; sin destroys us, but grace saves us with an everlasting salvation. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift," or grace, "of God is eternal life." All this is by Jesus Christ. He is the second Adam, who repairs the ruins of the fall; and if we would have all the blessings for which he wrestled and died, we must claim him as "our Lord." NOVEMBER 27. The Lamb of God. "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world !”—John, i. 29. WITH these remarkable words, John the Baptist introduces the Lord Jesus to his countrymen, and to the world. Let us mark the Saviour's designation--the Saviour's workand the Saviour's claim on our attention. The Saviour's designation." The Lamb of God." The Jews killed the paschal lamb to commemorate their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, as well as from the destroying angel, who slew the first-born. They offered a lamb in the temple every morning and evening, as a part of their THE LAMB OF GOD. 545 worship. And prophecy spoke of Messiah as a lamb led to the slaughter. Jesus is called a lamb to intimate his innocence, meekness, and patience. He is called a lamb, to point him out as a proper sacrifice for sin. Without the shedding of blood, there could be no remission, and this Lamb is the victim whose blood was to be shed, that he might put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. He is the antitype of all the victims slain on Jewish altars. They could not take away sin, but they pointed to One whose blood has never-failing virtue. He is the Lamb of God-very dear to the Father-chosen, appointed, approved as the only sacrifice for sin. Surely there is enough in him to engage our attention, and warm our hearts! The Saviour's work." Which taketh away the sin of the world." "He bare our sins in his own body on the tree." Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." The cause of this work of suffering was sin. Our transgressions wounded him, our iniquities bruised him. Let us think of our sins gathered into one vast heap, and laid upon Christ. The nature of this work was taking away sin, or bearing sin. The law demanded perfect obedience. Jesus gave it, not for himself, but for others. Justice demanded a satisfaction: Jesus rendered it; not for himself, but for others. Jesus having done all this, it is now consistent for God to pardon sinners. Now he is seen to be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Think of the extent of this work: "He bare the sins of the world." This work opened the way of pardon and salvation; not for the Jews only, but also for the Gentiles; not for a part of the world only, but for all men. He so bore the sins of the world, that if the world were to believe in him, they would be saved. If there were universal faith, there would be universal salvation. The Saviour's claim on our attention.-"Behold the Lamb of God." Behold and admire. The meek, the |