wait for it till death, but he has it even now; he has it in foretaste, and he has the blessed hope of its speedy consummation. He has it for ever. The light in him shall shine for ever. The love in him shall burn for ever. The life in him shall survive the wreck of the universe, and equal in duration the existence of the eternal God.

FEBRUARY 4.

Unbelief and Death.

"He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."-John, iii. 36.

THE gospel is like a picture, it has a dark as well as a bright side, and here we have the dark side of the picture. It exhibits to us the unbeliever-what he loses and what he suffers.

The unbeliever." He that believeth not the Son."-It is not necessary that those who perish be desperately wicked. They may be amiable, they may be honest, they may be strictly moral; and yet, if they believe not, they shall perish. Unbelievers are of various kinds. Some are infidel, and openly reject Christ and revelation. Some are indifferent, and care nothing for the soul, nor the Bible, nor a future state. Some are professors of religion, and content themselves with a good name and a fair appearAnd some merely delay attention to divine things, but have good intentions in the future. With such men unbelief is a light thing, but it is not so with God. It is the concentration of all sin, and is as certainly damning as faith is saving. By unbelief, what can I gain ?-nothing. What can I lose?-everything.

ance.

What he loses." He shall not see life." Spiritual life shall never beat in his bosom. Newness of life shall never gladden him with its joys and hopes. True, he has animal

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life, but that soon passes away, and every atom of enjoyment passes away with it. He shall be a stranger to real happiness. The word "life" here means happiness, and of real happiness the unbeliever knows nothing. He knows not what it is to have a Friend that never fails. He knows nothing of peace of mind, and he knows not what is to become of him after death. He shall never see the glories of heaven; that is, he shall never enjoy them. Like Dives in the place of woe, he may see Lazarus afar off, but it will only make him more miserable with the thought that he might have been there. Thus he loses his soul, he loses happiness, and he loses heaven.

calamity yet merited and just.

What a

What he suffers." The wrath of God abideth on him." The wrath of God! how much more fearful than the wrath of man, than the concentrated indignation of the universe! How soon may its outpourings overwhelm the unbeliever The wrath of God is not temporary or trivial suffering. It is deserved, tremendous, and eternal. It abideth. Its confusion is "everlasting confusion," its punishment is "everlasting punishment," its destruction is "everlasting destruction," its chains are "everlasting chains," and its fire is "everlasting fire."

FEBRUARY 5.

Sin Discovered.

"He will discover thy sins."-Lam, iv. 22.

Six has filled our world with misery and death, and well it may, for it is contrary to God's nature-subversive of his authority-and dishonouring to his laws. Think, dear reader, of thy sins, and the discovery of them.

Thy sins. They are numberless as the stars of heaven. You owe to God a debt of ten thousand talents, and you

have nothing to pay. You are required to love God with all your heart, during every moment of your life, and where is the moment you have done it? Were God to set thine iniquities before him, thy secret sins in the light of his countenance, and strengthen thy vision to behold them, how dreadful! how overwhelming! They are aggravated -committed against a God of infinite love-committed often with the knowledge that they are loathing to him, and committed with the certainty of meriting everlasting destruction. They are injurious to others as well as yourself. Your bad example may involve others in their terrible consequences. One sin is often like a random spark from a great fire. Let it come into contact with combustible materials-let it be neglected for a little, until fanned with the breeze of temptation, and it may kindle in the soul a fire of misery that never will be quenched.

The discovery of thy sins.-There are some particular seasons in which God especially discovers sins. He discovers them in the season of divine ordinances. Paul, the prisoner, preaches and reasons in the presence of Felix the governor; the word pierces his conscience, and he trembles on the bench. Peter proclaims Christ crucified on the day of Pentecost, and charges the Jews with killing the Prince of Life; the sword of the Spirit pierces their hearts, the iron of conviction enters their souls, and many are converted and brought to Christ. He discovers them in the season of distress. The prodigal, reduced to extremity, comes to himself, and returns to his father. The worldling loses his property, and is cured of his love to the world at last. Manasseh is torn from his throne, carried captive into a foreign land, and immured in a dungeon. There he discovers his sins, prays to God, and is forgiven. He discovers them in the hour of death. We have one instance in the case of the dying thief, that none may despair; and only one, that none may presume. O my

soul, has God discovered thy sins to thee, and hast thou felt their bitterness? If not, thou mayest be too late. Be sure thy sins will find thee out in the judgment.

FEBRUARY 6.

Solomon's Estimate of Earth.

"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun."-Eccles. ii. 11.

HERE we have Solomon's greatness-his calm survey of it -and the estimate formed.

Solomon's greatness. His works, and labours, and enjoyments. He gave himself to mirth and pleasure; he indulged in wine and folly; he got fine houses, and vineyards, and gardens, and all kinds of trees, and pools of water; he had many servants and maidens; he had great wealth in cattle, in silver, and in gold; he had singers and musical instruments of all sorts; he withheld not his heart from any earthly joy, so that his magnificence and sensual delights were boundless and unrivalled; and, what was marvellous, his great wisdom continued with him. Surely, if earth could make a man happy, Solomon must have been the happiest of men!

His calm survey of all this greatness.- -"He looked on all." He inspected all his labours and all he possessed. He reflected on his riches, and pleasures, and wisdom, in connection with the value of his soul, his frailty as a man, the nearness of death, the certainty of judgment, and the importance of eternity; and by thus reflecting, he could form a sound opinion. How few take time to reflect, and how many pass away from earth without serious reflections! O my soul, reflect on what thou art, where thou art, and whither thou art going.

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SOLOMON'S ESTIMATE OF EARTH.

His just estimate.-"All is vanity and vexation of spirit." This estimate is right, because the value of all earthly possessions depends on fancy. Gold is not so useful as iron, yet human fancy has made it the most valuable of metals. This estimate is right, because in getting riches, and keeping them, and parting with them, there are incessant anxieties and vexations. Instead of yielding satisfaction, and bringing happiness, they are like wells without water. This estimate is right, because one little cross often embitters all. What though Haman have high honour, great power, and boundless wealth, if Mordecai sits at the king's gate! This estimate was right, because he saw that all his earthly glory was useless to him in sickness and in death. Wealth cannot buy health, nor peace of mind, neither can death be bribed to keep off his cold iron hands.

FEBRUARY 7.

Immediate Reconciliation.

"Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison."-Matt. v. 25.

HERE it is supposed that God and the sinner are at variance that God is ready to receive him-that he should lose no time-and if he neglect, the consequences will be dreadful.

God and the sinner are at variance.-The sinner looks upon God as his adversary, and it is true that God is an adversary to sin. He hates it, because it is contrary to his holy nature, subversive of his authority, and dishonouring to his law. He must punish it. His justice forbids him to clear the guilty, and his moral government requires him to check rebellion. He is .angry with the