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ing in him, we become dead to the law. All hope of being saved by it dies within us. It is in connection with Christ that we become dead to sin. When we discover what sin, our sin, did to him, we cease to love it, and we cease to practise it; yea, we hate it, and strive to mortify and subdue it. And it is in connection with Christ that we become dead to the world. Through him we discover how vain, how uncertain, and how unsatisfying it is, while spiritual blessings alone fill up the void of our souls.

newness

The life inferred.-"We shall also live with him." We shall live with him spiritually. This is called “ of life," and implies union to Christ, and resemblance to Christ. In our natural state we are cold and dead, but through the death of Christ a fire of love is enkindled in us that shall burn for ever. We shall live with him, body and soul. The living Christ has risen as the firstfruits, and in due time the glorious harvest shall follow ; when, in body and soul, all who are dead with Christ shall live with him, and be like him, for they shall see him as he is. We shall live with him for ever in heaven. His glorious presence constitutes heaven, and all the spiritually alive shall be happy with him, and their happiness shall be without diminution, without disturbance, and without end.

The importance of both." It is a faithful saying." It is a truth that may be depended upon, and announces a privilege evidenced by miracles, purchased by blood, secured by promise, and confirmed by our own experience. It is an important truth. Many things are true, and yet of little importance; but this truth is presented to our notice, as one of the highest importance, and one on which depends our happiness in time and through eternity. It is a truth that ought to be surely credited by us. Being worthy of belief, being faithful and true, let us firmly believe it. It is right to believe in Christ, but surely it is equally so to believe that we shall be saved through him.

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FEBRUARY 21.

Obedience of Christ.

"Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered."-Heb. v. 8.

HERE we see the dignity of Christ-the sufferings he endured-and the obedience he learned.

The dignity of Christ.-"Though he were a Son." The title "Son" cannot here be official, or imply any inferiority to the Father. As a title of dignity, he is the Son by necessary and eternal generation, essentially divine, and essentially equal to the Father. Surely, when we remember his names and titles, his glorious perfections, his wonderful works, and the worship paid to him in heaven and on earth, his divinity is as plain as if it were written on earth, by a sunbeam, or on heaven, by letters of stars. "All men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."

The sufferings he endured.-"The things which he suffered." He suffered in his body and in his soul. He suffered from foes and from friends. More especially, he suffered in the garden of Gethsemane: think of his sorrowful soul, the great drops of blood, the thrice-repeated prayer, and the angel strengthening him. What depth of anguish ! and all not on his own account, but on account of others! He suffered in the judgment-hall of Pilate: think of the wounded back from the smiting rods, the tormenting crown of thorns thrust on his head, and the mockery and insult with which he was assailed. Surely the storm was quickly gathering which was to overwhelm him that we might escape. He suffered on the cross. What bodily tortures! what revilings and mockery! what desertion of friends! what want of sympathy! What a bitter cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Surely this was

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the crisis of suffering! and having reached this crisis he proclaimed on the cross, "It is finished," and bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

The obedience he learned.-"Yet learned he obedience." He always obeyed, and had no disposition to do otherwise; but by the things which he suffered, he obeyed practically and experimentally-he obeyed under the heaviest trials and the most intense sufferings-he obeyed the whole law, and "he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." ." He obeyed in the room of the guilty. That which we had failed to do, he did. endure and live, he endured. "He was made sin for us, who knew no sin." Since my sins were imputed to him, may his righteousness be imputed to me. He obeyed as a perfect example. What meekness, what patience, what devotedness! Shall we not endeavour to imitate it! Shall we not fix our eyes upon him as our Saviour, and follow him whithersoever he leads?

That which we could not

FEBRUARY 22.

Eternal Salbation.

"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."-Heb. v. 9.

THINK of the perfection of Christ—the advantages derived from it-and the parties benefited.

The perfection of Christ.-" And being made perfect." This perfection does not refer to his freedom from sin, his unsullied purity, but it refers to the completion of his suffering work as the Saviour of the guilty. He was made perfect by his resurrection from the dead. On the morning of the third day after his death, he burst the barriers of the tomb, spoiled principalities and powers, and disclosed to the world that he was "the Son of God with

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power, by the resurrection from the dead." He was made perfect by his ascension to heaven. Then he went up with a shout, then thousands of angels welcomed him to glory, and then all his sufferings and all his work on earth were ended. He was made perfect by his investiture with all power in heaven and on earth. He now reigns in dazzling splendour, and sheds the radiance of his love and glory around an overwhelming multitude, and "he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet.'

The advantages derived from it." He became the author of eternal salvation." He is so, because he purchased salvation at a great price. Salvation comprehends all other blessings. It delivers from all evil, and secures all good. It cost Jesus his life. Because he died, he hath procured salvation for lost sinners, and sends it to us in his word. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" He is so, because he begins and confers salvation. He saved the thief on the cross; he saved Saul of Tarsus; and he is ready to save all to the very uttermost. He is so, because he will complete what he begins. When he saves, he does so with "eternal salvation." He saves believers from sin, from death. He saves them in time, and he saves them through eternity.

The parties benefited.-"Unto all them that obey him." The principle of obedience is faith, and without faith we cannot obey,we cannot please God. Abraham first believed, then he obeyed even to the offering of his darling Isaac. So must we, if we would have eternal salvation. The rule of obedience is the word of God-the requirements of Christ. Our obedience should be sincere, cheerful, universal, and persevering. "They who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works." "By works is faith made perfect." The use of obedience is to give evidence to ourselves and others that we are saved persons. Faith is in the heart, and cannot be seen, but the fruits of it can

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be seen in a life of holy obedience; therefore if eternal salvation is to be ours, we must not only believe, but obey the Saviour.

FEBRUARY 23.

Rebolution before Victory.

"I will overturn, overturn, overturn it, and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him."-Ezek. xxi. 27.

THIS prediction primarily refers to the overthrow of the kingdom of Judah, and the dethronement of Zedekiah, its twentieth and last king. But it has evidently a more extensive reference, and will not receive its complete fulfilment till every kingdom opposed to Christ shall be destroyed, and till his empire extend over all the earth. It informs us that this world is Christ's, that it shall in due time be given to him, and that before he gets possession there shall be great revolutions.

This world is Christ's.-"Until he come whose right it is." This world is Christ's by right of creation. "All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." It is his by right of purchase. "The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." Had it not been for the death of Christ, this world might have been blotted out of the map of the universe. It is his by right of inheritance. God hath appointed him "heir of all things." "I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."

This world shall in due time be given to Christ.—In all lands many own him as their Saviour and Master. Through the circulation of the Scriptures and the preaching of the gospel, the cause of Christ, like leaven, is working its way in the world.

And he shall soon have universal dominion.