FATHER of Lights! who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men, grant unto us Thy people that we may love the things which Thou commandest, and desire that which Thou dost promise, that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HYMN, or Psalm li. 1-7.

WITH broken heart and contrite sigh,
A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry;
Thy pardoning grace is rich and free,
O God, be merciful to me.

I smite upon my troubled breast,
With deep and conscious guilt oppressed;
Christ and his cross my only plea,
O God, be merciful to me.

Far off I stand with tearful eyes,
Nor dare uplift them to the skies;
But Thou dost all my anguish see,
O God, be merciful to me.

Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done,
Can for a single sin atone;
To Calvary alone I flee,
O God, be merciful to me.

And when redeemed from sin and hell,
With all the a ransomed throng I dwell,
My raptured song shall ever be,
God has been merciful to me.

ISAIAH LXI. 1-3, 10-11.

THE Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called Trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. 10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 11. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

PSALM CXXXIX.

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2. Thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising: thou understandest my thought far off. 3. Thou compassest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. 5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. 7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there, &c.

Prayer.

GREAT God, our thoughts are directed to Thy throne and to the Mediator before it; and truly this is the great joy and comfort of our hearts, that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who at this moment stands presenting our names before thine infinite Majesty, and pleading that we may be accepted and our prayers heard through Him. O Son of God, we worship Thee this morning with hearty love, rejoicing in Thee, ascribing all honour unto Thee; for Thou was slain and hast redeemed us unto God by Thy blood, and hast made us kings and priests unto God, and we shall reign for ever and ever. We adore the infinite Father; we adore the blessed Spirit: we equally adore the once crucified Son of God. With cherubim and seraphim, and all the hosts of ministering spirits, we bow before the throne of the one Jehovah, and ascribe honour, and glory, and dominion, and might, to Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever: and let all the redeemed say, Amen.

Lord, forgive us that we do not always thus adore Thee in our lives; forgive us that oftentimes our actions are not at all in accordance with the language we have now used. How often do we forget Thee! How often do we set up our wills in opposition to Thine! How often do we inwardly repine at Thy providence towards us, and thus make our wisdom to be greater than Thy wisdom! Lord, we are foolish, perverse, obstinate, wicked, and sinning continually but through Thy grace may we be enabled to appeal to Thee that we hate the sin, that we desire to be free from it, that we would have our minds entirely and at once moulded to Thy will, and that in no respect, either in thought, word, or deed, would we wander from Thee.

O God, forgive the offences of Thy servants through the great sacrifice of Jesus. This morning we take our stand beneath that sheltering tree where He found no shelter. We look above to Him, whose blessed body was tortured with the pains of crucifixion, and whose holy soul was overwhelmed with unutterable grief and anguish, and see in Him, the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world, our only hope. God forbid that we should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. O Lord, may thy Holy Spirit every day teach us more of Him. May He keep us to this one point of desiring to know nothing among men, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified; and lead us to count all besides, even our best righteousness, as loss and dung, that we may win Christ and be found in him. O Saviour, if we have relied on any ground of hope but Thyself, be pleased to show us our mistake, and bring us to a simple unalloyed confidence in Thy blood and righteousness.

On this the day which Thou hast made, let all Thy worshippers rejoice and be glad in it: Save now, we beseech Thee, O Lord: O Lord, we beseech Thee, send now prosperity. To all that in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours, may grace and peace be multiplied from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Whenever the gospel of the kingdom shall this day be proclaimed, may it be in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power, so as to teach transgressors Thy ways, and that sinners shall be converted unto Thee. Let the churches everywhere have rest and be edified, and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, be multiplied. Grant, O merciful Father, these our prayers, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

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THE CHURCH IN THE HOUSE.

GOD of Truth, who didst send Thy Son to reveal to us the truth, who as a king did come into the world that He might witness to the truth, and who is the faithful and true Witness, grant us the truthful heart that will hear the voice of our Lord, cherish His spirit, and follow in His steps, so that we may walk in Thy light, and rejoice in Thy truth all the day long, and finally escape the righteous condemnation of those who reject the truth or hold it in unrighteousness. Amen.

HYMN, or Psalm cxxii.

WITH love the Saviour’s heart o’erflow’d,
Love spoke in every breath;
Supreme it reigned throughout his life,
And triumph’d in his death.

Behold! This new command He gives
To those who bear his name--
That they shall one another love,
As He hath loved them.

In ev’ry action, ev’ry thought,
Be this great law fulfill’d;
Forgotten be each selfish aim,
Each angry passion still’d.

Let all who bear the name of Christ,
While they his suff’rings view,
Think of his words, “Each other love,
As I have loved you.”

LEVITICUS XVI. 20-24.

AND when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: 21. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. 22. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. 23. And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there: 24. And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt-offering, and the burnt-offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself and for the people.

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SERMON XXV.

“FOR CHRIST’S SAKE.” -- Ephesians iv. 32.

THIS is the great argument of awakened sinners, when they seek mercy at God’s hands. Aforetime they could boast of their own righteousness, they could rest upon their feelings, their resolutions, their goodness of heart, or their prayers; but now that God and the Holy Spirit has shown them what they are, and revealed to them the desperate evil of their hearts, they dare not offer any other plea than this-- “For Christ’s sake.” They look, and there is no man to succour; they cast their eye around, and there is no helper, and their heart knows neither peace nor hope till they behold the person and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and then straightway their mouth is opened with arguments, and they can plead with God with prevailing reasons, saying, “For Christ’s sake, for Christ’s sake, have mercy upon me.” Indeed, beloved, this is the only argument which can prevail with God in prayer, whether the prayer cometh from saint or sinner. It is true that God did not originally love us for Christ’s sake, for his electing love was sovereign and absolute: but the Father loved us not because the Saviour died, but the Saviour died because the Father loved us from before the foundation of the world. Nevertheless the one only channel of communication between a loving Father and his elect people is the meritorious and glorious person of Christ. The Father gives us no privilege except through His Only Begotten, nor are we looked upon as accepted or acceptable, except as we stand, in and through our Lord Jesus, accepted in the Beloved, perfect in Christ Jesus. I must use no other argument when I plead with God but the name of his dear Son, for this is the sum of all heavenly logic. Whatever covenant mercy I may wish for, this is the key which will unlock the storehouses of heaven, but none other name will prevail with God to scatter his mercies among undeserving sinners. He who knows how to plant his foot on the solid foothold of “for Christ’s sake,” needs not fear, like Jacob, to wrestle with the angel of God. But if we forget this in our prayers, we have lost the muscle and sinew from the arm of prayer; we have snapped the spinal column by which the manood of prayer is sustained erect; we have pulled down about our own ears the whole temple of supplication, as Samson did the house of the Philistines. “For Christ’s sake,” this is the one unbuttressed pillar upon which all prayer must lean: take this away, and it comes down with a crash; let this stand, and prayer stands like a heaven-reaching minaret holding communion with the skies.

In two ways, we will read the words before us. It is God’s argument for mercy. -- “For Christ’s sake.” It is our reason for service-- “For Christ’s sake.”

I. God’s argument for mercy. He forgives us “For Christ’s sake.”

Here let us first look at the force of this motive; and then, secondly, let us notice some qualifications in it, which may, through God’s blessing, be the means of comforting seeking sinners who desire to find rest in and through Jesus Christ.

1. Let us consider the force of this motive by which God is moved to forgive sinners, “For Christ’s sake.” You know that if we do a thing for the sake of a person, several considerations may work together to make our motive powerful, that we may be willing, not only to do some things, but many things, nay, all things, for the sake of the individual admired or beloved.

The first thing which will move us to do anything for another’s sake is his person, with its various additions of position and character. The excellence of a man’s person has often moved others to high enthusiasm, to the spending of their lives; ay, to the endurance of cruel deaths for his sake. In the day of battle, if the advancing column wavered for a single moment, Napoleon’s presence made every man a hero. When Alexander led the van, there was not a man in all the Macedonian ranks who would have hesitated to lose his life in following him. For David’s sake the three mighties broke through the host, at imminent peril of their lives, to bring him water from the well of Bethlehem. Some men have a charm about them which enthrals the souls of other men, who are fascinated by them and count it their highest delight to do them honour. There have been in different ages leaders, both warlike and religious, who have so entirely possessed the hearts of their followers that no sacrifice was counted too great, no labour too severe. There is much to move the heart in excellence of person. How shall I, in fitting manner, lead you to contemplate the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, seeing that his charms as far exceed all human attractions as the sun outshines the stars! Yet this much I will be bold to say, that he is so glorious that even the God of heaven may well consent to do ten thousand things for his sake. We believe our Lord Jesus Christ to be very God of very God, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father, essential Deity. Jesus is no distinct God, separate from the Father, but, in a mysterious manner, he is one with the Father, so that the old Jewish watchword still stands true, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord,” and yet Jesus is Jehovah-Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness. Besides this, he, for us men and for our salvation, took upon himself the form and nature of man; became incarnate, as the virgin’s son; and as such lived a life of perfection, never sinning, always full of love and holy service, both to God and man. There he stands: by the eye of faith ye may see him, “God over all, blessed for ever;” and yet man, of the substance of his mother, he stands to plead before the eternal throne--Almighty God, all-perfect man. He wears upon his head a crown, for he is a prince of the house of David, and his dominion is an everlasting dominion. Upon his bosom glitters the bejewelled breastplate, for he is a priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedek; and over his shoulders hangs the mantle of prophecy, for he is a prophet, and more than a prophet. Now, as he stands there, adored of angels worshipped by cherubim and seraphim, having the keys of heaven, and earth, and hell at his girdle, master of winds and waves, Lord of providence, the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords; I wonder not, that such a person should prevail with the Father, and that God, for his sake, should bestow innumerable blessings upon the unworthy for whom he pleads. He is the chief among ten thousand and the altogether lovely. His head is as the much fine gold; his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh; his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars, his mouth is most sweet, yea he is altogether lovely: --

“The whole creation can afford
But some faint shadows of my Lord;
Nature, to make his beauties known,
Must mingle colours not her own

Nor earth, nor seas, nor sun, nor stars,
Nor heaven, his full resemblance bears;
His beauties we can never trace,
Till we behold him face to face.”

In the surpassing majesty of his person lies a part of the force of the plea.

A far greater power lies in near and dear relationship. The mother, whose son, had been many years at sea, pined for him with all a mother’s fondness. She was a widow, and her heart had but this one object left. One day there came to the cottage door a ragged sailor. He was limping on a crutch, and seeking alms. He had been asking at several houses for a widow of such-and-such a name. He had now found her out. She was glad to see a sailor, for never since her son had gone to sea had she turned one away from her door, for her son’s sake. The present visior told her that he had served in the same ship with her beloved boy; that they had been wrecked together and cast upon a barren shore; that her son had died in his arms, and that he had charged him with his dying breath to take his Bible to his mother (she would know by that sign that it was her son), and to charge her to receive his comrade affectionately and kindly for her son’s sake. You may well conceive how the best of the house was set before the stranger. He was but a common sailor; there was nothing in him to recommend him. His weather-beaten cheeks told of service, but it was not service rendered to her: he had no claim on her, and yet there was bed and board, and the widow’s hearth for him. Why? Because she seemed to see in his eyes the picture of her son, and that book, the sure token of good faith, opened her heart and her house to the stranger. Relationship will frequently do far more than mere excellence of the person. Bethink you, brethren, Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. Our God had but one begotten Son, and that Son the darling of his bosom. Oh, how the Father loved him. It is not possible for us to measure divine love, for we have no measuring line. Human love at best is only finite, even when it reaches its very highest. When we plunge into the depths of human love, there is yet a bottom; but divine love has neither shore nor bound. Little can we tell of what unity of essence means. The divine persons are one in essence--one God. We cannot therefore conceive what affection must spring from this closest of all known unities. Oh, how Jehovah loves him! And yet that dear Son of his, for our sakes left the starry throne of heaven, became a man, suffered, bled, and died; and when we come to mercy’s bar, bringing with us Christ’s own promise, the eternal Father sees Jesus in our eyes, bids us welcome to mercy’s table and to mercy’s house, for the sake of him who is his only begotten Son.

Still I have only advanced to the border of my subject. The force of the words, “For Christ’s sake,” must be found deeper still, namely in the worthiness of the person and of his acts. Many peerages have been created in this realm which descend from generation to generation, with large estates, the gift of a generous nation, and why? Because this nation has received some signal benefits from one man, and has been content to ennoble his heirs for ever for his sake. I do not think there was any error committed when Marlborough or Wellington were lifted to the peerage; having saved their country in war, it was right that they should be honoured in peace; and when for the sake of the parents perpetual estates were entailed upon their descendants, and honours in perpetuity conferred upon their sons, it was only acting according to the laws of gratitude. Let us bethink ourselves of what Jesus Christ has done, and let us understand how strong must be that plea-- “For Jesus’ sake.” The law of God was violated; Jesus Christ came into the world and kept it--kept it so that out of the whole ten commandments there is not one whose clamorous tongue can lay anything to his charge. Here is a divine dilemma: God must be just, yet he willed to save his people. How could these two things meet? Where was the man who could break down the mountain which separated justice and mercy, so that they could kiss each other? God must punish sin, and yet he will be gracious to whom he will be gracious. How shall these two things agree? Forth came the priests, with their various sacrifices; but the slaughter of bullocks, and heifers, and rams, and he-goats could not make God just. What comparison could there be between rivers of the blood of fed beasts and the sin of man? But Jesus came, the great solution of the divine enigma: Jesus came, eternal God, but yet perfect man, and he bowed his head to the cross; his hands were pierced, his feet were nailed, his soul was sorrowful, even unto death: --

“Jesus, our Lord and God,
Bore sin’s tremendous load,
Praise ye his name;
Tell what his arm hath done,
What spoils from death he won;
Sing his great name alone;
Worthy the Lamb!”

God was just; he punished human guilt in the person of man’s representative, Jesus of Nazareth. God is gracious: he accepts every believing sinner for the sake of Jesus Christ. Think, then, of what Christ has done, and you will see the force of the argument. He has honoured the law of God, which man had dishonoured, and has opened a way for God’s mercy, which man’s sin had fast closed up. Oh, God, thy Son has brought back what he took not away: he has taken the prey from the mighty, and the lawful captive he has delivered; like another David, he has snatched the sheep from the jaw of the lion, and delivered the lamb from the paw of the bear. Like another Samson, he has slain thine enemies, and taken the gates of their strongholds upon his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill. Every wound which he endured upon the cross, every stroke which he felt in Pilate’s hall, every drop of blood which he sweat in Gethsemane, strengthens the plea-- “For Christ’s sake.”

Still, still I think I have not yet arrived at the force of the words. If any stipulation has been made, then the terms “for his sake” become more forcible, because they are backed by engagements, promises, covenants. In Christ’s case solemn promises have been exchanged. There was a distinct engagement made between the Judge of men and the Redeemer of our souls, and the prophet Isaiah has published the engagement, “He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” Yet again, “I will divide him a portion with the great, and he, shall divide the spoil with the strong;” and still further, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” There was a distinct transaction then of ancient date between the Father and the Son, in which the Son stipulated that he would bear the sin of his people; he was to be the scapegoat for his people Israel; and then it was solemnly engaged on the part of the Divine Judge of all the earth, that he would give him the souls of the redeemed to be his portion for ever. No, brethren, there is strength in the plea, “for Christ’s sake.” Oh God, with reverence would we speak of thee, but how couldst thou be just if thou did not save those for whom Jesus shed his precious blood? Brethren, would you first accept a surety and substitute, and then expect the debtor to pay the debt himself? Look at human governments: if a man were drafted into the army and should find a substitute, does the law afterwards seize the man himself? And shall God be less just than man? Shall the supreme King of heaven be less just than the kings of earth? If Christ has paid my debt, payment God’s justice cannot demand of me; it cannot expect the same debt to be twice paid. Justice cannot demand payment--

“First at my bleeding surety’s hands,
And then again at mine.”

If Christ served in that dread warfare for me as my substitute, how can it be that after this I should myself be driven to the edge of the sword? Impossible! Beloved, see that scape-goat yonder. Israel’s sins have been confessed upon it. The high priest has laid his hand on the victim’s head; it is led away by the hand of a fit man; he sets it free, watches it--it is out of sight. He climbs a rock, looks far away to the east, the west, the north, the south; he cannot see it; he waits a while, looks with anxious eye, it is gone! And he comes back and tells the people of Israel that the sin has been typically carried away upon the scape-goat’s head. Now, Christ is the fulfilment of the scape-goat. Our sins were laid on him. He is gone--Gone where? “Ye shall seek me, but ye shall not find me,” saith he: gone into the desolate regions of the dead. The scape-goat, Christ, has carried away into his own tomb the sins of all his people for ever. Now, was that a farce, or was it a reality? Did Christ take away sin, or not? If he did, then how can men be punished for sins which Jesus took away, for the sins for which Christ was punished? If he did not suffer for sin, then where is the deliverance for a soul of Adam born? Oh, you that receive general redemption, you know not what you receive; you who talk of a universal atonement which does not make an atonement for all sin, know not what you affirm; but we, who speak of a special atonement made for every soul that ever hath believed or ever shall believe, we speak of something sure, certain, worthy of the soul’s resting itself upon, since it doth save every soul for whom it was offered up.

There remains only one other thought upon this point. It tends very much to strengthen the plea “for Christ’s sake,” if it be well known that it is the desire of the person that the boon should be granted, and if, especially, that desire has been and is earnestly expressed. Oh how glad we ought to be to tell that Christ, when we plead his name, never tells us that we are going too far and taking liberties! No, if I anxiously ask for mercy, Christ has asked for mercy for me long ago. There is never a blessing for which a believer pleads but Christ pleads for it too; for “he ever liveth to make intercession for us.” Our supplications become his supplications, and our desires when indited of the Spirit are his desires. In heaven he points to his wounds, the mementos of his grief, and he cries -- “Father, for my sake grant this favour to these poor undeserving ones; give them blessing as thou wouldst give me a blessing: be kind and gracious to them, as thou wouldst be kind and tender towards me.” This makes the pleas omnipotent. It is not possible but that it should mightily prevail with God.

2. Pausing a minute, let us enumerate some few other qualifications of this plea by way of comfort to trembling seekers. This motive, we may observe, is with God a standing motive; it cannot change. Suppose, poor sinner, that God offered to forgive for your own sake. Then if at one time you were penitent and broken-hearted, there would be hope for you; but at another time you might be bemoaning the hardness of your heart and powerlessness to repent, and then there would be no motive why God should bless you; but you see Christ is always as much worthy at one time as another, and therefore God has the same reason for blessing you, a poor wandering soul, to-day, as he can have had twenty years ago, and if you have grown grey in sin, if you have become like a sere piece of wood ready for the fire, yet this motive does not wear out: it has the dew of its youth upon it. God for Christ’s sake forgives little children, and for the same reason he can forgive the man who has passed his threescore years and ten. As long as you are in this world, this is a standing reason for mercy.

Remember, again, that this is a mighty reason. It is not merely a reason why God should forgive little sins, or else it would be slur upon Christ, as though he deserved but little. Canst thou tell how great thy sin is? “Oh,” sayest thou, “it is high as heaven, it is deep as hell;” now canst thou tell how great Christ’s worthiness is? I will tell thee that his worthiness is deeper than hell can be, and higher than heaven itself. What if thy sin could reach from east to west, and from the highest star to the depth of the abyss, yet the worthiness of Christ is a fullness which filleth all in all, and therefore it would cover all thy sins. Thy sins, like Egypt’s hosts, are many and mighty; Christ’s worthiness is like the flood of the Red Sea, able to drown the whole, so that not one of their host shall be left; they shall sink unto the bottom like a stone. Thy sins are like Noah’s flood, which drowned all mankind; Christ’s worthiness is like Noah’s ark, which swims above the tide and mounts the higher as the flood grows deeper. The deeper thy sin the more is Christ’s merit exalted above the heavens when Jehovah forgives thee all thine iniquities. Think not little of Christ. I would not have thee think little of sin, but still think more of Christ. Sin is finite; it is the creature’s act. Christ is infinite; he is omnipotent. Whatever then thy sin may be, Christ is greater than thy sin, and is able to take it away.

Then it is a most clear and satisfactory, I was about to say, most reasonable reason, a motive which appeals to your own common sense? Can you not already see how God can be gracious to you for Christ’s sake? We have heard of persons who have given money to beggars, to the poor, not because they deserved it, but because they commemorate some deserving friend. On a certain day in the year our London Horticultural Gardens are opened to the public, free. Why, why should they be opened free? What has the public done? Nothing. They receive the boon in commemoration of the good Prince Albert. Is not that a sensible reason? Yes. Every day in the year the gates of heaven are opened to sinners free. Why? For Jesus Christ’s sake. Is it not a most fitting reason? If God would glorify his Son, how could he do better than by saying, “For the sake of my dear Son, set the pearly gates of heaven wide open, and admit his chosen ones. See these myriads of spirits, they are all admitted to their throne of immortal glory for the sake of my dear Son. They are happy, but they are happy for his sake. They are holy, but they are holy for his sake.” Casting their crowns at his feet, they sing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” You perceive at once that this reason appeals to common sense, and therefore I hope, dear friends, you will lay hold of it.

Let me say, poor sinner, that it is a reason applicable to your case. If you can--think of any one good and solid reason why God should forgive you! Turn them all over. You cannot see one! I know the time when I could not find half a reason why God should save me, but I could find fifty thousand reasons why he should damn me; but when I see that, “For Christ’s sake,” O that is a reason; that is a good reason -- it is a reason I can get hold of. Suppose me to be the blackest sinner out of hell, how it will glorify Christ if, for Christ’s sake, the blackest sinner that ever lived should be snatched from hell and taken to heaven for his sake. Suppose I have been a blasphemer, unchaste, an adulterer, a murderer -- what then? “For Christ’s sake.” The more sin I have, the more glorious will the merit of Christ seem to be, when, in opposition to all my unworthiness, it brings me pardon and eternal life, and takes me to the enjoyments of his right hand. Sinner, grasp this motive. I know where you have been: you have been raking about in that filthy dunghill of your own heart. You have been turning the filth over, to find a jewel in it. You will never find one. The jewels which once belonged to mankind, were all lost by our father Adam.

I know what you have been doing. You have been trying to be better in order to deserve well of God. Thus you thought you would manufacture a reason which should move the heart of God. Leave off this foolish work; come with nothing in your hands but Christ. When the Molossians were threatened by their king to be cut to pieces for their rebellion, they pleaded very hard, but no argument would touch his heart till, one day, one of their ambassadors saw his son in the palace; catching him up in his arms, he took and laid him down before his father’s feet, and said, “For thy son’s sake have pity upon us.” Now, do this, sinner, take Christ in thine arms and say, “For Christ’s sake.” The whole pith of the gospel lies here. All true theology is comprehended in this, “For Christ’s sake.” Substitution -- saving the guilty through the innocent; substitution -- blessing the unworthy through the worthy. Do try this precious plea, poor soul, and I will warrant thee that, ere long, thou shalt find peace with God, if thou canst understand the power of this argument.

I may close these reflections by observing, that this is the only motive, the only motive, which can ever move the heart of God. You may cry as long as you will, reform as much as you please, pray as earnestly as you like, but the gate of heaven will never stir to your knockings til you plead, “For Christ’s sake.” There is the “Open Sesame,” which will make the gates of the city turn on their hinges; but if thou hast not this watchword, all thy doings and almsgivings, and praying and what not, will be but a heap of filth, piled up against heaven’s gate. Do remember that “other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid,” and that “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved,” save Jesus Christ the Righteous. Use that! Plead that, and you shall succeed with God!

II. “For Christ’s sake,” is the believer’s great motive for service. Two or three hints as to what kind of service may be expected of us; then a little exhortation by way of stirring us up to do this service for Christ.

1. We begin with a few hints as to what service is expected of us. One of the first things which every Christian should feel bound to do “for Christ’s sake” is to avenge his death. “Avenge his death,” says one; “upon whom?” Upon his murderers. And who were they? Our sins! our sins!

“Each of our crimes became a nail,
And unbelief the spear.”

The very thought of sin having put Jesus to death should make the Christian hate it with a terrible hatred. I do not wonder that the Highlanders bit their lips and marched with awful determination and dread resolve of vengeance against the rebel sepoys when they recollected how the murdered women filled up the well of Cawnpore. Every man must have felt then that he was twenty men in one for retribution, and when his arm smote he wished to concentrate all the might of justice into each stroke of his sword. When I recollect that my sins tore my Saviour’s body on the tree, took the crown from his head, and the comfort from his heart, and sent him down into the shades of death, I vow revenge against them. “O sin! Happy shall he be that taketh thy little ones and dasheth them against a stone,” yea, doubly blessed is he who, like Samuel, shall hew the Agag of his sins in pieces before the Lord, and not spare so much as one single fault, or folly, or vice, because it slew the Saviour. Be holy, be pure, be just, be ye separate from sinners for Christ’s sake.

Then, next, the Christian is expected to exalt his Master’s name, and to do much to honour his memory, for Christ’s sake. You remember that queen, who, when her husband died, thought she could never honour him too much, and built a tomb so famous, that though it was only named from him, it remains to this day the name of every splendid memorial -- the Mausoleum. Now let us feel that we cannot erect anything too famous for the honour of Christ -- that our life will be well spent in making his name famous. Let us pile up the unhewn stones of goodness, self-denial, kindness, virtue, grace; let us lay these one upon another, and build up a memorial for Jesus Christ, so that whosoever passes us by, may know that we have been with Jesus, and have learned of him. Should we not, for his sake, care for the growth of his kingdom and the welfare of his subjects? Ought we not to minister to the wants of his servants, and comfort the sorrows of his friends? If he has a poor brother anywhere, is it not at once an honour and a duty to aid him? As David cherished Mephibosheth, who was lame in his feet, for the sake of Jonathan, so should you and I look after every heavy-laden, faint-hearted Christian, for the sake of Jesus: bearing one another’s burdens, because Christ bore our burden; weeping with them that weep, because Jesus wept; helping those who ask our help, because God has laid help upon one that is mighty, even our Redeemer.

And above all, “for Jesus’ sake” should be a motive to fill us with intense sympathy with him. He has many sheep and some of them are wandering; let us go after them, for the Shepherd’s sake. He has pieces of money which he has lost; let us sweep the house, and light our candle, and seek diligently till we find them, “for Jesus’ sake.” Let the soul of the poorest little street Arab, let the soul of the grossest scoundrel and the most abandoned harlot be very dear to us “for Jesus’ sake.” Let us care even for the obstinate and rebellious, “for Jesus’ sake.” As you look at souls think you see him weeping over them, as you look at perishing sinners think you see his blood bespattered on them, and you will love them “for Jesus’ sake.” Oh, brethren, you who are doing nothing for Christ, who sit at his table and take the bread and wine in remembrance of him, what will you do when your Master comes, when you have to confess that you did nothing for him; your love was of such a sort that you never showed it; you talked of it, but you never gave to his cause, you never worked for his name? Out on such love as that! What do men think of it, a love that never shows itself in actions? Why, they say, “Open rebuke is better than secret love” of that kind; you had better have rebuked Christ than to have had a sneaking, miserable, untrue, unloving love to him, a love so weak that it was never powerful enough to actuate you to a single deed of self-denial, of generosity, or heroism, or zeal. Oh, let it not be so with us any longer, but let us seek by God’s grace that, “for Jesus’ sake,” we may have a sympathy with him in yearning over the souls of men, and endeavouring to bring them to a knowledge of his salvation.

2. A few words, lastly, by way of exhortation on this point. Clear as the sound of a trumpet startling men from slumber, and bewitching as the sound of martial music to the soldier when he marches to the conflict, ought to be the matchless melody of this word, “For Christ’s sake.” It ought to make men perform deeds which should fit them to rank with angels. It ought to bring out of every regenerate man more than was ever forced from manhood by any other word, let it have what charm it might. It ought to make the least among us valiant as David, and David as the angel of the Lord. Think what mighty wonders other words have wrought. For philosophy’s sake what have not men suffered? They have wasted their health over unhealthy furnaces, breathing deleterious gases; they have worn out their days and their nights burning the midnight oil; they have spent their last farthing to acquire the secrets of nature, beggared themselves and their families to unravel mysteries which have brought no more substantial reward than the honour of learned approbation and conscious power. The martyrs of science are innumerable. If some one would write their story, it would make a bright page in human history. Think again of what men have done for discovery’s sake by way of travelling. Take down the books of modern travellers and you will be astounded at their zeal, their courage, and disinterestedness. They have mocked the fever, have laughed at death, have left friends and kindred and the comfort of home, have gone to inhospitable climes among more inhospitable men, have wandered about in weariness, wet with the rain, frozen with the cold, or burnt up with the heat, hungry and thirsty, sick and weary, have journeyed on and on to find the source of a river or a passage through a frozen strait. When I think of such expeditions as those of Ross and franklin, I marvel at and reverence the endurance of humanity; how these bold men have braved old Boreas in his own ice palace, and faced grim desolation in its own domain. The text, “Quit you like men,” gets a new emphasis when we think of these conquerors of famine, and cold, and peril; and shall the inquisitiveness of mankind prove a stronger motive than God-given love to Jesus! If so, shame be upon us!

Think, again, of what men have done for false religion’s sake. In years gone by the scimitar flashed from the Arab’s sheath, and the Arab’s eye flashed fire at the very name of Mahomet. For the one dogma, “God is God, and Mohomet is his prophet,” blood flowed in rivers, and fields were strewn with the slain rejoicing to be slain, because they dreamed that Paradise was to be found under the shadow of swords. Think how the heathen cast themselves before the car of Juggernaut, to be crushed into a hideous mass, for their god’s sake! Their filthy, horrid, god’s sake! How many have given themselves to die by Gunga’s stream! how many a woman has gone up to the funeral pile, and thrown herself upon her husband’s dead body, giving herself an offering to her cruel gods. I know not what men have not suffered for the horrid deities which they have chosen for themselves. Martyrs to fanaticism and deception are not a few, and shall the truth find us unready and unwilling to run risks for its sake!

Review, my brethren, the heroic struggles of the Lord’s people, and here we turn to the brightest passage of the world’s annals! Think of the suffering of God’s people through the Maccabean war! How marvellous was their courage when Antiochus Epiphanes took the feeblest among the Jews to constrain them to break the law, and found himself weak as water before their dauntless resolve. Aged women and feeble children overcame the tyrant. Their tongues were torn out; they were sawn asunder; they were broiled on the fire; they were pierced with knives; but no kind of torture could subdue the indomitable spirit of God’s chosen people. Think of the Christian heroism of the first centuries; remember Blandina tossed upon the horns of bulls and set in a red-hot iron chair; think of the martyrs given up to the lions in the amphitheatre, amidst the revilings of the Roman mob; dragged to their death at the heels of wild horses, or, like Marcus Arethusa, smeared with honey and stung to death by bees; and yet in which case did the enemy triumph? In none! They were more than conquerors through him that loved them! And why? Because they did it all “For Christ’s sake,” and Christ’s sake alone. Think of the cruelty which stained the snows of the Switzer’s Alps, and the grass of Piedmont’s Valleys blood-red with the murdered with Waldenses and Albigenses, and honour the heroism of those who, in their deaths, counted not their lives dear to them “for Christ’s sake.” Think of our own Smithfield, the sacred spot where the martyrs leaped into their chariot of fire, leaving their ashes on the ground “for Jesus’ sake.” In Edinburgh, stand on the well known stones consecrated with covenanting gore, where the axe and the hangman set free the spirits of men who rejoiced to suffer for Christ’s sake. Remember those fugitives “for Christ’s sake,” meeting in the glens and crags of Scotia’s every hill, “for Christ’s sake.” They were daunted by nothing -- they dared everything “for Christ’s sake.” Think, too, of what Missionaries have done “for Christ’s sake.” With no weapon but the Bible, they have landed among cannibals, and have subdued them to the power of the gospel; with no hope of gain, except in the reward which the Lord has reserved for every faithful one, they have gone where the most enterprising trader dared not go, passed through barriers impenetrable to the courage of men who sought after gold, but to be pierced by men who sought after souls. Think of the Moravians, first and choicest of warriors for God. Think of them selling themselves for slaves, that they might teach other slaves the liberty of the gospel; consenting to be confined in the lazar-house for life, with the absolute certainty of rotting away piece-meal with leprosy and with diseases fouler still, only that they might save the leper’s soul, and have an opportunity of teaching to the poor diseased on the way by which his spirit might be made whole through Jesus the great physician. And what have you and I ever done? Oh, pigmies, dwarfs, sons of nobodies, our names will never be remembered. What have we done? Prayed at certain seasons, but with what little passion; talked now and then to sinners, but with what half-heartedness; given to the cause of Christ, but seldom given till we denied ourselves and made a real sacrifice; believed in God at times, but oh with what unbelief mixed with our faith; love Christ, but with what cold, stolid hearts. “For Christ’s sake.” Do you feel the power of it? Then let it be like a rushing mighty wind to your souls to sweep out the clouds of your worldliness, and clear away the mists of sin. “For Crist’s sake,” be this the tongue of fire that shall sit upon every one of you: “For Christ’s sake,” be this the divine rapture, the heavenly afflatus, to bear you aloft from earth, the divine spirit that shall make us bold as lions and swift as eagles in our Lord’s service; fixed, fixed on God with a constancy that is not to be shaken, resolute to honour him with a determination that is not to be turned aside, and pressing on with an ardour never to be wearied.
I now leave this theme with you. How much owest thou unto my Lord? Has he ever done anything for thee? Has he forgiven thy sins? Has he covered thee with a robe of righteousness? Has he set thy feet upon a rock? Has he established thy goings? Has he prepared heaven for thee? Has he prepared thee for heaven? Has he written thy name in his book of life? Has he given thee countless blessings? Has he a store of mercies which eye hath not seen nor ear heard? Then do something for Christ worthy of his love. Wake up from natural sleepiness, and this very day do thou something in some way by which thou shalt prove that thou dost feel the power of that divine motive, “for Christ’s sake.” May God accept and bless you, “for Jesus’ sake.” Amen. -- CHARLES H. SPURGEON.

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THE CHILDREN’S SERVICE.

HOW A PROPHET CAME TO PRAY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.

AFTER the death of the great king Solomon, you may remember how the people of God were divided into two nations, consisting of ten tribes and two, respectively, one called by the name of Israel, and the other by that of Judah.

Now it is curious to note, that the larger division which kept the good old name had least of the character which the name expressed, as it was first given by God to Jacob. He got it, because he had strong faith to wrestle with the true and living God, and to prevail; because, therefore, he was a prince with God, which the word means. But the ten tribes, who kept the name of Israel, began their history with the worship of idol-calves in Bethel; and all through their course till they were made captives, they continued to be sad idolaters, like the heathen round about them. On the other hand, the people of the kingdom of Judah, with their kings, though they often did very wrong things, were, in the main, faithful to the worship of the true God, till their last days when they fell off so that they also were sent into captivity, to learn painful but good lessons. The place where God was pleased to say his worship should be kept up, the temple which he was pleased to fill with his glory, and the ark in the holy, holy place, were in Judah. But God did not leave the ten tribes altogether; he sent many prophets to teach and warn them. Elijah was one of those; Elisha, who came after him, was another; and I have a story to tell you about one who lived at a later time than Elisha. It is a strange story, but strange though it be, it is true.

Jeroboam was the name of the first king of the ten tribes. But after a long time, another of the same name came to reign, and we speak of him as Jeroboam II, just as we say William II. of England, or Robert II. of Scotland. It was in the time of Jeroboam II. that the prophet I speak of was raised up in Israel. God sent messages by him to the people of Israel, and we know of one that told them how their king was to be a great man of war, and to win back cities that had been taken from his kingdom in the reigns of earlier kings. But when he was older, God told this prophet to carry a message to a far distant city, of which the name was Nineveh. That city was at the time very large, very powerful, and very wicked. So God said to Jonah, Go, and say to the people of Nineveh, that in forty days their city should be destroyed. God did this to warn the Ninevites; he wished to spare them, if they would be sorry for their deeds and turn from them, and he sent his prophet to alarm them, and bring them to think of their sins, and to bring forth fruits meet for repentance.

The prophet’s name was Jonah. Now being a prophet, one would think Jonah would no sooner hear God tell him to go, than he would get ready to set out on his journey. But whether it was that he was growing old, and, as old people sometimes become timid, was afraid to go; or whether he was bold enough to think that a prophet had no business to go to a heathen nation, and that he should preach to Israel only, it happened that Jonah would to obey God. So he thought of a very foolish thing. He said to himself, if I can get away far enough from this land of Israel, I can get away far enough from this land of Israel, where God looks down and speaks to prophets, I shall not be troubled with this hard command to carry a message to Nineveh, and some other person will be called to go. He resolved, therefore, to flee away by sea to some distant place, where he would not be before the Lord as he was in the land of Israel, but in the dark like the heathens. It was a very sad choice, and it was as foolish as it was wrong: indeed wrong things are always foolish. Jonah did not consider that, though going away from the land of prophecy might be easy, it was not easy to get away from the God of prophecy. Away, however, he went, down to a sea-port called Joppa, and finding a ship ready to sail for Tarshish, which he thought, was far enough away, he asked to have a passage in it, and paid his fare, and went on board. Perhaps he was weary when he got into the ship, or perhaps he was ashamed of what he was doing, and felt as if any body looking at him would know it. At all events, he went down into the hold, and hid himself till the ship had sailed and was out at sea. Then thinking, I suppose, that he was now getting away from the presence of the Lord and was safe, he fell fast asleep.

God saw Jonah all the time, and he was preparing to wake him up, and to bring him back. Everything in nature does God’s will; fire, hail, now, stormy wind. So he sent out a great storm into the sea; you know, I feel sure, what sea it was; if not, search for a Midland sea. The wind blew on the waters furiously, and the waves rose up till they were like little hills rolling along. The ship shook and tumbled, going up and down, and still the winds roared, and the billows rose. The seamen began to be afraid that the ship would sink, and they all called loudly on their gods to help them, but the storm blew on as wild as ever. At last the master of the ship thought of the passenger that he had on board; perhaps he could help them with his prayers, perhaps his God would be stronger or kinder. So he went down to where Jonah was lying, and shook him, and waked him, and said, you sleeper, do not you know that we are in danger of going all to the bottom? wake up, and call on your God, that he may help us, if he can. It was a terrible waking up for Jonah. He did not count on this. He is on board ship, and both captain and crew at their wit’s end, thinking that they could not help being drowned; and, worst of all, he heard God’s voice in the storm, and knew that it had come on his account. O children, people hear such voices of storm often, often, in their souls, and know that troubles are sent because of them. But Jonah was now awake in two senses; his eyes were open, and his conscience was roused. So he rose at the captain’s call, and standing among the seamen, he said, This storm is sent for me, I have been foolish and bad; I am a servant of the true God, and he wanted me to go and carry a message for him, and I would not go, but thought I would flee out of his sight, where he would not mind me, and ask somebody else. But see, his swift winds have come after me, and I have brought you all into danger. You must get quit of me; you must cast me into the sea. The men were very much astonished and vexed when they heard him say this, and for a while they would not think of throwing him into the sea. They rowed very hard to get to the shore, but the waves were too strong for them; and they had at length to give up, and do what Jonah told them. They took him up, and cast him into the raging waters. They were very sorry to do it; but there was something in Jonah’s way of telling them what to do, as well as in the wildness of the storm, that drove them to the step they took. When they had done it they were more filled with fear and wonder than ever; for they had scarcely seen his body sink under the waves, before the winds fell, and the sea became as calm as it was when they left the harbour. They said at once, The God of that man is the true God; we must serve him, and him only. So when they got to land, they offered sacrifices to the God of Israel, and paid the vows which they had made upon the sea. Wherever they went, also it is natural to suppose that they told the strange story of the terrible storm and the sudden calm, and the equally strange way in which the tempest had been quelled.

After he was thrown out into the deep, God still followed his foolish servant Jonah. I do not know whether the prophet expected to be drowned; but whether or no, God was kind to him. He had a great fish ready to swallow him, and keep him safe, till he should learn the lesson that had been given him, and be willing to go on the errand on which God had sent him. If you ask me how a man could live in a fish, I cannot tell you; I am not much concerned to guess whether it was in the fish’s mouth, or in his stomach, that Jonah lay, or whether it was a whale or some other sort of fish that swallowed him. I know that God is quite able to do any thing that it pleases him to do; and I think he did for Jonah what he has not done for other men, and what, if we fell into the sea, we have no reason to think would be done for any of us. I think it was a miracle, and an only thing of the kind, like Christ’s burial and resurrection. It was something at the same time, like what will happen to us all, if we are God’s true children, and are foolish enough to forget him, and sin against him. We shall find that wrong things done by us plunge us down into the deep, but that God’s grace is strong to bring us up again. Jonah thought of this when he was down beneath the waves, and he cried to God out of the strange prison into which he had been cast -- cried to that God from whose presence he had been so anxious to flee. The Bible says, “Then Jonah prayed to God out of the fish’s belly.”

How he prayed, how he was answered, and what followed, must be told in another story.

QUESTIONS ON THE BIBLE STORY.

1. Where are we told about the secession of the ten tribes, leaving two only to the house of David?
2. When did Jacob get his name changed to Israel?
3. What was the name of the towns were the idol-calves were first made and worshipped?
4. What psalm tells us where God wished his worship to be kept up?
5. Can you find the place in the historical books of the Old Testament where Jonah’s prophecy about Jeroboam is mentioned?
6. What prophet of the Old Testament writes all his prophecy about Nineveh?
7. Find a text which proves that God is better pleased when people repent and live, than when they go on in their sins and perish.
8. Find a text which shows that no one can go where God is not.
9. Can you find Joppa in the New Testament?
10. Can you find a text which shows that a bad conscience makes a man a coward?
11. Can you tell me of an innocent person who was sleeping on board a boat in a storm, and was wakened by those around him?
12. Who were the persons that on land called for many hours on their God, and got no answer?
13. What psalm describes to us something like what happened to the seamen in the ship where Jonah was?
14. Where does Christ compare his own burial to Jonah’s being in the fish’s belly?
15. What prophet was it that bade a man smite him, and because he would not do it, the man died?
16. What psalm speaks of a prayer sent up to God out of deep places?
17. What text in scripture shows that sin makes us fall, or sink down?

ANSWERS to the foregoing questions may be found by consulting 1 Kings xii.; Gen. xxxii.; 1 Kings xii.; Ps. lxxvi.; 2 Kings xiv.; Nahum i.; Ezek. xxxiii. and 2 Pet. iii.; Ps. cxxxix.; Acts x.; Prov. xxviii.; Matt.viii; 1 Kings xviii.; Ps. cvii.; Matt. xii.; 1 Kings xx.; Ps. cxxx.; Hos. xiv. Other chapters furnish answers to some of the questions.

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Prayer.

O LORD, when thou speakest to us, may we always be ready to hear, and to do Thy will rather than our own. But when at any time we may have sinned, let us not try to hide our sin, but let us confess and forsake it, and according to Thy promise find mercy, for Jesus Chrit’s sake. Amen.

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EVENING WORSHIP.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that Thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent, create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, truly lamenting our sins, with unfeigned sorrow and abhorrence, and acknowledging our wretchedness with sincere resolution of amendment of life, may obtain of Thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness, and may at last be brought to the enjoyment of glory, honour, and immortality, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

HYMN, or PSALM xcii. 12-15.

YOUR harps, ye trembling saints,
Down from the willows take;
Loud to the praise of love divine
Bid every string awake!

Though in a foreign land,
We are not far from home;
And nearer to our house above
We every moment come.

His grace will to the end
Stronger and brighter sine:
Nor present things, nor things to come,
Shall quench the spark divine.

When we in darkness walk,
Nor feel the heavenly flame,
Then is the time to trust our God,
And rest upon his name.

Soon shall our doubts and fears
Subside at his control;
His loving-kindness shall break through
The midnight of the soul.

Blest is the man, O God,
That stays himself on thee:
Who waits for thy salvation, Lord,
Shall thy salvation see.

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JOHN XIV. 15-17.

IF ye love me, keep my commandments: 16. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. 19. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22. Judas saith unto him (not Iscariot), Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 25. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

JOHN XVI. 7-15.

NEVERTHELESS I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9. Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

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Prayer.

OUR Father in heaven, we again come before Thy presence with thanksgiving, and worship at Thy footstool. Lord, give us a lively sense of Thy presence with us. Make us to feel that Thou God seest us, and that we are with Thee. This evening we have special reason for thanksgiving; enable us to pay our vows unto Thee. O let the memory of Thy past goodness be to us precious, and may our gratitude come up to Thee as a sweet perfume. We have had choice mercies, which we have not deserved. Blessed be our Lord, and may the God of our salvation be glorified! Whatever may be Thy providential allotments to us, teach us to regard them as coming forth from the Lord of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. If in Thy wisdom seest affliction to be good for us, let us have the vinegar and the gall. Keep us from doubts and from hard thoughts of Thee. With growing experience, and having abundantly tasted that the Lord is gracious, may we henceforth have a firm unwavering confidence in Thy fatherly love. Make us more fervent in prayer. Grant that our tempers may be softened, that our wills may be subdued, that our tongues may speak more to the edifying of one another in love, and that we may do more for Thee. Lord, grant us more success in Thy work, more wisdom as to the method, more sincerity as to the motive, more prayerfulness and dependence on Thee as to the results.

O Father, bless Thy church. May all Thy people be knit together in love; may their numbers be largely increased; may there be fewer backslidings among them; may they show more vehement zeal, more firm and sustained resolve in advancing Messiah’s kingdom, and may their efforts be crowned with abundant success: then shall transgressors be taught Thy way, and sinners converted to Thee.

Hear the cry of such as be in trouble, and, out of darkness, bring them forth to the light. Let the rough places in their lot be made plain, and the crooked things straight. O Lord, save the sick who are in their own homes. Comfort and cheer their hearts in their sickness. Be in the hospital; in the sick-wards of workhouses; with all who are near to death. Give them the comfort of the Holy Ghost to sustain and carry them safely through their last earthly trial. And, O thou great Father and Shepherd of the sheep, let the very least and weakest of them be the objects of Thy tenderest care. Hear these our prayers, for Christ’s sake; and unto the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be glory, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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MORNING AND EVENING MEDITATIONS.

MONDAY.

Morning.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God:

Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus;

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay; but by the law of faith.

Rom. iii. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27.

Evening.

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:

Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Rom. iii. 28, 29, 30, 31. Rom. iv. 4, 5.

TUESDAY.

Morning.

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law.

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written,

Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

Gal. ii. 16. Gal. iii. 10, 11.

Evening.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference.

Rom. i. 16. Rom. iii. 20, 21, 22.

WEDNESDAY.

Morning.

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Isa. lxiv. 6. Rom. iv. 7, 8. Rom. v. 6.

Evening.

Faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Now, it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom. iv. 9, 22, 23, 24, 25. Rom. v. 8.

THURSDAY.

Morning.

Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

For in that he died, he died unto sin once; but in that he lieth, he liveth unto God.

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Rom. vi. 9, 10, 11, 12, 14.

Evening.

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin; but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

I speak after the manner of men, because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness, and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants of righteousness unto holiness.

Rom. vi. 15, 17, 18, 19.

FRIDAY.

Morning.

Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded.

Gal. v. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10.

Evening.

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, so is the figure of him that was to come.

For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Rom. v. 14, 17, 18.

SATURDAY.

Morning.

How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit.

Job xxv. 4. Ps. li. 4, 5, 6, 9, 12.

Evening.

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,

Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

For ye are bought with a price.

1 Cor. vi. 9, 10, 11, 19, 20.