from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities." Thus the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. And they that believe on him are justified from all things.

The other is, by sanctifying grace.

"I will

sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you." And this is as much the work of God as the former. He subdues our iniquities, as well as forgives them. He not only ordains peace for us, but works all our works in us.

The Christian is persuaded of this gracious deliverance; and therefore expresses himself with confidence And a foundation is laid for this confidence; and such a firm and scriptural foundation, as that he may feel himself perfectly safe in the midst of danger; and, under the deepest sense of his desert, joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom he has now received the atonement; and, with regard to all the conflicts of indwelling sin, take courage, and sing "I shall not die, but live; and declare the works of the Lord.

'My spirit holds perpetual war,

And wrestles and complains;
'But views the happy moment near
"That shall dissolve its chains.

'Cheerful in death I close my eyes,
"To part with every lust;

'And charge my flesh, whene'er it rise,
To leave them in the dust.""

AUG. 29.-"So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."

Gal. iii. 9.

THE outward distinctions of life, awaken the envy of some, and gender discontents in others. And

yet how little depends upon them! All that is essential to the real welfare, and chief happiness of man, lies open to all who choose to avail themselves of it. All cannot become scholars; but all may be made wise unto salvation. All cannot acquire wealth; but all may gain the unsearchable riches of Christ. All cannot walk upon the high places of the earth; but all may be great in the sight of the Lord.-Abraham, the founder of the Jewish nation, was considered the most dignified and indulged of the human race: yet every Christian, however poor and despised, stands related to this extraordinary character, and is blessed with him-"If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." "They which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." And how was he blessed?

He was justified. And 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 him, there is no wrath to come; no sting in death; no curse in affliction. But came this blessedness upon Abraham only? "What_saith the Scripture ? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto 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." So then they that be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham-And are all authorized to say, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Abraham was called the friend of God-and was called so by God himself: "But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend." If Eusebius held it such

a privilege to be the friend of Pamphilus: if Lord Brookes so gloried in the distinction, as to have it inscribed upon his tomb

"Here lies the friend of Sir Philip Sidney"—

What was the honour of Abraham, in being acknowledged the friend of God? Yet such honour have all the saints. They are not only pardoned, but admitted to intimacy. They walk with God. His secret is with them; and he shews them his covenant. In all their afflictions, he is afflicted. He loveth at all times: and will never leave nor forsake them. "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."

Abraham, also, was blessed with usefulness. "I will bless thee," says God, "and make thee a blessing." This was done, not only in the descent of the Messiah from him, in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed eventually; but by his prayers, and instructions, and example, and exertions, and influence wherever he came. Thus also are all believers blessed. Not one of them is useless. They are disposed to do good; and their desire is gratified. They are qualified to do good; and, as stewards of the manifold grace of God, they serve their generation by his will. They are the salt of the earth, to preserve; the light of the world, to inform; and a dew from the Lord, and as showers upon the grass, to cool, and refresh, and revive, and fertilize "I will save you, and ye shall be a blessing." Abraham was divinely protected: and God said to him, "I am thy shield." "I will bless him that blesseth thee; and I will curse him that curseth thee." He preserved him in his going out and coming in. He covered his head in the day of battle, when he rescued his kinsman, Lot. He suffered no man to do him wrong; yea, he reproved kings for his sake, saying, Touch not mine anointed,

and do my prophet no harm. And thus, though many rise up against believers, and they feel themselves to be perfect weakness; their defence is of God, who saveth the upright in heart. He is their refuge and strength; a very present and all-sufficient help in trouble. They are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation: therefore they need not fear what their enemies can do unto them.

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Abraham had not only a divine protection, but an infinite portion: "I am," says God, not only 'thy shield," but "thy exceeding great reward!" This necessarily includes what God was to do for him beyond the grave. It could not have been fulfilled in this life. When we find him, a few years only after this assurance, sickening and dying, and laid in the cave of Machpelah; we are constrained to ask, Is this the reward, the great, the exceeding great reward, consisting, so to speak, of God himself? Ages after this, God said to Moses, at the bush, I am not I was-but, I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. The relation, therefore, remained; for "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living." They were then living, as to their spirits; and would as certainly live, as to their bodies, in the resurrection, as if it had already taken place. Hence the reasoning of the Apostle: "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." "And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city." Our Saviour also allowed him to be in glory; and even represented heaven by a union and intimacy

with him: "The beggar died, and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom." Well, and nothing less than this is the glad and glorious destination of every believer. For they that be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

The grand inquiry therefore is "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" For we have access only by faith into this grace, wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

For they that are not of faith are cursed withthe faithless nobleman, to whom it was denounced, "Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not taste of it." And with the faithless Jews, whose carcasses fell in the Wilderness; and who "could not enter in because of unbelief." And "with hypocrites and unbelievers, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth."

AUG. 30.-"Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." 1 Peter i. 17.

FROM these words, I might consider the nature of the Christian life-which is a sojourning here: and also the time appointed for it. But let me rather reflect upon the manner in which I am to pass the one, in accomplishing the other-"Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." This cannot intend every kind of fear, without making the Scripture inconsistent with itself: for how often does it forbid fear!

We must not, therefore, give way to apprehensions of any thing we may suffer from our fellowcreatures, in following the path of duty. Here we should boldly say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man can do unto me." "Fear not," says the Saviour--mentioning the extremest case