of being made partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the pollutions of the world through lust. There is a real operation in all the subjects of Divine grace which delivers them from the power of darkness; and destroys the love of sin, and renders true holiness their delight and pursuit. Paul therefore says, "Be ye transformed by the renewing of the mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God"-The latter depends upon the forWe cannot be consecrated to God till we are renovated. The reason is, that by nature we are depraved, and have no love to God or concern to please him. But when this Divine change takes place, then what God purposed is actually exemplified, and we dedicate ourselves to him, considering ourselves as no longer our own, and using all we are, and all we have, to his service and in his praise.

mer.

Hence sanctification is more than natural amiableness, outward reformation, and mere morality. Morality does not include holiness: but holiness includes morality, and makes provision for it in the surest and noblest way.

Sanctification too is not confined to any particular faculty, but extends to the whole nature of man. We read of being sanctified wholly, body, soul, and spirit. The work is not finished in any part, but it is begun in every part. There is a difference between the operations of art and of life. The progress of the former is successional, the latter simultaneous. The painter or the sculptor while advancing one part of the picture or the statue leaves for the time the rest; but in a flower and a tree the whole goes on at once towards maturity. The child is not a man, but he has all the

lineaments and faculties, and though they are imperfect, they grow together to manhood in due timeSo it is with the Christian.

How defective are they in their religious views and concerns who do not look to the Lord Jesus as the Sanctifier as well as the Redeemer! If I wash thee not, says he, thou hast no part in me. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.

APRIL 18.-MORNING.

"Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." MATT. xiii. 33.

We may consider the kingdom of heaven, as intending the empire of the Gospel in the world; and also the empire of grace in the heart.

Let us confine our attention to the latter.

The leaven in the meal is a foreign importation. It is not naturally in the meal, nor derived from it. It is the same with Divine grace. Though it resides in us, it does not arise from us: for in our natural state dwelleth no good thing-It is altogether a new production; and so alien is it from the man himself, who is the subject of it, that the introduction of the principle occasions a ferment, or contest, that lasts for life -the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.

The leaven in the meal is active and operating. There it works; and evinces its residence by its agency. And the grace of God-Is this a dead, powerless thing? Is it a notion? Or a principle? We read of the work of faith; the labour of love; the

patience of hope. The same may be said of repentance: "What carefulness it wrought in you; yea, what zeal! yea, what revenge!" I will shew thee, says James, my faith by my works: I will shew thee the sun, by its shining; and the spring, by the streams. Faith justifies the soul; but works justify faith, and prove it to be of the operation of God.

The leaven is assimilating. It converts; it changes -not by destroying the substance of the meal, but altering the quality; communicating its own property, tincture, relish. It is the same here. We are transformed by the renewing of the mind. The man remains physically the same as he was before: the same in his relations, talents, condition, business-Yet he is another man; a new man. He is evangelized. He has something of the holy and heavenly nature of divine truth in him. If the grace of God be light, it enlightens him. If salt, it seasons him. If glory, it glorifies him. If leaven, it leavens him.

The operation of the leaven is gradual. The effect in the meal is not produced at once; but by degrees. And do we not read of being renewed day by day? of going from strength to strength? of being changed into the same image, from glory to glory? The work would want the evidence of analogy, if it were instantaneous. In the family we see children becoming young men; and young men becoming fathers. In the field, we see, first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear. Some are not sensible of their religious advancement; and the reason is, they judge by the growing, rather than by the growth. The one escapes us; the other is perceptible.

Were you to stand by the side of the most rapidly growing plant, you would not see it grow; but you

would see when it was grown. Thus judge your selves, and see whether there is not an increase in your convictions of sin, and the vanity of the world, and the preciousness of the Saviour. Thus look at your dispositions; your dependence; your taste, your diligence; your self-denial, in the service and ways of God.

The influence of the leaven is diffusive. Commencing from the centre, it reaches, in due time, to the extremities, and penetrates every particle of the meal. The grace of God is lodged in the heart; but it is not confined there. It reaches all the powers of the man's mind, and all the senses of his body. It enters all his situations, and circumstances in life. It affects him in the field; in the shop, in the family; in all his connexions; in all his civil and common actions; and whether he eats or drinks, or whatever he does, he does all to the glory of God.

-And, as the leaven ultimately attains its object, and leavens the whole-so here the issue of the grace of God will be universal and complete holiness. It will sanctify us wholly-body, soul, and spirit. It will perfect that which concerneth us. And the result is sure, even now. How small soever the leaven is, compared with the mass, the less will prevail, and subdue the greater. The dawn will chase away the night, and blaze in full day. He which hath begun a good work, will perform it: let us not despise, therefore, the day of small things, either in ourselves or others.

"Casting

all

APRIL 18.-EVENING.

your care upon him." 1 PET. v. 7

To understand this injunction two remarks will be necessary.

First, the Apostle refers to cares pertaining to the life that now is. As to the affairs of the life to come, we are not only permitted but required to be careful, Yea, we are commanded to "seek first," that is, before all other things, "the kingdom of God and his righteousness." And it is to enable us to pursue these objects in a manner becoming their importance, that other cares are forbidden. Yet,

Secondly, the Apostle does not design, even in temporal interests, to dispense with a wise use of means and a strict attention to duty. For these are encouraged in other parts of Scripture, and every word of God is pure. "The hand of the diligent maketh fat." "The prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself; but the simple pass on and is punished." "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." Hence also the general caution: "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established." If professors of religion therefore, under a notion of casting all their care upon the Lord, neglect exertion, refuse opportunities of improving their condition, and in their expenses exceed their income, they are tempting God but not trusting in him. And Paul, a very compassionate man, made no scruple to enjoin, "If any will not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy-bodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in