30. To reveal his Son in me. Gal. 1: 16.

From this revelation begins spiritual life-a life proceeding from God, and holding communion with God, and tending to the glory of God. The honor and happiness of our souls ariseth from this revealing of Christ in us. O for the reviving comfort of this, while we consider it. To reveal Christ in us, is to make such a clear discovery of the matchless charms and glory of his person to our souls as we never saw before; so that our hearts are enamoured with him, we choose him, love him, delight in him, and cleave to him in all his offices and characters; for, by the eye of our soul, we then behold his glory-the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth to us miserable sinners; hence, he is the only beloved of our souls. Without this revelation of Jesus Christ in us, alas, what is all outward profession? No more than mere talk, dry formality, and heavy drudgery. O my soul, O my dear friends, be not content to live without a constant revelation of Christ to your souls; this makes the conscience peaceful, the heart heavenly, and the soul happy. This inspires love, subdues lust, captivates the affections, makes the whole man happy in God, and creates heaven in the soul. If Christ be within

the heart, all will be right and well without in the life. If you believe in Christ as revealed in the word, this blessed promise is for you: "I will manifest myself unto him." John 14:21.

Great God, thy Scriptures will impart

The Saviour to my listening ear;

Yet O, reveal him in my heart,

And let me feel his presence there.

31. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from ali sin. 1 John, 1:7.

Whatever we do of ourselves, in answer to our convictions, is a covering, not a cleansing; and if we die in this condition, unwashed, uncleansed, unpurified, it is utterly impossible that we should be admitted into the blessed presence of the holy God. Rev. 21:27. Let no man deceive you with vain words. It is not the doing a few good works, it is not an outward profession of religion, that will give you an access with joy unto God. Unless you are washed from your actual transgressions in the blood of Christ, and cleansed from the pollution of your nature by the Spirit of God, you shall not inherit the kingdom of God; yea, without this washing you will be a horrible sight unto saints and angels. to yourselves, and

to one another, when the shame of your nakedness shall be made to appear. If, therefore, you would not perish, and that eternally—if you would not perish as base, defiled creatures, an abhorring unto all flesh-then, when your pride, and your wealth, and your beauty, and your ornaments, and your duties, will stand you in no stead, look out betimes after that only way of purifying and cleansing your souls which God hath ordained. "Without shedding of blood there is no remission." Heb. 9: 22. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." "Ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Pet. 1:18, 19.

No works of ours, the most or best,

Can wash a conscience clean;

The blood of Christ, our great High-priest,
Alone will cleanse from sin.

APRIL.

1. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. Gen. 9:13.

THE rainbow is a token of the covenant of preservation made with Noah, and with all the creatures of the earth; it is fixed and sure: it may be considered also as an emblem of the covenant of grace, Isaiah 54:9, 10; or rather, it may be an emblem of Christ himself, Revelation 10:1, as appears in many particulars. When we are apt to fear being overwhelmed by the rain, Jehovah shows this seal of his promise that we shall not. Thus he removes our fears, when we weep for sin and are afraid of a flood of wrath, by reminding us of the covenant of grace established in Jesus. The thicker the cloud, the brighter the bow in the cloud; so when afflictions abound, consolations do much more abound. The bow appears when one part of the sky is clear, which intimates mercy remembered in the midst of wrath. The rainbow is caused by the reflection of the beams of the sun; so all the glory of the covenant of grace, and the significancy of the seals, are derived from Christ the Sun of

righteousness. A bow speaks terror; but this is without string or arrow-is directed upwards, and not to the earth. God looks upon the bow to remember his covenant; so should we, that we may be mindful of the covenant of grace with faith and thankfulness.

Christ's open arms like rainbows stand,
To grasp and save a guilty land;
O take me, Lord, within thy bow,
And all its glories sweetly show.

2. God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Gal. 6:14.

A true believer has nothing to glory in but Christ alone. Even in his very best performances he will often be deeply humbled, and cry out, "Lord, enter not into judgment." And well he may; for the ground of our glory, comfort, and salvation is not in works, but in Christ, and the free grace of God; who, for his Son's sake, lays nothing to our charge, but daily covers and richly pardons all our iniquities and thus believers, walking steadily, might always be kept in solid peace; for the cross of Christ is a solid and unshaken foundation.