Still this is not the fault of original nature; coming from God's hand, all was very good; and very good only because every gift was perfect. But now since sin has entered into the world, there is evil and imperfection in all nature's choicest gifts, and to remedy this evil, and supply the imperfection, is the great end and glory of 'the gospel of the grace of God.'

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Now the gifts of grace are all good, because every one supplies our wants, or relieves our pains. Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.' 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, who healeth all thy diseases.' The gifts of grace are good, because every one of them communicates joy. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom we have access, through faith, into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.' The gifts of grace are likewise all perfect. The whole gifts of grace are indeed summed up, and included, as jewels in a casket, in the person of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our all, and our in all,' and having him, we have the Father; and having the Father, and the Son, we can want nothing. For thus prays our Lord for all that should believe in him through the disciples' word: That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee; that they may be one in us; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.'

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But besides this gift whereby the church of believers is made 'perfect in one,' and found 'complete in him' all the personal gifts wherewith believers are endowed, are in detail, perfect gifts. The gift of the Spirit is perfect, for he abides' with the church for ever. The gift of regeneration is perfect, for the believer is born not of corruptible, but of incorruptible seed, by the word of God that liveth and abideth for ever. The gift of righteousness is perfect, for it is the righteousness of God.' Nay even those 'gifts' in which there is growth and increase, are perfect,-faith, hope, charity, and every form of grace and fruit of the Spirit, all are perfect. They are perfect as 'gifts,' being secured by the cath of God. They are perfect in kind, being brought from above, from the Father of lights; and they are perfect in working-for he that hath begun a good work,' in his people's heart, 'will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.' For the path of the just,'-the man justified by faith, the path of the just is as the shining

But this perfection of the 'gifts' depends altogether on the perfection of the Giver. They all come from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' But this can be said of no other light. The fairest orbs of heaven vary. Some by change of position, as they run in their courses; some by increase or decrease of splendour; the very sun himself is overshadowed, and the moon is darkened by the eclipse; and an hour is coming when the heavens shall wax old as a garment, and as a vesture the Lord shall change them, and they shall be changed; but he is the same, and his years shall have no end.' Jesus the Son of God is that true light by which the nature and glory of God are made manifest. A portion of his light he communicates to prophets and apostles, and in degrees, varying according to his will, to every believer. Thus our Lord says of John, 'He was a burning and a shining light; and ye were willing, for a season, to rejoice in his light.' And thus says the apostle of believers, 'ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.' Do all things without murmuring or disputing, that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.'

Let us remember then whence all our light is derived. It is only in God's light we can see light. Let us never trust to the light of our own understandings; but in all our inquiries and resolutions, ever pray to the Father of light, 'Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.'

Let us always live under the salutary remembrance of the unsteadiness as well as insufficiency of our own light. How variable is the light we enjoy in our own heart,-how beclouded the light we exhibit to others. He who at first caused the light to shine into our dark hearts, can alone preserve it in steadiness and brightness. O that we had grace so to shine before men, that, seeing our good works, they might glorify our Father who is in heaven!

the glory. Bodily, mental, and spiritual giftslet all be employed to set forth his praise. With the imperfect gifts of nature, let us glorify him; for he perfects his strength in our weakness; and with the perfect gifts of grace, let us praise him, for we can do all things through Christ strengthening us.

And if at any time we feel the want of either temporal or spiritual gifts-let this be the light of our darkness, and the foundation of our hope and trust If God spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not, with him, also freely give us all things?'

TWENTIETH DAY.-EVENING.

"Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns;

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yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are

ye not much better than they?' Matt. vi. 26. FROM every object in nature around him, from every employment in which men were engaged, and from every circumstance in which he was placed, our Lord was accustomed to draw his instruction. As man he gives evidence of the most attentive observation, and trains his disciples to similar habits. Behold,' says he, the lilies how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; yet say unto you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these; wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?' And turning from the flowers with which he has beautified the earth, Behold,' he adds, 'the fowls' with which he has peopled the air! How innumerable where they congregate in the forest, or scatter on the heath; where they surround the cultivated field, or penetrate the crowded city; where they give life to the solitary sea rock, or find their home upon the deep waters; as they migrate from climate to climate, and become citizens of every land! By what toil of sowing, or reaping, or by what foresight of gathering into barns, can all their hosts be fed? The bee, under a regular government of power and affection, selects her delicious deposit from every flower of summer, and lives through the winter on her reserved capital. The ant, having no guide, overseer, or ruler, gathereth her food in the harvest,' and exhibits, as in a school of instructive industry, the fittest lesson for the sluggard; but the bird neither sows nor reaps with any toil, nor gathers into barns by any industry or foresight,-yet by a

bountiful provision, whereby he 'supplies the wants of every thing that lives,' in a manner suited to its own nature, our heavenly Father feedeth them.

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Yes, our heavenly Father' supplies the wants of every thing that lives,' but each in a way suited to its own nature; each in a suited to display the endless and lovely variety of instincts and propensities with which he has endowed his creatures, and the inexhaustible stores by which he can supply their wants.

And if every creature is supplied in a manner suited to its own nature—that is, in a way suited to its own capacities and free and unbiassed inclinations-then, as the bee and the ant are supported by the incessant labours of an industry for which they are fitted, while the bird is equally supplied without either toil or foresight-then is man to derive his support from that foresight with which, beyond all other creatures, he is endowed, by an industry which, above all other creatures, he is competent to vary and pursue, and from which, when rationally followed, he derives both his pleasure and his health. Were man not capable of being taught more than the beasts of the field;' were he not by nature and acquirement wiser than the fowls of heaven ;' then should he live by their law, and be provided for after their manner.

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But being differently constituted both by capacity and inclination-an inclination to industry, universal and invariable, and only prevented by evil education or sinful indulgence-man is bound, by the law of his nature and his God, to provide things honest in the sight of all men ;' to avoid being slothful in business;' and to remember that it is the hand of the diligent that maketh rich.' From the argument of our Saviour drawn from the providential feeding of the fowls of the air, no man can derive any argument against the employment of means for his support. For whether the means within his power be mental acquirement or bodily strength, they are those divine endowments which, by the very fact of their possession, he is bound to exert. The bee and the ant put forth the utmost power with which God has endowed them; the very improvident bird labours incessantly for its young; and, when food is exhausted, or climate annoys, it fearlessly and laboriously wings its way over oceans and continents in search of a new home and a new store. Man can therefore plead neither the example of nature, nor the authority of grace, for any wilful idleness, any improvident neglect, any prodigal squandering of any means that God bestows.

But while the appeal of our Saviour is not directed against means, it is directed against all unbelieving fears for the present or the future; against all doubt and distrust of power, or mercy, or goodness; and against all those engrossing anxieties and cares about worldly provision, which so often haunt and torment the minds of men both in their waking and sleeping hours. And especially are they intended and calculated, both by example of providence and precept of our Lord, to sustain the minds of men under the pressure of difficulties, disappointments, sickness, pains, and sorrows. For as it is not merely in the plenty and warmth of summer, but in the dearth and storms of winter, that the bird is fed; so it is not merely in the bright sunshine of prosperity, but under the darkest clouds of misfortune, that we are warranted to put our trust in Him who is faithful to the letter in every promise and engagement.

Observe a speciality in our Saviour's argument, 'Your heavenly Father feedeth them: are ye not much better than they? Are we not much better, being in God's own image? Are we not much better, being bought with so great a price? Are we not much better, being endowed with such precious promises? Shall we not therefore follow faith farther than they pursue their instincts? and depend as implicitly on the grace of God, as they on the bounties of nature?

Observe how the birds, while they are bountifully fed, are yet required to seek their food; so let us learn to seek, and to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then all other things shall be added unto us. What contempt of God not to seek that righteousness and king.. dom which he sent his own Son to bring in and to establish; or to neglect that great salvation which he hath purchased with his own blood!

How blessed, when cares intrude and annoy, to recall that description of the afflicted believer, 'casting all his care upon God, because he careth for him!' How consoling and strengthening the exhortation, Cast thou thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved!'

How freely and confidently may we ask all that we need for our souls! God feeds the ravens of the desert when they cry unto him: he will not then neglect the cry of his dear children. As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.' And if men, being evil, know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more will our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him!'

TWENTY-FIRST DAY.-MORNING.

'God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,' Gen. i. 26.

THE inspired history of creation presents a beautiful example of progressive excellence. First, the material world, but without form and void;' then light; then the firmament of heaven; then dry land, and plants of every form; then lights in heaven to rule the day and night; then the fish of the sea, and fowls of the air; then all the beasts of the field-and, all being thus prepared, God said, Let us make man,' last and noblest of his works, in our own image, after our own likeness.' At the formation of every other thing, God said, 'let it be,' and it was so. But, at the formation of man, there is a divine council, and an image impressed representing, as far as a creature may, the infinite attributes of the Creator. All this imports that man was a creature superior to all that had hitherto been made. Let us examine the import of the record.

In all ages of the Christian church, this divine consultation has been understood of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Barnabas, the fellow labourer of Paul, observes, For the Lord was contented to suffer for our souls, though he be the Lord of the world; to whom God said, the day before the completion of the world, "Let us make man after our image, and similitude."'

Hermas, the cotemporary of Paul, adds, "He was present in council with the Father in forming the creatures.'

Theophilus of Antioch, about the year 180, observes, 'He directed these words, "Let us make man," to none other than his own Word.'

Irenæus, about the year 187, speaks thus, 'His word and wisdom, his Son and Spirit are always present with him, to whom he spake, saying, “Let us make man.'

Origen, born in 185, likewise declares, 'To him also spoke he, the Father, "Let us make man after our image'

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Augustine, born in 354, more extensively commenting on the words, and combating the perverse interpretations of them, has these words, Had God said no more than "Let us make man," it might, with some colour, be understood as spoken to the angels, whom the Jews pretend he employed in framing the body of man and other creatures; but seeing it is immediately added, "after our image," it is highly profane to believe that man was made after the similitude of angels, and that the similitude of God and angels is one and the same thing.'

What is the glory of the Lord? It is, first, that visible splendour in which God has been pleased to make his presence manifest to men's bodily senses. Thus it is said in Exodus that Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel.' But that this was not the sole, but merely one visible exhibition of his glory, is manifest from the fact, that after this Moses says to the Lord, 'I beseech thee, show me thy glory;' and the Lord graciously answers, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by. And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts'—or that which I shall hereafter be but my face shall not be seen.' Agreeably to this account of the visible glory, John describes it as exhibited in the Son of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.'

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Now sinceman's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever,' it becomes a subject of the most solemn inquiry, How shall we glorify him?

We cannot cause any visible glory to appear to ourselves or others. It might be highly presumptuous, nay, impious, to desire it. But we glorify God when we diligently study, spiritually discover, and humbly and fervently acknowledge his perfections. That this should be our chief end on earth is evident, because it is the chief work of the church in heaven: for, they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when the living creatures give glory, and honour, and thanks, to him that sat on the throne, that liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power.'

We glorify God when we acknowledge all the blessings we enjoy, and all the gifts with which we are endowed, to have come down from him as

We glorify God when we humble ourselves beneath his mighty power, when we confess and lament our sins before him, when we bow to his chastisements, and deprecate and flee from his deserved anger. Thus speaks the prophet to Israel; 'Hear ye and give ear; be not proud, for the Lord hath spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains.

We glorify God when patiently, cheerfully, and joyfully, we are contented to suffer for truth and righteousness. Thus Peter admonishes the church-'If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.'

We glorify God when we employ our hearts, and our voices in his praise, and so fulfil his own declaration, who offereth praise, glorifies me.'

Our obligations to glorify God result immediately from the various means whereby he may be glorified. We have had his brightest perfections shining upon us in the beams of the Sun of righteousness.' The very opening of our eyes therefore compels us to tell of what we see. He has enriched us with his spiritual treasures, and we are bound to acknowledge our obligation. We have sinned against his law, and come short of his glory in our disobedience; we are bound, therefore, to glorify the mercy by which we are brought to salvation. If tried in the furnace of affliction, we are bound to glorify him; for he only refines us from the dross of worldliness, that the brightness and the value of the gold may appear. He has given us eyes to see, hearts to feel, and voices to praise: we are bound, therefore, to employ our gifts to the honour and glory of the donor.

But beyond the obligations to the duty, there lies this paramount inducement, which we select out of many. Our eternal enjoyment of Godour possession of him as our own—as our Father, our Saviour, our Sanctifier-with all our delight in his perfections and gifts-all lic in the very act of glorifying God, and cannot be separated from it. To glorify God, is to enjoy God; an enjoyment that increases as our knowledge, our faith, our love, our hope, our confidence, our submission, our sensibility, and our utterance increase-an enjoyment, now impe: fect, because