In the glass of God’s holy and righteous law we see what an unholy and unrighteous thing sin is; it is hateful in the eyes of a pure God; it has separated between God and the sinner, and tends to his eternal destruction. The gospel in no wise renders sin less odious to God, less heinous in his sight; far from it. Yea rather, it paints sin in the blackest colours, and shews its deepest malignancy, by the gracious method of its atonement.

Believer in Jesus, what are thy thoughts; what the answer of thine heart this day, in regard to thy walk and conduct in life, from the important doctrines of grace? Canst thou say, the everlasting love of God the Father, reigning through the righteousness of Jesus unto eternal life, manifested in the gospel, and applied by the Holy Spirit through faith, have the least tendency to give reins to thy lust, to open a door of licentiousness, and to encourage thee to continue in sin?

While we entertain a notion of a God out of Christ, it affords no comfort to the mind to hear of God’s faithfulness. Nay, if we were not blind to our state, as sinners, the thought would fill us with dread and horror. For how awful, how terrifying is this declaration from a faithful God: ‘I will by no means clear the guilty.’ Ex. 34:7. But ‘we know that the Lord our God, he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.’ Deut. 7:9. This is the life of poor sinners, the joy of their hearts.

Christian, know thy danger. Thou art ever liable to be led away by the error of the wicked one, to decline from the truth, and to fall away from thy stedfastness in the faith of Jesus. Exhortations warn of this; they tend to quicken stronger exercises of faith and love, as a remedy against this; yea, through the influences of the Spirit they cause new-born souls to grow and increase with the increase of God, just as reviving showers of rain and warm influences of the sun cause the fruits of the earth to grow. It behoves every follower of the Lamb to consider this; to wrestle with the

Though Jesus had captivated the heart, and drawn the affections of his disciples to himself, before his sufferings and death, yet they had very little knowledge in the mysteries of his kingdom, and of the mystery of iniquity which worked in them. They were but weak in the understanding of the holy scriptures; hence arose their diffidence and suspicions concerning him. He left them scattered through fear and unbelief, and he finds them full of unreasonable doubts and troubles.

The body receives little nourishment, if its food hastily pass through it. To health and strength, proper digestion is necessary. Divine truths, eagerly heard and soon forgot, neither comfort nor strengthen the soul. When the babe Jesus was lying in the manger, and the shepherds had told the glorious things they had seen and heard concerning him, many ‘wondered.’ But it was the happiness of the virgin mother, that ‘she kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.’ Luke 2:18. We can never be comfortable in Jesus, but while the truths concerning him dwell in our minds.