April 26

1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high;

4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

6 And again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him

7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh

his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath mounted thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands.

11 They shall perish, but thou remainest, and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

12 And as a secure shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sat on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

We never fully appreciate the tender condescension of our King in becoming one flesh with His church, and placing her at His right hand, until we have fully rejoiced in His essential glory and deity. What a mercy for us that our Saviour is God, for who but a God could execute the work of salvation? "What a glad thing it is that He reigns on a throne which will never pass away, for we need both sovereign grace and eternal love to secure our happiness. Could Jesus cease to reign we should cease to be blessed, and were He not God, and therefore eternal, this must be the case. No throne can endure forever, but that on which God Himself sitteth." "God is best known in Christ; the sun is not seen but by the light of the sun." Bridge.

"In nature, we see God, as it were, like the sun in a picture; in the law, as the sun in a cloud; in Christ, we see Him in His beams: He being 'The brightness of His glory, and the exact image of His person.'"—Charnock.

"I have a passion," observed Count Zinzendorf in one of his discourses to the congregation at Hernhut, "and it is He—He only."

Closet Promise.—Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us.—Ephes. v. 2.

Surely running-over love—that vast, large, boundless love of Christ—is the only thing I most fain would be in bonds with. He knoweth that I have but little but the love of that love; and thus I shall be happy, suppose I never get another heaven, but only an eternal feasting of that love. But suppose my wishes were poor: He is not poor; Christ, all the seasons of the year, is dropping sweetness. If I had vessels, I might fill them; but my old, riven, and running-out dish, even when I am at the well, can bring little away. Nothing but glory will make tight and fast our leaking and rifty vessels. Alas! I have spilled more of Christ's love, grace, faith, humility, and godly sorrow, than I have brought with me. How little of a sea can a child carry in his hand! As little am I able to take away of my great sea,—my boundless and running-over Christ Jesus.—Rutherford.